Disclaimer: I, the author of this story, do not own 'Naruto', in any of its forms, nor do I own it's characters, places, general plot or illustrations. Any character presented here not found in the original Manga or Anime of 'Naruto', was created by this writer and was in no way borrowed or stolen from another person's creation or work. Any similarities with both real people and/or existent fictional characters is purely coincidental, and unintentional.

Author's Note: This story will be strictly canon-compliant regarding both ships and deaths happening before 'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations', which means there will be spoilers for both the Naruto manga and anime, you've been warned. Other factors of the Naruto canon may be twisted to fit the plot of this story, though (hopefully) none major enough to cause confusion.

Even though the story will closely follow the development of three Original Characters (Namely Yoa, Kaori, and Runa) after the events of Naruto Shippuden, they will likely be the only OCs present throughout (I'll warn you later on if this changes), the rest are characters from the Naruto canon that—in case you don't recognize at first glance—participated or starred in Naruto's different arcs or general plot, and remained alive after the conclusion of Shippuden.

From Rain To Rust

Chapter One

'Road to the Jōnin Exams!'

"Hell, Yoa!" Kaori exclaimed in an odd mixture of a shriek and an annoyed groan. "You could have let a sister know over here!" Her eyebrows were pinched together, almost puncturing the small patch of skin between them, as much as Kaori tried to fight back the blush creeping up her cheeks, the rubor however, couldn't seem to care less once it enveloped her face whole.

The young man that had just taken his shirt off to try and dry himself, was as of now rolling his eyes to the back of his comrade, seeming quite unfazed as he squeezed out the water off of his completely drenched shirt. "You've seen me undress for years by now, Kaori. Are you ever gonna get over it?"

"YOA! You make it sound as if-" the complaints of the girl were drowned out on the mind of their de-facto leader, who at the moment was still digesting the message she'd received.

Three years had passed since the events of the Fourth Shinobi World War went down; thousands of lives were long lost among the lines of the Shinobi Allied Forces…

"Bullshit" the young leader muttered under her breath at the mere mental image of it all.

Shinobi Union is what 'they' called themselves now, for all intents and purposes the Shinobi Union served only to the interests and well-being of their members, which meant that just as always the Five Great Shinobi Countries dismissed the safety, condition, lives, and sacrifices of all the smaller villages. Amegakure had always been a troubled land, dating back to their days under Hanzo's leadership and eventual fallout into lunacy, only to be followed up by Pain's iron fist govern and manhunting ways, not to mention Konan's extremely brief tenure that ended on an all-out fight—with little regard for Ame's citizen's lives—that ended with her death; Amegakure had yet to see a generation born into peace and safety. The many generations product of sons and daughters of war refugees living in the village were proof of the constant struggle happening since Ame's foundation.

No efforts had been extended to help rebuild Amegakure, no recognition of the numerous ninjas they'd lent to the fighting cause, no ceremony to honor the fallen, no political guidance for a relatively new village still missing a leader to represent them, no support to feed the hungry and the poor… and now this?

'The Shinobi Union cordially extends the present invitation to the sovereign Village Hidden by Rain, and actively encourages the City of Ame to send any and all Chūnin Teams or Individuals that they consider fit to participate in the coming Jōnin Exams* that are to take place in Konohagakure with the intent to celebrate the third anniversary of the victory of the Shinobi Allied Forces, convey and unify our remaining strength; and most of all, to create new bonds amongst the surviving Shinobi and to strengthen those that already exist.

Whomever attends will forever be added to the Shinobi Union database (whether they pass the exam or not) and be called upon if any mission compatible with their skills arises.

*The Jōnin Exams will be celebrated only once for the foreseeable future, the objective of the promotions focusing on compensating the damage caused to the Shinobi Forces in the past war. '

Runa Kashima, the (surrogate) leader of Nin Team K removed her eyes from the running ink of the scroll and glanced upwards, one usually got used to the almost never ending rain in Amegakure, but even to Ame's citizens, when it came to practical matters like reading a simple message on the outside it proved beyond bothersome. "Attention, Yoa, Kaori—" Runa's voice cut through whatever antics her two partners were focusing on. "We've got a new assignment."

"You seem to have a particular 'spring-to-your-step today, Chōjūrō-kun." The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumī, pointed out to her closest remaining escort.

"Hai, Mizukage-sama!" The usually laid back and timid swordsman spoke up with enough enthusiasm to fill his chest and raise his neck.

"I'm excited to show the Shinobi Union what Kirigakure has to offer, Mizukage-sama!" Chōjūrō exclaimed once again, barely falling short of pumping his fist to the air along their way. Meanwhile, Ruka and Kiri—Chōjūrō's handpicked team for the upcoming Jōnin Exams— remained silent throughout.

"Am I right, Ruka-san?" Chōjūrō turned to his teammate with a soft smile, to which the younger Kunoichi blushed in the cheeks—not because of any sort of romantic tension between the teammates, mind you—but because even now, walking their way over to Konoha to partake in the Shinobi Union Jōnin Exams she had a hard time believing her Mizukage had picked her of all people as a Chūnin worthy of exposure before the Five Great Shinobi Countries! She didn't want to step on any toes or risk embarrassing herself later on by falling short of her tough talk.

"You are, Chōjūrō." The eldest member of the team quickly came to Ruka's rescue as he flashed her a small knowing look. "The Village Hidden by Mist has entrusted us with the honor to represent them in these coming Exams, we'd be wise not to disappoint them." The medic nin said pointedly to Chōjūrō as his eyes looked over to Ruka; Chōjūrō responding enthusiastically with a nod as Ruka looked down to the ground like a scolded kid.

"But also," Kiri was quick to add, snapping Ruka out of her trance. "We should remember that our own hard work, and the vote of confidence coming from Lady Terumī herself is what made us worthy of such trust in the first place." The dark-haired nin ended with a small reassuring smile to Ruka, who responded with a nod and square shoulders looking straight ahead.

"Hai!" Ruka, by far the youngest of her team—and perhaps the tournament—responded after finally feeling better with herself since leaving the village.

The whole exchange was of course not lost to the vigilant eyes of Mei Terumī, who had watched intently over her representatives as they each took on the experience on their own way; she was proud of the growth that Chōjūrō had since the end of the war, shaping himself to be a fine leader himself; of Ruka to have the skill to measure herself against the best in the continent at such a young age; and of the once cold and stoic Kiri, for showing her how he was able to get past his previous hatred of the Iwa-nins, and for having the will to lift up his comrade's spirit in a moment of doubt.

Yes, Kirigakure's nin were more than ready to raise some eyebrows in the upcoming Exams.

"Do I really have to do this, old man?" Kurotsuchi complained quite openly for about the hundredth time as they walked their way down the dirt road to Konoha.

A small but amused sigh left Akatsuchi's lips with a soft shake of the head, eyes wandering over to the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.

"Couldn't you at least pair me up with Akatsuchi over here?" The Tsuchikage's granddaughter asked as she folded her arms behind her head while she walked. Kurotsuchi was of course excited to go to Konoha's festivities for the Third Anniversary of their victory over Madara; but getting forced to enlist to this show of 'Jōnin Exams' as they tried to pose it, was like jumping through circles in her mind. She was of course happy that peace had lasted this long, and that it seemed to be holding up so well (especially judging from his grandfather's almost ever-present smile as of late), 'Seriously, I've seen him smile more this morning than the rest of our years put together...' Kurotsuchi mentally complained, but she didn't need the Shinobi Union to tell her that she was good enough to be a Jōnin, much less to make her go through menial tasks in order to 'earn' the rank; all she needed was Iwa's approval! The only reason she wasn't a Jōnin already was because with the rebuilding effort, and so many meetings and movement from the Tsuchikage and the other members of the Union there was only so much time left for things like promotions!

"Yes you do." Was the only response the elder Tsuchikage uttered, not missing a single step as his gaze remained set on the immediate horizon. A subtle smile filling his lips.

"Plus, Akatsuchi is already a Jōnin, he can't take part in the exams." Ōnoki added; which served as proverbial air under Akatsuchi's wings, being somewhat lauded by his adored leader… That and it seemed to shut Kurotsuchi for the moment. Thank Kami.

"UuuuuuuUAUGH…!" Kurotsuchi groaned in exasperation as she slumped all the way down, almost a miracle her feet were still able to carry her forward.

For a second Akatsuchi sighed in honest relief, as him and the caravan traveling with the Tsuchikage to Konoha got their first moment of silence and calm since leaving Iwagakure. Right...

"You know WHAT?!" The short haired Kunoichi straightened as fast as a whip cracked, jumping right in front of the Tsuchikage's path and pointing her finger right at his face. "YOU'RE JUST OLD AND ARE DOING OLD MAN STUFF RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOUR BACK HURTS BECAUSE YOU'RE OLD!" Kurotsuchi barked with literal embers on her eyes and gnashing teeth that could be easily mistaken by those of an Inuzuka. "YOU NEED A REPLACEMENT, OLD MAN!" she accused the shorter man a last time as her finger finally stabbed the other's prominent nose.

The least… 'experienced' people traveling with the caravan were shocked at the young woman's temper and sheer audacity of talking to their village leader like that…
Akatsuchi and the rest meanwhile merely let the one thousandth sigh of the day and stood there watching the 'loving' interaction between their leader and his granddaughter.

Ōnoki's eyes locked right with the burning ones of her beloved and trusted granddaughter, her slender finger still pushing against his own nose stagnantly.

"You're right, Kurotsuchi-Chan." The elder agreed before carefully removing his granddaughter's finger off of his face. A serious, but not yet displeased look took over the smile he was wearing. "I am old, my best years are long behind me, the Shinobi world is at peace for perhaps the first time in their entire existence—and yes—my back aches and crumbles from the grueling decades of carrying the heavy burden that comes with the title of Tsuchikage." Ōnoki spoke with nothing but sincerity; and even a hint of vulnerability that only the passage of time could teach to a man like himself.
"And perhaps I am looking for someone to aid me by removing said weight off my shoulders. Someone fit to lead Iwagakure in this brand new world. Someone ready." Ōnoki accepted once again. "But perhaps I need her to climb up the ladder of the shinobi ranks as steadfastly as possible, to prepare herself as best as her abilities let her before bestowing such burden to her person." Then, Ōnoki's features softened in a way that one could only perceive by being as close as Kurotsuchi was to him. "Perhaps, she needs to complain less and walk more." The Tsuchikage finished with the same tone that any grandparent used after single-handedly schooling a bratty child into submission.

Akatsuchi's smile was as wholesome and sincere as they came once he finished watching the scene that happened before him, his beloved old leader resumed his calm and carefree steps as if he hadn't just let everyone know who would precede himself as the mightiest shinobi in all of the Village Hidden by Stone, all the while leaving his granddaughter glued to her place in the ground with nothing but his words, the rest of the caravan resuming their gait and starting to flow around their promised leader of the future like a river around a rock.

Akatsuchi walked towards her and picked up the backpack that Kurotsuchi had dropped from the shock of it all, the burly man shouldered it like the feather it was to him. He turned the other way and follow the steps of his people. "Finally some silence."

"How are the preparations coming along, Shikamaru?" The Rokudaime asked candidly from his famous seat behind the Hokage's desk. "Did you work out my request to re-assemble Konoha's teams so that they could fit around any incomplete team the other Kages might register?"

"Tt." Shikamaru pretty much frowned at the mention. "I did, Hokage Sama." Shikamaru replied before dropping the Chūnin's files on the desk for the Hokage's pleasing. It had admittedly been a sharp idea on the Hokage's part to consider that not all villages may have completely filled three-man-teams to partake in the Exams, and they had written on the invitations that any sole individuals would have a place to participate as well.

The now regular eyes of the once Copy Ninja glanced down at the files the shadow user had worked on, knowing quite perfectly that they wouldn't need any double-checking or green-lightning since Shikamaru had been the one to work on them. "That's some nice work on your part, Shikamaru-Kun!" The former sensei congratulated calmly as he watched the younger ninja take a seat on a chair nearby.

"More like 'some troublesome work'..." The Nara sighed as his fingers idly played with the lid of his late sensei's lighter, a rhythmic 'zip-zop' of the metal breaking the warm sounds coming down from the businesses and people walking around the village. The topic had been one of major trouble for the Legendary Laze… 'Leave it to Kakashi to find better and more creative ways of denying me of my peace...' Shikamaru's mind complained as his eyes glanced out the wide windows and towards the cloudy horizon.

Kakashi's eyes smiled cheekily much more so than his perpetually masked lips, not a limb moving the slightest. "I take it that's a positive, Shikamaru-Kun. The more 'troublesome' you find your job to be, the better that means you're doing it."

Even Shikamaru had to crack a small smile at that, letting out a throaty chuckle to go along with it. Being the Chief Coordinator of the Shinobi Union meant a great deal in itself, the months after the culmination of the great war were hard on every nation and village across the land. Konoha itself had already gone through a reconstruction phase, and practically burned through two Hokages and counting in a quite short amount of time. Events like the upcoming Jōnin Exams were exactly what the union needed to keep the momentum of the peace and (hopeful) prosperity going; and of course it all had to be organized by none other than the resident Chief Coordinator and advisor to the Rokudaime Hokage: Shikamaru Nara.

"Well if that's the case you'll be glad to know, Hokage-Sama—" Shikamaru replied with a click of his lighter. "—that something tells me my job is about to get impossibly more troublesome."

To be continued...

Note: Thank you for reading! I appreciate you dearly; if I get at least one comment of any kind I'll release the next chapter as soon as I get notified! I'll repeat the same for the third chapter, and after that I'll try to update weekly!
Special thanks: Special thanks to FF author Jfalcon, writer of the masterpieces 'New Blood', and 'Old Souls', you can find more about him/his stories in the 'Favorites' section of my profile. He remains the primary inspiration in writing this fic, and in his honor, no matter what happens, I'll see (at least this one fic) to it's end.