If you have spent the last two weeks away from the internet, you might be surprised to find out that people are planning to storm the US Air Base known as Area 51 (or are joking about doing so) on September 20, 2019. Almost 2 million people have clicked that they are attending the Facebook event.

The event description states: “We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”

Given that the plan quickly went viral (which led to some incredible memes), somebody immediately pointed out that a US general was likely going to get a crash course on exactly what a Naruto run is. The Naruto run is a particular style of running, a reference to the manga and anime series whose protagonist Naruto Uzumaki runs with his arms stretched out behind its back. And while we don’t have evidence of the top brass in the pentagon getting this talk, there are pictures showing that some in the Air Force at least are getting a crash course on what a Naruto run is.

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People on Reddit have pointed out that this might not be a serious exercise, but rather a training opportunity on how to give good briefs even on silly subjects. Although this is probably the case, many want to believe otherwise.

If you are curious, Area 51 is the common name of Homey Airport (KXTA) or Groom Lake, a highly classified US Air Force facility. It houses top-secret research that for many people spells aliens and alien technology. While aliens seem a bit unlikely, the CIA's paranoia about keeping the base a secret (think: Skylab photograph incident) makes it a mystery that is truly hard to resist – but resist we must.

Despite the impressive numbers of people ready to storm the base, a spokesperson for the Air Force has reminded everyone that they are "ready to protect America and its assets." And a Naruto run might save you from anime bullets, but will it save you from stolen alien weapons?