Chapter 47 The Ceremony

When news of Dune destruction reached Konoha no one knew how to take it. Many pointed fingers at different villages, in truth no one knew what to make of the situation. A village being destroyed then disappearing was not something anyone could rationalize as a ninja threat. Fingers were later pointed to the tailed beast, though with all of the sealed it became clear it was not them as well. Finally the tales of the Demon Samurai that the insane survivors spoke on the first day became known. Many feared the wrath of demos was upon them, however there was one who knew what could have caused the disappearance of Dune.

Naruto, Konohamaru, Xel, and Herbert were just hearing about the news. Each came to roughly the same conclusion. That the attack was more than likely the shadowed man.

"Why would he destroy an entire village though, it seems like he is revealing himself early", said Naruto.

"Exactly, now the mortals know that there is something more powerful than they could possibly imagine. Though it does reveal something interesting. I was looking into Dune, apparently it is the best spot on this planet where one of the stars that awaken Cthulhu can be seen at it's brightest. This is only the beginning. There is an old ceremony to welcome the Great Old Ones when they awaken. Every star that will help Cthulhu rise has a spot on earth where it can be seen at it's most brightest", said Konohamaru.

"What about the other stars", asked Naruto.

"It depends on whether those spots are close to villages or not. So far as I can tell only Dune was such a village the other areas will be changed for the ceremony in some way I will look into what other areas corresponds with the stars", said Konohamaru.

"Indeed, we must find these locations and inspect the changes", said Xel.

"The problem is not all of the stars are best visible on this continent. We have no way of seeing them all. Thogh I have no reason to believe that anything dangerous will occur. Mostly the area will just become eldritch in nature before all traces disappear after three days", said Konohamaru.

"Did you know this would happen", asked Naruto.

Konohamaru shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. One of the reasons I came to this point in time was the level of changes that occur in the timeline. So far everything is progressing as the history books said. But that is starting to unravel. I fear it won't be long until any knowledge I have of events to come will be useless", said Konohamaru.

"Then what use are you", asked Herbert.

"I am not here to be of use. My original purpose was to observe. With an Outer God becoming involved I can no longer do that. Though I cannot help to a degree you wish me to, I will do what I can and no more", said Konohamaru.

"We're getting off track. lets continue with our business. We will discuss the incident with Dune later, what is our progress with the infiltrations", asked Naruto.

Herbert raised his hand.

"Well the clones that made it to that star village place has yet to integrate enough to inspect the meteorite so they are going to sneak a sample to test, As for the sky village turns out what we saw was a short term prototype for a much bigger floating fortress. Whats more is what will enable the village to fly", said Herbert.

"And what would that be", asked Naruto.

"Something called the Zero Tails, looks like a leech mixed snot in a mask", said Herbert.

Naruto shuttered at the Leech part. Ever since that vision they brought up memories he would much rather forget.

"Either way the thing is in stasis. The guy behind everything is some nut named Shinno. We have replaced several of his ninja and are shipping their weapons here as well as schematics and stolen pieces from their flying fortress. The guy is an obvious nutcase and from me that's saying something. Right now I am devising a way to capture the Zero Tails for transport. I already have a good idea bt I would need to test it. A Shoggoth should work nicely for the test", said Herbert.

"What exactly is the plan", asked Naruto.

"Simple. Once we bleed them dry of there weaponry and any other technology we can get our hands on, we covertly kill them. They plan on destroying the elemental nations and taking over so it's for the best. Their plan won't go into effect for a few years. The Shinno guy only comes by every now and again so we just have to make sure he is their when we do it. Once that's done we build a cage big enough to contain it here. I will use the shoggoth to make sure our little Zero Tails can't escape. We transport it here in pieces, it's amorphous so it will survive. Once we put the pieces in the cage then it just clumps back together and bam. We have our own Psudo-Tailed Beast to study. We are researching what it is capable of so we can build counter measures to make sure it stays nice and safe in it's cage", said Herbert.

"Not bad, what of the other villages we are looking into", asked Naruto.

"Well the land of snow was the easiest to infiltrate. It's current leader is too stupid and stubborn to refuse help. We are looking into some of their technology which is not bad in all honesty. The guy is obsessed with finding some lost princess so much so that he ignores even the possibility of infiltration attempts. Needless to say it was simple. It will be a while before we can get their stuff ready for transport but it won't be hard", said Herbert.

"Interesting, what about him specifically is he dangerous", asked Naruto.

"Not really the clones we sent say he is a vicious dictator but I have no reason to believe he would start a war without whatever it is he is looking for. If he gets to dangerous we can easily take him out", said Herbert.

"We cannot afford war with Cthulhu on the horizon. I he steps out of line then either find some way to get him back on track or make sure he doesn't live to see Cthulhu", said Naruto.

"Thats rather brutal for you", said Konohamaru.

"With the incident at Dune, Orochimaru becoming a Yig worshiper, Akatsuki, and Cthulhu we can't afford any more mistakes. I don't want to do it, but we can't let petty grievances and delusions of grandeur start a war. And we still have time to prepare for Cthulhu. Already Dune has shown us that if we want to succeed we have to act like ninja, not children. If we have enemies who are counter productive to the continued existence of the human race then they must be eliminated", said Naruto.

"I like him when he gets like this", said Herbert.

Naruto sat back in his chair and sighed.

"I wish I didn't have to be like this. I really do, but we can't treat Cthulhu like some enemy to be killed. We must treat him as the single most dangerous force of nature humanity has ever faced. If we don't do that then we will fail. I'm not being brutal or cruel, I'm being realistic", said Naruto.

"Whatever you say boss, anyway we sent a few more clones to find those knight guys, but we can't find the dudes, you could swear they were the ninjas with how well they hide their tracks", said Herbert.

Naruto nodded.

"Alright if that is all on the infiltration tasks then we move to the next order of business. This biological computer that will help me achieve Eldritch form at will, I need to know how long I will be out and how long the surgery will last. With the events at Dune I don't think I can wait till after the exams. I want to be prepared for anything like what happened their to happen here", said Naruto.

"The surgery itself will last only a few hours. Recovery is unknown with your healing abilities, but my guess is at most a week at least two days. Our main concern however is if your body rejects the implant, we are looking into that", said Konohamaru.

"Indeed my lord, we want to make sure the procedure is safe. Incedentally the device is being built as we speak and will be complete within the hour", said Xel.

"I still have training with Ebisu and Jiraiya, we can send in a clone for that, but make sure that their seal to keep them from dispelling is perfect", said Naruto.

"Very good. So when do you wish to start the operation", asked Konohamaru.

"The Shadowed man needs me alive, we can start soon", said Naruto.

"He has made it clear when he sent the immortal that if you use that against him he will become most unpleasant", said Xel.

"We still don't know if that is why he sent Hidan", said Naruto.

"Against an Outer God it would be wise to treat all our theories as true", said Xel.

"True enough, alright we will begin the surgery as soon as we know the implants will not be rejected, but In the event I die I want you to continue our work", said Naruto.

"My lord if you die then we would no longer have access to me or any of your summons. It would be a disaster", said Xel.

Naruto put his hand to his chin and nodded

"we have to risk it, I think I have a plan on keeping me alive for the surgery", said Naruto.

"And what would that be", asked Konohamaru.

"We need to do some tests on the Reagent first, I want to know what happens when it is injected into a still living specimen and then immediately killed", said Naruto.

Herbert laughed.

"I'll get the mice", said Herbert.

Naruto nodded.

"Alright lets get back to work", said Naruto.

Shikamaru was always a rational mind. When Naruto first told him of the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones before the preliminaries he took it with a grain of salt. Despite the unusualness of the summons there were all manner of strange and unusual creatures in the world. Then news of Dunes disappearance hit. Shikamaru tried to think of what could possibly destroy a city in one day, then make it completely gone after three days. No matter what he came up with it would not fit. It was not the behavior of a ninja, it couldn't have been a tailed beast. In the end Shikamaru was beginning to wonder if the gods Naruto spoke of could exist. Naruto was an intellectual like Shikamaru himself, he wouldn't believe in something without reason. The question was did Naruto believe in them, or was he merely stating the culture of his summons. It was hard to say or sure.

"What's wrong Shikamaru", asked Choji, eating from his bag of BBQ Chips.

"Just thinking about what happened at Dune", said Shikamaru.

Choji froze for a moment. He had heard of the horrible things that happened their as well. Everyone did, and no one knew what to make of it.

"What do you think could have done something like that", asked Choji.

"Remember the gods Naruto said his summons believe in ?", asked Shikamaru.

"You don't think something like that could exist could you", asked Choji.

"No, I don't, but whether I believe in it or not does not change whether they are real or not. I don't know enough to make that distinction, it's troublesome", said Shikamaru.

"Why not ask Naruto, I'm sure he would let us talk to one of his summons", said Choji.

"We could do that, but he is rarely home. He has to train for the final exam so I guess it's to be expected", said Shikamaru.

"Well what do you want to do", asked Choji.

"Right now, I don't know. I'll just ask when I see him", said Shikamaru.

Konohamaru ran to Naruto. He had just found out another village that could be effected by the ceremony. He breathed heavy as he caught up with him.

"Whats wrong Konohamaru", asked Naruto.

"I found out. Another village for the ceremony", said Konohamaru.

"What village", asked Naruto.

"Hoshigakure, the star village", said Konohamaru.

Beta squad was a team of clones sent to check on the meteorite. Like all clones sent out they were given a seal that made them more resilient. Currently one of the squads members had transformed into a mouse. Small enough to go about unnoticed. It scurried through the village heading for the meteorite. Sneaking into the crater that made up most of the area where the meteor was kept. Slowly and carefully it snuck in the meteor. It sat atop a claw like pedestal. Looking round the area seemed to be empty. Slowly he turned back to normal behind the pedestal. Taking out a scalpel he cut off a piece of the meteorite. As soon as the piece came off a soft grey clow came from the cut piece. The piece was still metal like, though was slightly more malleable. Almost like clay. The clones eyes turned to the meteor. It began to glow bright as well. After a moment a band of color that man had no name for radiated from the meteorite. Then it stopped. The meteorite was inert.

"That was new", said the clone.

The next thing the Clone knew his scalpel was forced from his hand and hit the meteorite as if it was magnetized to it. The grey glow disappeared. The clone grabbed the blade and pulled it away. He was about to turn back to a mouse when the temperature became cold. He felt weak. He could feel something happening to his chakra. With all his might he crawled away turning into a mouse again. The further away he got from the meteorite the better he felt. As a little mouse he ran as fast as he changed with the meteorite and it behaved differently. As he left the shadowed man stepped closer to the meteorite and smiled. He lifted his arm to the Meteorite.

"Awaken", spoke the whispers.

The clone made his way to the team leader of Beta squad. As soon as he entered his house he turned back. The others in the room saw him. He looked pale and sick.

"What happened to you", asked a clone.

"The meteorite. I got a sample, but it changed", said the clone holding the piece of the meteorite in his hand.

"Give it here, we need to test it", said their squad leader.

Taking the piece he walked over to a nearby chemistry set. He began to test it. Hours went by as he did test after test. All of the tests were devised by Xel to be able to test anything related to the Color. No human test would work on it. He sighed.

"It's a color, but not its a normal one", said the clones leader.

"What do you mean", asked a clone reading from a book.

"The trace amounts of radiation is similar to what Konohamaru said the colors eminated, but it also has chakra into it. That star chakra the ninja here use, it's a deception", said the leader.

"What do you mean its a deception. The stuff looks cool to me"

"It's not mutating chakra into something else, it's absorbing it and replacing it with Star Chakra, which is slowly damaging their body. While Star Chakra is versatile, its also toxic", said the leader.

"Whats it doing with normal chakra", asked the clone who brought the sample.

"Star Chara really isn't chakra, it's something similer, but not chakra, I don't know what it is, but something big is going to happen with the Color. Normal chakra is changing it into something else"

As they talked the leader put the sample in a vial before wrapping it in a bag. He wrote several notes on what he discovered while also writing on his fears of a possible war. He took the bag and gave it to a clone.

"Send this back to the lab. Xel or Konohamaru might find better use out of it than us. I know we can't hold the forms long enough even with the seal, but try and transform into something with wings. Move quickly, do not stop", said the leader.

The clone took the bag and ran outside. Once out he transformed into a hawk and ran to the lab. The leader sighed.

Danzo was unsure how to take the news at Dune. Any weapon powerful enough to make an entire village vanish was a weapon any village would do anything to obtain. However without knowledge of what happened there was no way to find out who possessed the weapon, or even if it was even a weapon. The events at Dune had changed everything. His plans had to be pushed forward. He looked at the young ninja before him.

"Sai, I have a task for you", said Danzo.

Sai looked up. His face an emotionless mask.

"With the events at Dune we need to move forward with our plans. You are to find out as much as you can about the Demon brat", said Danzo.

"Yes Danzo-sama"

Naruto walked into his house. He had just finished training with Ebisu and Jiraiya. He moved over to his fridge. He removed a panel behind it to reveal a small vial of the reagent, checking to make sure it was still there. He put the panel back. Naruto kept the vial there in the event it was needed sooner than the time it would take to bring a body to the lab, or in the event he was unable to do so. The tests with Herbert showed interesting results when the reagent was injected into a still living organism. While at first there was no effect it turned out that should you kill a living organism that had the reagent in it, so long as there was a sufficient amount of the reagent still in the body, and the body was not damaged beyond repair then rather than the subject becoming a zombie after injection, instead it would stave off death for as long as the reagent was within the body. However living bodies would eventually waste the reagent away. If that happened while they were in a critical state, they would die and not reanimate unless more reagent was added.

The reagent stayed in dead bodies but was eventually used up in live ones. That made the reagent even more useful than it already was. The reagent had limitless applications in surgery. As long as their was enough reagent used then accidental death during surgery was almost impossible. If only the reagent could stimulate regeneration then it would be the single greatest discovery in human history. While the discovery was good news, things were becoming more complicated than normal, and with the final exam looming around the corner it wouldn't be long until Naruto would have to go back on missions and possibly be to far away from his lab to prepare for Cthulhu. He would have to figure something out.

Outside of Naruto's home. Sai watched him carefully. He would not let the boy out of his sight.