Uchiha clan compound,
"I just had a vision, "Fugaku said, wiping blood from his eye, "Even at over 40, I still can't control it." Fugaku had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan during the 3rd shinobi world war, and over a decade had passed, but his visual prowess wasn't completely mastered. His left eye gave him the ability to manifest and control powerful pale blue flames, Yakinitsu, and his right eye gave him time perception, flashes of the future.
Ever since he retired from the war, he hadn't let up on his training, even with his duties as clan leader; his strength was one of the deterrents protecting the Uchiha clan from a siege by the Hokage faction. His mastery of fire style had advanced further, using his blue flames as a reference. His genjutsu was so powerful that it seemed like an ability of his Mangekyo sharingan, with his greatest strength locked away, the refinement of his basic abilities made him a terror on the battlefield.
The burden of leadership only gets heavier, but you must choose to become stronger or get crushed by it. His father had pushed him hard, and he, in turn, had pushed Itachi to depths he knew the Uchiha could reach. Reading their tomes, he had concluded that, compared to Madara Uchiha, what he was capable of seemed like paltry tricks. The Uchiha and Senju carry such strong bloodlines that it was insane not to invite the Uchiha if your opponent had hired the Senju.
The Uchiha were indeed far too weak for someone of no significance, such as Danzo, to dare to scheme against them. Peace had withered down their pride as Uchiha.
"It seems that the future is rife with strife. I must do my best to protect the clan and village." Fugaku muttered as he recalled the scenes that had flashed through his mind. "Are we going to be okay?" Mikoto asked, her hands trembling; she knew that despite the cold stares of the hawk faction, her son hadn't betrayed the village. Many in the hawk faction had taken it as fact that Fugaku had exiled Itachi because he feared Itachi would usurp him as clan leader and fight for the clan.
Fugaku could only shake his head in awe of how the Uchiha pride can blind even those blessed with the Sharingan. The Dove faction had, however, renewed their faith in him as the clan and village were recovering, even if Itachi going rogue had created waves, and it seems that things were calming down somewhat with more emphasis placed on training the current generation of clan heirs to match up with the strength of the current clan heads.
Kumogakure was still expanding its military might and wasn't stopping anytime soon. Iwagakure was following suit, using its vast lands to increase its population and economy. Kirigakure had entered a recovery period where its strength would bloom as loss fertilized the ground to give birth to shinobi that sought strength in hatred and injustice as their gaze was turned onto the leaf in the wake of the revelation that the 4th Mitsukage was controlled by the sharingan.
Recent events like the death of several of the advisors of the former Mitsukage had died in a short span of time, and efforts to secure them were met with the deaths of their shinobi. Someone was cleaning up after themselves; it only drove deeper their scepticism towards Konoha.
In Konoha;
A few days had gone by, and Takao had finished brushing up his students' taijutsu skills as he headed towards them, "Okay, about a month has passed since you left the academy, and it's time to begin with missions. Meet me by the Hokage building at 6am sharp tomorrow." Takao left while his students were bubbling in excitement.
The following day;
Kudo was jogging along the streets of Konoha, his gravity seal was deactivated, something that his sensei had insisted on. Without the extra weight, his steps were lighter, and his body moved with more fluidity. He could use the seal up to 3 times the force of gravity, but no more than 30 minutes, as he felt like his body was about to break. He kept up the seal during physical conditioning but fought without it to get used to his enhancements without a long adjustment period.
Reaching the building, his teammates were already there, geared to go, their eyes perked up at his get-up. His armor had turned a couple of heads along the way as he came over.
"Morning, I know it's awesome," He grinned, looking at Ai and Enya, both about to burst with questions, "Uhh, morning to you too, but what the heck?" Ai closed in on him, walking around him.
"A bit much, don't you think? We are probably doing a D-rank mission," Enya said from the side, but he couldn't hide his envy.
"Indeed," "Ahhh," Takao's sudden response sent them squealing. Takao focused on the cluster of the trio, looking at him hatefully, "Sensei!!" The groaned in annoyance. Takao had a habit of leaving just as he arrived, which was the body flicker jutsu. Given that he wasn't really that handsome, according to his students, they didn't understand his rush.
"Enough theatrics, I already registered the mission with the task hall." Takao said, bringing out a scroll, "But why?! Now we can't meet the Hokage." According to rumors, every team was assigned its first mission by the Hokage himself.
"You will do that later. Let's get moving. Kudo, you might want to take that armor off unless…" Takao said, disappearing over the horizon. "Unless what?!" Kudo shouted following them, his armor soundless despite the plates of iron; only his footsteps were felt by Takao as Kudo's concealment was poor compared to whoever made the seals on the armor. 'A seal master, huh? How wealthy.' He kept his thoughts to himself; a seal master wasn't someone you could hire just because you wanted to, except for grandmasters, who were few; seal masters served as the top-most experts in the civilian markets, offering their services to large merchant groups and Daimyos of the villages.