Eternal Legends: Konoha's Transcendent Ninja
Chapter Thirteen: Enemy Unseen
Yo! What's up, everyone? Would like to welcome you once again to another installment of Eternal Legends: Konoha's Transcendent Ninja! Reviews, in terms of sheer quantity, weren't what I was expecting/hoping. Meh, whatever, it's not too big of a deal.
I really don't have much to say at the moment except that I have a poll on my profile for you all to vote on. Voting will close on December 31st, 2012, 11:59 a.m. Central European time, or 6:59 P.M. for those of you readers who live on the Eastern Coast of the United States of America.
Essentially, I've been seriously considering shortening the title of this fanfiction to simply The Transcendent Ninja or Transcendent Ninja, because I've been getting mixed feelings from within myself that the title is a bit on the lengthy side. I'm personally on the fence about it because I want the story to remain recognizable for people who "follow" the story, but not officially (in other words they don't put the story on their alerts for their accounts, but randomly check to see if it's updated and whatnot. Trust me I know there are some who do this; I'm guilty of it as well.)
So, I figure why not ask you guys! The poll is open to anyone and the bigger the vote count, the bigger sampling size, obviously. Anyone whose studied or majored in statistics knows why the final number of individual votes is so important to me. The larger it is, the better assessment I can make on to whether or not I'll shorten the title or keep it as is.
If you feel like telling me the reason in a review or Private message (the former is vastly preferred), then feel free to do so. I always enjoy listening to my fans opinions.
With that being said, let's get this show on the road. This chapter is all Kumo and no Team Seven. But, considering that I basically told all the ones who didn't like the attention I gave to other characters important to my story to go fuck themselves three chapters ago, you shouldn't have a problem, :P.
There's going to be a lot of non-dialogue exposition in the beginning, but there's a lot of key information in there that astute readers will have the light bulb shine.
Full Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, ViZ media, and all other related companies. I make no claim of any characters from the manga and anime and own all OC's that may appear from time to time. I also make no claim of elements used from certain video games such as Ninja Gaiden, Call of Duty, and Uncharted, which are under the copyright ownership of Team Ninja, Infinity Ward, Treyarch and Naughty Dog as well as the publishing rights of Tecmo, Activision, and Sony Computer Entertainment America/Europe, respectively.
(-x.0.0.x-)
(Kumogakure, Thirteenth District, 1500 hours)
The bright and yellow sun's rays shone broadly over the Village Hidden Among the Clouds as the shinobi village was buzzing with activity, economically, politically, and most of all, militarily.
The front gates of the village had been completely torn down after the insurrection of the Ultranationalists three years prior. The purpose was twofold: the fortress walls remained standing for around seventy years, built shortly after the Shodai Raikage was inaugurated when the Hidden Cloud had formed from bloody conflicts of the Shinobi Clan Wars. In fact, Kumo was the second village created under the Daimyo-Shinobi Village system of Government, right after Konoha.
After seven decades, the walls began to show their age as rust and corrosion started to crumble the concrete and steel. As much as the ruthless political party was reluctant to tear something down that was created by the man so revered in their ideology, they recognized that it was completely necessary. While, yes, the village being attacked or invaded bordered on being improbable, if not outright impossible considering the restructurings and vicissitudes the entire village went through, the Godaime was no fool. He knew that complacency was one of the many downfalls of all great empires. He felt compelled and determined to not let that happen to his village.
The walls were completely torn down and contractors from within the village who were looking for more work were hired by the higher echelons to rebuild it from scratch. They were handed the best tools, resources, and equipment money could buy along with new construction principles to make the wall twice as thick as well as three times as long. It had taken two years of twelve- to sixteen-hour work shifts from dedicated men and women, but the freshly rebuilt gate had finally completed construction.
It was over two hundred meters in height and stretched across a distance of over thirty kilometers, due to the sheer colossal size of Kumo. On the surface, from the outside, the gates consisted of a new strong, modern, slick and aesthetically pleasing metal alloy compound known as Titanium-A. The titanium itself was relatively thin, about a meter in total thickness. However, after the Titanium-A, there was thick and hardened concrete that had chakra absorbing cores all embedded equidistant of each other, in between the alloy. This was what gave the wall its, roughly, five-meter thickness. The process of getting the cores lined up was a pain in the ass, not to mention costly, but it also meant that the gates were truly built to last with as little maintenance as possible so the Ultranationalists could delegate resources and manpower elsewhere. Konoha wasn't built in a day, and in that same sense, the Ultranationalists knew it would take awhile to undo the sheer damage that the Killer Dynasty had done.
At the main entrance of the gate were two massive doors as tall as the walls that weighed over thirty tons each. They were controlled mechanically and on either side, two BOLT (Black Operations and Lightning Tactics) operatives from the Assault Division stood as still as statues in parade rest, guarding the gates with their lives, if need be. Their haori casually blew with the wind.
Slight disturbances made them perk up a bit, before relaxing. They recognized that chakra signature. In front of them, a tall, white-haired teen appeared. He was dark-skinned, about five feet and eight inches in height, wore a standard Kumo shinobi outfit. A sword was strapped to his back and judging by his aura and demeanor, he was deadly proficient at using it.
"Ah, Omoi-san, you finally returned," one of the BOLT operatives acknowledged.
Omoi nodded a bit absentmindedly, not really in the mood for making conversation, even if it was just small talk. "Did Karui and Samui make it back?" he inquired, curiosity latent in his voice, despite his usual cold and detached demeanor.
"They did," he confirmed. "About three days ago. They've already made their reports to Obano-san and Aisu-sama."
"I see," Omoi replied neutrally. "I need to give my own report, so if you don't mind, I'd like to be let in."
"Very well," the Special Forces shinobi simply complied. He held up a finger, indicating one moment as he pressed a button on an earpiece that was connected loosely by wire to a small radio on his person.
"Guardian, this is Bravo Team requesting gate entry at Sector One, over," he spoke evenly and clearly over the channel. Guardian was the call sign of the various shinobi and civilians whose job was to open the gate and do menial reconnaissance tabs on persons who entered the village. These individuals were the only ones who could open the gates. Any personnel that have entered the village, somehow by a miracle, without Guardian's permission would signal the higher ups to put the Hidden Cloud on immediate lockdown.
"Bravo Team, Guardian copies your request and grants it. Stand by," Guardian replied back over the COM (Communications) channel.
"Shouldn't be any more than two minutes," he said to the young teenager.
Omoi nodded once again and gazed up at the wall and allowed a small smile to form on his face. Even after all this time, seeing the remarkable and undeniable progress his village had made in the past three years was nothing short of jaw dropping. On the main gate doors was the insignia of the Ultranationalists—a golden eagle spreading its wings over the entire earth with a triangle hanging from its feet representing the triad of their ideology: Duty, Obedience, and Loyalty.
Near the top, were the Kanji for the full official name of the village: Kumogakure Chou Aikokusha Rengou (Supreme Patriot Federation of the Hidden Cloud). The Ultranationalists and subsequently the citizens didn't view themselves as a simple hidden village, anymore. No, they felt that they were above such a primitive naming scheme and adopted the title. While it truthfully didn't make any sense at the moment, considering how the village was politically structured, it was pretty much an open secret that the Federation wanted to annex the entire E.N. (Elemental Nations). The only reasons no one could stop them prematurely were, primarily, they were still feeling the effects of the Third Shinobi World War and secondly, they didn't have the logistics to feasibly occupy Kumo. The village (both Federation and 'village' are used interchangeably by the citizens) was so large that it literally took uphalftheentirety of the Lightning Country and it was quite a journey to just get to the front gates, let alone the Raikage's main tower. In a way, the Federation was practically untouchable and the Ultranationalists knew it and took heavy advantage of it.
Take in the fact that the while Kumo did technically lose the last war they fought in roughly twenty years ago, they didn't suffer many casualties. A population boom surged at a growth rate of two-hundred percent, far faster than the current economy could keep up with, expanding the widespread poverty issue among the poorer districts. The Ultranationalists also used this to their beneficial gain, using the new generation to serve one of two purposes. The first, and most common, was to be drafted into the military to help expand the Cloud's military might. The second was to help rebuild and repair the broken infrastructure within the Federation. Now, a good majority of the civilian occupation jobs either directly or indirectly related to brining the architecture up to modern standards that would be built to last.
Omoi heard loud cacophony of noises from within the gates as gears started to shift from within the thoroughly modern walls. A small warning tone echoed throughout the area as if to warn personnel to avoid any potentially hazardous areas while they opened. After a short while, the doors began to slowly part themselves as the insignia engraved began to "split" in half.
"Welcome home, Omoi-san," the BOLT operative told him as he let the chunin pass by. He nodded his head in acknowledgement and stepped into the home he hadn't seen in well over three months or so. He jumped to a nearby rooftop as the gates of the Federation closed behind him, faster than they had opened.
The Thirteenth district was practically unrecognizable from what it used to be three years ago. The Raikage had organized reforms and transformed the poor-looking district into a juggernaut of economic, social, and military activity. Ultranationalist insignias were plastered over practically every edifice in the entire districts as well as flags were flown to show the loyalty of the citizens to the new regime.
Housing complexes were torn down and completely rebuilt to new modern standards to resist earth-related techniques and the like. The upper echelons subsidized the housing and once homeowners either found a civilian job or enlisted to start training to become shinobi, they either paid the house off either through direct taxation or a small bill every month with a low interest rate. While there was always room for progress, infrastructure-wise, it was far larger improvement than the absolute shithole both Killer Z and Killer A allowed on their watch.
After admiring the village for a bit, Omoi jumped down to the streets and began walking to a new destination: the Monorail Transit Station. The white-haired teen didn't have to walk for long as he found the nearest station. There were at least a hundred stops all over the Federation and even more planned for construction.
"Ah! Omoi-san! You're finally back!" a small petite woman exclaimed excitedly from behind her desk. She was about three times Omoi's age, but that still didn't stop her from being good-looking in the teen's eyes.
He gave her a smirk back. "Good to be back, ma'am," he replied respectfully, his ideologically infused discipline refusing to waver, even if she was someone he considered an acquaintance if not, perhaps, a friend.
"Oh, what have I told you about that 'ma'am' thing?" she playfully chided with a giggle. "It makes me feel old, you know!"
"Maybe you should get younger," he shot back, smiling a bit. It was strange. He was considered the coldest and ruthless out his team consisting of himself, Karui and Samui. He had to be, considering he was their leader and the trio had done some pretty deplorable things, even by shinobi standards. 'Guess even I can't have a cold exterior all the time,' he reasoned with himself. Then again, he did only show his so-called sensitive side to those he cared about, so there was that.
"Oh, you're so hopeless, Omoi." She shook her head, not in the least bit offended by his statement. "So, where are you going today?" she asked him finally, in a somewhat professional tone.
"District One," he replied, a bit tersely and to the point. "I have a report to make to Raikage-sama and Obano-sensei."
The woman nodded and pressed a few buttons a printing machine to print out his ticket. "That'll be twenty-four ryou, Omoi-san. You're in luck, the train should arrive within the next five minutes or so." He gave her the money in exact change and bowed a bit in respect.
Giving the woman a small wave he exited out back, going through a security gate. There weren't many people here at the moment. Considering that lunch hours had passed and most people wouldn't be off from their jobs for the day until about two hours or so, it was understandable.
True to the woman's words, the monorail had arrived exactly on time at 1515 hours. No matter how much the young ninja had rode on these things, they never ceased to amaze him. When Aisu had taken the mantle of becoming the Raikage, he had promised to solve many of the structural and communications problems. While the village's obscene and ridiculous size gave them a strategic and tactical advantage over any potential enemies, it posed a plethora of domestic issues. It took a civilian a full day of travel, if not more, to get from one end of the village toward the other. Even for a shinobi, the traveling process proved taxing and inconvenient. There were also problems with effective communications, logistics, and postal services between the various districts.
So, the Raikage came up with an ingenious and ambitious project to remedy this: the monorail system. The concept was essentially the same as the railroads used in Europa, but with a slight twist. Seeing as how they couldn't devote as much alloys to the actual tracks as those precious metals were needed elsewhere, instead they used simple science combined with Ninjutsu: magnetic levitation or Maglev for short. Although the system was far more complex when you got down to the gritty technical details, to put it simply, underneath the "tracks" were very powerful electromagnets that actually levitated the six-car train about six inches above the ground. A chuunin-level shinobi used his chakra to propel the train using lightning natured chakra to propel it. Since the electromagnets did the vast majority of the forward velocity, once an outside force "pushed" it along the rails, the amount of chakra needed was minimal at worse and outright insignificant at best. The best of the locomotive drivers could operate a full day without becoming tired, as, in a way, it was arguably one of the best ways for a shinobi to learn how to control his/her chakra output.
Designers and architects spent weeks mulling over the logistics, feasibility, track design and length of getting the most important stops within each district as the first phase of the project and then subsequently adding minor stops everywhere else. The entire monorail was elevated above a majority of the buildings, sometimes even going twice as high. It was highly complex with multiple directions a train could take as well being double sided like a highway. With a top speed of over one-hundred and twenty kilometers an hour, trips that once took a day or so were reduced to a mere thirty to forty-five minute ride, depending on where you wanted to go. During the two and a half year construction period not a single hour went by where the railings weren't being assembled. With the extra labor from those who were unemployed and the sheer dedication of getting it done as soon and as safely as possible cut the time down dramatically. What would've been a six-year project, ended up being less than three, when all was said and done.
After being completed, there was a boom of economic activity as districts that were cut off due to distance could now do business without all the hassle that came with it. At a reasonable price of two ryou and up, it really made travel within the Federation commercially viable.
Omoi stepped inside and handed his ticket to the conductor who stamped it and neatly laid it on small desk with the others. The train was nearly empty, save for him and three others who sat far away from him. Small vibrations rocked the floor of the Maglev and he felt the train "rise" up from the magnetic fields beneath him. They sped out of the station like a bullet and slowed down for a steady sixty-kilometer-an-hour pace.
It tilted on its side ever so slightly as the tracks elevated to over a hundred feet off the ground, supported by pillars beneath the railway. At this height, the whole village could be seen including the Raikage's tower way in the distant background.
Giant eagles could be seen in the air as WARHawkS (Aerial WARfare Hawk Squadron) shinobi parachuted down in newly built open field that was used in a training area.
"Crazy bastards," Omoi commented with a slight cluck of his teeth. Aisu had dramatically expanded the program that was started in secret during the reign of the Killer Dynasty. The larger species of eagles were bred like no tomorrow and they were just now reaching about three-quarters of their full size. The Federation had quadrupled the amount of transport eagles and even trained some of species of Hawk to actually "fight" instead of transport. These birds of prey only had one "pilot" and could carry all kinds of bombs, poisons, napalm, and so on. It was fast moving, swift, and often times brutal. It was an attack the enemy would never see coming.
WARHawkS recruits started their training at home turf in the fifth district for classroom instruction, and then the thirteenth district for field training for actual simulated jumps and then highly advanced training at the foreign base in the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow's ruler, Doto, still allowed the Ultranationalists to use his land for training. Although the Federation paid him a fee for its use, along with other benefits, Aisu was contemplating having him killed outright and simply annex the Land of Snow as an official Federation colony. However, he knew his forces weren't ready for war, just yet, despite the heavy advantages he had. For now, he would let the egomaniacal ruler to keep his life and once his purpose was served, he'd have one of his Lieutenant Commanders dispose of him.
Omoi allowed himself to relax a bit, getting comfortable in his seat. It was going to be about a thirty- to forty-five minute ride including the stops the train had to make on its schedule before he'd get to the First District. Finding a position where he felt comfortable, his mind raced back to the day the Godaime was inaugurated….
Three years ago…
Karui's blade was brought down on the back of a Loyalist shinobi's cranium, effectively splitting his skull open as blood and grey matter spewed everywhere. The redheaded kunoichi had to wince a bit at her ruthlessness. She was eleven years-old and already killed as if she was a veteran. She kicked the corpse of the ninja she had killed away in both disgust and repulsiveness at her own actions. Should she really be doing this? Murdering with such efficiency and brutality? There was no guilt for their deaths, she was certain, but at the same time…there was no pleasure in it as well.
A war cry interrupted the inner reflection of her actions. Caught off-guard, her eyes widened completely as another Loyalist appeared, seemingly out of nowhere to attack her, a sword in his hand. Karui couldn't dodge in time, as she was battle-worn from fighting for nearly three straight hours, even while trying to conserve as much strength as she could. Standing shell-shocked, it seemed as if time slowed down as the blade descended upon her.
Before it could even connect, Omoi had blurred in front of her with a very impressive display of speed and grabbed her by the waist and spun both her and him to the left of the attacker's sword. The force caused dust to creep up, but the Loyalist had used too much power and it left him vulnerable. The white-haired kenjutsu prodigy didn't waste a single moment to take advantage of this and stabbed him directly in his throat before slashing down, cutting through his sternum and the left side of his ribcage. Blood spewed like a fountain and he fell back…dead.
"Are you all right, Karui?" Omoi coldly asked, but there was a still trace of warmth within his voice that he only showed to those that he cared about. He was still holding her close, by the waist.
Blushing a deep crimson at the close contact, she nodded a bit, dazed and exhausted. "I-I-I'm fi-fine," she stuttered with a nod of her head. "Thank you."
Omoi briefly acknowledged her with a slight hum and let go of her. "What happened back there?" he asked again, concerned.
"I...don't know…I was just…reflecting…and then it just, ugh!" she growled in frustration. "It's complicated, okay, Omoi!" she half-yelled.
"It's not," he replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh, really? Tell me how it isn't, then!" she retorted.
"You were feeling some sort of remorse for your actions. Not in the sense of feeling sorry for these scum, but at how brutal and efficient you are at killing, when you just had your first kill today. You're not sure how you should feel, because you don't know how to feel or even what you should feel. Am I right, or should I keep on going?" There was a bit of smug satisfaction in his voice.
Karui blinked several seconds in bewilderment. Her white-haired teammate had hit the nail right on the head. She sighed and then chuckled a bit to herself. "Just like you to read me like an open book. But, yes, to all of the above. I just…don't know. I don't regret killing any of these sons of bitches, but at the same time…why am I feeling no pleasure at destroying our greatest enemies? What if I don't know if I'm doing is right or—?"
"Stop," Omoi firmly told her, an order that she complied with in an instant. "Karui…I know it's difficult sometimes. Believe it or not, even I sometimes think about it from time to time."
"You?" she incredulously asked, shocked. Although she knew there was a heart within the ninja in front of her, he always hid it through a cold and serious exterior and never letting his guard down, both physically and emotionally. Omoi was practically a junior-Ultranationalist personified and their beliefs were deeply seeded in his heart, mind and soul. To hear that he had the same struggles as her from time to time was nothing short of jaw dropping.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Even I had wondered why I didn't take pleasure in the killing. But then, I realized…I did, just in a way that one wouldn't expect."
Karui looked at him, confusion swept through her face. "What do you—?"
He held his hand up, silencing her. "What I mean was that I didn't take pleasure in the act of killing them, itself. If that were the case, I'd be scum and a monster on the level of these Loyalist bastards," he growled in enmity. "But, I took pleasure in ending their lives, because I knew that their deaths would bring the Village Hidden in the Clouds one step closer to righting the wrongs that were woven over the past forty or so years. Does the brutality of what I do affect me? Of course it does, I'm an eleven-year-old junior shinobi who's still wet behind the ears. It should affect me. I feel sick sometimes at the carnage I create, but you know what? Knowing that what I do will help the village become a better place to live for all of the citizens? To me, that's what makes it worth it. To be able to squash and cast away any form of remorse I could've or should've felt."
Karui stood there, flummoxed by her teammate's maturity. True that, growing up as orphans, Samui, Karui, and Omoi had to grow up faster than normal, but to this extent? "I…wow," was all she could say in reply.
"Do you get what I'm saying, Karui? It's okay to feel that way from time to time. It reminds you that you're not a monster," he told her, before his eyes narrowed. "So long as you remember what side you are on and the creed you vowed to uphold a year ago when Obano-sensei graciously took us under his wing and trained us."
The redhead lightly swallowed a bit. "Yes. It's our Duty to carry out our orders and complete our mission to the fullest of our abilities no matter what the cost," she began.
"We must Obey any and all orders given to us to our superiors, unless that order contradicts the orders of his superiors," Omoi recited with her.
"And above all else, our Loyalty should be to the Raikage and the Raikage alone," Karui reaffirmed, determination in her eyes, with her guilt vanishing bit by bit with each passing second.
"I am an Ultranationalist...we are warriors who have answered the call. Our mission is to serve the state, fight, and win. We shall be faithful to a proud heritage. We are the Cloud's sword and shield, its sentry and avenger. We defend the village with our lives and we will choose death over surrender. We will never leave a comrade behind, we will never falter, and WE SHALL NOT FAIL!" they both chanted together, ending the last phrase with passion and commitment.
Life in Karui's eyes seemed to return as her ashen-haired team leader brightened up her mood considerably. She now seemed ready to fight more than ever.
He gave her a half-smirk and a half-smile. "I take it you're ready to take the village back from these bastards?"
"Hell yeah!" she gleefully replied, excitement rumbling through her very essence.
"Hate to bust your bubble, Karui, but it seems that won't be necessary," a familiar voice echoed. They turned around to see Samui land in a crouch. The blonde, it seemed, had returned from her scouting mission, and, surprisingly, a bemused smirk made its way onto her rather placid face. "It's over…we've won. Aisu-sama will be the Raikage."
The brief report took a few seconds for the two to process what they had been told before they returned her shit-eating grin. "Fuck yeah!" Karui cried in joy, pumping her fist into the air. She then paused as the rest of what Samui said donned on her. "Wait a minute…Aisu? Who the hell is that?"
Samui blushed a shade of red. "Um…guys…I think you should know something."
The young teen's mind traveled back to the present as the Maglev departed the fourth district's train station. That was the first time he had heard of the former sodaishō (Supreme Commander) of the Black Operations and Lightning Tactics (BOLT). Sure, there was vague recollection of the brief times his sensei had mentioned him, but aside from that, nothing.
To say that Omoi didn't see Aisu being the real leader of the Ultranationalists coming would probably be the mellowest variation of an understatement conceivable. He felt completely thrown for a loop, and honestly, he didn't know how to react. At first, he was extremely skeptical of him considering he had never met the guy, personally, but the combination of his inauguration speech mixed with the sharp decline in unemployment, the uplifting of people out of poverty, and general rebuilding of the village, demonstrated that the young, powerful Kage gained not only Omoi's respect, but his undying loyalty, even if the Creed wasn't a factor.
Part of the reason he was able to get the entirety of the village to be so loyal to him was not only because of his exceptional power, but also because of his masterful oratory skills. He had given them a sense of pride, honor, and purpose and he would lead them into a great era of peace.
Truly, it was one of those once-in-a-generation speeches; one that would likely stick with the chuunin for the rest of his life…
Three years ago, 1st district
Nearly three-quarters of the entire village's population of one hundred thousand had gathered near the Raikage's tower, as the new regime had called the village to a general gathering. This was unsurprising to virtually everyone. Mass gatherings were usually called when the village inaugurated a new Raikage, a declaration of war against an enemy village, or general miscellaneous matters that warranted such an assembly. With the recent coup, it'd made perfect sense and the villagers were given a day of travel time to get there. The rest would likely hear it broadcasted over the radio.
Obano and his pupils waited inside a medium-sized room where the Raikage, Aisu, would meet them first, before anyone else. They'd be lying their asses off if they told anyone they weren't nervous and a bit on edge. Even the normally stoic Omoi was a bit fidgety and drips of sweat poured down his hands. They were constantly checking over themselves to make sure that they were neat and presentable.
"Guys, relax a bit, would you?" the Emerald Fang tried to assure, chuckling in amusement.
"Speak for yourself, Sensei!" Karui yelled in a half-irritable fashion. "You're not the one the Raikage wants to meet first before he addresses everyone else in the village!"
"Yeah, and it's not even Hideyoshi-sama, either!" Samui added, sharing her teammates sentiment tenfold. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
"I did," Obano confirmed. "In fact, outside of Hideyoshi-sama, the BOLT Lieutenant Commanders, and a few members from the Assault Division, I was the only one in the entire Ultranationalist Party to know that Aisu-sama was the true leader of us all. I, along with Hideyoshi-sama, had to pretend otherwise to help accelerate our plans of conquering this village and righting the wrongs of our predecessors and making the other Hidden Villages pay as well."
"….I see," Omoi neutrally intoned in understanding. "Tell me, Sensei. How strong is he?"
The jounin's eyes darkened a bit as some memories of the former BOLT commander's combat prowess resurfaced in his head. "You have no idea, Omoi. Aisu-sama has power and abilities that eclipses anyone in the village tenfold. I doubt even Zennosuke, Kazanrai, Sayuri, and Mitsurugi, the four Lieutenant Commanders of BOLT, working together would be much of a threat to him, if at all." He then eyed them critically.
"If you want my honest-to-the-gods' opinion, based on what I've seen, I seriously doubt even Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju could defeat him…"
Three pairs of eyes widened to their greatest extent in shock. The rivalry between Hashirama and Madara was practically a legend, taught in the history classes of virtually every single shinobi village. While it was generally agreed that Minato Namikaze was the greatest shinobi of all time, it still didn't take away the achievements of the heads of the Senju and Uchiha pioneers. Their battles were said to alter entire landscapes with ridiculous ease. Hearing that their sensei thought had serious doubts even they would defeat him was just unfathomable.
"Wow…" was all anyone of them could say. Obano nodded in agreement. Sensing two familiar chakra signatures, the Emerald Fang straightened up, an action that didn't go unnoticed by his trio of students. The three eleven-year-olds braced themselves for the unknown, as they had never seen Aisu before.
The doors swung open and Hideyoshi, clad in his samurai armor/battle kimono hybrid, walked alongside a tall, handsome, brunet whose hair was neatly swept back with a single thick strand hanging from his forehead. He was dressed in nearly all black, with dark ebony loosely fitted pants, a black and white gi, and a long-sleeved jet-black haori with the Kanji for "Raikage" on its back. What was the most striking about the man, at least in Karui and Samui's opinion, were his eyes. They were deepest shade of a cerulean blue they had ever seen; the color of the oceans near Kirigakure.
"Good afternoon, Obano, Omoi, Karui, and Samui," Aisu soothed out his greeting in an almost hypnotic tone of voice that captivated them all. Omoi stood ramrod straight and utterly stunned. He already knew their personal names?!
All four lowered themselves on one knee as a sign of subordination. "I am pleased your plans went well, Aisu-sama," Obano told him with his head bowed.
"Indeed, they did. I personally killed the Raikage, himself, after Sayuri inflicted a little psychological damage to the fool," he told him with a slight smirk. He conveniently left out the fact the tidbit of information that he had also killed the Sandaime Raikage, his sensei along with Darui's, six years ago, as well. However, as far as he was concerned, that knowledge was on a need-to-know basis and Killer Z's apprentices sure as hell didn't need to know. He knew Sayuri and Hideyoshi would die before telling a soul of what truly happened that night.
Omoi smirked. "I hope you made him suffer, sir," he spoke out of turn, without thinking, causing Hideyoshi's eyes to widen in anger and Obano's to widen in alarm.
"How dare you, child—!" Hideyoshi began, before Aisu sent him a sharp glare, silencing him.
"No, it's all right. He only spoke his thoughts, which he had every right to. I am not offended," he assured. "Karui…Samui...Omoi…Obano….rise." The four shinobi in front of the Godaime obeyed.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Aisu…" he paused for a split second, which Hideyoshi picked up on with a raised eyebrow, "…Hayasaka and as you've probably already realized, I am the true leader of the Ultranationalist Party and as such with our takeover, I will be this village's Raikage."
"We are at your command, Raikage-sama," the jade-eyed jounin submissively said. Aisu gave his acknowledgement with a swift bob of his head.
"Good, then I suggest you take your seats outside. I shall give my speech in about five minutes. You all do have the best seats in the house."
Obano and Team Omoi bowed and dismissed themselves from the room, eager to take their positions.
"I see much potential in those three. They should serve as a good counterbalance to any team within the Leaf village," Aisu said aloud. 'This is especially true, if Minato's son has awakened his bloodline early. If it comes down to it, I'll have to teach the young boy how to counter it effectively and keep up,' he added with distaste. As much as he wanted to kill Naruto at the moment, his death would be much sweeter if the boy was got to his prime and he crushed him then.
"Indeed," Hideyoshi agreed, as Aisu started to stroll toward the exit of the room. He bit his lip in reservation, wondering if he should ask what he wanted. Even if he was Aisu's most trusted subordinate, even he had to take extreme caution with that subject lest the Godaime kill him in a moment of sheer rage. Deciding to take a leap of faith, he brought it up. "Aisu-sama…wait."
The summoner of the Thunderbirds stopped dead in his tracks and shifted his head back towards the Akechi clan head. "What is it, Hideyoshi?" he asked with the slightest narrow of his eyes that sent a slight chill up Hideyoshi's spine. He gulped and dismissed the cold glaze, for the moment at least.
"Back when you introduced yourself...you seemed to hesitate…." He noted, finally admitting his observation.
"…I did," Aisu replied after a short, pensive silence.
He frowned. "Sir…a thousand apologies if I'm out of line but…do you still think about it even after all these years?" he cautiously questioned.
Aisu closed his eyes, still blocking the traumatic memories from his childhood. "Yes…it does. My hatred for that village and its people is still as strong as ever. That's why I will save Konoha for last when we conquer this entire continent. I'm going to watch it burn until there's nothing left but ash," he said with conviction and resolve.
"And…what of the Sandaime Hokage…what will you do to him?"
Aisu smiled evilly. "I've already set plans in motion for dear old, Sarutobi-sensei. I may not be able to kill him personally, but the irony of who will be no less satisfying. He is an insignificant ant when compared to my power. There's only one person in that village that I want entirely for myself and only myself, but he's not strong enough yet to remotely give me a challenge."
"I presume you mean the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki? His, son."
Aisu's eyes flashed with insurmountable rage at the mention of him, however it was gone as quickly as it came as he composed himself. "Yes, his son," he growled with venom more lethal than a Black Mamba. "It's too bad that Minato is dead. I would've enjoyed ripping him to shreds, but for now, his son will due. The boy won't make it past his eighteenth birthday, that much I'll assure you, Hideyoshi."
"I see…and what about…Mikoto? You'll have to confront her eventually…As far as she knows; she still thinks you're still dead due to Sandaime Hokage practically erasing every record of your existence from the Leaf." Hideyoshi knew he trod on ground more hazardous than a minefield, but his curiosity got the better of him.
Surprisingly, Aisu froze completely, a bit out of character for him. His eyes shifted solemnly to the left, not bothering to hide his true emotions, as he trusted Hideyoshi with practically anything, including his own life if need be. The two had a deep and complex superior and subordinate relationship that many third parties could never truly understand. "I...don't know…" he replied earnestly. "I want to give you a definitive answer, Hideyoshi, I really do, but..." he sighed. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and not a minute later."
Hideyoshi bobbed his head, declining on probing his master's intentions any further. The Raiunsou wielder turned on his heel and continued his stride towards the door. 'Mikoto-chan…would you understand why I do the things I do now? If you knew just how betrayed I was by my own family and sensei, no less…would you? I wonder…if I had noticed you from the beginning…would things have been different?' he inwardly reflected as the village came into view along with thousands upon thousands of people.
He took in each of their faces, with mixtures of hope, guidance, reverence, fear, uncertainty, joy, and determination. Aisu's eyes narrowed as he finally got his answer. 'No! This is the path that I chose to walk seventeen years ago, and I stand firm. I will guide this village into a shining future so no child should have to go through what I went through. I am their light, their leader, and most of all…I will sit upon a throne that should've been rightfully mine as their King!'
Newfound confidence and any sort of remorse banished to the deepest depths of his soul, Aisu strolled towards a podium with several microphones, which would amplify his voice so everyone would hear him. He took a deep breath, and let his voice out in a calm, clear, and authoritative manner.
"My people…sons and daughters of the Hidden Cloud. I stand before you today to witness a rebirth of our village that was left to rot in the wake of the incompetence of our forefathers. The web the previous Raikage had woven was thick and I was forced to remain in the shadows to stop his apathy and pursuit of power.
"Some of you may not know me, in fact, and I'll say that most of you don't know me. I am Aisu Hayasaka. I was the former head of the village's black ops division, BOLT."
There were quite a few gasps, as slight murmurs swept through the crowd. The leader of BOLT?! He was the leader of the Ultranationalists?!
Aisu continued on, unperturbed. "Yes, it was I. While you, the people, were left to suffer, Killer A continued on with his paranoia and fear that the people would one day turn against him! Yet, he continued to do nothing, while his village was being broken! I ask you to give me six years…in that time I will rebuild this village into its former glory!"
A majority of the crowd erupted into cheers as he could see in the vast distance flags of the Ultranationalists being flown, which gave him another boost in confidence as he increased his rhetoric.
"For many years…we have been a broken nation…shanked…oppressed…and stepped on by those we sought to escape! Both those here at home and abroad! You are my strength and the holders of my dreams!"
Aisu had essentially captivated his entire audience as he continued. "This much I vow: the history of these days will be written in blood! By crushing the armies of our enemies, we shall rightfully take our place in this world as we the citizens of the Land of Lightning place ourselves on top, when we have been bottom-fed for decades. For years, we have suffered unbearable hardships; inequitable treaties from the wars of lost past, banished to irrelevancy. They've weakened us! But that time has passed!
"Though they may try to stop us and sweep our lands to claim by force what they will never be able to claim by right, they will never imagine…what will await them. WE WILL SMITE THE INVADERS FROM THE SKIES! Though they will try to sweep our lands like the sands of winter, never again will we bow before them; never again endure their hypocrisy; never again endure their tyranny. We will strike, without warning and without mercy! Join me my brothers and sisters, and fight with me as one hand, one heart, and one soul! Shattering their dreams and haunt their nightmares, drenching our ancestors' graves with their blood!"
The gathered crowds' approving tone and bloodlust were deafening as they shouted nationalistic, xenophobic, and patriotic slurs. Essentially, Aisu was indirectly declaring war and he had the backing and zealous support of the people, riled up by his speech.
"We are no longer a simple Hidden Village. No! I strive to remove that naïve and shortsighted name from our vocabulary, for that is far beneath us! From this day forward, we shall be known as the Kumogakure Chou Aikokusha Rengou (Supreme Patriot Federation of the Hidden Cloud). The Federation of the Hidden Cloud is born today and under its banner all of the towns and ports are now under my jurisdiction and protection, including the Daimyo, himself!" Aisu declared ruthlessly. Sayuri had already killed the Daimyo from Lightning Country and replaced him with a figurehead in his place. All of the guards, who didn't swear loyalty to the Federation, and subsequently, Aisu, were executed without hesitation. Needless to say, they all complied, one way or the other.
"On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored NO MORE! Defenders of the Federation's dream…NOW. IS. OUR. TIME!"
That proclamation caused the loudest cheering as the people kept shouting "Aisu-sama! Aisu-sama! Aisu-sama! "in a mesmeric incantation, captured in his spell of influence. The chants continued on and on, as Aisu gave a small triumphant smirk as he stepped away from the podium, having effectively gaining the vast majority of the village's support. Hideyoshi returned his expression.
He glanced to where Team Omoi had seated and he saw the young teenager looking at him in awe and admiration. An evil smile appeared on his face. Oh, yes, he would take great advantage of his idolizing of him. This was almost too perfect.
Before the Godaime Raikage could form any plans of manipulation in his head, a dark-skinned girl blurred in front of him and embraced him tightly. Obano and his pupils' eyes showed testament to their surprise, being completely ignorant of their relationship.
"Good to see you too, Ayasaki-chan," Aisu smiled genuinely and picked up the girl, who was, while still a teenager, a bit on the short side due to her recently cured disease. It'd take awhile before she'd get back on track.
"Oh, my god, Aisu-kun, you did wonderful!" she praised her knight in shining armor. Just hearing those words come from her, specifically, made the former Black Ops commander elated beyond words. "I just know you're going to be the best Raikage this village….or should I say, Federation…will ever have!"
"Thank you, Ayasaki-chan. It means a lot. Really, it does," he told her with complete and utter honesty as he kissed her forehead. She turned red as a tomato and Karui and Samui were shooting the girl dirty and jealous looks. "I meant everything I said up there, Ayasaki. I'm going to right the wrongs of everyone and bring this village justice when it was denied for nearly twenty years. That may involve doing some things I may not be proud of or even you might not approve of."
"Aisu-kun…you and I both know that I will stand by you, no matter what you do. Because I know at the end of the day, you're fighting for something other than yourself. My brother, while he is still salty about you not telling him about your true allegiance, you won't have to worry about him. He'll come around in due time and you guys will be back to normal."
Aisu did have to smile at that. To say Darui was upset when he found out that the Hayasaka had essentially lied to him, he didn't take it particularly well. Understandable, considering how much they went through to "stop" the election of the Ultranationalists to the village's council. In some sense, he felt used and betrayed, and if Aisu was honest with himself, he had done so, wholeheartedly. For good intentions, in his eyes, yes, but he was still used, regardless. It'd be a long while before they had another conversation that wasn't business related.
He sat her down and looked at those gathered before him, which consisted of Hideyoshi, Obano, Omoi, Karui, Samui, Ayasaki, Sayuri, Kazanrai, Mitsurugi, and finally, the silent Zennosuke. "Today, we achieved a great step towards our goal of taking over the Federation. The easy part is over. Now, we begin the next phase: we rebuild our broken economy and infrastructure and we prepare for war. Hideyoshi, I now appoint you as head of not only as my senior advisor, but you shall now lead BOLT as the sodaishō, in my place."
The Akechi clan head bowed his head in acquiescence, as Aisu gave him the haori that he had proudly worn during his time as the commander. "Wear it with pride," he instructed.
"By the blades of my forefathers, I will not fail you, Aisu-sama," he replied graciously accepting the article of clothing with complete humility.
"Obano…you have demonstrated impeccable leadership and the ability to find talent worthy of our creed. For that, I shall promote you to jounin commander, alongside Darui. Any shinobi that doesn't fall under BOLT must obey your orders without question. Should they disobey you without probable cause…kill them...without hesitation," he allowed, the frigidity of his intonation chilling the very air around him. Even Ayasaki didn't bat an eyelash at the proclamation. As far as she was concerned, those who defied Obano's orders, who was by extension Aisu's will, more importantly, deserved nothing less than death.
The Emerald Fang of the Federation of the Hidden Cloud dipped with finesse, accepting his new role and responsibilities. He frowned a bit. There went the free months he had for training his team. Sighing in acceptance, he simply shook it off.
"Omoi…Karui…Samui…would you three please step forward?" he asked politely, although they were intelligent enough to know when it was an outright demand.
Gulping, the trio stepped forward as asked and kneeled before him. "You three have demonstrated tremendous skill even after only having formal training for a year's worth of time. Today, you killed without mercy to those loyal to the Yondaime Raikage. You're the token definition of what I look for in the youth of the village when they serve the Ultranationalist regime. As such," he snapped his fingers and three BOLT members from the Reconnaissance division blurred behind each of them.
"I'm now promoting you three to Special Genin, a rank I've created with my takeover. Like Obano, you three are entitled to special privileges and responsibilities. You will be given command over all of the genin in the Federation, and you will serve as role models, leaders, and in some cases, teachers. Do you accept this new role?"
"Yes! Raikage-sama!" they collectively shouted. Aisu nodded to the BOLT members and they tied the headbands on their head for them. It was different than the standard headbands most wore. The cloth was blue in color and instead of the normal Cloud symbol it was replaced with the Ultranationalist eagle, except it looked more akin to a burning phoenix, than a soaring eagle.
"Good. Today is a day of celebration, but, tomorrow, that's when the real work begins. You're all dismissed until tomorrow morning at 0800!"
With that said, Omoi looked at his leader with admiration and respect that eclipsed even his sensei. He then vowed, from that day forward, he would fight not for himself, nor for his village, but for the sole sake of extending the will of Aisu.
Three years had passed since that day, and the results spoke for themselves. The Raikage had effectively done the impossible and brought the village from a cliff! Their overall manpower had effectively doubled with conscripts and cutting the reserve forces and retirees in half and adding them to active duty. All of them went through a moderately tough mandatory training course to brush up their skills. It was a six-month course that moved at a fast pace to get them up to speed with modern tactics used by the Federation. Even after the course was completed, the newly brought-in reservists had to report for a weekend once a month to make sure it stuck and they were kept on their toes.
Aisu had also increased the number of Academies to a total of six, meaning one academy per two districts. The only exception was the sixth academy that had the first, second, and third districts attending for obvious reasons. While the transit system would've made children attending classes much easier in further districts, this simplified military structure and prevented overcrowding. This way, they could get the maximum amount of potential from each recruit, rather than 'babysitting,' in some sense. They were subtly indoctrinated into the Ultranationalist ideology, playing on the hatred of their situations they were born in—the other Hidden Villages, as well as the Yondaime Raikage, were used as easy scapegoats. Concepts such as morality and remorse were suppressed, but not outright destroyed. Aisu wanted genuinely loyal followers who could think for themselves, not mindless drones. Drones were merely dogs that were taught to only obey and not think. The Godaime had no use for such pathetic followers. Even he wasn't so arrogant to think that every decision he would ever make would be the right course of action. Drones were only yes-men and, as such, would make the Federation vulnerable. He refused to have such a weakness that was easily amendable.
Omoi was broken from his thoughts when the rebuilt Raikage's tower came into view as the train started to slowly, but surely, screech to a halt into the station. The new tower was an impressive sight, made up of Titanium-A, the same material that the gates on the outer perimeter of the village were made out of. At three hundred meters-tall, it was one of the tallest structures in the village, with the Control towers (which monitored all of the eagles flying in Federation airspace) beating it by a considerable margin at five hundred meters.
"Arriving at District One, Alpha Station," came a female voice over the intercom. "All passengers are reminded that the Federation Transit System is not responsible for any lost or stolen items. Please make sure all belongings are in your possession and please exit to your right. Have a nice day for the glory of the Federation!"
Omoi chuckled lightly at the patriotism. It was pretty common around these parts, especially for those who were most affected by the economic turnaround. Somehow, the young chuunin doubted even Aisu knew just how loyal the people were to him. Shaking his head, he gathered his things and exited the train, per as he was instructed.
Taking a look around, it was the first time he noticed that the first district, outside of a few touchups, renovations, and insignias here and there, the wealthy district looked relatively the same. This region of the village was home to not only the Raikage, but his most senior advisors, as well as the richest merchants, business owners, and shinobi who had saved enough to afford the property taxes, which were very few.
"Careful, Omoi. With all the sight seeing you're doing, one might think you're a tourist," a distinctive feminine voice came from behind him.
He smirked and turned around. "You know, Karui, a few years back, this would've been a tourist spot for the three of us," he retaliated, taking in her full appearance. Even at the tender age of fourteen, the redhead was already developing nicely in her chest—not that Omoi would admit that aloud. Her once spiky-like hair was now completely straight and feminine, but still held together by her white bandana shinobi headband. Unlike her male teammate, she preferred a customized look to her outfit. The kunoichi's garbs were all white and grey, with greyish pants, and her chuunin vest that only had one strap.
However, that's not what stood out the most. What most people recognized was a sword strapped to her back so finely carved that it would make even Muramasa blush. The handle had blue cloths with a gold colored hand guard in the shape of a claw. It was known as the Jinranmaru (Swift Storm). Omoi himself would kill to wield the sword, but alas, it didn't choose him; it chose her, several years ago, in fact.
Karui only shook her head, as she walked toward him, in a subconsciously suggestive way. She stopped, her five feet and three inches coming up to the bottom of his chin, give or take. With a slight smirk, she silently tiptoed up and whispered in his ear, "You know…when you finish giving your report to Aisu-sama…I can always show you what I've learned over the past few months when you were gone," she intoned seductively, nibbling at Omoi's earlobe. The double entendre was about as subtle as a train wreck.
He tensed up ever so slightly, before scoffing lightly. Then, he gently pushed her back off of him. "Stop that, Karui. You know I hate it when you do that," he huffed, frowning.
Giggling in response, she lightly tugged him in the arm. "You know I love messing with you," Karui said half-seriously. She only did that when no one the duo knew were around. And the redhead really did do it just for fun. However, that being said, although nothing happened because of it, they both knew in the back of their minds that something, whether physically, emotionally, or intimately, was going to happen sooner or later. In truth, the two had no romantic feelings; yet, it was still simply a matter of when, not if.
"But seriously, though, Salazar and I learned some kick-ass moves!" she grinned. A raised eyebrow indicated his piqued interest. A thought came to her as she looked at a nearby clock. "We got time. You've got about twenty minutes before Aisu-sama is expecting you, so come on. Plus, old Sal has been itching to speak with you again."
Omoi gave her a face. "Was that before or after he and his pack nearly clawed me to death back when Obano-sensei had us do survival training?" His voice was practically filled with indignation.
"Oh, come on, you know Salazar wouldn't have hurt you," she pouted.
"The day Salazar doesn't hurt me is the day Killer A comes back from the grave and kills Aisu-sama," he replied with sarcasm.
She recoiled with mock hurt. "Damn, bro, that stings."
"…"
She sighed. "Come on, let's go. Meet me by the gym near the back where the open field is." Her instructions clear, Karui vanished in a blur of speed. It was impressive, yes, but not even close to Omoi's swiftness. Groaning aloud, he vanished, too, keen on beating his teammate there.
(-x.0.0.x-)
(Cloud Federation, 1st District, Akechi Gymnasium 1545 hours)
Karui landed in the grounds to find them empty. She was smirking triumphantly in her success. "Ha! Finally beat you!"
"Really? Because I was waiting for a while, you know," a voice whispered in her ear, smugly. She grunted and drew Jinranmaru in seconds and slashed horizontally behind her. She only connected with air. Omoi had vanished to appear in front of her.
"Do I have to remind you I'm the fastest on the team?" Omoi questioned her rhetorically.
"…You know, just for that, I should make Salazar chase you down and maul you," she grumbled, half-serious in annoyance. The white-haired male's smug look was gone immediately and replaced with a sharp glare so intense it rivaled Hideyoshi or hell, even Aisu. Karui flinched and stepped back in genuine fear. No matter how close they got, that look always scared the piss out of her
"Are you going to show me or not?" he coldly asked, his glare softening, but his face still frigid as a glacier.
"Ri-Right," she stuttered a bit before going through five hand seals after drawing blood from her thumb. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" she cried and slammed her hand on the ground. A large plume of smoke obstructed Omoi's vision as he watched on stoically. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Karui's partner, Salazar…a velociraptor. Yes, it was the same velociraptor species of dinosaur that was long-thought extinct…until now. Salazar towered over twelve feet tall and looked like a typical raptor with smooth scales, a lean muscular build and claws that could rip through human flesh with ridiculous ease. A single long claw extended from his feet; the trademark of the velociraptor, which it used to dig into prey and hold it down. Salazar looked on with keen interest, a distinct 'purring' sound coming from his body, except…lizard like.
"Ah, Omoi-san, it's a pleasure to meet you again," the carnivorous dinosaur spoke politely, his personality completely contradicting any preconceived stereotype of his species. "I take it you've recovered from our last skirmish?" he innocently asked with a slight snicker.
Omoi grunted, not even in the slightest bit amused by the carnivore. "Salazar, you almost sliced an eye out of me!"
Sal gave the dinosaur equivalent of a shrug. "Your sensei told us to make it as realistic as possible."
Omoi sighed. "I suppose you're right," he admitted begrudgingly. He then smirked. "I did summon Dogokoro (Earth Spirit), so I guess by that logic, we're even."
Karui growled. "It's still so not fair! How the hell did you get the T-Rexes?! Dogokoro is so awesome!" she cried, shaking her fist.
"You got Jinranmaru, so I consider that an even trade," the leader of Team Omoi retorted, with a slight hint of jealousy.
"Oh, so you wanted the Lizard Kings, Karui? I thought you and I had something special!?" Salazar cried out with mock tears flowing from his eyes. Karui tried to comfort him sympathetically.
The male chuunin deadpanned. 'A member of one of the greatest predators the world has ever known reduced to tears simply because he feels unwanted…Wow. I don't know whether to laugh or cry in shame,' Omoi thought in disgust.
"Come on, Salazar!" Karui pleaded, hugging the velociraptor's neck. "You know I didn't mean it like that. You know I love you." The large dinosaur replied by "purring," obviously pleased.
Shaking his head, Omoi got their attention again. "Um, yeah, new technique. Supposed to be deadly…you were showing me, ring any bells?"
"Oh, right," Karui nodded sheepishly. "Let's do this, Sal!"
"Your technique is going to have to wait, Karui," a voice said above them, causing them to gaze up. A large pterodactyl-like dinosaur with a wingspan of about 80 feet landed in front of them.
"Samui!" Karui called out in glee, happy to see her teammate. Samui smirked as she jumped off her flying summon as it brought its wingspan in. The blonde of the group had grown considerably, almost as tall as the only male of their little trio. Puberty had clearly served her well, as she was already far along with a DD-cup breast size, which she treated with complete and utter indifference. Her attire was virtually the same, except obviously fitted for her growth in size. On the back of her was a bow that was folded in half that rested on the left side, and on the right was a quiver with hundreds of "sticks" that were actually arrows that could be created with a press of a button and they had chakra cores for further piercing if need be.
"Salazar," the female pterodactyl nodded towards the velociraptor.
"Ptera," Salazar acknowledged the flying beast with mutual respect.
"It's good to see you as well, Karui," the kunoichi replied with a small smile. Her face then turned sober. "Aisu-sama requires our presence within the next five minutes. It'd be best not to keep him waiting."
Both ninja's eyes bulged out. Omoi was the first to recover. "All right, let's go, then," he said before vanishing in flash of lightning.
"Salazar, I'll summon you later on tonight, okay?" Karui promised. The abnormally large velociraptor acknowledged her and in a poof of smoke was gone, back to the summoning realm.
"You, too, Ptera. I still need to do some practice shots while riding you at high speeds. I still haven't gotten the hang of that," she admitted with a sigh. Firing arrows while traveling at subsonic speeds was difficult enough, let alone with any sort of accuracy.
"Affirmative, Samui-sama. I'll await your return," Ptera complied and like Salazar, vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Let's go!" Karui called out with Samui agreeing. They vanished in a burst of raw speed.
(-x.0.0.x-)
(Cloud Federation, 1st District, Raikage's Tower 1600 hours)
Aisu Hayasaka sat in his office reviewing various documents, weapons and vehicle schematics, infrastructure pet projects, and S-rank classified material. To most people, it would've been a boring and tedious task. To Aisu, it was his lifeblood. He made sure to memorize and commit every single detail to memory, which, with his genius intellect, wasn't difficult in the slightest. The Federation's progress was nothing short of incredible, but to Aisu it wasn't enough. To him, there was always room for improvement. Until the entirety of the continent was under his control, he'd consider the Federation a "Work in Progress."
Hideyoshi and Obano stood on either side of him, standing at parade rest. The Emerald Fang looked toward a particular A-class secret schematic with the letters "ACS". He raised a brow. "Aisu-sama…if you don't mind me asking…what's the ACS?"
The ascended Raikage didn't even bother looking up from one of the schematics he was reading for a prototype napalm bomb, being assembled at Delta Base, an island several kilometers from the borders of Water Country. "It's stands for Attack Characterization System. It'll be one of our primary means of detecting enemy movements," he explained.
"What exactly is it?"
"It's a machine, or several rather, that glides through the air, seemingly indefinitely at about twenty thousand feet. It detects large amounts of heat signatures and then relays that back to the towers around the Federation every hour on the hour. At least…in theory, anyway. I want it up and running at least two years from now. Hopefully, with it being assembled in Snow Country, the process might go faster."
"I see. Is that why you deployed a large number of BOLT Assault division members there?" Hideyoshi inquired. The Akechi clan head had an idea when the order was sent down to him, but he never directly asked until now.
"I did. Which is why I also deployed Kazanrai there as well. He may be the Lieutenant Commander of the Interrogation division, but they'll still follow his orders regardless, unless they want to die a swift death," he regarded them with casual indifference. Neither Hideyoshi nor Obano batted an eyelash at the ruthless proclamation, as they agreed with the policy wholeheartedly and would carry out similar actions if circumstances dictated the need.
A swift knock was heard on the door. Aisu smirked. Exactly whom he wanted to see. The BOLT commander and the Jonin Commander straightened up at attention, all traces of emotion gone. "Enter," Aisu hypnotically commanded.
The door opened to reveal Team Omoi. The three chuunin came to the center of the room and dropped to one knee, in subordination. "You summoned us, Aisu-sama?" Omoi spoke, collectively, for all of them.
Aisu bobbed his head in affirmation. "I have…" he paused. "I have an A-ranked mission for you three."
If they were surprised, they did a hell of a job hiding it. "We exist only to carry out your will, Aisu-sama," Omoi loyally intoned. Aisu couldn't help but smirk evilly. Manipulating them was practically child's play.
"I'll be blunt and straight to the point. The Chuunin Exams are coming up in the next four months or so, in the Hidden Leaf village. I want you three to participate," he explained, leaning on his desk, interlocking his fingers.
"But…sir…we're already Chuunin!" Karui exclaimed, a bit out of term. Hideyoshi looked like he wanted to kill her on the spot for stating something completely obvious.
"I know that," Aisu drawled out, narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "Your mission is a simple infiltration of gathering as much intelligence as possible. As you already know, Orochimaru with his new village as well the Hidden Sand are going to invade the Leaf. The Daimyo was so blinded by his hatred for Konoha that he completely ignored us and they proceeded with the plan. During the invasion…" he paused, "I want you to assist the Hidden Leaf," he revealed, dropping the bombshell. Everyone in the room's jaws dropped completely to the floor, not expecting that development at all.
"Uh…sir?" Omoi sat completely perplexed by this new mission, still in a crouch.
"Yes, I know, this seems sudden and out of the blue, but believe me, I've planned this from the beginning. Orochimaru has been a thorn in my side. I'd kill the fool myself, but he's too important to my plans to do so. Besides, he's not worthy of being slain by me. I'm confident any of the Lieutenant Commanders of BOLT could defeat him without too much trouble." He wasn't lying there. The combined power of the four LCs was equal to entire divisions worth of ninja, if not greater. All of them were, more or less, Kage-level, and could easily take down an entire minor village by themselves if the situation called for it.
"This way, officially, Konoha's citizens may look at us with some trust, which will make the village leadership think twice about attacking prematurely. This will effectively give us another three years or so to build up our forces, before we finally launch our campaign to annex the entire continent under our control."
Samui nodded. "Are we allowed to use our summons, sir?"
Aisu paused for a second. On one hand, those three had summons that were long thought extinct...but if his intelligence from the Thunderbirds was correct about them choosing another set of summoners…
"I'll allow it. With what you're going to face, they're going to be vital in you staying alive," Aisu explained cryptically.
They all nodded, not even bothering to ask what exactly they were going to be facing.
"As time for the mission grows closer, we will give you more details, but until then, you're on standby. With the exception of Omoi, you're free to leave," Aisu dismissed with a wave of his hand. The redhead and blonde vanished from the room without a second thought.
"Omoi…I have a special assignment exclusively for you. Here, take a look at this." He handed him a small picture of a blond genin from the Leaf. Omoi noted that his eyes were strikingly similar to the Raikage, himself, in terms of its shade.
"Who is he?"
"That…would be Uzumaki Naruto," Aisu declared with barely restrained venom. "According to my spy in the Leaf, he's grown incredibly powerful, but I'd like you to access his power personally. You might not know it, but when I've been training you in my free time, I've been gearing you up toward facing him."
Omoi's eyes narrowed a bit. "You have?"
"Yes…he has a very powerful bloodline. If you don't know how to properly counter or prepare for it, you'll lose every time. If my hunch is correct and he has unlocked his bloodline, then his reflexes will be three hundred percent faster than most normal shinobi. Or, to put it into another perspective, most humans react at one hundred and fifty milliseconds in response to external stimuli…he can react in twenty."
Omoi's eyes widened. "I see…so that's why you taught me the Lightning Armor jutsu…"
"Indeed," Aisu admitted. "But, I'm going to warn you now." His power flaunted throughout the entire office, causing everyone, including Obano and Hideyoshi to gasp for air. "You may test his strength, but you are under absolutely NO circumstances to kill him. If you do, even by accident, I assure you, that I WILL kill you, slowly, painfully, and intimately. Do we understand one another?" At the moment, the pressure lifted and the three of their breathing patterns returned to normal.
"Yes…sir," the white-haired chuunin breathed out, fearfully.
"Good," Aisu smiled, manipulatively, as he handed him a folder. "Here's as much as we know about him. Study and do your homework. You're dismissed. You two as well," he told Obano and Hideyoshi. "I need some time alone." All of them bowed and left the Raikage in peace.
"You can come out already…Daihan," the Raikage smirked. A dark red swirl of energy appeared, and the Regent of the Mask stepped out of it, the Alchemist's grey eyes piercing through his opera mask.
"You were able to detect me the entire time? I'm quite impressed you know. But I guess, that's to be expected considering who you really are," the leader of the Lords Of Alchemy, now known as Daihan, sadistically intoned. His accent still had a synthetic tone mixed with his Scottish-like accent.
"Don't patronize me, Daihan. Lest you forget, I also know who you really are behind that mask. You don't hate Ninjutsu as much you like to claim. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to me, not the other way around."
The alchemist narrowed his eyes. "I know that and it loathes me to work with you," he spat in disgust. "You need me to take the throne…and I need you to obtain the Namikaze bloodline."
Aisu's eyes narrowed. "So that's what you're really after. Why didn't you take his DNA when you put the Suppression Seal on him?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"It shows how little you know," Daihan indignantly replied. "The Namikaze bloodline can't simply be taken as an infant…its full potential grows with its user, changing the DNA as well. If we had taken young Naruto's blood the minute he was born its contents would be barely a tenth of what would be then if he were to master it."
"You took a gamble," the Raikage noted. "One that could've backfired in ways not even I could've predicted."
"…It could've," the Alchemist leader admitted. "But we had little choice in the matter. We weren't left with many options."
Aisu chose not to comment, but to switch the subject. "Did you find anything at Orochimaru's base?"
Daihan smirked behind his mask. "Did I? Oh, indeed, Hayasaka-san," he told him pulling out the jewel he had stolen from the Snake Wizard.
For the first time in years, Aisu's eyes widened in complete and utter shock. "That's….that's…!"
"Yes…the Eye of the Dragon…the jewel that belonged to the Dragons…"
Aisu eyed it. "It's missing a piece…" he observed, eyeing the jewel which was shaped like half a yin-yang symbol.
"It is…and you and I both know there's only one other person who would remotely have the knowledge of where the other half is…"
Aisu's eyes narrowed. "Muramasa…"
"Indeed so," the alchemist confirmed. "I'm going to start some investigating. I'll keep you up to date as much as I can…per our agreement," he begrudgingly added. Sadistic and evil as he was, Daihan never broke truces or agreements. Betrayal was one of his own pet peeves and he'd be dammed if he'd be a hypocrite…even if it was to a primitive animal.
Nodding in acceptance, the Raikage sighed and turned around in his seat. "See to it that you do. Remember…while you may get the boy's blood, I get his head. You deny me that and I won't hesitate to slaughter you and the rest of your little army."
"Is that a threat?" Daihan questioned in a challenging tone.
"No. The word threat implies that I wouldn't follow through," Aisu replied simply. "Now, get out of my office."
The Alchemist leader clenched his fists in anger. 'Soon! No one makes a mockery of the Lords of Alchemy!' He vanished in a swirl of dark energy.
Aisu looked out toward the village with a smirk on his face. His village was making excellent progress and while he loathed working with alchemists-warriors from an entirely different continent, all together-it was a necessary evil.
"Sarutobi-sensei…it's too bad you're not going to live long enough to see me liquidate the Leaf Village. I will extinguish your so-called Will of Fire...and by the end of it…my revenge will be complete!"
(END)
Okay, ending it right there. Honestly, it was supposed to be longer, but I kept redoing things over and over and decided to only keep essential stuff. Most of the extra stuff that got cut would've spoiled WAY too much anyhow.
I know what you're asking "Where did Team Omoi get their contracts!?" That, my friends, will be revealed in due time. It's going to be explained in due time, but for now just accept the badassery?
So, yeah, I promised you a Kumo exclusive chapter, and here it was. Love it, hate it, please read and review.
Regards,
Arashi.