The False Apocalypse
Shinobi Saga
Chapter 37
Republic?
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
The chasm was nearly complete. With all the earth users the Zate had utilized with the shadow clone technique, work went quickly and without pause. As dawn rose above the mountains it cast a shadow on the impossibly deep hole in the ground. The foundation work had begun and so had the beginning work on the structure's pluming. Every drop of water to enter the new city of Bevelle and further the Temple of Bevelle would be filtered and protected by seal. Massive pipes were being forged and Anakin had droids constructing other droids in a process that became ever faster as new droids left assembly. Soon he would have enough droids to continue their own production and send others to offload the work of the clones.
Massive stone blocks, quarried over the recent week were stacked high and wide. Tens of thousands of blocks larger than most apartments were ready to line the outer layer of the temple as soon as the frame was up and the floors were in place. The Zate had started early on this part because it would take the most time of any part of the project. The sheer amount of stone that would be utilized in this temple would boggle the minds of local engineers for decades.
This was the view that the representatives from the various Shinobi Nations took in as they arrived that morning. Their jaws nearly fell slack at the awe inspiring progress the Zate had made in such a short amount of time. Of the villages represented, each sent their Kage, Daimyo, and two guards per representative. Even the smaller nations without a recognized Kage were permitted to bring their strongest warrior for balance among those present. All of the five great Shinobi Nations were to attend. Even Tea, Grass, Bird, Iron, Waterfall, Mountain, Valley, and a number of lesser known Nations with some level of Shinobi affiliation had replied that they would be attending. Amegakure was under multilateral occupation while the former Otogakure had been entirely claimed by the Zate and they had entered into a deal with its former Daimyo in order to maintain stability throughout the country while the Zate established their city and base of operations.
Still it was early and only the Kage and representatives from Earth country as well as the Kage and representatives from the freshly reorganized Water country. Mei Terumi Stood in awe at the sight of Bevelle's construction. She momentarily forgot her primary purpose for coming here. She needed to solidify her role as the new Mizukage. This could only be done by gaining acceptance by a majority of the four other Kage. Her conversations with Oonoki during the last stretch of her journey had proved fruitful having gained at least friendly relations with one of the men who stood in her way of truly becoming the accepted Mizukage. Aside from that Kirigakure and Water country in general needed to be re-solidified after the rebellion that had spawned from the Great Shinobi Massacre.
A great number of Shinobi loyal to the fourth Mizukage were slain in the battle. Luckily for her and the Shinobi who fallowed her, the side they chose was the side that did the slaying. Still, she had to look back in sadness at the fact that she had to intercept and assassinate the fourth before he got to Konoha. Ever since Ao discovered the Genjutsu Yagura was under, Mei had been hesitant to attack him, hoping a peaceful solution was possible. There was a time when the two had been on rather good terms and she hated having to kill him. Regardless, it was her unfortunate duty that had to be fulfilled. Now Water country was in ruins from the civil war that broke out once the news of Yagura's death spread. She needed the confirmation of the Gokage and now the Zate. She needed an alliance that would bring stability to her war-torn country.
Ryoutobin no Oonoki stood by Mei surrounded by his own entourage, carrying surprisingly more than his size and age suggested he should be carrying. The ever present complaining about his back brought smiles to his loyal guardians. After hearing of Mizukagre's plight he couldn't help but consider what he would have done only a few years ago. The recent communication between the nations had brought a change of heart in the old man he hadn't thought possible. If Mizukagre were in such a position only a couple years earlier he would have jumped at the chance to invade. Today however he could see the need for stability. Times were changing and war was the last thing any of them needed at the moment.
Only a week ago he had left the largest war zone he had seen since the Second Great Shinobi War. It brought a smirk to his face that of all nations; even with the current condition of Water Country it was Konoha who had drawn the short stick. The once proud Fire country was in ruins after the Massacre. Even though they were on the winning side, and even though the Zate had played their betrayal to their advantage, Konoha got raped of its power because of that foolish move. He understood fully that their situation happened for the very reason there was no civilian involvement in Shinobi affairs in Iwagakure. Civilians could never understand the full military ramifications of actions like the one they pulled. All it took was a blind idealist with the sway of the civilians to manipulate them into doing something that was the military equivalent of political suicide. The villages were nothing without their clans. Appeasement of said clans has been and always will be the most important aspect of holding such a village together. News about the truth of the Uchiha Massacre was more than enough proof of that. If it weren't for the harsh but necessary decisions of Konoha's leadership it would have crumbled then and there. Even so they lost a massive portion of their military strength in only one night.
"You're here, good day honorable representatives. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nilus Sarn, head researcher of the Zate. I have been instructed by Master Yoda to give you a tour of our youngling city." The blue male Twi'lek informed the group. Like the rest of the Zate he appeared young. He couldn't have looked more than fourteen. Not a moment later a highly condescending voice came from inside the carriage in which the Daimyo of Earth sat.
"What the hell is all this racket? And why did we stop? Are we there or did something stop us." The baritone voice of a man not that far off from Oonoki's age demanded as he took a short step outside his enclosed transport.
"Oh my god, what is that… that … thing…? A demon? Lord Tsuchikage, do get rid of it this instant." The gruff baritone commanded with his eyes narrowed dangerously at the twi'lek
"Heh, don't worry your highness, this is one of those Zate I told you about. A very intriguing group if you ask me." Oonoki replied to the earth lord with a cheerful grin. He felt that it would be a good day if it turned out as amusing as it had so far.
"But you didn't tell me they looked so… alien…" The lord commented sternly. He certainly didn't like it when his subordinates left out 'important' details.
"That would be because I am from the planet Ryloth of the Force dimension, my lord. Many of us within the Zate are not of a Humanoid species, granted we are all sentient. My name is Nilus Sarn and I will be your tour guide for the day, others will arrive shortly to guide the other lords and Kage as they arrive." Nilus replied, attempting to hide the mild annoyance of the man's apparent intolerance.
"…Very well, lead on." The lord replied with a scowl after a short pause. After a short, stern, glare the lord came climbing out of his carriage as he turned to his valets. "I will see this city with my own eyes. Remain here until I return." He commanded of his valets.
"You will not be disappointed." Nilus replied with a polite nod. The water lord had apparently come out of his own carriage and had overheard a good part of the conversation. With that heard he had a very interesting question.
"You said you were the head researcher, what is it exactly that you research." The water lord had always had a mild interest in the sciences, though he didn't have much time to actually devote to them. Hearing that a researcher would be their tour guide brought a smile to his face that there would at least be some interesting conversation.
"My primary research topic is trans-dimensional travel, though I do have a hand in most the projects the Zate finds for my team." Nilus replied happily.
"Really, so you study time-space jutsu?" The water lord inquired, intrigued by the subject. Of course every knew of the legendary Hiraishin technique of the Fourth Hokage. Still, not many had ever met someone who actively studied it. It was the chance of a lifetime for the water lord in his opinion. It wasn't often that he got to talk to someone both well read and knowledgeable in the Shinobi arts.
"Some, but it is mostly through the knowledge we have derived from our travels through time and space. Though we are from another dimension we arrived here by complete accident. My primary goal is to understand how and why we get transported the way we do and to develop a repeatable gateway between worlds. If possible what I would like is this world and others to be linked by some sort of doorway, though that may not be entirely possible. Recently we've stumbled upon a breakthrough that has us so close I can taste it. Without that breakthrough I can assure you we wouldn't be building this massive structure you see before you. It would be far to great a waste of time." Nilus replied, glad he could have an intellectual conversation with his guests.
"Where did you get all the money for such a massive project anyway? That hole alone should cost a fortune." The Tsuchikage had personal experience with projects that used earth users to create similar foundations, though not remotely on that scale. He knew first hand that it coasted a fortune.
"We have been gathering supplies in secret for a little over three years now. Many of our members are quite skillful with the Blood Clone and shadow clone techniques and have given rise to famous names like Hitokiri Battousai, Arashi and a number of other famous names. While we sat calmly in class, learning about the world our clones were out using their abilities to bring in bounties. We also have a good amount of technology to scan for various minerals so we have accumulated a fair amount of gold to expand our organization. It has truly come in hand in the construction."
"So you've been stealing gold from our mines?" The Earth lord inferred with a dangerous tone.
"I wouldn't be so quick to accuse my lord. We haven't taken anything from any mines or any place blatantly belonging to any person or country. Even if we did the vanes would have been at depths you could hardly imagine much less get to. You would be surprised what our technology is capable of." Nilus replied to the accusation. Before the lord could reply they became curious at the voices approaching them from the distance.
"Stay together everyone, were going fishing today so stay close." A cheerful Kenshin told a group of about fifteen children as they came near Nilus and passed the foreign diplomats.
"Yay!" The children shouted joyously.
"But Master Kenny where are the fishing poles?" One young girl asked, seeing that a young Hyuuga girl called Shimisu was being carried on Ken's shoulders instead of a good number of poles.
Using his free hand Kenshin pulled a scroll out of his shirt and held it high for all to see. "Well that's because they're all in here, that they are."
"Woooooww." A number of the children said in fascination. Very few of them had any understanding of seals and the thought was quite abstract to say the least. Still he was one of the most trusted Zate in the order and like many children trust authority figures without question they easily believed the surprising tale.
"Master Himura, so good to see you, I had hoped we would get to see you on our tour. Everyone this is Master Kenshin Himura, more widely known as Hitokiri Battousai. He is our second division captain, one of our most powerful warriors and wisest tacticians." To say the lords were shocked was an understatement. They had heard of a young child, barely thirteen or fourteen, who was capable of taking on multiple A-class missing nin at once as well as several famous S-class Nuke nin. It was hard to believe the boy was that… short. Ok so Nilus was short as well but they had assumed that was due to his species. Where they all adolescent teenagers? No, that was impossible, wasn't it?
"Oh hello there Master Nilus I was just about to take these younglings fishing." Several children squinted in curiosity at being called Younglings. One such child was close enough to tug on Kenshin's shirt.
"Master Kenny what's a …yun…younging?"
"A youngling, Ura, it's another word for child."
"Ooooh, well who are they? They look mean…" The little boy asked, pointing to the far older looking entourage.
"Well those are the leaders of the Hidden Villages of Stone and Mist. They're here to see the city were building. They're not mean, they're just too serious, that they are." Kenshin replied with a cheerful smile only for the youngling to reply with an "oh…"
"Mister Himura, I must say despite the roomers of your age, you seem somewhat frail to be capable of so much." The lord of stone country commented, doubting the stories that seemed to have spread like wildfire. They boy looked to be all skin and bones, not to mention his clear lack of age and thus experience.
"Well I am over three hundred, so I guess that's to be expected." The intriguingly cheerful response just about gaged the lord, prompting Oonoki to slap him on the back.
"I warned you about that my lord. They might look young but somehow they outclass us in the age department three times over and then some." The short Kage commented with another jolting slap to the back of the far taller lord.
"Well, I must be going now, mustn't keep those fish waiting." Kenshin's sudden change in topic brought cheers from the numerous children that followed him.
It didn't take long until a number of other representatives arrived. Not once did the Zate keep them waiting. As they arrived in caravans of two or three groups they each received a tour guide to bide time until the meeting that was to take place later that day.
-Osaka Port-
A middle aged man, dressed like a druid stood patiently in line for the tournament sign ups when he caught a whiff of something familiar…too familiar. Sniffing the air he looked around to identify the wayward waft.
"Impossible… he should be dead… But… There's no mistaking it, he's alive… but how…or why? I should have known he wouldn't die so easily. But who are those with him? The tea, that's him, I'm sure of it. He's with someone…no two…blah, one absolutely reeks of bean paste, the other…cinnamon buns…what kind of freaks is he hanging around this time." The gruff voice whispered to himself as he began to stroke his mustache with a simi-clawed hand.
Looking around the heavily crowded area the man searched for distinct smells. Sadly he saw nothing. 'Oh well, all that matters is he's alive. With this tournament I should find him sooner or later.' He thought as he stepped forward to the sign up counter. A tiny but elderly man no more than three feet tall stood alongside a far younger man with a sword at his side.
"Now here we have some talent don't we." The old man commented as the druid like man stepped up to the counter.
"Without a doubt father. Who could have ever guessed we would be graced by the presence of the great Dragon Sage Raiko. Looks like this tournaments going to be a lively one." The robed man removed his hood, revealing a face adorned with tattooed markings and a few scales. They weren't any normal tattoos either, each and every mark was engraved in his face by the remnants of scar tissue. The path to sage hood for a dragon summoner was a brutal one. Where the toads had the water from their mountain to assist in teaching how to sense the energy of nature; the dragons had fragments of their claws. Each stroke on Raiko's face represented a week's worth of training in the use of natural energy. Each and every marking was the result of a Dragon Lord digging deep into the hopeful's face with its massive claws and using natural energy to break of microscopic pieces of that very claw into the bloody wound.
In this particular instance the tribalistic 'tattoo' manifested itself a series of thunderbolts , stretching from Raiko's hairline across the left side of his face and down his neck. Just as with toads the training came with its own risks, some universal to all users of the energy, others a little more unique to the training method. Due to the tattoos, the longer it took to master the sage mode the more of the user's body that would take on the look of their summons. Raiko's ears were pointed and his hands were simi-scaled while a few scales seemed to be protruding from his otherwise human skin. Even his nose had begun the permanent transformation, though it thankfully had stopped. It had truly taken him a long time to master it. What few aside from Raiko himself knew was that it had taken just under two years for him to master sage mode in its entirety. The scars of his training reminded him daily of what it meant to be the sage of the thunder dragons. At only twenty-nine years of age he was the first to take the title of Raiko in nearly forty years. It was no wonder he was known so well around the world, just as the great Jiraiya of the Sannin. Officially there were fewer than ten master Sages in the world and even fewer of them had truly mastered the art of Sage mode.
"hmm." Raiko grunted in agreement. He could sense the chakra levels a good number of the combatants wielded and they way a number held themselves proved that it wasn't all bluster. "Tell me, have you seen a young man in his early teens with blue hair and blue eyes around?"
"Now that would be unique now wouldn't it? I can't say I have but there have been a number of teenagers signing up. The first one had me surprised but after the twentieth I stopped paying them any mind." The old man replied. It was quite true. Back home it was rare to see fighters until their late teens or early twenties. It was clear that was one major difference with this continent. After one boy mentioned how some rogue named Itachi killed off one of the most powerful clans in this region in a single night, at the age of fourteen he became excited to see some of them could do. Was this Itachi a one in a million prodigy or did his area normally train children to be so powerful so young. His suspicions were confirmed when he discovered how many were applying and handling themselves like fairly seasoned warriors.
"No matter, he's here somewhere, I can smell it."
"What's your interest in the boy anyway, did he take your wallet or something? I wouldn't be surprised if half our participants had some criminal history you know." The younger of the two behind the counter questioned.
"No, no, nothing like that. Just an acquaintance I haven't seen in a few years. I can smell him, but I can't quite locate him. It will be interesting to see how much he's grown." The sage replied. He had enough dealings with the man to know he did little without reason. If there was some reason he was in hiding he certainly didn't want to give it away.
"Well, now that the pleasantries are over, I'm going to need your full name, your primary combat style and the initial deposit." The old man asked with pen in hand.
"Raiko Issei, Master of the Raitsume (thunder claw)." Raiko replied plainly, his mind was still heavily occupied with the thoughts of seeing a supposedly dead man.
-Orochimaru's Eastern Base-
Master Hiko, Wolverine, Sanosuke and Kimimaro spent camped outside the base for the night, watching for anyone entering or leaving the base and performing standard recon before moving in. After several figures were noticed entering the base but none leaving it was determined that they would set up surveillance and take shifts watching the only discovered entrance to the base. By morning the three felt it was time to attack, before the base began to stir into its full numbers.
Entering the base in a Zate attack formation they began to take the hallways one by one, just in case they ran into the snake himself. What they found surprised them to no end. The rooms were empty. Was there some sort of underground passage hidden from even Orochimaru's highest guards? Was it empty before they even got there? If so then why were people coming in last night? Where did they go? The four Zate wondered through the deep corridors of the base, finding nothing, nothing, and still yet nothing. That is. Until they reached the labs.
"Stay where you are!" Master Hiko commanded after entering the room and seeing an yellow haired being placing their hand on a large book case in an otherwise empty lab. The test tubes were empty or simply missing. There were no bodies, there was no sign of activity in the least. It was as if the entire lab had been summoned elsewhere. And then, the bookcase disappeared in a plume of smoke.
"So you chased me all the way here. I'm surprised you're not Orochimaru. But even he's not fool enough to take me on alone." The figure replied as she turned, revealing herself to be a new summoning path for Pein. That much was obvious from the Rinnegon eyes, the distinctive hair color, and all the chakra receptor piercings.
"No, Nagato, we weren't looking for you. Not that others aren't. We were here to put an end to Orochimaru's experiments and save anyone still sane enough to be considered human."
"Then it would seem you have failed. I will create peace in this world even if it takes destroying it." Pein replied in a condescending tone.
"Then join us Nagato, we don't want to fight you. All we want is to create a world without war!" Sanosuke screamed.
"If you want peace then why attack me?" Pein asked
"Why did you attack innocent people?" Hiko replied question for question.
"Because they do not know pain!" Nagato exlcaimed through his path.
"But they do Nagato, they do! There's not one man, woman, or child in this region that hasn't been touched by war. Friends, children and parents have died. The Zate are meeting as we speak, trying to unite the Shinobi nations under the cause of peace."
"You are all under the same deluded ideals of Master Jiraiya. He doesn't understand, none of you understand! There can be no true peace, only god can create peace. I will be that god!." Pein exclaimed as his summoning path slammed her hands into the ground and reverse summoned herself back with the Nagato.
"You don't even understand what a god is…" Hiko replied to himself with a shrug, knowing Nagato was long gone. There were a great many questions remaining. It was clear that Nagato had taken Orochimaru's experiments. But why? For what purpose could he possibly require Orochimaru's notes.
"Damn!" Sanosuke screamed the moment the smoke had cleared enough to notice Pein was long gone, his voice echoing throughout the empty chamber. "How are we supposed to catch someone who can just vanish!"
"Calm down Sano, screaming's aint going to get us nowhere." Logan replied, retracting the claws he had drawn the moment he entered the base.
"Let's go, it's clear this base is empty." Kimimaro requested, not wanting to spend a moment more in this place than he had to.
"Yea, even the cells are empty. I don't think we're going to find that Juugo guy you were looking for." Sanosuke replied.
"It's likely he's been moved. If not he's probably causing a rampage somewhere around here." Kimimaro stated, knowing his friend all too well.
"I don't sense him in this area, unless Nagato took him I can only imagine him being at another base. We haven't been here in several months so it's possible Orochimaru moved him to a place with some different equipment."
"Well, I suppose it's no use waiting around here anymore." Logan commented as he started making his way to the nearest door.
"Just a moment." Master Hiko replied as he pulled a holoprojector out of his coat. Holding it in his palm the image of Master Windu appeared on the screen.
"Master Hiko, good to see you. You're lucky you caught me when you did. I was about to head into to the meeting… I sense the mission hasn't gone well…" Master Windu replied, sensing the disappointed emotions across the link.
"Pein was here, we showed up just as he left with the last of Orochimaru's records. Until we get some deep earth scanners in here, were not finding anything."
"I see, I had hoped you had moved on from that base and on to the next one." Windu replied with a sigh.
"What are you talking about Master, did something happen?" Sano inquired, sensing something bad from Master Windu.
"It would seem someone has attacked three of the other bases already. Two of them were the main bases in Oto."
"So Pein's been busy." Logan commented with exasperation at the situation.
"Perhaps, but there may be others. The Reish…" Mace began to elaborate when Logan interrupted at hearing the peculiar word.
"The what?" Logan replied in shock at the peculiar word.
"Forgive me, I forgot you weren't here. We discovered what those creatures call themselves, the Reish." Windu explained.
"You mean those things that attacked us in Konoha?" Kimimaro replied remembering the frightening energy levels it was putting off.
"Yes, we fear they may have some need for Orochimaru's records. Be careful the chances are getting higher that you could run into Orochimaru or them. I'll relay your findings in the meeting. I've got to go. May the Force be with you.
"And also with you." The team replied in unison before Hiko cut the link.
-Osaka port: Lunchtime-
Naruto, Hinata, and Nazomishi had gotten up earlier than planned to register for the tournament. Sadly the line was ridiculously long even at five in the morning. It had taken them till nine to finally register. The short, elderly man at the registration desk seemed skeptical at their combat ability and lectured them with a warning about how dangerous the tournament was going to be. He emphasized that it was no place for civilians. He explained that much of his comment was largely about their civilian dress, though the way they held themselves seemed to suggest otherwise. Apparently they didn't look like fighters, just some locals looking for a cheap ride overseas. It took some convening but they finally got signed in under their false names. Naruto registered his fighting style as the Kazegumo while Hinata registered under the Hishou Kei Do (Way of the flying thorn) … Nazomishi on the other hand called his style the binding fist. After that strange experience Nazomishi decided it was best that they try to at least look like fighters now that they weren't trying to pass as locals. Still before they got far from the line Hinata had to ask where Nazo got the name for his style. They certainly hadn't seen him doing much outside helping them the past few days.
"I did a lot of thinking. You know how powerful those things are. If we train correctly we should be able to take out a few of them. Still what if I have to fight mine? No matter what I do it will always be as strong or stronger than me. When it comes to the rest of them Tobi could probably take out more than me in a contest of raw power once he gets some more combat experience. That's more than likely how he will have to fight the one he fought before.
"Yea, but what about all your techniques? I thought you were like Kakashi with more techniques than you knew what to do with?" Hinata replied.
"Without Tobi's ridiculous chakra levels they wouldn't be powerful enough to have any effect. But I don't have access to those kinds of charka reserves. I have to use Fuuinjutsu or the Force to compete with anything that powerful. With the Force thrown out the window now's as good a time as any to work out a fighting style around seals. I've done a bit but not enough to account for a full form. The fights will give me plenty of combat experience using whatever I figure out. For now I just have to research as much as I can on any seals that could be useful."
"So we all just signed up for a tournament without any idea what our fighting styles consist of, much less how to use them." Naruto replied while dropping his head down below his shoulders. "This is just great, were going to get our heads shoved up our asses there. Can't you see that?"
"We'll be fine Tobi, you'll see." Nazomishi assured Naruto as they entered a huge sprawling market. Everywhere they looked there were clothes, weapons, and more supplies than a man could use in a lifetime. It was a merchant's paradise with all the fighters in town.
"Hey Kari what do you think of this?" Naruto asked about a set of leather braces as they walked through the outdoor market. There were tons of outdoor markets set up and geared to serve the abnormal concentration of fighters present. From swords to fortified combat garbs they had virtually everything a warrior could want. For our heroes this was the perfect place to buy something and not stand out as abnormal.
"I-I don't know na-Tobi, wouldn't that constrict your movement? It seems a little large." Hinata commented, noting that they clearly didn't have anything in his size.
"Yea I guess you're right, if I got anything I guess I would have to get fitted for it." Naruto replied in disappointment. He really liked the design on the back and it had a steel plate fastened between the layers of leather. He couldn't help but wish he were a little older.
"It would seem that way with everything here. Perhaps if we were a few years older we could find something but that won't help us for this tournament." Nazomishi commented, coming up from behind after looking through a nearby tent. "I suggest we find a tailor for something to fit properly. I noticed the tailor on the corner was measuring several people earlier. Hopefully he can help us out." With that Naruto took one final look at the braces he thought looked cool but decided it was a good idea to check this guy out.
It took about five minutes to get there but when they entered the tent Hinata's jaw dropped in absolute awe of the clothing they had available, especially the selection within the store itself. With a smirk Nazomishi put his hand on her shoulder and said "This way Kari, I don't think silk ceremonial Kimono's are going to be the best idea for this tournament." Hinata blushed at how easily she had become distracted by the amazing set of clothes they had here.
"Greetings, greetings, what can I do for you children." A hospitable, man with a frail, elderly figure seemingly appeared from behind a rack of clothes.
"You must be the tailor Majimoto, my siblings and I are in need of some combat clothing for the tournament." Nazomishi replied while Naruto was distracted by a nearby clothing rack.
"Ah, but nobody has anything your size. I must admit I don't have much myself. As skilled as children are in this region I never expected this many to try their hand a such a dangerous tourney." The old man replied while stroking his lightly bearded chin. "You're sure you want to go through with it? I realize danger comes with the Shinobi occupation but these tournaments are something else."
"We are more than capable. Unfortunately we didn't want to attract too much attention coming through Iwagakure so we left our normal clothes back home. You seem to be just the man to fulfill our needs." Nazomishi shifted his eyes discreetly to Hinata, signaling for her to remember this story on the off chance anyone ever asked about it.
"Indeed I am, so what style were you thinking about? We have a wide selection." The old man asked in a surprisingly energetic manor for his apparent age.
"Start with Tobi here. Color wise he's useless in dressing himself. He's going to need an expert if he's ever going to get anything that doesn't say 'here I am Kill me!' He uses a Bo staff and knows how to wield a Zanbato, so he needs something that can move freely with swift and wide movements, something that won't interfere with high chakra usage. I don't care about the price, our master left us with plenty when he died and this is about as worthy a cause as any I can think of." Nazomishi pulled out a small bag with gold coins to make his point, much to the surprise and satisfaction of the tailor.
"Hmm, you know what you need, that narrows it down a lot. Tobi, which is your dominate hand?" Majimoto asked of Naruto who turned peculiarly from a particularly flashy set of orange spandex.
"Huh?" Naruto replied as he looked around cluelessly.
"I see what you mean, I ordered that in for a masquerade but the owner never showed up. That simply won't do. This way Tobi." The old man motioned for Naruto to fallow him into his store.
"Ano…" Hinata was about to ask Nazomishi a question when Nazomishi answered with a shaking head.
"No Kari, I don't know what's going to happen to him in there. For your sake I hope he comes out more handsome than ever." 'I wonder how this is going to turn out when he stops dyeing his hair? Black and blond is about as opposite as you can get. I hope it doesn't clash too much.'
After about thirty minutes the two came out with Naruto hiding behind the doorway.
"Don't do that, come on out, your siblings want to see you."
"But…" Naruto was cut off when the old man grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into view of the others. Naruto couldn't help but wonder how strong that old man was, especially after how much that hurt!
When Hinata saw the boy of her dreams her heart nearly skipped a beat at his new look. Sure he didn't have his signature golden hair but she could see it in her mind and he looked good.
His shirt was dark blue and loosely woven with a material that resembled wool but was actually made from an unusually large spider that enhanced it's silk webs with charka, making it surprisingly more resilient than most other fibers, especially when it came to Shinobi combat. His pants more tightly woven out of the same material and were baggy, much like the pants he wore back in Konoha. They started tight against his waist with a large utility belt and expanded down his legs before pulling in sharply at his black, leather boots. The sleeves were loose but not enough to get in the way of his Bo and were apparently removable at the shoulder for use in multiple seasons.
"Thank you God. If at all possible I want three more of those for him. The last thing we need it him trying to pick out his own clothes again." Nazomishi replied with a shiver at the thought of him in that …thing… he tried picking up.
"You're sure you don't want to hear the price first?" The owner questioned, knowing the one was going to be fairly high.
"Quite frankly, I don't give a shit. It's better to buy him a few of those and it last a few years than to keep on replacing pieces of crap.
"Very well, I will have them done by weeks end. And you two?"
"I guess I will." Hinata replied before entering the store for fitting. She entered the store, taking one final look at Naruto before walking past him with a smile on her face.
"Are my clothes really that bad?" Naruto asked Nazomishi about his old clothes.
"I don't know what it is about you and orange but quite frankly the last thing you picked out was supposed to be orange. If it weren't for your best friend talking you into wearing the blue I dare say I would have killed you on sight." This brought a peculiar raise of the eyebrow from Naruto who didn't really think orange looked that bad.
"Well, at least this feels good." Naruto commented as if it were some sort of conciliation, to which Nazomishi palmed his forehead with a deep sigh.
Nearly an hour passed before Hinata returned. Unlike Naruto her opinions were somewhat reasonable and prompted numerous adjustments by the tailor. When it was all done she was revealed to the others.
"So, what do you think?" The old man asked as he ushered the shy girl through the door.
Naruto's jaw literally dropped as he took his first look at her new appearance. Beautiful was an understatement, even with contacts disguising her true eye color. She now wore a shirt close to the look of Naruto's, only hers was far more tightly woven together, from a distance it seemed as any normal shirt would as far as texture went. It was black and clung tightly around her, with removable sleeves which were also tighter than Naruto's though it certainly wasn't a set of tights. It went all the way down to a large belt that wrapped around properly once and then draped down a few inches below the first wrap at her hips. Each drape of the belt was designed to hold a tonfa which was still in their room. She wore a fairly loose skirt that went down to just above her knees with a longer cape draping down from her belt to just below her calves.
"Uh…." Was Naruto's only reply as he stuttered with a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.
"I have to say, far better than that parka you used to wear." That comment Naruto snapped out of his stupor.
"Better? She's…" Before he spoke any further he stopped himself when he realized what he was about to say and instantly blushed in embarrassment, to which Hinata blushed in embarrassment.
"I thought you two were siblings?" The old tailor asked, now somewhat skeptical about their story.
"W-we are…it's just…" Naruto stuttered and trailed off, unsure of how to answer that.
"I've tried to warn him that incest is bad." Nazomishi replied sarcastically with a wide smirk. This remark brought a whole new level of blush to Naruto's cheeks and Hinata into a light headed wobble.
"Careful now…" The tailor replied as he tried to keep her balanced. "… I see, well you should listen to your brother. I take it you want three more of this as well?" The tailor replied with a slightly stern look on his face.
"Shin! What the hell man…" Naruto screamed with a glare.
"You embarrass far too easily." Nazomishi replied with an even larger smirk than before. Oh this was simply too much fun.
"You're next, Mr. comedy." The tailor stated, not particularly amused with the boy's sense of humor, as he opened the door for the third time with this group.
Out of the three of them Nazomishi took the least amount of time. He had spotted something and simply had it adjusted to his size. Within twenty minutes he was walking out in a look that was completely different to the other two. He wore a black Chinese style martial arts Gi. It buttoned down with carved wooden pegs and had a set of matching pants that hung loosely with a set of small shoes on his feet. (Think Master Roshi as Jacky Chun in the world tournament.) On his face was a conforming set of sunglasses, black all around with dark blue lenses.
Opening a small box he ushered his 'siblings' closer and told them to "take one." As they moved closer to the box they noticed that they were more sunglasses. Naruto smiled as he grabbed one and put it on while moving to the nearest mirror.
"Sweet…" Was Naruto's only reply as he smiled widely.
"I'll be back in a week to pick up the rest." Nazomishi told the old man who replied with a nod.
"Good doing business with you, keep a good eye on your brother." The old man replied with a small snicker after having explained that it was all a joke and that Tobi simply wasn't all that great around beautiful women, even if it was his sister.
As they left Nazomishi decided it was a good time to bring up something rather important.
"Tobi, I think it's time you learned to control your emotions better. You could have blown our cover.
"Well, you didn't do much better, messing with me like that, you're sick to even think like that."
"What other option did we have? As I saw it I had two options. I could have either played the teasing older brother on the kid with no hormone control or seriously explained that you were in love with your sister. Remember, you can't act like that in public. I'm just glad the tailor bought it after a few minutes."
"Well… it was still embarrassing."
"You're just too easy to embarrass." Naruto hmphed while crossing his arms and looking to the sky. The trio walked down the street not really knowing where they were going when Naruto looked back to the others. That was when he noticed something strange. Why did Nazo get a sleeve when he was missing an arm?
"…hey Nazo…?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you buy a shirt with a sleeve if you don't have an arm, won't it get in the way?"
"The tailor had a good idea. I'm surprised I didn't think of it earlier…" Nazomishi started to turn a corner and motioned the other two to follow.
"Here we are, I'm going to buy a puppet arm."
"Wait, like Kankuro's doll?" Naruto questioned, shocked at the idea.
"I suppose. But they don't take much chakra to move at a civilian level since replacements attach directly to the body. If nothing else I'll be able to fane having an arm until the tournament."
"Um, why haven't I seen anything like this in Konoha?" Hinata asked, having never heard of such a thing before.
"For the most part the technology for combat puppets is closely guarded in Suna. They are probably a few venders for wealthy civilians, but not much aside from that. I was lucky the tailor knew where these guys had set up. On the down side I can almost guarantee you it's going to be a flimsy piece of crap compared to anything I could get in Suna."
-Zate Summit-
By three in the afternoon the tours were complete and the representatives sat in a circular wooden dome with labeled seats to represent each country. Every group thus far had arrived save one.
"Now that everyone's here, let's begin. First off I would like to thank you all for coming." Master Windu started off when the representative from grass country took notice of the important missing representatives.
"Not to sound rude but where are the representatives from fire country? Surely they are an important part of this meeting?"
"Yes, but they sent word ahead to start without them. Apparently it took longer than expected to find a new Hokage after the death of third." Windu replied sadly. From the time he had spent in Konoha he had grown to like the old man. He was a good leader and a wise man. He would have made a fine Zate.
"I see, then why not postpone the summit until they arrive? Surely they are important enough to wait on? That is, unless you don't want them here?" The representative from grass country insinuated based on the recent events between the two factions.
"I assure that has nothing to do with it. Unfortunately they gave no definite answer for when they could arrive, only that it would be sometime today. Normally we would gladly postpone this until tomorrow, but several representatives have made it clear that their time in this city will be brief unless significant progress is made. I'm afraid several countries must begin the journey home before dark unless we can at least agree to begin creation of a new system."
"So long as arrangements have been made." The representative from grass country finished before sitting down.
-Some time later-
"What makes you think these pretty words will form any peace better than what we've had? The Great Wars were fought to fill the bellies of our people, not because we wanted war. If it were as simple as saying we're not going to fight we would have done that a long time ago." The Daimyo of lightning country shouted to the congregation of Politicians, Shinobi and Zate. They had spent just under half an hour since the summit had begun and so far there had been very little substantive discussion on how a more peaceful system would work. This had caused the lord to feel very uncomfortable in the meeting. Looking into the faces of apparent children he had little reason at this point to believe this to be a meeting for anything more than dreamers. As much as many present wanted to believe this meeting would bear fruit, few could deny he had a point.
"Just because we haven't got to the details, in no way means we won't get to them. In truth, what you say is correct. So long as battle, guard duty, and assassinations make up the greatest portion of your economy, war is inevitable. Without battle to keep your armories producing your economy will eventually grind to a halt." Windu explained. He had been chosen to lead the discussion as by far the most fluent linguist in the Zate. After his many years as a Master in the Jedi order he came to know much of politics. It was one of the many talents that made him Grand Master of the order, before even the far older and wiser Master Yoda.
In the Zate Windu's skills as a speaker proved even more valuable with Nazomishi dead. Kenshin was a great tactician and a greater swordsman but his social skills were severely lacking when it came to politics outside of battle. Yoda was in far worse shape when it came to discussing such thing with those unfamiliar with his manner of speech. Anyone who heard him speak for the first time was in for quite a linguistic adventure. As it was, Rei was in little better shape than Kenshin. Sure she didn't have the verbal ticks her fellow captains had but she became a Jedi in the worst possible time to gain political experience. It was a time of war with the Emperor and negotiations with local arms dealers were rarely as complicated as those that occurred with the heads of nations. Granted it could sometimes prove more immediately violent. As matters stood Windu was by far the best choice for the job.
"That is why we called for this summit. Words mean nothing when they cannot be backed up. The situation on this continent calls for nothing short of a complete economic shift. As you all know economies can be driven by a number of things. Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, some economies have even been driven on improving inventions while others have been driven by the inventions themselves. First and foremost our goal here is to discover what each of you as the leaders of your countries can base your economies on and prosper." Windu elaborated, with a number of pleased nods following a number of his statements. The smaller nations were especially pleased with the statements. This was a chance for them to raise their standings in the world without risk of war, assuming all things went as planned.
"What you're talking about could destabilize the international economic system of this entire region, are you insane?" The earth Daimyo said in shock at the approval this boy's words were receiving.
"For a time, perhaps, anything of this level will send ripples throughout the world. Look at what we're doing here, in this city. We are using our abilities to construct the most monumental building in what could potentially be the most far reaching city this planet has ever seen. These techniques came from our combat abilities but they don't have to be, and that is the beauty of it. Earth users can become or double as construction workers. With the right techniques anyone with an elemental affinity can quarry stone. Fire users can cook anytime and anywhere. There are so many potential occupations for people trained to use chakra. If we were to train the whole of the civilian population to use chakra to some level of adequacy we could show the whole world that chakra is far more than a method of destruction. Look at the medical field. Without chakra you would be where you were a hundred years ago. That is the change this world needs."
"I must say this is all very intriguing. I remember when my uncle took me fishing as a boy. He used his chakra to manipulate the water around a fish and caught it without hardly any effort. I have seen what you say first hand. Unfortunately, you are talking on far to grand a scale. Such an economic shift could cripple our industries for decades. I never had any skill with chakra like my uncle. What would happen to the people like me? What would happen to people too old to learn but too young to retire? I'm afraid I have to agree with the earth Daimyo on this, it's too much too soon." The water Daimyo replied with a great deal of thought. This prompted the Raikage to add his thoughts.
"You're forgetting one thing, something of this scale couldn't happen overnight. It would have to be phased in over a period of time long enough to cushion the impact of such change. Then again we can't get rid of our Shinobi program entirely. There hasn't been a large scale civilian police force in more than a century. The vast majority of Shinobi would simply be shifted over to patrol detail in various villages. That aside we cannot leave ourselves defenseless there would be plenty of security and combat related jobs for the interim and foreseeable time to come." The Raikage added. He had given such a shift a great thought since the massacre in Konoha.
"The Raikage has a very important point. There would have to be standard police operations and SWAT teams available, not to mention organized security. Where do you Zate plan on fitting into the scheme of things?" The Mizukage replied with an interesting question.
"In my home dimension I was from a galaxy wide republic. In this republic each nation generally encompassed a planet or a solar system, sometimes a few. Despite the republic being the primary form of government each planet had their own militias and policing forces. Above that authority was a small but standing military designed for the protection of politicians and involvement in actions that planetary militaries could not get involved in. Above that but largely set apart was an order known as the Jedi. They weren't the government, nor did they work for the government. However they fought for a series of principles that usually aligned for the best interests of the Republic. They were like separate but equal parts of a functioning system each checking the other to keep it from overexerting its authority.
All Jedi were trained in far more than combat. The they were skilled negotiators and sought knowledge and peace above all else. They were the primary force against larger trans-system cartels, and conflict that couldn't be handled by local police. One of their most important functions was to find balance and resolve conflict between various states within the republic, peacefully whenever possible. They were a beacon of peace throughout the galaxy for over twenty millennia. The Jedi were not part of the republic but served it in more ways than I could possible begin to explain.
The Jedi had their flaws, as do all organizations, many of them we have tried to circumvent after learning. In the end what we feel is best for all of us is for the Zate to become quite similar to the Jedi. The things you see in this constitution we gave you are our hopes for any potential republic. It also explains how we plan to operate in any possible system. We are open to some negotiation on that part however; our goal is peace on a far larger scale than the countries here today. We cannot accept any system that leaves us as anything comparable to a military. We are far older than you could imagine and have seen events your worst nightmares could barely touch. To risk sounding a self-righteous, we have studied and know how a number of systems have failed in the past. We cannot accept what we know will fail."
It was certainly an uncomfortable topic for virtually everyone in the room. If this went forward then there would no longer be any 'fire country' or any Kumogakure, under the rule of their respective Daimyo and Kage. If this plan came to fruition then they would simply become functional states of a larger structured democracy. Moving from a totalitarian state to anything less was more culture shock that the average politician could handle.
It was nearing four when the entrance to the meeting hall swung open in the middle of the debate revealing the long since late Hokage and fire Daimyo. Silence filled the room and tension built when the recognized who stood in the robes of the Hokage.
"Forgive my tardiness honorable representatives but we had important matters to attend to." The fire Daimyo commented as the Hokage fallowed him in. When the Hokage stepped through the door a good number of those within the chamber lowered their jaws in shock.
"D-d-Danzo! I thought you were dead?" Itachi said, shocked to the point he nearly lost his normally solid composure. The glair he received from the supposedly dead man was cold and far from welcoming.
"Much to the displeasure of you Zate I'm sure. After all, it was your former leader who tried to kill me." The captains and present vice captains of the Zate looked at the man curiously. How could this have happened?. They had seen his dismembered body. They had Kaoru herself study the remains!
"Now, now, there's no need for that." Danzo replied to the facial expressions on the present Zate.
"How did you do it? I destroyed your body myself! Rei shouted, sure she had done a thorough examination. Her eyes were serious and were clearly troubled by the sight of the supposedly dead man.
"We all have our secrets, your Nazomishi was simply to livid to notice my escape. I was quite surprised to find that the same overconfidence that cost him my life, cost him his as swell." Danzo commented snidely, driving Rei into a shaking mess. She was furious. It was clear to her now that he was behind the scenes plotting Nazomishi's death.
Master Yoda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned to him nearly ready to jump out of her seat and kill the old war hawk but the old master gestured against it. With calm eyes he behest her, "Calm yourself, Rei. Not the place is it." He told her calmly. He couldn't help but think to himself that she wasn't ready to carry the weight of a captain's position. She certainly wasn't going to be so long as she remained in this state of mind. "Welcome, Lord Hokage, Lord Daimyo." Master Yoda greeted though not without his own concerned thoughts. If Danzo was certainly not the kind of person the Zate wanted in these negotiations. However, it was the choice of Konoha and the fire daimyo. Still, this did not bode well for the remainder of the summit. Especially since Danzo's mind seemed to be closed to a degree far greater than the personal strengths the others in the room were protected by. He had to be protected by seal.
Danzo kept a stiff face as a Zate stationed at the doorway guided the representatives from fire country to their seats. He resisted the urge to smirk that they took the questioning no further. His battle with Nazomishi was a troubling one. It forced him to use the Izanagi on Shisui's eye since his others were sealed away within his arm. Thankfully for him its Genjutsu was largely time based and give him enough time to switch himself with a heavily sealed cadaver, the perfect false body, kept miles from Konoha. It was a difficult choice to make but he knew that with the way the battle had gone up to that point he never would have uncovered his arm soon enough to continue the battle. The boy was unnaturally powerful and that lightning attack he used was far too area consuming to avoid for long. Danzo was more than satisfied after he convinced Koharu to have the boy executed. It all went according to plan. Even the eye transfer from his arm to right eye socket went well, though it took a few days to recover from the procedure and acquire the title Hokage. Now all he had to do was eliminate this foolishness about peace. The only true certainty in this world was survival of the fittest. There was no way these children could ever truly understand that.
"Very well, back to where we were. Since it has been discussed for several hours I would like to see a raise of hands and where we stand at this point. Who here feels they can agree with most what we set forth in our proposed constitution." Windu asked the representatives. They had discussed this for hours and it was becoming obvious that a number of key players were leaning towards the Zate's proposed ideas. The vast majority of present countries raised their hands agreeing with the proposed constitution. It was a tough decision, to give up as much power as they were going to. However, the economic potential was astronomical. For what was being achieved the parts they disliked seemed fairly acceptable prices. Still there were a few holdouts.
"I refuse entirely. What you propose it taking all the power from us Daimyo and I will not stand for losing my country." The current daimyo of Snow county stated blatantly.
"Then you are free to leave. However, be warned we know how you stole snow country from your brother as well as how your niece escaped with foreign aid. We know the situation your people have been living in and it is not something the Zate will tolerate for long." Windu replied firmly. They had no need for people who were not willing to cooperate, even less for tyrants with nothing but power in mind. This served as a stark reminder to the others in the meeting that the Zate held a great many cards and could very well play a few if matters did not go their way satisfactorily. It certainly didn't feel like any kind of forced settlement for most in the room. However, it proved they could if it came to that.
"Is that a threat Windu?" The Daimyo replied with a twitch in his left eye. His immediate change in tone was to one of disrespect. It did not sit very well with a number of present representatives. In events like this you always retained composure, even when matters didn't go your way. It wasn't good politics, nor did it bode well in a situation such as this even after such a blatant threat.
"Take it as you will but the actions you took are the very reason this meeting is being held. The very purpose of a republic is a government ran for the people by the people. No government I have ever known as fair and just has ever had a legal slave system, nor do they overthrow rulers who are fundamentally popular. You have done both and are playing a dangerous game. Unless something changes dramatically and fast, I have not doubt that you will have an uprising on your hands.
I'm not going to dance around the issue. Regardless of the progress made here such an uprising is the sort of thing the Zate wishes to avoid but will gladly support unless there are significant changes in the way you treat your people." Windu was right as much as the Daimyo would never admit it. There had been a number of bomb scares recently and a few armories had been attacked. Somehow they always seemed to get away with few casualties. It was like they were ghosts. Then the people weren't foolish enough to outright protest for fear of retaliation. Guerrilla tactics were very difficult to deal with when you didn't have an army of Shinobi like Konoha or Kumo had.
"I disagree as well. How are we supposed to know this pathetic system is supposed to work? Before the current system there was nothing but war. Today there's only a major one every twenty or thirty years. What's supposed to happen when a handful of countries prove to be powerhouse manufacturers and all the others fail simply due to their size? You're simply idealistic children." Danzo added as a play to the numerous smaller countries in the room. It was of course a valid argument of course. Not everyone could become some major producer of something.
"Judge me by my size do you? If not why judge a country? An unwise and foolish argument, size matters not in a Republic. Only matters if power searching are you. If fair the trade and equal the people remain then prosper the people will. Live better in a city than a village do you? For some perhaps, but are not the costs of living higher? With size weight comes and movement, more difficult it becomes. Their own advantages each have but are either better? A point of view is everything." Master Yoda added slow enough to let everyone interpret his speech patterns.
"Idealistic chatter." Danzo replied before setting off into a tirade about how it would destroy the economy of every nation involved. He played his hand carefully, careful not to reveal his positions on war. Nothing effective could be gained internationally without it. Without war everything would be left to petty negotiations that could go either way. With a single wrong move you were on the short end of the stick. The concept of capitalism and mutual benefit sickened him. Sadly, it was plainly obvious that few others in the room held his viewpoint. Revealing it for what it was would accomplish nothing.
Luckily for the Zate and those who loved their people enough to try investing in this potential peace were convinced enough to continue move to the next stage in the morning. The arguments had been made and it was decided by late that night. There would be a republic and now all that remained was its inner workings and negotiations with it. For better or worse the events that were about to unfurl in this unprecedented meeting would soon prove to be the most important part of this planet's history for millennia to come.