Diplomatic Immunity
by Nezuko, Prince of Rats
This is a work of derivative fiction based on "Naruto" by Kishimoto Masashi.
When 17-year-old chuunin Saito Magatsu failed to return from the C-ranked courier mission, it was considered a fluke. Due to his relative inexperience – it was a solo mission in unfamiliar territory – at first he was considered "lost" and was expected to turn up soon, dirty and apologetic. When ten days had passed beyond his projected return date, a psych team from Intel probed into his background, but there was nothing to suggest he'd been a risk for going rogue. At fifteen days, he was declared MIA, and a recovery team was sent to trace his path. They brought back a dented set of dogtags, a shoe, and a few scraps of bloody cloth. There was no other trace of the missing ninja.
The mission was upgraded to B, and a two-person chuunin team was sent out to accomplish what Saito Magatsu had not. This time the personnel were more experienced. 26-year-old Mitsuwa Hisa had been leading missions since she was 15, had a talent for genjutsu, and was widely rumored to be up for promotion to "ToJo" or Tokubetsu Jounin in the next year. Shiotani Houji, 22, had his own fair share of completed A-ranks and solo B-ranks, and was a close-combat expert, frequently serving as sparring partner to members of the elite Hyuuga clan.
This time the remains were recovered.
Houji managed to get himself and his partner's badly damaged body to a Konoha outpost near the north-western border of the Fire country before he succumbed to his own injuries. He died about ninety minutes after arriving, but was able to tell the shinobi guard who cared for him in his last hour that it had been a powerful and previously unknown jutsu that had felled them. Hisa had taken a direct hit and died instantly. He had received a more glancing blow, started a fire to serve as a distraction, and been able to get away. But then the pain had started...
ooo
"The Hunter who did the field autopsy said there was massive, almost indiscriminate internal damage." Shizune said, reading from a small, handwritten scroll.
"And..." Tsunade tapped a pen against the edge of the desk.
"And Mitsuwa Hisa's internal organs were essentially pulverized from within."
"How about the one who survived for a while?"
"'Shiotani Houji. It appears he was hit with a similar force. His spleen and liver were both ruptured, pancreas bruised, left kidney pulped. His hollow organs suffered less damage – stomach, small and large bowel showed extensive swelling in some areas, seemed untouched in others. He died of shock due to internal hemorrhage and massive injuries.'" Shizune paused in her reading. "Doesn't this sound a little like...?"
"We need to talk to the Hyuuga clan." Tsunade cut her off, anticipating Shizune's question.
ooo
"Hokage-sama, while I appreciate the similarities, there are some important differences as well."
Hyuuga Hiashi knelt opposite Tsunade at the low table in her office. A cup of strong green tea steamed softly in front of each shinobi in conference there: the Hyuuga clan head, the Fifth Hokage, her assistant Shizune, and Konoha strategist Nara Shikaku.
Tsunade gazed impatiently into Hiashi's milky eyes, seeming to be able to make eye contact despite the man's featureless white pupils. "Such as?"
"From the reports I reviewed, it appears this particular attack was accomplished over several meters. The gentle fist of the Juuken relies on close proximity. Also," he sipped his tea, then continued, "the Hunter's autopsy shows damage of a more brutal nature, in places other than along expected chakra coils. Perhaps if I had been able to see one of the bodies I could tell you more."
The hokage turned to her assistant, "Shizune, you've autopsied a few nins unlucky enough to cross paths with a Hyuuga. Do you think there are differences here?"
"Aaah. Well I didn't see the recent bodies myself..."
"You read the report. I know you trust the Hunter-nin's skills." Don't waffle and try to get diplomatic on me here, Shizune, she thought. This is already a high-stakes game we're playing. Lay the cards on the table so Hiashi can see them.
"I... I'd have to say there are both similarities and differences," Shizune answered, understanding her mentor's silent injunction. "The injuries described sound like a combination of chakra coil damage and blunt force trauma. The Juuken corpses I studied also showed massive internal trauma, but it was more directed, more surgical."
Shikaku stirred slightly, inclining his head as if lost in thought. "Still, it could have been a combined Juuken-taijutsu attack," he said. "With no living eyewitnesses, we can't be sure the attackers did not have direct physical access." The scarred strategist pulled slightly at his narrow goatee, then took a casual sip of tea. "There are no Byakugan wielders living outside of Konoha, right?" He addressed the question to the air, in a slightly bored tone, as if simply pondering the accumulated facts, confirming some trivial matter. Its implied and insightful attack was lost on no-one.
"I have no reason to believe any Hyuuga relative had a role in these attacks." Hiashi answered, stiffening slightly.
It was Tsunade's turn. She considered her hand. She'd asked Shikaku to play the skeptic; not a stretch for the jounin. She'd already been over the differences in Juuken autopsies and these latest ones in every detail, from every angle that she and Shizune had been able to conceive. She'd had no real reason to doubt Hiashi, nor any of his clan. Fractious and powerful though they were, they had been impeccably, ceaselessly loyal to Konoha. It was just the startling similarities. The nearly unmarred external bodies, filled with broken, bleeding organs. The mysterious force the young chuunin had described crushing him and his partner from the inside.
Tsunade made her decision, then looked at each person in the room, stopping last to rest her gaze once more on the ghostly Hyuuga eyes.
"Of course not, Hiashi-san. No one thinks you did. I'm sure what Shikaku means is that we should consider whether there could be distant relatives in other regions who perhaps have developed some related ability. Like the Sharingan developed amongst the Uchiha." She looked levelly at the Hyuuga elder. "No one knows for certain the Byakugan's origins, as far as I am aware."
"Exactly," Shikaku said, taking his cue flawlessly. "That is exactly what I meant."
Neither Tsunade nor Hiashi showed any outward sign, but the tension in the room dropped palpably.
"So if we add that possibility to consideration," Shikaku continued, as if nothing had taken place beyond minor clarification of a point of discussion, "we'll need to send out scouts who have some experience with the way the Byakugan works. We have to presume that this is a direct, targeted threat to Konoha. That this represents either a new face on a known enemy, or a new enemy, baring his fangs."
"Of course the Hyuuga will cooperate in this," Hiashi said, with a formal nod toward Tsunade.
"There is still the matter of the mission." Shizune said. "It could be coincidence, but the only encounters so far have been associated with this particular courier mission." She handed a folder containing information on the twice-failed mission to the Hyuuga patriarch, who studied it quickly. Shikaku was already familiar with the details, but he pulled out his own copy of the report and studied it in the silent interval as well.
"Your evaluation, Hyuuga-san?" Tsunade said, taking up her tea.
"If this was an attempt by Rain to interfere with this particular mission, it is not clear how they became aware of it. It appears that contact was not made with the agent in Amegakure, so unless someone tipped them off that we were attempting to make this drop, it's unlikely that there was foreknowledge in Hidden Rain itself. That throws suspicion on a traitor within our own village." Hiashi leaned back and ran a finger along the decorative edge of the low table. "It wouldn't be the first time, Hokage-sama."
"Of course not," Tsunade answered. "But this is not our initial contact with the source. He approached us, through our diplomatic agent in their village, and requested further contact. This is a follow up mission."
"Yes." Shikaku nodded. "Given the circumstances, there is no reason to assume that security has been breached here, it could just as easily be that Rain has become suspicious and decided to intercept any Leaf shinobi they happen to encounter."
"True," said Shizune. "We haven't had many missions in that area recently, so the agents attempting to complete this operation would have been natural targets."
"Also," Shikaku said, pushing the folder open and pointing to the relevant passage, "the field agent that briefly survived the encounter reported that the attacking ninja made no attempt to discover their mission details nor to acquire the documents they were transporting. From earlier evidence, it appears that the first failure was also a summary attack, with no attempt at interrogation or data extraction."
"So what you're saying," Tsunade stated, "is that it looks more like a random attack."
"Yes. It almost looks like an experiment, in a way. Like they were field testing a new jutsu."
Tsunade and her consultants continued to discuss the possibilities for some time, but ultimately they concluded that there was little they could do about the threat without further data. What's more, the original mission remained incomplete. It would have to be reassigned. Re-classified again. A-rank, with a jounin team assigned. Shinobi skilled in physical combat and ninjutsu. Agents who had familiarity with the Hyuuga Byakugan. A team capable of detailed jutsu analysis, and with the medical skills to manage the aftermath of another encounter with the deadly new attack, should that occur. The ranks were a little thin these days, but they managed to make an assignment they felt confident in. A two-person team, for mobility: one a jounin specialist in ninjutsu, one a medic.
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Special thanks to my many beta readers and those who have encouraged me to publish this despite the fact it is still in progress. There will be several more chapters to come.