Chapter 1
After a tentative peace between the Elemental Nations, life is slowly getting back to normal. The Nations are healing their wounds while still keeping an eye on the others.
Sadly, it doesn't last.
Less than 2 years after signing the peace treaty, Konoha is partly destroyed by the Kyubi and Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage, ends up sacrificing his life to beat the Biju. His death is one of the worst things that could have happened. Why ?
Because he was the one keeping Iwa away. He single-handedly stopped the War by killing hundreds of Iwa shinobi in a few minutes. This is where he got his nickname "The Yellow Flash of Konoha". With his new reputation, the other countries signed a ceasefire in fear of suffering the same fate.
But with news of his death, the Kages waste very little time to declare war again. The Leaf had had less than a year to rebuild and train his shinobi for the inevitable. Thus, the Third Ninja War resumed. And it is worse than before.
2 years later, the war is still raging and each village needs as much soldiers as possible.
A 3 year old Saeko is wandering Konoha's streets alone. She was kicked out of the house for her mother's birthday, they didn't want her around the guests. It's been hours since she was kicked out and to pass time she sits on a bench and closes her eyes. She is trying to understand why she always knows when there's someone behind her and she has to pinpoint what it is exactly. Until now, she found out that because of it, she can tell where people and animals are.
She has a mental map of the streets 329 feet around her but she can't tell what the dots are. Some are big, some are small, some are bright and others dull or even blue, red, green, brown and purple !
After 15 minutes, she opens her eyes. The dots in front of her, the dull ones, turn out to be a mother and her daughter. Those on her right, big and bright with a mix of red, brown and purple, are shinobis talking with each other. And the dots on her left, dull ones, are birds.
So, she can differentiate shinobis from animals and civilians using the brightness of the dots. Useful. She spends another hour guessing what is in front of her and what the colors mean. The colors... She still doesn't know but it probably has something to do with ninjas.
It's time to move !
Trusting this new ability not to let her run into someone, she walks around the streets with her eyes closed. When she has enough of not knowing what it is, she searches for a bright dot not far from her and finds not one but three. Three is better than one, at least one of them should know the answer.
"excuse me, shinobi-san ?" she tugs on the coat of the one with black hair tied in a ponytail
"mmh ? What is it ?" he lowers his head and looks at her as the other two stop talking
"I was wondering if you or your friends could help me with something"
"what is it ?" the one with blond hair asks with a smile
"you see, for as long as I've been able to remember, I've had this weird ability. So today, I tried to understand what it was but I don't know what it is"
"what does this weird ability do ? Does it make you feel sick or is it something else ?" the blond asks again
"not at all, it's... I can tell where people and animals are ? Kinda ?" she frowns and tilts her head
"how old are you, kid ?" the black haired man asks
"3. Why ? Is it important ?"
"yes and no. What's your name ? I'm Nara Shikaku"
"I don't know if I am allowed to tell you my name... I think I'm not even supposed to talk to strangers..." she mutters "Mother told Sakura not to but she never tells me anything so, can I or not ?" she puts her finger to her chin, lost in thought "Well, my name is Haruno Saeko"
"you sounds very smart for your age Saeko-chan"
"thank you ...?" she beams
"I'm Yamanaka Inoichi"
"hai, thank you Yamanaka-san. So, what is it called Nara-san ? And why is it important to know my age ?"
"if I'm not mistaken, you are a sensor. And you are a natural born if what you said is true. As for why it's important... What do you think of Shinobi ?"
"you like to ask a lot of questions before answering mine" she pouts
"she got you there Shika” the only one she doesn't know the name of laughs “I'm Akimichi Choza by the way"
"yeah yeah" Shikaku rolls his eyes
"nice to meet you Akimichi-san. To answer you Nara-san, I don't really know anything about Shinobis. For one, I'm three" she rolls her eyes "and two, I'm a civilian. Civilians don't know anything about them besides that they can run on walls, they kill people and they are powerful"
"not that bad for a three year old. I don't know if you are aware but we are at war"
"I heard Mother talk about it once but people in the streets talk about it a lot more and I spend a lot of time listening to them"
"alright so we are at war and people like you, sensor, are valuable in a war. Do you want to know why ?"
"yes please"
"sensors can detect people far away and they can prevent ambushes or they can detect where the enemies' camps are and help the village prepare for a fight with the exact number of foes. Do you understand where I'm coming from ?"
"I think so..." she taps a finger on her chin "You want me to become a shinobi to help Konoha right ?"
"you're right"
"can you tell me what you do ? If I know more about it, I'd have a better understanding of the life I would live if I accept"
"you are weirdly thoughtful, you know that, Saeko-chan ?" Inoichi says
"is it a compliment ?" she tilts her head and squints her eyes "I'm taking it as one"
"it is" he laughs good naturally "My daughter is the same age as you but she would have say yes without thinking"
"ah, I see" no she doesn't but she wasn't going to say it out loud
"you still want to know ?" Shikaku smiles with amusement
"of course. If I am a sensor and the shinobi's life suits me, I'd be happy to help" she nods
"alright" he shrugs
Shikaku tells her all about the shinobi's life with Inoichi and Choza input from time to time. He tells her that they kill, they hunt traitors and people down, they train a lot, they torture and interrogate people, they infiltrate ennemies's territory and village... When he stops talking, Saeko is silent.
The three men let her think about everything they said and talk quietly between them. Finally, after ten minutes, she opens her eyes and nods decisively.
"all right. I made my decision"
"would you like to tell us ?" Inoichi asks with a smile
"I accept to become a shinobi of Konoha" she smiles then frowns "But I can't do it now. As a civilian, my parent's permission is a must but they won't accept"
"oh ? And why's that ?"
"because they don't like me very much. They adore Sakura but despite me and we are twins" she looks down
"I see. You still have a year before you can enter the Academy if you are interested. With the war, you can enter between 4 and 7 and if you are strong enough you can graduate early. You know my name, come find me if your parents don't let you enter next year and I'll take care of it" Shikaku offers
"thank you Nara-san !" she beams "You as well, Yamanaka-san, Akimichi-san" she bows
"don't worry about it kid. Take care" he leaves with Inoichi and Choza
Saeko sprints toward the library, she has a year to be good enough !