Bab 4: The Third Hokage Worries
Days before Jason's capture but after his first spotting in the center tower of the Hidden Leaf village, the Third Hokage sat in his highest office, beset by worry for the state of Konoha. Only four years had passed since the Nine-tails attacked the village, resulting in the Fourth Hokage's ultimate sacrifice to seal the beast away in his infant son. The tragedy had left Konoha with a severe personnel shortage, which had placed a considerable strain on the current ninja force. Matters had grown worse with a recent report from his skilled Anbu, patrolling the village perimeter, of a strange black humanoid creature that had approached the village walls. The Anbu had surrounded the creature, preparing their next move, only for it to disappear in a flash of energy, leaving no trace.
The Third made his way quickly to the archives and searched through the Second Hokage's research notes, which documented a black humanoid creature with a diverse set of abilities and encounters with the First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki. Upon reading the file, he became convinced that this creature was one of the surviving experiments from the work that Danzo and Orochimaru had conducted with the first cells. The Third knew that this was worse than using the first cells and was certain that the creature had developed new abilities since its last encounter.
He called out to the Anbu in his office and ordered them to summon Danzo immediately. While waiting for Danzo to arrive, the Third drafted a new order for his shinobi regarding the creature, as it seemed to possess intelligence and the possibility of communication. The Third hoped to capture the creature and learn all of its abilities, eventually teaching it the will of fire through a process of brainwashing.
The Third gave a knowing sigh as Danzo finally arrived in his office, showing little respect for the Hokage. Despite his frustrations, the Third knew that he could not function without Danzo and his expertise. He explained the situation to Danzo and showed him the capture policy, hoping that he would have a solution.
Danzo examined the policy and acknowledged the creature's potential threat to Konoha before offering his own solution. He suggested that they assemble a team of elite shinobi, specifically trained to take on unusual threats like the creature. The team would be under Danzo's direct command, with protocols in place to ensure that even if the mission failed, the creature would not fall into the wrong hands.
The Third agreed with Danzo's solution, recognizing the urgency of the situation. They knew that capturing the creature would not be easy, but it was the only way to ensure the safety and future of Konoha. Together, they set about assembling the team and preparing them for the mission ahead. The Third knew that this would be a turning point in the history of the village, one that would define its future and test the will of its people.
The team had taken a few days to assemble, carefully selecting those deemed capable of the mission. The Third Hokage and Danzo were in the Hokage tower with the team members, prepared to send them off. The team consisted of Hokage's Anbu operatives -- Eagle, Bear, and Hawk -- as well as three of Danzo's own guards, who were secretly members of Root.
As the team prepared to depart, two individuals who had captured Jason's clone split up. One took Jason to confinement, while the other rushed to the Hokage's office to deliver urgent news regarding the recent order. The individual knocked on the door, which was promptly answered with a "Come in." Upon entering, the individual knelt before the Hokage and proclaimed, "Hokage, I come bearing urgent news concerning the recent order."
Everyone in the room gave the individual their undivided attention, including the team still ready for deployment. Danzo overstepped his bounds by speaking before the Hokage, but the ninja did not respond to him. Instead, the ninja awaited confirmation from the Hokage before delivering their report.
The Third Hokage ignored Danzo's outburst and approved the delivery of the report. The ninja quickly collected their thoughts and began to explain the encounter. "While making patrols on the outside of the village, we encountered the creature mentioned in the order," the ninja said. "My partner attempted to hit it with a kunai, but as soon as the kunai got close, it was blown away by a strong gust of wind. After that, we were cautious. The creature turned around to face us, but at the time, it didn't seem to be doing anything, so I asked it what it was and why it was here since the report mentioned it may have intelligence."
The Hokage was concerned about the creature's response and put down his pipe. The ninja continued, "The creature said that it was not seeking any conflict, and that it was willing to be detained. So we quickly approached it, knocked it out, and brought it back. My partner just took it to the confinement cell in the Anbu station."
After the ninja delivered their report, everyone in the room, except the reporting ninja, was shocked to learn that the creature could speak and understand language and was willing to submit to confinement. However, the Third Hokage was not relieved, as he believed that they had only captured a clone, not the original body.
The Third Hokage thanked the ninja for their report and dismissed them so he could contemplate what to do next. He then addressed Danzo and the assembled team, sharing his thoughts about the situation. "Even though it may seem like we have captured the creature, I am under the impression that this is just a clone," he said. Everyone in the room agreed with his assessment.
The Third Hokage took a long drag of his pipe and continued, "Even though this is a clone, it still presents us with an opportunity to interact with and observe it. While we are doing that, the six of you will still be deployed to try and find and capture the original. Is that understood?" The team leader, Bear, nodded, and the team promptly left the office, making their way out of the village to the last known location of the creature.
As the team left, the Third Hokage looked at Danzo and sneered slightly, saying, "Shall we go greet the monster you and my former student created?" Danzo grimaced but chose not to respond to the Third Hokage's provocation and quietly said, "I have no knowledge of this, but I will join you in greeting this monster," keeping his emotions in check.
The Third Hokage and Danzo made their way to the Anbu building using the underground passage that connected the two buildings. In the holding cell in the Anbu building, the Jason clone that had been delivered to the cell was pretending to wake up to observe his surroundings.
He realized that he was in a small cell made of stone with iron bars at the front. There was an earthen bed for him to sleep on and a corner for his toilet. Jason was surprised to see the lack of technology his cell had to offer.
When he turned his attention to the outside of the cell, he saw guards patrolling while two stood on either side of his cell. They all wore black body suits with the shoulders missing and sleeveless gray jackets with different white animal masks.
As Jason observed his surroundings quietly, the Third Hokage and Danzo arrived in front of his cell, and the guards cleared out to make way for them. Jason could tell that these two individuals held some importance in the compound.
The Third Hokage looked at the creature and said, "Hello, I am the Third Hokage of Konoha. May I know your name?"
The original Jason heard the Third Hokage's question through the clone and realized that he had not considered what his new name should be in this world since technically Jason is dead. After thinking about it briefly, he decided to pay homage to the other sentient Nomu from My Hero Academia, whom he admired. However, he had not shared this information with the Third Hokage and Danzo yet.
While sitting with its legs folded and its elbow resting on its leg, its head leaned onto its fist, staring at the Third Hokage and Danzo with no emotion, the clone named Kurogiri finally spoke. "You may refer to me as Kurogiri, and since I answered your question, can you tell me why I am locked in here?"
The Third Hokage was surprised by Kurogiri's fluency in speech, but before he could answer, Danzo spoke up. He threatened Kurogiri by saying they could start dissecting him. This angered Kurogiri, and he could not help but laugh a little out loud knowing his threat was meaningless, thinking about the good cop and bad cop game they were playing.
This further enraged Danzo, and he continued his line of thought, but the Third Hokage had had enough of his interfering. He turned to Danzo and scolded him, "Danzo, I will be handling the talking. You are here to observe as an elder. Is that clear?" Danzo sneered but decided to keep his mouth shut now and plan how to get Kurogiri into the hands of his Root to study and turn it into his own weapon.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone