Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

by Neon Majestic

During the periods of time skipped over by official records, people did not sit in a vacuum. They lived their lives, being who they were, doing what they were able to do. These chronicles tell tales of people who lived at the same time as the Kyuushingai. SUPPLEMENT to "Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox." GAIDEN 76, "Reckoning, Part 10," uploaded!

5. Obscurers, Part 1

Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

Written by Neon Majestic

(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)

OoOoO

GAIDEN 05 – Obscurers, Part 1

(N.B. This Gaiden chapter takes place over three time periods, two before the start of the 365 days and one during that period.)

Seven years before the start of the 365 days.

"You have put us in a very difficult position, Gama-san and Shimada-san."

Gama Jiraiya and Shimada Yachi sat very still in their chairs as they faced the government representatives, feeling the dark stares boring into their skins. Yachi kept her eyes firmly on her lap, where her hands were resting even as they balled into fists at the speaker's pronouncement. Jiraiya's hands were clasped in his lap, and his eyes were closed and his brow furrowed as he absorbed the censure.

Akahoshi, the purple-haired speaker at the head-table before which Jiraiya and Yachi were seated, intertwined his fingers under his chin as he fixed a glare on the duo before him. "We've enjoyed a cordial relationship with this foreign power for some time now; your blunder has put that cordial relationship in jeopardy. If the word gets out about what you have caused, we'll lose momentous benefits which our country badly needs at this time. As the Minister of Tourism, I have worked long and hard to establish our country as a competitive tourist destination, and I am now on the verge of signing a major trade agreement with two overseas travel agencies who want to set up offices on our shores. If they should hear about this little fiasco, we stand to lose significant foreign exchange investments."

Sitting next to Akahoshi was a fat woman with bright red lipstick on her mouth and purple eye-shadow over her eyelids; however, her brow was curved in a scowl, accompanied by the downward curl of the corners of her mouth. "Akahoshi-san, I'm afraid you don't go nearly far enough in outlining the ramifications of this disgraceful incident," she said.

"Don't worry, Shijimi-san, I haven't forgotten that you will also be affected by this, as Minister of Foreign Affairs," said Akahoshi. "Just the mere fact that this incident has happened will cast our country in a bad light in the eyes of foreign powers."

"Not merely casting a bad light—they will think we cannot keep a good handle on our government representatives, especially if those representatives are shown as unable to exercise good judgment when their senses are impaired by alcohol," Shijimi said venomously, and both Jiraiya and Yachi winced at her tone. "I am especially disappointed in you, Shimada-san; as our ambassador to this particular nation, I would've expected far better of you than what you've demonstrated."

"As am I in you, Gama-kun." This was said by a second man sitting next to Shijimi; he sported shoulder-length gray hair and a pointed gray goatee. "I would have hoped that my Permanent Secretary would have shown himself capable of better reasoning ability than this."

Jiraiya lowered his head a little. "I sincerely apologize, Ishikawa-sama."

"Saying 'sorry' won't cut it, Jiraiya-san—not here." This time the speaker was a younger man at the head-table, sporting long blond hair, and his eyes were narrowed into slits behind his square-framed glasses. "Foreign perception isn't the only thing we have to worry about. If our local public should get wind of this, it'll be just as big an embarrassment for us internally as it's bound to be externally. As the Minister of Information, this is going to be a serious pain for me to soften the effect of your blunder."

"How generous of you to assume something like this can be softened, Jibachi-san," Akahoshi remarked.

"Pfft. It's his youth and inexperience in government that are talking here," Shijimi scoffed.

"I'll accept that as the compliment I know you didn't mean it as." Jibachi chuckled and pushed his glasses further up on his nose-bridge with his middle finger. "As it stands, everyone in this room is fully aware of how things will turn out if this gets out to the public. Long story short, the people will call the competency of our government and our subordinates into question, which will no doubt harm our chances for re-election come next year; and if our own people have no confidence in us, then neither will our international trading partners. Something will have to be done if we are to save face from early."

"And what, exactly, would you suggest to be done?" asked Ishikawa. "Our local media has already gotten wind of the fact that several members of our own military forces have been killed on foreign soil. The foreign press was all over it the moment the news of the bombing happened."

"But they don't know all the details just yet—it only just happened last night, after all," Jibachi replied. "So we have time to think of something."

"Well, something has to be thought of fast—the Prime Minister is already asking for answers, the other government wants an explanation for why an explosion happened on a military base on their soil, and the media hounds won't stop until they get the answers they're looking for," Shijimi grumbled.

Jibachi's eyes were obscured by the shining tint of his glasses' lenses. "How long before we need to bring the report to the Prime Minister about what happened?"

Ishikawa glanced at his watch. "It's 9:00 in the morning now…the Prime Minster wants that report in time to make a public address by 6:00 this evening."

"And how many people know all the details of this situation, other than us?" Jibachi queried. "Gama-san, Shimada-san, how many people have you told about what happened?"

Jiraiya and Yachi gave the Information Minister questioning looks. "Well…I know I only told Ishikawa-sama, since he's my direct superior," said Jiraiya.

"And Shijimi-sama is the only person I told, since she's my superior," said Yachi.

"And then we liaised, considered who in the different ministries would feel the most fallout from this, and then called you and Akahoshi-san," said Shijimi. "But what exactly are you getting at, Jibachi-san?"

"Okay, so…we're the only ones who know the full details of what happened…" Slowly a smile came over Jibachi's face. "Then that makes my job of damage control a little simpler."

"Out with it, Jibashi-san. What are you thinking?" Akahoshi demanded.

"Well…" Jibashi looked at his fellow ministers in turn, then at Jiraiya and Yachi, before he continued. "There have been numerous issues with terrorists in that country over the last few years. Their local media reports say that the various factions' leaders have been imprisoned or killed and the groups themselves have been largely quiet, but flare-ups of violence by a few splinter factions are not unheard of. And there have been reports worldwide of members of the military stealing some of their own weaponry to sell on the black market to aid terrorists with whom they secretly sympathize…"

Ishikawa gave Jibachi a hard look. "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"What exactly is our youthful Information Minister suggesting?" asked Shijimi.

Akahoshi's eyes were overshadowed. "He's saying we should report that the soldiers who died last night were terrorist-sympathizers and that their deaths were the result of a terrorist operation…isn't that right?"

"You've hit the nail on the head, Akahoshi-san." Jibachi nodded. "It'll keep us from looking bad in the eyes of the public, it'll keep us from looking bad in the eyes of other nations, it'll safeguard our economic investments, and it'll handily explain how one of our rockets has mysteriously gone missing in case anyone from the military decides to do an inventory into what equipment went missing last night. And it'll provide a convenient scapegoat—well-thinking people always want to hear that criminal plots got foiled."

There was silence as the others eyeballed Jibachi for a long moment. Then, slowly, Ishikawa turned his gaze away. "Hmm…well…I can see the logic of your suggestion…"

Shijimi fingered her chin. "It would provide the Prime Minister with plausible deniability about the nature of these soldiers' deaths…"

"And more importantly, it'll safeguard our trade and commerce agreements and help us maintain a good reputation in the international eye," said Akahoshi. "It's a good plan, Jibachi-san, if not foolproof."

"I have enough time until this evening to flesh it out and make it foolproof. I didn't spend ten years as a public relations agent prior to my appointment to this post for nothing, you know." Jibachi nodded. "The only thing I ask is that, once I have the story fully brought together, all of us must adhere to it, putting our own spin to it as necessary for our respective offices. The protection of our government's reputation and our hold on these potential trade agreements must be maintained."

"I admit, it is not a pleasant idea to think about, especially if we're going to scapegoat our own soldiers…but I suppose it wouldn't be the first time where service-men and women who'd been thought to be of sterling character were discovered to be less than stellar." Ishikawa nodded. "All right. I'm in."

"So am I," said Shijimi.

"And I, as well," said Akahoshi. "And as for these two over here…" He eyed Jiraiya and Yachi.

"Yes, Gama-san and Shimada-san," said Ishikawa. "You must also agree to go with this story Jibachi-san has proposed. It is for the good of our nation, and it will keep both of you from suffering the most direct embarrassment as well. Do you understand?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. Then he fixed a look on the four ministers. "I understand, sirs and madam. As you say, the well-being of this country that we serve must be paramount. I am in your hands, then."

Shijimi turned her eyes on Yachi. "Shimada…?"

Yachi's eyes were overshadowed. Her hands were balled into fists in her lap. "No."

Jibachi cocked an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said no." Yachi abruptly stood up. "With all due respect, ministers, I cannot agree to what you are proposing. You're talking about framing innocent military personnel—our own military personnel, at that—for a crime that was never even committed."

Shijimi's brow creased. "I'm afraid you're not in a position to argue the point, Shimada. It was an error of judgment on your part and that of Gama-san that has led us to this point. You must now do your part and take responsibility for safeguarding the stability of our country."

"I will take responsibility—but not like this!" Yachi exclaimed. "Not by condemning innocent men and women to post-mortem infamy! Not by framing them for something they haven't done!"

"Remember who you are addressing, Shimada Yachi," Akahoshi said in a harsh tone.

Yachi glared at him. "I know what I'm addressing—a cabal of conspirators. I will not have any part in this. I will resign my post as ambassador before I agree to such a scheme."

Jibachi folded his arms on top of the table. "You will resign? And then do what, pray tell? Will you go to the media and tell them what really happened? But if you do that, you'll be solely responsible for destroying public trust in our ability to control ourselves—and didn't all this happen because you and Gama-san got drunk and decided to, shall we say, relieve some of the tension in your loins?"

"…how dare you!" Yachi snapped.

"But it's the truth, isn't it?" Jibachi pressed. "Isn't it true that, while under the influence of alcohol, the two of you took a foolish decision to go and get 'busy' inside the weapons-control room of our military base where that rocket was launched from—and that it was because of the two of you that that rocket was launched to begin with?"

"It was an accident! Surely the public will understand that if we just explain it to them! Accidents happen!" Yachi protested.

"No. They will NOT understand. And neither will the people on whose soil the rocket was launched." Jibachi's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Or were you not paying attention to what I and my fellow ministers were saying before now? This kind of international incident is the last thing we need hampering trade agreements with any other nation at this time, and we will be made the laughingstock of at least every country this side of the globe. At least this way, the blame gets shifted elsewhere, and nobody can contest what really happened. And it's quite the norm for terrorist groups to either claim responsibility for such incidents, or deny them—we can always cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Then cross that bridge without me, Minister." Yachi glared at Jibachi for a moment before shifting her gaze to Shijimi. "Madam, you will have my resignation on your desk by noon today. Good morning, everyone." Then she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

"Shimada! Come back and sit back down!" Akahoshi yelled after her.

"Hmph…it'll be problematic if we cannot persuade her." Jibachi nodded at Jiraiya. "Gama-san…?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I understand. Please excuse me, then." And he stood up, bowed quickly to the four ministers, and then hurried out of the room.

OoOoO

Yachi stalked toward her car, her face a mask of indignation. "How dare they do such a thing…!"

"Yachi-chan, wait!"

Turning, Yachi saw Jiraiya running out of the building, toward her. "What do you want?" she asked icily.

Jiraiya quickly caught up to her. "Yachi-chan…don't you think you're overreacting to this? At least try and see it from their point of view for a minute, would you?" he asked.

"I will do no such thing, Gama-san," said Yachi, pointedly emphasizing her formal use of his name. "I would sooner give up my position than sacrifice my principles."

"But you can't just go public with the truth of last night's incident." Jiraiya eyed her gravely. "Jibachi-san is the Information Minister, after all. He'll just present a press release denying your version of events—and even without his influence, the news-stations will juice the most scandalous aspects out of the incident and vilify us both…you more than me, in fact, since you're the ambassador in this case and I'm already known for being, ah, flirtatious."

"And what the ministers have just proposed is the better option?" Yachi spat.

"What good will it do you to defy the government you swore to serve?" Jiraiya countered.

Yachi's eyes narrowed. "When I accepted the post of ambassadorship, I swore to uphold my office with truth and dignity. What you are asking me to do exemplifies neither of those things. And I will not change that to suit anyone, not even the government itself." She turned her back on Jiraiya. "That is all I will say on this subject. Good day."

"Yachi-chan…" Jiraiya just stood there, watching as Yachi got into her car and sped off a moment later.

OoOoO

The four government ministers eyed Jiraiya as he came back into the room. "You came back alone…I take it Shimada-san would not be convinced?" Ishikawa asked his permanent secretary.

Jiraiya bowed deeply at the waist. "I apologize most wholeheartedly, sirs and madam. Shimada-san has made it clear that she will not alter her stance, not even at your insistence."

Shijimi made a rude noise with her teeth. "Such an irritant…"

"Forget about her. If she tries to stir up trouble by revealing what really happened, she'll only end up throwing herself into the fire—who'll believe the words of a careless government representative who can't hold her liquor?" Jibachi replied. "As it stands, now…I must help the Prime Minister prepare that address to the nation later tonight."

"Yes. A group of traitors tried to assist terrorists, only to be killed themselves. And we are, as a result, in the clear." Akahoshi nodded. "Do as you will, then, Jibachi-san."

"Hmm." Jibachi nodded.

OoOoO

Six years later, eight months before the start of the 365 days.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

The bespectacled woman, clad in a black skirt-suit, entered the room at the invitiation. "Ishikawa-sama…the Tourism Minister, Akahoshi-sama, has arrived." Then she stepped to one side. "Please," she said with one arm making an inviting gesture.

A moment later, in came Akahoshi. "Ishikawa-san, I thank you for making the time to accommodate me."

"Indeed," Ishikawa nodded, before waving a hand at the secretary. "You may leave us, now."

The woman nodded once and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Ishikawa then gestured to one of the chairs before his desk. "Please, Akahoshi-san, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you," and Akahoshi sat down.

"Were you offered any refreshments? I could arrange a drink for you," Ishikawa invited.

"Thank you, but no. I'd like to keep this meeting brief." Akahoshi nodded. "It has to do with…a certain training project that the Justice and National Security Ministries are embarking on. Jibachi-san was kind enough to inform me and Shijimi-san about it a short while ago."

"Yes…" Ishikawa leaned back in his chair. "That project…in collaboration with Kira Enterprises, and with support from Hyuga Corporation and the Uchiha Zaibatsu…to take a carefully selected group of individuals from across the population and train them to become government agents, through the use of specially-developed technology. Only a select few in the government are aware of the project's existence."

Akahoshi crossed his arms over his chest in a relaxed manner. "Tell me…how well are these prospective recruits expected to be trained under this program?"

"To put it simply, any skill we want them to learn, they will learn," Ishikawa answered.

"Hmm…" Akahoshi cocked an eyebrow. "Hypothetically…would such skills include tracking of enemies of our state…and dealing with them before they become giant-sized problems?"

Ishikawa's gaze narrowed. "Hypothetically…yes." He focused his gaze on Akahoshi. "Why? Is there someone you think these recruits should focus on, once their training is complete?"

"As a matter of fact…I do." Akahoshi nodded. "Without a doubt, there are some persons out there, locally and internationally, who would pose a considerable threat to our national security and governmental stability…but there's one in particular who's been largely off the radar for several years now…that person knows too much about how we were able to secure the foreign trade deals we've made since we all took that decision back then. If that person should show up out of the blue now, all we've built in the last six years will come crumbling down."

Ishikawa's jaw tightened. "You're not content to follow Jibachi-san's recommendation to leave her be, even now, even after all this time after she quit back then…"

"We can't afford to leave anything to chance. As long as we know she's still out there somewhere, what we've managed to accomplish will be for nothing. There's too much risk in her coming forward and speaking about what we've done, and there's too much risk that someone will listen to her word over ours." Jibachi nodded once. "We cannot afford to have loose threads hanging around."

"Then permit us time to get these potential recruits prepared," said Ishikawa. "Once their training is complete, we'll give them a list of the most notorious domestic and international criminals, to be taken down."

"…and then this particular person's name can be conveniently slipped onto that list…" One corner of Akahoshi's mouth curled upward knowingly.

OoOoO

Four months before the start of the 365 days.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Shijimi yelled into Ishikawa's face.

"Keep your voice down, woman!" Ishikawa hissed back at her.

"But still, you have to admit that she's right to react that way," said Jibachi, shaking his head in disapproval. "What the hell were you thinking, old man, drafting a known criminal like Yagura, the Mist City Butcher, into this training program of yours? Not to mention, two preteen boys—are you looking to create child soldiers out of them?"

"Come, on, now, aren't you being rather hasty in your assumptions?" asked Ishikawa. "On the one hand, if this program of ours can incorporate ten years' worth of specialized training into four months' time, isn't it reasonable to conclude that it can also be tweaked so as to rehabilitate a felon like Yagura? It'll certainly be cheaper than to feed the likes of him indefinitely in our prison system, as flawed as that is already. And as for those two boys, what do you take me for—a fool? I'm not about to send children out in the field like that; even I still have some integrity!"

"Why am I not reassured?" Shijimi asked darkly.

Jibachi gritted his teeth. "There is NO way this is going to end well."

"Look…this training experiment will produce results that will improve our national security at least tenfold, guaranteed, so long as we conduct it the right way," Ishikawa said patiently. "Yagura will become a servant of the government, doing missions for us in exchange for not rotting away in prison. Those two young boys, they're young enough that they'll soak up the training like sponges, and we'll groom them until they come of age, and by then they'll likely be the best of the best among those we've pulled in. As for the others in our training pool, we'll make use of them in varying capacities as need be."

"That's being arrogant, isn't it?" asked Jibachi.

Ishikawa narrowed his gaze as he turned to look at the other government minister. "Not nearly as arrogant as agreeing to pin a bogus terrorism charge on a bunch of dead soldiers just to save your own skin and to secure economic deals with other countries, wouldn't you agree?"

"All right, all right…be that as it may…" Shijimi held up her hand to quell the fuss. "Ishikawa-san, can you at least guarantee us that this won't somehow come back to bite us?"

"All this will be for the good of our government and our country…just as that decision we jointly made six years ago was for the good of our government and our country." Ishikawa nodded grimly. "Count on it."

OoOoO

The first day of the 365 days, 7:00 a.m., seven hours after the initial incident.

"Ten persons are confirmed dead, and several others remain in hospital in critical condition, following a brutal attack on the New Year's celebration in the heart of Kumo City last night. Although details are sketchy at this time, eyewitness accounts have indicated that noted criminal Yagura, Mist City's Butcher of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, was involved in a fight with other persons that, unfortunately, resulted in the deaths of the ten residents and also significant property damage at the scene. More in this report…"

Jiraiya, watching the morning news in his living room, gave the TV screen a grim look as the news footage played seconds later. "Scores of Kumo City residents who had gathered in the city square for the New Year's midnight celebration were forced to scamper for cover when shots rang out, disrupting the festivity," the reporter was saying. "Though it is still not clear at this time what caused the ensuing stampede, or the reason for the gunfire, a number of residents this reporter spoke with asserted that Yagura, Mist City's most wanted criminal, was seen in the vicinity, engaged in a fight with other civilians. The scenes you are currently viewing on your screen were captured on one resident's smart-phone…"

"…aie-yi-yi-yi-yi," Jiraiya whispered to himself. "What a mess…"

Rrrriiiiing! Rrrriiiiing! Rrrriiiiiing!

Sighing, Jiraiya got up and walked over to his wall-mounted telephone, picking up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Jiraiya-san, it's Jibachi," the Information Minister's familiar voice came into his ear. "Are you seeing the news just now?"

"You mean that breaking-out of violence at last night's New Year's celebration in the middle of Kumo City?" Jiraiya asked. "Yes, I've seen it…ten people dead, others injured, and that maniac Yagura is at the heart of it…the security forces are going to have their hands full with this…"

"It's worse than you think." Jibachi's voice was full of foreboding. "There's been an outbreak of violence in several constituencies across the country since that incident last night. Apparently every major gang in every city and town has taken advantage of the panic from last night's attack, and there've been several gang-related beatings and shootings up to this point. Things are spiraling out of control now."

"I see…" Jiraiya scowled. "Well…I predict the Prime Minister's going to be hitting the roof anytime now."

"I'm on my way to Parliament right now," Jibachi told him. "Get over there ASAP so we can jointly figure out how we're going to spin this for the press."

OoOoO

"In an emergency press conference called this morning, Information Minister Jibachi had this to say concerning the nationwide flare-up in gang violence stemming from last night's tragic shooting incident at Kumo City's midnight New Year's celebration…"

An image of the blond-haired minister's face appeared on TV screens across the country as he spoke into the camera. "The government acknowledges that, in collaboration with Kira Enterprises and with support from Hyuga Corporation and the Uchiha Zaibatsu, it undertook to train a group of individuals for national security service, using a special training regimen which, due to security protocols, must remain classified at this time. Unfortunately, one of those persons selected for training was a known criminal, Yagura of Mist City, who was selected by the government in the hope that the training would form part of a rehabilitation exercise for potential use with all inmates in our penal system, to place them in indentured service to the government in exchange for lighter prison sentences. While we are still conducting our investigations at this time, what has been confirmed so far is that Yagura was at the center of last night's horrible incident in Kumo City; and he and his fellow trainees have not been seen or heard from since. We strongly suspect, however, that due to the timing of these gang attacks across the nation, and due to the nature of these individuals' training, that some of them may well be behind the subsequent attacks, or have knowledge of them."

The unseen reporter's voice spoke again. "As to the identities of the government trainees in question, National Security Minister Byakuren expressed reluctance to name any names."

Then the camera shifted to one side to show Minister Byakuren sitting next to Jibachi, looking extremely solemn. "It is a fact that Yagura was selected as one of the trainees for this government program, in the hope that he could be rehabilitated," Byakuren admitted. "The others were selected from different areas of society; at least one was already in service to the security forces at the time of appointment to the program, and two were juveniles who were intended to be trained alongside their regular schooling until they would come of legal age to work for the government in this capacity. Because of this, we do not wish to identify them at this time; however, the National Security Ministry is working closely with the Justice Ministry and the Ministry of Defense in the Prime Minister's office, to retrieve these persons as swiftly as possible so that further loss of life can be prevented."

OoOoO

"So the good Prime Minister has called for a state of emergency to be implemented," Shijimi remarked hours later as she sat with her three fellow ministers at dinner in Akahoshi's dining room. "How long is it expected to last, though? Not too long, I hope?"

"It's been agreed that the state of emergency will focus on recovering the nine trainees and also on arresting every major criminal figure in charge of these gangs who're wreaking all this havoc," Ishikawa replied. "Hopefully in a few weeks at the most, everything will be back to some semblance of normalcy."

"A few weeks at the most?" Akahoshi cocked an eyebrow at that.

"Regrettably, yes…because we have to identify where all nine of the trainees, including Yagura, have gotten to since last night's incident," said Ishikawa.

"Pfft. A lot of good that'll do for our tourism interests," Akahoshi grumbled. "If the tourists are afraid to come here with all the violence going on, that means little to no foreign exchange coming in."

"Oh, they've already started—at least three countries have given travel advisories to their citizens about the situation going on here on our soil," Shijimi sighed.

Jibachi, in the act of cutting into a steak, set the knife down and briefly adjusted his glasses with one finger. "Well, damage control is part of our mandate as ministers when scandals break out that could affect our portfolios. All we have to do is keep the local and international uncertainty to an acceptable minimum, get these trainees back under our control and these gangs out of commission, and things should be just fine."

"You make it sound so simple, Jibachi-san," Ishikawa observed.

"Once you know how to deal with certain situations, they are simple, good sir," Jibachi replied. "Case in point…all of us may have made our pact to keep silent about the true nature of the report concerning the, ahem, alleged weapons-smuggling soldiers, but official reports can only truly be effective if there is no tangible evidence to suggest anything other than what the Information Ministry approves, Which is why, for instance," here he directed a look at Shijimi, "there is no record of any e-mail correspondence from your former ambassador Shimada regarding her reasons for resigning, or any immediately accessible evidence that could tie your Permanent Secretary," here he looked at Ishikawa, "to the events of that night when one too many glasses of wine and a raging boner led him to try getting lucky inside a missile-control room, in turn causing a tragedy that could've easily been avoided. Yes, we've all been willing to go with the official story, but just to be sure everything goes smoothly, there has to be a careful understanding of what information gets out to the public…and how much of even that."

Akahoshi fingered his drinking glass. "You've got your ministerial portfolio down to a science, it seems."

Jibachi took up his drinking glass and held it up. "And that, sir, is why I am the Information Minister. And to that, I will drink." And he put the glass to his lips and sipped his beverage.

OoOoO

END GAIDEN 05

00000

NEON MAJESTIC: And so, in this Gaiden, we meet the government ministers with whom Jiraiya collaborated to frame Gaara's parents and their unit-members for terrorism, in order to cover up the true circumstances behind Jiraiya accidentally triggering the missile that killed the soldiers. Just a bit of background as to who they are, for those who don't recognize the names—in canon, Akahoshi was a filler villain of the Hidden Star Village arc and the self-appointed Hoshikage; Shijimi was the wife of the Fire daimyo, the fat lady who tasked Team Seven with retrieving her runaway cat; Ishikawa was the first Tsuchikage was a villainous ninja from the Kamizuru clan which hated the Aburame clan.

While this Gaiden chapter introduces them as Jiraiya's co-conspirators to cover up his scandalous mistake in the main story's back-story, this isn't the last time you'll hear anything about them—a future Gaiden chapter will explore further the ramifications and impact of their actions. But, for now, at least you know who to blame for the tragic back-story besides the obvious ones in the main story's timeline.

And addressing things in the real world…condolences and sympathies to those who have been affected by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, Cuba, and Florida.

More Gaidens coming up—stay tuned!