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木ノ葉戦記
KONOHA SENKI
Spyral 9
Chapter 19: Stranded
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"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" cried the rambunctious voice over the line. The silver-haired admiral couldn't help but sigh as the line connected and communications opened. "Why have you called me away from my youthful station?!"
"Gai, I believe Kagunou-sama told you about our situation here already. You want the short version or the long version?"
"It would be quicker if you were to give us the fast version, although I can guess the situation already. I have my boys preparing my ship for lift-off now. Give us a couple of days and we'll arrive."
"You've got to stop jumping to conclusions, Gai," said Kakashi. "But, in this case you're correct. It feels like we're going to need some back-up as soon as we can. It seems like we have unknown hostiles here, but the number and firepower is unknown."
"Why have you not called in Jougun or Angun, then? This matter seems to be of more importance than suitable for a team of Gegun like my own!"
"We're still not sure whether or not we should be staying here," answered Kakashi. "There are currently two possibilities, either the Gear that attacked us belong to Gatou, or to another force entirely. If it is Gatou, then it would be prudent of us to retreat as fast as we can before an international incident is caused. If it's another force, then I'm sure they would also be thinking of keeping their presence here hidden."
"I see," said Gai. "That makes sense. As expected of my eternal rival! Of course, we will not leave your flanks unguarded. I will have to cut this line short, as my ship will be unable to lift-off if the admiral is still land-bound. My new pilot is also dying to meet you."
"New pilot?" That was news to Kakashi's ear. Had a new pilot been found lately? Well, whatever. Gai wouldn't lie about something like this, and it was really none of his business anyway. An extra ally, no matter how green he was, would always be welcome. "Well, whatever. Are you bringing Lee along?"
"Of course, he is my prized pupil, even if he is unable of piloting Gears," said Gai. "I'm sure he'll be the greatest asset on the battlefield if we find ourselves in combat against this unknown foe of yours."
"Great, I won't hold up any more of your time then. See you around."
"Of course, my eternal rival! I'll be there soon, so just wait!"
With that said, Gai closed down communications. Kakashi turned away, stroking his chin. All things said and done, Gai's eccentricity was definitely overridden by his competence in the field of battle and his superior teaching abilities. As opposed to his own rather laissez-faire policy that allowed his pilots to develop their own way, Gai was much more of a hands-on instructor focusing on the careful cultivation of natural abilities. Lee was an extreme example of that.
Now he had something else to do. Opening up another communication channel, he directed his line towards KAM headquarters. The reception picked up on the other end, and Kakashi began barking his orders.
"This is admiral Hatake Kakashi of the UWS Yggdrasil. Consult the intelligence office and give me any news regarding the Mist during the past six months, and make it more if there's nothing strange going on. This is an admiral's order of the highest priority, so make it quick. I expect results within two days."
With that said and a bewildered receptionist on the other side, Kakashi closed down communications once more before leaning back in his chair and looking outside. The sun was breaking through the horizon now, and the brilliant view diffused some of the tension that had been building up within his body.
They had made it through last night without any more attacks, although all of the pilots had been mobilized and ready to deploy at once and the Yggdrasil itself was put into lift-off mode. The entire crew had been waiting for something, though most of them didn't even know why. The night had passed in a mood of anxiety and stress.
--
"I don't get it," complained Ino. "Why are we still here? You've gotten all the information you need already from the villagers and others, right? I really don't want to stay here any longer than I have to. There's something strange going on around here!"
"That's just it, Ino," answered Shikamaru.
They were sitting around the cafeteria. Naruto was there, mumbling something unintelligible over his cup of coffee, the bags under his eyes betraying his drowsiness. Sakura, too, was drinking from a mug, but unlike the rookie she was used to going nights without sleep, so it wasn't nearly as bad for her. Sasuke had his eyes closed, and to be honest Ino wondered whether or not he had fallen asleep during a bout of meditation or something. Shikamaru was playing a board game with Chouji on one of the tables, something that looked like a variant of chess. Ino herself was consulting her medical records, intent on completing her work if she was going to be forced to remain awake.
"I put my cannon over here which opens up your elephant to a fork," announced Shikamaru to Chouji, who sighed. Turning about to Ino once more, he continued his previous discussion. "We have an unknown and hostile force moving about suspiciously in a country which we can erupt into war with at any moment. For the KAM, right now it is more important for us to commence research rather than turn and escape, and possibly miss a chance to find out more about this force."
"Oh, I understand that," countered Ino. "I just don't understand why they keep us here. I mean, when this mission was strictly routine it was understandable, but now we've got hostiles running around out there who know we're here. It's gotten completely out of our level."
Chouji manoeuvred out of the move, or so he thought. Without a second glance Shikamaru put his cart forward, taking out Chouji's own cannon. The plump boy let out a cry of despair before reassessing the position.
"Isn't it just because we're here already?" asked Sakura. "I mean, it's understandable that way then. Considering how far Wave is from Fire, it'd be pretty inefficient to have another ship come here on so short a notice."
"Gah, this is giving me a headache," complained Naruto as he rubbed his forehead. "I really need some sleep."
Sakura put a slender hand on his shoulder, and the blonde-haired boy turned to look at his friend and fellow pilot. The pink-haired girl gave him a soft smile.
"Don't worry about it, you can go take a nap," said Sakura. "The others will wake you up in case of attack, so you don't have to worry about it. Just don't try to get lost on your way to the hangar, alright?"
"Heh, you won't have to worry about that," smiled Naruto. His cheerful demeanor shone through even in the face of drowsiness. "I've spent the past few days memorizing the layout of this place. My mind's like a steel trap, you know. I know the ship like the back of my hand now. And... thanks, Sakura-chan."
With that said, the newbie pilot got up from his sitting position, yawning all the way. Turning groggily, he walked towards the door which he thought would lead into the corridor to the pilot's quarters. Ino watched as he left.
"That's... the way to the hangar, isn't it? I thought he was planning to go to his room?"
Sakura looked at the door Naruto had disappeared off into, and simply sighed.
"Speaking of which, does it rain this much in Wave normally?"
--
Day turned once more into night, and night turned once more into day. It hadn't even been two days before Kakashi had received the information he had asked for from the intelligence office, and he did not like what he was reading.
Mae and Ushiro were taking their break in the cafeteria, which meant he was left alone on the bridge, which really wasn't that rare of an occurrence. It was too bad with all the work lately that he hadn't been able to read his Icha Icha, however. But that wasn't the problem right now.
"A military desertion amongst the ranks of the MAM..."
The MAM, the Mist Armour Military, was the Mist version of the KAM, and to be honest their forces were not weak. Although the KAM lead the world in terms of pilots and ability, it wouldn't be a lie to say that the MAM followed closely behind. It was also clear that the Suigunou, a veteran of over eighty years of age, was an old bugger with a penchant for heavy weaponry and a traditional enjoyment at their usage. Although the KAM did not pay much attention to his eccentric purchase of big guns and big Gears, in this case it was going to come back to bite them in the ass.
The Suigunou had been successful in purchasing one of the three Omega-class battleships from the Werkzeughersteller, the leading source of Gear weaponry in the world, and what was basically the number one arms designer and dealer in the world of Gears. The Suigunou had gotten his hands on something humongous, and it was all Kakashi could do to stop his twitching.
Although information was unclear on which one of the two remaining Omega-class battleships had been taken (Konoha had the last one, which was also one of the reasons the KAM was declared the strongest in the world), it was clear that the MAM have them. Or in this case, had them would be the better phrasing.
"One of the Shichibukai... Goddammit... A Shichibukai!"
The Seven Armed Seas, or the Shichibukai, was basically a head count of the best admirals in the MAM, and it wasn't a joke either. Each one of them had the abilities to best a standard KAM admiral one on one, and their crews were famed to be zealous in their loyalty and willing to lay down their lives for their leader.
"Desertion... took with him the Omega-class battleship..." sighed Kakashi. Now he knew it was getting serious. His team, as talented as they all were, simply did not have the abilities or experience yet to take on one of the Seven Armed Seas armed with an Omega-class battleship. "I'm going to have to contact Kagunou-sama and get ourselves out of here. The situation had become impossible for us to handle at our level."
For all intents and purposes, he didn't have any solid evidence that the Shichibukai was here. All he had was circumstantial, the build of that Mist-made Gear and reports of a betrayal in the MAM's ranks. Yet, although the two events could very well not be linked at all, Kakashi knew his luck wasn't that good. The feeling in his gut that had helped him out of so many tight spots told him that these two things were connected, and the longer they stayed the higher the chances of never making it back alive.
He had to make a call to the Kagunou, as fast as he could. There was no time to be wasted here, especially when so little information was know about the enemy.
To start off, what were their intentions? That was a complete mystery. They were holing up here, in what was very well land out of their limits. Although Gatou held special animosity for the KAM, he wasn't entirely fond of other Armour Militaries either, and the MAM came close to KAM in his blacklist, according to rumour. This was a very dangerous place for rogue Mist soldiers to stay.
How big were their forces? Kakashi didn't know. The report had contained information that the Shichibukai had a platoon of soldiers and pilots accompany him, but other than that he knew nothing. There was no information on whether the platoon was large or small, or even what kind of experience they had. He didn't even specifically know which of the Shichibukai had done the betraying and was here on this island.
He felt like the leader of a group of deer in the forest, and all around them were wolves hiding in the shadows. He could hear them, he knew they were there, but that was all he knew. He was cornered.
Suddenly, the terminal in front of him beeped. Kakashi looked up, and frowned as he recognized the frequency. What was Gai calling him now?
--
Gai stood on the bridge of the Emerald Dragon, staring at the spectacle in front of him. It was like something out of a dream, and had he been a man with less experience in the absurdity of Gear warfare, perhaps a little trace of the inner turmoil within would've appeared out of the cracks on his expression.
All around him his techs were running around, trying to figure out the source of the phenomenon, but he had been in enough battles with classes battleships to recognize a Power when he saw one. There was no point in stopping them though, not when they were so frantic. Better to let them work out a bit of that excitement before starting to bark orders.
It was a shame, but it seemed like his boys weren't going to be entering this battle... Now all he had to do was to pray to God for his eternal rival's survival.
--
"Turn on the TV, now. All pilot and Shikamaru, turn on your TVs and switch to channel 14. This is an order from your captain. Once you have finished watching the broadcast, report to the bridge. We'll begin discussing our next course of action."
Kakashi's voice came from the intercom without any warning, jolting Naruto out of his stupor. Instantly, the boy was up, and rubbing his eyes. Fumbling around for the remote to the TV in his cabin, he almost fell off the bed a couple of times. Finally finding it, he turned the object over to the wall, and clicked.
Instantly the holographic TV flashed into existence, but on channel 12. It was a movie, actually one of Naruto's old favourites, but right now it wasn't what he was looking for. He pressed the channel up button two times.
"My hand glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells—"
"I mustn't run away. I must't run—"
"This is Wave News, channel 14. We are bringing to you right now live coverage of the phenomenon that's happening all across Wave right now," said the news anchor, face tightened professionally. No emotion ran across her face, yet Naruto thought for some reason that she was worried. "Now let's go to reporter Takagi Wataru in the field."
The scene in the TV switched from the comfortable table within the TV station to what seemed to be a very wet beach. A young man wearing a business suit and a raincoat over top looked at him, although not seeing him. He held a microphone in his hands, and the caption at the bottom put his name down as Takagi Wataru.
"Thank you, Sato-san," said the reporter. "What we are seeing here right now is something completely out of the ordinary, and right now not even the meteorologists at the station can say anything about it just yet. You can see it here—"
The camera shifted angles, and Naruto was treated to the sight behind him, which definitely gave him a start. Off in the distance, the water was flowing upwards. Upwards, for god's sake. It was impossible, but it was there. It was like staring into a reverse waterfall, except it expanded from horizon to horizon, never stopping.
After a few seconds of the footage, the camera went back to the reporter.
"—The water, right here and according to other reports also from around the entire island, is flowing upwards. The reason is unclear, but the station advises those who want to travel to delay it for a while. Effectively, right now Wave is cut off from the rest of the world. Back to you in the studio, Sato-san."
"Thank you, Takagi-ku—"
Naruto shut the TV off, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was bad, very bad. Without another word, he jumped out of bed and threw on his jacket and pants – he was used to sleeping in just a t-shirt and boxers – and put on his shoes. Running out the door, he charged towards the bridge.
Something dire had come up.
--
"Are you sure it's a Power?" asked Kakashi.
"Not a hundred-percent, but it's the only answer we've got right now," answered Gai, his usual exuberance all but non-existent. "We've gone around the perimeter, but it seems like no matter what we do we can't pierce past it. The water's flowing too fast for that. So until this clears up, you boys will have to be on your own. We'll land the Emerald Dragon on the outside, and enter the moment we get a chance. Until then, take care."
"You too, Gai," said Kakashi as the line died. He turned around, facing the people that he had called up earlier. "Now, for you people."
Shikamaru didn't waste any time, looking at Kakashi blandly.
"What's going on here?"
"As far as the rest of Wave know it, it seems to be nothing more than a freak natural phenomenon. There's going to be a lot of rain around these parts because of it, but other than that the people aren't too bothered other than the aspect of not being able to travel. This is, however, going to be a big problem for us," answered Kakashi honestly. "Three guesses how this occurred, and the first two don't count."
"A Power," answered Sasuke definitely. Naruto looked at him, and Sasuke answered accordingly. "Hmph... Ask Sakura, she'll be able to explain it much better than I can."
Sakura glanced at Sasuke, exasperated, before answering.
"Basically, Powers are abilities powered by chakra as a result of the Armour System," answered the pink-haired girl. "Remember what you did back then with Firefox, on your first run? That was a Power, but that one was produced by a Gear, and not..."
"An Omega-class battleship."
At this declaration there was an obvious wave of surprise coming from all of the current occupants, except for Naruto. He was really starting to get tired of not knowing anything about the world of Gears. Honestly, the longer he hung out around here the more he felt like a fish out of water.
Shikamaru seemed to sense his displeasure, and sighed once more before embarking on an explanation. He would really have to get the kid a book or something later. There was no way he'd stand to be his translator twenty-four-seven.
Quickly, he ran through the basics on Omega-class battleships to Naruto on the side, as the rest of the team looked towards Kakashi for a further explanation.
"...That means what?" asked Sakura. "We've got a foe who can keep a Power like this up for an indeterminate amount of time? This is a suicide mission! Have you asked the Kagunou to switch us out yet?"
"We've done so, but currently taking that course of action is impossible," answered Kakashi. "The 'barrier' is keeping all outside forces out and all inside forces in. It seems our enemy, a deserted Shichibukai, does not want us to leave. I now have sufficient information on the motives and abilities of our enemy, as well as our own situation and the political problems here. Do you want the short version or the long version?"
"The long one," answered Sasuke. "The more information we have here, the better."
"Very well then," said Kakashi. "Our enemy forces include a Shichibukai from the Mist who has deserted his army, and at least a platoon of his followers. We can estimate that they have at least ten Gears on their side, and enough military power to overwhelm this island. They want to take over this island, and use it as their base of operations."
"What about Gatou?" asked Sakura. "He won't just let some guys waltz in and take over his island, he's not that kind of person! Even if they have Gears and he doesn't, he'll still try and fight back. Not to mention the entire world would find out what happened and send troops against him!"
"Which is why he put up this barrier of water in the first place. For better or worse, when they saw our ship here he must've thought that we had found him out, and decided to proceed with their plan, thus locking the outside world out until they take control of this island. Once they have done so, with Gatou's costal defences created as a result of his paranoia, the world will be basically unable to touch this place."
Kakashi stopped for a second to catch his breath and take a sip of the coffee on his table, which was now cold. It had been there since yesterday, as he had found no time to finish the beverage.
"As for Gatou... Well, maybe this will tell you why I think the way I do about the current situation."
He tossed the object at his side towards Sakura, who caught it in mid-air with her trained reflexes. It was a newspaper, and from the date she could see that it had come only today. The Daily Waves, and on the cover was a headline large enough to blot out the sun.
'Gatou dead! Corpse found floating within Crescent Bay!'
--
In the bridge of the underwater fortress, there was no focus on interior design. Instead, there was a clear focus on function, as the no-nonsense steel gray that poked out around every terminal and wall reinforced. The lighting was dark, and there was nothing on the cameras save the underwater life, something entirely foreign to the normal man.
However, the men aboard Susano'o were nothing if not ordinary. Each one of the techies attested to that fact. Despite their roles being behind the frontlines, each and every single one of them was rugged and worn with scars and wounds from previous battles fought in the field. Their eyes were rough and hardened from the experiences they had gone through, and they sat at their terminals, working silently with the diligence of ogres. Had an average person found themselves upon that bridge at that very moment, perhaps they would've thought these men possessed or brain-washed. No ordinary person could be that focused on a task for so long, for these men had been at these terminals for over a week now, stopping only to take short naps, eat, and go to the restroom.
These were men with ideals that had been shattered before, and reborn anew. Knowing the dark depths of despair that failure kept, they were giving it all to keep themselves from ever falling into that downward cycle again. Like reborn phoenixes, they devoted all of their time and energy to their future, willing to go through both heaven and hell for that purpose.
And, sitting in the admiral's chair, was the man who had brought them together and given these shattered soldiers a purpose once more. He was a tall man, about a head bigger than the next largest in this room. His hair was cropped short like a military man should be, although there was a distinct spike to his hair that resembled the horn of an oni. Most of his body was bandaged, although his posture and face spoke of no wound.
His eyes were a fierce black, with smouldering flames hidden deep within behind veils of deceit, intelligence, and cunning. The man who sat here had a purpose, a reason for existing. His goal had taken over him, and at this point if one were to call him possessed they wouldn't exactly be wrong.
His name was Momochi Zabuza, formerly of the Shichibukai. The Riptide Blade they had called him in his Gear-piloting days, although he had made sure none of his skills had been lost with the passage of time.
At the moment, he was staring intently at the young man in front of him. The boy was at least younger by several years, if not at least a decade or so, and his countenance could not have been more different from his superior had God intended it to be so. Unlike his admiral's short and spiked hair, his was the long flowing locks of beautiful young man commonly mistaken for a girl. Unlike Zabuza's incredible giant-like physique, his was more like that of a doll's. When he spoke, it was with a soft melody like the sound of a piano or a lute, unlike the rough whisper that spoke of drums and trumpets.
"All our units are in position then," asked the bandaged man, his face a mask of solidarity. Although his very presence radiated power, currently he betrayed none of his emotions, simply speaking as clearly as a famed berserker could. "Have you matched the vessel you encountered with the database yet?"
"The techs are currently working on it," replied Haku evenly. Indeed, he had set them upon the task of finding out exactly what they were dealing with. So far, however, they had found nothing. "We do know, by the style and make of the ship, that it is Konoha-made. Other than that and the fact that it's a Titan-class battleship, we know nothing. However, it is unlikely that it was sent here for any reason relating to us."
Zabuza's eyebrow went up a slight millimetre. To anybody else perhaps this would've been unnoticeable, but to Haku who he had kept by his side all these years it was a another story. The leader was interested.
"Explain."
"When I first encountered the vessel to gather information," elaborated Haku. "They deployed a Gear against me. Due to the fact that no other Gears had been deployed even when a possible threat against them had appeared, it is believed that they were undermanned; thus, the possibility of them only having a single Gear or pilot is high. Another reason we can pay attention to is the fact that when the lone Gear approached me, he did not attack until I engaged first."
"I see. Thus, we can draw two conclusions from these... events," said Zabuza. "One is, the convoy we saw is under-guarded and undermanned, perhaps because they came expecting no combat, or at least no combat they couldn't easily gotten out of. Another is that they know nothing about us or our goals."
"They knew nothing about us, sir," answered Haku. "There's a high possibility that they do know."
"Of course," said Zabuza, waving him off. Even that one gesture of his was enough to silence an entire room of battle-hardened veterans, although in this case it was not the intention. "Mist-made Gears are distinctive, especially yours. If the admiral of that ship is intelligent at all, they would've searched their archives for information regarding the Mist. By now, I'm willing to bet that the entire KAM know about our presence, or perhaps only the top."
"Then, sir. Why did we put up Zekkai?"
"Zekkai, the Absolute Barrier," smiled Zabuza. "With this, we have succeeded in two things. Keeping that convoy locked within the Wave, and keeping any potential reinforcements out. With Gatou dead, we will be able to take this island within a month, and I will be able to keep up Zekkai for at least two. However, we do not need any resistance. That is why I want you to take down that convoy before any trouble starts. If units 'D' and 'M' are ready now, then you must follow them."
"Yes, sir."
With a bow, Haku left the bridge, heading towards the hangar, preparing to join his allies on land to engage in a battle that would wipe out their largest threat currently. With their Gears, honestly, the rest of the island would be a piece of cake to take down. However, if the enemy had even one Gear remaining there would be danger. That was why it was the best idea right now to cut off the problem at the root of it all.
Zabuza swung back in his chair, looking outside the windows of the bridge. Like any other bridge, to tell the truth they weren't really windows. Cameras set about the outside of the vessel transferred images to screens, which were set about to resemble windows, thus allowing him to see into the outside world without letting the outside world see in.
Smiling, he folded one leg over the other, and folded his arms.
He had fought long enough, and hard enough. His men themselves had fought just as long, and just as hard. They had failed in taking down the regime of the Suigunou, and this was their last chance. If they took Wave, they would be able to bring their dreams into reality. If they didn't, then it would be the end of it all. It was the ultimate sink-or-swim, the basis of evolution. The strong survived and the weak didn't.
Momochi Zabuza, however, did not fight for himself.
--
This chapter was particularly long, but that's mostly due to Zabuza and Haku's moment at the end here. Honestly, I thought in the original manga that they didn't receive enough credit, so I'm trying my best here to give them the recognition and power they deserve. It doesn't hurt that making them out to be big figures help in making the entire arc epic. To be honest, it always galled me a little that Gatou ended up being the one behind all the events in the Wave arc, and that he was so paradoxically influential in the events and yet terminated so easily once he actually appeared before the heroes.
In this story, I'm gonna make it right. Gatou's a small player, and Zabuza and Haku are truly the ones that Naruto and company have to watch out for. I'm hoping to elaborate more on their backgrounds and personality, as well as what drives them. Also, a lot of characters that in canon will show up at different times will be here playing a larger part. I honestly hope you guys will enjoy the rest of the Wave arc.
I still feel like I've got a full head of steam, so you might expect another chapter in the coming few days. There's so much extra strength here stored up from the lull in writing before that I'm not actually sure what to do with it.
Until next time, ciao!