“I’ll skip the details, but they found this Map of the Heavens at the observatory, along with the half of the ultra particles hidden in ‘the sky that fell to the earth.’ That’s this.” He then plonked a bamboo vessel plastered with protective wards on top of the desk. “It’s sealing some seriously powerful chakra. Don’t touch it.”
“Do we know the signs to release it?” Naruto asked.
“Apparently, they’re in here.” Shikamaru tapped the book next to the bamboo vessel. The rule book for a card game called Star Lines. “Unfortunately, the ink in a key part is blurred and we can’t read it. I’ll send it to the institute and get them working on it.”
“To the institute.” Naruto frowned.
They kept passing critical information on to Kengakuin. On the surface, the institute appeared to be working with Naruto’s office, but he had no idea what Director Furieh was actually planning.
Pretending that he didn’t see Naruto’s face cloud over, Shikamaru set a folded piece of straw paper next to the bamboo vessel. “Also. This was wedged into Map of the Heavens.”
Naruto peered at the straw paper.
X Month X Day The stars increased.
The short bit of text was scribbled in cursive. Below the sentence was a whirlpool mark swirling to the left. A small triangle was attached to the bottom left of the whirlpool like a door stopper.
“This is … the mark of Konoha?” Naruto looked up at Shikamaru.
“Looks like it, huh?”
“What’s this mean? They found this book in the Land of Redaku, right? Why would the mark of our village be in it?”
Peppered with questions, Shikamaru shrugged. “No idea. Might be the same symbol just happened to pop up somewhere else. We can’t say anything for sure yet. At any rate, we have the ultra particles, so Sasuke and Sakura should be making their way back to the village.”
At the average travel speed of a jonin, it was about thirty days from the village of Konohagakure to the Land of Redaku. Sasuke and Sakura would no doubt be a fair bit faster than that.
“Master Kakashi said he’s going to stay a bit longer in the Land of Redaku,” Shikamaru continued. “I guess he’s backing the prince’s coup d’état. We got that message from him a bit ago though, so it might already be over.”
“The thing we got that petition for?”
About a week or so ago, Naruto had gotten a letter from the prince of Redaku asking for support with food. He’d already gotten a message from Kakashi that he wanted Naruto to help, so he promised his support, but he hadn’t known that the situation had developed into a coup.
“Apparently, the new queen’s reign is not going so hot,” Shikamaru said. “People are starving to death.”
As soon as he heard this, Naruto’s face grew dark. Naturally, he wanted to do something. But if he carelessly interfered in another nation’s civil war, he would create a pretext for them to invade the Land of Fire. It was hard to imagine that the battle power of the Land of Fire could be weaker than that of the Land of Redaku, but win or lose, he had no interest in waging war.
“We sure it’s okay that Master Kakashi’s supporting this coup?” he asked.
“Well, depending on how you look at it, it is interfering in another country’s domestic affairs. The country’s been closed off for a long time, and it’s iffy whether this interference is valid.” Shikamaru played with the long beard on his chin.
“As a Konoha ninja, there’s no issue with him purging any rogue shinobi Redaku hired. But direct attacks on noncombatants like the queen and the prime minister are completely out of bounds. But, you know, there are other ways to handle it. Like, you make sure they attack first, and then all your attacks are under the guise of legitimate self-defense. It’s Master Kakashi—he’ll handle it right. Either way, our only means of contact is by hawk. It’s no wonder you’re worried.”
“Right?!” Naruto said in a bright tone, trying to shake off his unease. There was a tight smile on his face.
Wears his feelings on his sleeve like always.
Shikamaru grinned and patted Naruto on the back.
“It’s about time for you to get to work. Pretty much all of those proposals need to be done by the end of the week. Look them over sooner rather than later.”
Three days later an unexpected guest paid Naruto a visit.
“There’s someone here who says they want to see the Lord Hokage.” The look on Moegi’s face was clearly troubled as she announced this visitor.
Naruto and Shikamaru, who had their heads pressed together discussing the plan for the next year’s railway construction, cocked their heads to one side, baffled. There were no appointments that day.
“She insists she’s from the research institute, but she doesn’t have any identification,” Moegi continued. “Should I let her in?”
“What’s it about?” Naruto asked.
“Err,” Moegi stammered. “Some substance called, um, ultra particulate?”
Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other.
“Let her in.”
They had asked the institute to examine the ultra particles Sasuke and Sakura brought back. Naruto and Shikamaru waited nervously for this visitor, wondering if the analysis had been completed, but the timid figure Moegi showed in was Chihare.
“Um, the truth is,” Chihare started after waiting for the sound of Moegi’s footsteps to fade away. “I’ve found a way to cure your illness.”
Shikamaru’s eyes flew open, and then he frowned and looked at Naruto. He clearly was asking how this woman knew about Naruto’s illness, but this wasn’t the time for explanations.
“Really?!” Naruto leaped up, knocking his chair aside.