Myrmidon (Naruto/Hunter x Hunter)

[Ser_Serendipity]

A Sort of Vacation​

The portal to another world, Hinata decided, looked somewhat like a dinner plate.

While the monstrous mechanical apparatus that generated it crackled with artificial lightning and hummed with bright visible chakra, the portal itself was placid and softly colored. The machine was elongated like the barrel of a cannon, rife with cabling and gunmetal panels, but the portal was flat, faintly green, and apparently unruffled by the commotion happening all around it as shinobi bustled about preparing for its use. Hinata half expected that if she were to flick it she would generate a series of perfect ripples, like those in a calm lake, but she knew better than to do something so impulsive.

The machine and the portal it generated were hardly dangerous, but they still had to be treated with care.

Kiba Inuzuka sniffed at the air, taking in the suddenly spiking scent of ozone and oil . He frowned, clearly unsettled by the smell. Shino Aburame, as always, gave nothing away, completely unreadable behind the metal visor he wore over his eyes. The only hint of his discomfort was the soft buzzing emanating from his chest, a sound so faint only a shinobi would recognize it.

Hinata couldn't remember the last time Team Eight had assembled for a mission as one. The thought came out of the blue as she shifted on the soles of her feet, looking around at her companions. The metal floor under her was hard and flat. The rest of the room was equally harsh and spartan. It existed solely to house this massive machine.

How long had it been, she wondered. Five, perhaps even six years? It was amazing to think that what had once been routine for her had vanished out of her life almost without her noticing it. This was also the first time she'd been fully kitted out in more than a year, even wearing a flak jacket. But then, so much had changed just in the last decade that it had probably passed unnoticed under the general commotion of life.

Eight years ago ago, Hinata hadn't even been a mother. Compared to that, not going on missions with her old team wasn't much to take notice of. The thought sent her mind spiraling back to her children, and from there to her husband.

"Don't worry," Naruto had said with a rapacious grin; even after more than a decade of marriage it disarmed Hinata without fail. "Nothing is going to fall apart if you take a month or two off. Trust me: you could use the vacation."

He'd winked, a mischievous look. "I've been meaning to find an excuse to spend more time with Himawari anyway: I'm afraid I might have been spoiling Boruto." Warm hands, clasped over hers. Hinata's heart had begun beating faster. "It'll be a little vacation for both of us. You get some time in some exotic other world, and I get the kids to myself!"

When he'd put it like that, Hinata hadn't been able to resist any longer. When Kiba had come to her with the offer of traveling with him and Shino into another dimension on a mission of importance for the Aburame, Hinata had been unsure about leaving behind her parenting duties for more than a month. But with her husband's assurance, the notion of a 'vacation' became more and more tempting. A break was welcome: the notion of visiting another world was intriguing.

Those reasons, among others, had brought her on a lovely Thursday evening to stand together with her team for the first time in perhaps a decade in the depths of one of Konoha's most secure buildings. They were arrayed before a marvel of engineering, an unbelievable fusion of chakra theorycrafting and technology. The room was filled with shinobi besides them, mostly engineers and observers.

Naruto was there, though her children were not. Hinata had said goodbye to them early, Boruto as he headed off to the Academy and Himawari as she lay down for her midday nap. Kiba's wife Tamaki was present, along with Akamaru. Shino's father was in deep conversation with his son, but none of the other Aburame had arrived.

Most notably, Kakashi Hatake was there, looking wrinkled but otherwise the same as ever.

Hinata looked to Naruto at her side, and he caught her gaze with a wide smile. "It's a heck of a thing, isn't it?" he said with genuine appreciation, and his enthusiasm buoyed Hinata up. The portal was somewhat like the one that had carried the both of them to the moon, many years ago; the familiarity sparked a warm memory for Hinata, a vision of drifting through an endless field of liquid gold and green with Naruto beside her.

"It is," she agreed. "I've never seen the Engine before." Her husband shrugged.

"It's safe; well, Kakashi-sensei mostly handles it, and he says so," Naruto said, eyeing the machine. It had begun to make a deep whining noise as condensed chakra within it came to a boil. "It gets used pretty often for trade and stuff, so I don't see any reason to worry."

Hinata knew he was talking to himself just as much as he was her. It made her smile. "I'll be fine, Naruto," she said softly, and was delighted to see her words brought him as much calm as his smile had her.

"Yeah, of course," he said, taking a deep breath. "Yo, Kakashi!" he said, raising his voice. "Is it almost done?"

The former Hokage shrugged. "Looks about." He gestured languidly to Hinata, before turning his attention to Kiba and Shino. "Gather round for a moment, you three. Let's go over the details one more time."

Kiba rolled his eyes, while Shino clapped his hand on his father's shoulder before joining his teammates in ambling over to former Copy Ninja. They set themselves in a rough triangle in front of the older man, with Kiba in the back. Hinata already knew what the mission was roughly about, but she was still glad that Kakashi had decided to give them one last briefing before they were on there way. It was always strange to receive one from her husband; he had only been Hokage for ten months now, and in many ways the position and its responsibilities was still new to the both of them.

"Now, a couple of the most critical things," Kakashi said lazily, his right eye barely open. Every time Hinata met with Kakashi, it amused her that even though he'd had his Sharingan replaced for many years, he usually kept his left eye closed. Old habits died hard, she supposed.

"You'll be entering into foreign territory, and into another dimension besides, so it goes without saying you all should stay on your best behavior," Kakashi chided. Kiba coughed, stifling a chuckle. Hinata could tell Kakashi was grinning under his mask. It always gave the former Hokage some childish pleasure to give his subordinates common sense commands. "The nation you'll be entering is called…" He paused, careful to articulate the pronunciation. "The Republic of West Gorteau. Customs there are rather different than in the Five Nations, but you won't be spending too long there at first, so I wouldn't worry too much about getting familiar with the local culture. Once you're in the Republic, you should be immediately met by our Representative there. Her name is Mari Kansai."

Hinata wondered if it was lonely living in another world for an extended period of time. She was sure she would be, but others would probably have a different reaction. She hoped Mari was able to treat her isolation as an adventure, or at least more than a duty.

Kakashi kept talking as Kiba scratched behind one of his ears. "Mari will guide you to the mission area, which is outside of West Gorteau. She'll be able to give you more precise details about the objective and the local situation than myself." Kakashi wrinkled his nose. "What you don't already know, at least." Hinata nodded. Shino had already informed her of the impetus behind the mission, and it had interested her almost as much as it had clearly impassioned him. At the moment, he was clearly impatient to get through the portal and begin his work.

"Now, remember," Kakashi said, wrapping up the impromptu briefing. "The Engine is a little less forgiving to the passage of those with command of chakra. For someone of your calibre, the portal will likely need to recharge for at least two weeks; that's for each of you. So once you three have stepped through, it won't be ready for use until the end of next month. Hopefully by then the mission will be long completed." He smiled. "Feel free to relax once your objective is completed. West Gorteau is a lovely nation, or so I'm told. Enjoy yourself."

Shino nodded. "Naturally," he said, like a man who'd never enjoyed a day in his life. "Will we be on our way then?"

Kakashi gave the Aburame a thumbs up. "Good luck," he said with faux solemnity. Kiba snorted.

"Cool," he said, giving his wife a peck on the cheek as he wandered back towards the portal. Tamaki giggled, and Kiba grinned as he bent down to give Akamaru an enthusiastic rub. The old dog panted, rolling over on his side and whining.

Kiba laughed. "Oh, don't be such a baby. It's only a month and some. Besides, we're not gonna be fighting anything," he said, growing a little more stern. "You need to relax a little, Akamaru. It's not good to be so stubborn in your old age."

Akamaru let out a short, loud bark, which Hinata's experience with the Inuzuka translated into something like "Fat chance." She didn't blame him. The nin-dog probably felt miffed at not getting a chance to travel with Kiba, but the unfortunate reality was that Akamaru was too slow for field operations nowadays. It pained Hinata to see the arthritic tremors that plagued her friend's canine partner, but there was no way around it.

"Fine, be that way," Kiba grunted. He winced, giving Akamaru another pat. His wife stroked his shoulder, her lip twisting.

As Hinata drew closer to the Engine, Naruto sidled up to her. Unlike Kiba, he didn't settle for a peck on the cheek. Instead, the Seventh Hokage ambushed his wife with a full enthusiastic kiss. Hinata's cheeks lit up red, but she couldn't bring herself to push him anyway: it was the last bit of intimacy they'd have for more than a month, after all. Instead, she just enjoyed it, shoving down her embarrassment.

"Hey, be safe," her husband said as he drew away, his cheeks almost as red as hers. Hinata smiled.

"Of course," she said. "Have fun with the children."

Naruto laughed. "Believe me, I will. I've already set aside some work for Shikamaru; it'll be fine."

It wasn't much of a goodbye, but it was enough for both of them. Hinata moved towards the portal with a full heart.

"So, what?" Kiba asked. "We just step through?"

One of the younger shinobi near the Engine, dressed in the distinctive green of the engineer corp, gave a casual salute, stepping around a protruding cable that was humming with grey light. "Anytime, sir." The deference afforded the generation that had fought in the Fourth War always made Hinata feel strange, but over time she'd learned to ignore it. Kiba scoffed at the title, but nonetheless gave the man a friendly nod.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said, and without another word strode forward into the portal. He passed through it without a sound or a sign: there was no ripple like Hinata had half-expected. Her teammate was swallowed by the light green light, with no sign of his passing.

One of the engineers, monitoring a panel swimming with symbols Hinata didn't understand, gave a thumbs up. "Signal's good," she said. "You two next: it'll shut down for recharge in a couple minutes."

Shino gave his wordless affirmation by walking through the portal without ceremony. He too vanished, and the same engineer nodded in satisfaction.

"You last, Hyuuga-sama," she said, and Hinata looked back to her husband.

He tilted his head. "What're you waiting for?" he said with a grin. "Go! Have fun!"

She smiled back. There were a million things on the tip of her tongue. "Make sure to remember Himawari's bedtime stories," she said. "She's inconsolable without them."

In the end, she'd given voice to the most mundane thing she could.

Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head. "I will. I love you!"

"I love you too." The words followed Hinata as she went to the portal. Out of curiosity, she stuck a hand in before committing her whole body. It was warm and almost damp inside, to her surprise. Without another hint of hesitation, she stepped through.

###

The transition between one world and the next almost hurt. For less than a second it felt like Hinata's entire body was swelling, as though her blood has been replaced with cooling metal. She blinked, and the sensation vanished. Aside from the bizarre feeling, there was no dramatic sense of transition. One moment, she was in the Engine Room, below the Hokage's Tower, and the next she was somewhere she didn't recognize.

Kiba and Shino were already there. Hinata didn't stiffen or ready herself for combat, though she did find herself running just a bit of chakra to the tips of her fingers. An unconscious reaction by her body to sudden travel, and not one she bemoaned; it was good to stay on her guard even in comfortable situations. The new room they'd traveled to was bigger, and much more richly decorated than the Engine Room. For one, it had a lush red carpet, upon which were decorative shapes created by a pattern of yellow, blue, and orange threads. They formed spirals, flowers, and animals that looked like tigers, among others. It was a bit of unexpected luxury, and so it immediately caught Hinata's eye.

Besides the carpet, there was also a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, bright crystals reflecting cheerful yellow lights. There were also some vases set upon wooden stands at either end of the room. In all, it seemed more like a reception area for a fine hotel, or an embassy, than the workmanlike room the Engine was set in. Hinata glanced back over her shoulder, and was surprised to find the portal was already steadily fading. In this room, it wasn't connected to a massive machine, but instead stood alone as a thin ring of metal, with some cables running down into obscurity under the carpet. She wondered how it worked.

Hinata turned her attention back to the rest of the room. She wasn't alone with her team. There were two men standing before them, one on either side of the only door leading into the room. The door itself was a thick mahogany affair; the men beside it were dressed in clean black suits, with wired headsets running up to their ears from under their collars. Hinata could tell from the way they were standing that they had some kind of weapon concealed in their jackets, though she couldn't tell what they were exactly. Hinata thought they looked rather generic, but that was likely the point. These were men who could pass as respectable in a social function and pull guard duty for an important device like the portal with equal skill.

She took a step forward, glancing at her teammates. When neither of them looked to make a move, Hinata decided to introduce herself.

"Hello?" she asked, before realizing that Kakashi had failed to tell them an extremely piece of both basic and critical information. Did the Republic of West Gorteau even speak the same language as the Nations? They were in an entirely different dimension, after all; what were the chances that the language was the same?

"Hello," the man on the left said, and Hinata almost started. He had a thick blond mustache that twitched a little when he spoke, and the word was bizarrely accented: it sounded more like 'halo' coming from him, with undue emphasis placed on the the first syllable, but it was still easily recognizable. "Welcome to the Republic of West Gorteau."

'Bizarre. Did these two learn our language?' That would be sensible. They were at the portal, after all.

Hinata bowed shallowly, along with Kiba. Shino settled for inclining his head. "We are pleased to have arrived safely," she said slowly, sure that she sounded as strange to the man as he did to her. Old etiquette lessons from her father bubbled up. "We were told to expect a Representative of ours; Mari Kansai?"

The man who hadn't addressed her bent his head a little, pressing his cheek into his shoulder. Hinata heard a soft click, probably from a radio hidden under his suit.

"She will be here momentarily," he pronounced a moment later. "Thank you for your patience."

Hinata nodded again, not smiling but being careful to show appreciation nonetheless.

"Nice place," Kiba muttered, looking around. He didn't sound sarcastic. "Why don't we have a carpet?" Hinata giggled.

It was a decent question though. Why didn't they have a carpet in the Engine Room? It would make the place a lot less foreboding. Hinata resolved to ask Naruto about it once they got back.

The mahogany door soundlessly swung open, and a short women dressed in a black suit much like the men guarding it wore bound through, bleeding enthusiasm. She had light brown hair, worn short, and teal eyes. Following behind her was a tall older man with a shining bald head, gleaming under the warm light of the chandelier like an egg. He reminded Hinata of a stoic tortoise, upright and distinguished.

"Welcome!" the woman said, reaching out to take Shino's hand in a vigorous handshake. The Aburame refused to be caught off guard, returning the gesture with calm courtesy. "Ah, such a pleasure to have you three here!" She made eye contact with Hinata. "Oh, Hyuuga-sama!" She inclined her head a little, and repeated her earlier greeting. "Welcome!"

"Mari, I assume?" Kiba asked, crossing his arms, and the woman nodded rapidly. Hinata was worried the representative's head would come off.

"Yup!" she said. "I'm the Shinobi Union's representative here in West Gorteau, but I'm sure the Lord Hokage has already told you that," she beamed. "And this," she continued, gesturing to the man who had followed her in, "is the Chief Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sun Hanya."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Sun said, dropping into a shallow bow with his arm pressed against his chest in an unusual salute. "It it always a joy to meet our shinobi allies face to face."

As Hinata and her companions returned the salutation and sign of respect, the Hyuuga analyzed the situation... and the man's accent. She knew the Union had inter-dimensional relations, of course, but the specifics mostly escaped her; most of what she'd picked up came by proxy through Naruto, and while her husband had thrown himself into the role of Hokage with his usual vigor he wasn't the best at explaining the specifics of what came across his desk every day.

What she did know was that Sasuke Uchiha was usually the one to make first contact (a fact she was reasonably sure was highly classified), and that he passed on what knowledge he deemed appropriate about the Five Nations to gauge interest in other worlds to do business with the Shinobi Union. Most such contacts ended in trade deals, with very few going as far as military assistance: sending soldiers into another world on a mission of war was a complicated subject, not to be approached lightly, and as far as Hinata knew it had only happened two or three times since the Engine had been developed.

West Gorteau was one of those nations with which the Union traded technology and knowledge. They were incidental associates, not nearly close enough to be called 'allies.' Of course, the man was using such friendly language on purpose. He was their chief of Foreign Affairs, after all. It was only natural he would be overly friendly to strange visitors like themselves.

Hinata snapped herself back to reality. Mari had started talking again.

"As I said, I'm happy to see you all. Especially you, Shino Aburame," she said warmly. "I'm sure you've been briefed on the situation?"

"Yes," Shino said curtly. "I am here on behalf of my clan; we decided I was the best to send, to track and hopefully capture samples of these 'Chimera Ants.'"

It was a strange name, Hinata thought, and a little clumsy to say, but at least it was straightforward. As Shino had told her, the Chimera Ants were a rare species native to unexplored lands in this world that sometimes ended up in civilized areas by misfortune or circumstance. They weren't especially dangerous to humans, but they tended to wreak ecological disaster, out-competing and devouring the local ecosystem thanks to their bizarre combination of partho and phagogenesis. Their ability to reproduce rapidly, with each successive generation integrating more traits from local species they had eaten, made them a uniquely thorny problem for the local environmentalists.

Of course, such a species could potentially be a gold mine of potential for the Aburame. If there was even a ghost of a chance something as unique and potentially powerful as that phagogenesis could be bred into Shino's kikaichu, for example, the results would be astounding. Shino had told her all this after Kiba had initially approached her, but Hinata had been quick to see the potential for herself.

"With any luck," Sun agreed. "When my government learned that the Hunter Association had taken interest in this breed of ants, we immediately decided that such information could be of use to our allies."

Ah. Hinata understood the man's behavior now. West Gorteau wanted to grow closer to the Shinobi Union, and had used this information as a gesture of good faith. Perhaps they had regional competitors? The ultimate reason didn't matter. She filed away the analysis for later.

"Hunter Association?" Kiba asked, the same question that Hinata's mind had moved on to. Sun started to open his mouth, looking a little confused, but Mari cut him off.

"Don't worry about that!" she interjected, waving her hands and smiling. "I can brief you all on that sort of thing on the way to the NGL. There's no need to get bogged down with it now."

"Ah, quite right," Sun said. "We've prepared some transport for you, just down in the auto pool-"

"Oh, Hanya, I thought I told you," Mari said kindly, and the man glanced at her. "We won't be needing a truck or anything. We'll make it there just fine on foot."

"Truck?" Shino asked. Mari waved him off.

"A vehicle most of the nations around here use," she said with a grin. "It will be faster for us to run."

"Are… are you certain, Ms. Mari?" Sun asked, clearly taken aback. "The NGL is over four-hundred miles from here: it will be quite the journey."

"We'll be just fine," Mari promised. "I've been wanting to stretch my legs anyway."

The Chief Secretary blinked. "Very well," he said. Kiba chuckled. "If that is your wish. Will you require any provisions? I took the liberty of having them already loaded into the transport, but if you don't wish to use it…"

"Oh." Mari blinked. "That's a good point." She turned to Hinata. "I'm sorry, I should have asked you three before making assumptions. How would you prefer to travel? By foot or truck?"

Hinata looked around at her teammates: Shino shrugged, while Kiba raised an eyebrow. She was curious what exactly a "truck" was, but was also eager to get started. They'd packed light, after all: Kiba had been the only one among them to bring any extra ninja tools beyond those that naturally went with the flak vests, which he kept secure in a series of packs around his waist. Hinata had considered asking him why he'd bothered, but decided it really didn't matter. If Kiba wanted to travel armed, that was his business.

"By foot would be just fine," Hinata decided. She wanted to see what this new world was like, and it was possible that wouldn't be possible from a truck. "We'll carry whatever we need."

"Oh, wonderful!" Mari said. "It can get quite stuffy in here." She stiffened, turning to the Chief Secretary. "Not that I mean any disrespect, of course, sir. I was just raised outdoors, that's all."

Sun Hanya smiled. "Of course, Ms. Mari. I understand what you mean. It can become positively stifling, especially at this time of year. I'm sure some exercise will do you well."

Mari beamed. "Thank you for understanding," she said, before turning back to the newly arrived shinobi. "Alright, let's walk and talk then. We'll go grab what we need and then head out: I have a lot to tell you guys."

The shinobi nodded and as one set off, forward into the strange new world.

'This will be nice,' Hinata thought. It was nostalgic to travel with her team again; like it was the old days. 'NGL.' The name sounded cute to her, like a themed restaurant or a park. She laughed a little as she felt a week of stress slide off her back, an immediate future with far less responsibilities opening up in front of her.

'Thank you, Naruto.' Silently, Hinata appreciated her husband, as she often did. 'I needed a vacation.'

###

This is a bit of an impulse project I've had cooking for a couple months. My apologies for this chapter being so exposition heavy; have to set the board before knocking over all the pieces, as it were. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[pressea]

Fuck yessssss, the arc that made me drop HxH all those years ago is getting completely derailed hypeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

One of my favourite arcs being covered by one of my favourite authors, with a solid crossover to derail things? Yes, please, and also thank you. Even better, Naruto comes so close to running on Nen as it is that dealing with the two systems should be interesting without being entirely incompatible.

Poor Shinobi don't know quite what they're in for, but the Hunters didn't either, really. Worst probable scenario is one of them, perhaps Mari, getting grabbed by the Ants and incorporated into their forces. Either way, looking very forward to wherever you take this.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Fuck yessssss, the arc that made me drop HxH all those years ago is getting completely derailed hypeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Click to shrink...

I mean, fair warning, if you didn't like the Chimera Ant Arc you probably won't like this. They share the same skeleton.
(not to say I'm avoiding divergences or anything, you know)

One of my favourite arcs being covered by one of my favourite authors, with a solid crossover to derail things? Yes, please, and also thank you. Even better, Naruto comes so close to running on Nen as it is that dealing with the two systems should be interesting without being entirely incompatible.

Click to shrink...

Ah, you'll make me blush. I'll do my best not to disappoint you, Guts.

 

[Delmar]

One of my favourite arcs being covered by one of my favourite authors, with a solid crossover to derail things? Yes, please, and also thank you. Even better, Naruto comes so close to running on Nen as it is that dealing with the two systems should be interesting without being entirely incompatible.

Poor Shinobi don't know quite what they're in for, but the Hunters didn't either, really. Worst probable scenario is one of them, perhaps Mari, getting grabbed by the Ants and incorporated into their forces. Either way, looking very forward to wherever you take this.

Click to shrink...

I hope not. They gonna have nen. I don't want it to combine with chakra

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

I hope not. They gonna have nen. I don't want it to combine with chakra

Click to shrink...

I didn't mean combine outside of possibly the Ants themselves. I just meant that chakra was so blatantly part of Kishimoto's attempts to copy Togashi that it'd practically work as a weird subset of Nen. How the two interact is essential to any crossover like this, and relies more on the users than the systems, even. Hunters are at least as trained as Shinobi in reading between the lines, and should each be at least partially out of context for the other.

 

[Delmar]

I didn't mean combine outside of possibly the Ants themselves. I just meant that chakra was so blatantly part of Kishimoto's attempts to copy Togashi that it'd practically work as a weird subset of Nen. How the two interact is essential to any crossover like this, and relies more on the users than the systems, even. Hunters are at least as trained as Shinobi in reading between the lines, and should each be at least partially out of context for the other.

Click to shrink...

Stories can intersect with each other without ideas being stolen. The base of chakra and nen are not that related, chakra is more like ki than nen.

I have nothing to say about the similarities between the Kurta and the uchiha clan though.

They could fit right in with each other without much problems. The first time I learned about them the uchiha came to mind and the results of a hybrid between them.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

The Face of Terror​

Mari turned out to be a lovely traveling companion. She had a boundless enthusiasm for just about everything, and was extremely knowledgeable about the area. Over the course of the trip west, Hinata learned an amazing amount of information about the new world she'd found herself in.

They'd taken a casual pace for shinobi, covering the four-hundred and some miles between West Gorteau and the NGL (which Hinata now knew stood for 'Neo-Green Life Autonomous Region') in a day and a half of jogging, the thick packs on their backs laden with enough supplies for a week and some of living in the wild. The NGL was a country without any advanced technology or many large settlements, so the supplies were necessary if they needed to spend any extended time there.

According to Mari, the NGL sat on the western edge of the southernmost of the Balsa Islands, a chain of islands to the south of the Yorbian Continent, the largest continent of five that humanity in this world called its home. When Mari had first explained this to Hinata, her head had been swimming with new names and the implications of so many continents. The Five Nations back home all sat together on one continent, and Hinata had never put much thought into what lay beyond them; there'd been little need to. Now, her curiosity was piqued, though somewhat buried under all the other information that Mari had provided.

The island they were on was referred to as the Mitene Union: a series of five nations with almost equal territory. These nations were the NGL and the Republics of Haas, Rokario, West, and East Gorteau. The Republics of Hass and Rokario were older countries that had a longstanding alliance with one another; the NGL and the two Gorteau had more interesting histories. The Autonomous Region had only been established several decades ago, and since then had been fiercely isolationist, eschewing any sort of relationship with its neighbor beyond the occasional trade of food and textiles.

At least, that was the official story. Mari confided in the shinobi that many of West Gorteau's government suspected that the NGL also produced other exports: illegal drugs, cheap 'firearms' (a local weapon), and child labor. The idea of a seemingly idealistic country that wanted to be closer to nature serving as a front for something so unwholesome disgusted Hinata, but it was obvious to her that things weren't always as they appeared. Her disgust was somewhat personal. The NGL reminded her of the traditional Hyuuga, before they had joined Hashirama in his great experiment. Her clan had eschewed technology and lived in isolation during the time of the Warring Clans, and so Hinata was somewhat sympathetic to the idea of living as the NGL purported to.

East and West Gorteau were also more than they appeared. Until about seventy years ago the two countries had been one, before being split apart by a horrible civil war. The war had lasted nearly a decade and killed hundreds of thousands, before an armistice was reached with the help of the Republics of Rokario and Haas. Now, West Gorteau was a constitutional Republic (a notion Hinata found a little odd but understood well enough to be untroubled by), while the East was a Republic in name only. In reality, it was a vicious military dictatorship that treated most of its citizens little better than slaves and built a cult of personality around its 'Dear Leader:' a man selected by nepotism and his relation to the previous leader instead of anything close to merit. A dictatorship was obviously not especially alien to Hinata, but one that degraded and used its citizens so shamelessly infuriated her.

Even today, East and West Gorteau were technically at war, though they hadn't engaged in open hostilities in decades. It reminded Hinata of the relationship between Konoha and Kumo before the Fourth War, though they hadn't been quite as close geographically.

What Mari hadn't said that had been nevertheless simple for Hinata to grasp was that thanks to this troubled armistice, West Gorteau was likely desperate for allies of any kind. In that, the nation had been extremely lucky to make contact with the Shinobi Union when it had.

There was more, of course. The story of the Mitene Union only scratched the surface. The other thing of critical importance Mari had spoken of was the Hunter Association, which Sun Hanya had brought up back in West Gorteau. The Association had been the first to take real notice of the Chimera Ants, and Mari was sure they had dispatched a team to track the invading species as well.

As they had passed through the Republic of Haas, Kiba had latched onto the idea of an elite group with international influence.

"How do you become a Hunter?" he'd asked as they'd jogged down a dirt road. "Where are they based out of? What do they do? How many are there? Have you ever met one?" Those had just been the first few of his questions. In barely a minute, Mari had grown flustered under the barrage.

"Hold on!" she'd squeaked, her face going red. "One at a time!" She'd waved her hands in front of her face, still clutching the papers that had gotten them past Haas's border just moments before.

The questions had slowed but hadn't stopped, and in the end, Mari had had to apologize for not knowing enough to sate Kiba's curiosity. What she had been able to give was still very intriguing.

The Hunter Association was responsible for accrediting and supporting Hunters, skilled men and women from across the world who sold their service as professionals of every stripe; whatever their focus, they were defined by their search for something. They reminded Hinata somewhat of shinobi, though they were less tied to regional governments. Hunters could chase after whatever they desired, but ultimately had less influence than shinobi in world affairs. They covered every specialty from criminal law to archaeology, but were universally tough enough to look out for themselves and they explored the less well-traveled corners of the world. They also carried licenses that granted them access to exclusive resources and passage through just about any country: a priceless possession, for sure. Ultimately, Hinata was glad that Kiba had taken such an interest in the peculiar organization.

Hunters were not nearly as common as shinobi, however. No one except the Association's Chairman knew precisely how many accredited Hunters existed at any time, but Mari knew that there were estimated to be somewhere between seven and eight hundred in the world. That was an impressive number for such an elite organization, but was still an extremely small group when all was said and done.

Hinata had had a question of her own after Kiba had finished squeezing everything he could about the Hunters out of Mari. Hers had been both simpler and more complicated.

"What language do they speak here?" she'd asked, and Mari had smiled.

The same as back home, it turned out. It had been as much a shock to West Gorteau as it had been to the Union when it had first made contact, but Mari confided in the group that it wasn't exactly uncommon. In Sasuke Uchiha's travels, he'd found that many civilizations across disparate worlds spoke a very similar tongue, though they invariably splintered off into various dialects, some of which were different enough that they could masquerade as a separate language entirely. As Hinata had already seen, people here spoke a dialect that was broadly the same but had core differences in pronunciation and occasionally sentence structure; they also had an entirely different system of writing and alphabet, which Mari had tried to get the other shinobi at least a little familiar with.

The reason behind this universal language was a mystery seemingly without an answer, but Hinata could only think of one thing that could possibly share languages across separate worlds.

The Otsutsuki's influence was here, somewhere on this planet. Hinata couldn't know where or in what exact capacity, but she had no doubt of it. The idea frightened her, but worrying about it was pointless. That was Sasuke's purpose, not hers, and Naruto had assured her his friend was well equipped to deal with the problem.

Of course, there was also the issue of no one in this world apparently possessing chakra, a fact that had baffled Hinata on the few occasions she'd used her doujutsu. They had spiritual and physical energy–she could see that dancing beneath their skin and in their bones clearly–but there was no chakra network to channel the energy. It was bizarre.

Regardless of alien biology and the mystery of a universal language, the history lesson of the island and Hinata and Kiba's questions had lasted most of their trip, punctuated by bouts of comfortable silence. Shino had been particularly quiet for most of the trip, but when he'd finally spoken up at the dawn of their second day, Hinata realized it had been because he could barely contain his excitement. It was obvious in the way he spoke and held himself that he had been keeping himself from babbling about the potential for his clan of not just the Chimera Ants, but all the other exotic insects he'd doubtlessly noticed for.

Which is why it genuinely surprised Hinata that his question hadn't been about the Ants, but about Mari herself.

"How did you end up here?" Shino had asked. Here: this new world, and here, in this position, he meant. It was the only question that Mari had taken a moment to answer; she'd pondered it, bringing a hand up to twirl a finger in her hair. The silence Shino had broken had reasserted itself for about thirty seconds, punctuated by Mari's humming.

"I'm from Kumogakure," she'd eventually said. Mari didn't wear a hitai-ate, a trend that some younger shinobi had picked up, so this was new information to Hinata. "I got recruited for the Thunder Corp when I was fourteen years old."

The Thunder Corp. Hinata was familiar with it, though she'd never met anyone who was or had been a member. Unlike most of the Villages, Kumogakure had continued to expand and advance its military since the formation of the Union, as opposed to settling into equilibrium like its peers. Their moon-shattering cannon, which had formed the technological foundation for the Engine that had brought her to this new world, had been one such development.

The Thunder Corp had been another. In a new age with different tactical concerns, the Corp was Kumo's answer to the problem of another enemy like the massed Zetsu and Edo Tensei of the Fourth War. Engaging those enemies in organized formations to blunt their advantages had been effective, but costly and dangerous. Thus, the Fifth Raikage's Black Lightning had provided a clear inspiration to Cloud's military; the safest way to destroy an enemy with a numerical advantage was to do it from beyond their reach.

"I specialized in Artillery Jutsu," Mari had explained. She'd sounded both proud and tired. Kiba had laughed.

"Make-People-Explode-From-Far-Away no Jutsu?" he'd asked, almost tripping over a rock in the middle of the road. Mari had giggled and shaken her head.

"Hitting something with a lightning bolt from a couple miles away might sound exciting, but in the end..." She'd shrugged. "I'd joined the Thunder Corp because I wanted to do something no one else had, but in the end I didn't feel like I was making a difference. I was just another weapon in a nation that was overflowing with them. It wasn't what I was looking for."

"Then how did you get your current position?" Shino had asked.

"I walked into the Raikage's office and asked him for a different job," Mari had said, and Shino had laughed.

"Brave." Hinata couldn't have disagreed with him; Darui wasn't quite as intimidating as A had been, but he still wasn't a man whose time wasn't safe to waste.

"Well, it worked. He told me about this. A diplomatic position in another dimension." Mari had smiled. "I didn't think twice."

By the time they finally reached the border to the NGL, Hinata felt she had a confident grasp on the new world, and on Mari. She was happy to have gotten to know her.

The border checkpoint turned out to be dug inside a massive tree, the roots of which spanned an entire river that ran below it. It was quite the sight, and an impressive feat of construction besides. The shinobi had approached it quietly: before they'd entered, Mari had given them one final bit of advice.

"NGL doesn't let anything synthetic or artificial inside its border: that's going to apply to your jackets, a lot of your clothes, and your visor, Shino," she'd said, using her hands as props to emphasize each item. "Now, we shouldn't break the law, obviously…" She'd smiled. "But it's a bit of a hassle. If you guys give me whatever you want to hold onto, I'll just stow it on the other side of the border: you'll be able to easily locate it with your Byakugan, Hinata." Mari had begun calling Hinata by her first name during the trip, which the Hyuuga had appreciated.

They'd agreed with her convenient proposal, and Mari had snuck across the border with their equipment with typical shinobi efficiency.

Getting through the checkpoint afterwards was a thankfully simple affair: the border guards had been impressed they had packed conscientiously for their destination, an observation that Kiba had nearly snickered at. After they'd had some of their clothes swapped for the entirely natural substitutes provided by the checkpoint, Mari had given them her farewell, wishing them the best of luck. She had to return to West Gorteau to continue her duties as Representative there. Funnily enough, Shino had given her the fondest goodbye. He'd been mostly quiet on the journey, of course, but had grown more and more obviously excited the closer they drew to NGL. Hinata had thought he might give Mari a hug as he thanked her for her guidance.

And then, without much ceremony, they'd entered the Autonomous Region.

###

The NGL was without a doubt a gorgeous country. After retrieving their gear, Team 8 had been at somewhat of a loss at where to start their search. Mari had told them the Hunter Association had apparently suspected the Ant Queen they had been tracking had washed up out of the ocean somewhere near the southern coast; with that in mind, they'd decided to simply boud deeper in, heading for the center of the Region. With Kiba's nose, Shino's insects, and Hinata's sight, they knew they would find what they were looking for eventually; Mari had provided a picture of an ordinary Chimera Ant for Hinata. To her, they just seemed like overly large, somewhat gray ants. Hardly anything special. Nonetheless, locating one wouldn't be overly difficult once they got farther in, especially considering the Ants glutinous appetite would probably have depopulated the local fauna anyway.

The Autonomous Region was like country-sized park, with miles and miles of completely undisturbed forest interspersed with mountains and grassland. Whenever Hinata took a peek with her Byakugan, the sheer number of species calling the NGL their home surprised her; she'd never seen such incredible biodiversity in one place back in the Five Nations. Hinata wondered if the animals had been intentionally brought in, or if the Region was just a naturally astounding enclave. She was inclined to think it was the latter. So many different types of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and everything else living under the sun calling one place their home would almost certainly have been too much trouble to organize.

At one point, they passed within nine miles of a settlement, just on the outer edge of Hinata's vision. The people there lived simple lives. So far as Hinata could tell, the majority of them were farmers. They had rough clothes and primitive hand-made tools, but they seemed happy; Hinata didn't want to observe them without their knowledge for too long, as it felt intrusive, so she deactivated her Byakugan until she was sure she and her companions were out of range of the village.

After a little more than an hour of travel, Hinata estimated they'd made their way about eighty miles deep into the NGL: about half the length of the Autonomous Region. They'd found nothing remarkable, aside from a welcome calm and contentment brought about by the pleasant solitude of the unmarked nature all around them.

So naturally, it came a surprise to Hinata when Kiba stopped short with a stricken look on his face. His left hand came up, his index and middle finger stroking his nose as his thumb pressed into his goatee.

"Kiba?" she asked. The Inuzuka stared straight ahead, his eyes narrowing.

"Something wrong?" Shino asked, stopping alongside Hinata. He brushed a sap-encrusted leaf off the shoulder of his flak jacket.

"I…" Kiba said. His hand dropped, stroking his thin beard. Hinata was a little surprised. She'd only ever seen him do that when he was nervous around his wife. "I just caught whiff of something. I got no idea what."

Hinata quickly activated her Byakugan, scanning everything in the surrounding fourteen kilometers in about six seconds. So far as she could tell, there wasn't anything unusual out there, but Kiba's nose was sensitive enough to pick up something from beyond her range. She let the veins around her eyes recede.

"Describe it," Shino asked, and Kiba winced, wrinkling his nose. His other hand curled into a fist.

"Man, it's…" he started, struggling with the word. "It's like death."

Hinata blinked. "Something rotting?" Kiba shook his head.

"Way worse. I don't know how to describe this to you. It's carrion and mold and..." He coughed. "Picture finding some rotten milk inside a dead body or something, and you might be like, a tenth of the way there. It's bad."

"Hmm." Shino crossed his arm. "Perhaps it is the Ants."

"Maybe? It's definitely not like anything I've smelled before." Kiba said with a little laugh. "Whatever it is, I almost don't want to head towards it."

"Which direction is it?" Hinata asked, and her teammate pointed farther west.

"Where we were headed," he said. "Make sure to keep your Byakugan on, alright? I'd prefer we know everything we can if we're headed that way."

Hinata nodded, activating her doujutsu without a second thought. They set off again, at a slightly hurried pace. The forest whipped by in a blur of green, and a moment later they burst onto an open plain, full of tall grass and stunted trees. Hinata could see that it extended for miles around, before breaking into more forest hemmed in by a set of tall, rocky hills.

Whatever Kiba had smelled, it was a definite concern. Hinata had never seen a scent unsettle him like that. It was hard for her to imagine something that could, if she were honest with herself. Her sense of smell had never been-

There was a flash of unusual movement at the edge of her vision, and Hinata almost lost her footing as she skidded over several stalks of damp grass in surprise. She made a small surprised noise, and her teammates looked to her in concern.

"What?" Kiba asked. Hinata shook her head.

"I thought I saw someone," she said.

"So?" Kiba asked. "NGL's got people. That's not very-"

"It was a little boy. I think he was carrying someone." The sentence shut Kiba up immediately. Instead, his mouth pressed itself into a flat line, and he took a deep breath of air in through his nose. It went without saying that if Hinata had seen what she thought she had, they couldn't afford to just ignore it.

"Huh. I think I got him," he said, pointing southwest. "Do you still see him?"

Hinata shook her head, and Kiba grimaced. "Alright, let's get eyes on him again before we decide anything."

They only had to run southwest for a minute or so before Hinata reacquired her target. She'd been partially right. It was indeed a boy, and he was carrying someone slung in an emergency hold over his back. She'd underestimated their age, though. If Hinata had to guess, she'd say they were both young teenagers, maybe thirteen or fourteen, fifteen if she pushed it.

The teen on the move was lithe and pale, with bone-white hair and eyes even bluer than his shirt. The boy he was carrying looked a little younger, with dark, spiky black hair. It only took Hinata a moment to figure out why he wasn't conscious. The back of his neck was marred with an enormous, vicious looking bruise, painting his nape black and blue. Whatever had knocked him out, it had been a nasty blow. Perhaps he'd fallen out of a tree? It was a surprise he wasn't dead.

Or maybe not, because his friend clearly was no ordinary kid; he was running like hell was chasing him through the dense forest, going at least forty meters a second. That was far beyond anything a human without chakra could accomplish… and yet, he didn't seem to be using any. Once again, Hinata was left baffled.

"What's the word?" Kiba asked, and Hinata focused.

"Two boys, maybe fourteen years old, one unconscious and being carried by the other," she said. It was almost refreshing to rattle off a recon report. "Going about forty meters a second. The unconscious one has a nasty bruise, no other injuries that I can see." She narrowed her eyes. "He's running east."

"Hmm, fast." Shino said. "Is anything chasing them?"

Hinata could see for about two hundred meters behind the boys. If they were being chased, it wasn't an immediate threat, but it was fully possible they were being stalked by something beyond her range.

"Not that I can see," she said, and Kiba groaned.

"He smells like…" he said. "I dunno, he's got one bizarre scent on him." He wrinkled his nose. "Like a dead cat." He turned to Shino as they effortlessly sped across the forest floor, slowly gaining some ground on the distant teens. "What do you want to do?"

Hinata could see Shino looking somewhat torn under his visor. He was clearly impatient to begin his work with the Ants, and she couldn't blame him. The compromise, to her, was obvious.

"I'll follow them," she said, and Shino looked up, gratitude clear in his face. "Don't worry: you guys go on without me for now. Kiba, your nose should be more than enough to find the Ants. I'll make sure these two make it safely to wherever they're going."

"You won't have any trouble finding us again, I hope," Shino said, and Hinata smiled.

"No, that will be simple. Just don't cover your tracks." Kiba smirked, tapping his temple, and Hinata winked back; it was nice to be out with her team again. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

"Alright," Kiba said, coming to a stop. Shino did so as well. "Be careful; try not to spook them."

"I'll follow from a distance," Hinata said. "You two be careful as well. I'll see you soon."

The team split. Kiba and Shino headed west, while Hinata doubled back to the east, following the peculiar pair of teens. The boy in blue was clearly exhausted, and yet he pushed himself onward with a singleminded determination. Not just determination: terror.

Hinata wondered what had sent him running so.

###

In the end, the boy ended up all the way at the NGL's border. Well, almost all the way. He had been picked up by two locals on horseback near the border and taken the rest of the way to the checkpoint. The intervention had been a relief for Hinata. Before the locals came along it had been obvious that the teen had finally reached the limits of his impressive endurance, and she'd been considering stepping in herself. His kilometers-eating sprint had been reduced to an exhausted stagger, and every inch of his body had been soaked with sweat. His friend still hadn't woken up.

Hinata settled into the thin forest that rose up on the shore of the river on the other side of the border, watching the boy. The dirt road that led up to the checkpoint offered him no cover, not that it would have mattered with the Byakugan.

The teen was truly remarkable, running like his life was on the line for so long. Once he staggered through the checkpoint to the other side of the border, gently laying his companion down near one of the massive roots of a nearby tree and drawing his shirt over him, Hinata considered leaving. He was clearly safe now. She'd done the responsible thing and escorted him in her own way. It was time to get back to her job, and her team.

And yet, she couldn't quite tear herself away. She wondered why. Something about the boy reminded her of the past, and of shinobi in general. His speed and endurance, of course, was remarkable, but it was more than that. The way he carried himself, how he scanned his environment, it all added up to someone with clear expertise.

What had made a boy like this flee in terror? Hinata wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure that was the right decision to make.

In the moment of hesitation that she continued watching him, the teen pulled a cell phone from a bag that had been returned to him at the checkpoint. Hinata didn't recognize the design, but the device itself was obvious. Mobile phones like this had been getting more and more popular in both Konoha and the other Villages for the last couple years: Hinata didn't own one herself, content with a house-phone.

She wondered if the technology that had sped up the development of mobile devices had come from West Gorteau. Ten years ago, most phones in the Five Nations had required land lines; five, and even the smallest mobile ones had been more like bricks than phones. Now, like the boy's, they could fit in the palm of her hand.

He dialed a number, and the call was quickly answered. Hinata, overcome by curiosity, read his lips as he curtly spoke into the device, still breathing heavily.

"Spinner."

A pause as he waited for whoever was on the other side of the conversation to greet him. The Byakugan let Hinata read his face like an open book. Worry, doubt, regret. Still some terror, even now.

There was a hard ball of uncertainty growing in her stomach.

"I'm fine. Gon's fine. Kite's in trouble."

Well, she didn't know his name, but it was a safe bet that the other teen he'd been carrying was named Gon. Unless he'd left Gon behind, and Kite was the one he was carrying? The bruise on his neck was certainly nasty, but the way the teen treated him made Hinata think that he wasn't in any true danger. If he thought he had a concussion or something equally threatening he would have woken him up by now, assuming he had any medical knowledge.

"We left him behind."

It took a moment for Hinata to resolve the word 'behind' from the boy's lips thanks to a slight difference in pronunciation, but once she did the implications unsettled her. Considering the boy's ability, if he'd needed to leave 'Kite' behind something must have gone seriously wrong.

"We're just outside the checkpoint."

The boy paused. Hinata assumed Spinner was speaking; the teen listened for about twenty seconds.

"Reinforcements? We'll wait."

He hung up, tossing the phone aside and slumping to the ground in an exhausted position.

'Reinforcements?'

Hinata resolved to wait just a little longer to see if these 'reinforcements' would arrive soon. A burgeoning suspicion had begun pushing itself forward in her mind, and she was curious if it would be vindicated. Mari had told them that the Hunter Association had dispatched a group of their own to investigate the Chimera Ants; was it at all possible these two boys were part of that team?

They were young, but as Hinata had been considering earlier that day, the Hunter Association reminded her of shinobi in many ways. Perhaps they too had children in their ranks.

She also wanted to learn what had sent the boy running with Gon before she left. If there were a potential danger in the NGL, it wouldn't do to be cocky and assume she and her teammates could handle it without any intelligence.

Hinata remained in the tree line on the other side of the border for about ten minutes, content to sit and read the boy as he tried and failed to relax in the shade of the tree. It was an hour or so after noon, and the sun was high and hot. The time passed without incident, except for one curious instance.

About five minutes into her vigil, the boy snapped to attention and leapt to his feet despite his obvious fatigue. He looked about wildly for a second, even turning around, before eventually bringing his search to a close, glaring in Hinata's general direction.

'Huh.'

Hinata was concealed in the tree line over one-hundred and fifty meters away. She hadn't gone out of her way to hide herself, but the distance and foliage cover still made it all but impossible to spot her directly. If the boy really did know something was where she was, it was a very impressive feat of instinct. She found herself legitimately impressed.

Somehow, he'd detected her. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, wondering if it would make a difference.

A silent stalemate asserted itself. Hinata didn't move, and neither did the boy. After forty seconds of quiet inaction, the boy slowly sat back down, casting a worried look towards Gon. He kept an eye on her position, but made no other obvious moves. It seemed that ceasing her active observation had indeed quieted whatever instinct had pricked at him.

He was clearly concerned about his friend, but also wasn't willing to put any distance between them to hunt down a potential threat so long as it wasn't immediate. Hinata's respect for the teen went up another notch.

With her Byakugan deactivated out of respect for the boy's nerves, Hinata became aware of the reinforcements at the same time as the teen when they arrived several minutes later. A truck rumbled up to the checkpoint, kicking up a cloud of heavy dust and grinding to a stop with an unpleasant screech. Hinata had seen plenty of the vehicles as she and her team had traveled across the various Republics; they were rather remarkable, though she doubted she'd ever need to use one.

Three men filed out of the truck, fanning into a triangle and slowly approaching the boy at the base of the tree. Hinata activated her Byakugan once more for clarity. There were six other people in the truck of various size and gender, but since they hadn't exited Hinata ignored them to focus on what she was sure was the 'reinforcements.'

All men, obviously. One enormous and middle-aged, with an equally huge pipe wrapped in cloth, dressed in a fine suit that he wore casually and wearing tiny sunglasses. He had a nose that'd clearly been broken many times, so many it was practically bent into a rough crescent, and a rude smile.

One smaller and younger, the complete opposite of the taller man; he was composed and well groomed in every way. Short black hair, wiry glasses widening a thin face, and an immaculately tailored suit that matched his hair. Out of the new arrivals, he made the least distinct impression, which made Hinata resolve to watch him all the more carefully.

The last arrival was an ancient man with his hair pulled into a topknot and an impressive beard. Ancient, but not withered, as though he'd traded every wrinkle in his life for muscle instead. He was dressed in robes as white as his hair, and wore high wooden geta. Of the reinforcements, the white-haired boy was only surprised to see the old man. Hinata could tell from his reaction–widened eyes, quickened heart–that he recognized him.

Hinata was surprised too, though not for the same reason. All three of the men were bright. They shone with an internal light under her Byakugan's sight, shimmering with something similar to chakra. From a casual glance, Hinata could only call it raw life energy, in greater quantities than she'd ever seen in a human before. The old man was the most luminous of them all: it reminded Hinata a little of Naruto, though if her husband were the sun, this man would be its blinding reflection.

When they began speaking, she made sure to follow the conversation with her Byakugan.

The large man with the pipe spoke first, his rude smile expanding into a full grin. "What's this? They're just kids," he drawled. He spoke loudly enough that Hinata could pick up bits and pieces despite the distance. "If you're here to play, you'll get burned. Go back home."

The white-haired teen frowned, and Hinata with him.

"Stop it, Morel. That isn't nice." The thin man spoke up, adjusting his glasses. "They're only children." Now, Hinata had the large man's name.

The ancient man chuckled. "You look pretty defeated," he said with mirthful eyes. "Was the enemy that strong?"

The teen ground his teeth, his body shaking with frustration.

"One of them could use Nen," he said without prompting. Hinata didn't recognize the term, nor did she know what 'them' could be referring to. "That was the worst aura I've ever encountered. Worse than my brothers. Worse than Hisoka's. Now that I've learned Nen myself, I can tell. You guys are unbelievably strong. But I still can't see you defeating that thing."

Nen. Was he referring to the chakra-like aura that surrounded the men and, now that Hinata knew what to look for, leaked from the teen's very bones? That seemed likely. If that were the case, she must have been mistaken in her earlier appraisal of this world as lacking in chakra. It clearly had something like it, in this Nen, even if it manifested in a different form. It was just less common and less obvious was chakra.

The thin man smirked. "Whenever people encounter the unknown, they tend to lose perspective. You're in a state of panic. We'll take it from here. Go lie down somewhere."

Morel laughed. "You're no better than me, Knov."

Knov and Morel. Two out of three. Hinata wondered what the old man's name was.

Morel turned to the teen. "Kid, the minute you start talking about who's going to win in a Nen fight, you're wrong. In most cases, you won't know your opponents ability. One instant of carelessness is all it takes to turn the tables. You can't make assumptions based on the amount of aura. A battle can turn at any point." He grinned. It was a predator's smile: no, a Hunter's smile. Hinata was positive that's what these men were. "That's what fighting with Nen is. But regardless, you always have to fight certain of victory. The moment you were overwhelmed by your opponent's aura and fled, you were disqualified. You're lower than a loser."

Hinata bristled on the boy's behalf. The lesson is sound; confidence in battle could very well decide the fight, as she knew all too well, but it was easy for her to see that the teen was already beaten down. The timing on this lesson was atrocious, but Morel didn't seem to care.

There was a moment of silence, and the teen closed his eyes. He'd stopped grinding his teeth. The old man asked another question.

"Is Gon asleep?"

So the other teen was Gon. It was nice to have that confirmed.

"He was going to attack the enemy, so I used force to stop him. I didn't have time to control my strength, so I don't know when he'll wake up."

That took Hinata aback. That terrible bruise on Gon's neck was his friend's doing? She hadn't even thought of that possibility. The explanation was also strange. Gon had been about to attack whatever enemy had frightened his comrade so much? The boy must have been either incredibly brave, or unaware of the danger.

Morel chuckled. "That kid shows some promise then."

"Morel!" Knov actually looked annoyed; Morel had finally gone too far for him. The larger man shrugged, while the old man ignored his companions' little spat.

"It's difficult to believe that Chimera Ants are devouring humans, but since it appears to be true, we must keep casualties to a minimum. If we send fighters who aren't strong enough, they'll only strengthen the enemy. Do you understand?"

It took Hinata a couple seconds to absorb what the man had said, and when she did, she almost fell on her butt.

Suddenly, everything about the conversation she'd listened to, no, what Kiba had smelled, no, the whole mission-

Everything was cast into a new, horrifying light.

If what they'd been told about Chimera Ants were accurate, how they imparted traits from their prey onto their offsprings, what would happen if one ate a person? An Ant with the intelligence and strength of a human being?

No, more than just a human being, Hinata realized.

'One of them could use Nen.'

Hinata closed her eyes, contemplating the implications of that. An ant that could use something like chakra? Would it be giant, like the creatures shinobi could form contracts with? Would it take on the physical characteristics of humans as well, able to pass as one? She didn't know. The boy was clearly no pushover, and she imagined neither Gon nor Kite had been either. So it was definitely a threat. But it was more than that.

'I still can't see you defeating that thing.'

Hinata felt cold. She could see for herself that these men were extremely powerful in their own way. Assuming the teen wasn't blinded by his terror…

She needed to get back to her team. They needed to know about this.

"Yeah." The boy said. Even distracted as she was, Hinata still picked up what he said without effort. "I understand." He hesitated. "Before you guys go… can you feel that?"

Hinata stiffened as Morel nodded, clicking his tongue. "Something's been watching us," the tall man said in a serious tone. "How long?"

"I'm not sure," the teen answered. "Whatever it is, it started following me a couple miles from the border." She'd been following him much longer than that, but Hinata was still impressed he'd noticed her that far back regardless.

"Is it an Ant?" Knov asked. The teen shrugged.

"I think it would have attacked me if it were. The ones we met weren't the kind to stalk someone for a couple miles. I don't know what it could be: I thought I might have spotted it a couple minutes before you arrived, but I couldn't pinpoint it."

While the Hunters discussed her, Hinata was paralyzed by a crossroad opening up before her.

On one hand, she wanted to rush back to her team armed with this knowledge immediately. On the other, it was possible that would put all of them in unnecessary danger. From that, arose the other option.

These Hunters were clearly powerful, and knowledgeable about the Ant threat: moreso than her or her team. They'd be indispensable allies. But it was risky to approach them, for a variety of reasons.

She had to make a decision quickly.

The old man, whose name, to Hinata's irritation, was still unknown to her, was the only one to take serious action in looking for her. While his comrades stood around glancing at one another, he brought his hand up to his eye and peered through a tiny space between his index and middle finger. Hinata cocked her head at the strange motion.

'An observation technique?'

He scanned all around him before his gaze eventually fell on the tree line. After a couple seconds of minute movements, he eventually peered directly at her. Hinata blinked. That had been fast; all of these Hunters had impressive senses.

He smiled a devious smile, the kind that only old men with a thousand private jokes were capable of, and waved.

Hinata blinked again. Of all the possible reactions, she hadn't expected him to wave. After a moment, she decided there was really only one thing to do.

She stood up from her crouch, and waved back.

"It's a woman," she watched him say. "Hmm. Strange eyes."

Having been spotted, Hinata came to her decision quickly. Communication was key in a situation like this. If she ran off, she'd likely only raise suspicion. That was something she and her team didn't need right now.

And these men were potentially too useful to ignore.

"My name is Hinata," she mouthed, bending her knees slightly and channeling chakra to her legs. "I am not a threat." The old man cocked an eyebrow, repeating the words out loud for the benefit of his companions. Morel straightened his posture, while Knov took his hands out of his pockets. The teen under the tree stood up, looking to her position with suspicious eyes.

Hinata took a deep breath, and jumped.

###

Another chapter a little heavy in exposition for my liking, but we've pretty much reached the end of that. Now the more interesting stuff can get underway. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

Alriiight. Mari has some ranged artillery abilities, so she's less likely to die than I'd feared. Seems like Nen and Chakra can detect each other, slightly, with the detection advantage still up in the air... though given they didn't even know of Nen, Hinata is right to worry for her team's safety. I wonder if Shino's kikkai will be able to eat it.

Too late to save that version of Kite, which means also too late to stop Meruem's birth, which makes total sense given the arc wouldn't be as interesting otherwise.

And we're given a loose benchmark for Netero, which is Naruto of all people, despite the fact that he hasn't done his getting-back-in-shape training yet. Even though it's a different scale, that still speaks to how strong the Ants are from a Shinobi perspective, given that I don't think Netero's raw Nen got too close to even equaling one of the Royal Guard.

Good on Hinata for making the hard choice to make contact with the Hunters. Even if her team needs help, getting the allies and information is going to be way more valuable down the line than just rushing back, especially given what we know of how the crisis will unfold. Holing up somewhere for six weeks just won't be manageable, even if they were inclined to.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

And we're given a loose benchmark for Netero, which is Naruto of all people, despite the fact that he hasn't done his getting-back-in-shape training yet. Even though it's a different scale, that still speaks to how strong the Ants are from a Shinobi perspective, given that I don't think Netero's raw Nen got too close to even equaling one of the Royal Guard.

Click to shrink...

I'd love to comment on some of your other stuff but I'm worried I'd be too coy and give stuff away, so I'm restricting myself to this one.

Indeed, all of the Royal Guards have more raw power than Netero, but as shown later, his experience in battle and incredible Hatsu lets him close the gap a little. When he first sees Pitou he claims he'd stand no chance against her/it, but it's all too possible he's underselling himself thanks to that bizarre sense of humor he's got. After all, later on he absolutely punks her during the Dragon Dive, even if he doesn't manage to inflict any significant damage.

HxH consistently made a big point of raw power being less important than combat experience (though it subverted this with Meruem thanks to his incredible processing power), and I'd like to keep that trend going for this fic. Just something to keep in mind.

Thanks for the comment! Always a sucker for feedback.

 

[colesign]

I was wondering why you named this fan fiction after an ancient nation of Greek warriors...

...but then I remembered the etymology of Myrmidon--"Ant".

Great story so far, looking forward to reading more!

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

I was wondering why you named this fan fiction after an ancient nation of Greek warriors...

...but then I remembered the etymology of Myrmidon--"Ant".

Great story so far, looking forward to reading more!

Click to shrink...

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!

And, at the risk of cluttering up my thread with insipid self-congratulations, I am moderately proud of the multiple references and implications tied up in the title. Happy people are noticing them.

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

I'd love to comment on some of your other stuff but I'm worried I'd be too coy and give stuff away, so I'm restricting myself to this one.

Indeed, all of the Royal Guards have more raw power than Netero, but as shown later, his experience in battle and incredible Hatsu lets him close the gap a little. When he first sees Pitou he claims he'd stand no chance against her/it, but it's all too possible he's underselling himself thanks to that bizarre sense of humor he's got. After all, later on he absolutely punks her during the Dragon Dive, even if he doesn't manage to inflict any significant damage.

HxH consistently made a big point of raw power being less important than combat experience (though it subverted this with Meruem thanks to his incredible processing power), and I'd like to keep that trend going for this fic. Just something to keep in mind.

Click to shrink...

Oh, definitely. Regardless of raw power and even their abilities, I think Netero could have dealt with any of the Royal Guard, eventually. That's actually one of the things I loved about the arc, how it showcased both "skill beats power" and "power beats skill" without compromising either message.

That said, one of the most terrifying things about Meruem was that he never took the time to develop any specific and unique Nen abilities. He didn't need to, but it still stands out on the raw power front. So having Netero as a baseline comparison (even if not a perfect one) helps cement that the Shinobi will be similar to Hunters in terms of raw power, making their abilities the focus of the difference, not their powers.

How things scale in this sort of crossover can matter a lot, especially when Naruto's "power levels" are kinda inconsistent. Even if Hinata et al were closer to Netero's level than not, I trust your writing to keep things interesting, and it'd be particularly doable with how utterly bonkers-stronk the Ants are. Having them be similar in strength to the Hunters also makes the need to work together all the more real, and runs less risk of spoiling Netero's fun.

 

[pressea]

So, who's gonna bite it? Obviously someone has to die to give the ants access to chakra. Hinata can't die. Mari isn't present and has a long-ranged ability. Kiba, Shino? Kiba's dog? Ninja-dogs have chakra, right? ... And I just noticed you didn't let Akamaru travel with him. Probably for the best, Akamaru dying would feel cheap.

Looking forward to the next chapter. Characters meeting is always fun.

I mean, fair warning, if you didn't like the Chimera Ant Arc you probably won't like this. They share the same skeleton.

Click to shrink...

It's more that I ran out of chapters and the manga wasn't getting regular updates at the time than any real dislike of the arc. Though it WAS long and the art did take a nosedive in quality.

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

It's more that I ran out of chapters and the manga wasn't getting regular updates at the time than any real dislike of the arc. Though it WAS long and the art did take a nosedive in quality.

Click to shrink...

The more recent anime adaptation of the Chimera Ant arc did a pretty solid job, I'd say. It's still pretty long, but if the art was a big part of the issue it would potentially at least solve that issue. Assuming you want to catch up rather than just read on, anyway.

 

[Egleris]

Very curious to see where this is going - Hunter X Hunter is one incredibly fun manga, but so weird that finding good fanfiction for it is rare. And this one seems very well written so far; there's a lot of potential here.

Also, I like the choice of making Hinata the protagonist - she's the perfect kind of character, in both power-level and general attitude, to explore this kind of crossover with. I mean, the story is just barely started, but what's been written so far wouldn't have worked as well from the perspective of a more analytic character like Sakura or a cynic one like Sasuke, and Naruto just wouldn't fit the setting equally well. So, kudos for that.

 

[spudman]

Was kind of hoping Shino would meet Ponzu, and they could trade notes on herding bugs.

Oh, well...

 

[Delmar]

Shino bugs have chakra and is expendable. The Ants take on the properties of what they eat.

If they eat shino bugs, they now have chakra and can eat it, plus whatever else destruction bugs can do. Also a limb is enough for the ants, but seriously.

Why do you guys want Ants with chakra and not just chakra, but jutsus as well. Ants are strong enough already.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Obviously someone has to die to give the ants access to chakra. Hinata can't die.

Click to shrink...

Well, there's no guarantee I would take advantage of that potentially amazing opportunity to up the drama, would I

Though it wouldn't be the first time I killed Hinata. From her POV, even.

Very curious to see where this is going - Hunter X Hunter is one incredibly fun manga, but so weird that finding good fanfiction for it is rare. And this one seems very well written so far; there's a lot of potential here.

Click to shrink...

Hope I can keep you entertained, Egleris. Thanks for the comment.

Was kind of hoping Shino would meet Ponzu, and they could trade notes on herding bugs.

Oh, well...

Click to shrink...

Poor Ponzu...

Shino bugs have chakra and is expendable. The Ants take on the properties of what they eat.

Click to shrink...

That only goes for the King, being a particular ability of his. Normal Ants don't get anything but nutrients out of eating something.

 

[Parks_98]

I keep hearing on how either Kiba or Shino are going to die but why? Lets remember that Kiba's sense of smell is so strong he can smell people from multiple miles away, Pitou's en was only able to sense people up to 2 miles. Plus some of the stuff that makes a crossover that has a person/small amount of people interesting is comparing and contrast the locals to the new people.

HxH consistently made a big point of raw power being less important than combat experience (though it subverted this with Meruem thanks to his incredible processing power), and I'd like to keep that trend going for this fic. Just something to keep in mind.

Click to shrink...

Well considering that Kiba, Hinata and Shino have been taking dangerous life threatening mission ever since they were twelve, went into war (a war that had 100,000 White Zetsu, unkillable zombies, some of the most powerful beings in the history of the planet, a sentient world tree that could blow up countries, people ascending to god-like levels of strength and of course an actual goddess) should make most of the stuff not phase them to much. Granted some stuff will just be so far out of left field that they will be surprised (I.E crazy Hatsu abilities that you would never see in the Narutoverse or maybe one guy ever had it).

Well, there's no guarantee I would take advantage of that potentially amazing opportunity to up the drama, would I

Though it wouldn't be the first time I killed Hinata. From her POV, even.

Click to shrink...

Pretty sure it's quite possible that Naruto will then proceed to go on a rampage and murder the ever loving fuck out of ever Ant at relativistic speeds. They would all be dead, Sage mode sensing plus Kurama negative energy sensing plus six path sage mode equals all the badguys dead.
Would make for a very boring story cause not even that Hinata is the wife of a kage.....people have gone for war for that sorta shit.

 

[Great Greedy Guts]

I keep hearing on how either Kiba or Shino are going to die but why? Lets remember that Kiba's sense of smell is so strong he can smell people from multiple miles away, Pitou's en was only able to sense people up to 2 miles. Plus some of the stuff that makes a crossover that has a person/small amount of people interesting is comparing and contrast the locals to the new people.

Click to shrink...

It's unlikely that none of the ninja will die, given that they might not expect the Ants to be a real danger to them until they learn about Nen. Without knowledge of how Nen works, some of the Ants are substantially more dangerous than others would expect. Chakra is an OCP for the Ants too, sure, but it has fewer surprise-kills, like the dart-thrower.

Well considering that Kiba, Hinata and Shino have been taking dangerous life threatening mission ever since they were twelve, went into war (a war that had 100,000 White Zetsu, unkillable zombies, some of the most powerful beings in the history of the planet, a sentient world tree that could blow up countries, people ascending to god-like levels of strength and of course an actual goddess) should make most of the stuff not phase them to much.

Click to shrink...

Assuming they're each about as strong as Morel (perhaps overly generous if Netero and Naruto are comparable, as pre-training Netero isn't that much stronger than him, according to the ever-deceptive Netero), the regular Ants aren't a major concern. The big worry, as always, is the Royal Guard. While the Shinobi certainly have abilities that the Guard might not expect, all of the Guard likely have more raw power than Naruto does. Meruem, thus, is likely stronger than they'd be expecting by a solid order of magnitude.

And during the war they had a substantial amount of backup. They're unlikely to panic, but surviving something terrible is no indicator of how dangerous things need to be to threaten them.

Pretty sure it's quite possible that Naruto will then proceed to go on a rampage and murder the ever loving fuck out of ever Ant at relativistic speeds. They would all be dead, Sage mode sensing plus Kurama negative energy sensing plus six path sage mode equals all the badguys dead.
Would make for a very boring story cause not even that Hinata is the wife of a kage.....people have gone for war for that sorta shit.

Click to shrink...

I mean, sure, in six or so weeks. The portal isn't usable at the moment. When they don't show up in six weeks, reinforcements might come through. Until then, they're cut off pretty thoroughly.

 

[Jacky2734]

Raw power isn't everything, especially to a Shinobi. Especially to team 8, who have specific skills that counter raw power to a certain degree.

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

Assuming they're each about as strong as Morel (perhaps overly generous if Netero and Naruto are comparable, as pre-training Netero isn't that much stronger than him, according to the ever-deceptive Netero

Click to shrink...

Oh dear. Well, I guess I should clarify something, before it gets too baked into your expectations (heyo, clumsy Word of Author instead of organically inserting the explanation into a future chapter).

When I wrote this:

The old man was the most luminous of them all: it reminded Hinata a little of Naruto, though if her husband were the sun, this man would be its blinding reflection.

Click to shrink...

I wasn't intending to impart the idea that Netero and Naruto would be comparable if they ever came to blows (hence the use of the "reflection" imagery; I was figuring a mirror that reflects the sun's light can be incredibly bright, but it's still only a fraction of all the light the sun's putting out. In retrospect, it's possible that metaphor was clumsy). I was just trying to get across that Netero's brightness, compared to his comrades, reminded Hinata of the way Naruto would outshine everyone else back home.

Everything else you've been saying is spot-on though, Guts. Guess that's why I missed this one the first time around.

 

[Parks_98]

all of the Guard likely have more raw power than Naruto does.

Click to shrink...

I- wait did you mean as in normal naruto characters or actual Naruto? Cause if you meant actual naruto.....

 

[Ser_Serendipity]

I- wait did you mean as in normal naruto characters or actual Naruto? Cause if you meant actual naruto.....

Click to shrink...

Hey, please don't be rude. I'd prefer to keep that kinda stuff out of the thread. We're all just looking for a good time here.

Speaking of which, update tomorrow unless I die in my sleep or something.