Worse Case Scenario
Prolog
Koomahana
As of June 23, 2018, 7:30PM:
I am officially rewriting this story, for now this will be the only chapter until the rewritten first chapter is ready. I'm going to try to get the first 5-8 rewritten chapters posted at the same time as there will mostly grammar, spelling and time-line fixes in these chapters.
until those chapters are completed this prolog will remain as the only remaining chapter of this story.
once the other chapters are ready to be re-posted I will delete this story and repost it as 'Worst Case Scenario, Part 2' (See, i fixed the title! :) ). this way you'll all know that it has been corrected and edited.
I do apologize for not doing anything for this story sooner. I've been too busy with life to even think about ALL of my stories for the random exception of the few who randomly get the muse to hit me.
again I do apologize for the inconvenience.
Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine; you want the real stuff get off this site
Thoughts
Paragraphs are memories
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Late December
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There was something that Anbu heard the occasional rumors about; they'd hear small snippets and faint whisperings of something called 'Anbu Root' or 'the Foundation'. The only thing anyone in Anbu knew for sure about 'Root' was that they were better in every way then the normal 'Anbu'. They were what used to be considered the 'perfect shinobi'.
Root weren't people to be crossed.
In Anbu Root there were whisperings and faint snippets of rumors of something called 'Bell'. They all knew one thing for sure: their master controlled it. They knew that the 'Bell' had been taken in like all others in Root had been; the difference was that their master trained 'bell' differently—he trained 'Bell' himself. There were rumors that those who heard the faint tinkering of a bell were those sentenced to death. That only those in the final stage of training could handle them... and even that was sketchy at best.
Anbu knew to be wiry of 'Root' and Root knew to avoid 'Bell' at all costs.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, knew there was a second branch in Anbu named 'Root' and as he stared at his two head interdictors, he now knew that 'Root' had something to fear itself.
"Are you sure?" Hiruzen asked softly, not really wanting to believe that there was another fraction to 'Root' that had its members fearful of it.
"I'm positive," Inoichi murmured looking slightly shaken. "The Root agents are taught to feel nothing, not even fear. The problem is that, according to the boy we caught, there is something that roams the deepest, darkest depths of their base. That something in the final levels roams almost freely and that to meet it is to meet death—there are no exceptions."
"Did you find out his leader?" Hiruzen asked
"I'm afraid not." Inoichi murmured looking regretful. "The seal that's on his tong is only the physical manifestation of it; there is another one in his mind. Interrogators like my self can't access that kind of information without dyeing themselves."
"So there's no way of finding out." Hiruzen murmured turning to look out his window where snow was gently falling and blanketing his village. "Whoever he is, he sure is careful," Ibiki Marino and Inoichi Yamanaka nodded together.
"I was able to get something from him though," Inoichi murmured, "It's not much but it's at least something."
"What is it?"
"All transactions to his master are done through a girl," Inoichi sighed. "Her looks change with each contact, but there is a common look to each transformation. She holds a staff at the ready before herself at all times."
We can't find her either. Hiruzen sighed around his pipe, making Inoichi shift slightly. Staff users are a dime a dozen. Unfortunately, we teach transformation in the academy, so that means this woman knows her basics and is smart enough to use them.
"When the boy was given access to his master last time, he was able to get a glance of him before he kneeled," Inoichi continued. "I was able to focus on that bit of image before it was fogged out and spiraled out view."
"What could you see?"
"A figure sitting in a chair," Inoichi sighed, knowing that it wasn't much. "In the memory the only thing that shows that there was someone in the chair was what little light shown on the person's feet. But that's not what's concerning to me." Inoichi took a deep breath and finally locked eyes with his village leader. "Next to the man was what appeared to be two small bodies crouching as if ready to attach. The light wasn't touching them but I could tell that both figures were small in size."
"...Inoichi is it possible that the boy's master purposefully let you see that memory because he knew you wouldn't be able to trace it to him?" Hiruzen asked, Inoichi sighed and nodded.
"I thought so too Lord Hokage," Inoichi murmured. "He created the seal to show me the basics, such as the fact that all of the boy's memories were in deep, dark places that were obviously underground. He aloud small useless bits of the boy's memory to be shown, such as the ridicules number of hours he spent in training. He aloud me to see the other members but only those who were older and wore the standard Anbu uniform: the black cloak covering everything from the head down. Honestly it could be one person who switched out masks every time they met with the boy, the voice of each member was muffled but similar. They even have similar masks to Anbu, except that they aren't painted." Inoichi sighed as he rubbed at his temple.
"It was like trying to walk through a normal Anbu's head," Inoichi groaned. "Completely useless in trying to identify the difference between Root and Anbu because even the boy we captured doesn't know the difference."
"Or maybe the difference was sealed as well." Ibiki mumbled, trying to be helpful to the Yamanaka head. The blond man shook his head slightly, rubbing one hand against his temple.
"If that's the case then we're screwed," Inoichi groaned, "If I try to go beyond that seal then me and anyone else trying to read his mind are going to end up dead before we can get the information out and that boy is going to die too."
"In other words, we've got nothing" Ibiki mumbled looking displeased with the result. "What do we do with the boy?"
"Did you find out his mission objective?" Hiruzen asked thoughtfully as he turned his coal eyes onto Inoichi again.
"His mission was to protect some kid. Nothing meant more to him then protecting that kid—even at the coast of his life or even capture" Inoichi answered. "Unfortunately the only thing I do know about this mission is that the kid he was to protect holds a lot of potential."
"So they could be anyone." Ibiki sighed, making his Hokage smirk
"Not necessarily," Hiruzen answered. "How old is the boy we captured?"
"About ten or so" Inoichi answered. "The boy doesn't keep track, I don't think anyone in 'Root' celebrates birthdays."
"So then this kid would be about his age and considering that the boy's master collects children to be shinobi, he's properly looking at a child in the academy." Hiruzen mused softly, his dark eyes clouding over with thought, "Most likely one that doesn't come from a clan—they would all make a huge ruckus about one of their kids suddenly going missing."
"So then a civilian born kid?" Ibiki asked with a slight frown, "They would have to be exceptional. At least standing out from the other children in the academy, even if it is only slightly."
"I need to contact the school," Hiruzen mumbled thoughtfully. "I have to find out what civilian child would be able to become the perfect soldier..."
"There's no need for you too," Ibiki said. "Your busy enough lord Hokage, I can go." While Hiruzen stared blankly at Ibiki, Inoichi looked at his partner absolutely horrified.
"You are not going to the damn academy!" Inoichi snapped out, his voice cracking. "You'll end up giving the kids nightmares! Half of the academy's students would drop out! I'll go! You stay away from the academy!"
"...I forgot that you have a kid that goes to the academy," Ibiki said with a grin.
Yeah right, Hiruzen thought with a chuckle, watching as Inoichi glared at him in irritation. "You're both dismissed," Hiruzen watched amusedly as both head interrogators left out his door, Inoichi all but running out of the building so that he could get to the academy before Ibiki could try and scare the children away from the lives of shinobi forever.
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May 1st,
Six years before the reveal of 'Bell'
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In the deep dark recesses of a mountain long forgotten, a single man snapped into a sitting position in his bed, panting hard. Everything seemed so real, feeling the elongated glowing blade of the last Uchiha's sword pierce through his chest, passed through his heart, and skimmed the edge of his spine. He could still feel the muscles spasm and contract, his heart pounding heavily as if he ran for a week without stop. If only the boy had seen the intricate tattoo he had carved into his chest when he was young. It was a one time use, he knew he'd never see that scroll again; it was more for safety sakes then anything else.
Waving away the three young men who barged into his room, he waited for them to leave before he ripped open his sleeping yukata and stared almost curiously at his too pale, well developed and completely scare free chest. Which wasn't right because he was about sixteen when he found the scroll and had carved it's seal onto his chest, he didn't bring 'Root' into existence until he was about thirty and he didn't start letting 'Root' in his home until three years before the Uchiha massacre. Letting out a long breath, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and walked calmly to his desk. His eyes landing first on the Calendar, May 1st, he couldn't help the small grin that stretched across his lips. It was two years before the massacre and one year before Hanzo would ask for his help concerning Akatsuki.
There was still time to spare the Uchiha clan (if he didn't then in the long run he's done for), then he could start searching for those who would be the most helpful to him, he needed to weed his garden, he needed to assign different missions to different shinobi (sparing those he could so they could handle other missions that would come later), then he needed to get his hands on the next generation. More specifically those he could get his hands on. Like the civilian born genius medic and the orphan weapons mistress, everyone else of the famed rookie 11 where from some clan (the majority of the rookies save for three of the rookies) or an untouchable (Naruto Uzumaki). He couldn't touch all of them; but he could touch those who would end up with the most contact with them.
Turning on his heal he headed for his shower, once done there he quickly changed and with a swish of cloths the man headed for the door of his room, his coal eyes glowing in the darkness of his room.
Now then, time to change my fate.
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Any requests for who or what you think 'Bell' is?
Thoughts are helpful
Opinions are wonderful
Flames are lovely! Just don't cripple me okay?
Please no cursing!
And don't forget to review!
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