Malphegor
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Ch. 106: The Slug's Adventure: Connecting Dots
🕑 Added 2024-09-23 21:08:42 +0000 UTC"Is it Mi-Go this time?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen placed Tsunade's letter on the table, sinking into thought.
Ever since the Great Toad Sage prophesied that the powers of the Old Ones would soon return, the entire ninja world has been witnessing a series of strange events. The prophecy... it's unfolding faster than we anticipated, his mind flashed back to recent incidents.
There have been occurrences such as an illusion statue that could trigger mutations in the human body, ancient entities and their creations in the far north of the Land of Snow, and the incidents Jiraiya reported from the Land of Spice.
This time, Tsunade's report mentioned the Mi-Go, an otherworldly race not only possessing high intelligence and the ability to speak human language but also possessing formidable technological prowess.
Most concerning was that several ninjas from the village, as well as ministers from the Daimyō's palace, had been turned into brains in jars by Mi-Gos. Despite being separated from their bodies, their minds still functioned.
"Minds functioning without bodies... kind of strange state is this?" he muttered. Based on the few words in the letter, he found it hard to guess.
This made him quite troubled about the upcoming report he had to give to the Daimyō. How do I explain this without causing panic?
As the Hokage, he not only managed the village's internal affairs but also had to report to the Daimyō. While the Daimyō didn't have direct control over the ninja village, they were the financial backers, and therefore held authority over the Hokage, including appointments.
Thus, the Hokage's duties were divided between serving the village and reporting to the Daimyō. Given that ministers from the Daimyō's palace had been affected by Mi-Gos, Hiruzen knew he would have to personally report this situation.
But before that, he had another task Tsunade had entrusted to him: sending a trustworthy ninja to assist her.
"Kakashi."
"Yes."
A shadow dropped down from the ceiling, kneeling before him. Kakashi's sudden appearance barely faced the Hokage, who had grown accustomed to the jonin's dramatic entrances.
"Kakashi, Tsunade has captured a creature on Mount Bikyū and needs assistance."
"Given your exceptional skills, judgment, and past experience with similar encounters, I plan to send you to support her."
Similar encounters? Kakashi wasn't sure what exactly Hiruzen was referring to, but due to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Hiruzen had already started linking these seemingly unrelated incidents as stemming from the same source.
He had participated in the incidents involving the illusion statue and the mission to the Land of Snow, making him the ideal candidate to deal with these situations.
Thus, he accepted the mission and set off immediately for Mount Bikyū. "I understand, Hokage-sama. I'll leave immediately," he said.
---
"Alright, mission complete. Good job, everyone."
Yuki clapped his hands, gathering Yugao, Itachi, and Kagami from the fields where they had been working. The team's tired but satisfied expressions reflected the day's simple but honest work.
Although Yuki had recovered from the injuries sustained during the gold transport mission, he hadn't yet regained full combat ability. Overexertion could still reopen his wounds.
As a result, his team had been assigned simpler village tasks for the time being.
"Let's head back. Good work today, especially you, Kagami," Yuki said, giving a nod of approval to the youngest member of the team.
As they walked back to the village, Yugao stretched her arms above her head. "It feels like we're fresh genins again, doesn't it?" she said with a light chuckle.
"Sometimes, the simplest tasks can teach us the most." Itachi added.
Kagami nodded in agreement.
This busy routine also meant he had little time to use his spider vision to observe Konoha, Iwa or other places.
He had left Spidey in Orochimaru's secret lab outside the village, ensuring it wouldn't cause chaos within the village. All he needed to do was feed it soul essence periodically, keeping it content weaving webs in the lab.
The downside, however, was that without Spidey's power, Kagami's ability to use his spider vision to observe the world was diminished, leading to missed information.
For instance, he only learned about the Mi-Go incident through the spider he had placed in the Hokage's office. Every time his team reported to the Third Hokage or received new tasks, Kagami would leave one of his stealth spiders in the office.
While normal spiders would easily be cleared out by the daily cleaning, his stealth spiders, which could survive two months without food or water, had no such problem.
The cause of the Mi-Go incident?
After gathering more information through his loyal spiders, it turned out to be related to a symbol in the lab which other Mi-Gos had planted long ago
Despite the time that had passed, the lab was eventually discovered.
The first to find it were the Mi-Gos themselves. Their obsession with technology led them to the lab, where they began various activities, attracting attention from others.
The Mi-Gos are a race of fanatical technophiles. Wherever their technology is stored, they will carefully protect it and hunt down any foolish humans who try to steal it. So, even if humans discovered the lab first, the Mi-Gos would still arrive, pursuing those who took their technology.
This situation also gave Kagami some new insight. If they can come here on their own... what does that mean for the barriers between worlds?
The Mi-Gos' bodies vibrate at a unique frequency that makes them invisible to human cameras, leading to speculation that they might be extradimensional beings, not originating from any fixed universe.
But if the Mi-Go can come to this world, what about the mighty Old Ones? Hope Cthugha won't come. I'll be damned otherwise...
This was something Kagami still didn't think of. The mere thought of creatures like Cthugha appearing in their world filled him with dread.
If this world is just one universe among the multiverse, then Yog-Sothoth must also exist here. In that case, Orochimaru's former pursuit of the immortal using the Silver Key might not be mere fantasy after all.
---
"Why is it you, kid?"
"Yo, kid? Aren't you only two years older than me?"
In the cave, Kakashi and Shizune were greeting each other. Of all the ninjas in Konoha, they sent him?
She had heard from Tsunade that a ninja was coming from Konoha to assist them. She thought it would be some famous ninja, especially since the Mi-Go incident was no small matter.
If measured by ninja village task rankings, this Mi-Go mission could easily be rated as S-rank. But in the end, they sent Kakashi who was even younger than her by two years.
Her impression of Kakashi was that of a conceited boy who constantly talked about missions, which slightly annoyed her.
However, she did acknowledge his skills. Even though he was younger, he had become a genin a year earlier than she did and was the fastest-rising ninja of their generation.
"Shizune, while we're away, Kakashi will take care of things here," Tsunade turned to her and said. "Tell Kakashi how to feed the Mi-Go and what other precautions are necessary."
"Leaving? Where are you going, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune's face showed shock, as she had just learned of Tsunade's plan.
"You'll find out soon. Now go."
"Yes!"
Shizune couldn't delay her order and quickly led Kakashi to a dark corner of the cave. I hope he can handle this, she glanced back at Kakashi's nonchalant demeanor.
In the deepest, darkest corner of the cave lay a massive pink body. The light from the other side of the cave barely illuminated the chains on the ground.
As for what kind of monster was bound by the chains, it wasn't entirely clear.
Shizune lit a torch in her hand, revealing the creature known as Mi-Go to Kakashi.
It was a pink, crustacean-like creature with several pairs of crab-like claws. The most striking feature was the oval-shaped organ at its head with tendrils that twitched slightly.
The appearance of this bizarre creature was unlike anything seen in their world, yet for some reason, Kakashi felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the Mi-Go.
As he pondered what kind of being this Mi-Go was, Shizune had already begun explaining how to take care of it.
"Feed it sugar twice a day, half a bag each time, just sprinkle it on its oval head. The sugar is stored over there."
"And it absolutely hates light. If exposed to light, it will buzz constantly."
"And whatever you do, don't undo the chains. If the chains are undone, it might fly away, and it'll be nearly impossible to catch again."
"Oh, and…" Shizune was still talking, but when she turned to look at him, she saw that he was completely absorbed in staring at the Mi-Go, not listening to her at all.
If it were anyone else, she would have been patient, knowing that anyone seeing such an alien creature would need some time to move from shock to calm.
But for Kakashi who had always left an impression of arrogance on her, she didn't hesitate to snap, "Hey, are you even listening to me?"
At that moment, Kakashi suddenly seemed to have figured something out and said, "Right! I know where I've seen this thing before!"
"Hm... In that mural!"
"Yes, on the mural!"
Tsunade, hearing the commotion, asked in an irritated tone, "Hey! Why is it so noisy here?"
Since these events had begun, she had been feeling extremely anxious.
Normally, she stayed in this cramped cave, studying the Mi-Go and trying to find a way to restore Anko. Being cooped up with the Mi-Go in the same space had left her on edge. She was even afraid to feed it herself, fearing she might accidentally kill it in a fit of rage.
So, the noise from Kakashi and Shizune instantly triggered a strong reaction from her.
Kakashi quickly ran over to explain, "Tsunade-sama, I've seen this creature called Mi-Go before."
"Oh?"
She had never seen a Mi-Go, despite her vast knowledge, and Kakashi claimed he had.
"Where?"
"It was during a rescue mission in the Land of Snow."
He then recounted his experiences during the mission in the Land of Snow.
As he described the events, Tsunade was shocked. The things he encountered during that mission were just as astonishing, if not more so, than the current Mi-Go incident.
"Deep in the frozen north, we found some ancient ruins."
"There was this massive mural, showing a story unlike anything I've ever seen," his hands moved as he spoke, trying to convey the scale of what he had witnessed.
"What kind of story?" Shizune asked, her earlier irritation replaced by genuine curiosity.
"The history of beings called the Ancients. And that's where I saw the Mi-Go," his gaze flickered to the chained creature in the corner.
"The mural showed their arrival in our world, their rise to power, and then their wars."
"Wars? Against whom?" Tsunade asked worriedly.
"The first war was against something called Cthulhu and its minions," Kakashi said, noticing Shizune's confused expression at the strange name.
"Cthulhu? What kind of name is that?"
"Trust me, the name was the least weird thing about it. With the disappearance of Cthulhu, the Ancients regained their strength again," Kakashi said with a humorless chuckle.
"Then they fought against their own creations, the Shoggoths. Imagine shapeless masses of flesh and eyes, that's a Shoggoth," Kakashi continued, noticing Tsunade's raised eyebrow.
"Their own creations turned against them?"
Kakashi nodded.
"The last war, that's where I saw the Mi-Go."
"So these creatures have been here before..." Tsunade mused.
"And from what I saw, they gave even the Ancients trouble."
The Ancients didn't even record much about this foreign species, only depicting it in a single mural.
The mural showed a creature with an oval head, a crustacean-like body, crab-like claws, and a pair of large wings. The creature in the mural looked almost identical to the Mi-Go they were now facing!
Given Mi-Go's unique appearance, he had every reason to believe that the enemy who fought the Ancients in the third war was this very creature.
Shizune, still trying to process the information, spoke up. "I don't understand. If these... Ancients were so powerful, where are they now?"
"That's the thing. The mural showed their decline. They just... disappeared."
"So the Mi-Go we have here... it's part of an ancient alien race that once waged war on this planet with the Ancients?"
"It seems so. And they're back," Kakashi confirmed.
"But why? What do they want now?"
"That's what we need to find out, Shizune," Tsunade said.
Cthulhu.
The Ancients and Shoggoths.
Mi-Go.
What astonishing events had taken place in that ancient time?
The revelations were just as shocking as the first time they had encountered Mi-Go.
