Naruto, his teachers, and another team were gathered in a briefing room. It was a small closet with enough chairs for sixteen persons to sit -in other words, a platoon- with a screen where one could project various information. Presently, there was a map of the border region between Fire Country and the Land of Rice.
"We have a bit of an international problem at hand, ladies and gentlemen," explained Tiger in his monotone. "An unidentified group probably led by ninjas attacked the border hamlet of Ohira Gai sometime in the past week. Two platoons from the Regular have been dispatched in order to reinforce our presence in the vicinity but when they arrived, the village was nothing but ruins. The alert has been given thanks to a knife-grinder who was making his monthly visit. Our ninjas could not pursue, as the attackers withdrew beyond the borders of Rice Country."
The man paused for a second and, seeing that he had the undivided attention of all seven other ninjas in the room, continued. "Under normal circumstances, we would dispatch a diplomatic request to the Daimyo of Rice for the right of intervention but we cannot afford that. Villagers have been captured and we do not know what they plan to do with them."
"No ransom demanded? What is the profile of the abducted?" A man from the second team, wearing a bird mask, asked.
"No ransom demand as of yet. There is no particular profile: men and women, all rather young, have been abducted. Between twenty and forty in total."
"Slave traders?" Another ANBU, a lizard-masked woman, offered.
"Doubtful, considering slavery isn't legal in Rice Country."
"It isn't the case in Lightning Country." The first unknown, bird-masked man offered. "Not entirely at least."
"They would need to cross Rice, Hot Water, and Frost. Extremely inefficient trade route." Tiger countered.
"What about sea trade?"
"The authorities of Rice Country would not allow such a trade. And the Frozen Sea is not ideal for seafaring."
"An attempt at contraband then?" The bird-masked man suggested.
"The coast is straight, there is nowhere to set up a pirate port in Rice." Cat interjected.
There were a few seconds of silence before Dog broke it. "I don't like it." The girl said, nodding sagely. "No one raids a village for fun."
"But what for then?"
"Maru, anything comes to mind from your cover work?" Dog asked, turning toward Naruto.
The blond racked his brain for a few seconds. Rice Country itself did not allow slave trading. Neither did Iron Country to the west; after three bloody slave revolts, they had chosen to exploit their rich iron mines by free men. Lightning was too far, especially if the sea route was out. Which left an illegal client inside Rice Country or in the Land of Hot Water. Or something far worse the boy absolutely did not want to think about, like a cult of some sort.
"Illegal buyer from either Rice of Hot Water. I... Don't want to think of anything else." The youngest operator answered before explaining his reasoning.
All ANBU nodded. That seemed possible.
"If that is the case, we need to uncover who this buyer is." The bird-masked man said with determination.
"I just don't get the why. Do they expect Fire Country to do nothing?" The lizard-masked woman mused aloud.
"The discovery of the raid happened early by chance," explained Cat. "Without the knife grinder, it would have taken several weeks."
"There is no more time for speculations soldiers." Tiger interrupted, the sheer authority his voice suddenly manifested silencing everyone present in the room. "The mission has been approved by Hokage-sama himself and we are not here to discuss the motives of criminals."
The seven ninjas chorused an obedient "yes sir" as they focused on Tiger once again.
"We pack for a one-month scouting mission beyond enemy lines with the possibility for it to change to a hostage rescue mission if the occasion arises. We do not know the number of hostiles. We know some probably have ninja training but we do not know how many, nor their level. Due to those unknowns, this is an A-rank so I'll remind you to take your precautions, ladies and gentlemen. We leave in half an hour, exit seven."
The rattling sound of chairs being displaced invaded the room for a moment before all eight ninjas exited. Naruto walked up to Tiger.
"Yes?" The man asked in his droning, emotionless drawl.
"Hum… I was wondering what you meant by taking precaution?"
"This mission is ranked A and as such, it is fully possible we die during its course. Do you not have a testament?"
The blond felt his stomach sink and his guts twist in knots at his sergeant's explanation. Twelve did not feel like it was the right age to write a testament yet he supposed it was the world he was living in now.
That was it. That was his first true mission.
[ World Quest Alert ]
[ Quest: Rescue Operation at Ohira Gai ]
[ Objective: Undertake a reconnaissance and potential hostage rescue mission in the border hamlet of Ohira Gai, recently raided by an unidentified group. This A-rank ANBU black-op requires stealth, intelligence gathering, and readiness for engagement in hostile territory. Utmost discretion is required to avoid diplomatic fallout. ]
- [ Objective 1: Infiltrate the Ohira Gai area undetected. ]
- [ Objective 2: Gather intelligence on the raiders' identities, motives, and whereabouts. ]
- [ Objective 3: Identify and locate the villagers captured during the raid. ]
- [ Objective 4: Prepare for a potential hostage rescue operation. Avoid direct confrontation unless necessary for the rescue. ]
- [ Objective 5: Safely extract any hostages and return to Konoha without alerting enemy forces or Rice Country authorities. ]
- [ Objective 6: Report findings and outcomes to ANBU command for further action. ]
[ Completion Reward: ]
- [ Vital Intelligence on Hostile Forces. ]
- [ Increased ANBU Reputation by 150. ]
- [ Acknowledgment from Hokage for successful mission execution. ]
- [ EXP gained depends on performance ]
[ Failure Penalty: ]
- [ Loss of Reputation within ANBU. ]
- [ Possible Mission Disavowal by Konoha. ]
- [ Potential Diplomatic Fallout with neighboring countries. ]
- [ Death ]
[ Action Required: Confirm acceptance or declination of the Rescue Operation at Ohira Gai mission. ]
YOU ARE READING
Naruto : The System Files
ActionNaruto has always had video games to fall back on growing up while the rest of the village pretty much treated him like garbage. What happens when Naruto wakes up to find his life has become one of the video games he loves so much.
