Though Naruto had gotten a lot better at fitting together things and figuring out ways to adapt the patterns of the Fabber to local materials and designs, he wasn't good enough to put in chakra circulatory systems.
A lot of things were temporary until she got her full growth. Reinforcements in her frame to utilize the full potential strength of her prosthetics, an external coating to give her nearly-full sensation in the cyborg limbs, a set of armor to further enhance her capabilities - these all had to wait until she had reached full growth. Or at least got a lot closer to it with the bio-adaptive systems he was talking about lately.
So the black and gray material of her suit was not only to protect her prosthetics from dust or other infiltrates. It also helped protect soft fleshy bits from kunai or explosive tags.
"So this armor material is called a carbon-sheath?" asked the Hokage as he looked over the material in question. "What are the less-flexible plates called?"
"It's some sort of plastic," explained Tenten. "Supposedly hard as steel but a lot lighter. Naruto used some really long word but I had the feeling he was mangling it when he tried to say it."
"Let me know how well it works," said the Hokage. "It might be something we can incorporate into ANBU armor eventually. The helmet?"
"Air filters," explained Tenten, touching the part that covered her nose, demonstrating how a section could slide down over the mouth area. "Lenses in the eyes. Some sort of echolocation function too - it'll allow me to see all around me."
"That could be quite handy," admitted the Hokage. "Very well. You're up for genin testing soon, and we'll see how things work out after that."
"Yeah, well," said Tenten. "It could be interesting."
Sakura watched the class loser come in, looking exhausted as usual. "Why does he even bother?"
Ino twitched.
"You said it, what a complete loser," said Kora. "Nothing like my Sasuke-kun!"
Ino twitched again.
"Naruto couldn't find a clue if it was on his butt and he used both hands," agreed Esuka.
Ino twitched again.
There was an odd noise from the back of the class.
"Did... Hinata just snort?" asked Sakura.
"Must be getting a cold or something," said Esuka.
"Ewww. Hope I don't get it," said Kora.
"There was a security breech at 1637," said Inoichi. "Camera 4 outside the warehouse."
"Oh?" asked Ibiki Morino.
Inoichi brought up the security camera footage, thinking how incredibly handy these things were. Linked into a computer system here in the Torture and Interrogation labyrinth, the little balls could be commanded to show whatever was seen at a specific place and specific time.
"Ah. Hinata Hyuga," said Ibiki. "Hey, Anko. She came within four meters today."
"At this rate she'll actually speak to him sometime around her seventeenth birthday," grumbled Anko.
"Not a concern?" asked Inoichi.
"No. She has apparently been watching him for years, exhibits textbook behavior patterns of an introvert with a schoolgirl crush on a classmate," said Ibiki. "Her Byakugan has gone off several times but the rooms and cave are shielded."
"Yeah, I've got a bet going that she won't say anything to him unless she thinks she's about to die or something." Anko paused, leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms over her head. "I don't understand that kind at all. Life is short, she should just pounce and drag him off for a makeout session."
"She and Naruto are the same age as Ino, which is eleven," said Inoichi. "I can't see that happening with any of them. I better NOT see that happening with Ino."
"Nah, can't happen," said Anko. "We already looked over the class, used some typing and profiling system, and checked into backgrounds. Five classmates were quietly transferred out, another five just as quietly transferred in. Your daughter, and almost the entire female class, has a massive crush on Sasuke Uchiha. Who, by the way, has enough red and yellow flags on his file to make it look like a Midsummer Fire Festival decoration."
"So does one of the teachers," said Ibiki with a slight shrug. "Just keep an eye on things."
"I call it - the Batcycle! Mark I!"
Tenten looked it over. "Okay. What does it do?"
"About 250kph with a max altitude of 500 meters!" said Naruto proudly patting the front of the odd vehicle.
"Uh huh," said Tenten. "Why would I use such a thing?"
"You can summon it to you by a switch I put in your armor," said Naruto. "The belt buckle flips open to reveal a switch."
"Uh huh. And why would I use something like this?" asked Tenten.
Naruto paused, considered. "Lasers?"
"It has lasers?" asked a considerably more enthusiastic Tenten. That she was now sitting on the vehicle was duly noted by all present.
"What's a lay-sar?" asked Ino.
Tenten found the switch. A bright red light flared from the front of the vehicle and started burning through a target against the wall.
"Oh," said Ino. "Sasuke could totally do that."
"Eh? What's Sasuke got to do with this? This is SCIENCE!" declared Naruto. "Oh, this tube is a railgun that'll throw a standard issue kunai at Mach 4!"
"You'll need to add a stealth mode and some extra armor," said Tenten, looking over the vehicle with a more critical eye.
Shikamaru Nara thought it troublesome, but he knew quite well that something major was going on.
He also knew that this odd fencepost was part of what was going on.
The Nara family area included an extensive section of woods that extended out well past the village's walls. This was, in part, because of the deer his family maintained. There were also a number of medicinal plants involved, and the Nara were well known as a pharmaceuticals supplier and lore keeper within Konoha.
Neither the Akimichi, Nara, or Yamanaka clans were particularly large. One or two "branch" families and a main family - though none of them had quite the problems the Hyuga had with their clan politics. In the case of the Nara, the branch family had a few non-ninja clansmen whose primary responsibilities were that they took care of the deer and herbal gardens.
Shikamaru turned partially to the older branch member. Shige Nara, a tall but whip-thin boy a decade older than him. "This is it?"
"Yeah," said Shige, indicating the fencepost. Slightly taller than himself with a glass dome on top. On each side of the fencepost were four rods jutting at a right angle to the post.
"What's it do?" asked Shikamaru.
"None of the deer will come near it," said Shige. "In fact, I've seen small critters and even a cloud of gnats avoid coming near the thing and staying away from where the rods point. There's one identical to 'em a little ways out."
"They go all the way around our territory?" asked Shikamaru.
"Yeah, yer Da' said it was all cleared ahead of time, but I'm not too sure about it," said Shige.
Shikamaru looked closer at the thing. Several access panels closed by screws. When he got very close, he noticed a slight vibration feeling in his teeth.
The device looked a bit like some of the odd gadgets that he'd seen Naruto Uzumaki with. Shikamaru withdrew from the device, considering. "What else are these things supposed to do."
"They called it a 'sensor fence'," said Shige. "So I guess it's kinda supposed to tell when deer go past it or something?"
Shikamaru nodded. Shige was NOT a ninja, and in fact was rather slow mentally. Shikamaru could see other things that the fence could be used for - not specifically keeping things in but keeping track of things going in or out.
"Try not to go past those rods very often," said Shikamaru, indicating where the rods apparently pointed at another set of rods on another such fencepost. That the fencepost-things had been painted primarily a sort of dull green meant that they didn't stand out a whole lot in the middle of the forest. The bits of darker green and black made a pattern that tended to blend in with the surroundings. Except for the glass dome on top of the whole thing, which was clear.
Sighing at the unfairness of the whole thing, and how much effort was involved addressing the concerns of his clansman, Shikamaru shimmied up a tree to be able to look directly into that glass dome.
Not that it helped, as what was revealed was a set of boxes, a couple of black squares, and a glass disc on a box that moved on its own to stare unblinkingly at him.
"Way too troublesome," said Shikamaru, dropping back down. "Don't worry about it, Shige. I've seen similar things in the village. Just part of a security upgrade they're doing."
There she was, the older girl who kept meeting with Naruto-kun. Though she'd noticed her talking to Ino Yamanaka lately as the two met outside that strange building.
Naruto had gotten that strange device, and it had changed him. And yet, in many ways, he had NOT changed. He'd gotten quieter, more studious, but continued to constantly strive to do better in all the training he normally had done.
"Byakugan," whispered Hinata as she went through the handsigns.
There was the warehouse again. When this had all started, the walls had been as easy to see through as anything else in the village. About a year ago though - something had happened that made it look like a fogbank to normal vision. You could see brief glimpses of shapes, but that was about it.
There was the girl. Most of two legs and one arm had no chakra network. None. There was something else there, but it was not chakra and it didn't light up the same way.
It was like the prosthetics that Suna puppet masters were supposed to have, except for the lack of chakra strings.
It was curious. Fascinating in a sort of way.
Then one of the ANBU appeared in a tree nearby and she nodded to the individual. She was apparently allowed to look, but if she spent too long doing so - an ANBU would make a quiet appearance and indicate she should move along.
She hoped she'd find out what those odd things were sometime. She'd seen the test of that one odd device, that flew high and fast. She'd like the chance to do that - fly free and high away from all the disappointments and responsibilities.
It would never happen of course. She could dream though, couldn't she? She could be allowed that much.
The Kazekage stopped in mid-glance from where he'd been ready to pass a report into the 'garbage' tray.
A finger tapped at the paper briefly before he spoke. "Baki."
"Kazekage-sama?" responded the jonin instantly.
"This spy... Tekumji."
"Not so much a spy as an informant," said Baki after glancing at the paper. "He is a shipper of metals who regularly takes ingots or stock rods of steel or iron down to Konoha. They have recently upped demand for iron, copper, silver, and tin."
"So, his claim that a puppet-maker in Konoha has developed a fuuinjutsu to make self-aware puppets?" asked the Kazekage, his voice harsh. Not that his voice was ever anything but harsh even in the best of circumstances.
"No supporting evidence, might just be a tavern-rumor or gossip," said Baki. "Though they might be working on puppets of their own despite it being a Suna specialty."
"Idle rumor?" asked the Kazekage, now ready to toss the sheet in the 'whoever put this on my desk needs to find a scorpion in their sandals at the fist opportunity' stack. A recent innovation which had cut down enormously on the amount of reports that actually reached him.
"One other rumor that I've run across, and this is more likely - one of their genin was crippled and another genin made prosthetics that allow her some degree of motility," said Baki.
"Hmph. Likely our own puppeteers have done and discarded whatever rudimentry techniques that Konoha has done," said the Kazekage finally. The paper shifted to the original stack. "Something to keep in mind if this Konoha puppeteer starts making a name for themselves - or worse - takes business away from us."
"Very well, my youthful genin, introduce yourselves please," said the burly jonin. "I am Maito Gai. Taijutsu expert. I like firing the flames of youth and competition. I dislike unyouthful activities and losing."
"I am Rock Lee, and my goal is to prove that even without ninjutsu or genjutsu that I can be a splendid ninja!"
"You know, Lee, a friend of mine might be able to help you with that."
"Ah, cooperation among team-mates in order to strengthen the unit. Excellent," said Gai. "What about yourself?"
"My name is Tenten. I like weapons, puzzles, and lasers. I dislike people who insist I cannot be a ninja because this arm and both legs are partially replaced with prosthetics."
"What IS that?"
"That leaves you, oh long-haired one," pointed out Gai.
"I am Neji Hyuga. I neither particularly like nor dislike anything because it is not fated that I should."
"What's a 'laser'?" asked Rock Lee.
Tenten held her prosthetic hand out, pointing it at a tree. There was a snapping noise and there was the sudden appearance of a hole in that tree, with a little smoke trail coming out of it.
"That is intriguing," said Rock Lee, noting the speed of the jutsu.
"There was no chakra? How could there be no chakra?" asked Neji, his Byakugan active.
"My friend tells me that he's working on some kind of 'railgun' thing which can launch a common kunai at speeds in excess of the speed of sound," said Tenten. "It's got to wait until I get through this growth spurt though. Always got to save something for next year I guess."
Neji stared through his Byakugan. Chakra pathways were easy to see, trails of silver running through living tissue. That wasn't the extent of the Byakugan though - otherwise a kunai thrown at the back of his head would be invisible.
Turning his attention on this other genin revealed pretty much what he would expect on the first one. Imbalances in his chakra flow would keep him from doing much in the way of ninjutsu and genjutsu was completely out of the question. Small reservoir, not particularly well developed coils, and not much capacity either. Still, it was completely normal in the paths and flows of chakra.
The girl, on the other hand, had most of her legs and almost all of one arm replaced with something that had none of the normal chakra pathways. There were no tenketsu on those limbs. Instead, he could make out strangely angular (instead of the normal organic flow) pathways that led from her normal portions to cylinders in each limb. There was something else there - whatever it was it did not look like chakra.
The material of her garments was odd. The material of those limbs was likewise odd.
"You're not undressing me with those eyes are you?" asked the kunoichi's voice, intruding into his analysis.
"That would be most unyouthful!" said Rock Lee's voice, likewise jarring his concentration.
"NO, that's not it at all," quickly corrected Neji. "I've just never seen..."
"Well, face it, you're not GOING to see anything," said Tenten, using one arm to cover her chest and trying to block vision with her other arm.
"What ARE those made of?" asked Neji.
"Neji," said Gai. "There are questions you just do not ask of a girl you just met."
"NOT THAT!" corrected Neji. "Is that some sort of puppet technique?"
"Oh, the prosthetics," said Rock Lee, bringing a fist down onto the open palm of the other hand.
"Oh," said Tenten. "Secret."
"Uhm, err, Ino-san?"
Ino glanced back at Hinata, pausing in her walk towards the warehouse. "Hinata-san?"
"I - I was just wondering..." began Hinata, fidgeting a lot.
"Wondering what?" asked Ino, curious. This was more than the dark-haired girl usually said to just about anyone.
"Na-Naruto-kun," tried Hinata.
Ino waited for a moment, watching Hinata fidget a lot and make various noises as she started to say something and stopped several times. "It's all secret. You know that."
"Ye-yes, but..." continued a fidgeting Hinata before finally indicating a bush.
Now that she was looking at that bush in particular, she could see a mostly-hidden patch of pink peeking through.
"Oh?" asked Ino. So Sakura figured out that something's up. Hinata is curious about it all and doesn't want to be left out of the loop if Sakura's going to be included? Well, tough for her. Sakura isn't a clan heir of a clan dedicated to finding out and keeping secrets. No way I can tell her anything.
Ino simply went to the door, flashed her card at the sensor (not that the card was apparently necessary) and went in as soon as the door opened - still mostly thinking about this complication.
"Identity confirmed. Ino Yamanaka. Clearance level 4. Requesting input."
Ino blinked and looked up at the ceiling. "You're that computer-thingie. What do you need?"
In response, an image formed on one wall. Sakura, wearing a kerchief over her head and tied under her nose, was inspecting the door. Another image appeared to the left, showing Hinata having retreated to behind a tree and watching from a distance. Another image appeared to the right, showing a rooftop with someone she didn't recognize.
The woman's voice showed as little emotion as usual. "Three intruders detected. Identity one: Hinata Hyuga. Hyuga has been at complex 27 times including today. Closest approach is four meters, outside of need to invoke security protocols. Frequency of visits has increased since Ino Yamanaka has accessed facility. Requesting if Ino Yamanaka has knowledge of reasons for Hinata Hyuga to observe facility."
"She's very quiet and shy," said Ino, thinking about it. "Even when we're sparring in class - she almost never attacks or goes on the offensive. Almost never speaks. Tends to hide a lot. She mentioned Naruto, or tried to at least. Most likely she noticed something up about Naruto is concerned for a classmate or something like that."
"Second intruder: tentative identification based on school records is of Sakura Haruno. First attempt at entry to facility. Currently attempting to bypass security... Correction. She has located an air vent and is attempting to access facility via that route. Analysis?"
"She's apparently noticed I'm not chasing Sasuke much now that I've got this stuff to do," said Ino, thinking it through herself as she spoke. "I think MAYBE she's concerned I'm getting ahead in our rivalry for Sasuke."
"Query: 'Sasuke' is classmate 'Sasuke Uchiha' who is not at this facility?"
"Yeah, and yeah," said Ino.
"Request input on severity of punishment for Haruno Sakura, will append to report to authorities," said the computer.
Ino watched as Sakura managed to get the air vent cover off, and got halfway into the vent before a barrier came down on Sakura and pinned her in place. Legs started kicking wildly around.
"Go easy on her," recommended Ino. "She doesn't mean any harm, and she's NOT a spy. As far as I know - nobody's even told her that this is all a top secret kind of thing so she doesn't even know that she's not supposed to know about this."
"Duly noted," said the computer voice.
"What about that third one?" asked Ino, pointing at the third picture.
"Fifth time observing facility from distance. Mass remains unchanged, though physical appearance has altered on each incident. Subject mass consistent with male of approximately seventeen years age. Conclusion is the use of ninjutsu technique 'Henge' - identity unknown."
"THAT is the one I'd be concerned with," said Ino. "Might be nothing but I wouldn't want to take a chance on that."
"Agreed," said a gravelly voice.
"Who was that?" asked Ino.
The computer replied. "Head of Torture and Investigation Department: Ibiki Morino."
"Decent summary, Yamanaka-chan," said Ibiki's voice. "We'll go over proper procedures after your graduation. What are you doing there today anyway?"
"Going over details on operation of those sensor terminals," said Ino. "Dad wants me to know how to access them and go over the system logs and check for tampering."
"Good idea," said Ibiki. "Computer. Uprate her clearance rating to 5."
"Yes sir. Congratulations, Ino Yamanaka," said the computer.
"What's going to happen to Sakura?" asked Ino as the room began moving down.
"Oh," said Ibiki, having an idea.
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(Posted Tue, 22 Jul 2014 17:38)
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