Minato had just passed on and the Third Hokage, Hirizen Sarutobi had his hands full with village repairs, damage reports, casualty reports, and so on. The people of Konoha were distraught and in mourning for losing some of their loved ones during the nine-tailed beast attack. The ninjas of Konoha also worked overtime to make sure that the reconstruction of the village went smoothly and as quickly as possible alongside protecting the borders in this delicate period.

Six months after the incident, in the month of April the fifth, a golden pillar of light pierced the heavens and the earth. The phenomenon could be seen around the entire plane of the world. The location of course was not too far off from Konohagakure. The Third Hokage immediately sent a small team of elite ninjas that he trusted and was capable enough to carry out the mission of locating the pillar of light and understanding the nature and cause of it.

Somewhere, in Konohagakure.

"You are to eliminate any ninjas on site even if they are leaf ninjas. Discover and bring back whatever caused that light. This is a chance to help the Village grow or a threat that could be culled now before it becomes the bane of the village." An old man with dark grey robes that covered the entirety of his right hand, the right side of his face is covered with tapes, he has a scar on his chin that looks like an 'X', and uses a walking stick with his left hand.

This old man is known as Danzo Shimura, he is currently in charge of an underground elite army of ninjas called Root. The Root was secretly developed and trained to remove any trace of emotion and to follow Danzo's orders without question. They even had orders to destroy themselves if they were ever captured, but Danzo made sure to put a seal on their tongue that would prevent them from saying or revealing any information about the root.

A squad of six cloaked ninjas wearing animal masks of different kinds immediately dispersed together at the same time as soon as Danzo was done giving his orders.

 Danzo turned around and thought about the time the Second Hokage chose Hiruzen Sarutobi to be the Third Hokage and how it infuriated him.

'Only I can protect the Hidden Leaf Village (Konohagakure), no one ELSE!' Danzo vented internally but almost voiced his thoughts as he squeezed his walking stick tightly.

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Meanwhile, a three-man squad was running on tree branches towards the last location known about the golden pillar of light. The ninjas who were selected and trusted for this mission are Hatake Kakashi, Guy, and Kurenai. The Third Hokage picked Kakashi because of his experience with scouting missions and his success with them. Guy was picked in case they encountered a troublesome enemy and they needed extra firepower at least until reinforcements arrived. Kurenai was also called upon to aid their escape and retreat with her excellent proficiency in genjutsu. The Third was confident in his selection and hoped that it was just rogue ninjas or bandits trying to take advantage of the delicate situation Konohagakure was in.

But the Third Hokage and other ninjas felt a burst of chakra and another strange energy source that was more abundant than the chakra felt. The village elders thought it was another tailed beast but the amount of chakra released was smaller yet more than what a top ninja could release or store. The third equipped them with chakra transmission devices that looked like headphones the squad could use to request for backup at any time. The Third relaxed himself only when he had assembled a decent-sized backup unit ready and waiting at the Third's orders to follow through.

"Oi, Kakashi! Why don't we compete to see who gets there first!" Guy said cheerfully as he revealed his pair of white teeth since he was getting bored of the long journey just running.

"This isn't a competition you know? We are here on a mission and-" Kakashi was cut off by Guy sprinting ahead of him at which Kakashi just shook his head with a sigh.

"I think it's fine since it's him that's going on ahead." Kurenai chipped in with a smile. Kakashi looked at her and was about to agree until Guy said something that piqued his interest

"The loser gets to buy the winner ramen for a whole month!" Guy laughed as he boosted ahead.

'What does he mean by that? Most of my money was donated to the village development funds after my teacher passed away, I don't have that money to spend and Guy will never let me rest after this!' Kakashi quickly surmised in his head as worry washed over his face but he was thankful that he wore a mask. Kakashi without losing a second after that, chased after Guy.

"Kakashi!" Kurenai scolded Kakashi. He was supposed to be the team lead in this mission and should act like one but instead, he is getting involved in some childish rivalry with Guy was what went through Kurenai's mind. Kurenai couldn't bring herself to understand the way their minds worked.

Kakashi is exceptional as a ninja and it is not a stretch to say he is an all-rounder. His skills in tracking were almost unparalleled and he often used his nose to track like a hound amongst other senses he used. And now Kakashi was busy chasing after Guy. Kurenai simply let out a sigh and kept her pace since she needed all her chakra reserve to be near its peak by the time they reached their target since she didn't have a large chakra reserve unlike the two ahead of her.

The root ninjas with their knowledge of shortcuts and tunnels they have dug in the outskirts of Konohagakure got to the target first. The team lead who had a fox mask halted the group six including himself to a stop. The group was in awe when they saw the changes in the environment. The vegetation in the area seemed to glow, the trunks of trees looked full and robust, and the leaves looked luxuriant unlike normal. It seemed like a supernatural phenomenon had just taken place.

But what surprised them the most was just a few meters ahead.