Chapter 99 Council Meeting
Forces marched forward from Demon country slaughtering all in their way. Hundreds of thousands of insane cultists headed toward the hidden village of Kumo. At the front of the army was Hidan who stood next to the sound four. All were itching for battle. A force of this size did not go unrecognized and in the Village of Kumo, the Raikage, known as A furiously smashed his fist into his desk.
"Why the hell is Demon Country even headed here. And how did they get so many to form that kind of army", asked A.
There were no answers to these questions.
A looked down at the village attempting to figure out something he could do. While he had the forces necessary to defeat the Demon Country army, the problem was how much he would lose in the resulting battle. Iwa had sent so few reinforcements to aid him, as they had to protect their own boarders. After all, if this cult would attack Kumo for seemingly no reason, then Iwa was just as likely to be attacked considering their alliance with Kumo.
They stood on shaky ground, and in the end Kumo would suffer greatly. So much so that should any other village decide to attack, Kumo would most likely fall. Their only hope was either to gain a new ally, or be destroyed.
The problem was should he ally with any other village, then their contract would mean that he allied with all of them. And if he did that, chances were Iwa would break their alliance. They never were fans of Konoha. He cursed at himself. Had he waited to send that document to Kiri he could ally with them and Iwa. giving him more political pull, but that was out.
A looked to the intel sitting on his desk. It would take the army at least two months to arrive full force at their current pace. And that was assuming they decided to keep it, which was doubtful. In the end the choice was clear. As much as A hated to admit it, he needed more help. Iwa might pull their reinforcements back however, and if whatever other village he arrived at was to send the same amount of reinforcements as Iwa, then he would be back to where he started, but with Iwa as a possible enemy. But there may be some way around that.
A sighed. He walked away from his desk to a wall that he simply walked through and destroyed in the process. His secretary, long used to such behavior just looked at him.
"Send our four fastest Hawks to each Great Shinobi village, tell them I request a summit for all the Kage", said A.
Above him, a pigeon sat. Though it wan no ordinary bird, it was a simple shadow clone of Naruto who watched. As soon as those words were said the bird dispelled in a cloud of smoke.
Naruto was preparing for his meeting with the Konoha council. He dressed as he always did, in simple clothing a civilian would wear, if only so he did not have to waste precious brain power thinking over such a mundane task as choosing what to wear every day.
As he straightened he collar of his shirt memories from one of his shadow clones became known to him and Naruto smiled. He turned around to create a shadow clone.
"Go to Kiri, tell them about the summit", said Naruto.
The clone nodded before it disappeared in a flash. Naruto was proud of himself. With all the Kage in one area it would be quite simple to explain the Cthulhu situation and present proof. Sure it required manipulation and deception, but if the Great Cult fell in the process, then it was worth it. And Naruto would make sure the cult fell.
Idly, Naruto wondered who the new Kazekage would be. He knew very little about Suna since the invasion, and so far his spies in Suna showed they were tight lipped about that tidbit of information. Either way Naruto had work to do. He remembered everything he would tell the council. He would have to omit several details on Cthulhu for the sake of the civilian councilors sanity. Sure shinobi could at least be told about Cthulhu with little fear of insanity, but civilians were a different matter.
Then again if the civilians could live in a ninja village, see someone run up walls, shoot fireballs, and do the stuff ninja normally do and not bat an eye, it spoke well of their ability to understand the impossibilities of the universe. But why take the chance. After all it would not be the first council meeting he was apart of, then again that one ended with a man going insane, but accidents happen. Besides the prick deserved some form of punishment for what he said, even if it was overly harsh.
No doubt The Third would be present, likely taking Danzo's old spot next to his old teammates. Jiraiya would be off to study more about the Akatsuki, so he would not appear. The clan heads were a it of an enigma however, no doubt most of them worrying about their children so that would have to be spoken about.
The main problem was how to explain to everyone why all this was necessary without at least talking about Cthulhu. Not to mention Naruto's philosophy of planning to share his weaponry with more than just Konoha would be looked down on. Not that that needed to be said.
Then there was their inevitable questions on the Reagent. The problem was explaining the damn thing without sounding like a mad scientist, and how mindless killing machines were not it's original purpose. Maybe he should bring Kin to show how the complete formula worked. Yeah that could help.
Unknown to Naruto was the undead were no longer beneath the village, but far away in a hidden ROOT bunker not far from Konoha. And a certain emotionless artist who could resurrect more. Deep in this bunker Sai watched as his hollow claws dripped with the reagent. The undead around him moaned in defiance of their great hunger that could never be filled.
Sai knew what his goal was, but he was no good at plans. He grew up following orders, never giving any himself. He knew not where to start. So far his plans amounted to sending his less rotten undead to dig graves to gather more bodies for resurrection. He did not know where to begin with finding Naruto or protecting Konoha. Danzo's journal showed future plans the man was doing, but with his death, most were useless. And most became useless when the man became Hokage, and he had yet to get the village to a high enough level to unite the shinobi nations under the Konoha banner.
In the end Sai opted to instead build a great undead army and take the nations by force. He just needed more zombies, and luckly for him, there was an excess of dead in the shinobi world.
Naruto appeared in the Hokage tower as he headed for the council chamber. Once inside he looked at the mass of faces of confusion.
"Am I early", asked Naruto.
Tsunade sighed in exasperation.
"No you are on time, lets get this meeting underway. Now Naruto Uzumaki, this council wishes to know the activities you are performing since you left the village", asked Tsunade.
"Very well, thus far most of what I have been doing is R&D of technology taken from all around the Elemental Nations. Though I have had a hand in liberating Kiri and asking them in return to ally with Konoha", said Naruto.
"And what of our children", asked Inoichi.
"At the moment each member of Team 8 and Team 10 are under a specialized training program to find ways around weaknesses with their jutsu, afterwards they will learn entirely new skills", said Naruto.
"Care to give an example", asked Shibi.
"Not at all, your son Shino is learning a way to work with his insects in the event he fights someone with more chakra than they can eat. That is but one example", said Naruto.
"What of your teammates", asked Shikaku.
"Sasuke has learned quite a bit after I helped him unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan", said Naruto.
There were hushed murmurs throughout the room.
"And how did the Uchiha gain the Mangekyo Sharingan", asked Hiashi.
"I created a shoadow clone and attacked him, forcing him to kill the clone. Since he considers me a friend and believed he killed me by defending himself he unlocked the eyes", said Naruto.
"That. Is a clever way to get around it, I was not aware that could even work", said Hiruzen.
"Neither was I, not fully anyway", said Naruto.
"Anything else on the Uchiha", asked Tsunade.
"He is now a Jinchriki", said Naruto.
The room exploded in accusations, questions, and fear at how such a thing could happen. Luckly it was Tsunade who calmed the room down.
"Quiet. Now Naruto, what exactly does Sasuke hold", asked Tsunade.
"While taking the technology that enabled the Hidden Sky Village to fly, we discovered a creature known as the Zero Tailed Leech. A psudo-Tailed Beast. I am unaware as to it's origins", said Naruto.
"How strong is his seal", asked Hiruzen.
"Very strong, nearly as strong as mine which is overkill considering the Zero Tails is not as powerful as the Nine Tails, but it helps to be cautious", said Naruto.
"You are a seal master?", asked Koharu.
"I am", said Naruto.
"What are his capabilities with this Zero Tails", asked Homura.
"Since the Zero Tails is weaker than any of the Tailed Beasts, it's power is not as potent as such a human body, namely Sasuke can use a large portion of its abilities, namely the masterful use of Dark Chakra", said Naruto.
"Very well, what of your other Teammate, Sakura Haruno", asked Tsunade.
"Sakura has shown promise in Genjutsu and is a very good medic nin, however she is being taught puppetry by Sasori of Suna", said Naruto.
"The missing nin, you have a missing nin helping you?", asked Choza.
"Several in fact, Sasori of Suna, Deidara of Iwa, and Zabuza of Kiri", said Naruto.
"I thought Zabuza died during your first C-rank mission", said Hiruzen.
"I brought him and his apprentice back to life", said Naruto.
"Yes we have heard much of this Reagent of yours, what can you tell us about it", asked Homura.
"It would be best if you see for yourself, I have brought someone with me you may wish to meet", said Naruto.
He walked to the door and opened it before calling down the hall. Moments later an unaturally pale girl walked into the room.
"You, I recognize you, you were the sound ninja during the Chunin exams", said Hiruzen.
"This is Kin, she was sacrificed by Orochimaru to bring te Kage back to life. I resurrected her with the reagent, and she has agreed to help me", said Naruto.
"You are no longer loyal to Orochimaru", asked Hiruzen as he looked at Kin.
Kin shook her head.
"No I am not, not after what happened to me, I want him dead", said Kin.
"The reagent animates dead cells, with the completed formula, it bring memories back. The brain and cardiovascular system work, however none of it is needed for Kin to remain alive. Should her arm detach for example, she would still be able to control it. However her body is still dead, she does not age, but she cannot heal. She is only a walking corpse with her original memories", said Naruto.
The councilors began to speak to one another on this topic. Naruto patiently waited for them to ask their next question.
"While this council understands the world altering nature of many of your discoveries, we wish to know exactly what merits the creation of these weapons", asked Tsunade.
Naruto took a deep breath. He had to choose his words carefully.
"In less than ten years, the human race will end. Before you say anything allow me to explain", said Naruto when he noticed the inevitable questions about to pop up, luckly they remained silent.
"The universe is uncaring, and unforgiving. More so than we realize. We as a species are unimportant and irrelevant, we only exist because life is capable of existing. Within our universe are eldritch forces we cannot possibly imagine, nor hope to understand. Far beneath the sea is an ancient city. One thait rises from the depths every 50,000 years. Within this city is a powerful deity, more powerful than all the tailed beasts combined. More powerful than any ninja to ever live. This deity is so alien our minds are incapable of comprehending it's form. So much so that to even just glance at it will cause irriversqble insanity, to the point of suicide. This Deity is a chimera of horrors that wiped all life on earth in an endless cycle, completely invulnerable and unbeatable. When the stars are right, he will awaken from a deathlike slumber and destroy us, but I have a plan to halt him. I cannot go into to may details on this deity for fear members of this council will go insane. My goal, since I first learned of this threat was to prepare humanity in any way I could. Every advantage is needed or all hope is lost. This is why I helped Kiri become liberated, so that they may ally with this vilage and I do not plan on stopping there. The worshipers of this Deity, a collective of several cults marches to Kumo, and Kumo is going to request a summit. Kiri has already been notified of this and will ally with them. If all goes as I hope, we could witness the birth of a united shinobi force the world has never seen, it will not be enough but it is a start. I plan on showing up to this summit so that the kage will understand the dangers and hopefully understand why an alliance is needed", said Naruto.
The room remained silent as they absorbed Naruto's words. There were looks of disbelief, but everyone was thinking on the same line. What if it were true. Naruto stood calmly as he watched the councilors begin to speak among themselves. It was Hiruzen who finally spoke.
"Do you have any proof"
Naruto smiled.
"Has everyone here been having bad dreams", asked Naruto.
Their reactions told Naruto they all had been having the dream.
"The city rises slowly, recentally it has passed what is known as the Threshold of Dreams. WHere the dreams of this deity seeps into the world. Seers and Psycics are effected horribly by this, and are usually the ones that start cults for the beast. In the coming years the Deity will cross the Threshold of Nightmares, where his dreams reach toward the Eldritch forces and pull them here, after that is the Threshold of Awakening, where the city breaks the surface, and the deity awakens", said Naruto.
"Dreams are hardly proof, this I know, but everyone on the planet is having bad dreams more than they should naturally. Every single one. That is not coincidence, it is a sign", said Naruto.
"Have you anything more than dreams", asked Tsunade.
"Not without the members of this council possibly being admitted to an insane asylum", said Naruto.
The room remained silent for a moment to let that sink in.
"I am interested in this proposed alliance. It is nearly impossible for a untied alliance, to much bad blood. I don't think it can be done", said Koharu.
"Irrelevant. For to long these great nations have lived in the past, and used nearly any excuse to start a war with someone. We are a violent species, one that is very dangerous to only ourselves. By letting past grievances fester like a tumor we have entered a never-ending cycle of war and bloodshed, against our own species no less. No one looks to the future, and right now, our future is bleak. This summit will happen, and I will be there. I will unite the great nations through any means necessary, nothing less could hope to stay the deity who sleeps beneath the sea", said Naruto.
"Big words for a runt, can you back them up", asked Tsume.
"In less than a year I reverse engineered technology that lay forgotten by most and retrofitted a simple laboratory into a flying fortress capable of leveling a small village, I made a serum that revives the dead, I have liberated one of the great nations from a tyrant, and so much more. I accomplished this in less than a year, imagine what I can do with nine", said Naruto.
"Very well, you are dismissed Naruto", said Tsunade.
Naruto nodded as he walked toward Kin and disapeared in a flash.
Wilbur Whateley sat next to Kisame, and scowled. The man had been poor company since he lost his sword. His replacement was a large metal slab with downward metal spikes bolted to it, mirroring his old sword. It reeked of blood, which Wilbur found rather distasteful. mostly it was old blood. Wilbur never liked the smell of old blood. Fresh blood however, that was a different story.
He watched as once again the supposed leader divided them among which tailed beasts they were to follow. Not that it mattered, Wilbur knew who the real leader was. The man in the orange swirled mask sat across from him. If Wilbur could control him, then he could further this organization to what he really needed. The Necronomicon.
He listened mildly when he and Hiruku were told to find information on the one tails container. Which Wilbur took as an insult. Either way at least he would get something to do to pass the time until the ritual was ready.
Sansho smiled as yet another person fell unconscious to her infamous Curry of Life. She looked back down to her table as she cleaned it off. As she was cleaning the sky seemed to darken. she thought nothing of it, untill the beating sound came. Then the screams. She walked outside against the pain of her old bones when she saw them. All around her restaurant were these giant flying things. They landed and slaughtered people with obvious jutsu. One of the creatures changed as it grew three spiked tails and became darker in color. It stabbed at people who ran in terror from these creatures.
Sansho had little time to react when one of the beasts landed behind her. Slowly she turned around to see this thing tower over her. It's head, if it could be called that glowed strange colors, in a sequence of three colors that repeated in a way that seemed to be examining her. Then the static sound came from some metal box grafted to what Sansho assumed was the creatures neck. Followed by the coldest most metallic voice the old woman ever heard.
"Unsuitable for testing", was all the creature said as it lifted a lobster like claw to Sansho's chest. Frozen in fear she offered little resistance to her own termination.
The Mi-go slaughtered the useless people, and captured those with a developed enough chakra system for their purposes. This small restaurant offered little in the way of crops, but information on the nearby village could be gathered before they collected specimens their and initiated their field tests. Several of the Mi-go were already cutting into semi-unconscious humans to cleanly remove their chakra coils to be stored in a special canister to hold the strange organ. Some of the humans screamed as they watched their friends and family get cut open, only for the same fate to befall them.
The Mi-go were far from careful, despite their usual near perfect surgery. Since humans needed this unusual organ to survive, and The Mi-go needed it to transplant into their members, there was no reason to waste on anesthetic or repair the wounds that were just left on their bodies. The Mi-go let the bodies die without dignity. It was less than an hour when the Mi-go were finished. Using fire jutsu they incinerated the restaurant with several outstretched claws. The bodies were cooked and no evidence of their existence was left. They flew back to their living ship with several canisters of human chakra coils. They were far from done.