25 BBY [Konoha, 2 Months Later]
Two months.
That's how long it has been since the Retrieval Mission's success. That was also how long it has been since the people from the Galactic Republic has visited their planet since forever. In those short two months, a lot has changed for not just the Leaf Village, but also for the world they have now came to identify as "Elementia."
After a few tense moments, the Republic diplomats was successful in their mission to communicate with the natives, and to establish first contact peacefully. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire was enthusiastic to accept the terms of the deal the Republic had offered, and just like that, they became the first society of Elementia to have connections with the Galactic Republic, with the news going global around the world of this new development.
It didn't take long before the other Shinobi Villages were approached by the Republic. They either accepted their invitation to join the Republic, were still indecisive about the choice, or outright rejected their offer. Currently, more negotiations and meetings were happening between the other Kages and Feudal Lords, with the main issue being trade between the villages, potential job distributions, as well as old conflicts getting in the way of progress.
As for Konoha, however, the change was already growing visible, as evident by the upgrading Hokage Tower and the landing ports being built outside of the village.
The village's renovation was being observed from the Konoha Hospital window, where Shizune and Tsunade were watching the technological progress from above.
"Wow…" Shizune's hands trembled slightly as she did her best to not drop her folders. "I still can't believe this is happening…"
She turned to look at her teacher - and deadpanned when she saw the Hokage drinking again.
Tsunade was currently emptying a small container of sake that she carried around with her.
"Ahhh, that hits the spot."
"Lady Tsunade!"
"Don't be like that, Shizune." Tsunade grunted. "It's only a small drink."
"But still-"
"Let's not change the topic." Tsunade turned to walk with her apprentice. "How's the kid's recovery going?"
"Oh, Naruto? Oh, you know him: No matter what life throws at him, he bounces right back." Shizune smiled.
She glanced at the medical reports, and read, "He passed the examinations, and is currently doing some rehabilitation exercises for muscular regeneration and for his respiratory system. Of course, he'll still be out of commission for maybe a month or so to properly recover from his internal wounds, but aside from that, he's doing great!"
"That's good to know." Tsunade smiled as they arrived at Naruto's room. She knocked on the door, and after a few seconds of silence, they let themselves in.
Sitting on his bed was Naruto, who was staring out the window. Still wrapped up in bandages, it was hard to tell what Naruto was thinking as he gazed at the technological revolution going on just outside of them.
"Naruto."
The boy seemed a little startled as he finally turned around to greet his visitors.
"Oh hey Granny. Hey, Sis. Good to see you." Naruto said in an unusually calm way, before turning back to the window to stare at the construction.
Tsunade, who did not expect this strange behavior from her newly-adopted grandson, sobered up immediately. She turned to Shizune to whisper into her ear.
"Why is he so-"
"Different? Quieter? Down?" Shizune finished her question. "You're not the only one asking that, my Lady. Ever since Naruto was told of the damage inflicted on him, as well as Team 7's disbandment, he hasn't really been himself. Even the news about the Galactic Republic didn't seem to faze him too much."
"I see." Tsunade finally said wearily. Seeing Naruto looking and sounding so down did the same to her as well, finding his emotions to be surprisingly contagious at times. "When will his mental examination take place?"
"I asked Inoichi Yamanaka personally, and he said that he's open to check on Naruto this evening."
"Good, I want to know those reports at first hand."
"I can still hear you guys." Naruto broke their silent conversation without looking back. "So you don't have to talk behind my back."
An awkward silence filled the air as they realized what they just did. Tsunade finally cleared her throat, breaking the silence, before walking back up to the blond.
"How are you, kid?"
"I'm...doing fine." Naruto said slowly. "I just...didn't expect any of this to happen, honestly."
"Which one, the visitors from outer space, or Sasuke being the reason for Team 7's disbandment."
Naruto flinched at that last part, and Tsunade wondered if she had gone a little too far with her bluntness. Fortunately, Naruto seemed to recover quickly enough.
"Kinda both. Right now though, I think the aliens from outer space really takes the cake on the level of unexpected."
That made Tsunade smile a bit, hearing a little bit of the Naruto she knew and grew to love and care for.
"Well kiddo, you're taking it better than I did. I mean, I'll admit, the first thing I did when those guys came from the sky, I ended up emptying about four bottles of sake on the spot." Tsunade said with a smirk.
"Tsk, pretty much the same reaction when you played our savings away." Shizune muttered.
Tsunade turned to her apprentice with narrowed eyes. "What was that, Shizune?"
Gulping, Shizune stumbled backwards.
"I, um, I'll just leave you two alone." She said, before hastily leaving the two to themselves.
Once left alone, Naruto suddenly became more open to her. "Granny, I need you to answer me about something."
"About what, kid?" Tsunade asked, wondering what Naruto had on his mind. "You know, you're not usually like thi-"
"Is Team 7 really going to disband?" He asked his question to her while staring through the window.
"Listen Naruto, whatever you promised to-"
"Is our team going to disband?" Naruto turned to her with an empty stare, looking directly at her. "Just be honest with me. Yes or no?"
Tsunade sighed, deciding to finally be upfront about it. "Yes, by the looks of it, Team 7 will be broken up until further notice."
"So that's it. Team 7 is finished." Naruto said numbly, before turning back to the window. "And I heard that my shinobi career is over as well."
The Galactic Republic had recently instituted a policy that prohibited children from joining the military of one's nation or planet's state until they reach the age of seventeen, to which Tsunade had agreed on after some hesitation, meaning that all shinobi under that age would be put in non-active duty, or simply were put on small tasks that mostly involved working inside the village.
"It's not over, Naruto. You're just put out of active duty for at least until you turn seventeen, then you can go back to being assigned to missions outside the village."
"With who? If my team gets disbanded, me and Sakura will be floaters."
A floater was another word for genin team members who lost their comrades and were waiting in circulation for a re-assembling shinobi team, which could mean months or even years for the average shinobi.
"I guess it's finally time for some good news, kid." That voice came from the window. The two blondes looked outside, and saw that it was Jiraiya, who was sitting on top of a giant toad he had summoned.
"Pervy Sage?"
"I'm gonna ignore that for your health." Jiraiya said calmly. "Anyways, I came here to tell you that I've got a plan for us to leave this village so that we can focus on your training."
This news made Naruto's sore back stiffen in surprise.
"Huh, why?"
"Because of Akatsuki." Jiraiya said without hesitation. "I've been told by my informants that they put their operations on hold for now, and seemed to have completely disappeared." The Toad Sage said, turning to his apprentice. "I'm planning on leaving right after you've been discharged from the hospital, but not before I get a medical examination from Tsunade herself. Will you?"
Tsunade nodded. "Of course I will."
"But wait!" Naruto frantically waved his hands to get them both to pause. "W-what about Sakura?"
"She's going to become a medical ninja." Tsunade answered, making Naruto turn to her. "She's got potential. If she can pass the tests Shizune's giving her now, then I might consider taking her under my wing."
Tsunade had been initially hesitant to give the pinkette a chance, since she's been told all the horror stories about her being a typical, useless fangirl, who was, to be quite blunt, a burden to the shinobi ranks, and quite personally, a disgrace to all of the kunoichi who had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are, as well as to try to banish that embarrassing stereotype. But when Sakura begged for a chance, admitting to her mistakes and expressing her desire to not become a burden to her future teammates, she decided to give the girl just one chance.
Satisfied, Jiraiya cleared his throat. "With this news about the Akatsuki, we got a chance to train you properly without any distractions, and prepare you for if and when they return."
Naruto's face hardened at the memory of his encounter with the two Akatsuki members. He remembered how even with the Kyuubi's chakra, he was rendered useless because of the shark man's sword, which apparently could eat chakra. He also remembered just how Itachi, the man that Sasuke had always talked about killing, just utterly destroyed his Uchiha friend. Sasuke, the prodigy of the Academy, the one who managed to puncture Gaara's sand shield with Kakashi's Chidori, was helpless against his elder brother, who humiliated him in front of Naruto and the shark man. He even did something to Sasuke's mind, which is probably what drove him to try to defect in the first place.
The young jinchuuriki turned back towards Tsunade. "When?"
"Tomorrow, if possible." Tsunade answered, folding her arms. "You've been having a steady recovery, but I still want you to take it easy, at least for another week or two. That's where I count on you, Jiraiya." She said with a clear warning.
Jiraiya only laughed at her as a response, and nodded. "Don't worry about us, Tsunade. He's going to be in good hands. When he comes back to the village, you won't even recognize him." Jiraiya promised to his friend and long time comrade with a smirk.
This got Tsunade to shake her head, before a small chuckle escaped her lips. Despite Jiraiya's foolishness, she knew that he was being serious this time, and that he would do anything to make sure Naruto didn't do something stupid.
"Alright then. We'll leave you alone for now, Naruto. Get as much rest as you can."
"Yeah kid, get some shuteye while you can. This will be your last night in the village." Jiraiya said, before hopping out the window and landing on the toad's head.
Naruto looked out of the window, and saw his perverted teacher leave on the toad, leaving the blonde knucklehead on his own. He looked back towards the sky, and saw that it was already getting dark, already seeing stars in the sky.
While he didn't show it, he was very excited to learn that there was life beyond their blue sky, and that there was a whole galaxy filled with planets, filled with diverse people and animals.
Deep in his heart, however, he was also slightly frightened at the news.
Why? Well, one minute, he was fighting his teammate after a long chase across the vast forests, and the next minute after he woke up, he heard and saw that his village had been visited by people from outer space, and now there are spaceports and other futuristic technology being built around their village. Fear was a rather appropriate response if you asked anybody, especially to a coma patient.
"If there are over billions of people born around the galaxy…" Naruto asked to himself, "Then why was I born here alone?" That particular question didn't come out of nowhere for Naruto. He had always wondered why it was him that had to take the burden of being the Kyuubi's container. He had always wondered why out of everybody in the world, he had to also lose his parents, who could've protected him from the glares and who could've helped him sleep at night in peace. He had always wondered who his family was, and if they were important enough to where he was chosen to live this rather sad life.
'Or maybe they just picked a random orphan to use to contain the Kyuubi.'
Naruto shook his head. He could've focus on those thoughts now. It just made him dizzy all of a sudden. Closing his eyes, he laid his head back onto his soft pillow.
He wondered if even with everything else that was going on, his life would change for the better.
[Raxus Secundus, Raxulon]
Raxulon was one of the many planets that was laid out in the Outer Rim. Forgotten and neglected by the corrupt Republic, it was one of the many planets that was a part of the new, growing faction that was now beginning to rival the Galactic Republic, with Raxulon in particular being the capital base and the political heart of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), or as they were better known as the Separatist Alliance.
This alliance was being led by Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master who, like many others, was disgusted by the Republic's corruption and incompetence.
Unbeknownst to the Separatists, however, this wasn't the only reason why Count Dooku was their leader. While Dooku was indeed the leader of the Confederacy, he was secretly under the will of another entity. An entity, who was far stronger than Dooku, and had far more sinister plans for the Separatists than what they were aware of.
Speaking of the Fallen Jedi, he was currently walking through the dark hallway of the empty building, which was previously filled with senators from the Confederacy, who were discussing the latest news about the secret planets Elementia and Earth, which the Jedi were keeping from the Republic, as well as the current politics on the said planets. That was the same topic that he intended to talk about with his master, who had summoned him.
'Who knew that there was still so much about the Force that we had yet to learn about.' Dooku thought, trembling with slight fear and excitement when he thought back to "The Ripple", as the Jedi called it. 'Large beasts made from the Dark Side of the Force? How intriguing…'
Dooku then shook his head as he made it to his room. It wouldn't do good for him to be lost in his thoughts when his master was talking to him. He knew from experience that making his master angry was never a good idea. Taking the time to clear his mind, he locked his room to prevent any possibilities of unwanted guests, before he activated his holotransmitter.
A human-sized hologram popped up, and Dooku made sure to go on his knee to bow to Lord Sidious.
"Master…."
"Lord Tyranus." His master's voice rasped through the holotransmitter. "I'm eager to hear about the results of today's politics on Raxus."
"I am pleased to inform you that with the vast support of the full chamber, led by Senator Bonteri, a delegation will be prepared to leave for the two planets for a diplomatic mission." Dooku informed Lord Sidious. Due to the fact that both planets are located in the Outer Rim, the vote was unanimous to try to get the two planets to join the Confederacy - or at least, certain parts of the planet anyways, as both were currently divided into separate nations/countries. "I must say my master, this action may trigger a potential race of diplomacy with the Republic once they catch wind of this."
"That is of no concern of mine at the current moment." Sidious replied coolly. "What I am more interested in would be the disturbance in the Force I know you also felt a few months back."
"Are you referring to 'The Ripple', my Lord?" Dooku asked, not looking up just yet. "Of course I have felt it, but what of it?"
"I am eager to inform you that I have been told of the exact source of that power." Sidious's face stretched into a wicked grin from underneath his cloak. "To make matters much more pleasant, the host of this untapped power is currently in its weakest form. With the Jedi not present on the planet of Elementia, I want you to retrieve it for me."
It was obvious that the Sith Lord was very interested in this ancient child of the Dark Side, and wished to study it further to see if its creation can be replicated, as well as if it can be used for their own desires.
"How shall we go about this, my Lord?"
"It would be unwise to do this job yourself," Sidious said wisely, "for it will only catch the unwanted attention of the Jedi. So, I want you to use more...discreet methods to cover our trail."
"If that's the case, then I shall hire mercenaries to do the dirty work." Dooku nodded. "Their allegiance is only to those that pay them, and thus, a sufficient amount of credits will get the job done and keep their lips shut. It shall be done, my lord."
"Very good, Tyranus. I expect to see my target in our hands soon enough."
The holo transmission ended, which was followed by a few beeps. When Dooku pressed the button again, a list of data appeared in front of him, telling him the exact details of the planet, of the politics that was occuring, as well as the security detail for the planet.
Reading through the document, his eyes finally landed on the page that discussed the details of the target.
"Hmm, I see." Dooku nodded. After giving it some thought, he then pushed a few buttons, intending to contact a certain group of mercenaries, who, while not cheap, were qualified to get the job done...with one in particular who will be hired to lead the job.
[Kamino, Tipoca City]
Kamino is a planet known for its massive ocean. Of course, it wasn't always a planet without land. A long time ago, the planet of Kamino used to have lands and icebergs. However, time changes everything, and not always for the better. Climate change, which was brought on by natural occurrences and by pollution, had began to drown the land, eventually causing the natives to either flee...or adapt.
And adapt many did. The Kaminoans, who were the masters of science, refused to leave their planet, choosing instead to build cities that stood above the roaring ocean. One of these cities is called Tipoca City, where like the other cities, they would continue their path of science, eventually becoming masters of genetics and cloning.
Inside Tipoca City lived a mercenary, who made the wet city his home. This man was currently in his normal attire, which he normally wore underneath his armor.
The man's name was Jango Fett, and he was currently residing on Kamino to oversee a project that he agreed on with Tyranus for which he would be rewarded with a good amount of credits - as well as something else.
"Dad."
Jango looked to his left to see a young boy walk in. This young boy, who he regarded as his son, was actually his clone. An unaltered clone who, aside from his birth, grew up normally with no scientific modifications. Having the exact some curly, brown hair and having the exact same eyes as he once did, Boba Fett was certainly like his father.
"What is it, Boba?" Jango walked up to him, ruffling his hair. "Something on your mind?"
"It's almost lunchtime." Boba said. "You told me we'll be eating together for today. You promised."
Just before Jango could agree, his holotransmitter began to beep.
"Did I, huh? Alright, I was getting hungry anyways." Jango smirked, messing around with his son until he heard the beeping, and turned around to see the transmitter going off.
Boba, who was already by the door, turned his head around to see his dad walking over to the transmitter. "Dad, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, son. Just need to answer this." He replied, and picked up the small device. "Go to the canteen, I'll catch up to you."
"Okay." Boba frowned slightly as he walked through the door, leaving Jango alone once the door closed. Sighing at how little attention he was giving to his son, he answered the transmission.
"Jango Fett."
"Tyranus, I wasn't expecting you to call. Was about to go and eat now if you didn't mind."
"Oh, I am not here to waste your time, my friend. I've contacted you because I need your extraordinary skills again to retrieve something. You heard of those new planets that were discovered?"
"You mean what they call Elementia and Earth? Yeah, I heard about them. What gives?"
"There's something on Elementia that I want you to retrieve." Tyranus/Dooku told him.
"What is it that you want me to retrieve from there?"
"That I've already told your partner. Who I know for a fact you've worked with before." Tyranus brought up. "A Clawdite bounty hunter who goes by the name Zam Wessel, if I'm not mistaken."
'Zam, of course she'd take the job.' Shaking his head, Jango replied, "That's her, yes."
"This mission is one that requires stealth." Tyranus explained. "These warriors are dangerous, fast, and not to be underestimated. That's why I hired her for her abilities so that she may have the best chance at infiltration. Her role is to make sure she retrieves the target with the help of a few other pirates I've employed."
"Let me guess," Jango could already tell where this was going. "You want me to be there in case things go horribly wrong."
"Yes, indeed." Tyranus nodded "You'll be there to help her if things don't go as planned. If you succeed, you will be rewarded handsomely. That I can assure you."
"How much?"
"5, like last time."
Jango fell into silence as he thought about taking the job. Work has been rather slow lately, especially when he was already swamped up with training the Clone Troopers. Plus, this was a good opportunity to check out the new planets, especially Elementia, due to his interest in them being "super soldiers." Plus, the pay was looking quite good; good enough where he might be able to retire from the business and focus on his other goals…
"Alright." Jango nodded. "I'll do it. I'll do the job."
"Splendid." Tyranus smiled. "Your friend is already on her way to Elementia. The target is inside of their hospital, which will be guarded heavily. Your friend will be disguised as a nurse there to make her final checks before the target will be discharged from the hospital. I suggest you move swiftly, since my sources say the target is planning to leave the village very soon."
"And you're afraid this will be the only chance to capture this target." Jango guessed. "Am I correct?"
"Yes, that's why we cannot risk him being seen by anyone." Tyranus explained. "Luckily, the Republic has already has sent fresh supplies for medical and transport, giving you and Zam the opportunity to smuggle the target out of the planet without alerting the authorities."
"If that's the case, I'll need to hire more muscle." Jango said, calculating his chances. "This ain't going to be an easy job, so I'll have to buy some favors."
"Are you sure?" Tyranus raised his eyebrow. "Failure cannot be an option."
"Pay a little extra, and I promise you that won't happen."
"... Very well then, the additional credits will be waiting for you when you succeed your mission. Tell me, who are going to hire?"
"The same ones you were probably thinking of hiring, should I have rejected the offer." Jango replied a little cheekily. "If I were you, I'd be very generous on that extra."
Dooku looked a little miffed at having his mind read, but just sighed.
"I will hear from you when the job is done."
The hologram shrank out of existence as the transmission ended. Jango let out a big sigh as he saw the data appear on his device. Pushing the button, he began to read it.
"Dad."
Jango looked towards the door, and quickly deactivated the device. He saw it was his son Boba, who was carrying two trays of food on it.
"I thought instead of sitting in a big empty canteen, why not just eat here?" Boba gave a warm smile at his father while bringing the food to the table.
Not being able to stop the smile on his face, Jango put the device down, and took the time to eat with his son and have some quality father/son time. After a few minutes of light chatter, an idea suddenly popped into his head.
"Boba, what would you say if you wanted to come and join me on a trip I gotta go now?"
"Oh, where to?"
"That new planet, Elementia."
"Really? With who?"
Later that night
[Konoha - Hospital]
The sun had already set over Konoha, and the last examination for Naruto was about to take place. If he was well enough, he would be discharged from the hospital, and would go with Jiraiya to train with him for a few years.
"Everything is ready for Mr. Uzumaki's mental examination, ma'am." A nurse informed Shizune. "Inoichi Yamanaka will be arriving in the next hour, and Lady Hokage is on her way right now."
The two of them was walking through the nearly empty hallway, with the nurse pushing a hovering cart full of supplies.
"...You know, I still can't wrap my head around this new technology." The nurse finally stated. "I mean, it wasn't that long ago that we were still using carts with wheels!"
The two medics chuckled at that. It was indeed a strange transition, with the new supplies being the least weirdest thing they've seen and touched by far.
They eventually made it to Naruto's room, and stopped when they saw the commotion that was going on in there.
"I told you, I was ordered to bring in these supplies for the boy." A nurse was arguing with the ANBU guard.
"I told you ma'am, we need to see the paperwork that verifies your claim." One of the ANBU guards stated plainly. "Otherwise, we cannot let you in."
"What is going on here?" Shizune stepped up to the nurse. The nurse turned to look at her with a small frown.
"Ah, thank goodness you're here! I've been trying to get these supplies in for the past five minutes, but these guys won't let me in!"
Shizune looked at the floating cart the nurse was holding on to, then looked at the one by her side. Both were identical in the numbers of supplies, as well as the supplies themselves.
"I'm sorry, who are you again?"
"Oh! I'm June! June Saeki!" The nurse shook her hand. "I'm new here, and I'm so glad that I can work under you and Tsunade!"
To further prove her point, she fished out an ID card, which matched her photo perfectly.
"Well, it checks out." Shizune sighed. "Here, since it's your first time, I'm going to let this one go, alright? Just put it back in the Supply Room, and go to my office so that we can further discuss the error."
"Okay." The nurse looked downtrodden, obviously embarrassed at her mistake. "I'm sorry."
The nurse glumly pushed the cart away, her sighs seemingly echoing in the hallway.
"What an idiot." The nurse next to Shizune snorted. Shizune shot her a small glare, before she ordered her to take out the paperwork.
…
The door opened, and Naruto finally turned around.
"Oh hey Shizune." Naruto smiled, seeing his sister figure.
Shizune smiled at him. "Hello Naruto, how are you feeling?"
"Well, I'm hungry, that I can say." He said, giving her a sheepish grin while scratching the back of his head. "I really could use a cup of ramen right now."
Shizune and the nurse couldn't help but giggle about Naruto's comment, since he was being his usual self. The elderly nurse was one of the few medics who was actually fond of Naruto, since she was one of the few people that Hiruzen, the previous Hokage, had indulged her his secret, and was also his caretaker when he was an infant.
"You know the rules Naruto: No junk food for the next few days, especially stuff like ramen." Shizune waved a finger at him with a mock frown. "Try to eat more vegetables."
She then turned towards their cart, picking up an odd looking syringe. Naruto flinched at the sight of that.
"Sorry Naruto, we're going to need to do one last surgery before you're cleared to go." Shizune smiled, before grabbing Naruto's arm.
The other nurse frowned at that.
"Another surgery? I thought the boy was clear to leave tomorrow after the mental examination."
Shizune froze at that, the syringe inches away from his arm. Naruto tensed. Something was wrong.
SHLINK! ZAP!
Shizune suddenly stabbed the syringe into Naruto's arm, before she whipped her body around. With a flash of blue light, the elderly nurse fell over with her head hitting the wall, knocking her out unconscious.
"W-what's...going on?" Naruto's muffled voice, which was already beginning to die out, managed to say one last thing, before Naruto fell back. He struggled to stay awake, now knowing that something was wrong, but his eyelids were growing heavier.
And just like that, everything went dark.
…
Jango Fett scanned the hospital building across them from the rooftop. Thankfully for them, construction was still taking place there, and thus, there were only a few guards around the area for them to avoid.
He chewed his lip when he saw another round of those shinobi guards walk around the hospital. Despite their discipline, they were obviously still astounded by the new technology surrounding them, as evident by their heads turning occasionally to look at the new upgrades.
Shaking his head at them, he kneeled down and tapped his gloved finger on his helmet.
"Zam, do you hear me? Zam?"
"Damn it Jango, yes, I can hear you." Zam cursed. "Kriff, you could've blown my cover."
"Did you get the target?" Jango asked, uninterested for her complaints while looking at the hospital entrance. "Your team's gonna get noticed at some point, and we only have one distraction ready for you."."
"I know, don't have to tell me twice. I'm going as fast as I can." Zam said, before she let out a quiet hiss. "I need to be quiet now, see you outside."
And just like that, silence filled the air again, save for the footsteps that was headed towards Jango from the back.
"Pff, she's still got a lot to learn." The second best bounty hunter in the galaxy snorted.
This bounty hunter, unlike Jango, was not a human, but rather, a Duros. With breathing tubes installed to his face and a large hat on his bald, blue head, this bounty hunter rivaled Jango in terms of skill and ruthlessness.
The two of them weren't enemies per say, but they weren't friends either. Instead, their relationship has developed into more of a semi-friendly rivalry, where the two of them would compete for reputation, credits, and overall skill.
"Are you sure she can do the job without alerting the whole place?"
"Zam can handle herself." Jango replied, briefly glancing back at his hired partner before looking back at the hospital. "Besides, my employee hired her for her abilities. I didn't get a say about it."
"Hmm." Cad Bane mused as he took another look around their surroundings, this time paying attention to the primitive village itself. "You know, if the rumors about the natives are true, then I suppose it makes sense to why even you felt the need to hire a crew. These natives remind me an awful lot of your old stories you used to talk about, do they not?"
Cad Bane was one of the many that respected Jango for not just his skills, but for his heritage as a Mandalorian warrior. Only a few in the galaxy did not know about the tales of the Mandalorian warriors, and how the wars they've waged devastated the galaxy. While they lacked the connection to the Force the Jedi and the Sith held, they made up for that with technology, ingenuity, and their ruthlessness. While their numbers had thinned out, their reputation hasn't. Cad Bane was one of the lucky few who has ever met a warrior such as Jango, and has not only lived to tell the tale, but was also perhaps the only one who have heard stories from the said warrior as well.
"Mmhm." Jango then went silent for a minute, until-
"Look, they're coming out."
The hospital doors were pushed open, and a group of Weequay pirates, disguised as cargo workers, stepped out of the hospital, pushing a large medical pod out of the building. They were playing as a Republic transport crew, whose original role was to deliver the latest supplies and technology for the hospital. Normally, the sight of nonhumans would've attracted more attention, but at this point, the Republic has been in and out of the primitive village, which also meant introducing more races. Sure, the less human they looked, the more stares they got, but Jango could tell that the xenophobia was beginning to diminish.
"And here goes phase two of the plan." Jango muttered to his rival, watching as a female "human" followed the the weequays. "I just hope those pirates don't start any problems."
"You're telling me." Cad Bane glared at the entrance. "We've already spent too much time here. Let's just hope your lady friend didn't make a mistake."
…
Shizune nodded at a few nurses, who eyed the weequays and the blanketed pod with some confusion and suspicion. Luckily for them, this was enough to get the nurses off of their backs.
Feeling rather uncomfortable at the number of stares of suspicion, she silently ordered the team to hurry it up a little, which they wholeheartedly agreed with. They took a right turn towards the exit, but then got noticed by two shinobi, who just happened to stop by at the hospital.
"Was that Shizune?" Anko Mitarashi asked. "She looks a bit stressed."
"Maybe she's just worried for Naruto." Kakashi said, staring at the leaving group. "Let's just wait for her at her office."
"Right…" Anko hesitantly shrugged it off. While she knew that it was best to not interrupt Shizune on her medical business, especially when looking stressed like that, something didn't sit right with her. For one, it wasn't any of the nurses that was helping her move the pod, but rather, some weird, alien guys that was just there to help transport the supplies. Then there was the fact that she was moving a "medical pod" (which, by the way, really looked like a glass coffin if you asked her) at all, which, if she remembered correctly, wasn't part of her schedule.
CRASH!
Anko's thoughts were interrupted when Kakashi kicked down Shizune's door. She ran up to him, a kunai already in her hands.
"Shit." Kakashi cursed, staring inside of Shizune's office. Anko went to look, and froze at the sight of Shizune's body, tied up, gagged, and nearly nude, desperately trying to crawl out of her closet.
"That wasn't Shizune we just saw earlier, Kakashi." Anko gritted her teeth, before dashing out of the room.
"What's going on?" The nurse had just walked inside of the office, hearing the commotion. She gasped when she saw Shizune's battered form. "I-I don't understand-"
"Find Lady Hokage and warn her we've got an intruder." Kakashi ordered her. "The intruder took on Shizune's form, and just walked out of the hospital with a group of aliens and a medical pod. And put a lockdown on the hospital, now!" He ordered, before following Anko.
"Shizune" and her team were walking towards a landing pad, where a group of ships and the forest would cover their escape. Just outside of the landing pad, hiding at the edge of the forest, was a large, long speeder that had another speeder pod in the back for additional passengers, which was chained to the pilot pod with a singular plasma chain. This would be Zam and her group's getaway vehicle so that they could make it to the Slave I and the weequays' G9 Rigger-class light freighter, which they "borrowed" from the Republic transporters.
Since the landing pad was still under construction, the Republic couldn't give the village any large ships yet. That's why they had to use small freighters and such to deliver supplies and men. The training grounds, which was already full of small ships for delivering materials for construction, wasn't available for the Republic's latest supply deliver, so they had to land in the surrounding forest, where a small area was cleared for them.
That was the opening they needed. The minute the ship's doors were opened, the team ambushed both the shinobi and the Republic men.
The shinobi, despite being picked off by their sniper, still put up a deadly fight, managing to wipe out half of their men and injuring a few others, before Jango, Bane, and their sniper took care of the rest.
"Double-time it guys. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Shizune?" Someone said her name and the woman turned around to see a woman and two girls walking towards her. The one who was almost her age had black untamed hair, strange red colored eyes that looked like rings and she wore a strange outfit that resembled like bandages or something. The smaller girl was weirder, she had blue short hair and creepy looking eyes to her view and wore a coat while it wasn't even cold and the weirdest what she saw was the last girl who had almost flower like pinkish hair and emerald green looking eyes. Seriously what is it with this place with weird clothing and eye colors?
"Shizune?"
Every single one of them froze as someone called out for the imposter's name. They turned around and saw a full grown woman alongside of two teenage girls walking behind her. The woman, which looked about her age, had black, untamed hair, with strange red eyes that surprisingly suited her well. Her outfit seemed to consist of purely bandages, which did wonders to show off her nice figure.
Then there was the two girls, who were equally strange on their own. The one with the short, blue hair was wearing a rather thick jacket, despite the weather not being very cold. Their attention, however, rested mostly on her eyes, which was milky white. First glance, they thought she was blind, until they realized that she was staring directly at them, which was rather unusual.
Finally, there was the pink-haired girl. Aside from her unusual hair color, there wasn't anything remarkable about her, and overall, she seemed to be the least dangerous of them all.
"I didn't know you were scheduled to help these men move the supplies back to the ship." Kurenai commented, glancing at the blanketed pod.
"W-well, you know the Republic," "Shizune" chuckled nervously. "Them and their additions to our village really works us to the bone."
"But weren't you given some time off after Naruto's exam?" Kurenai asked.
Each group was growing progressively tense. Kurenai and the other two girls couldn't help but notice just how tense the workers and Shizune looked, almost as if they stumbled onto something they should've have.
Hinata, no longer feeling shy around the foreigners, glared as she activated her Byakugan. She glanced at Shizune, and her eyes widened.
"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata took out her kunai. "That's not Shizune!"
That's when all hell broke loose.
…
"Shit, they've been compromised!" Jango muttered. "Bane!"
"Way ahead of you." The Duro bounty hunter smirked as he pushed a button on his gauntlet.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The village fell into chaos as buildings and trees suddenly exploded. The dense forest began to rapidly catch on fire as the bombs did their job on creating as much fire as possible.
"Time to help out our crew." Jango said, before he activated his jetpack.
Cad Bane smirked, glancing once at the chaos they had just caused.
"This is where the fun begins." He cackled, before he activated his rocket-boots.
…
"Come on, Sakura, you can do this." The pink kunoichi's forehead began to glisten in sweat as she concentrated. Her palms began to glow green, and the blaster-burn on Hinata's shoulder began to heal.
The minute Hinata loudly declared that "Shizune" was an imposter, one of workers pulled out a blaster, and fired at Kurenai. She dodged it, but Hinata ended up taking the bolt to the shoulder. Sakura quickly dragged her out of the line of fire behind some metal boxes while Kurenai covered their retreat, throwing kunai and senbon at them.
However, "Shizune" ended up throwing down a couple of bombs. One of them exploded, causing their ears to ring from the explosion while also destroying a good part of the landing port. The other was a smoke grenade, albeit one that also caused them to cough and caused their eyes to burn.
Hinata groaned as he rubbed her eyes, the smoke grenade making her eyes burn. Despite this, however, she kept her Byakugan on, determined to remain the eyes of the group.
She noticed that just a few meters into the forest were two odd looking vehicles. She knew that they were vehicles, because she similar ones being introduced to the village by the Republic. She also knew that it was their vehicle, due to it always floating off the ground, and how it had a powerful source of energy to always be running.
But that's not what got her attention. No, her attention was on the pod they were so adamant on stealing. For one, it was a living, breathing being that was stuck in the pod. Two, that being was a human, and had chakra.
'No.' Hinata froze as she just realized who the person in the pod was.
"That's-"
"HINATA!"
She felt someone grab her by her stomach, before she went up in the air.
She looked up, and saw that it was Kurenai, who was also carrying Sakura in her other arm as she leapt to safety.
"Hit it!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Two more detonators were thrown in the area that the kunoichi were just in. Kurenai, who saw this coming, took her fellow kunoichi out of there in time. Twisting in midair, she managed to dodge a couple of blaster shots and some shrapnel.
As they fell back down to the ground, they managed to see the final moments before the criminals got away on their vehicle.
Inside of those speeders sat the person who impersonated as Shizune. Still in the medic's clothing, they cringed at the sight of "Shizune's" face melting, until it turned into one that resembled a humanoid lizard. She glanced at them with a smirk, before the speeder took off.
Kurenai bit her lip, and they landed on the ruined spaceport.
"What the hell just happened?" Sakura breathed, the shock finally coming to an end. Despite this, she trembled as the adrenaline still flowed through her veins, the effects of the unexpected battle still rattling her.
Kurenai put down the two younger kunoichi and checked on them. "Sakura, are you alright?"
"Y-Yes, sensei." Sakura stuttered at first, before swallowing it in. "I'm alright."
"Move it!"
They snapped out of the conversation as Konoha shinobi entered the ruined landing port. Some of them stood around the kunoichi, checking in on them and asking them questions while the others continued into the forest, no doubt chasing the criminals they had just barely survived against.
One of the shinobi that stood above them was Anko, who tugged on Kurenai's shoulder. "Come on, Kurenai, we gotta move, now!"
"What abou-"
"The real Shizune's fine. The nurses are tending to her." Anko informed her. "But we gotta chase the intruders, now!" Anko then left them, chasing after the foreign criminals.
"Right! The genjutsu user nodded, before she looked up at Kakashi. "I'll leave them to you."
The one-eyed shinobi nodded, and then the Genjutsu Mistress disappeared. He looked back down at the two girls below him, and took out some water for the Hyuga, whose eyes and throat were still burning from the smoke.
"Sakura."
"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?"
"No time to explain." Kakashi helped the two up, giving Hinata his water. "Get Hinata inside now, that's an order! The ANBU here will escort you two." He said, before running after the criminals..
Picking her up, Sakura began bringing Hinata inside the hospital. "Come on, Hinata. Let's get you inside."
Coughing a few more times, Hinata was finally able to let out a whisper.
"Sakura."
"Hm?" Sakura turned to her. "What is it, Hinata?"
"I need to tell you something." Hinata rasped. "What I saw in that pod..."
"The medical pod? What about it?"
The speeder hummed loudly as the weequay that was driving it put it to full speed. While he didn't look like it, he was an expert driver, and drove the speeder through the trees with precision, not once even scratching their vehicle on a rock or a tree.
"Poodoo!" Zam cursed as she saw the shinobi running after them in inhuman speed. She pulled out her blaster, but nearly fell over as the pirate made a sudden turn.
"Hey, slow down!" Zam yelled at the driver. "We don't want to crash!"
"If I went any slower, those backwater bastards are gonna git us!" The Weequay spat back. He glanced back at the people that was chasing then, and shivered at their black robes and masks, which showed no emotion at all, and helped them blend in the shadows.
THUNK!
Something just hit the inside of the speeder. They looked, and their eyes widened at the sight of a small knife sticking out of the pod's metal shell.
THUNK! THUNK! SHLINK! SHLINK! SHLINK!
"URK!" The second they discovered the first knife, a hail of metal followed it. The 4 weequays were fortunate enough to either dodge it completely, or have it hit them in the shoulders/arms. One of them, however, wasn't so fortunate, and fell over, revealing a kunai knife buried in the back of his head.
"Oh shit!" Zam cried out. "Brace for impact!"
The speeder, which was now without a driver, collided into a tree. The metal pods flew in the air, twisting helplessly, before it crashed onto the ground, with its passengers falling painfully onto the dirt.
"We got them!" The ANBU cried out. "Stay right where you-ACK!"
The masked man that was talking fell over as he clutched at his throat.
"What the-?" The other ANBU members managed to say, before they were gunned them by blaster fire.
A roar echoed the air as two men flew down from below, firing their blasters at the cloaked men. The survivors had to retreat behind the trees, waiting for the right moment to retaliate.
"Jango!"
"Go!" Jango yelled at them. "You've got the package. Get to the ships! We'll cover you!"
Zam nodded, before she and the surviving weequays took off.
"NO!" An ANBU member ran across the battlefield, intending to stop them from taking the pod.
FWOOM!
"AHHH!" The minute he ran out of the cover, Cad Bane was already onto him, firing his flamethrower at the man.
POOF!
Cad Bane stopped the moment he saw the black silhouette disappear from the sea of flames. The minute his flamethrower stopped, he realized that he had just charred a log.
POW! POW!
Cad Bane looked to his right, and saw that Jango had shot a kunai midair that was meant for the blue mercenary's jugular. He had also blasted the ANBU that threw the knife, with the body now falling back to the ground.
"Expect the unexpected." Jango warned him, before he fired a few more shots to keep them at bay.
"We need to move." Bane just growled, frustrated that Jango saved his life...again. Without looking, he shot an ANBU member that tried to sneak up from behind him.
"Agreed." Jango nodded, throwing some more bombs at the trees.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The unlucky shinobi members, both ANBU and others alike, were caught in the explosion, shrapnel of wood and dirt piercing their bodies. The luckier ones managed to see the bombs in time, getting out of the way.
…
Her ears rang endlessly as the world seemed to explode around her.
Blaster shots, explosions, shouting, shrapnel raining from the air, it barely registered to her as she tried to open her eyes.
Someone was shouting at someone. Were they shouting to her? The ANBU agent didn't know.
She tried to get up, and fell down with a muffled yell. Her leg was on fire, needles twisting into her nerves as she put too much weight into her left leg.
Broken. Her leg was broken. Or maybe just injured. She didn't want to know.
CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK.
She heard something land near her slowly, as if time slowed down as someone dropped their pen. Her eyes, which was partially exposed from behind her broken mask, looked at the source of the noise.
It was that same, shiny metal ball with glowing, red lights. It had landed near her, and it was beginning to beep.
'Shit.' Her drowsy mind managed to think. 'Ah well, I lived a good life.'
The fallen ANBU shinobi closed her eyes as she accepted her fate.
And suddenly, she felt warm. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was in the arms of another shinobi.
BOOM!
The explosion, which was still muffled like everything else, erupted in the background, and she could briefly see the small ball of fire and shrapnel erupt from behind her savior.
"-ou alright?"
She blinked, and suddenly, her hearing was beginning to return. After a few seconds, she realized that her savior, Asuma Sarutobi, was trying to speak to her.
"Y-yeah." She croaked, her throat now dry. "Never been better."
The ANBU heard some rapid footsteps from behind the chainsmoker.
"You guys took your time." Asuma grunted. "What's the status of the village? Do we have any backup?"
"The fires are spreading out of control, so the Hokage has ordered half of all units to evacuate the civilians and to help put out the fire." Gai noted. "The other half is trying to catch these slimy criminals."
He looked at the direction of the mercenaries, only to see that they have used what can be assumed to be their last smoke grenades throughout the forest. He cursed when he saw black smoke intermingling with the white ones, indicating that they also chose to light the surrounding vegetation on fire.
"Kakashi, can you round up all of the injured into one area? You can use your genjutsu to help shield them from harm, if needed."
"Right." The masked shinobi nodded, before he began to gather the wounded.
Asuma then looked at the rest of his team.
"Time's ticking, people. We need to capture the criminals, but our top priority is rescuing Naruto. Let's move!"
"Right!"
"Just a little bit further!" Zam yelled, throwing over her shoulder the last smoke grenade she had on her. "Just gotta make it to the cliff, then our ride can pick us up!"
The weequays, who looked morally and physically battered, seemed reenergized when they realized just how close they were to escaping, as well as finishing the job.
"Those sons of bitches will pay for killing J'han and the others!" One of them growled, his grip on his blaster growing tighter.
"Another time." Zam assured him. "In the meantime, we gotta get the hell out of here."
"Yeah, we can't afford to-GAH!" One of the weequays was suddenly snatched up by something thin, yet something large. "Get it off! Get it off!"
Before they could do or say anything, he was suddenly pulled away into the bushes, blaster fire flying everywhere.
"No time! Keep going!" Zam shouted, albeit reluctantly. The other weequays looked hesitant, but agreed nonetheless.
POW!
A single blaster shot came from in front of them, and suddenly, the weequay's cries were silenced. Preparing their blasters, they stopped their trigger fingers when they saw it was Cad Bane, who merely scowled at them in challenge.
"If he squeals, we could be done for." He growled. "Come on, don't end up like him!"
The weequays all glared at his back, but said and did nothing, choosing to continue to run with their package, occasionally firing back to fend off their pursuers.
Jango sighed at this, shaking his head.
POW! POW!
He aimed his pistol upwards, and another dead shinobi fell from the sky.
Just then, his helmet-visor began to flash a signal.
"We're almost there, guys!" Jango assured them. "My ship's close. Come on!"
They let out a small, half-hearted cheer at that, which grew louder as they finally stepped out of the dense forest. Stumbling, they nearly stopped themselves from accidentally tossing themselves over the cliff and into the river below.
"Wow." Zam whistled, staring at the cliffs they were standing on. They realized that the cliff they were standing on, as well as the one on the other side, was carved to resemble two warriors. That, on top of the natural beauty the place had to offer, rivaled Naboo on its natural beauty.
The others were either glaring into the forest, or joining Zam on admiring the scenery.
But not Jango. No, Jango was staring at one of the weequays amongst them, who was nervously looking at the forest.
"Jango?" Zam asked, noticing his odd behavior.
ZAP!
The weequay shrieked as he fell over, being hit by one of Jango's stun bolts.
"Fett?" One of the weequays growled. "What the hell are you-?"
"Just as I thought." The Mandalorian muttered, staring at the body.
POOF!
The fallen "weequay" suddenly exploded into a small cloud, revealing one of the ANBU guards, who was holding a blaster. Jango snorted, before walking over to the unconscious body.
"This is why we Mandos have been able to go toe-to-toe with the Jedi for so many years." He grunted, kicking the blaster towards the weequays while holding the shinobi up by his armpits. "We adapt, we grow, we change, we upgrade. This," He tapped on his helmet. "Is how I figured out he was an imposter. This guy's image was flickering, since my helmet detected an unusual frequency of energy off of him. Granted, all of these guys seem to have it, but this guy's presence was so close and powerful, my helmet started freaking out."
He then held up the shinobi, pointing his blaster right up to his temple.
"I know you guys are out there. If you guys try anything stupid, you'll lose another one of your men."
Silence filled the air for the moment, and Zam wondered if their pursuers backed off.
Then, a few figures stepping out of the forest. It was the bandaged woman again, but now with a purple-haired lady in a fishnet outfit and a trench coat, a bearded, scruffy looking man, and a man with a bowl haircut and some really thick looking eyebrows.
"Okay, okay, just don't kill him." The bearded man said. "I know that things are looking bad, but please, maybe we can work something out."
"We already have what we came for." Jango's voice was surprisingly soft and non hostile. "I'm sorry for all of this, but this is just a job. It's nothing personal."
Asuma narrowed his eyes at the armored warrior.
"I'm going to assume that you won't be answering much questions about your 'job,'" The Sarutobi said, "but can you at least tell us what the client wants from Naruto?"
"Naruto?" Kurenai asked, before her eyebrows shot up. "Wait, Asuma, you're telling me that Naruto's in the pod?!"
"Yeah, he is." Asuma nodded. "Sakura managed to tell me that Hinata saw Naruto inside that pod when she used her Byakugan."
Anko and Kurenai tensed up at this. On top of everything else these criminals had done, kidnapping a fellow shinobi was now added to the list.
"Is that what the target's called?" Jango said, glancing at the pod momentarily. "If that's the case, then I now have a name to call him when I deliver him."
The Mandalorian then squinted in thought.
'Come to think of it, I'm not sure why out of all the data, his name wasn't included. That actually made the job a little harder.'
"You know, as one warrior to another, I'm rather impressed. Your men actually gave me a rather hard time during this entire mission. Reminds me of when I fought the Jedi. Except unlike them, you guys are much faster, slightly less predictable, and much more ruthless."
Anko cracked her knuckles. "Wait until I begin with you when I bring you in for interrogation. Then I show you how ruthless I can be."
"Temping," Jango chuckled, liking this woman's attitude, "But I'm afraid that'll have to wait for another time. Still got a job to finish."
"Yeah, not gonna happen, buddy." Asuma pulled out his trench knives, which made the others tighten their trigger fingers. "We don't abandon our fellow comrades. That's not our way."
Jango's eyes scanned the other shinobis's eyes, and noted the determination in their eyes, despite the grim situation.
"I see…" Despite the situation, Jango smiled under his helmet. It would seem like these people were more like his old family than he thought.
He looked down to his wrist gauntlet and saw that its light was flickering. "You guys might want to back off at this point." Jango warned.
"Like Hell we are!" Anko growled, taking a step forward.
"Anko!"
But the Snake-Mistress of Konoha wouldn't listen. Yelling, she prepared to charge at the kidnappers, ready to buy them the necessary distraction they needed to try to save both the hostage and the boy.
VOOM!
The loud, sudden roar made everyone freeze in their tracks.
"About time." Jango muttered. Appearing from behind the cliff was the Slave I, Jango's newest ship ever since his old one Jaster's Legacy was destroyed, ironically by a ship of the same model as his current one. Even without looking, he knew that Boba and his temporarily guardian was watching over them.
PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!
Jango's ship rained fire onto the shinobi alongside of the bounty hunters, forcing them to retreat in to the forest. Despite this, they chose to not take a chance, and resumed firing into the trees, making sure that they kept a far enough distance.
BOOM!
One of the blasts nearly blew Anko into bits as she flew forwards. She painfully collided with a tree, knocking her out once she hit the floor.
The ship began to lower itself as its doors opened.
"Let's go." Cad Bane ordered. "Into the ship!"
Zam and the weequays were the first to enter the ship, while Cad Bane and Jango made sure to cover them, as the shinobi have returned, desperate to retrieve their comrade. However, with the ship and the blaster fire keeping them at bay, as well as the hostage Jango was still securing, they was not much they could do.
"Let's go, Jango!"
"Right!" The Mandalorian nodded at Zam. Shoving the hostage away from him, he activated his jetpack to fly himself backwards into his ship. Just before the doors closed, however, he saw Asuma's jacket, which was one that some of the shinobi of the village shared. For the first time ever, he truly looked at the green jacket - or rather, the symbol on his sleeves. It was a symbol that he knew. It was a symbol once mentioned by his old comrades, before they fell to the Jedi.
It was a whirlpool. A blood, red whirlpool.
Zam ran up and yanked his arm. "Come on, Jango! Move your ass!"
Snapped out of his thoughts, he retreated into his ship, leaving behind a few devastated Konoha shinobi, who could do nothing but stare helplessly at the floating ship in the sky.
[On top of the Hokage Building]
"I want all shinobi to be alerted that the village has been attacked." Tsunade, whose hands were gripping the metal fences tightly. "Contact the Republic at once. Finish rounding up the survivors, and make sure all the wounded gets medical attention."
She then turned to the remaining ANBU members.
"I want the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan to send a scout team for more potential intruders, as well as to sniff out any more bombs or other possible traps in the area. If you find any of them, I want them in Ibiki's hands alive!"
"Yes, ma'am!" They saluted, before they disappeared."
"As for the rest of you," Tsunade turned to the rest of the active shinobi. "I want you all to double all guards, double everything! Make sure nothing like this happens again!"
"Yes ma'am!" The ANBU commander answered, before he swiftly disappeared, leaving behind the head nurse of the Konoha hospital.
"Status report."
"My lady," The elder nurse bowed. "We've brought in all the wounded to the hospital, but we're running out of room, so we created a temporary field hospital to clear room for the recently wounded who were brought in."
"Shizune?" Tsunade asked about her apprentice.
"She has already recovered from the experience, and is already on her feet helping the others."
"Good…" Tsunade said, staring blankly at her village. "You're dismissed."
"Yes ma'am." The elder nurse bowed, before swiftly leaving the building, leaving the Hokage on her own.
Tsunade closed her eyes as she tried to not let tears pool out of them. After being told about the situation, she was beginning to wonder if things would've been better off if the Republic never found them. Sure, perhaps it was inevitable, since they "felt" the Kyuubi's chakra.
...No, it didn't matter now. She just lost Naruto, one of her only family members she had left, and she wasn't sure who was to blame.
With the Republic arrival, the mighty ship sailing into the new world bringing new people, also came the vermin with it. She had already heard rumors about bounty hunters, smugglers, and all other types of scum already setting into the new world, and she suddenly began to wonder just how often that kind of thing happened.
With an angry roar, she ripped out the metal railings, throwing them onto the floor of the Hokage Tower roof. She then collapsed onto her knees as she began to punch the floor, bursting into tears as she tried to hold back audible sobs.
Tsunade, who was now drowning in her grief, did not notice Jiraiya entering the roof. Watching her cry made him clench his fist.
'Kami damn it.' He looked away from the blonde, afraid that she would be able to smell his guilt. 'I was too late.'
He had heard all about what had just happened. Criminals - or were they mercenaries? - had come from space, and had kidnapped Naruto. Why? He had no idea, but he would be damned if he did nothing to try to find his godson.
It would seem like ages before he finally had the courage to step out. Walking up to his old teammate, he expected her to punch him, to wail on him about him being too late.
Tsunade finally noticed him walking up to her, and stood up. A dark look spread across her face as she walked up to him, her fists clenched.
'Whatever happens, I deserve it.' He thought bitterly, closing his eyes in resignation.
Imagine his surprise when she enveloped him with a hug. Tsunade, who he had thought would've punched him across the village, had hugged him instead, sobbing into his shoulder at the loss of another family member.
Closing his eyes, he decided to hug her back, knowing full well that she needed this. And honestly, he did too.
"As long as we can still feel his bond with us, he is still alive."
Jiraiya sighed and looked up, to the sky and hoping what Fukasaku said was true, that as long Naruto's name remained on the contract, he'd be still alive.
Jiraiya sighed as he looked up into the sky, hoping that what Fukasaku said was true.
'Hold on, kid, we're coming for you. I promised your father and mother that I'll look after you, even if its the last thing I do.'
[On board the Slave I]
Jango's ship had already left the orbit of Elementia, and inside of it were the remaining mercenaries.
The remaining weequays and Zam were grabbing a bite or a drink, a little shaken up at how the job almost went completely sideways, even with the help of Jango and Cad Bane.
Cad Bane on the other hand was staring at the unopened pod with the target in what was worth his credits "Hey, Zam."
Cad Bane was not amongst them, instead just chewing on a toothpick while staring at the unopened pod.
"Hey, Zam."
Zam stopped drinking as she looked at the duros. "What?"
"The soldier we snatched up is still alive, right? We need him breathing to get our money."
Zam huffed at the silent accusation. "No you blue prick, I just sedated him."
She glanced at the floating pod with a smirk.
"I injected him with enough anaesthetics to knock out any healthy adult for a good week or so. Even for an active duty superpowered soldier like him, he shouldn't get up for a while. Why, wanna check if he's still alive?"
"...No." Cad Bane grunted, turning to walk away. "Just wanted to check if you were worth your salt." He then walked to have a chat with Jango.
…
Jango was sitting in the cockpit alongside his son. Punching in the coordinates for their meeting point, he sent his ship into hyperspace. With that being done, he then laid back in his chair, now lost in thought.
'That whirlpool...where have I seen it before?' Jango wondered, doing his best to try to remember where he could've seen or heard about the symbol.
"Dad?"
Jango turned to his son, who looked at him with slight concern.
"Are you okay?"
He just nodded at his son, before the sound of someone walking up to him grabbed his attention.
"Hey." A pale woman wrapped her arms around Jango's neck. "Impressive work out there."
"Aurra." Jango greeted, not even bothering to turn his head at the woman. "Thanks for watching over Boba and the ship."
"I better get some decent credits out of all this." Aurra purred into his ear. "I missed out on all the fun babysitting your son."
"Don't lie, I know you managed to clip one of the shinobis while we were boarding the ship." Jango smirked at her, to which she just shrugged.
"Save the romance for later." Another voice echoed the cockpit. Cad Bane walked in, glaring at the two other bounty hunters. "Let's just focus on getting to our destination."
"Right." Jango sighed, before leaning over to the controls. They fell out of hyperspace, and Jango had to make another calculation to get to their destination, since the first jump was to help cover their tracks.
Within seconds, the ship disappeared from view, leaping into hyperspace once more.
And here it begins people! Naruto abducted, Konoha attacked and Jango appeared! Ain't gonna lie to ya'll that this took a long time to update now I was excited to hear that next month the new season Clone Wars is going to be released.
I'll be working on some of the other stories, one of whom is been growing good lately (this one too of course, love that this reboot happened) Anyway, hope all of you have a good night. Oh, please leave reviews!
Peace!