!WARNING!
This story contains content not suited for younger readers, such as Violence, Blood and Gore, Language, and Explicit Sexual Content. This Chapter's Rating will be placed at T-Rated. Future Chapters may, and most likely, will switch back and forth between the T and M ratings.
Regardless, Reader Discretion for this Chapter is advised.
I don't own Halo or Naruto.
Bold-My Own Words
Bold & Italic-Locations, Time & Calendar
Normal-Narrative
"Normal"-Person Speaking
'Normal'-Thoughts
"Italic"-Foreign Language
'Italic'-Radio Chatter
/Italic\-AI/Computer typing
Prologue Arc-Episode 13
-Konoha/Expedition: Visok Pt. 1-
(Part 13)
November 1, 2543
Fire Country
Approx. 92 miles North-Northwest of Country Capital, Keishi
Konohagakure, AKA Hidden Leaf Village
Market District
It was a bright and beautiful day. Barely a cloud in sight in the skies overhead as birds called out. The village was bustling with activity as usual, with residents going about their lives, merchants trying to sell their wares, and the village's shinobi going about their daily tasks. Families enjoyed the weather or prepping their shops for customers, while children played in the mild fall weather—just another day in the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Amid the people walking the streets was a 21-year-old kunoichi, wearing a forest green kimono. She's regarded as a beautiful woman, with fair skin and long, vibrant red hair that reached down to her waist, a trademark color of her clan. She also has violet color eyes that seemed to have an allure of all their own.
For the kunoichi, it was another day reminiscing. About her life, before she was secreted away to Konoha when her own family was still alive, and she had her own nation to call home. She was wondering about her friend who saved her life and if she would ever see him again. If it hadn't been for him, she would have died with the rest of her family and homeland. Still... she couldn't help but feel lonely sometimes, wishing he had stayed instead of running off to hunt those responsible for the tragedy she had endured. She looked out towards the towering walls surrounding Konoha, thinking of the vast plains, rolling hills, and dense forest beyond those walls and where her friend might be.
'Stay safe, Dekar… Wherever you are.'
"Kushina!"
Uzumaki Kushina, one of the last surviving members of the Uzumaki Clan and the heir-princess of the clan head, snapped out of her stupor and looked to the woman beside her. The woman, also 21, with dark blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and wearing a simple light blue kimono, was pouting at her friend who was seemingly ignoring her. Kushina laughed awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her head, abashed, "Sorry, Nozomi-chan. I got lost in thought for a moment."
Namikaze Nozomi, the younger sister of the now legendary Namikaze Minato, pouted some more at her before saying, "Pay attention! Honestly! You can daydream about my dumb brother later."
"Wh-w-w-what?!" Kushina gawked, her face turning crimson, "No, I... Th-that wasn't what I-"
"My, my. So that WAS what you were doing, hmm, Kushina-chan?" Her other friend, another young 21-year-old woman with long, straight black hair, onyx eyes, and wearing a black kimono with red flower patterns, teased with a knowing smile, "I don't know why you'd need to daydream. You pretty much see him every other day, don't you?"
"M-Mikoto-chan?! You too?!" Kushina cried out, as Uchiha Mikoto, future clan matriarch of the Uchiha Clan, and Nozomi started smirking mischievously at their friend's torment. At the same time, Kushina only got more flustered as she tried to deny the accusation. While it wasn't well-known amongst the public, it was a bit of an open secret amongst their friends that Kushina and Minato were seeing one another, despite the two of them denying it repeatedly. This, of course, resulted in a lot of teasing by said friends, much to their dismay. Still, despite the teasing and secrecy, their friends approved of the relationship and were happy for the two of them.
The three women had finally managed to find some time to get together and reminisce about their lives and any gossip they've heard.
"Ehhh… When are you and my brother gonna stop sneaking around and just admit-" Nozomi started teasing again, but almost immediately had her mouth smothered by an irate and blushing Kushina, while Mikoto giggled beside them. The Uzumaki princess quickly shot back, "Will! You! Shut! Up?! And what about you and Inoichi, huh?! Like you two have any room to talk!"
Nozomi paused for a moment, then gave a muffled but triumphant huff, puffing out her chest as she said, "As a matter of fact, I have some wonderful news regarding that." Catching the attention of the other two girls and pausing for effect, Nozomi slowly smiled and whispered, "His family's said yes! So Inoichi-kun popped the question!"
Both Mikoto and Kushina gasped audibly, with Mikoto asking, "Iehiko-sama finally gave you two his blessing?!"
Nozomi nodded enthusiastically, "Since my brother is," she said, rolling her eyes at the next part, "as he put it, 'now such a distinguished individual, it would only make sense for our clan to strengthen ties to such a reputable shinobi and possible future kage.' So now we're engaged!"
The three of them squealed at the news, Kushina, in particular, excited that someone she thought of as a sister would be married to the man of her dreams. Yamanaka Inoichi had been courting Nozomi for years, since they were in the academy, much to the irritation of Nozomi's protective older brother, who didn't want anyone dating his 'baby sister.' (Which Kushina thought was hilarious considering Minato was barely over a year older than his sibling.)
"This is great! Any idea when the wedding will be?!" Mikoto asked excitedly, but Nozomi shook her head, "Not yet, but it won't be long, knowing Inoichi-kun's parents. I'm so excited!"
Kushina giggled mischievously, "Ohhhh, I can't wait to see Minato's reaction to his 'Baby Sister' getting married." The three of them laughed at the thought, knowing Minato was going to hate every moment of it.
"Well, he's just going to have to deal with it, 'cause no way in hell am I canceling it." Nozomi boldly said, chest puffed out and hands on her hips.
"And what exactly are you not canceling?" Someone said behind her, causing her to go wide-eyed and pale in the face at the voice. Knowing full well who it belonged to, Nozomi looked away from her snickering friends and slowly turned to face the owner of the voice. She paled a little further when she saw that the person behind her. Standing at a modest 5'8", with a slim but muscular build, the man behind her had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as herself, but his hair was spikey and seemed to point out in all directions. He was wearing a typical Konoha uniform, dark blue in color, with a green jacket over top, and a standard blue forehead protector covering his forehead.
Nozomi grimaced some more, having lost her earlier confidence. Of course, it was none other than her older brother, Namikaze Minato. He was giving her a questioning look.
"H-hello, big brother."
"Hi, little sister. So what's this I'm going to have to put up with?" the 22-year-old shinobi asked curiously.
"A-Ah, w-well-" Nozomi said bashfully, but Kushina was quick to get a little payback on her friend, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "Yes, Nozomi. Tell your brother the wonderful news you just told us," she said, grinning mischievously as she did. Nozomi looked back at her friend in a panic, realizing she'd been pressed into a corner with no way out. Worse still, her brother was very adept at picking up social cues, so now he was eying her with immense suspicion. Kushina and Mikoto both waited with barely suppressed snickers, knowing exactly how it was going to play out. Minato would press the issue until Nozomi, like always, caved in and spill the beans, which in this case would result in Minato hilariously (to Kushina and Mikoto) turning into 'overprotective big brother mode.
"Go on, Nozomi. Tell him the good news." Mikoto egged on, also grinning deviously as Nozomi was growing more panicked by the second, more for her fiance's immediate safety than her own. Minato started getting irritated, quickly realizing that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. "I-uhhh-"
"Well?" Minato asked, eyes narrowing. Nozomi, realizing that the longer she held it off, the worse it was going to be, finally blurted out, "Inochi-kunandIaregettingmarried!"
Time seemed to pause around the group as Minato slowly digested what he was told, his face a solid neutral expression while he made sure he heard correctly. Behind the two of them, Kushina and Mikoto were trying and failing to contain their snickering, eagerly awaiting what they knew was about to happen. After a pregnant pause, Minato finally spoke again, "Sorry, I'm not sure I heard correctly. Could you please say that one more time, Nozomi-chan?"
"A-ah, well... Inoichi-k-kun and I are getting marrie-"
"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Minato exploded, face red and a vein visibly popping as he went into full-fledge protective brother mode. Nozomi was now openly panicking, while behind her, Kushina and Mikoto had started busting out laughing, holding their stomachs as they watched the drama play out.
"M-Minato! Calm down-"
"Where's Inoichi?! I need to have a talk with him about messing around with my baby sister!" Minato thundered, getting ready to storm off before getting stopped by his sister.
"YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BRUTE! I'M MARRYING HIM AND THAT'S FINAL!" Nozomi thundered back, now herself getting angry at her ridiculous older brother. The two siblings were now glaring daggers at one another, neither of them yielding an inch while Kushina and Mikoto continued to die of laughter at the spectacle. "And you two, over there!" Nozomi quickly called them out, "Instigating all of this! You two suck! You're not invited to the wedding!" The mention of a wedding only further aggravated Minato.
"Ah-Aww, don't b-be like that-" Kushina tried to say, but ended up falling back into a fit of giggling. Mikoto wasn't any better off. As this little drama played out for a couple more minutes, another voice finally got their attention. "Alright, children. Enough goofing around, you're disturbing the residents."
Kushina looked up to the roof, smiling as she knew the voice all too well, "What's up, Pervy-Sage?"
Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, almost immediately snapped back, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?!"
Still smiling, Kushina shot back, "Well, are you going to stop peeking into the Girl's Hot Springs?"
"Never." Came the immediate, dead serious reply.
"Then, you're still Pervy-Sage!" Kushina replied happily, much to the Toad Sannin's irritation. Giggling, Kushina followed up with, "So what brings you back so soon? I thought you wouldn't be back for a couple more months?"
"Well..." Jiraiya started, clearing his throat, "Let's just say a lot's happened that necessitated me coming home early." He wasn't entirely sure what all he should say to Kushina regarding the newcomers to Edo. Not that he didn't trust her. But, after his talk with Hiruzen and the elders, it was agreed that for now the information of these strange star people should be kept quiet until more information could be attained.
"Like what?" Kushina asked, her eyebrows squinting down in confusion. Suddenly, a shocking thought occurred to her as she quickly grasped Minato, a big smile spreading on her face as she said, "Wait! Could it be that... D-did Minato get selected?!" This earned a shocked gasp from the other two girls, knowing full well what she was implying.
Minato and his sensei looked at one another for a second, before they both scratched the back of their heads, laughing uncomfortably before Minato answered, "No, Kushina. I didn't get the nomination."
Kushina blinked in surprise, "Oh... Well, I'm sorry, Minato. I know you were really looking forward to possibly becoming the next Hokage. Who got the nomination?"
"Did... Did my husband get selected, by chance?" Mikoto inquired, knowing Fugaku had been one of the three individuals selected to become the next Kage.
"No, you don't understand." Minato corrected, earning a confused look from the trio of women, "Nobody was nominated. It was... a difficult decision to accept, but an understandable one, given the new development."
"What new development?" All three of the women asked simultaneously.
The two shinobi glanced at one another as they remembered the meeting that was had. After a few moments, Jiraiya finally relented, "Follow me for a second. Let's go somewhere a little more secluded before speaking."
Hokage Residence
Approximately 2 Hours Earlier...
"I'm not sure I understand, Lord Hokage," Minato said as he and the other two stood before arguably the most powerful man in the Elemental Nations. The man sitting before them stared at the three, a few puffs of smoke emerging from his pipe as he slowly replied, "Unfortunately, Minato-san, there's been an unexpected development."
Sarutobi Hiruzen. 5'4" and weighing maybe 125 pounds, the long years as Kage and a shinobi had taken their harsh toll on the aging warrior. His hair, once a solid dark brown, had grayed considerably. His face had become gaunter, with wrinkles forming in the corners of his eyes and cheeks. His skin, which had been fairly tanned when he was younger, had started to lighten up. He sometimes looked older than he actually was, to Minato. Despite being 49 years old, was still a powerhouse of a ninja, having fought through the last two Great Shinobi World Wars and not only surviving but establishing himself as one of the most powerful and knowledgeable shinobi in existence. Hence his nickname 'the Professor.'
But the Professor had been Kage for nearly 25 years, now, and was looking to retire and name his successor. The position of Hokage wasn't one that could be given out lightly. The person selected not only had to be mentally and tactically sound but also needed to have the best interest of Konoha and Fire Country as a whole in their intents and decisions. So to be selected was not only a huge deal but a great honor that wasn't given out to just anyone.
And yet, instead of the typical one or two that were normally considered, there had been three that had been considered, to Minato's surprise. Beside him was one Katō Dan. 5'10", roughly 150 pounds with long pale blue hair and dark green eyes, the 30-year-old was considered one of the pretty boys and one of the heartthrobs of the village. After suffering a near-fatal injury in the Second Shinobi World War that he only managed to survive thanks to the incredible skill of his fiance, Lady Senju Tsunade, Dan had been forced to stay off the active shinobi roster for the remainder of the war, but refused to be sidelined from serving his village and managed to bounce back from his injuries to be brought back into active service just in time for the Third Shinobi World War. He had a strong love and dedication to the village, having wanted to become Hokage ever since he was a child. But, with Minato's own rise in skill and popularity among the village populace, this had caused Dan to push himself even harder to try and keep up with the infamous 'Yellow Flash.' This has led some to view him as growing overconfident or rash as the years went on, despite his renowned intellect and tactical prowess. Still, despite the unofficial 'competition' between the two, Minato and Dan still remained good friends.
The last individual was a surprising selection, considering that Hiruzen's predecessor would have been rolling in his grave at the selection. Uchiha Fugaku, the next clan head of the famous Uchiha Clan and arguably one of the strongest shinobi in the village. 5'9", 139 pounds with short brown hair, and the typical onyx color eyes that were almost the trademark of the Uchiha Clan. While he came off to others as a stern and distant man, in reality, he was a man with a strong sense of responsibility and care for both his clan and the village he called home, devoting much of his time to maintaining his clan's status as well as performing his duties to the Hidden Leaf. The 21-year-old had served with distinction during the Third Shinobi World War, accomplishing many missions and achieving a stellar reputation throughout the shinobi nations. So much so that, for the first time since Madara, an Uchiha was being considered for the position of Hokage, which was rather odd, considering how instrumental the clan had been to the founding of the Hidden Village.
There were several others in the room. Minato's own sensei, Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannin, was surprisingly back early from his travels and missions assigned to him. Apparently, he was at the center of whatever was going on today. (Much to the irk of Dan, as his lover had a lot of history with Minato's sensei. Some of which he didn't quite approve of.) Also, there in the room were Hiruzen's two advisors and former teammates, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. They had served as advisors to the Third Hokage for almost as long as he'd been Kage, having provided wise council to assist the Kage during times of crisis. The next individual was the current head of the Yamanaka Clan and head of the Konoha Intelligence Division, Yamanaka Iehiko. An elder shinobi with a stern and serious mentality but renown for his intellect and strategic mind, the clan head had served Konoha throughout the latter half of the 2nd Shinobi World War and the entirety of the 3rd World War, providing critical intelligence for Konoha in its hours of need to achieve victory. This hadn't come without a cost. The Yamanaka Elder had lost his first two sons, a daughter, and both of his sisters and parents in the wars, leaving his youngest son Inoichi to retain the position of Clan Head when he eventually stepped down. And lastly, was another old... acquaintance if not an outright rival of Hiruzen's. Shimura Danzō. Roughly the same age as the Third Hokage, Danzō was a renowned, albeit notorious, shinobi who was considered to be on par with Hiruzen in terms of skill. While he was more often than not a voice of opposition to the Third Hokage, he was nevertheless considered a wise voice of council, having many years of experience with machinations of both military and politics.
"What unexpected development, Lord Hokage?" Fugaku asked, "Surely it couldn't be so serious as to cancel the selection of the next Kage outright?"
"In this case, yes." Koharu responded, waving off a puff of smoke blown by Hiruzen's pipe, "At the very least, we've agreed to postpone it for the meantime. Not that any of us are doubtful of your ability to lead. The council as a whole simply feels more comfortable to have the seasoned diplomat and leader that Hiruzen-san is leading our village rather than a new and largely untested Hokage leading Konoha until we can acquire more information on this new faction."
"New faction? Who?" Minato was eerily suspicious, knowing all about a certain group that had tried to kidnap Kushina when she was a child. Had they finally come out of hiding and revealed themselves? If so then it was a bold move, especially if they were still being hunted by him, if Kushina was to be believed.
The group of Kage and advisors said nothing as Hiruzen motioned for Master Jiraiya to proceed, "What's about to be said in here has not been told to the public, yet. Only the people in this room, the Clan Heads on the Shinobi Council, and soon to be you are the only ones who know, for now. Even the Daimyo hasn't been informed yet, although a team's been sent to brief him on the situation."
"If he hasn't learned about it already," Danzo remarked, earning a look from Hiruzen and Jiraiya, "It's not as if these individuals are halfway across the entire world from us. Word is sure to have spread within the coastal regions of our country, Hokage-sama. It's only a matter of time before the public learns of these star people."
"Star-people?" Dan asked aloud, before Hiruzen cut off all talk in the room, "Enough. Danzo, let Jiraiya explain what he's learned about these... invaders."
That put all three of the Hokage candidates on edge. 'Somebody was invading? The Elemental Nations were being invaded? By who? The Romanus? Was Konoha and Fire Country in danger? What the hell was going on?' Minato thought vigorously, while Jiraiya stepped forward before the three, "In the past couple of months, have any of you overheard rumors of an unknown group taking over the Uzshio Islands?"
As a matter of fact, all three of them have. Rumors of individuals who had seized Iwamoto island and the surrounding islands. With odd technology the likes of which had never been seen before. But, these were just rumors. And it wouldn't be the first time the Uzshio Islands had rumors circulating around them. Ever since the Fall of Uzshiogakure, there would always be a rumor or two every year that would spring up, ranging from pirate lords seizing islands (which was sometimes true and dealt with ruthlessly.) to outright ridiculous claims such as sightings of strange flying metal birds with glowing blue lights on them that shoot out a strange blue beam or of survivors of the Uzumaki Clan resettling their ancestral homeland and try to rebuild their lost nation. (Something Minato knew for a fact would never happen anytime soon. Kushina was certain of it.)
"I have, Lord Jiraiya." Fugaku was the first to respond, followed quickly by confirmations from the other two, "During a mission to the coastal villages, my team overheard some known bandits talking about how some unknown group of people had arrived and settled Iwamoto Island. We largely dismissed it though, as the things they were claiming were outright preposterous."
"How so?" Hiruzen questioned. This time Dan spoke up, "I know what he's talking about, I've also heard these rumors. As Fugaku-san has stated, their claims were outright absurd, Lord Hokage. They were saying things like that these individuals had strange projectile weapons faster and more accurately than any archer or that they had giant metal flying machines. Buildings as tall as mountains, strange metal machines that are faster than any horse, and probably the most ridiculous notion, that these people had no chakra whatsoever. A ridiculous claim, even for the most superstitious of people."
"Except every bit of it is true."
All three pairs of eyes turned back to Jiraiya, completely surprised by his statement. For a second, Minato thought maybe his sensei was messing with them. But the look in the Toad Sannin's eyes made it very clear he wasn't joking.
"Those rumors are true?"
Clearing his throat, Jiraiya spoke up, "About six months ago, a deal was being conducted between Sky Country and Mizukage-Loyalist Shinobi on Iwamoto Island. Typical prisoner exchange, a Marsh Kunoichi that they captured that was wanted by the Shogun, Kuribayashi Nakazo, of all people. Nothing special there, but apparently, Sky Country's Shogun considered this so important that they had deployed some 100 shinobi and an Airship Carrier to ensure the mission was a success. We're not entirely sure, the intelligence division is still gathering data, but it's believed that this is when the 'Star People' first arrived in our lands to colonize it. An initial recon force, from what we've managed to gleam, eventually the first contact was made between Sky Country and the Star People." Jiraiya paused for a moment to clear his throat, "It didn't go well. The two sides battled it out, about a hundred Sky Shinobi vs some two hundred combatants of the Star People."
"And these individuals can't use chakra, or rather don't have any, right? That must have been a one-sided slaughter, then." Dan remarked bluntly, almost sounding amused at the idea these newcomers thought they could take on so many shinobi.
"It was." Jiraiya confirmed, "For Sky Country."
This earned a look of shock from the three Kage candidates. Jiraiya continued unfazed, "The Sky Village shinobi and their carrier were annihilated over the course of a half-hour, maybe less. Maybe a dozen or so individuals from Sky Country survived to escape back home, while we aren't sure how many casualties the newcomers suffered. From what's been gathered, not many. Less than a quarter, at most. The newcomers deployed weapons never before seen or used by anyone in the Elemental Nations which compensated for their lack of chakra. Projectile throwers that use a black powder of sorts to shoot a small metal slug harder, faster, and more accurately than any archer with a bow could ever hope to."
"Like those Arcabuz the Romanus have developed?" Fugaku suddenly commented, earning a look of surprise from Jiraiya, as this wasn't well-known knowledge. "Yes, actually. Except unlike the Romanus weapon, these slug-throwers don't only fire one shot before having to reload and there really isn't much, if any, smoke emitted. They also have way more accuracy and range than a Romanus Arcabuz. These are weapons Volusian Lascaris could have only dreamed of making for the Romanus Empire."
'Which is exactly why I was sent to kill him.' Fugaku thought, remembering the top-secret mission he was sent on 6 years ago to eliminate the Romanus Empire's greatest inventor to deny the largest and most powerful empire on the planet, even after the Romanus-Hollandia Split, a massive edge over every single nation on the planet. It was no secret that the Romanus and Elemental Nations despised one another, with the Elemental Nations, Konoha as well, viewing the Romanus as a massive domineering and warmongering threat to everyone, while the Romanus viewed the Elemental Nations as two-faced, manipulative interlopers who were hellbent on undermining and splintering their empire. Needless to say, there was no love lost between the two civilizations, with the Elemental Nations often sending shinobi on missions to Esura to undermine and weaken the Empire, keeping it focused on domestic rabble lest it gets any ideas of expanding into the Elemental Nations.
"So what do these Star People call themselves? Where are they from? And why are they here?" Minato asked, getting everyone back on track.
"Good questions." Hiruzen commented, taking another puff from his pipe, "Thanks to our interrogation division, particularly the Yamanaka Clan, we've managed to answer a lot of the questions we've garnered. And the answers we've learned are... intriguing, to say the least." Glancing towards a couple of ANBU agents standing quietly to the side, the Hokage nodded, "Bring them in."
The ANBU bowed and quickly disappeared with a puff of smoke. The group waited momentarily before the ANBU agents suddenly poofed back into the room behind the trio of Kage candidates. The trio turning around, Minato was presented with the sight of six ANBU agents dragging in three unusual-looking people into the room. All three had their hands tied behind their back and were kept in a kneeling position. One was a man in his mid or late 30s perhaps, with slightly tanned light-colored skin and jet black hair that was extremely short on the sides but puffed out some on the top. The man was dirty and ragged, and when he looked up at his surroundings, Minato could clearly see the 5 o'clock shadow and noticeable fatigue showing on the man's face, his green eyes reddened with fatigue but fully alert. Minato immediately noted, despite the rather grimy appearance, the attentiveness and alertness of the individual. The man was quiet as he looked around the room, giving everyone in the room at least a good ten-second stare. 'That man's a soldier. A professional. He's studying us. Remembering faces. Trying to gather intel.'
The other man was a bit of a surprise. While Kokujin weren't unheard of, they weren't exactly common in the Elemental Nations outside of three or so regions. The man in question was maybe in his late-20s, with a bald head and hardy brown eyes that glared at everyone around them. Like his compatriot, he too was dirty and ragged, but he seemed more alert and less fatigued. His eyes scanned the room in silence, stopping at each face for a moment before continuing on. Minato noticed the man stopped when his eyes locked on to Jiraiya, his gaze hardening into a hate-filled scowl before slowly tearing his gaze off the Sannin. 'He's a soldier, too. Studying us and gathering intel.' Minato was also surprised to see the dark-skinned man glance at his compatriot and narrowing his eyes in contempt before glancing back around the room. He wondered what that had been about. Did these two know each other and have some history?
The last one was a woman with tanned skin, dark brown hair, and light brown eyes. She looked to be maybe in her early 40s. Oddly enough for a woman, her hair was concise, showing off a series of jagged and sunken scars all along the right side of her neck and head. Her right ear was missing its earlobe and some of the auricle. She had a particular scar that ran from the corner of her right eye to her ear. Like the other two, she was ragged and fatigued, but unlike the other two who were observing their surroundings, the woman was merely glancing at the Hokage as he sat behind his desk. She seemed quiet and reserved, silently studying the man Konoha called its Kage. 'She must have figured out he's in charge.'
"They really don't have a chakra network," Fugaku said as he stared at the three, sounding more surprised than anything. "I... wait. There is a chakra network. They're extremely faint, but it's there. How is that possible? Their chakra levels are so low, so... malformed, that they should all be in a coma right now. If not dead."
"Notice that, did you?" The Yamanaka Clan Head remarked, "When we first got them, they had no chakra levels whatsoever. Then something interesting happened after we fed them. It appears that wherever they come from, chakra doesn't exist at all. They have no chakra capable individuals whatsoever."
"Which means they have no one capable of performing ninjutsu." Minato concluded, which earned a nod from Iehiko before the clan head continued, "However when we fed them, they suffered a poor reaction to it. Coming down with a severe fever and muscle cramping all over. We had no idea what was going on with them, fearing maybe they had accidentally been poisoned. That was when Lady Tsunade discovered something. As you all know, everything in our world contains chakra in it, from the air we breathe to the smallest of insects and dirt particles. Everything in our world has chakra in it, except for these Star-People. But after eating our food, Lady Tsunade discovered that these individuals were in fact developed a partial chakra network inside. It took three days for most of them, but by the end of it, all of the captured Star-People had a partially formed chakra network inside them."
"Could they perform ninjutsu with them?" Danzo asked almost immediately, eyeing the three kneeling soldiers, but Jiraiya shook his head, "No. Their chakra reserves are barely on par with a newborn infant. I'd be amazed if they could even perform an E-Ranked jutsu."
Danzo still eyed the three, clearly not convinced, but said nothing more on the matter, instead asking, "So then who are they?"
"These three are soldiers belonging to an organization calling itself the..." Iehiko paused for a moment to make sure he pronounced it correctly, "United Nations Space Command, or 'UNSC' for short. Apparently, it is the organization in charge of their civilization's entire military. Their civilian government is something called the Unified Earth Government, or 'UEG' for short."
"What's an Earth?" Hiruzen asked.
"It's the name of their homeworld, apparently. This UEG has been traveling the stars and colonizing other worlds for some 200 years. They have some 800 worlds in their possession." Iehiko answered, "They have a population numbering in the tens of billions, with the UNSC fielding several billion soldiers in its ranks."
"Impossible!" Homura exclaimed, "Outright lunacy! Traveling the stars?! Controlling over 800 worlds?! Billions of people living amongst their worlds?! Lord Iehiko, with all due respect, do you understand how insane you sound right now?"
"I'm aware of how ridiculous this all sounds, and had I not interrogated and melded with these people myself, I wouldn't have believed it either. But as far as I can tell, all of it is true."
Hiruzen was silent for a moment as he absorbed this new information, before finally saying, "I see. And what about these three?"
"The first one here. The woman. Her name is Martinez Lucia. She is some kind of officer in this UNSC Army, with the rank of 'Major.'" The Yamanaka gestured his hand towards the individual in question.
"Major?"
"Some kind of Officer Rank. Higher than a Captain, interestingly enough. She was in command of one of their 'Battalions,' some kind of military formation of roughly a thousand men." Iehiko answered, "She commanded something they called a... 'Mechanized' Battalion. Some kind of metal machines called 'Armored Personnel Carriers' that act partially like a cavalry force and partially as a transport for their infantry."
The statement confused the others in the room, save for Jiraiya who saw said machines in action. While Iehiko had dumbed down the description so the others would at least grasp their purpose, Jiraiya knew that they were in fact hazardous machines, especially to someone without chakra or to a ninja without speed or long-range attacks on their side. But a shinobi could neutralize them, as he witnessed in Qushan. The rogue ninjas in Qushan managed to destroy or neutralize a number of them, oftentimes just flipping them onto their sides with an earth jutsu and forcing the crews inside to abandon the now useless machines. But that also required the shinobi to get dangerously close to the machines. These 'Armored Personnel Carriers' had shown that their machine guns and cannons had quite the reaction time to an attacker, so attacking one head-on and alone, especially if the machine had their infantry outside supporting it, was a perilous affair.
"She's an officer, though?" Danzo asked, shifting the conversation back to the soldier in question.
"From what I've gathered, she's the highest-ranking officer of the individuals Jiraiya managed to subdue." Iehiko responded, "And, she's a very high ranking officer at that, which makes her valuable for both intelligence and as a hostage. We're stilling extracting information out of her."
"The colored man here is 'Sergeant' Cooper Damian, a soldier apart of the UNSC's Army as a 'Ranger,' a sort of specialized foot soldier used in certain operations."
"Special Forces?" Dan inquired.
"Yes, and no." Jiraiya answered, "They're considered an elite force, but this UNSC apparently has quite a few special forces units, and these Rangers are considered one of the lower-level forces from what we've gathered. These 'UNSC' soldiers tend to rely on numbers just as much as they rely on their technology to get the job done, and these Rangers are no different. A step above their regular infantry in quality, sure, but against us in a one-on-one? A mediocre threat at best, as long as you mind their projectile weapons."
As the shinobi continued conversing, Sergeant Damian Cooper, UNSC Army Ranger, continued glaring daggers at the white-haired shinobi that had captured his team. His team had been chasing after a dangerous shinobi, Vesuvius, in Qushan that had been wreaking havoc on UNSC forces, before trying to make his escape. He and his small squad of 8 were the only ones available to pursue and engage Vesuvius in hopes of killing him, lest he escapes and wreaks more havoc for the UNSC for weeks to come. Of the 8 in his squad, Alvarez, Kofod, and Sevilla had been killed when Vesuvius ambushed them, the rest were critically wounded, leaving him alone to fight what was for all intense and purposes a monster. And just when it seemed like he was going to be sent to his own fiery hell...
Bellino...
That poor, stupid kid. Why the hell did he jump in the way? He'd still be alive if he hadn't... Cooper slowly looked down, remorseful over the soldiers whose lives he'd been responsible for. Soldiers he'd failed as their NCO.
Vesuvius was killed, yes, but now their situation had gotten even worse. Just after Bellino had made his sacrificial move, that white-haired son of a bitch showed up out of nowhere. It wasn't even a fight between the two. It was a one-sided ass-kicking that lasted maybe all of 15 seconds at most. Vesuvius, already weaken and exhausted, could hardly do anything against... what was this fucker's name? Jiraiya? Yeah, that's it. Jiraiya made quick work of the little bastard, then walked over to the charred, barely living corpse of Vincent Bellino and euthanized him, before capturing Cooper and his living men with those weird-ass giant talking toads. The ranger grimaced. Bellino could have been saved, dammit! He could have lived! But that white-haired bastard must have figured he was beyond saving. Cooper knew so, if only they had gotten him to a UNSC hospital.
But none of that mattered, now. Now they were prisoners, being interrogated by mind readers or whatever the fuck these blonde-haired pale-eyed fuckers were that were always questioning them. It was impossible to fight it, whenever they did their little chakra thing and started probing your mind. You were there with 'em, too, weirdly, but you were almost completely helpless as they searched through your memories, reliving all of your life's events. The good, the bad, the ugly, the... more cringe things you'd rather not have anyone know about. (Such as reminiscing on his 'biker gang' phase as a teenager. Good god.) These Konoha shinobi were learning anything and everything they could about both them and the UNSC. And they couldn't do a fucking thing about it.
And as if to add insult to injury, or some sort of fucked up irony, there was this Hungarian bastard right beside him. Glancing around the room and studying the faces of every native present. The man glanced at him once, then to the Major on the other side of Cooper, then went back to silently observing the room they found themselves in. But Cooper had seen the small insignia on Katona's Neural Implant, despite what were clearly scratch marks all over it to remove it, leaving only one question in his mind.
Why the fuck was an ONI Spook out here on Shinsei?
"And the last one, here?" Danzo inquired, pointing at the last of the trio of foreigners brought before them, the tanned one silently studying everyone. When he noticed he was being pointed at, he stared at Danzo intently.
"He's probably the most interesting of the group." Jiraiya answered, "The Yamanaka have extracted quite a bit of informative material out of him about these newcomers, as well as some of the more... secretive aspects of their society." This grasped the attention of the Hokage and Danzo, as well as the elders and the Hokage Candidates. Minato perched up an eyebrow, wondering what more ridiculous information could he have learned about the newcomers. "His name is 1st Lieutenant Viktor Katona, and he's formerly a member of this UNSC's primary intelligence unit." Jiraiya continued, "Something they call the Office of Naval Intelligence."
"Naval Intelligence?" Homura inquired confusingly, "Why would their main intelligence organization be a detachment of their navy?"
"The name's slightly misleading," Iehiko confessed, "This... ONI initially started out as just that. But from what we've gathered, they've developed into a massive intelligence organization, surpassing any of the others this UEG may have had. They honestly behave and operate in a manner, not unlike that of a shinobi village. And they exert an alarmingly high level of influence and control within their civilization. Until recently."
"What happened?" Hiruzen asked.
"A few years ago, some notoriously high-level agent of their organization, known only by the name of GHOST, went rogue and crippled their organization, killing a vast amount of their leadership and exposing years up years of secrets they didn't want to be exposed." Iehiko explained, "This ONI is an organization that their people as a whole fear and loathe, but this GHOST is something else. He's almost mythical in their eyes, a demon of sorts. Someone who brought the most feared organization to its knees."
"Sounds dangerous," Danzo said concerned, in regard to both this ONI and this GHOST.
"He was, from the sound of it. One of the most dangerous warriors they ever produced, even without chakra." Jiraiya agreed, "According to them, however, the GHOST is dead."
"What else have you discovered about this ONI and the UEG? What are their intentions here?" Hiruzen asked, and as Jiraiya and Iehiko proceeded to speak about what they've attained, Viktor Katona once again had his Neural Implant compile a data packet to be sent back to HIGHCOM in New Tripoli. He'd never been comfortable with the contact lenses he used, they always felt weird, but he was grateful he had them. The contacts were a specialized ONI device, a pair of built-in micro cameras that could record upwards of 40 minutes of footage before the batteries died. He had enough juice in them to record this conversation (Which didn't have audio, but thanks to it being connected to his Neural Implant, it would automatically have subtitles translate whatever his ears heard.) and send a detailed packet back to the UNSC. Hopefully to get them to bust them out of here.
He wishes he could have recorded more, but the batteries were almost dead as it was, having been used a few times earlier to record his location and points/people of interest he managed to see, which would hopefully be of some use. (Maybe) Recording what he could, he then quickly had the implant compile all of the recorded data into a compressed packet and, once again bypassing UNSC security protocols using his old ONI clearances, had the message sent directly to HIGHCOM.
/Sending Data Packet. Standby... Packet Sent!\
Now all Viktor could do was sit and wait. Try to resist the interrogations until rescue came. If his fellow captives didn't kill him, first.
A Half Hour Later...
The UNSC prisoners had been sent back to their holding cells at the ANBU Headquarters as the people present in the Hokage's office processed all the information that had been given to them. An entire different civilization of humanity, with massive machines and ships, and hundreds of worlds under their control, now at war with a vast alien empire more powerful than anything ever seen and determined to wipe out humanity to the last living specimen. Ideals and concepts that could tear apart the very structure of Edo's society. And now, they were fleeing by the tens of millions out here to escape, to rebuild, and in their world's case, to assimilate.
"These people are a bunch of refugees, deserters, and insurgents. Rats deserting a sinking ship to a nearby strip of land in hopes of salvation. With powerful weapons and dangerous ideals. And now they've brought their problems and threats to our world, looking to claim it as their own." Danzo concluded bitterly, glancing at everyone in the room to gauge their appearance. After a pregnant pause, he followed up with, "They need to be eliminated."
"Hold on, now," Hiruzen started, agreeing that these 'Terrans' needed to be stopped and contained for the safety of both Konoha and the Elemental Nations, but he knew what Danzo meant by 'eliminated.' Eliminated meant mass genocide and decimation while taking anything of value that could be used for the strategic betterment and advantage of Konoha. Hiruzen, not wanting to stir up a hornet's nest and wrath upon his nation, wanted to wait and see how things developed before resorting to a military option. Learn more about the weaknesses of these Star People then use them to Konoha's advantage to weaken the Star People's position in Edo. He was about to explain this to Danzo, but the old war hawk wasn't having it, "Hiruzen, the longer we wait and allow them to consolidate themselves, the stronger they will become. At this moment, they are still weak. We should send a strike force to exploit that while we still have the time to."
"We don't even know how many troops or people are living on the Uzshio Islands, Danzo." Hiruzen quickly countered, "And this would only result in this UNSC throwing its forces at us. However many they have."
"Which can't be too many. We know there are at least a million on Iwamoto Island. And that their army is rather small and disorganized. They only attacked the Sea Confederacy with 40,000 troops and a couple dozen of these flying warships of theirs. Why not use more troops such a massive operation, unless they didn't have the numbers to do so?" Danzo argued back, which Hiruzen silently admitted was a good point, "Plus, our attack would draw their ire only if they knew it was us that was responsible. Something that can easily be fixed."
Everyone in the room realized what Danzo was implying. A False-Flag Operation. Attack an enemy but make it appear as though someone else was responsible. It was clever and could pay off in dividends, but it was also extremely risky should the true perpetrators be discovered. Plus, if what was explained about the UNSC's capabilities were true, especially in recon and intelligence gathering, then such an operation would be difficult to pull off without raising suspicion. As far as the Hokage was concerned, such an operation wasn't worth the risk, even if these 'Star-People' posed a serious threat. No, something more subtle would have to be pursued to keep the Terrans contained. With their meddling on the Eastern Continent, they might be persuaded to battle the resurgent Sky Empire by Marsh Country. (Though if what he's heard is true, then their lone ally on the Eastern Continent has thrown in its lot to the newcomers for protection.)
"We must do something, Lord Hokage." Koharu remarked, "Especially with us keeping some of their soldiers prisoner. It's only a matter of time before they learn who took their troops."
"What makes you think they already haven't, Koharu-san?" Danzo asked, earning a few concerned looks from everyone, "You heard the Toad Sannin, their soldiers have a device implanted into their skull that allows them to 'talk' to machines or each other, for communication reasons. They can send messages to each other if needed. So what hasn't stopped these soldiers from sending information to their superiors about what's happened to them?"
An eerie silence fell over the group as this realization settled in, with Danzo turning his gaze to the Toad Sannin, "And you, in your infinite wisdom as our spymaster, brought them here. Inside our village.
Jiraiya quickly rebutted in his defense, "I couldn't just keep them at Myōboku indefinitely. The toads would have never allowed it, especially the risks it brought onto them as well. Plus, the toads aren't exactly experts in interrogation. I needed specialists, like the Yamanaka. And the only way I was going to do that was to bring them to Konoha."
"You couldn't have brought a few of the Yamanaka and other interrogators to Mount Myōboku with you, Jiraiya-sama?" Fugaku inquired, which earned a shake of the head from the Toad Sannin, "No. The Toads don't allow just anybody into their village. You have to earn the right to do so, and only a few have ever been given that honor. The only reason they even allowed me to reverse-summon the star-people there was because of my long relationship with them."
"Regardless, this UNSC is likely aware that we have their soldiers." Danzo responded, "Which means our options are now limited. If they choose to attack Konoha-"
"They won't." Jiraiya quickly assured. The old Warhawk glared at him for interrupting, but Minato quickly spoke up, "You don't think they will, sensei?"
"No, and for a simple reason. Qushan." Jiraiya began explaining, "Their military was thrashed by a ninja force of just two or three hundred shinobi. And subpar ones at that, save for a dozen or so, playing mercenary. They lost thousands of soldiers at Qushan, and now you're telling me they're going to invade one of the largest and most powerful shinobi villages on the planet? We have thousands of shinobi, many that are highly trained and equal to no one else in terms of skill and ability. And this UNSC, if they do know it was us, would have to realize that such an attack would be catastrophic for them."
No one could argue with the logic. Konoha was one of the strongest military forces in the entire Elemental Nations. Even with them having only come out of a devastating war just a few years prior, they still fielded at least 6,000 shinobi in its ranks, many of whom were Chūnin or higher. Such a massive force of highly skilled and talented shinobi would be a tremendous force to be reckoned with. And anyone would be hard-pressed to attack such a strong Hidden Village. Especially for a group of chakraless individuals.
The conversation and discussions regarding village policy towards the UNSC continued for quite some time. Danzo, Koharu, and to everyone's surprise, Jiraiya, were of the mindset to usurp and weaken the UNSC's presence in Edo before they could solidify their position, seeing them as a massive threat to Konoha. Hiruzen however, being the final say in the matter due to being Hokage, ultimately deciding to maintain a distant and observatory stance regarding the UNSC and star-people. Try to learn more about their motives, society, and goals for the rest of the Elemental Nations. (As well as their military strength and their weaknesses.) If they came looking for their people, they would deal with it however it played out. But he made it very clear that no one was to instigate any combat towards the newcomers if possible. And to also begin looking for a way to discreetly return the UNSC prisoners back to their people, on the off chance the star-people had not figured out who had taken them. Fugaku had remained silent for most of the conversation, lost in his own thoughts regarding the matter, while Minato wasn't entirely sure what to make of these people. Ultimately, he decided he would trust the judgment of both his Hokage and his master.
Back to the Present
Konoha Training Grounds
Kushina and her friends listened intently as Jiraiya and Minato finished recapping the story, entrapped with the entire story and of these newcomers supposedly from the stars. Kushina, in particular, was somewhat enthralled by the idea of being able to visit or live in another world. The idea of what could possibly amongst the stars was incredible. It all sounded so surreal, so impossible to conceive.
'But then again, how else would you explain Dekar?' Kushina thought, 'He's definitely not from here.'
"So... these Star-People," Nozomi started, "Are they hostile?"
Jiraiya made a face, crossing his arms in deep thought, "Depends on what you mean. Are they hostile in the sense that they use military force to achieve their goals or to respond to a situation? From what I've seen, yes. They have a very advanced military and know how to use it competently. Are they hostile in the sense that they can't be negotiated with? No. The fact that my spies have reported that Marsh Country has allied with them and that I saw firsthand them working alongside Moon Shinobi shows me they're willing to use diplomacy when it suits them."
"Moon and Marsh Countries have allied with them?" Kushina asked.
"From what I can tell and from what I've gathered, yes. Looks like they saw an opportunity and simply decided the rewards were worth more than the risks." Jiraiya answered.
"I mean, to be fair," Kushina remarked, "They are surrounded by enemies who want nothing more than to conquer or destroy them. All of their allies are too far away to be of any genuine help."
"But yet they've also possibly sold their souls." Minato commented, "Seeking protection from one devil only to fall into the arms of another inadvertently."
"Perhaps," Mikoto spoke up, "But what about the Sea Confederacy? What's so special about that region that they would justify an invasion."
"Two reasons." Jiraiya replied, but quickly corrected himself, "Well, more like three. The first one was the resources."
"Resources?" Kushina asked confusingly, "The only resources I know of that are worth anything in the Sea Islands are fish, cash crops, and... slaves."
"Except this UNSC has the technology to survey deep beneath the earth's surface without actually excavating it, allowing them to find mineral deposits that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. From my interrogations of the UNSC officers, the Sea Confederacy apparently sits on top of several large deposits of precious metals they consider important to their industry, namely building more of their war machines and weapons." Jiraiya explained, "And just from the small samples I've seen of their technology, their ability to produce equipment in large quantities is incredible, and likely very resource consuming."
To Kushina, that makes sense. If these individuals couldn't use Chakra, then they would have to compensate somehow. And that somehow was with a massive industrial basin to produce weapons and equipment for its military. But like a blacksmith tasked with making a thousand swords for an army, such an endeavor would require a large number of resources. She glanced over to Nozomi and Mikoto, neither of whom seemed too impressed.
"The second," Jiraiya continued, "is that apparently, somebody on their end has been selling the UNSC's weapons to several nations in the Elemental Nations. Sea, obviously, but also Sky, Lightning, Water, and unfortunately, Rice. Looks like Orochimaru got his scaly hands on a few of these new weapons. That's just to name a handful of countries. And supposedly the weapons all originated from Sea Confederacy."
"What?" Nozomi said confused, "That doesn't make sense. Why would you give a potential enemy your own weapons?"
"It was likely the work of some smugglers or maybe some rebels from the star people's end." Minato concluded, narrowing his eyes, "Somebody looking to make some profit off us and cause some chaos to distract both ourselves and likely this UNSC. They seem keenly intent on keeping these firearms out of our hands."
"And now, because of that deal, the entire balance of power is being shifted across the Elemental Nations." Jiraiya followed up, "These weapons are notoriously easy to use once you figure them out. They require very little practice and training to use properly, and they can kill at ranges farther than any archer could ever hope to achieve. Even the lowliest of peasants could learn to use one as long as they have two functioning hands, and that makes them extremely attractive in the eyes of feudal lords. Especially those that don't have a large army of shinobi or any shinobi to rely upon to bolster his army." That wasn't good. Weapons that could disrupt the Elemental Nations and even threaten the Hidden Villages? To Kushina, it was starting to sound more and more like these star people really were a threat after all. But at the same time, were they? From the sound of it, they never wanted these weapons falling into the wrong hands to begin with and have been actively helping people who've long been oppressed and forgotten by the rest of the world. Doesn't really sound all that villainous to her, but perhaps looks were deceiving.
"And the third?"
"Politics. They get rid of a tyrannical regime that's terrorize the Elemental Nations for years and earns a lot of good-will from the populace. From both everyone abroad and those who've lived under the regime." Jiraiya said, which earned looks of realization from the girls. Why would this UNSC want to earn goodwill from the populace of the Elemental Nations, unless they had some ulterior motives? Sure, getting rid of the pirate enclaves was simply better for everyone involved, but in the grand scheme of things the pirates were an ignorable threat for most of the people in the Elemental Nations, as cruel as that sounds. But not only did the UNSC eliminate the pirate lords in such overwhelming fashion, but they also did this in six weeks and with little assistance from shinobi save for a handful of battles and then proceeded to begin massive humanitarian efforts for the oppressed populace, such as providing medicine, food, and free the enslaved. They were sending a message to everyone else across the continent. 'We look after people, and we get things done. We protect our citizens. Give you a roof over your head, food in your belly, and medicine for illnesses. Why don't you come and join us?'
Were they truly a threat to Konoha? Or was it just because they had a different view on how things should be done? Kushina was grateful for everything Konoha had done for her ever since she came here. She would gladly fight for it and die if needed to protect her adoptive home, but she couldn't help but feel that perhaps Konoha's leadership was jumping to conclusions a little too quickly and assuming the worst.
'Look underneath the underneath.' A familiar alien voice spoke, 'Do not perceive by one's words, but by one's actions.'
She wondered if Dekar knew anything about these people. If she could figure out where he is, she could ask him. (Among other things.) From what she's learned, Dekar never stays in any one place for too long, moving on whenever he's completed whatever goal he had there. Over the years, sightings of him have been sporadic and questionable at best, despite the massive bounty on his head by dozens of hidden villages. (Though few were ever crazy enough to try and claim it from 'the Reaper.') She knew why he hadn't come back, hunting the Akatsuki down and making sure they stay contained if not destroyed, but Kushina still wished he had stayed instead of leaving the last time they saw each other.
'He probably still blames himself for Uzshiogakure's destruction. You're just one man, Dekar. You couldn't have possibly stopped them all.' She thought sadly, reluctantly reminiscing of her childhood as she had watched her homeland burn to the ground. Her family and clan being massacred by the masked man and the Cloud and Earth shinobi he had brought. Had it not been for Dekar, she would have died that night. 'And yet he left, soon after. Why? Why do you feel like you're the only one who can stop them?' She didn't want a protector, she wanted the last bit of family she had left back home with her.
"So what is Lord Hokage planning to do regarding them?" Kushina was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Mikoto ask her question. She noticed Minato looking at her worriedly, so she flashed a friendly smile to show him she was okay. Minato didn't look persuaded but didn't press it as he answered, "For now, Hokage-sama wishes not to do anything that would antagonize the star-people any further. Strictly observational. Try and learn more about their goals and motives for the Elemental Nations in the meantime."
"Will they attack us or try to retaliate? I mean, you said it yourselves we have 20 of their people captive." Nozomi said worriedly, with the other girls nodding in agreement.
"I don't think they will. Not immediately. After what happened in the Sea Confederacy they'll think twice before openly attacking a hidden village. But that being said, I wouldn't take anything for granted." Jiraiya answered, "We should tread carefully around this UNSC and probably trust it as far as we can throw it."
"I'm still confused as to why you seem so hostile about this UNSC, Jiraiya-sama." Minato commented, "Usually, you're the first to give people the benefit of the doubt." Jiraiya didn't answer, staring off into the midday sky and thinking back to a dire warning he heard from the Great Toad Sage himself while he was at Mount Myōboku.
A few days prior to returning to Konoha
Mount Myōboku
"What?!" Jiraiya exclaimed bewilderedly, at what he was just told as he stared up in disbelief at the Great Toad Sage. Gamamaru stood unmoved from his spot, sucking in a puff of air from his pipe as he calmly replied, "The prophecy of old has been broken. It has changed. Twisted by the arrival of these star-travelers. The entire shinobi world is in peril."
"Tha-That can't be right, Gamamaru-sama." Jiraiya protested, refusing to believe what he's hearing. The prophecy, the prophecy about the child of destiny bringing peace to the shinobi world, was broken?! The chosen one wasn't going to bring peace to the Elemental Nations?! This couldn't be right. There has to be some mistake!
The colossal, elderly toad breathed deeply, gazing into the void that gave him his prophecies, "I see a world torn by war. The great leaf charred and burned, with a mighty eagle casting its shadow over it and across every land. A boy- no, a man, born within the leaves. Broken in mind and soul. Lacking a sense of belonging. Torn between his loyalty and his heart. Once the savior, now no longer... no... No, he is still the chosen one. But instead will now either stay true to the leaf to save the shinobi world or join the eagle and play part in its downfall. In Konoha's downfall. You could still be his architect to their salvation. There is still hope, but it is faint. Every day the Eagle builds its nest; growing stronger and immovable. Time is not on Konoha's side."
"How? How do I do this? What would cause the chosen one to betray and destroy the shinobi world? To betray Konoha?" Jiraiya pleaded. If he could stop the coming storm, he was damn well-gonna try, "Please, Gamamaru-sama."
The Great Toad Sage grunted, deep in thought, "The future is still unclear, but the architects to the chosen one's betrayal are amongst those who come from the stars. Beware the one with armor as black as night, and the one who wields a blade of light; faces and bodies and minds both scarred with the sins of their pasts; More specters than men; One who bears the mark of the Eagle upon his skin, the other a Mark of Shame; Beware the one called Ghost. Beware the one called Reaper."
That couldn't be right. The Reaper? What did he have to do with the chosen one, or these Star-People for that matter? And the Ghost? The UNSC's supposed boogeyman they all treated like was the devil incarnate? The one that supposedly died years ago? What would he have to do with the chosen one? And why?
Jiraiya was almost certain nowadays that Minato was the chosen one, the one meant to bring peace to the Elemental Nations and end the centuries of fighting. Try as he might, he just couldn't picture Minato betraying Konoha. He'd never been mistreated or wronged by Konoha. He was undoubtedly loyal and loved his home village. Hell, he was pretty much all but married to Kushina. And, to be frank, Minato wasn't a fan of Kushina's 'guardian.' He didn't like what the Reaper did to Kushina's mentality at all, in fact. How or why would he possibly betray Konoha?
Unless... Minato... wasn't the Chosen One? Was it someone else?
"This... this can't be right," Jiraiya muttered, still not wanting to believe that Konoha may very well be destined for destruction. He knew better than to ask who the chosen one was. Gamamaru would either not know or not tell him. He would have to figure it out on his own, then act accordingly. Wait, maybe there was one thing he could ask that would be answered.
"Gamamaru-sama, is the Chosen One from Konoha?" Jiraiya inquired. The toad sage was silent for a long time, either silently using his powers of prophecy or silently debating whether to answer the question. Jiraiya wasn't sure. After what felt like hours of waiting, he finally got an answer.
"Yes, he is." Okay, good. So he is from Konoha.
"Are they alive right not? Is he someone I know? What-" Jiraiya started asking, but the toad sage cut him off, "I cannot answer all of your questions, Master Jiraiya. The prophecies I receive are never 100% clear in their portrayal. It could be someone alive right now, or it could be someone to have yet been conceived. All that is certain is that he is from Konoha and that he is someone you will form a close bond with."
Disappointed that he couldn't get more information to work with, he nonetheless accepted what he'd managed to acquire. Hopefully, this will help prepare Konoha for the coming storm that this UNSC is bound to bring.
Present Day
Coming back from his thoughts, the Toad Sannin looked up to Minato, who was still eyeballing him oddly. He knew he couldn't tell Minato about the prophecy yet, on the off chance that he was the prophesized chosen one. Telling him could mess something up or alter things. Giving his student a sigh, Jiraiya responded, "Normally, you're right. But in this case, I think we should tread extremely lightly around these star people. They're an unknown threat, who's made it very clear they plan on changing the Elemental Nations in their own image. By force, if necessary. Eventually, this will result in the two of us coming to blows. I hope that doesn't happen, but we should prepare accordingly."The group said nothing on that, merely nodding solemnly.
"Alright, well, enough of this moody atmosphere." Jiraiya quickly said, deciding to change the subject as he looked to Nozomi, "What's this I hear about this lovely lady being wed off." Just before the young lady could respond, Minato quickly and angrily barked out that she wasn't, which caused an argument to break out between the two siblings. The Toad Sannin noticed Kushina looking up at the sky, a distant look on her face as if she was reminiscing about something. 'Probably thinking about the Reaper and what he would say about all of this.' He mused, which lead him back to the revelation. Somehow, the Reaper would be involved with the Chosen One, causing him to betray Konoha and lead to its downfall. This meant one of two things must happen. Either they somehow get the Reaper to swear fealty to the Hidden Leaf (Which wasn't a crazy or impossible idea, the more he looked into it.), or they would need to terminate him. Something Kushina would no doubt never forgive them for, but this was his home village's survival and the shinobi world's survival at stake here.
And then there was this Ghost individual. A man who supposedly died years ago, that from what he's managed to glean out of the UNSC prisoners, is feared by the UEG as a whole. And somehow, he's going to have something to do with the Chosen One to the point that said Chosen One will betray both Konoha and the shinobi world. That person definitely needed to be identified, quickly, and then removed as a threat. Hell, maybe if the Ghost was identified the UNSC would kill him for Konoha and save them the trouble of launching an assassination mission.
Looking over, Jiraiya saw Kushina smiling and laughing as Minato was still arguing with Nozomi about her upcoming marriage to one Yamanaka Inoichi, much to the amusement of both her and Mikoto. Jiraiya smiled at the scene, but his mind quickly went back to this supposed Ghost person.
'Still, even if this Ghost is identified, it's not like this will be an easy task to just get rid of him. Whoever he is, he's no doubt going to be their best soldier. Someone of unparallel skill and professionalism if the manner these UNSC soldiers behave themselves, even if they didn't have any chakra or ninjutsu.' Jiraiya mused in his thoughts, 'We'll have to be extremely careful. The next few months, years even, will test Konoha like never before. But we'll be ready for you, UNSC. And when the time comes, we'll stop you, Ghost. I'll make sure of it. I'll be waiting for you, UNSC's greatest warrior.'
1409 Hours
November 8, 2543
Ezulwini System
Mbalenhle Cove
Marshall City
"Buuuuurrrrp-uuuuuggggggh." Colonel Leonard Joshua Michael Barnes burped out miserably as he laid sprawled out on the floor of the Pelican's troops bay, possibly half-dead from a lack of alcoholic sustenance, "Someone please put me out of my misery." His head was throbbing, his stomach was nauseous, and both felt like a thousand knives were stabbing them simultaneously. Cole had restricted him in his drinking habits and forced him to agree to restrict himself to just 3 bottles of alcohol for the Visok expedition. Which meant he would have to limit his drinking to just a glass or a shot every few days if he didn't want to run out. (Unless he manages to 'liberate' some more booze from somewhere, which he very much intended to do.)
Most of the group were doing their best to ignore him, per the Vice Admiral's orders. They were instructed not to let him get any more alcohol if they were capable of it and to make sure he limits his drinking if stopping it isn't possible. Robert Parker arched an eyebrow to the man he'd called his superior for the better part of a decade, "You alive down there?"
"... Possibly. Haven't moaned and burped enough yet to confirm it." Came a weak but very sarcastic reply, which caused the newly promoted corporal to roll his eyes, "Someone. Anyone. Please. Whose balls or pussy must I fondle for a glass of whiskey. Tennessee Whiskey, preferably. None of that cheap, gay-ass Arcadian crap most of you peasants like to drink. That fruity shit should be considered a crime against whiskey."
"Is he alright?" Lance Corporal Oliver Rhineford asked questionable, which caused both Parker and Private First Class Simon Peltier to wave him off, "He's fine."
"Well, if I heard correctly he's got about 7 weeks to get over it once we leave from New Falkirk, which." PFC Lydia Armstrong remarked, "Soooo, 9 weeks of rehab or moderation? He should get over it."
"Fuck all of y'all with the filthiest of 12-inch dildos." Barnes retorted weakly, much to the amusement of one Rebecca Cole.
"Sorry, sir. For your own good." Parker answered, which caused the Colonel to weakly raise his head and glared at the Corporal, "... It's treason, then."
Takashima Satomi, Kunoichi of the Hidden Marsh Village, wasn't paying them much mind. She was too busy being awestruck and, to be honest, slightly afraid of the sight before her as she peered outside the Pelican dropship descending towards the de facto Capital of the Star-People. What she saw was something she didn't believe was possible. Marshall City was massive, with kilometers upon kilometers of cityscape that would put the largest cities on Shinsei to shame. She was thoroughly convinced that the Hidden Marsh Village or even Konoha could be placed inside this sprawling metropolis, and the city would still have room to fit in at least ten more. How had these people managed to build or even maintain such a sprawling megacity?!
"This... This is insane, Satomi-sama." One of her squad underlings, Chunin Katano Arisuke, commented as he looked out the ramp to the sprawling city below, an awestruck look in his eyes as he surveyed the scene, "How did they build all of this so quickly?" Like herself, Arisuke and the other two chunin in her squad were holding the distinction of being the first people from their world to have traveled to another star system and another planet, excluding the three Marsh diplomats they were sending as well. (And Satomi herself being the first to leave her planet's orbit.)
The other two chunin, Ito Mochiie, and Miyake Chin weren't as keen to get so close to the ramp, as they were planted firmly in their seats, gripping them tightly and eyeing the open ramp nervously. Satomi couldn't blame them for their nervousness flying. She still hadn't gotten used to it, herself. She'd still get 'airsick' from time to time if the flight was especially rough.
"I couldn't honestly say, Arisuke." She replied, staring out at the jungle of steel and polycrete below, "They simply have incredible builders and resources is all I can say."
"You got that right? You think they'll do something like this for Marsh Country?" Arisuke asked, his bright green eyes shining with curiosity. But before Satomi could answer, she heard Chin angrily shout, "Could you please stop peering over the edge like that?! It's making me nervous seeing you lean over like that!"
Looking back at sheepishly, Arisuke pleaded to the girl, "Come on, Chin. It's not like I'm going to jump out or something."
"I don't care, baka! Quit peering over." Chin snapped at him nervously. She clearly wasn't enjoying flying (And Barnes sprawled out on the floor probably wasn't helping.). Mochiie was silent beside her, but clearly in agreement with his 17-year-old senior. Arisuke scowled but relented as he leaned back into his seat, his wavy black hair swaying as he shook his head in annoyance.
Looking back to Oliver, who'd been mostly silent on the trip, Satomi studied the man whose squad had become more or less her chaperones and, in a way, teammates over the past few months. In spite of her initial misgivings and concerns, the fireteam had come to be trusted members of many an operation between both UNSC and Marsh forces. And every moment spent with them and other star-people gave her further insight in the motives of the UNSC for her people. She wasn't sure overall about their supposed goals for her world and her people, but she was sure about was these people were survivors. They endured and persevered through trials and challenges that would have likely broken anyone from her world. And from what they had told her, humanity was now facing its greatest challenge so far.
Avoiding extinction.
Minutes later...
"Seriously... What in the ever-loving fuck is Cole thinking, having us ride with the Innies on a months-long trip? Is he trying to start a fight?!" Barnes growled irritably to no one. He'd finally gotten off the floor and made his way to the cockpit as he took a look at their supposed 'ride' lazily flew past them. The URF Thunder Child. A Paris-Class Heavy Frigate, albeit modified with some additional armor to boost its overall armor to 105 cm and four more point defense guns installed, giving it a total of 16. It also had some additional hull 'add-ons' built into the superstructure between the engines and the main body of the frigate, more or less 'filling in' the empty space to provide more storage capacity. It looked haphazard, but according to Atlas' readings, the structuring was sound and thoroughly done. Apparently, the modifications made to the Thunder Child had been so popular that every other Paris-Class frigate the URF had acquired were given the same treatment, creating a whole new subclass that had been dubbed the 'Olso-Class.' Apparently, the URF had more resources at its disposal than previously believed, or they just had some really good connections within UEG space. Probably a combination of both, if the ODST Colonel had to guess. And even worse, Cole wanted the ODST to be stationed aboard the Thunder Child, either to help ease relations between two groups with lots of bad blood or Cole just simply wanted someone he trusted being beside his daughter watching out for her.
The frigate in question was currently positioned with a trio of other frigates and a Hillsborough Destroyer, all URF assets that had been called in as a favor by Rebecca. They were making last-minute requisitions and stockpiling before they embarked. Food, medicine, and ammunition. Anything and everything that they might need on their expedition. First, they would take a 2 week trip to New Falkirk where the entire exodus fleet was being gathered, then embark on what was, according to Emmanuel Hart, a two-month trip back to UEG Space thanks to the Slipspace 'Highway*' discovered at New Falkirk's IJP*. From there they would arrive at a system called Talos-13, which was fairly close to Visok, and spend about 2-3 weeks traveling through slipspace to reach the Visok System.
"Might wanna strap in. We're getting ready to land inside Thunder Child. Once we do, they're supposed to embark for the fleet in orbit. Then we hightail it to New Falkirk." The Thunder Child's Captain remarked behind him, as Rebecca peaked in to see her ship rapidly approaching. The ODST Colonel grunted in acknowledgment and reluctantly sat down, trying his best to ignore the throbbing headache stabbing into his skull. This was going to be a long trip, even if he was going to spend a good portion of it in Cryo. And to top it off he was going to have to be around Insurrectionist and mingle with them for the better part of half a year? Wonderful.
Thankfully, he had a secret companion riding along in his prosthetic arm to help them out, should the innies decide they wanted to pull a fast one on them.
Putting his helmet on, he turned off his helmet's external speakers and simply asked, "Have you hacked their systems yet, Atlas?"
The AI appeared on his screen, her face giving him a 'are-you-questioning-my-abilities' look, "I hacked into their mainframes and communications network the moment we entered the planet's orbit. If they try anything or even so much as sneeze in a way we don't like, we'll know about it."
Giving her a silent nod, Barnes looked over to the captain of the Thunder Child and his superior's daughter, Rebecca Cole. She was looking at a datapad in her lap, likely going over some messages or news that had been sent to her. He understood Cole's desire to win his daughter's trust and convictions, but for Barnes, he wasn't sure if she should be trusted. This was someone who'd grown up her entire life being told the UNSC and everyone serving in it was evil and tyrannical. Should they really be putting their faith in someone like that?
Well... she had agreed to let them stay on board her ship, albeit reluctantly, so maybe she could be worked with. Barnes, however, wasn't going to let his guard down. While Rebecca might be willing to work with them, the same couldn't be said for her crew and other Innies in the fleet. They would have to be watched, closely.
In the long run, the Covenant may not be the only thing they have to worry about.
*IJP= Interstellar Jump Point. A point in space, usually around a planet or star system, that provides superior conditions for entering and exiting Slipspace.
*Slipspace Highway= The idea behind this is that while travel in Slipspace isn't consistent, with various systems taking longer than others, I came up with the idea that some systems have what's known as a Super Highway of sorts, that provide not only a straight shot to particular systems but also in a shorter time frame than what a ship's FLT drive would allow, giving someone the option to reach somewhere faster than they would normally be able to do so. New Falkirk has one such Super Slipspace Highway, connecting to a multitude of systems and providing quicker travel time to said systems, giving Falkirk a massive boost in commerce and trade.
And that's all for this chapter. Hope y'all enjoyed. Also, I'd like to announce that I have begun having art commissions done to depict both characters and scenes from my stories on Deviantart. Come check them out if you're interested! My username on there is Azores-1994.
Anyway, let me know how the chapter was in the reviews, and I'll see you next time!
-Azores
