26. The Factory
"Minato, hold on."
Minato turned as he was passing the gate of Konoha. General Hiromu came trotting towards him with a team of three young chuunin.
"The third sent us to communicate with you," the general said. "Also, this team will act as your back-up, in case anything happens."
"All right," Minato said, nodding to the chuunin. They nodded back, but kept casting him glances every now and then as they spoke.
"So, what's the plan?" Minato asked. "Where are your locations?"
"Not far from yours," the general said. "It is safer for us to be on the Grass' side of the border, but there's an abandoned warehouse we can hide in. Here, take this."
He handed Minato two small devices connected by a thin wire; a single, black headphone and a clip with a speaking device.
"It's probably easier for you to search the building on your own," the general said, at which Minato nodded. "I know you're capable of it, anyway. Let's go."
Turning again, they left the village and headed into the deep forests surrounding Konoha.
The chuunin were around fourteen years old, and had recently been promoted. They were a team led by the general's brother; one girl, Haruka, who had strikingly purple eyes and dark hair; a boy named Kiri, with brown hair and the prominent marks of the Inuzuka Clan on his cheeks; and the last boy, Juukai, who looked extremely shy with the light blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. Later, Minato would learn that Juukai was slightly more dangerous than he looked, but he didn't even try to underestimate him when they met. Minato had learned long ago that underestimating both your friends and foes could get you killed.
Tsunade and Orochimaru had left earlier, already on their separate paths to follow the rest of the tracks they hadn't checked out last time. For Minato, the general and his borrowed team, it took a day and a half to get to the border. They stopped by the border post where Minato and the general had once been positioned to receive refreshments and information, and was told that Tsunade and Orochimaru had taken their leave already the day before.
Continuing along the border on their side, they sped up and ran the remaining distance to the border between the Land of Fire and the Grass. It was a short journey, but as they reached their point of crossing, the general stopped for a short repetition of the plan.
"All right," he began. "We're about a day's travel away from the Earth. Once we find our shelter – Haruka, Juukai, Kiri – you keep watch from the best positions possible. I'll keep in touch with Minato. Minato, you're not under my command this time, so you do as you've planned, of course. If there's any need for back-up, which I doubt a little, we'll be less than twenty minutes away. Also, Juukai is a medic-nin, so he can provide treatments."
Minato nodded and got up. So did the general and his team.
"I'll put this on now," Minato said, placing the clip with the speaker device on his mesh shirt and the single earphone behind his ear. "In case we get separated earlier than planned."
"Good idea. You three, do the same."
The chuunin did the same.
Crossing the border had never been easier, as the Grass for most of the part had abandoned their smaller villages, which were the majority of the country. They had fled to the East, as had been discovered by the Hokage's ANBU squads, making their route more or less clear. They ducked beneath the trees whenever a few travellers or traders came walking down the road, but they were never noticed.
As the sun set, they reached what looked like a big concrete box.
"This is our place," the general said. "Good luck, Minato."
"Thanks," Minato replied, and watched as his four companions pushed open a heavy iron door and peered inside. They slipped in through the doorway and was swallowed by the darkness of the room.
The Earth was no more than a five minute run away, but Minato's location was further inside the country than expected.
"General, do you read me?" Minato spoke twenty minutes later, pressing his finger on a button on the clip fastened to his shirt.
"I read you, Minato," he heard the general reply through the earphone, though the sound was cracking up.
"I'm almost there, I can see the factory. I hope the range of these devices go that far."
"Should do. Just keep going and notify me when you're there."
"Got it."
Minato sped up, but was careful to keep away from any open spaces when he closed in on the factory. It was large and heavy, with dark windows except for a few lit rooms.
"I'm here," Minato said as audible as he allowed himself.
"Got it. The device has a permanent speaking feature, you can turn it on on the clip. If you get any information from the people inside we might hear it as well."
"All right," Minato said, found the button and turned it on. "Hear me now?"
"Hear you, all right."
"I'm going in."
The last few seconds Minato spent on making sure the coast was clear, he realised just how much responsibility he had, and it hit him that inside that old factory, hundreds of children could be hidden.
In what state, he had no idea.