"Alright, chums up, let's do this! LEEROOYYY JEEEENNNNKIIINS!"
-Leeroy Jenkins; Pals for Life Guild.
Chapter Four: Binding Ties
"No."
Shikamaru stood firm in his answer as many of them was coaxing him to agree with them.
"But this is our chance! We can take him! Are you just going to let this chance slip by? He's Konoha's problem! We HAVE to go!" Kiba announced and tried to push his reasoning to the chuunin. It looked like it indeed was the perfect opportunity; they finally have a lock on Sasuke. The elusive Uchiha was finally confirmed to have made it here as well.
"Kiba has a point, Shikamaru. Sasuke's our problem, we have to deal…" Tenten agreed with Kiba at that point, but Shikamaru didn't let her continue any further.
"And send you all to your deaths? You're all severely underestimating Sasuke, then. I know our priorities, but the way we are now simply won't cut it. I am not about to authorize you all on a suicide mission against that bastard. Do you all want to die so badly, then? We don't have the proper strength to face him right now, so I suggest you all sit tight and get stronger to a certain point that even Madara would perceive you guys as a threat. Don't charge into a fight headfirst. We aren't powerhouses like Naruto who could afford to take risks. Or Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei who have aces up their sleeves or multiple techniques to fall back to. Sasuke knows us and knows every move that we can do. We aren't going for a manhunt and that is final."
This time however, it was Ino who spoke. She was just as anxious as the rest.
"But considering what happened to that guild we were telling you about…"
"The answer is still no." Shikamaru mentioned, all of them were stubborn, all of them felt like they needed to do what they felt that they needed to do. It was like being kids and wanting to do whatever they felt like it. Looking at this situation, he couldn't help but shake his head. It seemed even living through a war can't get all people to mature.
"Damn it, Shikamaru, quit downplaying us here, we can take him! We have the advantage of numbers!" Kiba mentioned, and indeed, they outnumber Sasuke seven to one. Shikamaru's aloof and annoyed expression turned into a scowl.
"Really, Kiba? Who's downplaying who? Last I checked Sasuke had Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo. If you have any idea how to avoid his Amaterasu or pierce his Susanoo THEN we talk about a manhunt. But right now, you all should have an idea that this isn't possible."
Lee, who came back after his race against Natsu, nodded as to what Shikamaru was trying to say, "Shikamaru-kun's argument indeed introduces a good point, but it is not out of reason that Sasuke-kun is indeed our responsibility and we cannot let Sasuke-kun be the catalyst into something that would plunge this country into chaos, many lives are at stake and Sasuke-kun has clearly encompassed his vendetta to all that he sees that stands in his way. For that, I cannot let it pass."
Kiba scowled at Shikamaru as the fanged boy yelled at him, "What's wrong with you? Back then you were up in arms about taking down Sasuke! Why are you backing out now? Just when we know he's alone!"
Kiba was talking about the time that they decided Sasuke needed to be neutralized because of his status as a threat to the village. But that was BEFORE the summit happened and Sasuke's abilities weren't shown. Who knew that he had the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan at his fingertips? They never expected that. Especially since they knew Sasuke hated Itachi.
"Because every event that transpired up to now forced me to really think about any hasty decisions I've made in the past. That and even if he's alone, all of us here don't have anything that could take on Sasuke's abilities. Like I said, Kiba, if you have anything that can avoid Amaterasu and pierce Susanoo or prevent him from using it altogether, then I'm all ears. Until then, you can forget about trying to take him down." Shikamaru admonished once more at the thought of chasing down Sasuke. To him, all of them were severely lacking in facing off against an S-Class level threat. They didn't have the necessary people in order to fight him, particularly Naruto, Kakashi or Gai.
Kiba was silenced at that and slowly backed away but not before Sakura spoke.
This time, Hinata spoke, knowing what Shikamaru was saying to be the most likely better approach, "I have to agree with Shikamaru-kun, w-we have no chance of getting toe to toe with Sasuke-san if we are like this. We are lacking the necessary people in order to fight him."
Sakura, however, answered differently.
"Even so… We can't let Sasuke-kun do whatever he wants. If it results in me dying just to stop him, then I'll…"
"That's quite a resolve you have there, Sakura." An old voice interrupted her. The Konoha ninjas looked over to their shoulder and saw Makarov Dreyar who now sat by the corner of the guild. The older members of the guild were watching their arguments silently while many of the younger members were taken aback on Sakura's statement.
"I would never expect it to come from one as young as you." Makarov was gazing intently at Sakura who was curious of the old man that was talking to her.
For once the master of the guild took keen interest in what they were talking about. He had seen them walk around the guild like silent wraiths. They never stood out, but they were clearly known. When the group of children did talk, they only talked about what mission they had just gone into and how much was the pay or just like any other teenager out there, talk about anything that caught their interest. But then, there were times that he had noticed just how much their eyes can turn into steeled gazes in seconds, how they could walk with both caution and finesse all around the guild, how their guards kept up even though they looked completely lax. Makarov may not have minded what their reason to join Fairy Tail was, but to him, it wasn't the bigger picture. There was something about this group of young people that intrigued him to no end. The small little details like their movements, their posture and how they talk.
"It was how we were taught." Sakura answered the guild master without hesitation.
Makarov raised his right eyebrow at this and asked her, "Are you really willing to put your life on the line to stop one boy, Sakura?"
Sakura closed her eyes and bowed thinking of the times she shared with the Uchiha, thinking of how much Sakura wanted to help him, how much she desperately wanted her team back even though it looked like it was hopeless.
She bit her lip rather harshly and blood trickled down from it, disrupting her from her thoughts and letting the pain jolt her back into reality.
"That person… I feel that he's my responsibility. I couldn't stop him back then and he hurt one of our friends. Many of them almost died trying to get him back and I felt that it was my fault. I felt that it was my fault that our friend was trying so hard to keep a promise to me because I wanted him back." Sakura mentioned and recalled the times they had spent together as members of Team Seven. She couldn't just let go of things that easily. Everyone was suffering around her because of her failure, it was mortifying.
"That's why I want to stop him. I want to end all of this madness even if it costs my life!" Sakura exclaimed the resolve that she had. Makarov looked at her with that discerning gaze of his and ultimately conceded. Seeing Sakura's determined expression reminded him of men and women of war going to their last battle. Wills hardened by their determination to finish it all. Looking at Sakura, he could see her spirit and will to fight was forged by blood and fire.
Somehow, it saddened him, but even he had to concede to her resolve to a certain extent.
"I can't say no to those eyes. They're the eyes of a soldier who has seen things far beyond what many would be considered as horrific."
Sakura looked hopeful as half of the shinobi nodded at him but Makarov's understanding and knowing gaze was replaced with a stern one.
"But I can't also let you kids go out there and send you to your graves. If that friend of yours has that much doubt, then I suggest that you all brace your fangs longer and grow stronger. No matter the cause, a life is much more important than any duty. Endure and become strong. Wasting your life is not worth it. You maybe are temporary mages, but to an extent you are my responsibility now, don't forget that." Makarov finally said and Shikamaru nodded.
North of Fiore, dense forest:
Mystogan was kneeling down as he looked on the ground feeling something was amiss after finishing his mission.
He was tasked with subduing a monster that was seemingly summoned by a dark guild. He had managed to do it with fairly no difficulty, but there seemed to have something that disturbed him. For one, after encountering the monster for days, he found it weak, lethargic and sluggish. It was lying on its stomach as it gave a faint roar, seeing the human come close to it and its danger senses sky rocketing.
But what really got his attention however, was the stump that was supposed to be its left forearm as blood seeped out of it. The cut was clean, like somehow, a giant meat cleaver chopped it off. Not only that, he could see and smell some of the smouldering parts of the arm and some of the scorched earth indicated a fire of some sort. Somehow, the flames cauterized some of the wounds that the monster had, but the bleeding was still present.
"What happened here? Did someone else finish the job?"
But that would be impossible. Most of the delegated jobs were sorted and given out specifically to the guilds that the job requests specified. And last time he noticed, S-Class requests were usually specific jobs given to a guild with the best chance to succeed. There could be no one job given to different guilds, let alone S-class requests.
The monster gave a weak growl as Mystogan went closer still. The masked mage of Fairy Tail simply grabbed one of his staves and pointed it to his target.
"I'm sorry. You must have suffered a great deal before I came here."
The gem that was embedded with the staff in Mystogan's hands gave off a light green glow as its rays gently touched the scorched earth.
"I'll put an end to your misery."
And just like that, the monster's vision faded to black.
A few minutes later:
After disposing the said monster, Mystogan began checking for any sign of the local dark guild's activity within the area, the rumors had mentioned that the guild lies somewhere at the base of the mountain, near to where the monster resided. For someone who has had his life in solitude for a long time, Mystogan could tell the difference in the serenity that this forest had brought. It was oddly quiet. The deafening silence was very present. It reminded him more of a graveyard than a serene forest.
Then, just like before, he saw the scorched earth that was present from the site to where the monster was located. He could faintly hear the sound of flames burning as he stepped closer. The temperature was slowly rising, and then, the scent of smoke and cooked flesh wafted through his nose.
Mystogan flinched slightly as he walked further and further into where the heat was coming from.
It was then that he saw of what was a clearly horrifying sight. There stood in the clearing was the suspected dark guild's main house, now nothing more than shambles engulfed in wildly dancing black flames. Just from where he stood, Mystogan could feel the heat coming from them. It felt like the intense flames coming from a very large furnace. Looking at the damage it had caused, he could tell that the flames had been burning for several days. Which was impossible, it had been raining ever since yesterday, surely the flames should have doused and snuffed out by then.
The guild house was now nothing more than destroyed pillars of wood. No bodies were ever recognizable, as all of them were already ash by this point. Mystogan clearly did not like this at all; someone or something just mercilessly annihilated a group of mages.
"M… Monster!" A voice shouted. Weak and raspy, the voice came over near to his left, near where the flames had spouted. Mystogan ran over to the man who was crawling, the back of his shirt was stained with blood and the ground was tainted with it as he got away. From what he could see the person was stabbed through the abdomen.
"H-He came and attacked us for no reason… He killed the master after glaring at him then burned down the guild with those eyes… The black flames, no matter what kind of magic we used, it didn't stop. He was a true monster, a nightmare!"
Mystogan stopped and kneeled beside the man, shaking him slightly as he asked, "Who was this person? When did this happen?"
"W-We didn't know, all we could get from him was the pattern in his eyes, red and pointed like a star, with a single black circle in the middle… Before he left, I saw the crest placed on his back… It was the symbol of a fan, red on the top and white on the handle… He had black hair, as black as the flames he used… He came without any purpose and killed everyone in our guild… Monster! Monster, I say!"
Mystogan shook his head and closed his eyes in deep sympathy to this person, the man was getting delirious, all he could get was an image and what could possibly a fraction of the culprit's abilities, a sign of impending death.
He then breathed his last. He must have been writhing in agony, the man bled to a slow death.
Mystogan had seen enough, he was going back to Fairy Tail; he needed to let the master know about this lest this person started targeting the recognized guilds.
But first, he needed to inform the nearest legal guild of what has transpired here and the closest guild this place was the guild that he had left Wendy in, Cait Shelter. He had to hurry before this person comes into contact with any of the guild members there.
Cait Shelter, three days later:
Today, Sai was tasked in hunting for food around the forest. With him on his flying ink bird was the small Wendy, who was looking quite unsure of herself while Charle was standing flying beside the bird looking at Sai with scowl, who was merely smiling as he was looking down.
It had been two months since they were stuck here, and for as much as he could remember, their progress has been quite slow. Yamato had just finished his therapy with Shizune thanks to the little girl's help, much to his surprise. Shizune had told him that she was interested in Wendy's ability to heal almost any ailment. In response to this, Yamato now took a temporary command to them to obtain supplies and information, a wealth of it was what Yamato really needed. Compared to Shizune, Yamato was much more careful in treading grounds right now, a result of being in ANBU he supposed. It wasn't obvious to many, but for Sai who was part of the ANBU black ops back then, he noticed that Yamato was twitchy meaning he hadn't fully let down his guard just like him. Neji and Shizune could probably tell due to their experience or Byakugan, but the telltale signs of Yamato's careful nature were there. It felt like something was about to go wrong.
"It has been bothering me for the longest time but I must ask now." Charle mentioned as Sai looked over to the cat as he gave a small smile.
"Why must you put a perpetual smile on your face?" asked the flying cat.
Sai merely gave another smile as he looked down, "I've read in a book that a smile can bring forth positive emotions from any person. It confirms that a smile is contagious and very uplifting."
Charle could feel how analytical and straight to the point that was, she could tell that Sai was telling the truth, but what she couldn't tell however, was the boy's emotions. It was like looking at a black slate, like a bottomless pit, a dark abyss. Sai was something she couldn't fully understand. More so than their sunglasses wearing friend, Shino, Sai had no obvious emotions to give away. And it was this trait that made her uneasy with the boy; it was like talking to a hollow and faceless man.
The idea scared her to no end, which was why she was so careful around him, careful of Sai's motives. Robaul had once said that Sai was the equivalent of a white mask, pristine and clear, but with the true face of a demon.
It was then that Sai had suddenly noticed a rustle in the bushes. The ANBU grabbed a scroll from his pouch and began drawing a pair of two small birds.
"Ninpo: Choju Giga (Ninja Art: Super Beasts Imitation Picture)"
With that, the drawings came to life and flew down into the canopy of leaves. Sai then fluidly held the single edge Wakizashi on his back as he began pumping chakra into his legs to perform a simple Shunshin.
Wendy and Charle watched as they felt a subtle yet palpable surge of magic escaping from Sai, they watched in silent anticipation at what he was about to do until the two birds immediately flew from the canopy as an inferno stormed its way upwards. The birds quickly smashed their way to the scroll and told him what they had seen.
With two simple words, Sai grabbed Charle and commanded his hawk to turn back from the site of the blazing forest fire. He then gave the white cat to Wendy and unfurled his scroll once more, drawing multiple birds in it as he grabbed a ream paper strips with red linings from his pouch. The little birds came alive from Sai's drawing and they all grabbed a paper tag from Sai's hands and proceeded to dive below.
Charle who looked indignant of such a gesture at first looked frightened when she saw Sai's troubled face all the while he muttered, "I must let Shizune-taichou and Yamato-taichou know of this predicament."
It was subtle but it was enough to put Charle into worry.
Back from where they were supposed to be earlier, Wendy could hear the sounds of multiple explosions escaping throughout the forest. That didn't bother her much. But what bothered her was the raging inferno that spontaneously happened before Sai's immediate panic.
Clover Town:
"YOU IDIOT!" Anko hollered as she pounded Naruto on his head with her fist as they were waiting for Kakashi and Gai outside while the two were discussing any contingency plans in case worse comes to worse.
Naruto cradled his head as Anko started paced back and forth in front of him all the while feeling foreign to his new wardrobe. They all had very different clothes than what they usually wore.
Naruto was wearing a plain white shirt underneath black hoodie vest and blue denim pants that reached his ankles, his only weapon that he had for now was a five kunai set snugly fit into his holster just above his left knee. For the blonde, getting used to long pants was going to be for a while. It wasn't exactly a part of their normal attire. But he had to admit though, the denim fabric was very tough, it passed more than the normal wear and tear time that he wore back in their home.
Another thing was that the clothing of choice given to him by Anko lacked a particular color. Not that he minded of course, he also wore different clothing on different situations, but that orange jumpsuit was the only pair he had when he came rushing to the center of the war.
So it was understandable that many of the nurses threw away his clothes like that, they were terribly worn and stank like a dead horse's carcass. Somehow, he felt violated when he thought the nurses changed not just his clothes when he was unconscious.
He suddenly shuddered.
"You just gave Madara the biggest target all over this country! Do you have any idea about what to say in that situation?" Anko ranted. She was now wearing a long sleeved white jacket over a black leather tank top that revealed her navel and black biker shorts to accentuate her hips and her legs and a pair of ankle high shoes. Naruto noted how they were not supposed to garner attention when Anko was getting all these gazes from the men around her.
"Ow, what do you want me to do? I at least need to inform them of where we are. They're probably too worried about our status already." Naruto reasoned out as best as he could and then quickly muttered, "Not that your choice of clothing is covert either."
Anko's sharp ears caught on with that statement as she said, "For your information, this wardrobe happens to be of my advantage in combat."
Naruto didn't look convinced at all, "Yeah if you want to kill them with nosebleeds, then who am I to argue?"
Anko was about to teach Naruto about the importance of abusing the advantage given to them when a Victorian Era suit wearing Maito Gai got out of the apartment complete with a set of dress shoes and sparkling teeth gave them both a thumbs-up.
A full black business suit wearing Kakashi with a mask and eye patch followed him, whose single visible eye told his exasperated look upon Gai's choice of clothes and the fact that they were supposed to remain hidden in plain sight was just screaming for them to garner attention that they did not need.
"Let's just forget about the clones and get this over with. The sooner we get to Era, the better our chances of being left unnoticed and the faster we can gather everyone." Kakashi mentioned this as he tossed each of them with the appropriate bags filled with gear for survival and combat. All four of them then started walking to the nearest train station, set to the city of Era, the center of Magic in Fiore.
It was then that Naruto raised his hand to ask a question.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this and asked the blonde, "Kakashi-sensei, I know it seems kind of stupid of me to ask right now, but why are we going to Era?"
Kakashi simply nodded at the blonde's question. After all, Naruto was the only one who didn't know what was going on and what was about to happen. Kakashi had discussed this earlier with Anko and Gai. Apparently, he had almost neglected to tell Naruto as well.
"Tell me Naruto, what's the quickest way to gain information from a stranger you don't know without resorting to interrogation or torture?" Kakashi asked and Naruto scratched the back of his head at this as it seemed the question was forcing his common sense to work.
"You bribe them." Naruto answered simply and Kakashi gave a nod for acknowledgement.
"Good, now, to gain any amount of information, we need money. And the information that we need might just possibly involve a way for us to get back to our own world. But it so happens that something like that would most likely cost us an enormous amount of money and an equally enormous amount of time depending on how we do it." Kakashi then noticed that Naruto was nodding and was processing what he had said.
No money, need idea how to get back. More money equals more info, more expansion concepts to understand, a bigger chance to encounter that possibility.
Naruto looked at Kakashi attentively as the Jounin had his visible eyebrow raised; taking note of Naruto's willingness to listen for once. Deciding he should take a chance for the silver haired Jounin to assess the blonde's thinking capacity, he furthered his explanation.
"We have four objectives for this plan, first is to gather our comrades scattered all around. Thanks to your clones, it would be that much easier for us to leave a clue, because we sure won't stay in Era for our next objective. Are you following me so far, Naruto?"
The blonde nodded once, twice, and then thrice.
"Second is to gather enough resources and use it for our third objective. We need money to operate, to spend on essential equipment and funds for what would most likely be travels. Spending nights in an inn, food, water, and clothing, with our currency as it is, our funds are useless making us broke. Due to the expected scale on our operations, we need a lot of money." As Kakashi told him about his plan, the four of them made their way to the train station.
"Third, with our gathered resources, we obtain the necessary information through any possible means necessary and that includes bribing. With our exotic circumstance taking into factor, we should expect the worst, as you should know."
Naruto looked down suddenly as the question finally hit home at what Kakashi had said.
What if they never find any means to get home?
It certainly did bring about an interesting point to ask, yet it all seemed all too scary to think of. It was possible that they might never come back; something Naruto didn't want the possibility of having.
He still had a lot of his things on his plate on the other side. That meant he would have to work hard in getting the right information to get back to their side.
"Huh, 'no rest for the weary', sounds something that would befit us all right now. Though I would have to say that even this place, for the laid back atmosphere, can't help but give out a sense of danger. It's like you expect something to happen in here but you can't just say it because you don't know what it is." Anko commented as they were now inside the train.
Naruto looked unsure as they entered. He had never ridden a train before. The outside was completely metallic, with the front of the locomotive itself that was coloured black and spewing steam from the exhaust on top.
Inside was made of hard wood, complete with soft comfortable seats facing each other and a window on each pair.
When they all sat down on one side, it was then that Kakashi explained to him their final objective.
"Finally, there is a fairly reasonable suspicion that Sasuke and Madara are here in this place. Even though I don't want to involve a lot of people in this world, I fear that would be wishful thinking on my part. But this is the best way to rally what remaining forces we DO have and strengthen it from there in order to face Madara and/or Sasuke. So for our last objective, we'll remain hidden from the public eye until it's time for us to lure out either of the two. I think it's fair that we too remain hidden with no one finding out about us except for a small group. And that's where the Magic Council in Era comes in."
Naruto then clarified to Kakashi, "So you want us to basically be like Akatsuki and work from the shadows until we make big moves that would gain Sasuke's, Madara's or possibly both of their attentions. During that time, you want all of us to get stronger, is that it Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi nodded and added some more insight in to what he had in store, "Except we'll be doing things legitimately, we'll be taking requests from none other than the Magic Council itself, missions and jobs given from the council will remain confidential between us and them. Basically, my plan is to create and establish a guild for hire by the Magic Council and remain it known only to them. During which, all of us will be using codenames in order to operate secretly."
To this, he pointed to Anko, "Anko, you will be known as Kurohebi (Black Serpent), Gai will go by Byakko (White Tiger), I will be Haiirogami (Grey Wolf) and Naruto will go by as Murakumo (Cloud Gatherer)."
It was then that Kakashi gave them each a white porcelain mask with different designs. Every one of them had a different looking mask that supported their codenames. A snake mask for Anko, a wolf mask for Kakashi, a tiger mask for Gai and a mask for Naruto that reminded him a lot about Haku. It was a white plain mask with no distinct design except for a simple blue streak of a cloud lining up from one cheek to another.
Gai simply commented, "Honestly, I wanted our disguises to have a theme on the Shiseiju (Four Holy Beasts) but I guess this will do fine."
Kakashi then continued offhandedly, "Right, for our next discussion, we'll be talking about the name of our four-man guild. After talking it over with Gai and Anko, we came about a list of names that we wanted to cover. And since Konoha and Shinobi were names far too obvious to be related to us, we came upon the best name we could think off that was as subtle as possible."
Anko smirked at this as she wore her mask slowly, letting the cold and apathetic expression of the snake mask cover her face as she said, her voice lightly muffled beneath it, "Our guild will therefore be called, Kage."
Gai followed suit, "For we come from the shadow, and live through the shadow."
Kakashi then placed his mask on and continued, "With our spirits tempered by fire and forged through will…"
"From the depths of the shadows we will be as swift as the wind and strike fast as light, and the hearts of our enemies shall tremble in fright, for we are Kage, the shadow that exists but remains unknown."
The train then gave off a loud whistle, signalling its departure from Clover Town to the capitol of magic, Era.
Cait Shelter:
Mystogan felt nostalgic as he viewed the very isolated guild of Cait Shelter. He instantly remembered that he had left Wendy to the care of the Chief. A smile managed to escape Mystogan's lips beneath his mask as he walked inside the small village. Sleep Magic would be unnecessary here. He needed the chief to know about the news as soon as possible. He didn't want to spread any fear from these people and they needed to prepare.
Unsurprisingly, many of them were staring oddly at him, but the whispers he heard of being the seventh person to enter the village in two months made him curious. There was a group that came here before?
As far as he knew, the guild was not that well known. Very few know the existence of Cait Shelter, and how distant it was to any city or town in Fiore. If he had to guess, the people that came here earlier were both in a group and were hopelessly lost.
But that was what he questioned inside his head, why did a group of travellers get lost on a near god-forsaken forest such as this? It was too far from any route that he had seen, too far from any larger human establishments and too far period.
"Ah, Mystogan, what brings you in this faraway place?" A familiar voice asked.
Mystogan snapped out of his musings and looked to his left, seeing Chief Robaul standing rather expectantly before him with a staff in his hand.
"I came to check on Wendy and I'm here because I'm worried of what happened to a guild not far from here."
Chief Robaul raised his eyebrow at this.
"What is it?"
Mystogan looked at his side and felt wary of another presence as he said to the chief, "It is better if we talk this inside, Chief Robaul. I feel uneasy with a lot of prying ears in this place."
"I guess you haven't met those travellers that came here before you did, yes?" The old man asked and Mystogan nodded.
"Yes, but more than that, they shouldn't have to hear this. As soon as I tell you what it is, Chief, you have to make sure that you all stay safe. Abandon this place if you have to."
Robaul shook his head, "I'm sorry, child. But we, the descendants of the Nirvit tribe would not abandon these lands. They are our ancestral home. And you talk as if we're a bunch of weaklings. Let me remind you that the Guild Master's test is very difficult. Establishing a guild is no easy feat, I tell you!"
Mystogan somewhat smiled at this beneath his mask in amusement but said it again, nonetheless.
"All the same, Chief Robaul, please be careful. I've seen the aftermath of what this person can do."
"Person? You're worried about one person who is disturbing the guilds?"
Mystogan was about to continue when he heard a loud crash coming by just outside the tent. A small splash later, he could hear footsteps hitting the ground at a fast pace. As if it was an emergency. Robaul went outside, concerned as to what it was, when he saw Wendy and Charle looking quite dishevelled. Wendy long flowing hair was a mess as was Charle's white fur.
"What happened to you two? Why is Sai running?"
Charle answered for Wendy, although her voice was shaky at best. "W-We don't know, Master Robaul. All we could say is that Sai turned back when he saw a forest fire literally just happening in a blink of an eye."
Overhearing that conversation, Mystogan turned to the talking feline and asked her in urgency, "What was the color of the flames?"
Charle didn't know what to answer at that, it seemed like a very stupid question.
"It was the color of a normal flame, orange."
Mystogan's panic diminished a little as he took a deep breath.
"For a moment there, I thought it was black."
Black? As in black flames? How on earth was that possible?
But Mystogan had to still be wary, for their enemy was most likely making its way towards here if the urgency all around him was any indication.
In another part of the quaint little village, Shino watched as he saw Sai dashing urgently towards Shizune's hut. For him, this sense of urgency had never come to a better time. He and Chouji had been training for the past two months in their respective jutsus without any foreknowledge given to Yamato or Shizune. They were training in secret, much as how Neji was just a few weeks ago. Although he had barely finished his training, Shino felt like he was now stable enough for him to tame the Aburame Clan's deadliest and most notorious ability.
He could still feel the pounding of his heart immensely pumping blood throughout his system as he injected himself with those things, how he felt that he had died ten times over as he rolled on the ground. The chances of him being accepted by the colony were slim. Few of his clansmen had little to no success in incorporating them into their bodies. Such was the little amount of success given to them that they deemed it dangerous, a kinjutsu, a forbidden art that could not guarantee victory, but was enough to die a horrible and excruciating death.
Shino had seen the horrors of the jutsu once when he was a child but even then, he couldn't afford to avoid it any longer. The fact that his intuition was telling him of danger to come was something he had to take note of.
To his right, Chouji had already begun his training in elemental manipulation. Shino thought that the boy beside him was lucky. Many of the Akimichi Clan's jutsu revolve heavily on Taijutsu and their mass changing techniques. He had heard once that his classmate had taken the three forbidden pills issued to every member of the clan in order to stop a Sound Nin from chasing after them, the last resort weapon that the Akimichi had ultimately resulted in a very serious form of heart problems. Cardiac Arrest being the end result of it. Why Shino considered Chouji such a lucky fellow was for the fact that the Akimichi survived that fatal condition and was living to tell the tale. Of course, the Godaime Hokage had something to do with it, but luck was still luck.
"What do you think is it, Shino?" Chouji asked as he discarded the skin of a fruit he had been eating earlier.
"Given the urgency that Sai is currently telling, the situation would most likely involve us. Therefore, it is prudent that we handle this problem ourselves and not tell the people here of what kind of things we are facing right now, unless it is a comrade. But if it is one of the two who we think they are, then we should prepare for a hostile encounter."
Chouji easily got through what Shino was telling. Spending time with Shikamaru had a lot of perks after all. If only Ino or Kiba would do so, they would most likely understand Shino as it is.
"Shino, Chouji, grab your equipment and let's go. Yamato-taichou and Shizune-taichou is calling for a group meeting and it concerns one of our prime targets." Neji mentioned as he began pocketing Kunai, Shuriken, a spool of ninja wire and Explosive tags to his pouch and holsters. They briefly saw Neji's sleeve slightly torn from the wrist upwards, indicative of their senior's training.
"Who's our target?"
Neji closed his eyes and made a solemn bow, "Its Uchiha Sasuke."
Chouji was about to shout out when Shino interrupted him, "Understood. Are we to assume that we will be discussing battle plans? Or an escape plan?"
"Most likely the former rather than the latter, judging from the look of things, most likely we'll intercept Uchiha Sasuke before he makes within close distance to this place."
It was then that Shino wordlessly turned his back from the Hyuuga and went inside their hut, intent on packing every weapon he could reach. A slight stirring of his new colony crept up within him, they were feeling his anxiety.
The empathic creatures were slowly stirring into agitation and Shino could feel it. For a moment there, he had thought he had lost concentration. He needed to focus. Chouji looked concerned for a moment as he said to the Aburame, "Shino, I know of what you did. And although I'm not saying anything to Yamato-taichou, I have to ask, can you fight?"
Shino merely paused for a moment before turning his back from Chouji with a simple answer, "That is already a given."
Once they had all gathered into one place, Yamato simply unfurled a makeshift map that Sai drew in earlier and began their discussion.
"Good, now that we're all here, I'll explain our battle strategy."
Yamato then began talking about their positions and their roles, each giving them the info that they need. A protocol that they do before missions was to review their target's abilities if there are any, possible list of jutsus that they may have concerning the said ability, and any notable weaknesses to come into mind.
Shizune debriefed them once more on Sasuke's abilities. Yamato was made sure he was informed of anything that they would need to watch out for.
While they were discussing their battle strategy, two children were listening from the outside. Yamato was the one who first started their conversation as they all looked down on the map.
"Since we're fighting a lightning and fire element user, our main force should consider water and wind elemental users to negate them. I'm a water user so I can be of some help. But the problem would be his lightning release techniques and I'm still not one hundred percent recovered so what I can do is most definitely be limited with our coming skirmish. Sai, what's your estimate time in when Sasuke arrives near this village?"
"My estimate is close to four hours. Three if he's running on his top speed." Sai answered helpfully.
Yamato nodded and began tracing his fingers upon the map that Sai drew a few weeks ago. From what he could tell, from the map, the terrain he encountered Sasuke was mountainous, so it leaves a whole lot of cover for them and a rather difficult job for an aerial raid which was Sai's expertise.
"I'll provide as Yamato-taichou's back up then. I'm a wind element user just like Naruto. Perhaps I can be of assistance in the frontlines rather than being in reconnaissance."
"That leaves us with a scout to predetermine Sasuke's position." Shizune answered and Shino raised his hand.
"I'll be the lookout. Being a member of the special ops has been quite helpful since the war has begun." Shino suggested and raised his hand up.
Yamato nodded his head at this. In fact, he was rather surprised at the level of judgement coming from Naruto's peers. He knew he shouldn't feel that way but he still was. Neji and the others were exposed to the harsh realities of war after all. It had only been months for Naruto's peers to engage in warfare but Yamato felt like he was already looking at a squad of veterans, people that now have a few things accomplished under their belt.
"That leaves me for logistics and long range combat and Chouji-kun for mid-range support. Sai-kun will provide us with aerial support. I know it would be difficult for you, Sai-kun, considering the terrain and our proximity to the target, but with this much manpower for all of us, we'll need to do our best." Shizune walked over to Sai and gave him a new set of explosive tags.
"I made them a few days back. This should cover for what you lost earlier."
Sai quietly nodded and accepted the replenishment for his equipment.
Then, Yamato opened the door; all of them calmly walked out of the small house and never once turned their backs to the small hut.
"Are you fine letting the children know about what we are about to do, Yamato-taichou?" Neji asked all of a sudden in an audible whisper, the former ANBU captain simply nodded.
"Its okay, Neji, they won't be able to follow us anyway. We'll be escaping through the trees and most likely it would be too late for them to catch up." Yamato mentioned as they finally started their run. They were slow at first but soon enough, they began to pick up speed and looked like blurs to any normal person that saw them.
Then, they jumped towards the canopy of trees like lithe panthers speeding through the trees as if it was almost as breathing.
Chouji looked on ahead with anxiety as he thought of one thing that made his skin turn cold.
There was no stopping this now.
With Mystogan:
"Chief Robaul! Chief Robaul!"
The sound of children yelling frantically outside his house brought forth the old man from his talk with the Mystogan. The children looked oddly distressed as they began talking incoherently in front of the old man.
"Is something the matter?" The old man asked, the children looked at each other and shouted, "The strange travellers suddenly left the village!"
Robaul's eyes widened at this as the children pointed directly east of the village, back into the deep and dense woodlands to where they came from.
"We overheard them talking magic and stuff that we couldn't understand, something about ambushes and lookouts?"
To this, Mystogan became worried.
"Chief, did you perhaps take in people from the council? Soldiers maybe?"
The old chief looked back to Mystogan and gave a solemn nod.
"Possibly. They have a rather… systematic and machine like organization. They serve their functions quite well."
Mystogan scowled beneath his mask, something tells him that these travellers know more than they let on. Could it be that they know who attacked the dark guild from three days ago?
With that in mind, the mage from Fairy Tail stood from his seat and went outside the Chief's home, asking the children to where the travellers went.
When the children complied, Mystogan gave a simple nod and thanked the chief before heading out to the general direction that the children were pointing.
Wendy looked anxious as Mystogan vanished before her eyes and looked back at the Guild Master of Cait Shelter, "Master, who was that?"
The old mage looked down kindly upon Wendy and smiled, "Someone you don't need to know, Wendy. He's just here to give a message."
Or a warning if that was more like it.
Still, Charle couldn't anymore be wary. She felt herself shivering slightly as a cold wind suddenly swept inside the room.
The chief gave a small frown as he shook his staff a little.
"An ominous wind approaches. Charle, Wendy, get back to your hut take a good rest. I take it you are very tired, yes?"
Wendy shook her head, "No, sir, not at all."
Robaul could only give a sigh.
Sea Wood Forest:
Amidst the inferno that danced around him, a wicked smile escaped his lips. Earlier that day, he had encountered a familiar bird, one that shouldn't even exist in this place; it was a bird that existed not in this realm, but on his.
Uchiha Sasuke scoffed at such petty attempts to hide from him. If he had remembered correctly, that new member on Team Seven had the ability to create inanimate drawings and making them come to life. So it only served as an indication that gave him that smile.
"I know you're there… Naruto, you're close. So close that it's making my blood boil in anticipation." He mumbled as flames danced behind him.
Sasuke walked towards the general direction in where that new member flew just before that pretender bombarded him with multiple ink birds that were strapped with numerous explosive notes.
Sasuke had been scouring the dense woodlands for three days, looking for any person that might give him a clue as to where Naruto or any of his companions reside. A feeling of annoyance managed to creep its way into his mind for every time he turned to a dead end.
"Fuuton: Hakke Shiten Kuushou (Wind Release: Eight Trigrams Four Sky Palms)!"
A sudden wave of gust erupted from seemingly out of nowhere as it sent Sasuke hurdling towards the opposite direction where he was facing as four more powerful gusts of wind sent him crashing further and further away from his original position.
It was then that three birds, with pronounced black outlines for feathers and a pure white complexion whizzed its way towards him, along with them, long metal strings dangling loosely against the wind with explosive notes strapped on the metal wires.
They flew fast and at seemingly impossible feats.
Sasuke inwardly cursed as he forced himself to stand from the onslaught of pressurized wind that he suffered earlier and jumped away just in time to avoid an incoming direct hit from the semi-animated creatures.
BOOM!
Unfortunately, he was still far too close for comfort when he evaded the birds. The shockwaves sent him spiralling to a tree forcing him to reel in pain.
These petty tricks were rather annoying. Sasuke growled at how these simple techniques managed to get close to him and caught him off guard. Perhaps his mumblings were what brought him into a false sense of security.
"Uchiha Sasuke, you are not allowed to go any further beyond this point." Hyuuga Neji spoke. A stern tone escaped his vocal chords as he stood in front of Sasuke, on a branch and looking down on him condescendingly. Sasuke scowled at the Hyuuga Prodigy for a second before he sneered at his senior.
"Hyuuga, I'd imagine you and your pack of foolhardy washouts would have resorted in running away and informing Naruto about how I was here, ready to slaughter you all."
That sneer soon turned into a frown as his Sharingan came to life.
"Tell me where he and the others are and I'll guarantee a swift and painless death."
Neji smiled in relief a little. It was fortunate at how many of his comrades that were sucked into this place were fortunately to be alive and not with this psychopath. Relief then turned to worry as he remembered the other threat that could bee here as well.
"Sorry, Sasuke, but you're not in the position for any form of demands." Neji stated and Sasuke planted his sword on the ground and streaks of lightning soon crackled around him.
"That can be arranged."
"Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Release: Great Forest Technique)!"
A large wooden spear emerged from out of the dense woodlands. Sasuke jumped back once more before the spear began conjuring up countless wooden stakes, hounding at Sasuke at a blisteringly fast pace. Sasuke's eyes carefully scanned the area around him, avoiding as much of the deadly wooden spikes as much as possible. He weaved around them like quicksilver, and drew Kusanagi from his back cleaving; slicing and parrying whatever that he couldn't dodge. With the added effect of his Lightning, his sword had cut through most of the wooden pillars with relatively moderate difficulty.
"Don't think you can do whatever you wish, Uchiha-san. Konoha is not for you to take." Yamato declared as he stepped out of the forest to where Uchiha Sasuke stood. The survivor stared at Yamato in contempt for a few seconds before evading another barrage of wooden stakes.
"Nobody…" Sasuke began mumbling once more as he rolled in midair, dodging a clean thrust to his torso and used the wood as a platform as he dashed down towards Yamato. His eyes widening, his adrenalin pumping and coursing throughout his body like his chakra, Sasuke could literally feel and taste the blood of his most loathsome foes.
"NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO TAKE MY VENGEANCE AWAY!"
As Sasuke gave in to his maddening bloodlust, the shrill cry of a thousand birds chirping echoed throughout the forest.
"Disappear along with the bolt of lightning."
The person that entered his vision, the first person who will taste his hatred, his eyes zeroed in on that person as his hand crackled with lightning.
But not before an oversized fist collided straight to his face sending him flying away from the scene.
Central Train Station, Era:
The trip was nothing eventful as Naruto and the others exited the said transport. The sound of the train's whistle and the smoke that it gave resounded throughout the whole station.
"Well, that went better than expected." Anko commented as they went out. Nothing noteworthy happened during the train trip. Well, except for that bickering couple that happened to argue just behind them. Anko seriously tried not to be rude, but the way how the conversation went from a simple argument to a shouting match that was so petty that it involved the man's size and how he couldn't possibly please any woman with his 'lacking girth'. Anko had to admit, she had a hard time trying to contain her laughter while Gai was looking quite displeased and Kakashi remaining indifferent.
Naruto looked quite flustered at that and did his best to ignore the squabble and instead went to sleep. Still, the train ride that was taking them to Era began to feel like forever with that fight. In the end, the couple was silenced when they finally made up near the end of the trip.
"Seriously, a fight over measly Ice Cream and it suddenly turns into an argument that involved Dicks and Tits. How petty and hilarious was that?" Anko asked, chuckling at the memory while Naruto looked at the woman with a frown.
"I am never going to ride a train again if I have to hear another couple argue like that. Really brings a bad image into my head and I get enough of those things from Ero-sennin and Sai."
Anko looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow. Well, she could definitely remember who this 'Ero-sennin' was, Naruto's nicknames spread like a bad case of forest fires around the village, much to the recipient's chagrin. But Sai?
"Oh, you mean that metro looking dude that has a tendency to show his belly button?"
Naruto shuddered, "Please don't leave a mental image like that, him, wearing the standard uniform should have been the attire he kept in the first place."
"I have to agree, a boy his age shouldn't expose so much youthful skin!" Gai concurred and Anko rolled her eyes at the statement.
"This, coming from the guy wearing a skin tight body suit…" Anko mentioned candidly.
"Touché, Anko." Kakashi interjected after he went and grabbed each of their luggage. The now eye patch wearing leader of the quartet then looked out into the capital, and looked slightly impressed with the structures that littered the place.
"Wow, even when we were in Kumo, those things pale in comparison with the building aesthetics here." Anko commented as she whistled at the marvellous buildings and towers that surrounded the majestic capital.
Naruto could feel the very vibrant yet solemn capitol of the country. It was as benevolent looking as it was awe inspiring. The seemingly proportionate towers and buildings around them quickly reminded him that this was not their world, yet, he couldn't help but gaze in awe. The people around them looked tame, like they were treading on holy ground, giving pleasant greetings and going on their way with a bow.
"So this is the center of magic, huh?" Naruto commented as he gazed at the highest tower that was erected in the middle of the city. A look of determination escaping his face as he and the three Jounin made their way towards it.
"This is where our long term mission starts. As soon as we get the approval of the council, then we'll decide to where our base of operations will lie." Kakashi told Naruto as the blonde nodded.
Naruto's fists shook in anticipation. With it being called a mission, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling of excitement going out of him; he was thrilled by the idea. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread as well. Everyday being wasted meant that everyday, Sasuke was moving to who knows where, possibly scouring the lands for any of the Konoha Shinobi present in this country. Hoping for his friends to be alive was something he could only do. And hoping for his clones to get there in time was the best thing he could come up with and give a lock on their general location.
Lastly, he had hoped beyond doubt that they will find a way to get back to home, to where they truly belonged.
Magnolia:
"Since most of us clearly haven't cooled our heads yet with my decision, I'm hoping we take a request that's a little more exciting than doing escort missions with old men." Shikamaru mentioned as he grabbed a piece of paper and handed it out to them.
"Don't talk to me right now." Sakura said bitterly and the pineapple headed Chuunin gave an exasperated sigh.
"Sakura, snap out of that responsibility shtick. You're even worse than Naruto when it comes to this." Shikamaru mentioned as many of them were staring at the two, Sakura still would have none of it.
"Evil thrives when good men do nothing." Sakura mentioned and Shikamaru scowled at it. He knew it was true, but there really was nothing he could do about it, for now.
"And I say that a life lost isn't worth a damn manhunt. Right now, we're too vulnerable Sakura, we're too weak. Sasuke is the opposite of that word. He has his weaknesses covered. He can take on whatever we could dish out as we are right now. To make matters worse, Naruto, Neji, Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei aren't with us and I would like it if you just drop the whole thing." Shikamaru advised Sakura who looked sullen all of a sudden.
"Then… When do you think we could take him?"
Shikamaru didn't know how to answer that question since even he doesn't know when it will happen so he said to Sakura as best as he could, "When I think that you are all ready. Until then, I suggest to grit your teeth and bear it. I am not the Kazekage's right hand for nothing, you know, so I don't see much of a point if I send you all to your untimely deaths. I don't want that, Naruto sure as hell doesn't want that. You understand where I'm coming from, right?"
Sakura nodded
"Being the general of the Fourth Division, I was tasked with sending soldiers out on the field all day. When one comes back with an injured leg or two or a few bones were broken, I felt guilty. When some of them died, I couldn't help but feel responsible to their deaths. It was horrifying Sakura, feeling the deaths of the people that trusted you to win the war, to get them home alive, and seemingly, their memories, their faces; they haunt me to my sleep." Shikamaru said this as he pulled out one more cancer stick to smoke with.
"Koten, Izuna, Hoshun, Shouka, Those are just a handful of names that I can remember that died during the war. And those are the few names that I'll likely never forget and haunt me till' I'm old with my plain looking wife." Shikamaru mentioned as he closed his eyes and held the lighter of his departed teacher.
"I don't want things to happen as it did when Asuma-sensei died. Although I already put that past behind me, I still consider it to be my greatest failure, it woke me up, and it changed me." Shikamaru mentioned as he exhaled the nicotine from his lungs.
Sakura felt no obligation to stop Shikamaru this time.
"After Pain's destruction of the village, I realized just how horrible Akatsuki can be; it didn't matter on who was wrong or who was right anymore. All that mattered then was that it happened. It happened and there was not a damn thing we could have done. And I was willing to stop this madness once and for all." Shikamaru said as he dropped the cigarette and squashed it with his sandals, effectively putting out the light.
"But what stopped you?"
"What stopped me? Nothing has ever stopped from thinking we should be the ones killing the sick horse. Unfortunately, said stricken horse isn't so sick in the body but in the head. And even worse, no matter what I do, I couldn't possibly think of anything that could touch him. Even with my jutsu, even with my strategies, and even with all of your strength put together, I couldn't find a way to bring Sasuke down. All the scenarios I've played in my head always end up in Amaterasu or Susanoo, so you could say it isn't a good thing right now."
Shikamaru gave a deep breath as he went to the guild to start the mission. Leaving Sakura all alone to think about what Shikamaru told her.
To be continued…
Surprise! I'm not dead! Woohoo! I just got a very busy schedule since December and the first week of January, tests, tests and more tests galore!
Whoopdee freakin' doo.
Also, you might be wondering, how is two months enough for someone like Kakashi to learn a very different alphabetical system?
Answer: Sharingan, it's basically a mental camera that helps in adapting the wielder. Not only the Sharingan, but Kakashi's natural genius as well plays a big role in this. Nevermind all the troubles that one has to go through in reading and writing, Kakashi should be able to bypass all of that.
And to Faroush who asked me just what is the more powerful magic/jutsu, Etherion or the Bijuu Bomb?
Answer: Comparing the two usually means comparing how destructive or useful each spell is. Etherion is a magic that, on humble observation, takes a lot of prep time to occur, nevermind the clearances it has to go through the council and the extensive number of casters in its field. Unlike the Tailed Beast Ball however, it has a range that's pretty much equivalent of a Particle Cannon Superweapon from the Command and Conquer Series in that it doesn't need to get close to the opponent, just the time it needs to deploy but a terrible blast radius if it is to be seen at first since it's only a giant laser from the sky.
The Tailed Beast Ball, although destructive, has a shorter range, highly unstable, and a big blast radius that's enough to be considered as a city buster or an actual Nuclear Warhead. I am not kidding about that, just look up Pain vs Naruto all over again and watch the Six Tails in its incomplete Tailed Beast Ball literally take up a huge blast after it unsuccessfully tries to erase Pain off the face of the Earth. It doesn't need that much prep time to activate as much as Etherion, send a Jinchuuriki in the middle of town, get it agitated enough, boom, no more town. An equivalent that I could compare this is to a ghost or spectre unit from Starcraft in the moment that a highly specialized unit is deployed and calls on a nuclear strike on a specified target and watch the wanton destruction commence.
So in terms of power, Tailed Beast Bomb
In Accuracy: Etherion
Speed: Tailed Beast Bomb
Range: Etherion
Pick whatever you like is better, whatever is more useful or whatever the hell it is that makes you think it's better. Personally, I'd choose the TB bomb due to its destructive nature and the worst kind of Psychological Rape that you can send to your unsuspecting enemy. Rev up the paranoia for me will you?
Next up, Unwanted Traveling.