Turning towards the voice, Itachi spotted a duplicate of the man he had just seen walking alongside his brother a mere moment ago. The chakra running through his body assured the ravenet that this was no ordinary clone - it had to be a shadow clone or the original.
Yet another hint towards the man being a shinobi of the leaf.
Tobira made no move forward as Itachi scanned him over, the silver-haired shinobi standing with his arms crossed. His red pupil's laid on Itachi's headband, most likely looking deliberately away from his sharingan.
The young Uchiha merely nodded, watching for any signs of attack from the elder shinobi. In a flat tone, he confirmed, "That would be me," eyes never breaking away from the man as he spoke. "And you must be the enigmatic Tobira I've heard word of."
Itachi did not appreciate the fact that this man apparently knew of him. This meant that the masked man had at least some form of knowledge about him while Itachi could only work based on a day's intel. The pre-teen could only hope Tobira's knowledge didn't span into combat-related information.
So far, all Itachi knew of his fighting style was that Sasuke thought the man had impressive speed and wanted to learn from him. That didn't say much, considering Sasuke was only six and most likely had a low bar for what was considered fast. He could also infer that the man was skilled with detection if he had been able to find Itachi despite his suppressed chakra and hidden movements, but that was about it.
If a fight broke out, in terms of preparation, Itachi doubted he would have the upper hand.
"I suppose I would be." Tobira agreed, voice steady as he spoke. There was a slight pause, the man seeming to consider his words before he mused, "We have much to discuss. Would you prefer to come inside or head to the hokage's office?"
Something in Itachi's stomach turned, though he spoke with the indifference he'd drilled into himself for the past month or so. His thoughts immediately went to the summons he'd received from the hokage, though he wasn't so foolish as to openly reference such an event in front of the stranger. To assume he was referring to the event could easily result in a domino effect. The hokage couldn't be caught dead having those sorts of interactions with known criminals - it would look horrible for the village.
It was probably best to work on the assumption that that was a threat to turn him in. "There is nothing for us to discuss."
Itachi wasn't going to assume the man was with the hokage, but he definitely wasn't so clueless as to let himself be talked out of information behind closed doors.
Pausing to consider whether it would be better to attack him now or retreat and meet with the hokage first, his eyes narrowed in thought. No, a fight wouldn't do if this man was working directly under the hokage or Danzo. Fleeing would be the best option, though that would mean having to think of an excuse for not reporting directly as he had been instructed to.
Brow lifting, Tobira challenged, "If we have nothing to discuss, then why have you been parked in the compound since yesterday afternoon?"
Something on Itachi's face must have shifted, because the man seemed more than willing to answer the unasked question that filled his mind. "Your chakra suppression is impressive. Had I not spent decades sensing those around me, I would have surely missed it."
That was putting it mildly, Itachi couldn't help but frown on the inside. He'd been able to slip past the border patrol team with ease, yet this man had supposedly sensed him right away.
"You don't look decades old." he accused instead, the silver hair on his head looking more like Kakashi or Hidan's than an ageing man's. His face had the hard angles of a senior shinobi, sure, but it lacked the creases that naturally came over time.
Then again, perhaps the man had simply aged well. It had never been a trait of the clan, but then, this man wasn't of the Uchiha.
It wasn't much of a point, but it was something. If he could figure out the man's age range it would help pinpoint how exactly he was connected to the hokage or what he wanted with Sasuke.
A meagre matter, but one that could grow important in time.
Either way, Tobira didn't seem to take offence to Itachi's accusation, the silver-haired man merely scoffing in what sounded like bitter amusement as he finally moved from his still stance. Itachi took a step back, shuriken dropping from his sleeves and into his hands as the man neared. Instead of striking out, however, Tobira merely walked on - going so far as to keep his back turned to Itachi as he headed for the gate.
"Nor do you look like a twelve-year-old." was the only reply the pre-teen got. Itachi paused in his movements, the remark ringing in his ears.
At first, it registered as a mere jab at the lines etched into his face. That was, until he remembered that he was not exactly twelve. Not legally, at least. His bingo book and the village documents should all have him registered as thirteen. It had been that way ever since his ANBU promotion a few months back.
Tobira shouldn't know his real age. Not unless he really was connected to the hokage as he claimed or had some sort of access to what should be buried information. The man must have sensed the way Itachi stood still, since threw a glance back over his shoulder. The sharingan-wielder resisted the urge to flicker the shuriken between his fingers, staring the man down. "I'm thirteen." he corrected despite his internal debate over just how much the man knew about him.
"Just as you're the cold-blooded clan-killer of the leaf?" Tobira finally cut through the silence, brows coming together in what seemed to be annoyance. Before he had a chance to consider the layers behind that sentence, the silver-haired man sliced through their vague back and forth. "I understand. You clearly want to do this with your hokage present. If we don't leave now, though, we might not have time to meet up with him before Sasuke gets out of the academy. This is going to be a long conversation, so we should head out now. He is expecting you, after all." he turned his head slightly when Itachi didn't move, asking, "Agreed?"
With Itachi's attempts at moulding the conversation into something that could work better for his position squandered, he felt his lips tug into a slight frown. Just who was this man, to be so confident as to grab the conversation by the throat and put it in the direction he wanted?
Along with this, who was he if he could announce that he would be joining in a private conversation between the hokage and one of his double agents? If Itachi was understanding the undertones of his previous statements, he definitely didn't like how much the man seemed to know about him. Let alone his situation. Even so, if this man really was with the hokage and had been filled in on things, there was no way Itachi could refuse him. No matter how exposed it made him feel to have had his secrets exposed to a stranger while he was away.
As always, if the stranger was powerful or trusted enough, his secrets were those for the village to hand out. Through the long collar of his coat he spoke, turning his head slightly despite the way his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Agreed."
With that, the man continued walking, heading for the gate. This time, Itachi followed. A small scroll was lifted from his pocket as he paced forward, a hat slipping out of the material at his command.
Lifting it up and over his head, Itachi slipped the circular wood piece on. It did a well enough job of covering his face, his coat doing the same for the lower half.
He exited the compound with his hat on, a henge covering his body as he walked. His previously long hair shortened, fading from its naturally opaque colour to a dim brown. With a blink, his face had smoothed over, appearance hidden behind the guise of an ordinary traveller in simple black robes.
The henge was locked into place as he walked behind Tobira, each step calculated. The jutsu itself was an easy one - a must-have even for genin. Still, it didn't make it comfortable to walk around in a body that wasn't his. Balancing between making his movements look natural, keeping the henge up, and keeping guard for anyone who could see through the genjutsu, he kept his pace brief. Easy or not, it was far from comfortable to him.
No one seemed to pay them much notice as they walked, the only exception being a slight nod from Choza as they happened to pass him. Itachi pointedly did not make eye contact with him, keeping his head down despite the feeling of the man's eyes on him. He trailed slightly behind Tobira, focusing on steering clear of the people around.
When they did finally make it to the office, Tobira lead the way past the security without a word. The numerous ANBU on the building watched him go without issue, though they tensed sceptically at the stranger clearly with him.
Only when they made it to the hokage's office itself did Tobira speak, the ANBU guarding the doors bowing to the silver-haired shinobi.
"We have a meeting with Lord Hokage to attend. Be sure we are not interrupted." the firm order came, two synchronized nods of confirmation being his only response as they stepped aside.
He could feel their gazes on him as they entered, though the click of the doors locked them away from the conversation. Behind his desk sat Hiruzen with what seemed to be yet another version of Tobira standing over the desk.
Itachi was starting to get the inkling that this man favoured the shadow clone jutsu.
Finally looking up, Itachi's darkened eyes met Hiruzen's. The elderly shinobi was for once without his pipe, hand shifting from the paperwork he was going over to wave at the window behind him. "Leave us."
A silence filled the room as any ANBU stationed outside left, Tobira's clone disappearing not long after via the man standing beside him. Once the room was emptied of all but the three, Itachi carefully lifted his hat from atop his head. Hair flowing back outwards and returning to its natural shade, the henge was released.
The pre-teen got down on one knee, kneeling in front of his hokage. One hand resting on his propped up knee while the other was curled into a fist against the ground, his head bowed. His voice was low despite the soundproofing of the room, eyes cast downwards as he reported in a rigid voice.
"Itachi Uchiha, ready to report on operation Akatsuki." the practiced words came, the young Uchiha going through his report in his head as he filed the question of the silver-haired man into the back of his head for now.
A hum of notice came from across the room, Hiruzen musing, "I welcome you back, Itachi. The matter of your mission is of great importance, but it is not the only thing on the agenda for today."
Itachi had expected as much. It would have been more off-putting if the man hadn't made a reference to the increasingly strange situation and atmosphere. Lifting his head, the young Uchiha gave a nod to the elder.
"Take a seat. This won't be a short conversation." he bid, the two seats across from the desk coming into focus as he glanced over. Itachi stood, glancing over at Tobira for only a brief moment before doing as instructed.
A small breath left the boy as the three sat, hands settling against the smooth fabric of his lap. For better or for worse, it was time to get some answers. He could only hope they would be ones he could work with.