Slowly but surely we're getting closer to the end. You have my boundless gratitude for hanging in here for so long; and for the reviews, which really do help to keep things going. Thanks!

Chapter Twenty

The staged explosion, wet with genuine internal organs and bodily fluids, splattered the already edgy pursuing shinobi and propelled their displeasure with Danzou into new heights. Getting free from the embarrasingly simple object trap that delayed them, they blundered yet again by barging swiftly into the old chamber building for the advantage of surprise, only to find that element firmly on the side of their quarry.

The cagey old elite appeared before them with a bold flourish and waxed eloquent and angry, his speech wandering from boasting to accusing and back again as he berated the men Even had bested, railing about the new order about to take the forefront of the village's safekeeping.

Mid-rant they all transported to the Hokage's chamber, the way cleared for them by Tsunade's ANBU. They had been summoned to the scene by Ibiki as back-up and instead ended up with little to do but facilitate their meeting.

Even went too, as Exhibit A in the new order. It was not a real secret that he was the ninja in the dark armor now that the uniform was identified as ROOT , seeing as he was the only man authorized by the village to legally carry that title.

Ibiki was secretly impressed and Kakashi concealed his worry and surprise that Iruka was still going, still putting up a formidable front that gave no hint at his true condition.

It was all pomp and show; Danzou's words convinced them of very little except his ability to defend his actions in such as way as to still leave a legal reasonable doubt in regards to his guilt. Only the fact that they had witnessed the explosion gave any weight to the idea that he had indeed destroyed the body he had forced Iruka to deliver to him, nearly at the cost of his life. Such a callous, wasteful method of testing Iruka's loyalty unto death was entirely consistent with the Danzou they knew.

They were not as convinced that the eyes perished as well. But that subject stood as unacknowledged as the fabled Emperor's lack of clothes. As it preyed on every mind, it fell from no one's lips - in public.

Danzou was equally unconvinced that Kakashi had stumbled upon Iruka by chance, but held his tongue on that subject as well. He raged inside when Tsunade would guarantee no more than 'consideration' of his demand to resume the establishment of ROOT, disregarding his grudging offer to replenish his forces in a less provoking manner. This time he conceded that, given Even's success, he could restrict himself to selecting from candidates of more traditional training age. He'd decided there was no chance that she would allow him to resume arranging for the acquisition of shinobi-heritage stock through villagers bearing implanted fetuses, as had been his plan when ROOT was placed on hold previously. The perfection of ROOT ninja raised from birth under his regimented care would have to wait until he no longer needed her approval.

He was banking heavily on Jeninki's extremely valuable mortality-related talents to add to his vitality and longevity. Thirty years ago, nearly dying from wounds and the ravages of old age, his senpai Jeninki had deemed him worthy and gifted him with another forty years of lifespan and reversed his natural age by several decades. Behind the bandages of his permanent injuries, the change in appearance was concealed and went unnoticed. Now age was dogging his heels again, and in order to live long enough to raise these fetal fighters as pure ROOT virtuosos, he would need another shot of the youth and extension of lifespan.

The way things stood, Jeninki would likely try to force him to hand over Even before he would make good on his promises. It was petty beyond excuse as far as Danzou was concerned. The revival of his superior fighting force was far more important than some stubborn whim of the Uzingan-wielder. If Even disappeared for good and the news made its way to her, Tsunade would likely suppress the program permanently. The very fountain of youth would do him no good in that case.

It was a dilemma he had yet to think of a way to address.

In the end, they were released without sanctions, and the only concession made by the miffed Hokage was that Iruka would not be pulled from this 'pilot' program. Even followed Danzou out of the tower and they walked to the old man's place silently. Even was weary but walked tall and gave no outward sign of his discomfort. When they arrived in the privacy of the training room, Danzou pinned him with a narrowed eye and asked hard questions about his mission, venting his anger and frustration by giving the raw-faced nin a first taste of his intense style of completed-mission debriefing. He was disapproving, and berated Even for saving Shiranui and getting mixed up in Kakashi's battles. He shook a finger in Even's face with the assertion that the minute Kakashi revealed his knowledge of Even's old identity, Even should have slain him; if not on the spot, then as soon as his usefulness to the mission was spent.

He ordered Even to disrobe and lie naked on the steel table to reaffirm his unquestioning obedience. He enjoyed watching the firm yet velvety flesh as it was revealed, the warm skin stiffening as it came in contact with the icy cold metal. This man was powerful, skilled and cunning; yet his words had the ability to control him in every way, and the power was exhilarating. Even's chakra screamed from the damage of poisons, toxic antidotes, disruptive soldier pills and projectile wounds. Yet, he remained compliant and impassive, silently moving to do only as he was bid by his superior.

The good feeling passed suddenly; reality reminded him harshly that these little moments might be numbered. Danzou mulled the confrontations of the day over in his head irritably. It had become something more than just bad faith negotiation in the tug of war over Even; Tsunade, the ultimate hag herself, had shown more integrity than Jeninki did in the matter. At least she had the foresight to let him continue as he was. He had no doubt that she'd recognized how good ROOT had been for the man, what a remarkable specimen he'd become, and how unfair it would be to take it away from him now.

It was irritating to him personally that Jeninki was asserting ownership over the dark-eyed shinobi in spite of all that. Another cruel irony, Danzou reflected. Once he received another aging reversal, he would be in a good position to make use of Even as the perfect personal companion on demand. He rather fancied the idea of the way the two of them would look together as contemporaries. The elements of obedience, unflinching pain tolerance and damn fine physique all came together in Even, and it was exactly what Danzou desired. Yet Jeninki was unlikely to grace him with the necessary youth if he refused to give up his perfectly prepared student.

Even may have been expressionless, but he was far from idle in his thoughts. To kill Konoha's flagship jounin was the goal of every vile enemy of Leaf; try as he might, Even's moral compass could not hope to explain with any satisfaction Danzou's adamant criticism of his letting the copy-nin live. Especially in light of the fact that he had been the instrument for saving the mission and, however unwittingly, the Uzingan. Further insight rendered him unable to answer questions about what he would do if Danzou ordered him to kill Kakashi without justification. Even knew full well that his training and diligence might find him besting the silver-haired shinobi at times, but when he factored in their mission histories and relative worth overall, any math that made his life worth more was flawed. Kakashi's track record and experience outweighed any advanced technique or innovation as new Root. Between the two of them, the impartial light of logic revealed Even to be the more expendable.

In the chill silence of the training room, his own stiffly controlled breathing and Danzou's louder, heavier respiration created the background of sound against the shuffle of robes. The old man's hands roamed his body, infusing a little healing chakra here and there, but mostly just roaming for its own sake.

Those hands were suddenly unwelcome. Until those questionable criticisms of his rescue of one loyal shinobi, and of his reluctance to murder another, Even had taken whatever his master had given with a sense of duty and respect. Now, suspicion began to creep in, as he struggled to excuse the apparent disloyalty. By following orders to remain mute, he had contributed to the tangle of lies that were told today to the Hokage. And now, this sort of unprofessional self-indulgence on the old man's part did not help matters.

"You'll be my escort tomorrow, Even-kun," Danzou said with a barely detectable smile, determined to bolster his own confidence. He wasn't beaten yet, and Jeninki was not his enemy. They might work out some kind of acceptable compromise. As tempting as it was to take advantage of this situation to the fullest in case this was his last opportunity, the old man preferred to think that he would prevail somehow. It would be much better to wait until he had plenty of power and stamina; much, much better.. His voice was low and syrupy, alluding to thoughts other than the ones he spoke aloud. "We must have our first consultation with Jeninki. I should let you rest up until then. Your chakra is a mess."

Even nodded, hoping Danzou meant it. He was surprised to find that he did. Gnarled, cold hands helped him off the table to guide him to the room Ugoi had slept in last. The door closed, leaving him alone, confused at the sudden respectable behavior.

Maybe the poisons had scrambled his thinking. He hadn't had cause to doubt his master before. He passed into exhausted sleep, uncertain what the morning would bring.

XxXxxXxxXxx

"You're letting this go on? What happened to all that crap about bringing Iruka back to us? We had him back, and we had all the damned reason in the world to put a stop to this!" Kakashi raged.

"Shut up, Hatake," Ibiki growled. "You're out of line."

"You know as well as any of us, Kakashi, that nothing is over. Danzou is obviously in the midst of something, something we haven't quite figured out yet. He needs Iruka for whatever it is. You saw the way he gloated over him. So we need Iruka, too, right where he is. He's our focal point. Follow him to find out his goal, and from that we will find Danzou's." Those commanding words came easily enough, unlike the difficult sight of Iruka in ROOT persona. While he was intensely aware of everything discernable about his former colleagues, in the sharp, attentive way a talented shinobi, Iruka reacted only to Danzou. Tsunade's greeting had been acknowledged mechanically and his eyes held no warmth of recognition. She was a familiar suspicious object in his mind, as far as she could tell. His initiation had been a complete success, and it was sad to see him in such a way. To have subjected him to so much without seeing it through to the end seemed the larger evil to her. The damage done, only a beneficial end could hope to take some of the sting out of the price the former sensei had paid.

"They make a dangerous team. Aren't you giving them a little too much rope? Eventually, Iruka will succeed at whatever task Danzou's setting for him. And we don't know what that task might be." Kakashi tried again to convince her, making the effort to be composed.

"The answer is to find out what that task is before he completes it. That's why I assigned this to you in the first place. Get the hell out there and keep an eye on them, and find out! I let this little charade go on precisely for that purpose. It would be ridiculous to just cut off the whole operation now, before we've actually reached any sort of conclusion. You need to resolve this. We need to get his plan out in the open before he can strike." Tsunade shook her head, frowning. "And remember, you must use the utmost care and concentration. We came within a hair's breadth of having a fatality on your team already, Ibiki."

"My summary investigation is complete on that matter, it's about the only piece of good news we've got so far. There's no sign that Shiranui's injuries had anything to do with Iruka. From the evidence, and from the interviews with the men we retrieved him from, it does seem that Iruka's only role in this was rescuer. There's no question that he would have died without help." Ibiki remained impassive as he gave her that news, hiding his still surprisingly intense relief that the facts and circumstances clearly showed that Iruka had not been Genma's assailant.

"He went after the culprits immediately. Between the two of us, we pretty much erased them. I…"

"And I haven't seen that report yet!' Tsunade barked.

Kakashi ignored that. She knew he'd had no time, she was just giving him shit. "…I know he helped me when he easily could have, hell, should have taken off instead. What I'm saying is that he may be ROOT-trained, but he's not completely brainwashed. He still has some of his priorities straight. He's not going to march in here and try to cut all of our heads off just because he's been ordered to."

Tsunade sat back in her chair at that and tapped her fingertips together in deep thought. She began nodding slowly.

"Through all of this, that's the one factor I have not dared to rely on. When I look at Umino's life from day one, I see a man with many, many reasons to have turned away from his commitments. And yet, as you say, his superior moral compass has been, and continues to be, an important factor. It probably forces Danzou to be quite circumscribe. If he makes an overtly treasonous order, he might have a mutiny on his hands."

"From what I've seen, he's on the edge. He will fight me if need be, I'm sure of that. But still…" Kakashi shook his head grimly. Set against one another like pit bulls raised for fighting, each doing as their master bid, he and Iruka could be called upon to tear each other to bits…and under the right circumstances, it was well within the bounds of possibility.

"Understood. Your watch is still posted, Morino?"

"Twenty-four seven, two-man team, one ANBU one messenger. Any move they make, the messenger will get word to us while my ANBU addresses the situation, be it tracking them or what have you." Still standing with his arms folded in a braced, stiff stance, Ibiki was clearly still on high alert. "The perimeter monitors are keeping me notified of any unscheduled egress at well." He patted the two-way radio on his belt in illustration.

"For the time being, this is still your number one priority, men. Ibiki, I leave it to you if you want to backfill behind Genma. Be sure to have Kakashi continue as point man on any pursuit; make sure the ANBU know to yield to him in any action once he joins in."

Ibiki nodded, looking at Kakashi with a shielded expression. He still didn't like the man, but professionally that was not going to factor here. Kakashi's abilities in tracking were likely unbeatable for tracking Iruka. He had long experience and talent as a tracker, and a sixth sense where Umino was concerned. There was no better choice here.

"Now, men, get out there and get to the bottom of this. Dismissed."

xXXxxXXxxXXx

The next morning they set out as soon as the two of them were dressed and able; Danzou was a little under the weather and was much slower to get ready. They teleported to the chamber outside the walls, then again to the near distance under cover of the forest.

"So this is the way. I had nearly forgotten. I had always featured his dynasty as something a little more to the south, I guess," Danzou said chattily.

Even glanced at his master but said nothing. While Danzou was casual, seeming to be certain that Tsunade's forces were off their tail, Even was unable to understand why he would think so. He had advised his superior that they should take all precautions to travel undetected, but had been ignored. It worried him a little more. Danzou wasn't himself, exactly, and he'd been feeling poorly. The possibility of a stroke or the first signs of some cognitive aging disease arose in Even's pondering. His master was usually cautious, overly suspicious.

"We should move discreetly, Danzou-sama," Even said softly.

"No, Even, there's no need. If we're followed, it won't be by some army, it will just be a man or two. That's all." Was that concern for his well-being he detected in his steely apprentice's manner? Danzou was charmed in spite of himself. How was it that this ethereal element of humanity remained alive with no emotion to fuel it? Even truly was a treasure; he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that he'd wormed his way into his plans so prominently.

"You don't care if they report back with word of where we're going, who we're seeing?" Even asked, shaking his head in confusion. Did Danzou want to reveal Jeninki's revival, along with his return to the place where Kakashi had beheaded him?

"You don't know him like I do, Even; there's no need to overthink this. He wasn't entirely himself when you knew him. If we're discovered, no word will be getting back to anyone. Let them follow. They will never be able to reveal a thing."

When that sank in, it was a relief to know that Danzou's think was clear…but just as disturbing to realize that he thought eliminating any shinobi who tracked them was acceptable.

They passed without comment further along the way, until they sat to rest for a moment and Danzou laid a hand on Even's sturdy shoulder.

"Soon we'll be able to spar and do some working out together. I truly am looking forward to that."

"I will be honored to learn from your experience," Even said solemnly, certain that the man who founded ROOT would have enviable combat skills, but not sure if the aging man was thinking straight when he proposed something so strenuous.

Danzou began to snicker, then began laughing out loud, shaking his head.

"You are so damned ROOT," he chortled. "You'll be honored all right. I'll teach you things you've never conceived of. Trust me on this one."

The double-entendre was not lost on Even - and it was not welcome. The more he weighed Danzou's behaviors and decisions against the greater good of the village, the more suspect the older man's motives became. At such a crucial point in his plan to provide for stability and security through the resurrection of his black ops force, was there really any excuse for being so cavalier?

And the constant conflict with Jeninki made little sense. The man had been in jail for killing those men, or for delinquent mission payments, either way…what actions had Jeninki taken that evidenced any benefit to Konoha? When he tried to question the wisdom of reviving the man and his bloodline limit, Danzou shut him down. Was there truly some grand, noble plan Danzou held so close to the vest that he would not reveal it?

Or was he up to something less than legitimate? Had Tsunade been taken in at first? Ever? She obviously had doubts now. Kakashi and Ibiki had treated them like enemies, or at the very least, suspects.

And Danzou clearly was not surprised by that. If anything, he seemed to have been expecting it.

It was a good time to be confronting Jeninki, in Even's opinion. He was determined find out just where all of this was leading. And he no longer assumed that, in the final analysis, Danzou's plans were going to be in Konoha's best interest.

As they made their way, still with far less stealth than Even though wise, these doubts has plenty of time to run circles in his head. Their progress at Danzou's speed was slow, and the longer it took, the more focused Even became on seeing Jeninki and resolving the doubts. It would seem grimly consistent with his life experience and entirely too possible that things were not what they seemed. That he would find out now, after giving up every thing he had and every shred of what he was to become something of value, it had all been nothing but a worthless lie.

xxxxxxx

"Shit, can they go any slower?" grumbled Pakkun, having to stop and wait yet again so they didn't get too close to their prey.

"Patience, Pak. Look, if they keep going at this rate, I'll dismiss you. Konohamaru could track these guys today."

"They want to be followed."

"Quite possibly," Kakashi agreed.

"It's a trap."

"Also, quite possible."

"It's really them. Both of them."

"I know."

"Boss?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad the teacher helped you get those guys that hurt Genma. That's about the worst thing I ever saw one of you humans survive. You'll take that into account, won't ya? When you're deciding what to do with him?"

"You don't have to worry about him, Pak. We set him up for this. No one's going to hold anything against him that he does under Danzou's orders."

"Except the teacher."

"Mm. Yeah, he'll beat himself up enough for the all of us if the son of a bitch makes him do wrong. So far he's done all right, though. Maybe he's outsmarting the old coot already."

"I think they're taking a nap."

"Wiseass. Come on, they're far enough, let's move up a ways. Unless you'd rather go. Doesn't look like this is going be exciting anytime soon."

"Eh, I have nothing better to do. And you shouldn't let your guard down. He is pretty screwed up. Things could happen."

"Do you think he knows it?"

"That he's screwed up?" Pakkun considered that. "Well…do you?"

"Know that he's screwed up? Yeah. Of course."

"No. That you are."

Kakashi started to glare, then softened. Pakkun was not being flippant. He was gruffly sincere; so Kakashi responded in kind.

"Yeah. I know."

"Then he probably knows that about himself, too. And you both know about each other. With all the shit I've seen you guys put each other through, it's the only explanation for why you haven't killed each other yet." Pakkun snorted. "You have complementary psychosis."

"If you ever get tired of being a ninken, I think there's a career waiting for you as one of those shrinks on the radio," Kakashi smiled.

"Radio sex therapist," Pakkun countered haughtily. "Might as well showcase my REAL natural talents."

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" Ibiki grumbled. Unprofessional, about as stealthy as a startled skunk, and talking about a relationship Ibiki would outlaw if he had the authority. Yes, this was the true Kakashi, and it was plucking at his last nerve again.

Pakkun quieted, but the copy-nin was not impressed.

"What's your damage, Morino? You don't think you're going to be pulling rank on me, do you? The way I see it, you've go no rank to pull. I'm the lead on this gig. You can follow me. And keep your eyes off my ass while you do it."

"Is there some particular reason you'd like me to tear your face off? Tired of the mask?" Ibiki growled.

"You're confusing me with someone else. Get us mixed up in your wet dreams sometimes? I'm flattered."

"Grow up. You act like you're on holiday. We're on a very serious mission. Your attitude is disappointing."

"I'm not here to live up to any expectations of yours. You had your shot and you blew it."

Ibiki's upper lip curled in disgust at the memory. Rather that continue the pointless bickering, he started off in the direction of their target, sifting through his memories of those fateful days when he turned Iruka's life around and freed him from being wet-nurse to the endless stream of snot-nosed shinobi. It hadn't been an easy road for the man, he'd admit that, but he was quite sure that the strength and capabilities he'd acquired more than made up for any pitfalls along the way. Once he was retrieved from Danzou's service and reassimilated, Iruka should be in the very top echelon of the shinobi ranks, a position enviable for any man. It was yet to be seen if he would remember to credit Ibiki with starting him on that path. Perhaps he would rethink joining up with the ANBU. Having seen Iruka's incomparable purity of character, Ibiki would relish having him in his ranks.

That little issue they had with trust was probably water under the bridge by now.

"Hold up. I'm lead, remember?" Kakashi said, a little less snippy.

"Then lead and I won't have to," Ibiki said flatly.

They moved on in silence now. Pakkun was relieved that the growling hadn't escalated into more than just a bark or two. Humans could be so unpredictable.

tbc