Hidden in the lightning
                                                       Prologue

The squad moved quickly, jumping from one tree to another as they cut through the dense forests.
Night had fallen on land of the mist, the moon hovered high overhead, looming in the darkness of nightfall. Everything was silent, empty, cold, seemingly aimless and abandoned. Just the last abyss and mass grave full of cutthroat enemies already in the open.
But that’s why they had black ops and that’s why they were here, they belonged here, and that was the way it would stay, forever.
Soon they would cross the border into land of the sound, were the mission was located.
Inside the village hidden by the sound bas a man named Oriaki who was the chief instructor for a new ninja academy in the village.
The school was rumored to train the most elite ninja in the land that tore up Hijiraro's men in the land of mountains as the war between the mountains and Sounds raged on.
A client (Hijiraro) ordered an A ranked mission against Oriaki for 300 pounds of gold.
An elite squad of Black Ops to execute the man in his sleep. 6 elite ninja sent out to kill the only instructor that taught lighting style.

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They closed in, their pace increased as they shifted through the misty forests. Every possible aspect was painful and uncomfortable.
The cold air, the fast paced jumped hops and cuts against twigs, the tire and want for resignation, everything burdened on their backs and seamed to be heaving down and pulling them with it.
Everyone could feel they were sprinting into an ambush, their eyes ran in circles, tracing any possible movement and every member of the squad could feel the rush inside, the rush and excitement and will yet fear and agony.
Everything seamed to pass through like it always did. They had passed through everything so far, why not this?
Death was never a posibility, there was always a lose end, when they were on the edge of dieing some brilliant idea and perfect turns of combat would save them from a catastrophic defeat.
But things had changed, every member of this squad had grown up very much ever since they came to the land, hidden in the leaf, each of them had seen death and had learned of it and trained in its arts but none of them really understood it.
The forest was dense, its tree's and branches stretched out everywhere, all the plants were packed together, so dense and so painfully.
Every time they jumped from one branch to another, someone’s shirt would catch a twig or someone’s leg would crash against a hidden branch.
The forest was also very long, it was an easily accusable rout that lead right to the border. It was very silent and misty, due to the constant fog and densely packed woods, seeing in the forest was a heavy problem.
Everything seamed to blend together in a mixed blur, the mist would sometimes turn to a beautiful, multi-colored hue, complicating eyesight even more.
But time flew by and just as everyone got the hang of sprinting through the forest, the dense blur of green ended and the squad burst into the open plains.
Sasuke in the lead, followed closely by Sakura, then Naruto, Lee, Kiba and Choji that seamed to be lagging behind them all.
The moisty fog surrounded everyone, visibility was very limited but less complicated than inside the wounds.
Everyone was terribly tired but the mist proved to be pleasant as it's air pressed cool moist against their cheeks as the squad ran.
Suddenly Sasuke's eye caught sight of a man, lying out in the plain.
- "2nd squad! Follow me!"
Sasuke swiftly cut his run, turning to the right and sprinting towrds the body.
Nothing really ran through his mind anymore, he was used to this sight as a ninja for the most elite clan in the hidden lands.
After what seamed like an eternity of serving for the leaf, none of them were really scared or excited because of the dead body they approached, it was typical now. Like waking up or walking.
The 6 ran up to the corpse.
A Kunai knife lay stuck inside the mans neck, left of his throat. His head was turned to the right, laid down on the wet grass, allowing his brown hair to trail down and coloring the moisty plants with his pure, crimson blood.
He was in a wearing a perfect fit, loose black shirt with a red vest zipped over it, long black pants, a belt full of equipment and a black head band with a strange, red metal insignia carved into it.
Everyone stood upwards and examined the body, as Sasuke knelt down beside it, studying the man and his weapons.
He wasn't a ninja of the sound or the mountains.
Sakura looked around, the man was dead yet there wasn't a trace of his killers. The man seamed rather old and he had weapons, so he was probably a journeyman ninja or even an elite. Yet he was killed in one shot.
This all seamed unrealistic to Sakura, there had to be some trace of the battle, any ninja couldn't simply fall without putting up a long and brutal fight.
He HAD to notice something.
Thoughts ran through Sakura's mind, idea's, possible aspects of the battle, how the man was killed. Questions like- was there a battle or not? If there was, how did they erase all traces? Why didn't they hide the corpses?
All these questions made the young ninja very curious.
Sakura wandered off, searching for any possible remains of the battle.
Suddenly she saw something that completely caught her by surprise. Dozens of mountain ninja's, covered in terrible blood dripping burns, scattered all over the field in clumps of dead bodies.
She could hear moans of pain, faint breaths. She looked around feeling fear creep up her spine. It was horrifying, the wounds on the men were nothing she had seen before, like they were burned into them, yet not burned... like they were shocked.
Some bodies were blown away, arms and legs were blown away. The flesh, lay so open, the meat and blood was shown in a way Sakura had never seen.
It just seamed unreal, just to horrid to be true.
So many people were slaughtered like this, by who?
- "Sasuke!" shrieked the girl.
Everyone grasped their weapons, instantly freezing their staturous glares at the source of the sound.
- "Look at this!"
Sasuke walked over to Sakura, feeling his heart pounding in his chest from the shock and worry the girl had brought him.
He looked down at the clumps of corpses and wounded men.
- "These people ambushed that man in the black uniform, they presumed that he was a messenger but he turned out to be more than an elite ninja. He tore them apart but some lucky shinobi bettered him and caught him by surprise"
Sasuke raised his arm, in which he held a blood dripping, black Kanata.
The ninja walked over to one of the bodies that was sliced rather than burned, he brought the sword over to the wound, lightly putting the Kanata inside the cut.
The sword fit the wound perfectly, everyone saw and understood.
Sasuke ran his hand down the blade, allowing some of the soft, crimson blood get on his forefingers, placing them into his mouth.
For a second he tasted the blood, letting it pass through his throat that didn't welcome it. The blood wasn't cold like the moisty air, none of the moist even mixed with the blood.
Sasuke swallowed, emotionlessly.
- "This blood is raw- everyone turned towrds Sasuke in confusion -it's still warm, that means it hasn't been exposed to the cold air for to long, nor does it taste like water, that also proves it more. this man has been killed recently and if he was killed by the man in black, that means so has he"
Everyone nodded.
- "That means the men who killed him cant be far" said Sasuke solemnly.
- "Isn't that good?- asked Choji -if he killed men from the land of mountains that means he's from land of the sound, which is our target, right captain?"
- "Yes, but we are foreign forces, they don’t know of our mission due to enemy spies in the ranks of mountain shinobi. They might proclaim us as enemy reinforcements"
- "Or worse- added Naruto, everyone turned their attention to him and Naruto briefly enjoyed it before he continued -what if enemy reinforcements do come, this ninja must have colleges and people of his land and there are without a doubt, people from his land that exceed his power"
- "And if they arrive- said Sakura -they will proclaim us enemies and attack us"
- "I'm sure we can take them" said Kiba.
- "Maybe so, maybe not" replied Sasuke.
- "Hey! Were the Anbu Black Ops.! Who can take on us!?" yelled out Naruto.
Suddenly a Kunai knife whirled through the air, tearing through the space between it and Naruto's chest.
Sasuke slid the Kanata upwards, timing the strike perfectly and smacking the hurling knife away from Naruto, a split second before impact.
A loud clang thundered through the misty plain as the knife flung to the floor.
Everything stood still, frozen by the call for battle. The ninja scanned the valley, running their eyes to see as far as the fog would allow them.
Their minds exploded in crossfire, seeing all the possibilities and their responses, they thought of every attack that could come their way, measuring it, and timing it and their response perfectly so when the blow came, they would be ready.
The ninja drew their weapons, slowly preparing for any un-thought eventuality. The silence, it haunted them, each and every one knew that someone was out there and they didn't know were he is, so the only logical response was to stay together and wait for the blow to come.
Suddenly the fog cleared, all the moisty air disappeared and two dark figures appeared in the midst of the plain.
The two were virtually identical to the man that lay dead, except one had pale skin and the second had blonde hair.
These people were shinobi of the same clan, the same clan that fought for the land of the sound.
The two both had drawn their black Kanata’s. Everyone understood what the two ninja intended to do. They stood spread out, revealing their frontal body and spreading their arms to the side.
Suddenly the two touched fingers to their swords. Their voices erupted through the misty plains.
- "Lightning style! Shadow clone jutsu!"
Shadows of their bodies spread out, blurry outlines and a bright blue color floating in the air, growing into the form of the human body with a sword.
Then the bright blue glow disappeared and was replaced by the exact same black and red uniform.
Now 8 men stood against them, 8 virtually identical black ninja's.
Suddenly one of them disappeared with a "tsi'ff" sound. Everyone looked around in astonishment, the man had disappeared.
Then, as suddenly as he disappeared, the clone reappeared right before Choji.
The boy gasped in astonishment and sudden fear but the man just stood there, as if preparing to take down Choji but not quite landing the blow.
Choji grinned in anger, punching his plentiful fist forward with all his might.
Suddenly the ninja streaked forward and a split second before Choji could deliver the punch, he sped forward at lightning speed , maneuvering around Choji as he spun his blade into Choji's stomach.
The boy dropped in cries of pain.
Everyone looked down at Choji in fear and astonishment. All the good times they shared, all the happiness and joy that they spent together, now he was gone.
It was unbelievable, no one could accept the fact that Choji was dead or even wounded, they understood it had happened but it all just didn't seam real.
The black stood up from his squatting position and put his Katana to Sasuke's neck. Everyone turned inward to face him, preparing their knives and sharingan.
- "Surrender, I have your leader"
Everyone smirked, almost laughing.
Sasuke raised the Kanata and sliced it down, chopping down the man's hand. Then he pulled the sword back, striking it against the black ninja's cheek, cutting through his face.
- "No, you should have surrendered"
Suddenly, the 7 other ninja appeared in an encircling position around Sasuke and his squad.
Sasuke pulled out a kunai knife, grasping in with the same hand that held the Katana and reinforcing it with his second hand.
Suddenly, right in the middle of the formation, a blue glow erupted, everyone looked back.
The gash on the black ninja's face alit in blue glow, as did his arm, like it was regrowing in this light blue flesh.
The deformed body features re-grew and turned to normal, not a scratch on his body. the black ninja stood up as new.
- "Squad!- yelled out Sasuke -These are lightning clones! The only way to destroy them is to completely annihilate their bodies or to kill the original ninja!"
Sasuke streaked forward, slicing his sword horizontally. the black ninja made no response but just as the Katana drew inches away from the man's neck, in a flash he brought up his sword and blocked Sasuke's attack.
The Kanata bounced back in Sasuke's arms and flew against the black ninja once more, this time aiming at his feet.
Again, the black ninja waited for the last moment then swooped down his sword to block Sasuke's attack. Then instantly, the black ninja streaked forward against Sasuke.
He blocked the attack, but barley in time.
Sasuke and the black clone were caught blade to blade, Sasuke pressed forward against the clone as did the black ninja.
They looked in the eyes and somehow Sasuke knew he was fake, a clone.
Then, Sasuke fell back, separating his Kunai knife from the Kanata and jumping forward against the clone.
Sasuke pierced the Kunai knife through the clones chest and jumped away from him to face a second one.
He knew the first clone would eventually come back and regrow but the blow to the chest bought him time to find the original.
Sasuke looked the man he faced in the eye, now that it was intentional, he couldn't tell but Sasuke spun the Kunai knife in a horizontal streak for the man's face.
The clone pulled back, dodging the blow, then Sasuke burst forward with his Kanata, slicing it downward against the black ninja.
Again, the clone blacked but instantly he shot forward with his own attack. his wasn't flawless and as full speed as the first clone.
The lightning clone not only mimics the man it is casted from, it measures up to the mans full potential. However the original can not always live up to his full potential.
The man Sasuke was facing wasn't as powerful as the clone he had just faced. that meant this was one of the original's.
Sasuke blocked the attack, feeling glee and power build up inside him. all he had to do was kill this one man and half the clones are done.
Sasuke could feel something swiftly brushing up against his black.
Instantly he pulled up his Kunai knife to black the attacking blade. The second clone had recovered and was attacking him.
Sasuke spun around from his block, using both weapons. The Kanata sliced against the original, who fell back, avoiding the blow.
Then Sasuke continued the spin, slicing the Kanata into the clone's chest.
Then he fell into a crouch, Sasuke could feel his heart pounding in his chest for a second there. the adrenalin rushed through him, the tire yet enthusiasm and blood thirst.
Sasuke streaked into the air, raising his body about 100 meters over the battlefield.
He could see the whole battle from the chilling high altitude at which he was.
The two black ninja looked up at him in confusion, as did almost everyone.
- "Fire style! Fireball Jutsu!"
Sasuke curled his fingers into a circle and blew into it. An explosively large fireball flew out of his fingertips.
The fireball streaked down towrds the ground, plummeting directly into the two black ninja. Slowly it faded away from Sasuke until it broke apart in an earth shattering explosion.
Suddenly the confused faces of the ninja disappeared in midst of the spreading fire.
But none of the clones vanished, the original must have survived Sasuke's attack.
Sasuke ran his eyes around the explosion, searching for any trace of the original black ninja.
Suddenly he noticed the black dot closing in on him, flying upwards from the flat plain lands.
Sasuke rose his sword, preparing to strike the man down when he reached his target.
The ninja closed in, swiftly flying upwards towrds Sasuke. In a mere second the black ninja was inches away from Sasuke.
The time had come, even though only a second had passed, to Sasuke waiting for the perfect timing took forever but now it had come.
Sasuke swooped down the black Kanata.
It drew closer in closer, time almost froze for Sasuke as the blade neared the mans neck. He felt the thrill and excitement yet tire and fear but just as his power came out of control and the blade was to close to stop, Sasuke realized what a stupid mistake he had made.
The man disappeared, fazing out of the air just as Sasuke's blade crossed the space were the man's neck once was.
Sasuke felt the forceful kick against his back. The ninja plummeted downwards.
Sasuke managed to get a glimpse of the black ninja with his blade raised but then his body spun in the deep fall.
The last sight he saw was the blade swooping down.

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The ninja jumped down into a squatting position, standing beside Sasuke's bleeding body.
The boy lay down across the floor, an open gash on his right hip, gasping for breath but holding back the screams of pain that his lungs wanted to emit.
Sasuke's hip thundered in pain, like a part of it wasn't there at all yet it continued to swell and froze with pain every time his heart beat in his chest. He shortly remembered all the important memories that flew through his head. Joining the ninja school, hating Naruto, crazy girls obsessed with him, killing Itachi, Passing ninja school, joining Anbu black ops, Kakashi becoming the 4th Hokage, marrying Sakura and now... this.
Then his memory went blank, as well as his thoughts and every emotion that came along with them.
All the pain disappeared, all the shocking, freezing gashes, trapped in his hip. It all went away and faded into nothing. Just the darkness and emptiness, no thought, no emotion, just the blurry vision of everyone running away from tens of black ninja. Only one of them looked back at him, only one looked into his eye's.
'Sakura' and with that last sight, and last sight, Sasuke's vision faded into darkness as well as everything.

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- "Captain, should we kill him?"
- "That was the order from our client"
- "Sir, his fighting ability is superior to any man I have seen in Black training, he could be useful to us, as an instructor"
- "I agree, master Oriaki would be pleased, but we were ordered to kill him"
- "Oh what do they know? There the sound village, without us the land of the mountains would have slaughtered them in less than a week, we shouldn't obey them"
- "You are right Sikiro, this is vital to our emerging country. I have much to learn from my subjects, take the ninja prisoner!"