Chapter Four: Consequences

Hiruzen didn't want to believe the rumors. Uchiha Shisui dead, and Naruto responsible? It was absurd to even think about!

Yet there was no evidence to the contrary.

The Sandaime rubbed his forehead with a palm. It was amazing that the Uchiha weren't already calling for blood. Just what kind of situation had Naruto gotten himself into?

"Hokage-sama," the secretary poked her head through his office door. "The elders are here."

Hiruzen waved for her to let them in. The saggy wrinkled faces of Homura, Koharu and Danzo soon showed themselves when they walked into the office. Hiruzen had to stifle the urge to scream at them for interrupting his quiet time, but the issue must have been a serious one for Danzo to have requested the meeting.

When they were all settled smugly in their seats did the hokage call everything to order.

"Why are we here, Hiruzen? The last meeting was but a few days ago, surely nothing in the village has digressed so far as to call for us?" said Koharu as shrewdly as ever. She too didn't appreciate being called away from interacting with her grandchildren and family for menial matters.

"I was hoping Danzo could enlighten us on the matter," replied Sandaime. "He is the one who requested it, after all."

They all turned expectantly to him. The war-hawk kept his gaze on the window to the side which overlooked the village. Their patience was tested as the man took his time before answering, "Our magnificent village is strong, and has been so for many years, yet the facets that make it up threaten to separate."

"Stop speaking in parables and get to the heart of the matter, Danzo!" said an irritated Homura.

The Sandaime, however, was contemplative.

"You suggest there might be a revolt from one of the major clans?"

Danzo smiled inwardly. 'So quick on the draw, Hiruzen. Yet another reason you, and not I, became hokage.'

"It has come to my attention," he supplied, making the other two gasp in shock at the meaning. "Through my old associates, I have learned that there is unrest among the Uchiha."

"But… the Uchiha have been a loyal faction for so long," protested Koharu. "To think that-"

"People can only stand poor treatment for so long until they are fed up with it." Hiruzen spoke again. "If I remember well, Danzo, you were the one who pushed for their relocation and, unless I am mistaken, you were a key voice in many of the village decisions to back them into a corner."

All eyes rested on the half-blind man who shook his head solemnly. "I only wished to protect Konoha from the threat they would one day pose. Can you blame me, after what Madara did to Hashirama-sensei, not to have trusted them? And my fears have found root in the end; the Uchiha have not accepted the lot they were given and wish for more when they have all that they could need."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "The Uchiha are not emotionless beings, Danzo. There are some things that cannot be compensated for with food or large grounds. Those are the things you opted to deny them."

"Regardless, we must live in the present. The situation is here and now and we need to address it."

Homura decided to speak up, "Could it be related to the speculated incident concerning the Uzumaki?"

Danzo shook his head no. Though it was an issue to look into, it was not a pressing one.

"If that were the case, they would be at our doorstep as we speak. No, the death of Uchiha Shisui is being kept under wraps for their own reasons. I suspect it might set back whatever they are planning if a full investigation were to be conducted in the eyes of the public." More like they didn't want an investigation of their questionable agendas.

Koharu contributed her piece, "What are you saying, Danzo. You make it sound as if the Uchiha want to take over Konoha!"

Danzo sighed, "That might indeed be the case, but we cannot be absolutely sure. After all, we have so little information to fall upon."

"I find it surprising we have any information at all." Hiruzen was almost sure now that Danzo still kept his ROOT forces active.

Danzo's expression, if you could call it that, suggested he was shrugging. "Good favor must be on our side to have learned as much."

Homura spoke up, "So we gather concrete intelligence before we explore our options then?"

Danzo nodded. "We need to send in a spy." He didn't want it known that he already had first-hand confirmation of the revolt. Also, he needed time to contact someone for one of his plan's phases before anything could be done about the Uchiha. "I suggest Uchiha Itachi."

Hiruzen was put on guard. "Why him? Why not send in our own?"

"The Uchiha are a conservative lot, and they trust no one but each other. No matter how good an infiltrator we choose, if he or she is not of their blood we might as well be trying to reach the clouds as snakes."

Hiruzen grimaced slightly at the comparison Danzo used. He still didn't take well to allusions of his former student.

Undeterred, Danzo went on. "I have it on good word that Itachi is fiercely loyal to Konoha, and he is something of a pacifist underneath his cold nature. We can count on him to relay information from inside his clan if to him it means keeping conflict at bay."

Hiruzen would have loved to know just how Danzo got his 'good words', but they were here to confront a dire issue, not squabble with each other. It also wouldn't look good for a hokage.

The Sandaime sighed, thinking over plans of how Itachi would be brought into the loop. It appeared Naruto would have to wait awhile as they solved this problem before it could grow into something worse.

xxx

Itachi was strangely conscious of his surroundings as he descended the steps into the secret shrine, and current location for the secret clan meeting.

'Could they have found out my involvement with Shisui's death?'

It still brought tears to his eyes when he remembered that he had been the one to snuff the life of his best friend, probably the one who kept him sane from the ANBU business with his light humor and fun personality. The darkness now threatened to overcome him, and he needed a way out of it. It didn't help that the clan was so conservative with its affairs nowadays; he'd rarely spoken to nor seen his parents in the last few days. Just what was going on?

"Itachi, it's… comforting that you've come." He was greeted at the door of the room.

Itachi nodded at the shinobi who went on, "Let's go, your father is waiting."

Inside the room he was surprised to find every active shinobi of the clan present. In fact, there were others he was sure he had never seen before.

"Itachi…" Fugaku stood near the panel where the elders were sitting.

"Father," he greeted back. He was motioned to join him.

"My son is here, the meeting can commence." Fugaku nodded to the elders.

Fuugo, as senior-elder, stood first. "My fellow clansmen and women, in the past months, we as the Uchiha have…"

Itachi was shocked when the ancient man and the rest of the speakers including his father went on to speak of their preparations to overrun and lay siege to Konoha. Apparently, it wasn't the first meeting of this nature. Just why would his people wish to sow the seed of chaos and discord at a time when they were all enjoying peace among the elemental nations?

Itachi had never been a fan of the way the clan prided itself on its ideals. Where they complained, he saw that what they got was far better than what most would. They didn't have to be as rich and influential as the Hyuuga to prosper. Trade was already good and none of them were sent on dangerous missions which had high risk of death or worse, more than he could say for so many others including those under his command. Rarely was it heard that a father or mother lost his or her sons and daughters on suicide runs.

Where they argued, he could tell they were mostly in the wrong, sometimes way off the mark. The Uchiha had the idea that they were above anything and everything, taking what they pleased without thinking of getting the consent of their peers. Even from an early age, they taught their children that they were not to associate with 'commoners' who were beneath them, something he tried to repeatedly knock out of Sasuke. His father had then gone and taught his little brother the Grand Fireball Technique to set him above his age-mates, ruining everything he had instilled in the boy about humility. That stung deep his heart where no enemy's kunai could ever reach.

Even their pride and joy, the sharingan, was a thief's tool in Itachi's eyes. He detested its ability to copy jutsu so much that he made it his life goal to only ever use that which he mastered with his own two hands. Even the recent technique he got from Uzumaki wasn't really copied as much as reconstructed with the concept being as simple as it was. In any case, as the only one who held such principles, it was no real surprise that he was the only Uchiha ninja with a (sort-of) social life outside the clan. It was no surprise he was the only Uchiha trusted to be around other shinobi.

"…which brings us to our most pressing issue at the moment, Itachi?"

The youth broke out of his stupor to bow to Fugaku.

"Yes, Honorable Clan Head?" In a congregation such as this, there were no fathers and sons. Itachi had to force himself not to spit at them all.

"We have reason to believe the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is responsible for the death of Shisui."

Itachi's eyes grew wide. 'Why would they think that?' He then felt the urge to slap himself upside the head. He had erased his tracks, thinking nothing of the jinchuuriki's. If they had deemed him a threat before they would obviously be even more wary of him now. Itachi really felt like an idiot, he had been so grief-stricken he hadn't even thought to cover up Shisui's untimely death as a suicide or something.

"And we now hope we can look to you to rid us of this threat before it can grow further. Can we count on you to avenge our fallen clansman, and dye the ground with the blood of our enemy?"

Avenge… How he hated that word! And it was anything but a request, the clan was ORDERING him to slay the child he had been forced to kill his cousin to protect!

Best to play by ear then until a reasonable solution presented itself.

"The Uchiha can count on me, Honorable Elder."

xxx

Two days later…

Hiruzen sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. He had just come from a meeting comprised of the elders, himself and Itachi, and really needed a cup of green tea to still his nerves. Itachi had confirmed all of their fears without even the need to investigate, going so far as to say he had been approached with the task of eliminating young Naruto who was deemed a threat.

'Why this, why now?' Danzo had completely refused the prospect of negotiation with them, saying there was no choice but to wipe them all out when a chance availed itself.

Hiruzen was aware of the brutal tactics usually resorted to in warfare, but to destroy an entire clan! Even he, the god of Shinobi, the Great Professor, could not accomplish such a task without feeling sick two minutes in.

Which was why he was utterly disgusted when Danzo suggested that Itachi be the one to do it. Even more when the teen agreed to, saying he had a jutsu that might fare well against the sharingan. Where did he even get a thing like that?

To murder your own family, even for the sake of keeping peace, was inconceivable. But he had no choice but to submit when Itachi insisted that there was no other option available to them at the moment. He still wondered why Danzo had been so enthusiastic (more than his normal nature) with agreeing to the decision, but he was unable to get a read on him.

Hiruzen again wondered why he hadn't chosen a successor yet. All this work was wearing on an old man's bones.

xxx

Deep in the underground cavern, what one might call the very roots of Konoha, a solemn silence resided in the gloomy stretched near-darkness. Small taps echoed on the far walls, the result of Shimura Danzo's cane tapping on the stone floor.

The one-armed man approached a kneeling figure bound at the hands and feet, his face covered by a gray sack. Beside it was another silhouette, though this one was free and instead bowed respectfully to his commander.

Danzo felt no small bit of pride when he set eyes on the unnervingly quiet and still ROOT operative. These were real ninja, not the clowns who paraded for Sarutobi, squawking nonsense about understanding their enemies and upholding some sort of silly 'ninja code'.

THESE were soldiers. The only code they needed was to unquestionably follow their master's orders. Shinobi were meant to live in the shadows, the night-wraiths of this world. A true shinobi was meant to inspire fear not comfort. They struck and vanished into darkness, and this was their whole purpose, their whole reason for existence.

'Sarutobi has been too lenient, as were Hashirama and Tobirama.'

Yes, sometimes Danzo wondered if things would have been better had Uchiha Madara ascended to Shodai hokage and not the leader of the Senju Clan of the Forest. Crazy and power hungry the man might have been, but he knew what really made a village strong. Such thoughts were irrelevant now though. Madara was dead and that would not change any time soon. If he must, Shimura Danzo would be the one to lead Konoha into the golden age that should have been.

Danzo nodded curtly at the bowing man, who proceeded to tear the bag off the prisoner's head.

The silver-haired youth gasped for air as soon as the sack was off. His head darted wildly around, the moment of compliance vanished as a window of opportunity for escape presented itself. Desperate eyes took in as much of the cavern as they could if the man should need to run away at a moment's notice.

A touch on a pressure point on the prisoner's neck from the operative was enough to slow his heart and forcefully calm him down, as well as render most of his limb muscles useless for next few hours. The person looked up into Danzo's cold unrelenting gaze.

"W-where…?"

"Where you are is not important. I have a business proposition for you, or should I say, your master."

The person quivered under the war-hawk's lone eye, "I d-don't know what you're talking about. Y-you have the wrong g-guy!"

Danzo's eye narrowed, "I know exactly who you are and the one you truly serve. Do not take me for a fool… Mizuki."

xxx

"Nii-san!"

"Sorry otouto." Itachi used his first two fingers to affectionately poke on his younger brother's forehead. "Perhaps another time."

Sasuke pouted and rubbed the red mark growing on his skin. "But you always say that! You won't even let me show you the jutsu I learned!"

Itachi looked at his brother's downcast face and felt a tug on his chest. Could he do it, could he erase his family from existence and not look back on it as a mistake?

The ANBU captain felt like crying his tears to the world but held fast. He needed to be strong for Sasuke.

"Sasuke," he called, breaking the boy out of his funk. "I still have a few minutes to report to work. Come, show me that jutsu."

The pure elation and joy on the kid's face from not being neglected anymore was all worth it and steeled Itachi's resolve to do whatever it took to preserve that look.

He still had about three months to strike, when all the Uchiha would be gathered in one spot to make their stand. He would make the most out of it until that time came.

xxx

Five days later

Naruto was taking stock of his equipment in his apartment and still debating on whether he should go back to that section of forest to retrieve what he lost, but in the end he decided against it like he always did.

Being so close to death… It still haunted him at night, seeing the mad look in Shisui's eyes as he raised his sword to cleave his head open. The worst thing about it was that there was nothing he could do. No last minute escape, no trick up his sleeve to sink into the ground; nothing!

It also taught him a very important lesson; expect to be defeated when you run stupidly into a fight. He'd had the chance to run, but he cast it aside in favor of landing a scratch on his opponent.

But, Ojisan, you're saying it like it doesn't matter if you get hit, as long as you can beat the other guy?

Naruto snorted at his own words. He never really got his initial question answered before the Sandaime sent him off to bed, but now he knew. From his own first-hand experience, he now knew the right time to strike and the right time to run.

Funny, Hideki-sensei always did say that on the field one would learn more than they ever could in class. At the time he had no idea what that could even mean, yet it made perfect sense now.

It still didn't answer the big question hanging about ever since the encounter. Why did the Uchiha want him dead?

A/N: Thanks for those reviews (makes me feel loved by fans). Yeah, Naruto's going to get a teacher at some point, but until then, wait and see. I'm not going to make him an overglorified Sasuke-type with senseis and girls throwing themselves at him while he whoops everyone's asses (but he WILL still whoop almost everyone's asses). I tried to write something outside of training and fighting for this chapter and, to be honest, Naruto wasn't even supposed to make an appearance. I swear, he just popped outa nowhere! Please send me your thoughts and I will reward you all with gifts of deliciousness (in the mental sense).