Naruto Of The Shadow Clones

Chapter 53 Call Of Duty: Back To Infinity

Story Start: Hokage's Office

Tsunade stared at her village's Jinchurikki and his team members with a hard look. The three weren't fidgeting, but it was a DAMN near thing.

"Six months. You three have been gone from this village for Six. Months. No reports, no attempts at contact, not even a single 'We're not dead yet' note via summons, nothing until five days ago, and even THAT little bit of contact came through the capital. The only reason why you were not declared Missing-nin was due to the fact that you were not the only ones on this mission. Explain yourselves, NOW."

The three Shinobi traded glances with each other before Naruto decided to be the brave one and stepped forward as he said "As you know, you gave us an unusual briefing six months ago."

Flash Back: Two And A Half Weeks After Mission To Katabami Gold Mine

Team Maelstrom once more stood in front of Tsunade, and while a civilian might have said that they looked calm, Tsunade could see the hints of eager anticipation in their forms. If this team was a set of well trained hunting dogs then they would be at the very end of their leashes, not quite pulling but not leaving any slack either as they impatiently waited to be released. Not that she could blame them really since after their last mission they had been on standby with Naruto and Heza stuck in the compulsory medical classes and for the past five days Matto had been taking an EXTREMELY taxing sealing exam given to him by Jiraiya, an exam that even Kakashi had had trouble with as he took it alongside his former student. And while this team was excellent in those two categories, especially Naruto, the fact was that this was a Rapid Response/Heavy Assault team, they were born for the more…active side of the shinobi life style. Thankfully, Tsunade had a mission that was looking to be right up their alley, she leaned forward the slightest bit and started the mission briefing.

"For the last week and a half, ships both civilian and navy have been attacked off of the Land of Fire's waters. Just recently, a survivor of the latest attack was found by the LFNS Defiant and debriefed. The attack was made by a highly advanced ship that flew a flag that is not registered with anyone in the Elemental Nations meaning that this vessel is likely from the Wild Continent across the Great Ocean. Admiral Matsuki is currently on the war path with these attacks. He's reassigned the LFNS Infinity from her duties with Task Force 12 to find and capture or sink this ship and sent a mission request to us for Naruto to join her on this mission as support for any boarding party they send. It seems you rather impressed him after he debriefed Captain Iroh on the events in the former Land of Snow."

Tsunade gained a smirk at the end before she turned serious again and continued "The Infinity is currently making its way at top speed to the area where the navy's top brass and tacticians believe this ship will strike next. You three are to meet it en route and provide any and all aid to her as they deal with this threat. This scroll contains her route and estimated location for the next twenty four hours, DON'T let anyone else see it."

She tossed said scroll to Naruto who instantly pocketed it to look over once he and his team were ready to leave. Tsunade kept them for a few more minutes before she dismissed them and the team quickly left to pack before they met up on top of the Hokage Monument where Heza's eagles were summoned and they quickly made for the coast.

Scene Change: Land of Fire Waters Over LFNS Infinity

The small flight of three eagles were currently flying one thousand feet over the water. They had reached the general area where the Infinity should be and they and their riders were looking for her. Heza gave a sharp whistle and Matto and Naruto looked towards her then down at where she was pointing. Down below was a massive wake larger than anything any NORMAL ship would leave behind it and they followed it for a few minutes before they came upon the Grey Ghost herself traveling at max speed. As they drew closer Naruto noticed that there was something different about her. It was a moment later when he realized that sometime between returning home and the two months since, she had gained what looked like new weaponry. There were two sets of three tubes, one on each side of her bow. The tubes were roughly ten to fifteen feet long and as they drew closer Naruto saw that the ends facing the sea were completely open while the other side had hatches on their end.