The hard time was over...For all of them.
The caravan advanced without any problem, snow and ice had already covered their track. Behind them, The Division's scout followed tight yet with extreme caution, they couldn't risk getting detected after all those work, not to mention the disturbance from them had caused the Iwa to be alerted all the time. The tailing had became a lot slower and more exhausted than it should have been.
Shinobi couldn't even recognise their own face properly anymore, they breathed hollow air and their eyes became more and more lifeless...But they were delighted, their mouthes muttered up words of rejoice under the night sky.
"We're here...Finally."
Surrounded by walls of dead trees and rough hills, their base looked almost like an old tower that belongs to the royalty. People could assume it was the enemy's main base at the first sight., a large base that crept out a really uneasy vibe.
Taking the first step towards the gate, Naruto's clones suddenly disappeared out of thin air...Without even a single sound.
Inside the stone wall, a siren could be heard loud and clear. They had triggered the alarm just by touching the ground.
"Patrols who are near the post, go investigate and search the area immediately!" Their radio was now activated. "Shinku-san, gather your troops and protect the goods."
'Dispersed by some kind of force? I've never seen anything like before...'
Back in The Division, Naruto was processing the info his clones found during the mission. Their last stances at the enemy's base seemed to confuse him a bit, he had never encountered anything like that, something which could kill his intel less than one second. He was confident with his experience in battle after 3 years building up and protecting his ground, he was quite thrilled to expose the technique the enemy had shown him.
The night was quite comfortable for the base, the men had their food and drink after a hard day of working while the women got together and sang their beautiful songs for everyone.
They didn't have to care about their past lives and their crimes anymore, they were groups of people that found each others after being abandoned by their families, their villages...They owned their lives to him, the man who put freedom above anything else.
That man was Naruto Uzumaki and now, he didn't seem to find the wonderful taste of his Sake.
"Tsuki, tell the others to go to the briefing. The clones are back." Switching to the speaker, Naruto gave an order for once after such a long time.
"...Uggg, oh what...the fu...Right when I'm listening to my...sweet Aiko...Of all the...time." Anyone could tell that the other side was drunk as fuck. "Boss, can it wait tomorrow?...My brain is...kind of messed up tonight...Oh yeah.." Naruto could hear an angelic voice singing through the transmission. If the girl's voice was that sweet under the buzzing speaker, no wonder the stoic second-in-command Tsuki Namora fell for her.
"...Get yourself up and call them. The enemy has shown sight of an unusual technique, I need you to be awake and presentable at the cabin."
"Sigh...Alright, I'm coming."
"I know it's night time and you all are very tired but this is very important...I'll make this short. The enemy's base is located Northwest, about 2 days on foot far from here, there is an iced bridge right in between so you'll know your way. The clones tracked down and followed a caravan leading to their gate but upon closer approach, they disappeared without a trace."
After Naruto had told them the situation, all four veterans fell in deep silence.
"My clones are solid, they don't disperse too often. I suspect the Iwa had a seal that prevent the chakra flowing in our clones, anyone got another idea?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, boss..." Tsuki said, he seemed really tired by now.
"Orochimaru-san, you?" Asked Naruto, turning his head to the Sannin.
"...I need to see it before I can make out what kind it is supposed to be, until then, I'm clueless."
"Have you ever encountered anything like that in your travel?"
"...Actually, it could be some kind of signal that shut down the chakra."
"What? Like from the TV? How did that possible?" Said Kimura.
"Signal?" Naruto pondered the idea for a moment. "That's...interesting. Where did it come from?"
"Wait, Orochimaru-san." Interrupted the white haired Jonin. "By signal, do you mean binaural wave that used to corrupt the radar?"
"Almost right...It also can be used to drive animals into suicide."
"What?" Hakuno gasped. "Binaural wave can do such a thing?"
"...Come to think of it, I've heard about several dead whales drifting around the shore this Summer, there was a large amount of speakers on a battle ship passing through there." Naruto said, clutching his chin. "Massive meats for everyone and sailors got tons of cash."
"That's...horrible." Said Hakuno. "How can such-?"
"Anyway, I think I understand." Tsuki shrugged. "Clones got a main core inside their body, that core maintains the circulation of chakra and keep them active. Normal ones are weak while the solid ones are far stronger but...even those cores could disappeared if attacked directly once."
"What you mean is..." Naruto said, he could wrap the situation more clearly now.
"The ears." Tsuki blurted, gesturing his head. "Those binaural waves have messed their systems up and caused potential harm to the cores, that's my theory."
"Huhh...The escort could travel easily inside the enemy's base and I didn't remember they putting on any device, those waves didn't have much affect on human." Naruto concluded. "Seem like I'm going to have some alone time."
"Boss, we need to discuss this further." Tsuki said, all drowsiness had disappeared. "Without the help of the clones, this infiltration is going to be difficult if we didn't get all the important intel."
"I think we first need to dispatch some of Orochimaru-san's field spying units, they can hold their owns." Kimura suggested.
"Kimura-san, you know I'm not gonna sit here while letting our comrades risk their lives." Naruto cut him off. "Besides, we can't affort to wait for them."
"...Right." The bulky Jonin muttered.
"...Look like we are counting on you once again, boss." Said Hakuno.
"Going to the enemy's base right now is not okay, boss!" Tsuki objected the idea. "The Iwa has shown sight of techniques we have never encounter before...I know you are the most suited person to do this but I agree with Kimura-san. You are a huge boost of morale for us and if enemies decided to attack, we would stand more chances with you around."
Naruto just sit there, staring at his silver haired friend with a derping expression.
"Ahum!..." He tried to face a cough, searching for something in his breast pocket. "Tsuki-san, you remembered the day when we first met?"
"30th December...Wait, why are you asking me that?" Tsuki asked, confused.
"You asked me about the Hokage thingy." Said Naruto, pulling out a brown cigarette. "Remember that shit?"
All the shinobi tensed up, eyes focused on their commander. Naruto rarely swore in front of people, even when he got mad.
"...This is different, boss! I-"
"You know how I hate to be in that position, Tsuki...I will never be a Hokage at any form, I will never sit still on the chair while the others do all the dangerous works." Inhaling a good amount of smoke, he spoke. "I left the shinobi rank to be an outcast, not become another and I'm happy with the title missin nin. I know my place."
"...Boss."
"I'm just a simple person who release his anger on the field of battle...Sorry, got a little sidetrack for a bit." Naruto mumbled, blinking his eyes. "I'm going. If the Iwa did plan out an attack, I'd make sure that didn't happen."
His tone was almost like drunk, yet somehow carried out the sound of venom.
"Tsuki-san, I'll leave you to do my brief." He started to give the orders. "Tomorrow! Kimura-san, gather good men and take extra care of their training. Hakuno-san, prepare the places for medics and tell everyone to be on their guards. Orochimaru-san and Tsuki-san, you two are better than me at this kind of stuff so I leave you to do the commanding. No drinking parties or shows while I'm gone!"
"Show off..." Tsuki muttered, heaving a heavy sigh.
"Well...You caught me." Naruto lowered his tone. "But seriously, this might be the chance for us to discover a new security system as well as their technology."
"..."
"..."
"..."
That was uncalled for.
Okay, sorry for the lack of length. I'm kind of leave out the Iwa's point of view but I think they are unnecessary. As usual, correct me if I'm wrong.