“Are we there yet?” Naruto whined as he, Clema, and Soria walked along a gravel path. The path was going up a hillside; there was grass and flowers all around.

“No.” Clema said sternly looking at him. “We’ll set up for camp soon.”

“Will we be there tomorrow?” Naruto asked looking around.

“No, the day after.” Soria answered looking at him. Soria looked at the gravel path. “Tomorrow we go past the forest…”

Naruto groaned. “This sucks!”

“Oh calm down!” Clema said hitting him on his shoulder. “You’re a ninja! This is a mission! Get over it!”

Naruto had an angry expression on. “No need to get pushy Clema.”

The sun was setting, and it was getting cold. Out of their backpacks they each took out sleeping bags. Naruto’s was orange, Clema’s blue, and Soria’s was green. They made camp under a tree by the gravel road.

“It’s getting cold.” Soria said as she finished laying out her sleeping bad. “Try not to get sick guys.”

“Oh please, like I’ll get sick from a little cold weather.” Naruto joked as he smiled. “I’m a tough ninja.”

As Clema took out food from her backpack, a small photograph fell out and blew over to Naruto. Naruto picked it up and turned it over. The picture featured Clema in a young man’s arms.

“Is this Ken?” Naruto asked holding the photo up. Clema was surprised to see him have it and snatched it out of his hands. “How did you get this?”

“It blew over to me!” Naruto pleaded. “I swear!”

“It did, I saw it.” Soria said quietly. Clema sighed.

“This is Ken.” Clema said pointing to his face, giving the picture to Naruto.

Naruto studied the picture and handed it back. “I see.”

Clema stared at the picture for a couple of minutes, not saying a word.

Darkness fell over the land, with a bright starry sky. When they lay in their sleeping bags, they looked up at the stars.

“It’s a beautiful sky.” Soria said as they observed. “You can’t see this in the Soul Reaper World main city, because of all the buildings.”

“True.” Clema said quietly.

“It’s hard to see skies in the Leaf Village like this also.” Naruto added. “I have to admit, it’s awesome.”

“Ken and I use to stare at the starry sky.” Clema said. “It brings me happy memories.”

Soria smiled. “That’s good.”

Clema smiled back. “Yeah.”

Early the next morning, there was a loud knock at Rose’s door. Rose struggled to get up, and yawned when she succeeded. Half awake, she walked to the door and opened it. It was Laura.

“Hey there sleepy!” Laura said smiling. “Today’s the day!”

Rose let out a long yawn again. “Yes, part 1 of the plan.”

“You know what to do.” Laura said with a serious expression. “Don’t be late.”

“I won’t.” Rose said smiling. “I have the greatest view of the city; I’ll be on my way once I see the signal.”

Laura started to turn away. “Good. Bye.” She walked away.

Laura stood in front of The Meeting Hall. The chilly wind made her long blonde hair and clothes move. She looked around. No one was around this early in the morning. She then looked straight at The Meeting Hall. She held up her right hand, and moved her hands in the position to snap.

She grinned sinisterly and snapped. The building burst into a fiery explosion. Broken glass from the building spread on the floor, and puffs of smoke went up into the air. The heat of the explosion was intense, and for a moment it seemed to be raining fire.

“Sleep tight, old man.” Laura said watching her creation.

“WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!” A voice rang out from behind Laura. She turned to see Mosabi running to her. “ASSISTANT CAPTAIN LAURA! WHAT HAPPENED?”

Fake tears ran down Laura’s face. “Oh Mosabi! It’s the most horrible thing!”

Mosabi reached her and watched the fire. “The Meeting Hall!”

“Yes!” Laura screamed. “I was walking by, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, it exploded! It must be Tusado or Aaron’s doing!”

“Damn!” Mosabi yelled. “Did The Master get out safely?!”

Laura looked at the fire. “No.”

Mosabi froze.

In minutes, all the Captains and Assistant Captains were staring at the fire, and yelling and screaming about The Master’s fate. Townspeople soon gathered, but Karin told them to go back to their homes. The last to arrive was Rose.

“Oh Rose!” Laura screamed when she saw her. “The Master’s dead! Aaron and Tusado killed him!”

Karin was in tears, being held by Mosabi. From his window, Shiro was watching the fire, waiting for Chiryuu to tell him what happened.

“Aaron and Tusado…” Ruko said clenching his fists. “Damn…”

Mosabi’s sword glowed in an aqua color, and water burst from it. In minutes, the fire was gone, and smoke was all that was left.

“The Meeting Hall…” Emashi said quietly.

Laura looked at Rose and nodded. Rose got everyone’s attention.

“The Master told me that if anything should happen to him, I would be the next ruler of the Soul Reaper World.” Rose yelled to everyone. “I just can’t believe that this could ever happen…”

“We need to respect his wishes…” Karin said whipping her tears away.

“We will get Aaron and Tusado back for what they have done.” Rose yelled. “We will!”

Everyone agreed and began clearing the damage. Laura walked past Rose and stopped. “Part One, Success.” She smiled and walked away. Rose smiled. “Master Rose, I like the sound of that.”

From on top of a nearby building, the muscular man observed everything. “How very interesting.” He grinned and vanished.