The idea that you'd start to sleep well at night was quickly broken as you woke up in your bed after another nightmare. Not long after you heard knocking on the door.

"Come in!" you yelled.

With a short click in the lock, Sensei opened the door.

"Hi Sota, not sleeping well I see?" They asked.

"No," you mumbled back.

"Breakfast is starting soon, want to come back down?" They asked.

"I'm not sure," you replied.

"Good morning Sota, and whoever you are," you turned around and notice the Hokage standing in your doorway.

"Good morning Hokage-sama. I'll wait outside so you can talk with Sota in private," Sensei said.

"I'm here to talk to you. I thought I told Danzo to stay away from him, and yet my ANBU saw you taking him away in the middle of the night yesterday," Hiruzen said.

"Ah… I can see where we misunderstood each other, I'm not doing this on Danzo's orders. If you can keep this a secret from him, it would be nice. I saw how Danzo treated him and decided to befriend him to make things a bit easier for him."

"I do not care. I gave my orders loud and clear," Hiruzen said.

"Sota," do you want to tell him something?" Sensei asked. "About why he should let you?"

"I've finally been able to sleep down there. Everywhere else I just get nightmares. Please let me sleep down there," you asked.

Hiruzen just stood there without saying anything, just thinking.

"I will allow it. You can come back to get him when he's going to bed," he said.

"He's supposed to have his leg checked up today. Besides, if he's going to compete in the Chuunin exam he needs more training. I can help him so he's able to do more than just blow up his opponents. Unless you've someone else in mind?"

"I don't, but I'm sure he can ask his friends. Both Shisui and Itachi are both competent ninja," Hiruzen argued.

"Are we doing what's best for Sota or what you're the most comfortable with?" Sensei asked.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that you're trying to sabotage his training," Sensei said.

"I'm trying to what is best for him. I will let you supplement his training, but it will be on my terms. He is to be outside of Root for at least 12 hours each day. Uchiha Mikoto has expressed a desire for him to eat lunch with her and Itachi, so he'll join them every other day when it works for her. I also wish him to spend more time with Shisui so I will keep him in the village for a while. I suggest Sota joining him for food in the evenings when he's not visiting Itachi and Mikoto. I'll talk to them when I leave here. This will only last as long as Danzo is out of the village. This is my only offer."

"I've no objections, I didn't intend to keep him there all the time. So what do you say Sota, does this sound okay?"

"Yes. I just hope I'm not too much of a bother for them," you said.

"Don't worry about that, Shisui will do what I tell him to do without complaints. I'll tell him to come and get you later for an evening meal. Make sure he's back in time, Root," Hiruzen said.

"I will, thank you Hokage-sama. Now, let's go Sota."

-x-

"It looks fine," the Root medic said as they were looking at your foot. "Your heel is back, so now you need to just wait for the rest of the foot to grow out, it shouldn't take more than a week or two I think now."

"Finally," you replied.

"You no longer need a prosthetic, it will just be in the way. Some tall boots will give you the support you need. I've got a pair for you. Make sure to fasten the straps properly," they said and put on your new footwear.

You got up to try them out and it was a bit weird at first, but you would get used to it.

"Thanks."

"Unless you get some issues, you don't need to show up here anymore," they said.

"Come with me Sota, there is something I want to show you," Sensei said.

You nodded and followed them through the hallways before stopping by one of the doors.

"Let me lift you up so you can see properly," they said and grabbed you.

Through the window in the door, you saw a grey-haired boy hooked up to some medical machinery.

"Is that…"

"Yes, Shin was what you called him right? Danzo got suspicious about how you knew him and his partner, so he ordered me to spy on them, too see if they have had any contact with you. We found nothing, but I did learn that Shin was hiding that he had breathing issues. He seemed to be afraid to tell anyone as he feared being cast aside for being weak."

"And?" You asked.

"The medics found a tumour in his lungs, but they managed to remove it successfully and he's recovering. I've to thank you, without you making Danzo suspicious, I don't think we would have found it before it was too late. You might not think that Danzo cares about people, I kind of doubt he does. But him caring about his assets and him caring about people around him produces the same result.," he said and put you down on the ground.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To help you make an informed decision, and tempt you away from breaking these kids free."

"Why don't they get the choice about what they want, why is that reserved for me?" You asked.

"What do you think they'd choose if given the choice, go into the unknown, or stick with what's now their family? The only reason to give you a choice is that there are arguments for both sides."

"I mean, why didn't Danzo just put me in Root after he kidnapped me from Kumo?" You asked.

"I don't know, if he didn't it was probably because he wasn't allowed. Why does this matter?"

"Because no matter how nice you can present this place, you're still forcing them into a harsh life."

"How is this any different from how things are with you? Did you think you had any choice about attending the academy? Do you think the clan kids in your class had any choice? The village might be bigger than the tunnels here, but you're still not allowed to leave it without permission. And by the time any of your classmates has finished the academy, the village has ensured that no competent student would pick any other life than what of a ninja. And tell me Sota, do you think these kids live a harsher life than most other orphans?"

"I don't know," you said.

"You're a smart and competent kid Sota, but you don't know everything. I think I should take you back outside now."

"All right Sensei," you said and let them put on your blindfold.

-x-

Back home it was time bringing back an old friend. A few hand-seals later and your clone appeared.

"Hi," you greeted them.

Without warning, they punched you in the face.

"You are a complete idiot! How can you think about joining him?" He said.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," the said and embraced you in a hug. "You are stupid, but I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay," you said. "But I'm not stupid. Joining Root is the best choice here, I spent time there, it didn't seem that bad."

"You are an idiot," your clone said and took a step back. "Don't you see that Danzo wanted you to see all this? Your so-called Sensei is working for Danzo. I didn't' realize it at first, but now it is clear, it is all a trick. They're pretending to be your friend, just like Itachi pretended at first."

"No, you're wrong. They arrived to help me every time Danzo hurt me. If Danzo wanted to hurt me, why would he send someone after him to build me back up again?" You asked.

"No, that's why Sensei is sus, they knew when to comfort you because Danzo told them so. He wanted to push you further but didn't want to break you. And having Sensei help, meant that he could easier lure you into Root. Exactly what's going on now. And you're falling for it, almost giving in."

"No, you're wrong. Danzo couldn't have known that I'd be hiding scared under my bed," you argued.

"It was brewing up to a storm before he left," your stupid clone said.

"I would rather think that they're my friend and that they remembered, rather than having Danzo be the only one who would care to check up me."

"The only reason Danzo would think about it would be to manipulate you, he does not care, nothing he does he does because he cares about you," Your clone said before he stopped up to think for a moment. "Maybe Sensei really is our friend. They seemed real, if it was all a show, he might be less strict with the other kids. He reminds me a bit of Itachi, just not knowing better, so he does weird things because that what he thinks is normal. You win, I guess."

"Thanks, for the support. I hate Danzo," you said.

"We should kill him."

"I know," you said.

"No, we should really kill him. Make a plan, put everything together and execute both the plan and him."

"I don't know how," you said.

"We'll blow him up," your clone suggested, raising his hand in the air for emphasis.

"We cannot just blow him up, he'll dodge and see it coming, run away or do whatever other tricks he can come up with. No, we need to trap him," you said.

"Give me something to write with so we can write this down."

"We're not writing down our plans to kill someone," you said.

"No, we're writing down what we need to learn. We can pretend it is to prepare us for the exam. And figuring out how to trap him can be explained by us wanting to keep him out," he said.

"We also need to attack him for a long time, he might have gotten his Sharingan implanted in his arm already. So we need to keep going till all his charges have run out."

"So we're just going to throw explosives at him for several minutes?" Your clone asked.

"No, we don't have enough kunai for that. I reckon we need to attack him for ten minutes, and if we hit him with one every second, that requires 600 kunai, and we don't have access to that much," you said.

"So, we just collect tons of rocks and glue our explosives on them and throw that at Danzo?" Your clone suggested.

"Hmm… that is actually a very good idea."

"Thanks, you owe me a dango for that," he said.

"I thought we were in this together?"

"Don't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same if you were in my position?" He asked.

"You're right, I'll buy some for us after I've eaten with Shisui," you said. "Do you want to check that it works and collect rocks if it works?"

"Yup, but you better pay me in dango," he said.

That clone of yours, he's more you than you.

"Deal, we should have plenty of money to spend."

-x-

"So anything new happened since the Hokage is worried about you?" Shisui asked as he put the food on the table.

"He's worried I'll want to join Root," you answered.

"You don't really consider it do you?" He asked and put some rice and salmon on your plate.

"I did, but I talked to someone who made me change my mind, so now I've other plans in mind," you said and took a bit of the food. It was good.

"I'm glad to hear that, whoever you're talking to, you should listen to them more."

"Maybe," you said. As Sasuke, Shisui's cat, jumped up on the table.

"Can I give him some?" You asked.

"Go ahead," he said. "Just remember to eat some yourself."

"Of course," you said and grabbed a piece of salmon and let Sasuke eat from your fingers. "I'm glad at least one Sasuke likes me."

"If you think Sasuke will ever eat salmon from your fingers like that, you'll be disappointed. I don't think even Itachi would get away with that."

"I didn't mean that. I just wish he wouldn't be so hostile towards me."

"Be patient and don't try to worry too much about that. Do you want to talk about what happened on your mission?" He asked.

"What is there to talk about?" You asked.

"Your first kill can be hard, especially for kids your age."

"He wasn't my first," you said.

Shisui just looked at you, waiting for clarification.

"Danzo made me kill Crow."

Shisui got up from his chair. "He was an asshole, but he didn't deserve to die."

"That was what I told Danzo," you said.

"It's okay," he said and hugged you.

"I'm fine. I've found a way to deal with my sleeping issues too now."

"You're not fine, you might not see it right now, but it does affect you," he said.

"Thanks, but I'm fine. Do you think you can help me train for the Chuunin exam? I want to get better at the body-flicker. My foot has almost healed now, so it should go much easier."

"Sure I'll help you. But are you sure you don't want to wait a bit? Maybe take it in a year when your life is less stressful?"

"I want to do it now I think, I don't see why I should wait. I might not have a team after this exam. The Hokage is disbanding the team after the exam."

"Oh, maybe you will have much better luck with your next team. If you stay a genin, you'll put on a team with other genin, so sure you don't want to skip this?"

"Who says I'll actually get promoted? But you have a point, I'll think about it. But mind teaching me the body-flicker anyway?"

"I'll teach you Sota, don't worry," Shisui smiled at you.

-x-

It was a much less eventful evening down at Root than the day before. Your temporary roommate's partner was still not back so you slept in the bottom bunk bed again and managed to get a night of sleep without issue.

The next day you joined them in some taijutsu exercise before you headed out again for lunch.

-x-

"Nice to see you again," you heard Mikoto speak from the kitchen as you arrived together with Itachi. "Just sit down you two, the food is almost ready."

"Thanks," you said and almost before you could sit down, she came carrying in with the food. A plate of onigiri just like last time.

"So how are you Sota?" She asked.

"I'm fine, after everything that has happened I feel like nothing can take me down anymore."

"I'm glad to hear, but you should try to be more careful, your luck won't last forever."

"Thanks. Itachi, I'm going to be nominated for the next Chuunin-exam, do you think I should take it? Shisui was a bit unsure so I'd like a second opinion."

"I say go for it. It's not so hard that people make it out to be. I competed alone and got knocked out in the semi-finals. I could probably have taken it a few years earlier if I were allowed," he explained.

"Shisui was more thinking that if I waited I might be put on another genin team, which would be better for me."

"Don't worry about that, being a Chuunin doesn't prevent you from being put alongside genin. People respected me a lot more after I got promoted. When I was a genin, my teammates just saw me as that little kid no matter how well I performed. So I don't regret it at all"

"You have a point I guess," you said.

"Itachi, Sota is not you. Just because you managed this well doesn't mean he will. I hope you don't mind, but I've got a few words on my own here. It's the Hokage that wants you to compete right?" Mikoto asked.

"I think so."

"Have you thought about why he wants you to compete?"

"Not really."

"Think about it before you say yes. Talk to that sensei of yours," she said.

"I don't want to see him, I don't think he wants to see me either and he's kind of forbidden to see me."

"I'll say do it anyway. You won't be the youngest Chuunin, but from my knowledge, you'll be the youngest to compete in the exam and that should really worry you. I don't think that they don't have your best interests in mind. So I want you to promise me one thing, do not accept the offer before you get a proper explanation for why you should join. Ask them about what I, Shisui and Itachi have told you. If they refuse to answer, refuse to attend. Is that okay?"

"I'm not sure," you said.

Mikoto flashed her Sharingan. "Is that clear?"

"Yes," you mumbled.

"Mother, please don't scare him," Itachi said.

"If he cannot handle me, he has no place in the Chuunin-exam. Eat up and I'll bring in the dango."

"I know you mean well Mikoto, thanks," you said and took the last bite of your rice ball.

"Thanks for the trust Sota. I see that you're finished, I'll go and get the dessert," she said and left the table.

"Itachi, do you think you can teach me some fire Jutsu?" You asked.

"Sure, Sasuke has already learnt how to do it, so we don't have to worry about him getting too mad at us. But we should probably do it while he's at school."

"Thanks," you said and smiled at him.

-x-

You knocked on Raidou's door and waiting in anticipation.

"Oh, it's you. Come in," Raidou said as he opened the door.

You took off your shoes and entered his home and followed him to his couch.

"What do you want Sota?"

"Just some things I want to talk about, do you know where Genma lives and could you tell me his favourite food?"

"Yes, we're friends, but promise me to not cause him any problems will you?" He said.

"I will try, it's not like I'm trying to cause trouble."

"I guess I'll just have to take it. If I say something more, I'll just jinx it," he said and got up to look for something.

"I'm sorry."

"Here is his address," he said and handed you a piece of paper. "And he likes pumpkin soup, you'll find it near the other food stands."

"Thanks. I was also wondering about the Chuunin exam. I was talking to Itachi's mother, and she kind of advised me to drop out."

"May I ask why?" He asked.

"I might not be ready at the moment and the question about why the Hokage wanted me to compete was raised."

"You're good, so having you compete is a great way of advertising the village as a force to be reckoned. Personally, I want to see you compete so I can have Kabuto promoted before I leave the team."

"Can't you just find someone else to step in? I'm not sure if I want to graduate myself, I think the best choice is to stay a genin so I'll be put on a team with other genin.

"I don't think I can find anyone to take the exam with those two, they're not very attractive partners for anyone that wants to get promoted. But with you with them, you can at least motivate Kabuto to keep going."

"There is no guarantee we'll even get that far. Will Torune's father even allow him to be in the alone in the forest with me there?"

"No he won't and I won't let Kabuto be in the forest with you either. But the Hokage has found a workaround, if enough people fail in the first round, there will not be any need for a second round."

"Oh," you exclaimed. He really had that little faith in you.

"I'm going to protect my team as long as I've you three. And as of now, you've shown yourself to be the least trustworthy of you three."

"Why do you trust Kabuto and not me? You've not even looked into the possibility that he might be a spy. I'm telling you, that's why he keeps giving up. Wouldn't it at least comfort you to know he's innocent, why object to having him investigated?"

"I will not put him through that!" He yelled the last word at you.

He sighed and held rested his head on the table. "After Danzo's little stunt, my friends have been questioned about me. Asking about every single detail, if there is anything that can point to me being a traitor. If I've expressed any dislike towards the village, the Hokage or my job. If they've seen me lurking around at night where I shouldn't be. If I've been acted strange, nervous. And then I've been interrogated about every mission report I've written the last years. I will not put Kabuto through that just because of your made-up accusations towards him. Please please me alone. You're a bad luck charm that has given me nothing but misery."

You took one last look at him before heading outside. There was nothing you could do to make him change his mind at the moment.

You felt bad for him and if it wasn't for Danzo's stupid accusation, you might convince him to figure out the truth about your teammate.

-x-

"This better be the right address", you mumbled to yourself as you stood outside Genma's apartment. You took a deep breath and knocked on the door while trying to not drop the pumpkin soup.

"Oh hi Sota, is that for me," Genma said and pointed to the take-away you had brought with you.

You nodded.

"You've done your research I see, I love this. Come in," he said and patted your head.

"Thanks," you said and took off your shoes and walked inside.

"So anything I can help you with?" He asked as he unpacked his food.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could teach me some kind of barrier seal, so I can prevent someone from entering a place?"

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to teach you that," he said.

"I need it to protect myself from Danzo."

"But if I don't ask, I won't know if I'm not allowed," he said.

"I don't want to cause you trouble."

"Don't worry, if anyone is unhappy about it, they'll just give me a warning and tell me to ask next time."

"Thanks."

"Let me go get my stuff," he said.

A minute later he came back carrying a box.

"Take a look at these," he said and handed you a small stack of seals and went back to eating more.

Four identical ones with one last that were different.

"Can you guess how they're laid out?" He asked.

You nodded and put one in the middle of the table and the other four diagonally away from it, creating an X.

"Good," he said after another spoonful of soup. "This can be used to block people from entering in the direction it is placed, I'm sorry I don't have anything for you the other way. But you know how to make shadow clones right? Have them place it on the outside before bed and you should be good."

The plan was to trap Danzo inside with you, so it didn't matter that it only worked one side. You only need to stop him from escaping while you killed him.

"I'm glad to see your old happy face. Just let me finish the rest and I'll show you how it's made and used."

You nodded and watched him take the last spoonful of soup and set the cup away.

"Alright, I'm going to do one stroke at a time and you'll follow me, okay?"

"Yes," you replied and got a brush and something to draw on from your bag. "I'm ready."

"Good."

Over the next minutes, he showed you each stroke and when to apply chakra for each of the two seals.

"Good work Sota," he said and tousled your hair. "Just make another one of the side seals and we can test it out."

You got to work and soon after you'd another copy.

"Don't I need four?" You asked.

"You need an even number of seals placed opposite each other. If placed correctly, the more the better, but four strikes a good balance and is the easiest to place," he explained.

"Got it."

Genma got up and closed the door into the kitchen. "Put the centrepiece on the door and the two other on the wall."

You nodded and did as told.

"Now channel some chakra into the seals on the side. The more, the stronger, but for the sake of this exercise, just put a tiny bit into one of them and a lot more into the other."

You nodded and channelled the required chakra into the seals.

"And the last thing you need to do is to channel a bit of chakra into the seal on the door to activate it."

You touched it and give it a bit of charka as it glowed up, forming lines to the other seals before going dark again.

You looked at him.

"That's supposed to happen, don't worry. So let us try it out. Please open the door," he said.

You tried both pulling and pushing on the door, but it wouldn't budge. Would this work on the special doors down in root, or only normal doors?

"You've got an easier time getting through the wall than the door right now unless you remove the seals."

"But there is another catch isn't it?" You asked.

"Yes, you can easily get through the other way, and you can remove the seals. Let me show you," Genma said.

He pulled on the side you'd pushed a lot of chakra into. "This one is strong, it requires a lot of chakra if I want to pull it off.

"However," he said and moved onto the other side and ripped it off as if it is nothing. "It doesn't matter if not all of the sides are secure. And with one side removed, the door can be opened again. This is why you should use four seals, and remember that it is only as strong as the weakest side. You can also deactivate the seals by channelling enough chakra into the middle one. But this is much more chakra intensive and only viable if the other seals are weak."

"I got it, thanks. Though it will probably require a lot of Chakra to keep Danzo out."

"You're clever, you might figure something better out. I'm sorry I don't have anything more convenient for you."

"It's good, thanks. If I may ask, have Raidou ever talked about me?"

"He tells me that you're a good kid that makes terrible decisions, nothing more."

Was that even true?

"Something wrong Sota?" Genma asked.

"No. I think I should go now."

"Wait one moment," he said and went for his pocket. "Here."

You looked at the money he put in your hands. "What's this for?"

"For the food you brought me. I appreciate the gesture, but you shouldn't have to feel like you need to buy me anything to ask me for help. You don't build a strong village if we cannot help each other without expecting compensation."

"Thanks, I still want to do something in return for you."

"You did that by bringing me the soup, that's a favour enough even if you're not paying for it. Bye Sota and good luck."

-x-

On the way home, you brought with you a couple of sticks of dango to share with your clone. And hopefully, he'd made some progress today.

As you walked in, you saw a pile of rocks in the middle of the floor.

"Hi I'm back, did you figure out something?" You asked your clone and handed him one of your dango sticks.

"Yeah, the plan worked fine, let me show you," he said took a big bite of the dango.

"Not in here," you said.

"Of course not, let me just finish this and we can go out," he said and took another bite.

You smiled at him and began eating your dango.

When both of you were done, he made sure to put a few seals in his pocket and signalled to you to follow him out.

-x-

You arrived with him to an empty training ground.

"Ready?" He asked.

You nodded.

He took a seal and a moment later, a rock appeared and shoot forward about two-three meters before it blew up.

"Good work, I'm impressed," you said.

"Thanks, it was easier than I thought, mostly just things we've done before, just put together differently. You owe me dango for this."

Wasn't that the dango you had just given him? It didn't matter, you were hungry for more and you were stupid for thinking one was enough earlier.

"Alright, I'll buy us one more on the back home. Just go ahead of me, so people won't be too stranged out by seeing us together."

He nodded and ran ahead as you went to buy more dango.

"Here you go," you said and handed your clone his skewer.

"Thanks,"

"Now we just need to figure out to attack him."

"We throw the rocks at him right?" The clone asked.

You just looked at him.

"I was joking," he said and took another bite.

"You know those clay golems we considered?" You asked.

"Huh?" Your clone exclaimed. "Oh, those. Yeah, we put a lot of them around the room and have them all attack Danzo. Make some that can breathe fire too, remember Naruto suggesting it?"

"Oh yeah. Danzo might expect the explosions, but the added fire might throw him off. With the heat causing even more problem. There is just one problem…"

"What kind of problem?" Your clone asked.

"We need back down at our room in Root. It has thick walls that hopefully won't get destroyed or let Danzo escape by other means. I begin to think this is a stupid idea and we should quit," you said.

"No, we just have to believe in ourself, we cannot let Danzo continue to act as he does. Even if we've managed to stop the massacre, don't you think he'd be antagonistic towards the Uchiha in the future? What about the other kids in Root, should we just let him do what he wants?"

"No, we shouldn't. I just feel something will go wrong. And to get back our room underground, we kind of need to create an accident, and have Danzo argue it is for the best that we train underground. But will Danzo take the bait?"

"I don't see why not," he said.

"Alright, we'll continue working on it, but that doesn't mean I've decided to actually strike, we'll make a final decision when we're ready."

"Deal. Do you think I can try my hand on the golems?"

"Sure, why?"

"I don't want you to stop letting me out again, so if I continue to be useful, you have to let me out and I can make you buy me dango."

"Is dango all you think about?" You asked.

"Of course not," he said and took the last dango ball off your skewer and put it in his mouth.

"It's fine, while I focus on my other skills you can do that, but you better teach me the stuff afterwards right."

"Of course, just give me some money so I can buy supplies."

"Here," you said and gave him some ryo from your wallet. "Don't spend them all on dango, I want the receipts."

"You don't trust me?"

"I trust you to love dango as much as me. Tell me when you need to be resummoned so you can regain your chakra and we'll take down Danzo together."

-x-x-x-x-

AN: Thanks for reading, if you liked it, please leave a review.