With the champions and gary
They visiting leaders were given a tour that went off without a hitch. However, they had to have another meeting with the 4 kages. And that is never fun. Red took a deep breath.
"Come on guys. No use in keeping them waiting." Said Red.
With that, the leaders and Gary walked in and sat down.
"May I ask why we're here?" Said Cynthia.
"Yes. You're here because we want to know if you want a tour of the other villages as well. And to talk about the pokemon gym we set up." Replied Mei.
The champions shared a look.
"I don't see why not. We'd love a tour of the other villages. Also, what's this about a gym?" Asked Steven Stone.
"Well, it will be set up just like our chunin exams. The only reason why is because it's not secret how we do things in the hidden leaf when it comes to selecting chunin. And if all three participants pass, they will be given the hidden leaf badge and automatic genin status." Replied Kakashi.
"I sense a "but" coming." Said Alder.
"Yes. But they might be called upon if the village is attacked and/or during war-time. We haven't decided yet." Answered the 6th Hokage.
The champions had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, it would be a great way to experience shinobi culture without actually being one. On the other hand, should something bad happen, hundreds of trainers would go to the EN to fight in a war that few would survive. And with their politics being so volatile, they would be taking a huge risk if they let trainers into this gym.
"Lord Kages. Is it okay if the champions talk privately?" Asked Cynthia. She always was the smartest of the bunch.
The kages nodded and the champions went to the waiting room.
With the champions
"Personally, I think this is a very bad idea. But on the other hand, it could prove to be invaluable to analyzing their culture without being part of it." Said Alder as he gave his opinion.
"I somewhat agree. While it could turn out badly, they will only accept the strongest of trainers and therefore, few will make it very far, depending on how hard the stages are." Replied Steven.
"I think the first step is finding out what the stages are. For all we know, they could be only moderately dangerous and nothing more than above average situations. And then we'll decide what to do after that." Replied Red as he weighed their options.
The others nodded and went back into the conference room. The kages sensed them walking in and started to prepare for as many answers as they could think of.
"Well, what is your answer?" Asked the Raikage rudely.
"Forgive his rudeness. He thinks with his fists instead of his brain." Said Mei as she was sick of Ay's bs.
"Wanna repeat that!?" Asked Ay heatedly.
"Both of you, quiet. Lord Raikage. Try not to make a fool of yourself. And Lady Mizukage, while I wouldn't condone his actions, yours certainly didn't help the situation. Anyway…" Said Kakashi as he turned his head to the champions.
"Have you accepted our proposal?" Continued Kakashi with a smile.
"No, or at least not yet. We first want to know what the tests would include." Stated Diantha.
"Understandable. But before you can enter, you need a team of 3 but only one of three people get the badge.
Now the first stage tests your intelligence as well as your ability to cheat without getting caught. The next stage is a field test. This is where things can go wrong. While we promise not to kill any of the trainers ourselves, we will not intervene if they are about to die by a man-eating plant or wild animal.
We also make them sign a consent form saying that if they die or become permanently injured, the proctor and village is not at fault." Answered the Mizukage.
The Leaf had been doing the same thing for years. So their methods would be found out eventually. The champions kept a straight face although even though they were very concerned about the man eating plants and vicious animals. But at least they had guaranteed neutrality from all villages.
"And just so you know, there will be other ninjas in this because the chunin exams are coming up. And as we said before, the ANBU and Jonin will not intervene. But know that we cannot and will not stop the genin of any village from killing any trainers. We will discourage it as best we can though." Warned Gaara.
'Well that's reassuring…' Thought all the champions and Gary.
"And after that?" Asked Diantha.
"I wasn't quite finished but I'll get to that. The trainers have 120 hours to make it through the forest and collect a heaven or earth scroll. And I suppose we should mention that your team is given one or the other at the start of the second part." Finished Gaara.
"And we try to find those who don't make it within 120 hours but we don't make any promises. And after the second stage, your team is disbanded and you are given one month to learn new tricks. And then we hold the finals in a big stadium to show off the promising genin, or in this case, trainers to potential clients. You will be judged by the kages who show up." Said Kakashi.
"However, we will make space for you if you decide to come and judge your trainers." Finished Ay, having temporarily learned his lesson.
The champions nodded in understanding.
"I accept. I understand the risk but there are many trainers who face life and death situations every so often. And as long as none of my trainers are directly assassinated, I'm okay with this. Kanto and Jhoto will support you." Answered Red.
"While I have very mixed feelings about your methods...1; it's not my place and 2; I must accept. The Kalos Region has the most culture so I think we could benefit from something like this. Although like Lord Red, there will be no assassinations." Answered Diantha.
The kages nodded.
"I'll accept your offer although I won't be sending people every six months like the rest of you. Univa simply can't afford to lose so many trainers that often." Said Alder.
"I'm sorry but I don't think I can support this. My region would never accept this." Replied Cynthia with a straight face.
"I'm sorry but I must agree with Cynthia. And my region has yet to fully recover from the last war, sadly." Replied Steven.
The kages nodded in understanding.
'This could either do absolutely nothing or start to create a divide between them. And if they start another war, they'll ask us to choose a side. I think the best course of action would be to declare war on the nation who starts the war.'
Kakashi bagan to go over who would side with who in the EN.
'Cloud and Rock will likely team up like the 3rd war. However, if it gets bad enough, it could turn into an internal affair and a 5th shinobi world war. We'll win with Naruto and Sasuke but it won't be easy.' Thought Kakashi.
'This could either go really well or really bad. The worst case scenario is Could and Rock vs Leaf and Sand with Mist caught in the middle. No...that would be geographically impossible. Not without a two-front war by Cloud. And even worse, if the Pokemon regions go to war, the first thing they try to do is retake Market Country.' Thought Mei.
But then Gaara got an idea as if he read their minds.
'But what if we acted as war deterrents? What if we could subtly say that the region who starts a war won't live long enough to finish it? And with 3 out of 5 regions basically creating supertainers, that in and of itself should help as well.'
The kages had been around long enough to know what Gaara was thinking and nodded to him.
Translation: "Yes, but not now."
Kakashi clapped his hands together once and everyone looked at him.
"On a better note, which village would you like to see first?"
They champions said nothing, not knowing enough.
"Hidden Sand it is then."
"I don't remember volunteering but okay." Said Gaara.
Line break
Time skip to when the enter Wind Country (7 days)
"And that is why they call it Wind Country. However, very few people like the harsh environment." Said Kakashi.
The Raikage stayed in his village and the Mizukage went back home to take care of her village so only Kakashi and Gaara were left. And although Hidden Sand was kind of nice, the weather made everyone a little annoyed.
A few days later
Gaara stayed behind to run his village so Kakashi was giving a tour of the Leaf starting at the Fire Country Border.
"And this is the Land of Fire. Aka, Fire Country. Known for its ninjas with fire affinities and bizar weather. And home to the only village to win three world wars in a row. And most importantly, we have the second best hot springs on this side of the continent. I'll show you more when we get to the village.
A few hours later
"And this is the Hidden Leaf."
Kakashi suddenly felt the emergency chakra flare from his office.
"Sadly, I must leave because I have work to do. One of the chunin will give you a tour and check you into a hotel."
With that, Kakashi body flickered into his office.
"What happened while I was gone?!" Asked Kakashi.
"80 hours ago, Market Country was invaded by some organization called Team Rocket." Answered ANBU 1.
"I see. How bad was it?"
"...That's the thing sir. The invasion lasted 30 minutes before all the ninja responded and killed everyone and everything that moved. Thankfully, we were able to squeeze some information out of the captain." Answered ANBU 2.
Kakashi nodded.
"What did he say?"
"When he cracked, he told us that some guy named Geovanni sent his best men to take the island. To be honest, I don't believe that at all but he cracked and made no effort to lie." Said ANBU 1.
"I understand. If anything, this was an attempt to intimidate us. However, even a peace loving nation like us sees this as a declaration of war. But because they're based in a foriegn country, we can't do anything without permission. From now on, all members of Team Rocket have a 100,000 Ryu bounty on their heads with a kill-on-sight order." Replied Kakashi.
"Do we spread this information to the pokemon world?" Asked Jonin 1.
"Yes. More specifically, spread rumors of our tracker ninjas and how they never stop until their target is dead. The more they fear them the better."
Meanwhile with the champions and Gary
They had just finished their tour and were about to enter the hot springs when ANBU 1 came to them.
"You're needed in the Hokage's office." Said ANBU 1.
"Why?" Asked Gary.
"Because 80 hours ago, Market Country was invaded and many civilians were killed from both our worlds." Replied ANBU 1 as they all gasped and ran towards the tower.
Time skip 10 mins
"Thank you for coming. I'll spare you the details but what you don't know is that an organization called Team Rocket is responsible for the civilian losses on both sides. An organization based in Kanto and Johto. While the Kanto and Johto regions are not at fault, I would like to talk about how we will deal with these criminals." Said Kakashi.
The champions flinched. Kakashi was not happy and they had to convince him not to turn those regions inside out and upside down trying to find them and then burning it to the ground when they found them.
"I understand your situation but please don't send your army into the Kanto region." Asked Red.
"Don't worry, I won't invade you. However, there will be ANBU and Jonin looking for Team Rocket." Answered Kakashi.
"And what will you do if you find any?" Asked Red.
The others decided to stay out of it.
"Classified. Next question. For the ninja, all Team Rocket members have a kill-on-sight order as well as a 100,000 Ryu bounty. However, because of the way your people do things, the farthest you'll go is capture-on-sight." Said Kakashi as the others looked at him warily.
"So I am asking you to do the same." Continued Kakashi, startling the champions.
"I see. And what will you do if I say no?" Asked Red.
"Nothing. We'll continue to deal with Team Rocket our way without your help." Answered Kakashi.
Red closed his eyes. He was backed into a corner.
'If I say yes, it will look like I just let a criminal organization gain power and have to rely on a group of killers to eliminate them for me.. And I risk pissing off everyone over the age of 17.'
Red sighed internally. He would have to fund this "mini-war", so to speak with his own money and hope his people didn't hate him for it.
"Give me three days once I return to Kanto and another 3 days in Johto." Answered Red.
"Fine. you have one week to get things ready. But remember, no love will be lost if you don't do this. This is not a demand I can legally and morally make. I'll arrange an escort for you.'
With that, the champions and Gary left the office and got into an argument about what happened.
Line break
"What the hell were you thinking!?" Yelled Cynthia.
"I was thinking about my people. Or have you not noticed?" Calmly responded Red.
The others looked at him cluelessly.
"They've been subtly flexing their muscles and using Market Country as a literal war deterat. They're keeping us in line by making sure there's not another pokemon war because of them. Now let me tell you a story.
At the end of my journey I took on Team Rocket all by myself. And even though I made sure they would never recover for a generation, it wasn't enough to stop them completely. And that was a generation ago." Red paused.
"And back to Team Rocket. The loss of 300 soldiers was a crippling blow to them and an unbelievable stroke of luck for the EN. Especially the Hidden Leaf as they were the only ones there at the time. Right now, only we know about this. But it will be public within 2 weeks and the EN will look invincible." Continued Red.
"Why is that?" Asked Gary
Red looked at Gary with an unreadable expression.
"Because you're young and new to this, I'll be blunt. They did what we could not or rather, would not do...They used lethal force. Right now, the entire pokemon world looks weak and we should be thankful the EN won't take advantage of that." Replied Red.
"You do know this will be a blow to your reputation right?" Said Alder and Red sighed
"Yeah. The best I can do is hope they leave innocents out of this and I know they will. I know I can't control the rest of you but I suggest you pretend like this is a Kanto-Johto problem. It will keep the cycle of trainers going."
Red yawned and went to his own room and fell asleep while the others stayed behind.
"What do we do?" Asked Cynthia.
While she may be the second strongest, she's also the most inexperienced.
"The only thing we can do. Keep the peace between regions and grow closer to each other." Replied Steven.
"Are you sure this isn't another test…?" Asked Cynthia.
"No Cynthia. This isn't another test. They are making legitimate threats that would be too easy to back up. That's the difference between them and us. We're just playground bullies flexing our muscles with idle and empty threats." Replied Diantha.
"So we sit around and do nothing?!" Said Cynthina heatedly.
"Unfortunately, yes. But if it makes you feel any better, they aren't bad people and they want peace. Even if their methods are questionable." Said Alder as he and the others went to their rooms for the night.
Line break
Back to Ash and co. (Episode: Showdown at the Shalour Gym! Starting right before the gym battle)
Ash had just taken his place on the battlefield and was excited to finally battle Korina with his rhythmic battling style. Even if it wasn't perfected. The ref announced the rules.
"Minfu! Let's do it!" Yelled Korina.
"Hawlucha! I choose you!``said Ash as he tossed Hawlucha's pokeball.
"I knew he would go with Hawlucha. Show me what you got!"
The ref started the match and Ash tried to get into a rhythm but failed miserably when Hawlucha got hit over and over.
In the stands with the others
"This isn't working. He'll lose if he doesn't change strategies." Said Slug.
"Well what do you know? For a second there I didn't know you if you could speak." Said Dog teasingly.
Slug's eye began to twitch.
"Ooh. She has emotions. I wonder if-OOF!" Said Dog as he tried to touch Slugs chest.
"PERVERT!" Yelled Slug as she sent him flying into the other wall.
Back to Ash and Korina.
"PERVERT!"
Korina looked to where the voice came from and then at the hole in the wall that Dog had made. Slug pointed at Dog and then at her "chest". Korina blushed
"Use a high-jump-kick on Dog!" Yelled Korina.
Minfu didn't get it but attacked anyway.
"No no no no no no nooooooooooooooooo OOF!" Yelled Dog as the move hit him in the gut.
"Sorry Ash. Where were we?" Said Korina.
Ash nodded even though he didn't understand what happened.
"Screw it. Use karate chop!" Said Ash as he gave up on battling with rhythm.
Minfu blocked it but it did a little bit of damage.
"Use high-jump-kick!" Ordered Korina.
"Draw it in!" said Ash slowly.
"Dodge it!" Ash said at the last moment as Minfu crashed into the ground.
"Flying press!"
The move was super effective because of the type advantage and from the damage the high-jump-kick did when it missed and it resulted in a victory for Ash.
"Alright Ash. You might me ahead now but this one won't be so easy."
In the observation deck with everyone else.
The ANBU had just sensed unwanted guests.
"Team Rocket. What should we do?" Whispered Dog.
He knew what he should do but didn't know if it was the best idea. He should kill all three but they might have something useful.
"Kill the humans. Meowth might be of use." Replied Naruto a little less emotionlessly.
'It seems these kids are rubbing off on him. About damn time.' Thought Dog.
Fox and Raven used the shunshin to get behind Jessy and James with a kunai pointed at the side of their necks. It was only a few seconds but to Jessy and James, it felt like hours. Time slowed down and their life flashed before their eyes. They were stabbed at the same time and died at the same time.
While this was happening, Meowth was frozen. Too afraid to move.
*squelch*
Everyone heard that noise. And thankfully, only Ash, Serena, Clemon, and the ANBU knew what it was.
"Meowth of Team Rocket. Come peacefully and we promise not to harm you."
Meowth still didn't respond to the threat. He just stood there, unable to comprehend what happened. When he finally did, he fell unconscious and the ANBU put him in a prisoner scroll. The ANBU walked back to the others.
"What's that weird noise?" Asked Bonnie.
"Nothing you need to worry about." Smoothly lied Clemont.
"Oh okay." Said Bonnie as she never suspected a thing.
Back to Ash
"My second pokemon! Moncho!" (Spelling)
"Hawlucha, return. Flechinder, you're up!"
"User flame charge!" Yelled Ash's Fletchinder as it quickly picked up speed.
"Run then jump!" Yelled Korina.
It was faster than Ash's pokemon and it showed when Flechinder took a brick break to the head and crashed into the ground.
"Low sweep, go!" Yelled Korina.
Another direct hit. Fletchinder went flying backwards. It was able to recover quickly.
"Way to hang in there. Use steel wing!"
Sadly, the other pokemon caught the steel wing and Ash was able to follow it up with razor wind. And then ended the battle when flame charge's ability took effect and hit Korina's second pokemon head on. Giving Ash the victory.
Korina summoned Lukario. That was a long battle for ash. Fletchinder and Hawlucha got knocked out quickly. So it was all up to pikachu. And he did not disappoint. It was close but Pikachu still won in the end.
"Great Job Pikachu. You did really well." Ash continued to hug Pikachu until Korina approached him.
"Congrats Ash. I am proud to present you with the rumble badge." Said Korina.
Ash wanted to jump for joy but for some reason he didn't. And he didn't feel like Dog roasting him or something.
"Thanks a lot." Said Ash.
"Are you guys ready to go?" Asked Ash.
The others nodded and the ANBU did nothing.
A few hours later
Ash and co had just arrived at the pokemon center and checked in for the night. Well, the Kalos Crew did. Naruto sensed a squad a few miles away. Perks of being a sensor.
"Should we wait for them?" Asked Dog.
"Yes. They're heading this direction and it needs to look like Team Rocket came to us, not the other way around." Replied Sakura in a less emotionless voice. These kids were rubbing off on them.
It wasn't long before Team Rocket approached them. And it wasn't long before all of them were dead. And with a genjutsu covering the area, there was no sound, sight, smell, or remains.
As easy as it was, Naruto was beginning to get frustrated. They were ANBU guards, not hunter ninja. With that, they went to bed, taking turns on watch.
Line break
The next day (Episode: A Stealthy Challenge)
Ash was doing some special training with pikachu and froakie when he saw someone floating on the river they were next to.
"Who is that?" Asked Bonnie.
"Doesn't matter." Said Ash as he tried to dive in but was stopped by Dog.
"Let us take care of this."
He began to walk on water and collected the injured person and pokemon. Slug began to use medical ninjutsu to heal them.
He slowly woke up.
"Where am I? Where is Geninja!?" Asked the person.
"Everything is okay. My name is Dog and your pokemon is fine. However, we would like to ask you some questions." Said Dog.
"Sure."
Dog started to interview him.
"What is your name?"
"Sanpei."
"Where are you from?"
"The ninja village."
The ANBU knew he was telling the truth according to their culture so they had no choice but to believe him.
"Okay. What are you doing all the way out here?" Asked Dog but he was interrupted.
"There you are! Ninja water style: Ninja Water Spout!" Yelled a rough and angry voice as a water vortex landed on the shore, revealing the attacker.
The ANBU tensed.
'That was chakra. This guy can't be allowed to roam free.'
"There they are. Those two are the ones who attacked me." Said Sanpei.
"Indeed. And very soon, the secret scroll will be mine." Said the assassin.
The ANBU noticed he had a katana on his back and so Raven (Sasuke) dropped down with his chokuto in his hands. This caused the man to tense. He just barely started learning when he went rogue. Sasuke began to intimate him.
"You call yourself a rogue ninja but you don't even know how to use your weapons, bar your pokemon. What a shame. But you are no ninja. You're just some guy with above average stealth and some interesting water abilities. And because of that, we cannot allow you to roam free. So come peacefully and we promise not to harm you."
The man froze. He was facing down ANBU. But he wouldn't go down without a fight.
"Use Razor shell" The pokemon tried to attack the ANBU but a wind sword from Fox (Naruto) to the chest left it bleeding profusely.
"No! Barbarical!" Yelled the man.
"Do you surrender?" Asked Slug. (Sakura).
The man was silent for a moment before he slowly raised his hands.
"I surrender."
The ANBU subdued him and put him in a prisoner scroll. But now that the smoke died down and the adrenaline left their systems, they realized that they killed a pokemon in cold blood in front of Bonnie.
"Shit!" Ash swore.
Boonie stood frozen, unable to comprehend what she saw. Slug knocked her out safely.
"Her mind will be unable to process this. Our best bet is to lie to her and tell her that it was an illusion casted by that man, even though we captured him. And tell her that we set the pokemon free." Said Slug.
"However, there is a chance this was so traumatic that her brain will seal away this incident until she's old enough to understand. If that happens, do everything in your power not to mention this as it could awaken those memories and cause problems ranging from unbridled hatred towards us to severe brain damage." Said Dog.
Sanpei sighed and looked at Raven.
"Um Raven? May I please ask you a question?"
Raven nodded. He was getting better.
"What did you mean by real ninja?" Asked Sanpei.
"Well, the Kalos Region calls you ninja because of the agility and strength of you and your pokemon. We will call a person a ninja if they have a headband or a mask on like us. However, you still need to earn respect if you want to be called a true ninja." Answered Raven.
"Good to know." Said Sanpei.
He steeled himself.
"What would it take for me to become a ninja like you guys?" Said Sanpei hesitantly.
Everyone's eyes widened.
"Do you know what you're asking? To be a ninja means to lie, cheat, steal, murder, and most likely die in the name of your village." Warned Dog.
"I see. But I still want to be a ninja like you guys."
"Why?" Asked Slug.
"After I learned about your history and abilities and feats, I felt like I could be doing more even though it'll cost me my life. Also, I don't want to be just another name on the memorial in our village. I want my life and death to mean something!" Said Sanpei passionately.
"I see. Ash just got his 4th gym badge. It'll take us a while to get back to Lumiose City and then to Market Country. So maybe Ash can get his last gym badge there." Answered Dog.
"I didn't know you guys had a pokemon gym." Said Ash.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a gym. More like seeing what it's like to go on a high ranking mission as a ninja without the risk of getting stuck in enemy territory. Although you still get a badge if we decide you deserve one." Replied Dog.
Ash was silent for a moment.
"I've decided. After I battle Clemont, I'll challenge your gym." Said Ash with determination.
Dog shook his head.
"Not quite. First, you need to be on a team of three and then find a, in this case, leaf Jonin or ANBU to sponsor you. What happens after that is for us to know and you to find out. And although you may take the exams whenever they are offered, we recommend you have at least 4 gym badges." Continued Dog.
The trainers nodded and Dog looked at the path ahead.
"Well, we best get moving. The exams are in two weeks and you have a ways to go."
The trainers nodded again and started walking.
Line break
Chapter 5 is done.