Chapter 98- Glorified Outpost

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow across the village streets as a shinobi stood before a modest wooden door and knocked.

"Knock!"

The shinobi was Tachibana, a genin with a stoic demeanour and a determined gaze. He wore the standard attire of a shinobi with his forehead protector gleaming faintly.

He was an aide to one of the village elders, a well-paying administrative job. It was less dangerous work than the on-field shinobi one where he almost lost one of his limbs.

Seconds passed, yet, there was no response from within. Undeterred, Tachibana knocked once more, this time with a touch more urgency.

"Knock!"

As Tachibana's knuckles met the door for the second time, the fading light of dusk seemed to hold its breath, waiting in anticipation. But this time, before the echoes of his rap could fully dissipate into the evening air, a gruff voice sounded from within, cutting through the silence like a blade.

"Come in."

A command was heard from the room. With a steady hand, he reached for the doorknob, and turned it slowly, pushing the door open with a soft creak.

As the door swung inward, it revealed a dimly lit interior. The room beyond was simple yet welcoming, with wooden furnishings and chairs arranged in a cosy arrangement.

In the centre of the room sat a figure carrying an air of authority.

"Close the door behind you," the voice commanded again, its tone gruff yet not unkind. With a nod, Tachibana complied, pulling the door shut behind him.

"What is it?" The figure asked with his gaze fixed on Tachibana.

"It's the Konoha Shinobi, they have arrived," Tachibana said with a bow.

'Already? It's good they did because I am sure we will need their help sooner than we expect.' Konno Tetsuo thought.

He was the village chief of Ishigakure, the village hidden in stone. While he was not yet strong enough to refer to himself as a Kage, he was still a village leader.

With a brisk nod, Tachibana turned on his heel, his footsteps echoing softly on the wooden floorboards as he made his way back to the door. Pulling it open with a practised hand, he gestured for the waiting shinobi to enter.

"Please come in," he said, "The village chief is ready to see you now."

As the four Konoha shinobi entered the room, Konno Tetsuo regarded them with a measured gaze and spoke with a neutral tone, "Thank you for coming,"

"We heard what was happening, so we came as quick as we could," Fujioka stated.

Renjiro meanwhile, was studying the man who had just welcomed him,

'It is surprising that Konoha managed to get a glorified outpost recognized as the Land of Stones by the other shinobi villages.'

It was thoughts like things that reminded Renjiro of how he got to Ishigakure. His day started normally as he was still relearning all his ninjutsu.

He was not done with using Yang chakra to increase their strength but he was close to. The only good thing is that since he knew a handful of Genjutsu techniques, he was done mastering them with Yin chakra release.

'If I were to compare myself to when I was still a genin, I think I've grown stronger. Not where I want to be, but I am in the right direction. I have already learnt more ninjutsu and even those are more powerful than they were before.' Renjiro's thought echoed.

'Anyway, there's no time to daydream. I still have a lot of things to do and learn. I also have my shift later in the day.' Renjiro got up and headed to the police base for his usual daily squad training. After that, he planned on making some seals during his time manning the prisons.

Upon reaching the base, Renjiro was shocked, only Toda was there. Tobe was always punctual, so him not being present was not to be taken lightly.

'He is now basically the deputy Squad leader since he was promoted to the first rank, so something must be happening. Wait, what date is it today? I should have remembered! Fujioka already planned to have us take a mission.'

With the recent changes in their squad, Fujioka needed an assistant and Tobe was the best option among the three second-rankers in the squad. Renjiro had not even spent half a year in the force and Toda... well, let's just leave it at Tobe being the better option.

"How are you, Toda? Is Tobe coming with Fujioka-sama?"

"Yes, they have gone to pick the mission we will be taking, so they will be here in a few minutes," Toda nodded.

Fortunately for Renjiro, he did not have to wait for long before Fujioka appeared with Tobe in tow.

They did not have to get their missions from the mission centre as Renjiro did in his genin days since the police force had a similar department under them. It made things like administrative duties run smoothly.

"It's good that everyone is here," Fujioka began as his gaze shifted from person to person in the room, "We have been tasked with an A-rank mission that in helping shinobi in Ishigakure."

'An A-rank mission? There is a huge difference between B and A-rank missions and the latter is solely reserved for Jounin groups and we only have one of them in the squad.'

"Fujioka-sama, is there any reason why you picked an A-rank mission? We are two men down, so it wouldn't be as easy to complete as before," Renjiro wanted to ask the same question but Toda beat him to the punch.

Fujioka turned to Toda and said, "It will only be harder but not impossible, besides, you and your brother are close to becoming Jounins, so it will be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

'There he goes. He just had to raise the flags. Now I am sure something weird will happen during this mission.' Renjiro inwardly lamented.

"We will only help Ishigakure against a force that has been targetting them since they are our allies," Fujioka added.

With that, the squad took an hour for final preparations before they left the village. Ishigakure was located between the land of Wind and the Land of Earth, so the distance they had to traverse was large.

[[Author//: You can google the Naruto Land Map so that you could see the distance.]]

Along the way, Renjiro pieced the fact that Ishigakure and the whole land of Stones was just a glorified outpost for Konoha from the details Tobe gave him.

It was a nation founded after the first shinobi war. From the war concessions the Fire Daimyoo received from the Daimyoos of Earth and Wind, Hiruzen persuaded him to recognize the people living there as a nation.

Hiruzen knew that occupying them would not benefit them and decided to form a nation backed by Konoha from the Shadows.

Of course, after that, The Land of Stones and Ishigakure faced a change of leadership as those who favoured Konoha rose to power. How that came to be was a story for another day.

"So, what is the force that has been attacking you guys?" Fujioka asked the village chief.

Konno Tetsuo took a moment to gather himself before explaining, "At first we thought they were just normal bandits but after facing them a few more times they started transforming into monsters."

"Beasts or Monsters?" Fujioka inquired with a puzzled look.

"Yes, monsters. When they transformed they became faster and stronger," Konno added.

'Monsters? While that may sound weird, chakra can make anything possible in this world. Is there a clan nearby that focuses on some sort of transformation?' Renjiro thought.

"Do they attack at random times or is there a specific time they attack?"

"So far they have been attacking randomly which has put my shinobi on alert for a continuous week. This has in turn lowered their morale. That's why-"

"Knock!"

This time Tachibana did not even wait for a response before directly entering the office.

"Tetsuo-sama, I am sorry for barging in but there is an emergency!" The aide hurried in saying.

"What is it?"

"it is-"

"They have started attacking the village," Renjiro said, interrupting Tachibana.

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