Hiruzen considered this, leaning back in his seat as he listened to the words of the young Uchiha. Itachi believed peace talks were a possibility, however, there was one large problem with such a plan. "We do have to consider that many of its members are S-Rank shinobi, though. To open communications with them could lead to unrest for the villages they come from."
After all, it wouldn't look good for them to speak with the enemies of their fragile allies. Whether it was in private or not, if word got out, it could have long-lasting effects. Even if the other villages didn't attack, it wouldn't exactly help their view of Konoha. This could be detrimental if another war came around and they had to choose who to support.
"If it helps," Itachi considered, "The two leaders, Pain and Konan, are not technically rogue shinobi. They might have been rouge shinobi of Amegakure at one point, but this is no longer the case. Any bounties placed on them would have been taken down since they managed to successfully seize power. So if you can speak with them as the leaders of Amegakure, it will look much better than if you were to reach out to the organization as a whole."
After all, as they say, the victors write history. No one would be out for the two without some sort of reward. The war had ended years ago, so any Hanzo loyalists should be long gone by now. Let alone the ones with enough cash to offer up a bounty on a villager leader.
Tobirama stood, moving across the room and picking up a folder from underneath one of the many stacks of papers. He opened it up, flipping through the thick book. "That is true, but the two of them haven't done anything to land them in either of the other village's bingo books? With the sorts of missions you've described, it's possible their identities might be known regardless of how the civil war ended."
Shaking his head lightly, Itachi explained, "Neither of them seem to go out on missions other than a few recruitments I've heard of. Pain doesn't seem to come out of wherever he stays very often, usually giving us our orders indirectly. As for Konan, she doesn't seem to leave the village very often. More often than not she spends her time handling the affairs of the village and carrying across Pain's words to the villagers. They're most likely trying to keep themselves hidden so that when they do move on to larger operations they can do so without nearly as much suspicion."
After all, if someone managed to line up their faces, it would be a dead giveaway as to where they were hosting operations. It would cause issues for not only the Akatsuki itself, but their village as well.
"Good." a sharp nod came from Tobirama as he finished flipping through the oversized list of wanted rouges. "If that's the case, we can settle on a spot to meet under the guise of discussing importations or something of that nature. We'll both know of the true nature of the meeting, but this will be a suitable explanation. We can figure out the details on how we'll handle their members afterwards."
Itachi ran over the plan in his mind, trying to find any gaps in the course of action.
They would meet up with Pain and Konan to figure out what their goals were and whether or not they were an actual threat. If they were, they would try to defuse the situation by finding equal footing. If they weren't, which was more than likely not the case, then the matter would settle itself. Afterwards, it would be far easier to handle the rouge shinobi they had following them. Whether it meant the group merely disbanding or the elimination of the S-Class criminals.
Best-case scenario, it would be a rather simple task. Unfortunately, things rarely worked out like that. Instead, the worst-case scenario played in the pre-teen's mind. "What will we do if they reject your request to meet? Or become hostile once you reveal your knowledge of their group. They could very well launch an early attack on Konoha."
Not to mention the fact they'd most likely end up interrogating him once they realized their position had somehow been leaked. He and Orochimaru would both surely have suspicion cast on them even with their rouge statuses.
Hiruzen interlocked his fingers, letting out a sigh at his question. "If they refuse to meet with us, we'll have to resort to one of our earlier plans. As for if they become hostile, we'll have no choice but to fight. It's better now than later, while their forces are still incomplete."
"I see." Itachi settled on, tired eyes scanning over the man's serious expression. "It will take at least a day or so for the message to be received, then an additional day or two for them to have time to discuss their course of action and send their response. During this time, will I remain undercover as to not arouse suspicion?" unaware of how swiftly they intended to attempt this.
Tobirama shook his head, returning from his spot by the documents as he slid a page over to Itachi. "Yes and no. You will report to Pain and request time off to seek out Tsunade. From what I hear, she has become quite the healer. Explain the long term benefits of having her look at your eyes - if she can find a way to at least slow their decay, you'll be able to carry on with Akatsuki duties for far longer."
The image of a blonde woman could be seen on the paper, her village overview sheet. He'd seen her once or twice before, her face alongside summaries of the Second War and the few sections over medical ninjutsu.
"We don't necessarily expect you to find her." Hiruzen explained, "This is more so just to fill time while we speak with them to avoid putting you in excessive danger. She's been off the grid for a while now, so if you can't get in contact with her, it will be no surprise. If you do manage it, though, it will be a welcome one. You'll have until our meeting is over to find her. After that, you will be recalled to the village and we can work from there to get you settled back in."
Giving a small nod, Itachi sat the sheet down. A tracking mission. He'd been on quite a few during his time as an ANBU member - after all, the younger the shinobi the less likely they'd have suspicion cast upon them by the target. He wasn't a master by any means, but he'd say he had enough skill to at least make a worthy attempt. "Understood. Upon finding her am I to request she returns?"
Tobirama nodded, though Hiruzen huffed in amusement. "I highly doubt that will be enough to bring her home. She's been refusing every agent that manages to find her for years now."
Brow twitching, Tobirama remarked, "Do you truly have zero control over any of your students?" rubbing his temple before turning to Itachi. He held out his hand, taking ahold of Itachi's small arm. "I'll mark you with the Flying Thunder God Technique's seal. It is a marking made with my unique formula, so she should be able to recognize it. Even if she doesn't, it requires a fair amount of chakra to create. Enough that she should be able to recognize it as mine, if nothing else. Tell her I've returned and need to speak with her. It should bring her home, if nothing else to come after what she believes to be an imposter." he spoke, tone shifting into light amusement.
Lifting his hand up and pointing his wrist outwards to the elder shinobi, Itachi nodded in confirmation. "I'll make sure to show her, should I manage to find her." watching as the man rolled up the cloak's long sleeves. A pale arm was exposed, Tobirama frowning in what Itachi assumed was concentration as he wove his chakra against the pre-teen's wrist. The very same icy blue chakra from earlier sinking into him.
"Good." Tobirama gave a hum of approval, tapping Itachi's arm twice as he finished. "This will also give me a way to travel to you right away should I need to." slowly releasing his arm, Tobirama tapped the side of his face lightly. "Now that I think of it, I should mark Sasuke too, in case something goes wrong. Tsunade and Hiruzen as well..."
The man shook his head, seeming to set the issue to the side for now. A matter to be settled later, more likely than not.
Itachi lowered his arm, feeling a tingle run up it as Tobirama's chakra soaked into him. He would expect it to be fridged and biting, but instead, it felt almost like a fresh breeze was brushing against his skin. "Alright. Is there anything else we need to discuss before I go to meet up with Pain?"
Well, actually, it would probably end up being Konan. Details, details. It was all but the same thing, from what he'd seen thus far.
Tobirama shook his head after a long moment of consideration, deciding, "I believe that is all for now, so long as you have the necessary supplies to travel? Do you need any food or a restock on traps before you go?"
"I have enough cash to buy some once I head into the next town," he assured the man. While he had originally planned to either sneak into town or take some of the non-perishable items from the compound, that was no longer necessary. If he was going to leave anyway, it was less of a risk to buy it in the smaller towns.
"If you're sure, then that's all for now." the silver-haired man nodded in parting, warning the young Uchiha as his henge reappeared, "Be careful. I'll take care of Sasuke and the village. In turn, I expect you to pay yourself the same respects."
Though Itachi didn't quite understand Tobirama's need to make a point of it, he gave a promising nod. "Understood, Lord Hokage."
Just as the words left his mouth, he was gone, sliding out of the door like a whisper in the wind. He did not stop to look at the ANBU stationed outside, trailing towards the exit without comment.
By the time he made it outside, free from the long and tiring meeting, it was half-past noon. It would be a long walk to making it back to Amegakure, but at least it would give him plenty of time to grow familiar with the chakra engraved along his arm.
The feeling of a fresh breeze had begun to subside, though it was definitely still there. Itachi could feel it contrasting against his own chakra as he worked his way towards the village walls, the chakra signature feeling like an extra layer atop his own.
Once he was out of the village and far enough to release his henge, his red eyes scanned over the formula. It no longer glowed in the same way it had when it was first laid upon him, instead sitting directly below his skin. The mark was invisible without the sharingan, though it seemed to glow subtly when he pressed his own chakra against it.
He spent the time in between Konoha and Ame toying with the seal, kneading against it gently with his chakra. It was fluid and strong at the same time, moving in a steady rhythm against itself in every-which-way.
Itachi memorized it, knowing it would be similar to the person he'd be tracking over the next week or so. Chakra tended to have the same sort of feel for those within a clan, so Tsunade's shouldn't be too far off from his. If anything, it might be a bit less fluid and more vibrant due to her Uzumaki blood.
Lord First had married to an Uzumaki woman, he knew this much. As for his children's spouse, the ravenet wasn't sure. Hopefully the Senju's chakra would be close enough to Tobirama's that it would be of use to his search.