Jiraiya didn't regret many things. But this? This he regretted.

It was a late meeting, just the four of them. A week or so before the incident (massacre), Jiraiya would say. He had been asleep when the hawk arrived, in the middle of a lovely dream where he was surrounded by gorgeous women, all doting on him and practically begging for his attention. He was lounging on a couch (or was it a bed? He couldn't remember), laughing at a joke one of them told, when he turned his head and came face to face with the most dazzling pair of obsidian eyes he'd ever seen. The woman they belonged to was breathtakingly beautiful — or, at least, Jiraiya thought she was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful in the dream. He couldn't quite make out her features, her face mostly a blur in his mind, but she was stunning, he was sure of it. So he leaned over and gave her his best smile.

"And what's your name?" he asked, entranced by the way her eyes glimmered in the candlelight.

Her lips curved up into a smile. She opened her mouth to speak, and Jiraiya could barely fathom what name could be worthy of this goddess; he thought it ought to start with a vowel, maybe an o or an a, something short and flouncy that would leap from his tongue and —

A terrible clicking noise emerged from her mouth.

He grinned. "That's a beautiful —" he stopped, felt the smile fall from his face. "What?"

She opened her mouth. The same ugly sound came out.

Jiraiya sat up, alarmed. The women started to disappear. "Wait —"

The dream fell away, and his eyes shot open.

It was dark, still the middle of the night, clearly. He stayed still, listening for the offending noise that had woken him up to repeat itself, but all was quiet.

The relief settled deep into his bones and the memory of those pretty ink-filled eyes flitted across his mind, urging him back towards sleep. His eyes drooped as he ventured back towards blissful unconsciousness, lulled by the peace and silence surrounding him —

Tap, tap, tap.

He opened his eyes and frowned.

No.

He listened, dazed, and the familiar tap tap tap drilled into his window again.

A groan escaped his lips as he turned into his pillow, willing the offending creature to leave. Maybe if he just ignored it —

Tap, tap, tap.

"Fucking hell." He threw off his covers and hefted himself to his feet, dragging his exhausted body to the window.

He felt his eye twitch when he came face to face with the messenger hawk. The beady-eyed fucker only stared back at him, expectant.

Jiraiya threw his head back and cursed.

• • •

Jiraiya hadn't been concerned. Not when he made his way to the Hokage tower at three thirty in the morning; not when he sat down beside Homura and Koharu at a small, shitty wooden table in a room he'd never been in before; and not when Danzo kept them all waiting for forty-three minutes before finally deciding to grace them with his presence. He was pissed off, sure. Absolutely. But concerned? Not at all.

But then Danzo sat down and pulled out three scrolls from a drawer, all sealed with the Uchiha insignia. And Jiraiya felt a pit beginning to form in his stomach.

Danzo was silent as he held out a scroll to each of them. Jiraiya grabbed his gingerly, raising an eyebrow at Danzo. The unspoken question was clear: what is this?

"These scrolls contain everything we know about the coup the Uchiha are planning," Danzo explained, tapping his cane on the ground. "The information goes back several years."

Jiraiya felt his nerves settle. He opened the scroll with a huff, starting to believe that Danzo had only called this meeting so early because he could. Jiraiya, after all, was directly involved in gathering any and all intel related to the Uchiha's planned coup. He knew everything within this scroll, could probably recite the entire thing in a matter of hours. But Danzo, of course, would never tolerate his complaints, so he dutifully gazed down at the writing, trying his best to conceal his boredom. Danzo likely saw something in the reports that he convinced himself was concerning, and Jiraiya would have to spend the night mollifying him and convincing him that, no, the Uchiha were not an immediate threat and were not going to —

He blinked down at the words. There were financial records, mission reports, surveillance notes, all things one would expect to be found within a scroll like this. The only problem was that Jiraiya had only been involved in procuring a small portion of this information. The rest? He had no idea how Danzo got his hands on.

He looked up at Danzo, alarmed.

Danzo ignored him, shooing his concern away with a flick of his wrist. Jiraiya peered over at Homura and Koharu, tried to gauge whether they were at all worried about the direction this meeting appeared to be heading in. But both were infuriatingly stoic, silently poring through the information given to them.

Jiraiya looked back at his own scroll, the weight of its contents feeling like a bomb in his hand now. Bile burned in his chest. This was bad. Really, really bad.

They sat in silence for a time, the advisors reading, Jiraiya trying to stop himself from being sick, and Danzo watching them all, taking in every little movement they made. Jiraiya tried to focus on breathing, tried to stop from feeling as if the walls were closing in around him. Danzo hadn't needed Jiraiya at all. Jiraiya knew that the man had his own undercover intelligence network, but he apparently hadn't appreciated how effective it truly was. He idly began to wonder why Danzo even kept him around if he was capable of gathering this by himself, wondering why he bothered —

"Jiraiya did a fine job of collecting this information, wouldn't you agree?" Danzo's voice vibrated through his bones, paralyzing him. He raised his eyes up towards the man and could hardly repress the shudder that went through his spine when he saw the empty smile occupying his face.

So that was the plan, then — Jiraiya was a figurehead, the person Danzo would use to obscure his own networks. He grit his teeth against the revelation. The bile churned.

"The information is impressive," Homura conceded. Jiraiya watched him place the scroll down from the corner of his eye. "What do you intend to do?"

Danzo tilted his head. "The threat needs to be dealt with. Immediately." Koharu was nodding her head.

"Yes, yes, I agree," she mumbled. "The clan is far too dangerous now. We cannot let this madness continue for any longer."

Homura sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a shame, but it must be done. We've tried to reason with them before with little luck; more drastic measures must be taken now." Danzo was clearly pleased by their easy acquiescence, and the thought only made Jiraiya feel sicker.

He was nearly ready to hurl when Danzo pinned his gaze onto him, baring his teeth in a smirk. "And you, Jiraiya?" he asked. "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

Jiraiya sighed and looked down at the scroll, pushing his concerns about Danzo's operations to the side for the moment. He could hardly deny Danzo's claim now, not if he wanted to survive the night. He tried to focus on the words in front of him, tried to form a semi-sophisticated opinion on the matter that would make it sound like he was intimately familiar with the situation.

The information was damning, that much was certain. The treason was evident, clear enough for Danzo to indict a number of individuals within the clan for conspiracy. It wouldn't solve the problem, but it would be enough to suppress the rebellion for the moment, to give them all time to figure out a better solution.

"Who do you intend to arrest?" he asked, his eyes panning down the paper. "Fugaku Uchiha, surely. His brother as well, I would imagine. I don't know if Itachi Uchiha could be charged. He's only a child, after all. But he would likely assume the position of clan head after Fugaku, which could present a problem if —"

"I don't intend to arrest anyone," Danzo interrupted.

Jiraiya stopped and looked up at Danzo. "Pardon?" Danzo returned his gaze, unwavering.

"I don't intend to arrest anyone," he repeated. "That merely provides a temporary solution, one that will only serve to make the clan more vindictive." He tapped his cane once, twice on the ground. "My plan is far more permanent."

Jiraiya stared at him. "I don't understand, Lord Third, you —"

"You intend to eliminate the clan entirely," Koharu breathed.

"Precisely."

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "You're proposing that Konohagakure murder one of its own clans?"

Danzo nodded, a long, drawn-out motion. "Yes," he confirmed. "The Uchiha have proven time and time again to be doggedly loyal to their clan, not to the village. They are too dangerous to keep around any longer."

Homura hummed, looking back over the scroll. "How will you do it?"

Danzo raised a hand: a sign of comfort, of assurance. "I will worry about the details of the operation. The less you know the better. But, I assure you, no one else will know what actually transpired. Konohagakure will not be held responsible for their deaths."

"And what of the Sharingan?" Koharu inquired. "That is a valuable kekkei genkai to sacrifice."

Danzo nodded. "I am well aware. I have a number of plans in place to ensure the village will still be able to benefit from its power afterwards. They largely depend on how the operation goes —"

Jiraiya slammed his hand down, the table trembling with the force of it. All eyes lazily turned towards him; they were annoyed, Jiraiya realized, bothered by his outburst.

He saw red.

"Genocide," he growled, the anger making his throat constrict until his voice was only a whisper. "You are speaking of genocide."

Danzo took a breath. "Yes, Jiraiya," he explained, enunciating his words clearly, precisely, acting as if he was dealing with a small child who just wasn't properly grasping the situation. "An unfortunate but necessary course of action, I'm afraid."

Jiraiya put his head in his hands, tried to stop the room from spinning. "How can you say that?" He looked up at Homura and Koharu. "How can you all say that?"

"You collected the information yourself, Jiraiya," Koharu pointed out. "You should know better than anyone the threat the Uchiha pose to the village."

He stared at the table, his head pounding. I didn't collect this information, he thought bitterly. I don't even know where it's from.

A chilling thought crossed his mind. I don't even know if it's real.

He looked up at Danzo. The man's gaze was drilling into his skull, and the truth of it struck Jiraiya like a bolt of lightning.

This information isn't real.

Danzo wasn't using Jiraiya as a figurehead to cover up his own intelligence network. He hadn't collected any of this information; it was a completely false narrative, one Danzo constructed because he himself was certain that the Uchiha would bring about the downfall of the village — but he had no proof. He had no proof, or at least none that would convince Homura and Koharu that drastic, decisive action needed to be taken now. And without their consult and approval, he could be openly prosecuted for this horrible crime if the truth was ever uncovered. He was covering his ass.

And he intended to use Jiraiya to do it.

Jiraiya felt the blood rush to his head in a flood, his entire field of vision sparking black. His head was a barrage of thoughts, of what if's and could be's, and he squeezed his eyes shut against them all, willing them to slow down so he could think. He filled his lungs with air, held it in his body until his chest burned.

Tell them.

The air left his mouth in a steady stream, rustling the scrolls still lying open on the table.

Tell them, tell them, tell them.

He could end Danzo's entire charade now; could tell Homura and Koharu everything. They wouldn't believe him, not right away. And Danzo would likely have him killed before the matter was ever fully resolved. But at least he wouldn't have to live with this guilt, wouldn't have to spend the rest of his days knowing that he had enabled this fucking disgusting —

"How is Minato's son, Jiraiya?" Jiraiya's eyes snapped open, zeroing in on Danzo with such intensity it left him dizzy.

Danzo smiled at him, a tight, close-lipped quirk of his mouth. "His name is Naruto, correct?"

Jiraiya didn't move. Danzo's threat was clear: dissent, and the boy will be punished along with you.

Homura quirked an eyebrow, glanced at Jiraiya, then back at Danzo.

"Does the boy have something to do with this matter?"

Danzo twirled his cane and leaned back in his chair. Jiraiya returned his gaze back to the table. "He's classmates with one of the Uchiha children. One of Fugaku's boys, I believe."

"Sasuke," Jiraiya muttered, his eyes burning. "His name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke, yes," Koharu nodded. "Named after Hiruzen's father, I presume?"

The wood grain blurred in front of Jiraiya. "I don't know," he murmured. "Maybe."

Danzo tapped his cane on the ground. "No matter." He leaned forward, a signal for them to end the current discussion. "Returning to our conversation before —"

"We should keep the boy alive," Jiraiya breathed out.

Danzo paused. "Excuse me?"

Jiraiya looked up at Danzo, met his gaze. "Sasuke Uchiha. He shouldn't be killed along with his clan."

Danzo's visible eye hardened into a glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but Homura beat him to it.

"And why is that?" Jiraiya glanced at the advisors.

This was his chance. He couldn't save the entire clan, not without hurting himself and Naruto in the process. But perhaps he could at least convince them to spare this one boy.

He leaned back, feigning as much confidence as he could muster after the emotional turmoil of the past few hours. "An Uchiha needs to be of age in order to attend clan meetings," he began. "It's a matter of secrecy. I mean, would you," he motioned towards Homura, nearly smacking the man in the face in his haste, "trust some snot-nosed kid with your secrets? Especially criminal ones?" Homura opened his mouth to respond, but Jiraiya kept talking, ignoring him completely because he was on a roll now. "And this?" He lifted up the scroll, shook it so that the paper rattled. "This is some criminal shit." He looked towards Danzo, tilted his head. "An assessment I think you would agree with, Lord Third?"

Jiraiya watched as Danzo grit his teeth.

He smiled and dropped the scroll, letting it crumple on the table. "I don't care who this kid's father is," he shrugged. "There's no way Sasuke knows about the coup. And he shouldn't be punished for it."

Homura nodded, perused the scroll again. "Jiraiya has a point," he admitted. "And this way, Konohagakure will still have an Uchiha in the village."

Danzo was glaring at all three of them now.

"And what will he be told regarding his family?" Koharu questioned, her voice unsure.

Jiraiya smiled at her. "I'm sure Lord Third will be able to come up with a brilliant solution."

Jiraiya flicked his eyes over to Danzo.

He'd expected the man to be angry, expected him to give him a pinched smile that promised future retribution. What he hadn't expected, however, was for the man to have a hand on his chin, deep in thought. And he certainly hadn't expected the glint in his eye when he finally met Jiraiya's gaze.

"Of course," he said, his voice smooth, calm. "I have the perfect solution for it."

• • •

Jiraiya rushed into Danzo's office, his breath coming out in gasps after his mad dash across the village.

Danzo did little more than glance up from his paperwork at Jiraiya's sudden arrival. "I don't recall summoning you, Jiraiya —"

"What did you do?" Jiraiya demanded.

Danzo paused, his pen still in his hand. "Come again?"

Jiraiya's chakra flared. "You fucking heard me you —" Danzo stood in a rush, a number of papers flying from his desk at the disturbance, and slammed his cane against the ground. His voice was quiet, thrumming with rage.

"You forget yourself, Jiraiya," he warned.

Jiraiya pointed a finger at the man, in no mood to pretend he had any respect for this fucker. "You said —"

"I did what was agreed upon." Danzo's voice was booming. "Sasuke Uchiha was left alive. And so long as Itachi Uchiha cooperates, he will remain alive." Danzo returned to his seat, organized his papers. "Itachi Uchiha will join the Akatsuki as a spy and feed us information about their activities. And Sasuke Uchiha will be kept under village surveillance until we can confidently integrate him back into Konohagakure."

Jiraiya shook his head. It was unbelievable. "How do you plan on convincing the boy that Itachi killed his family? He was there; he knows what really happened."

Danzo picked up his pen again. "That's classified."

Jiraiya huffed a disbelieving laugh. The situation was ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous. "You're going to drive the boy insane."

Danzo hummed. "I suppose it's a possibility," he agreed.

Jiraiya stared at him, but the man seemed intent on ignoring him. So he nodded, turned around. This was a useless conversation and he knew it. He reached for the door.

And then he stopped.

"What did you do with their Sharingan?"

Jiraiya couldn't see him, but he heard Danzo's movements come to a sudden halt. "They've been burned with the bodies." The man's voice was composed. But Jiraiya thought he could hear the slightest tremor behind his words.

Jiraiya nodded once and opened the door.

"Have a good day, Lord Third." And then he left.