A / N: Here I have the first chapter of my latest fan fiction. I wish you a lot of fun with it and thank you for your lovely comments. I was really happy!

As a precaution, I also have to refer you to the data at the beginning of the chapter. There might be some confusion, so it's better to see the date of the prologue again in case you can't remember it and I doubt it's any different: D

And now again: have fun!


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Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End


~ Konohagakure, June 19. , 18:45 ~



With her face in her hands, she leaned over her desk. She felt miserable. She had never felt so bad and incapable in her life. It was her job to be strong. It was her job to keep her cool. But why didn't she make it this time? Why were so many thoughts buzzing around in her head at once that she got a headache? Why couldn't she just approach things rationally and come up with a good plan? How so?
Questions she couldn't find an answer to. And which the ANBU unit, which had left their office a few minutes ago, could not answer either. As a Hokage, of course, she was the first to be notified, but that did not help her out of her predicament.
Damn what was she supposed to be doing? It was desperate. It wasn't her way to hang her head so early. It was not for nothing that she was the Hokage Konohagakures and had earned the well-deserved reputation of a brutal Medic-Nin.

But this was definitely a different matter. A serious, critical situation. The ANBU unit had just reported to her that there had been new assassinations and that many innocent passers-by had been killed. And whose fault was that? Naturally. Your!After all, it was her country and she had to make sure that everything went right and that someone couldn't kill someone indiscriminately in their forests. But what could she do when she didn't even have the slightest idea who was responsible? All investigations so far had come to nothing. None of the ANBU units she had previously engaged had been able to provide her with useful information. Nobody could help her out of this predicament. Nothing and nobody.

Sighing, the Hokage put her hands on the table and let her gaze wander around the room. Bland and bleak, as always. The shelves were neatly lined up, the pictures were just hanging on the wall and Shizune had even recently tidied up the small cupboard with her documents. Sighing, Tsunade averted her gaze and stood up. Her head ached as if she had been drinking sake all night and she had the feeling that the pain would be her companion for a long time to come.
She went cautiously to the large window front of her rather small office and stared out. A dark network of clouds hung over Konohagakure and bathed the village in a dark light even during the day. The sun hadn't shone in days. It hadn't rained, but the mood in their village was still gloomy, as was the sky. Even now she hardly saw a villager. It was strange because otherwise the village was full of hustle and bustle and everyone went their way peacefully. But today it was different. There was no one to be seen, apart from the few stragglers who had to do some quick shopping or those who were walking home from work. It was depressing to see the sky control the mood. She would so much like to do something about this chronic sadness that seemed to afflict her village, but she didn't know what.

Nor did she know what next steps to take to catch the unknown killers in her country.She didn't know what to do to find them and neutralize them. She just didn't know anything. She was more powerless and incompetent than ever before in her life. Never before has she been as influential as in these days and that when she was Hokage and one of the most powerful leaders in the ninja world.
What could have happened that she suddenly had to experience such a setback? What could have happened that made your village, your country suffer so much?
She must be able to do something!

Sighing, she let her gaze wander over the roofs and stared into the forest. The green was unusually dark from the weak light and radiated something mysterious. But before she could and wanted to think about it further, she closed her eyes in exasperation.
"What do you want?" She asked into the room when she noticed someone. A tall, white-haired man approached the desk and smiled at her back.
"Wondering how you are, maybe?" He replied with a gentle undertone and a grin on his face.
"How am I, hey? How am I supposed to be, Jiraiya?" She asked angrily and turned around to fix him with her evil twinkling eyes. "Again people were killed! And they didn't even have the slightest chance to save themselves and escape! They were just killed! Zack and dead! How am I supposed to be, hey? How?"
"We'll manage it. If the ANBUs—"
"Yes, of course. I always hear the same thing! I've been told for weeks that we'd make it. Just how? How are we supposed to do it? How are we supposed to find and catch the murderers? How are we supposed to protect the villagers from further attacks "We don't even have a clue, Jiraiya!" Tsunade interrupted angrily. "And now I just don't know what to do anymore! Never in my life have I been as powerless as I am now," she continued a little quieter, but still stared at him angrily.Sighing, Jiraiya stepped up to her and put his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. Oddly enough, she let it happen without getting one of her usual tantrums.
"The villagers know that you are trying everything. They are not angry with you. They do not hold you responsible, you have to be aware of that," he replied with an extraordinary calm in his voice, while his typical grin was still on his lips . "Don't put yourself under such pressure, then you'll come up with something again, Tsunade. You can't work properly under stress, you have to know that best, right?" He added with a laugh.
"The village is relying on me to put an end to this. And I haven't done that before. How can I not put myself under pressure? Time is running out, the murders are more frequent and all I can do is wait until one of the ANBU units can tell me more! ", she replied sullenly and crossed her arms over her chest to express her displeasure.
"What else do you want to do? Make yourself on the way? You know exactly that it won't work!" Jiraiya replied a little louder and whirled Tsunade around to look into her eyes, but he continued to hold her firmly on the shoulders.
"What if that's the only way to do something?" She yelled at him. "If that's the only way to put an end to it?"
"Tsunade, you mustn't! You have to stay here and take care of the village! If something happens to you-", Jiraiya tried to change her mind and shook her violently, but he was interrupted by Tsunade.
"If I stay here, I'll be of even less use to the village! I have to go now to do something! This is the only chance to find these damn murderers and bring them down!" She snapped at him sharply as she Jiraiya's hands slipped off her shoulders.
Before Jiraiya could reply, they heard loud footsteps in the hallway, followed by loud knocks on the office door.Before Tsunade could allow the uninvited visitor to enter, the door was pushed open and a man in a black uniform and an ANBU mask entered the room.
"I have important news, Hokage-sama!" He said as he closed the door again.
Tsunade's muscles tensed instantly. 'Important news' he said. Could it be that he—?
"What kind of news is this, Tenzo?" She said her thoughts out loud and looked at him expectantly. If he actually had this information, after so many weeks she could finally do something and come up with a good plan!
"It's about what happened over the last few weeks, Hokage-sama. My ANBU unit found out that the—"
"Wait a minute," Jiraiya interrupted and walked around the table, shaking her head, to stand between Tenzo and Tsunade and look from one to the other. "Does that mean you've finally found out who is responsible?" He asked Tenzo with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Hai, that's it, Jiraiya-sama," he replied seriously after taking off his mask. His expression was serious and auspicious and his brown eyes alternated between him and Tsunade.
"Jiraiya, shut up", Tsunade intervened again. While Jiraiya and Tenzo had spoken to each other, she sat down behind her desk again, resting her chin on her hands and looking angrily between the two of them. Now she turned back to Tenzo and looked up expectantly. "Go on," she asked.
"We found out a few minutes ago that there was a Shinobi group from Amegakure behind all the attacks. Apparently they already have a huge army of Shinobi and as far as we could find out they are on the direct route to Konohagakure," he said without to hesitate. Hence there was silence.Only the quiet breathing of those present and the distant rumble of a wooden cart being pushed across the uneven floor of Konoha could be heard.
"Amegakure?" Jiraiya repeated seriously after a while.
"Hai," confirmed Tenzo.
"And you say it's a whole army?" Jiraiya asked.
"As far as we could find out, yes."
"And also that you are on your way to Konoha?"
Sighing, Tenzo nodded. "Unfortunately it looks like this, yes."

Silence again. This time more oppressive than before. None of them expected that the danger would be so great. That the incidents could become even more serious than they already were. That the country was in even greater trouble than previously thought.
But this report left no doubt. Konohagakure should be attacked.

"How far are you?", Tsunade broke the silence with her loud voice. A slight frown had settled on her forehead after Tenzo and Jiraiya had ended their conversation. What on earth was she going to do when the army was close by?
"At the moment they are still near Border Town, near the Amegakure border. We still have time to prepare," said the ANBU member.
A deep sigh filled the room, which