Chapter Six

"Misty, cold, and damp," thought Franck as the delegation entered what was once the daimyo's palace. In such an urgent situation, he was absent, much to General Ross's chagrin.

Nothing on this continent seemed to make sense, Franck inwardly groaned. This Mizukage didn't inspire any trust in him; she reeked of deception. Her beauty didn't help either.

Moreover, despite his mediocre Japanese and the information he had received, Franck understood that she was part of an alliance of shinobi, who, if he remembered correctly, were known to be assassins, and samurai, who were warriors driven by honor and duty.

In short, two opposed ways of life. But all that was just his preconceptions. He was a soldier; he wasn't going to let this kind of thing influence his duties. Maybe he was entirely wrong.

As they entered what appeared to be a large meeting room, the rapid setup of the two camps snapped Franck out of his thoughts. This happened to him often these days.

Despite having had to walk for a good hour to reach the palace, the general and the Mizukage started the meeting without any ceremony.

"Since we've already introduced ourselves, let's get straight to the point," the interpreter began.

"Of course, General," Mei replied.

"On May 13, 2007, at exactly 10:37 UTC-7, a series of catastrophes shook the entire planet for 27 seconds, causing much damage in different parts of the globe. However, these damages disappeared as if they had never existed after your continent appeared in our world. Even the earthquake that occurred no longer appears in our records," the interpreter stated at length.

"I see," Mei responded. "Our situation is just as inexplicable as yours. While we were on a completely peaceful night, a great explosion suddenly occurred on the continent, followed by the sound of glass cracking under pressure. What happened next was utterly horrible. Our bodies and everything around us were torn to pieces, and then reconstituted without any apparent damage."

"What you've just described sounds like teleportation," the interpreter replied. "Do you know what that is?"

"Of course, we know what space-time, teleportation, or a dimension is," Mei replied a bit coldly.

At this response, the interpreter seemed embarrassed. This did not escape the general, who, after the latter's explanation, at least had the decency to feel ashamed.

"Please excuse us for this affront. We will ensure that it does not happen again in the future," the interpreter said, still embarrassed.

"Excuses accepted," Mei replied laconically.

Wanting to change the subject, the general hastened to ask:

"There is a massive serpent that prowls in your waters and has taken one of our ships. What can you tell me about it?"

"That's Manda. He is an intelligent animal. Usually, he does not attack ships since he knows them all. He must have taken your fleet for a threat because he is very territorial. Your ships are massive; he must have wanted to gauge you, and it escalated," Mei replied.

"Are there other animals of his kind, of his size?" the general asked, more than interested.

"Of course, but they do not live near human habitats. Anyway, they do not like human flesh."

This blunt response managed to provoke a look of disgust on the faces of those who understood Japanese in the delegation. For many of them, it bordered on madness.

"Sorry to insist, but what do you mean by intelligent?"

"No need to be sorry. To be brief, some of them speak our language and live in society. However, Manda does not have that kind of intelligence," Mei replied a small smile on her lips, already anticipating the uproar it would cause.

"What! How so?" roared the general, forgetting all decorum.

---

It was late at night when the general finally finished reporting to his superiors. They were both relieved and a bit worried about what he had learned during the meeting.

Firstly, they were relieved that the inhabitants of the place were human like them. Their customs, cultures, and food were identical to those of the Earth's inhabitants. Except for a somewhat outdated political system and a completely illogical technological development, they did not fit the stereotype of the extraterrestrial invader at all.

However, their concerns were the presence of these giant animals, talking and living in society. Certainly, they had spotted two massive ones by satellite. But they did not expect it to be so problematic. Moreover, since they were intelligent, considering them as animals seemed a bit insulting. Announcing such information to the average Earthling would not reassure them at all.

The only positive point with these creatures was their aversion to human flesh, which revived the hope of finding the soldiers taken by that damn serpent.

As he was lost in his thoughts, the general heard someone knocking on the door.

"Enter," he replied.

"General," replied Blonsky.

"At ease, soldier. What do you have to report?"

"As confirmed by the Mizukage, our scouts have spotted wreckages of our ship abandoned on an island."

"Good, tomorrow morning. Since she has given us her consent, we will start searching the island tomorrow," the general replied.

"If I may, what do you plan to do next?" Blonsky asked.

"Nothing," the general replied. "Although this is our planet, it remains their continent. We cannot just explore as we please. Our mission was to establish contact, not to start snooping around."

"Massive and intelligent animals. One of them attacking one of our ships, it's quite something, isn't it?" retorted Blonsky.

"Indeed. But it's still in the realm of supposition. Given the situation, neither camp can afford to speculate on anything," the general intervened.

"My apologies, General," Blonsky replied.

"However, they are quite intelligent, I must admit. They sent us a high-ranking military officer speaking on behalf of a continental alliance. Even though they are friendly, they are on their guard."

"If I understand correctly, if we are to learn more about them, we will soon have to make way for civilian and scientific delegations," Blonsky replied.

"Exactly, no military force will let another roam freely in its territory with impunity."

---

Kamar-Taj.

"Anhhhh" was the sound Mordo made as he emerged from his faint. As his first reflex, he threw a vengeful punch at his potential aggressor. Besides having numbed his whole body, they now dared to wake him abruptly.

"Calm down, Mordo, you are at Kamar-Taj," spoke the Ancient One in a calm and soothing voice.

"Ancient One, is that you? Did you rescue me? Where are the others?" Mordo asked, still a bit dazed.

"Yes, it's me. The others are fine. You were the most injured. Your attacker puts you in a semi-comatose state by blocking most of your nerve endings. Fascinating, isn't it?" declared the Ancient One.

"I suppose," replied Mordo.

"Before I tell you the whole story, don't expect anything thrilling; it was mostly diplomatic."