[In the Village]
The Takikage was in the middle of a lecture to this years senior class of genin, they were preparing for the upcoming Chunin exams and he was conducting a walk through his method of battle thinking, the art of purposeful observation, how to identify then orient oneself to the most imminent threats, common means and methods of making the most of the environment and current situation, and a quick mental checklist to internally verify decisions before putting plans into action.  The lecture, truth be told was a bit too advanced for the genin however the some of the more advanced students, those who were either naturally inclined or studious nodded along grasping the tendrils of understanding.

It was during this lesson that his head suddenly jerked to the west. A practitioner of an advanced sensor jutsu [Minds Eye of Kagura] he was able to find and track chakra over vast distances. He did not normally monitor the comings and goings of the villagers chakra signature however, much like a rock splashing into a pond might draw ones attention, so did this new chakra stand out to him. It was large, larger than a typical shinobi but more than that it did not look the same as any shinobi's he had ever seen before. It was not something he could describe easily. The best he might have been able to explain, a normal shinobi's chakra looked more to him as an light blue fire, the edges of it whisking to and fro. This chakra did not seem like a fire, but a stone its edges rippling rhythmically. It was this anomaly that stood out. 

"Muzen" The Kages voice was deep but kind. Appearing next to him, seemingly out of nowhere a tall masked man appeared. The mask white with a three blue curved streaks running diagonally across it. Engraved on the forehead was two zig-zag lines, almost like mirrored lightning bolts. The symbol of the Village.

"Sir" the man said as he appeared and knelt down in salute. His body was covered in a strange armor, his chest, greaves, and gauntlets standing out as particularly notable. It was quite unlike the regular armor worn by shinobi both of this village and of any other.

"To the West, a strange guest is approaching. Observe and report." The Kage spoke softly to the Shinobi, the class of genin sat by watching, some "ooing" and "ahhing" as the armored shinobi appeared and disappeared just as swiftly.  It was a rare treat to see one of the Kage's personal guard, as they normally kept themselves well concealed. Some of the genin talked excitedly as they tried to guess if there was another guard hidden somewhere in the room, pointing out to each other where one might conceal themselves.

"Now where were we, oh yes. Proper terrain analysis and how to exploit Earth and Water Release."

[In the Forest]
By the time Muzen had made his way to the target, she had already picked up one of the genin who was on a local mission. Muzen ran the genin's face through his recognition database. Busai Yamato, 4th year academy student. Muzen's database did not have any information relating to what mission he was assigned to be out here alone, but as he didn't deem the genin in immediate harm he continued to observe the pair from afar.

As the pair walked through the forest, they disturbed a flock of birds who took flight. The sudden sound and movement triggered an immediate response in the young genin, following his training he immediately made himself scarce, jumping up to the tree line above and lowering his profile against the tree branches.

Muzen watched this and made note, an idea formulating immediately. He kept his eyes trained on the stranger through. Like the Takikage he too practiced a sensory technique [Precision Chakra Sight], that allowed him to see clearly even the most minute changes in ones chakra. An extremely useful technique for predicting the moments and attacks of other shinobi as their chakra forms and moves before their bodies do. He noted that this woman also responded to the flight of the birds. Instead of movement though her response was controlled. She gathered her power to her hips, shoulders, feet, and forearms. A coiled spring. While she did not react in a wy normally perceptible she was at the ready to move or strike any threat if it revealed itself.

[Later]
Muzen has positioned himself in front and above the pairs advance, as they passed below he made a one handed ram-sign, triggering a scroll cartridge he placed earlier. It made the sound of twigs cracking not too far away from the trio. 

Again, the Genin startled at the sound jumped up to the treeline. This time however as he broke the canopy he came face-to-mask with a shinobi waiting for him. 

[Later and in the village]
The two emerged from the pond. Surrounding them was two teams of chunin, led by one of the jonin instructors from the Academy. The villagers had been cleared away from this sector of the village, perhaps going above and beyond but as the village was not large it did not easily sustain damage to its infrastructure or population. 

The genin explained the situation in a flurry to his quite disgruntled instructor, the instructor his eyes furious, his lips tight, but his head nodding along in agreement. 

After a minute or two, the Instructor turned to the visitor and bowed. "Thank you for assisting my wayward student" 

"Happy I help" His head remained bowed until the woman responded, her accent heavy, the words sluggish. "You are leader? Important I talk with leader. Important News. Very important news to give."  The Instructor motioned for her to follow, sending the boy running off with an angry wave. Vanya didn't know what was said between the two but estimated the boy was running to some manner of punishment.

They walked through the village with the two chunin squads in following closely. Vanya noted the shops and houses as they passed seemed empty. She reasoned that the pathway was cleared before her arrival. 

As they made their way up some stone stairs and arrived an elevated platform facing an ornate door that was carved into the side of the cliff. The man stopped and turned to face her. Their was two masked men standing by the door but the guards that had been escorting her remained at the bottom of the steps. 

"No weapons beyond this point, you must hand over your sword and anything else you carry". Vanya did not take the news well, some of the message she hadn't caught the individual words of, but got the gist of it.

Her hand had been resting casually on the hilt of her sword as she walked. Now her fist tightened. She was not comfortable leaving her weapon in a foreign land with unknown forces. It would be a terrible decision. A hundred thoughts passed through her mind in a moment. Most notably that it suddenly seemed strange that the guards were at the bottom of the stairs. She reasoned that the three that remained must be under these ninjas opinion, enough to contain her. She was tempted to dissuade them of that notion. 

In the end, the silence and stillness was broken when he sighed and undid the strap that held the scabbard to he belt. "Careful. Very precious to me" She said to the man as she handed it to him.  He bowed as he accepted it. She passed him a pair of small daggers as well, one drawn from her boot and one from her belt. 

The man nodded and stepped out of her way, motioning that she should advance. One of the guards however held up a hand to halt her, then wordlessly pointed to the center of her chest.  Most if not all, would have been flabbergasted by the act. The village had presented itself quite well thus far, this to observers was an odd crudeness out of nowhere. 

The woman however knew better. She did not know how the guard knew, but what he was pointing at was a pouch that sat under her shirt, holding her most precious belonging. One she would not part with, not even for an audience. She shook her head and said "No, this stays with me". He words deliberate, the accent still notable this time the phrase itself largely unbroken. 

The guard crossed his arms in response. It seemed they were at an impasse. As she turned back to the genin's instructor having resolved herself to try somewhere else a voice came through the door. 

"For the love of all that is wet and slimy can we hurry this along, I've wasted enough time sitting in this forsaken chair, lets get on with it" The masked guard practically harumphed in response, but none the less stepped aside. The other guard pushing open the engraved door. Vanya stepped forward.

[Three Days later]

The village was in a frenzy, several reconnaisance missions had been conducted in the last few days and the village council had finalised their thoughts. Vanya stood on the platform outside the Kage's office, looking at the assembled teams below in the village square. More than half a dozen teams, each consisting of 3 genin and their jonin instructor were preparing to depart. The Kage was down there with them, giving some sort of speech. They were to depart this very morning, each bringing tidings and invitatoin to the other Hidden Villages and even the neighboring "Land of Iron" A realm it sounded like, not all that dissimilar to her own. 

She had spent her free time trying to absorb as much of the culture and language as she could. Learning from her escort as much as she could of the state of the "Shinobi World", the different hidden villages and the lands they fought to defend. She did however think this moment best not intruded upon so instead removed herself and observed from afar.
Next to her stood an armored shinobi wearing a white-blue mask, visually he easily stood apart from the others of the village. He had been standoffish on the first day when he almost ruined her chances of meeting with the Kage, but she believed as she interrogated him ceaselessly that he seemed to be warming up to her.