The Mad Sage Of Uzushio, A Naruto Fan Fiction, Chapter 22: Behold! The Sky Lantern Flotilla Of The Dragon King! The Rings Of Jupiter Never Looked Lovelier
Chapter 22: Behold! The Sky Lantern Flotilla Of The Dragon King! The Rings Of Jupiter Never Looked Lovelier
Chapter 22
Behold! The Sky Lantern Flotilla Of The Dragon King!
The Rings Of Jupiter Never Looked Lovelier
Deep in the heart of the Raikame’s storage area, Karui slowly dispels her own flashback genjutsu, easing herself and everyone else out of it, before she stops playing to catch her breath, with her eyes dry of tears now, but with poor Cho Cho now balling.
Akimichi Cho Cho:
Mama!?!… Daijoubudesuka?!?…
Akimichi Karui:
Ah… There there Cho Cho… It’s all over now… Genkidesu… It wasn’t pleasant to say the least… But it happened… And I needed to face it… to be whole… What about you Yukai?… Genkidesuka?…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Yeah… I’m fine sis… I don’t remember any of that… But I was just a kid… I was probably better off… But now… knowing what happened… I feel like I can process it better this way… It just doesn’t seem to bother me so much as…
Akimichi Karui:
So much as the fact that that bastard still has mother’s eyes?…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Yeah… I’m just glad we got our sister back… There’s nothing that we can do about our mother’s eyes…
Akimichi Karui:
Maybe Yukai… Maybe…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Does that mean that you’ve decided?… about what dad said?…
Akimichi Karui:
Hai… It will be worth it just to see the look on their faces… even with mother’s eyes staring back at me…
Uzumaki Karin:
Care to share with the rest of the class?…
Akimichi Karui:
Not exactly… But you should probably know… You’ll find out soon enough… I’m going to be making my debut… before the empire… There’s no point in hiding… except in plane sight… in theory… But who knows if Ishitara will agree… But I shouldn’t say much more… Who really knows what that crazy old baca sennin has in store for us exactly… I wonder if even he knows at this point… I hope you’ve been studying… I suspect there’s about to be a pop quiz… or several… Come on… people will talk… Uh?… Do you know the way back?… I still have to practice with my Starlight Rinnegan… Can either of you get us back?…
Uchiha Sarada:
I can still see the light of the entrance from here… I suggest we take the time… and walk…
Uzumaki Karin:
Agreed… No offense…
Akimichi Cho Cho:
None taken…
Darui:
Is the mad magician planning something else?… besides the three hour tour?… something other than to fetch the Blood Treasury?… and whatever he’s up to with Orochimaru?…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Yeah… The politics of empire… when it’s the family business… It’s something that dad talked over with Shikamaru and us… But I’m sure they’re gonna make an announcement soon… if not a briefing… We should be coming up on the Sky Lantern Flotilla soon… I suspect that my father may have been joking about a three hour tour… But I don’t get it… But we’ve got to go… or we may miss something…
Akimichi Karui:
Nice dodge…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Some things are just easier to show than to tell… And he doesn’t tell me everything… And for some things… words just fail to be adequate…
Akimichi Karui:
You’ve been spending too much time with him… Your starting to sound just like him… even your excuses…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Sodesuka?… So be it sis… So be it…
They hurry back to the pilot house, and then out to the deck, as they are greeted by the first glimpses of Saturn as it comes into view by the Raikame just passing by. Shintaro stands facing the gawkers on deck, not bothering to look himself with eyes that can’t see, but instead simply enjoying the reaction in his crew’s chakra. He notices Karui coming up to him with her chakra feeling different than before.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Karui?… Are you… feeling better?… Do you remember now?… Not that it should make you feel better… But it might help…
Akimichi Karui:
Yeah… I remember… And no… It doesn’t make it any better… But it does make it… clearer…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Does that mean that you’re on board?… in a manner of speaking…
Akimichi Karui:
Yeah old man… I’m in… But I was in before… as soon as Shikamaru signed on with Choji… But I told you before… Ishitara is going to be the difficult one…
Akimichi Cho Cho:
Mama?… What are we doing?… that we don’t know about?…
Darui:
Yeah… It’s tedious and tiresome… But I was told there might be a briefing?… This is supposed to be a summit…
Nara Shikamaru:
Well… I suppose it’s that time… And here you caught me enjoying the scenery… I’m afraid some decisions had be a bit rushed by circumstances… But the primary decisions to be made before us… were ones for family… not for the alliance per se… The politics are just tangled up in family matters… Which is unavoidable when your family business… is the business of empire… As far as the empire is concerned… we belong to them… and as far as anyone who might argue against them on that… they’re already too busy fighting to be bothered with us specifically… even if they could do anything about it… Fortunately for us… the game of empire is dynastic… and we have royalty within our ranks… But their participation in the game of empire on our behalf… is simply not up to us…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
I’m sure Ishitara will get used to the idea… eventually…
Akimichi Karui:
Is that why you packed her up like luggage?… or because you don’t like her training to be shinobi?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
It’s because the last time Ishitara visited the flotilla… she rearranged the flotilla… She likes to rearrange the pretty lights to make them prettier… She was previously banished from the flotilla by me because of it… She doesn’t know about this yet…
Akimichi Karui:
Well… You’d better unpack her now!… and explain it to her!… before we get there!… Imada!…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai… Hai…
Uchiha Sarada:
Do you know what they’re talking about Cho Cho?…
Akimichi Cho Cho:
Iie… Aunty Ishitara is not the only one kept in the dark… But I think your papa knows too…
Uchiha Sarada:
Hai… He and mama were both part of that discussion I suspect… along with the hokage…
Uzumaki Yukai:
We’re coming up on the flotilla now dad…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai…
Shintaro pulls a scroll out from his robes, and lays it out in front of himself on the deck. He infuses his chakra into an entry on the scroll, and Ishitara materializes still wearing her sisters Kumo shinobi headband on a white head scarf covering her third eye, and wearing her traditionalist body armor, now in white with the crest of the Uzumaki Clan on the front and back, wearing a gourd of ink strapped to her side, and a large scroll strapped to her back. Ishitara looks around and realizes that her father lied to her somewhat.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Now Ishitara… I know that I told you that this was a mission… and it is… just not what you were thinking… But you are appropriately dressed for it… It’s a diplomatic mission… for the sake of your new adopted planet… You and your sister Karui… among others… have to join the Demon Hunter Guild of the Otsutsuki Empire… You have been training diligently with Karui and Konohamaru to hone your skills for some time now… So I know that you can handle the guild… But where we are going there will be enemies among us… family even… We’re going to the flotilla… Please… Control yourself… Gambate kudesai!…
Ishitara gestures wildly and profanely, and stomps her feet mouthing appropriately profane words without making a sound.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
I have no idea what you’re trying to say when you get like this little girl… use your scroll…
Akimichi Karui:
She seems fairly clear to me…
Then Ishitara stops herself, and stomps defiantly over to Konohamaru, grabs him by the hand, and shimmers away with him.
Akimichi Karui:
It looks like she has plans of her own…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
I hope that means that she’s headed straight for the guild dispatch HQ… or at least on the scenic route to it… And Konohamaru better remember what I told him… about what was expected of an imperial escort… which he effectively is when he’s alone with my daughter…
Nara Shikamaru:
Don’t worry… Naruto Kakashi and I briefed him separately just in case… He’s not missing much… I’m sure he’ll keep Ishitara on target…
Darui:
How about the rest of us?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Well… Let me begin with some background on our destination for those of you who haven’t been briefed previously… It is one of my greatest achievements… if not my greatest… It is certainly my greatest achievement ever for peace… But peace can be somewhat overrated… depending on the nature of the peace… It was a commission for the great Dragon King Watatsumi… as part of a deal in exchange for safe haven for my wife and I… after we fled from the empire… The dragon king wanted some place that was neutral territory… for all warring parties to meet… and feel safe to come close enough to talk… But also to allow free trade… and to facilitate free travel… and encouraging free communication between civilizations in general… to some extent… The sky lanterns themselves are all variations on theme… an infinitely modifiable template… the skill for which can be learned and built upon by others… So I made a design school to facilitate that… And the whole thing has taken on a life of it’s own… and then some… The Demon Hunter Guild of the Otsutsuki Empire is the only authority of any kind recognized throughout the entire flotilla… I have a kind of pseudo authority over the place… being it’s creator… making me it’s effective unofficial royalty…
Akimichi Karui:
And a royal pain about dragging me to the place over and over again when I was a little girl…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hush Karui… The Otsutsuki themselves have the right to roam freely among all public lanterns… just like everyone else… They even have their own private lanterns… They have no special authority outside of the guild… which largely has an independent life of it’s own… and has had such for eons… The guild was started by the Otsutsuki to maintain their divine pretense in opposition to the evil of demonism… all the while they use demons as their proxy armies… a gross and abominable hypocrisy… that they rationalize to themselves as… controlling the problem… But to maintain their divine pretense… they had to keep the guild open to all individuals who weren’t explicitly their enemy… and allow them access to the entirety of their empire… The guild has largely become independent and self governing over the eons… by taking advantage of the need for the Otsutsuki to maintain their divine pretense… Each sky lantern is an authority unto itself… and is responsible for it’s own security… outside of the guild that is… With what I’ve already told you… I’m sure that you can understand just fine… why I believe that… for as many shinobi as can manage it… they need to become members of the guild… One of the most important tasks for us here… is to make applications… as well as introductions… I expect every member of the Demon Order of Kumo to return home with guild medallions in hand…
Darui:
You got it… Shintaro sensei…
Omoi:
Hai… Shintaro sensei…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Others will have to get them later… Naruto… for example… is definitely not ready…
Uzumaki Naruto:
How am I not ready?… I’m a sage of Mount Myoboku… ya know…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
You’re very powerful nephew… and very sensitive… in terms of your perception… a trait crucial for demon hunting… But your fuinjutsu is woefully inadequate just yet… You’re not ready yet… But you will be… just not yet… My grandson Sasuke is more than capable now… But all of those whom are actively wanted by the empire… for any reason… are strictly excluded from membership… no matter how minor the reason… Yukai and I are likewise excluded from membership… right along with the formerly one armed bandit… In time your bounty may be lifted… after a few centuries worth of paperwork… But you may wish to explicitly align yourself with the resistance… That would forever bar you from membership in the guild… But it wouldn’t effect your right to freely roam the flotilla… And it wouldn’t bar your daughter or your wife from joining the guild either… But even though no one is allowed to act upon the war within the flotilla… it still happens all the time… In which case… you may be on your own… Which I’m sure that you can handle… as long as you don’t get caught..
Uchiha Sarada:
Am I ready?… learned ancestor?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai Sarada… quite so… Cho Cho too… Most shinobi who are sensory types… and are basically competent in fuinjutsu… would qualify for the guild… The basic requirements for the guild… or for demon hunting in general… is to be able to sense… fight… and seal demons… Naruto needs to learn to recognize the presence of the demon… and learn how to reliably and competently seal them… Only so many shinobi will have all of the qualifications ready to go without further preparations… But most will not require that much more training… It is especially important for my daughters Karui and Ishitara to join the guild… as well as my granddaughter Cho Cho… All of the direct descendants of the emperor must do so if they can… As far as the empire is concerned… our planet belongs to the empire… But we have royal personages that call our planet home… But the empire doesn’t know that yet… We have to let them know in way that also provides political legitimacy within the empire… both for them… and for our planet… to keep up appearances… in spite of Otsutsuki Kaguya already being in trouble with the empire’s bureaucracy for failure to produce chakra fruit… Our family has to lay claim to it’s own legitimacy… and to that of our planet… even if only to buy time… playing the game of empire… our unfortunate family business…
Uchiha Sarada:
If Kaguya is already in trouble for failing to produce chakra fruit… how can we fix that without producing chakra fruit?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
In the long run… we might not be able to… We may even have to consider unsealing Kaguya… just to deal with the empire politically… Because we simply can’t handle them militarily…
Uzumaki Naruto:
Unseal Kaguya!?!… Even if that weren’t completely insane… we would have to sacrifice the tailed beasts… and my life.. just to do that… We barely survived fighting and sealing her away the last time ya know…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
It will be tricky… But I do believe that I could unseal her without her full power… her full power is the unnatural power… the stolen power… of the chakra fruit… That power was never really hers… to begin with… And I owe it to my late wife to try and save her sister…
Darui:
This may be a silly question… or just a tiresome and tedious question… is this Blood Treasury… actually any where within this flotilla?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Iie… But there’s a short cut portal there from my office at the design school… And there is more to do with this trip than simply to fetch… or we needn’t all have come along…
Uzumaki Himawari:
Uh… Design school?… What do they design there exactly?… What exactly are you calling… a sky lantern?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
You’ll see for yourself soon enough… I could describe it… But you’ll just have to see for yourselves… You… and every student of the super beast scroll… will be especially keen… to see what I mean… And it was the reason that I talked your parents into bringing you along…
The gas giant Jupiter begins to come into view in the rapidly approaching distance, along with a brilliant set of sparkling multicolored rings.
Uzumaki Himawari:
Wow… is that a planet?… like the other one?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai… The other planet that we passed on the way in… is the gas giant Saturn… This is also a gas giant… called Jupiter… these names date back from before the time of the Otsutsuki… But they come from the same culture that gave birth to them to begin with… We are now within the very solar system that gave birth to all of humanity… and the Otsutsuki right along with them… Further in to the solar system… is the origin world for both the human species… and the Otsutsuki Clan… It is a planet that was once called Earth… the word we use for our own planet… and all of the soil that covers it… The third planet from this sun… is nothing but an abandoned burnt ember… an early casualty of the Great Celestial War… But that is what the word earth used to mean… Because this system was ultimately abandoned by those originally native to it… abandoned to the dragon king… it served as a convenient candidate for neutral territory… as effectively a territorial concession of the dragon king…
Darui:
A territorial concession?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
The planets Saturn and Jupiter were once colonized by the dragons… Jupiter was abandoned to serve as the location for a sort of diplomatic guest house for the dragon king… the Sky Lantern Flotilla of Jupiter… You’ll notice as we get closer that… unlike the rings of Saturn… the rings of Jupiter are far from natural…
The rings of Jupiter come rapidly come into clearer and clearer relief, gradually revealed as a vast and seemingly endless assemblage of separate relatively small objects, small from a great distance, with an endless array of sizes, shapes, and patterns of colored lights. They begin to pass space ships of various sorts on the way in as they get closer and closer to the flotilla, as if queued for docking. But the Raikame continues on without queuing. As they get close enough, the crew of the Raikame begin to recognize the various shapes, as representing giant versions of sky lanterns, which are often seen at certain religious festivals, born aloft by the heat from a burning candle, like a miniature hot air balloon.
The sky lanterns parade by, as the Raikage proceeds inward within the flotilla, with an endless array of shapes and sizes, decorated with big brightly lit signs, dazzling multicolored lights and displays. They watch an endless parade of numerous signs with alien script and symbols of unknown origin, mixed in with more familiar fair advertising all you can eat sushi and dance lessons. Many of the sky lanterns have space ships docked along side them. Other space ships seem to be parked on stationary orbit relative to the movement of the flotilla itself, as if joining the flotilla as just another sky lantern. Many of the sky lanterns appear to have one or more wraparound open air decks with people and various other creatures standing on them, seemingly protected by the same artificial atmosphere seal that protects the crew on the open air deck of the Raikame. The various creatures of the passing sky lanterns all star gaze and lantern gaze with the same up and down orientation, artificially orientated to Jupiter’s poles, an orientation shared by the Raikame as it navigates the flotilla.
Uzumaki Himawari:
Wow!… It’s a space festival!… This is what you teach in your school?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai… But I don’t teach classes personally anymore… The school… like the flotilla… has largely taken on a life of it’s own without me… largely by necessity in both cases… One of the biggest problems of the flotilla… is keeping up with the demand for increased capacity!… The whole thing was made to be self expanding and self propagating… with a basic template… and a basic if demanding skillset… which can then be taught to others… so that they can add their own… and then teach others…. to then add their own… and so forth… There are numerous design schools now… But mine is still the most prestigious… because it was the first… and because it’s mine… But my school doesn’t just teach how to make sky lanterns… but ships as well… ships like the Raikame… We’re headed for the shipyards of the design school now… There are many different shipyards within the flotilla… including ones that make very advanced space ships… like the kind that we’ve no doubt passed by numerous examples of on the way in… In the marketplaces of the flotilla… all sorts of advanced technology can be had in trade… if you have something of value to trade with… and you’d be surprised by what some creatures value… even humans…
As the Raikame passes by one particular sky lantern, the crew see a wedding ceremony underway on one of it’s observation decks. The newly married couple kiss, and the bride tosses the flowers over her shoulder to the wedding party, before turning to kiss her new husband again. Then they both turn their back to the void of space behind them, hold hands, and blindly leap backward off the deck into the vacuum, then disappear in a blip.
Uchiha Sarada:
Nani!?!… Did they just commit suicide?!?… after getting married!?!…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Lover’s leap… The sky lanterns are connected to each other via complex formulas of space time fuinjutsu… baked into the very template that defines the flotilla… The sky lanterns are connected such that… when you leap off of one… you are automatically transported to the nearest sky lantern along the general trajectory of your leap… if there isn’t anything along those lines… you will often end up in some random unpredictable destination within the flotilla… A lot of people like to do that on purpose I hear… for the experience… and to explore… Sometimes couples do this holding hands… so that they are sure to land in the same randomized place… They call that lover’s leap here in the flotilla… This ship becomes part of the same network when it’s close enough… effectively just another private lantern in the flotilla as far as that goes… But I wouldn’t recommend trying that from here unless your sure… This far in it should be fine though…
Uchiha Sarada:
Sodesuka?… I’m assuming that’s not the only way…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Far from it… That means of travel is primarily for flexibility of travel within the flotilla… and a safety measure against accidents… Private sky lanterns within the flotilla cannot be leaped into by any means without a key to do so… to prevent accidental trespass… Usually the key is in the form of a scroll held in one’s hand… or somewhere on one’s person… usually sealed within a scroll that also serves as a map for the flotilla… much like the one that I’m about to give to each of you… with the key to the ship contained within it…
Shintaro walks over the railing along the edge of the Raikame’s deck, and infuses his chakra into one of several etched symbols for ‘map’ along the top of the railing. A scroll materializes itself out the top of the deck’s railing, right into Shintaro’s waiting hand. He unrolls the scroll and holds it up and open for everyone to see, as he points towards a small drawing of a lightening dragon in one of it’s corners.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
This map… is for most part just like any map available on any sky lantern within the flotilla… for the price of nothing but a little chakra… But these maps hare have the key to the ship in them… But you must get your own scroll with your own chakra… or the key won’t work… Your chakra is used to make your personal key… so that only your key can work for you… and the key can’t be stolen… because it won’t work for anyone else… A common security device here within the flotilla… Such keys are often added to people’s personal maps… in order to grant access to private sky lanterns… like a key ring on a key chain… Infuse your chakra into the lightening dragon in the corner of your map… or on the outside of it… and you… and anyone you’re in contact with… will be transported back to the deck of this ship…
Uzumaki Naruto:
Is that like the Homecoming Jutsu?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai… Sodesune… But the rest of the map’s functioning is bit more involved… But it was designed to be easy to use… even for someone like you Naruto…
Uzumaki Naruto:
Hai… That’s good to hear… Hey!…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
The functioning of these maps… are based on something I read in a story that I found in the archives of the dragon king… About some hairy potter… with a hog’s warts… and a nasty scar… some sort of wizard’s apprentice… the supposed hero of the story… But it’s from before the time of the Otsutsuki… so who knows?… But there’s this school in it… with a special map to the school… and you could see people’s walking footsteps on the map… from wherever they were walking in the school… Likewise… this map changes based upon the sky lantern you’re in… relative to those around you… the center of the map is always the sky lantern that your in… usually displaying the adjacent sky lanterns that are already set up with receiving stations… That’s just a fancy welcome mat… with varying degrees and forms of hospitality waiting for you upon arrival…
Uchiha Sarada:
Varying degrees and forms of hospitality?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hospitality is in the eyes of the beholder… and subject to cultural definitions and norms… And here within the flotilla… that is almost guaranteed to be an alien culture… somewhat alien to us at a minimum… But only for public lanterns… Private lanterns will show up on your map… but not as accessible… The portals for adjacent sky lanterns work the same way as the Homecoming Jutsu that Naruto mentioned… Infuse your chakra into the image of the target lantern in question… and you… and anyone in contact with you… are instantly transported to the welcome mat of the targeted sky lantern… Keep in mind… there are ways of circumventing all of these safeguards and protocols… so that even private sky lanterns cannot be entirely secure… And no one strictly needs a map to get around via unconventional ways… Especially those with the fancy eyes for it… if you catch the drift of my flotilla… in a manner of speaking…
Uzumaki Yukai:
We’re approaching the shipyards… Better get your maps ready… without one of ours… you can’t get back to the ship on your own… which means that you can’t safely leave… Because even with a map… you will get lost… Just ask dad…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
It’s true… I created the place… And I’ve been here many times… And every time I’ve gotten lost… at least once or twice… every time…
The entire crew of the Raikame make a bead for the nearest railing with a symbol for ‘map’ carved into it, in order to grab their own personal map to the sky lanterns, with their golden ticket to ride contained within it. Elsewhere within the flotilla, Konohamaru and Ishitara stroll through what looks like a giant aquaponic botanical garden, filled with an endless variety of medicinal plants and flowers, with light coming from the entire surface of the walls and the ceiling. All of which is grown hydroponically, with exotic fish on display in giant tanks, acting a water and fertilizer source for the hydroponics system, which in turn functions as a water filter for the fish.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Ishitara… I think all the flowers are pretty too… But we came here for a reason… And at this point… I’m assuming that we’re still here?… in terms of where we’re supposed to be?… somewhere in the flotilla at least?…
Ishitara nods her head yes, but keeps walking along.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Are you planning on taking us to the guild at some point?… I’m assuming that you know the way… or at least the way back?…
Ishitara nods her head yes again, but keeps walking.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Is it the guild that worries you?… Because you needn’t worry about that… Your father has been training you in the basics ever since he rescued you from your grandfather… And you’ve been sharpening your skills with me and your sister Karui… And Karui’s a member of the Demon Order of Kumo… If she says you’re ready… you’re ready… So don’t let that bother you… You wanted to be trained as a shinobi… This is a mission… And it’s a vital mission… And you already know why…
Ishitara nods her head yes again, but keeps walking.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
It’s not the guild… is it?… Your worried about your family… about your… other family…
Ishitara nods her head yes again, but keeps walking.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
If you want to be a shinobi… this is the sort of thing… that you can’t just turn away from… You have to face it… and if necessary for the mission… fight it… But you don’t have to face it… or fight it… alone… That’s why we in Konoha place heavy emphasis on teamwork… Right now… you and I… are a two man team… And we have a mission to join the Demon Hunter Guild of the Otsutsuki Empire… largely to stick it to that empire… and to that other family that you’re so worried about… Don’t fear the problem… Fight it!… That’s the mission!… That’s our mission… together…
Ishitara stops walking, and turns to look straight at Konohamaru, then she nods her head yes again, before she grabs hold of Konohamaru’s hand, and shimmers the two of them away again. Just as the couple shimmer away, Yuntaro, the kages, and their respective entourages, all shimmer into view within the aquaponic botanical garden, virtually on the same exact spot that Ishitara and Konohamaru shimmered away from, with a few extra unexpected participants coming along for the ride. Kiba and Hoki, Yodo and Araya, and number of additional Konoaha shinobi who were a part of the extra security surrounding Kurenai and Mirai’s home before they left, are all dragged along into the process like a chakra dragnet. Everyone appears to be wearing what they were wearing when they were still in the flesh back home, leaving Mirai still wearing her fancy shiny red bed time kimono, but with Yuntaro wearing the shades he normally wears when he had to conceal his eyes to keep them a secret. Yuntaro and Jugo both carry chakra versions of the same flutes that they were playing before.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… Here we are… Wherever here is… Where is here?… Is this the hiding place for the Blood Treasury?… Are we on a scavenger hunt?… And where is my father?… I think I may have missed my mark…
Inozuka Kiba:
And you over did it!… for the sake of a miss!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… It could be near miss… They might still be here… somewhere… And I’m sorry for the extra recruits… I can’t really control this jutsu well enough for that… given that I’ve only ever done this by my self before… But the genjutsu required to make that part work… needn’t be all that strong… only complete… Anyone who doesn’t want to be here… or needs to remain behind for whatever reason… simply dispel the genjutsu to return your consciousness home… and back to your bodies… Keep in mind… that we are only projections of chakra here… chakra boosted by mine and Jugo’s own sage mode chakra… But we are still nothing but chakra here… Light sound and chakra… are our only means of interaction here… There can be no touching or physical contact for us while we’re here… at least not by any ordinary means…
Kiba nods at the extra shinobi security dragged along for the ride, and rendered useless for security purposes back home as a result. Then all the extra security try to dispel the jutsu, and shimmer away having succeeded. Kiba and Hoki remain, along with Shinki’s other team members Yodo and Araya.
Inozuka Kiba:
Alright… We might as well stay for now… especially since we have to launch a scavenger hunt just to find the others… assuming they’re even here… or coming here… not that I can be of much use here… I can’t smell a thing…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Try infusing chakra into your nose… to amplify your sense of smell… I believe that’s a jutsu of the Inozuka Clan…
Inozuka Kiba:
Infuse chakra into my nose!?!… I don’t even have a nose here!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Just go through the motions… and see what happens…
Kiba does as instructed, to his own shock at the results.
Inozuka Kiba:
Woh!… That is a lot of flowers!… I can smell everything now… even more than usual… It’s like my nose is supercharged… even without having an actual nose… But why is it so overpowering?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Perhaps that’s because we are nothing but chakra here… anything you do with chakra here… you are effectively performing it with your whole being… with every once of chakra that you have with you… which is also somewhat amplified by mine and Jugo’s chakra… If it’s too overwhelming… you might want to dial it back… or just use it selectively…
Inozuka Kiba:
But I still smell things wrong a bit… For some strange reason… I smell Konohamaru… and I think I can smell Ishitara as well… Karui’s sister…
Senju Tsunade:
They could have been here… They were with your father… as a part of his three hour tour to fetch the Blood Treasury… among other things…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
A three hour tour?…
Senju Tsunade:
A three hour tour… But that was several hours ago…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
It could be feature of time dilation… By my reckoning… by virtue of the surrounding chakra… spied with my fancy eyes… we’re in some sort of giant sky lantern… with more beyond these walls… orbiting a gas giant in space… It’s a space station!… This must be the Sky Lantern Flotilla of the Dragon King!… My mother Yugito told me about it… My father created it!… The sky lantern flotilla would be very far away… And if they left several hours ago… it may only be a few hours or less for them… Travelling physically by ship over vast distances… as a practical matter… requires moving at great speed… speed so great… that time slows down for those moving at such great speed…
Inozuka Kiba:
And how would a sheltered monk know about any of that… time dilation stuff?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
My father wrote about it… in his Space Time Scroll… But I only just got a copy of it myself… I’ve only been able to briefly glance at it… Can you follow my sister’s scent?…
Inozuka Kiba:
Iie… it seems to just walk along here… then disappear… She has the ability to do that… Konohamaru’s scent follows a similar pattern… It’s like they popped in… and then just popped back out again…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Perhaps we can search for them… The presence of my sister may have thrown off my aim in trying to find my father… if their chakra is close enough to each other’s in nature… But now that we’re here… even if only in chakra form… we should be able to hone in on him from here… In fact… if Kiba were to ramp up his nose back to maximum… he might even be able to track their chakra through space… But he would have to be able to get used to it…
Inozuka Kiba:
I can try…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Remember… We are only made of chakra here… We only appear as we do… because that is how we see ourselves… or that is what we remember looking like the last time we were in our own bodies… or some combination thereof… Often sprit avatars will appear without clothing entirely… Which can be kind of embarrassing… and extremely disruptive…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Ugh!… So that’s why I’m still wearing my bedtime kimono… and why your wearing those shades again…
Yuhi Kurenai:
I was wondering why you were wearing that to begin with… That’s not your normal bedtime kimono… That other thing is little more than a bathrobe…
Sarutobi Mirai:
I had… company…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Is that why it’s all shiny?… and it feels so soft?… What do you call that?…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Satin silk… I knew I should have changed while you were sleeping…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
I think it’s neat… and pretty…
Yuhi Kurenai:
Hai… She was clearly dressed to impress someone…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Mama!?!… So how do we do this?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Well… We don’t even really need to walk or stand upon the floor here… And we should be able to fly through most walls that don’t have some special barrier in place…
Yuntaro raises up the flute still in his hand to his lips, and begins to play. White sparkles begin to emanate from the top of his head as he plays, until they form a single glowing sheet of white paper in the air above his head, which then folds itself into a origami paper crane. Yuntaro stops playing and disappears his flute in a purple flash from his hands.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
This is a shikigami tracking crane… It’s kind of like a homing pigeon for chakra… or a flying ninja hound… It should be able to home in on the nearest chakra that is the closest to my own… without being me… Here… Miraisama… Take my hand… Everybody join hands… and form a chain… I can take you all with me for now… But you should be able to do this yourselves… once you get used to it…
The somewhat puzzled group forms a human chain on Yuntaro, linking up with Yuntaro and Mirai. The tracking crane then begins to fly off under it’s master’s unspoken orders, and it's master then takes flight after it, yanking the entire chain along with him through the air as he does.
Inozuka Kiba:
Okay… Well?… Now wha!?!…
The tracking crane heads straight for the bulkhead wall of the botanical sky lantern, then flies through it, followed by Yuntaro and his human chain of flying chakra apparitions. Elsewhere in the flotilla, Ishitara and Konohamaru shimmer into view in what looks like a large waiting room lounge for alien taxi drivers, exotic game hunters, and assorted armed and armored humans and monsters of all sorts and cultures. In one corner of the room, there sits a glowing square box barrier seal, actively protecting a large green turtle, resting his forearms on top of a dispatch desk, contained with him inside his protective seal, while the rest of him soaks in a small wading pool behind the desk. The turtle chomps on a handful of leaves unflinchingly as the couple suddenly appear before everyone, startling almost everyone but the turtle.
Dispatch Turtle:
Konichiwa… Douzo… I am Gamera… head dispatcher for the Demon Hunter Guild here within the flotilla… How can I help you two?… Normally we don’t get people popping in like that unless their demons… if they’re especially stupid demons… We get some of those here from time to time… But you two are definitely not demons… So what brings you here?…
Ishitara and Konohamaru approach Gamera’s desk.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
I’m Sarutobi Konohamaru… a shinobi of Konohagakure no sato… And this is Uzumaki Ishitara… daughter of Uzumaki Shintaro… and granddaughter of the Otsutsuki emperor…
Gamera nearly chokes on his leaves.
Gamera:
You brought the Juggling Princess back to the flotilla?!?…
Ishitara shrinks away slightly upon Gamera’s reaction, stepping in behind Konohamaru.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
The Juggling Princess?…
Gamera:
That little witch has a habit of causing all sorts of trouble here in the flotilla.. juggling sky lanterns… and rearranging everything… I thought Shintaro banned her from coming back here… I’m going to have to have a talk with that man…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
We’re not here to cause any trouble… And Shintaro sensei sent us here to join the guild… And we’re not leaving until that’s done…
Gamera:
Okay… Fine… But no funny business… No… rearranging… anything…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Not on my watch… not unless we have to… And we don’t have to… do we?…
Gamera:
Iie… No we don’t… Just what are your qualifications for the guild?… Konohamarusan?… We don’t know shinobi from shinola here… You’re gonna have to explain that one to me… Every potential member must be able to demonstrate basic competence in three different areas… sensing demons… fighting demons… and then sealing them away… We have a variety of means for demonstrating those competencies… depending upon the applicants… But no one gets a pass… not even the Juggling Princess… at least not entirely… We all know that she has power… But that doesn’t mean that she knows how to wield it… Her eyes only qualify her for sensing demons… Beyond that… she’s just another applicant… with all due respect to her father Shintaro…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
That’s no problem at all… We’re prepared to demonstrate whatever is necessary… As far as my qualifications are concerned… I am a sage… of Mount Myoboku… Shintaro sensei said that it would mean something to you… Gamerasama…
Gamera:
Hai… Sodesu… But why should I believe your claim… unless you can demonstrate your sage mode… like so…
Gamera begins to glow a subtle green glow, before beginning to emit low level aura of green flame surrounding his shell, as the water in his pool begins to steam slightly, and Gamera’s eyes take on a similar green glow.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Wow!… That is so cool!… I mean… That is very impressive… I don’t know why I’m surprised… I should have expected more sages to found within the ranks of demon hunters… including ones from traditions that are completely alien to my own experience…
Gamera:
It is both the favored past time… and the sacred duty of all sages… to oppose the scourge of demonism… anywhere and everywhere… to the fullest extent possible…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Hai… Sodesune… Gamerasama… Well… I guess it’s my turn…
Konohamaru stands perfectly still before Gamera, gathering up nature energy from around himself, and blending it with his own chakra to enter sage mode, generating red markings around his eyes resembling kabuki make up.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
As one sage to another… I know that you can sense that… And that should more than count as qualifications to both sense demons… and to fight them… How would you like me to demonstrate my sealing ability?…
Gamera:
On him… This should be fun… Gorgon!… Come over here and attack this rookie… They want to join the guild…
Gamera points at a large motionless seven foot tall rock like figure in one of the other corners of the dispatch lounge, like a crude stone sculpture of an ape, made by gluing and melting rocks together. Gorgon comes to life and stands up. He makes his way over to Konohamaru slowly at first, then begins to run at him full speed, stomping loudly and breaking off little bits of rock, pebbles, and dust along the way, as collateral damage for his maximum effort. Konohamaru calmly turns and faces the stomping Gorgon, then holds out his hands, palms facing up. Small paper shikigami shuriken form in both of his hands, then fly off in Gorgon’s direction. Numerous other paper shuriken form and launch in similar rapid succession. The paper shuriken explode into shikigami confetti bombs upon impact with Gorgon’s stone body. Then the confetti spins and whirls around Gorgon before landing all over the surface of Gorgon’s body, encasing him completely in paper before they solidify, stopping Gorgon in his tracks. Seal formula in black gets scrawled down the front of Gorgon paper cocoon by an invisible brush to finish the seal.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Paper wraps rock… I win…
Gamera:
Wow!… Nice shikigami technique… What was that?… What were those… pointy spinny things?…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Those were origami paper shuriken… the shikigami version of these…
Konohamaru reaches into his shuriken holster and pulls out a few blackened steel shuriken.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
These are the regular kind… They’re weapons of shinobi… not shinola… just so that you know the difference…
Konohamaru forms another paper shuriken, but puts a different seal formula in it as it’s payload, then launches it at the sealed away Gorgon. The final paper shuriken explodes upon impact, dispersing the seal paper encasing Gorgon, as it blows away as nothing but confetti, leaving Gorgon freed and unharmed by the final blow.
Gamera:
Hai… Wakata… Now what about her?… We know that she’s powerful… But can she fight?…
Ishitara becomes incensed at the doubt from the dispatcher, then she turns towards the newly freed Gorgon, before the poor rock creature can even get his bearings after having just been unsealed. Then she transforms one arm into a sage transformed tree limb, from her living tree form, and extends it into poor Gorgon’s torso, as it takes the form of a giant hand made of living wood. She smashes Gorgon against the wall, pinning him there, before seal paper oozes out of the bark of the giant tree hand, and starts to pulsate with a cool green glow. Ishitara breaks off her extended tree arm, and reforms it into a wooden arm of a more normal shape and proportion, before returning to the appearance of ordinary human flesh attached to her body and covered in her armor again. Ishitara turns towards the dispatcher with a smug look on her face, as if to say ‘How do like them apples?’
Gamera:
Okay… What was that?… You didn't kill Gorgon… did you?…
Ishitara begins to fret and wag her head no, desperate to reassure the dispatcher.
Gamera:
Relax princess… I’m kidding… It’s going to take more than a rough sealing to even bother Gorgon… That’s why we like using him for that… And he likes to be used that way… He’s a bit of an attention whore to be honest…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
That was a part of her elemental sage transformation… It’s something she learned from her father…
Gamera:
You both pass!.. Welcome to the guild!… Here are your medallions that serve as your badges of authority within the guild… and to anyone else who gives a damn outside of it… Fill in these scrolls… then sign and seal them with a drop of your own blood… and return them back here… to this dispatch office… in order to complete your registration… Your medallions can function as keys to access our private sky lanterns in the flotilla where we dump our sealed demons… We fill up the sky lanterns… then dump them into Jupiter’s atmosphere… never to be seen or heard from again… But the medallions won’t work as keys until you complete your registration…
Gamera reaches below the desk and pulls out a pair of round silver medallions with silver chains attached, and with the seal of the Otsutsuki Clan on it’s front and back, each tied together with it’s own scroll by a string, and places them on the desk in front of them. Then he opens up a hole in the barrier seal around himself and his desk, big enough for Konohamaru to grab them up on his and Ishitara’s behalf, before Gamera reseals the barrier.
Gamera:
Now unseal Gorgon and get lost… We’re usually quite busy… But today’s a slow day… so far… Or this place would have been almost empty… But things could pick up very quickly… If you want to get to work right away… you’ll have to get in line behind all these guys… or go find your own hunt…
Ishitara smiles the smug and satisfied smile of the victorious, and snaps her fingers, triggering the giant wooden hand with the seal paper on it to crumble away to nothing, freeing poor Gorgon once more.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Alright!… Let’s go Ishitara!… I can’t wait to show these off to your father!…
Ishitara jumps into Konohamaru’s arms in celebration, and kisses him in front of all the assembled demon hunters, causing Konohamru to actually blush, as the demon hunters begin to applaud. Just then, Yuntaro’s glowing tracking crane flies through the wall of the dispatch lounge, followed by Yuntaro and his human chain of apparitions. All of the demon hunters go instantly on alert, as they grip their weapons, and stand at the ready.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Mate!… Mate!… Wait a minute!… I know these people!… I have no idea what they’re doing here… or how they got here… But they’re with me!… What are you doing here?… Tsunadesama?… Mirai?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hello sister… Ishitara?… right?… I’m your half brother!… Uzumaki Yuntaro!… We haven’t met… I was actually trying to track down our father… Was he here?… Or was that just you again?… Ishitara?…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Ishitara doesn’t speak… for personal reasons that I don’t really know… Tsunadesama?…
Senju Tsunade:
He’s the real thing alright… Tests confirmed it… But Shintaro doesn’t know yet… according to the young talented monk here… We couldn’t wait for your return… A lot has happened that we can’t go into here… And you were all taking too long… But Yuntaro thinks you might have just gotten here yourselves… something about time dilation?…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Hai… We only just got here a while ago… And we went ahead of the others… thanks to Ishitara… But they were coming into the flotilla when Ishitara jumped us ahead… We were going to track them down… to share the good news with Shintaro sensei… Ishitara and I… are now members of the Demon Hunter Guild of the Otsutsuki Empire!… Honestly… it was a lot easier than I thought it would be… I was worried that there would be some written test in some alien language… But they know what they’re doing it seems…
Gamera:
I can arrange a written test if you like… Your registration isn’t complete yet… rookie…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
That’s Gamerasama… the head dispatcher here… and a sage… I meant no offense… Gamerasama… I was just anticipating the worst case scenario…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Can I take the written test?… That sounds interesting!… I’m not actually here physically though… Is that going to be a problem?…
Gamera:
Do you actually want to join the Demon Hunter Guild kid?… Or do you just like taking tests?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Do I have to pick one?…
Gamera:
Iie… I’ll just take that to mean yes… But you have to able to demonstrate basic competency in three different areas… sensing… fighting… and sealing demons… If you can do that here… without physically being here… then you more than qualify… But I don’t see that happening…
Senju Tsunade:
I might want to see him try… Yuntaro… As your new master… I challenge you to try… I happen to know that your father wants as many of us as can manage it… to join the guild… So I want to see this process for myself…
Gaara:
As would we… Right?… Mizukagesama?…
Chojuro:
Hai… Sodesune…
Gorgon stands up and begins to fidget with excitement.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
So… sense… fight… and seal?… I believe that I can demonstrate all of that… depending on the rules… What do we do first?… I don’t see or sense any demons here… or near here… But I’m not sure how to confirm that in any way that would convince you…
Sarutobi Mirai:
Try removing your shades… Show them your fancy eyes… I suspect they’ll recognize them…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Oh?… Sodesuka?…
Yuntaro removes his shades from his avatar’s head, and reveals his twin purple Rinnegan.
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Rinnegan!?!… And you’re Shintaro’s son too?…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Hai… But he doesn’t know about me yet… I came to Konoha to meet him… But a lot has happened… And I still can’t catch up with him…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Well… What say you?… Gamerasama?…
Gamera:
He qualifies for sensing… But that is all so far…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Does that mean that I don’t get to take the written test?…
Gamera:
There is no written test for the sensing or fighting requirements… The written test is only for sealing and exorcism…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Ooooh!… Sealing?… and?… exorcism?… I demand to take this test now!…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
I might be interested in taking that test myself… if I can read the test…
Gamera:
That test is primarily to certify one’s scholarly knowledge as an exorcist… and is given in any language you like… But it is beyond demanding… and will take a few hours to complete… It can function as a replacement for the sealing qualification only… But as long as you can meet the other requirements… passing the exorcism test… grants you a commanding rank within the guild… like myself…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Now I know I want to take it…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Me too!… When can we start?…
Gamera:
First things first kid… How do we know that you can fight?… You can’t just take a written test for that… And you’re not even here physically… There’s no point in continuing with the exorcist test… when you can’t even meet a basic fighting requirement…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Who said that I can’t meet the requirement?… just because I’m not physically here?… Choose any opponent you like… and we’ll see who can fight…
Gamera:
Gorgon?…
Gorgon gets excited as he steps towards Yuntaro, then starts to stomp faster again. Yuntaro lets go of the Mirai apparitions hand, then he becomes bathed in an electric purple aura. Then Yuntaro seems to disappear in purple flash, reappearing having smashed Gorgon up against a wall, smashing him to pieces, seemingly killing him.
Gamera:
Gorgon!?!… You killed Gorgon!… Baca gaki!…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
Iie… Gorgon isn’t dead yet… His chakra is still viable… He can be restored… But I must admit to overdoing it a bit… overcompensating really… Sumimasen… But I can fix this… Jugo… Accompany me…
Jugo:
Hai… Yuntaro sensei…
Yuntaro materializes his flute back into his hands in another purple flash, and begins to play. And Jugo starts to accompany Yuntaro on his shakuhachi. As they play, Gorgon’s cracked and crumbled body begins to emit the same electric purple aura that wrecked him to begin with. The various pieces of Gorgon’s fractured body then begin to float up into the air, then gravitate towards each other, locking onto each other as they come together, reforming Gorgon’s body completely, and setting him back down on the floor, before the electric purple aura disperses entirely, as Yuntaro and Jugo stop playing. Gorgon sits up, as alive and well as ever for a rock creature.
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
There… As good as ever hopefully… Again… Sumimasen… Does that mean that I’m disqualified?…
Gamera:
Uh… No… Not at all… But you might want to be more careful with how you choose to demonstrate your power… against creatures that are not actually your enemies… How did you even do that to Gorgon in the first place?… I thought that you said that you weren’t here physically…
Uzumaki Yuntaro:
It’s called the Lightening Chakra Mode Jutsu… I use my lightening nature chakra to enhance my physical speed and power… But it also has a defensive lightening chakra shield… which is what actually makes contact when any blow is struck or received… We are nothing but phantoms of chakra here… Our apparitions are made of nothing but chakra… But chakra can exert physical force itself… if you know how to use it… Sumimasen… But I am still in training… Does this mean that I can still take the test?…
Gamera:
Hai… Sodesu…
Sarutobi Konohamaru:
Yeah… That will be at least two for that test…
Tests are prepared, and Ishitara and Konohamaru take the time to fill out their scroll registration forms, to be signed and sealed in blood before being turned in. And the rest of the various shinobi apparitions in attendance take the opportunity to chat up the various demon hunters, and the dispatcher in particular, for intel and general background on the guild and the Sky Lantern Flotilla. Elsewhere within the flotilla, the Raikame approaches one of the larger shipyard sky lanterns.
The shipyard sky lanterns are all lined up in their own row, with extra space in between them, and in between their row and the adjacent rows of ordinary sky lanterns. Numerous space ships of various types and sizes sit parked in a stationary orbit with respect to the shipyard sky lanterns, as if parked in invisible parking spaces in the sky. Numerous other ships are docked and tethered along the outsides of many of the shipyard sky lanterns.
The Raikame approaches a large green orb, like a giant green Christmas tree ornament, with several large round port hole passages into the interior, all in a band around it’s middle, large enough to fit several Raikames simultaneously, without any danger of touching. Large red round circles with black swirls, the crest of the Uzumaki Clan, decorate the outside of it, lined up on the middle band of port holes, taking up space in between them. Numerous lights and balconies appear to decorate the outside of it, arranged in a haphazard and ad hoc sort of fashion, as if improvised as needed, over and over again, a common characteristic of the shipyard sky lanterns. The giant green orb begins to pulsate with it’s green glow, just as the Raikame begins to enter the port hole.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Is that really necessary?… I didn’t want to make that big a deal of our visit… at least not yet…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Come on dad… Even you could have seen this coming… in a manner of speaking… We were clearly spotted on the way in… maybe as far out as the tail end of the queue… They know our ship on sight here… And you know how fast the media works around here… No doubt they’ve been furiously spinning their wheels and yarns ever since word got relayed to the rest of the flotilla… There’s going to be an audience for our arrival… if not a procession… or a mob… You might as well get gussied up for our arrival… and put our best foot forward… You know what they expect… And politics is one of the main purposes of this trip… Sodesuka?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Hai… Sodesu…
Shintaro is suddenly surrounded by a whirlwind of papers, that spin around him furiously, obscuring him temporarily, before all the bits of paper converge upon him and solidify into an imperial quality black dress kimono, with the crest of the Uzumaki Clan on either side of the front breast of the kimono, and symbols reading ‘Death To False Gods’ written vertically down the back in white.
Uzumaki Shintaro:
But perhaps not everyone needs to suffer the attention needlessly… at least not yet… Karui and Cho Cho at a minimum should skip the welcoming party and go straight to the dispatch of the Demon Hunter Guild… Sarada and Sakura should probably go as well… as should anyone else planning on making an application to the guild… Darui… Can you take Omoi and the rest to join the guild?… Yukai can take you directly there…
Darui:
Hai… Shintaro sensei… I will see to it…
Kurotsuchi:
Count me in for the guild too… That sounds way more interesting than local politics…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Not so fast… Kurotsuchisama… The guild can wait as far as you’re concerned… I need you by my side for all of the politics I’m afraid… You are my concubine now… You volunteered for the role… quite explicitly… and with political black mail… So now you must suffer the politics with me… as I exploit you for it in return…
Kurotsuchi:
Hai… Hai… That I did… And so far… it’s been worth it…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
We’ll see if you can say that after the flotilla… Sasuke should probably stay too… and introduce himself to the local press… as the formerly one armed bandit… and the brother of Itachi the Crow… not to mention my grandson… You might as well… That bounty isn’t going away anytime soon…
Uchiha Sasuke:
Hai… Sodesu… But almost everyone else should go straight to the guild…
Nara Shikamaru:
Agreed… But Naruto and I should probably stay for the politics… You can introduce him politically as your nephew and a sage of Mount Myoboku… But keep the details to a minimum… But Hinatasama and Himawarichan… needn’t suffer along with us…
Uzumaki Hinata:
I’m not leaving Naruto!… And Himawari stays with me!…
Nara Shikamaru:
Hai… Hai…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
The design school is located within our own shipyard sky lantern here… Sai and Inojin should probably stay too… But they may not want too… I only have to go to my office to access the portal to the archive world of the dragon king… an entire planet dedicated to storing the archives of the dragon king… And he has quite the collection… assembled over countless eons… That is where I sealed away the Blood Treasury… It is a fairly simple errand to retrieve it… But I have to do it myself… because no one else can…
Akimichi Karui:
What if I wanted to go there?… to see my old home again…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
You know Karui… with your Starlight Rinnegan… you could instantaneously visit your old home any time you like… But you and Cho Cho have to join the guild first before anyone from the empire catches wise as to what we’re planning… And I have to take Orochimaru there anyway… in order to meet with the dragon king… I’ve told him a great deal about you… And he requested an interview...
Orochimaru:
An interview?… For what pray tell?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
That much is a surprise…
Orochimaru:
A surprise?… Coming from you… that’s potentially a dire warning… Am I going to like this surprise?…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
Possibly…
Orochimaru:
Omoshiroi!…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
I have to delay the trip to the archive world of the dragon king though… for the sake of stalling the media long enough for everyone to join the guild who needs to… That has to come first…
Orochimaru:
Perhaps I should join this guild…
Uzumaki Shintaro:
In your current state… you would be categorized as a demon by the members of the guild… and most likely sealed away for your trouble… Perhaps that may change… But for now… I suggest that you steer clear…
Orochimaru:
Hai… Wakata… Omoshiroi…
Uzumaki Karin:
I’m sticking with Orochimaru…
Yamato:
Hai… So will we…
Darui:
Alright… Time for us to go… for those of us who are joining the guild… Yukai…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Hai… Raikagesama… For everybody who’s coming… grab my hand… or the hand of someone else who’s connected directly or indirectly to me…
Yamato and Orochimaru’s security detail, along with Karin, and Orochimaru’s son Mitsuki, stay behind with Shintaro and the politics. But Orochimaru decides to make himself scarce going below deck, ditching the politics, followed by Karin, Mituski, and Yamato’s security detail for Orochimaru. Darui and Omoi join hands with Yukai, followed by Karui and Cho Cho, then by Sakura and Sarada, with Choji, Choza, and Kakashi joining them as well. Sai, Ino, and their son Inojin decide to stick around for the politics, and for a chance to see the design school. While Shikadai and his mother Temari, decide to stay and help Shikadai’s father Shikamaru deal with the politics. Boruto stays behind with his sister Himawari and their parents, with a wide eyed interest in seeing what he expects to be the ridiculous spectacle of his father dealing with alien politics.
Yukai shimmers away with the others just as the Raikame clears the port hole entrance, catching a glimpse of the already assembled gawkers and media on numerous balconies and platforms in the interior, and the numerous flashing lights of the local press. Yukai and company shimmer back into view in the dispatcher’s lounge of the guild, and arrive shocked and surprised to see a bunch of familiar faces waiting for them there, besides Ishitara and Konohamaru. But none are more shocked than the dispatcher himself.
Gamera:
Yukai!?!… What is the meaning of all this?!?… Did Shintaro send them too?!?… If he is going to send me this many new recruits all at once… he needs to at least give me a heads up!… How many more are coming?!?…
Uzumaki Yukai:
Sumimasen!… Gamerasama… There are a few more yet to come… and then more after that… but probably not so many all at once… But we couldn’t give fair warning for political reasons… But if it helps… My father is currently dealing with the local media… for the sake of those politics…
Gamera:
Well… at least he’s suffering for it… But on that note… Let me make this perfectly clear for all the new rookie recruits… We have one hard and fast… although unofficial rule… There is no politics… or even talk of politics… within the guild… no Otsutsuki politics… no empire politics… of any empire… and no war talk of any kind… Stick to guild business while within the guild… or otherwise take your political discussion elsewhere… When this is all over… I’m definitely going to have to have a long hard talk… with Uzumaki Shintaro!…
There Is No Alone!
Forever Never Ending!
There Is No Escape!
There Is No Point In Pretending!
For compilations of previous chapters in paperback hardcopy:
The Mad Sage Of Uzushio, A Naruto Fan Fiction: Volume 1: Chapters 1-17 Paperback On Amazon.com