Chapter 221:
Hokage's Office.
"Sorry, everyone, I'm late."
As he pushed open the door, Konohamaru entered with an apologetic expression.
"It's fine. Come on in, Konohamaru," Shikamaru said from the front of the room, his face grim. "We'll now begin the jōnin council."
In Naruto's absence, Shikamaru chaired the Konoha jōnin meetings, with Sasuke attending as an observer and the past Hokage offering supplementary input.
Because Kakashi was away from the village, Tsunade was the only former Hokage present.
"...What?! The gatekeeper ninja of the Hidden Leaf was killed last night?!"
Tsunade exclaimed. Her shock wasn't because the gatekeepers were particularly strong or hard to kill, but because ever since the founding of the Hidden Leaf, this was the first time a gatekeeper had been killed.
"Yes. And according to the investigation conducted by the Anbu I dispatched, only one thing—or rather, one person—is missing from the entire village: Amado, of the Kara organization."
Shikamaru spoke slowly.
"In other words, the culprit is most likely a member of Kara... But didn't Naruto go on a mission specifically targeting them? If that's the case, how did they still manage to send someone to the Hidden Leaf to snatch Amado?"
Tsunade hit the nail on the head.
"There are two possibilities. First, Kara's strength is so overwhelming that they didn't even take the Five Kage's joint assault seriously. Second..." Shikamaru hesitated before continuing, "The Five Kage's joint attack on Kara... failed."
As Shikamaru's words fell, an eerie silence enveloped the Hokage's office.
"Actually... since this morning, I haven't been able to sense Naruto's chakra."
Sasuke stepped forward, delivering another blow.
"Impossible!"
Konohamaru was the first to reject the idea, stepping up to refute it.
"That's enough, Konohamaru, calm down. I don't believe Naruto would die so easily either." While calming Konohamaru, Shikamaru picked up three reports from the desk. "These are the postmortem reports. Inuzuka Akita and those two gatekeepers were all silently killed with a bladed weapon last night."
…
"Lord Seventh..."
After leaving the other dimension, Sarada looked a little downcast.
"I believe nothing will happen to Naruto."
Even as everyone fell into low spirits, Gaara maintained his unwavering faith in Naruto.
"I'm sorry..."
Chōjūrō lowered his head in guilt. If it hadn't been for the fact that Ao, whom he brought, suddenly turned into an Ability Beast, the operation wouldn't have failed, and Naruto wouldn't be missing in the other dimension with his fate uncertain.
"Chōjūrō, this wasn't your fault,"
Kurotsuchi told him. This truly was something no one could've predicted.
They still knew too little about the Ability Beasts.
"For now, let's return to our respective villages, take care of the necessary arrangements, and then we'll regroup to discuss rescuing Naruto."
Darui suggested.
"Yes, that's all we can do." Gaara nodded, then looked toward Shinki. "Shinki, for now, go back to the Leaf Village with Mujina and Sarada. We might need your help when it comes time to rescue Naruto."
"Yes, Father."
Somewhere within the Land of Fire...
Might Guy leaned on a tree branch as a crutch, rushing down a dusty road in an unknown direction. As for his wheelchair—it had already been destroyed during his battle with the fake Kakashi.
"How strange... I feel like I've been here before, but also like I haven't..." Guy looked around. "Whatever. I'll just keep moving forward. I believe in my youth and burning spirit—they won't let me lose my way!"
With his crutch in hand, Might Guy resolutely marched off—in the wrong direction.
In the Ability Beast base, located within the Land of Water...
"What exactly are you people trying to do to me?!"
Amado, who had been imprisoned, finally realized something was wrong. He knew clearly that his value lay only in his talent for developing Scientific Ninja Tools. Yet ever since Boro and Code brought him back, he had been locked up.
"No need to be anxious, Amado."
Evilmoku stood at the front. Behind him were Orochimaru, Boro, and Code.
"You're... Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!"
"My name is Evilmoku now," Evilmoku replied as he inserted a card into the slot on the wall next to Amado's cell. "Even though you betrayed me, I'm still giving you this opportunity to evolve."
"AAAHHHH!!"
Amado screamed in agony as electricity surged through his body.
Listening to his cries, both Boro and Code shivered involuntarily. They had each been through this same experience.
"Looks like everything's proceeding as expected."
Orochimaru, the S.H.I.E.L.D. ambassador to the Ability Beasts, stepped forward, his expression one of interest. Though this wasn't his first time witnessing the procedure, it still fascinated him.
The technique of transferring the sealed power from the card into another person using Scientific Ninja Tools intrigued Orochimaru greatly. However, he wasn't allowed to study it—only observe.
While the Ability Beasts seemed to maintain a respectful stance toward S.H.I.E.L.D., they weren't afraid to fight them if it came to that.
After all, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had never shown up, and neither had the leader of the Ability Beasts, Black Emperor.
As Amado's screams gradually faded and the electric currents stopped, Evilmoku pressed a button and opened the cell. A cloud of white smoke rose up, revealing the unconscious Amado.
"Boro, Code—once Amado wakes up, the three of you are to go guard Naruto in the other dimension."
Evilmoku instructed.
"Yes, sir."
Boro and Code replied in unison.
"Now that it's over, I suppose I'll be heading back," Orochimaru said to Evilmoku. "When the time comes to turn Naruto into an Ability Beast, make sure to call me. Evilmoku, the main body will probably come observe personally."
"Don't worry."
Evilmoku nodded. He wasn't overly concerned with this so-called No. 2 clone of Gray Wolf, who served as the diplomatic bridge between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Ability Beasts.
Mount Myōboku.
Modern Boruto, who had kept his eyes closed the whole time, suddenly opened them. Dark markings appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"So this is Sage Mode..."
Boruto assessed his current physical state and could clearly feel himself growing much stronger.
"Boruto, looks like you've done it."
Gamakichi jumped next to him.
"Yeah." Boruto nodded, then glanced at the still-meditating Future Boruto. "By the way, why are you the only one here? Where's Gamamaru?"
"Gamamaru went with Shikamaru to find Fukasaku and Shima."
"Uncle Shikamaru's here?!"