Chapter 70: Scales of Justice (Part-1/12) [Mihawk’s black sword]

Chapter 70 - Scales of Justice (Part-1/12) [Mihawk's black sword] Three more months passed as Ren continued training in Chakra Enhanced Strength and completing missions. Aside from the usual C-rank missions they did once per week, Team 1 also handled two emergency missions, one B-rank and the other A-rank. The A-rank mission involved recovering a Konoha squad that had been captured near the border before they could even begin their infiltration mission into a minor village. Normally, such operations would fall under ANBU jurisdiction, but lately, Utakata had started taking on more tactical missions like information gathering and recovery. Since Team 1 usually handled only C-rank assignments, their part in the mission was to collect pre-gathered intel from another squad and bring it back, while the other team acted as a diversion. In this case, the squad had already been captured before any infiltration could occur. As Team 1 entered the village, they quickly located them. The village itself was so small that their strongest shinobi, the village leader, was merely an elite jonin. Ren found it hard to believe that such a small village managed to capture a Konoha squad, but later learned that it was simply a matter of bad luck. The village leader had stumbled upon them while on a stroll. Team 1 easily took out the guards assigned to the captured squad and brought everyone back. The only reason they spared the guards was because villages like this often served as useful cannon fodder during wartime, and completely wiping them out would do more harm than good politically. The village's motivation for capturing the squad had simply been to leverage some kind of benefit from Konoha. Ren didn't know what sort of consequences the village would face, but the rescued squad received a punishment of a fine and a three-month suspension from active duty since a squad led by a Jonin with three Chunin who were all infiltration specialists were caught so easily. Even though Konoha was much more lax as compared to other villages it was still a military village. If a squad was not performing as per expectations they would face consequences. Other than that mission, not much excitement had come Ren's way during this period. His Chakra Enhanced Strength training continued steadily. By now, he could use the technique during small movements, though using it at high speed was still difficult and required more practice. His chakra control mastery increased by 3% over the three months, reaching 84%. This was his fastest progress in chakra control since reaching the advanced level. Before, it had taken him over 40 days to gain even 1%, but ever since he began training in Chakra Enhanced Strength, the pace had noticeably quickened. According to his estimate, once he hit 90% and reached the master level, he'd be able to use the technique with significantly more ease. The biggest improvement was in using the technique while standing still, he could now control a large amount of chakra during a strike, allowing him to cause much more destruction with a single punch. For training, he'd gone to the mountains behind the Hokage Monument, where he spent time punching rocks and knocking down trees. It was fun. Really fun. Destroying trees and punching through stone with a single blow was so satisfying that Utakata eventually had to step in and stop him before he triggered a full-on deforestation project. Then again, with how densely packed Konoha's surroundings were, even that would've taken him a while. {Present Time} {Hokage's Office} In the Hokage's office of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, multiple people were present, listening to the report of a messenger dressed as a samurai, a sword hanging by his side. In usual cases, nobody is allowed to show their weapons in the Hokage's office as a show of respect, but samurai pride themselves on their swords. Thus, a unanimous vote was passed in one of the meetings held by the Land of Iron, which is home to the samurai. That as a sign of respect for the Land of Iron, whenever any Kage meets a messenger from there, they will be allowed to have their swords with them. Except for the messenger, the only person who can carry weapons in the presence of the Kages is Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron. The messenger began with his greetings, "Greetings, Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." The people present in the room, Juichi, Shikaku the Jonin Commander, Danzo the Darkness of Konoha, and the leader of the village Hiruzen Sarutobi were not surprised to hear the neutral tone of the messenger. The samurai began, "The ambassador of the Leaf Village, Shikeru Nara, has been arrested for the crime of breaking international protocol and supplying crucial information pertaining to the security of the Land of Iron to rogue enemies. A trial will be held ten days later, and the Leaf Village is asked to send a delegation who will represent their stance. Further details will be provided in this scroll." Saying this, he placed a scroll on the table. Since the Land of Iron had been a neutral country for very long, it had established a diplomatic council chamber that hosts permanent ambassadors from each of the five great nations and several smaller nations. These ambassadors deal with peacekeeping, trade, political disputes, and potential threats. Each village sends its own ambassador and delegation to maintain relations and attend high-level meetings, but now, the ambassador of the largest of the five great nations has been arrested. Hiruzen nodded. "Thank you for your information. You are welcome to stay in the village and leave with the delegation." Even though there was a smile on his face, the samurai was under a lot of pressure. He understood that his earlier manner of giving the message had likely been the reason for his current predicament. He realized he should not have let his anger at Shikeru cloud his judgment in front of one of the most powerful men alive. He nodded stiffly, understanding that even though Hiruzen framed his sentence as if he were giving him an option, it was more of an order to keep him in the village for now. Hiruzen waved his hand, and an Anbu appeared. "Make sure the messenger has a comfortable stay," he said, and the Anbu escorted the messenger out. Once both of them had left, Hiruzen's face became blank as he ordered, "Make sure he has the maximum tail possible and begin collecting the information from the spies in the Land of Iron." Without a word, Danzo left. Once he was gone, Shikaku spoke, "It looks like the message I received this morning was regarding this." In the morning before he came to work, a special eagle had delivered a message from Shikeru's subordinate that Shikeru's estate had been raided and evidence was collected proving his crime. However, the more surprising thing was that Shikeru actually accepted all of his crimes and was willing to go on trial. Hiruzen frowned slightly. "There is some obvious foul play here. Even if we were to assume that Shikeru actually did this, he wouldn't have left such obvious evidence and would definitely not have accepted his crimes before meeting someone from Konoha or receiving any orders from you." He looked at Shikaku as he said this, who shook his head. "There was no prior message from him or any other person from his estate. I tried contacting the person who sent this message but I can't, so it's likely they've been placed under lockdown with no means of providing information." Hiruzen nodded. "That's the most likely scenario. For now, let's assume that he is being framed most likely by one of the other ambassadors, from the Earth Village, but we can't rule out the possibility of him actually doing this." Shikaku nodded. Even though the Hokage was accusing one of his clansmen of being a traitor, he agreed with him. That was one of the scenarios he had thought through as soon as he received the message. More importantly, right now he was not the leader of the Nara Clan, he was the Jonin Commander of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Hiruzen then tapped his desk in a certain pattern and within two seconds, a person in ANBU garbs appeared. However, the apparel of this person was much different from the others. He wore significantly more durable armor with red and silver markings on the edges. On his chest plate, a symbol of the Leaf was marked, and he wore a cloak over it all, finishing it with a blank black mask. He was the commander of the ANBU Black Ops of Konoha, Yoru. His mission record was so legendary that no enemy had ever seen him and lived to tell the tale. His records are only available to the current or future Hokage. Even the Sannin and the two elders are not aware of his exact mission details. "Yoru, make sure that not a word leaks of the ambassador being arrested." Without a word, Yoru nodded and flickered away. Shikaku also left to handle the official details for the delegation that would leave by the earliest tomorrow. When only the two of them were left, Juichi, who had been completely silent till now, spoke. "I want to go." Without even thinking, Hiruzen's reply came. "No." Juichi furrowed his brows. "You know how much help Shikeru gave me back in the days. I can't just leave him alone at times like this." Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe. "Considering your history in the Land of Iron, I can't send you. Especially when you've lost your arm." Juichi glanced at his missing right arm. "I'll be fine. You know how much I've mellowed down compared to before. And if you're still worried, just send Utakata with me. If the two of us are together with old man Homura, any negotiations that happen will carry much more weight." Hiruzen frowned, thinking for a few seconds, and then nodded. "Fine. But you are not to be separated from Utakata. If I hear even one instance, I'll have you locked up in the village for years to come." Hiruzen wouldn't be so strict with any other shinobi in the village, but as he remembered what Juichi had done in the past, he felt this precaution was necessary. Juichi grinned as he stood up. "Don't worry, old man. Everything's gonna be fine. I'll make sure to prove Shikeru's innocence." Hiruzen shook his head. "You won't be doing anything unless we've determined everything. Even after that, you're just going there to show your support for Shikeru. The only ones who will be doing anything is Yoru's squad." Juichi paused. "You're sending Yoru on this mission?" Hiruzen nodded. "He would be the best for the situation in case there is some foul play. And besides, I'm worried that masked man might attack again. Last time he attacked it was the Daimyo, so this time he might try to attack the official delegation of Konoha. Yoru, together with Utakata and Homura, might be able to handle him." Juichi frowned but then nodded and left the office. ~~~ Two days later, in the morning, a delegation was gathered at the village gate. People dressed in formal attire with the Leaf symbol prominently displayed stood around, quietly discussing among themselves. These individuals were a part of the Negotiations Team, the group responsible for handling post-war discussions and diplomacy with counterparts from the other great nations. Most of them were non-combatants, weak in terms of shinobi ability, with little to no combat training. Alongside them stood 15 shinobi in standard uniforms. 12 of them were Chunin, with only three jonin present among them. These shinobi served as the official guards of the delegation. Normally, a team tasked with such politically sensitive work would be afforded a far stronger escort. However, the current composition was a result of the joint agreement between all five great villages, an intentional decision to minimize the threat or provocation by reducing military presence in neutral territory. A short distance away from the formal delegates, Team 1 stood together, waiting with their Sensei, Utakata. That's when Ren and Juichi caught sight of each other. At the same time, they both spoke out. "What are you doing here, brat?" "What are you doing here, dad?" ~~~~~ {Number of guards for the negotiations team allowed: maximum 5 Jonin with 15 Chunin. The number of Genin is not specified since who would even take such weak little kids on a mission like this, right?} {Anyway, we will finally have an original mission, and we also have the first appearance of Yoru. He will be an important character in the future and one of the most badass ones (definitely an OC though), and just so you know, he is NOT Hiruzen's son or a Sarutobi. I know that the ANBU commander lore was a bit different in the canon, but c'mon guys, we have so less info so let me have some fun, this is a fanfic anyway.} {STONES!!!!!}