Welcome back, everybody, and welcome to Chapter 12. Now much to say here, so enjoy the chapter! And after this, look forward to an update to The Power of Us!
PS: the first arc, the New World arc, has come to a close. This chapter marks the beginning of the Hidden in Shadow arc that ends after the canon timeline starts.
Chapter 12: The Mystery of the Cult
Sunday, March 15, CCY 3381
Naruto blocked Hagoromo's staff swing with his own, causing a shockwave to erupt that nearly slammed into an oncoming asteroid. "So tell me again why we had to come all the way out to an asteroid field for our first real spar. Even my Essence Clones are having trouble functioning at this distance."
Hagoromo pointed to said asteroid, and Naruto watched the asteroid as it was blown apart by some invisible force. His eyes widened in surprise. Okay, I'm... fairly sure I didn't do that.
"Your power is greatly increasing, Naruto, and we can no longer safely battle on the confines of a celestial object. The vast expanse of space is the only way for you to master your power now." Hagoromo then spit out a massive gout of fire that completely covered Naruto's vision.
Water Style: Cascading Everlasting Waterfall, Naruto thought as he formed a series of handseals and spat out a torrent of water that evenly matched Hagoromo's fire, causing the two to cancel out and causing mist to appear for a brief moment before it was blown away, in part thanks to the solar wind and in part thanks to passing microasteroids. The two floated in the expanse of space for a moment, before Hagoromo phased into existence behind Naruto, whose only warning was the sudden shift in the presence of his chakra. Naruto ducked his head impossibly fast to avoid Hagoromo's staff swing and countered by lashing out with his right leg, forcing Hagoromo to block and sending the older man back a few hundred yards before he stabilized his velocity.
On a nearby asteroid, Žiara was also sparring in a hand-to-hand match with Hamura. Hamura, despite his own considerable power, skill, and experience, was unable to touch her as she gracefully redirected, dodged, or stopped his every attack. "Come now, Hamura, I know you're not gracing me with your full power. If you wish to actually give me a challenge, you must unleash the depth of your experience and skill in your abilities."
"Well, since you want it so bad, I guess I don't have a choice." Hamura instantly appeared behind Žiara, a Jyuken strike aimed for his chest. Žiara then appeared behind him, and Hamura blocked her retaliatory strike, before jumping back on the asteroid.
"Very good. Maybe now you should be able to land a hit on me." Žiara commented before rushing in to attack Hagoromo again.
"Besides, in the vast reaches of space, where we have not gravity to affect us, time runs forward just that small amount slower, allowing us more time to help you master your abilities, Naruto," Hagoromo said as he moved in for another strike. Naruto blocked the attack before realizing this was only an afterimage.
Damn, he used his Rinnegan again to increase his speed! Naruto's only saving grace, his borderline precognitive reflexes, prevented his neck from getting snapped in two as Hagoromo swung his staff down with enough force that the resulting shockwave blew three asteroids into cosmic dust and threw another off course.
Hagoromo stopped, coming to rest on a passing asteroid as Naruto dusted off his new haori. It was in the same style as Hagoromo's own outfit, only his collar was raised to cover the bottom portion of his face and the cuffs and collar were lined with silver threads. Naruto shut off his EMS and Byakugan before approaching his sensei. "Thank you for the lesson."
"Of course, young Naruto." Žiara and Hamura flew over to the asteroid the other two were standing on, Hamura sealing away his own Visual Prowess as they landed. "For now, we should return to Earth. I feel the Princess may have need of our particular talents."
Hagoromo opened a portal to the base of Mt. Canterhorn, and the four floated inside, the portal closing behind them.
The four arrived at the base of the mountain and immediately knew something was wrong, or at least off, when they found Jiraiya, Minato, Hiruzen, Celestia, and Shining Armor waiting for them.
Hagoromo flared his Rinnegan to close the portal behind them. "As I suspected. The atmosphere of Equestria has darkened. What has happened?"
Celestia spoke up, her face devoid of any emotion in a mask. "It is not what has happened; rather, it is what has not."
Shining Armor stepped forward, pulling out a set of papers. "As you already are aware, last month, we sent Minato, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen along with the out-of-service Captain to investigate a murder on the outskirts of the White-Tail Woods. Unfortunately, there have been no leads. Two other murders have happened since that month has passed: one involving a pegasus incident in an old industrial sector of Cloudsdale, and the other in an unmapped town about thirty kilometers east of Horseton. And there were almost imperceptible similarities the three discovered that linked the murders together."
"Unfortunately, some underground entity must already have information about our abilities, because no matter what the three of us do, we can't find them or track down the killers. It's like they're taunting us." Minato spoke up after Armor retrieved the papers and stepped back.
Jiraiya was next to voice his concern. "If they really do know about our tactics and strategies, then that explains why they always seem to be one step ahead of us. I'm absolutely certain I've been somehow fed misleading information. You know how I used to go to bars?"
Naruto scoffed. "Pfft, thanks. I had wanted to forget about that."
"Well, either way, it was the most reliable way I had to get information, and somehow they've already figured that out. We managed to apprehend a spy that had been planted a couple weeks ago, but he used a suicide pill before we could get any information out of him."
Naruto put his hand to his chin in thought. "That means whoever you're dealing with either employs insane people, which I highly doubt, or-"
"-they're so devoutly loyal to their cause that they'd rather die and throw their lives away before they'd risk the secrets of their cause getting out." Hamura finished, showing the two had reached the same conclusion. He and Naruto exchanged a brief glance with each other before looking back at the group before them.
"I assume this is no longer your situation, but now ours as well?" Žiara spoke up from behind Hagoromo.
"Yes, Lady Žiara. Somehow, we've been read clean through. This... organization, cult, whatever you'd like to call it, clearly has some kind of a sleeper agent in the ranks that is informing their higher-ups of our plans without our knowledge. And we haven't figured out who it is."
"Have you tried interrogating the captain? Considering he's been with you, that'd be the perfect opportunity to get intel. And since you trust him so much, under normal circumstances you'd have no reason to suspect him." Žiara responded.
Armor shook his head. "Unfortunately, we already had some of our best check him over. It doesn't seem like he's been made into a sleeper agent. Even if that were the case, he'd have been found out the second he enlisted in the Guard. The Princess has had centuries to perfect her mind magic abilities. Even someone who was brainwashed at birth would have been found out."
Hiruzen added his own input. "And that can only mean some kind of force is tracking us even now, in the shadows. Whether it is a corporeal entity or simply a ghost of some kind, I cannot say."
Hamura immediately flashed his Byakugan to scope out any presences, and found one. What was really interesting, though, was the fact that the second Hamura did so, the presence immediately vanished, as if it had never been there. "Some kind of ghost, or, considering the displays your unicorns have put on, Celestia, some kind of mind magic is at work."
"Hmm? How can you tell, brother?" Hagoromo turned to him, an eyebrow raised.
"I flared my Byakugan and there was something there for a brief instant, but it vanished so quickly, I don't doubt even Minato would be hard-pressed to keep up with it."
"Were you at least able to determine the direction of the presence before it disappeared?" Celestia spoke up as she stepped forward, her horn lit up in its gold aura.
"Yes, it was thirty-five meters that way." Hamura pointed out the point where the presence had been, and Celestia stepped toward the now empty spot, flaring her aura as her magic took effect, enveloping everything in a three-meter radius around her.
"What? That's impossible!" Celestia said in shock, and lost her composure for a brief moment, before shutting off the flow of magic. "Even if the presence was a result of magic, there's no signature! That can't be!"
Armor was shocked, to say the least. "What? No signature? What exactly are we dealing with here?"
Žiara and Naruto exchanged glances. "Naruto-kun, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"We've been baited." Žiara nodded her head. "This was never to get intel on the others."
"Whatever force is at play here, it's instead been trying to draw out and observe the four of us this whole time." Žiara responded.
"It makes sense, now that it's been mentioned. The way we train Naruto is structured in such a way that there is nearly no means of direct or indirect observation. This entity is clearly interested in our presence on this planet, but can't gather anything worthwhile because it knows nothing about us, other than that we're here. And probably the fact we have our Visual Prowess and Hagoromo can open portals, but that's about it." Hamura put the pieces together quickly enough. "To them, we're probably the rooks, queen and king that they're looking to take out."
Hagoromo sighed. "Even so, to have set up events in such a way that we were unwittingly forced into being observed proves this is no longer a residential matter. We must now delve into this situation ourselves." The other three nodded. Hagoromo turned back to Celestia as she walked back to the group, a frown etched into her features. "Celestia, the four of us will now personally intervene to determine the culprit behind this disturbance of the peace. It is clear enough whatever entity is attempting to sew chaos is intelligent enough that they see our presence as an obstacle to be overcome." A glint appeared in his eyes for a brief moment before it faded away, so quickly that only Žiara noticed it. "As well they should. Alas, we will not be able to handle this matter alone, especially if it's spread nationwide. Minato, head into the cave and get the Nine for us."
"No need, Father." Kurama walked out from the treeline with the other eight falling in step right behind her. "We knew something was wrong the second Hamura activated his Byakugan. We've heard everything since."
"Good. That spares us the need of a second explanation. I will need you to depart for the various cities. Our plan to integrate you into the political landscape has been pushed forward, and you will need to become our eyes and ears across Equestria to be vigilant for this unknown threat."
"Yes. In peaceful times such as this, even a kidnapping or robbery is enough to cause panic. And not just one, but a string of very loosely-related murders having occurred within the same six weeks? It will not be long before the public begins drawing unsavory conclusions, and I am no longer able to manipulate the strings of an entire country to keep this news silent. I have made available positions in each city that fit with the particular talents of each of you. It is with a heavy heart that I ask this, but please, leave immediately. We haven't a moment to waste." Celestia informed the nine, who immediately nodded their heads. She breathed a sigh of relief, before her expression became neutral once more. "Captain Armor, please give them the dossiers for their respective positions."
"Of course, Princess." Armor handed each of them a dossier with details of the position they would need to occupy. The Nine read them quickly, picking up all the details they needed to fulfill their tasks, and then handed him back each, before blurring out of sight en route to their destinations.
Celestia sighed. "Since we're now aware Jiraiya, Hiruzen, and Minato have been exposed, I will allow them to stay in the palace in Canterlot for the time being, until we can find them a more politically secure area to reside in. In the meantime, I believe it would be best if the four of you returned to your training."
"Of course." As Hagoromo acknowledged her, a Yin-Yang clone phased into existence next to him. "This clone will stay with you at all times, unless it is not necessary or privacy is priority. If a change in the situation occurs, inform this clone and I will receive the information."
"Done. Good luck with your training." Celestia said before unfurling her wings and taking flight to head back to the mountain, the other three having already left with Shining Armor to head back.
"Let us return to your training, Naruto. You still have much to learn." Hagoromo reopened the portal to the asteroid field the four had been training on, and they stepped through the portal as peace returned to the environment around them.
Naruto Otsutsuki
STR: 62 (+3) STA: 87 (+1) INT: 55 (+4) DUR: 73 (+5) CHA: 100
Score/Rank: 367 [+13] (High C Rank)
New Feats: Unlocked Awakened Byakugan, Unlocked Awakened Sharingan, Unlocked Awakened Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan
New Abilities: Byakugan Sensory Capabilities, Complete Body - Susano'o
Hagoromo Otsutsuki
STR: 87 (+1) STA: 93 INT: 100 DUR: 82 (+2) CHA: 72 (+1)
Score/Rank: 424 [+4] (High B Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Hamura Otsutsuki
STR: 85 (+2) STA: 89 (+1) INT: 100 DUR: 86 (+1) CHA: 90 (+3)
Score/Rank: 447 [+7] (A Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Žiara
STR: 85 (+2) STA: 82 (+2) INT: 94 (+2) DUR: 86 (+1) CHA: 75 (+4)
Score/Rank: 410 [+11] (B Rank)
New Feats: None
New Abilities: None
Shining Armor
STR: 45 (+2) STA: 48 (+3) INT: 56 (+5) DUR: 43 (+4) CHA: 67 (+5)
Score/Rank: 259 [+19] (High D Rank)
New Feats: Became Royal Guard Captain
New Abilities: None
This one was more of a world-building chapter, but it was necessary because a few characters, most importantly Minato, will see quite a bit of development necessary for later in the story. Not much to say here other than thanks for reading, and leave a review telling me what you think!
Also, I'll now be working on Chapter 1 of The Power of Us, and I plan on having that out by the 28th, so look forward to that. Hopefully I've done good writing so far with the Prologue. See you guys then!