Flash to the Future Series (Omakes, Backstories, Deleted Scenes, and More)

The Fall of Uzushiogakure Arc: The Remnant

(About year before the Third Shinobi War.....)

A dark haired man walked the halls of the Academy. His feet scuffed the hard floors and he shifted his arms once more to steady the stack of files he was carrying in his hand. His brown eyes wandered the dull halls of the building as he made his way to front entrance of the building. He had just gathered the results of this year's graduating rookies and of the other students.

He grimaced as his eyes drifted down to the report. That was one thing he hated about Kiri's academy. Having students to enter the Academy to be trained only to be pitted against each other and slaughter at the end of the final year was stupid. Sure it could possibly ensure that the strongest shinobis join their ranks, but sometimes quantity was better than quality. That truth was evident when they laid siege on Uzushio, an event that was nothing more than a lost memory now.

His grip subconsciously tightened on the documents at that though. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself before opening the school doors and exiting the building. He was instantly greeted with sight of fog. He groaned to himself as began to walk down the path toward the Mizukage tower. That was another thing he hated about his village. You could barely see a damn thing in this mist. It was no wonder the daimyo didn't visit the place as often. People here practically live and breath water.

The short jonin made hummed a small tune as he approached the Mizukage building. He adjusted his hitai-ate and straightened his slate gray flak jacket before he entered the building. He was first greeted by the receptionist was scribbling something down on a sheet of paper. He nodded to her and she nodded back as he walked toward the stairs.

The Mizukage building was a very tall building. If anything, it was very wide and cylindrical in shape. When you reached the fourth floor, there were out bridges that led to other buildings, acting as an extension to the tower. After one more floor, there was the top floor where the Mizukage's office was located. Usually things like Academy data would be reported to his office and left on his desk. However, the Headmaster was requested for a meeting today along with the rest of the council.

The young jonin had an idea of why that was. They hadn't been involved in a war in nearly 20 years now and he was pretty sure they were itching make their mark and show their enemies that they were still as strong as they were in the past. Relations with the daimyo have been shaky as well which was a matter all in itself.

When he arrived to the conference room on the fifth floor, he gave three firm knocks on the door. He heard deep 'come in', prompting him to open the door. When he entered the room, he was greeted with the sight regular sized table with a few chairs. Seated in these chairs were four people. The one that stood out, was the man sitting at the head of the table with the kage hat sitting in front of him.

Although he was sitting, the man could tell that he was tall. His eyes were black sclerae with no visible pupils and he had long, black hair that stopped at his back. He had what appeared to be peal shaped objects that encircled his head and he looked like he was middle-aged. His outfit consisted of the standard Kirigakure attire complete with pinstriped arm and leg-guards, over which he wore a sleeveless haori with ragged ends and a poncho-like scarf around his neck. His gaze was intense and the young jonin shifted a bit uncomfortably.

Unlike the other shinobi villages, Kirigakure did not have a council. All decisions were made by the Mizukage. While there were times the kage would summon a few advisers for advice, they were usually no more than four and they were called at random. There really was no position of village leadership other than the Mizukage. Jonin, ANBU, and Oinin commanders were chosen by the Kage and they all answered to him.