N.B. Thanks to the Narutobetas community for letting me post this chapter to be checked. Thanks also to all those who read the first chapter and especially those who took the time to submit reviews.
Standard disclaimers apply. See Ch. 1 for further.
This story is now entering speculative/AU land. As I will now be either filling in some gaps in the original story for my own purposes, speculating on future events and maybe just being in blatant denial coughgaaralivescough I ask you to bear with me. I will attempt to remain as true to canon and proper characterization as possible.
Spoilers for manga ch.245 on.
The office was black, not dark, not shadowy, black. With the curtains drawn across the large windows behind the desk, the blackness took on a materially viscous quality. It made Sakura think of hiding in her mother's linen closet during some long ago game of hide and seek. She sniffed at the memory, because with it came another reminiscence, one of a child with a loud orange jump suit and an even louder personality. Naruto; he had been away for nearly two years and she still missed him at the oddest moments. She slunk stealthy in what she thought was the direction of those windows, hoping to open the curtains and get a bit more light. Unfortunately, she had forgotten about Tsunade's penchant for leaving books stacked all over the floor. The crash from her hitting the desk and overturning the lamp perched on it was muffled by the carpet but still loud enough to draw one of the Anbu guards. Thinking fast Sakura dove for a low opening that she hoped was the well of Tsunade's desk and formed rapid seals for the kokohi no jutsu. She did her best not to breathe as the masked-nin entered, turned on the lights and checked the office. Thankfully this particular Anbu was either lazy or simply didn't believe anyone could actually penetrate as far as the Hokage's office undetected; whatever the case he or she did no more than a cursory sweep of the room before leaving.
'Stupid in times like these,' thought the young ninja as she slipped out of her hiding place.
'Stupid but lucky for you,' her mind prodded.
Nodding at the truth if her own observation Sakura quickly crossed to the windows, careful to avoid any more mishaps with the Fifth's detritus, and opened the curtains just enough to make out the files along the opposite wall. These comprised the records of the everyday coordination of the village and its residents. Sakura wasn't interested in those files. She was after the sensitive report, the ones from which the Bingo Books were assembled. All allied villages shared copies of the files on their missing-nins and most assembled cursory information on the majority of the rest. In Konoha, these records were stored in a special room off the Hokage's office. Sakura had lifted Shizune's duplicate key, and had spent the last three days working up the nerve to break in. Since the older medic had begun to wonder aloud about the key's whereabouts Sakura had decided that it was tonight or never.
The door was narrow and set in a corner of the room between a filing cabinet and a bookshelf. Sakura was careful not to let the very solid metal door bang against the files. Slipping inside she quickly un-slung the roll of cloth from her back and wedged it tight to the crack at the bottom of the door to keep any telltale light traces hidden. Confident in her preparations she flicked the light switch.
The room was roughly square with a low ceiling and shelves upon shelves of grey boxes. This was how missing-nin files were preserved. Since every scrap was collected, simple folders had long since proved insufficient. The oldest records were closest to the door. Sakura started down the nearest aisle, keeping a close eye on the dates she passed. She paused when she came to the files dated five years earlier near the far end of the fourth aisle. She then began scanning names. Since the files were placed in order of the defection date she found the box she was looking for quickly. He had fled in the early summer, shortly after his brother's induction into the academy.
Uchiha Itachi.
The greatest prodigy his clan, and perhaps the village itself, had ever known. He had graduated the academy at seven, activated his Sharingan at eight, been made Chuunin by ten, Anbu captain by thirteen and mass murdering monster less than a year after that. But this she already knew. Scanning further in the file Sakura paused at a name. Sasuke. The only member of his family that Itachi had spared. Why? Reading on she stifled a gasp. Outlined in the file was a brief description of Sasuke's condition when he was found. Sobbing and covered in blood and vomit, trapped in an evil dream by his brother. By the penultimate power of his own bloodline. From the boy's ramblings on the scene and during his recovery, as well as statements taken from those who had known Itachi, it was pieced together that Itachi had left his brother alive because killing him would have been counterintuitive to his purposes. The elder Uchiha wanted a worthy opponent, so he destroyed his own clan and tortured his sibling to near madness in order to create one. Sakura felt vaguely ill and began to fumble the documents back into their box when something fell to the floor. It was a few pieces of paper in Tsunade's hand stapled together with a picture.
It was a collection of the Fifth's notes, taken during interviews with the Jounin who had fought Itachi during his most recent return to the village. They gave very little new information except for Maito Gai's. He observed that The Uchiha seemed less reckless than before. In atypical style, it seemed to Sakura, Gai-sensei gave a cold analysis of Itachi's abilities culminating in the statement that he "did not believe that Uchiha Itachi alone proved to be any real threat to the village at large."
He also cautioned against letting "The Fourth's Legacy" out of the village. This last bit gave Sakura pause. What was the Fourth's Legacy? Did this mean that Itachi was after something hidden in the village? If so then why were so many of the strongest ninja they had constantly away on missions?
Sakura shook her head. No, the Fifth Hokage was no fool. She would never draw strength away from the village if it were vitally needed. Which meant that whatever the Fourth's Legacy was it wasn't in Konoha. This must also mean that it was removed after Itachi had resurfaced, against Gai-sensei's advice. But there was one more page. It was a note, scrawled to Tsunade by none other than Jiraiya. It was dated four months previously. Despite the bleak mood that had settled over her while reading through these accounts of murder and violence Sakura could not suppress of jolt of excitement. This was a recent letter from the other Senin, perhaps he mentioned Naruto in it somewhere. Eager for news of her friend she quickly read on.
The note did indeed contain information about Naruto; it was, in fact, almost entirely about him. Jiraiya gave a general explanation to Tsunade for removing Naruto from the village, again citing the need to protect the boy as well as his desire to prevent history repeating itself. Sakura was surprised at the old Senin's familiar tone, and his candid observations that he saw both himself and the Fourth in his rash young student. All of this, and some of his lighthearted revelations of Naruto's antics brought, a lump to Sakura's throat. The end of the missive though shifted abruptly to deadly seriousness.
"The Kyuubi is safe for the time being. The Uchiha cannot take him from me without severely weakening himself. It seems that the Mangekyou drains his strength faster than anyone anticipated. He has, perhaps, failed to master it fully. As for the rest of that organization, I don't know. I fear that they may turn to other targets. You are aware of the consequences if they succeed in capturing even one of the demons."
The Kyuubi was with Jiraiya. That was what the Akatsuki sought: demons? Sakura shook her head to clear away these questions. They were not problems she could solve, Itachi on the other hand. Sakura looked closely at the photograph. It was old, taken shortly after his Anbu captaincy was announced according to the date. In it, she did not see a hardened monster but an insecure little boy grasping for power by any means. She suppressed a bitter laugh at the blatant similarities. Looking closer she began to match details in her mind, Sasuke's face was softer, his eyes less deep set but the posture was the same, the lines of the mouth, the way they folded their arms across their chests, all the same. Like Sasuke, he was also easy to predict, if she looked at his actions with a clear head, he wanted to prove that he was the strongest, the best and he needed to do it repeatedly to combat the crushing self-loathing and doubt hidden inside.
A thought tugged at the back of her mind, making Sakura read through the note again. The Akatsuki must also be after power, thus they hoped to harness the most awesome demons ever to exist. That might be Itachi's reason for joining them, except that the man had never done anything that did not serve his own ends in his life. Therefore, the Uchiha believed either that he could gain power from the demons or he was waiting within the organization for another purpose. Following this second line of reasoning Sakura moved to the back wall where the records on enemy groups were stored. Finding the one for the Akatsuki, she sifted through the papers on the individual members, duplicates of their file for the most part, until she found another note in Jiraiya's spiky hand.
"The Akatsuki seek the power of jinchuuriki. Shukaku and Gaara of the Sand as well the Kyuubi and the Fourth's Legacy are the most vulnerable."
Once again Sakura had to stifle a gasp. She leaned heavily against the self and began breathed deeply, trying to combat the spinning in her head. Gaara of the Desert, the boy who claimed to be demon possessed actually was; which meant that the Kyuubi was contained within a person as well. That person was from their village then. The only way for a demon to exist within a person was for them to be sealed. Sakura tried to remember if she had heard of any ninja's with seals like Sasuke's. She came up blank. Alright, if they're anything like Gaara that means they would sometimes use the power of the demon. However, she couldn't remember any warnings to stay away from any of the other ninja's because they might be unpredictable. But she had been warned away from one member of the village. She nearly dropped the box as her mind leapt to the obvious conclusion, Naruto. The Akatsuki were after Naruto. Unable or unwilling to grasp the full repercussions of this revelation Sakura's mind leapt back to Itachi.
The niggling thought burst into full light. Itachi was also after Naruto. It was unlikely that he was completely unaware of what was going on in his sibling's life. He would have known that Naruto and Sasuke were friends. He would also have known what his presence, and apparent interest in the other boy rather than Sasuke would do to his already unstable little brother. This meant that he wanted one of two things, either for his brother to murder Naruto and gain the Mangekyou in order to become his equal and therefore a worthy opponent, or to anger Sasuke into doing something equally rash in hopes of defeating him. Did he realize how he had succeeded? He must. This meant he knew that Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru, and that he probably knew where Orochimaru was. He must also realize that Sasuke had failed to kill his friend and gain the Mangekyou. If his next move followed the pattern of his others, he would want to present his brother with a second chance at the other boy, after all, to his way of thinking the only way for his brother to be able to put up a good fight was to become him. Therefore, he would probably try to take Naruto again.
Stuffing the papers back in the box Sakura quickly replaced it on the shelf. She did a quick double check of the room, flicked off the lights and tied the roll of cloth onto her back while waiting for her eyes to readjust to the dark. She slipped out and relocked the door, crossed to the windows and pulled the curtains closed. Now all that was left was to get away cleanly. Utilizing another genjutsu Sakura cloaked herself from curious eyes and snuck out of the office and down the corridor. She had to maintain the illusion the entire way home to avoid being spotted by any early risers. The sun was just showing over the horizon as she climbed through her bedroom window. Despite her long night, she was unable to sleep. Instead, she watched the day break and allowed the plan that had been germinating since she left the records room to unfurl further.