Hiruzen rose on the force of Naruto's chakra-charged airburst, flipped backwards, and landed with a nimbleness more often seen in ninja half his age. Itachi was lower to the ground, so he dug his heels in and caught himself with on a branch. Hiruzen glanced at Itachi, signing in the coded seals of Konoha's special forces.
'Plan. Urgent. Contingency 113. As you thought.'
'Standard containment procedure, variation 3. Facilitate by flank pattern 2. On my mark…now.'
The time for conversation ended, they flashed off in opposite directions. The Third Hokage, heading deeper into the woods, felt Itachi's chakra signature fade until it was nigh-undetectable. He left his own unsuppressed, recalling old ANBU combat strategies. Let's see…SCP-V3 dictates sealing, as opposed to termination or capture, and flank pattern 2 involves decoying the target into an ambush. It's been quite a while since I had to remember these; let's see if these old bones can pull it off!
He counted off as he sped through the trees, leaving Naruto a clear trail to follow.
One.
They'd put this contingency in place upon deciding to place Naruto under Anko. She wasn't known for her gentleness, and the rough treatment broke open Naruto's containment seals.
Two.
Hiruzen hadn't designed them himself, of course. Jiraiya had managed to replicate a design from Kushina's notes. She'd originally planned to apply it to herself to stabilize the Nine-Tails while she was in labor. Unfortunately, she'd not gotten the chance, it seemed.
Three.
Hiruzen had hoped they wouldn't be needed. Naruto was a docile child, sleeping most of the time, and not prone to tantrums. It was fortunate, too; with the chakra of 3 of the most powerful ninja of their time sealed in him alongside the soul and power of an unstoppable demon, he could have caused severe damage despite his tender years.
Four.
After the attack on Sasuke, however, it seemed his true nature had awoken. He became increasingly aggressive and temperamental. Though he wouldn't deliberately attack anyone, if provoked he flew into a towering rage, demolishing everything he could get his hands on. The only way to stop it was to lock his power out of reach of his emotions, and teach him to suppress them.
Five.
In tandem with training in meditation, the seals allowed Naruto to maintain control over his power. Becoming emotional would bring it to the surface, but had never proved sufficient to break the seals.
Six.
Until now.
Sev— there!?
Hiruzen whipped the Adamantine Staff at the source of sudden, demented laughter, and turned in time to see the impact fling Naruto back into the bole of a massive tree, wood splintering as his bone-white, luminescent form left a deep, steaming crater before he dropped to the ground with a sickening crunch. Hiruzen continued counting.
Eight.
The Hokage paused for a moment, narrowed eyes watching to see if the boy would rise. His suspicions were confirmed when Naruto's head snapped up, predatory eyes regaining their focus and mouth stretching into a bloodthirsty grin. He sprang to his feet in a single movement, then began to prowl in a circle, eyes never leaving the Third's.
Nine.
The battle-drunk immortal gathered a bundle of loose threads and twisted them into a vicious, tail-like spine. It swayed and darted about like a snake, seemingly independent from the boy whose power created it, then struck at the old, weak man who dared to defy the ultimate power.
Ten.
Mid-assault, Naruto faltered, eyes losing their vicious, predatory glint and a confused frown replacing his bloodthirsty grin. Sudden recognition marred his otherwise smooth features, and he made as if to speak. Before he could, however, the glowing threads receded from his skin, and he sagged as if under a great weight, before falling forward.
Itachi was there in an instant, materializing from the shadows and catching him easily. As he hoisted the boy's slack form over his shoulder, he turned to face the Hokage. As he approached, Hiruzen could see the points of senbon needles protruding from the Genin's arms.
"I see you've picked up some new skills. Why senbon?" the older ninja inquired.
"Given the unique circumstances of my sole long-term mission, I felt it was necessary to expand my repertoire beyond conventional assassination tools and techniques. Rarely it is that a true ninja must merely disable a target," the Uchiha prodigy replied, tone frosty as ever.
"Indeed, though you've shown yourself to be quite capable in the past. In any case, I think it's time we returned our young friend to his teammates; I must speak with Special Jonin Mitarashi about her reckless treatment of one of Konoha's strategic assets."
Itachi's only response was the barest of nods.
"Ah…Lord Hokage?" a hesitant voice called from the shadows. Tenten emerged timidly. "What was that?"
"Chill out, Tenten. It's just Naruto flyin' off the handle. Again." Sasuke's irritated voice replied as he emerged, batting aside branches and swatting insects.
"Losing his cool to the point of fully unleashing his chakra is not just a simple flare of temper, Sasuke. Even so, what a brilliant display of raw strength. It seems my fate is to train even harder than I ever thought possible if I am to surpass my nemesis!" Neji declared, ducking under a branch as it swung back after Sasuke's passing.
The three of them stood (in varying degrees of surprise) before the Hokage and Naruto's bodyguard.
"Where is your sensei?" the Hokage queried.
"She's still hiding in the trees," Itachi answered. "Apparently, she's attempting to delay facing reprimand as long as possible."
"Anko. I warned you this would happen if you weren't careful," Hiruzen intoned.
"But it was frickin' cool. I mean, I wasn't so sure about having him on my team at first, but after a display like that, whew! I mean, just send us on big, destructive missions, point him at the enemy, and BAM, instant chaos! Not to mention his shirt got destroyed, and he's got some major eye-candy hidden under there."
"Itachi."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
"Ow—what the hell! Get off me, you asshole! Gah—your hands are cold! Fine, fine ,I'll come out, just stop touching me!"
A disheveled Anko reluctantly descended from the branch she was hiding on. Itachi followed more sedately, not a hair out of place.
"Have you learned your lesson?" asked the Hokage.
"Feh. Yes."
"What lesson did you learn?"
"Don't get caugh—"
"Anko…"
"Fine. Don't deliberately antagonize the twelve-year-old who could vaporize Konoha."
"Good. Also, I'm assigning you D-ranks for the next six months."
"The hell you are, old man!"
CHAPTER END
