Chapter 15: Lies and Manipulation

As they agreed upon, Itachi allowed Yamato to take the lead in finding Yoji, which proved to be something that Yamato could accomplish within half an hour. That only raised Itachi's suspicions that Yamato had been biding his time before approaching him, possibly observing him from the shadows.

Even if they were pitted on opposite sides of the forest, it shouldn't have taken Yamato almost three hours to find him.

That only proved that Itachi could trust no one. Even if Yamato was supposedly working towards the same goal as him, he wasn't as forthright with all of his information as Itachi initially believed. Lying to him about his mission had solidified that notion.

Then again, Itachi had lied too.

The three of them made it to the outskirts of the tower in no time, encountering no setbacks, other than a small skirmish with a pair of genins who ran at the first sight of Yoji's bugs. A silent pact was made that they would approach the tower cautiously and slowly, alert for traps or other teams waiting to ambush their competitors.

Yoji never expected that the ambush would come from his own teammate. Just shy of reaching the tower, Itachi drew his kunai and attacked. The element of surprise had forced Yoji into close combat, his weaker style of fighting. While Itachi's limbs were shorter, the force packed behind the punches and kicks compensated for the wider opening that Itachi left as a result of reaching further.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yoji demanded as he suffered a nasty gash on his left bicep when he hastily tried to create distance between the two of them. To avoid Yoji's counterattack, Itachi was the one who backflipped out of his reach, turning it into a long distance battle.

Just the way that Yoji wanted. However, Itachi wasn't completely helpless when it came to long distance combat either.

"It's to complete my mission," Itachi stated. "Don't take it personally."

Yoji scoffed, eyes darting around for any sign of Yamato, who conveniently wasn't around. Seemingly writing off Yamato as a viable backup, a swarm of bugs escaped from Yoji's billowing sleeves. A buzzing noise pervaded through the clearing.

The swarm dived towards him.

Itachi was ready for them, a massive fireball spewing from his mouth. The heat rolled off of the jutsu in hot waves, eliciting a few beads of sweat to drip down from Itachi's forehead as he charged forward. The swarm of insects flew high, just out of the reach of the dancing flames, but still suffered from the rising heat. Witnessing the shaky flying patterns made Itachi comfortable to write off those bugs as a threat.

Appearing in Yoji's line of sight, Itachi attacked with three shurikens. The Aburame deftly dodged two of them, deflecting the third with his kunai. Another swarm of bugs flew out of his sleeves, this time a much smaller group, yet more concentrated.

These insects were much faster, flying at a speed that didn't allow Itachi any time to execute another fireball jutsu. Dropping down to the ground, Itachi rolled right under the swarm that was zooming in a linear direction. Half a second too late, the insects stopped to a halt before changing their course to come after him.

Too late.

Jerking his hand backwards, Itachi tugged back the shuriken that had been attached to ninja wire. The sudden movement forced Yoji to jump to avoid the shurikens' trajectory. That two seconds of falter was enough for Itachi to close the distance between the two of them.

Eyes bleeding red, Itachi layered a genjutsu onto Yoji, giving him the impression that he was still in control of his insects. That his insects were going to close in on Itachi at any moment. That Yoji wouldn't need to raise his arms to defend himself from Itachi's vicious right hook.

The punch was enough to knock Yoji out of his stupor. Itachi didn't allow him the opportunity to stand up. Just as Yoji was wiping away the dribble of blood that escaped from the corner of mouth, Itachi knocked him out with a hit to the back of his neck.

For a good measure, Itachi made quick work of tying his teammate to a tree. Yamato hopped down from the branches.

"I never thought you would actually follow through with it."

Itachi didn't respond. Shortly, he would have to follow through with the second part of his commitment. The part where he betrayed his other teammate too. As far as Itachi could tell, Yamato remained completely unsuspecting, but he didn't rule out that it was all a part of his facade.

Look underneath the underneath. That was the lesson that Yamato taught him. It would be a shame if he didn't take his own advice seriously.

After tying the last knot, Itachi stood up, wiping the palm of his hands together to brush off the strands of nylon that clung to his fingers. The soles of his shoes sunk into the soft ground as Itachi slowly approached Yamato.

The older boy made eye contact with him, as if to question why he was moving so slowly. Itachi took the opportunity to ensnare him into an Academy level genjutsu to disguise the process of his eyes turning bloody red. Once the Sharingan was activated, Itachi layered a much stronger genjutsu upon him. A double layered A ranked visual genjutsu that Shisui had taught him; the jutsu's strength laid in the victim's complacency. As expected, Yamato easily broke through the first layer of genjutsu but was unable to pick up on the fact he was still ensnared in a second layer of genjutsu until Itachi knocked him out.

Itachi caught Yamato before his body completely fell to the ground. Hands hooking underneath Yamato's armpits, Itachi slowly dragged him to the same tree where he tied up Yoji. Summoning another bundle of rope from his storage scrolls, Itachi made quick work of binding the entirety of his torso to the tree before bounding his legs and wrists tightly together.

After layering a genjutsu on top of his two unconscious teammates, Itachi turned to leave. He wasn't worried. Even if someone did happen to see right through his illusion, Itachi doubted another team would be willing to help them pass.

No. As long as they stayed bound and unconscious, Itachi would pass with relative ease.

He tossed one final look over his shoulder before he made a beeline towards the Central Tower. On his way there, Itachi bumped into the tall boy, the one who entered through the same gates as him.

Despite his original indignant attitude towards the suggestion of betraying his teammates in order to pass, Itachi couldn't help notice that he arrived at the tower alone too.

The two of them exchanged a wary look. Itachi's fingers curled around the handle of a kunai, ready to defend himself at a moment's notice.

Instead of attacking him, the boy broke the silence. "I see that you have chosen to betray your comrades."

"I could say the same about you," Itachi responded evenly. "Are you going to attack?" They were two steps away from the finish line. Both on high guard, a bit drained of chakra after fighting both of their teammates, and likely the most skilled of their team.

A fight wouldn't be in their favor.

The boy seemed to come to the same conclusion as his muscles relaxed, marginally. Throwing Itachi a tight-lipped smile, he brushed past him to the door of the tower.

He turned to look over his shoulder. "We'll fight in the third round."

With that, the boy slipped through the doorway.

A few seconds later, Itachi followed.


Minato stood behind Hiruzen's chair as they watched the fuzzy monitor screens show the progress of the second round of the Chunin Exams. With less than half of the time remaining, only two individuals and a full team have currently arrived at the tower.

"Disappointing, isn't it?" Hiruzen murmured. "Two have chosen the path of betrayal. And the footage is showing more that haven't quite yet succeeded."

"If the purpose of this round is to test teamwork, why don't you fail them?"

"Failing them wouldn't make them realize the importance of teamwork as much as allowing them the opportunity to experience what it means to be without a team. Isn't that the reason you passed your genin team?"

Minato ducked his head in shame. "And look how that turned out. Itachi's decision surprised me. I thought after witnessing his teammate's death, he would…"

"Learn to cherish them more?"

Minato nodded.

"Everyone reacts differently to death. Perhaps for some, it's easier to keep others at a distance to not create the opportunity to be hurt again. You've seen it in your own students, haven't you?"

"Yes and I designed this Chunin Exams in hopes of preventing another tragedy, but…"

"Worry not, Minato." Hiruzen's eyes shone with determination. "I won't allow anyone to pass who doesn't understand the importance of teamwork."


Two rows of four. Eight chunin hopefuls stood outside of the gates of Training Ground 28, listening to Minato rattle off the instructions for the next round. This time, the rules were as clear cut as they seemed: a free-for-all battle.

The last person standing would be named the victor of the third round.

Their decision in their previous round had turned into a double edged sword. On one hand, those with teams could work together to pick off the ones without a comrade. However, there was also the possibility of teammates betraying each other while they still remained unaware.

What was the true purpose of this exercise? With such a heavy emphasis on choosing between one's selfish gains or his team, Itachi had speculated that it was to hit home the importance of teamwork.

But what about this round? The guidelines were set up so that they would have no choice but to do so.

But even more important than that, what kind of move was Danzo expecting him to make?

Itachi didn't have time to ponder more on the subject as Minato signaled that the round had begun. Just like last time, they had been split off into different starting points. The two groups that finished the previous round with their full team started with their teams, respectively. Itachi and the tall boy, who he learned was named Kenta, started at the same location.

The two odd ones out. The two that would most likely fight against each other, while the two teams faced off. And whoever came out as the victor of each of the battles would fight each other, inevitably ending with the team taking the victory.

From the moment they stepped through the gates to Training Ground 28, three kunais were already sailing towards Itachi in rapid fire succession. Itachi dodged the first two, raising his own kunai to deflect the third.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked.

Kenta didn't let up on his attacks. Itachi parried his first punch, followed by a backflip to avoid a knee to the stomach.

"What does it look like?" Kenta answered through gritted teeth as he swung another punch over Itachi's head. "I told you that we would fight in the third round." Kenta fired two shurikens at him. Itachi returned two of his own. The shurikens made contact with each other, emitting a sharp metallic noise before the four shurikens fell to the ground.

"If we want to have a chance to win, we need to team up to take out the other team first, then fight each other."

Kenta wasn't listening. The other boy had already drawn his tanto, swinging it viciously towards Itachi. When his feet stepped over the shurikens, Itachi yanked on the invisible wire attached to his two shurikens. The sharp prong sank itself into the back of Kenta's calves, just momentarily halting his steps.

That moment of hesitation was all that Itachi needed to make eye contact with Kenta. When Itachi pulled him into the genjutsu, the clarity in his eyes waned as a sheen of cloudiness glazed over.

The arm wielding the tanto fell limply to his side.

A B-ranked genjutsu that Shisui had taught him, which functioned akin to minor brainwashing of the opponent. A powerful genjutsu, yet one that could easily be disrupted, even by something as simple as a jostle.

With no one else around, Itachi wasn't worried about an intervening third party. All he needed to ensure was that Kenta remained enraptured by the genjutsu until they reached their destination.

Itachi bided his time. Unlike Yamato, Itachi was no tracker, yet by following the sounds of battle, Itachi easily found the other two teams. They were currently interlocked in a fierce battle, with both sides suffering from one man down. Instead of jumping into the fray, Itachi squatted in the trees, analyzing their movements with his Sharingan. Down below, Kenta loitered around the area, still dazed from the genjutsu.

Another man down. Two versus one. The remaining team member put up a short-lived struggle before he was knocked unconscious too. Before the two standing members had time to even catch their breath, Itachi's clone had dropped down into the clearing.

His appearance in the clearing was Kenta's cue to jump in as well. Itachi's clone spun on the heels of his feet to dodge the incoming fireball jutsu, elbow sticking outward to jab Kenta right in the underside of his ribs.

The genjutsu was broken. Itachi's clone dissipated in a puff of smoke, mixing in with the fumes left behind by the fireball jutsu. Despite not having an inkling of how he had gone from fighting Itachi to fighting two new opponents, Kenta's battle instincts immediately kicked in. Tanto drawn again, the three of them danced around in a flurry of shurikens, fists, and swinging weapons. The metallic cling rang merrily in his ears as Itachi watched the fight pan out from the safety of the trees.

Kenta knocked out one of them with a clean chop on the back of the neck. Only two of them remained, both of them walking around in a circle as they sized each other up.

"There's one more person out there, isn't there?" the other boy asked, eyes narrowed. "We should team up and go after him first."

Kenta waved his tanto dangerously. "Like I'm foolish enough to allow you the opportunity to betray me."

The conversation was over. They met each other in the middle, the sharp edge of the tanto clashing against a kunai.


From his vantage point in the trees, the two genin fighting in the clearing were nothing more than mere specks. Cat knew that Itachi was hiding somewhere in the trees, but his ability to conceal himself had gotten so good that he was unable to pin down his exact location.

It didn't matter. As soon as the battle turned into one man standing, Itachi would surely swoop in and take advantage of his chakra-deprived state to deliver the finishing blow.

Inwardly, Cat scoffed. So far, Itachi had proved to be an interesting character, destroying any of his previous assumptions about the clan heir.

Cat never knew that Itachi had it in him to watch a comrade die, and still choose to betray his teammates. He never knew that Itachi could lie with a straight face, with such expertise that even Cat wasn't able to pick up any of the miniscule indications in his facial expression. He never knew that Itachi could so expertly manipulate a group of genin to battle it out, while he waited for his opportunity to strike.

There was no doubt that Itachi would fit right in.

Judging from the slight tilt of the corner of his lips, Danzo seemed to agree too.

Mission accomplished.


A small smile was stretched across the Third Hokage's lips, yet the smile didn't quite reach his eyes as Hiruzen handed Itachi his newly issued flak jacket and certification of his promotion. Minato stood next to him, unable to hide the disapproving frown that he tried to suppress with a faux eye smile.

Both of them shook his hand, congratulating him, yet the word had fallen flat on their lips. There wasn't a single ounce of sincerity.

Itachi could understand. If the purpose of the exam was to make him realize the importance of comrades, Itachi had done a horrible job at showing that he cared.

He cared. Unfortunately, Itachi was putting on a show for someone else's sake.

And if Itachi had to guess why they still went through and passed him despite their reluctance, he wagered his status as the Uchiha heir had something to do with it.

When Hiruzen shook his hand, the older man didn't let go. Instead, the Hokage leaned in, murmuring quietly under his breath, "I promoted you because I'm sure you have figured out the purpose of this test. Going forward, I hope that you take that lesson to heart."

Itachi dipped his head in acknowledgement of his advice. Hiruzen released his hand. Itachi took a step backwards, returning to his position in the four man line-up of those who had been promoted to chunin.

Kenta wasn't one of them. Unlike Itachi, he didn't have a prestigious clan name to back him up. There wouldn't be any uproar or backlash if he wasn't promoted. Itachi should have failed. He should have passed based on his merit, not based on his name.

Although it wasn't a decision that Itachi agreed with, it didn't matter.

When Danzo approached him as he filed out of the Hokage's office, Itachi knew that he had gotten what he wanted.

Entry into the Anbu Root.


A/N: Hi again!

Thank you for reading. Next few chapters will be ramping up towards the end of Part I of this fic so stayed tuned. :) Until next time!

-MM