Chapter 191: 190. The Day Before

MrProper

Kumogakure

Office of the Raikage 

The best ship captain of the village, Hikaru, spoke with village leader. The latter himself accompanied by his favorite guards, C and Darui, discussing matters involving the Chunin exams, along with the safety of several valuable assets to the village, and country

The quartet went over a plan they'd previously formed... 

"As discussed weeks ago, my ship will sail through the northern coastline before docking not at the Land of Earth's coastline, but its eastern neighbor, Takigakure1Hidden Waterfall Village. From there, the team will travel on foot"

"Hikaru, why can't you take the southern route? With security at its highest across the continent, isn't it less likely someone makes a move on our Genin?"

"It's naïve to think like that Darui. Look here, while that sea line has more checkpoints, we'll still have to travel a ways east as we travel down to get on it. Providing any enemy who wishes to sabotage us with wide window of opportunity to attack"

"Still..."

"Plus, Kirigakure2Hidden Mist Villagemonitors most of the area preceding that route. Going south is practically begging to get attacked"

"And since we can reach the northern one faster..."

Months passed since the Siege, the exams were right around the corner. Being the savvy ship captain he was, Hikaru considered every conceivable route by boat in order to safely escort Team Tango to Iwagakure3Hidden Stone Village

Being the most prominent exams in history, meant they'd inevitably be the most violent. In truth, battle would begin long before the event even started. Numerous villages had already made attempts to hinder others by any means possible

Everyone in the room knew this...

"I'm surprised Takigakure agreed to this. I mean, we have close ties thanks to Summoning Island, but we're still competing against one another for this" C remarked

"We didn't ask Takigakure for this. The port we're headed to may dwell in that country, but it's a public one, with very little shinobi oversight. I doubt they'll even know when we arrive"

"That makes me feel a little better..."

"That village has it's own problems to worry about" Darui noted

"What do you mean?"

"I have it on good authority they've yet to fully recover the assassination of their former village head, Hisen. And while his son has been installed as leader, he's still only a child. The elders serve as advisers, taking the most of the burdens as they continue to groom him"

"The affairs of another village are irrelevant now, I'm more concerned about us. Speaking of which-"

"Yes, Raikage-sama. There's also Tetsuo Mori's request to travel along with us..."

A place welcoming business owners, merchants, and the wealthy...there wasn't a chance Tetsuo would or could pass up such a chance to spread the name of Mori Sp.

Seeing as he's now an integral part of village's foundation, largely in part to the new energy grid supporting Kumogakure, for him to journey towards a foreign nation naturally sparked some debate

"Since most of the big wigs arrive during the third and final part of the exam, we can send him with a different ship at a later date. It'd be wise to consider putting Tetsuo-dono in disguise and use public transportation"

"Forget him, what are we going to do about your transport Raikage-sama? If our team makes it to the finals, you must make an appearance in Iwagakure" Darui mentioned

"We should assume every party departing our country is being observed, the same meticulous care we're placing on Team Tango must be given to both you, and Tetsuo-dono" C asserted

"Speaking of them, how are they doing? They depart tomorrow right?" A asked

"Well, from last I heard..."

♦♦♦

Amegakure4Hidden Rain Village

Endless rain blanketed the village

Amidst the tallest tower of the small, impoverished, yet highly industrialized nation, top members of the shadowy group known as Akatsuki reveled at the sight before them

"The remaining stragglers have been dealt with, without Hanzō, the previous government fell apart easily"

"...Is that so?"

"We've done it Pain"

"Done what exactly?"

"...The village is finally in our hands. Is this not what we wanted all this time?"

"Not even close, we desire absolute peace, and not just for our nation. Even if we have the village now, we're not inviolable, we mustn't let settling the score with Hanzō blind us from the truth. Never forget Konan, this is just the beginning"

The top member of Akatsuki had finally taken full control of the government, ever since their successful coup months ago. After the Akatsuki spy Zetsu located the former village leader, the civil war quickly came to an end

In the past months, Pain began solidifying his reign, running the village from the shadows while Konan eliminated Hanzō's leftover supporters and loyalists

"Of course...now the hard work begins, speaking of which-"

"What is it?"

"The Chunin Exams...should we send forth our own teams?"

You are reading story Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy at novel35.com

"I want to say no, but the exams are always an excellent opportunity to scout potential recruits for our new Akatsuki. I agree with Madara in that we need more members. Plus, we may even receive intel on Jinchūriki"

The pair wanted all eyes off Amegakure while they proceeded with their true goal. This meant maintaining the lie that civil war was still ongoing in the country

It was fortuitous to say the least that Hanzō became so paranoid in the years prior to his death. Establishing a system that completely closed off the nation to others, every single individual who entered was vetted, and security remained at an all-time high

Pain spent most of his recent free time adopting said system for his own personal use, getting used to the inner working of running the nation. It suited his typical clandestine actions as the public leader of Akatsuki

Konan acted as his proxy, directly interacting with the shinobi and villagers, enacting his will when and where ever he deemed necessary

She considered sending Genin squads to another nation might tip someone off, but to Pain, the chance was too great to ignore

"Send those you can trust to remain silent, and don't send too many"

"Two or three teams should suffice. Once I'm done, we can discuss that other matter with Madara"

♦♦♦

WOOOOO...!

Mild wind blew through a forest in the middle of nowhere. A place none would bother mentioning, and it was for this reason, two individuals decided to convene in secret

One of them, shorter in stature, was the first to break silence

"I'm surprised to see you so soon..."

"For an event like the Chunin exams, how can one not get a little excited"

"More like, you're excited seeing all of that potential gather in one location, Iwagakure is practically doing our job for us"

"And then some"

RUSTLE!

One of the shadowy figures stepped into the light, revealing the black wardrobe decorated in red clouds, signifying his status as a member of Akatsuki

But unlike Pain and Konan, this one was far less...loyal

"Your partner has been asking questions about you. He really wants to kill you, I mean, now more than ever"

"You'd think someone who experiments on people almost as much as I do would be easy to get along with...shows what I know. That cranky puppeteer is no different than any of the other lunatics in our merry band"

"Present company included?"

"Cute. On another note, did you bring what I asked for?"

The shorter individual handed a scroll over to the Akatsuki member

"Intel on the Kumogakure attack, despite doing everything to keep it quiet, they're calling it the Siege. As you guessed, the Company was responsible...and they were able to continue your work"

"Mmm...indeed. I've always found Red to be quite the scientist, guess I shouldn't be surprised she'd complete the LIFT. Though, judging from your report, there are still a couple of kinks to work out"

"Should I stick with observing them?"

"No. I want you at the exams, that takes priority. I've yet to decide on a potential partner for that plan, and our window is only getting shorter as the days go by"

"And after?"

WOOOO...!

The wind picked up once more, the Akatsuki member turned around, prepping to re-enter the shadows

"You heard about the Fūma right? That branch who broke off from the main clan in the Land of Fire. How they mysteriously vanished after participating in the Siege with the Chinoike?"

"What about them?"

"They were situated next to Land of Steam, and now that they're gone, there's so much...free space"

"Ah!"

"I won't be in Akatsuki forever, and I'm tired of relying on others for my protection"

The younger individual smiled once he understood what the other was hinting at

"It's a perfect place for building a base"

"Or a village"

"!"

"Keke. I'll see you at the exams"

ZWSH!

He vanished without a trace. The one left present bowed his head and sneered in a sinister manner, clearly exhibiting he was no less twisted than his superior

"The cards are already in our hands...Orochimaru-sama"

You can find story with these keywords: Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy, Read Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy, Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy novel, Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy book, Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy story, Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy full, Illumination – A Naruto Fantasy Latest Chapter