<hr/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: trajan pro;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 16pt;"><strong><span class="bbc_u">Prolog: First Friend</span></strong></span></span></div><hr/><br/>"....and this one?" asked the woman as she pointed at a bright green plant with thin, pointed leaves that turned red about halfway up and then black at the very tips.<br/><br/>Kino smiled confidently, "Easy!  Dragonroot.  Chewing on the leaves after boiling them for ten minutes can help keep up a shinobi's concentration for extended periods of time.  Crushing the leaves into paste also soothes burns.  However, one shouldn't touch the root with bare hands as the root can cause severe skin irritation."<br/><br/>The woman smiled and nodded, "Great job.  I'm so proud of you, Kino.  You described the effects of the Dragonroot's specific parts.  However, you misidentified the plant before you.  At first glance, this<em>does</em>look like Dragonroot, but if you look more closely, you'll notice a faint, cloying, sweet scent.  Dragonroot doesn't have that.  The plant here is actually a cousin to it called Drakestem.  If you chewed on these leaves, you would quickly discover that it has the effect of causing numbness.  Crushing those leaves into paste would also give that same feeling.  The root, however, is full of nutrients if cut and cleaned correctly.  Look carefully at the base of each stem and you'll see these little thorns.  They are easy to miss."<br/><br/>And so it was.  Drakestem instead of Dragonroot.  How could he have missed such an important difference?!?  Kino stood there mentally kicking himself.  He knew the differences, but he had been far too eager to finish his mother's weekly lessons so he could go out and explore the village.  That frustration must have shown on his face as the woman laughed, "Okay, I'll let you off this time, Kino, but you have to do better next time.  Before you know it, you will be enrolling into the Academy, so you can't afford to make mistakes.  Next week, we'll be learning about some of the most valuable healing plants.  Now, run along and have some fun, okay?  Young men like yourself should enjoy playing as much as you can."<br/><br/>Kino smiled and stood up, happy to finally be done, "Thanks, Mom!"  He turned and began running out of the greenhouse, one of several located behind his family's home.  As he ran out, he heard his mother's voice call out behind him, "Be careful!  And hurry home before dark!"<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://static.turbosquid.com/Preview/2014/07/12__04_51_30/WoodenMannequinRunning_85.jpge6c4142f-7feb-43d8-ab93-4b9eebb7416dOriginal.jpg)</div><br/>Once Kino had escaped the botany lessons of the week, he made a beeline straight to his room.  At nine years of age, he was finally starting to receive the basic training that all ninja of the Puppet Clan received.  He'd just turned nine around five months ago and just three months ago, he was able to manifest his first chakra string.  From there, he was able to spend the next weeks after practicing to form as many strings as he had fingers.  As of now, he was only able to form six strings, but he was working on forming the seventh!<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/naruto/images/1/18/Sunagakure_Symbol.svg/revision/latest?cb=20100714205222)</div>As soon as he was able to form the first five, he'd been given a special training puppet by his father, who was an ambassador from Sunagakure that now lived in Konohagakure.  This puppet was small, only about a foot tall, and was very simple in design.  It had no weapons, no tricks, no modifications of any kind.  The head was smooth and where the face would have been, there was the painted symbol of the village hidden in the sand.<br/><br/>In any event, this little training puppet was Kino's most prized possession and one he practiced with often.  The arms and legs weren't nearly as articulated as those of the kind used by full-fledged Puppet Ninja, but it was better than nothing.  He'd been practicing with it for a little over a week now, trying to strengthen the seventh string so he could begin working on the eighth.  It was hard work, but he was determined that he would be the best Puppet Ninja, better even than his Uncle Kankuro!<br/><br/>So, without wasting a beat, he attached the puppet to the strap that it came with and slung it over his shoulder before rushing out and into the village proper.<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/><br/>Kino had a little spending money, but wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it yet.  He'd thought about perhaps getting some paints and coloring the puppet to make it look better, but he wasn't sure his dad would approve of that.  No, for now, it would be best to keep it how it was.  In the meantime, he'd just discovered a nice, quiet place a few days ago.  It was perfect for practice and there was a large tree there too!<br/><br/>As he ran through the streets, dodging and weaving around the people going on their daily lives, no one really questioned seeing the pale-haired boy with the puppet on his back.  He'd been born there in the village nine years previously and was, by now, a rather common sight.  Most of the adults didn't seem to mind him and accepted the fact.  After all, Kino's father was an ambassador who was there to keep the peace between the villages and his mother was a kind healer.  The other kids about his age, however, were another story.  For the most part, they always seemed to exclude him from their games or find ways to avoid him.  That wasn't to say that this was always going to be the case, but that was how it was now.<br/><br/>So, that's why Kino found himself coming to a halt in the little, quiet clearing that always always seemed to be empty.  It was a little off the beaten path with soft, green grass and a thin walkway made of sanded stone leading to a couple of benches under a tree.  Only once did he find an old woman there, resting, so that day he'd left the area alone.  She wasn't there now, though, so he'd have some fun.<br/><br/>Kino slid the small puppet off his shoulder and detached it from the strap.  Just as he was about to attach his chakra strings to it, he heard a faint mewling sound from above.  Leaving the training puppet sitting on the ground, he slowly walked towards the tree and looked up.  Sure enough, there was a small cat in the crook of a branch about ten feet up.  He wasn't sure he could quite climb the tree though, so he tried to see if he could coax it down by calling it.<br/><br/>So focused on the small cat, he wouldn't have noticed anyone coming into the little area unless they called out or were almost standing next to him....