Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 242

"Ah, this is the first time we've returned to Konoha since that incident," Kankurō remarked.

"Don't let your guard down," the kunoichi with four pigtails cautioned, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily. "This is Konoha. After the events of the last Chunin Exams, there's bound to be lingering resentment among Konoha ninjas toward Suna."

"Temari, don't appear too tense," Kankurō replied. "We're here for peace talks this time. We can't afford to create a hostile atmosphere."

Outside the gates of Konoha stood Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō.

Two days earlier, Suna had received an urgent message from Konoha, requesting a face-to-face meeting with Gaara, the Kazekage. The meeting was to take place in Konoha.

Upon receiving this news, the higher-ups in Suna engaged in a heated debate, deliberating whether to accept the invitation or politely refuse. 

The majority of Suna leadership were against attending the talks. Their reasoning was straightforward: the meeting location was Konoha, and the Hokage had explicitly insisted that the Kazekage himself must attend. 

Even though Gaara was allowed to bring up to two guards, the fact remained that it was Konoha's territory. No amount of escorts could truly guarantee safety. 

The memories of the last Chunin Exams were still fresh. While the alliance between the two villages had been restored, the rift caused by that incident had left scars that would take time to heal.

In the end, Gaara overruled the opposition and decided to personally visit Konoha to meet with the Hokage face-to-face. 

It wasn't because Gaara completely trusted Konoha to play fair, but because he urgently needed their recognition—specifically, recognition of his position as the Kazekage.

After the death of Rasa, Chiyo had temporarily stepped in to oversee the affairs of Suna. However, she quickly retreated into the background again, leaving the village in the hands of its council. 

This resulted in a two-year period during which Suna had no official Kazekage. 

Two years later, Gaara, after undergoing intense training and with the support of his mentor, Baki, ascended to the position of Fifth Kazekage. 

However, Gaara's youth—becoming Kazekage at just 15 years old—sparked dissatisfaction among many of the village's higher-ups. Rumors even circulated that some individuals coveted the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku, sealed within him. 

As a result, Gaara's position as Kazekage was far from secure. 

To solidify his position, Gaara had once proposed restarting the joint Chunin Exams, which had been suspended for two years. He saw this as an opportunity to expose traitors within Suna and to announce his new title to the world. 

However, after the turmoil of the last Chunin Exams, the enthusiasm for such events among the various nations had waned. Konoha also declined, citing poor timing, so the plan was shelved. 

Initially, Gaara had assumed Konoha's refusal to hold the exams was a rejection of his status as Kazekage. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case. 

This summons to meet with the Hokage was essentially a formal acknowledgment of Gaara as Kazekage. Under such circumstances, Gaara was determined to seize this opportunity. 

Nonetheless, precautions were necessary. Before departing, Gaara had stationed numerous Suna ninjas along the border between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire to ensure their safety. 

"Alright, let's enter the village," Gaara said, adjusting his Kazekage hat as he stepped toward the open gates of Konoha. 

Beside the gate, a Konoha ninja was already waiting for them. 

To prevent any potential ambushes on the way, the exact arrival time of a Kage-level figure is never disclosed in advance. This practice reflects the lack of complete trust between villages. 

Even so, Konoha had arranged for someone to wait at the gate as a gesture of goodwill. 

The person standing there was someone familiar to Gaara and his companions—a ninja they'd encountered during the Chunin Exams. 

"Kazekage-sama, I've been expecting you. My name is Shikamaru, and I'll be escorting the three of you to meet the Hokage," Shikamaru said politely. 

"We'll be in your care," Gaara replied.

Shikamaru's simple introduction caused a flicker of recognition in Temari's eyes. 

During the last Chunin Exams, Temari had memorized the profiles of nearly all the Konoha ninjas involved, as part of Suna's plans to collaborate with Orochimaru and execute the Konoha Crush. 

One name that had particularly stood out to her was Shikamaru. Information from Oto described him as a lazy individual with an exceptionally high IQ—a formidable opponent despite his seemingly lackadaisical nature. 

Though the second stage of the Chunin Exams had been interrupted by unforeseen events, preventing the two from facing each other directly, Temari and Kankurō had a brief encounter with Shikamaru when they fled with a rampaging Gaara.

At the time, Temari's impression of Shikamaru was of a man who usually seemed lazy and indifferent, but when he became confident, there was something subtly attractive about him. 

However, the Shikamaru now standing before her completely shattered her expectations.

This Shikamaru appeared slightly haggard. Though his expression still carried that familiar laziness, it was no longer the kind born of habit or personality—it was a sickly kind of lethargy, like that of someone weakened by illness.

On top of that, his skin was dark and wrinkled, resembling the weathered complexion of a forty-year-old man who had endured years of harsh conditions. 

But if Temari remembered correctly, Shikamaru was three years younger than her—a young man in the prime of youth.

"Uh..."

"Hm? What's the matter?"

Her internal shock involuntarily made Temari speak up, but when Shikamaru turned around to respond, she suddenly found herself unable to continue.

After all, she was here as Gaara's escort, not for casual conversation or reminiscence. Besides, she and Shikamaru were not particularly close, so Temari quickly stopped herself.

"N-nothing. Please continue leading the way."

The rest of the walk was silent. Under Shikamaru's guidance, Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō were led to a reception room within the Hokage's office building.

Across the meeting table, Tsunade was already seated, flanked by two Konoha advisors rather than personal guards.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Tsunade immediately shifted the conversation to the main topic.

"Three days ago, a Konoha ninja discovered a ghoul in a northern town of the Land of Rivers. He also encountered a ninja from Suna during the incident. I assume you're already aware of this?"

"Yes, Kankurō has informed me about it," Gaara replied calmly.

He cast a sideways glance at Kankurō, who stood behind him. 

He had originally instructed Kankurō to handle the matter as discreetly as possible, especially to avoid the Konoha ninja discovering the ghoul's existence. In the end, however, the situation had come to Konoha's attention anyway.

The reason Gaara didn't want Konoha to find out was simple: when Suna first became aware of the ghoul's presence, they failed to notify Konoha immediately, despite the alliance between their villages. Such a decision was not exactly reflective of friendly allied behavior.

Are they here to hold us accountable for that? 

The thought made Gaara a little tense. But then Tsunade's tone shifted.

"What if I told you that creatures like this aren't just one of a kind?"

Her calm statement caused Gaara's brow to twitch slightly, even the "Love" character tattooed on his forehead seemed to warp ever so subtly.

"May I ask what you mean by that?"

Although Gaara and Tsunade were both Kage-level figures in their respective villages, Gaara was well aware of the vast difference in experience between them. Tsunade was a renowned veteran of the ninja world, so he addressed her with the utmost respect.

Faced with Gaara's confusion, Tsunade cleared her throat gently. The projection screen on the side of the conference room began to slowly descend.

As the mechanical sound of the screen unfurling filled the room, Tsunade spoke in a low voice: 

"Humankind has always lived on a placid island of ignorance, surrounded by a vast, dark ocean of the unknown."

"Perhaps we don't wish to venture out into that ocean, but occasionally the tide rises, washing ashore seashells, crabs, small octopuses, and other curious creatures—small discoveries that leave us in awe."

"Even these small curiosities originate from the uncharted depths of that dark sea, a realm far beyond human understanding and common sense—a realm of terrifying unknowns."

"Take, for instance, the ghouls you've recently discovered in the Land of Wind. These corpse-eating creatures are merely one of the many unknown entities that humanity has yet to encounter."

"In fact," she added gravely, "these ghouls are among the more mediocre examples."

Tsunade's words left Gaara, the Kazekage, completely at a loss. Despite his confusion, he began to grasp her underlying meaning.

"Are you saying," Gaara asked carefully, "that there are many creatures like these ghouls? Some perhaps even more powerful than them?"

Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her and nodded solemnly.

This deepened the severity on Gaara's face.

On one hand, he wasn't entirely convinced by Tsunade's claims. On the other, even as the Kazekage, he didn't think the ghouls were "mediocre" by any means.

Although ghouls were scavengers by nature, they were also adept hunters, lurking in the shadows and preying on humans. Compared to ordinary people, ghouls possessed speed and strength rivaling that of a typical genin. Moreover, unlike wild beasts, ghouls displayed a degree of cunning and intelligence.

Gaara had dispatched squads of Suna ninjas multiple times to exterminate the ghouls, yet they had failed to completely eradicate them. 

According to Suna's research, ghouls had the ability to assimilate humans into their ranks. Although the likelihood of this assimilation decreased dramatically with age, ghouls would often kidnap children from human settlements. When raised by ghouls, these children had nearly a 100% chance of being assimilated.

In fact, Suna had first noticed the ghouls' presence because of frequent reports of missing children. Following the trail, they uncovered the existence of these creatures.

The ghouls had already caused considerable fear and turmoil in the Land of Wind. Even for a major village like Suna, dealing with these pervasive scavengers had required significant manpower and resources.

Yet now, Tsunade was claiming that ghouls were merely one of the more "ordinary" creatures among countless unknown entities? If that were true, why had no one, including the older generation of Suna ninjas, ever heard of such beings? This revelation was difficult for Gaara to process.

Tsunade, observing the doubt on Gaara's face, realized he still didn't fully believe her.

If that was the case, she thought, facts speak louder than words. It was time to show Gaara the evidence.

"Actually," Tsunade began, "we in Konoha have been aware of these extraordinary beings for quite some time, as well as the real incidents related to them. However, these occurrences were never seen as interconnected. Instead, they were dismissed as isolated horror stories."

"For example, the first time such an event caught widespread attention was likely the discovery of the ancient city ruins in the far northern reaches of the Land of Snow."

"This event caused quite a stir among civilians at the time, becoming a popular topic of gossip. How could you not have heard of it?" 

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at Gaara, whose expression remained blank and puzzled.

Temari, seeing Gaara's confusion, quickly stepped in and explained, "Well... actually, at that time, Gaara was still very young. He couldn't read all the characters and didn't know how to read newspapers, so he just..."

"But I do remember that incident," she continued, trying to cover for Gaara. "It was about the discovery of an ancient civilization from a billion years ago, wasn't it?"

Her comment made Gaara's face flush with embarrassment. The truth was, during that time, Gaara was living through one of the darkest periods of his life. His father would come almost daily to test his "tolerance" as a host for Shukaku. He had no time to pay attention to things like newspapers.

Tsunade, understanding Gaara's ignorance of the event, nodded and said, "No wonder. That happened a very long time ago."

"Back then, one of the discoverers of the City of the Ancients was a Konoha ninja. But the events surrounding it were far more brutal than what the newspapers reported."

"In truth, the people who died during the exploration of the city didn't perish because of avalanches or the cold, but because of the strange creatures living within the city."

As she spoke, Tsunade advanced the slideshow on the projection screen. A photo of one of the ancient creatures appeared.

Previously, Gaara and Kankuro, being too young, never read the newspapers, and Temari, while occasionally skimming through them, never paid much attention to the fearful details.

But now, as this ancient photograph was presented before them, an overdue wave of terror swept through the three siblings.

The creature had a spindle-shaped body, with a star-like mouth open at the top, wings extending from its back, and starfish-like appendages at its base.

At first glance, the creature looked like a mix of a starfish, a bat, and a squid.

But upon closer inspection, it became clear that the being was entirely distinct from any known species. It defied human understanding of biology and common sense. It was an aberration that seemed alien to this world, a manifestation of the bizarre and incomprehensible.

"The specimen brought back from there was this creature. They are called the Elder Things. They possess intelligence and civilization comparable to, if not surpassing, that of humans. That city, which existed a billion years ago, was built by them."

"However, over the course of a billion years, the Elder Things within the city have not all died out. It was these surviving Elder Things that caused the mass deaths among the expedition members in the Land of Snow."

"At the time, the ninja who ventured into the city also found murals painted by this ancient species at the very center of the city. These murals depicted major historical events spanning from a billion years ago to tens of millions of years ago."

"In fact, more than one person witnessed these murals. But one of them died during the subsequent escape from the city. As of now, there is only one person left in the world who has personally seen those murals."

"And since Suna is an ally of Konoha, we are now willing to share this secret with you. From this point on, no matter how shocking or unbelievable his words may be, I ask that you listen to him carefully. Because this seemingly absurd 'historical tale' is something Konoha has never shared with any other ninja village."

"Come in," Tsunade ordered.

From outside, a silver-haired ninja with a mask covering his face walked in.

"Long time no see, Kazekage-sama," he said.