XVIII: Dream of a Dream

Hiruzen Sarutobi found an opening, striking Danzo in the neck with his staff. As the Root leader recoiled the Hokage spun his weapon behind his back, bringing it around to strike the other side of of Danzo's neck, sending him to the ground. In that moment the Monkey King Enma transformed back into his natural state, grabbing Danzo by the back of his robe and throwing him over his shoulder, sending the elder into the Earth Style wall the Hokage had created early in the battle. Danzo impacted with such force that it knocked off the layer of soot and burned dirt left from the massive Fire-Wind combo attack. An impression of the Root leader's broken body was left in the dirt as it disappeared, Danzo reappearing nearby, another cloned Sharingan eye closing forever.

This was the third time that the Hokage had dealt a lethal blow to his longtime comrade, and the third time that Danzo had bent reality to return from the grave, as strong as he had been when the battle had begun. All the while Itachi had watched it all through the careful eye of the Sharingan.

The Hokage was strong, that much was certain. In just this short bout he had demonstrated supreme skill in every shinobi art. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, weapons, tactics, the Professor had not only mastered each of these to a high degree, but was also able to seamlessly blend all of them into a fighting style that Itachi could see no clear weakness in. While some opponents might have greater speed, strength, or skill in a particular field, Sarutobi would always have something else to fall back on and an arsenal so vast that he could exploit any weakness. Itachi could see why one would call Hiruzen Sarutobi a God of Shinobi after seeing him in the full flow of battle.

Yet the Third Hokage was also a human being, one who had weathered a great many years. While the average shinobi might not be able to see it, Itachi's sharp eyes could. Sarutobi was slowing as the battle progressed, his stamina and chakra reserves clearly being taxed by his efforts. After his impressive display of elemental jutsu at the start of the fight, the Hokage had stopped using techniques of that scale, as well as dispelling his Shadow Clones. Instead he was relying on his taijutsu and summon, clearly intending to preserve his chakra. Perhaps in his younger years the Hokage would have been able to maintain a higher pace, but now he could not go all out without burning himself out.

Yet the same could not be said of Danzo. Though he was the same age as the Hokage, the leader of Root did not exude the same air of decline, at least not in a way that Itachi could detect. It was as if he had retained a kind of youthful vigor that had fought off the effects of aging. While his overall skill level was high, higher than Itachi and Kakashi's at this point, it was not on the same plane as the Hokage's. But the longer the battle continued the less that was mattering. The Hokage was slowing while Danzo was maintaining, both through his own stamina and his use of Izanagi to return himself to a prior state after each defeat. On paper the gap between them should have been significant enough to make Hiruzen Sarutobi the clear favorite, but in practice that gap was closing as the battle dragged on.

"You see an opening yet?" Itachi asked his ANBU mentor.

"Not yet," Kakashi replied, his right eye closed to focus in on the battle with his Sharingan.

Itachi watched as the Hokage and Danzo resumed their melee. "Have you started putting together a plan?"

"The beginnings of one," Kakashi answered. "Trying to fight straight up here will only lead to us being brushed aside. We need to hit fast and hard with our most powerful technique as soon as we find a good moment."

Itachi thought of his newly acquired Mangekyo Sharingan. No doubt it was more powerful than anything else in his arsenal, but he still didn't have a strong handle on it. He had used the Tsukuyomi genjutsu against Tekka, but still had no idea as to the full extent of its abilities. He was certain he had a second technique, he could feel it in the back of his mind whenever he activated his Mangekyo, but it was even more an unknown than the Tsukuyomi at this point. Yet that left Itachi in a difficult position, because even with those unknowns, he was certain that nothing else in his arsenal had enough firepower.

"Do you have a technique in mind, Kakashi?" Itachi asked.

"My Lightning Blade wouldn't be good here, Danzo has already proven that he can counter it," Kakashi commented. "I do have one new thing that I've figured out recently, but I'm still not used to wielding it and in all honesty I will likely be left useless and vulnerable after."

Itachi nodded, wondering what it was that Kakashi had up his sleeve. As he was doing so the Hokage made a handsign, detonating a paper bomb that he had somehow managed to plant on Danzo's leg during a taijutsu exchange. Once again Itachi marveled at the village leader's skill, and once again Danzo undid the damage with Izanagi.

"We have to find something quickly," Itachi commented. "The longer this goes on, the more it plays in Danzo's favor."

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed.

"Kakashi, Itachi," the Uchiha heard in his head.

"Inoichi is that you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," the voice replied in Itachi's mind. "I'm cutting a long story short, but Sasuke Uchiha is here and he is heading to your position."

"My brother?" Itachi asked. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"As I said, long story," Inoichi replied. "Jun Uchiha is attempting to catch him, but you have to make sure he doesn't get caught in the crossfire."

Itachi started scanning the area, searching for any sign of his little brother. "Where is he?"

"I only just detected him amongst everyone else," Inoichi replied. "He should be approaching you soon."

"Damn it," Itachi whispered to himself. With another scan, he spotted Sasuke, perched on top of the Earth Style wall the Hokage had created, opposite of Danzo and Hiruzen's duel from Itachi.

"Sasuke!" Itachi yelled, taking off at a sprint, intending to run through the melee to get to his little brother.

Seeing the Uchiha sprinting towards them before glancing over at Sasuke, the Hokage put his staff against Danzo's chest and began extending it. The magically lengthening weapon pushed the two elder shinobi apart, creating a clear runway for Itachi.

But Danzo had his own plans, even as he was being driven back by the Adamantine Staff. "You should be more careful in guarding your weaknesses, Itachi," the Root leader said as he performed a series of hand signs. "Wind Style: Vacuum Bullet!" he yelled, launching a barrage of wind blasts at Sasuke. In his mind's eye Itachi could see his dear younger brother being blasted apart by the jutsu. But his real eyes could see that wasn't the case.

Leaping up from behind the barrier, Jun Uchiha appeared, wrapping her arms around Sasuke and tackling him to the ground. The winds bullets flew through the space where Sasuke had been as he fell. But Jun was just a second behind, and one of the projectiles struck her right knee, shattering it and severing the lower half of her leg. Yet the Uchiha woman did not scream in pain when they hit the ground, instead she gritted her teeth and pulled herself forward with her hands, draping her body over Sasuke to shield him.

Itachi turned, putting himself between his clan members and Danzo. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he yelled, launching that signature Uchiha attack at the elder.

The Root leader dodged, sidestepping the ball of flame before barring down on Itachi with a wind sword. Before he could get close, however, the extending Adamantine Staff of the Hokage entered the scene, striking Danzo in the chest and propelling him into the earthen wall. As the dust cleared the elder's broken body was visible for just a moment before Izanagi caused it to fade out of view, returning Danzo to a healthy and whole state.

"I cannot allow you to harm the children of this village, Danzo," the Hokage said as his staff returned to a normal length. "If you claim to safeguard the future of the Leaf by doing so, then that is just pure hypocrisy. That goes for the boy inside the headquarters as well."

"That is no normal child, Hiruzen," Danzo replied. "The idea that he should be treated like any other is pure naivety."

Sasuke pried himself partly from Jun, freeing his arms. "I don't care if Naruto is a Jinchuriki or whatever!" he yelled, catching the attention of everyone present.

"How did you..." Itachi began, looking over his shoulder at his little brother.

"Naruto is my friend!" Sasuke continued, reaching for Jun's shuriken holder. "He's a person, one with a dream to be Hokage!" He blinked, activating his single tomoe Sharingan. "Mine is to see him get there!" The Academy student threw a single shuriken at Danzo.

The experienced elder dodged with a simple lean to the side.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Jun asked. "I can't let Lord Itachi or the Jonin Commander down, let's get you to safety."

"Not yet!" Sasuke yelled, throwing another Shuriken. The weapon missed Danzo by a wide margin, sailing past its target.

Danzo turned his attention to the Uchiha Clan Head. "You really must teach your family to know their place, Itachi."

Yet the Uchiha Clan Head did not listen to his enemy. Instead, he watched the shuriken behind him. How many times had he shown Sasuke that little trick? The younger Uchiha had never been able to do it, so to bring it out now was beyond ambitious.

The two throwing stars curved towards each other, on a collision course behind Danzo's field of vision. The two met, clashing against each other and altering their trajectories. One flew off harmlessly, while the other hit Danzo in the back.

The village elder grunted with the impact before reaching behind him and pulling the shuriken from his flesh. "A cheap trick, flashy but not terribly useful. You'll have to do better than that."

But in the corner of his vision, Itachi saw Kakashi standing up. He was holding his face, covering his normal eye with his hand. Itachi gasped as he saw Kakashi's Sharingan and the pattern that spun in its iris.

"But it worked plenty well as a distraction," the veteran ANBU said.

A small portal opened in the center of Danzo's chest. Sensing the danger this posed, the elder attempted to pull away from it.

"Too slow," Kakashi taunted. "Kamui!"

Danzo managed to move quickly enough that the portal was no longer over his chest and away from his heart and lungs, but that was not enough. The portal snapped close, tearing into the Root leader's shoulder. The Sharingan ladened arm hung by a thread, Danzo checking to make sure that his secret weapon was still attached.

Itachi bound forward, certain that this was his chance. As long as those Sharingan remained Danzo could undo the damage that Kakashi had done to him. The Uchiha had to make sure that his mentor's strike was not in vain. "Amaterasu!" Itachi yelled, activating his Mangekyo and using the first thing that came to his mind. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his second technique was one that he had some familiarity with, having seen Tekka use it.

Danzo's modified arm fell off, the last threads of flesh holding it to the Root leader's body melting in the heat of the black flames. Itachi pulled a kunai, going for the last remaining Sharingan in Danzo's eye. As he was closing in, however, his path was obstructed by a large tree that appeared out of nowhere, taking root through the pavement. Putting together the clues around him, Itachi realized that Danzo's arm must have transformed, managing to smother even the flames of Amaterasu in the process. What he couldn't figure out was how or why.

"What is this?" Itachi asked, staring up at the green tree leaves that had materialized from nowhere. He was so distracted that he barely registered the sound of Kakashi's unconscious body collapsing to the ground.

"You incorporated the DNA of Lord First into that arm, didn't you?" the Hokage asked, standing over Danzo as the Root leader fell to his knees. He held his silence, but the glare he offered instead was the only answer needed.

"The First Hokage?" Itachi asked. "Why would he do that? So he could acquire the Wood Style Kekkai Genkai? But if that was the case why didn't he use such a powerful ability?"

The Professor offered up his analysis. "I have no doubt at this point that you were a partner in Orochimaru's experiments, Danzo, including his research into artificially granting someone the Wood Style. But you also know that, while possible, that procedure has an incredibly low survival rate. That's why you kept Lord Hashirama's genetic material confined to that arm, no doubt a specially designed transplant."

Danzo chuckled. "As always, Hiruzen, you're sharp. Your gaze is like the light that shines on the leaves, illuminating all of their detail. It seems all my cards have been laid bare."

"But I still don't understand," Itachi spoke up. "Why go to such lengths to acquire an ability that he wouldn't use even against an opponent as skilled as you?"

"Lord First's abilities were about more than controling wooden constructs," the Hokage explained. "He was able to create entire forests from nothing, because his chakra itself had life giving properties. This granted him an exceptional vitality and allowed him to heal both himself and others simply by applying his chakra. It could even slow the aging process."

"I see," Itachi commented. "Then that was the reason why. I can also assume that he needed that extra vigor to perform the Izanagi. Even now he possesses one last Sharingan, he could use it to make an escape at the very least. Yet he's doing nothing with it. I can only assume that it is beyond his ability in his current state."

The Hokage laid his staff on the ground and he kneeled down in front of Danzo. "Why did you go so far? Why steal power from others? You were always strong enough on you own."

"I had to be as strong as you," Danzo answered. "You were the benchmark, you always were. Even when we were genin Lord Second never looked at anyone other than you to be his successor. I could never become Hokage as I was."

Lord Third frowned. "Yet it appears that I had one weakness."

Danzo's eyes went wide. It seemed that even as an enemy, even with the resentment that had fueled his power grabbing in the shadows, his admiration of Hiruzen Sarutobi was such that he could not fathom him having a weakness.

"You said that my gaze was like a light illuminating all detail," the Hokage continued. "But I see now that I could not pierce your darkness. All these years I saw you as strong and, more importantly, a valuable ally, even when we disagreed. I am ashamed that I could not see your true nature, and that I couldn't help you when you needed it." The Hokage returned to his feet. "I'm sorry," he added as he walked away, the Adamantine Staff disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"But," Danzo began, the shocked look on his face showing how shaken he was by the Hokage's words. "But, I was just following Lord Second's philosophy. Removing all sentiment and emotion to make the most rational decisions. All for the sake of the village."

"You took that too far," the Hokage replied. "Making rational decisions is good, but our goals, protecting the village, our loved ones, are ultimately emotional and sentimental in nature. If you shut yourself off from emotion completely, then you will lose sight of what you aimed to do in the first place. Otherwise you would have recognized the folly of your actions. Have you forgotten the reason for which Lord Second died?"

Danzo opened his mouth to speak, but when nothing came out he merely hung his head in shame.

"Enough," the Hokage said. His back now turned to Danzo, Itachi could see the pain on the village leader's face. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Uchiha Clan Head. "Do what you have to," he ordered before leaping to the top of the earthen wall and, upon raising his clenched fist in the air, bringing what had previously been a mob to a rapture of cheers and cries.

Itachi took several steps forward until he was in front of Danzo.

"So, you won then," the Root leader commented.

"I don't feel like it," Itachi replied. "This all seems an unnecessary distraction."

"What?" Danzo questioned.

"Your paranoia creates enemies where none existed previously," Itachi explained. "I wonder how many people out there hate the Hidden Leaf solely because of your actions, and how many potential allies have been lost to us." As Itachi was saying this the sounds of approaching footsteps from the direction of the Military Police Headquarters could be heard by he and Danzo. Both of them looked over at the new arrivals.

"So it's over then," Mikoto said, Naruto standing in front of her, her hands on his shoulders. Several Uchiha police officers flanked them.

"Yeah," Itachi replied. "Get Kakashi and Jun inside, they need first aid."

Mikoto signaled to her officers. "You heard him."

"Right," one of them answered for the group before they began splitting up to gather up the two injured shinobi. Sasuke returned with the pair that lifted the barely conscious Jun off of him.

Naruto approached the young Uchiha, hand raised for a high five. "Yo, Sasuke!"

Sasuke, for his part, forwent the high five and instead embraced his friend.

"Hey, what's this about?" Naruto asked, clearly confused by the gesture.

Mikoto walked to the boys and put her arms around both of them. "I'm so glad you're safe. Come on, let's get you both inside."

"OK, Mother," Sasuke replied as Mikoto disengaged from he and his friend. The two Academy students followed the Police Chief back into the headquarters.

As this was going on the sounds of cheering could heard from the other side of the earth barrier, the crowd beyond forgetting that mere moments before they had been a mob. Now they were only gathering of grateful citizens, cheering for their Hokage.

Danzo, too weak to turn his head, turned his eyes to his old comrade standing on the wall. "Hear that? The people love him. Hiruzen was always gifted, not only as a shinobi, but as a leader. He always seemed to know what to say and what to do to reassure other people and make them feel safe under him. I was never as blessed, so I told myself that I would be the roots, burrowing in the dark to support the great tree of our village, while Hiruzen was the leaves bathing in the sun. I guess my resentment of Hiruzen turned that dream sour."

Itachi stood silent, listening to the elder's introspections at death's doorsteps.

"You're like me, Itachi," Danzo commented, turning his gaze to the Uchiha. "You may be a talented shinobi, but you're not a leader. Even as Clan Head you have to think out and calculate your steps to make others follow. You lack the charisma of people like Hiruzen and Lord First."

"Are you trying to say that I'll turn out like you?" Itachi asked. "I find that unlikely. I won't forget the reasons for which I fight like you did."

"If you aren't careful, you will," Danzo replied. "I know you'd do anything to protect the village, in fact I had several plans laid out that relied on it. But it seems that I've been outplayed on this occasion."

"I'll take that under advisement," Itachi replied. "Any last words?"

"Hmph," Danzo grunted. "I wish I could say that they wouldn't be my last, but at this point I have no more cards to play. Even if I wanted to sacrifice my last Sharingan I don't have the chakra reserves or the stamina to use it effectively without Lord First's DNA. So all that I can do is ask that you prove me wrong. Make the Uchiha into a force that safeguards the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and make sure the Jinchuriki becomes the vanguard of the village's future, not the harbinger of its destruction."

"On that we are in agreement," Itachi replied as he closed his eyes, holding up his kunai. He opened his eyes once more, driving his weapon through Danzo's last Sharingan, releasing the last bit of Kagami Uchiha's stolen power.

Itachi released his grip once he felt the kunai lodge itself into Danzo's brain. The Root leader fell to the ground, dead.