The boss is always late

John nodded, and then Aoto gave the signal to move. John and Arya moved in one direction, while Corazon and Edward went in the other. Tessai and Yorichi followed through the midway, led by Aoto.

Aoto was flanked by Kisuke and Retsu.

"Tessai, take down the majority of them and seal them up. At the end of the day, we will still need to live here, even though we don't like them sometimes," Aoto said.

"Got it," Tessai gave a thumbs-up.

Shikuro acted as the overall support, allowing the butterflies to fly around and pass on real-time information. These butterflies also supported them with poison, causing the guards to fall asleep due to the sleep poison.

These butterflies were harmless and wouldn't cause a ruckus.

As they materialized in the mansion's courtyard, they wasted no time initiating their assault. John manipulated reality itself, creating illusions that confused the guards patrolling the perimeter. Meanwhile, Arya unleashed bolts of mystic energy, incapacitating the mansion's security systems with a mere wave of her hand. Her bolts of orange lightning emanated from the small sword she always carried, now inscribed with runes that amplified her attacks considerably.

Edward, donned in a cloak of shadows, summoned ethereal creatures to wreak havoc within the mansion walls. The creatures were composed of materials around them, inscribed with runes never seen before. They moved with uncanny speed, avoiding detection as they disabled communication devices and incapacitated guards with a touch that left them frozen in a state of suspended animation.

Corazon, meanwhile, issued silence throughout the scenario, covering the entire mansion so that all the screams were muffled. Those attempting to run away faced a black cat that scratched at their faces, causing them to lose consciousness immediately.

If Yorichi wasn't there to ensure there were no runners, Shikuro made sure they didn't escape. Butterflies surrounded any runner, causing them to fall asleep the next second. One person managed to evade the butterflies, and for the first time, Shikuro created an ethereal-looking scorpion that stung the person, pinning him to the ground.

One butterfly flew by, and in Shikuro's voice, it said, "The Hokage office has been alerted; there will be movement soon."

"Then we need to move faster," Aoto said as he and the others descended, initiating their own attacks. By this time, Aoto had finally reached a high talent level, and his sorcery was swift as he manipulated the surroundings. He used telekinesis to hurl objects at the shinobis, who were screaming and running toward him. They were met with high-speed spoons, kunais, and ninja tools. Attempts to use jutsus were thwarted by an invisible wall that protected Aoto and those following him.

Aoto had come a long way and could now handle magic on a larger scale. Kisuke and Retsu ensured he wasn't in danger, and since these shinobis weren't even Jonin, their tricks couldn't stop Aoto.

Among the shinobis, someone from the Yamanaka clan attempted to take over Aoto's mind. However, all the intruder could see was magic from different dimensions flowing through his body, overwhelming him and causing him to pass out.

Aoto continued wreaking havoc until a sudden strong movement caught his attention. Two people appeared at super-fast speed, breaking through his barriers with jutsus that didn't require hand signs. They were about to stab kunais at him when Retsu and Kisuke intervened with their Zanpakutos.

"My, my, this is too fierce of a response. Don't you think so? We haven't killed anyone, just made them unconscious," Kisuke remarked.

"Who are you?" one of the men, Homura, asked. He didn't look very old and still had some black hair on his head.

"You should know who we are," Aoto replied.

"For all I care, you're people from another village invading Konoha and attacking us." There was a small hesitance in Koharu's words that Aoto noticed.

"Really? You just kidnapped Naruto, and you think you don't know us," Aoto said as he slowly removed his mask. Koharu and Homura stiffened as Kisuke and Retsu applied pressure, making them step back. By this time, all the other shinobis were taken down and put to sleep.

The two council members sensed that their mansion had been infiltrated by a group of people.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Koharu said.

"You think so? How about I go down to the right entrance door of the mansion, take ten steps to the left, and open the false wall that leads downward? You want me to believe that if I go down to the secret hideout, I won't find Naruto?" Aoto's words made their knees shake. They eyeballed Kisuke and Retsu, who had their faces hidden, but the interception of their attacks indicated their strength.

The thing was Hiruzen knew that Naruto was kidnapped, but he was given the promise that it would be only for a few days and let Naruto blurt out about some of the secrets of Aoto. This was for the safety of Konoha. What he didn't expect was Naruto being treated bad and forcing him to spill the core secrets of Aoto. 

Both of them didn't want to delay and again attacked Aoto with ninjutsus, only to hear Kisuke said. 

"Awaken.. Benihime." 

Kisuke's slim sword came to life and then it proceeded to become a more sleek, medium-sized sword. And then 

"Nake.. Benihime" (Cry Benihime)

A red colored slash wave stopped the water and fire based ninjutsu attack. And the red slash didn't stop them, it went on take down the two before both of them used t a rock wall jutsu to stop the attack and that too, they had to do it together. The two council people were horrified seeing how easily this masked man was able to stop and counter attack in a single strike. 

While both of them were in a small contemplation, there was movement outside the mansion and withing seconds a small group of shinobi appeared along with a man who was wearing an outfit that didn't fit a shinobi. 

Rather it fit a Hokage.

Hiruzen was here. 

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