章節 30: An Abrupt Ending
-Binin Zana, Wakanda-
-January 29, 2007, 2030h local-
"I still can't believe this is the real Wakanda." Natasha said in awe while looking outside the window of the waiting room they are assigned in.
The moment the rear doors of the Royal Talon Fighter landed, a welcoming party greeted them, consisting of the Wakandan royal family and two groups of guards. One group looks similar to Okoye and another group that wears the same clothes as W'Kabi.
A few words of greetings and subtle threats, and they were 'escorted' into a room. Natasha thinks that the only reason they aren't attacked was that they brought them Klaue and Naruto's presence.
"Oh yeah. This place is like Singapore on steroids..." Naruto said beside her. "I just think of it as an advanced hidden village."
"Hidden Village? What's that? Ninja training grounds." Natasha asked, adding the last part as a joke.
"Yeah, basically." Naruto answered in a straight-laced voice.
Natasha immediately faced Naruto, cupped his face, and turned his face towards him. The unique date and the kiss must have been getting to her since she was never this personal or touchy. Naruto got a little surprised at the spontaneity of Natasha, but he just rolled with it.
"Are you telling me there are still Hidden Villages who trains Ninjas?" Natasha asked, emphasizing some of the words.
"Here? Currently?" Naruto quietly asked, just to make sure of his answer that would make it a partial truth. Natasha just stared with a slight admonishment, urging him to just answer the damn question. "No. No. There are no more hidden villages here. Some schools still teach ninjato, but they're not hidden or something." He answered a little flustered.
"What do you mean, 'no more'?" She continued her questioning while narrowing her eyes.
"Damn. She caught that..." Naruto whispered to himself, but Natasha caught it, and she shook him to recapture his focus. When Naruto faced Natasha back, he saw her slightly pissed off face. "I kinda grew up in a hidden village." He mumbled.
"You mean there's a whole village that can do what you do!?" Natasha asked in a slight panic tone. A whole village that can destroy entire armies would change the world order.
"Well, there are 31 villages, but not everyone can do exactly what I can do. I'm pretty special if I say so myself..." Naruto absent-mindedly answered. He would have continued if Chomei's shout about shutting the fuck up. "But don't worry! I'm the only one here, like ever! I'm sure no one would show up!"
Natasha should be catatonic at this point, but the continued left and right of surprises from Naruto heightened her tolerance. She took a deep calming breath and stared deep into Naruto's blue eyes.
"Is this a third date kind of question?" Natasha asked, trying to work out the best solution for the situation. It would be really crappy if the potential relationship ended before it started.
"Yes. Definitely Yes." Naruto answered quickly, happy that Natasha gave him an out.
"Okay. But don't think I'll forget about this." Natasha said in a serious tone.
"Just know that I never deliberately lied to you..." Naruto said in a serious tone. "Well, except for the first time. But to be fair, you lied to me too. So mmm mmm." He continued in a joking tone, but Natasha stopped him by placing a finger on his lips.
"Shh. Shhh. Just quit while you're ahead." Natasha advised.
Natasha pulled Naruto on the couch and chatted about stupid things. Topics that would take her mind off pressing concerns. Like Coulson's favorite car Lola or Naruto winning eating competitions. The two continued the easy-going conversation until they heard a knock on the door. Okoye opened the door and walked in, followed by T'Challa.
"My friend. Sorry for the delay. Their deliberation took quite a while..." T'Challa apologized. What was left unsaid was that the deliberation is about them, whether or not they should be killed on the soot for knowing about Wakanda or some other solution to keep their secret. In the end, T'Challa's suggestion was agreed upon by everyone. "Baba and the council are ready to meet you now." He said.
Natasha and Naruto stood up and fixed their clothes. They then walked towards T'Challa, who nodded at them walked out of the room. When all of them are out, Okoye closed the room and followed behind them.
"No one expects you to know the customs. Just get in and stand straight. You're not going to meet in the ceremonial chamber but in a meeting room." T'Challa advised the both of them.
"Don't worry! I got this!" Naruto declared in a loud voice.
"That's what I'm afraid of." T'Challa replied with a shake of his head. Already thinking about the inevitable social catastrophe Naruto would cause.
The group walked in silence across curving and winding hallways, all of which are either covered in precious metals or decorated with exquisite art pieces. After a few minutes of walking, they finally saw a pair of double doors guarded by a platoon of Dora Milaje.
When they got close, T'Challa and Okoye continued forward and entered the room while a pair of Dora Milaje closest to the door stop Natasha and Naruto.
"Name. Title. Affiliation." The Dora Milaje on the right asked. Naruto immediately got the reason why they we're asked and said,
"Naruto Uzumaki. Jinchuuriki, The Child of Prophecy, and The Nine-Tails..." Naruto answered. He saw Natasha give him a questioning look by the corner of his eye, and he tapped her arm three times, indicating that it's still a third date question. "I have no affiliation but towards myself and family."
"Natalia Alianovna Romanoff. The Black Widow. Current affiliation: SHIELD." Natasha told the Dora Milaje.
The two warrior-women escorted them inside the room, flanking them on both sides. As soon as they step inside the room, their escorts announced them to the people inside the room by repeating what they said outside the door.
Inside the lavish meeting room is a semi-circular table, decorated with a emboss of a panther, were five chairs on the rounded side and two chairs are on the flat side. Seated on the five chairs are what presumed to be the elders and the king of Wakanda. Each of them is wearing different designs and colors, as well as their own pair of guards behind them. T'Challa and Okoye stand just behind the King, indicating they are his guards.
One by one, the guards of the elders introduce them according to their age.
"Elder of the River Tribe, D'Kotu." The man is wearing a green suit, with each piece having a different shade. He also has a green plate inserted in his lower lip and his ear lobes.
"Elder of the Mining Tribe, Charanka." The woman is wearing a red dress and an orange coat. She has braided hair and an assortment of decorative beads.
"Elder of the Border Tribe, M'Kathu." The man is wearing a blue hooded shirt and cape. His face is covered by bumps, making it look like the skin of a crocodile.
"Elder of the Merchant Tribe, Sarati." The older woman is wearing a purple dress, cape, and turban. She's also wearing large gold earrings.
"Elder of the Golden Tribe and King of Wakanda, T'Chaka." The older man is wearing a black long sleeve top and bottom with gold trims.
"Guests. Please sit." T'Chaka said while gesturing to the two chairs at the flat side of the table.
"Always tell the truth when you're sitting down." Naruto whispered to Natasha, which she nodded subtly to confirm that she heard his advice. The chairs must be connected to a lie detector that only the people on the other side of the table could see. It must be more advance than every lie detector she experienced, basing it on the technological capability of Wakanda.
"Before we get on to business, I would like to give my gratitude for capturing Klaue. A persistent stain on our history..." The king said with a small bow, followed by everyone else in the room. The people of the border tribe bowed noticeably deeper. T'Chaka raised from his bow. "First of all, jinchuuriki, child of prophecy, and Nine-Tails. Quite a peculiar set of titles you have. Would you mind explaining this for us?"
"Nope. I don't want to explain it."
Naruto's immediate answer shocked everyone except T'Challa, Okoye, and Natasha. His rude response drew disgruntled murmurs from everyone in the room. Their escorts are tensing their body to prepare to strike them the moment their King ordered them.
"Haha. My son warned me about you, but I guess you need to see to believe..." The king mused with a chuckle. "Now. Let's continue to business. Naruto, the first thing I need to know is how did you get clued into the secret of Wakanda."
"Oh. That's an easy one to answer. You guys are just too obvious..." Naruto answered with a shrug. T'Chaka gestured him to continue. "Three things, really. The most obvious for everyone is your isolationist policy."
"It is to prevent outsiders from getting in the country." M'Kathu interjected.
"Well yeah. But at the image you're country is showing, you should be welcoming trade if not people. What impoverished nation wouldn't want to develop, think about it..." Naruto explained. "The next thing is the people's movement. The rotation of people to and from the villages is just to regular. You can set your calendar on it. I mean, who the hell would go towards the middle of nowhere. Don't even get me started on the merchant caravans." Naruto ranted.
Sarati perked up and asked the question about their tribe.
"What about our caravans?"
Naruto gave her an 'are you serious' look and answered.
"The fastest way from village A and village B is a straight line correct?" Naruto asked everyone in the room which most nodded in affirmation. "Then why do your caravans move towards the jungle when the next destination is just the next village over."
The merchant tribe elder almost had to drop her head onto the table with how everyone overlooked a simple detail. She would have to correct that mistake immediately.
"The last one that I think is the most obvious detail that every country should have caught is that the Royal Family is rarely where they should be." Naruto sagely explained.
"What do you mean, not where we should be? We are always here, protecting and leading Wakanda." T'Chaka questioned.
"Exactly! You are here. Not in, I don't know, maybe your 'official' residence outside Binin Bashega?" Naruto asked sarcastically. T'Chaka dropped his head onto his palm. It looks like a lot of corrections should be made to maintain their secret. "You're not at the Royal Palace 99% of the time. Why would anyone believe that's your residence."
"I see. It looks like we would need to fix a lot of our lapses. We thank you for your help." T'Chaka graciously declared while feeling a little stupid.
"Don't be too hard on yourselves. Your War Dogs are doing an excellent job keeping your secret..." Naruto placated their emotions, but he didn't notice their slightly panicked expression. The War Dogs are Wakanda's spies and secret police. They serve to protect Wakanda's interest, like keeping their secret and gathering information on potential enemies. "Well, except for one. But you took care of that." he finished the last part while gesturing towards T'Chaka.
"How di you know about that? Only two people know what happened that night." T'Chaka asked threateningly.
"Three actually. His son knows, I think. I'm not really sure..." Naruto nonchalantly answered. T'Chaka paled at the thought. His brother's son should be left in the dark about Wakanda, but now that he knows, another prince can fight for the throne. "As for how I know, when I found out about the Black Panther, I just looked for deaths that could be linked back to the Panther..." He said while placing his hands inside his jacket and retrieved a large case file. He waved it in the air and said, "Lo and behold, I found one in Oakland..." He then placed it on the table to be examined for later. Naruto suddenly tensed, which everyone in the room noticed, especially the elders, since they can see Naruto's vitals. "I hate to be that guy, but can we move things along? An emergency just came up, and I think I could use one of the boons I'm going to ask for."
Natasha quickly became concerned since Naruto rarely if ever show signs of panic.
"What happened?" She quietly asked, but almost everyone in the room heard the question.
"Laura's in labor. I think the baby is breached. Clint is panicking..." Naruto quickly answered. He then faced T'Chaka and said, "I'm sorry for how this meeting progressed, but as I said, there's an emergency."
T'Chaka wanted to push his questioning more, but his son's advise echoed in his mind.
"Never antagonize Naruto. He's a walking calamity. We want him on our side. It's not a sentiment due to our friendship. It's a request from a future king."
"Ok. Let me hear your request." T'Chaka said, earning various reactions from everyone in the room.
"I have three. First is for the approval of establishing a restaurant in Binin Zana, but that could be discussed for later since I know you would want some answers..." Naruto said, earning questioning gazes from everyone. "Second one is for a small lump of pure vibranium, maybe 3 inches in diameter, that I would like to test. Supervised, of course. That also could be done for later..." That's a more regular request, but why would he only want to test it and not take it. "The last thing is something I would like to request right now. I want a pair of War Dog Kimoyo beads. You can even place a selective surveillance bead in our beads to make sure we won't tell anyone about Wakanda." He finished his quick rundown of request.
The last part is convenient for them since T'Challa's suggestion is to give them a single surveillance Kimoyo bead. With Naruto requesting the Kimoyo beads himself, they don't need to 'request' it on them.
T'Chaka nodded towards a pair of Dora Milaje by the side of the door. They stood in attention and walked out of the door to pick up the Kimoyo beads. After a few minutes, the pair returned and presented it to Natasha and Naruto.
"Before you wear them, let me warn you. War Dogs Kimoyo beads are the most advanced version we have. It is also the most deadly. The moment you wear them, only a member of the Tribal Council could remove them. Force removal would lead to the dematerialization of a 5m area. Telling someone about the secrets of Wakanda to someone not wearing Kimoyo beads would also activate the dematerialization. Wear it at your own risk..." T'Chaka informed the both of them. Natasha would have declined the obviously dangerous beads, but Naruto's comforting hand urged her to wear it. "A condition for both of you for having these privilege is for both of you to return in two days."
Naruto took the bead without hesitation and wore it. Natasha hesitated a bit, but Laura's condition pushed her to wear it quickly. She thought about how their date is becoming more out of hand. How the hell can a breakfast turn into her strapping a bomb to her wrist?
"I'll cook for everyone when we come back so you can taste what would be served in my restaurant." Naruto said quickly before grabbing Natasha's hand and disappearing. On Naruto's chair is a three-pronged knife with some kind of writing.
Somehow, the sound of crickets could be heard inside the room. T'Chaka slumped on his chair.
"I'm too old for this crud." The king said.
"I'm sorry, Baba." T'Challa apologized while rubbing his head. He recognizes the fact that the situation is partially his fault.
"Oh, right. He's your friend. Would he really return willingly?"
"He left that knife, didn't he?"
"What's does it have to do with anything?"
"According to what I observed, he can travel anywhere there's that knife of his." T'Challa answered his father's question.
Okoye handed over to T'Chaka the case file Naruto left behind. He looks at it for a while, debating if he should reveal the secret he has been keeping from everyone. He called the attention of the already exhausted tribal elders due to the previous meeting and said,
"Before everyone leaves. Let me tell you something that happened in 1992. My brother, N'Jobu..."
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