10.RACE AGAINST TIME: THE LAND OF HOT WATERS!
It has been more than eight hours since I have arrived in Land of Hot Water with the help of O-Toko and it took me some time to reach Valley of Hell with the help of Shimo, Shima's son and the next in line to become the Boss Summon of Chameleons.
The place was literally a hell to live in and for the Chinoike clan to survive this many years in here is nothing short of legendary. The water due to the rich content of iron and minerals has turned blood red in colour, the air is so heavy, it's making my breath haggard and resources are so limited here. Just! How can somebody survive in such conditions let alone live around hundreds of years. Just how tough of a people these Chinoikes are for them to survive in a place like this.
There at the valley I hid myself using my invisibility jutsu and send four of my shadow clones to discuss the negotiations. I am not gonna take any chances with my life. At this point I am an unknown, an intruder to the Chinoikes.
VALLEY OF HELL.....
As I(shadow clones) started travelling deep inside the valley, the fog started getting thicker and thicker. It caused irritation in my eyes due to which my attention went astray and I fell into the traps set there by the Chinoikes to protect the clan from intruders. Upon activation, it killed and dispelled two of my shadow clones and probably also alerted the Chinoike clan members about my presence, if the arrival of four people which started tailing me, is any indication.
After walking for a while, the fog started disappearing and a little bit of greenery also started appearing. When the fog completely disappeared, I could clearly see a rag tag structure which I assumed was the entrance to the Chinoike clan compound, atleast that's what it looks like. At least twenty people were standing at the door. One of them, probably the hot-headed one, came forward and said, "Halt! Who are you? How did you come to know of this place? Why have you come here? Answer us truthfully, otherwise we will kill you."
He looked more than eager to start it and has probably already thought of hundred ways to kill/torture me, "Bloody Savage!" I couldn't help but think. I hope they are still sane and hadn't turned insane already.
"Hmmm... So many questions, all at once! Anyway!I came here because I want to talk to your leader or Clan head if you had any. My name is irrelevant, what is relevant is what I have come to offer to you people, to your clan. And I came to know of this place from my Chameleon summons, which is just happens to be your neighbour, though you may not know about them." I replied earnestly.
"Kill him!" said one of them.
"Bloody Savages,! Have they turned insane already?" I internally questioned myself.
The hot-headed one threw a kunai at me at great speed. While I dodged the kunai coming for my life, I informed them, "I am just a clone so killing me won't do anything to the actual me and my offer might end the sufferings of the mighty Chinoike Clan. So think carefully! Please!" I added 'mighty' purposely to score some good points. Just think you are an insignificant, forgotten clan and suddenly somebody comes and starts praising you, giving you respect and a offer that could end your sufferings. What will you do? You will atleast be interested in listening it. It positively affect their psychology and help you get in their good books. Naturally, they stopped and started pondering on my words, then one of them body flickered to somewhere while the rest continued to give threatening looks to me, "We will inform the Clan leader of this and you better not waste her time or the consequences will be severe."
"Ok!" I responded calmly.
Twenty minutes later, two men came back and one of them I instantly recognised as En Oyashiro, the Merchant of Death. He addressed me, "My name is Oyashiro Chinoike and I was sent here to escort you to the clan head. May I know who you are? Where did you came from? How can you help us?"
"I am an ANBU from the Hidden Leaf Village..." as soon as I mentioned 'Konoha', somebody charged at me chanting "Uchiha's dog! Die!", but he was stopped by Oyashiro. Oyashiro sure was quick! I couldn't have been able to detect him if it wasn't for my sensory abilities.
"So I assume getting your name is impossible since you are from the black ops." said Oyashiro.
"Well! As an ANBU member we didn't have that privilege, so yes I can't tell you my name." I informed him.
"And you mentioned to my colleagues, you are a clone so I assume you are one of those unique shadow clones of Leaf Village!" concluded Oyashiro.
"Yes! You are quite informative on our Village."
"Your village harbours the clan that is responsible for our sufferings. Naturally I will keep myself updated about the day to day happenings in your village."
"I assume you are the Information gatherer of this group!?" I asked for the sake of getting something more out of his mouth.
But he neither denied nor confirmed it, he entirely ignored my question.
"Hmm... How can you help us?" He inquired while ignoring my other question.
"I can only inform that to the clan head." I answered.
"Ok! But don't try anything or..." he threatened me while releasing massive doze of killing intent though it was nothing compared to what I sensed during the attack of the Nine-Tails.
I nodded and followed him through the Chinoike's ragged compound. The compound was tightly packed and showing the signs of poverty. The people were curious and whispering with each other probably because I was the first outsider to visit their compound in decades if not centuries.
CHINOIKE CLAN COMPOUND,
MEETING HALL...
"This is my wife and clan head Enomi Chinoike." introduced Oyashiro.
"Hello!" I greeted her in a tone full of respect, "Lady Chinoike! My name is Chameleon, one of the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu and I have come to offer your prestigious clan a chance to join the Hidden Leaf village on the behalf of Lord Hokage. These are the documents describing the benefits your clan will receive upon joining our village and I assure you that your clan will not be least disappointed in joining our village, afterall it is the strongest of the five great hidden villages." I said it all in one breath ignoring the murmurings.
"You think! We will join Leaf! You Uchiha's dog..." screamed one of the more vocal members of the clan directly in my face.
"Silence!" ordered the Chinoike clan head.
"It's ok! Lady Enomi! If you give me permission then I would like to clarify something to them." I asked for her permission.
"You may!" responded Enomi.
"First of all ladies and gentlemen! Let me clarify one thing to you all, I represent the entirety of Leaf Village not just the Uchiha clan and the said clan is just a part of the Great Hidden Leaf Village not the other way around. And your hatred for the Uchiha clan is biased!" I tried to complete my speech but was interrupted by some geezer.
"What! Outrageous! Because of those bastards we have to settle down within this Valley of Hell and suffer for so many years. You dare to say that our hatred for the Uchiha clan is biased."
"Yes!" I answered bluntly.
"How dare you? I will kill you myself!" said the same individual.
"I can prove it." I said convincingly and continued, "But you have to answer some of my questions then I will explain my reasonings and eventually prove to you why I think your hatred towards the Uchiha Clan is biased."
"Why you?" screamed the same individual.
Ignoring him entirely, I started asking my questions, "My first question to you all is why the Uchiha clan got involved in it?"
"You came here which means you clearly know our history yet you are asking..." somebody tried to lecture in a voice full of pain and bitterness but was silenced by another geezer, probably one of the elders of the clan. He started explaining, "It all started when a woman of our clan married the Land of Lightning's daimyō. The daimyō's first wife became jealous of her, and when the daimyō died soon after their marriage the first wife blamed her and our clan for the daimyō's death. Many believed the first wife's lies, forcing our clan to be banished from the country. The Uchiha clan were hired to carry out this task, and those red-eyed demons forced our clan to settle in the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Waters. If they wouldn't have forced us to settle here then we wouldn't have suffered, so tell me ANBU-san how does our hatred for them is biased?"
"The answer lies within your explanation estimated elder, you clearly said that the Uchiha clan were hired to carry out, only the task, that means they didn't forced you to settle here, out of willingness. They did it because they were paid for the said task. If the roles were to reverse then your clan too would have done the same for the paid money. If you have to blame somebody then blame the Land of Lightning for believing the lies of the their daimyō's first wife. And one more thing, the Uchiha clan didn't choose to banish your clan to the Valley of Hell. The Land of Lightning council most probably chose this hellish place, not only that, the Uchiha clan was also chosen by them to perform the task of forcing you out here . So blame the Lightning Council, not the Uchiha clan. The council could have chosen others places for your clan's banishment which were less harsh, but they didn't, why, because they wanted your clan to suffer. They took everything from your clan and now my village is willing to help your people by giving you back everything that the Land of Lightning snatched from you. The prestige, the fame, the resources, a place you can call home where you families could live happily without any fear and is a thousand times better than this place."
Some of their eyes were wide open and mouth agape by the time I finished my speech and some were looking ashamed for their accusations. Looks like I struck a nerve by mentioning that the Land of Lightning has chosen this place for them not the Uchiha. Hopefully it will divert their hatred for the Uchiha towards the Land of Lightning. Well! Good for me and my village.
"Thank you for your explanation Chameleon-san and we appreciate it but this is a big decesion and we need some time to discuss it among us." said Enomi.
"How much?" I asked.
"Three days!" replied Oyashiro.
"Ok! I will meet you in three days time Lady Enomi. If you wish then I can also personally escort you and your entourage to the Leaf to discuss the agreements with our Honourable Lord Hokage and the Leaf Go-Ikenban." I replied.
"Ok! I will inform you about our decesion in three days time but I have a question chameleon san, why should we join Hidden Leaf Village out of all the other great hidden villages?" asked Enomi.
"Because nobody is gonna offer you to join theirs you dumb woman" I screamed in my mind. Anyway I started explaining, "Well you see Lady Enomi, unlike the other villages we believe in our sacred Will of Fire, a philosophy which states that the entire village is like a big family and we shinobi are the protectors of this big family. This believe is what helped our village in winning all of the three Great Shinobi Wars. The other villages saw this philosophy as a weakness but for us this philosophy is what makes our village truly strong because when you have something precious to protect then only you can truly become strong." I took a breath and continued, "You can join Hidden Stone Village where if you are a genin then you're worthless, of no value and expendable. Your clan will never get a chance to shine since they already have many kekkai genkai users. You can join the Hidden Sand Village and you will have to face the same harsh conditions on top of that their economy is fragile at the moment thus you won't get many resources. Hidden Mist is not an option since you were surely aware of the bloodline purges taking place there. Hidden Cloud Village is also not an option since the Royal family will have you executed or something more worse done to you and your clan. Other minor villages will see you as a breeding stock or your clan will be targeted by Hidden Cloud Village in which case minor villages can do nothing but watch helplessly. Hidden Leaf Village is your ideal option Lady Enomi." I answered.
"Hmmm! I see... We will give you our answer in three days." stated Enomi, signalling the end of the meeting.
I nodded, handed over the important documents and then poofed out of existence.
THREE DAYS LATER.....
I sent another Shadow clone towards the Chinoike clan compound, this time the gate keepers were waiting for me, they escorted me to their Main Hall. Judging by the happy and content state of their chakra, it looks like the answer is positive. Good! Many members were whispering within themselves and some were smiling at me which also indicates that the clan has agreed to join us, probably.
___________________________
"Hello! Lady Enomi, I hope you agreed to join our village, it is the strongest of the Great Five. You and your clan won't be least disappointed. This! I assure you!" I asked.
"I am interested but there are some changes I want in the deal and most importantly, considering the situation between your village and Hidden Cloud Village, we won't take any part in the Leaf's upcoming war with Cloud until we have properly settled down in the Leaf village. If these conditions are accepted then we will join the Leaf Village." she replied.
I internally frowned but nothing I didn't account for.
"That is understandable, however I am merely a messanger not the decision maker so you have to discuss it with Lord Hokage and the Council. But you don't have to worry about that, our lord Hokage is a kind man so I am sure he will give a very deep thought to your demands and address your concerns lady Enomi." I responded.
"Ok! I have my entourage ready, these five were the ones who will come with me for the negotiations." she said. Most of them were geezers except for Oyashiro, well past their 60s if I have to guess. Anyway time to do my work.
"Ok! Lady Enomi, meet me with your entourage at your compound gates in three hours." I informed her.
She nodded and I once again poofed out of existence.
HIDDEN LEAF VILLAGE...
My other half that was with Naruto, yes I used the Fission Technique and left one half with him while the other went to the Valley of Hell for negotiation. Why I did this, well because I have no choice but to use the Summoning Jutsu to teleport the people directly within Leaf village since I have yet to learn about the Reverse Summoning Technique, it was considered many levels higher than what I can master with my current chakra control and understanding of the Fūinjutsus involved.
I have explained my situation to the Chameleon clan and told them how I am going to use them for my transportation technique. They were also very impressed upon learning about my Fission Technique.
As per the plan, my other half at the Leaf Village created a Shadow clone in disguised form and sent it to the Hokage's office to inform him about the latest developments with the Chinoike clan.
HOKAGE'S OFFICE...
"Knock! Knock!"
"Enter!"
The disguised clone entered the Hokage's office.
"Ohh Haruto! Does that mean?" he asked in a voice full of enthusiasm.
"Yes!" was my reply.
He then swiftly activated the various privacy seals around the Hokage's office room, "So they are ready to negotiate Haruto. Huh? That is good and a very quick response too."
Before Jiji could get more hopeful, I decided to clarify the situation, "Yes! Lord Hokage but that doesn't mean they are desperate. They have put some changes within the deal among other things, they knows our situation with Hidden Cloud Village which means that they might have a very good spy network, also some of them have animosity towards the Uchiha clan but I have somehow managed to pacify/convince them to join our village. They have a total of six persons in their entourage including their Clan Head for negotiations and I have introduced myself as chameleon, one of the ANBU member under your command. If you are prepared for meeting them then I can bring them here in next three hours for the negotiations. Here are the description of the members coming and what I observed about them and their clan." The information mostly revolved around what I knew about the Chinoikes and Oyashiro as well as the abilities that I saw Chino using in the anime.
"What!? You can bring them that fast! How?" The Hokage asked curiously as he took the scroll containing the information on Chinoike Clan from me.
"My summons." I simply replied. The Hokage eyed me for more information but soon realised that I won't give him any. Hiruzen sighed. It looks like he has to do more to earn Haruto's trust.
"Ohh! Ok Bring them here! Meanwhile I will ready myself and inform the Go-Ikenban for the negotiations."
I nodded and poofed out of existence.
The Hokage then undid the privacy seals and used a jutsu which copied the contents of the scroll. He created three such copies and then called some of his ANBU agent. He then handed over the scrolls to them and sent them to deliver them to the Elders as well as to inform them about the upcoming meeting. This is a time of State Emergency so currently those three and him are the supreme authority in Konohagakure. Thus they can take decisions without informing the council if they want to and frankly speaking, he didn't want to either due to the risk of information leakage which can turn this complicated situation very ugly for the Leaf Village. The Raikage can also think of this development as Hidden Leaf Village preparing for war against Hidden Cloud Village and knowing that brute of a Raikage A, he will most likely immediately mobilize the Cloud forces and launch an invasion in the Land of Fire in a garb of surprise attack. Can't take any chances. Then their is the Fallout that is going to come once the Uchiha learns who we have allowed to join the village, they aren't gonna appreciate it. It is only going to further deteriorate the village's relation with the Uchiha Clan. Looks like he has to make some compensation to Fugaku to pacify his clan. Ugh! Why did he took the hat back? Oh right! It was to prevent Danzo and Orochimaru from getting the hat.
TWO HOURS LATER...
"Hiruzen! Is...?" asked Danzo.
"Yes!" The Hokage answered quickly.
"Hmmm! That's quick! Anyway how is he going to bring them here in exactly three hours?" asked Homura.
"Moreover! Who trained the brat? The report on the Chinoike Clan, their techniques, their dōjutsu and entourage was accurate, it was like some professional has written it, not some run-of-the mill brat!" Koharu added.
Well! Gennō trained them. So it shouldn't be a surprise that he taught them the basics like report writing.
"I agree!" Homura agreed with her assessment. All of the Go-Ikenban expectantly looked at the Hokage for some answers.
"Unfortunately I don't know either! He didn't explained much it looks like he doesn't trust me enough and since currently my relationship with him is fragile, I decided not to force things out with him and give him some time."
"Hiruzen! Someday this softness of yours will be the end of the Leaf Village. I swear..." Danzō started throwing his tantrums. He hates not knowing everything especially something related to the Village's weapons, the Jinchūrikis.
Most of the times Hiruzen ignores Danzō tantrums. But this wasn't one of those times, fatigued by the pressure and the tensed situation with the Hidden Cloud Village, Hiruzen didn't hold back, he released a massive killing Intent, silencing Danzō and surprising the rest, "If you haven't already forgotten Danzō, my softness is also the reason why you are still alive even after trying to assassinate me two years ago."
"WHAT?!" Both Koharu and Homura screamed at the top of their lungs.
Danzō seethed. There goes all of his machinations done over the years to turn Koharu and Homura towards his side down the drain.
After recovering from her shock, Koharu ordered the Hokage to explain the entire event in her big sister tone, "Hiruzen! Explain! What do you mean by that?"
The Hokage sighed but complied. He explained how two years ago Danzō tried an assassination attempt on him to stop him from officially being reinstated as the Hokage, during his departure from Konohagakure to Fire Daimyō's Office. The explanation further silenced Danzō and shocked Homura and Koharu to the core. Their colleague, the one who they always considered one of their closest friend had gone so far as to trying to assassinate Hiruzen just so he could get the Hokage's hat. They didn't know that something so serious has happened and Danzō had tried something like that and at a time no less when the Leaf Village was at its most vulnerable, when the Leaf Village couldn't afford to lose a powerhouse like Hiruzen. That was complete madness. It was Hiruzen's power which has deterred the other Great Villages from starting another war with Leaf Village. A war that could have been the end of the Leaf Village. How could have Danzō fallen so low just to attain the position of Hokage? Wasn't the survival of the village which Danzō claims to love more then his life was much more important or was that love for the village thing is just a farce to get more and more power. What more, with their blind support, could Danzō have done these past few years, they couldn't fathom and frowned. They started seeing Danzō in a new light. They started wondering which Danzō loves the most, the Village or the position of absolute power, the seat of the Hokage.
After deeply thinking over the situation, Koharu came to a conclusion. It wasn't their fault that they most of the time blindly supported Danzō. Had they would have known that Danzō had tried something so treacherous, they would have been cautious while supporting Danzō. Infact Danzō shouldn't even be a part of the Leaf Go-Ikenban anymore after almost starting the Third Shinobi World War. She is completely sure of this fact that had Danzō succeeded in assassinating Hiruzen, Ōnoki wouldn't have hesitated one bit in forming an alliance with Hidden Cloud and then declaring war on them, which they wouldn't have survived since with war on Horizon, the security would have been tightened and Orochimaru would have been caught much earlier. She highly doubt that Danzō could have been able to stop Orochimaru and his gigantic snake summons. Once Orochimaru would have deserted their village, the Kazekage would have struck a deal with the Hidden Stone Village to get some part of the fertile lands of the Land of Fire in exchange for attacking the Leaf Village, it would have been their end, the complete destruction of their village. She sighed. What was she thinking while supporting somebody like Danzō. Why couldn't she saw this power-hungry face of Danzō much sooner? She knew he was a warmonger but she still indulged him because of Hiruzen's over pacifist ideals. She sighed again. This isn't the right time. She has to focus on the upcoming meeting.
"I can explain..." Danzō tried opening his mouth but Koharu beat him to it, "Silence Danzō! You will have your chance to explain things. We will talk about it some another time. Currently we must focus on the upcoming meeting." she spoke in a steely tone as she eyed the hokage while thinking, "How dare he hide something of that magnitude?"
Danzō once again frowned internally. He needs to earn their trust back otherwise all of his plans regarding the Uchiha Clan will not succeed. They are a threat to the Village. Without Koharu and Homura's support, he couldn't restrain the Uchiha or maybe he could use the Chinoike clan to do that. Didn't Haruto's report claimed that some of their members are still hostile towards the Uchiha. It looks like he needs to concentrate on the upcoming meeting afterall.
"Yes Hiruzen! We should focus on the upcoming meeting but that doesn't mean we won't talk over this. We will discuss it after we overcome this crisis." Homura also agreed.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and sighed. He is gonna get a tongue lashing from Koharu that's for sure, he knows Homura won't interfere instead Homura might also join Koharu, he's all alone. Taking another deep breath, the Hokage then started explaining all of the changes the Chinoike clan head want within the deal. The number of people they are bringing in their entourage, their personalities as well as about his code name Chameleon.
"Haruto has also informed me that the Chinoike clan despite the harsh conditions they are living in, isn't that desperate, so we must tread carefully." the Hokage shared the last information. The others nodded in unison.
HOKAGE BUILDING,
THE MEETING HALL,
ONE HOUR LATER...
"Knock! Knock!"
"Enter!"
My other half entered the office. The elders were sitting behind a long rectangular table with the Hokage sitting in between wearing his official Hokage clothes and fire signia hat, two ANBU standing on the sides of the table in standing position probably to intimidate the guests.
"Haruto! Where are they?" Koharu asked from behind the long table.
"Well! Are the preparations ready?" I inquired.
They nodded and the Hokage activated the privacy seals.
VALLEY OF HELL,
COMPOUND GATES....
"Are you ready Lady Enomi?" my other half at valley of hell asked.
"Yes but how are we going to go there chameleon san?" she inquired.
"Using my summons." I answered.
She looked confused so to clarify it I decided to use my summoning jutsu and summoned Hosu(a elephant sized chameleon).
<SUMMONING JUTSU: HOSU>
I then asked Hosu to transform into a cabin that can accommodate more than six people. It surprised the hell out of some of the members of the Chinoike Clan. Some grasped in bewilderment as it turned into a large sized cabin.
"Please go inside with your entourage Lady Enomi!" I instructed.
"Huh!..." she said looking unsure.
"Don't worry lady Enomi! This is the safest form of transportation and also the safest way to maintain secrecy. I will directly send you within the Hokage's office." I once again explained.
She contemplated on it for sometime until her husband Oyashiro said, "Let's trust the ANBU Enomi. My dōjutsu doesn't sense any ill-will from him."
"What! His dōjutsu can sense ill-will!" This is a new information or maybe something Oyashiro gained from his experiences as an information gatherer.
It seems everybody trust Oyashiro's judgement because everybody instantly followed after him within the transformed cabin immediately. Once everybody was inside, the cabin poofed out of existence and returned to its summoning realm from where my other half will summon them back to the meeting hall for negotiations. I created another shadow clone and dispelled it, to pass on this information to my other half.