Inheritance

CHAPTER 23

Naruto considered the Hokage's words carefully, in particular how he mentioned that the village wasn't in the best position. Vulnerable. He had always been led to believe, in all his studies, and by everyone he spoke to, that Konoha was the strongest of the five. That this may not be the case anymore unsettled him. It meant that his home could be in danger.

He was also aware that he was likely being told information that very few of his rank would be told, because of his position as the apprentice of one of the Sannin; but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that the old man had an ulterior motive in giving him this kind of information. It was something he'd have to think over later. For now, he had a mission to focus on.

"Now, back to the mission itself." The Sandaime said, as if reading Naruto's train of thought. "As you may be aware, Team 7 returned from a C-Ranked escort mission to Wave Country, not all that long ago. They encountered, and successfully fought, ninja hired by a man named Gatou. The man was the owner of a global shipping company, Gatou Corporation, which we now know to be a front for a wide array of illegal operations. Drugs, sex trafficking, slavery, extortion - just about every illegal or illegitimate means of making money was being utilized. They has seized control of the trade routes around Wave Country, and attempted to take control of it's populace by crushing the economy of it's towns."

Naruto couldn't prevent a frown from marring his features. These people sounded like scum bags, the kind the blond hated more than any other, preying on people who needed help for nothing more than a little money.

"However, Gatou was killed during the mission, and through the actions of Team 7, a bridge was completed allowing the country to trade properly with the surrounding nations. This temporarily caused the corporation a number of problems, namely because Gatou had no contingency plans for it until after his death. The resultant power struggle allowed us to gather a small amount information a few key operation hubs for the companies illegal proceedings, and prepare plans to shut the company down totally."

"But you need more information, right? If we don't totally shut down all the major branches of the company, the ones we miss will either go to ground, meaning it will really hard to catch the people running the show; or, even worse, the crimes committed by a particular branch will escalate out of control, because with the Gatou Corporation shut down, there's nobody keeping them in line and relatively under the radar, and that obviously puts civilian lives at risk." Naruto interjected, his face frowning in thought.

"A very fair, and as it is, accurate analysis. Now, as it happens, Gatou had moved his entire central hub of operations to a small village just within the borders of Wave prior to implementing the trade embargo, and in theory, all and any evidence pertaining to their illegal actions will be contained within. It's location, and all the relevant information we have is contained within the scroll provided. Your mission is to infiltrate the base undetected, and retrieve any and all relevant or useful information on the corporation's network of illegal activities. It most likely will not be overtly obvious which are the documents you require, as they won't refer directly to anything illegal as a precaution"

"Now, be aware of two things. Firstly, though our current presence in Wave as we assist them with getting back on their feet ensures that the large band of mercenaries the company employs are kept off of the streets, it is likely that the force remains within the stronghold itself as security. Secondly, it would look incredibly bad for Konoha if we were to be caught snooping into the affairs of Hi no Kuni's largest companies, so you must not be identified as one of our shinobi."

"So no headbands, symbols, or equipment that can be traced back here?" Naruto responded, eliciting a confirming nod from the Hokage. "I'm all over it, old man. If that's everything, I'll head off and meet the old pervert. I'll be back bef-"