An Unexpected Leader, Chapter VII
A Breach of Security
Akira led them off the faint dirt trail that wound through the forest, taking them directly into the nigh-on impenetrable brush that blocked most of the line of sight.
"Lord Uzumaki, Lady Hinata, I must ask that you close your eyes for the next few minutes," Akira said, pushing his way through a thicket of leaves.
"Why?" Naruto asked. "Is it some sort of security procedure? We can't know where we're going, is that it?"
Akira shook his head. "Well, it is a security measure, though not of the sort you are referring to. In fact, I have to close my eyes as well, or we'd never find the headquarters of the Hogosha. You see, long ago, Lord Madara set up a chakra field around here that will deceive the eyes of even the most powerful shinobi. So we don't find our way with our eyes."
"We find it with our nose," Hinata filled in, nodding slowly, her eyes shut. "There's a scent out here that only one looking for it would smell. The scent of burned wood."
"Burned wood?" Naruto said, scratching his head as he followed Hinata's lead and sniffing. "Yeah, I smell it, but what's burnt wood got to do with anything?"
Akira chuckled. "I should think you would know, Lord Uzumaki, having done battle with so many Uchiha in the past. The specialty of the Uchiha clan is katon, or fire style. Therefore, we have the scent of burning, or rather burnt, wood as a sign of the Uchiha. As I said before, do not under any circumstances open your eyes."
Naruto nodded behind his closed eyes. What was the worst that could happen if he did open his eyes? It was tempting, but ultimately he knew that Akira wouldn't tell them to do something if it wasn't in their best interests- he kept them closed for what seemed like ages, following the sounds of Akira's footsteps and the growing-stronger smell of charcoal.
"Stop," Akira finally said. "You can open your eyes now."
Naruto did so, and an involuntary gasp escaped from between his lips. No longer were they in a dense forest. Now they were standing on top of what looked to be almost a square mile of pure black obsidian, so singularly dark it was almost reflective. The sun beat down on them, heating the rock to temperatures where it wouldn't be safe to stand on it bare-footed. He saw Akira searching the ground intently for something Naruto couldn't even begin to imagine.
"Ah!" he finally exclaimed, stopping at a spot approximately twenty feet from where they were standing. He tapped his foot three times against the stone, waited about ten seconds, then tapped three times again. There was a resounding clunk somewhere underneath them, and slowly, a square chunk of rock slowly receded into a grooved chamber, revealing a winding set of stairs underneath.
"Quickly, quickly," Akira urged them, ushering them down the stairs. "It's imperative that we spend as little time above ground as possible."
They descended into the darkness, linking hands so as not to lose their way.
"You want me to what?" Shikamaru asked, the muscles around his eyes tightening slightly. "You know that she's been thought dead for over twenty years. Why would you want us to go looking for her now, when there's no proof she's even alive?"
Kakashi sighed. Even though he still wore the jonin flak jacket that he had before, he had finally taken off the face mask, revealing a stunningly ordinary face, though he always seemed to have a layer of short, grey whiskers along his jaw line. "Look, Shikamaru, I have it from good sources that she's been sighted somewhere in the Land of Wind. Whether I trust those sources or not is up to me. Believe me, if I thought there wasn't a significant chance you could find her, I wouldn't be sending you. Plus, she would be very helpful in the upcoming battle against the Cult."
Shikamaru looked as if he was going to argue, then thought better of it. "Yes, Lord Hokage," he said, bowing. "If I may gather a squad of four, I'll get on it."
"Permission granted," Kakashi replied, waving a hand in the air. "If I could ask, who are the three you're going to take?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes for a few moments, evidently deep in thought, calculating strengths and weaknesses. "Okay," he said, looking at Kakashi. "The three will be Neji, for his combat skill and Byakugan, Kiba and Akamaru for their tracking abilities, and Tenten, for her proficiency with traps and tools."
Kakashi nodded. "Good, good. Nice to know that your skill assessments haven't dulled."
Shikamaru shook his head slightly. "Uh…thank you. I'd…better get them together, then." With that, he began to walk out of the room.
"Oh, and Shikamaru?" Kakashi called after him. "Say hi to Temari and Ichiro for me."
Shikamaru put a hand up behind him. "Can do," he replied.
Akira led them down the dark stairway for what felt like an eternity but was in reality probably no longer than half an hour. They rounded a corner after they were on level ground again a came into a gargantuan room filled with row upon row of giant obsidian pillars. A faint smoky light came from the flames of several hundred torches suspended on the pillars.
"Whoa…" Naruto said, awestruck. He craned his head far back to gaze at the reflective black ceiling.
"This…This is amazing, Akira-san," Hinata agreed.
"Isn't it, though?" came a voice from ahead of them. All three looked and saw a tall, brown-haired man in what appeared to be an earth-colored suit with black tennis shoes. Certainly an outfit to take notice of, especially here in the east. "I just love it! Don't you, Rose?"
A girl slightly shorter than the man stepped out from behind him, nodding. "Yeah," she replied. "It really is. I don't get why there's such a large deposit of obsidian way out here."
The man apparently took no further notice of Naruto, Hinata and Akira. "Well, yeah, but I mean- look at it! Seven thousand years into the future, a massive cataclysm forces well over ninety percent of humanity to flee into space, and bang! Human history changes in a split second, the few remaining humans have to adapt to the new wasteland over the next three thousand years. And they do it! Oh, humans, you do it so beautifully! You're absolutely brilliant, you know that?"
Naruto was slightly taken aback by the man. "Uh…hi," he said tentatively, extending a hand. "The name's Naruto Uzumaki."
"Oh!" the man said. "Sorry. I'm the Doctor. Nice to meet you, Naruto Uzumaki, and I already know Akira here, but who's your lovely companion?"
"That would be Hinata," Naruto replied slowly. He turned to Akira. "I thought the Doctor was your codename, Akira."
"Oh, it's not a codename," the Doctor replied. "Akira here apparently thought it sounded good and he stole it from me. Not that I'm sore or anything."
"Right," Rose added. "Because you're never sore about anything, even that one incident with the Duchess of Silfraxus Nine and her pet-"
"Hey, that doesn't count," the Doctor quickly interjected. "I wasn't exactly myself. Let me tell you, it was weird being on a leash. But never mind that, we've got-" A low rumble reverberated from somewhere below them. "Oops, forget that. Sorry, you three, we have a …a thing to deal with…a very big thing …with scales. Come on, Rose!" He dashed off into the darkness, the girl trailing behind him.
"Well," Naruto said. "He was certainly…different."
Akira laughed. "Yes, that he is. We really don't know exactly who he is, but he's been visiting here off and on for well over a year."
Naruto shook his head. "Well, never mind that. Where were we on the tour of the base?"
Akira cleared his throat. "Well…you see, I won't be able to give you the go-around, because I have to report back to the council. You two will have to go on ahead of me- I've already arranged for an escort. She should be getting her right about- ah, here we are."
From between the pillars, a woman who looked about thirty years old sauntered out, dressed in a western-style business suit with a skirt that cut off about three inches above her knees. She had jet black hair pulled into a ponytail that hung down to her shoulders. Naruto forced himself not to stare below her neckline-it was tough.
"Hello," she said casually. "My name is Hitomi Uchiha. I am to be your guide for today. If you'll follow me…"
Naruto clasped Hinata's hand tightly. Married, married, married…he had to remind himself. "All right…"he said slowly. "Where to first?"
Hitomi regarded him coolly. "First, I will be showing you the leader's quarters. Though not all on the council agree that you should lead us, there is no doubt that you are the one who defeated Lord Madara, and therefore you are necessarily qualified. Nobody here will disobey the orders of Lord Madara."
"The leader's quarters, huh?" Naruto said. "Who's been using them since I killed Madara?"
"Nobody," she replied. "It has been vacant, though it is cleaned often. I believe you will find it satisfactory."
"Then, please, Hitomi-san," Hinata said. "Lead us."
They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached a narrow corridor that opened up into a vast mess hall, about twenty-five hundred feet square. There were several long, wooden tables that could easily seat a hundred each. Currently, there were only a few people eating under the electric lights.
"Ooh, food!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm starving!"
Hitomi sighed. "I am sorry, Lord Uzumaki, but lunch will have to wait for now. We have more urgent matters at the moment. Such as getting you settled in for your stay here."
Naruto groaned quietly. "Oh, all right."
Hinata chuckled. Naruto never stopped thinking about food, even when there were world-shaking events happening.
As they were led into a hallway that ended in a solid oak door, Naruto scratched his chin. "That's it, isn't it?" he asked. "That's the leader's quarters."
Hitomi nodded. "Yes, Lord Uzumaki, it is."
"Then what are we waiting for?" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "Let's go!" He took off running full tilt toward the door
Hitomi looked at Hinata strangely. "Is he always like this?" she asked.
Hinata smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he's pretty energetic. He almost never stops."
Hitomi almost imperceptibly grimaced. "Oh, dear," she murmured under her breath. "We'll need to get this over quickly, then." She smiled politely again. "Shall we follow him, Lady Hinata?
She nodded, and they went after Naruto until they finally got to the door. Hitomi opened it and all three walked in. They found themselves in a white-painted room about a hundred feet square, lit with hanging overhead lights, furnished with dark brown mahogany chairs and a thick brown rug. Naruto could see several adjoining rooms- a bathroom that looked just as large as this room, and a bedroom that was painted grey.
"Wow," Hinata breathed. "This is amazing, Hitomi-san. Is it really where we're going to be staying?"
The door slammed behind them, and Hitomi suddenly had a wickedly sharp dagger clutched in her hand. "Yes, it is, Lady Hinata and Lord Uzumaki," she said contemptuously. "It is. Permanently."
So how's about that? Eh? Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I promise I'll write more in the future. Please don't stop reading just because I'm a terrible person ^^; Okay, I had a serious case of writer's block, but you guys helped me out of it with your awesome reviews! So:
Rose Tiger: Thank you for reviewing me so much! You've been great, and since you reviewed so faithfully, I have something special for you. You can tell me anything you want to happen in the story, and if I can fit it at all, I'll do it just for you. Okay? Make sure it's something good!
EbonPurlight: Thanks for giving me feedback! I need it a lot…-.- You're welcome to suggest things you want to happen in the story, too. It's not a guarantee like I gave Rose Tiger, but if it's good, I'll definitely use it! Thanks!
Please review, people! Give me ideas, cause I have no idea how this story is gonna end! I'll update soon, I promise! Bye!
