Higara Hyuga:- Clan head of the Hyuga. Father to Hiashi and Hizashi
Fugaku Uchiha:- Clan head of the Uchiha and husband to Mikoto Uchiha
Jiraiya:- The Gallant!
Orochimaru:- Snake summoner.
Tsunade:- One of the Sannin and Chief Medic of Konoha. Recovering mentally.
Minato Namikaze:- Aspirant for the title of Hokage. Student to Jiraiya. Jonin of Konoha
Kushina Uzumaki:- Jonin of Konoha and the Jinchuriki of the Ninetails. Girlfriend to Minato
Hiruzen Sarutobi:- The third Hokage.
Koharu Utatane:- Advisor to Hiruzen due to being a former teammate.
Homura Mitokado:- Advisor to Hiruzen due to being a former teammate.
Danzo Shimura:- Advisor to Hiruzen due to being a former teammate. Runs ANBU, and ROOT.
Ei the Raikage:- The third Raikage, father to Ei the Fourth.
Ei the Fourth:- Jonin of Kumo. Partner to Killer Bee
Killer Bee:- Partner to Ei the Fourth. Chunin of Kumo.
Misaka:- Secretary to the Raikage. Jonin of Kumo
Onoki:- Tsuchikage of Iwagakure
Hito:- Daimyo of the Land of Fire
Chiyo:- Leader of the Puppetry Brigade. Jonin of Suna Sister to Ebizo
Ebizo:- Jonin of Suna. Brother to Chiyo,
Sasori:- Jonin of Suna, ANBU, and member of the Puppetry Brigade.
[hr][/hr]
Minato watched as the Hyuga cohort of Jonin that had been invited to the meeting of top Jonin rose with all the righteous indignation that Minato had expected.
He’d only been aware of the situation a scant hour earlier than everyone else, but he’d still seen this reaction coming when he was told that Lord Third planned to share the information with the Jonin and announce that the Third Shinobi War had as good as started.
Finally!
With this, Minato would be able to prove himself and elevate his name to the forefront of people’s minds!
It was terrible that it was happening, but Minato knew that in his current position, there was nothing he could do to prevent it. So it was best he changed that by taking that hat.
“— must be a response for this Lord Hokage!” roared a Hyuga with grey hair at his temples.
Minato leaned back. He’d predicted this from the current Hyuga clan head. The next question would, of course be—
“Is it possible that he has stolen any eyes?” Koharu demanded, as the Hokage remained perfectly silent.
A power play, Minato mused, having his former teammate speak up. As a student of Jiraiya, Minato had many opportunities to spend time near the Hokage, and he’d taken to observing and studying how he controlled a room, seemingly without doing much at all.
Higara Hyuga spluttered. “Such a question! Our seal work is unmatched!”
Kushina raised her head and coughed pointedly, but the man ignored her even as others chuckled.
“Fucking pompous, sexist asshole!” Kushnia muttered in a far-too-loud whisper.
Minato held back a grimace as a few people shot her looks. Most of the kunoichi were in agreement with her, but others were merely annoyed she’d spoken up at all.
“Is it something that vulgarity is going to fix?” Minato whispered in a much more controlled fashion.
“Nah, but you better believe it that I felt better for saying it!” Kushina replied.
Jiraiya snorted and rose to his formidable height. “Sensei, while he has never demonstrated an aptitude with seals, we should remember that this is Matsu Uzumaki. A lapse in caution here might mean we’re in for a world of hurt later on.”
“Well spoken, my student,” the Hokage said, speaking up for the first time with a kindly smile. “Yes, my student is correct. It is never wise to underestimate an Uzumaki.” He inclined his head to Kushina, who preened at the acknowledgement.
“Then we must answer this threat! Deploy us to the Eastern front where the fighting will be against Kiri! We Hyuga will cleanse this stain!” Higara stated.
Minato held back a sigh even as others shook their heads.
Homura stepped slightly forward from his position next to Koharu. “That is not going to happen. We have been reviewing mission logs for Hyuga heavy teams that took place in the eastern continents. We have noticed a startling uptick in mission failures with injury or fatalities being reported more and more.” Homrua shook his head. “It is our understanding that Mist shinobi have created something of an anti-byakugan jutsu.”
Koharu shifted, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with her former teammate turned advisor.
“For that reason, Hyuga shinobi will be best served by being deployed to the west, or only on specific missions against Kumo.”
From behind the two more outspoken advisors, another voice spoke up. “Or, failing that, you can be held in reserve. Perhaps even be employed alongside the Uchiha in policing the Village in the coming days.”
From a shadow, Elder Danzo loomed, his singular eye glinting out like polished onyx.
Minato’s gaze darted to the Hokage, who had light spilling across him. They had to know that this would—
“That is an outrage! The policing of the Village is a duty that has been assigned to the Uchiha by the Second Hokage himself!” declared Fugaku, shooting to his feet to make his point. “This is not something even you can change, Hiruzen!”
People shifted at the disrespect being thrown about while the man himself held his tongue.
Danzo, on the other hand, continued to observe Fugaku. “The honourable Second Hokage was also fluid in much of his work. He would understand the need to adapt to account for new threats. Also, the village has grown.”
“And the Uchicha have not faltered! We are the elite of the elite who see to the safety of Konoha! I will not have it implied that we have failed!” growled Fugaku.
“Soooo… ramen after this is done?” Kushina whispered, causing Minato to shoot her a look, only for her to sigh. “Alright! Alright! I won’t distract you.” Her words said one thing while her smile said another as she winked and unzipped her flak jacket.
Jiraiya glanced over at her and giggled, causing the zipper to shoot back up.
Minato shot his sensei a thankful nod even as the larger man clicked his tongue in disappointment and put away his notepad and brush.
Looking at the situation, he found the Hokage locked into a staring contest with Fugaku, which was certainly a statement in itself as Fugaku was one of the few Uchiha to have a full three-tomoe sharingan.
To meet it so openly… was almost a challenge in itself.
But he wasn’t known as the Second God of shinobi for no reason.
It was a sign of strength.
Where others looked away, he looked straight into the swirling red eye without fear.
Minato knew he’d have to face such a challenge one day, and he’d need his own answer.
The Hokage tapped the table, nodding in acknowledgement to Fugaku and thus breaking their stare with a small display of humility.
“Yes, we will not be shifting the Uchiha. Their role within Konoha is important, as Fugaku has stated. There will, however, need to be a response for what has occurred. Kiri has not been shy in announcing this to the world, and for us to sit back and do nothing would be a terrible sign of weakness.”
Raising a hand, the Hokage gestured.
“Sakumo Hatake,” he declared, causing another tall white-haired man to rise from among the gathered clan heads and Jonin of Konoha. “I will be burdening you with command of the Eastern Front against Kiri. I have no doubt that you will rise to the challenge, for your will of fire is one many could aspire to,” he said formally.
Minato didn’t react beyond giving a small bow of his head along with most others as Sakumo bowed his own towards the Hokage as he accepted the role.
“I will strive to make sure this war is ended with as many of our own coming home as possible, Lord Third.”
Mianto lifted his head, watching for the reactions as some people's faces tightened while others shook their heads. Yet more, however, nodded at this sentiment.
Minato made note of who had reacted and, more importantly, who had kept their faces perfectly neutral.
The Hokage turned to his other student. “Orochimaru, I will nee—”
It was at this moment that the doors to the meeting hall were banged on in a controlled pattern that announced a priority messenger. Despite this, several shinobi flinched or shifted into reactionary positions.
It was only when the messenger was admitted that they partially relaxed.
The man was tall and sweat-streaked.
Straight away, that was an ominous sign.
“News from Hot Water!” the man declared as he marched forward and laid a scroll before the Hokage who took it up quickly and began to read. His advisors moved behind him to read over his shoulder.
Their eyes all tightened.
Jiraiya shifted, curiosity sparking in his eyes. “What’s happened there?” he muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Could be a lot of things sensei,” Minato replied. “Hopefully, your teacher will let us know soon enough.”
The four-man group briefly shared looks that spoke volumes. The Hokage shook his head at something Danzo muttered, only to wave his former teammates away.
“It would seem that Kiri has not just started the war, but they have also struck the first blow!”
That caused the room to be filled with the sound of people sucking in breaths.
“From our messenger hawks, we have intel that is at least a day old that two cities upon the coastline of Hot Water have been utterly ransacked. The only lead we have at this point is a group of monks who have, with soft interrogation, admitted that Matsu Uzumaki was the mastermind of this… ransacking.”
“What’d he take?” growled the Inuzuka clan head.
The Hokage’s lips twitched. “It would be quicker to tell you what he did not take.”
That caused a small shift, as while it sounded like a joke, his face and tone told another story.
“What of the people?” Kushina asked, licking her lips. “How many perished due to—”
“As far as we can tell at this stage? Roughly forty Samurai and various shinobi. There were also signs of fighting with lightning jutsu discovered in the second city, which might be a good sign, as it most likely means Kiri and Kumo are not joined in alliance as we feared.”
Before anyone could ask further questions, the Hokage raised a hand for silence.
None spoke.
“He has also abducted the entire civilian population of these cities. He was last seen loading them onto various seafaring vessels and transporting them to some, as yet unknown, location.”
“What the hell? That has to be thousands of people!” declared a Yamanaka.
“Tens of thousands,” murmured a Nara as he and his fellows fell into a huddle while watching the Hokage closely for any further intel.
They looked like they wanted to start analysing this situation as quickly as possible but were waiting on as much data as they could get.
“We suspect that the third and final city upon the eastern coastline will have a similar… ransacking from Matsu,” intoned the Hokage.
“That’s a chance for us then!” declared someone. “Load the final city up with infiltrators and spies! They can slip more and more intel to us!”
“Matsu wouldn’t fall for that! They’d have to be extremely weak with underdeveloped chakra coils for that to have a shot at working!” argued another.
“Doesn’t mean it can’t be done!” replied the first.
Peace, peace. We will not be risking any of our infiltration specialists at this point. The reason that there has not been any civilian injuries or fatalities is that Matsu is reported to have an S ranked Kinjutsu illusion to take control of the population. The monks who heard the jutsu call it the ‘Pied Piper jutsu.”
The Hokage raised a single finger. “This jutsu has apparently made the population extremely compliant with Matsu, and while they could break the illusion, it was quickly reapplied.”
“Interesting that he didn’t eliminate all witnesses,” murmured one of the Nara, who seemed unable to stop himself from commenting. He twitched his head and ducked a bow towards the Hokage who continued on as if he hadn’t been interrupted.
“With this, Matsu was able to land, perform the jutsu, fight with various parties, and then withdraw in good order with the population of two cities along with the various resources found in said cities.”
“Wait… Matsu alone did this? Not with an army of Kiri nin? "You're telling me he strolled in on his own?” asked a Jonin.
“It would appear that way from the information we have,” the Hokage announced. “For that purpose, Matsu Uzumaki of Kirigakure will be listed as an S rank shinobi going forward, as it is clear he has been learning under Gengetsu. Anyone not confident in their ability to deal with illusions should therefore flee him on sight!”
That caused people to fall silent.
Most notably, none disputed the claim.
It was bad enough that Gengetsu had successfully slain Mu.
For him to have taken a student?
And of all people it had to be Matsu Uzumaki?
Minato chewed his lip in thought.
He’d sometimes wondered who among the other shinobi Villages would stand across from him as a rival Kage. He knew that it was unlikely that there would be large changes to many of the seats, but if there were to be any… who would take up the mantle for the various Villages?
He now had a very good idea of who it would be should Gengetsu ever step down.
"Could Sumire Hyuga be a captive against her will? Or better? Someone we could ply for intel on one of our deadliest foes?" asked a Nara.
Higara bristled and opened his mouth only to shut it quickly.
Minato raised an eyebrow as his lips quirked upwards.
Ah, the Hyuga were stuck here. What could they claim? That their vaunted bloodline had fallen to an illusion, or that Sumire had gone willingly with Matsu? Both arguments could be made without letting the Hyuga remain pure.
"Trickery... may have been used," Higara eventually conceded through gritted teeth.
Jiraiya sighed. "Like they were ever going to let her live. Even if she was under duress, she's an example to others, a blemish on their reputation."
Minato gave his sensei a quick look, only for the other man not to look at him. Instead, he stared into the distance, lost in thought.
“Kukukuku!” chuckled a sibilant tone, causing several people to shudder.
The room at large turned their gaze towards Orochimaru who was leaning against a wall with a thoroughly amused look on his face.
“Such a fascinating ascension for the young Uzumaki! I must say, his initial strike was a wonderful blow to Yunigakure. They will have to respond, but no matter what happens, they are now effectively crippled.”
That caused Minato to frown. It was only a few civilians and a cadre of shinobi at this point, surely their losses weren’t that dire.
“Taxation on shipping, their daimyo’s response… the interruption to the trade network…” mumbled the twitchy Nara.
Minato’s mind caught on to what the analyst was saying and could see several other aspects where it could be applied. Faith in their Village would be at an all-time low.
“Can’t they just mount a rescue?” Kushina asked.
“Of that many civilians? No,” Orochimaru claimed with a smile still in place. “Matsu has taken what is effectively hostages, a labour force and potentially more.”
“Tch, typical Orochimaru,” Jiraiya grunted quietly to Minato.
Minato glanced at his sensei only for the man to not elaborate.
“We need to strike now,” proclaimed Orochimaru. “Lead a strike force against Matsu. Whatever he has planned, it will be in the early stages. If we act decisively, we will expose him!”
“What of the civilians?” asked someone.
Orochimaru shook his head. “Alas, they will be collateral of the battle.” For a moment, his eyes darted towards Danzo, and Minato wondered what that look meant.
Thankfully he had Jiraiya to unravel the hidden meaning.
“Shit, he thinks it’s a good thing for the civilians to be lost. It would weaken Hot Water and make them reliant on us.”
“That’s horrifying!” Kushina gasped, causing several people to glance at her and Minato to put a hand on her arm to quieten her down. Rather than relax, she bristled. “How can he—”
“It’s not something sensei will agree with,” Jiraiya stated firmly, his gaze turning to the Hokage.
“Your suggestions are noted, Orochimaru, but foremost we have the issue of not knowing where Matsu’s base of operations is located. That will change, no doubt, in the coming days, as hiding so many thousands of people is a tall ask, even for a master of illusions. We have assets we can ply for intel on this. There is not a dire need, as Matsu may have bitten off more than he can chew. The logistics of a city are no minor feat.”
The Hokage nodded. “We have time.”
And like that people’s spines straightened and there was a spark in people’s eyes where before they had darkened.
Minato nodded. That was well done.
The Nara contingent all nodded along at this, with only one of them looking pensive.
The Hokage smiled. “Also, Sakumo is in charge of the eastern front. You will, however, be working closely with him, Orochimaru, as I wish for you to take command of the north-eastern front line. Kumo will no doubt be looking to exploit this weakness. You are to collect your forces and depart quickly to establish bases within Hot Water and other nations for the coming fight.”
Orochimaru gave a small tilt of his head, which could charitably be considered a concession from the pale man.
“For the western front lines I shall be assigning Danzo Shimura to Rain. We are not at war with them, but we will still be monitoring this area closely.”
Jiraiya shifted at this, and Minato watched carefully. He wanted to go back there, but why?
A flash of annoyance appeared in his chest only to be smothered. He was not a child or a mere Genin anymore. He did not need his sensei hanging over him.
Other names were listed off for the other expected battlelines in Grass, Waterfall, and even potentially the Land of Rivers.
None of them were Jiraiya. Minato shifted. Was this a sign of disfavour from the Hokage?
That… could be an issue. Sensei had mentioned that it had cost him a few favours to get Mintao access to the Hirashin. Was this the result?
“I have a question,” declared a powerful voice.
The room once more fell silent as eyes swept to the centre, where Tsunade was standing tall with her arms crossed underneath her chest. For such a short woman, she still commanded the room.
“Yes, Tsunade?” asked the Hokage with a warm smile.
“Have we formally declared war?” she asked.
That caused confused murmurs to break out, but Tsunade kept her gaze locked on her sensei.
“Tch! Trust a woman that couldn’t stomach the last war and ran away to try and trip us up now!” sneered Higara Hyuga as he rose to glare at Tsunade.
For a long moment, nothing happened.
Then, with a flicker of chakra and a deafening boom, Tsunade moved.
She blitzed across the room in a display of speed that had Minato flinching in surprise.
When she reappeared, she did so with her fist touching Higara’s diaphragm.
“Mind your tongue. I fought and bled and lost much in the second shinobi war! It is not for you to question me Hyuga! I am Tsunade Senju, Chief of the Medic, Jonin of Konoha, and one of the Sannin!”
Her glare caused the people around Higara to shift away from him.
Everyone knew from reputation that while a punch was death from Tsunade, a flick of her finger could still break bones and send a man soaring.
Higara’s jaw tightened even as his eyes dipped to the fist that was threatening him.
Another decided to add themselves to the standoff. “It is rather bold of you to question a Senju on their contributions,” declared Fugaku.
Minato hummed. It would seem that Fugaku wanted to remind people that the Senju-Uchiha alliance had formed the Village.
Higara swallowed and bowed his head. “I misspoke; you will have to forgive me.”
“You’ll find I don’t have to do anything,” retorted Tsunade as she stepped back, her glare still fixed upon Higara. “And you interrupted me before I could remind everyone that full mobilisations for war require that we inform the Daimyo, lest we break terms with him.”
“We don’t need his approval. Although it would be nice to have, it is still about making sure that we don’t create tensions with our allies,” Tsunade announced as she took another step back and turned her gaze to the Hokage.
“You are correct. A messenger will be dispatched post haste,” he declared. “But please, no more violence from you, Tsunade. Tensions need not develop between the Hyuga and Senju. We are already facing some hard times ahead,” he said, circling the conversation back.
He laced his fingers. “I understand the Hyuga’s position and will keep to my earlier judgement about keeping your clan away from the east as much as possible; however, there must be a response. We have some assets within Kirigakure that can be activated.
“With this, a strike team will slip into Kiri to cause as much damage as possible. They will also seek to either rescue or neutralise Sumire Hyuga.”
“Thank you, Lord Hokage, for seeing wisdom on this point,” declared Higara.
The Hokage observed Higara for a long moment, only for his eyes to be raised and drift to Tsunade in a pointed look.
Higara pretended to not see the implied message, causing a tightening of the eyes from the Hokage.
Minato drummed his fingers and glanced around as others shifted at this perceived sleight. Yes, studying Hiruzen Sarutobi’s methods was critical. Minato had no doubt that without saying a word, the Hyuga would be facing hardships and shortcomings due to their pride overruling their sense.
It was a power built from knowing the people and being widely respected.
As the meeting started to wrap up, Minato held in a sigh. He was not senior enough to have his own command or, indeed, a strike force he could lead to protect or destroy some critical infrastructure.
This war would be crucial, however, in elevating his name to be on everyone’s lips.
They were already looking to Orochimaru and Sakumo, he needed to perform well.
“Heh, Tsunade’s such a boss,” Kushina giggled at his side.
Minato allowed his gaze to drift over to said woman. It was good fortune that while popular and crucial to Konoha’s well-being, Tsunade, as a Senju, actually would not be considered for the title of fourth Hokage.
It would reek of too much nepotism.
If she were to overcome that, she’d need to pull off a miracle, something she thankfully wasn’t likely to do in a loud enough manner with how she was being kept within Konoha.
“Shame you’re not being offered a front to command Jiraiya. It could have been fun!” Kushina said as she shot the tall man a grin.
“Eh, it’s overrated. I’d be a bad commander for a war front. It’s better I serve as a free shinobi." He adopted a smug look as he cupped his chin and adopted a suave-looking smile. “All the better to be the hero that people need, no? Arriving in the nick of time!”
Minato chuckled. “As long as you’re not too slow,” he offered, inwardly chuckling as he imagined what it would be like when he had the hiraishin fully operational. He just had to tweak it to make it more functional!
Then he’d be the one arriving in time to save the day!
Jiraiya huffed as he patted Minato on the head. "Alright, you two, make sure you look out for each other. And Minato, look out for Onoki when you’re in Grass.”
Minato frowned. His deployment hadn’t been announced yet. How did…
Jiraiya smirked and winked as he sauntered off to talk to Tsunade, something that apparently caused the woman to groan and shake her head at whatever he said.
Kushina nudged Minato. “Don’t be afraid to call for support if you need it. I’ll come,” she offered.
Minato gave her a winning smile. “Ah, from rescued to rescuer? How the times change.”
Kushina grumbled, but the reminder did bring a small blush to her face.
Deciding he needed to make the most of it, Minato nodded outside. “Want to go over some fuinjutsu over some ramen?"
With two, or even three, of Kushina’s great loves involved, she instantly lit up and nodded as she began to drag Minato away, causing him to smile.
His gaze slid to where the Hokage sat, being approached by groups of people for semi-private chats. The man noticed Minato’s look and graced Minato with a small nod and smile as Minato was dragged away by his girlfriend.
As they made their way to Ichiraku's, Minato had to wonder if other Villages were going through the same process as them right now.
[hr][/hr]
“Oh, oh baby oh! We got to go!♭” rhymed Killer Bee from where he sat off to the side of the room, creating an odd disparity in how the room usually felt.
Ei glowered at the much younger boy as he selected a set of weights.
“Heh, kid’s got some spark in him!” chuckled Ei’s father and the leader of Kumogakure.
Ei grunted as he curled the weight in his hand. “He’s got something. I’m still not sure if you laced something in my water when the trial for partners was put up. How the hell did a kid like that match me?”
The Raikage grinned. “You think I’d admit to such a thing? Heh! But the truth is actually neater. That brat did match you!”
Ei didn’t say anything to that as Killer Bee began to sing another line.
“Oh yeah! We’re on a tear! Comin' at you like a grizzly bear!” The kid tilted his head only to shake it and cross that last line out.
“He’s also been the best candidate for the eight-tailed ox we’ve ever had. No rejection from his body, and he has taken to the training better than any before him. Be mindful of him Ei, he’s smarter than he lets on and has strength to boot,” muttered the Raikage.
Ei nodded, knowing that his father wasn’t wrong. “I won’t. Despite his eccentricities, we’ve formed a close bond so far.”
“Good,” growled Ei the elder before he rolled his neck. “Now come put some more weight on this bar; I’m feeling buzzed and this ain’t doing shit for me!”
Ei did as his father suggested, slapping a fifty-kilogram plate on either side of the bar and watching as his old man began to bench press it.
“Misaka! You can read the report now!” barked the Raikage as he performed his reps.
Misaka, the secretary to the Raikage, nodded and stepped forward. “Kiri has struck a blow against Hot Water. There has been a great theft of the eastern cities for resources and people,” she recited.
Ei listened closely, his eyebrows growing higher the longer he did so.
While his body moved through his workout his mind processed what he was hearing.
“We’re being taunted by Gengetsu. He wants us to take a run at the Uzumaki,” Ei suggested.
The Raikage grunted in reply. “Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t off him. He’s a threat!”
“Hmph! Still, there’s an opening in Hot Water now. Konoha will be scrambling to cover for their allies. We can launch from Frost quickly enough,” Ei declared.
“Lightweights!” agreed the Raikage as his body began to tremble.
"We'll need to scour the Haran bay, as that’s Kir’s most likely launching point,” Ei mused.
“Lightweights!” repeated the Raikage as he completed his tenth set, only to toss the weight to the side with a loud bang.
“Bing, bok, bang, boom, y’all gonna get a room?” rhymed Bee from his position.
“It was cute at the start, but time for quiet now brat!” snapped Ei before turning his attention back to his weights and that of Misaka. “Anything else?”
“Long-range observation platforms have been noticing movement upon Haran island,” she declared.
Both Ei’s snorted. “Kiri,” they said in unison.
“We’ll have to contest them,” the Raikage growled as he rolled his shoulders. “I want you leading the charge into Hot Water, Ei; we need to get you some early victories while you have a new partner.”
Ei nodded, understanding that the win was both for his partnership and getting his name out there on people’s tongues.
As the son of the Raikage, he needed to show the way forward.
“We’ll be moving the island turtle further north, while it might not like the colder waters it is best that we don’t allow Kiri to discover our ace fallback and training facility.”
“Makes sense. What are we doing about Moon? They’ve fallen in with Kiri, no?” Ei asked.
“What do you make of that boy?” growled the Raikage as his gaze locked upon Ei.
A test?
Ei sniffed. “Moon isn’t brave enough to try anything, so they will lock themselves down and focus on internal missions for the duration of the war. Destroying them would cost us, men that we might need elsewhere. If the opportunity arrives, we can handle them or any teams we encounter, but until then, we leave them alone. They’re nothing.”
“Hmph, good,” his father declared as he reached for the dumbbells, only to give the weights Ei was curling a second glance. He put his weights down and reached for heavier weights, causing Ei’s brow to twitch.
Ei set his weights down and rolled his shoulders. “Good warm up eh, old man?” he offered as he pointedly grabbed heavier weights.
The Raikage glared at him, but Ei met it head-on.
“I’ll be sending the two-tails with you,” growled his father.
“Hmph, thanks I guess,” replied Ei.
“I wasn’t finished talking!” growled the Raikage as he punched the air with his weight. “She’s to remain there and hold the line. Teams will work around her, but she is to soften up Konoha’s response as much as possible unless a few specific shinobi are sighted in Hot Water!”
Ei nodded. “Jiraiya and the Uzumaki girl yah?”
“Indeed,” grunted the Raikage as he shifted into a shoulder press. “Misaka! You’re to go to Iwa and see to a tentative alliance with Onoki! Beware him as he will dance a line and promise much and deliver little!”
“As you will, my lord. Shall I depart now?” The kunoichi bowed her head
Grunting in affirmation, the Raikage dismissed her, leaving the two men and one boy alone to discuss their ongoing plans.
Before she left, Bee waved. “Too many muscles, not enough lace, we’re heading for tussles, make sure you keep face!”
Misaka gave him a stiff nod and then departed.
Ei sighed and grabbed a puny thirty-kilogram dumbbell to throw at the lazing Jinchuriki. “Oi! If you’ve got time to throw rhymes, then come get stronger!”
Bee caught the weight with a smirk. “Yo get on guard, Oh don’t disregard, these sleek beats, cause that’ll lead to your defeat!”
Ei threw another weight only to have to dodge a weight thrown by his father.
“Oi! Keep working!” the Raikage ordered.
Ei continued, even as his much younger and smaller partner walked up and grabbed the heaviest weight and began squatting with it.
Both Ei’s shot him a glower, even as Bee’s body began to shake from exertion, he grinned back defiantly.
When he collapsed halfway through the workout Ei had to begrudgingly give it to the kid.
He did have a spark within him.
The war would determine if that meant anything, however, as it had a way of turning boys into men.
[hr][/hr]
“Imbeciles! Halfwits! Morons and lackwits!” bellowed Onoki from behind his desk as the hat of his office toppled off the back of his head.
Onoki glowered at the offending Jonin, who was kneeling in dogeza in penance.
“You come to me with a mission failure and expect mercy? You shall join the Black Honour Squad. You and one of your relatives, I should think! Make up for your disgrace by contributing!”
“As you say, my Lord Tsuchikage!” the man declared from his position on the floor.
Onoki glowered at him, only to smirk and pull a face. He quickly adjusted his face a moment later, setting it into an appropriately enraged look.
“See to your mission! Fail again, and I will assign your entire clan to the front lines!” Onoki roared. “Now get out of my office!” he bellowed.
The Jonin rose and marched out of the office with Onoki sneering at him as he left.
When the door shut, Onoki allowed himself a nod.
Another piece of his former rival’s ‘alliance’ taken care of. Becoming Tsuchikage had been rewarding on many levels.
His wife was pregnant with their fourth child. He could assign missions and either reward or punish the shinobi who completed them as he required.
This allowed him unilateral control over which group of people ascended within Iwa and who found their pillar of support suddenly not so stable.
Some found themselves outright in quicksand.
As yet, none had escaped the purges he’d made sure to enact upon taking office.
To make sure there wasn’t an open rebellion, he’d been careful about it. A mission or two here or there that just happened to be mixing key intelligence or that had a higher risk associated with it.
It was a numbers game, and eventually you ran out of luck.
Onoki floated over to the window to look over his Village.
He rewarded his supporters with key promotions, securing his position, and also had the various institutes that had been empowered suddenly find themselves coming to the table, hands extended, begging for scraps.
There were holdouts, of course. Mostly the old clans that were well established.
They had known what was coming with Onoki taking on the hat. This would have been the second new Kage taking office.
Most had made sure to privately and publicly announce their support for him and his stewardship.
As for the ones that hadn’t?
Well, there just so happened to be a war about to start that would allow Onoki to ‘grant them honour’ through combat. Many Clans were going to be leading from the front lines, while any recalcitrant or upstart families would be joining them.
War was a wonderful way to purge the ranks while appearing to reward his enemies.
The mission quota for promotion might need to be re-examined in the coming days.
Ten B rank or more missions? With a war on?
No, that was far too high a number. Onoki stroked his moustache in thought.
In war, Iwa shinobi only needed… seven; yes, seven was a good number before they were promoted from Genin.
It would be a popular move with the rank and file, or rather the Genin horde that made up eight-tenths of Iwagakure’s shinobi roster.
Making it all the more possible for them to advance might just make him the most beloved Tsuchikage ever.
The trick would be repealing it after the war. It would need to be closely monitored for who was advancing and what sort of missions they were completing.
Or perhaps it didn’t need to be 'missions complete' but another metric used for promotion? A war-specific metric?
A knock on his door interrupted his planning.
“Enter,” he ordered, floating back to his seat behind the desk. As a younger man, he might have floated before the window with his back to the entrant, but such displays were beneath him.
Also, it was never a good idea to invite trouble early on. Only when he was secure and sure of himself would he use that trick.
There was also the issue of his short stature, making it look rather silly, or so his wife had told him.
The door opened, and a trio of singed, soot-covered men entered. The leadman wore goggles that allowed him to peer out while the others wore partial masks.
“Ah, Kira!” Onoki greeted with a fake smile. “Good news! We’re at war!”
Kira perked up at that. “So we will soon have live targets to fire upon?”
“Indeed!” Onoki replied, perfectly happy to feed this man and the madmen and women who called themselves Explosive Corps shinobi into the thresher that would be Konoha.
“Where will we be deployed, Lord Tsuchikage?” Kira asked, a glint appearing in his eyes.
“Waterfall will be your initial target, as I want you to head in and destroy as much infrastructure as possible.”
At this order, he received blank looks.
Hmmm, perhaps some lesson plans would need to be reviewed and updated. While he knew Kira could read, it was rather disheartening to know it was at a basic academy level and no more.
Perhaps certain requirements for captains and their vice captains of various organisations?
Perhaps even a requirement for tests to be sat for family to be formed?
“Bridges, armouries, forges, roads, dams and, if possible, even the blasted Village of the Hidden Village itself. If not, destroy as many of their shinobi as possible.”
“Our kill count will be something to shout from the rooftops!” declared Kira proudly.
Onoki nodded absently. Then he tilted his head. Killcounts…
There was an idea.
“You know, Kira, you’ve given me a wonderful idea just now. For the Genin of our great Village, we need more methods of advancement. Especially with the war,” Onoki declared, already mapping out the idea and how easy it would be to repeal at the end of the war.
Kira blinked, obviously uncertain by the shift in conversation.
Onoki continued, undaunted by his conversational partner’s lack of awareness. “The Genin need to be able to advance through feats of skill and hard work. For this, a kill count register shall be established.”
Kira perked up. “Oh! That will make the Explosive Corps more popular than ever, seeing as we get more kills than everyone.”
And just like that, Onoki felt doused with cold water as he realised Kira was correct.
Instead of killing off the Explosion Corps, it would revitalise it, for while Kira was an idiot of the highest order, he hadn’t missed the mark just now.
People would want to find easy ways to advance.
Weighing up the cost in his mind, Onoki grimaced. It would be worth tolerating the Explosion Corps' continued presence within his Iwa.
“You will need to cap your numbers to make sure only the… Truly elite get into your corps,” he suggested.
“Ohhhhh, that’s right! We don’t want the riff raff!” Kira agreed.
Onoki felt a part of himself snarl. This too, would see the Explosion Corps solidified rather than expunged.
The popularity of this endeavour had better be worth the headache of dealing with them.
Ah, well, there would be other opportunities to shut down the Corps, he was sure. He just needed to be patient.
[hr][/hr]
Hito, the Fire Daimyo, took a long, elegant pull of the pipe before exhaling a long stream of smoke. The smoke shifted along, perfectly in time with the music that filled his hall.
He rather liked the look of it, perhaps even more so than the taste of his tobacco of choice on his tongue.
There was a certain artistry to blowing a beautiful line of smoke. His father had only ever been able to make smoke rings but he had practised and could create many shapes and patterns.
But, above all, he looked good when he did it. Like a dragon at rest, exhaling a long stream of smoke.
Yes, he rather liked the imagery of it.
As Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Hito believed that it was appropriate that he be likened to a dragon.
The sound of hurried feet made him turn to a servant who bowed and hurried away to see what the issue was now.
A few minutes later, the servant returned, bowing low while accompanied by a pair of shinobi.
Both were wearing their flak jackets, and instead of being relaxed, they were on guard.
When they reached the appropriate point, they knelt, bowing their heads. Despite this, they still checked their sides, and Hito had the distinct feel that they were probing their surroundings with senses he could not detect.
That wasn’t right at all.
They were in the heart of the capital. Before their very Daimyo.
Hito signaled for quiet and the music stopped instantly.
“What has caused such disquiet in you shinobi of Konoha that you wear your armour and treat my palace as though assassins were about?”
The two shinobi blinked. “Ah, Lord Daimyo, it is just that we come with grave news and sadly must remain vigilant in these times.”
“Ho?” Reclining in his lounge, Hito considered them both before taking another slow, luxurious pull of his pipe.
There were markings on one of the shinobi’s robes beneath their flak jackets announcing them to be of the Hyuga Clan. A clan that was notorious for not usually wearing such jackets.
Next to him was a rather plain shinobi with tired bags, yet he still had sharp eyes.
Hito savoured the taste of the smoke rolling over his tongue, watching as the pair of men almost vibrated with the need to report this news of theirs.
“Go ahead, tell me of what has transpired,” he commanded with a wave of his hand.
And so they began a most wonderful tale of Kirigakure stealing away a fair maiden and starting a war that had honestly been too long in the making.
Hito listened carefully, noting what they were saying and what they were not.
The girl who’d been ‘spirited away', as some might call it, was still alive. But Hito knew his shinobi rather well. None of them typically operated alone.
If the girl was by herself now, it meant that she’d lost her companions.
“Her team, what happened to them?” he decided to ask, more for the reactions than news of what happened to them.
Here the Hyuga shinobi’s jaw tightened before a glimmer of resolve appeared. “It would appear that while they were in custody with the Daimyo of the Land of Vegetables, someone attempted to extract their dojutsu. The Caged Bird Seal activated, and they were unable to acquire the eyes.”
“Ah, how fortunate and forward-thinking of you, Hyuga, to guard your bloodline as you have!” Hito remarked, awarding the young man a proud nod.
Leaning back, he paused as the pair shifted slightly. “Is there more?” Hito asked, somewhat interested in this tale they’d woven. It was a shame that the girl would have to die, but perhaps the tale being a tragedy would make it more poignant?
He’d have to talk to one of his playwrights; they could write up something to capture the tale properly.
“Lord Daimyo, with this act, Konoha has no recourse but to declare open war upon the Shinobi Village of Kirigakure.”
“Ah, excellent. Make sure to destroy them thoroughly, like you have the last two times!” Hito proclaimed. “I shall expect nothing less!” Hito nodded, pleased by this proclamation.
A thought occurred to him, and he tilted his head. ”When will Tsunade’s refits to her hospital be finished?”
“Ah? The refits may face some more delays as some resources will need to be shifted around due to the needs of the war—”
“Unacceptable!” Hito declared. “Tell Hiruzen that I will be earmarking funds for the hospital's refurbishment! If my court and I are to be youthful, we will require the best facilities to see to our needs!”
Both shinobi bowed low in thanks.
Hito waved magnanimously. “Thank you for the news, and thank you for informing me of the war. I shall have to talk to several merchants and see about adjusting our trade routes going forward. I imagine such things will be priority targets.”
“They will, Lord Daimyo,” declared the second, less interesting shinobi. Hito gave the man another look before shaking his head. It was like looking at a particularly boring mask.
Another thought occurred to him. “Is it just you and Kiri fighting?” he asked.
“No, we expect that Kumo and Iwa will both strike. Thankfully, none of the other nations have a formalised alliance that we are aware of at this point, Lord Daimyo.”
“Hmmm, very good. If there is no other news, you may be off.”
Again, they shifted. “There are two additional issues we need to see to, Lord Daimyo.”
“Speak,” he stated, feeling his patience wearing thin.
“We must inform you of a new threat. Matsu Uzumaki of Kiri has demonstrated an S rank illusion that has allowed him to steal away entire cities of people from the eastern coastline of Hot Water.”
That made Hito sit up. “Entire cities, you say?”
“Indeed. We are concerned that he will attempt the same against our own nations' cities and will require a stronger presence within them.”
“Hmmm, so he hasn’t made any moves against our nation?” Hito asked, slowly reclining back into his chair.
The Hyuga blinked slowly. “No… not as yet, beyond stealing away one of your loyal shinobi.”
“Hmmm, yes, that matter is quite tragic,” he replied, already knowing that the girl would die soon enough. The shinobi clans were jealous of their people like that.
“Has the Daimyo of Hot Water learned of this yet?” he asked, perking back up as an idea formed.
“He should have, as it was within his nation, although it is possible that he doesn’t have as good an understanding of the extent as yet,” suggested the bland-faced shinobi while the Hyuga shinobi frowned lightly.
“Ah, excellent, I will have to draft a priority message then!” Hito proclaimed. He made to place down his pipe, and as expected, a servant was there to hold it for him.
He clapped his hands twice, and another two servants appeared. They laid down a writing pad, and one sat.
“To my Lord of Hot Water~” Hito declared. “It is a terrible situation we find ourselves in when we learn that our nation is unable to protect its people. My… sincerest of well wishes, I shall send you aid from my bountiful nation." He leant back and waved his hand. “Sign it as usual, Lord Hito, Daimyo of Fire, the Dragon of such and such,” he mumbled.
With that done and reaching for his pipe once more, still planning to idle his day away with a shamisen song or two.
The shinobi still hadn’t left.
“Is there something else?” he remarked, ready to signal for his guards to see them out as his patience was worn thin.
“Lord Fundoshi,” the blank-faced man said with a sudden intensity. “We would very much like to ask him some questions.”
Hito paused in his smoking and gave the bland-looking man another look.
The man had meticulously groomed hands, eyebrows and face. There was not a hair out of place or a ruffle in his attire.
And yet, he was so boring to look at.
Ah. He was that sort of interrogator.
“It saddens me to hear one of my court needs to be questioned by anyone of Konoha,” he reprimanded lightly. Then he shook his head. “In another instance, I would chastise you most fiercely, but Lord Fundoshi, as it were, has departed court. He did not ask my leave, and with this latest announcement, one can only wonder.”
“He… departed your court?” asked the Hyuga with a choked voice. “And the guards were not informed?”
“Hmm, I don’t need to tell them such things,” Hito replied. “If you find him, you may question him.” This time Hito made a show of waving his hand in a shooing motion to let them know they should depart now, lest his ire be truly roused.
“Thank you for your… understanding,” grit out the Hyuga shonobi as he bowed low with the other man.
As they departed, Hito considered calling them back and adding some questions of his own that he’d always wondered about while Fundoshi had been at his court.
Then again, it didn’t matter now.
Just like what had happened to Hot Water wasn’t for him to worry about. It happened to a lesser nation. He almost wanted to send Matsu a small token of appreciation.
Hot Water had been getting rather proud of late.
It was nice to have an example of lesser nations having their feet kicked out from under them that he could use in his own negotiations.
Now, if only something bad were to happen to the Land of Noodles and Tea.
Waving a hand, the shamisen player resumed his performance, and Hito pushed the notion of the shinobi war from his mind.
He would not be impacted by it, so why worry?
[hr][/hr]
“You’ve made a terrible mistake!” barked Chiyo before she’d even entered the room.
Reto, the third Kazekage of Sunagakure, and very much still alive, didn’t look up from where he sat. “Is that so?” he drawled flatly. “I suppose you are here to tell me how I have misstepped since I emerged into the world then?"
Chiyo bristled. “Don’t take that tone with me!”
Reto continued to review the documents before him and only moved to act when Chiyo swiped her hands across her body, causing thin chakra threads to slash out.
They were intercepted by thin wires that rose, seemingly of their own accord.
Reto set down the document he’d been reviewing. “You overstep yourself!”
“And you do not? How dare you send Sasori off to war! I will have a reckoning for this, and don’t think I will care about your weakened state!”
Reto’s eyes narrowed, and the room shimmered and shifted as sand burst out of the walls to ensnare Chiyo.
“You—” Chiyo's enraged shout was cut off as iron bands sank into her skin, cutting her and holding her still.
Reto rose on a bed of iron sand that allowed his bandage-ridden form to rise above her.
“This is a reckoning!” he hissed. “You have served Sunagakure well in the past, Chiyo! But there is a fine line between wisdom and outright sedition! You have been loudly denouncing many of my acts. What did you think? That you were immune to censure? I might be lying low while recovering from an assassination attempt, but that does not give you any leeway to act as you have!”
He held his position even as Chiyo’s eyes locked with his, her gaze stubbornly locked into a glare.
“Sasori will be blooded in a controlled setting. You have crowed long and loud about how you would be better as Kazekage, but you baulk at sending a skilled Jonin to war?”
Reto sniffed derisively.
A muffled sound emerged from Chiyo’s mouth.
Reto considered her for a long moment. “It would solve many of my headaches to kill you where you stand, Chiyo,” he growled.
For a long moment, neither spoke as they watched and waited for the other to act.
A quiet knock intruded upon the heavy silence.
Then Ebizo entered and dropped to his knees. “Forgive my sister, Lord Kazekage! She has always been headstrong! She is merely acting due to her beloved grandson being away!”
Reto snorted. “As ever, it is not for you, Ebizo, to apologise in the place of your sister. You allow her too much,” he declared, only to lower himself back down and settle with a grimace.
Ebizo remained where he was as sand began to pour off Chiyo.
She took a long desperate gasp of air and shuddered.
Again the silence clawed its way back into control of the room as kunoichi and kage stared at each other.
Chiyo bowed her head. “I… apologise,” she grit out.
Reto huffed. “You are lucky that only your brother witnessed this display, Chiyo, or I would have no choice but to kill you where you stood, Leader of the Puppetry Brigade or not. You must check your actions.”
“I… understand, Lord Kazekage,” she replied.
“I’m not sure you do,” he murmured as he grimaced and resettled. “However, I have had news from the weasel summons about your grandson’s placement.”
That caused both honoured siblings to twitch.
Reto smiled. “My gambit has paid off. Sasori of the Red Sands will get to witness Matsu Uzumaki at work. I am rather interested in how two prodigies of their generation will develop, especially with Matsu apparently recognising Sasori in some manner.”
Chiyo’s eyes widened. “That should not be! Sasori has only ever performed specialised missions, and few have ever detected his puppetry. He doesn’t even have a BINGO book entry!”
“Yes, your work in shielding knowledge of him has worked rather well while elevating your own reputation,” Reto remarked.
Chiyo bristled. “It was never about that! I was making sure that he never faced someone like the White—”
“Yes, yes, you’ve controlled and managed him wonderfully. Now it is time to see if he will handle being out from under your skirts,” Reto cut back.
Chiyo’s fingers twitched, as if she wanted to resume her earlier attempt at harm upon Reto.
Ebizo tilted his head from where he was still kneeling. “My Lord Kazekage, why are you doing this? Why so much interest in Sasori?”
Reto smiled and nodded at Ebizo. “Hmmm, let us just say that I have a vested interest in the next generation being as strong as possible.” He twitched in pain only to shudder a moment later as a cough racked his form.
Blood spilt from his mouth, which he deftly wiped away.
He sighed. “One encounter with Hanzo on the edge of the desert, and I am reduced to this. Truly, people jest when they call me the strongest Kazekage to have taken the hat.”
Ebizo bowed his head. “My Lord, you drove off Hanzo the Salamander and saved many of the water crews that have secured our Village’s needs for years to come.”
Reto sighed. “Yes… There is that. 'Tis a shame I must hide away and lie to the world. Still, for all intents and purposes, my replacement did rather well in Kirigakure. We have a ceasefire with Konoha and Kiri. While the others bleed their forces, we can recover from the second war.”
“The Daimyo will not see it that way,” Chiyo cut in.
Reto sighed, only to twitch again and put a hand to his chest. “No, no, he will not. He will only see it as weakness, but we have reserves prepared for the hard times.”
"We will need something, lest he believe he is better served sending missions to Konoha or other shinobi Villages. Fang, Star, and Nadeshiko are sniffing around as it is, and you know how the nobles love the idea of those kunoichi flitting around.”
Reto and Ebizo chuckled together, only for Chiyo to shoot them both glares. “Men!” she growled, throwing up her hands while kicking some of the iron sand at her still-kneeling brother.
Reto hummed. “Preparations will be made; until then, we will have good insight into someone I expect will be rather important in the years to come.”
A moment later, a small puff of smoke announced a scroll appearing on Reto’s desk. Wrapped around it was a weasel with a tiny scythe.
“Gang boss Reto!” greeted the little weasel, waving its scythe in greeting as it bowed its head to Reto. “Got another update from your little brother in the field!”
Reot shook his head. “We share no blood. They merely proved themselves, and I awarded them with signing to the—”
“Pack is pack, boss! And the gang is the gang! We’re all brothers and sisters of the fur!” argued the weasel.
Reto sighed, even as his lips twitched slightly upwards. “What has my… little brother Shen said?”
The weasel grinned and unravelled the scroll.
Reto read it, and the small twitch turned into a small uptick of his eyebrows.
“Oh my, that is interesting,” he teased, knowing it would annoy Chiyo greatly.
She twitched, and Reto allowed himself a true smile as he read the short report.
“It would seem Matsu has great plans for Sasori indeed, for he has—”
[hr][/hr]
Sasori set to work in the warehouse he and his fellow ANBU agents had been granted access to.
“Bit more than I was expecting,” muttered one of the ANBU who were to guard Sasori as he tested various designs of puppets in the war.
“Seems excessive,” another agreed.
“Excessive? A bit more? Winds, you two love to understate things, don’t you? Matsu’s stolen an entire population! Men, women and children – and that’s all you have to say? He’s building a city above us!” another ANBU demanded, frantically waving his hands.
Turning, the frantic ANBU looked to the leader of their group. “Shen! Back me up. This is too much, right?”
“It is a statement,” Shen rumbled, his much larger hands tumbling around and around themselves as a weasel hoped and danced between them. “But I think Matsu is not one to miss an opportunity.”
“An opportunity?” questioned Sasori, looking up from his workbench.
“Yes, people will be speaking of this, whether it works or not for generations. If it works… Matsu will have created something entirely new. He also all but locks himself in as the candidate for becoming the third Mizukage.”
“... it would be hard to overlook him,” Sasori mused, his mind categorising the various parties that needed to be considered. There would be many that would not want him to rise, but the alternative… they couldn’t have Matsu not be the next Kage.
Shen gave Sasori a long look. “This… facility he’s made up for us. It going to work for you?”
“It is what I require,” Sasori blandly stated as he reviewed the conversation with their ‘nominal commander’.
He’d welcomed them warmly and, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that he hadn’t been fooled by Sasori’s substitution with his puppet. Not that Sasori was expecting it to work.
Still, he needed to verify Matsu’s skill level.
So far, he hadn’t disappointed.
Sasori didn’t give the workspace or the pile of wood, metal and other equipment sitting to the side another look. One inventory was enough to determine that he could make an army of puppets with this.
That… or something else..
His mind kept coming back to a single question Matsu had had for Sasori towards the end of their greeting when he’d sent them off with a clone.
“How big could you make a puppet?” he’d asked, and for one of the few times in his life, Sasori realised he hadn’t had an answer for that.
Sasori had to admit he wasn’t sure.
Rather than be disappointed or annoyed, Matsu had perked up and grinned. “Well, I have ideas then. Let’s put things to the test, shall we?”
Sasori rolled out a blank scroll that would serve as a blueprint, his mind churning with new ideas.
[hr][/hr]
Guardsman Dora awoke with a start. “Ah, blessed be!” he proclaimed, as old instincts kicked in.
He glanced around and exhaled in relief when he realised that there wasn’t a guard captain around to check on him. The old excuse of shutting his eyes to pray was getting rather…
Dora blinked slowly.
This was not where he went to sleep.
Or rather…
Everything around him was gone. The stones, the mortar, the wood, and even the paperwork that he’d been meaning to do for a while were all… gone.
In fact, the entire town was mostly gone!
Was this…
No. This was the city he’d gone to sleep in.
If it weren't for that hill, he might think otherwise.
The hill that he spent years of his life staring at, wondering if something exciting was going to come over it today.
Turns out something had rolled into town, and he’d been asleep for it.
Huh, his sword and spear were gone. Good thing the guard captain hadn’t woken him up; that alone would have seen him get a bollocking.
He glanced down at the top of the stool he was sitting upon. There weren’t even legs to stand it up.
For a long minute, he sat there, his mind struggling to process everything as it woke up properly.
What now?
His stomach gurgled and decided for him.
Lunch sounded about right.
He was just starting to look around when he realised two things. His favourite soba stand was gone. And his damned pension was likely up in smoke.
He stood to make a vow to the ancestors to track down the villain who’d done this!
“By the ancient ones I shall move heaven—” he started to declare, only for his pants to fall down.
He blinked, staring at his underwear.
“Even my belt?!” he proclaimed in shock.
He sat heavily, feeling like waking up was a mistake. Today… today just wasn’t his day.
[hr][/hr]
A.N. Thank go to my patreons for your continued support!
It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading!