Hey, everyone! TM11 here with Chapter 3 of Tides of Peace!
Yeah, I know that this chapter took too long to come, but, believe me, I had a good reason. You can't imagine how many times I had to rewrite this thing.
This long wait had a positive, though. It allowed me to rethink the plot of this story and adapt it early enough without much trouble.
For now, I hope you like this chapter. Go and have a good read!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach's Gotei 13; Kishimoto and Kubo do. I do own the plot and the OCs shown in this story.
"Word" – Talking
'Italic' – Thoughts
"Bijuu" – Bijuu or Summons talking
'Jinchuuriki' – Bijuu or Summons thinking
"Jutsu" – Jutsus
Arc 1 – Winds of Change
Chapter 3 – Why Do We Fight?
10:23 AM, January 31st, Year 104, 1st Division's Barracks, Ancor Vantian, Sora no Kuni
There are many things Menma loved. Ramen, fighting, Fūinjutsu and inventing new things just to name a few. However, what Menma loves the most is his family, his clan. Many may think that the Uzumaki Clan was dead, but, that was far from the truth. According to Toneri, ten percent of the Uzumaki clan survived, many survivors having fled to other countries. During the travels that Menma and Toneri did throughout the Elemental Nations, they looked out for any of these survivors, eventually finding three girls that would later become like little sisters to Menma.
Right now all four of them were in one of the training grounds in the 1st Division's barracks in the Ancor Vantian. Flowers of every kind filled one's vision, along with various trees and fields of grass. Butterflies, dragonflies and other types of insects lived among this garden, many of them surrounding one of Menma's sisters, Uzumaki Honoka.
Honoka had dark eyes and long, straight red hair, which she wore with a white band. She had the body of a seven year old girl and wore a purple, sleeveless kimono with white flower patterns all over it, under it, she wore a white, short sleeved blouse. The kimono was held closed by a purple obi with white vine patterns. To finalize her look she wore a white skirt with purple flower patterns and was barefooted.
Seeing Honoka swarmed with any kind of living beings – being them animals, insects, fishes or plants – was not uncommon. You see, like many other Uzumaki clan members, Honoka had a special type of chakra. Honoka's chakra allowed her to attract and communicate with all semi-intelligent living beings, an ability that Menma thought was very useful and had her use it to create a spy network composed of animals. Who would suspect a spider, a pigeon or a fish of going to tell their secrets to the enemy?
Anyway, back to Honoka, while she was surrounded by insects, she was also reading while leaning back on a tree. What she was reading was a scroll on the history of the Hi no Kuni, which Menma had told her to read. While there was a Shinobi Academy in Sora no Kuni, clan members still had their clan training to occupy their time. In case of the Uzumaki Clan, their initial training focused chakra control, due to the high reserves that Uzumakis were born with.
While Honoka was reading, her two sisters were learning chakra control by trying to complete the tree walking exercise. Honoka had already done so two weeks ago and was already half on completely mastering the next exercise, water walking. Her two sisters, though, being younger by a year, had only started doing it a month ago and were only able to climb half of the tree.
"Damn, why is this so hard!?" Whined Uzumaki Karin. Karin had crimson eyes, fair skin, and the characteristic red hair of the Uzumaki clan that reached her chin. She wore brown narrow glasses, which had a serrated blade hidden in them, and her outfit consisted of a dark purple short sleeved shirt that had a brown collar, light brown pants, and brown sandals. The reason she was whining was because it now was her fortieth time that the trunk broke under her feet. Falling on her butt for the fiftieth or so time didn't help her mood in the least.
Menma chuckled at her misfortune as he explained, "I've told you, Karin-chan. We Uzumaki have very high chakra reserves, which in turn gives us very low chakra control. That's why we simply can't learn techniques that use very little chakra, like the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)."
"The reason why the trunk explodes is because you're using too much chakra. Calm down and focus on your chakra and on how much you want to use. I know you can do it," he finished with an encouragement.
"Yeah, sis, Menma-nii is right. If Honoka-nee could do it, we can too!" Declared Uzumaki Akari, the younger of the Uzumaki sisters. Akari had bright, red hair and amber colored eyes. She wore a sleeveless, lavender kimono top, closed with a purple belt and a short sleeved, salmon blouse under the kimono top. She also wore a pink band on her hair, much like Honoka, a dark red skirt and dark red shinobi sandals.
"Yeah, you're right, Akari. We will have this exercise done by the end of the day!" The red-eyed Uzumaki boastly stated. Akari nodded in agreement and the two then went back to climbing their trees.
The Uzumaki sisters trained until noon, which then Menma told them to stop and come eat lunch. As they ate in family, Menma couldn't help but smile.
'Yes, moments like these are the reason for why I fight. So that other families, along with mine, will one day be able to enjoy moments like these without the threat of war coming near ever again,' thought Menma. 'I shall bring peace to this world, even if I must become the villain to do so.'
16:00 PM, January 31st, Year 104, Captain's Office, 1st Division Barracks, Ancor Vantian, Sora no Kuni
At two in the afternoon, Menma left his sisters to their training and studies and went to his office. He was the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, as well as the Captain of the 1st Division.
The First Division is responsible for the administration of Sora no Kuni. The lower and junior members of this division are tasked with the financial administration of the village, as well as the administration of Sora no Kuni's Shinobi Academy. The higher and senior members of this division are the ones that act as judges and jury in minor crimes, while the major crimes are passed to the Captain.
Most would believe that, because those of the 1st Division do administritive work, they're weaker when compared to the other divisions. They are wrong, however, as only those that are prime exemples of what a leader should be, and have the strength to back it up, are accepted into the 1st Division.
The standard uniform for the 1st Division consists of a deep purple kimono top, black shinobi pants and sandals. Over that, members of the 1st Division must wear either a black jacket, a black coat, or a black haori. The 1st Division's armband is deep purple in color.
Also, as the Captain-Comander, Menma oversaw the overall operations of the Gotei 13 and all military organizations when the well-being of Sora no Kuni is at stake. The only power the Captain-Commander answers to is the Daimyo of Sora no Kuni, who elects the successor of the current Captain-Commander in the event of their death. Currently, however, there was no Daimyo, though many were – Menma himself included – thought of Toneri as the Daimyo.
Officially, Toneri was the Lieutenant of the 1st Division, but, when Menma found a good replacement, the Ōtsutsuki would officially be crowned Sora no Kuni's Daimyo.
At any rate, for the time being, Menma was the highest form of authority and leadership in Sora no Kuni; and with that came the bane of all leaders…paperwork! Well, Menma did use his Kage Bunshin to help speed it up, but, he – and his clones – still didn't like it.
Two hours of doing paperwork later, Menma sensed someone coming into the office and, a few seconds later, the 3rd Seat of the 9th Division was kneeling in front of his desk. He wore the standart uniform for their division, which was composed of a long sleeved, dark-orange shirt, black pants and black, calf-high boots. Over that he wore a white jacket and the standard tenné armband of his Division on his right arm, with the number "three" written in white kanji.
The 9th Division of the Gotei 13 is responsible of the protection of Sora no Kuni. It is always on standby for combat because it is the security force of the Gotei 13. Another function of this division is to handle all information received by other shinobi on the field. Because of this, all the lieutenants of the divisions of Gotei 13 hand in their reports to them.
"3rd Seat of the 9th Division, Keshi reporting, sir!" He stated. Keshi had light skin, short dark-brown hair and dark eyes.
"Then proceed with it, Keshi," Menma said.
"Hai! Squads 14 and 15 of the 2nd Division stationed in Shimogakure no Sato (Hidden Frost Village) and Yugakure no Sato (Hidden Hot Water Village) have reported that emisaries from both Kumo and Konoha have been sent to talk with the Daimyos of their respective countries," Keshi reported.
For those that don't know, the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13 is Sora no Kuni's version of the ANBU Black Ops; a Stealth Force whose members are tasked with assassination, infiltration, subterfuge, and message couriers.
Back to the information at hand, though; it had been over a month since Menma had tried to get those two villages to go to war. In the end, Minato did not declare war on Kumo, but, instead made a deal with the Raikage. No shinobi from one village could enter the other village without a direct consent from both villages' Kage. The villages were also prohibited from sending Genin to each other's Chūnin Exams.
'I was sure that they would go to war, especially after Minato sent the head of the Head Ninja back to the Raikage inside a box," thought Menma. "So, the Hokage and Raikage are seeing to get new allies?"
Keshi nodded in affirmative, "Yes, sir. If either of them can ally their villages with those countries, they will have the advantage when mobilizing troops."
"Hm, proceed with the report, please."
"Hai. Squad 5 of the 2nd Division, stationed in Mizu no Kuni, has reported that the Kaguya Clan's hostility to Kirigakure has grown to an all time high. They are at this moment preparing an attack towards the village. Our spies in the rebels' forces also tell us that there is a rumor that someone is controlling the Yondaime Mizukage, sir."
"Controlling you say?" To control a Kage, one would need great power, especially when said Kage was also a Jinchūriki. 'Unless…' "I want those rumors verified. If they are real, then whoever is pulling the strings on the Mizukage may very well be either a future ally or a future enemy. Information is half the battle and we are in need of it. Tell Honoka to use her gift with animals to spy on the Mizukage," I ordered and the Seated Officer nodded. "Anything else?"
"Yes, sir. Our spy in Amegakure tells us that the village is increasing their security. Many spies of other villages have been captured and executed, ours was lucky to be inside the village before the increase in security. They also report that the leader of the village, Hanzou, seems to be getting paranoid. He barely leaves his quarters or the tower at all. And, when he does, he's always accompanied by four or more guards."
"Interesting. Any idea of why the sudden paranoia of Hanzou's came to be?" I asked, intrigued.
"No, sir."
"I see." 'Is Hanzō afraid of Danzō's Root possibly trying to assassinate him? That could be the case," Menma thought and then said, "Continue with the report."
"Hai. Our spies in the other villages don't have anything unusual to report, sir. Except for those in Konoha, Sunagakure and Tsuki no Kuni. The Daimyo of Kaze no Kuni seems to favor Konoha more than his own shinobi village. There has been a slim increase of missions coming from said Daimyo to Konoha, while mission requests to Suna have been slightly decreasing," Keshi reported.
'So, their own Daimyo favors their allied village more than his country's own. I could use this to my advantage,' the Uzumaki mused. "And what about Konoha?"
"Security in Konoha has increased since your last visit, sir. The Main House of the Hyūga Clan also seems to be in an uproar due to the new council of elders. Our spy tells us that the Clan Head, Hyūga Hiashi, is trying to have the old tradition of not teaching certain techniques to the Branch House removed. We are not sure if it will come through or not, though," he said. "The whole village seems to be slowly militarizing, though, there is also tension between the village and the Uchiha Clan. There have been reports of sudden disappearances of villagers and the Uchiha Clan is having trouble finding the missing persons and the culprit behind them."
"Hm, and what about Tsuki no Kuni?"
"Sixth Seated Officer, Motomiya Daisuke of the 3rd Division says that he found the person that you were looking for, sir. She's currently hiding on the east most part of Tsuki no Kuni."
Menma nodded at that, pleased with the news. The 3rd Division, also known as Sora no Kuni's Hunter Corps, is a division consisting of hunter-nin, which are given the specific duty of hunting down missing-nin. They completely erase the person they're searching for by means of their superior assassination techniques and medical skills. When founding the Gotei 13, Toneri based this Division on Kirigakure's Hunter Corps, a special team within Kiri's ANBU.
"That's good. Inform Motomiya-san to keep an eye on her. I will go there personally to recruit her," he order, and then added, "As for Suna. Inform our agents in Kaze no Kuni that their mission is to make the Daimyo and other nobles to recruit Konoha for missions instead of Suna. Slowly though, I want Suna's economy to start falling bit by bit. I want an eye on the Ichibi Jinchūriki, too." After some thinking, he then ordered, "And to our spies in Konoha. Tell them that they are to make the Uchiha Clan's life in Konoha unpleasant. Slowly, though. I also want them to get information on Konoha's Jinchuriki and on the Kyūbi Attack too. We still know very little about those two topics."
"I will do as you ordered, sir," nodded Keshi as he gave Menma the scroll with a more detailed version of the report he just gave.
"Dismissed," he said. The 3rd Seat of the 9th Division bowed, before leaving through the door.
Half an hour later, Menma heard a knock on the door, "Come in."
The door opened to show Menma's secretary, the 9th Seated Officer of the 1st Division, Sakiko. She had dark red hair and violet eyes, and wore an orange robe with a navy blue outline, violet irises, and a tan and green bandanna around her forehead. She was the daughter of the last queen of Rōran, Sāra, before it was destroyed. He met her and the other survivors of Rōran when travelling with Toneri through the ruins of the once great kingdom.
"Menma-sama, Amaru-san is here to see you," Sakiko informed him.
"Very well, send her in," Menma told her and, with a nod, the redhead went to get Shinnō's assistant and the 3rd Seat of the 12th Division. A few seconds later, a girl with long, reddish-brown hair wrapped in a blue bandana, rather thick eyebrows and blue eyes, and a mole under the left eye came inside the Uzumaki's office. She wore a cyan-blue gi with a cream-coloured vest over it, which covered her cleavage, a white lab coat, blue shorts, and dark arm- and leg-bands. She also had the 12th Division's olive green armband on her right bicep and wore a lab coat over her attire.
"Good afternoon, Menma-sama," she greeted. "I'm here to give you an update on the latest works of the 12th Division."
"Speak then," he ordered.
Amaru coughed and started reporting, "Right, at present, we have three major projects. The Puppet Ninja Project, the Submarine Project and the Kekkei Genkkai Transfer Project."
"The Puppet Ninja Project consists of creating puppets that can respond to orders verbally, without needing chakra threads to be manipulated. Kōshirō -san got this idea after earring Shiba-san's stories about Rōran's Puppet Shinobi Army. Thanks to the materials from Yuki no Kuni, we are already on the construction phase and should move on to the testing phase soon enough."
'Yuki no Kuni, uh? I see that saving Koyuki and her country is paying off,' Menma thought.
Indeed; a year ago, Menma had been thinking of how to get a treaty with Yuki no Kuni, so that he could get their technology. To his luck, the daimyo's brother, Kazahana Dotō, tried a coup d'etat on the day that Menma was going to meet said daimyo, Kazahana Sōsetsu. Naturally, Menma put a stop to the coup quite easily and got an alliance with Yuki no Kuni.
After taking a quick glance over the details of the Puppet Ninja Project in the folder that Amaru gave him, Menma gestured for her to proceed with the report.
The redhead nodded and did so, "The Submarine Project is an idea of mine for a warship that could move underwater undetected. I had this idea after hearing about Yuki no Kuni's plans to built an airship. We have the plants of the submarine already drawn out and the materials are to come over in two weeks," she then gave the black haired teen a folder with the design of the warship and a report about its final details.
"Hm, how do you intent to make it move underwater?" He asked curiously as he looked at the design of the warship. It looked like a whale, with the same size and length of one.
"Well, in case you didn't know, Menma-sama, a ship can float because the weight of the water that it displaces is equal to the weight of the ship. This displacement of water creates an upward force called the buoyant force and acts opposite to gravity, which would pull the ship down. Unlike a ship, the submarine will be able to control its buoyancy, thus allowing it to sink and surface at will," she explained.
"To control its buoyancy, the submarine will have ballast tanks and auxiliary tanks – also known as trim tanks – that can be alternately filled with water or air. When the submarine is on the surface, the ballast tanks will be filled with air and the submarine's overall density will be less than that of the surrounding water."
"As the submarine dives, the ballast tanks will flooded with water and the air in the ballast tanks will be vented from the submarine until its overall density is greater than the surrounding water and the submarine begins to sink. A supply of compressed air will be maintained aboard the submarine in air flasks for life support and for use with the ballast tanks. In addition, the submarine has movable sets of short 'wings' called hydroplanes on the stern (back) that help control the angle of the dive. The hydroplanes can be angled so that the water moves over the stern, which will force the stern upward; therefore, the submarine is angled downward."
Menma nodded while giving a quick read of the details on the folder, "Impressive and interesting. Can't wait to see what it can do in person." Closing the folder, he looked at Amaru once more, "Continue."
"Thank you, Menma-sama," she thanked for the compliment, with a small blush on her face, before coughing and continuing, "The Kekkei Genkkai Project, according to Shinnō-sensei, is not going as fast as the other two. He and his team have been experimenting with DNA of various Kekkei Genkkai users and, while they have been able to find the strand of DNA that, theoreticaly, compuses one's Kekkei Genkkai, they have not been able to transfer it to others with success. The gene is most times rejected by the body of the 'volunteers' (prisoners turned lab rats). And the ones that do accept the gene always die a few hours later."
After receiving another folder and giving it a quick glance over, Menma turned to Amaru, "Thank you for your report. You're dismissed."
"Hai, Menma-sama," she saluted and went back to the 12th Division's Barracks.
22:16 PM, January 31st, Year 104, Tenth Division's Barracks, Ancor Vantian, Sora no Kuni
Menma sighed as he watched the stars from his position at the highest tower of the giant floating fortress that was Sora no Kuni. He always liked to come here after a busy day of work and watch those little dots of light in the vast sea of black that was the sky at night.
As he kept looking at the stars, he felt a well known chakra signature approach him – well known to him at least – and, without taking his eyes from the beautiful visage that was the sky at night, he asked, "How was your day, Sensei?"
Toneri walked to his student's right, before answering, "Entertaining and fruitful. I'm not at my full fighting capacity yet, but, I'm at a good enough level to take on A-ranked and low S-ranked shinobi."
"How far have you come with the Tenseigan?"
"I can keep it activated for ten minutes before I start feeling chakra exhaustion," the albino answered as he kept looking at the sky alongside his student. He liked these moments of peace and quiet, where he and his student would talk with each other about anything and everything. It reminded him of better times.
"Something on your mind, Sensei?" The ebony haired adult inquired.
"Yes, I'm thinking of older times; when this world was peaceful. Before humanity brought war to the land, drowning it in blood and tears," he explained with a sad smile.
Taking a quick glance at his teacher with a small smile, Menma commented, "You know, you never told me how old you really are, Sensei."
The sensei gave a small chuckle, before telling his student, "I'm old enough to have seen the best and worst of humanity; the good and the bad. I'm old enough to have watched as thousands of men and women gave their lives for what they believed; being it right or wrong. In the end, however, nothing came from their battles, only pain, sadness, hate and more war."
"Right or wrong, good or evil; it is all subjective. What one person thinks as evil, another will think of it as good. What one holds dear, another will think of it as meaningless. Such is how humanity truly is," Menma stated.
"Peace and war, two opposites that have been intertwined since the creation of this Earth. For peace to exist, there must be understanding," started Toneri.
"However," continued Menma, "everyone is different. Everyone has their own opinions and thoughts about something, which are all subjective to their own pasts and experiences. And, though similar, no two pasts or experiences are the same."
"Because of this, complete understanding of the other is impossible. Which then leads to arguments and dissension."
"Which then leads to battle; for, as a whole, Humanity is greedy, selfish and only knows of one way to resolve conflict: to get rid of the opposition."
"Conflict leads to battle, battle leads to war, war leads to loss, loss leads to suffering, suffering leads to hate and hate leads to conflict. It is all a vicious cycle that has come around many times since the beginning of time."
"For peace to stay, forgiveness must come too," started Menma
"Humanity does not learn, though; and, thus, keeps repeating their mistakes time after time," continued Toneri.
"Forgiveness is too high a price for Humanity to pay; so, they resort to the cheaper way out: hate and revenge," continued Menma.
"And, thus the cycle of loss starts once more. For, no matter how many are able to forgive, there is always one that cannot pay such a price," continued Toneri.
"So, we shall start this cycle once more and make sure that it is for the last time."
"We shall bring war to the land, along with all that it brings along."
"We will conquer the world. Land by land, village by village. Until the world is united as one and under one flag."
"All of the world's hate shall gather on our shoulders, until the next generation comes to this world."
"And with them, a new cycle shall come, relieved of either hate or sorrow."
"And, thus, the cycle will break. For how long, though, only time will tell," finished Toneri.
06:00 AM, February 3rd, Year 104, Ancor Vantian's Hangar, Sora no Kuni
Menma brought a hand to his mouth as he yawned, his violet eyes blinking back tears of sleep as he walked through the hallways of his floating village towards the hangar.
He had stayed up late last night, making sure that everything would be fine until he and Toneri came back from their respective recruiting missions. After all, while most Divisions already had strong Captains, they were only shoe-ins until Menma could get some stronger and more qualified shinobi to join their country.
Entering the hangar, Menma noticed that everyone was present, which didn't surprise him in the least, since he had sleeped in.
"Oh, it seems that our eestemed Captain-Commander finally decided to show up," came the sarcastic comment from Menma's right. The ravenette recognized the voice; after all, he had been working and living with the man for eight years now.
"Yeah, and it seems that you and Sora finally managed to get your hands off of each other, Tai" Menma teased. "I thought that I would've had to go to your room personally and separate you two."
The one named Tai blushed a bit at the teasing. He had short, spiky brown hair, tanned skin and brown eyes. He was twenty-three years old, same as Menma, and the son of survivors of Sora no Kuni's first ascension and followed destruction at the hands of Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War.
Tai also wore the standard uniform of the 11th Division. The uniform consists of a sleeveless, dark-blue jumpsuit, purple flak jackets, which are simple chest-guards with clipped-on shoulder pads with high-collars and a strap across the waist; a lavender belt with various pouches, and dark-blue shinobi sandals. Like every member of the Gotei 13 – except for the Captain-Commander – members of the 11th Division also wear an armband, though theirs is lavender and – in Tai's case – with the black kanji for "Captain", showing that he's the Captain of the 11th Division of the Gotei 13.
The Eleventh Division is a direct-combat Division with a specialization in physical combat, concentrating on Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and other forms of Bukijutsu (Weapons Techniques), forgoing the other shinobi arts and thereby being one of the most specialized divisions in the Gotei 13. As such, it is common practice for members to be carrying weapons – special or normal – at all times. The division's doctrine of dominating in battle is what appeals to its members; they believe that fighting is what makes life worth living. This is what separates the 11th Division from the others and makes them the strongest division. Everyone in the 11th Division is highly skilled in fighting. They believe if they are going to die anyway, they have to go down fighting gloriously.
"Well, at least I have a girlfriend who loves me very much," Tai shot back at his long time friend. "What about you? Any girl that I should know about?"
Before the Uzumaki could answer, he was hugged from behind by someone – a female by the soft mounds pressing against his back – who answered for him, "Menma-kun doesn't need any other girl when he already has me!" Feeling a weight on his left shoulder, Menma turned his head to come face to face with a head full of brown hair; his violet eyes connecting with soft brown ones, "Isn't that right, Menma-kun?"
Shrugging her off, the ravenette replied, "If that makes you happy, believe whatever you want, Mimi."
"Mou! You're no fun, Menma-kun!" Pouted the brunette, making those around her chuckle and giggle.
Tachikawa Mimi, the Lieutenant of the 4th Division of the Gotei 13. She wore the standard uniform of her Division, which consists of a white, long-sleeved, high collared jacket; white shinobi pants and sandals. Under her jacket was a pink blouse over a mesh shirt, and around her left arm was a dusky pink armband with the word "Lieutenant" written in white kanji, symbolizing her division and the position that she held in it.
"Already bugging our Captain-Commander, Mimi?" Menma half turned around and looked behind Mimi to see an orangenette with short hair, her bangs combed to the right, coming to them. The kunoichi also had maroon eyes, a litghtly tanned skin, and wore the standard uniform of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13. The uniform is the same as the old uniform of Sora no Kuni's shinobi, with the only difference being the added dark-green armband of the 10th Division. In the orangenette's case, she wore her armband on her right bicep and had "Captain" written in black kanji on it, which made her the Captain of the 10th Division.
The 10th Division of the Gotei 13 is a long-range combat division with a specialization in air warfare. Members of this division are trained to operate Sora no Kuni's Ancor Vantian and pilot any kind of airship.
"I'm not bugging Menma-kun!" Mimi protested, mock glaring at the orangenette, before looking at Menma once more. "Isn't that right, Menma-kun? You love you're Mimi-chan, don't you?" The brunette asked in an innocent tone, her eyes tearing up comically.
Menma nodded in response, "Sure I do," he said in a bored tone, already accustomed to Mimi's antics. And, as he expected, the brunette latched onto his right arm in a flash, rubbing her cheek on his shoulder.
"Aw, Menma-kun is such a sweety!" Mimi cooed, making Menma roll his eyes and the orangenette giggle. The orangenette suddenly felt strong arms envelop her from behind and she leaned her whole body back into a hard chest, her neck leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Hello there, beautiful," Tai greeted with a sly smile as he looked at his girlfriend's eyes with adoration.
"Hello, handsome," Sora greeted back, she too looking at her boyfriend's brown eyes with love and care. The two lovebirds leaned into each other and shared a passionate kiss.
"Get a room, you two," Sora and Tai broke their kiss to looka at a young man with spiky blonde hair, light skin and blue eyes. The blonde wore the standard attire of the 3rd Division, which consists of a black rain poncho over a black shirt, loose black shorts that reach the knees, and black, knee-high shinobi sandals. Hidden by his poncho and on the blonde's left bicep is the 3rd Division's spring-green armband with "Captain" written in black kanji, showing that the blonde is the Captain of the 3rd Division of Sora no Kuni's Gotei 13.
"Please don't encourage them, Yamato; we just managed to get them out of Tai's room," Menma requested with a playful smirk as he looked at the blushing couple.
"Anyway," Sora cleared her throat, trying to hide her embarrasment and to change the subject, "It's good to see all of you guys. It's been quite some time since we managed to get the whole group together."
Behind her and stil holding her by the waist, Tai agreed with a nod, "Yeah, most of the time we are always busy with keeping our divisions in order. I haven't seen much of Jō or Kōshirō for a while now, either."
Yamato leaned back against a crate as he added his own words, "I'm not surprised; those two were always workaholics, specially Kōshirō." The blonde then grunted, "Though, I agree with you. I haven't been able to pass some time with T.K. ever since he transfered to the 13th Division."
"Same with me and Kari; ever since she went to the 13th Division, all she's been doing is study book after book about the costumes of different countries," sighed Taichi.
"Well, the 13th Division is responsible for International Affairs and Relations; Kari and T.K. need to know about other country's costumes and traditions if they don't want to embarass themselves and Sora no Kuni when in a diplomatic mission," Menma explained. Tai and Yamato, though, only grunted, before the brunette replied.
"Yeah, and we understand that. It's just difficult to be without talking with them for so long."
"It's understandable. After all, you two pratically raised them since they were nine," Mimi said. Remembering how Tai and Kari's parents, along with Yamato and T.K.'s parents were killed eleven years ago.
The mood became a bit sad as everyone remembered that particulay event. Menma, though he hadn't been with the group when it happen, had heard about it and stayed quiet out of respect. Fortunately, a voice cut throught their brooding and brought them back to the present.
"I see that most of the group is here," all of them turned their attention to the approaching Toneri. Taichi, Yamato, Sora and Mimi immediately gave the man to whom they owed their lives and small bow; while Menma only nodded his head to his Sensei.
"Morning, Toneri-sama/-sensei," they all greeted. Toneri nodded back to them with a smile.
"Morning, everyone," he greeted back. "Are the planes prepared for our departure, Sora-chan, Mimi-chan?" He inquired as he focused on the two kunoichi. Mimi beamed at him as she replied.
"Of course, Toneri-sama! All supplies and equipment necessary for our stay in Mizu no Kuni and to help those that join us have been moved to the planes."
Sora was the next to report, "My division has made the pre-flight inspections and check ups and everything's fine with the planes. They're ready to takeoff at your word, Toneri-sama."
Toneri nodded, pleased with their reports, before looking at Tai and then Yamato, "Are your squads present and ready to move?" He received two nods to his inquery.
"Hai! Everyone's accounted for and ready to move, Toneri-sama," Taichi answered. Toneri looked around and focused his attention on the two squads of six, one from the 3rd Division and the other from the 11th Division. He analyzed what he could observe from them and made his own thoughts and theories about each shinobi's personality and skills.
"Are you sure that the six each of you chose are ready for what could be a fight against superior numbers at best, or a fight against a jinchūriki at worse?" The albino shinobi asked the two captains.
Yamato and Taichi looked at their subordinates, then at each other, before looking back at Toneri. "Hai! These six are the best our divisions have at the moment," Yamato stated.
The Ōtsutsuki nodded, before looking at his student, "What about you, Menma-kun?"
The black-haired Uzumaki nodded – he knew that, even though he was ranked above his sensei, Toneri would always look at him as his student, and Menma had no problem with that, since, to him, the Ōtsutsuki was more like an advisor than a subordinate. Plus, like it previously state, Toneri was the unofficial Daimyo of Sora no Kuni, thus technically Menma's superior in a form.
"I'm all ready to go. Should a fight break out, I'll be prepared," he assured. His sensei nodded as he chuckle.
"Well, you get doing then. A gentleman should never be late for a date, or so I've learned through the years," the albino teased.
The effect was instantaneous as Mimi, ever the jealous when it came to the Captain-Commander, rounded on Menma.
"WHAT!? You're going on a date with someone else!? What about me!? What about your Mimi-chan!?" The brunette demanded with big tearing eyes. Menma shot a glare at the amused Toneri and the chuckling Yamato, Sora and Tai. The 1st Division Captain let out a sigh before looking at Lieutenant of the 4th Division.
"Toneri-sensei is just teasing, Mimi. I'm not going on a date," he explained.
"You're not?" Mimi asked with a sniff.
"Nope," he assured, before turning around. Doing a hand sign, the hangar's doors started opening, wind entering through the gap and making everyone's clothes flap in the cold breeze of the early morning.
Sending everyone a wave over his shoulder, Menma continued on his way towards the doors of the hangar. As the takeoff ramp stretched from beneath the hangar, the Uzumaki's voice was lost in the wind.
"I'm going after a ghost."
HAHAHA! Did you expect that!? Did you like my surprise!? Yep, those are indeed the DigiDestined from Digimon Adventure 01! Well, technically, they're OCs based on their personalities, who also have their names and appearance; though with a more Naruto animation feel to it, if you know what I mean. Bottom Line is that those are OCs created my me.
Well, in this chapter you get to know Sora no Kuni's version of the Gotei 13 aswell as some of the Captains and Lieutenants.
Now, since my Naruto muse has managed to captivate my whole attention, I'll be focusing a bit more on this story, and try to focus on Right of God a bit too.
So, next chapter you'll see Menma ghost hunting and Toneri and the others recruiting.
PS: For those that didn't get the memo, chapter 2 of this story was redone and updated before this one, so, go read it.
Ja ne!