The shadows

ch44

"There is going to be a summit in a few weeks. Kumo wants to renew its peace treaty. There will be five representatives from each side. The Kage and their advisor, plus three bodyguards. You were chosen to be one of the three." Minato said.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. May I ask my role?" Naruto asked. He wasn't aware of this news; chances were Danzo wasn't aware either, so he had to report it.

"Your role?" Minato asked, confused.

"Will I be there as the Jinchuuriki or a sealmaster? The chances are high that Kumo will bring one of their Jinchuurikis. I think their party will include B, C, and Darui. I have no information on who their last member could be, but it would be unlikely for them to bring both of their Jinchuurikis." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"You seem to know much about Kumo," Shikaku said meaningfully.

"My apologies. My a part of my job is to gather all the information I can about other villages and their Shinobi." Naruto said.

"It's ok, Naruto-kun," Minato said in a tone that left no room for arguments. "You will be there as a Jinchuuriki, but you won't reveal your status unless it's unavoidable. Until then, your role will be a sealmaster."

"Our other members will be Shikaku, Kakashi, and Shisui. There will be some preparations for the venue. Until then, there won't be a certain date. I will notify you when everything is ready. You are dismissed for now." Minato said.

Naruto gave a quick bow again before leaving. He went to the ROOT base quickly to give his report. The choice of people in their party was logical. Shikaku was the advisor, Naruto the Jinchuuriki, Kakashi a student of the Hokage, and Shisui was well known as Jonin. Naruto believed that Itachi wasn't chosen so he could take on the duties of Hokage for the duration of the absence.

It wasn't a show of power, necessarily. In the absence of the Kage, the village needed well enough well-known Shinobi inside to protect it. With Orochimaru, Tsunade, and the third Hokage in the village, there wouldn't be any imminent danger.

Still, there had to be a lot of preparations made for any Kage to leave their village. Usually, the information about the absence wouldn't stay a secret since 2 Kage leaving their villages was a big deal. Maybe they would also call back Jiraiya to ensure higher security.

It was finally the day of their departure. Everyone was ready at the gate, waiting for the Hokage. They were heading to the land of Iron since they decided to host. Naruto provided everyone with sealing scrolls and took charge of taking care of all the equipment and rations.

One of the seals Naruto made was a particular set that was currently a best seller in the village. It was a seal for traveling Shinobi, and it had a few compartments. There was one for rations, camping equipment, medical supplies, personal items, stored weapons, and an extra one for anything they might need.

It was a bit bulkier with respect to other kinds of sealing scrolls, so it wasn't really comfortable to carry it on the hip pouches. Instead, it had an attachment to be carried on the lower back. It was still lighter and better than taking the stuff on their person.

There was also a particular version that they were currently using that had a blood and chakra seal as an extra layer of protection. Naruto had his scroll sealed in his arm. Shisui was doing the same. Naruto had managed to train a few people in the sealing division to learn to tattoo seals.

It was a delicate process, and Naruto only allowed them to do temporary ones while he would do permanent ones. He was often requested to carry these tasks for ANBU and those on sensitive missions. However, for this mission, he really wasn't in the mood to tattoo everyone, so he just provided the special scrolls.