"Kiba, are you alright?"
Four sets of feet trod the grounds of the Hokage Tower; approaching the steps leading up to Tsunade's office. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky with a reddish hue, the time now almost 5pm.
Naruto moved more towards the brunette, but to see Kiba move away almost in shame, not letting the Uzumaki get close.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Naruto looked confused to Kiba's abrupt reply; him not exhibiting any kind of emotion, almost. The others noticed it just as much, while Sakura followed suit to see why Kiba was acting like this.
"You don't have to hide anything from us Kiba, we're all in this together; so what's up?"
The brunette sighed, hesitating for a few seconds before replying.
"I'm fine, guys... seriously."
Kiba effectively shut them off from asking anymore, which made further attempts to question him almost pointless. Naruto looked incredibly concerned to why his Inuzuka was acting so detached, but knew that now the priority was to get to Tsunade as soon as they could, not dither around anymore while Hinata's life was on the line.
The teens approached the door to Tsunade's office and Naruto knocked on the door hard twice.
"Enter!"
Naruto pushed the door open and walked in quickly with the others trying to keep up.
"So, I see you're all here. Take a seat, all of you." Tsunade instructed; the four seats in front of her desk put there especially for the group. They each took their seats, but Naruto was already becoming incredibly impatient with the thought of Hinata suffering on his mind; the chains covering her body so mercilessly, the screams...
"Now, before I brief you all on what the plan is for infiltrating 'The Manipulator's' base and rescuing Hinata, there's something just as important which I need to talk to you all about; especially you, Naruto."
The blonde gulped, knowing full-well that it was the freak accident of the Magical Tome's explosion earlier which was on her mind.
"Recent reports streaming in from the Village say that a huge column of Chakra erupted in the Inuzuka Estate, which when followed by Lady Tsume's 'personal' account points the explosion as being your doing." Tsunade paused for a moment.
"...Y-Yeah It was, but-"
"And I already have Kiba's personal account of what happened too, including that he was injured by the blast. However, the chief reason I brought it up was because I need to warn you Naruto, and the rest of you, about the implications of what you just done."
Sakura felt sick to her stomach hearing Tsunade's grave words, just as Naruto was, especially after remembering how Kiba was affected by the blast, and that it was Naruto's fault for what happened to his boyfriend.
"This... book, that you used to try to become more powerful is something that doesn't belong in this world, Naruto. I can already assume that it was most likely conjured to this world by Kyuubi, or maybe even something you materialized yourself somehow."
The blonde looked shocked; how in the world did Tsunade know of how he got the book? And that it didn't come from this world?
"I-It doesn't belong in this world? What do you mean baa-chan?" Naruto stuttered, wanting to figure out what she knew about it.
"What I mean is that you may have put in motion a chain of events that's beyond our understanding, Naruto. I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but since you already used that 'book' I guess It won't do any more damage than what's already been done. This 'world' that we live in is part of something more than just the physical realm; it's composed of other worlds that are linked to our one; our world being a nexus of sorts."
"A-A Nexus?" Sakura questioned.
"Yes, a part of the overall world that's central to everything else outside of it. I have already said too much; but what I can say is that the book you all used was from one of the worlds outside of our physical realm. This... complicates things."
"How does it complicate things, Lady Tsunade?" Sai spoke.
"I' really have said too much already; but the last thing I'll say is that you've blurred the lines between our world and the other, and who knows what will eventually be a result of that."
The teens looked at each other, anxiously to say the least, now beginning to realize what they might have inflicted on the world.
"But," Tsunade continued, the teens looked back to her swiftly.
"Such a blurring of lines between our world and the other is quite commonplace; but it is usually far more discrete than a towering column of spirit energy that you all caused!" Tsunade barked. "So don't be shitting bricks kids, I've already received reports proving that the column of energy wasn't powerful enough to completely pierce the veil between our world and the other, but it was damn well close!"
"S-Sorry baa-chan... Kyuubi said the book would be the only way to make us stronger to fight The Manipulator so-"
"And she's right, you wouldn't exactly be able to train conventionally in one night and become noticeably stronger now would you? That tome has probably given you all more... special aptitudes, which you'll have to use with caution." Tsunade looked towards Kiba. "Kiba, you especially shouldn't use any, and I repeat any of the spells you learned from that book, you're in no fit state to attempt using such powerful abilities after what happened earlier; you're at significant risk of-"
"B-But how am I gonna fight that bastard then?! From what Naruto told us, no ordinary Ninjutsu can get to him; even his Rasengan couldn't break though a simple barrier of his!"
"That's precisely it, you can't fight him."
"W-What? So you're just gonna try to send me home and take a "hiatus" or some crap?! I'm not gonna leave Naruto to-"
"Stop your yapping and listen for a second! The main point of bringing you all here was to discuss the plan of the operation tomorrow, I wouldn't have called you here if you wasn't going to play a part in this!" Tsunade snapped back to the agitated Inuzuka.
"Now, as I just said, besides the fact that you should all take caution in your new 'abilities', the plan for tomorrow will in fact be heavily reliant on those abilities, including you as well Kiba."
The group looked puzzled, now curious but anxious to hear Tsunade's plan.
"I've sent a special group of ANBU Operatives to go to Orochimaru's previous base in Kusagakure, to which they shall arrive in a few hours to begin preparations, and then-"
"Wait, they don't know what they're dealing with granny! They don't have a-" Naruto shouted
"Of course they do, baka! In case you fail to remember, I know quite well the powers that 'The Manipulator' uses, so I've crafted enough Senju Amulets for everyone on this mission."
Naruto sat back down on his chair after almost impulsively jumping off of it in panic. She still didn't alleviate his worries of them not being prepared to face T'he Manipulator's' strange magic besides manipulation, which he'd be sure to bring up later after she stops talking this time.
"Now, as I was saying. Once the ANBU Ops arrive at the location they shall begin preparations for a hiding-spell, to which they shall cast on you, Naruto. Once you're hidden from view, as well as having your spiritual energy, or chakra, concealed, you will follow Kiba, Sakura and Sai inside to confront The Manipulator, to which whilst they distract him, you will have enough time to free Hinata and-"
"Wait wait wait, you want ME, the one who's in a better, battle-ready state then Kiba to be the one sneaking about while Kiba could still be vulnerable?! You want these guys to be a mere "distraction"?!" Naruto shouted at Tsunade; enraged by the seemingly foolish logic.
"Listen, fool." Tsunade now snarled at Naruto, now extremely pissed off at Naruto's constant questioning or her plans.
"It's been clear from the start that The Manipulator wants Kiba, and he wants Kiba so that he can inflict the most painful experience imaginable on you, Naruto. Now think about it, if it's just you, Sakura and Sai who confronts The Manipulator, he will not want to engage in serious combat and stay on the defensive, as he would not be able to hurt you as much as he could if Kiba was also there with you, so in that case, he would be far more focused on protecting Hinata from rescue so that he could hurt you that much instead. However, if Kiba, Sakura and Sai, all people who are dear to you, approaches The Manipulator then he will want to focus all his attention on capturing them, which will not happen due to there being enough Elite ANBU Ops who will secretly escort them with the same hiding spell that YOU will use to free Hinata."
Naruto remained dead silent, his face somewhat solemn yet frustrated at the same time. It was clear that he still didn't understand Tsunade's plans, nor did he want to with his friends being used as mere decoys when they should have all fought against The Manipulator together and saved Hinata together, or so he thought.
"Listen, Naruto. I know you find it hard to believe that the ANBU Operatives I sent will be enough to protect the others, but please believe me when I say that they are more than capable enough to contend with The Manipulator; he isn't unstoppable Naruto."
"You haven't seen, or felt, his power, so how would you know?"
"Maybe not his in particular, but I know more about his type of power than you think I do Naruto, and so do the ANBU Operatives. The Operatives I have sent are... unique; let's just say that they have the same "aptitude" to magic like you do."
"W-What do you mean Lady Tsunade?" Kiba asked.
"Let's just say that the 'blurring of lines' of our world and the other can become quite substantial at times, at this rate you'll find out sooner rather than later."
The group was even more bewildered of what was now happening after the incident of the magic book earlier, coupled with Tsunade's cryptic words. Other worlds, magic, 'blurring of lines' all served just to piss Naruto off even more; it made The Manipulator seem like a freak of nature, something that just couldn't be stopped, and it made him sick to his stomach when he imagined Kiba confronting him in such a weak state; no matter how skilled the 'ANBU' Ops protecting him were.
"Lady Tsunade." Sakura asked, a confident curiosity sounding in her voice.
"Yes, Sakura?"
"What is this 'other world' you talk about?"
Visions of a monster; a huge, hulking mass of darkness, shudders the earth with each step. It walks through a modern-looking town, in a juxtaposed environment of a sunny day. A huge hole resides on its chest where it's heart would have been; it now a Hollow shell of what it once was. People walking in the streets didn't even notice the hulking monster, as if it was invisible to normal people's eyes.
The wicked creature was on the prowl for strong, delicious souls. It walked past most people, not interested in their measly, pallid souls.
However, it finally smelt the soul of a deliciously powerful individual; one who hunted its kind with ease with his vast strength. This dangerous individual was accompanied by a lesser, but still incredibly powerful individual with him; another tasty soul for the Hollow monster it thought.
The monster found its prey, a tall man dressed in a black robe of sorts, with a shorter person in the same type of black robes accompanying him. The man turned to look at the monster, a grin permeating his solid, masculine features, as he pulled his Katana out from the scabbard-
Darkness. But then light; the monster's hollow being begun to evaporate; his dark soul now elevating as if he were liberated from his dark form from the robed-man.
Visions of a heavenly world now appeared; towns going as far as the eye could see, with a grand, palace-like area in the center of the giant society.
"You'll find out when the time is right, Sakura. I'm sorry for being so cryptic, but it's for a good reason. You will find out one day, that much is certain."
As much as Sakura wished to know of this 'other world' and its importance in this whole crisis, she trusted Tsunade's wisdom through and through.
"When will we be leaving then?" Naruto spoke from his earlier silence, perhaps accepting Tsunade's plan as being quite smart after all.