Chapter 21:

Danzo Shimura was a shrewd man. A contemporary of Hiruzen Sarutobi and a veteran of the last three Great Shinobi Wars, Danzo was just as capable of being selected to become the Third Fire Shadow of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. However: this did not come to pass. Instead, the Niidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju had appointed his rival, Hiruzen Sarutobi to the post. This was Danzo's greatest shame and the source of his hatred towards the man who now sat at the seat of power and authority in the village.

This did not mean that Danzo was not loyal to his village however. In fact: he could be said to be the biggest advocate of the numerous agendas of the village, along with (in his own twisted opinion) the village's biggest patriot.

Danzo did all of the dirty work that Sarutobi simply refused to do. Assassinations of various insurgents in the village and Land of Fire, high-risk spying operations, kidnappings, extortion, even deeds that transcended the borders of Konoha's rightful jurisdiction. If Hiruzen was the light of the village, Danzo was his ultimate foil; the shadow of the village.

Danzo of course, did not accomplish all of these incredible feats by himself. In fact, the man rarely lifted a finger to do anything. Instead, he used his secret force of specially trained ninja, called Ne, or Root. They were the perfect soldiers. Obedient, ruthless, and efficient. If Danzo asked any one of them to lay down their lives for the village or his own sake, they would promptly do so. As it should be of all proper ninja.

Danzo sat at his desk in his dimly-lit office space in the cavernous underground lair he had made his own, and drummed his fingers on the desk in rapt contemplation. One of his many Root spies had just reported some intriguing information to him no less than a few moments ago, and the weight of what was told to him had his mind spinning with various thoughts.

The report concerned Konoha's resident Jinchuuriki: Naruto Uzumaki.

Danzo had tried fruitlessly for years to try and recruit the young boy into his program to train him to become a weapon for the village, but his obstinate rival Sarutobi would have none of it. The fool. Didn't he understand what kind of power Konoha could command if the boy was properly trained to be what he was meant to be from the beginning? Of course not!

Danzo shook his head in resignation at the foolishness his old rival consistently showed. The truth of the matter was that Konoha was weak. After the Kyuubi attack seven years ago, Sarutobi had put more effort into trying to cover up Konoha's weaknesses by increasing missions and appearances of Konoha shinobi to let the other Elemental Nations see that the loss of the Leaf's beloved Fourth Hokage had not crippled them; let alone the attack by the rampaging Kyuubi. Danzo believed at the time, it was all well and good. But he only agreed as long as it was only a temporary thing, which it soon became apparent that it was not. Sarutobi had also allowed the Civilian Council to gain too much sway over the operations of the village's infrastructure, therefore decreasing his own authority to lead. This was what irked Danzo to no end. He absolutely despised the idea that simple minded civilians believed themselves capable of comprehending what a hidden village needed to survive! A hidden village needed power! They needed a weapon!

And Danzo knew this one fact: he needed to recruit Naruto Uzumaki into his ranks to put everything right.

And the question on the wily old man's mind was: how?

Naruto and Anko made it to the Hokage Tower in record time, and bolted up the stairs to the Hokage's office.

Kimiko was stationed at her desk outside, per usual, and stood up when she caught sight of them.

"The Hokage is busy right now! You can't-!"

"Shut the hell up!" Anko spat as she wheeled on Kimiko. "Why don't you file your nails or read a magazine, or something!?"

Kimiko's face flushed red in anger.

"W-Why you...!" She stammered, pointing a finger at Anko, who simply laughed.

"Unless you want that finger broken missy, you'll stop pointing at me like you can actually do something!"

The threat did its' job. Kimiko's face paled and she quickly averted both her pointing finger and eyes away from the Snake Mistress.

Naruto tried (and failed) to conceal his glee at Kimiko being taken down a peg.

"Sensei," Naruto sniggered. "We need to talk to the Old Man, remember?"

Anko nodded and turned away from Kimiko, who was shaking slightly where she stood. Anko wheeled around suddenly and jerked in her direction, making the secretary flinch, before turning around again and laughing.

'What a sucker!'

Sarutobi sighed as he signed off yet another document. He hated the fact that his job involved so much paperwork! He had a good mind to just use a katon jutsu to simply torch the rest of his workload, so he could take a well-deserved nap, but then thought better of it. What he needed was a distraction from the monotony of signing papers.

And, he got it in the form of Anko Mitarashi and Naruto Uzumaki entering into his office.

'Thank Kami!' Thought Sarutobi with a relieved sigh.

"Lord Hokage," Anko bumbled. "the brat and I have some information you'll want to hear!"

Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up in interest.

"Oh?" He asked curiously. "And just what might that be?"

Anko looked at Naruto solemnly and the young boy stepped forward nervously.

"Last night, my 'shadow' appeared to me and gave me a warning." Naruto said.

Sarutobi's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward in his chair, interest piqued.

"And? What was the warning, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked at his sensei for assurance, only to receive a curt nod from Anko.

"It said: 'things are going to change very soon'. I don't know what it meant by that, but has anything been happening lately that seems off to you?"

Sarutobi sighed and leaned back in his chair wearily. Where to start? Firstly, there was the increased commotion in the Land of Rice just north of them. Apparently, uprisings by shinobi factions up there were causing quite the stir against the Daimyo of the country. Normally, this wouldn't be a cause for concern, but recently, the squabbles and fighting between the Rice shinobi factions and the Daimyo's forces had come dangerous close to the Land of Fire's borders, effectively making it Konoha's business.

Secondly, (and more pressing in Sarutobi's opinion) was the growing unrest amongst the Uchiha Clan and the village. It had been going on for years, but a close informant of Sarutobi's had been giving him reports that the Uchiha might be planning an uprising. There wasn't any solid proof yet, but Sarutobi feared that if the problem couldn't be resolved soon, drastic measures might have to be taken.

But, Sarutobi couldn't tell them that. So instead, he simply replied:

"There's been a lot of things going on Naruto-kun, but nothing that strikes me as 'off', as you put it."

Naruto scowled, obviously skeptical of the Old Man's answer.

"My friend Sasuke says that there's something weird going on in his clan," Naruto began darkly. "You know, the Uchiha? That doesn't strike you as odd?"

Sarutobi demonstrated his years of experience by not even batting an eyelash at Naruto's remark.

"No," the aged Hokage answered promptly. "It does not."

Sarutobi turned to Anko with a solemn look.

"You know the drill Anko-chan," he said mysteriously. "We need to up Naruto's training in case this 'shadow' plans on making a move."

Anko nodded curtly.

Naruto folded his arms defiantly and bellowed:

"I'm right here, you know!"

Sarutobi looked over at Naruto and smiled slightly.

"I am aware of that, Naruto-kun," he offered apologetically. "What I mean to say is that you must start training more often with Anko-chan. If the 'shadow' tries something like he did in the office with Anko-chan's shadow double, we need to make sure you can defend yourself in our absence."

Naruto huffed, but didn't argue the point.

"Now, why don't you go get something to eat while I talk to Anko-chan, Naruto-kun? It's on me!"

Sarutobi reached into his robes and withdrew a few ryo bills and set them on the desk. Naruto's eyes lit up and he quickly snatched the cash off of the desk and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thanks a lot, Old Man!" Naruto beamed. Naruto turned to look at Anko as if asking for permission to leave, which she gave, and the boy bolted out of the room singing about ramen.

When the door snapped closed, Sarutobi folded his hands and fixed Anko with a serious gaze.

"Tell me something Anko-chan," said Sarutobi solemnly. "Does Naruto know why this mysterious 'shadow' figure is after him?"

Anko almost flinched, but thanks to her years of training was able to mask it easily.

"Not that I know of sir, why?" She asked.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair again and withdrew his pipe. After packing, and lighting it, he took a few puffs and replied:

"I've noticed that his chakra seems to be emitting a bit more of the Kyuubi's influence lately. Surely you've noticed?"

Anko nodded slowly. The truth was, she had noticed when she had first started to train the boy. At the time, she was certain that Naruto's tenant was simply starting to stir because the boy had begun to tap into his chakra reserves, but now that she knew the truth about the boy knowing about his tenant, she wasn't sure what Sarutobi was getting at by asking.

"I'm sorry sir," Anko answered in mild confusion. "I'm still not sure of what's got you concerned?"

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe and examined Anko a moment before answering.

"Simply put," Sarutobi began. "Naruto-kun will need to know about the Kyuubi soon. I do not want this 'shadow' to place false facts in his head about his status as a Jinchuuriki and what that means for him. If that were to happen, there is a good chance that the whole situation could spiral out of control."

Anko nodded in understanding.

"Furthermore," Sarutobi continued. "I am concerned with his relationship with his friend Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan. As you are aware things have become strained between the Uchiha and the village. Naruto is an asset to the village and I do not want him to become conflicted if conflict were to break out between the clan and the village. Also, the Uchiha are extra wary of the boy anyways because of what he contains."

Anko's eyes narrowed at this revelation.

"What do you mean by that last part?" She asked, now genuinely confused.

Sarutobi got up from his chair and turned his back to Anko, as he looked out the office's large window at the village.

"This is an S-ranked secret that cannot leave this room, Anko."

With that, Sarutobi flashed through a series of handsigns that Anko recognized as a very complex silencing seal. There was a brief flash of blue light all around the room before it faded.

Sarutobi turned back around to look at Anko, who waited expectantly, but nodded that she understood the seriousness of what was about to be told to her.

"When the Kyuubi attacked seven years ago, The Fourth had suspicion to believe that the attack was not random. He told me that he believed it to be the work of Madara Uchiha, or at least someone masquerading as him."

Anko stumbled back a bit at the information. Madara Uchiha!?

"B-but," Anko stammered. "Madara Uchiha has been dead for ages!"

Sarutobi nodded gravely.

"That was what I thought as well," Sarutobi continued solemnly. "But, in this world of chakra and jutsu of all kinds, who can really say if a shinobi of his caliber could not discover a way to cheat death? Is it so impossible to believe?"

Anko had to think about that. It was true what the Old Man was saying, but it just seemed too far-fetched. Anko thought about her sensei, Orochimaru and the twisted experiments he conducted trying to find a jutsu to prolong his life, a jutsu to make him immortal. Suddenly, the idea that Madara Uchiha might have discovereda way to survive his epic battle with the Shodaime Hokage didn't seem so incredible.

"Okay," Anko said uncertainly. "But I'm still not getting how the Uchiha's wariness of Naruto plays into this..."

Sarutobi sighed as he stroked his beard.

"If in fact, it was Madara Uchiha who orchestrated the Nine-Tails' attack on the village that fateful night, then you must understand what that would mean for the Uchiha Clan as a whole," Sarutobi explained, now pacing the room. "Many shinobi who survived the attack claim that they clearly saw what resembled the sharingan in the beast's eyes as it rampaged throughout the village!"

Anko's eyes widened.

"You mean to say that Madara was controlling Kur-, I mean; the Kyuubi with a genjutsu then?"

Anko was relieved that Sarutobi was so caught up in his own pondering that he didn't notice that she had almost referred to the Kyuubi as Kurama. That would've caused bedlam for both her and especially Naruto.

Sarutobi, who remained blissfully unaware of Anko's near slip, nodded.

"Indeed." He replied, still pacing. "Naturally, word of this has filtered into the village and now many look at the Uchiha with suspicion, as if they all were responsible for the attack somehow. Nothing can be proven, but I believe that this is one of the few reasons why there is unrest amongst the Uchiha Clan and their place in the village right now."

Anko could do nothing but nod. She had no idea how deep the connection between the going-ons of the village presently and the attack by the Kyuubi seven years ago was affecting things.

"I understand, sir," Anko said at last. "But, what is it that you want me to do then?"

Sarutobi stopped his pacing and returned to his desk, where he sat down in his chair.

"I want you to observe the behavior of Naruto's friend Sasuke when they are together," Sarutobi said simply. "I doubt that anyone in the Uchiha Clan would risk breaking my decree that forbids anyone with knowledge of Naruto-kun's burden from telling anyone who does not already know, but I digress: if there is a chance that Sasuke somehow is told, Naruto's safety might be endangered by contact with the young Uchiha..."

Sarutobi watched Anko for a moment more before adding:

"Naruto can't find out about his burden yet. It is essential that he does not."

Anko nodded, although she was sweating bullets on the inside.

'Too late for that Old Man,' she thought hopelessly. 'You're about a year too late for that, in fact!'

Sarutobi pulled yet another document off of his large stack of paperwork and uncapped a pen.

"That is all, Anko-chan," Sarutobi said. "Please keep me updated if any new developments concerning Naruto occur."

"Yes sir!" Anko replied with a deep bow, and promptly left the office.

Sarutobi groaned as he massaged his temples after his talk with Naruto and Anko. Why couldn't things ever be simple?

It was bad enough that he had the Uchiha problem to deal with, not to mention the skirmishes from Rice that were dangerously close to encroaching Hi no Kuni territory, but now he had to deal with this cryptic warning! It was just too much!

Sarutobi thought of asking his long-time rival Danzo for help with the two problems, but quickly dismissed the notion. He did not approve of Danzo's methods, nor did he want the man dealing with something as sensitive as inter-village conflicts. Danzo was better suited for external threats to the village, where he couldn't do much real damage to the village as a whole.

There was a knock on the office door, and Sarutobi's head quickly shot up from his paperwork.

"Come in!" He commanded.

Sarutobi briefly wondered if it was Anko or Naruto coming back to tell him something more about the 'shadow' affair. He had a sinking feeling that the two of them were in on something that they refused to tell him about, but Sarutobi couldn't just point fingers left and right. He did not want to seem overly paranoid; he was the Hokage for Kami's sake!

The door opened, and Sarutobi decided to put his thoughts on the matter on hold.

Good thing too, because the figure who had appeared in his doorway was someone he didn't want asking questions about his suspicions.

"Good evening, Hiruzen." Said the voice of one Danzo Shimura, who hobbled into the office.

"Danzo." Replied Sarutobi with a frown.

Danzo made his way over to the desk and stood before Sarutobi with a smug expression.

"We have much to discuss concerning various topics," Danzo explained. "Most importantly: were you aware of Naruto Uzumaki's awareness of his status as a Jinchuuriki?"

Sarutobi's eyes widened, and then narrowed.

"Explain Danzo!" Sarutobi snapped in an icy tone.

"NOW."

AN: Ooooh. You gotta hate Danzo, right? What's his plan to get Naruto? Find out next time...maybe. Muwahahaha! R&R!