Naruto: The new beginning

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"There are about 500 people inside," Hinata reported softly. "Less than 200 of them are shinobi from the Hidden Sky Village. The rest appear to be civilians, and they look very weak."

Hinata's expression showed her distress. "Weak" didn't fully capture their condition they were gaunt, their faces sallow, and their bodies frail from starvation and chakra depletion.

The civilians were being used as a source of energy for the Zero-Tails. Shinnō, who had once posed as a benevolent travelling doctor, had infiltrated various nations under the guise of kindness.

His chakra signature was intentionally faint, making it indistinguishable from that of an ordinary person. Coupled with his mastery of medical techniques, he gained trust easily, saving countless lives over more than a decade.

This allowed him to remain undetected by even Konoha's sensory ninja, who failed to sense any malice in him.

Shinnō had secretly studied forbidden techniques and eventually acquired the method to create the artificial-tailed beast, Zero-Tails, during his time in the Land of Fire.

The process required two key components: a specialized sealing formula and the harvesting of "dark chakra."

Dark chakra, Shinnō had discovered, was produced through despair and raw emotions like anger, hatred, and sorrow born from human suffering.

To cultivate this energy, he captured and imprisoned hundreds of villagers, keeping them in a state of constant starvation and despair within his fortress.

Their torment fueled Zero-Tails, a living embodiment of negative emotions.

Shinnō's ultimate goal was to revive the Hidden Sky Village and overthrow the Five Great Nations.

To achieve this, he orchestrated a large-scale attack on Konoha with the Sky Ninja's fleet of flying fortresses, hoping to weaken the village and provide him the opportunity to further his experiments.

His secondary goal was to test and enhance his so-called "Ultimate Body," which granted him regenerative abilities rivalling Tsunade's Creation Rebirth technique and increased strength with each recovery.

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After listening to Hinata's report, the group fell silent. Taking down enemies was straightforward, but the presence of innocent civilians complicated matters.

Even if they weren't from Konoha, these people were victims and had to be treated as hostages.

Naruto frowned. He wasn't experienced in hostage rescues. His usual approach using overwhelming force was clearly not an option here. "Two Rasenshuriken, report back to the commander, and call it a day," he muttered sarcastically under his breath. The thought earned him a disapproving glance from Shikamaru.

But Naruto had an idea. Pulling out a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal, he said, "If we can get this inside the fortress, I can teleport in and move everyone out in seconds."

"I'll handle it," Shisui volunteered before Naruto could assign anyone.

Guy cleared his throat, "I—cough can go, too." His persistent cough, however, prompted Naruto and the others to unanimously entrust the task to Shisui.

Though they respected Guy's stealth capabilities, they couldn't risk his condition jeopardizing the mission.

Shisui accepted the kunai from Naruto with a nod. Turning to Hinata, he said gently, "Can you draw me a map of the fortress layout?"

"Of course." Hinata took the pen and paper Naruto handed her. She worked quickly, sketching a detailed map that marked guard posts, patrol routes, and the location of the prison. Her precision amazed Naruto. "It's like she has CAD software installed in her brain," he thought.

Shisui memorized the map and stashed the kunai. With a quick glance at the group, he disappeared into the trees, using the Body Flicker Technique to approach the fortress unnoticed.

His movements were fluid, blending into the shadows as he navigated past the guards and patrols.

Hinata, using her Byakugan, provided a live feed of Shisui's progress. "He's inside," she whispered. "The two guards at the entrance... they're under a genjutsu now."

"As expected of Shisui," murmured Shikamaru. "His genjutsu is flawless."

Through Hinata's eyes, the group watched Shisui move like a ghost, avoiding detection at every turn. At one point, he boldly walked past two guards, who remained oblivious thanks to his subtle illusions.

Naruto couldn't help but marvel at Shisui's skill, imagining poetic praise for the legendary Uchiha.

Finally, Hinata's voice broke his musings. "Naruto-kun, Shisui-san has sent the signal!"

Naruto vanished instantly, teleporting to Shisui's location. The scene before him was grim: hundreds of civilians, ranging from elders to young children, huddled in rags.

Their faces were gaunt, their eyes hollow. Despite witnessing Shisui incapacitate two guards, they remained silent whether out of fear or exhaustion, it was unclear.

"They've been drained of chakra," Shisui said grimly. "We need to act quickly. The fortress is designed to continually sap their chakra."

Naruto nodded and gently slid the marked kunai between the prison bars. Activating the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he began transporting the civilians out, one group at a time.

As he worked, he muttered under his breath, "This chakra-draining trick is nothing. The Nine-Tails leaks more chakra with a sneeze."

Shisui smirked faintly. "Just focus on the mission, Naruto."

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