A/N: And…here…we…go. (Nah, not the same as Heath Ledgers performance as the Joker in the Dark Knight. *sigh*) Forgotten Heroes Spark is almost a year and a half in the making and currently being beta'd by the lovely miss RangerBlack so hopefully ya'll get a good story.
Danzo watched in grim fascination as his newest shinobi ghosted through the outer courtyard of a high-ranking politician's home and avoided patrol after patrol. The shinobi didn't hesitate in his movements and even Danzo had a hard time keeping track of his prized shinobi. Granted, he knew what to look for, but the shinobi moved in the shadows so well that a brief flash of his outline was all that could be seen; Danzo smiled.
"Wild Fox, this is Command. You have the green light for lethal force and your target is inbound."
The door to the politician's home opened and an old man stepped out holding a katana. Danzo scoffed and took a sip from his brew. His shinobi moved closer, grabbed a bodyguard and pulled him into the shadows. The two men disappeared back into the shadows and the shinobi appeared again just as two more bodyguards investigated the other one's disappearance. From where he watched from Danzo couldn't see the exact movements but he was smug when the two other bodyguards were dead within mere seconds. The shinobi moved along the house and entered the house via an open window. Danzo spat in disgust as the politician remained on his porch in open sight.
"The idiot wants to be killed."
The politician gasped and dropped his katana as he struggled against something around his neck before being dragged back into the house.
"Command, this is Wild Fox. Target eliminated, decoy evidence has been planted and I'm proceeding along the escape route."
"Copy that Wild Fox. Mission accomplished. Proceed to rendezvous for extraction and we'll see you tomorrow morning."
Danzo left the room and headed for his office. With this politician out of the way, Konoha's negotiations with Iwa would now be much smoother. Iwa, curse the blasted Hidden Village, had too many biased politicians and Danzo had taken it upon himself to send out a message to all the others who dare stand in his way. He had three of his best operatives assassinate three of the undecided politician's chief aides and he could almost taste his success he thought with a cruel smile. Since killing the undecided politician's outright would be reckless and fool hardy, what with the negotiations between the two villages tense at best and volcanic at worst, every vote counted and in no way could these deaths come back to Konoha.
"Danzo-sama, there is a man waiting for you in the lobby. He says it's urgent that he speaks with you."
Danzo brushed past the messenger and pushed open the heavy metal doors to the lobby. An aide handed him a folder, then disappeared back between the columns and Danzo opened the file. As he perused the contents, Danzo noticed a burnt corpse on the ground and that three of his operatives were a hand sign away from destroying the well-dressed man in the middle of the lobby.
"Your man there tried to open the file after I made it clear the file is for your eyes only. The file had an incineration jutsu as a safeguard."
Danzo chuckled and closed the file with a snap.
"Very good. What's your name?"
The man looked up at the ceiling and placed his hands in his pockets.
"My employer requires privacy above all else along with one hundred percent completion of the targets he wants eliminated. I am the liaison between my employer and you. That is all you need to know."
Danzo threw the file at the man's feet and turned away.
"My outfit doesn't work that way. Show yourself out."
"It would be such a shame to have Tsunade's ANBU do this mission and receive the monetary compensation and support my backer can provide."
Danzo stopped and gripped his cane tighter. He prided himself on being one step ahead of Tsunade most of the time by running his ROOT outfit separate from her ANBU and Konoha task force. He accepted missions Konoha could not take for political or other reasons. Unfortunately, business had been uncommonly slow at a time when he could not afford to turn away any mission with such rich dividends offered as alluded to by this keen middleman. Not with critical parts in his plans moving forward and key people finally falling into place.
"Since you came to me, the mission's target must be one that Konoha cannot officially recognize. I could have you arrested for that you know."
The man laughed and Danzo turned around to face him. He activated his Sharingan eye behind his bandages and smiled.
"You're good Danzo. My name is Aydan Tadako and I work for the man they say is myth. His name is Kratos, or at least that's what he goes by. Your mission is simple: there is a man from the West that fancies himself an information broker and has targeted my master Kratos. Kill him, take his intel, and give it to our messenger at this drop point. Pay is substantial, but not with just money."
Danzo deactivated his Sharingan eye and nodded at Aydan Tadako. The man nodded in return and left the room. The operatives canceled their jutsu, one picking up the folder while Danzo headed for his office again.
"Get me Naruto on the line. He's got a new mission."
oOoOoOo
Naruto looked at the items spread before him. He organized all the items, checked his weaponry, and then attached all the gear back onto his body harness. He took a moment to breathe and wiped a hand across his face. This new mission required greater skill then his last one had that was for certain. Not bothering to grimace at the cardboard taste he took another bite from his energy bar and thought of his next moves. The preferable course would be to return to Konoha, but he was one hundred miles south and about to spook an informant. No easy task, but he was prepared; casually, he slipped on his mask.
"Wild Fox to Command. I'm entering the house."
"Acknowledged. Confirm rules of engagement."
"I have the green light for all persons inside and am clear to go in hot."
"Confirmed."
Naruto climbed up the wall and crept along a small walkway. He choked out a guard from behind, dropped the corpse in the shadows, and kicked open the door to the outer gatehouse. A few well-placed shuriken stopped the guards from crying out and Naruto placed a charge in swift efficiency. He ran out of the guardhouse, stole along the inner wall, and in a few acrobatic leaps was over the wall within minutes. A lone guard patrolled a static route while Naruto unhooked his kusenagi. Just as the guard turned the corner, Naruto threw the blade and watched. It sailed through the air, the chain wrapping around the guards neck, before Naruto yanked the guard into the shadows in front of him. The blade had cut through the man's throat and Naruto unwrapped the chain mindful of the kinks in its length.
"Hey Stefan where you at? The boys wanna hear another story!"
A group of seven guards stumbled around the corner, bottles in hand and Naruto flickered to the overhang above them. He held both blades of the kusenagi in his hands and readied a weapons scroll. The scroll had designed -not surprisingly- by Tenten, to explode on contact and would hurl an assortment of weapons out in every direction. Naruto threw the scroll at a guard, within seconds the group of guards were sliced, diced, and impale with different weapons. Naruto dropped down and killed any survivors with his katana.
"Command, inner and outer courtyard cleared. Moving into the interior of the home."
"Acknowledged."
Naruto scaled the wall of the home and crept the length of the second floor, but there was no one on it. He skulked down the stairs, flattening himself against the wall on the outside of what appeared to be the grand dining hall. He could hear voices inside and music, so deciding to look for a better entrance Naruto opened a window and slipped back outside. While looking through another window with a better view Naruto noticed some rafters and that a giant chandler provided light for the entire room.
"You! Boy! Fetch us some more wine and be quick about it."
Naruto saw the target from the picture provided in the mission file and counted ten bodyguards. The tenth was a woman in a red silk dress sitting in a far corner sipping on wine while the rest were typically large men. The target himself sat in a large plush chair and held a prostitute in each arm. Naruto opened the window, slipped inside and closed the window without a sound. With a flicker, he crouched on the beams high above the room and listened in on the conversations as he waited for the opportune time to strike.
"Lilith, love come closer so I can see you and we can talk."
The lady in the red dress stood up and walked over to the target in slow strolling gait. She sat down on the cushion and eyed the prostitutes with distaste.
"Did you put the paperwork back in my office?"
"Yes. All the documents are sealed and ready for your meeting."
"That's my girl."
"Wild Fox come in."
Naruto unhooked a kunai and gauged the distance to the chandler.
"Go."
"The Hokage has a spy in place at the targets house and she goes by the code name Lilith. You must not be seen and she has to be dealt with."
"Confirmed."
Naruto threw the kunai and the chandler crashed to the ground. Darkness enveloped the room as Naruto used his Kyuubi enhanced eyesight to see in the darkness. He threw out the twin blades of his kusenagi and cut down the two nearest bodyguards. He repeated the motion until the male guards were dead then immobilized the target by dropping down and breaking both of his knees with a sharp kick.
"Aaargh!"
Naruto sidestepped when Lilith kicked him and Kyuubi growled from within him. Naruto performed the release hand sign and Lilith shimmered to reveal Ino. Ino gasped and drew her collar up to hide her face and Naruto blasted her with a quick wind jutsu. She stumbled and side stepped, but Naruto flickered behind her. He knocked her out with a tap on the back of the head and lowered her to the ground. He unfastened the snaps on her dress and pulled it off her. The information collector moaned in anguish, but Naruto knew he couldn't see anything in the dark and he pulled off Ino's black lace lingerie set. The copy of the information was in the cup of her bra and Naruto pocketed it before redressing Ino quickly. He walked over to the information collector, yanked the key off the man's neck and killed the man by kicking his head into the ground. In the next five minutes, Naruto collected the information gather's notes, set fire to the house and vanished into the night.
"Command mission complete and heading along escape route now. Konoha's spy has been dealt with, the target killed and both copies of information are in my possession."
"Confirmed. The Painter has eyes on you and has scouted ahead. You have a clear line all the way back to Konoha."
OOoOoOo
Tsunade poured Ino a glass of sake and then one for herself. Her number one spy had returned with a mission failure and Ino was angry but clearly shaken about something.
"What happened Ino?"
Ino crossed her legs and smoothed out her purple kunoichi combat dress. Tsunade bit her tongue and raised her glass to her lips.
"I had it Tsunade-sama. I had it all and that fat, disgusting pig was eating out of the palm of my hand. Two nights ago was like any other night and then it all went crazy. The chandler fell, the room went dark and the guards were all dead. This all happened in a couple of minutes and the sorry excuse for a man went down with a scream."
Tsunade watched Ino's face as she recounted her tale. Ino could impersonate anyone and had complete control of herself at all times. This is what made her the number one spy in Konoha, but this time she looked scared and this unnerved Tsunade.
"A shadow appeared and we went at it for less than five minutes. Whoever the assassin was outclassed me on all accounts as they had me knocked out flat. They were so fast that I couldn't get a lock on their chakra and all I can say is I hope they don't work for our enemies."
Tsunade furrowed her eyebrows and ran through a list of possible suspects, but she couldn't come up with anyone.
"What has you so shaken Ino?"
Ino swallowed and looked down into her sake glass.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm not the best fighter in the world and I know how to disengage, but the assassin never gave me the chance. That scares me as I can always disengage, but what really has me on edge is what happened when I was knocked out. The documents were in my bra Tsunade-sama and now I don't have them. The assassin stripped me naked and then left. I'm not a virgin but no one besides Shikamaru has been inside me. I don't know if the assassin had a quickie and that terrifies me."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed and she sympathized with Ino. A kunoichi knew that when she became a kunoichi that seduction mission would become standard and that is where the problems started. Some kunoichi regarded their bodies as tools and viewed sex as nothing while other kunoichi like Ino had class and did their best to get the information out by other means.
"I can do a scan if you'd like but it's your body and you would know. I'm sorry Ino and don't worry about the mission."
Ino's head shot up and she looked at Tsunade.
"Don't worry about it? Tsunade-sama you knew who this man was and what he was capable of doing."
"I said don't worry about it. We can obtain the information still, but we'll just have to look elsewhere. Luckily, we have a couple leads."
Swirling orange leaves fell to the floor and Naruto flickered into the room. Ino gasped, but Tsunade smiled and motioned to the empty chair. Naruto sat down and vanished the leaves with a wave of his hand. Ino went to stand up but Tsunade shook her head and Ino stayed seated.
"Welcome back Naruto. Been a while since I've seen you. How'd all of your missions go?"
"They were successful."
"What did Danzo have you do?"
Tsunade smirked as Naruto's eyes darkened for a second and knew she was right in her guess that Naruto had performed a double mission. She would have to talk to the man about this and she picked up the folder Naruto put on her desk. Tsunade picked up a childish drawing and raised her eyebrow at Naruto. The briefest and smallest of smiles crossed Naruto's face before his face turned expressionless once more.
"Princess Akina wanted me to give that to you. She left you a note stating that she wants you to give me less missions and that she won't draw you anymore pictures until you do."
Tsunade laughed and placed the drawing on her desk by her sake bottle. Ino looked confused, but Tsunade knew Naruto didn't tell his friends about his ward and she sighed. Naruto had changed so much and although she knew the reason why she couldn't help but hope the mood would change.
OOoOoOo
Naruto sat in a wooden chair across from Danzo and meditated while the older man read the files Naruto had compiled for him. The Spartan room had an austere look and the whole complex was built on proficiency and efficiency rather than comfort and grandeur. The only section of grandeur about the ROOT complex was the entrance hall and lobby. Both were cavernous and modeled after Roman architecture with columns and large statues of the best ROOT operatives.
"Very well done Naruto. Your proficiency on all these missions have put Konoha on top and way ahead of the competition. Even Tsunade's mission she had you perform was beneficial to Konoha and my plan. You are dismissed and be ready to go again in a few days. We must act soon on this business with Kratos otherwise we will lose the upper hand."
Naruto nodded and left. He strode down the hallway and pushed on a section of the wood paneling. A block of the wood moved in and slid aside. Naruto walked through and navigated a series of twists and turns. He walked up a flight of stairs and pushed open a door at the end. The ghetto of Konoha's older section greeted him and he pulled up a lower facemask.
"Care for some company good sir?"
Naruto walked past the prostitute and headed for the back alley. Konoha had crime like any normal village, but Naruto dealt with the gray areas of Konoha's crime.
OOoOoOo
A/N: And there's the end of chapter one. Ta da! (Wow, scary how many Heath Ledger Joker line's I'm using….) The story only picks up from here and I'm excited for it. It's no secret, I just love reviews! Ja ne!