II


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Arc II Chapter I


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It was raining and water covered the wet and muddy ground. The rest of Konohagakure was enveloped by a floating veil of fog hiding the sky and the stars, and sometimes a lighting broke through the thick wall of clouds and enlightened the night with its brilliance.

Surrounded by the forces of nature, a group of men walked along the street directly towards Konoha. The three men were covered in heavy trench coats, but even that didn't protect them from being completely soaked wet. Especially, to the dismay of one of them.

"Man, I hate rain, I really hate rain. Have I ever said that, Ibuki?" the shinobi grumbled.

"Yes, Akihiro, you are already complaining since 4 hours, 27 minutes and 7 seconds, and I admittedly stopped counting after the 45th time", Ibuki gave him an annoyed look.

"That was a rhetorical question, you genius", Akihiro countered.

"Silence, both of you, or are you idiots both trying to blow our cover? Konoha is just ahead and you have seriously nothing better to do than arguing", their Captain gave the two ANBU an angry glare. They were good friends, but enough was enough.

Ibuki was sceptical," Hagane, I think you are exaggerating. This was just a friendly conversation between friends and I honestly doubt that Konoha can get us, not at least this time.

As far as I know, Konoha's security forces are at the moment quite understaffed after losing their entire military police in just a single night. The Uchiha are dead and it is unlikely that they were able to replace them all in just three weeks. But we should be nevertheless careful. Because Kumo doesn't need another horrible Hyuga disaster. The first time was clearly enough."

Akihiro agreed," Yes, I remember. That mission was a total disaster and we were really lucky that nothing happened aside from just causing a complete diplomatic breakdown. Hagane, do you know which idiot was responsible for ordering that stupid mission?"

Hagane smirked, "Akihiro, that is top secret information and well above my paygrade. I don't have the necessary clearance for this kind of things. But you are right, I am wondering too who the idiot was that had the brilliant idea to not only try an abduction during the peace negotiations, but also send that idiot for such a delicate mission. In the end, I think that it is possible that the official version is even true and he acted really on his own and without any direct orders."

"Whatever, I warn you again, Ibuki, Akihiro, this time total failure isn't an option. Under no circumstances, we can allow Kumo's involvement in this operation to be revealed. And I hope you know what that means, plausible deniability will be crucial. And we have to be prepared to tie up the loose ends this time, understood?"

Akihiro and Ibuki merely nodded.

Hagane continued," Therefore, Kumo has sent us, professionals, and not some bloody amateur. Anyway, we will meet up with our informant and he will provide us with the necessary intel for this operation. According to my information, he had found out something very interesting that should help us."

"So, we still have a spy among the Hyuga clan, Hagane?" Akihiro furrowed his eyebrow.

"No, no, not the Hyuga spy. That one was recalled already a few years ago after being nearly compromised. No, Akihiro, we are here to get our hands on one of Konoha's great Dojutsu, but how many famous Dojutsu does Konoha have?" Hagane waited until both of them finally realised," Exactly, two. Our contact is apparently from another separated branch responsible for getting a Sharingan, but that is clearly quite complicated these days and after what had happened a few weeks ago. After all, who could have expected that the Uchiha clan would be wiped from one day to another, and just by a single man. Nevertheless, it seems that this Itachi didn't get all of them."

Ibuki was curious," What do you mean?"

Hagane smiled, "Apparently, he didn't kill all of them and missed two. Two Uchiha are still alive, his little brother, and a girl."


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"So, we basically have two options. The first option is …", Akihiro explained, but he was interrupted by his best friend, as usual.

Ibuki corrected him, "Three options, we have three options, Akihiro."

Akihiro gave his friend a slightly annoyed look, "Yes, Ibuki, you are right, we have three options. But I don't think that we can consider fighting a few squads of ANBU a viable option. Because if we want to get our hands on the boy, then we have to get first through them and as far as we can tell they are protecting our little Uchiha 24 hours a day."

Hagane contemplated, "Any move against the Uchiha would be indeed extremely difficult, if not outright suicidal. As expected, the boy is well guarded. After all, he is the last Sharingan user Konoha has and an important asset to the village. But I didn't expect that Konoha would dispatch whole squads just to guard him. "

"Fortunately, we don't have to go for the boy and still have a second option. The question is only whether we should take the gamble or cancel the entire operation and return back to Kumo."

Ibuki shared his opinion, "The girl is practically undefended and we shouldn't encounter any form of organized resistance. In short, nothing short of really bad luck should be able to stop us. Like you said, the main question is, however, whether she is the real deal or not. Can we rely on the intel that our contact has given us, Hagane?"

"And even if she is an Uchiha, Hagane, then it isn't sure whether she is really capable of awakening the Sharingan. In my opinion, both is highly questionable and we are just relying on our luck in this case."

Hagane summarized, "So, it would be a low risk and improbable high reward scenario."

"I would say that calling it improbable is a bit of a grave understatement, Hagane", Ibuki narrowed his eyes, "Because I don't think that overhearing some random stranger saying something can be considered a certified source of information these days. Especially, if said stranger was a former Uchiha shinobi that had not only fallen into alcoholism after being heavily wounded on a mission, but also a well-known and notorious liar. Therefore, can we really trust this man to tell the truth? Is the girl, is this Asami really his daughter, or was our drunken friend just lying as usual? I think that the latter is the case."

Akihiro intervened, "Ibuki, Hagane, perhaps we are looking at this from the wrong perspective? We are focused too much on what we could gain instead of thinking of what we would lose. "

"What do you mean, Akihiro?"

"You see, Ibuki, the mission has a relatively low risk profile and failure is generally unlikely. So, if the risk of failing is negligible, then it doesn't matter in the end whether we achieve our objectives or not. In the best case scenario, we can potentially an Uchiha girl with a pair of Sharingan nobody knows about. In the worst case scenario, we can just kill her and be done with it.

In summary, we can only gain something and will practically lose nothing. So, why are you so pessimistic, Ibuki?"

Ibuki fell silent and eventually nodded. He gave up his resistance and finally agreed," Nevertheless, we still have another little problem, Akihiro."

Akihiro furrowed his eyebrow," And that would be?"

Ibuki continued," Akihiro, you shouldn't forget the fundamental fact that getting an Uchiha doesn't automatically mean getting the Sharingan. As you might know, not every Uchiha is able to awaken the Sharingan. But without these eyes, the girl is essentially completely worthless. So, how do we find out if she can even use them?"

"Gentlemen, I think I have a possible solution for our problem. Have you perhaps ever heard curse of hatred, Akihiro, Ibuki?" Hagane had something in mind and smiled.

"No, not really", Akihiro and Ibuki exchanged looks and both replied in unison.

Hagane explained,"Well, to be fair, me too. Over the years, I have only heard some rumours here and there, but that is beside the point. What I know, however, is one of the more practical and possible applications of the so-called curse of hatred. Apparently, the Sharingan tends to be awakened and evolve when the user suffers from an emotional stress or trauma."

"So, we just need to expose her to immense emotional stress to get a confirmation?" Akihiro was sceptical.

Hagane turned his head," Yes, exactly."


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"Why does it always have to rain during our missions?" Akihiro grumbled beneath his heavy coat.

"Always? Not really, that is just an assumption on your part, Akihiro. As far as I can remember, we had plenty of missions on which it didn't rain", Ibuki commented amused by his friend's antics.

"That is true", Akihiro extended his hand to catch a few raindrops. They were heavy and it didn't seem that rain would stop soon.

"Is everyone ready then, Akihiro, Ibuki?" Hagane looked around and waited for their final confirmation.

"Don't forget, we get quickly in and out, no needless interruptions or diversions. After all, our time is limited and I want to get out of Konoha as fast as humanely possible afterwards. Secure both targets and eliminate everyone else. Afterwards, we will proceed with the second stage of our plan, understood?" their Captain smiled at both Akihiro as well as Ibuki. They were his team, his friends, and together they had already survived impossible odds. This was, however, just a normal mission and he doubted that this abduction would be a complicated affair.

Covered by the pitch black night, the fateful trio moved out.


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Using the darkness of the night to avoid any potential patrols, the trio headed for the designated location. Ultimately, they arrived at the mansion that cloaked by the heavy rain.

Overcoming the exterior stone wall could be hardly called a real challenge and the infiltrators entered the garden. The mansion was still quiet and the lights were off. Gving a sign, Hagane signalled the start of the mission. From here on no return was possible, what expected them now was either success or failure.

Ibuki and Akihiro merely nodded in silence and dispersed immediately rushing towards their assigned objectives. Ibuki was tasked with the bedroom and securing her mother that was necessary for the second stage, while Hagane paid a friendly visit to the rest of the mansion and had the honour to plant a few combustion tags everywhere. After all, they had to cover up their abduction and what was better than burning down the entire mansion. Because one missing body among a mass of corpses shouldn't be too suspicious. Especially, when it was just a little girl, right? Like he said, nobody should miss her.

"Dammit, where is the girl?" Akihiro grew increasingly erratic while running through the truly spacious house. He was only searching for her bedroom, but the room and the girl were nevertheless impossible to find because the mansion was so fucking big. There were just too many rooms, too many floors, too many doors everywhere. Akihiro focused his eyes on a certain room far down the floor that eventually gained his attention, probably because the door knob was made out of … Wait a moment, was this really solid gold? Yes, it was.

Akihiro was sure, this was the room, he had finally found the little princess. The shinobi slid the door open, and half-way he was surprised by a kunai. The kunai was weakly thrown, but highly accurate and was aimed right for his head. He ducked and easily evaded the attempt on his life. Nevertheless, the kunai had nearly got him, but only nearly.

"Huh, that was slightly surprising", the kunai embedded itself in the wall behind him and Akihiro scanned the room for the mysterious attacker. And what he found was a little terrified girl standing in front of him. She was holding a further kunai and her hands visibly trembled with fear. In summary, the girl was no real threat.

Nevertheless, her little greeting present indicated that she knew about him, and that was quite worrying. Not only was she apparently awake, but she also expected him entering the room and timed her attack perfectly. But how was that possible? How did the girl do that? This couldn't be just a mere coincidence.

But judging by her still sleepy expression, the girl should be still slightly confused and he could use this to his advantage.

"Don't worry, stay calm, I mean you no harm. I am your friend. You can trust me", Akihiro tried his best to calm her down. He didn't have much success, however.

The girl narrowed her eyes dangerously and the amount of malicious intent made him almost flinch, "My friend? I don't think so. So, who are you? Because despite your dubitable claim of having no hostile intentions, you have nevertheless entered without any sort of proper authorization my house as well as my private bedroom. So, once again, who are you, my friend, and what are doing here in?" The girl tightened the grip on her kunai and gone was all of her previous insecurity.

The fuck still sleepy and confused. Hiding his surprise, Akihiro stared at the girl unable comprehend this sudden change of personality. From one moment to the next, the girl had completely changed and he couldn't understand how. There wasn't any other explanation, this was a bluff, this had to be bluff on her part.

Akihiro cleared his throat and decided to rely on his acting skills, "Ahem, I am part of the local ANBU Surveillance Squad stationed in this sector. After I and my colleagues have detected an unknown group entering this mansion, we were dispatched to investigate the case and possibly apprehend them …"

"An ANBU? Based on my knowledge though, the ANBU normally wear masks, don't they?" the girl remained sceptic. She was good, better than expected. He had to be a bit more creative this time.

"Hahahaha, yes, yes, I know, we hear that quite often. I and the rest of my team are from the ANBU police branch and wearing ANBU masks isn't necessarily that of a good idea when you are supposed to operate undercover in the middle of the village."

The girl tilted her head in confusion, "I see, that kind of makes sense."

"So, what should we do now?" the girl beamed and any sign of distrust disappeared from her face. This was easy, way too easy. Was this perhaps a trap?

Akihiro reassured her with a smile, "As far as I know, the rest of my squad should be somewhere around here. So, let's go and search for them and your Oka-san. Okay?".

The girl nodded happily, "Yes, just wait a moment, ANBU-san. I have forgotten something."

She ran back to her bed and procured two swords placed on a weapon stand. The two swords were relatively compared to the rest of her vast collection, which made Akihiro wonder.

Seriously, why did an 8-year-old girl possess an entire arsenal of swords? She had no dolls, no toys, nothing. But what she had was swords, a lot of swords, probably enough to equip an entire army. Hanging on the wall, he could spot a falchion, a falcate, a rapier, a sabre, a messer, a nodachi, a katana, a wakizashi? Was this here an armoury or a bedroom? Because he wasn't sure.

Akihiro stared confused at the two swords the happy girl was carrying in her arms. She definitely liked swords, a lot.

"Don't you think that I shouldn't be armed in such dangerous times, ANBU-san?", the girl held the swords tightly to her chest and he suspected that she probably didn't even know how to use them.

"Yes, that is true. So, are you ready now?" Akihiro laughed.


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