章 1474: 64
After passing through Kaminari no Kuni, Naruto and Yugito slowly made their way toward Shimo no Kuni. Their plan was to pass through Shimo no Kuni into Yu no Kuni before heading into Kami no Kuni and then going straight to Konoha.
It took about one week to leave Kaminari no Kuni starting from Kumo. It took about four days to pass through Shimo no Kuni.
Having mostly camped out for the past two weeks, neither of them were in the mood to sleep outdoors anymore. They decided to head into the nearest village.
The small village was somewhat close to the border of Ta no Kuni, but Naruto wasn't overly bothered by this. Otogakure had been abandoned awhile back. Several Anbu had led an assault on the village, only to discover that all of the shinobi and Orochimaru's experiments had disappeared without a trace.
Glancing around at the basic wood structures, Naruto wondered if this village even had a name. There'd been no sign when they entered, and it didn't look like this place was large enough to be called a city or town. He could actually count the number of buildings this place had. 652. That was a relatively small number. This place probably wasn't even 10 kilometers in size. It might be more accurate to call it a village.
"I think we should first find a place to spend the night," Yugito said. "After that, how about we get something to eat?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Naruto walked with his hands behind his head and eyed the people of the village. His smile slowly turned into a frown. "Hey, is it just me, or do the villagers seem wary of something?"
Yugito paid closer attention to the villagers they passed. Many of them were rushing from place to place, looking at anyone and everyone they walked by. The two of them received a number of suspicious looks themselves. Naruto couldn't help but notice the dagger-like stares they got from passersby. That said, no one came up to them.
"You're right," she said at last. "Everyone seems nervous for some reason. What do you think is going on?"
"Don't know." Naruto cocked his head to the side. "But maybe after we get a place to stay and some grub, we can do a bit of investigating to find out."
Yugito looked uncertain. "I don't want to spend too much time here. We should be trying to get back to Konoha as soon as possible… but given the current situation, the reason these people are so tense could have something to do with those white people."
"Those were my thoughts exactly," Naruto said.
The two of them quickly found a hotel to stay the night in, and then they headed off to find a place to eat.
It didn't look like this place had that many eateries. Certainly, when compared to Konoha or even Kumo, this place was lacking. He guessed that was to be expected in such a small village. After looking around for a moment, they entered what appeared to be a pub.
It looked like a normal building from the outside. At just a glance, it was the same kind of building as many of the others. The difference was that hanging over the door was a sign that read Ma's Grub and Pub, denoting just what this place was.
As they walked in, Naruto took a quick glance around the interior, noting that it didn't have the dingy setting that some pubs he'd been to did. The well-lit room had several round tables that numerous people were sitting at. A couple of booths also lined some of the walls. He wouldn't say this place was big, but it did have a large enough space that it could probably fit at least two hundred people and still have some space left over.
There wasn't anyone present to greet them when they entered. Naruto and Yugito walked further into the pub to find a place to sit. Along the way, several people glanced at them with hard eyes. The suspicion present in the gazes of the pub's patrons set Naruto on edge. While none of these people were shinobi and therefore posed no threat, the fact that they would glare at two shinobi, whose headbands were on clear display, caused an uneasy feeling to settle in his stomach.
He found a table close to the center of the room, which they decided on after some debate. Yugito wanted to sit in the furthest corner from the entrance, where they would have a clear view of the entire room, but Naruto vetoed that idea.
"If we sit where everyone else is, we'll be able to listen in on their conversation," Naruto explained. "We might learn something."
While Yugito wasn't keen on sitting so close to people who might turn hostile (her words, not his), she also recognized that he had a point. Thus the two of them chose a small table that could seat four and waited to see if someone would come to take their order.
"Hey, hey. Those two are ninja, aren't they?" a voice said as they sat down, causing Naruto's ears to twitch. Yugito must have heard them too because she perked up. "They've got those headbands, so they must be ninja, right?"
"I think so," another voice murmured. "You don't usually see ninja around these parts. Wonder what they're doing here."
"Maybe they're here to cause more trouble."
Naruto cocked his head gently and strained his ears, not just listening to the conversation, but tracing the sound back to the owners. It sounded like the people talking were behind him. He couldn't tell where exactly, but that was unimportant. What he really wanted to know was why those two thought he and Yugito would be there to cause trouble. This small village had nothing worthwhile in it from what he'd seen. Causing trouble here would just be a waste of time.
At that moment, Naruto decided to hail down a barmaid who was wandering between the tables. She was a plain girl. He wouldn't call her unattractive, but he wouldn't have called her gorgeous either. She had normal brown hair, light skin, and brown eyes. Her body was about what he'd expect from a civilian. In a small village like this, she'd probably be considered the flower of the village.
"Excuse me," he said after the woman finished putting down some mugs on another table. "Could my friend and I have two jars of warm sake please?"
The woman appeared somewhat startled when she saw the headband, but she nodded a couple of seconds later. While curiously glancing between the two of them with a frown, she said, "Sure thing. Your sake will be out in just a minute."
The barmaid drifted between tables and vanished through a door near the back. Naruto and Yugito didn't talk much during the wait. To be honest, they had run out of topics to discuss on the way to this village. Traveling for two weeks with nothing new to talk about meant they had basically exhausted all conversational topics. Most of their time not spent traveling had been spent sleeping together.
That was okay. Naruto found he didn't always need to hold a conversation. Silence was good sometimes.
"Here you are," the barmaid said as she came back, setting down two jars of sake and two drinking saucers on the table before them.
"Thank you," Yugito said softly as she grabbed a jar and poured some for Naruto.
The barmaid didn't respond to Yugito's thanks as she eyed the two of them. "You two are ninja, right? That's what those headbands are for, right?"
While Yugito was a bit startled by how forward this woman was, Naruto, who had more experience with small town bars like this thanks to Jiraiya, responded with a smile. "That's right. My friend is from Kumogakure, and I'm from Konohagakure."
"So you're both from different villages." The woman cocked her head to the side as she considered this. Then she shrugged. "Well, if you two are ninja, does that mean you're here because of the rumors about the White Men?"
While Yugito perked up, Naruto tried to maintain his nonchalance. He raised an eyebrow at the girl.
"White Men?"
"You mean you haven't heard?" The barmaid's eyes flashed a bit as she leaned down and cupped a hand to her mouth. This forced Naruto and Yugito to lean in so they could listen. "Rumor has it that a large army of White Men were spotted marching through Tetsu no Kuni a few days ago. This is just a rumor. However, people have been saying that these White Men are able to take on the appearance of other people. Someone said that one of his good friends had been acting a little strange recently, and it turned out that one of the White Men had killed and replaced his friend."
While Yugito appeared intrigued by that last statement, Naruto discarded it as a silly rumor that had been propagated by the first piece of information. Stories like that always came about whenever some interesting new rumor spread. It likely wasn't true. What probably was true was the first rumor about "White Men" marching through Tetsu no Kuni.
"When did this rumor start?" asked Naruto.
"About a week ago," the barmaid said after thinking about it for a moment. "Word on the street is that the White Men attacked and completely destroyed Tetsu no Kuni's samurai army before making their way south… but nobody knows if that's true or not."
The words startled Naruto enough that he finally showed emotion on his face. His reaction seemed to amuse the barmaid. She giggled and, as if shocking him had been her goal, she departed with a sway in her hips that hadn't been present before. Naruto took a deep breath.
"Do you think what she said is true?" asked Yugito.
"Which part of what she said are you talking about?" asked Naruto as he took a sip of sake to calm down.
"All of it."
"Hmm…" Grabbing one of the jars, Naruto poured Yugito some sake, and then took another sip from his own saucer. "The part about one of the White Men replacing some random jabroni's friend is probably fake, but the part about these White Men marching through Tetsu no Kuni is likely true."
"What makes you say that?" asked a curious Yugito.
Naruto didn't speak at first, instead choosing to collect his thoughts and remember what Jiraiya had taught him about information gathering. "Whenever something happens that sends ripples across the Elemental Nations, it always invites people to tell tall tales in order to get a reaction out of others. People will do anything for those fifteen minutes of fame. It's likely that someone heard about how the White Men can transform into other people and made up a story about one transforming into his friend. However, since these White Men would have no reason to do that, it is likely false. That said, a rumor like these White Men marching through Tetsu no Kuni is too big to be false, so it's probably true."
Yugito nodded as she took a slow sip of her sake. A quiet moment passed in the bar—at least between the two of them. Conversations were still going on all around them, and Naruto made sure to keep his ears open in case someone said something interesting. He did learn through some of the conversations that the story about someone's friend secretly being a "White Man" was why the village was so wary. As the silence between them spread, Yugito seemed unable to maintain her silence.
"What should we do about this?" she asked.
"We might want to consider taking a detour," Naruto admitted after thinking about what they had learned. "That woman said the army of White Men was marching south from Tetsu no Kuni, which means it is heading toward Hi no Kuni. If we hurry, we can probably reach Tetsu no Kuni's border before this so-called army passes through."
"Can't you just use your clones to do reconnaissance while we travel to Konoha?" asked Yugito with a strange look on her face.
"Oh." Naruto blinked. "That's a good idea. I hadn't thought of that."
"Obviously." Yugito's response to his words was to roll her eyes and smile.
XoX
Ta no Kuni was a land filled with numerous small mountains, rice paddies, and winding roads. Some forestry was mixed in between the rice paddies, roads, and mountains, but the amount of forest was nothing compared to Hi no Kuni and some of the other nations. This small nation had supposedly been taken over by Orochimaru at some point in time when he established Otogakure.
Within this small nation, sixteen shadows cut a path through the land. These shadows moved so swiftly that anyone passing would have seen nothing but several blurs.
They'd been running non-stop for the past several days. Their destination was unknown to everyone but them. These shadows leapt through trees, ran along the ground, and even ascended over mountains in their path, cutting through the entire nation to reach Tetsu no Kuni in record time.
The warm weather dropped as they moved closer to Tetsu no Kuni. Rice paddies were eventually replaced with snow. Tetsu no Kuni was a cold land. The trees were all frozen over, with no leaves hanging from their branches. It was surprising this place even had trees, but perhaps the snow would melt during the summer and provide nourishment for this seemingly dead vegetation.
As one, the group suddenly stopped moving when the shadow in front sensed something up ahead. When the shadows stopped, it revealed who they were. All sixteen figures looked identical. They had the same spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on their cheeks. These figures were, of course, the Shadow Clones that Naruto had created.
"I sense a lot of chakra signatures up ahead," the lead clone said. He had nicknamed himself Alpha since he was in charge. He called the rest of the clones Beta, followed by a number.
"Should we check it out?" asked Beta 1.
"Of course we should." Beta 4 rolled his eyes. "Isn't that why we were created?"
"But what if it's not those White Men?" asked Beta 2.
"Given the number of chakra signatures, I do not believe this can be anything but that army of White Men," Beta 14 said.
"Let's find some higher ground," Alpha suggested. "It will give us a better vantage point to observe the moving chakra signatures."
"Yes!" All the Betas responded.
Tetsu no Kuni was covered in numerous large mountain ranges, some of which looked like they could pierce the sky. One particular geographical location, the Three Wolves Mountains, could be seen from a distance as they ascended one of the smaller mountains. However, it was so far away that it looked like nothing more than a speck. Actually, the fact that they could even see it from several hundred kilometers was a testament to its impressive size.
However, there was something even more attention grabbing than the Three Wolves Mountains.
"Holy…" Beta 6 mumbled.
"…Shit," Beta 9 finished.
Holy shit is right, Alpha thought, though he did not say anything out loud. He could understand why the others said that. Indeed, he felt much the same way. The sight before them was just that shocking.
Far beneath their feet, marching forward at a slow but steady pace, was a large army of white figures. They were completely naked but seemed immune to the cold. While one half of their body looked mostly normal, the other half was twisted and distorted, resembling more of a plant than a person. This army was composed of the very same people who'd impersonated several Kumo ninja and caused trouble.
"How large do you think this army is?" asked Beta 4.
Alpha did his best to calculate the size of the army, but it was really hard because this army was so large they couldn't even see all of it. They marched in a file of five lines, passing through the mountains, and there were so, so, so many that it was basically impossible to take a headcount of them.
"There's gotta be at least 50,000," Alpha muttered. "However, I think there might be even more than that."
"So there's at least 50,000 of these White Men," Beta 3 said as he bit his lip.
"Hey!" Beta 8 suddenly pointed at something. "Look at the front of their formation! Those people aren't White Men!"
At his cry, all of the Naruto clones turned their attention to the front where, indeed, several individuals who were not White Men marched as though leading this army. There were five of them. One of them was a man with white spiky hair and blue armor; the one next to him was an old man wearing an all black ninja suit; beside him was a man with spiky, silver hair that reached the middle of his back; there was a dark-haired man with tan skin and red armor; finally, the last of this group was…
"Isn't that Dad?!" asked a shocked Beta 11.
Indeed, walking alongside the other four people was a man with spiky blond hair similar to Naruto's own, bright blue eyes, and a Konoha headband. Underneath his white Hokage haori was the standard garb of a Jonin. He wore a green flak jacket over a blue shirt. His blue pants were wrapped in white bandages near the calves and disappeared into his shinobi sandals. The only difference between him and normal jonin, aside from his haori, were the two bands on both sleeves.
"That is definitely our dad," Alpha said with a grim expression.
"How can this be?!" asked Beta 4. "I thought our dad was, er, you know…"
"He is dead," Beta 7 said.
"Then…"
"I heard that when that bastard Orochimaru was battling against Old Man Sarutobi, he summoned the First and Second Hokages using some kind of jutsu," Alpha said. "That must be what happened here." He frowned. "That said, Ero-Sennin also mentioned that the First and Second Hokage's had been sealed by the Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal). It shouldn't be possible to summon them again—unless I'm missing something."
As the Naruto clones all spoke, the army that had been marching suddenly paused. In that moment, Minato Namikaze glanced up at them. Alpha felt all the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. However, that feeling disappeared, along with him and the others, in less time than it took to blink.
The mountain top was soon covered in smoke.
XoX
Naruto and Yugito were racing through Hi no Kuni, leaping across tree branches like a couple of frogs jumping across paddies in a lake. They moved swiftly, their figures nothing but streaks as they headed for Konoha.
Two days had passed since they left Yu no Kuni. After spending a single night in that small village where they learned of the White Men army, the two had decided to rush back to Konoha post haste, though not before Naruto had created several Shadow Clones to check things out at Tetsu no Kuni. Neither of them had slept for those two days. While even most Jonin would have been exhausted by the pace they set, Naruto and Yugito were special cases and had far more stamina than the average ninja.
As he landed on a branch and prepared to push off, several images flashed through his mind, penetrating his skull like bursts of lightning. The images were so surprising that Naruto actually slipped. He screamed as he fell from the tree and slammed head first into the ground. Whiteness blocked his vision for a second as pain overrode his ability to see. When the pain dulled, he discovered that he was lying on his back and staring at the canopy of trees.
"Are you okay?" asked Yugito as she landed on the ground beside him.
"Yeah…" Naruto groaned as he sat up and pressed a hand to his face. "I'm fine, but we need to hurry back to Konoha."
"I know that."
"No." Naruto shook his head. "We really need to hurry."
Yugito didn't respond to his words at first, perhaps sensing that something had changed between now and when he had made his inelegant headplant. She helped Naruto to his feet. The two of them soon took off again, but this time, they poured on even more speed.
"Are you going to tell me why we're in even more of a rush than before?" asked Yugito.
"My clones were all just destroyed," Naruto said after a moment of silence. "All of them were destroyed in an instant. However, before they were destroyed, they managed to discover that a large army of those White Men were marching through Tetsu no Kuni. Also…"
"Also what?" asked Yugito.
Naruto's expression became increasingly grim. "Also, the army is being led by the previous four Hokages and a man who looks a lot like Kakashi."
XoX
After hearing about what they were up against, Yugito agreed that they needed to hurry. That was why she used the power of her Bijuu to increase her speed. Likewise, Naruto activated his Hybrid Mode. Together, the two of them blitzed through the forest as quickly as they could, reaching Konoha in record time.
Upon reaching the village, the two of them didn't even bother checking in at the gate, and instead hurried to the Hokage's office. They raced up the stairs and barged into the office without even knocking. Kakashi, who'd actually been sleeping with his head on the desk, was so startled that he nearly fell off the chair.
"Kakashi! We have an emergency!" Naruto shouted.
Regaining his composure, Kakashi glanced at Naruto and Yugito, studying their expressions and harried appearance. After nearly half a minute of this, he sighed.
"Before you begin telling me about this emergency, why don't you both calm down? Naruto, you haven't changed back to your normal appearance, and Yugito, you are still covered in your Bijuu's chakra."
The two of them were startled for a moment, but when they looked at each other, they saw that Kakashi's words were true. Yugito was covered in a thick blue cloak with two tails waving behind her. Meanwhile, Naruto's hair had turned red, his eyes were purple, he was sporting claws, and his whiskers looked jagged. After seeing what the other person looked like, Naruto and Yugito swiftly changed back into their normal appearance.
Kakashi sighed. "I'm sure the village is in a panic right now thanks to you two."
"Sorry about that, Kakashi." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, slightly sheepish, before settling down. "However, it really is an emergency."
"Given the number of emergencies we've been dealing with, I'm somehow not surprised." Kakashi rubbed his face. He looked even more haggard now than he had before. "Does this have something to do with those White Men?"
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you figured it out," Naruto said. "A told us that Konoha was infiltrated by them already."
Kakashi nodded. "We managed to root them out once Sakura figured out that we could differentiate our shinobi from them based on the negative intent they leaked, but it did cause us a number of problems near the beginning."
"Yeah, well. This is an even bigger problem," Naruto said before he began explaining to Kakashi what he'd already told Yugito. While Kakashi was at first surprised, the longer his report went on, the more shocked the man became. When Naruto described the white-haired man who was with the four Hokages, the normally calm shinobi was paler than Naruto had ever seen him.
Kakashi took several deep breaths, but each one came with a shudder. The man seemed unable to calm down. Naruto wanted to ask what was wrong, but he held himself back.
"When did your clones discover this army?" asked Kakashi.
"It was about three days ago," Naruto said.
"All right." Kakashi was silent for but a moment. "I'm going to call an emergency meeting between our top ninja and the ninja from Kumo and Suna. The situation you just described is indeed a dire one."
Kakashi stood up and wandered over to the window. Naruto and Yugito glanced at each other, and then looked back at the current Hokage, who seemed to be having issues. Within this deep silence, Naruto stepped forward.
"Is everything okay, Kakashi?" he asked.
"Yes." Kakashi turned around. "Everything is fine. Naruto, go inform Temari that we're having a meeting and she's needed. Yugito, do the same for Darui. The meeting place will be the Operations Center in thirty minutes."
While Naruto and Yugito were confused by the sudden change in Kakashi's demeanor, the two of them were smart enough not to say anything. They nodded and quickly parted ways to do as they were told.
XoX
Naruto arrived at the Operation Center with Temari in tow.
While it was called the Operation Center, a grand name that suggested it was used to conduct meetings regarding large-scale missions and such, it didn't really look that impressive from the outside. It was a squat, one-story building. The bricks used in its construction were red. Like most of the buildings, a lot of wood was also used to build it, including the roof.
Naruto and Temari entered the Operation Center to discover that a good number of people had already gathered. Naruto recognized many of them like Shikaku Nara, Yamato, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, Maito Gai, and Shizune. Akane was with Yugito. Also present was Darui, the leader in charge of the Kumo forces stationed in Konoha.
"I'm glad you two are finally here," Kakashi said as he eyed them. "Now we can start the meeting."
The interior of the Operation Center was mostly just an empty space. In the center of the room was a large table that had an incredibly detailed map of the Elemental Nations. It was an impressive piece of work. Not only did it show where a good majority of the major and minor cities and towns were, but it revealed details such as elevation, mountains, caves, ravines, etc.
Everyone was gathered around the table, so Naruto and Temari squeezed in beside Yugito and Akane.
"I received this information from Naruto just a little while ago, but it appears there is a large army heading toward Konoha," Kakashi revealed to everyone, causing a chill to enter the people present. Their faces became stiff as the Copy Ninja continued. "According to his report, their numbers are no less than 50,000." Everyone glanced at each other in shock. "What's more… the army is being led by five Konoha ninja who have been reincarnated using the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)."
At those words, numerous bodies stiffened in shock, their backs going ramrod straight.
Everyone knew about that jutsu, which had been used during the assault on Konoha back when Naruto was taking the Chunin Exams.
"Edo Tensei is a powerful forbidden jutsu that binds the soul of a deceased person to a living vessel, restoring them as they were when they were alive in order to do their summoner's bidding." Shikaku rubbed his jaw. "Because it is a forbidden technique, very few people know of it, and even fewer people can use it. What's more, it is strictly a technique of Konoha. That means…"
"Right." Kakashi nodded. "It means the person who created this army and summoned these ninja is likely none other than Orochimaru."
With all the trouble Orochimaru had given them lately, it was no wonder the ninja inside of the Operations Center listening to Kakashi were agitated. Naruto glanced at Shikaku, Inoichi, and the others. All of them had pale faces filled with concern and anger.
"Who are the people that Orochimaru has summoned this time?" asked Inoichi.
The grave expression on Kakashi's face was more than enough to make everyone wary as he said, "They've summoned the previous four Hokages and… Sakumo Hatake."
An unsettling atmosphere pushed down on everyone. Tension filled the air like a thick fog.
The news that an army of 50,000 was marching toward Hi no Kuni was grave enough, but adding the news that the four Hokages and a famous ninja with Kage-level strength was leading them was like adding salt to an open wound.
"This is pretty bad news, isn't it?" asked Temari. "Do we even have a plan of action to deal with this?"
"We do. Well, kind of…" Kakashi sighed, paused to collect his thoughts, and plunged on. "Right now, Konoha does not have the kind of numbers required to fight against such a large army. The first thing we need to do is gather together more forces. I was hoping that you, Temari, and you, Darui, could inform the Kazekage and Raikage about what is happening and request them to send aid."
"From what Yugito said, it sounds like Kumo has experienced trouble with members of this army in the past few days," Darui said with a shrug. "I'll send a messenger bird to Kumo and ask them to send forces to back us up."
"I know Gara will definitely send help when I tell him about what's happening," Temari said as she crossed her arms. "I'll use our messenger hawk, and then gather the forces we currently have stationed here."
"Do we know where the army is now?" asked Shikaku.
Kakashi looked at Naruto, who realized what the man wanted and stepped forward. Everyone glanced at him as he took center stage. Using a shogi piece sitting next to the map, he placed it where Tetsu no Kuni was located.
"When my clones saw them, they were traveling through the mountains of Tetsu no Kuni. They were going south toward us. Given their current speed, I estimate they've reached the border of Hi no Kuni by now." He moved the shogi piece until it was sitting right on the border. "That said, the reason they moved so slowly through Tetsu no Kuni is likely because of the rugged terrain and cold weather. Once they enter Hi no Kuni, their speed will probably increase."
"That's a reasonable assumption," Shikaku mumbled. "In which case, they should reach Konoha in about two weeks. Even if they can move faster once they reach Hi no Kuni, an army that large can't move that fast, especially if they want to maintain their formation, which is the purpose of attacking with an army."
Kakashi nodded. "However, we don't want them to reach Konoha. We have to gather our forces and head out to meet them. That said, our forces are not nearly as large as this armies. We'd lose in a head on battle."
"That's not even taking the ninja leading them into account," Shikaku muttered as his brow furrowed in concentration. "50,000 ninja is a tall order for any one village to defeat. However, leading them are the previous four Hokages. Minato Namikaze alone is a man who was capable of decimating entire armies by himself. Even if we could gather a force of 50,000, we would still lose."
"You do not need to worry about the four Hokages." Akane suddenly stepped forward.
Everyone glanced at the redhead as she smiled, though most of the glances were merely curious. No one actually knew who she was aside from Kakashi and Shizune. Tsunade had decided to keep knowledge about Akane being the nine-tailed fox a secret. While a few people had seen her enter a sort of hybrid form, where her tails and ears were visible, during the battle against Kumogakure, most people had dismissed it as a unique transformation.
After all, the Kyuubi was a monster of mass destruction. There was no way such a beast could be a beautiful young woman.
"I'm guessing you have a plan to deal with them?" asked Kakashi. "If you do, I would be glad to hear it."
With an elegant shrug of her shoulders, Akane smiled. "It isn't really a plan. I was merely telling you that you can leave the four Hokages and Sakumo to myself and Naruto."
While Kakashi looked a little startled, the others in the room had the same expressions as someone who'd been sucker punched in the face. Choza, Inoichi, and even Darui, Temari, and Yugito were gazing at her like she'd said something incredibly stupid.
"Are you saying that the two of you will fight the four Hokages on your own?" asked Shikaku with a frown. "That's suicide. I'll admit that Naruto has grown incredibly powerful over the years, but that is a far cry from being able to contend with a Hokage. Kages are ninja whose power and skill greatly exceeds that of average Jonin."
"I am perfectly aware of what a kage is." Akane gave the man a withering glare. "That is why I can confidently state that Naruto and I can handle this."
Shikaku glanced at Naruto, then Akane, and then Kakashi. The frown on his face grew. Naruto could almost see the fire jutsu igniting in his head as he created theories and possibilities regarding the redhead. He didn't think Shikaku would get close to the truth without being told, though. Even if he was a genius, it took a large leap to conclude that Akane was the very being who nearly destroyed Konoha when he was a baby.
"Are you certain the two of you can handle four kages?" asked Kakashi. "What's more, there is also Sakumo. My father might not have been a Hokage, but he was powerful enough to be a candidate for the position. If it weren't for his untimely demise, he might have actually become Hokage."
"You don't need to worry about that." Naruto backed Akane up. "While it is true that in a normal battle between us and the Hokages, we might not stand a chance, those five are only here because of the Edo Tensei. Aside from being a kinjutsu, it is also a highly advanced fuinjutsu. I'm positive I can create a counter jutsu to eliminate the summoning. I just need to get my hands on the Scroll and study it."
While some of the people present didn't look pleased that Naruto wanted to view the scroll with the Edo Tensei on it, Kakashi nodded. "The jutsu is actually located in the Scroll of Seals. I'll lend it to you so you can study the technique and create a countermeasure."
"Let us say that Naruto and Akane do manage to counter the Hokages," Yugito began. "That still leaves the army of 50,000. Even I wouldn't be able to defeat that many ninja, and jinchurikki were created for the express purpose of decimating armies."
"Fortunately, I do not think we need to worry about that," Naruto said. "While I don't know what abilities these strange White Men have, I can tell you they are not front line fighters. They will probably have some unique jutsu, but aside from that, they shouldn't be powerful enough to contend with a jinchurikki." Naruto paused and cocked his head to the side. "Of course, 50,000 ninja is still a tall order, and knowing Orochimaru, he's probably modified these people to have unique abilities that could contend with a jinchurikki. It will be important to provide you with support."
Before anyone else could say anything, Kakashi suddenly spoke up. "Regardless of what plans we create, right now the most important thing is gathering our forces and heading out. Shikaku, I'm leaving the logistics and tactics to you. Come up with a suitable plan to counter this army."
"Any plan I make will be dependant on whether or not Suna and Kumogakure can send reinforcements, but I'll do my best." Shikaku nodded.
"In the meantime, I want everyone else to prepare for battle. I'll be giving you your orders when our plans formalize." Everyone nodded at Kakashi's words. The man currently in charge looked at Naruto and gestured to him. "Naruto, follow me. I'm going to give you the Scroll of Seals. Learn everything you can about the Edo Tensei and come up with a countermeasure."
"You can count on me, Kakashi," Naruto stated with confidence.
The meeting soon adjourned. Everyone went their separate ways to fulfill the orders Kakashi had given them. Naruto followed Kakashi as the man led him back to the Hokage's office, his mind focused on learning everything he could about the forbidden jutsu that had a hand in taking Sarutobi Hiruzen's life.
XoX
The sun had long since gone down, but Naruto was still working hard, sitting at a table inside of the Hokage's mansion as he poured over the Scroll of Seals. This scroll contained many techniques, including the Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu) and the Hakke no Fuin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style), the very same seal used to seal Akane inside of him. Currently, Naruto was pouring over the notes on how the Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei worked.
Releasing a tired sigh, Naruto rubbed his sore eyes. They felt strained from staring at the scroll for so long. If he were to look in a mirror, he was positive he'd see bloodshot eyes staring back at him.
As he tried to get rid of the soreness in his eyes, a mug filled with steaming coffee was set on the table he was using. Naruto glanced at the mug, and then at Akane as she slid onto the bench beside him, a cup of coffee in her hands as well.
"I figured you could use a pick me up," Akane said. "You might have the insane stamina of someone who absorbed nearly all of my chakra, but you are still fundamentally human and get tired."
"Thank you." Naruto raised the mug to his lips and took a sip. It was bitter, but he tried to ignore that. He really did need the caffeine.
"Have you figured out any countermeasures for the jutsu yet?" asked Akane.
Naruto shook his head. "Not yet. I'm currently pouring over the information so I can figure out how it works."
"Hmm…" Akane held her mug in both hands as though using the heat it emitted to keep herself warm. She took a slow sip, set the mug on the table, but still kept her hands on it. "And what have you discovered so far?"
"Just the basics." Naruto turned back to the Scroll of Seals. "To perform this technique, the user must first acquire the DNA of the person they want to reincarnate. Once they have the DNA, they smear it on a special scroll, which is activated and the remains spread out in the form of a seal with a living sacrifice in the center. According to the scroll, the sacrifice's chakra signature is completely overridden with the chakra of the one being reincarnated. The technique is said to have two flaws: The reincarnated souls are nowhere near as powerful as they were while alive and only so many reincarnated people can be controlled at any time." Naruto paused after saying all this and leaned back a bit. "Of course, given that this technique is being used by Orochimaru, I suspect he's made improvements to it, so some of this information might be outdated."
"Summoning the dead." Akane sighed and shook her head. "You humans always love desecrating the natural laws of this world. I never did understand it."
"Me neither." Naruto gave her a helpless smile before he continued explaining the jutsu. "It says here that in order to control the actions of the one summoned, the user must implant a special talisman within the reincarnation's brain. The talisman's design determines how strong the control is. At its most basic level, the reincarnated souls retain their personality, giving them the freedom to approach a given task however they like so long as it broadly carries out the summoner's bidding. At its strongest, the reincarnated soul's personality is eliminated."
Naruto stopped speaking for a bit to take a few sips of the coffee Akane had given him. It was still warm, but the longer he let it sit there, the colder it would become. He had no desire to drink cold coffee.
"From what I've gathered, there are only three known methods to end the technique. The first is to remove the soul from the reincarnated body, the second is to have the summer end the technique, and the third is to have the reincarnated soul be affected in some emotional way that gives them closure."
Akane didn't speak for a moment. When Naruto looked at her face, he saw that she had narrowed her eyes as she stared at the scroll. Her brow was wrinkled slightly. This let him know that she was probably thinking about what he'd said.
"The first one sounds like the easiest method of stopping the jutsu," she said at last. "Anyone who casts this jutsu isn't going to cancel the technique, which means you'd have to use a genjutsu to trick them into canceling it. Likewise, giving emotional closure to one who is already dead is oftentimes impossible."
Naruto nodded. "I've determined that there are other ways to defeat the jutsu. One method is neutralizing the talisman controlling the reincarnated person with a counter seal. The problem with this is I won't know what seal is being used to control the person who was reincarnated, so I can't actually create a counter seal. Another method is to bind their bodies with a binding seal. This method might actually be the easiest, but it also won't release the jutsu."
Akane thought about his words for a little while. "I think you should go with the binding seal. Even if you can't release the jutsu right away, so long as they can't fight anymore, we can find a way to release them later."
"I suppose." Naruto nodded.
"Anyway…" Akane stood up, grabbed Naruto's hands, and pulled him to his feet. "It's been several hours since you started reading that scroll. I think it's about time you got some rest. You can continue creating a counter seal tomorrow."
"Right…"
Knowing that Akane would probably fight with him on this if he refused, Naruto packed up the Scroll of Seals and grabbed it before she dragged him off.
XoX
The next few days were filled with war meetings as Konoha rushed to gather their forces and prepare for combat. Naruto, whose only job this time was to create a means of countering the four Hokages and Sakumo Hatake, played no real role in this meetings. However, as one of the strongest ninja in the village, he still had to be there. He generally sat in the back and listened.
"I've received a message from Gara," Temari said to the gathered group. "He is currently in the process of gathering his forces. He said he'll be able to send an army of 5,000 ninja to supplement our forces."
The meetings were still taking place in the Operations Center, but the table had been removed to make way for several chairs. Given how long these meetings lasted, Kakashi had decided it was better if everyone was sitting. The map had been pinned to the wall where everyone could see it.
"If we combine Suna's forces with ours, we have 10,000 ninja in total." Shikaku shook his head. "That isn't a lot compared to the 50,000 of our enemy."
"I am aware of that, but it's all he can send." Temari shrugged. "Our forces only total about 6,000 to begin with, not including genin. However, we can't send genin, and we need at least enough ninja to protect our village in the event of a sneak attack."
"True." Kakashi agreed with Temari's reasoning before turning to Darui. "Has there been any word from Kumo?"
Darui scratched his head with an expression that was distinctly uncomfortable. "The Raikage sends his apologies, but he won't be able to send reinforcements right away. It seems a second army of those White Men have touched down in Kaminari no Kuni. They number about 20,000. The Raikage has gathered an army to confront them."
This grim news caused those present within the meeting to look bleak. Naruto, who sat behind everyone as he watched the proceedings, crossed his arms and frowned.
"I'm guessing Orochimaru sent this army to keep Kumo from interfering, or maybe even to destroy Kumo outright." Shikaku rubbed his chin in thought. "Are there any resurrected ninja leading the army in Kaminari no Kuni?"
"I'm not sure." Darui shrugged. "The Raikage didn't give me that many details, so I only know the estimated size of the army."
That wasn't good news, but it wasn't like there was anything they could do about it now. They would just have to let Kumo handle that army. Since there wasn't much they could do on this front, the group switched from discussing Kumo's involvement in the matter to the army currently marching through Konoha.
"We've had several Anbu tracking the army for the last few days," Shikaku began. "They've had to keep their distance due to the presence of the five ninja leading them. However, we have determined that their speed isn't much faster than when they were moving through Tetsu no Kuni. Our initial estimation that it would take them two weeks to reach Konoha was off by a week. It will probably take them three weeks."
"So our time to prepare was extended by a bit." Kakashi tilted his head. "However, this could also be a trap to make us believe we have more time than we really do. Let's get our preparations done within the next two days and march out to meet them. Temari, how long will it take Gara to bring his forces over?"
Temari needed a moment to respond. "Given the size of the forces he is bringing and how they have to cross the desert, I'd say it will take a week to reach Konoha."
"We want to be out of here before then." Kakashi grew silent, then nodded. "If you can, tell Gara to meet at our battle encampment. We're going to create a line of defense near the Nichibotsu Temple."
"I'll certainly let Gara know to meet us there," Temari said.
The conversation continued. Kakashi's idea was that Konoha would entrench themselves near the Nichibotsu Temple and engage the enemy in a defensive war. Their goal was not to win but to stall for time. Meanwhile, he wanted to have Gara's forces curve around the enemy forces and attack from the rear.
"During the time where we're fighting defensively, Naruto, I want you and Akane to engage the five reincarnated shinobi and defeat them," Kakashi instructed. "Have you come up with a method to counter to the Edo Tensei?"
"I have," Naruto said. "I've created several methods to defeat the jutsu, though some are more effective than others. That said, I believe Akane and I can defeat them."
"Good." Kakashi nodded.
After Naruto expressed his confidence in being able to beat the Edo Tensei, Shikaku decided it was time to bring up another issue. "Even if we defeat this army, that still leaves us with Orochimaru. We do not know where he is right now, and until we can take care of him, the problem he represents will continue to persist."
"I know," Kakashi said. "That's why I plan on having Anko take charge of a team of Anbu to locate Orochimaru. We don't know exactly where he is right now, but we do know that he is likely somewhere in Tetsu no Kuni since that is where the army came from. I plan on using Anko's Ten no Juin to have her locate him."
Matters were quickly coming to a head. It was decided by Kakashi that after Naruto and Akane defeated the five reincarnated ninja, their goal was to meet with Anko, who would hopefully have Orochimaru's location determined. They would be in charge of defeating him.
"Just leave it to us," Naruto said as the meeting came to a close.
XoX
Kakashi was sitting in the Hokage's office after the meeting had ended when Shikaku entered through the door. The man stopped in front of him. While he maintained a respectful disposition, Kakashi could already sense some displeasure in the man.
"What is wrong?" asked Kakashi.
"Are you really sure it's a good idea to have Naruto face Orochimaru?" asked Shikaku. "I don't want to say I have no faith in his talent, but this is Orochimaru we are talking about. That man has the strength of a kage."
"You aren't the only one who is worried about Naruto." Kakashi sighed, then presented Shikaku with an eye-smile. "However, I also have faith in his ability to succeed. He isn't just some random ninja. Besides, he also has Akane with him."
"Just who is that girl?" asked Shikaku.
Studying Shikaku with his only visible eye, Kakashi decided that he should probably inform the man about Akane so there wouldn't be any surprises. As he told Shikaku about that woman's real identity, the man's eyes widened so much it looked like they would simply roll out of his sockets. By the time he finished, the Nara clan leader looked like he needed to sit down and have a drink.
"I see." Shikaku took in a deep breath. "If what you said is true, then maybe they do have a chance."
Kakashi gave the man his famous eye smile. "I have faith in Naruto. I'm sure you've noticed it, but Naruto is the kind of person who others can't help but put their faith in. He is his father's son."
"That is true," Shikaku admitted. "In that case, I'll leave this matter to them. If you'll excuse me."
As Shikaku left the office, Kakashi eyed the pile of paperwork sitting on the desk. With the war approaching, he had even more papers that needed to be signed and sorted. His shoulders slumped. He couldn't wait for Tsunade to wake up so he could foist this job back on her.
Being Hokage kind of sucked.
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット