In the time since Killer B's rampage, desertion, and now destructive aftermath of the whole ordeal, the Akatsuki had been able to capture the sanbi and yonbi.
Everything had been moving rapidly across all nations. It was now more apparent than ever that war was inevitable and that anyone could be caught in the crossfires of an attack at any moment.
In just a week, Konoha had put itself on lockdown in order to amp up its military defenses, tactics, and discussing the best action plans for civilians in the case that war touched down on them.
The village had never been more frenzied. Well...not since the Kyuubi attack, but still, the air was different. Mikoto could feel it sinking deep within her bones.
The dissemination of the Uchiha police force had been wrapped up weeks ago. However, that didn't mean that there hadn't been dissent amongst the villagers. Mikoto couldn't rack it through her mind. The police force was given to the Uchiha clan as a pitiful consolation prize. A way to still feel connected to the rest of the village as they were pushed further and further back into its recesses. The Uchihas had finally come to the realization what a slap in the face the force had been, but that didn't stop rumors from circulating about them.
Mikoto had a bad feeling about the decision from the beginning. Fugaku had dropped it out of nowhere and everyone had to scramble to get things done to his wishes because he was the clan head. She could rip her hair just thinking about it.
The villagers whispered that the disbandment was convenient. That there was no coincidence as the war drew closer and closer to home, the police force would close, petty crime had went up, and the captured bijuus were a great opportunity for the scorned to reclaim their self-appointed throne.
Mikoto had heard much bullshit in her life regarding the mystery of the Uchihas and their wickedness, but she'd never heard something so half-baked. What a way to pull something out of your ass! Even if the Uchihas could control the bijuus (only the Senju has been confirmed to be able to be mastered by them), it would conversely hurt them too.
Controlling a tailed beast in any capacity was a great risk to everyone involved. Half the clan would be wiped before anyone could do it and not many in the Uchiha clan possessed that kind of power anyway. Only Fugaku could at this point and she'd never seen her husband attempt it at all.
Mikoto massaged her temples in irritation. She really would end up killing Fugaku one of these days.
She stopped her musings when the bell rang. Mikoto sluggishly rose from her seat. She hoped it wasn't more bad news to ruin her day.
Unfortunately, she'd opened the door to a tear-stricken Kushina. The woman looked so pitiful - red, puffy eyes, tear streaks, ratty hair, and a sullen face. Mikoto quickly ushered the woman in. She uncorked a bottle of wine and filled two glasses before meeting Kushina at her dining room table. Today was proving to be a long one.
"Y'know they got Naruto there...all locked up," Kushina spoke softly as she accepted Mikoto's offered wine. "Like a fucking animal. I had to pry that teensy bit of information out of the higher ups. About my own damn child!"
Mikoto nodded along. Kushina had always been a hothead and she was sure that her prying information out of someone included verbal attacks and physical violence.
"Minato thinks it's better if he's the one to talk to officials about stuff like this. But I think it should be me. He's just so easy to walk over in situations like this. I just want to kick everyone's asses -cha!" the redhead exclaimed as she slammed a fist into the table.
Mikoto - privy to all her friend's outbursts - had already reached for her cup before it could possibly spill.
"Sorry, I'm just so mad! AAAHH! Why can't everyone just listen to me, ugh?!" Kushina complained.
"I'm used to it by now, Kushina," Mikoto giggled. "Besides, I can relate to having a worrisome husband. He always makes these crazy decisions and just expects everyone to adapt at his will."
"Ah. You guys are finally done with the disbandment, right?"
"Yes and it's been the most trying of times. Now on top of whatever bullshit vitriol the villagers have for us, I can't even be alerted of what's come of my son in the midst of all this chaos. You know that little bastard has sent me approximately 2 letters in the whole time he's been gone?!"
Kushina couldn't hold back her laughter at her friend's unusual, unreserved manner. "That sounds like Sasuke," she said in between giggles. "But I guess we shouldn't worry so much. Sakura-chan is there with them. I'm sure she'll take care of both of them."
"Sakura-chan? Who's that?" Mikoto questioned, completely oblivious.
"You don't know Sakura-chan" Kushina asked incredulously. Mikoto shook her head sheepishly. Was this someone she should've been aware of? If she could keep Sasuke in check, wouldn't Mikoto have heard of her before?
"Sakura-chan was the little girl on Sasuke and Naruto's team. A real sweet girl from what I remember. She would always reject my offers to come over for dinner."
A lightbulb seemed to go off in Mikoto's head. She scooted her chair closer to her friend as if they were discussing something secret.
"The pink-haired girl from the photo. Sasuke's never told me much about her. I only just saw his team's picture when I cleaned his room a few months ago."
"I'm sure you've had to hear about her before," Kushina explained. "She's Tsunade's apprentice. A really good one from what I hear because she caused quite an uproar when she was able to reproduce the wood user technique without being a Senju."
"I did hear inklings about that. I thought it was all just speculation."
"No, it's real!" Kushina exclaimed loudly.
Mikoto could already see the beginnings of her drunken stupor. Every time they drank, Mikoto forgot how much of a lightweight her friend was.
"They had her on trial and everything to prove it. Naruto's always telling me about that girl. I would think you'd heard about her considering Sasuke's mission is to guard her because the annoying ass council doesn't trust her."
That raised Mikoto's suspicion. She lifted a brow as she took another swig from her cup of wine. She chuckled as she thoroughly swished the wine around her mouth, thoroughly tasting every drop.
"Oh, really," she commented menacingly. "I can't wait for Sasuke's return."
…..
Things had been going as expected of a ninja convicted of heinous crimes locked up in his home village. Slow and boring. Especially after his star pupil had left him.
Orochimaru had busied himself with experiment upon experiment in Sasuke's absence. He could manipulate the Curse Mark in dozens of ways now, but what point was there if he didn't even have a live experiment to test all his theories.
Sarutobi had been very adamant about keeping him in the village when he was finally captured. Orochimaru found that he didn't have much fight in him left when he was dragged back. Not to mention the irreparable damage his former sensei had done to his limbs to make sure he could never leave.
He'd had so many unrealized dreams and ambitions when they had dragged him back to this insufferable shithole. To add insult to injury, they even had him working human experiments for the benefit of the village. Any project of his own was closely monitored and always scrapped before it could come to fruition.
But then he met Kabuto.
A naive little boy who'd oddly looked up to him despite his status. Kabuto was as snakelike as the Sannin himself. Always weaseling his way through god knows what to make his way to meet him.
Orochimaru thought it had all been very cute and took him under his wing. But he'd only grown more depraved and sneaky as time went on.
Orochimaru couldn't pass much judgement though. He wasn't exactly the greatest example of moral upstanding and he'd probably done worse things, but there was a primal sadism that fueled Kabuto in a way that it had never been with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was evil and cruel, but with purpose. Kabuto hurt people, animals, and everything in between alike because he could. The snake Sannin - while a bit alarmed - found this aspect of him helpful down the line because no moral compass meant no hesitation in whatever mission was assigned.
Orochimaru might have been out of commission for a while, but that didn't mean his experiments had ceased. They worked like that for a while before Sasuke came into the picture.
Orochimaru had never been more delighted in his life. The boy - an Uchiha no less! - had come to him of his own volition asking to be trained. Who was he to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?
He accepted him without hesitation. This greatly bothered Kabuto who felt he'd groveled for years before Orochimaru truly took him on as an apprentice.
The Sannin did his best to ignore it at first. Kabuto was being a child and he would get over himself soon enough. But problems arose quickly. They were little things at first that could easily go unnoticed like hiding Sasuke's weapons, telling him incorrect training times, or just flat out being hostile towards him. Eventually his actions became more emboldened.
Orochimaru knew what he was dealing with as soon as Sasuke showed up at his doorstep. An angry little boy thirsty for the power he felt he'd been denied. Itachi was the golden child, always spoken of so highly at a young age. Sasuke was the red-headed step child who constantly dealt with the comparisons and being ignored everyday.
Kids like him were a dime a dozen. Their thirst for power was insatiable and most times that drive would be their demise.
The day Orochimaru caught Kabuto and Sasuke in a room alone, he knew he'd be bracing himself for the inevitable. From Orochimaru's experiments on the Curse Mark, Kabuto had been secretly creating a monstrous creature of his own - for purposes the Sannin still doesn't know.
Orochimaru had never gotten the full story, but he entered to find Sasuke writhing on the floor in pain as he clawed at the Curse Mark near his neck. The Sannin was quick to act, picking up the boy and transporting him to one of the many medical services made available to him through the council. If word got out about anything happening to an Uchiha, much less one from the head family, he'd really be executed.
It took long, painstaking hours to stabilize Sasuke. He'd passed out from the pain about an hour into it, but he still jerked and writhed in his slumber. When the worst of it was over, Orochimaru chewed Kabuto out like no tomorrow. He couldn't remember swearing the way he did that day ever in his life.
Kabuto was upset and tried to explain, but Orochimaru was too upset. He'd kicked him out of the room and said he never wanted to see his face again. A month passed before he eventually came back, but Orochimaru never forgot the look on his face as he exited.
Something unsettlingly evil had shifted over his features. The Sannin remembered how chills ran through his body.
When Kabuto returned, things were never the same. He was less open, sneakier, more cryptic than ever. He started working on his own experiments more and more. Even now as he watched Kabuto smile to his face and bow to his every whim, he knew the man had another plan that the Sannin wasn't privy to.
Orochimaru shrugged it off, convinced himself that he'd long been done with the man's antics. Whatever hell was coming his way, he'd have to accept it. What fate could be worse for a shinobi than not being able to fight?
…..
"Don't waste your time hiding over there. If you have grievances to settle with me, do it like a man."
Danzou had just opened the door to his dark office. Always on the defense, he immediately noticed the hidden presence of a shinobi.
He mentally rolled his eyes. He hoped that this wasn't some crazed lunatic hoping to assassinate him. He'd hate to have to call in his ANBU guards for an impromptu execution after sending them home for the night.
A dark figure loomed near his office window completely hidden from light. Slowly, the figure came forward until all of its features came into view. Danzou sighed annoyedly at the ninja before him.
"If you and Orochimaru have yet to make any progress in your little experiments, then there is no need to be waiting in my office," the older man huffed.
Kabuto chuckled as he removed his cloaked hood. "Ah, you know I'm not one to bring bad news, Danzou-sama," Kabuto replied.
Danzou scowled. He hated the slight hiss he heard whenever he heard the man before him speak. He truly gave him the creeps.
"Orochimaru's made great progress with the Curse Mark. At any given moment, he can control Sasuke-kun from anywhere."
Danzou's brow lifted. "If that's true, why hasn't he taken full advantage of that yet?"
"He can't," Kabuto replied simply. "His arms are really bad - practically useless - from the Third's tinkering and...I think he has a soft spot for the boy."
"He's lost his touch," Danzou snidely remarked.
Kabuto grinned in his signature sinister manner. Danzou pushed his way past him to sit at his desk, his chair screeching across the floor as he pulled it out. Kabuto reached to flick the light on.
"I'm guessing you're telling me this for a reason," Danzou said matter-of-factly as he rummaged through his desk cabinets.
Kabuto moved closer and leaned against the desk. "Yes," he replied. "I am. I think it fits perfectly with the plan you already have in motion."
Danzou stopped his searching abruptly. He slowly turned his head to look up at the sinister man before him. Kabuto was wearing his shit eating grin as usual.
"What plan are you referring to?" Danzou asked in a level voice.
He silently stuffed his hand in one of his cabinet drawers, reaching for a red emergency button near the back of it. Kabuto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
"Just as you've been watching over Konoha's prestigious clans, talented shinobi, and important figureheads," he explained. "I've been watching you, Danzou-sama."
"Watching me do what?"
"Oh no need to be so coy. I've got piles of hard evidence that detail the years - even decades long - collaboration with terrorist organizations like the Akatsuki, enemy villages and their leaders, and other documents detailing your plans to ascend the throne to Hokage status by any means necessary."
Kabuto lazily shifted his head in the direction of Danzou's hidden arm. "And don't bother trying to call back up. I disabled that emergency button before you came in."
"What are you hoping to gain from all this, boy? You think the village is going to take the word of a wayward subordinate of Orochimaru over a council leader?!"
"Like I said," Kabuto snarked as he adjusted his glasses. "I have plenty of evidence of you collaborating with enemies against your fellow citizens. All you have to do is listen. I can easily give you all the tools to make sure you take your rightful place as Hokage."
Danzou - knowing when he was backed up against a wall - relaxed into his chair. He mulled over Kabuto's words, trying to find a loophole or a lie in any of them. He cursed himself for being so easily duped into a situation. Was he a rookie?
"I've collaborated with you in the past, Kabuto. If I intended to have you as part of this operation, I would've let you know."
"That's because you don't know what I know. Sasuke's eyes are strong. Orochimaru thinks they're comparable to Madara's if he ever unlocks his true potential. If we can control Sasuke, then we can control Itachi, then the Uchiha clan, and then the other clans. Who knows? We might even be able to put up a fight against Madara and overthrow him if things work out."
Danzou didn't say a word. Years put into the work of training Root shinobi made it easy to keep a stony gaze. Kabuto just laughed.
"Just think about it. Alright?"