The Decision, and the Flying Fortress
As the Zero-Tails finally dissipated, Ryūko seemed to lose all strength at once. Her legs gave out, and she stumbled straight into Naruto's arms.
"Are you okay, Ryūko?" Naruto asked, his voice tight with concern.
She barely heard him. Grabbing his shoulder, she looked up desperately.
"Naruto… you said Shinnō-sensei isn't dead. Is that really true?!"
"I heard it from Neji," Naruto said, glancing in his direction. "So it should be."
Neji walked over as he spoke, his gaze lingering on Naruto. Watching the power Naruto had just displayed left a bitter taste in his mouth.
In raw combat ability, Naruto had already surpassed him by a wide margin. And yet… Naruto was still officially a genin.
"It's true," Neji said calmly. "But you shouldn't celebrate yet."
"Huh? Why not?" Ryūko asked, confusion mixed with relief.
Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura all looked at Neji as well. None of them had expected him to appear here in the first place.
Neji studied Ryūko for a moment. "I suggest you prepare yourself before I explain everything. If you can't accept it, that thing may appear again."
An uneasy feeling crept into Ryūko's chest, but she nodded.
Neji then laid out Fujimoto Tōma's suspicions.
The Sky Ninja attack on Ryūko's village. Their arrival at Konoha at the exact same time Ryūko did. Shinnō's presence in the village at that precise moment. Too many coincidences.
Most importantly, Tōma had personally met Shinnō and noticed fear in his eyes.
Because of that, Tōma had openly assigned Naruto's team to escort Ryūko home, while secretly ordering Neji to follow them in the shadows.
"That's impossible!" Ryūko shouted. "Shinnō-sensei would never betray us!"
"I'm not finished," Neji said sharply. "Calm down."
He continued, explaining how the Sky Ninja always seemed to know Shinnō's exact location, as if tracking him, and how Shinnō had faked his death during the attack.
When Neji finished, Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura were stunned.
They knew Neji wouldn't lie about something like this. And with the Byakugan, he couldn't be mistaken.
That meant Shinnō had deceived all of them.
"No… no…" Ryūko clutched her head and sank to her knees. "That can't be true…"
"Shinnō-sensei saved my life," she said shakily. "I was abandoned as a baby, suffering from an unknown illness. No one in the village would help me."
"But he treated me anyway, even though he risked being infected."
Her voice trembled. "When I woke up, he smiled and said, 'You did great, Ryūko. You held on.'"
She stared at Neji through tears.
"Someone like that can't be a bad person!"
"I understand why you can't accept it," Neji said after a pause. "But I also trust what my eyes saw."
Silence fell.
Then Naruto took a deep breath.
"Then let's go check the Sky Ninja ruins ourselves."
Ryūko looked up, hope flickering in her eyes.
Neji frowned and turned to Hinata and Sakura.
"We searched the village earlier," Hinata said, gathering her courage. "There were no villagers left. No bodies either. If Neji is right, they were probably taken to the Sky Ninja base."
"…I see," Neji said quietly.
Their mission had been to escort Ryūko home and treat the villagers. If there were no villagers, the mission was already a failure.
"Alright!" Naruto declared with a grin. "Then it's settled! We're heading to the ruins!"
Hinata and Sakura smiled as well. Somehow, having Naruto around always made even the tensest situations feel lighter.
"Ryūko," Naruto said hesitantly, scratching his cheek. "If, um…"
"I know," Ryūko said seriously. "If my teacher really has been lying to me… I'll control myself."
Then she clenched her fists. "But I still believe in him."
Naruto gave her a thumbs-up. "That's good enough."
She smiled back at him.
"Hinata," Sakura suddenly whispered, "aren't you jealous?"
"Huh? Um… a little," Hinata admitted, then looked at Naruto with a gentle smile. "But if Naruto weren't like this, he wouldn't be Naruto."
Sakura blinked, then laughed softly. She'd worked with him enough to know that was true.
"Alright," Neji said, refocusing them. "Once inside the base, follow my instructions. Everyone recovered?"
"Why do we have to listen to you?" Naruto protested.
"Because he's the only jōnin here!" Sakura snapped, rubbing her temples.
Naruto deflated instantly.
Neji glanced at him. Naruto had burned through the most energy, but since he looked fine, there was no reason to delay.
"Our priority is locating the villagers," Neji said. "If they're imprisoned, we rescue them. Keep quiet until then."
"But what about—" Ryūko began.
"Save the villagers first," Neji said firmly. "Whatever their plan is, they won't let us do that easily. You'll have time to see the truth for yourself."
Ryūko nodded.
"Then let's move," Neji said. "Action."
"Got it!"
As the team entered the ruins, Jūgo quietly emerged from cover. He'd been about to regroup with them, but Neji subtly signaled him to remain hidden.
Jūgo had no objections. Sasuke had told him to listen to Tōma, and Tōma had told him to follow Neji.
Strangely enough, Jūgo didn't dislike Neji. There was a familiar feeling about him, as if they shared something in common.
It didn't make sense. The Hyūga were a powerful clan, nothing like the cage Jūgo had lived in.
Still, the feeling made him willing to follow Neji's lead.
Moments after they entered, the ground began to shake.
The forest shifted violently.
Ancient stone pillars erupted from the earth, one after another, in a breathtaking display. What had once been a fragment of ruins transformed into a colossal structure.
Then it rose.
The entire fortress lifted into the air.
Revealed at last was a massive flying stronghold.
The Sky Ninja's aerial fortress—
Anker Bandian.
...
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