Shinobi Isekai!

TMI

Eight genin stood side by side in front of their commanding officer, taking up most of the room in the not unsizeable office. Sitting in the highbacked chair was Kakashi Hatake, one of the most legendary shinobi of his generation. To his right stood Shikaku Nara, Konoha's Jounin Commander, the scars on his face pulling at the corners of his mouth and giving him a permanent frown. On the left stood two of the most powerful shinobi in history, two thirds of the Legendary Sanin, the Slug Sage Tsunade and the Toad Sage Jiraiya. They did not look pleased to be there, but they weren't complaining, either, a sign of complicity if not acceptance.

In the two rows of chairs in front of the large, imposing desk sat the shinobi council, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane on one side and Danzo Shimura on the other, their aged faces grim.

Neji wasn't sure why he'd been called to the Hokage's office, but he knew better than to speak out of turn. While he was no longer certain about...certainty and all it entailed, instincts long honed by a place of subservience stilled his tongue.

The second son of the Inuzuka Matriarch had no such qualms.

"What's going on?" He demanded loudly, the dog on his head yipping in agreement. "Are we getting our promotions?"

That was impossible. Neji had lost his match against Naruto of all people, and the Inuzuka hadn't even made it to the finals. Nor had either the Yamanaka heiress or her pink haired friend, but they were both present, as well. He wasn't present for the Aburame heir's fight, but he was sure that the invasion made it difficult to award anyone a promotion.

"Mah," Hatake sighed, his clan's verbal tick dripping with a nonchalance cultivated for more than a decade. "One of you is getting promoted. Shimakaru, congrats."

The Nara heir bowed his head to the sitting Kage, not even acknowledging his father's proud smile. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Hatake made a show of grimacing—an impressive feat considering his mask—and waved the boy's thanks away. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. This is just a formality anyway. I'm officially giving you your first assignment as a chunin. You'll—." He cut himself off, pinching at the bridge of your nose and taking audibly deep breaths. "You'll be in charge of a task force meant to retrieve Hanako Hatake. The people you asked for are here, so have at it." Quite suddenly, he seemed almost haggard, his head held up by one hand.

"Wait, what happened to Hana?" Naruto demanded, speaking up for the first time. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet up to that point, but he voiced the question on everyone's minds. "I saw her yesterday!"

Shikamaru came to stand before the gathered genin, his arms folded behind a straight back. It was the most alert Neji had ever seen the young Nara, and it rang all manner of alarm bells. "Yesterday, sometime after noon, Hanako Hatake was abducted from Konoha. We know this," he continued, talking over the extremely vocal outrage that statement inspired. "Because her summons have been blocked. That is an S ranked forbidden technique and, while other nations may have been able to create something similar, the only official version is recorded in Konoha's vaults. Given their previous interactions, I believe it is safe to assume that Orochimaru had a hand in her disappearance. You seven are among my choices for a retrieval team."

"Wait a minute," the Inuzuka demanded, a growl roughening his voice. "I'm all for rescuing Hanako-chan, but what are a bunch of genin supposed to do against Orochimaru?"

"I agree. Why? Because even the Hokage fell to him. A team of genin, no matter how large, will be eradicated."

The Inuzuka and the Aburame were teammates, so their shared concern made sense, for all they rarely got along. Neji might have voiced a similar question, were he not completely stuck on the news Hanako had gone missing.