Nindō 0121: First Contact (2/2)

"They are gathered, Hokage-sama." The Head of Naruto's personal anbu guard, Dog, appeared in front of his desk and spoke respectfully.

"Good work," Naruto nodded. "How many did we gather?"

"… Twenty-seven," the man answered. "Miss Sakura Haruno said she already communicated with you."

"She did. She doesn't need to join this expedition. However, twenty-seven people… My office is going to get cramped," Naruto frowned. "Lead them upstairs to the council meeting room. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Understood."

Naruto exhaled and stood up from his desk.

"You gotta love this view, no?" Naruto spoke to no one in particular. "I don't think I can ever get tired of it. Especially when I see something change and correlate it to a new construction project or a bill that I passed. It's a wild feeling."

[It's because it slowly changes that you don't get tired of it. If you looked at the exact same houses and buildings for a decade, it would get boring very soon.]

"Then I'm motivated to develop Konoha even further. I'm going to get rid of the electricity-based technological systems that were introduced by Kara into our society and develop the village in the direction of Seals."

[What makes you so sure that it was Kara who did all those things? You posed it as a theory, but on the inside, you are sure of what you told Shikamaru.]

[Because I am. Kara was behind the destruction of the Uzumaki clan. Period. They were threatened by their use of Fūinjutsu. They couldn't understand it, couldn't control its direction. That is why the Uzumaki clan was destroyed. Fūinjutsu specialists are extremely rare and can't even come close to the average Uzumaki in terms of their abilities. They would've gone against the three Sage animal clans as well but would cause the planet's natural energy to lose harmony, disrupting the balance.]

[They truly are boxing the shinobi world…]

[Because to them, we are cattle. Once we mature and once they are ready, they will harvest us. You don't see me caring about the chicken that was killed and cooked to become a topping on my ramen. Similarly, the Ōtsutsuki don't care for humans. We are cattle to them. Simple.]

[Sounds bleak.]

[It kind of is, yes.]

Naruto was done delaying and grabbed his cloak to put it over his shoulders before leaving.

…

"Attention!" An anbu announced the moment Naruto entered the conference room. All of the elite jōnin in the room straightened up and looked at the Seventh Hokage as he slowly approached the podium to speak.

Once Naruto was in place, he gave a once-over at the crowd, identifying everyone. Some of the individuals were more active, while others weren't as active, but without a doubt, they were all Konoha's most elite forces. Every single one of them was considered an S-rank ninja, with a number of them bordering close to the strength of a Kage, according to the Bingo Book at least.

"I have gathered you all here today for a critical mission that surpasses the S-rank. As you all know, a little over a month and a half ago, we were attacked by two aliens — Ōtsutsuki. Creatures of the same origin as Kaguya. We have now learned that there is another of their kind on our planet. Even at this moment, they are carrying out nefarious plans to destroy not only Konoha and the Land of Fire but the entire world by sucking away the planet's chakra. We have identified an item of unique significance to their group. It is currently lost on the outskirts of the western part of the Land of Fire, close to our borders with the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass. Your mission is to search for that item and bring it back before their people find it. Any questions?"

"Are so many people needed just for a search mission?" Rock Lee asked. "I don't have very good sensory capabilities, but sending so many elite jōnin seems like overkill just for a search mission."

"Yes, with sensor-nin, we need only five people and only a few hours to thoroughly clear such a small area. But that can't be done. Our enemy is an organization that calls itself Kara. They have unfathomable resources and power. The people on the same mission as you all are going to be the Outer members of that organization. We don't know how many they have or how strong they are. Our reference is the Outer member who was subdued by our man. Half of the people in this room are not strong enough to battle that Outer by yourselves. That is why I am sending such a large force."

"Outer members indicate the presence of Core members," Shino Aburame spoke. "What about them?"

"All we know about them is that they are called Inners, and those guys are monsters who can easily achieve victory against the average Kage. That is also why I am sending such a large force there. While you need to be wary of any possible Inner members, I already have measures in place to deal with them. The Inners won't have the time to target any of you."

"This vessel. What does it look like? How do we identify if we have the correct thing?" Konohamaru Sarutobi asked.

"We know that the vessel is a person. Somewhat mentally unstable and not very old. Around sixteen. You are to subdue and bring the vessel to Konoha. Lethal force is not permitted against the kid. As for the Outers, if possible, kill as many as you can."

"Will Lord Seventh send a clone as backup?" Hanabi asked.

"Negative. If they see me acting directly, the clash could escalate further than necessary. Right now, we are simply in the first contact stage of our war against this organization. Any other questions?"

None of them raised their hands as Naruto nodded.

"Good. Now, Ino. Establish a wide-scale communication jutsu for all of these members. You can bring a few people to support you if you feel the need. You will stay a significant distance away from the battlefield and establish a temporary communications system to coordinate our people. If anyone encounters an Outer, your priority is to protect yourself and your comrades first. Do you understand?"

They responded with a collective agreement.

"Okay, people, it's time to move out," Naruto clapped. "Dog, see to it that the logistics are dealt with. If anything requires my intervention, let me know."

[Woah, Lord Seventh, this seems like we are going to war …]

Naruto heard Ino's voice in his head and chuckled, discretely glancing at her. Their eyes met since she was already looking at him, but she instantly turned away, feeling conscious. She wasn't wearing her usual ponytail and had opted to let her very long hair flow freely down her shoulders, to her knees. Consequently, it hid the seal on her nape.

[You have no idea. While you coordinate the people, make sure to hurry things along. Don't let people stay in one place for too long. We only have a window of a couple of hours before the Outers find that vessel and leave.]

[Is Sasuke the one who subdued the Outer?]

[Yes. That is why I am sending such a large force. Those Outers are not a joke.]

[What if one of them decides to attack me? I don't think I have the necessary combat capabilities to deal with those guys.]

[You don't plan to take some people to back you up?]

[For less than thirty people? And experienced elite jōnin at that? Bringing people to support me would only slow me down, not to mention hampering my mobility. But the downside is that it leaves me vulnerable to an ambush.]

[Don't worry. Your protection is under my purview. As long as you have that mark on the back of your neck, nothing will happen to you.]

[Why can't you just give a straight answer, huh?]

Ino cut off the connection with a huff.

As the first few people started exiting the room, Naruto felt a sudden presence beside him. Immediately, his anbu guard burst into action and blocked a kunai from striking his abdomen.

"As expected," Naruto smiled cruelly. He instantly burst out his golden chakra cloak and grabbed the assassin by the throat. "We already had a traitor in the council. To think one of my elite jōnin would be acting against Konoha as well."

The man screamed, using a device on his arm that started sucking in Naruto's chakra.

"Seriously? You're trying to use a tool to suck my chakra?" The Hokage laughed, but his eyes were filled with fury. "Moron."

With his other arm, Naruto punched the man hard enough that he shot across the room and broke through the wall, impacting the Hokage Mountain behind the Administration building. The jōnin coughed blood and staggered to his feet before making a seal. His shoes released flames, pushing him up off the ground.

"Come here." Before he even stabilized himself, Naruto was floating beside him. Immediately, multiple Truth-seeker Orbs suppressed and shackled him as Naruto went back to the building with the man in tow.

As Naruto reentered the building through the hole, an oppressive pressure was released from him that intensified with each step.

"You see what I mean by taking those guys seriously?" Naruto said, dragging the shackled man behind him. "These Outers are trouble, and you are to take every single one of them seriously. Also," He turned to look at the people, all of whom were holding their breaths at the sheer terror that he was radiating from him. "This one is probably not the last traitor among us. I have my eyes on every single one of you. If any of you betray Konoha, your fate will be worse than you can ever imagine."

A terror-filled scream of pain followed Naruto's words. The man he was dragging with him was screaming as if he was being subjected to the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. The most eerie thing was that there were no outward actions or movements. He just started screaming out of the blue.

"Now leave. We have a small window of time. Do not disappoint me, my shinobi. We are fighting for our existence here, and our margin of error is very low."

At this point, even the more playful Hanabi and the people familiar with Naruto, like Kiba and Chōji, had solemn expressions on their faces as everyone quickly vacated the room.

***

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