CHAPTER 8

The underground passage smelled quite filthy as the trio walked through the narrow path. They were led by the chief police head Obito who was a good friend of Kakashi. After few good minutes of walking he finally stopped in front of a cell which has double iron bars for security. The place was dark as they could barely see anyone in there.

"Hey, Deidra! You have got some visitors here."

There was no response from inside as Obito frowned in annoyance and tapped on the cells with his handgun.

There was a low groan as they saw someone approaching the bars. He was a tall and lanky person with blond hairs tied in a tousled ponytail. He was wearing the regular prisoner cloth with the number O23 dotted neatly over his shirt. He gave a bored look as he glanced towards them.

"Can't a guy have some sleep?"

He asked as Yamato took the lead and stood up directly in front of him.

"We are here from PSIA to ask you some questions. We will really appreciate it if you will just answer clearly without making things hard."

Deidra snorted as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget it Pal. Do yourself a favour and go back to where you came from. I don't talk to my enemies."

"What makes you think you have any say in it?"

This time it was Sakura who piped in as she gave him a murderous look and slammed a photo right onto his face.

"This is Danzo. Ex Commander of PSIA. He was kidnapped this morning and we believe that Akatsuki have a hand in it."

Deidra lazily peered over the photo before he faced Sakura and chuckled lowly.

"Don't bother with it. If our men have taken him, he will be as good as dead by now."

Sakura's palm almost landed on his face as he backed away due to his good reflexes.

"Sak! calm down."

Naruto spoke for the first time since he got there as he gently took her hand in his own and glared at the prisoner.

"Look buddy. You better start talking before things become ugly. We will hate to stain our hands with your filthy blood."

Deidra gave a toothy grin as he eyed Sakura intently before pursing his lips in a thoughtful manner.

"I can help you find Danzo. But on one condition.."

"What?"

Obito asked sharply as he had a vivid idea of what he was going to offer. He could make it with the sharp glint in his eyes. A small smirk played across his lips as he uttered simply.

"Release me from the jail."

/

"Here's your passport sir. We hope you enjoy your stay here."

Gaara nodded his head as he headed from the queue to where Sai was waiting for him on the sidelines. They have just reached Turkey and were dressed casually to avoid any sort of attention from the people. Gaara was dressed in simple black t-shirt and grey jacket with khaki pants while Sai have sported a blue hoodie along with rugged black jeans.

"So, is he here yet?"

"No."

Kakashi have informed them that they will be picked by one of their spy on the airport. They walked out of the airport and stood near the parking lot for any signs of their comrade.

"Excuse me."

They turned their heads at the low pitch voice and were taken aback to see a female smiling brightly at the two. It was odd to be approached by someone; maybe she was just a foreigner like them and needed some help. Or maybe she was a taxi driver. But she wasn't dressed in any particular uniform. She was wearing a pink tank top with white Capri and had her hairs up in a high ponytail.

"Mr. Gaara and Mr. Sai?"

They were shocked to hear their names slipping from her mouth gracefully as they appeared to be confused before she chuckled at them.

"I am 056. Ino Yamanka. I hope Kakashi told you about me."

Realisation dawned upon the duo as they relaxed and nodded while she carefully slipped out her card from the purse before tucking it back. Kakashi have told them her agent number but they haven't informed it was a girl.

"Nice to meet you."

It was Sai who held out his hand as she politely shook it while Gaara followed the suite.

"Please follow me gentleman."

She guided them towards a sleek red car as she took in the driver's seat and they both made themselves comfortable on the back seat. As soon as they were out of the parking lot, she turned on her portable screen as she made a call. After a moment, Kakashi's face was seen appearing on the screen as the boys sighed with relief. They were suspicious of her so they didn't want to take any chances in the foreign country.

"Hello Sir. Can you please tell your agents to just relax now and put their guns away."

They both were ready with their pistols to attack her at any moment lest she did something dreadful. Kakashi shook his head with amusement as he turned his eyes towards them.

"It's my fault that I didn't tell them about you properly."

Ino nodded as she gave them a sharp look from the front mirror.

"I bet if it was some guy instead of me, they will have followed without a second thought. Typical."

She muttered the last part lowly but Gaara caught it clearly as he cleared his throat.

"I apologise for our behaviour, but we wanted to stay on the safe side. We can't trust anybody Ms. Yamanka."

She raised her eyebrow at him before she turned her attention back to Kakashi.

"You gonna fill us in with the plan or not?"

He nodded as he turned the pages of his file and addressed them.

"You guys have a hard job to do. You are supposed to infiltrate the Akatsuki base in the city. It is quite unlikely that Danzo is there, but one of their most trusted member Sasori is the leader there. He is a resourceful man, he is sure to know where Danzo is kept and what they want from him."

They nodded simultaneously as he paused before speaking again.

"I am sending you his picture Ino, and all the details including him."

"Yes Sir."

"Gaara and Sai, Ino will be taking you to our trusted captain there. He will be leading you and giving the rest of information. Good luck.'

With that the screen went out as Ino tossed her tablet towards them, which showed everything about Sasori.

/

"I can't believe we agreed to his terms."

Naruto muttered as he focused his attention on the wide screen in front of them in the headquarters. He admitted that Danzo was an integral member of their agency, but to release a criminal of Deidra's calibre was a risky game. They weren't even sure if what he said was true or not.

"He is not off the hook Naruto."

Sakura convinced for the umpteenth time that day. They were keeping an eye on him all the time and he was kept under house arrest for the time being. They have vaguely told him that his crimes cannot be pardoned that easily, but if he were to help them his arrest sentence might be agreed but strongly demanded to be let out of the prison for the time being of their investigation. They didn't know what his intentions were but he would be a fool if he thinks that he can escape from their clutches out of the central jail.

Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the videotape. It was twelve year old clip. Deidra have told them that he only knew that this clip have a strong relation to Danzo's abduction. He refused to reveal the sources but this was their only option now.

"What are we supposed to be seeing here?"

It was Naruto again who broke the silence as Sakura glared at him to shut up. Inwardly she agreed with the blonde haired male. It has been six minutes since the video started and it showed some kind of honorary program. Danzo was apparently one of the chief guest there. They could make out two more people sitting with him.

"Commander, do you know them?"

Sakura chimed in with curiosity as Kakashi shook his head affirmatively.

"That's the chief justice of supreme court then, I don't remember his name though. And the other one is the ex-chairman of PSIA. Mr Fugaku Uchiha."

Everyone looked on with wide eyes as they regarded the dark haired man. He seemed sophisticated and a distinguished person.

"Hold on. How come we never heard of him or saw him here?"

Sakura asked as it was rather strange that he wasn't mentioned a lot. Her own uncle Danzo never talked about him.

"Fugaku was killed that very year. This might be the last event he ever attended."

"Killed?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the fact along with Sakura as Kakashi nodded briskly.

"He and his wife were killed. And you know what's the worst fact…his own son assassinated them. It's quite tragic so we don't talk about it to the new members."

There was a hint of sadness and pity in his hoarse voice as he closed his eyes momentarily while remembering that fateful day.

"What? How could someone do this to his own parents?"

Sakura asked in shock as Kakashi pursed his lips silently.

"We don't know the exact reason. Itachi just disappeared after that. Our best search teams couldn't find him anywhere. He was also the newly recruited member of PSIA and he was a prodigy in his own respect. He was always expected to be the next chairman of the agency. But after this incident, everything changed. "

The tape didn't show anything suspicious or helpful in particular. Both Danzo and Fugaku seemed to be conversing deeply about something, though in between before they grew silent. Their seemed to be an unsettling tension between the two. And with just that, the tape clicked and screen went blank.

"Okay, Can someone tell me what the heck just happened?"

Naruto questioned as he didn't see anything which could help them in locating Danzo.

Kakashi tapped his chin thoughtfully as he played the tape again and tried to decipher the hidden message in it.

"So, Did you catch something Sir?"

Sakura asked as she shifted on her seat. She was pretty smart but even she can't find anything helpful at all. Maybe a deep study was needed to find some answers.

"I can only conclude one thing from here. Fugaku is somewhat related to this case, or maybe someone is after Danzo for the same reason that Fugaku was killed."

"So that means Itachi is back to target Uncle? Is he the member of Akatsuki?"

Sakura asked with pale expression as it was quite a possibility.

Kakashi gave a bittersweet smile as he stood up and ejected the disk from the tape before keeping it back in its folder neatly.

"That's not possible because Itachi died eight years ago."

/

Sorry for the long delay guys, life happens and well I don't write a story when I am not in mood. This is an angsty story so I have to make up my mind fully to write it.

As always, read and review.

~Sora