TH: Next drabble. I am SO annoyed with 'Shades'. It's giving me grief and writers' block. Blegh.
Ravel, Unravel
.III.
There are spies and there are informants. The former implies a clandestine operation—infiltrating the target country or organization, posing as a citizen or someone who is supposed to be there, and gathering information or dispersing disinformation. The latter implies a third party who aids an investigation by offering helpful information, possibly for money.
Crow was not quite either of these. Though associated with Konoha (being, in fact, a shinobi of that Village), his purpose was both less underhanded and more precise than espionage. He was more of an inspector, or detective, than anything. But his status was mostly defined as 'spy', because it was the most accurate.
Konoha's spies were not known to any but the Hokage and perhaps the few active ninja with security clearance high enough to see the files. On the general records, spies are often listed as dead, retired from active duty, or on long-term missions. Not even the workers in the Intelligence Department, who received and decoded spies' messages, knew the real identities of the operatives in the field. 'Crow' was not this shinobi's real name; it was only a code name, given to make filing his messages easier and to keep his identity hidden. There was no face associated with the name Crow, no person.
The Intelligence Department knows the codename, what messages the agent sends back. That is all. They cannot contact their spies; information flows one way only. The agents know this when they are sent out. They know that they are essentially alone out in the field; yes, they know that they can send an alarm signal back to Konoha, a call for help, but that was to be used in instances of intense duress. Anything less than the most pressing disaster was no call for sending the alarm. Agents know that, more likely than not, they were expected to die for the good of their Village, and die without revealing anything they know. For Konoha to send in a rescue meant admitting the spy was theirs, and all sorts of trouble (political, military, or otherwise) could come of it. It was a risk the Village might not take, for just one life.
The danger inherent in espionage is one of the reasons why the identity of the agents is so secret. The fewer the people who know, the less likely it is to be leaked, and the less likely the agents are to be uncovered. But it made for a rather lonely life for the spies.
This didn't bother Crow. He'd lived one lifetime separate from everything he'd loved already; a couple years in service of his precious people and his Village was nothing to sacrifice. He'd go back to them, after he did this.
Crow stood in a small gully, ankle-deep in rainwater. More rain sluiced off his cloak and the cowl that covered his head. The ground around him was scarred from a battle—not a recent one, but one that had taken place months ago. The bodies, if there had been any, had long since been removed. All that remained were the gouges torn in the earth, and the charred ground.
He shifted, just enough to speak over his shoulder: "Madara. He died here, yes?"
The person who had been slowly advancing toward him paused, rethought attacking him, and recalculated. Finally, she replied: "Yes."
Crow turned fully, the shadowed cowl facing her. "You buried the body?"
"Burned it," she corrected. Her eyes were narrowed under her own hood.
There was a beat, and then Crow asked, pointedly: "Are you certain it was Uchiha Madara?"
"Yes," she replied at once. "More than certain."
"Where is Pein?"
A longer pause, and she twitched as if she wanted to attack, displeased that this stranger had known that name. But she restrained herself and replied, tightly: "Dead."
Crow's cowl shifted slightly.
"Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the strength he was known for made the battle difficult. Pein died afterwards, from overusing his Rinnegan," she elaborated.
"I see…" Crow said slowly. He didn't seem surprised to hear about the Rinnegan, which was largely regarded as a legend. The blue-haired woman's interest sharpened.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
There was no reason not to tell her; she wasn't a threat. And she would know if he lied. "Uchiha Itachi. And you are Konan. Did you observe the fight?"
Konan shifted into a battle-stance, wary. "Uchiha! Are you here to avenge Madara?"
He didn't move, and told her coolly: "I am here to make sure he is dead."
She stared at him for a while, as if trying to see through the shadow of his cowl to his face. She evidently seemed to come to some decision, whether or not she could gauge his expression, and relaxed. "I saw it, yes. I am sure it was Madara; he called himself that, and I saw his Sharingan. Pein was certain, as well."
A silence. Then, "Pein died after the battle, or Nagato?"
Konan glared at him, jaw tightening. She was clearly even less pleased that he knew Pein's real name. Crow—Uchiha Itachi—tilted his head, allowing the thin daylight to filter into his deep hood and spark in crimson eyes. She looked away from the Sharingan. "Nagato was Pein. Madara killed five of the Paths, and then Nagato and the final Path killed Madara. Nagato died soon after, and therefore, so did Pein."
"Why did they fight?" He was pushing her patience, he could see from the way her fists clenched. Living creatures—human or animal—tended to become angry or violent as a defense when hurt. Nagato was the last of Konan's childhood companions, her comrades, and speaking of his death hurt her.
"Madara wanted Nagato to join him. He spoke of uniting the world, and ending war. It was something he said, or the way he said it, but Nagato did not trust him. He thought that all Madara wanted was revenge on the world, power over the world. Madara's plan wouldn't end war; it would cause the largest the world had ever seen… So Nagato fought him."
"Hn," Itachi responded. "Did he mention any others who had joined him already?"
"No," she snapped. She threw a glare in his direction. "You said you wanted to be sure Madara was dead. He is. Now take your questions and leave!"
The paper flower in her hair rustled with her agitation. It was true that he had gotten what he had gone there for, so Itachi was silent, and turned and left.
As he did so, he could not help but feel relief. Madara, the Madara of this time (since Itachi himself had killed the one that had come here from the future), was dead. He was no longer a threat to this timeline. And Pein, who had been the puppet-leader of Akatsuki under Madara, was also gone. Perhaps that meant that Akatsuki would not form…
But that wasn't assured. Perhaps Madara had already started assembling the organization before dying at Pein's hands. It would be best to be thorough. He would have to make sure the nukenin he remembered becoming Akatsuki weren't gathering.
At least Itachi, or rather, Crow, could send a message back to Konoha confirming Madara's death. That was one worry absolved.
