Skaven whistled in acknowledgment of Mana's clone, strutting up to the gathered squad of Stars. This could only have been a reaction to the fact that the magician had decorated her face with plasters. This was nothing compared to layers upon layers of bandages holding her middle section together like a sack.

"I thought you were studying Armor Ninjutsu–the one type of ninjutsu that would protect you from physical harm," Skaven said as Mana's shadow clone shuffled into the fray.

"Are you okay? If the training got this rough, maybe I should check up on you." Shige bit her index finger in worry.

"It's okay, the training has taken me longer than I had thought, but you were very persistent that we don't delay yesterday. It just so happens that I agree, human lives may be on the line, civilian ones at that. We need to push on with the investigation." Mana shook her head, speaking in a husky tone. Having lost a few pitches of her tone because of grunting and yelling in pain was a less expected morning outcome of her incomplete training.

"A Sannin's training is that tough, huh?" Damisan pat Mana on the back lightly. Despite resonating aches all over her rattled ribs, Mana faked a smile and nodded politely.

"She said she's fine. Let's leave it at that." Endo cut it short. "How about we focus on the task at hand? Talking the Seventh from another universe into giving us information."

"There's no reason he wouldn't tell us what we want to know–he has nothing to lose from the exchange. It's not his moon that we'll be going to." Skaven shrugged.

"That might not be the case. Lord Seventh has established a tight connection with the different universes during the Interuniversal and Intertemporal Chuunin Exams. The multiverse has formed a bond wider than ever before in human history with whole different universes looking out for one another." Shige-H said.

"Naruto-san is a kind and understanding leader. I'm sure we can find some common ground." Mana voiced her experiences with the man in question. The discussion of this matter became tamer when Stars approached the village administration building.

The Allied Ninja had reached the place at an early time in the morning when only a handful of ninja teams scurried about the place. To the newly assigned teams, summons still needed to be sent, the more experienced ninja dictated their own pace, meaning that some of them found no necessity to hurry out first thing in the morning. This only left a handful of categories of teams active. Namely, the young who still had to have their devotion to their chosen career and their abilities tested.

"Had a rough night, Mana?" Lord Seventh forced his lips out into a duck-like beak upon seeing the Allied Ninja walking into his office for their agreed-upon favor.

"Had a minor accident with rehearsals for the next show. Nothing a long trip to a different village won't fix." Mana excused her rough appearance with a polite smile.

"That was an astonishing show last night. Some of the best entertainment money can buy. Seeing how hard you work together despite having brought your craft to the highest level, it makes me admire your work ethic, Mana-san. The Allied Ninja are very lucky to have a kunoichi like you working with them." Lord Seventh nodded.

Mana couldn't help but feel a bit baffled by this comment. Was it not Lord Seventh himself who agreed with the Allied Ninja to send Mana away to them? Wouldn't that suggest that Lord Seventh was now complimenting himself just as much as he was Mana? Having worked for the man before during her brief internship in the Village Protection, Mana never took Uzumaki Midoben as someone who partook in bragging and self-congratulating.

"Thank you, Lord Seventh." Mana bowed. "We were graced to have you attend the show. It is esteemed guests like you that make us work so hard at delivering the show befitting the high expectations."

"It surprised us not to hear from your group yesterday. From when we spoke to you guys, it felt like you were in a rush to wrap up your show and leave touring. We were wondering if you would show up today at all…" Mikapen, the Hokage's assistant, scanned the gathered Allied Ninja in the room.

"With Mana getting injured during rehearsal, we didn't want to push it too much. This is, after all, just an advertisement trip." Shige-H said.

"Yeah, it's not like we're in a rush or anything…" Endo spat out in a bitter, challenging tone, inviting wild accusations, though it was entirely uncalled for given the polite mood lingering in the room.

"I see… Well, if you still wish to cross universes advertising your show, I've arranged for the universal bridge to be ready. After seeing your show yesterday, I agree that it needs to reach as many eyes throughout the multiverse as possible." Seventh nodded, gesturing toward the door where a handful of ninja had lined up, ready to take the Stars to the bridge.

"You are too kind, Lord Seventh." Mana bowed in gratitude.

"It's the least we can do for your service for our village, your aid representing Konoha in the Allied Ninja, and your entertainment bringing light and cheer back to our often-gloomy lives." The head of Konoha said.

"This way, Allied Ninja," one of the green vests of the gathered Konoha ninja stepped aside and gestured, signaling for the Stars to follow them. After excusing themselves, the Stars followed the handful of Konoha ninja through corridors and office halls. Left and right, straight, up and down the stairs they went.

"Have you ever gone this way?" Damisan turned to Mana, who was the person amongst the Stars with the highest number of visits to the administration and, for that reason, the most likely to tell them where they were going or what they could have expected.

"I can't say that I have." Mana shook her head. "In terms of visiting the administration building, I usually just visit the offices and tables that are strictly necessary to visit. I wasn't even aware that the building complex extended this far. We must have gone through the underground tunnels and well into the mountain that the Hokage Monument is carved into."

"Your coordination skills are impressive, Mana-san," one of the handful of ninja in Konoha flak jackets that were leading the way turned back to compliment the ninja magician, having overheard the conversation between the Allied Ninja.

"Not so. They are quite horrible. It's just that I can sense some familiar chakra signatures nearby. Chakra I've come to know during my time working alongside the Village Protection." Mana smiled at the bald man with a black bandana to which the shinobi had attached his forehead protector to and round glasses.

"There you go…" the leading ninja stepped aside, revealing an old elevator etched into a rocky wall. This hallway just seemed to end with an opening straight up the mountain.

"You've got to be kidding me." Endo opened his bored eyes and pointed at the elevator, which looked like it could have seen better days. "Are we supposed to be riding this to the bridge?"

"No, this is the bridge." The hairless ninja in round glasses shook his head. A round and long arc of lips extended down his lower face, suggesting that he had been excited every time to encounter this same reaction. "The control panel inside will help you reach the universe and timeline you need. We aren't exactly sure if you're looking for Universe No. 1999 or Universe No. 2002, or maybe it was Universe No. 2015? No, wait, that's our universe…"

"Don't listen to Doro-san, Allied Ninja, it's just him and his wild theories. It was Universe No. 2002 that we've worked the most closely with during the Interuniversal and Intertemporal Chuunin Exams and it was Seventh from that universe that knew Mana-san well." Another ninja objected.

"True, but those two universes are near-identical, it's impossible to tell for sure that Naruto from universe No. 1999 hadn't met Mana either…" Doro shrugged.

"It's neither of those." Mana shook her head. "I recall the number of 2016 when Shikamaru-san sent me home. I haven't heard about any of those other universes."

"Yes, yes! 2016 could be it as well. Either way, Lord Seventh said you were looking to advertise your shows as widely as possible, so don't feel too bad about jumping around a bit. The bridge will transport you to the exact space you are inhabiting during the exact time that the universe you've selected is experiencing at this very moment." Doro instructed, opening the old and squeaky elevator doors and showcasing the large and unattended to control panel inside, littered with buttons that looked like button-shaped chocolate candy.

"2015 is us and 2016 is the universe we're headed to, huh?" Damisan scratched the bottom part of the rag he wore over his face. "At least the journey won't be long."

"Don't bet on it," Mana smiled at her friend while the door shut in front of them. "The Advanced Technology Research Institute's scientists of Naruto's universe gave these numbers to our universe. It's just that our universes had contacted each other and this meeting caused the discovery of inter-universal travels that the number they have given us suggests that we're next to one another. It's symbolic at best. I believe our universes are quite distant on the grand scale of the multiverse."

The door didn't take long to open back up. An artificial toll of a tiny bell alerted the Allied Ninja to their arrival to their destination before the door screeched open while a mechanical, windmill-shuriken-shaped device spun around the elevator while the Allied Ninja walked out from the curious universe-hopping device they took to get here.

"M-Mana-san!" one of a large group of scientists greeting the arriving group seemed to breathe easier upon seeing a familiar face. "You gave us quite the scare. When the bridge activated, we had no idea about what would come out from the other side. We've alerted Shikamaru-san and Lord Seventh too, sorry about that."

"It's okay, we'd have liked to see Lord Seventh anyway." Mana nodded. "These are Allied Ninja from my universe. I work with the Allied Ninja as well."

"A-Allied Ninja?" the scientist freaked out. "That is a name we haven't heard in a long time! Is there any danger that befell your universe? Did you come here for help? Do you need medical attention?"

"N-No… Nothing like that…" Mana laughed out uncomfortably as she tried to pacify the escalating situation.

"It appears that there has been a misunderstanding. Allied Ninja in our universe must be a unique organization to the one you know." Shige-H put two on top of two. "In our universe, Allied Ninja is an organization comprising agents from all villages that work beyond the village walls and are allied to no single ninja village but the ninja world instead. They are sort of super-national ninja in that way."

"Ah, I see…" the scientist scratched his cheek. "Indeed, our Allied Ninja were different…"

During their trip from the Advanced Technology Research Institute to the administration building, the Stars absorbed as many sights of this alternate Konoha as they could. Even Mana, who had already been here before, couldn't help but return to her brief time that she spent here years back. The Konoha of this universe had been more scientifically advanced and had a glint of industrial advancement to it compared to the more traditional and oriental look of Mana's home.

Even when Mana thought the difference between the districts back home was considerable, that was nothing compared to this version of Konoha. The largest chunk of the village appeared to be a grim mixture of industrial and residential districts with a monorail system hanging above the town, descending to tangle with its road system only where it connected in with the monorail stations across the village.

Atop of the mountain of the Hokage Monument laid a patch of land that couldn't have been mistaken for anything else but a pleasure and entertainment district. Nothing but glass and steel towers, neon signs and screens, songs and cheers blaring from megaphones. A thought occurred to Mana that had she ever lived in this place, she'd have most likely hailed from the industrial zone but have ascended to work atop of this mountain.

"Mana. Boy, was the news unexpected, you know?" Naruto greeted the guests from another universe with a sheepish smile. "Is everything okay back home, you know?"

"Lord Seventh," Mana bowed alongside the rest of the Stars. Even if they weren't in their home universe at the moment, even if she could call the Seventh Naruto a friend, he still technically outranked all of them by about as much as one could outrank another ninja. "Our universe is doing well. We've come here for information."

Mana turned to Shige-H. The woman was the leader of the Stars, yet she let Mana do the talking. Shige appeared to be perfectly content with letting Mana explain the situation to her acquaintance, though when Mana stood back and gave her way, Shige took up the mantle of dealing with Lord Seventh of this universe.

"We are a cell of Allied Ninja. In our universe, the Allied Ninja is an organization that operates without allegiance to any ninja village. On our latest mission we've encountered a problem, however, and we need some information that we believe only your universe being able to provide us with." Shige-H explained before pressing her hand to her chest and bowing, formally requesting Lord Seventh's aid. "We know that the Allied Ninja don't have any mutual cooperation contracts signed with this universe, unlike the Great Ninja Villages. As I've mentioned before, we are not an official ninja village. We do not partake in Chuunin Exams or those sorts of events. We did not have the chance to treat with the other universes and ensure cooperation."

"What sort of information do you need?" a dark-haired man with hair covering up the right side of his face turned to Shige-H. While Mana knew Sasuke Uchiha to be a well-meaning man devoted to his village and his own code of honor, his appearance was intimidating, to say the least, and the man did everything in his power to ensure that exact type of first impression.

"A handful of civilians had been abducted en route to the Allied Ninja HQ. They were being guarded and escorted by a party of our own ninja, some whom the Supreme Leader trusted wholeheartedly and some who deserved such an important task. Mana believes that people residing on the moon had kidnapped them and she let us know that your universe has treated with people living on the moon before." Shige-H explained.

"To put it lightly…" Sasuke closed his one visible eye and sighed. "I'll say something of a relief to you. Your civilians are alive. If the moon branch of the Ootsutsuki clan is interested in them, they wouldn't have just killed them. Those ninja believe themselves to be nothing short of gods and gods do not interact with mere commoners without a principled reason." Sasuke explained. "The ninja, however, they're most likely all dead."

"Is that supposed to be a relief to us?" Endo grit his teeth, raising his fist. The ninja present in the room jumped up in reaction but after seeing that nobody of grand import in this room had been intimidated by this rashness settled down. "How is a squad of some of our finest ninja dying supposed to be a relief?"

"Endo…" Mana muttered. She wanted to feel outraged but she couldn't help but feel a bit touched that Endo looked so rattled by the deaths of his fellow ninja. Deaths of people he considered innocent, just valiant servants of their system doing their job.

"You're right, I misspoke. I apologize." Sasuke shrugged. "That's why Naruto is in charge of the village and dealing with ambassadors. I'm more of a behind the enemy lines agent than a public one."

"Sorry, guys…" Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable with the answer he was about to give to the first time that the Allied Ninja have come to his universe asking for help. It didn't take a grand people person to tell that Naruto wanted nothing more than to come through for the Allied Ninja from another universe and establish a working, trust-based bond between the different universes. "I'm afraid I can't do too much to help you. It's true that we've worked stuff out with Toneri, but… Mana should know this, you know. The moon got blown up by those crazy armored scientist guys, you know."

"She mentioned that, though we hoped you had some channels to reach the moon that we weren't aware of. Our plan was not to reach the moon on this universe and then return to our universe, you see. We merely wanted information on how to get there in the first place so we can do it safely in our universe." Shige-H explained.

"There was a way…" Naruto winked his right eye, looking up. The Stars all flushed with vigor as they focused their attention on the Seventh Hokage as he browsed his young adulthood memories. "There was this channel, a portal disguised as a spring. You could use it to transport to the moon, but it was destroyed the first time we used it by the guardian of the source."

"Damn…" Skaven cursed, scratching his head. "I guess we need to check a different timeline, then. Finding the right universe, experiencing the right time at the time of our journey is going to be a hassle…"

"It would be a major drag, yeah…" Shikamaru smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Plus, you'd be traveling across a whole different universe, unfamiliar with either you guys or, likely, the concept of multiversal travel in general. You'd be enemies to everyone and everything in such a world."

"Sorry, Mana, everybody, I really wanted to help you guys out, you know…" Naruto laughed out with an apologetic look on his face. "It's just that our history is more violent than we'd like to admit. Every breakthrough or chance for potential peace we encounter, we tend to see it destroyed before long, you know."

"Just how hard do you want to help Mana's team, Lord Seventh?" Shikamaru turned to Naruto with a slow but certain look. "Because… There might be a way."