I moved to a different shift at work this week, so I will be modifying my update schedule. New chapters will now be posted on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
As always, all source material belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter Seven
Itachi had work to do, but he knew he was not going to be able to focus on anything as worked up as he was. Instead, he made his way deep into the basement of ANBU Headquarters to the division's private training facility. There were several operatives already training in the sparring ring, so he joined them. One of the men was unusually large and brawny for an ANBU operative, most of whom favored speed and finesse over raw strength. Itachi accepted a friendly challenge from the muscular man. He expected a bit of a trying fight, but he had a plan to beat the larger, slower adversary.
From his opponent's first move, Itachi realized that his strategy was not going to work. This man was far faster and more agile than he appeared, and he did not fight like most shinobi of his size. Instead, he fought more like Itachi himself, relying on feints and quick, precise attacks, but with far more power than Itachi could ever muster. Itachi quickly found himself on the defensive. He took a dizzying punch to the stomach, and a bruising shin kick before he began to pick up on his opponent's tells. He caught the tiniest hint of an opening as the larger man stumbled almost imperceptibly as he recovered from a kick, and knew he had only one chance to exploit it. He slipped past the man's guard and struck the side of his neck as hard as he could with his forearm. The ANBU operative's eyes glazed over for just a moment, and he stumbled back, stunned.
He raised a hand, "Alright, I'm done. You win."
Itachi took a towel from the nearby shelf to wipe the sweat from his face, and tossed one to his opponent as well.
"That was a good match," he told him, "You're much faster than I expected."
The man smiled, "Everyone always underestimates me. They assume I'm slow and stupid. It's easy to use to my advantage."
"I don't think we've met. I'm Itachi Uchiha."
He laughed, "Everyone around here knows who you are, sir. I'm Juro Hurai."
"Nice to meet you."
"You know, I might not look it, but I've actually got some Uchiha blood myself."
Itachi looked at the large, stubble-faced, blond man skeptically.
"Not legitimate." Juro admitted, "But it's still blood. My great-grandfather fell in love with an Uchiha woman. Unfortunately for them, he was very un-Uchiha, and she was very married. They had an affair and she got pregnant. No one suspected anything until the baby was born with blond hair and green eyes. The mother died in an 'accident' a few weeks later, but the real father got custody before anything could happen to the baby. The baby was my grandmother."
It seemed plausible enough to Itachi despite Juro's complete lack of any typical Uchiha features.
"No Sharingan though I assume." Itachi guessed, trying to contain a cough.
"Nah. Unfortunately that gene didn't make it to me."
Itachi did not say that he was probably lucky it had not. He did not even want to imagine how the Uchiha would react to a Sharingan outside the clan. Kakashi having Obito's eye had caused enough of uproar at the time, and there was no genetics involved in that case.
"Thank you for the good fight. I needed it."
"Any time. I'm down here most of my off time, and I'll never turn down a rematch."
Though Itachi had enjoyed the fight, the extra strain on his body was immediately evident. He managed to contain his coughing until he was out of earshot of the others, but he had to run to his locker for his medication. He sat on a bench in the locker room for a long time, just trying to control his breathing. Once he had recovered, he walked to the sink to rinse out his mouth, spitting the blood down the drain.
Itachi's streak of sleeping difficulties continued that night. He lay awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling. It was about eleven at night, when Itachi was startled by a loud knock on the front door. As he stood up, Hana came down to stairs.
"It's Shisui." she said.
Sure enough, it was Shisui on the doorstep, and he looked anxious.
"Good, you are here." he said when he saw Itachi, "You need to come with me."
"What's going on?"
"Uncle Fugaku called a clan meeting tonight, and… You're going to have to come hear this for yourself."
Confused, Itachi pulled on his sandals and went to follow Shisui. He was surprised to find Hana pulling on her shoes as well.
"What?" she asked, "You thought I'd hear something like that and not be curious? I'm coming too."
Feeling rushed, Itachi did not argue.
The three hurried through the sleeping village and through the conspicuously unguarded gates to the Uchiha Compound. The Compound was completely deserted save for the packed main hall. Shisui joined the rest of the clan inside, while the intruders, Itachi and Hana, quietly climbed to the roof where they could listen through the open skylight. Inside, Fugaku stood on a platform in the middle of the room surrounded by the rest of the agitated clan. Mikoto was at his side, but to Itachi's relief, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
"For almost a hundred years, the Senju have lorded over us, oppressed us, and kept our birthright from us." Fugaku began, "They segregate us, limit our influence, and look upon us with suspicion and disdain. All the while, they patronize us with flowery words and meaningless offerings of false power."
The already restless clan became even more stirred up.
"This village is ours by right, but has been kept from us for the last century. In the entire history of Konoha, there has never been an Uchiha Hokage, and if the Senju domination is allowed to continue, there never will be. I say that if they will not give us what we are owed, we will take it by force!"
The clan's response was deafening.
"We will eliminate the Senju's figurehead of a Hokage, and I will take my own rightful place as ruler of this village. We will destroy the Hyuga pretenders and set an example for all the clans. We will show them that we will not be trifled with! We will no longer be mocked and looked down upon! We will show Konoha the true power of the Uchiha!"
The clan roared their approval, and Itachi felt sick. This was not an idea that just occurred to Fugaku. He had clearly been planning this for a very long time.
"Are they serious?" Hana whispered.
"…We need to go."
When Itachi, Hana, and Shisui regrouped outside the Compound, Shisui looked as ill as Itachi felt.
"I knew things had been pretty tense lately, but I never imagined they would take it this far." Shisui said.
"Where is Sasuke?" asked Itachi.
"Kakashi has him out training or the Exam finals." Shisui replied.
"That's good. Maybe he won't get involved."
"What the hell happened in there?" asked Hana, "I know your clan has always had issues with the village, but they were talking about a freaking coup in the there!"
"The situation has been getting a lot worse ever since the Fourth died. When Sarutobi was reinstated instead of selecting a new Hokage, a lot of the clan saw it as a deliberate attempt to keep an Uchiha from coming to power." Shisui explained.
"I'm sure it didn't help matters when I openly defied my father in favor of the village." Itachi added miserably.
"So now they decide that killing an old man and probably starting a war is the appropriate response?"
"We were a warrior clan for hundreds of years." Itachi sighed, "Anything but direct, brutal retaliation for any perceived slight would mark you as a coward in those days. My father is trying to build himself into a warlord… like Madara Uchiha."
"You don't think that the real Madara might have something to do with this, do you? I mean… Obito did say…"
"I doubt it. My father didn't need any encouragement."
"What about the Hyugas? What was that about?"
"They're the biggest threat." Shisui replied, "Other than the Uchiha, they're the biggest and most influential clan in the village. They also have the only other Dojutsu."
"So they're getting rid of the competition?"
"Yes, but it's more than that. The Hyuga clan has a theory that the Byakugan and the Sharingan have a common ancestor, but that the Byakugan predates the Sharingan. That never sat well with some members of our clan. If the Uchiha wipe out the Hyuga then, in their minds, it would prove the Sharingan superior."
"So… 'let's kill an entire clan to prove we win the dick-measuring contest'. Yeah, that sounds totally sane." Hana said.
Itachi turned to Shisui, "I need to report this to the Hokage, and I need you to tell my father that I did it."
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"Right now, he thinks you're with them. We need to keep it that way. We're going to need a lot of information, and you're the only one on the inside."
"This is so messed up, but… yeah, I've got your back."
"You should go home." Itachi told Hana, "I'll be there once I've spoken to the Hokage."
"…If your sure you'll be alright. Be careful."
"You too."
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