Chapter 13: Unravel

"Tou san," Itachi greeted as he dragged the chair out from underneath the table, the wooden legs scraping noisily against the polished floorboards. He had been on his way out of the house when his father gestured to him to join him at the dining table. His father looked wearier than Itachi had ever seen him, with the visible creases that lined his forehead and dark bags prominent beneath his eyes.

According to his mother, his father hadn't slept well for the past three days. The clan's problem kept him awake all night, the stress starting to settle in permanently. The clan meeting had done nothing but cause a massive rift among the Uchiha clan; those who supported Fugaku's decision to trust the Hokage and those who were set on taking action immediately.

Tensions ran high. In the wake of the meeting, Itachi preferred to avoid his clan members, even if he didn't explicitly take a side.

No doubt Ren Uchiha would try to persuade him to his side. If he couldn't get the support of the clan head, then the support of the clan heir was the next best option. Unfortunately for both sides, Itachi refused to get involved. All he wanted was the freedom to conduct his own investigation to find hard evidence to incriminate Orochimaru and Danzo.

Except the hardest part of the plan would be getting an in to their sides. Two hardened war veterans meant they didn't trust anyone easily. And what use was a nine year old genin? Itachi could offer nothing in return.

Shisui's idea had been to leak the news of his awakened Mangekyo Sharingan to lure Orochimaru out of hiding. Itachi immediately shot down the idea; there were too many risks and unknown variables involved, and the cost?

It was too great for either of them to afford.

After Itachi sat down across from him, his father slid a manila folder across the table. Itachi didn't open it; his eyes flickered between the unopened folder and his father for an explanation.

"The lab results for the blood and hair sample that you and Shisui collected. And the confirmed identities of all of the corpses that we uncovered."

"Anyone we know?"

Fugaku shook his head. "Doesn't make it hurt any less that their lives were lost for someone's own selfish gains. If the Sharingan is what he is after, then most of them lost their lives for nothing. The Sharingan isn't so easy to awaken, and even harder for those whose bloodline has been diluted."

Hence, the isolation of those who weren't full-blooded Uchihas. The clan didn't want their name associated with them, the ones that they believed wouldn't amount to anything.

"That doesn't mean it's impossible," Itachi murmured. "They were easy targets because they didn't live within the protection of the Uchiha district. There are too many eyes here for them to be kidnapped undetected."

The only two kidnapped children who lived in the Uchiha compound were taken while they were out in the village. Emiko Uchiha had been taken somewhere along the route from the Konoha library to her home. The other child was last seen in the park.

Fugaku let out a sigh. "I know."

The question was there. Itachi could sense that his father wanted to ask him that question, to ask him if he had made the right choice. Probably for his own ease of mind to know that even if the entire clan was against him, his son supported him.

Unfortunately Itachi couldn't give him the answer he wanted.

And that was why he was grateful the question remained unasked.

It wasn't until Itachi had left the Uchiha district did he realize that the manila folder still remained unopened. Unconsciously, Itachi had taken the folder with him when he left and his father didn't say a word about it. Fugaku's weary eyes merely watched Itachi as he stood up and left the house, lacking the energy to say anything more.

Stopping in the middle of the street, Itachi pulled out the folder from underneath his armpit. Thumbnail hooking to the underside of the folder cover, he lifted the flap. Eyes scanned down the page, deliberately skipping over the walls of medical jargon text he barely understood.

And then he reached the results section for the blood sample. The hospital had cross-referenced the database in search of matches, listing all of the partial matches from low to high. The first name on the paper wasn't one Itachi recognized, so he continued to move down the list, watching as the percentages grew higher and higher–

Izumi Uchiha.

DNA Match: 98%.

At the end of their training session, Yuki sensei handed Yoji three sheets of paper, motioning him to pass it around. Keeping the top sheet for himself, Yoji silently handed the paper to Yamato, who then passed the final sheet to Itachi.

The kanji for "Chunin Exams Application" was printed at the very top of the form.

"The next Chunin Exam is happening next month. I want to recommend the three of you to take it. Of course, participation is entirely voluntary and up to individual discretion. If you intend to participate, drop the completed applications off at the missions desk by the end of the week. Dismissed."

Yoji immediately split off from the team, heading in the direction of the Hokage Tower, undoubtedly to submit his application right away. Yamato loitered around the area, taking his time to examine the contents of the paper. Just as Itachi was about to leave, he caught him waving the paper in the air and then angling it directly underneath the sun.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking underneath the underneath," Yamato answered. After shaking the paper in the air two more times, Yamato was apparently satisfied with his findings or the lack thereof because he finally lowered the application back to his side.

His brown eyes flickered to meet Itachi's. "There's nothing hidden if you were wondering."

Itachi wasn't. "Are you going to participate?"

"Maybe."

This was Itachi's chance. Since the day Itachi caught Yamato sneaking away from his watchpost in the middle of the night to speak to a summon, his suspicions towards the boy intensified. After finding out about his proficiency in using the First Hokage's jutsu, Itachi already held a degree of doubt towards his identity. If that had been the only incident, Itachi would have let it go.

Every shinobi had their secrets.

But since catching him at the clearing, Itachi kept a vigilant eye on him. Either it was a coincidence that Yamato was doing nothing during this time frame or Yamato was aware that Itachi was onto him, but his watch remained fruitless.

The strangest thing about him was that no one in the village seemed to know who Yamato was.

Every week when his mother sent him to the marketplace for their weekly grocery run, Itachi took the opportunity to ask around to see if anyone knew anything about Yamato. None of the shopkeepers of his frequent destinations recognized the name or the description, so Itachi had ventured out to the other shops by purchasing something he normally wouldn't have.

None of them knew anything. In fact, it was almost like Yamato never existed in the village. If not for his daily appearance to their team meetings, no one would even know if he had gone missing if he did.

As far as Itachi was aware, there was no family to speak of either.

His sudden appearance was an enigma. Itachi's search for a trace of his former team had led to a dead end too.

Who was he? What was his purpose?

"Are you going to show off your Wood Style during the exams?"

Yamato gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Maybe. One doesn't show his trump card until the situation is dire. I can get by with my earth and water jutsus."

"Have you ever taken the Chunin Exams before? You look a bit old for a genin."

Yamato snorted. "Like I had the time to."

"Oh?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. "If the average graduation age is nine years old and you are fourteen, you're telling me that you didn't have the time over the last five years? The exams happen once a year; most senseis recommend their team to participate in years two or three. Even if they don't get promoted on their first try, it's a good experience."

"Don't make assumptions about what you don't know." The light-hearted tone of voice was long gone, replaced with a threatening one. "Don't stick your nose into places it doesn't belong to, Uchiha. I know you've been following me around the village. As a comrade, I'll warn you right now that if you continue, the only outcome is death."

"You'll kill me? As it stands, I don't think you have the strength to beat me." He was so close to getting Yamato to divulge his secrets, just a little more and–

"There are others that are far stronger than both of us. Others who don't have much of a qualm about eliminating obstacles in their way. Even if that obstacle is a child."

Yamato was already turning to leave, clearly finished with the conversation, but Itachi wasn't ready to let him go. In a last ditch attempt to get him to stay, Itachi blurted out the names he swore to keep a secret.

"Are you working for Orochimaru?"

Yamato's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"Danzo?" Yamato's breath hitched. And if Itachi was interpreting Yamato's body language correctly, then he was part of the Anbu Root force that the mysterious messenger, Inu, had mentioned to Shisui. Yamato would be his ticket into the organization.

Instead of verbally answering, Yamato opened his mouth and poked his tongue out. His pointer finger drew Itachi's attention to the dark strokes that formed an intricate sealing pattern. Despite knowing very little about seals, the small kanji for "silence" embedded into the top right corner of the overall seal was enough for Itachi to understand.

Yamato wasn't deliberately keeping secrets from him. He was obstructed from saying them out loud.

"Can you help me to join your group?"

Yamato stared blankly at him. "Why would you want to do that? He's interested in recruiting you, but I was planning on reporting back that your skills were developing slower than anticipated–"

"Get me in," Itachi interjected. "I have my reasons and it'll allow you to successfully complete your mission."

"Alright," Yamato conceded. He jerked his chin towards the chunin exam application. "Sign up for the Chunin Exams. He'll be watching your performance and if you impress him enough, then maybe he'll extend an offer to you."

"What do I need to do?"

Yamato shrugged. "Whatever you think you need to do. I don't know the details of the exam. Maybe if you make decisions that align with his outlook towards what it means to be a shinobi, then you'll have a better chance."

"What it means to be a shinobi?" Itachi echoed. Before Itachi had the chance to ask more, Yamato had already disappeared.

The meaning of a shinobi…

An incessant dripping noise filled his ears, the quiet noise accentuated by the echo effect of the mostly enclosed space, despite the massive hole torn through the upper left side. It was the aftermath of Kakashi's handiwork, when he used Chidori to create his own exit. An underground cave with no visible exits, the perfect hiding spot for someone whose jutsu allowed him to worm his way through earth.

Zetsu.

Although the chances of Zetsu still using this place as his home base were minimal, coming back afforded Kakashi the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the place for any trails left behind.

His footsteps echoed softly through the empty space as Kakashi inspected the entirety of the place. Considering the cave was practically barren save for Madara's seat in the center of the room, there wasn't much to see. No hidden corners, no trap doors, and no signs of life. The only thing worth examining in close quarters was Madara's seat, but he had been dead for so long that not a single trace of his chakra lingered.

The splattered blood on the concrete surface had long dried out, permanently staining the surface.

Kakashi stood up, ready to leave after an unfruitful search, when his senses picked up the sudden appearance of a chakra signature. Springing into a fighting position, his arm darted outward. The sharp end of the kunai nicked a few strands of the intruder's head.

A yelp escaped from the intruder's mouth as he sank back down into the ground. Kakashi's momentum carried him forward, sailing past the spot where Zetsu had appeared.

Or at least a part of Zetsu. This one looked a bit different from what Kakashi remembered. While the other was a fusion of both white and black, this one was completely white. The plant-like covering on the outer sides was noticeably missing.

Just as Zetsu emerged from the ground again, Kakashi's leg swung. The curve of his foot made contact with his head, with enough force that it ripped it from his neck and sent the head sailing to the other side of the room. The white glob splattered messily against the wall before sinking down to the floor. The head rolled twice before coming to a complete stop.

The body remained half-submerged out of the ground.

As if beheading one of the Zetsu was the catalyst to their motivation to fight, many more Zetsus started appearing out of the ground. Regardless of the direction that he turned, the Zetsus were everywhere. And as more time passed, the rate that they spawned out of the ground was increasing. In less than five minutes, the entirety of the cave was flooded with white Zetsu beings.

The ability to make durable clones…was that his jutsu?

Even when Kakashi found himself outnumbered one hundred to one, that wasn't enough to faze him. That wasn't enough to break his rhythmic stride as he practically barrelled through the army of Zetsus, tearing limbs left and right. Sparks of electricity jumped from the lightning laced kunai. With deadly accuracy, Kakashi launched his kunai. The sharp tip pierced through the stomach of the first Zetsu; the lightning chakra propelled the momentum to keep going, taking out at least ten more bodies.

Kakashi didn't stop to count. As his fingers moved through the sealing sequence for a water jutsu, he also pushed chakra to the soles of his feet. The boost of chakra propelled him high into the air as a vicious tidal wave of water crashed into the sea of Zetsus. The force of the impact knocked a few off of their feet, but when his electricity made contact with the water, the entire army was wiped out in a matter of seconds.

By the time the water receded and his feet touched the ground again, bodies were strewn everywhere in various states of mishap.

However, that wasn't the end of them. As many as Kakashi took out, there always seemed to be two more of them to replace the fallen body. In a battle of strength, Kakashi would win. However in a battle of stamina, it was clear that Zetsu had the advantage. Continuing to indulge in a long drawn out battle would be playing right into his strength.

And that wasn't the reason why Kakashi had come.

His blade sliced cleanly through the arm socket of one of the clones. Spinning on the heels of his feet, his blade swung in a deadly three hundred sixty degree arc. That had given Kakashi just enough room to side-step the wall. Feet sticking onto the surface, he ran up the length of the massive wall.

Just shy of reaching the exit on the roof of the cave, a few Zetsus launched themselves at him. Kakashi broke his break to the exit to dodge them, making quick work of them. Hands grabbing onto one of his unfortunate victims, he hurled the body to knock two more Zetsus back down to the ground.

Hands grabbed the back of his cloak. The Zetsu wrapped himself around Kakashi, the middle of his chest opening up and the spikes ensnared his limbs, trapping him. A small burst of lightning chakra from his body was enough to loosen his hold. Behind him, the body fell as more continued to make their way up to replace their fallen comrades.

It was a never ending battle. A pointless one too, because Kakashi wasn't going to be able to fight the original, the source of all these clones.

Screw it. At the rate they were closing in on him, Kakashi wouldn't be able to escape from the way he came in.

A high pitched shrieking noise permeated the air as Kakashi rammed his right hand through the surface. The earth crumbled, the dirt and rocky surface caving in. Kakashi sidestepped the rubble, skewering another three Zetsus before he slipped out of the cave while choruses of complaints about dirt getting into their eyes sounded behind him.

Feet landing onto the soft grass, Kakashi was about to flash step away from this damned place before the clones regained their bearings when another white Zetsu appeared in front of him.

Underneath his mask, Kakashi sighed. A Chidori charged up in his right hand, he was ready to ram through the next wave of clones to create his path of escape but stopped short of advancing when Kakashi noted there was only one of them.

The original?

"What do you want?"

White Zetsu let out a light-hearted chuckle. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You're the one who encroached on my territory."

"Thought you would have changed locations," Kakashi murmured as his heel kicked at a stray pebble in the ground. From the pained shout that sounded behind him, it was evident it had nicked its target – the clone that was climbing out of the cave to ambush him.

His mouth curled up into a vicious smile, showing off the rows of unnaturally sharp teeth. "Often, the most obvious places are the safest. I didn't expect that you would come back. What are you after?"

No point in beating around the bush. "You. You're working with Orochimaru, aren't you?" At first, the speculation seemed to be completely out of left field, yet the more Kakashi pondered, the less far-fetched the theory began to seem. Although there were a couple pieces of the puzzle that still remained unknown, Zetsu was currently his best guess.

White Zetsu clapped in a sarcastic manner. "Such a pity that you didn't agree to my proposition. Such intelligence is going to waste."

Kakashi latched onto that tidbit, daring to make bolder assumptions to bolster his currently bare-bones speculation. "I didn't agree to work with you so instead you sought out Orochimaru. He's kidnapping Uchiha children to experiment with unlocking the next evolution of the Sharingan."

Kakashi paused, his theorizing never getting much further past this point. Until Madara's explanation on the evolution of the Sharingan came flooding back into the forefront of his memories.

Realization dawned on him.

"You're trying to awaken another Rinnegan."

White Zetsu sighed. "Like I said, such pity that you refused my proposal. Even Orochimaru wasn't that quick to catch on. You know, it's not too late for you to join me. I think we would make a great duo."

Kakashi scoffed, in part due to Zetsu's ridiculous request and in part because Kakashi finally realized that he made a mistake by assuming Madara was the mastermind behind the entire operation.

The true mastermind was still standing right here.

Or was it his other half?

"Creating a perfect world…do you truly believe there is such a thing?" Kakashi murmured underneath his breath. "What are you after?"

White Zetsu wasn't meant to hear those words, but from the way he simply shrugged as a way of answering, he heard him.

"Whatever you're trying to do, I won't join you. Your plans won't succeed."

A small smirk stretched across White Zetsu's lips. "We'll see about that."

Right as one of his clones pounced on Kakashi, he teleported out of the clearing. The clone fell flat on his face, letting out a pained groan as the bottom of his chin nicked the solid ground.

Black Zetsu emerged from the trunk of the tree, piercing yellow eyes glued to the spot where Kakashi had been standing moments prior.

"A formidable foe," Black Zetsu muttered. "He will thwart our plans if we don't take care of him. You know what to do, right?"

White Zetsu flashed him a mock salute. "Of course."

When Okami stepped into his line of sight, an annoyed scowl morphed on Kakuzu's face. What happened to their deal that Okami wouldn't bother him for three months while Kakuzu hunted his bounty list? And while he had free reign, Kakuzu was assigned to search for potential recruits to their group, although both of them knew that Okami wouldn't really hold him to that promise.

It already irked him enough that Kakuzu shared his bounty funds with the Akatsuki group, something that he never thought he would do. The worst part? Kakuzu had done it willingly, even if he was still annoyed about it.

"What?" Kakuzu grounded out as he continued to head towards the Wind country. Okami fell into step beside him, seemingly struggling to keep up with his brisk pace. At one point, Kakuzu stopped his long strides to crane his head over his shoulder to witness Okami lagging behind.

His green eyes narrowed in suspicion. Kakuzu spread his feet into a fighting stance, hand hovering over his weapons pouch as Okami caught up to him.

"Tell me what you want and then leave," Kakuzu stated evenly, giving away no indication that he suspected anything was wrong.

Okami fished out a bingo book from the inside of his cloak. Thumbing to the earmarked page, he tossed the book over to Kakuzu. Kakuzu caught it with one hand. His eyes darted downward to scan the content of the bingo book, but he kept Okami in his peripheral vision at all times.

"Your next bounty target."

Kakuzu tossed the bingo book back at him. The bound papers bounced harmlessly off of Okami's chest before dropping in a disheveled heap at his feet.

"What's the meaning of this? You're asking me to go after such a low bounty target? What an insult."

"The bounty numbers don't mean anything. He is unbelievably skilled for his age. I trust that you'll get a good fight–"

Kakuzu didn't even bother letting the imposter finish his sentence. In less than a second, his hand disconnected from the rest of his arm, shooting towards Okami at lightning speed. His fingers curled around the imposter's neck, lifting him up into the air.

"Who are you?"

No response. His hold tightened. The imposter let out a choked gasp as Okami's dark features began to ebb away, only to be replaced by a shock of white, a few tufts of light green hair, and piercing yellow eyes.

"Huh, you found out."

"A poor impersonation job," Kakuzu stated, his grip continually tightening until the imposter's eyes began to bulge. His hands uselessly clawed at Kakuzu's grip to pry his fingers off of the pressure points on his neck. "Tell me who you are. What is your jutsu?"

Kakuzu marginally loosened his hold. The imposter let in a big gulp of air. "Not telling you anything–!"

His neck snapped. Depositing the body in a disheveled mess onto the ground, Kakuzu continued heading towards the Land of the Wind like nothing ever happened.

Having lived for so many decades, witnessing a jutsu that allowed impersonation of another wasn't the strangest thing that Kakuzu had seen. The more troubling issue laid in his motivation for using Okami's identity to get close to Kakuzu.

And why the imposter wanted a thirteen year old kid killed.

Shisui Uchiha…Kakuzu mulled over the name in his head but came up short on any new information other than what was written in the bingo book.

Tch, the imposter wanted the kid dead?

Just to spite him, Kakuzu swore he wouldn't go after the kid.

At least not for another few years. At the rate the kid was progressing, his bounty would be worth triple in a few years.

Kakuzu could afford to wait.

A/N: Hi again.

Thank you for reading! Until next time :)

-MM