Author's Note: Hello again everyone. This is another re-write and reupload of one of my previous stories.

This time it is tied in with my fanfiction Naruto: Maoyu. This one is what you would officially call a prequel, detailing events that will lead directly into the Maoyu storyline.

In this one, we follow Minato's recount in an old diary that Naruto happens to come across in the library, one that Minato left there for Naruto to eventually find.

Here, we see the monstrous battle that Minato eventually fights, against a person that would be considered the main antagonist of both this story and the next. All you history buffs out there should be familiar with the legendary shinobi's name in this story.

But for now, I hope you all enjoy this (and hopefully the love triangle to come).

NARUTO: MAOYŪ

The Wind Demon

Prologue

(Eleven Years after Kyuubi Attack)

It was the middle of the day over the village of Konohagakure and, through the hustle and bustle of the shinobi metropolis, planted right in the center of the great superpower, stood the institute known as the village's central library. It was here at this very place, following a very lengthy and rewarding training session, the young duo Naruto and Tayuya had decided to pay a visit. Seeing as how they'd spent the last few hours working on strengthening their bodies and pushing themselves to their absolute limits, they now felt like flexing their brains a little and having some much-needed downtime. So, after getting themselves cleaned up and having a big, filling breakfast of porridge and juice, they headed straight to the building for a study session.

It was only into the first hour of their arrival at the facility, and both kids had already managed to grab a bunch of books from the shelves, which they now had piled up on the desk near where they were browsing.

Naruto, wearing his signature long-sleeved blue shirt, orange, hooded vest with blue trim, orange pants and blue sandals, was at that very moment perusing over some of the old books in the back shelves. His eyes narrowed hard on the articles stacked together in front of him as he scanned the numerous spines from right to left, searching intently for something that would assist him in his training. During which time his friend Tama sat comfortably on his shoulder, the little white fox watching with interest as her partner went through the row one item at a time.

Tayuya meanwhile was conducting her search at a more casual pace, using her finger to run over the titles as she inspected each book in turn. Dressed in her signature brown khaki halter top, black spandex shorts, black pull-up sleeves, shin guards, black sandals, with her beautiful pinkish-red hair running freely down her shoulders, the girl hummed to herself as she gently pulled out another non-fiction item from the collection.

"Sound Theory and Notation Orchestra Volume 1… and… Volume 2," she muttered to herself, before then glancing over her shoulder towards her blond partner standing a few feet down the aisle. Admiring him as he quietly looked over the books, Tayuya admittedly blushed a little when she saw the handsome, serious expression he was currently wearing, which had her heart flutter inside her chest. She then shook herself out of her daze and spoke to him with a smile. "Find anything interesting over there, shithead?"

"Well… I've got a complete history of legends and mythologies, as well as a complete range of ancient structures and artifacts, but nothing that really stands out in the ninja department," Naruto answered, before then furrowing his brow and glancing down at the lower rows. "Man… and I was hoping for more legendary shinobi stuff. You know… like Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju and all that…"

The pinkish, red-haired girl giggled and went back to pulling books out of her shelf. "I doubt that you'll be able to find anything like that in this part of the library. I bet most of the material you're looking for would be classified anyway."

"Yeah. But hey, with this amount of old books, there's no telling what you may find," Naruto chuckled, reaching up to pull a book entitled Ancient Stone Monuments from one of the upper shelves. Figuring it might have something in their talking about shinobi from the eras before the hidden villages were founded, the blond promptly removed it from its housing. He then received a bit of a surprise when a second, smaller book got pulled out with it and dropped to the floor next to him. "Huh. What the hell…?" He then bent over to pick it up, only to stop short when his eyes landed on the cover.

The book was dark brown in appearance and, compared to the other fifty year old texts in front of him, looked to be in pretty good condition. This told Naruto that this item was probably only a few years old. What's more, aside from the quality of its edges and its surface, the thickness and weight of the book resembled that of your typical diary. However, it wasn't these aspects of the hardcover that got his attention. It was actually the name written on the bottom portion of the item that had him gawking, as it was a name he recognized all too well from his studies in class as well as from what Mikoto had told him years earlier.

"Minato… Namikaze…" The white vixen sitting on his shoulder barked lightly.

Hearing Naruto mutter had Tayuya stop and turn, "Huh? What was that?"

Naruto stood up with the diary in hand, turning it over to look at the back. Finding nothing he then held it up high for his friend to see, "I think I found an old journal belonging to my dad."

"Really? The Fourth Hokage? Let me see." Cutting off her own search, the kunoichi-in-training walked over to her crush and took the book from him. Scanning it just as the blond had done previously, Tayuya then cracked it open to the first couple of pages and noticed that the contents was all hand-written. Checking the names, dates and signatures inscribed in the headers and footers, the redhead then nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I think this is a Hokage journal. How about that?"

Taking it back from his roommate, Naruto stared at it curiously for a moment before then glancing at the shelves behind him. "Why in the world was it hiding all the way up there?" From the way that it'd been pushed tightly between the books, it was almost like someone had deliberately put it there. But who?

"Don't know. Are there any more?"

Clambering up the shelves to get a better angle, with Tama hopping off of his shoulder to give him some more leeway, the boy scanned the same platform and row for anymore diaries or books attached to the one he was currently holding. But after about a minute of pushing through the dusty texts, the blond delinquent turned up nothing and dropped back down to the floor.

"Nope. Zip. There's nothing else up there," the blond stated, at the same time glancing down at Tama, who was also staring at the book intently. "Huh. I wonder what this could be all about. If my dad was the one that wrote it, then it must be something important." It was then Naruto suddenly got a very wicked look in his eye, as he quickly looked up and threw a grin Tayuya's way. "Wanna check it out?"

A similarly excited smile crossed the girl's face. "Hell yeah," the flute player replied, before both kids scampered over to their desk out in the reading area.

Pulling up chairs side by side to each other, Naruto then opened up to the first few pages to see what this diary was all about. If luck was on their side today, maybe they'd managed to stumble across a hidden treasure trove of knowledge. Perhaps it was a book containing the Fourth Hokage's deepest, darkest secrets. Or maybe it was a journal containing some sort of special, forbidden jutsu he'd been working on in his last few years as village leader. Whatever the case, since this was written by one of the most legendary shinobi to ever come from the leaf, it had to be good.

With Tayuya sitting on his left and the little white fox Tama hopping up onto the table to sit by his right, Naruto began to read out loud.

"May 12th, year XXXX. To all those who may be reading this journal, everything I am about to tell you is completely off the record and on a strictly need to know basis, as the following chapters are a firsthand account of all the hours leading up to and during my most recent S-Rank mission: File 56, Serial Number XX36999, Authorization Code: Seven, Priority One, Code Black, Operation: Wind Blade. It was an assignment that was sent straight down to the Hokage from the daimyo himself; a job that would later involve an attack on multiple enemy and sovereign territories, the theft of an ancient celestial artefact, the elimination of a rogue S-Rank group, and the destruction of an entire landmass by a single, lone individual," Naruto read, stopping for a moment to look across at Tayuya. When he saw the almost identical shocked expression she gave him in return, the blond gulped and nervously returned to the pages.

"I know that the official report will have ninety percent of its content blacked out and its status written as 'completed', as the details pertaining to the events are highly classified and not meant for public ears. But this particular incident is something that I feel has to be told in some way… to let the world know what really happened that day… and the actual events that transpired. So I'm writing this journal to tell everyone the truth…" There was a big break in the page where nothing was said for the next couple of paragraphs. However, after moving down the paper some more, Naruto and Tayuya came across two lone words that stood out above all the rest.

They were words that reverberated through their heads all the way to the deepest, darkest parts of their minds, like the chime of a bell being struck by a large, metal hammer.

"That we failed."

Tayuya looked across at Naruto. "Failed? What the heck does that mean?"

"I think it means that he the Fourth… my dad … wasn't able to complete the mission. That he and whoever was sent with him on that assignment weren't able to finish it," Naruto replied, looking just as confused by the words himself.

However, upon thinking about it some, both kids soon came to realize that this book… this journal, for all intents and purposes, was one long, incredibly detailed confession compiled into a full-length, chapter-based story; one that the Fourth Hokage himself was unable to tell in his report. It was something that he could only write out in a single, uncensored and untainted recount, out of sight of the administration and the village council.

Of all the great documents that they could've happened upon in this library, this was the last thing that Naruto and Tayuya expected to come across.

So, bracing themselves for the events to come, the blond turned the page and kept on reading.

The next body of text quickly confirmed their suspicions. "This was probably the first mission in my entire career that I was unable to complete… and probably the first fight that I'd ever lost… decisively." Naruto and Tayuya blinked when they saw the man actually laugh in his hand-writing. "Ha-ha… you know, it's funny… out of all the impossible jobs that I'd taken in my career thus far… the one that I managed to fail, I actually walked away from with my life… and against the most amazing and most terrifying opponent of all." There was another break before Minato continued his account. "In my time as a ninja, I'd come to believe that each and every generation of shinobi has had at least one monster that was hated, scorned and feared by all the nations and villages of the world in their respective eras. During the Sage of Six Paths time, there was the host of the winged beast Satori. For Hashirama Senju, there was the scourge of the hidden villages Madara Uchiha. For Tobirama Senju, there was the 'Gold and Silver Brothers' Ginkaku and Kinkaku. And for the Legendary Sannin, the one that immortalized their names in the history books was Hanzo Hattori of the Salamander, 'The Rain Demon'."

"But for my generation… there was one ninja that we faced that was known and feared across the entire mainland… and whose name will be forever grained into my memories. Comparing this person's strength, skills and accomplishments to the ninja of my era, as well as with the records of legendary shinobi and Hokage of the past… I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this person surpassed both Madara and Lord Hashirama by an impossibly wide margin." As Naruto and Tayuya gaped in amazement, the pair continued to read the diary written by the blonde's father, where they quickly saw the story get back on track. "With tensions between the five great shinobi nations on the rise, all of us knew it was only a matter of time before the world spiralled into yet another international conflict. As a Jonin serving in Konoha's regular forces at the time, I along with Mikoto and Kushina were officially assigned to the position as the village's elite first responders. The three of us were on standby the day we received word that the Fire Daimyo had been attacked…"

XXX

(14 Years Ago)

(Night)

With the sun setting over the horizon and marking the end of another uneventful day, the people in the capital city of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) started turning in for the night. While the streets surrounding the Fire Daimyo's castle were still gleaming with life as young men and women flocked to the night clubs and bars for drinks, the majority of the town was quiet. Of course, with most of the people off the roads and indoors, those who were still working, transporting goods on foot or on horseback, had a much smoother and easier route of travel.

Up in the daimyo's estate, things were completely calm and silent. The only people that could be seen walking around were the royal guard, consisting of spearmen and archers. Defenses at the front were incredibly light, with only a couple of men on watching the road in and around the property.

Both adorned in blue robes with green vests, armor plating and helmets, with a red kanji symbol for 'Fire' stamped on their chests, the two men stared tiredly out over the village in front of them. Looking as though they were about to fall asleep, they barely even acknowledged the waves they received from the four archers patrolling the perimeter wall above them, with the two men on the left stopping to converse with one another.

With the crickets in the daimyo's garden chirping merrily away and the candle lamps along the footpaths flickering away in the night air, everything seemed normal.

But then, just as archers on the wall were starting another uneventful, routine patrol of the area, the sound of a stiff breeze suddenly wafted over the wall. A split second later the two archers standing on the far left wall, still talking casually with one another, had their heads lopped off.

As their bodies crumpled to the walkway on top of the wall and their heads dropped to the garden, a third archer patrolling the far end of the wall on the right-hand side of the gate lost his head as well. Seeing his friend's head fly off from several yards away, the fourth archer gasped before quickly swinging his bow out and drawing an arrow from his quiver.

Just as he was clumsily fitting it into the string, the guard suddenly saw a flash of light in the night air in front of him, followed shortly by a massive Fuma Shuriken that came flying right at him. Just like the others his head was also sliced clean from his shoulders, with the massive weapon flying back into the darkness.

The two spearmen had no idea what was going on until the last archer's body tumbled off of the wall and crashed to the road with a loud thud. The moment their eyes snapped towards the sound, four kunai suddenly flew out of the shadows and struck one of the spearmen in the chest and face. As soon as his body dropped to the floor the second guard was also hit in the chest, his strength leaving him instantly as he dropped to his knees with a gasp of a horror.

Clutching the blades impaling his chest as blood began leaking out, the man suddenly looked up. When he did, he suddenly saw a figure land on the ground directly in front of him. Eyes traveling up the stranger, the guard saw black sandals, a pair of grey camo pants, black shinobi vest with red trim, black shirt with red trim, and the face of a twenty year old man with green short hair, a goatee, and wearing a black turban.

On the vest the man was wearing, the wounded guard saw the symbol of a red shuriken emblazoned on it. It was an insignia which immediately had his eyes widen in shock before the soldier yelled at the top of his lungs.

"CRIMSON STA-!" He was unable to finish his cry of warning when the assassin, smirking broadly, held up the massive folded up Fuma Shuriken in his hand like a sword and, with a single swing, used it to decapitate his target.

As the guard's head went tumbling down the road and his body fell to the ground, the turban-wearing assassin at the gate was joined by three more figures, two female and one other male, and all of them were dressed identically to one another, with only a few notable exceptions.

Next to the man with the moss colored hair and turban was a young woman who stood a foot taller than her male counterpart, with a black checkered pattern tattooed across her nose, orange eyes, and long green hair tied into a high ponytail by a big red bow. Behind her was the second male, who had his shoulder-length orange hair tied into a topknot and had a shuriken mark tattooed on both his cheeks. The last female was a tanned woman with orange hair styled into ox horns with red ribbons and had a black mole under her right eye.

All four of them were each armed with the same collapsible 'Shadow Windmill' Fuma Shuriken, only these ones weren't like the ordinary weapons. Each of the four curved blades on the star was over four feet long and were attached to a large metal ring that went around a katana-like handle. When folded up it transformed the four bladed shuriken into a single-bladed broadsword. When unfolded, the diameter of the Shuriken was wider than a full-grown adult was tall, allowing the user to defend themselves from all sides easily.

With the guards dispatched, the four ninja armed with the Fuma Shuriken approached the gate where, after inspecting it, their tallest member approached it and "knocked".

Her definition of knocking was pretty much draw her Fuma, unfold it and, after the blades started spinning like a buzz saw, sliced right through the wooden door in a big 'X'. She then kicked at the gate and smashed it to pieces, sending debris pelting across the daimyo's garden, effectively removing the one real obstacle standing in their path.

The four assassins then casually strolled their way across the front yard of the estate, heading towards the mansion standing in the middle of the property. When they made it halfway up the footpath, eleven shadows suddenly darted down at them from the surrounding trees, eight of them leaping into the air above them and unleashing a hail of kunai.

Expecting the attack, the two orange haired assassins snapped open their Fuma blades and, spinning them like propellers, effortlessly knocked all the kunai thrown at them. In the meantime the man in the turban snapped open his Fuma and threw it, sending it on a boomerang path around their group and knocking the eight airborne shadows out of the sky.

A split second later after the sparks stopped flying and the Fuma Blade returned to its owner, the eleven shadows surrounded the four intruders and assumed fighting stances.

The group surrounding the intruders were a group of seven shinobi and four kunoichi, all of whom were dressed differently, but all of them were wearing the same grey sashes around their waists with the same red emblem on them. It was this kanji mark for 'Fire' surrounded by a red circle that connected the eleven individuals to the same group, and as they started drawing their main weapons and forming hand seals for jutsu, the four assassins quickly recognized who all of them were.

The leader of the eleven shinobi, a tall, bald man wearing a monk's uniform and wielding a string of prayer beads like a lasso, frowned when he recognized the four ninja arranged into a defensive circle in the middle of the road. "That emblem on your vests… you are Mei, San, Yu and Shen Fuma of the Crimson Stars."

"The brother and sister gang from the main branch of the Fuma Clan?" the kunoichi on the bald man's right spoke in surprise. "Aren't all of them classified as S-Ranked criminals with a bounty of twenty five million ryo on each of their heads?"

Shen, the man in the turban, grinned broadly as he and his "siblings" kept their eyes on the men and women surrounding them. "The very same." His gaze darting between the eleven guards carefully, a dry chuckle then left his lips. "I take it from the sashes around your waists that you lot are the current members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, assigned to protect the daimyo and his interests." He then nodded to the monk in front of him, "Judging from your broad stature, spiritual garb and bead whip, you must be the leader of the group Nanashi of the Fire Temple. I must say your reputation precedes you, sir."

"As does yours, Shen; Blade of the North Star," the monk replied, his grip tightening around his length of prayer beads, which then let off a crack of lightning. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit this fine evening?"

Mei, the tallest member of the four assassins, chuckled as she craned her head towards the eleven ninja, "We heard that there was an open house exhibit at the daimyo's mansion and decided to come check out some of the antiques on display." She then nodded towards the mansion behind the wall of defenders. "You boys wouldn't happen to have a tour map that we could borrow, would you?"

"Well, I don't know what you four have heard, but there is no open house exhibit here… or anywhere in this town," Nanashi spoke, bringing his chain of beads around and whipping it through the air. At the same time he fed lightning style chakra through the weapon, which caused it to extend like a bolt and cut through several trees and boulders, sending the top halves of them dropping to the ground. When the chain of beads whipped back to its owner, the monk caught it and brandished it in an intimidating manner. "Now if it isn't too much trouble, we would kindly like to ask you to leave."

"And if we don't?" the girl with the ox horn hair style, Yu, asked with a cheerful smile.

"Then we will be forced to take extreme measures," the kunoichi from before, armed with two daggers and an interlocking chain, spoke in a firm voice. "Even the four of you are no match for the full strength of the Twelve Guardian Ninja."

"Oh. That sounds like a challenge," the man with the shuriken tattoos on his cheeks, San, said with a wide grin, at the same time tapping the dull edge of his folded-up Fuma against his shoulder.

Shen, also smirking broadly, craned his head around the twelve defenders. "As much as we would like to test that theory…" He then turned his gaze skywards. "I'm afraid our boss has called first dibs."

Blinking in confusion, the eleven miscellaneous shinobi and kunoichi looked up into the clouds as well. There, silhouetted against the moon, they saw the cloaked form of a fifth unknown individual floating a kilometer above the village.

As soon as they were spotted, the shadow in the sky then dove down towards the castle at several times the speed of sound and dropped right into the middle of the daimyo's courtyard. The newcomer landed with a loud thud and a gust of wind, which knocked all eleven ninja stumbling back a few feet. When all eyes turned to face the hooded figure and saw them rise up to full height in the middle of the four intruders, all expressions immediately turned to shock when they saw the person pull away the hood ever so slightly, revealing soft cheeks, a sliver of ghostly blonde hair, and a devilish grin.

Sweat trickling down his bald head, Nanashi took a step back and whispered, "The Wind Demon… Kotaro Fuma." Several seconds of shaking later, his fingers massaging his beaded weapon in a praying manner, the monk then gritted his teeth and bellowed. "Guardians! Where there is light!"

"There is hope!" the other ten shinobi and kunoichi yelled in unison.

"Where there is fire!"

"There is life!"

"For it is fire that is the beating heart and soul of civilization! And when darkness threatens to extinguish this flame!"

"It is those chosen to carry it that shall keep it alight!"

"We are the Twelve Guardian Ninja! The best of the best chosen to protect all the little fires in this nation and keep them safe from harm!" Nanashi yelled, lighting chakra now coursing down his string of beads that he then snapped out and held tight in front of him. Upon which he then whipped it through the air and struck the earth with a deafening crack of thunder. "Hold your courage steady, men! And protect your daimyo!"

With a combined war cry, the twelve guardian ninja then sprang into attack, some holding back and unleashing a barrage of long range attacks, while the rest charged in to attack the hooded figure.

The second they rushed in to attack, a massive explosion of wind suddenly ripped across the garden, sending a mushroom cloud of dust and debris shooting high into the atmosphere…

XXX

(A few minutes later)

The Fire Daimyo, a middle aged man with dark brown hair in a white sleeping kimono and blue obi, scrambled backwards across the tatami mats of his living room on his hands and back. His breathing rapid and expression reflecting nothing but fear, the man looked towards the sliding entrance of his lounge to see the cloaked figure of Fuma Kotaro and his four minions standing directly behind him.

Sweat trickling down his face, the leader of the nation gave a loud gulp before speaking in a whimpering voice. "P-Please. Please don't hurt me. I-I'll give you anything… anything you want! Money! Gold! Diamonds! The clothes off my back!" His eyes then widened when he saw the hooded figure march forward and, when they came to within a few feet of him, he scrambled away even faster. "Gah! W-W-What do you want from me?"

The leader of the intruders said nothing as he continued to amble towards the terrified lord. It wasn't long before the daimyo's back eventually hit the side of his living room table and, unable to move past it, could only cower in fear as the hooded individual leaned forward and smiled from under the veil of his cloak.

The four members of his gang meanwhile spread themselves out across the room, with Shen moving to inspect some of the fine china sitting in the corner cabinet while the incredibly tall Mei crossed her arms and leaned quietly against a wall.

Moments later, the gang leader spoke.

"Nothing much," Kotaro said in a soft, feminine sounding voice that had the shivering daimyo stop and stare in shock. Seeing they had the ruler's attention, the blonde haired intruder tilted his head curiously, "All I want to know is where you're keeping the Hoju Stone."

The fire daimyo blinked in shock, "Th-The Hoju Stone?"

Kotaro nodded in response, "Yes; the tiny little bauble that the ruling family of the Land of Fire has passed down from one generation to the next for the last thousand years. That stone." The hooded figure moved in closer, causing the old lord to jump slightly with fright. "I want you to tell me exactly where you're hiding it inside your humble home."

"H-H-How do you know about that stone?" the daimyo stammered while his body started shaking again.

At this, Kotaro smiled mischievously. "That's not important." The man then straightened up and towered over the lord curled up on the floor at his feet. "Ever since your ancestors acquired it from a monk traveling here from the eastern continent, they transformed it into a precious family heirloom, and have been using it as part of the daimyo inauguration ceremony. Almost every single one of your predecessors has held the stone at least once in their lifetimes… and now it's been passed on to you." When Kotaro saw the daimyo give a nervous nod of understanding, the hooded man then nodded. "It's a simple request. If you tell me what I need to know, I promise that neither my gang nor I will lay a finger on you or the rest of your family. You have my word."

Gulping, the terrified old man's eyes then shifted across his living room towards a length of drawers and shelves resting against the far wall. When Kotaro and his gang members looked, they saw a bunch of photographs, painting and ornaments of an oriental nature lined up and on display. It was there, sitting right in the center of the main cabinet, propped up on a wooden stand, they saw an old, gold encrusted jewelry box with a lock on it, sitting directly underneath the Land of Fire's Emblem.

Immediately upon spotting it, Kotaru Fuma's grin broadened, before they turned and marched right over to it. Stopping in front of the cabinet, the cloaked figure then reached forward and, after momentarily picking the lock with a hairpin, unlocked the chest and opened it. When the leader's subordinates and the daimyo watched the hooded figure peer inside the box, they were unable to see Fuma's expression light up with delight.

Sitting inside the cushions of the chest, there was a single rock. Slightly smaller than a golf ball, the rock was a dark, crimson red in color, with odd swirl patterns covering it resembling flames. What's more, the rock was of an unusual shape, almost resembling a flower bud, with grooves in its surface resembling overlapping petals.

As soon as his eyes landed on the rock, Kotaro reached in and picked it up, where he then held it up and proceeded to inspect the unassuming item.

Several seconds of waiting later and the people in the room watched the gang leader turn and smile.

"At first I didn't think it was possible. But after seeing it up close, I know now that the legend is true," Kotaru Fuma informed before stashing the rock inside of his cloak and out of sight.

Appearing both nervous and confused, the Fire Daimyo gulped, "W-What do you intend to do with it?"

Smirking, the cloaked bandit then ambled towards the lord, during which time he then pulled a grungy, folded up old piece of parchment from his pocket. When Kotaro unfolded it, he then showed the daimyo a faded old picture of Buddhist deity, sitting cross-legged atop a nimbus at the very top of a mountain overlooking a country. While the deity's left hand was formed into a prayer symbol, in its right hand sat a glowing ornament, consisting of a golden lotus cradle and three stones sitting on top of it surrounded by red flames.

All around the picture was a series of scribbles and writing in a language that the daimyo did not recognize, but it was something that Kotaro had no trouble in understanding.

"The Hoju Stone is one of four pieces of an ancient celestial artifact that, when brought together, forms what the people of the mysterious continent called the Cintamani, otherwise known as the 'Wish Fulfilling Jewel'," Kotaro said, causing the daimyo's eyes to widen in surprise. Folding the paper back up and returning it to his cloak, the bandit smiled confidently. "This jewel, held by the Goddess of Fortune Kichijōten herself, had the ability to cure all ailments and quell all sufferings in life, as it was able to grant the wishes of any person who held it. The Gods and Goddesses of the primordial era used it to create and shape the laws of good fortune and prosperity that we humans rely on today, forming what would become known as the building blocks for agriculture and civilization."

Smirking on his corner of the room, San spoke to the daimyo in a blithe like manner. "Basically it grants the wielder of the jewel absolute power… the ability to shape and change the world however they see fit."

"It was said that the jewel was stolen by a benevolent fox spirit over a millennia ago and fell into the hands of the monks in a mountain temple. Through an ancient sealing ritual, they separated the jewel into four parts and sent them to the far side of the globe; to a place out of reach of the greed and desires of man. The pieces came here, to this continent, where the people unfamiliar with the heavenly artifact would be unable to use the jewel for their own selfish gains," Kotaro informed, before crossing his arms and raising his head high. "Fortunately for me I understand their language… but more importantly I know how to recreate the jewel and use it. The first part of the jewel was hidden here, in your palace… and now it belongs to me. The second one I know is in Iwagakure, resting in the pool surrounding the village's Stone Monument pedestal, put there by the First Tsuchikage himself."

The fire daimyo, overwhelmed by the information he was hearing, then shook his head, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Wielding complete control over the situation, the hooded bandit leader leant forward and, in a hushed voice, spoke to the man. "I want you to deliver a message to Konohagakure for me. I want you to tell the Hokage to send his finest and most powerful shinobi and kunoichi after me, and for you to inform the rest of the world of what I'm trying to accomplish." His leer only seemed to increase with his next words. "I want you to try and stop me from achieving my goal." When he lifted his head, the leader of the group revealed a yellow eye shimmering with excitement through the shadow of his veil. "After all, as the world's greatest thief, it would be meaningless for me to follow-through with this quest without some sort of challenge. That is why you are going to give it to me."

The fire daimyo was stunned. Unable to say anything or fully comprehend what the greatest thief and mercenary of all time was asking of him, all the old man could do was gape and nod dumbly.

With prize in hand, Kotaro was then all set to leave. But just before he or his four men could turn to head off, the sound of patting footsteps and the jangle of rings drew their attention to the living room entrance. When they looked, they saw a young boy of around fourteen years old, with short black spike hair, dressed in a brown tunic, dark green pants, sandals, wearing a red headband, and was armed with a shakujo with three golden rings dangling at the end.

The moment the group noticed the kid standing in the living room entrance, the fire daimyo stammered in disbelief, "K-Kazuma-kun?"

Spinning his staff around and holding it behind him, the young Chunin and Guardian Ninja glared daggers at the group of bandits standing before him. "You five are trespassing on my lord's property. I'm sorry to say, but none of you are leaving this place alive! That I can promise you!"

Hearing the kid's gutsy exclamation put grins on the four Fuma clan members' faces, with Yu letting out a giggle of amusement. "Aww… how precious."

"You've got guts, kid. I can say that much," Shen spoke while swinging his folded up Fuma Shuriken back and forth in a taunting fashion. "But unless you want to end up like your comrades outside, I recommend that you stand down and let us pass."

This statement had the young Kazuma look up with a start, "W-What… what happened to my friends?"

"Oh? The others?" San spoke while reaching up to scratch one of his shuriken tattoos. "Not sure… but I bet that none of them are doing too well at the moment."

Eyes reflecting a sense of horror and disbelief when he saw the menacing grins on the invading group's faces, a trembling Kazuma then gritted his teeth and, with a howl of rage, rushing forward. Darting right past Shen, who didn't do anything to stop him, the boy ran right at the leader of the group in the cloak, who was standing just a few feet away from the fire daimyo. He sprang from the floor and, spinning his shakujo overhead, swung it straight down at the hooded figure.

Just before the boy's weapon could strike Kotaro over the head, a flash of a blade suddenly shot out from under the mercenary's cloak and intercepted the staff. A loud clang rang out and sparks flew as Kazuma's weapon was knocked back by a streak of light from an attack that was too fast to see, stunning the boy before he was suddenly grabbed by the throat. Gasping in shock as the man he was trying to attack held him above the ground, he was then effectively throttled into submission, his legs flailing about in the air uselessly and his hands moving to claw at the fingers now crushing his windpipe. The act of which caused him to drop his shakujo, which clattered to the floor loudly.

Holding the boy in place for a moment, the Fuma Gang leader turned and, without hesitation, drove the boy straight into the ground, cracking the floorboards with his impact and several of his bones. Spitting up blood, Kazuma's strength left him completely as a dull numbness shot through his body; his arms and legs going limp, and his eyes staring up at the figure now towering over him.

After several seconds of lying there on the floor, his mind close to passing out, the defeated Chunin then choked out in confusion. "W-Why don't you just… kill me?"

Kotaro didn't say anything for several seconds. But after hearing Kazuma's question, the figure then reached up and removed the cloak. When the man tossed it aside and revealed the person hiding underneath, the young guardian's eyes went wide in shock.

Standing over him wasn't some tall and imposing man with long hair and a beard, but a tall, enchanting young woman with a curvy figure, ample chest, and ghost blonde hair tied into a high knot ponytail, with long bangs growing down the sides of her face in a hime style cut. Accentuating her fit, hourglass figure, she also wore a loose, long and elegant purple kimono, decorated with red trim, and pink and golden flowers. Held up by a golden obi, the top rode down her arms, showing off her neck, shoulders, and her bountiful cleavage. She was also noticeably bare foot and, on the back of her kimono, she had a large red Fuma Shuriken emblazoned on it.

Her face was the most enchanting aspect of her person; soft cheeks, sharp chin and sharp golden eyes, emphasized by black eyelashes. She also had a single beauty mark, a black dot, right under her left eye.

After revealing her true self to the young man on the floor, Kotaro Fuma leaned over, inadvertently presenting a less than modest view of her perfectly round breasts, and grinned at the child.

"I don't kill shinobi or kunoichi who aren't strong enough to give me a challenge," she replied, before lifting a finger and poking the barely conscious boy on the nose. "Consider yourself lucky, sweetheart."

Moments later Kazuma blacked out, his eyes closing and head rolling to the side.

Point made, Kotaro stood up, running a hand up her exposed leg and flashing what looked like a series of black blades, which ran all the way around the inside of her kimono. With a sashay of her hips, she then turned and began to amble out of the room, at the same time giving a cheerful wave to the still terrified daimyo.

"Don't forget my message," she sung, before bidding her four subordinates to follow her, which they did.

Upon exiting the living room, they left an unconscious Kazuma lying on the cracked floor and a terrified fire daimyo, who was now doing everything he could to keep from fainting.

A couple minutes later, as Kotaro Fuma and her comrades descended the front steps of the fire lord's mansion, the leader took a moment to inspect the prize in her possession. Running her thumb over the grooves of the gold ball sized rock, the deadly beauty then stopped when she heard her lieutenant Mei speak.

"Are you positive that that is the genuine stone, Kotaro-sensei?"

Smile widening, the blond glanced across at the taller, green haired woman before holding up the stone and speaking a single word. "Jiēshì." (Reveal) The act of which suddenly caused the grooves and etchings in the stone to light up gold and radiate with an ethereal glow that had Kotaro's four subordinates stare in awe.

Holding it up, she then waved it in the air in front of her, "This little one will help guide us to the remaining three pieces. Right now we have the Buddha stone. Next we're going after the Dharma stone, then the Sangha stone, and after that we just need to find the lotus cradle that holds all three of them together…" Pocketing the glowing artifact, she then continued down the steps to the path that would lead them off of the daimyo's property. "And I have a good idea where to find it."

As her four students and comrades marched after her across the garden, they passed through a scene of complete and utter carnage. Not only was there a sizable, glass filled crater about five hundred yards across that had been burned into the very middle of the courtyard, but all the trees in the area had either been incinerate or sliced to pieces, massive boulders were lying all over the place, the ground had split from the west wall all the way to the east wall, leaving a large chasm in the middle of the estate, and there was blood splattered all over the place.

What's more, the broken and battered bodies of the eleven other members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja were lying scattered all over the place. Two of whom Kotaro and her men stepped over, who were lying with shuriken riddling their backs. Four others, also impaled by shuriken with massive scars running all over their bodies like they'd been pushed through a meat slicer, were scattered across the decimated garden, while another two had Fuma Shuriken lodged in their sides. The remaining three, including the leader Nanashi, were hanging unconscious and crucified against the far wall several feet above the ground, their limbs held up by huge Fuma Shuriken keeping them in place.

Blood pooling around their bodies, the eleven individual guardians all groaned and writhed helplessly on the ground, indicating they were still alive but in a very bad way.

Hearing the group's pained sounds echo across the quad had Kotaro shake her head exasperatedly. "Oh, stop moaning. You'll live."

After which she and her Crimson Star gang left the estate, disappearing down the street and into the night.

TO BE CONTINUED…