Grey

Chapter 8

Warning: Spoilers for chapter 121 (volume 14 of the manga).

It was indeed a difficult choice to make¡ªto join or not to join Anbu. So far, I'd spent two years as a Jounin. I was thirteen now, and was faced with the multi-faceted problems of growing up: mood swings, hyperactivity, angst, defiance and the like.

Besides the standard emotional rollercoaster usually experienced by most teenagers, I had to contend with many other problems I had to face myself. Hayato-sensei, now the Yondaime Hokage, hardly had the time or energy to spare. Most of his free time was spent with his girlfriend, and I thought it selfish to deprive him of his well-deserved rest.

That was fine with me, since I had my friends, my fellow Jounins, who could listen to me rant.

One thing really bothered me. It boiled down to a simple question of my loyalty to Konoha. Did I consider my friends true friends? Would I, one day, turn my back on them and fight, shoulder to shoulder with my kinsmen from Hidden Cloud Village? Or would I instead, side with my friends in Konoha?

But right now, my biggest concern was whether I should join Anbu or not. I treasured the friendships I'd built up, and feared the sense of insecurity that might overpower me without the company of my friends. However, it was also my duty to my village to infiltrate Konoha. Being stuck in a dilemma like that wasn't fun, and it took Obito to convince me to join Anbu.

As it turned out, Obito had also been invited to join Anbu. He urged me to join too, and after some time, I was won over by his eloquence and entered the Anbu of Konoha, whose ranks were filled by the elite.

It was an exhilarating moment when I was handed the uniform and mask which designated me as officially part of the Anbu. However, whether it was because I could finally serve Konoha as an elite ninja, or because I could finally gain access to Konoha's secrets, I could not tell.

*****

Obito and I were assigned to the same team, with Yamanaka Kazuki and Nara Kirito ordered to guide us in our missions. Kazuki and Kirito were highly skilled, and they were more than eager to teach us the ropes.

Of course, nothing could beat on-the-job training, so for a while, we handled fairly straightforward cases such as assassinations, and then slowly progressed to hunting down wanted ninjas who had defected to other countries. I found it strangely fulfilling to be able to kill and smell the coppery smell of blood that weighed the air down with death.

However, four months into the job, we were posted to investigate the mysterious disappearances of ninjas of different ranks. These ninjas usually vanished during missions but some were also reported missing while they were off-duty. It was indeed very queer, and five other teams, besides our own, were dispatched to look into the matter.

At first, I was rather disappointed that we were to investigate, which meant that stealth was vital. I much preferred the thrill of fast-paced chases and assassinations to such a sluggish mission. However, the authorities were thoroughly convinced that at least one ninja was behind this spate of disappearances. He was probably at least a Jounin, since most of those missing were Chuunins and Genins. We received orders to work fast and report our discoveries to base as quickly as we could.

I soon found that our new investigative mission was not as boring and simple as it seemed at first. We soon realised that we were dealing with a potentially dangerous assassin, after one of the Anbu teams sent to investigate went missing.

The suspects were largely those who had the ability to subdue and kill Anbu. Orochimaru-sensei was one of them, but I was sceptical of this. To me, Orochimaru-sensei was a role-model, one who always was there to give me encouragement when the time called for it. He never failed to highlight the fact that I had potential to become a great ninja, and even agreed to my request to teach me some of his jutsus.

However, I hadn't been seeing him of late, ever since I'd joined the Anbu, and so I felt a little guilty because of that. I imagined that he would feel betrayed, hurt, among other things.

We continued our mission after receiving the news of the Anbu team's disappearance, gathering information as per normal, and although no one showed it, I could tell that everyone feared for his life. There was no telling if we were going to be the next victim of the mysterious murderer we were tracking. Even though we knew that every mission we undertook could result in our death, we took our safe return from every journey for granted, never imagining that death itself could one day, knock on our door.

I often shared my thoughts with my teammates, but I remained closest to Obito. Something about him told me that I could trust him, and more often than not, he was the target of my ranting. Seven years older than me, Obito was like an elder brother to me, and he always was there to comfort me in my darkest moments.

But this time, there was no comforting to be done. Everyone knew all too well that we could be the next Anbu team to go missing, and this knowledge caused our usually casual mood to become sombre and grave.

In fact, it was this very knowledge that motivated us to seek out the killer. Fuelled by our own selfish desire to survive, we were determined to give our all to find the culprit. We left no stone unturned, and watched the suspects closely. Yet ninjas continued to disappear and our frustration knew no bounds. Who was this killer?

The last straw came when Kazuki went missing while going off to relieve himself. We heard a yell from the direction in which he had gone, and ran quickly to investigate.

Suddenly, I collapsed, clutching my head. I felt as if someone else was trying to take over my mind... Advanced Shintenshin no Jutsu... Kazuki?

Kakashi...Don't panic. It's only me, Kazuki. I've been captured by Orochimaru-sense...It seems that he is the culprit after all... We're currently headed north... Destination seems to be the abandoned warehouse at the edge of the village...

*****

The Sandaime Hokage was with us in no time. He was old, doubtless, but he still possessed the most of the power he had in his younger days.

We entered the warehouse silently, and examined the ground and the ceiling for booby traps. It seemed as if Orochimaru-sensei had been completely sure that we would find him, for there were many booby traps lying around us. A false move could result in our death. Kirito offered to remain outside to help watch our backs.

Inching across the floor and checking for false tiles at the same time, our team, and the Sandaime Hokage made little progress. We felt trapped, as if suspended in that moment in time, and the door before us seemed further away from us with every step we took.

I cursed. We had fallen into a trap. It was very difficult to break the jutsu and get out of this illusion we were stuck in. The Sandaime Hokage sighed and moved his hands swiftly in a series of seals. We felt the room give a shuddering heave, and then, we were right before the door.

I heard the Hokage mutter, "One should never use the jutsus your teacher taught you..."

*****

We found Orochimaru in the basement of the building. The floor was flooded with dripping water from faulty pipes, and the air was heavy with death. The smell of rotting flesh seemed to come from a room at the end of the corridor, and armed with the grim expectation of what we could possibly find there, we flung the door open.

Orochimaru stood amongst a sea of corpses.

He turned at the sound of us entering the room, and sneered, an evil grin on his face, "Oh... So I've been discovered, eh? What a pity..."

The Sandaime Hokage, unable to believe his eyes, stared in horror at his former protege, once his pride and joy. He blurted out, "Orochimaru! What's this all about?"

I staggered, and took a step backwards. I couldn't believe my eyes. Here was Orochimaru-sensei, the ninja who had told me to pursue my dream, whom I'd idolised for a while when I was younger. How could this be?

Obito caught me in his arms and queried, "Orochimaru-sensei, why would you, an outstanding ninja..."

"Oh, would you like to join my--guests?"

Obito gulped, and was silent.

Meanwhile, the Sandaime Hokage stared sadly at Orochimaru, and asked, "Why, Orochimaru, why would you want to do such a hideous thing?"

"I'm doing this to develop Furou Fushi no jutsu, the doorway to all the other jutsus."

"Orochimaru..." The Hokage summoned Enkouou-enma, and appeared to make preparations to attack Orochimaru-sensei.

However, Orochimaru sniggered, and told the Hokage that he wouldn't have the heart to kill his very own student.

He was right. The Sandaime Hokage did not attack Orochimaru-sensei even as he turned and strode, right past us, into the long watery tunnel ahead of him and behind us.

*****

Our heroic teammate Kazuki died of severe internal injuries that night. Thankfully, he had not yet been made a victim of Orochimaru's insane experiments. It appeared that Orochimaru injured him so that he wouldn't be able to escape.

There was no news of Orochimaru for many months after that incident, and he was presumed to be dead. Yet deep within our hearts we knew that he was still out there, and a dark pall cast itself over all of us.

A/n: Thanks again, to all you nice people who have reviewed my fic. ^^ You guys make me feel appreciated!! XD

Note: Enkouou-enma is the old monkey the Sandaime Hokage summons.