Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy

Late Afternoon

 

THUD!

One of the criminals was thrown into a wagon by a shinobi after being tied up

"There! That makes fifteen! There should only be one left!"

"That would be the leader. Toroi-san is handling him personally"

"Good. Come on, let's go help the others"

"Right behind you"

The entire factory was surrounded by Shinobi from Kumogakure who were securing the area. The others were at work arresting all the rogue-nin who were neutralized by Team Tango

Toroi came along and put, the now unmasked, leader on the wagon with the other felons. When approached by the others, he wore a frustrated look on his face

"No luck boss?"

"This is ridiculous! His mind, like the others, has been laced with a stupid amount of 'Genjutsu Blocks' to prevent any potential information leaks" (Toroi)

"Shit. Truth serums will be useless then, and on the chance they were hired...I doubt they'd meet in person"

"They knew way too much about this site for it to be a coincidence. This group had to be hired by an anonymous source, they never would've had face to face contact with whoever hired them"

"So we have no idea who he is, or which village he came from then? Great. Not what I'd call a successful day"

"Hey! Don't say that! Those kids over there performed admirably. It's not every day a team where the oldest is barely twelve, managed to take on a group of sixteen shinobi and win" (Toroi)

"Of course, I'm not trying to diminish their accomplishment or anything, it's just...I'd hoped we'd learn more than this. Although most older shinobi back home don't know much about the 'Network' project, we do know how important it is"

"Getting past Genjutsu blocks for just one person takes time, not to mention the other fifteen. Even if we did invest in that much time, it'd be a colossal waste of time if they, most likely, know nothing"

"Ngh...I know" (Toroi)

"...Are we sending them to 'Hōzuki Castle'¹Demon Lantern Castlethen? Because if we can't get any useful information, I really don't think our village needs to deal with them. Kumogakure already has enough problems as it is"

"...No. We're taking all of them back" (Toroi)

"Wouldn't that be a waste of time? These guys clearly don't know anything about the 'Network', as least that's what Tango told us"

"Yeah. Shouldn't we just let them take these guys. I'm sure they would-"

Before they could continue, Toroi shut down any questions or complaints they had with a stern tone

"We're taking...them back" (Toroi)

"!"

"R-right"

"Sorry Toroi-san, didn't mean to speak out of turn"

"Haaa. It's fine...just go help the others. We only leave once I get a complete assessment of the damages" (Toroi)

"Yes sir!"

Watching his shinobi depart, Toroi had a somewhat apologetic look

{Sorry guys, but the less who know the truth, the better} (Toroi)

The real reason Toroi wanted to bring these criminals back to Kumogakure is because the Raikage suspects someone leaked information about Kumogakure's "Network" project to these men. Which could only happen if it was an inside job. Toroi was one of the few people 'A' allowed into his inner circle

Leaving his men to their work, he approached Team Tango

"Hey. You gonna be okay to head home on your own? Or do you need an escort?" (Toroi)

"No, we'll be fine. I took the worst of it, the others are just exhausted from using up almost all of their chakra" (Tango)

"We're good Toroi-sama, just a few more minutes and we'll be as right as rain. All I care about is making sure those jerks don't see the light of day anytime soon. Especially after all the crap their leader put us through" (Tai)

"You can say that again" (Suzu)

"Trust me, after what they did, life in prison is going to be the nicest thing we give them" (Toroi)

After a long and enduring fight, Team Tango was recuperating next to Tetsuo and Shō

"You guys did a hell of job. Thank you" (Toroi)

Toroi looked at Tetsuo, who was being treated by a medical ninja

"Tetsuo-dono..." (Toroi)

"Yes?" (Tetsuo)

Toroi stood right in front of Tetsuo and bowed his head down

"On behalf of the Raikage and Kumogakure, I would like to sincerely apologize for allowing this incident to happen" (Toroi)

"Wha?! Toroi-dono, what are you doing?!"

The medical ninja treating Tetsuo was a young woman who yelled out in surprise. The others were just as shocked at Toroi's actions. It was uncommon for a renowned shinobi such as him to bow his head down

"You were employed by Kumogakure. Letting these felons get away with attacking your factory, taking your subordinates hostage, and injuring you is not something our village should've ever overlooked" (Toroi)

Everyone waited for a response, expecting Tetsuo to chew him off. After all, while the perpetrators were rogue-nin, it was Kumo that allowed this to happen

But unexpectedly, Tetsuo was more confused than angry

"All I'd like to know is...how did this happen? I know when it comes to taking special requests between Kumo and manufacturing plants like my 'Mori Ltd.' , typical protocol is to ensure a manufacturing plant never holds the full schematic of whatever product the village requested" (Tetsuo)

"I am aware sir" (Toroi)

"This is a protective measure to prevent information leaks and discourage those seeking to steal your technology from committing acts like the ones those assholes did today. So please tell me..." (Tetsuo)

"..." (Toroi)

The air around them went heavy as Tetsuo's tone took a deep turn. Toroi still had his head down

"How in the hell did MY factory end up with the full blueprints for Kumogakure's current project. And please don't tell me I endured all the beatings and torture over a simple 'lack of oversight'." (Tetsuo)

"No sir, we believe something far more unsettling has occurred. Which is why Raikage-sama himself is conducting a full investigation into how the incident happened in the first place" (Toroi)

Everyone was startled at Toroi's words. For the Raikage to be concerned obviously meant there's something far more serious going on. After hearing that Tetsuo lost all of his frustration as he understood just how troubling this topic was 

{Raikage-sama is taking a personal interest in this?} (Suzu)

"After my colleagues finish assessing the damage to the factory, I will immediately request my village to provide you with suitable compensation" (Toroi)

After being taken care of with medical ninjutsu, Tetsuo had the strength to stand on his own two feet. Albeit, he was still in bad condition and couldn't move much without help from Shō. Standing up, he looked straight at Toroi

"Instead of me, please compensate the factory workers who had to undergo such trauma. Now that the factory is in this state, it'll be quite sometime before they can find good work again. They had already lost their jobs once due to your shinobi war, they shouldn't have to suffer the same ordeal again" (Tetsuo)

"Tetsuo-san!" (Shō)

Shō shouted in gratitude for Tetsuo. Unlike the men under his command, Shō was not just a paid mercenary, but a member of the nearby town where the employees came from. He knew full well what it meant to be jobless during these confusing times. Plus, Tetsuo wasn't even a member of the same town and just lost his factory. Calling what he was doing "generous" would be a gross understatement

Toroi raised his head

"Of course. Kumogakure has been stretched thin lately, but that's no excuse to neglect the people of our country. I'll see to your request personally if I have to" (Toroi)

"Much appreciated" (Tetsuo)

"Y-yes, thank you" (Shō)

Toroi shook his head

"I am merely doing my job" (Toroi)

Observing the conversation taking in place in front of them was Team Tango. Suzu, Rei, and Tai were sitting down and being tended to by the medical ninja who just finished treating Tetsuo. The medic wanted to treat Tango first, who had the worst injuries of the group, but adamantly decided he would be treated after his students were taken care of

"Toroi-sama is a pretty cool guy. As expected from one of our village's finest I guess" (Tai)

"That's an understatement, his actions during the last war have earned him much recognition. From both enemies and allies alike, he's a very powerful shinobi" (Tango)

"I'm surprised he's here though" (Suzu)

"Why are you surprised?" (Tango)

"He should've been on another mission in the complete opposite direction from here. At least that's what he told me the last time I talked to him" (Suzu)

"The last time you talked to him? You're close with a war hero like him?!" (Tai)

"My mother was a VERY distant cousin to him. Because I live by myself, he regularly came to check up on me. Although he's been pretty busy as of late" (Suzu)

"...You learn something new everyday. Why do you think he's here Rei?" (Tai)

"..." (Rei)

"Rei?" (Tai)

"Huh? What? Did you say something?" (Rei)

"Geez man, pay attention" (Tai)

"Oh sorry, just give me a sec. I'm still not done looking at this" (Rei)

"Seriously, what's so great about that stuff anyway? It's just looks like random junk to me" (Tai)

Rei didn't need much treatment as he had little injuries thanks to his newly awakened regenerative abilities. While waiting for the rest of the team to recover, he decided to take a look at the materials Tetsuo was commissioned to build, only to find something strange

{I was right, these things ARE copper cathodes. Typically used to make copper rods for wire and cable, but that wasn't the only intended purpose for making them. No...it...there's no way...this world's technology is...} (Rei)

"Rei?" (Tai)

"?" (Suzu)

Rei got up and walked to the factory, or more accurately, just outside the factory where the materials scattered all over the ground as a result of the continuous fire explosions the masked leader made. It was then, Rei spotted several other objects of interest. Picking them up for a closer look, his mood went from curious to shocked

"That...that's an oil sump. Plus, this is an unfinished lubrication system. And that has to be the sixth electrode I've seen so far. Taking into account this world's current technology level..." (Rei)

He could not stop his train of thought, becoming more and more disturbed. With an increase in temperature, profuse sweat, and a heart beating like drum, Rei found it harder and harder to breath as he rummaged through the rubble

"Tetsuo said he was commissioned by the village. The Raikage himself is involved and desperately sent a newly formed Genin team just to prevent some lowlife felons from acquiring information on what Kumo wanted to build. This technology could potentially change everything. Kumogakure is building..." (Rei)

Rei thought back to the moment he first came to this world...or rather, how he got here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"...a new age generator"