VIII: Ignition
"Is this it?" Sasuke asked, standing outside of a food stall not far from the academy.
"Yep," Naruto answered, strolling into the stall with a massive grin on his face.
Iruka put a reassuring hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Don't worry, I promise it's good."
"OK," Sasuke replied. Stepping under the short curtains protecting the inside of the stall from the elements, Sasuke sat on a stool next to Naruto.
"Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen!" the chief called out over the counter, his back turned as he tended to the stove. "Oh, a new customer!" he added, looking over his shoulder. "Seems to be friends with Naruto, good to see! This your doing, Iruka?"
"No, actually," the teacher answered, taking a seat on the other side of Naruto. "I admit I don't have a clear idea as to how this happened."
"Well, it's good to see regardless," the chief said, returning to his work.
"Hey, old man Teuchi!" Naruto said, nearly leaping from his seat. "Can I get an order of the miso?!"
"Coming right up," the chief responded.
"Is that Iruka and Naruto?" another voice asked. Sasuke glanced over to see a young teenage girl walking in from a back area, tying on an apron.
"Sure is, Ayame, and that's not all," Teuchi answered.
"Oh, aren't you a cutie," Ayame commented, reaching across the counter to pinch Sasuke's cheek. "Are you Naruto's friend?"
Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond to this, so he ended up just slowly nodding in answer.
"Great!" Ayame exclaimed, mussing Sasuke's hair. "You better take care of him now. Naruto may like to act tough but he needs people to look after him!"
"Um, sure," Sasuke managed to get out.
"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, not happy with Ayame's insinuations.
Teuchi interrupted them, putting a bowl in front of Naruto. "Here you go, one miso ramen, on the house! Celebration for a new friend!"
"Awesome!" Naruto responded. "Thank you!" he added before breaking apart a pair of chopsticks and digging in.
"Father!" Ayame exclaimed. "You can't just give him free food like that!"
"What can I say?" Teuchi replied. "I've got a soft spot for the kid."
Sasuke watched Naruto eating, noticing the joy obvious on his friend's face. "Can I have one of those too, please?"
"Sure thing, kid!" Teuchi answered. In quick order there another bowl of miso ramen on the counter, placed in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha started eating while Teuchi and Ayame took Iruka's order and coupons.
To Sasuke's surprise, the ramen was good. Really, really good. Before he knew it he was scarfing it down almost as fast Naruto and thoughts of the dour mood back in the Uchiha compound were pushed to the back of his mind.
Naruto, finished with his bowl, watched Sasuke with a grin. "Isn't it the best thing you ever tasted!"
Sasuke paused from eating. "It's good, but I don't know about that."
"Ah, come on," Naruto replied. "Just admit it."
"Tell you what," Sasuke said. "There's a great senbei shop near where I live. I'll take you there and you'll have the best food you've ever had."
"Deal!" Naruto responded.
"Oh, sounds like we've got some competition, Ayame," Teuchi said.
"We might have to up our game!" the younger chief replied. "Oh, hello," she continued, speaking to someone behind Sasuke. "Welcome to Ichi-" She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Sasuke glanced up from his bowl to see Teuchi and Ayame staring blankly into space. Before Sasuke could think of an explanation Teuchi, in flash of movement, pulled a kitchen knife from behind the counter and stabbed Iruka through the hand, pinning it to the countertop.
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto screamed before a hand reached out from outside the stall, grabbed Iruka by the ponytail, and slammed his head into the bar. The teacher was knocked unconscious and slumped off his stool, his hand still pinned to the counter.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Naruto yelled, spinning around in his seat. Before he could get another word out, however, he fell unconscious, collapsing into a pair of waiting arms.
Sasuke at last turned to see a pair of cloaked figures, their features obscured by the hoods over their heads. One of them turned to Sasuke, who was astounded to see a pair of Sharingan glowing in the shadows. Those red eyes regarded the young Uchiha for a moment before shoving the child to the floor.
The pair ran away while Sasuke pulled himself to his feet. He bounded outside to try and follow them, but stopped when he realized that they were gone. Trying to figure what to do next, the young Uchiha looked up to see the Hokage's office looming just a short way off. Sprinting as hard as he could, Sasuke ran towards it.
"Itachi," Mikoto called out.
The young Clan Head came out of his room, where he had been reviewing some notes from the last meeting, to find his mother standing in the outdoor garden.
"Yes?" Itachi asked.
"Have you seen your brother?" the Uchiha matriarch asked. "It's starting to get late."
"I haven't," Itachi replied. "He's probably training with Naruto, I'll go see if I can find him."
"Thank you," Mikoto said.
Itachi walked to the entrance hall, putting on his sandals and stepping outside. He stopped when felt a presence nearby.
"Yes?" Itachi asked, looking out of his peripheral vision to see an ANBU member standing in the shadows, out of sight of anyone who might be passing on the street.
"The Hokage requests your presence immediately," the masked shinobi said. "It's an emergency."
"What's happening?" Itachi asked, feeling his stomach drop in trepidation.
"I'm not at liberty to say," the ANBU member replied. "Just get to the Hokage's office as quickly as you can."
Both shinobi turned when they heard footsteps coming from inside the house. "Itachi, have you left yet?" Mikoto asked. Upon seeing the masked ANBU ninja she added, "what's going on?"
"Sorry, Mother, you'll have to find Sasuke without me," Itachi said.
"Mrs. Uchiha, you should come to the Hokage's office too," the ANBU member interjected. "Your son is waiting for you there."
"Sasuke is?" Mikoto asked, looking at Itachi. They both nodded and Mikoto quickly put on sandals before the pair took to the rooftops, moving as fast as they could.
Itachi opened the door to the Hokage's office, seeing Sasuke sitting on top of the Hokage's desk. The Third Hokage stood next to the boy, gently rubbing his back as Sasuke stared at the floor.
"Sasuke!" Mikoto yelled, running past Itachi and embracing her youngest son.
"What happened?" Itachi asked, stepping into the room.
The Hokage removed his pipe from his mouth, laying it down on his desk. "Young Sasuke here was witness to an attack at a food stall not far from here."
Mikoto gasped. "Sasuke, are you OK? Were you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Mother," the young boy answered.
"The assailants left three people in the hospital," the Hokage continued. "Two civilians who have been placed under a very powerful genjutsu that's left them both of them in comas, and an instructor from the Academy who has a stab wound through his hand and took a nasty blow to the head." He took a deep breath before he continued. "They also kidnapped another child, Naruto Uzamaki."
"Oh no," Mikoto commented, holding Sasuke close to herself.
"What I'm about to say may shock you," the Hokage warned. Itachi nodded in response. Taking a deep breath, the Hokage continued. "According to Sasuke here, at least one of the attackers had Sharingan."
Itachi went wide eyed. "Mother, take Sasuke home. I need to discuss this with Lord Hokage, alone."
Mikoto hesitated for a moment, eyes flitting back and forth between the Clan Head and the leader of the village. "OK," she finally said, taking her younger son by the hand and leading him out the door.
"Wait," Sasuke said, stopping next to Itachi. "Brother, promise me you'll save Naruto."
Itachi knelt down so he was face to face with his younger sibling. "I promise you, I'll make sure Naruto's safe."
Sasuke nodded, determination in his eyes, before continuing on with Mikoto.
"I don't need to tell you that this is very bad," the Hokage stated after the mother and child had left the room. "We cannot let the Nine-Tails devastate this village once more. Furthermore, I'm not sure that at my age I would be able to stop the beast as the Fourth Hokage did."
Itachi grimaced, understanding the severity of the situation. "Tekka and Inabi. I'm sure it's them, they've been increasingly agitated since Yashiro's execution. But why are they targeting Naruto?"
"They must believe that they can do as your ancestor Madara once did and use their Sharingan to take control of the Nine-Tailed Fox," the Hokage said.
"That can't be right," Itachi replied. "Madara is the greatest shinobi our clan ever produced. Tekka and Inabi aren't at my father's level, let alone Madara's. They can't possibly believe they're capable of controlling the Nine-Tails, can they?"
The Hokage retrieved his smoking pipe from his desk. "Perhaps your attempts to deescalate the coup plans have made them desperate, enough so that have chosen an extreme course of action they would have never considered normally."
"My apologies," Itachi said, bowing his head.
"What are you apologizing for?" the Hokage asked.
"This situation is happening because of my miscalculations," Itachi explained. "Perhaps if I had chosen a different route we could have avoided this mess."
"Perhaps," the Hokage replied. "But this is not the moment to question that. Instead, we must focus on what we should do going forward. I will put together a team of jonin to pursue them."
The Hokage began walking out of the room. He stopped, however, when Itachi suddenly knelt before him.
"My Lord, send me," the Uchiha Clan Head said. "I'll go after them straight away."
"We do not even know where they have gone," the Hokage responded. "We need an entire team of trackers, not just one man. I'm willing to let you join the squad, but we must not be too hasty."
"Please, this is my fault, allow me to fix it," Itachi replied. "They are from my clan, allow me to deal with them! Not as a member of the ANBU, or even a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, but as the leader of the Uchiha!"
The Hokage took a pull from his pipe and let out the smoke with a sigh. "Very well. You may pursue them if you wish. However, be aware that I will be sending out a team in short order. If they catch up before you do, or if you happen to run into them, I expect you to give them your full cooperation. As a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf would."
"Absolutely, my Lord," Itachi responded. "I will not let you down."
