AN: Hello readers! Here's Part III of the 'Dammit, Danzo! Arc'. As always, review! And enjoy the chapter! Part IV coming soon!
Chapter 37:
Danzo sat idly in his private chambers ruminating on the news that was just brought to him by one of his agents no less than a few minutes ago. He had just been told several things that made him somewhat anxious; and this was a problem. It was a problem because: Danzo Shimura did not get anxious.
He grit his teeth in irritation as he thought about the recent news. The damn fool Hiruzen was on to him! Instating martial law in the village? Obviously the Hokage aimed to try and route him right into his hands. That was unfortunate for Hiruzen though, because he had no plans whatsoever to concede defeat! He just needed the last piece of his plan in place and he could begin its' final phase.
Naruto Uzumaki was that last piece. Danzo clenched his cane tightly in his hand in annoyance. He was baffled as to how the boy seemed to become a ghost all of a sudden! He had been sending out his agents to find and inform the boy that his friends were in danger, so that the boy (who was guided by a foolish notion that his friends were more important than his own well-being) would no doubt come charging into his base without thinking. From there, it would be easy enough to subdue the boy. For whatever reason however, none of his agents had seen the boy at all since he left for home with the Uchiha boy after the Academy. He couldn't have the two tailed back to their home; he knew that the Uchiha were wary of him, especially Itachi. Besides, that was what he used Sai for: to throw his enemies off the trail for awhile. It was of no consequence that Sai's loyalties to him have finally been uncovered, Danzo had planned for that to happen all along.
Danzo's thoughts were interrupted when he heard an urgent knock on his door.
"Enter." He commanded sharply. The door slowly slid open to reveal the very person he was just thinking about, who walked in silently and knelt before him.
Danzo raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"What news do you bring me, Sai? I pray for your sake it is good news." He spat.
Sai fixed his gaze on him, and Danzo was surprised to see that his threat didn't seem to shake the boy even in the slightest. He smirked.
'Perhaps Sai is finally becoming the shinobi I intended him to be.'
Sai was silent for several moments, staring at his master, before he lowered his head and began to relay his message.
"Lord Danzo," Sai began in an official tone. "I have good news. Uzumaki has recently entered the forest, I saw him with my own eyes."
Danzo's one visible eye narrowed at this development.
"And?" Danzo snarled. "You didn't think to bring him right to me!?"
Sai remained stoic, even in the presence of his master's obvious anger and replied:
"No, Lord Danzo. If I were to show myself to Uzumaki, he would become suspicious as to why I am not captured. But rest assured: he is going to come. I have reason to believe that the boy knows where our base is somehow..."
Danzo's narrowed eye narrowed further, until it was almost completely closed.
'I bet it's that meddlesome 'shadow's' work that is the cause of this.' The old war-hawk thought bitterly. 'Just what is it aiming for?'
Danzo glanced down at Sai, who was still kneeling before him, and sighed irritably.
"Sai," he began in an authoritative tone. "I want you to take a squad of Root agents and capture Uzumaki now. I have waited long enough for him to take my bait, and we are running short on time before Hiruzen moves against us. I need the boy now! Understood?"
Sai looked up at the man, and Danzo was somewhat surprised to see no trace of hesitation in the pale-boy's eyes.
"I understand, Lord Danzo," he replied quietly. "I will leave right away."
Danzo nodded and dismissed the boy, who vanished from sight.
Once again left alone to his thoughts, Danzo made his way to a seat behind his desk and sat down. For some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was amiss. He dismissed the feeling as mere nervousness at the fact that Hiruzen was onto him. If Sai succeeded in getting Uzumaki to him in time, he need not worry about whatever move his old rival made against him. Sarutobi would never jeopardize the Jinchuuriki's safety. And if Danzo possessed the boy, the old Hokage would have to bow to whatever terms he demanded for the boy's return.
Danzo smirked as he thought about that last part.
"Too bad I won't be giving up Uzumaki once I have him in my grasp..." He whispered to himself. "Now, I just have to take care of the girl, and everything will be ready..."
Sai made his way towards the barracks of the base before he suddenly changed directions. No one noticed of course; most Root operatives were secretive by nature, therefore, they had no more right to question Sai about what he was doing than Sai did to ask them.
Sai passed by many operatives that gave a solemn nod to him as he passed as a greeting, and he returned the gesture. In truth: Sai felt absolutely nothing for his Root comrades, all except one. His black eyes narrowed as he approached his destination, only to see a guard posted right next to the entrance.
Upon Sai's approach, the guard turned to look at him inquiringly.
"Agent Sai," The Root guard said imperiously. "This area is off limits by order of Lord Danzo himself. What is your business here?"
Sai stared stoically at the guard before answering.
"I am here on Lord Danzo's orders," Sai lied. "I am to escort the girl to him."
Sai wasn't sure what effect his lie had on the guard because he was wearing a mask, but he assumed by the sudden straightening of the guard's posture that it had worked.
"Very well," the guard replied as he stepped away from the door. "Will you require any assistance in escorting the prisoner?"
Sai's stomach clenched when he heard the guard refer to Sasame as a 'prsioner'. That was not something he had anticipated. He had assumed Lord Danzo would only keep the girl until Naruto showed up. He mentally berated himself for the naive assumption. Of course Lord Danzo didn't plan to let Sasame go. She knew too much about his operations! He wouldn't try and recruit her either, simply because the girl was already set in her ways, and would take much too long to break. It would also be pointless because of the contingency plan Lord Danzo had recently informed his subordinates about earlier in the day. The thought of the plan gave Sai pause. He couldn't believe Lord Danzo thought his plan was the only option left to them when the Hokage finally found them. It was cowardly and underhanded, but Sai refused to be a part of it. He knew where his true loyalties lay.
He turned and looked at the guard and gave one of his 'false' smiles.
"There's no need for your help," Sai said casually. "But, since you've seen me here, I can't have you leave, so..."
The guard was a moment too late in realizing what Sai planned to do before it happened. With a quick draw of his tanto, Sai used the hilt of the blade to strike his fellow Root agent in the skull, hard, and sent him sprawling to the ground, unconscious. Sai quickly sheathed his tanto and grabbed the downed agent under both arms and hauled him towards a deserted hallway off to the side. He stashed the guard's body in the shadows of the hallway in such a way that one would have to actually walk down the hall a ways to come across him. Satisfied with his work, Sai quickly made his way back to the large iron door that imprisoned Sasame and hastily unlocked it. The door opened with a loud creak, making the pale-skinned boy wince in alarm. Scanning his surroundings quickly to make sure the sound did not alert any more Root operatives, Sai quickly stepped inside and was shocked at what he found inside.
Shin had just finished telling Sasame a humorous anecdote about his time with Sai during training when he stopped laughing abruptly, and stared at the now-opening door with alarm. Sasame quickly mirrored Shin's action as she watched with baited breath to see who was entering the room.
Her mind began to overflow with terrible thoughts. Had Danzo come to take care of her for good? She had come to the conclusion that her life was forfeit once the wicked man got his hands on Naruto. She thought she was prepared for when that would happen, and would be ready to try and make a break for it, but she had no idea that it was going to happen right now! She felt her heart begin to beat more rapidly as the door swung open fully, with a loud creaking sound.
Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Sai in the doorway.
Neither Sai nor Sasame said a word when he entered the room and made his way towards her. In fact, it was Shin who spoke up first.
"Sai!" the silver-haired boy cried. "What are you doing here!?"
Sai said nothing as he arrived on the other side of Shin's bed and grasped his friend's hand.
"I came to warn both of you." Sai replied solemnly. His face fell into a frown, and Sasame was surprised when she saw that Sai was shaking slightly for reasons she didn't understand. "Lord Danzo's approaching his endgame. Naruto-san is in the forest, Sasame-san. I knocked him out and hid his body so Lord Danzo would have trouble finding him..."
Sasame gasped at the revelation, and then her eyes narrowed.
"But, if you're here," she began slowly. "How do we know if Danzo's captured Naruto-san yet or not?"
Sai glanced at her for several moments before he answered.
"Trust me," he replied. "We'll know if and when he obtains Naruto-san..."
Sasame frowned at the cryptic answer, but decided she had more pressing questions to ask.
"When you say that you knocked Naruto-san out," she said, with a tone of incredulity. "I have to ask: why? I thought that you had to complete your mission ?"
Sai knew by the way the girl had stressed her last word that she was still resentful of the way he had tricked her. He sighed and bowed low to her, causing Sasame's eyes to widen in surprise.
"I'm really sorry, Sasame-san," Sai said sincerely. Sasame was shocked that she could actually feel the honesty in the boy's words as he spoke them! She had thought that Sai didn't have emotions or feelings! "But when I was referring to 'my mission' I meant 'MY mission' not Lord Danzo's..."
Sasame took a moment to get over her shock of seeing Sai actually express an honest emotion, and then asked:
"Then what is your real mission?"
Sai looked at Shin and smiled. An actual smile. Sasame's jaw dropped.
"Sai," she breathed. "You...you actually do have-?!"
"Emotions?" Sai answered casually, crossing his arms. "Yes, Sasame-san, I do. I had to work very hard to learn a method to conceal them from everyone. I became so used to doing it that I was beginning to fear that I might mute them permanently. Luckily, I forced myself to remember why it was so important that I keep them..."
His gaze went back to Shin who grinned at him, causing Sai to begin to shake again. This time, Sasame understood why Sai was shaking. He was nervous to face Shin!
"S-Shin," he stammered, his voice full of sorrow. "I-I'm so sorry I stopped coming by to see you...When Lord Danzo finally gave me a mission...I knew it was our only chance..."
Shin was silent, although he still smiled, before he nodded.
"I understand, Sai." He replied, before his face morphed into a pouty expression. "Although I am upset that you did stop coming by! Do you know how boring it was in here until Sasame-san got thrown in with me!?"
Sai actually chuckled in response.
"I can imagine it was pretty boring!" He laughed.
Sasame watched the two boy's exchange in stunned silence. Her mind couldn't process the idea that Sai had fooled everyone, including Danzo, into thinking that he was nothing but a manipulative, emotionless seven-year-old boy! But her eyes and ears were telling her differently. Sai was laughing and joking, even smiling like he had done it his entire life! Just the sight of a genuine smile on the pale-skinned boy's caused her whole brain to short-circuit! But something Sai had just said caught her attention.
"Sai." Sasame interjected, causing both boys to stop laughing and to look at her. "What did you mean by this being 'your only chance'?"
Sai's face fell as he looked at Shin, and then back at Sasame. He sat down on Shin's bed and sighed.
"When Lord Danzo gave me the mission to observe Naruto-san at the Academy..."
Sasame's eyes widened.
"Wait! That was why you came to the Academy!? Just to watch Naruto-san!? Why!?"
Shin rolled his eyes at Sasame's reaction.
"If you'd just listen Sasame-san, you'll find out," he countered. "Besides," Shin turned to look at Sai. "I thought after my incident, you said we'd have to give up on that idea!"
Sai nodded glumly and continued.
"I only said that Shin because I didn't want to get your hopes up. If, for whatever reason, I failed in my mission, which I came close to doing, Lord Danzo had threatened to replace me with another operative."
Shin's eyes widened in alarm.
"But, that would mean-!"
Sai nodded darkly.
"Yes," Sai replied quietly. "I would be killed to erase any connection the village could make between Lord Danzo and me..."
Shin lowered his head, while Sasame pulled at her hair in agitation.
"Why is Danzo doing this!?" She cried. "Doesn't he understand what he's doing to you guys!? You shouldn't have to go through this! No one should have to!"
Sai smiled sadly at Sasame.
"I'm glad that you share our sentiments, Sasame-san," he began. "But, this is happening. There's no changing it. So we have to try our best to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Shin's head shot up and he appraised Sai suspiciously.
"Sai," he whispered. "You can't mean..."
Sai said nothing in response, instead opting to continue explaining his plan to the two of them.
"Anyways: when I got the chance to leave headquarters and get away from Lord Danzo constantly monitoring me, I discovered that I had been given a golden opportunity. I made it a point to mess up during the course of my mission and get certain people suspicious of me. Most notably, Naruto-san's teacher: Anko Mitarashi, and his best friend: Sasuke Uchiha..."
Sasame narrowed her eyes at the boy.
"Why them?" She asked curiously. Sai glanced at her and replied:
"I needed the two people who were closest to Naruto-san and had his trust completely. By tipping them off that something was amiss concerning me, I knew that at least one of them would try and figure out what I was doing at the Academy, and why I was so interested in Naruto-san."
Sasame couldn't believe that a mere seven-year-old had managed to come up with such a detailed plan of action. It was extraordinary. Then again, Sasame had heard that Sasuke's older brother Itachi was similar to Sai in that respect at their age. Perhaps Sai was a prodigy too?
"It turned out that Mitarashi-san was the first person to take the bait, although I continued to egg Sasuke-san on in order to make him even more distrustful of me. I was hoping originally that Sasuke-san would go to Naruto-san with his doubts about me, and convince him that something was amiss..."
Sai sighed dejectedly before he continued.
"But Naruto-san is just too trusting for his own good. I found that out right before I had to knock him out to keep him from falling into Lord Danzo's trap. He trusts his friends completely; his loyalty to them is unlike anything I've ever seen before..."
Sasame was slowly beginning to piece together Sai's actions throughout their time together in the Academy, but she still didn't understand what his goal was.
"Why did you have to trick me then!?" She interjected angrily. "If you would've told me what was going on, I could've helped you and Shin! I definitely would've!"
Sai smiled at Sasame again, but shook his head.
"I couldn't tell anyone about my plan, not even Shin." Sai bowed his head in apology to his friend, who simply waved off the apology with a smile of understanding. Sai smiled at him gratefully, and then turned back to Sasame.
"And no offense Sasame-san," Sai continued. "But you're just a first-year Academy student. There wouldn't have been any way that you could've helped. To answer your question though, I had to follow Lord Danzo's orders to the letter to make sure he never suspected me of going behind his back. He was very specific when he ordered me to capture you ."
Sasame shook her head in confusion.
"But why me?" She muttered. "Why not Mikoto-san, or Sasuke-san?"
Shin shook his head again at her question.
"Once again, no offense Sasame-san," Sai replied. "But, Mikoto Uchiha is a fully trained jounin of the village, even though she's no longer on active duty. I'm not nearly strong enough to subdue her and then use her as a hostage. Not to mention, I doubt anyone, except perhaps Lord Danzo, would have the power to keep her imprisoned. She is truly powerful. As for Sasuke-san, he's an Uchiha. In fact, he's the brother of the current clan head! If I were to take Sasuke-san, the whole Uchiha clan would come after Lord Danzo. And knowing their reputation, they would've snuffed us out quite easily. That's why Lord Danzo was so adamant about wiping the whole clan out when they planned a coup: he fears their power. I suppose in retrospect, they'd do the same thing if Mikoto-san was taken, but I have no doubt she would've freed herself before they even noticed she was missing..."
Sasame cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"You still haven't explained why it had to be me, though..."
Sai frowned as he looked down at his hands.
"It had to be you, Lord Danzo said, because you are an orphan and have no real bonds with anyone but Naruto-san. In fact, that was the biggest reason why. Next to Sasuke-san, Naruto-san views you as his closest friend; I'm sure of it. Because Lord Danzo could capture you, without fear of reprisal from anyone in the village, he ordered me to trick you into coming here. And for that I am truly sorry."
Sasame felt like someone had just stabbed her. The only reason she was taken was because she had no one who would care enough to notice that she was gone? Surely that wasn't true! What about Anko-chan, or the Hokage? They must've noticed something happened to her, right?
The more she thought about it though, the less hope she seemed to have. If no one had come for her yet, then: would they?
Sai's frown deepened when he noticed Sasame's forlorn expression. He got up from Shin's bed and walked over to her, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder.
"For what it's worth Sasame-san," Sai said kindly. "I care about you. I wanted to find another way; I really did. But Lord Danzo's orders were absolute. It made it easier that we both had something in common: I had to observe Naruto-san, and you wanted to find out more about him."
Sasame nodded sadly, and felt a few tears trickle down her cheeks. Sai sighed as he watched her, but continued to relay his story.
"As I said before," he said quietly. "I'm truly sorry I had to trick you like that, Sasame-san, but if my plan succeeds, hopefully we can all get out of here alive."
Sasame looked up at Sai with bloodshot eyes.
"What do you mean 'hopefully'?" She asked bewilderingly.
Sai sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.
"Honestly, I was hoping that the Hokage would have moved on Lord Danzo by now. I was really counting on Mitarashi-san to tip him off about me and how I was shadowing Naruto-san, but since no one was able to oust me while I was still in the Academy I'm beginning to think that he doesn't know about my mission, nor your kidnapping yet."
Sasame sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands.
"B-but, what about N-Naruto-san? He knows!" She reasoned. "Surely, he'll tell someone!"
Sai frowned as he crossed his arms.
"I hope you're right, Sasame-san," Sai said nervously. "But, knowing Naruto-san, I fear he'll simply charge in here to rescue you without thinking it through properly. As loyal as he his, he's pretty stupid."
Sasame scowled at Sai, who simply shrugged. Then, her face softened. Sai was right: Naruto could be pretty clueless sometimes.
"Okay, say the Hokage comes," Shin interjected, causing Sai and Sasame to look at him. "And they raid the base. How do you plan to get all of us out? Especially me: I know for a fact you can't carry me out, and I'm not able to walk on my own."
Sai's face tightened after Shin's statement.
"I-I'll think of way, Shin," he said determinedly. "I'm not going to leave you here!"
Shin raised his hands in a placating gesture.
"I never said you would, Sai!" Shin countered. "But, I'm just stating a fact!"
Sai breathed out a sigh of irritation and then strode towards the door. He poked his head out cautiously and scanned the surrounding area. After a few seconds, he turned around and came back to where Shin and Sasame were.
"Listen," Sai said urgently. "I don't have much time before Lord Danzo starts to get suspicious."
Sai turned his gaze on Sasame, making her straighten somewhat.
"Sasame," he said solemnly. "I need you to try and get Shin out of here. If you go down the hallway just left of this room, there's another long hallway that will eventually let out in the central area of the base. There's normally guards there, but I'm going to convince them that I need their help to round up Naruto-san outside. That should give you a chance to reach the surface with Shin."
Sasame glanced at Shin, and then Sai, before she lowered her head dejectedly.
"Sai-san," she said morosely. "I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to carry Shin-san out of here..."
Shin nodded his agreement with Sasame's statement.
"Yeah, Sai," Shin added. "Plus, even if Sasame-san could carry me, I'd only slow us down..."
Sai clenched his fists and began to frantically scan the room, looking for anything that could possibly help. His eyes widened when he scanned the corner closest to Shin's bed on the right side, and he smiled.
"That will work!" He exclaimed as he made his way over to the corner.
Sasame and Shin watched as Sai pulled out what looked like a folded up bicycle and placed it on the ground. He pulled on the wheel, and the whole thing stretched out until it became...
"A wheelchair!" Sasame exclaimed in delight. "That's perfect, Sai-san!"
Sai smiled at her, and then turned to Shin.
"Shin, I know that your injuries will probably make travel incredibly difficult for you, but I need you to hang in there! Once this whole thing is over, we can get you proper medical attention. Also, you know the base as well as I do. Help Sasame reach the surface."
Shin smiled and gave Sai a nod.
" I can do that! If it means being free of this place, I don't care how much pain I'll be in on the way!"
Sai frowned at his statement, but nodded nonetheless before turning back to Sasame.
"Sasame," he continued. "I'll try and lead my squad away from Naruto-san, but if you happen to run into anyone from Konoha, make sure you tell them how to get into the base. I have no doubt the ANBU are searching right now for any trace of me, and I plan to run right into them if I can."
Sasame's eyes widened.
"But Sai!" She exclaimed in horror. "They'll consider you a traitor to Konoha, and you can't be interrogated! If they try that then...!"
Sai nodded gravely but shook his head.
"I'm not going to let myself get captured, don't worry," He said reassuringly with a smirk. "Getting you and Shin out is only the second-to-last part of my plan. I have to make sure I carry out the final phase, or else your escape means nothing."
Sasame narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the boy.
"What is the last part of your plan, then?" She inquired.
Sai began to answer when there was a distant sound of footsteps coming from a ways down the hall. Sai tensed and then ran over to Shin.
"Sasame-san, we're out of time!" He exclaimed. "Help me move Shin, now!"
Sasame hesitated only for a moment, before she ran over to Shin's other side and helped move the boy's blankets from his body so they could lift him into the wheelchair.
When Sasame saw what Shin's lower body looked like under the sheets, she nearly gagged in revulsion.
The boy had cuts and gashes all along his legs that looked like they were hastily bandaged, and hadn't been changed in ages. His left foot was so discolored from the rest of his body that Sasame was certain that the boy couldn't even feel it anymore. His entire right leg seemed to be bent at an awkward angle, signifying that it was broken. Sasame's heart sank when she realized that was only the extent of the boy's external injuries. She didn't even want to think about what trauma he had sustained internally.
With a great heave of effort, and a cry of pain from Shin, Sai and Sasame were able to move the boy into the wheelchair. Sasame had to do everything in her power to keep herself from bursting into tears when she watched as Shin's face contorted in pain, and his breaths came in quick shallow gulps.
Sai clenched his fists angrily as he examined the full extent of what was done to his friend, until all of them were able to hear the sound of footsteps coming closer. He turned to Sasame, who was now holding on to the handles of Shin's wheelchair and bellowed:
"GO, NOW!"
Sasame didn't need to be told twice. As quickly as she could, she pushed Shin out of the doorway and down the hallway Sai had indicated, leaving Sai alone to deal with whatever, or whoever was going to arrive to discover that Lord Danzo's prisoner and his 'example of a poor Root shinobi' were gone.
Naruto awoke several minutes later, no doubt because of his regenerative abilities Kurama gave him (even though Naruto was not aware of them yet). He rubbed his neck where Sai had chopped him, and in doing so, the memories of what had recently transpired between the pale-skinned boy and himself came rushing back to him.
He grit his teeth in a mixture of sorrow and anger. He had thought that Sai was his friend! How could he have been so naive? Naruto lowered his gaze at the ground when he thought about it. He had never felt so betrayed in his life! He simply couldn't believe that Sai had been lying to him the whole time and he never knew.
'Did you know about Sai, Kurama?' Naruto mentally asked his tenant.
The great fox was silent for several moments before he replied:
"Did I know that he was a danger to you? No." Kurama replied gruffly. "However, I did get the impression that he was hiding something from you, and that his true intentions were clouded. The pale meat-sack is very good at concealing his emotions, so I wasn't able to be sure..."
Naruto sighed as he got shakily to his feet. He would have to think about Sai's deception later. Right now, he needed to rescue Sasame.
He glanced around at his surroundings and was baffled when he didn't recognize where he was. He knew he was still in the forest, but that didn't help him. He needed to find his way back to the giant tree that concealed the entrance to Danzo's base! He growled in irritation as he began walking through the dark woods, trying to at least find something that looked familiar to guide him.
"Dammit, where the hell am I!?" Naruto hissed as he pushed his way through a particularly knotted bush. He quickly stopped however, when he heard a familiar voice.
"Follow me," came the voice of Sai.
Naruto quickly ducked and cautiously peered over the top of the foliage to see Sai, standing with a group of five white-masked shinobi. Naruto was briefly reminded of his shadow and had to resist the urge to shudder. He focused back on Sai again to hear what the boy was saying.
"Uzumaki is in this direction, that's where I put his body after knocking him out," Sai explained to the group. "We should retrieve him before the ANBU do, otherwise Lord Danzo's plans are forfeit."
The group nodded collectively and sprinted after Sai, who led them in the opposite direction of Naruto, who watched on, mouth agape.
He slowly glanced back in the direction he had just come from, and scratched his head. Was Sai confused?
'Why did he lie?' Naruto thought. 'If he's the one who dumped my body back there, then shouldn't he know exactly where to find me?'
Kurama huffed.
"Perhaps the pale meat-sack is trying to help you?" The fox suggested.
Naruto scowled.
'Then why did he knock me out in the first place!?'
"I don't know brat!" Kurama barked in reply. "If I had to guess, I think that those other shinobi with him are looking for you. Maybe he's leading them away so you can get back to the base without getting caught?"
Naruto crossed his arms in thought. If that was the case, then why didn't Sai just tell him what was going on? He couldn't decide if Sai was his enemy or his friend now, and the mental conflict was driving him insane!
Seeing nothing else for it, Naruto slowly and quietly pulled himself out of the bush, and stepped into the clearing the masked shinobi and Sai had been standing in only moments ago.
"Now, which direction do I go in now..." Naruto muttered as he scanned the surrounding forest. To his left, he could barely make out a large shadow in the distance, that was in fact, the giant tree. He grinned in triumph.
'Bingo!'
Anko made her way through the dark forest as quickly as she could. She was now joined by a squad of ANBU she had met just on the inside perimeter of the forest that had tried to stop her when she entered. After explaining that she was on a mission to find Naruto from the Hokage himself, the ANBU in charge of the squad had decided to assist her, since their missions were both in the same place.
Anko was grateful for the back-up. She had no doubt that if she was looking for Naruto, Danzo would have his operatives searching for the boy as well. It would not do to run into a squad of Root operatives by herself, but with the ANBU squad as her back-up, she needn't worry so much.
The group continued to travel in silence until Anko heard a female ANBU who was behind her in their formation speak up.
"I can sense a squad of at least six coming this direction, taicho (Captain). They're not one of ours. Orders?"
The ANBU in charge, Tora (Tiger) turned to look at her.
"We only engage, if they do," he answered. "Otherwise, we steer clear of them, and complete our mission."
Anko clicked her tongue impatiently at Tora's order.
"You do realize that it's most likely Danzo's troops heading right for us?" She asked the ANBU. "And if it is, then we both would gain from taking them out. It will make both of our objectives easier if we don't have to worry about them reporting back to Danzo!"
Tora was silent for a moment before he crossed his arms and replied:
"You said 'it's most likely' their Danzo's. Unless you're positive that they are..."
Anko smacked her forehead in annoyance.
"Who the hell else could they be!?" She roared, causing Tora to falter somewhat. "If their not ANBU, who else stands to gain from trying to find Naruto except Danzo!?"
Tora shifted uncomfortably on his feet before he sighed and raised a hand, signaling his squad to fall into a battle-ready formation.
"We have the element of surprise if they don't have a sensor among them," Tora informed Anko and his squad. "When I give the signal, launch your strongest jutsu. I want this done quickly and efficiently people! Understood?"
There was a quick chorus of 'Yes Sir!' before the ANBU fell into ready stances. Anko narrowed her eyes at the forest before them and whoever was approaching. Boy, weren't they in for a surprise.
She smiled with sadistic glee. If she couldn't personally kick Danzo's in the pants, then she'd settle for the next best thing!
Sai smirked as he sensed a squad of ANBU dead ahead. He was glad he had the foresight to not include any other sensors in his squad when he gathered them at the barracks. That would make this easier. He felt bad that the other Root shinobi would most likely lose their lives in the ensuing combat, but they had made their choice. Every single member of his squad was completely loyal to Danzo and would die for him and his cause.
'Well,' Sai thought grimly. 'It looks like their loyalty is about to be put to the test...'
It all happened so fast, that Sai barely had time to react. As he watched giant earth dragons erupt from the ground, giant fireballs come blazing towards them from seemingly out of thin air, and torrents of high-pressured water come flying at them, Sai had to admit that the ANBU really were the best of the best Konoha had to offer.
His comrades didn't even get a chance to react. Four of them perished in the ensuing jutsu that were thrown at them, and the last surviving one withdrew his tanto, and slit his own throat; knowing that the ANBU would simply capture and interrogate him. Sai knew that the suicide was not an act of cowardice: it was the Root shinobi choosing his own way to die. Sai had seen many people die, but the sight of the life leaving someone was still something that caused him no small amount of terror.
Turning back to the ANBU, he realized that they were now getting ready to attack him. Knowing that he would die if he tried to resist, he simply put his hands up and dropped to his knees on the tree branch he was perched upon.
Not a second later, an ANBU in a lion mask shunshined up to his location, grabbed him, and tossed him roughly to the forest floor, right in the midst of the rest of the ANBU squad.
Sai rubbed his scratched arms and legs and peered around the circle at the ANBU squad, until he recognized one familiar face. He smiled when he made eye contact with them.
"Why hello, Mitarashi-san," he said genially. "How are yo-"
He was abruptly cut off when the woman grasped him by the neck and slammed him into a nearby tree trunk.
Anko was beyond pissed.
In her hand, pinned to a tree, was the sneaky little bastard that had been following her student around ever since he first arrived at the Academy, no doubt on Danzo's orders. The fact that before she pinned him to the tree, the boy had the gall to address her casually, like they were friends, only pissed her off further.
Summoning a snake from her other sleeve, she held the snake up to the pale-skinned boy's face, allowing it's jaws to open wide at him, showing off it's pointed fangs.
To the boy's credit, he didn't show any signs of fear. Anko could respect that normally, but in this instance, it only added to her pissed-off meter.
"WHERE IS NARUTO!?" She bellowed in the boy's face. "DID YOU ALREADY GIVE HIM UP TO YOUR MASTER!? CAUSE' IF YOU DID, I SWEAR TO KAMI: YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
Sai struggled to speak, but Anko's grip on his windpipe prevented it. Hesitantly, Anko dropped the boy to the ground, where he began to cough violently, but she also continued to level her snake summon so it was even with the boy's face.
"And don't you dare lie to me, kid." Anko hissed in a dangerous tone.
Sai nodded and was surprised when he felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek. Perhaps he had miscalculated when he chose to reveal himself to Anko back then. The woman was exceptionally terrifying!
"Naruto-san i-isn't c-captured..." Sai choked out. "H-he's still in the forest..."
Anko narrowed her eyes at the boy's response.
"And I should believe you, why?" She snarled. "What proof do you have?"
Sai explained his encounter with Naruto earlier, but withheld his plans concerning Lord Danzo from the group. His reasons were two-fold: One, it would ruin everything if they found out what his plans were, and two: he didn't really feel like having the seal suffocate him if they tried to coax information about Danzo out of him.
When the boy finished, Anko continued to glare at the boy coldly for several moments, before she dismissed her snake summon.
"Anko-san, what are you doing?!" Cried Tora, who stepped forward. Anko rounded on him.
"This brat knows where Naruto is," she snapped back in reply. "He's going to lead me to him. Your assistance was appreciated, but this is were our missions diverge."
Tora shook his head and pointed at Sai, who was rubbing his neck where Anko had grabbed him.
"Actually, you're wrong Anko-san," Tora replied. "Our exact mission parameters were to detain this boy and find the girl he had kidnapped."
Sai knew that they meant Sasame, and was a little irritated that they thought she didn't come with him of her own free-will, but he remained silent.
Anko growled in annoyance.
"Then you can go back to the Hokage and tell him you found the boy," Anko said irritably. "BUT: the brat stays with me. I need him to complete my own mission. You can tell the Hokage that; he'll understand."
Tora seemed to hesitate at Anko's statement, but after several moments he nodded slowly in understanding. He turned to his squad and signaled with a hand-sign to disperse. The whole squad vanished in the direction of the village, leaving only Tora behind. He then turned to Anko and crossed his arms.
"I hope you know what you're doing Anko-san," he warned. "I really don't feel comfortable with you traveling with a traitor..."
Anko chuckled at Tora's warning.
"Who do you think you're talking to?" She snickered. "I'm Anko Mitarashi, the Snake Mistress! I'm the student of the biggest traitor in Konoha! I know how to deal with their kind!"
Tora chuckled and nodded.
"I suppose that's true, Anko-san," he replied. "Just be careful."
Anko nodded and Tora vanished as well, no doubt following after his troops.
When Tora had vanished, Anko turned her gaze back on Sai, who was regarding her as if he wanted to ask something.
"WHAT, BRAT!?" She snarled venomously. "I didn't dismiss the ANBU to help you out, you know! I'm more than capable of ending your life by myself if you give me a reason to!"
Sai frowned at her words, but nodded in understanding.
"I understand, Mitarashi-san," he replied. "but the truth is..."
Anko narrowed her eyes at the boy, and was surprised when she saw a multitude of things flicker through the boy's dark eyes. Desperation, hope, sadness, and determination.
Sai took a deep breath and looked down briefly, before he fixed his gaze on Anko again and said:
"I need your help."
AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! What does Sai need ANko's help for? Will Sasame and Shin make it out in time? Will Naruto be stopped before he heads into the base? Will Danzo ever stop being a pain in the ass?! Who knows: (well, I do) You'll have to find out next time! Afroman007, signing out!