322 Side Arc Part-1: HOLE
Whoosh… whoosh…
Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai flickers through Konoha streets.
The groups up and continue to flicker towards the Hokage Office.
"So, you got the summon too?" Kakashi asks the rest of them.
"Yes!" Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai nods.
"Looks like the situation is quite serious!" Kakashi has a serious expression on his face.
Whoosh…
They arrive near Hokage Office and scales the roof.
Tsunade is standing on the roof with Shizune. She anxiously waits for the group to arrive.
"Hokage-sama!" The group bows in front of her.
Mm…
Tsunade nods her head.
"I have an emergency mission for your four and your teams!" Tsunade has a distressed look on her face.
"The HOLE has been breached!"
She relays the information to the group.
"WHAT?!"
Kakashi's eyes widen in surprise.
"That's bad! How is the current situation?" He asks in apprehension.
"We received a distress signal three days ago! I sent an elite squad of three jounins, ten chunnins and an additional squad of anbus in shadows to monitor the situation. But…"
Tsunade's expression turns ugly as she sighs to herself.
"Wiped! All of them were wiped in a gruelling battle. The patrol team brought back their remains. If you can call them as remains."
Whoosh…
Tsunade leads them towards the Logistics support and medical division.
"Ah! Hokage-sama!" One of the medics greets her.
Tsunade nods her head and leads the group inside one of the rooms.
"Take a look!"
She points towards the badly mangled corpses of Konoha shinobis.
"This is…"
Kurenai's brows scrunch up at the scene.
Hm?!
Kakashi activates his Sharingan and walks towards the bodies.
He inspects the remains of their bodies and notices the marks left behind by enemy jutsu.
"It seems like these people were obliterated in one fell swoop. They weren't even able to resist against the enemy attack!"
Kakashi remarks as he covers the bodies with a white cloth.
"As far as I can see, the enemy used overly powerful techniques to deal with them. From this, we can conclude that our enemies possess phenomenal chakra prowess. They can easily reach the threshold of a Kage." Kakashi speculates the possibilities.
"I think so too!" Tsunade nods her head.
"That's why I am assigning this mission to you and your teams. I will also deploy Team Ro in secret to monitor the situation. If the situation demands it, then I will request Lord Fourth to take action!" Tsunade has a concerned look.
"HOLE is a very important strategic location for Land of Fire. If it falls in enemy's hands then the entire Shinobi world might face destruction." She bites her lips in frustration.
"Umm… Tsunade-sama! What's the HOLE you mentioned about?" Guy asks her in confusion.
Tsunade notices Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai's confused faces.
"Fine! I will tell you. But this isn't right to place talk about."
Tsunade looks around.
"Come to the Hokage Office!"
The group follows her.
Guy turns to Kakashi and asks him.
"Kakashi, you know about the HOLE?"
"Of course! It's not much of a secret in Anbu. Every elite anbu member has to patrol in HOLE once in their career."
"This place is so important?!" Asuma curiously questions him.
"Yes, HOLE is the centre of the shinobi world!" He nods his head.
The group arrives at Hokage Office.
Tsunade walks to her desk and takes out a map from the drawer.
She pins the map on the table. The group surrounds the group and curiously stares at it.
Tsunade marks a place on the map with a circle.
"This is HOLE. It is a sacred land in the Land of Fire. This place resembles an ecological oasis in the middle of a barren wasteland.
This place is quite close to the Land of the Wind. It is somewhere in the middle of the desert of Land of Wind and Fire. There is a small village called Tonika in this place.
HOLE is home to a diverse and flourishing flora and fauna. A special spring flows through this place. The spring water overflows with life and vitality. It accelerates cell division and boosts regeneration and thus is useful for medical purposes.
During the Second Shinobi War, Konoha used this water to counter the poison of Sunagakure shinobis. It's because of these miraculous effects that the spring is called as 'Spring of Youth'."
Tsunade explains to the group.
"YOUTH!" Guy's eyes glow.
The rest of the group ignores him and Kurenai remarks.
"It's indeed a strategic place with such a miraculous spring."
"NO!" Tsunade shakes her head.
"It's true that the spring is a strategic advantage, but that doesn't make HOLE important. The significance of HOLE lies with the weapons of mass destruction sealed deep within the land."
Tsunade's expression turns serious, and she takes out a scroll from the drawer.
"HOLE houses several sacred treasures of the Shinobi world but the most important of them all is Ama no Hoko, an ancient superweapon."
She spreads the scroll to reveal a tower-like structure.
"The origin of this structure is unknown. It's said to be even older than the entire shinobi world.
There are various speculations about its origin. The most famous being that this tower is a product of an ancient war between two very powerful forces."
Tsunade shakes her head.
'Initially, I refused to believe this rumour but the current circumstances speak differently.'
The details of the Otsutsuki clan and otherworldly forces appear in her mind.
"During the warring era, numerous forces and clans tried to awaken this weapon to use against each other but failed.
Even during the current era, Danzo once proposed to study and weaponize it. But his request was rejected by Lord Third, who dismissed it for being too volatile and unpredictable. It is said that the key to this weapon has been lost for centuries.
The residents of Tonika village have established a militia to guard the tower and other treasures of HOLE. Lord First signed a pact with the HOLE to protect its members during a calamity."
Tsunade folds the scroll and turns to the group.
"From the current circumstances, I am afraid, the enemy is after Ama No Hoko. If they succeeded in starting it, then I am afraid; the entire shinobi world will face certain destruction.
So, I want you all to head for the Tonika village and inspect the abnormality. Kakashi will be the team leader for this mission."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The group respectfully bows and departs from the office.
Tsunade solemnly gazes at their back and mutters.
"First, the appearance of the Zero-tails and now the attack on HOLE. Looks like something big is going to happen!"
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Outside the Hokage Office,
Swish… swish…
Kakashi makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu"
Poof…
A small, pug-like dog with brown fur and a dark brown snout and ears appears out of white smoke.
"YO!" The ninja hound waves its front paws.
"Pakkun! Go and summon Naruto and the rest."
Kakashi takes out a book from his pocket and rests against a tree.
"…"
Pakkun stares at Kakashi with a deadpan face.
"I am not doing it!" He walks towards the tree and lifts his hind legs to pee.
Kakashi takes out a pouch from his pocket.
Sniff… sniff…
Pakkun's nose twitches slightly. He stares at the pouch in Kakashi's hand.
"This is the reward for your job?"
He waves it at Pakkun.
"Fuck, man! I will do it!"
Whoosh…
Pakkun flickers away.
"Such an easy pug!" Kakashi smirks and engrosses in his book.
"…"
Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai silently stare at him.
Asuma makes some hand signs and summons a monkey. He orders the monkey to summon his team.
Kurenai summons a small white cat and sends it away.
Poof…
Guy summons a small turtle. The turtle slowly crawls away.
"I will do it myself because this is YOUTH!"
He turns upside down and walks with his hands.
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Fifteen minutes later,
Whoosh… whoosh…
The Konoha twelve slowly gathers in front of Konoha's entrance.
"You summoned us, Sensei!"
Sasuke asks Kakashi who is feeding biscuits to Pakkun.
"Yes! We have an important mission for you all. Let the rest of the people arrive first!"
Naruto walks towards Pakkun and plays with it. He snatches the pouch from Pakkun and takes out a biscuit.
"Here doggy! You want this biscuit, right?!"
He waves the biscuit in front of Pakkun. Pakkun glares at Naruto with his dead-fish eyes.
Grrr…
He opens his mouth and reveals his sharp canines.
Chomp…
Pakkun bites Naruto's hand together with the biscuit.
"Aww…. Ouch! Aww…"
Naruto grabs his hand in pain as it turns red.
"Kiddo! Don't mess with me. I can bite!"
Pakkun's teeth glisten in the sunlight.
Gulp…
Naruto gulps his saliva and retreats.
Whoosh… whoosh…
The rest of the members arrive. Kakashi closes his book and turns to the group.
"I suppose everyone is here. Let's head out!"
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