Yeah, I know I haven't been updating for like a month, and that has to do with me trying to rewrite this arc and completely revamping my story outline. I used to be able to do weekly updates because I have chapters ahead saved, but now, I pretty much have to edit big portions of one chapter, if not completely. Along with real-life issues, I'm also having a major writer's block on this section, so bad that my beta and I did essay-length character analyses in order to figure out if the plot is going correctly and stuff but not much motivation on actually writing the thing. However, I'm done the next two chapter, so this update will have two chapters.
Beta'd by Alice J
Update 1/2
Chapter 39 - Decidophobia
"Stop touching your neck! It will only worsen your bruising. For someone who breaks other's necks for a living, you are awfully uninformed with the fragility of that particular body part." When Kakashi heard my muffled grunt of pain for the third time, he finally snapped. The moment we landed in Hokage-sama's office with two unconscious bodies in toll, Commander Nara started to work his magic and got us medical help while the Hokage disappeared to somewhere private. So now, my neck was better but the bruising and the aching still remained.
I gave no indication that I had heard him at all and turned my attention back to the medical reports in my hand.
The first one was mine. Under the section of blood tests, some strange figures indicated the injection of a foreign substance of similar composition to soldier pills. Immediately, I understood why my chakra had been going haywire today. Normally, the chakra restricting handcuffs restricted the chakra flow and the body would condition itself to stop generating chakra. Otherwise, every prisoner nowadays would die of overproduction of chakra. However, drugs such as soldier pills stimulate the production of chakra and result in a severely unstable chakra system.
The second one underneath was Falcon's. Concussion, that was the main reason why he was still unconscious. Surprisingly, the genjutsu that I had thought would rival a Mangekyou Sharingan had been very easy to break. Kakashi had only looked at him for one second before the chakra circuit started to return to normal. However, before that had happened, the medic unit managed to record a figure of his disrupted chakra pattern.
As I held out that piece of paper in front of me and examined the image, a random Anbu dropped by and whispered something to Kakashi, who repeated the words to me a second later.
"The initial investigation showed that Falcon had no contact with Elder Shimura over the past three days and that there was no witness that could identify Elder Shimura placing a genjutsu on him. In fact, Danzō has an alibi placing him nowhere near your apartment or Falcon's route home. After your earlier visit to the office, he had stayed in the tower to discuss things with the Hokage." Well, isn't that just great, has anyone checked if he had made a shadow clone? Alibi doesn't mean a damn thing in this world. I commented silently as the Anbu disappeared quickly, leaving the two of us to remain sitting in the Hokage's office, staring at a map of someone's brain.
"Let me guess, this scan is useless as well." I heard my own bland and cracking voice - something I thought I would never have the grace of hearing again.
Every genjutsu user has learned the rule to never leave your own chakra behind for sensors to identify. Flow your chakra as close to your target as possible, hypnotising their chakra circuit to do what you want, but after that, retract your chakra as quickly as possible. Most genjutsu only require the caster's chakra to be active for a second, any other follow-up was simply checking in to reinforce or prolong the effect. Some Hyūga once told me that the only methods by which he identified genjutsu were one, a disrupted chakra circuit, and two, the flare in the caster's chakra system. He had never seen a genjutsu in which the user had so blatantly left behind their own foreign chakra signature in the target's brain.
"There is no concrete evidence that Danzō was the one who placed a genjutsu on Falcon." Even if I had already arrived at this conclusion, my heart still went cold when I heard him saying it out loud. "He wasn't in the position to cast it, and besides, he wasn't exactly known for being an expert in genjutsu. The scan pattern will be filed but I doubt it will get a match in the database. We would have to see if there's anything Falcon had seen when he wakes up."
The database he was referring to was a collection of brain circuit disturbance patterns collected from various genjutsu injuries over the past decade. Similar overall patterns could suggest the same type of genjutsu being cast; smaller details in the patterns could suggest the caster being the same person, as most genjutsu users had habits in how they liked to influence the chakra circuit. However, since the collection was mostly of Konoha shinobi who has unfortunately wandered into foreign shinobi's genjutsu, I sincerely doubted that Danzō's record was in it. Besides, the matching system was unreliable since genjutsu never takes a very concrete form like other ninjutsu, it was mostly used for medical purposes rather than for identifying suspects.
See, the scary thing about Danzō was not just that he seemed to be everywhere but the fact that you could be very aware of who wants to kill you, yet there was no way to get them to suffer any repercussions. That was what made the fear stronger.
If Danzō didn't have the opportunity to cast a genjutsu on him during that window of time after the whole shrine thing, then how did he do it? The genjutsu couldn't have been activated any sooner because the people he was with earlier didn't notice any abnormal reactions and most of them were sensors who would have sensed any foreign chakra carrying the genjutsu. Could he have cast a genjutsu from a distance? No, then the Hokage would have noticed his actions. Then what if the genjutsu could be activated independently of the caster's actions? Is that even possible? All the genjutsu I have heard of require the caster to be in the close vicinity of the target and the genjutsu should take effect as soon as the command is sent, not remaining dormant. Besides, if the caster weren't there to assess the situation, there is no way the genjutsu could be this convincing that it could fool an Anbu agent …
My train of impossible thoughts got interrupted when the office door swung open, and the Hokage entered with his Jōnin Commander. As Hokage-sama passed me by, he gave me such a sad look as if someone had just died… I really wished that that wasn't the case.
"That boy from Root … I can't completely reverse the seal, nor can I take it off, but I did place a seal to counteract the effect so that the paralysis would wear off. However, because of the interference between two seals, he won't be able to make a sound for the time being. Should he ever try to do something that will activate the Root curse seal again, it will kill him." As if he had already known what I wanted to ask, he spoke up the moment he sat down on the chair. Was I happy that Ryuu was still alive? Was I angry? I had no idea, but I did know that we had no way of interrogating him for information on Danzō.
Silence. Unbearable silence. I guess it was the time for that, then.
"My clan … they were planning a coup d'état, weren't they?" It was definitely not the best time to talk about that. My hoarse voice suddenly carried so much weight despite the low volume.
I want an answer … no, I don't … but I really do … So, which one was it?
The Hokage chose it for me because I saw him nodding, the pain in his eyes leaking out like a dam had finally cracked. Why? Why are you so sad, when my family was the traitor?
"So Itachi killed them to prevent the rebellion. Did you know that? Did you know what Itachi was going to do?" I asked again, albeit with more anger this time. When I saw the tiny little nod from the Hokage, that was when all my suppressed anger burst out.
"So you just watched him do it, killing his own clan members one by one, not lifting a finger to stop it. I guess you wouldn't, why would you? When Itachi could have saved you a lot of trouble." I was very aware of the fact that my volume was probably way over what was appropriate right now but I couldn't care less. All the anger that had seemed to disappear all came back the moment I found a target to unleash it on.
"It wasn't like that, Maiko…"
"So enlighten me, tell me the truth, the whole truth. And for once, we may be able to scratch away the lies and the facade everyone here seems to be able to see past but me." Despite my rude interruption, the Hokage just sighed and nodded.
"The coup, when I first caught wind of it, it was Itachi and Shisui who told me. From then on, it had always been them who were the double spies, giving me information on the Uchiha clan's progress. I had planned for a peaceful intervention, to stop the rebellion without any bloodshed. At first, everyone was skeptical that it would work but it was your cousin, Shisui, who provided a solution." He paused a bit, taking another deep breath.
"He knew that just by talking to them, the chance of the Uchiha elders coming to their senses was low, so he suggested that he use his Mangekyou Sharingan's ability: Kotoamatsukami." My eyes widened at the revelation. There it was, the second piece of the eternal puzzle that I just couldn't figure out myself.
"Kotoamatsukami is a special kind of genjutsu. By using two eyes at the same time, Shisui was able to influence the target's mental thoughts quite a bit without them even realising it. In a way, Kotoamatsukami was the strongest genjutsu because the target wouldn't even be able to realise that they were under the influence of someone else. The plan was for him to influence the participants of the meeting, and then I would have been able to persuade them to lower their arms and reach a peaceful conclusion." Suddenly, it all made sense, every piece of the puzzle fit together the moment the critical piece had appeared.
"But something went wrong because Shisui died before he could do it," I whispered slowly but it sounded so loud in the room where no one else was taking an audible breath.
"That's right. The night of the massacre was the date I had planned to talk to the Uchihas, and the day before that was supposed to be the day when Shisui would use the Kotoamatsukami but he died instead. Therefore, I was very surprised when Itachi arrived with the news that Shisui had committed suicide. I was still planning to try the peace talk regardless, hoping that it can hinder the coup even if just by a little. But when I arrived with several Anbu teams, it was already too late." Ah, so that's what happened. It sounded so absurd and strange, no wonder I couldn't figure out the truth myself. There was no way that I could have considered the possibility of a coup, nor could I have guessed Shisui's abilities.
The Uchiha was my clan. Even if I didn't realise it, I was already biased for them from the beginning.
"The next morning, I found Itachi waiting for me in my office, reporting to me about the mission of massacring the Uchiha clan. I hadn't issued it but Itachi claimed that the mission was from me. Eventually, I found out that it was Danzō who issued the mission to the young Itachi under my name, and when we realised it, it was already too late. Before Itachi left, we reached the agreement that I would protect you and Sasuke, never telling you two the truth of what had really happened, while Itachi willingly took on the missing-nin status in order to work outside of Konoha as a spy. I am so sorry that I couldn't keep my promise to him… everything Danzō did to you, it shouldn't have ever happened…"
He said something else after that, but I didn't hear it. It was all too much for me; everything overwhelmed my already messed up brain like a flood. Every bit of information was chipping away my inside piece by piece. Sorrow, regret, and most of all, rage. I didn't cry, at least, I didn't feel the salty tears, but God knows how much my heart was bleeding.
I cry for you, Itachi, because everything you did, everything you were forced to do, I know that it made your heart break. I cry for you, Shisui, because for all your brightness and optimism, you had to use it to fight the darkness behind your back.
This tragic tale of the two - no, not just the two, but all of us - was so different than the tragedy I was used to. This tragic tale wasn't gruesome or horrifying, it was not full of torture; but rather, somehow, it sounded poetic.
So mockingly poetic like something straight out of a propaganda. The caption read: Love, Loyalty, Duty.
So, what of it? Who gives a fuck.
It was supposed to be a grotesque tale of death and revenge, so when did it become a tragic poem of heroism and sacrifice? It was a massacre, for god's sake. A fucking massacre.
It was so tragic, but, was it tragic without a cause? If Shisui hadn't died, then everything could have ended so differently, if only… his eyes. Where did his eyes go? Kotoamatsukami, the genjutsu that controls the human mind without leaving a clue… why did that sound so familiar?
"He took it. He took Shisui's eye." Somehow, I managed to open my mouth despite the streams of saltiness that ran past my lips.
"Danzō, he took Shisui's eye before he could perform the genjutsu on the clan." By now, everyone was staring at me, not that they hadn't been before since I was sure that they already thought of me as a time bomb waiting to explode.
When nobody spoke anything about the bomb that I had just dropped, I snapped. "Do something! Aren't you supposed to do something! You are the Hokage!" What do I even want him to do? Execute Danzō? Gouge his eyes out? Yes, I want that. I want that very much.
The Hokage didn't answer me. Perhaps he was still digesting my accusation about Shisui's eyes, or perhaps he thought that gaining the truth was the last step I needed and he couldn't quite think of the next step.
How comical, I used to think that I would be satisfied the moment I find out the truth but I guess not.
"So, once again, you are going to do nothing," I mocked him despite knowing that I shouldn't. "Why would you let Danzō live after all he did? You must have known that he had Root wrapped around his finger, driving a hole through your personal Anbu force."
"Maiko, it's not that simple!" Oh, this time, Hokage-sama finally got angry, "Even if your claim is true, there are a lot more factors in play that you don't know of."
"You are right, I don't. But I do know that he was the one who ordered my brother to kill all his clan members after he took my cousin's eye and in turn foiled any chance of stopping the rebellion peacefully. Maybe it isn't fair to judge him like that because my clan was the one who started the coup, but it wasn't like he was working very hard to stop all that, was he?" The volume of my voice raised little by little
"Even if we forget about the Uchiha rebellion and the massacre, do you know that over the last twelve hours, he has already attempted to frame me and kill me, twice. Let's not forget that he tried to screw with my mind in order to get me to join his little Root faction, using the exact same thing as what you just described as being my cousin's eye ability." I couldn't understand, why was Danzō still alive, because everything he did qualified him as being a missing-nin ten times more than Itachi.
"I understand your reasoning but saying that Danzō took Shisui's eye is a bit of a stretch." At the sound of Hokage-sama's painful voice, I looked up and stared at the seasoned face of the Sandaime Hokage.
"And you believe that Shisui would just go and commit suicide like that? Right, how could I forget, he is an Uchiha, so you don't trust him, despite that he was willing to sacrifice his relationship with his blood family to help you." I must have struck a nerve because immediately, the Hokage released a wave of pressure that seemed to choke the words out of me.
"I am going to be straightforward here, Maiko. I understand your pain and hurt, so everything that happened here can be forgiven. But what do you want to accomplish, and think carefully before you speak." The authoritative voice rang across the room, it was so powerful that just a whisper of it could render me speechless.
"I want him to be held accountable. Shimura Danzō, he sabotaged your peaceful attempts and ultimately, he murdered my whole clan and made my brother a traitor. Everyone paid the price, so why didn't he?" I pushed through the thick pressure in the air and voiced my desire. I was going to say that 'I want him dead', but that kind of language just wouldn't flow in here. Maybe I had made the right choice because Hokage-sama's intense aura lessened considerably.
"This isn't some blame game that you can just pin on one person. Even though I agree that Danzō's actions were immoral and should be punished, there are a lot more factors to be considered. Therefore, you shouldn't ever act on your own. It's best if you don't do anything right now because ..."
"Then what am I supposed to do! Watch him try to kill me and do nothing? I've heard you say 'I'll deal with it' plenty of times, and look how effective it was the first time around." What did Shimura Danzō do, who the hell is he that made him be above every rule in this village? But I guess that explained why he wanted me dead. From the moment he used Kotoamatsukami on me and failed, he knew that I would figure out his involvement, the dark secret that he hid from even the Hokage.
"It's sickening, just staying here." I can't stay here, I can't control my emotions here, not when every one of their passive attitudes pisses me off. I was afraid that I would burn the building to the ground had I stayed any longer.
Click. With one twist, the door opened so easily that it surprised me. I stared at the open window across the hallway, and then, I took a brief glimpse behind me. The people in the room seemed to be thinking deeply about something, which seemed to be an ability that I had temporarily lost.
So I didn't think. Instead, instinct took over.
Fight or flight. I had fought all this time, so I supposed it was time for flight instead.
(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
The last twelve hours had been way too ridiculous, Kakashi concluded. It was like everything was in a rush to get out. The secrets, the lies, the truth. They all wanted to get out and completely ignored the mentality of the person who had to take them.
See, Kakashi was sure that he wasn't supposed to be in the room. He should have left when Maiko first said the words 'coup d'état', but the Hokage started to explain everything before he could get out and the privacy seal had already been activated then.
So, he was stuck, listening to a story he shouldn't have intruded on in the first place, wondering why the Hokage hadn't booted him out in the first place.
The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre was … not completely unexpected. Three years ago, Kakashi, along with some thirty visible Anbu, had accompanied the Hokage to the peace talks for the sake of precaution. Before he had left, the Hokage had pulled out the Anbu Commander, a few Anbu captains which included Kakashi, and told them to be especially careful of a chance of violence, for the Uchiha clan might resort to rebellious actions if the peace talks did not go well.
Kakashi had been keenly aware of the tension and the increasing violent scuffles (hello, it was part of his job to spy on them) definitely more so than Maiko. He had looked at the Uchiha Clan as a potential threat while she was looked at them as a relic full of memories and longing. He didn't know if the Uchiha clan had already planned out the coup, or was considering a coup, or if it had just been a rumour. The Hokage's reminder seemed to suggest the former but then again, Anbu had been there for precaution, which applied to both a rumour and a confirmed event.
So Kakashi had followed the Hokage into the Uchiha Compound, readied his Sharingan and expected to fight off any violence - by using violence. Instead, he saw no actual violence, only the piles of bodies that showed its aftermath.
After that, Kakashi had wondered, should he tell Maiko that the Uchiha Clan might have attempted to start a rebellion? The answer was no. He wasn't allowed, by the Hokage's order, and also, it didn't help anything.
'Sorry, but your family might be - like, at least by a fifty percent chance - starting a rebellion right before they were all killed, coincident much?' was not something that one just brought up in casual training sessions.
Uchiha Itachi's actions baffled him for the longest time. He was such a perfect little soldier, and so peace-loving as well, always trying to find a solution for the tension between the Uchiha Clan and the village. So why would he go and kill his entire clan - the old, the young, the shinobi, and the civilians? Kakashi felt that unless Itachi was crazy, 'trying to lessen the tension by eliminating one party' was not a valid explanation for his actions.
Then again, the majority of the Clan Heads never understood the reason behind Itachi's actions either and yet they still crowned him as an S-rank traitor. The reason didn't matter; it was the fact that he killed his entire clan - more than three hundred people - in one night and someone this cold blooded and powerful wasn't under Konoha's control.
But now, he sort of understood. One, the coup had been real. Very real. Two, it had been Danzō who had ordered the massacre. Three, Itachi had been desperate after Shisui's plan had failed.
It was the sound of the door opening that brought him back to the reality. A reality so unreal that Kakashi was still considering the possibility of it being a genjutsu. When he realised that the girl in the room was gone, he was ready to pursue her. However, it seemed that his reaction time wasn't as fast as the Anbu guarding the office. The team of six rushed out of the tower, chasing the figure flickering away at an amazing speed. But hey, on the bright side, it seemed that the chakra stabilising drug worked.
"Stay for a second, Kakashi." The Hokage called out to him just as he was about to join the Anbu and Kakashi wondered why. What could possibly be more important than making sure that Maiko was not raging over Konoha or worse, being attacked by Root?
Danzō, he liked to prey on people's weaknesses, especially ones of the heart. Although Kakashi seriously doubted that he'd be able to gain anything out of Maiko, who had nothing but fury at the moment. He knew that for someone like Danzō, if he couldn't use Maiko, he might as well destroy her.
"I need you to listen to what I have to say and explain everything to her. She will not listen to me right now, but she might listen to you." Now Kakashi understood why he had the privilege of listening in. Remember back when Maiko first joined Anbu? Yeah, Kakashi's first job was being her teacher and the second? Defusing the unstable bomb should it ever decide to explode. Thankfully, the method was unspecified.
From observing the Hokage's earlier attitude, Kakashi saw reluctance in dealing with Danzō. So he was very curious in how the man had planned to solve this. Because let's face it, the village is horrible in repaying loyal shinobi. What did the village ever do for Hatake Sakumo? For Uchiha Shisui? For Uchiha Itachi? Kakashi gulped down that treasonous thought, knowing that it was definitely not the time to doubt his own beliefs.
"It was never my intention for it to come to this. Perhaps I really have been leaving Danzō alone for too long." The Hokage-sama said, his voice full of regret and sadness, and Kakashi concurred. Danzō had always been a loose cannon in Konoha, and worst of all, he was an ambitious loose cannon with lots of support.
"You need to tell her that I do plan to do something about Danzō, notably, removing him from his position of power and forcefully disbanding his Root. However, Uchiha Maiko cannot attack Danzō, no matter what." The Hokage said the last sentence with heavy emphasis on Maiko's name but that just baffled Kakashi even more.
Kakashi wanted to remind the Hokage that it had only been less than twelve hours since Danzō first approached Maiko. From then on, he had made one attempt of forced recruitment, one attempt of framing her for treason, and three attempts in total for killing her. So wouldn't self-defence be a valid reason?
"The biggest leverage Danzō had was not Root, it was information." Thankfully, the Hokage started to elaborate.
"The fact that the Uchiha Clan had tried to rebel was enough to bury Maiko should she ever attack Danzō without a strong reason supported by much evidence, which she does not have." At this point, the Hokage had taken off his hat and leant back into his chair with signs of fatigue.
"The plan to execute all of those involved in the planning of massacre was not just fiction. It was the backup plan for a backup plan in dealing with the Uchiha rebellion. Therefore, if the village knew that the Uchiha had tried to rebel, Danzō's order was not in the wrong, but Maiko's action of attacking him could be interpreted as seeking revenge for traitors and she would be branded one as well."
"What of the bloodline theft?" Kakashi asked, trying to gain all the answers which Maiko might want to know if she was ever calm enough to listen.
"Konoha protects all citizens from bloodline thievery, but the Uchiha was removed from that protection when they had tried to rebel. It is true that Uchiha Shisui was not a part of the rebellion, but Danzō could argue that Shisui was actually trying to use his Mangekyou for treasonous purposes and that he himself was just acting in the interest of Konoha. In the end, it would inadvertently expose the truth of the Uchiha Massacre anyway, which would only benefit him." The Hokage paused, letting the dreading silence prepare for the graveness of his next sentence: "The truth behind the Uchiha Massacre is something that can never be said in public. For her sake, and for the village's sake."
"Then what's stopping him from releasing the information?" Kakashi inquired reluctantly. It seemed to him that there was no better way to damage Maiko's reputation.
"The opinions of the clans." The Sandaime answered in all seriousness. "The Uchiha rebellion had not caused substantial damage to the village, therefore, Danzō's strong armed decision would create distaste among the powerful clans. However, if one of the Uchiha descendants, say, Maiko, had caused damage to the village in her pursuit of revenge, then Danzō's actions would be more acceptable and the existence of Root would be proven as a beneficial type of law-enforcement agency."
Basically, if Maiko had managed to succeed in killing him - which is unlikely considering the fact that Danzō was basically luring her into attacking him, he had to have some kind of plan - she was not walking away scot-free. If Maiko doesn't succeed, well, she would be dead, with a proper reason crowned on her name.
And it was all because of one stupid decision made by one clan in desperate times.
"I didn't think that Danzō's distaste for the Uchiha was this strong. He was heavily influenced by the Nidaime Hokage, we all were. In this generation, the Senju clan had almost disappeared but the Uchiha clan proliferated in numbers, producing one prodigy after another. Perhaps the Uchiha Massacre was just Danzō trying to keep their power in check but I thought he would stop after the Uchiha clan was reduced to only two children." When the Hokage muttered with such sadness, Kakashi realised that like all people, the leader of Konoha could be fooled by sentimentality. He could try to feel empathetic towards the man, but he was not going to do that right now because he was still getting answers for Maiko. Therefore, he continued to probe further.
"And Root? You said that you wanted to disband Root once again."
"Root, like Danzō, is dangerous in that they know quite a bit of information. Danzō has spies all over the continent, if Danzō decides for them to release any important information, the damage could be irreversible. I do not know if he would really do such a thing to harm Konoha, but I can't take any chances. So I had to snip all the vines before dealing with the main Root force. From a few months ago, when I had known of the continuation of Root, I ordered Jiraiya and his spy network to pull out the exact location of these 'spies' that Danzō had claimed to be dead. By now, we should have all of these spies' locations under surveillance. However, tonight's event hindered my plan of forcefully disbanding Root." As if on cue, the Jōnin Commander whisked out a thick file with a seal that only allowed Anbu access.
"The information of the spies' identities, the approximate number of Root agents who are still active, and the location of their base is in this file, kept in the highest security level of Anbu Archive room." Commander Nara didn't need to say anything more, Kakashi quickly caught the gist of it.
Ryuu was a Root member - a Root member who had infiltrated Anbu. It was definitely unclear how many other Anbu were actually Root in disguise. It was highly possible that all of the information had been leaked, which meant that most of it would be useless at best and misleading at worst.
"Now, I'm sure you are aware of the cursed Root seal that was placed on all members. By comparing the seals on Raven and Bear, there was one significant difference: the newer seal has a cloaking seal incorporated as a part of it allows it to be invisible unless activated." So we can't just wrench out everyone's tongue for a check up, Kakashi mentally noted.
"Just minutes ago, I've notified Jiraiya to start working on an identification seal that will expose the Root seals instead of deactivating them, since that would take way too long. His spy network is also back in business to track all potential spies added by Danzō. From the last screening, the estimated number of agents in Root was around two hundred, including thirty-four outside as spies, but I suspect that both of these numbers have increased in secret."
Now, the current available Anbu the village could deploy was around six hundred, excluding all the potential infiltrators and minus those that would need to be sent out for 'snipping the vine' … actually, Kakashi had no idea how many would be left but nevertheless, raiding the Root base would definitely require the whole Anbu force with barely enough to spare for the Hokage's safety.
But still, Kakashi felt that Danzō was snapping way too quickly. He had spies in Anbu, yet he jeopardised all that for the sake of killing Maiko. If he had been more patient, he might have been able to plan a coup himself - oh, the irony of politics that Kakashi could not understand.
"It will take at least a few days for Jiraiya's seal design to be relayed back to Konoha even if he is working at light speed, and before all the Anbu is combed through, I cannot make a move against Root and Danzō." The Hokage's voice cracked a bit due to the long speech he had given, so he paused and reached out for a cup of water.
Kakashi's eyes wandered over to the broken window, wondering if the Anbu team had successfully caught up to Maiko. "Wait … if Anbu is not safe anymore, then …" Why are you letting Anbu protect her safety?
Kakashi had only realised how stupid that question sounded after he ran through the words in his mind. Who else, other than Anbu, could the Hokage use? The Hokage was supposed to have full control over Anbu but that was before Danzō had crashed the party.
"Bear is the leader of that team, besides, their order was to guard her from afar and prevent any contact with Root." Just like the calm undertone of the Hokage's voice, life had to carry on just like it had been before. They not only had to use Anbu, they had to do it without any hint of suspicion.
Kakashi didn't know if the people in this room just didn't realise this or that they just consciously tried to avoid this particular topic. No one in this room had mentioned anything about how to deal with Danzō specifically.
Kakashi suspected that the only reason, well, the main one anyway, that the Hokage was so willing to deal with Root was because of its reach in Anbu that threatened the integrity of Konoha's security system. But was dealing with Root enough to stop Danzō? Just because the teeth of a tiger has been pulled out, it doesn't mean that the tiger has any less desire to devour its prey.
The Hokage wanted Root gone (or more likely, 'reintegrated'), but what did Maiko want? In all likeliness, she didn't give a damn about Root; it was Danzō. Whether it was a hundred Root members or just one that she had to plough through, it clearly didn't matter. It wasn't exactly a conflict of interest, but definitely a conflict of priority.
Now he just had to convince her to forget about the single biggest enemy that was mostly responsible for her family's massacre for a couple of days because publicity was bad for the large scale raid they wanted to accomplish.
Easy. No biggie. He wanted to go jump off a cliff.
Suddenly, Kakashi remembered that old phrase "don't shoot the messenger". He never believed it. If it weren't for people constantly killing the messenger, that quote wouldn't exist in the first place. He glanced across the room and saw the business face the Jōnin Commander had put on. However, he could have sworn that what he saw underneath was 'why did I get dragged into this/why is this thing blowing up now/why am I always the one cleaning up the mess'. Their eyes met and at that moment, it was as though they had a mutual understanding.
"Sir," suddenly, a bear-masked figure appeared on the window side in a blur, "she went into the Uchiha Compound and hasn't come out. However, we were delayed by the traps for a while and now we're not sure if she has left the compound or not."
"How?" Kakashi muttered in confusion. Everyone knew that the Uchiha Compound had hundreds of traps - both mechanical based and genjutsu-related - some of which Maiko had revived recently. No Anbu was stupid enough to step on one of those tricky genjutsu traps that block one's sense perceptions.
"Should we go in?" Tenzō inquired, "If we do, then the traps might take a while to get around and the chance of exposing our position is high."
"No, she has most likely already left. Expand your search to the surrounding areas while also keep an eye on the Uchiha Compound." The Sandaime ordered quickly as he stroke his forehead in slight exasperation. "It would save us a lot of trouble if she had miraculously decided to stay in the compound."
"Who's the one that triggered the trap?" Commander Nara called out to the Anbu agent before he could leave.
"Um, Mongoose."
"I see," the Nara answered without any emotion, "keep an eye out for that one."
Tenzō turned towards the Hokage one last time to ask for an order of dismissal before he stabbed himself and the shadow clone dispersed in an instant.
"If that's all, then may I leave?" Kakashi asked, already raising his nose to check for that whiff of scent. It was obvious that the Hokage had said all that he could. As for the rest, no one could promise anything.
"Yes, go keep her from doing something stupid."
Kakashi was about to do that until he felt a giant impulse of chakra coming from the village border.
(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
[Ten minutes ago]
You see, I never quite understood my brother's philosophy about the freedom of choice. Sometimes, I find his actions contradicting. Why do we choose between unfavourable choices and call it freedom? He didn't look like he was free, no, not at all. But then why would he still call it his own will?
Freedom of choice, what a joke.
"But you see, Hime, it's not about the choices, it's about the state of mind. Once someone finds the courage to accept the consequences of their choosing, that's when they gain true freedom."
Ah, damn it, even Shisui joined in.
"Mai, your freedom should be something that you can be proud of. It isn't about the environment, it isn't about what forced you, it isn't about what pushed you. It is about why you chose it. I chose to go to Anbu not because it was the lesser of two evils between the options Father had offered but because I wanted to. Not you, not Father, not anyone but me."
Right, so did you massacre the clan out of your free will? Was this the state of mind that allowed you to see the bigger picture of peace rather than turn the blade towards Danzō, like what I would probably do if I were in your position?
Wait, I'm sorry, I meant that you chose this state of mind, this outlook of pacifism, not the other way around.
"Life is short for shinobi, and for those of us who were born in a clan, life is even more restrained. Life wouldn't be life if all we did was to evaluate the pros and cons of choices. This passiveness, it's not the same as peace, because all it brings is strife. When someone is pushed to the boundary, it was easy to blame it all on the other party and ignore the fact that they themselves also had a choice, a will."
I supposed that it sort of made sense, maybe, just a bit.
"I want to see you and Itachi raise the Uchiha Clan, not the way the elders want, but the way Itachi dreams of. He shines the brightest when he is free."
Me too, Shisui. Me too.
This training ground, where I stood on - where the three of us would play and train until the sky darkened before we went out separate roads - I never noticed that it was this close to the village border. The sun had already peaked over the horizon, signifying the rise of another busy village day. Just one ravine and one wall, I could be out of the village.
I swear to Gods, when I broke out of the Hokage's office, I really wasn't planning to rage over Konoha like some mad man. I just thought that in the off chance where I couldn't help but destroy something, it would be better to do it somewhere other than the Hokage's tower. Say, wherever Danzō was, that seemed like a good place to start.
After a few rushed body flickers - how I managed to keep myself from crashing into walls with that chakra control over that speed was still a mystery - I realised that I had no idea where Danzō was, or even where he might be. In this war of information, I had already lost the battle.
I just … felt so angry. Angrier than I had ever felt before.
Oh, goddamn it, I was so childish. I buried my face in my hands and then wiped away all the stray hairs harshly. My hands felt wet and I wasn't sure whether it was because of the sweat or the tears. So, according to the progression of children's temper, they throw a fit, run away … and after a few hours, they start to reflect on their temper tantrums, if they are smart.
Behind me was the prosperous village of Konoha. Somewhere inside this busy village, hid Danzō. But the moment that I decided to go for his head, there was a good chance that I would be foregoing my future in this village - pay the consequences, as they said. He was a respectable elder; I was the child of 'traitors'. He could afford to kill me first, then ask questions. I could not. This was the lawful society I lived in.
To my left, about half a village away was the Nara Compound. Somewhere in that fortress-like compound, was my brother. Konoha would never let him go, especially not at a time like this. Konoha was smart to realise that Sasuke was more effective than anything in the world to keep Itachi - and now, me - in check.
So, what now? Priorities, focus on the priorities.
Danzō needed to die, even if it was purely based on survival instincts. Konoha with Danzō was no safer than a jungle full of missing-nin for Sasuke. What he did to me, what he did to my teammates was enough for him to be on my to-kill list. Trust me, very rarely, the list got personal. This was one of those cases.
But what would happen next? It was funny because I didn't actually know.
What was Danzō's role in the village? What was his role amongst the people of Konoha? How much power did he hold? What was his relation to other people? What was his influence over Konoha's economy, politics, military? …
I didn't know anything, and therefore, I could never be sure of the consequences that I would be facing even if I did manage to kill him. I just knew that there would be backlashes. Even a genin could understand that there were differences between killing a missing-nin and assassinating a village elder.
I supposed that I could always take a page from Itachi's book. Assassinate Danzō and leave the village, leaving a young Sasuke behind as I run and run from both Root and Konoha, making sure he was free from the consequences I would cause, creating a safer world for him to live in. After all, compared to leaving my fate - whatever that was - in the hands of some strangers that run the village, I might as well go out and decide the course of action myself.
As they said, the things we sacrifice for love.
But seriously, that sucked. I, as a selfish person, couldn't accept the consequence of losing everything; the sacrifice of being separated from Sasuke.
So what am I supposed to do now? What am I supposed to do with you, Itachi?
Could the end really justify the mean? Slap on a label: it was all in the name of love (or replaced this word with whichever one you want), and could it really erase the three hundred sixteen bodies that I had to cremate?
Right now, the view beyond the village wall looks really good. I thought as I dipped my foot slightly over the edge of the ravine, imagining what it would feel like if I could just take another step outside of the village, taking Sasuke with me, leaving all this mess behind, even just for a few hours …
"Wait! Mai-nee-chan! Don't do it!" Today, I had been way too agitated. So when I heard that abnormally loud voice behind me, I freaked out and flickered to the side.
It wasn't until I saw the abnormally bright colour of orange that I managed to stop in my track and returned to the cliff side just in time to grab onto a hood that was about to free-fall into the ravine. With a strong flick of the arm, I tossed the ball of orange back onto the land, a few metres away from the dangerous position I had been standing at.
"Ouch! Nee-chan, you didn't have to throw me this hard!" It took me an embarrassingly long moment to recognise that little ball of orange and blond as he rubbed his back and winced.
"What in the world are you doing, Naruto?" I asked, still dumbfounded, "How did you find me?"
"Teme said that you didn't pick him up yesterday night but he can't get out of Shikamaru's place. So I promised him that I would find you." The young boy scratched his head and faked an unwilling tone as if he had no choice but to agree. "As for how I found you, well, I went around all the training places you took me, you're bound to be in one of them. I got lucky on my third try, hehe."
It was true that I liked to take the two boys to more reclusive areas of the town for training, one because these areas posed more challenges of terrain for the purpose of fitness and two, if my brother happened to burn something, people rarely saw enough to know who to ask to pay for the damage.
But still, the sun was barely up a few minutes ago, and I would hate to think how long he had to run along the village, searching for someone who didn't want to be found.
"I'm sorry I startled you, just whatever you do, please don't jump, Nee-chan?" Naruto said with puppy eyes and when he got up, he was as energetic as before.
It took me a while to understand that he meant 'suicide' when he said 'jump'. Whatever gave him that idea …
"I'm not going to jump off a cliff," I explained immediately, "so just go back to Sasuke, okay?" I didn't feel like dealing with him right now, not when every look at him reminded me of Sasuke, whom I still needed to explain this whole shitty poem of our clan massacre to.
"Have you been crying, Nee-chan?" The little furball of orange suddenly appeared under my eyes. His own startling blue eyes bore into mine, and just like that, I could see every bit of the positive energy that flowed through.
"Perhaps," I answered with no elaboration. I stared at him, and he stared back. We stared at each other. It was awkward, and awkwardness never sat well with Naruto.
"Oh, look, I can make shadow clones now, even before Sasuke could." Poof, another Naruto appeared in front of me. "See, one, two, three." The number of orange spots increased to four.
"Ok, I got it. Good job" I was hoping in vain that my broken sentences could stop the encroachment of an orange colony. "Seriously …" And they just kept on popping up left and right. "I mean it, stop it …" A few more appeared. "Naruto …"
"OK! I got your point! Stop multiplying for a second!" I yelled with all my might and finally, the cloud of orange stopped increasing in mass. "Honestly, I don't know what to do with you and I don't even know what you want." With a sigh, I sat down on the ground and waved my hand to signal the real Naruto to come and sit beside me. Happily, the cloud of orange dispersed and their leader hopped over.
"I don't want much, really. I think what I want is what you want and you want to go see Sasuke. Therefore, you really should go see him." Ouch, that went bullseye. No one could argue with that logic.
"It's complicated …" Well, that must be the worst excuse that had ever been invented in this world. Now I sounded like the Hokage, what a new low in my life.
"Nevermind that," I muttered quietly and directed the topic to something else. "So, how do you like Konoha." Tell me, Naruto, because one day someone may come exploit your emotions just like they did with me.
"It's a nice place with some nice people - I mean, it's my home." As expected, I got a lighthearted response. The boy's voice stopped at the magical word of 'home' as if that was enough to express everything.
"Then what about Sasuke?" I asked again. You see, at this point, I wasn't even sure that I knew my little brother the best. No matter what had happened, my mind would always go back to that innocent five-year-old who would scream a whole day in excitement after making a successful fireball. Now that I realised I might have to make a life-changing decision for us, I was hesitating.
"Sasuke is a teme who never says what he wants. Even though he's always as prideful as a peacock, I can tell he enjoys competing with people more than winning. A few years ago, he looks like a jackass to everyone but really, as soon as he realised that no matter how jackass he gets, he won't be able to get rid of me and Shikamaru, who just really didn't care, he stopped deliberately being a jackass. Sometimes, I think what he's doing is really tiring, putting up a barrier all the time, that's like having to open your eyes when sleeping. So if hanging out with us can be less tiring, I think even his spite is worth it …"
Naruto went on and on for at least one more minute. If we took out the constant complaints about my brother's personality, the rest was actually a pretty accurate and detailed analysis. Perhaps it was his upbringing, but it seemed like the blond boy was especially sensitive about others.
The lighthearted blabbing was so out of place with this mist of sorrow I was supposed to be immersed in it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. It was as if the air was less … desperate.
Desperate, that was the word I was looking for.
"Desperate people are the most stupid people but they are also the most dangerous kind," I muttered under my breath, couldn't remember who exactly it was that said it before, Shisui or Itachi.
Psychological warfare. I forgot about that and by the looks of it, Danzō had almost succeeded. When one was starving, they would eat almost anything. When one desperately needed the money, they would take the loan shark's offer without much thinking. I was so desperate to stop everything that had happened, to stop Danzō, that I would take any chances offered to me, regardless of the fairness of the offer.
Perhaps this was what my clanspeople and my brother had felt when they made those unbelievable choices. We were desperate, stupid and dangerous.
"What did you say?" Besides me, I heard Naruto's curious inquiry.
"Oh, nothing, just that when you grow up, really, really be careful of desperate people, they are absolutely crazy." I patted his hair as he gave me a strange look. However, I did feel like I was forgetting something and even the familiar, slightly sweet scent in the air was reminding me …
"We need to go." Without wasting any time, I gripped onto Naruto's hand and started to run in the direction of the Hokage's Tower.
"What? Why? Where are we going?" The confused voice asked as I scanned the area. Yep, this scent in the air …
"Anywhere but here," I answered absentmindedly and dragged him for a few steps. But then, after a few thoughts, I stopped and pulled Naruto close to me as I made a few hand seals. Immediately, a gust of wind spread out with us as the centre point.
I would admit, when I ran out here, I was half expecting Root to show up. In fact, I kind of wished they would, after all, an enemy you could see was always a better start than a bunch hiding in the dark.
But then, Naruto came like a shooting star that completely smashed the plan apart.
There was a fifty-fifty chance that Danzō would give up this perfect opportunity to ambush me because of Naruto - someone no sane person would dare to touch. But by the smell in the air, it seemed that he had chosen to spread a type of sleeping drug first.
This particular type was so weak that it would be useless for someone like me who had gone through the mandatory Anbu drug resistance course. But for Naruto, whose only defence was his passive chakra flow, it would knock him asleep for a while.
Adding to the problem was the fact that this kind could be dissipated quickly in most mediums - air, water, blood - therefore leaving little trace behind. To be fair, Anbu sometimes uses it on civilians to prevent them from stepping into a potential fight - it was a standard supply in Zebra's kit.
To my horror, before we could get far, the little boy fell with no warning and only at the last moment did I manage to catch him in my arms. The steady rhythm of breathing I was feeling indicated that Naruto's life wouldn't be endangered. I, on the other hand, was in quite a different situation.
"Get out, I know you're here," I shouted to the surrounding forest that was still wobbling from the wind release. Just like I had expected, a dozen shadows poured out of the forest and deeper into the forest, I could see a few more dozen chakra signals wavering lightly.
Danzō, you are playing a dangerous game, so confident that you could kill me and fix this mess before anything happens, aren't you? But then again, if he didn't catch this opportunity, once I returned to the Hokage Tower, he wouldn't be able to catch me alone this easily.
Life was a gamble. I was in the game, and so was Danzō. For some reason, that had just made me feel a lot better.
"Attempting to tamper and manipulate the power of the nine-tailed jinchūriki is punishable by death on sight. Put the jinchūriki hostage down." A voice sounded from an unknown origin since I was paying more attention to the entire layout of the ambush. But still, after knowing the truth behind the massacre, I felt the sensitivity and controversy of my identity more so than ever.
"Really? Using a little boy to threaten me, have you no sense of shame left?" I wasn't actually expecting an answer since the chit-chat was most definitely to stall for time. "Whatever, it won't be the first time."
Sixty, that would be the approximate number of fighters hidden in the dense forest around me, according to the visual details and chakra signatures that I had been gathering. Most of them were concentrated among the thick trees, leaving two open roads for me: the one to the populated area of the village and the one behind me towards the outside.
Something caught my attention as I laid my eyes towards the direction to the Hokage Tower. Behind all those damned branches, in the busiest district of Konoha, was a figure so vague that it seemed to shift with the wind. But I could see him as clear as any day because he stood out to me like a dirty old ink spot on a piece of flawless white paper.
He was there, he was right there, just taunting me. So close that it made me feel as if everything would be alright if he had just been dead.
Right, as if.
Still, prying my eyes off of that figure seemed to be the hardest thing in the world to do, so to relieve some of that desire, I lifted the boy into my cradle and tightened my arms around him. It was as if doing so would melt away the mist and allow me to think clearer.
The boy was heavy, much much heavier than the last time I had hugged them - Sasuke and him. When was that? I asked myself. A few years ago, until my brother claimed that he wasn't a child anymore.
But hey, like Naruto had helpfully pointed out, Sasuke never liked to voice out what he wanted.
When I drew my attention back to the forest again and started to go through all of my options, it seemed like everything was locked in time. Naruto was still sleeping like it was nobody's business, and the visible Root agents just stood there like statues, waiting to use one of the thousands of scripts that Danzō had written in correspondence to my next action.
Choice A: leave the nine-tail Jinchuriki. I was ninety-nine percent sure that nothing would happen to Naruto; he was just too valuable. But if I were in a test, this would be the first answer to cross out. It was simply a matter of principle.
Choice B: take the shortest path to the Hokage Tower by cutting through the streets. For species that live in darkness, light could be poisonous to them. By crossing out option A, I basically sentenced myself to a position that only allows defense. I couldn't run fast enough with Naruto, couldn't fight efficient enough, and couldn't even dodge fast enough. Yet, I had to make sure that not a cut, a scratch, or even a bump could touch him. Therefore, limiting the attacks from the enemy by adding the public exposure would be a sensible way of lessening my pressure and evening out the battlefield. After all, Root, like me, had gotten used to the darkness and withers in the spotlight.
But remember, Danzō was not living in the darkness, not completely. This fact had not been clear to me until only a few minutes ago.
At least half of him was not covered in black, instead, that half knew exactly what to do in the spotlight. He knew how to use the opinions of the public, manipulating what stories got told and exaggerating some while playing down others.
Frankly, based on the progression of history, this village inspired little confidence in their judgement when 'Uchiha', 'Sharingan', and 'Nine-tail' were put in the same picture.
To gamble the reaction of the public, it was like I had just arrived at a table of poker, facing an experienced opponent with deep pockets all the while not fully understanding the rules.
But look on the other side because, in comparison, choice C sounded like suicide.
Crossing the populated street was the fastest way but it wasn't the only way. Just like Konoha's name suggested, the entire village was in fact mostly surrounded by a strip of forest that lined the inside of the village fence and obscured one's view of the outside. Perfect for sneaking back to the Hokage Tower with a boy-sized luggage, wasn't it? I could say the same thing with setting up an ambush. The unseen was a natural habitat for both me and Root.
I didn't have a complete visual on all enemies, but I did know that if they had planned any ambush, it would be hidden among those trees. To make thing worse, by following the strip of forest around the village, the length of my already sad journey would be nearly doubled. For choice C, the fundamental question became whether or not I could actually survive at all - what a large amount to bet.
A, B, C, or perhaps there were D, E, F that I had failed to realise. All of them had their pros and cons and I could sit here all day analyse them and still not being able to drain every bit of information. But I suppose making a choice wasn't just about evaluating the pros and cons in order to see how sad and undesirable each option was. To make a choice was the declaration of responsibility, and the pros-cons chart was just a mean - just one method, and definitely not the only factor - to make the acceptance of responsibility easier.
"No pressure," I muttered in slight annoyance as I adjusted my grips so that the boy was held more securely in my arms. My pursuers almost twitched at my slight movement but I guessed that my action was not enough for them to predict the next course of action. So just to screw with them, I froze right away and returned the scene back to a tableau.
After exactly ten seconds, I took a large step back, feeling the edge of the cliff just behind my heels. Then, in all braveness, we fell down.
The ravine was only twenty metres high, thus, I did not get that feeling of falling forever. The forceful air current that brushed against my skin counted the short seconds I had left before I would crash and burn.
It was relieving and terrifying at the same time. Wisps of silver flowed out like the tail of a comet. Before anyone could be sure that it was forming anything concrete, the bottom of the river had already become a crater.
I blinked once, seeing the curtain of water splashing high up in the air. Everything was in slow motion as the water succumbed to gravity, fell, and rolled down the surface of the silver ribcage.
No time to waste, before my mind was even adjusted again, my body took action by rolling up and starting to run. The delayed attack came a few seconds later, but by then, I was already moving along the river, following the village border meticulously.
"And you are just going to sleep?" I raised an eyebrow at the figure in my arms, who was still sleeping despite the loud crash earlier. "Fine, keep on sleeping and see if I'm still alive when you wake up." As if answering me, I could even see signs of saliva on his cheek and that just made me more speechless. Nevermind, I hope you can continue to sleep until this is all over because I really don't want you to see any of this. If I win this gamble, then you might have provided me with the card to break out of this dilemma.
The stone wall that made up the side of the ravine rumbled in a deep voice, signifying the arrival of the second wave of attacks. Rocks fell down in a landslide and landed right in front of me, blocking my path at the last second. Streams of fire followed my back closely, aiming for my head and legs.
I glimpsed at the edge of the ravine and saw one Root popping up after another, exposing themselves from their ambush sites. Well, they kind of had to, due to the geographical feature of the cliff. If they wanted to aim precisely, they had to stand close to the edge.
Facing the piles of rock in front me, I didn't stop. I didn't even flinch at the giant obstacle in front of me. Over the past three years, I had only used the silver giant - Susanoo, I supposed it was called - three times in total, and two out of three times, the duration only lasted for five seconds. I didn't know how much damage it could take, nor how long I could use it.
All I knew was that this was not some one-time explosion that would die as soon as it lit up the sky, leaving the rest of the night in darkness.
This was meant to last.
The silver skeleton plunged into the rocks and dust. I scrunched my brows at the slight halt of momentum; at this point, the fire jutsu hit the back of the ribcage but bounced off harmlessly. Clenching my teeth, the silver chakra pulsed and expanded audaciously until the entire upper half body with a head and two arms were formed and pushed apart all the rocks.
I thought to myself, after all of this was over, I wanted to hug him like this, lift him in my arms like this, just because he deserved the hug, just because he deserved the warmth, just because I hadn't done so in a while.
The Susanoo was still rising. After the bones were created, layers of muscle raced over the surface of the structure. Its eventual height was fixated at just two metres below the edge of the cliff.
The giant turned its head slightly upwards, towards the people who lined the ravine. It cocked its weirdly shaped head and stared with mockery, then, it brought up one of its arms and swiped down so very cheerfully.