Power Stone Goals from now on: I always post a minimum of 5 chapters. Henceforth the following are the goals:
Every 150 powerstones, I upload an extra chapter.
If we hit top 30 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we hit top 10 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we are top 5...well lets get to that first. Happy readings!
(We hit 200+ last week, so today there will be extra uploads)
Chapter 67: Missing Nin
Inside the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
The door creaked open softly. Shikaku Nara entered, his usual laid-back demeanor replaced by grim focus.
"Hokage-sama," Shikaku began, "we've received no reply from Shikomu. Not for several hours now."
Hiruzen's fingers tightened slightly on his pipe. The faintest crack formed along the stem.
"Are you certain?" he asked quietly.
Shikaku nodded. "Confirmed: no communication, no sightings, nothing."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "What mission did Shikomu go on?"
Shikaku answered quietly, "A routine mission to eliminate some Mist border ninja..." Scrolls and mission reports lay scattered across the table, yet Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze was fixed on the window, eyes shadowed by the weight of recent days.
The old Hokage inhaled deeply, then let the breath go slowly. "Assemble the available Jonin squads. Kakashi. Asuma. Send them out. Find him. Now."
Shikaku gave a crisp nod. "Understood."
But Hiruzen wasn't finished. He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering to a sharp whisper. "And Shikaku… suppress this news from Tsunade. She must not know yet. Not until we understand what we're dealing with."
Shikaku's brow furrowed slightly, but he nodded once more. "And Jiraiya?"
"Summon him," Hiruzen ordered immediately. "Tell him I want him here, in this office, as soon as possible."
Shikaku turned to leave, then paused.
"And Hokage-sama," Shikaku added thoughtfully, "what about Naruto? He's been asking to take part in more missions. Should I assign him to one of the recovery teams?"
Hiruzen's face hardened. "No. Absolutely not. If we've potentially lost the Two-Tails, we cannot risk the Nine-Tails as well. Naruto is to stay inside the village under all circumstances. Do you understand?"
Shikaku exhaled slowly. "Understood, Hokage-sama. Who should we assign in his place, then?"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of calculation crossing his face. "Send Yuki. He will go in his stead."
Shikaku bowed slightly, his expression unreadable. "I'll see to it personally."
As the Jonin strategist left the room, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, gazing once again at the cloudy sky beyond the window. His fingers trembled faintly as they brushed the cracked stem of his pipe.
"Please," he murmured under his breath, "let me not have waited too long."
Outside, the summons were already being delivered, the village's elite mobilizing to chase after a shadow that had slipped beyond their reach.
Deep beneath the surface of Konoha, in a massive underground chamber even the Hokage himself did not know existed, the air was thick with tension.
Danzo paced back and forth, his heavy steps echoing against the cold stone walls. His good eye was sharp, filled with restless fury, while the bandaged side of his face twitched faintly under the strain of his impatience.
A dim lantern flickered overhead, casting long, jagged shadows across rows of Root operatives standing at attention, their masked faces revealing nothing.
Danzo's fingers drummed restlessly against his side.
"Where is the report?" he hissed under his breath. "Why haven't they returned?"
Moments stretched painfully until, finally, a single Root ninja slipped silently into the room, kneeling at Danzo's feet.
"Lord Danzo," the masked operative spoke, voice cold and clipped. "Natimo's Life Flame has gone out. He was killed during the mission."
Danzo froze.
Then, in a sudden burst of fury, he slammed his palm onto the wooden table beside him, shattering its edge. Fragments flew, papers scattered, and the operatives flinched back ever so slightly.
"Damn it!" Danzo snarled. "A Wood-Style user loose in the world—and you let him slip away like this?! This cannot stand! Mobilize five Elite teams immediately. I want them in the field within the hour. Find him. Track him. I don't care if it costs you every last drop of your blood—bring him to me!"
The Root operative did not speak a word in reply. With a silent bow, they disappeared in a flicker, leaving Danzo breathing heavily, fury coursing through his veins.
The room fell still.
And then—a soft, wet slithering sound echoed from the shadows.
Danzo turned sharply.
From the darkness, a snake slithered forward. It was small, pale-scaled, its tongue flicking as it approached. Its yellow eyes gleamed with intelligence, far too keen for an ordinary animal.
When it spoke, its voice was low, curling with amusement and menace. "Ssss... Lord Orochimaru asksss for your ssside of the deal."
Danzo's expression darkened.
"Tell him I need more time," Danzo snapped, his voice sharp, eyes narrowing.
The snake let out a faint hiss, flicking its tongue. Without another word, it opened its jaws and vomited out a sealed scroll onto the ground.
Danzo stooped, retrieving the scroll carefully. He unfurled it, eyes scanning the contents quickly. As he read, his frown deepened, lines creasing his already weathered face.
The snake watched him in silence.
Once finished, Danzo closed the scroll, his hand tightening around it.
The snake gave one last flicker of its tongue before, in a puff of faint smoke, it vanished.
For a long moment, Danzo stood still, staring down at the scroll in his hands.
Then, with slow, deliberate steps, he turned and left the underground chamber.
He ascended through hidden tunnels and passageways until he reached another sealed corridor. Without hesitation, he moved forward, his gait composed but seething with restrained anger.
It was time.
He was going to meet with Konoha's two elders.
And the future of the village was about to be decided.
As Danzo walked through the corridors of the Hokage's office building, his steps were measured, his presence cloaked but deliberate. He made his way past the guards, past the secretaries, until at last, he reached the private council room where Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were there.
The two elders looked up as Danzo entered, their expressions a mixture of surprise and caution.
"Danzo," Koharu spoke first, her voice thin but sharp. "What brings you here at this hour?"
Without a word, Danzo threw the scroll forward. It landed on the table with a heavy thud, rolling slightly until it bumped against Homura's hand.
Homura, startled, jumped and quickly grabbed the scroll. His eyes scanned the opening lines—and they widened in shock.
"What... this says Orochimaru plans to assassinate the Third Hokage?!" he exclaimed, his voice rising in alarm.
Koharu leaned forward quickly, her eyes narrowing as she read the lines over Homura's shoulder. Her frown deepened, lines creasing across her brow.
Danzo's single visible eye glinted coldly.
"Yes," Danzo said slowly, his voice like a knife sliding across stone. "And I think we should let it happen."
…
At the village entrance, Naruto was fuming.
"Why can't I come?!" he shouted, fists clenched tightly. His spiky blonde hair shook slightly as he glared up at Kakashi. "I'm part of the team too!"
Kakashi, ever calm, simply shook his head. "No, Naruto. Not this time."
Sakura, standing nearby, furrowed her brow in confusion. "But sensei... why? What's the reason Naruto can't join us? He usually goes on missions with us."
Kakashi gave a small sigh, his single visible eye curving slightly. "Orders from the Hokage. That's all you need to know."
Neither Sakura nor Naruto knew the true nature of this mission. Not even Asuma, who stood a little further away, arms crossed and frowning slightly, had been briefed fully.
None of the 5 Genin NPC knew as well...
Only one among them understood the hidden weight of this operation.
Yuki.
Yuki, Shikomu's former teammate, kept his expression carefully neutral, but inside, his heart was racing. He had been informed by Shikomu days ago, through Yoru, that there was a strong chance Shikomu would attempt to escape the village.
And when he did, Konoha wouldn't sit idle.
The response would be immediate, swift, and overwhelming.
Yuki suspected that this sudden, urgent mission was exactly that. Shikomu had slipped the net.
Sasuke, standing to the side with his usual cool detachment, didn't seem to care that Naruto was being left behind. His arms were crossed, his gaze focused elsewhere, uninterested in the argument.
After a bit more back-and-forth between Naruto and Kakashi, with Naruto scowling and Sakura trying to understand, the squads began to mobilize.
"Let's move out," Kakashi finally said, his tone cutting through the tension. "We have no time to waste."
The Jonin teams set off quickly, heading out of the village gates and moving at high speed toward the designated location.
For two solid hours, they traveled in near silence, weaving through forested paths and rocky trails. The urgency in Kakashi's steps kept everyone moving quickly, no questions asked.
At last, they reached their destination.
The scene that greeted them was... shocking.
The area was a wide-open clearing, but the terrain was utterly devastated. Massive gouges had been carved into the earth, trees were toppled or torn apart, and massive craters marred the once-solid ground. It was clear that someone had tried to put things back into their original state—roots forced back into place, dirt roughly filled in, some scorch marks covered—but the sheer scale of the destruction was impossible to hide.
Sakura covered her mouth, eyes wide. "W-What... what happened here...?"
Even Asuma let out a low whistle, eyes scanning the wreckage. "I've seen battlegrounds, but this... this is something else."
But the most striking feature, the one no one could look away from, was the massive, spear-like structure embedded deep into the earth at the center of the clearing...and the tree a large distance away...
It wasn't just a tree or a branch. It was something unnatural.
A massive, spiraling construct of wood, like a colossal thorn or lance, buried halfway into the ruined terrain. It pulsed faintly with residual chakra, giving off an eerie, otherworldly presence.
And the tree...everyone could feel its lethality even from this distance.
Kakashi crouched low, examining the surroundings carefully. His single visible eye narrowed.
"No bodies. No blood," he murmured. "But the destruction... someone tried to cover this up. Poorly."
Yuki stood slightly back, heart pounding in his chest.
He knew.
This was Shikomu's doing.
He clenched his fists, keeping his expression still. Shikomu had done it. He'd escaped.
But at what cost?
The rest of the squad remained quiet, absorbing the scale of what lay before them.
Whatever had happened here, it was no ordinary battle.
It was a declaration.
Kakashi quickly weaved his hand signs and summoned his Ninken, who began digging up areas and pulling out bodies.
"Hey I found something." Ino said as she held a mask and passed it to her sensei.
Asuma looked at the back, frowned and tossed it to Kakashi. "There's something written in there Kakashi."
Kakashi looked at it but didn't recognise the language...but Yuki did.
In this world, every player automatically knows Japanese due to the AI. It translated everything and intuitively guided players...
But players could still write in English...and the words at the back of the mask were simple.
[It worked.]
( READ- That is all for the Mass Release for now...also, just saying. 15 chapters from now some insane shit is going to happen. I mean, stuff 99% of you might not like...I am just saying, trust the process. It will soon be revealed why....there is even an Elemental Nations Game. (I think))
Btw I'm curious, which football team do yall support ?
...
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator