Blood Moon Pills

The Hokages' Office, "Konohagakure"

"You do know what happens if one of the other villages gets their hands on those pills right?" Mei Kurani the oldest of the village Elders squeaked towards the Seventh Hokage. She and her two brothers lived during the reign of all six previous Kage somehow managing to evade the grips of death for almost two centuries. The knowledge and secrets they hold in their old age made them valuable assets to Homura, but their personalities were...far less valuable.

Icy blue eyes lifted from papers and stared at the old woman before answering slowly "Very bad things...which is why I'm having my best out there gathering information." The Hokages' eyes drifted back to his papers where he looked them over again.

"I don't like that you're sending those Uchiha on a mission of such importance. They're not trustworthy."

The papers were softly set on the table as his gaze locked on Mei's brother. "Then it's a good thing you're not Hokage. None of you three should be speaking about trustworthiness when you all were involved with the concealment and cover up of the Uchiha Massacre. For twelve years the villagers were told that the clan was murdered by the Rogue Nin Masara Uchiha when in truth Predosuku blackmailed three children into wiping out their entire bloodline. You three were aware of this prior and didn't alert Lord Third until after the deed had been done which makes you just as guilty in my eyes. It is only because of your usefulness and the word of Lord Sixth that you are all here. You should all be in prison."

"They were planning a cou-"

"My brother is here, please get out of my office." Three set of eyes peered into the blonde with seething rage before lining up and exiting the office slamming the door behind them in anger. "Come in Kyushi." As his brother entered Homura seemed to visibly deflate, sinking into his chair. His hands covered his face and he sighed deeply "I hate those guys. I don't know how dad could deal with them." Rubbing his face he would lift his head and give his younger brother a tired but genuine smile.

"You've gotten taller. Not by much but it's something." Three picture frames lined his desk, one of Homura and his parents with Kyushi as a baby, the other of Homura, Kasumi, Junri and Hasaru Sensei and the last of just Homura and Kyushi posing together as young children. It had been nearly five years since his brother had disappeared leaving to search for his own path and while Homura was happy to see his return there was a knot in the pit of his stomach. There was so much he missed, Kyushi was a child the last time Homura had seen him and now he stood before him as a man. An engaged man.

It made his heart hurt.

Masking his pain was something the Seventh Hokage had learned to do well, and that was what he did here. Sliding the papers lining his desk Kyushis way he would allow him to look them over. "About two weeks ago we caught word over the wire that the facility built by the Shinobi Alliance to house the remains of the God Tree was broken into and a large section of the tree was taken. Luckily Kasumi and Kurugari were within teleporting range and prevented the entire tree from being taken and are now in pursuit of the theives. I wasn't given permission to bring the remains to the village but I was allowed to send Junri and Shisai to escort it to the land of Wind where the Kazekage will keep guard over it."

"The last I heard from the pair of Uchiha they had tracked them to the Land of Iron. Now we're just waiting for another report specifying their location or for the two to reappear here. Then we'll move out. I'm not sure how they plan to extract the power of the God Tree but I know that if they do keeping peace will be more difficult than ever"

Tapping his finger against his desk he would look at large map adorning his wall "I say we body flicker to the edge of the Land of Fangs and enter the Land of Iron under the guise of random passerby. We'll use clones to scout the country and find areas that are less densely populated in case a battle breaks out. If they've managed to harness the tree's power we'll need to lure them to these places so we're not dividing our attention between attacking and defending."

"The closer we get the harder it will be to keep the tree's chakra signature hidden from me, we'll head in, smoke out the criminals and continue from there."

"That sound good to you younger brother?"

@kyushi_

@homura_kitsune:

Within The Land Of Forest

The sky was a calm ocean blue, emitting a soft breeze that created a soft rustling of the leaves. Within the vast forest, a small house sat alongside a slow crawling creek. Within it, two lovers discussed their future plans

"So, do you have an idea of what these Blood Moon Pills do?" Sanori asked. She was in the corner of the house facing a mirror, making slight adjustments to her glasses and wardrobe. Kyushi watched her from the dining table, secretly admiring the woman he was going to eventually marry

"Other than what I was briefed about by Homura, nothing else. I'm sure he sent out some Uchiha after them. A threat this Great needs retaliation of equal or greater magnitude." He watched as she tugged at her sleeves, her 7-Prong Spider Lily fully visible. He didn't fully agree with her decision to stay with the Yūdokuna-Higanbana. He met Kokuse, their leaderi before, and didn't trust her in the slightest. But he never said anything of it, not wanting to make his fiance worry.

"Perhaps I should go with them? We are kin. And I can learn more about myself from them while making use of myself." She was now tending to her hair, combing her long black locks in delicate strokes. This reminded him that she hadn't told anyone else about her true bloodline, yet. He made a mental note to not mention it to anyone else yet.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll tell you about where they're located if I get that information. In the meanwhile, stay here and I'll send a shadow clone to you if I get that information. It's almost time, so I'll be back with the news soon" Before he flickered, Kyushi got up from his seat and approached his fiance. He placed his hand on her head, and planted a kiss on her ear. The little jump she did meant she took her by surprise.

"Don't be nervous, okay? Kasumi-Sensai would love you. And I'm sure that Kuraguri would have some form of respect for you. You'll do amazing. I know it"

□■□■□

He flicked into the waiting area of the Hokage's Office. Waiting patiently in front of the door, Kyushi couldn't help but overhear the conversation his brother and his advisors were having. When he was younger, he came to this office often, so he knew the personalities of some of them. But it had been five years since then, so he was interested in how they changed.

"...the Uchiha are untrustworthy…"

It was a statement he had heard before, too many times to count. And even worse, at one point in his life, he believed it. He read of the Uchiha Massacre in the official textbooks, and the arrival of Kuraguri didn't help shape his beliefs. But during his own journey learning under the gaze of Kasumi-Sensai and meeting Sanori helped shape his belief, now holding them at a greater respect. Seeing them as they are, instead of their past. Eventually, the door opened and the adisvored walked out with their heads down. Only to be met with the icy glaze of The Heaven's Kage ocean blue eye.

After they moved out of his eye, Kyushi entered the room and shut the door behind him. Seeing his brother instantly relax, made him feel a bit better. Although he didn't express it, he knew how hard-working Homura was. From taking care of himself and a younger brother while protecting a village, to now working countless hours in an office to with little to no hours of sleep. So to see him relax, even for the little it was enough for Kyushi to not be alarmed.

"I hate those guys. I don't know how dad could deal with them." Honestly, he was wondering the same thing.

'He probably asked the same question concerning the Hokage before him." Returning the smile, his eyes looked over to the pictures of his brother's journey. From when the two were just children, to their Team Seven. It was a journey he was proud to be a part of before he left for his own.

Now the ever so brief period of small talk and recollection was over, the reason that the two Kitsunes met was presented before him. He looked over the papers on the desk; a detailed map of the Great Shinobi Countries with the location of important personnel marked, a few reports of the thieves and suspects, and various photographs. Kyushi reviewed them over multiple types, eyes flickering between the bits of information, while taking in what Homura was saying.

"Have you talked to samurai Mifune about this? If they're currently unaware, they may take this as a sign of attack. And we don't want to accidentally start a war while trying to stop one. I'll send a Shadow Clone there to alarm them of the upcoming threat and our methods of dealing with them. And the possibility to arm themselves against these thieves. As well as who are our friends."

Two shadow clones appeared at his side, before flickering off elsewhere.

"I'm also sending some reinforcements to help the Uchiha group with their reconnaissance."

Eventually his own body flickered and he was in the Land Of Fang. The Jōgan dojutsu was activated, tracking the Chakra of nearby objects as well as any hidden threat lurking in the many shadows.

@kyushi_:

'He probably asked the same question concerning the Hokage before him."

"If he didn't he was crazy." Homura smiled and sat up straighter in his chair as his brother talked, he brought up a good point, one that Homura had slightly overlooked. "Mifune and I have been on good terms for a while now but having him assemble his forces is a good idea. Advise him to add more defenses to the Western and Southwestern borders of The Land of Iron. They can't head north because of the ocean, so that leaves them only two options of escape. But we'll be there to head them off."

The Seventh Hokage stood on his feet and moved toward the open window looking outside at the bustling city before body flickering away with his brother to the Land of Fangs.

Land of Iron

Kasumi and Kurugari Uchiha trekked through the snow filled terrain that was the Land of Iron, The snow so thick that the trees appeared as confetti, as if they were the flakes that danced. Everywhere there was light, every crystal magnifying the rays from above, the three Wolf Mountain covered with as much snow as there was, was as brilliant as any camera flash. They managed their distance well as to keep the ones they were tracking unaware of the ones tracking them. Kasumi's crow was a day ahead of the two shinobi giving the Shadow Hokage eyes on his targets from the sky at all times.

"Any word on when the Fox boy will arrive? "Kurugari said from the left, his Sharingan illuminating the darkness around them in blood red light.

"I sent an update two days ago, knowing Homura he's already on the way. We just need to continue our recon as planned."

Walking side by side with one of his ancestors never got less weird, knowing that one of the only surviving members of his clan predated his existence by almost two centuries caused a wave of what could only be considered as "weirdness" by the Uchiha prince. Their chemistry was immaculate, their thoughts, their coordination was all top tier, unmatchable. He had only felt this way when he was fighting alongside his brother and Homura.

Suddenly he felt Kurugari's hand fall against his chest halting his movement, as soon as he stopped moving he picked it up. A slight rustling of trees that wasn't wind, the subtle and almost undetetectable sound of footsteps against wood.

"We're being followed."

Unsheathing the Underworld Sword from it's Scabbard Kasumi and Kurugari lined up together and stared into the darkness with piercing sight.

Silhouetted by the pale light of the full moon, Sanori stayed perched upon a barren tree. The pale white snowfall reflected the crimson of her Sharingan, as she peered into the blind darkness with blood red sight. She has been following the pair of Uchiha for a short while, receiving the news from her fiancé's shadow clone. Although she remained still in the perfect silence, her mind raced with an array of thoughts. For some reason, she suddenly felt as if her Sharingan was a counterfeit. As if it wasn't rightfully her own. That she stole it from someone more fitting. The feeling nagged at her, slowly eating at her from the inside.

Perhaps she shouldn't reveal herself, simply flicker back home as if nothing happened.

But that wouldn't get her anywhere. She wouldn't learn anything about herself, about the clan she belonged too. All the support from the people she loved, would have been for naught. A burden she didn't wish to bear for simply having cold feet. She hopped off from her vantage point, and in front of the pair. Her Sharingan was deactivated, wanting them to judge her character before they knew of her bloodline. As if it were a test of her own worthiness to belong to the clan.

"Sanori Yukana. I was sent by Kyushi Mura to aid you in your recon."

Their red piercing gaze surrounded by the darkness demonstrated a reason as to why many feared the Uchiha. She walked ahead of them, feeling their gaze in her back as she continued their path. They traveled in silence, something she welcomed. The members of the Yūdokuna-Higanbana had the tendency of carrying conversation when it wasn't needed. Driving her focus away from the mission.

Instead, she could fully concentrate on the task at hand. She listened to the soft winds blowing around her, the crunching of feet on snow. She hasn't visited the Land Of Iron before, it was usually a taboo location for the Hatsu, due to the samurai that inhabited it as well as its proximity to the village Yukigakure and its Daimyo being the initial founder of their group.

Ahead of them, a small fire could be seen. She stopped and turned to the two Uchiha, as they had more experience in this tracking.

"Is that them?"