Night-Blooming Cereus (昙花一现)

by ZoeRubyJackson

She died in an explosion, which was a pretty sketchy situation itself even if she wasn't the one who planted the bomb. So when she opened her eyes again, clearer than ever, she wondered, what the hell does fate want with her. Punishment, atonement, second chance... She has no idea, and she might never find out. Reincarnation!OC, Uchiha!OC

44. Chapter 44 - Impasse

Chapter 44

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The crimson liquid dribbled down from my fingertips and splattered on the lifeless body lying by my feet.

A few metres away, my ninjatō was embedded into the tree trunk, still vibrating slightly from the impact. It was painted by so much blood - both on the blade and on the hilt - that one couldn't even tell its original colour scheme.

I tried to flex my right hand to see if I could lessen some of the numbness, but all it gave was some insignificant twitches. On the bright side, my right arm stopped hurting three minutes ago, despite the long bloody slash on it that almost ran from the elbow to the wrist. Of course, what replaced it was the numbing sensation that persisted and worsened no matter how hard I tried to filter my body clean with chakra.

My legs tensed up at the almost unnoticeable disturbance under the ground. However, the hidden assassin seemed to hesitate, only reaching the body in front of my feet before doubling back. I narrowed my eyes at the scene before jumping away without any hesitation. The moment my toes had left the forest floor, the corpse detonated.

I landed with my tanto outstretched as the Root agents attacked me from the front, the back, and the sides. That wasn't all, there were also ones moving in the earth, sealing my option of escaping from there. Immediately, I charged my remaining sword with lightning chakra, ready to plunge it into the earth to release the Chidori Electrifying Web.

However, at the same time, a stray kunai flying in my direction that was aimed too high for it to ever hit me. To my surprise, just before I could release the jutsu, a simple replacement jutsu allowed a root agent to take the kunai's place. His sword glistened above my head, planning to impale me.

The Electrifying Web wouldn't reach that agent above my head, I knew that from experience and so did he. But the jutsu was on the brink of release, ready to fire those concentrated chakra as lightning that couldn't be contained any longer.

What did Kakashi say about using lightning release techniques? I tried to recall in that fraction of a second. Right, the heart, the brain, and the spinal cord.

Against the course of nature, I pulled the chakra that was already on the verge of conversion backward from my fingertips and all the way back into my body. Every cell in my body screamed painfully as I tried to circulate the impure chakra through my body, carefully avoiding those important organs that Kakashi had emphasized.

Just before the Root agent could reach me, I opened the brake on the lightning chakra and it broke out from my body in every available direction - around me, beneath me, and above me.

The streams of wild lightning didn't reach as far as it would as a web, but it still paralysed all that was near me, including the agent who planned to drive a sword through my head. In fact, he was the closest and just his luck, a strong surge of electricity caught the tip of his blade in full force. Electricity travelled up his arm in a flash, reaching straight for the heart.

I shifted my body slightly to avoid the free falling object. When he touched the ground, the heart beat was already gone.

My legs felt strange. Unlike the empty numbness on my right arm, the sensation on my legs was a tingling numbness, as if it was hit by a weak lightning release. I cast a glance down and saw the residual electricity leaking out of my calves. Needless to say, that was definitely not the right chakra output, or the right distribution, I should use for that particular jutsu.

That won't do, I still need to move … Before that thought was finished, the scene in front of me shifted. Before I could even drive the tingling numbness out of my legs, the body flicker was somehow activated. That came as a surprise for me, and apparently, also for the Root agent whose image was now reflected in my Sharingan.

The tingling sensation remained, but my surprise was gone. Instinctively, my Sharingan pulsed, capturing the Root agent in a genjutsu. At the same time, my left arm slashed in a horizontal motion, drawing a spray of blood across his neck.

With little care to the strange state of my legs, I flickered again. The scene changed faster than I could be prepared - something that I hadn't experienced with the body flicker for years - and left me feeling disoriented as I bumped into the tree next to me.

Still, the bloodied ninjatō in front of me eyes reminded me what I flickered here for. With my remaining arm, I returned the tantō back to its sheath and pulled the ninjatō out. The tantō was fine, but the ninjatō provided a longer reach and allowed a better defense which I desperately needed. These Root agents were like a pack of rabid wild dogs, attacking waves after waves without a sense of fatigue and casualty.

Speaking of which, half a dozen lightning javelins were fired behind my back. Immediately, I turned around and blew out a great fireball with at least a two metre diameter. The fireball managed to negate the javelins at the cost of its own size. However, before it could die out, I formed the three hand seals before throwing my left arm in a swiping motion in front of my body, releasing a gust of wind that sliced through the air in a giant arc. As soon as the dimming fire met the slice of wind, it was re-ignited and quickly spread to a arc of fire that pushed the dozen pursuers back a few steps.

Feeling the menacing danger at the back of my neck, I swung the ninjatō around and blocked the cold blade. Push, twist, and flick, I slapped the guardless tantō back just in time to switch my target to another agent that had sneaked up as well.

An object flew across the periphery of my vision - a wooden spear that was shot into the sky, flying in my direction. I had no doubt that was from my separated teammate. Separated, but not disconnected.

At once, I blew out a stream of fire to forcefully disengage myself from my two attackers. Eyeing the wooden spear mid-air, I replaced myself with it just like what the Root agent had done earlier. When I appear in the sky, a giant wave of water arrived just in time to flood the forest below along with any Root agents that failed to follow my movement in time.

Straightaway, I slashed the ninjatō in mid-air, sending a whip of electricity down towards the pool of water. I didn't stay to watch the scene, instead, I pushed off the branch and flickered away right before a cluster of wind blades and water bullets destroyed the tree to bits.

When I met up with Tenzō again (he told me I could call him that name if I wanted), he didn't look so good himself. The anbu mask was long gone and a glaring slash ran across his back, drenching the battered jacket in blood.

"How far are we?" I asked as I forced my feet to ignore the bloody cut caused by an earlier wind blade and run even faster.

"Still on the track, around forty-five minutes away from the meeting spot," Tenzō answered me, sounding just as tired with a coarse voice. Just need to hold out a little longer, then.

"I can't remember how many I've killed, but I don't see them decreasing in numbers." I gritted my teeth in frustration, noises of foot steps were already getting louder all around us. Okay, maybe I'd overestimated the amount of agents that were dead, seeing that most of my attacks in the last fifteen minutes were for the purpose of helping me escape, so forgive me if I didn't check in detail if they were incapacitated or not.

"Chakra level?" My partner asked as he took a sharp turn in the forest.

"Almost drained. But I'm saving some for a burst of Susanoo." I followed him without a question. I hadn't used any of the Mangekyou technique yet because it wasn't the best option considering how long I needed to last relative to the cost of chakra. I knew that Tenzō wasn't that much better in terms of the chakra usage, so just in case, I was saving something that could protect us in times of desperation.

"Do you have enough for a fire dragon?" The moment he asked that, I realised what he was planning.

I nodded silently and not a second later, a dense clutter of chakra assulted my vision. A row of earth spikes forced us to scatter - that was how they had separated us the first time. However, when Tenzō briefly landed on a nearby tree, he slapped his hand onto the tree trunk and visible to my Sharingan, a strong surge of chakra permeated the trunk, travelled down into the ground before stretching out through the densely intertwined roots and reaching to cover all the trees in the area.

With that turn earlier, Tenzō had successfully lured a large chunk of root agents to converge in an area where the tree and root development was the most dense. Wooden columns shot out of the trees, forging a barricade of cages that seemed to trap the agents, leaving them with very little room to move, if not impaling them completely.

"Katon: Enryū Tensa," I whispered as I flashed through all the hand seals and sent the fire dragons crashing into the wooden cage. The A-rank jutsu left me feeling wobbly as I landed near my teammate and continued our run, leaving the screams and the hell of blaze behind.

My head felt heavy because of the sudden lost of chakra that brought my storage closer to the brink of exhaustion. I coughed violently because of the smoke - ironic, since I was the cause of that - and before I realised it, a sharp sting exploded on my thigh. A sharp senbon was buried deep in the flesh, sending me stumbling. The worst of it all, there were way more coming.

Without a word, Tenzō started to deflect the projectiles for me. However, as soon as I had a moment to observe the senbon I had removed from my thigh, I realised something was different. It was bigger than a normal senbon - not much, just a fraction of a milimetre. However, it was the fact that the cylindrical senbon had a sliver of hole in the centre -just large enough to stuck a piece of paper inside - that made my brain scream in horror.

"They're going to explode!" I cried out to my teammate as I scrambled to regain my balance. It was too close to be blocked by anything, so we had to start running. Body flicker, replacement jutsu, something, anything.

The explosion was deafening. My ears rung loudly along with a splitting headache. Thank god we left in time, I thought. If I had enough time to move far enough with an injured leg, then Tenzō should be able to move farther away from the explosion.

That was why it was a surprise to find him kneeling beside me. One of his arm was held behind my head with a broken piece of charred wood still hanging on there. The wooden shield blocked most of it, but there were still quite a bit of burns along with broken pieces of senbon stuck in his arm and I could feel the pain just by looking at it.

They were coming again. I could feel it; I could see it. Sword, projectile weapons, ninjutsu, they surrounded us and planned to overwhelm us at this very moment.

My eyes swirled into the tri-petal flower as my blood boiled. I didn't have a lot of chakra left, but I wouldn't give up until I had exhausted all I had, be it my chakra or my eyes.

The Susanoo was ready to expand, but before it could, my vision was covered by a storm of white. It took me a moment to realize that one, we were surrounded by a dome of spinning chakra; two, there were three person in this dome of protection; and three, I knew that person.

When chakra dome disappeared, the intruder finally stopped spinning, allowing me to stare at those pearly white Byakugan and the owl mask in shock.

What the f一 my thoughts were interrupted when Owl yelled, "duck!" We complied.

It was definitely an impressive scene as a storm of ninjutsu flew over our head and met the Root agents heads on. It was more epic now that I saw the barrage of animal masks that stood behind us.

"Move, dumbass!" Owl hissed at me as the Anbu agents filled the forest and flickered past us to engage in the battle. Talk about killing the moment, and all my gratefulness towards him, for that matter.

"I suspended you." And that was the best I could come up with? For a moment, I despised myself mentally. Still, Tenzō and I followed Owl as he lead us away from the battlefield and deeper into the formations of Anbu.

"Your order doesn't count against the Hokage's." The smugness in his tone made me want to bludgeon his head into the rocks, if not for the fact that he just sort of saved our asses.

I was going to yell something unpleasant back at Owl, but when I saw the dog-like mask amidst the Anbu members, I pushed the words back immediately.

"Commander," the three of us said in unison. The Hokage ran the Anbu, but it was the Anbu commander who was the Hokage's most attentive eye that supervised Anbu's smooth functioning as well of its members. Personally, I had never seen him outside of training drills or the monthly gatherings that took place in the Anbu Headquarter. Yet, he had such a strong presence when he wanted to be.

"There's no need." The man stopped us from kneeling before he turned to Tenzō and I and said, "Good work, you two."

"Owl, take three teams and escort them to Hokage-sama. We'll take it over from here." As expected, he didn't waste any words. Soon, his attention was turned to the fight with Root and started to command the battle.

"Was every Anbu checked with the identification seal? When was the seal ready? How many remains?" I shot a storm of questions towards Owl as we left for Konoha.

"I don't know a lot, we sent out everyone we can that's clean. However, when I was checked and sent out, Captain Hound and Hokage-sama were still applying the seals." Upon hearing Owl's answer, I let out a sigh of relief. Kami, maybe I should put more faith in Tenzō's optimism.

The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful compared to how Tenzō and I got here. Still, I remembered that I collapsed the moment I entered the Hokage tower.

(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

Everytime I had this dream, I couldn't help but ask myself, "Why do you do this to yourself?" But then, that was exactly why some dreams were haunting, yet addicting at the same time.

It was the same scene each time and everytime without fail, I was pinned on the wall by a sword that had pierced through my stomach. The pain had always been frighteningly vivid - not my stomach though, but the record that was about to be played out, a record that was embedded into the history, a record that couldn't be changed.

Surprisingly, it was actually the first time this dream had revisited me since I had learned the truth and rightfully, something changed. I used to scream, maybe, used to fight to break free from the sword. I would yell, curse, and plea, hoping this imagination of my brother would hear me and grant me some condolence, only for it to be taken away later when everything turned out to be a genjutsu he had cast - in my own dream. How did that even work?

However, this time, I watched, greedily taking in every details regardless of whether they were truly what I had seen or just fabricated by my faulty memory. Did I see that hint of tears? Did I really? Did our mother just cast Itachi a gaze of comfort? Crap, I couldn't remember. Had I forgotten this piece of memory so much because of the fear and pain that I had to trust a dream - a nightmare, no less - to find the answer?

Just like that, I woke up without determining anything. My face felt wet, just a little. Everyone in my dream seemed to be crying and I probably cried with them.

The ceiling in the Hokage's office was so bright that it hurt my eyes. Automatically, I shrunk and attempted to roll my face into the couch. That didn't happen, since an intruding face suddenly popped into my view and successfully destroyed any sleepiness I had.

"She's awake," Kakashi announced, as if it wasn't obvious when I sat up and groaned in discomfort. Quietly, I wiped my face free of any remains of tears before I scanned the office. Tenzō was resting on the other couch, all bandaged up but at least he was awake. Kakashi and the Jōnin Commander stood by the window while the Hokage sat behind his desk with a damp scroll in hand. His eyebrows were frowning so hard that I thought someone had stitched the skins together.

"Have you read the scroll yet?" The Hokage asked as he closed the scroll that had caused all the havoc in the past five days.

"Of course I have," I said without a blink and the Hokage just shook his head. For what? If I planned to risk my life to protect that damn scroll, I should at least figure out what was I fighting for. However, when the Hokage sighed again, I had a feeling that he didn't really care about whether I had read it or not.

Pa! The Hokage suddenly slammed the scroll on his desk, shocking all of us. I widened my eyes at the man, unsure of how to react. The Hokage had always seemed so benevolent; even when he was angry, he showed his anger with grace and calmness. But this? The Hokage was mad, so he took it out on the scroll that was the source of his fury.

"We were in a war." That was all the Hokage had said in a deep, almost menacing voice. Yet, I found myself able to understand his uncharacteristic rage.

See, Danzō didn't ask Hanzō to give him the Hokage's title. He asked for something else; he asked for conflict.

Suspicious activities, small skirmishes here and there, near the Konoha borders, when the war was almost over. Hanzō ordered his Amegakure Shinobi to pretend to be Iwa or Kumo shinobi, as per Danzō's request. After that, I could even guess the script. During then, Danzō was contending for the position of the Fourth Hokage and the war was the fastest way for a hero ro rise.

Being injured in the last war, all Danzō had was Root, a division in the shadow that had never been known. He needed Root to perform, to be a significant player in the times of war. Yet, with heroes being made left and right and their more known counterpart Anbu taking all the credit, Root was never made to be the one that shines.

Therefore, what better way to find conflict than to instigate it? When the war was drawing near, the Sandaime and the Hero were advocating a ceasefire, but Danzō warned them of their enemy's desire for conflict. He needed to be right and he needed to prove the Hero wrong; moreover, he needed to be the one to right the wrong, with Root, the agency that he had poured so much blood into.

The history book told us that no matter how many skirmishes the Root took care of, no matter how many signs of conflict Danzō brought to Konoha's attention, the Hero still won and created peace. So, Root sunk back to the shadow again, waiting for another time when they could claw their way into the light - the time when a Rogue Uchiha was about to burn the village to the ground to avenge her Clan who was massacred for planing a Coup d'etat.

But how many days of peace had Danzō delayed, if Konoha didn't believe that Iwa and Kumo were testing for another invasion and these villages didn't blame Konoha for killing their shinobi over false accusations? How many days of peace would Danzō have taken away, if these skirmishes turned into a real war?

Still, there were more. Hanzō added his version of the story under the contract. The Akatsuki rebellion was quenched, yes, but at a heavy cost. Most of Hanzō's subordinates died and so did all of the Root members Danzō had sent to honour his bargain.

Root wasn't illegal back then; they were a part of the Konoha's force that were supposed to help with the war. Yet, Danzō used them to make a deal with a foreign nation that Konoha had no alliance with; a deal that was for his own selfish desires. The worst part, he lost them all.

So yes, the Hokage was furious. When he clenched his fist, none of us made a sound. None of us dared to make a sound. Slowly, the Sandaime relaxed his hand and met my gaze. I was startled, and frankly, a bit frightened. I wasn't sure how to act when there were so many recent developments I wanted to ask about. Thankfully, the Hokage seemed to understand. His eyes softened a bit as the anger faded in the background, not forgotten, I hoped.

"Good work, the two of you." The Hokage nodded at us and my mission partner dipped his head immediately to accept the praise. I did the same a second later. After seeing that, the Hokage started to fill us in on the current information.

"Jiraiya had completed the seal a few hours ago and we started the vetting process immediately. All of the deployable Anbu in the village had been checked through. There were sixty nine that were immobilised by the seal, currently in the Anbu holding facility. There were ten Anbu, eight of them are Captains, that hadn't answered the summoning order, we believe they had escaped aftering somehow gaining the information of the identification seal." The Hokage paused for a second for the information to sink in.

"Eight out of ten, that's not the normal proportion, is it?" I asked and the Jōnin Commander nodded.

"None of the sixty nine spies we've captured are of the Captain rank, although they do range from newly qualified to those who have had years of experience in Anbu." I knew what Commander Nara was suspecting. It was likely that there was a hierarchy in Root as well and the lack of response from those Root agents that had already been captured informed their superiors of the abnormality.

"We haven't had the chance to vet those agents currently out on missions. Still, the Anbu sealing teams set up checkpoints at the village entrances and those agents will be vetted as soon as they return. The next step will be to vet the normal shinobi forces, starting from the sealing and barrier division. However, with the preparation for the raid and the trial, the process will proceed at a slower rate, most likely taking days, even weeks to finish." Quickly, Commander Nara finished up with this topic. Personally, I doubted that those Root spies out on Anbu missions would return diligently, seeing that an information leak had already started to occur. I just hoped that the rest of their team wouldn't be screwed by it.

On the other hand, the vetting of the normal shinobi force was not the priority, nor was it feasible in practical terms. Only those with sealing experience could apply an intricate seal like this correctly. At first, it had only been the Hokage and Kakashi, now, we had some Anbu sealing teams. However, everyone's focus was on the raid that it was unlikely for any Anbu sealers to be spared to vet through the significantly larger number of shinobi in the village. Also, expanding the 'spy test' to the normal shinobi force would require some sound explanations, causing panic and speculations before we could draw a conclusion to Root and Danzō. Right now, the Anbu should more than enough to deal with anything that had to do with the raid and the trial.

Speaking of the trial … "I will issue an order of arrest and all of this will go to trial." I snapped my head up at the Hokage's words and narrowed my eyes at him.

"And by 'All of this', you mean …" "I mean the treasonous dealings he had with Amegakure, as well as his act of keeping a personal military force against my order of disbandment."

Oh, I thought as a hint of disappointment arose in my chest. What was I expecting? What I wanted was not practical and I had known that for many days now.

"A fair warning. I will charge him with treason, and push for the execution. If he loses in the trial, not even the elders could wash his crimes away" Now that was shocking. I couldn't help but sit up straight against the Hokage's serious words. "However, I honestly don't think the punishment of execution will push through. The picture is never just black and white, Danzō has done a number of good for Konoha and he holds so much information and connection. An immediate execution is unlikely to sit with most of Clan leaders and village officials - who will be voting to decide Danzō's fate. I need you to be prepared for an undesirable outcome because you will have to be there."

I was suddenly self conscious of the way my left hand clenched tight onto the fabric of the couch. After a moment, I relaxed my fingers and smoothed out the wrinkled fabric slowly.

"I see," was all I could say and all I wanted to say.

"Because of the importance of such a matter, I'm going to make the arrest myself and he will have no choice but to come with me." He stood up and paused before he turned his attention towards each person in the room. "Shikaku will inform the Clan Heads, since they will be part of the jury." Commander Nara nodded immediately and excused himself from the room as the Hokage laid his eyes on me.

"The three of you, stay here. Both Maiko and Tenzō are important witnesses, protect yourselves, be careful. If you need any more detailed information, ask Kakashi." However, before he walked out of the door, he turned around and said to me clearly, "You are not to leave the room until then, do you understand?"

"No, wait! I need to see Sa一" My objection got cut off when the the Hokage shut the door tightly on his way out, forcing all kinds of seals to barricade this room.

I jumped off the couch and flickered to the door, temporarily forgetting that I probably shouldn't use chakra right now. The headache was killing my sense of balance as I grabbed the doorknob to steady myself and raised my other hand in any attempt to ease the ringing pain in my head.

Apparently, my memory was failing me greatly. I was reminded of the fact that there was a foot-long laceration on my arm in the form of the sharp pain that leaked out of the white bandages and made me hiss in irritation.

Not a moment later, a hand on my shoulder helped with the steadiness and a voice asked, "Are you一"

"Fine," I shouted. A pause, the realisation of who I just snapped at hit me. "I'm fine," I said to Kakashi, this time, in a softer tone. "I was just …" Worried, afraid, overwhelmingly anxious "… in a hurry," eventually, I explained.

As much as I'd hate to admit it, that equilibrium between relief and anxiety didn't last very long and when I returned to Konoha, it had evolved into a giant pot of screaming anxiety while the mix of relief was nowhere to be found.

I needed to talk to Sasuke now because I knew that if I didn't do it soon, didn't constantly push myself to do it, it would never be done. But obviously, now was not possible and I had to remind myself that patience was a virtue and the fact that I was not going to back out of my promise, anxiety and that broken equilibrium be damned.

Nodding in understanding, Kakashi retracted his hand once he was sure that I could stand well on my own and took a few steps back. The carefulness in his action told me that my mission partner probably already fessed up everything to his senpai while I was sleeping. My suspicion was confirmed when I met Tenzō's eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked the younger man, the image of his battered arm and the bloody slash on his back resonated in my head. With a smile, Tenzō nodded, even waving his wrapped up left arm at me to prove that he did not lose his arm.

Suddenly, I walked toward him and against his startling expression, I hugged him. "Thank you" I whispered as I wrapped my left arm around his neck and pulled him into a hug. His body tensed up in shock but a moment later, he relaxed and returned the embrace.

I could tell that he was not used to being hugged but at least he tried to overcome the awkwardness and patted me on the back with his good arm. "There's no need. Your mission was getting that scroll and mine was to protect you. I'm glad it worked out fine, even with all the unplanned surprises," he said in his usual calm voice and I chuckled at the humour.

After I let him go, I cocked my head at Kakashi and asked Tenzō, "You told him that I don't blame him for anything, right?"

"He did." To my surprise, it was Kakashi who decided to answer me. "But you know, you're as temperamental as your fire dragon, both of which I'd hate to be on the receiving end."

Huh, now that was the Kakashi I knew, saying sharp words by which I wasn't sure I should feel offended or flattered. Nevertheless, it seemed like he deemed my good mood to mean that I really wasn't that angry at him.

"Just for that, you're not getting a hug." I lied, he was not getting a hug regardless.

"And risking you pushing a senbon into the back of my neck? I don't think so." Kakashi continued with his infuriating words and I almost rolled my eyes. I should have stick a needle in his neck. It would keep him quiet and with the medic-nins here, he would survive and I wouldn't be charged for murder. Probably.

"So, the base." I brought the conversation that was sidetracked a thousand miles back on topic.

"Under the Northern Cemetery, just outside of Konoha's border." Kakashi nodded his head towards the window, except that the blinds were closed so I couldn't actually see anything. "My ninken and I pinpointed the place as a suspected location yesterday and seeing them flocking out of there to catch you saved me the trouble of confirming it myself."

The location was found; the army was readied; the leader was isolated. The raid was around the corner.

"Tonight, in a few hours." As if reading my mind, Kakashi added. "The Anbu is in the process of being regrouped and scouts were sent out to check out the base. There are a few things we need to juggle at the same time as the raid which the Commanders and the Hokage had to keep in mind when planning for the raid."

He paused, before declaring in a calm tone that didn't allow any dispute. "Regardless of what happens to Danzō in the trial, the raid will occur and Root's base will be cleared tomorrow morning."

No one could blame the Hokage's confidence in this raid. Either the Root allowed itself to be defeated by Anbu - the rightful authority - or it rebelled and became an enemy of all Konoha. I wondered if the latter would happen; I wondered if Danzō truly had the guts and resources to do something like that. Therefore, the Hokage would make sure that Root would be disbanded tonight at all cost. If he couldn't, then it would truly be a terrifying future.

With a hint of curiosity, I walked to the window and carefully pried the blinds open. When I stepped past the village border, the sun was still hanging stubbornly on the horizon. But now, flickering lights decorated the village, guiding the villagers home, away from the danger that was about to broke out just past the border. The fuzzy dots reminded me how much my vision had deteriorated over the past days. I resisted the urge to turn on the Sharingan to clear away the uncertainty. Without the dōjutsu, I couldn't see the cemetery covered by the darkness, only a silhouette marked by my imagination.

"How does the trial work, exactly?" I asked. You see, I had never really known the 'law' side of things. Most targets on my missions had already been handed an execution order before I came into the picture.

"Yeah, I guess you should learn this, seeing that you will be participating in them in a few years." As Kakashi let the words hang there indefinitely, I raised an eyebrow and urged him to continue.

"Formal trial is only employed for those with sensitive status - for example, an Elder or a Clan Head - or when the case has very contrasting evidence. More likely than not, when a shinobi commits a crime, their actions are pretty self-explanatory and the Hokage can issue punishment without a trial. But if he can't, then all the Clan Heads in Konoha who is above the rank of Jōnin, the Konoha Council, along with the Anbu Commander and the Jōnin Commander will make up of a jury. It would be the Hokage's job to provide all evidence to allow for a fair judging in order to decide the punishment." Kakashi explained patiently as I jogged some names down on a piece of paper.

"So, we need to convince the jury that Danzō is guilty as a paper drenched in ink. The Councilmen are already on his side, but can I assume that the Jōnin Commander and the Hyūga are on our side?" I asked as I circled some names on the paper. I knew of all the clan heads in Konoha, but personally, I had no interaction with most of them. Therefore, I really hoped that they were fair and just and actually listened to reasons.

"Most likely. What's the outcome that you are expecting?" My ex-captain asked again as they both started to crowd around my tiny piece of paper with an incomplete list of names, much to my dismay.

"I want him executed on the spot, but that's very unrealistic, so I'll settle for imprisonment with chakra restraining handcuffs for life. Oh, I want my cousin's eye back, but that can happen after he's in jail and his little troop of soldiers are disbanded," I added the last part helpfully when my two teammates frowned at my ambitious words. I wondered what their faces would be like if I had outright told them that my goal was to kill him, with my own hands, after I have gouged out Shisui's eye from his undeserving socket. But I was not planning on going rogue, and therefore everything had to be proceeded in a stepwise manner.

"To be honest, your chances are not bad. Most Clan Heads are just and fair, because of their positions, they are not easily swayed, even by the council. If we can explain the evidence in full detail, along with the statement of arrest from the Sandaime Hokage himself, we have a very good chance of convincing them that Danzō is guilty." I was sure that Kakashi meant it as a reassurance, but I just couldn't accept it. The Danzō in my imagination would never let his odds stack up against him, therefore, he must have some plans in motion. After all, he had a network of spies and nothing better to do than ruining other people's lives.

"Danzō will have something prepared against this situation. Bribery, threats, blackmailing, perhaps, or even …" I struggled to find the right tool that Danzō could use, there was always something missing. But as I bit my lip in frustration, the answer hit me.

"Kotoamatsukami. That's his ultimate saving grace." My voice came out a bit shaky, because just thinking about Shisui's eye made me full of rage. It was the ultimate disgrace, for our eye power to be used for evil. Of course, evil was a subjective term, but I was sure that Shisui wouldn't appreciate what Danzō was doing while strolling around with his eye power.

"But that can only affect one person. To win, he needs at least a dozen people to be affected." Tenzō brought up a good point there.

"He just needs to find the right person, sometimes, one person can turn the tide of an army," I said. Unconsciously, I had already started to tap my pen in agitation. This was bad, how could one prevent a slow-acting poison that snuck up on people without any trace.

"The Hokage, Commander Nara, Hyūga-dono. They are all possible candidates that knew of his criminal actions beforehand. Then, there's us" I pointed at the three of us in a circle before my finger landed on myself. "Tenzō collected the evidence with me, one wrong word from him, and the credibility of our evidence is ruined. As for you, Kakashi, you are the only one who can speak about Root without the curse seal, and in a sense, your ninkens are some evidence providers. I doubt he will try to use it on me again, not after his epic failure the last time, but who knows."

Perhaps this was why the Hokage forced us to stay here. If we could get this far, he had definitely figured this out before us. After all, he had four days to make a plan while Tenzō and I got drenched in Amegakure. That old man might have garnered my anger, he was nowhere near senile and definitely not stupid with the Nara around him.

But still, something felt wrong. To me, the success of Kotoamatsukami depends highly on the factor of surprise. Its whole basis was to affect targets without their realization. If the target had known of this jutsu beforehand, they would be on constant high alert. I seriously doubt that the Hyūga Clan Head dared to close his byakugan with Danzō around. Since the Sharingan wasn't even his to begin with, Danzō's success rate would be lowered significantly, especially if he planned to control one's action in a way that contradict their normal habits and thoughts so greatly.

"Honestly, it could be anyone, and they could be ordered to do anything. But one thing for sure, he will definitely use it, and we need to be careful about it." I confirmed the dreaded truth one more time as I folded the piece of paper into a smaller and smaller square.

I wanted to have optimism. I really did. But at this stage in life, I needed to think like Danzō - a cynical bastard who had thought of every flaw of his deed. Like the old saying, "fight poison with poison", and let's see which poison is more deadly.

(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

The chances were, I wouldn't be able to step into the Grand Hall of Konoha for a few years. This ceremonious building were really only used for once or twice a year. It was already June, but Danzō's case had made the Grand Hall open its door for the first time this year. As a provider of the evidence, and as a future jury member who needed learning experience (some excuse the Hokage-sama came up with), I was allowed entry.

"We are here today for the trial of Shimura Danzō, one of the Elders of Konoha, who is now under the suspicion of treason, consorting with foreign shinobi village, lending unauthorized military aid, and the attempted kidnapping of Konoha's citizen." The Hokage announced from the front of the room in a thunderous voice. If you add a few more charges, then maybe we are scratching the surface, I thought in the back of my head.

"However, due to the severity of the charges, the Konoha Council have demanded a trial to be brought forth. So you have all gathered here to decide if the charges on Shimura Danzō is true. I will disengage myself from the decision making process and provide information solely based on the evidence I have received." Well, wasn't this exactly like the pact we had made: The Hokage couldn't openly pass the judgement on Danzō, then I would be the one who fired the shot. Danzō already wanted me dead anyway, the thing about having targets on your back, whether they just wanted a shot or maybe they hate you enough to aim a bullseye, it really couldn't matter less.

"Hokage-sama, shall we present the evidence? I'm sure a lot of people here are very confused about the absurdity of these accusations." One of the council members said with an unfaltering voice. Elder Utatane, I remembered; one of the culprits who decided that massacring my whole clan was the best solution for everything.

"Very well." The Hokage glanced at the Elder next to him with a look of warning, before unveiling that damp but precious scroll I had risked my life for. "From the recent evidence recovered from Amegakure, it demonstrated that Shimura Danzō had lent Amegakure 'military aid' eight times in total over the last twenty years, without my authorization or knowledge. Hence the charge of lending unauthorized military aid."

"In the evidence scroll, there are also records of Danzō accepting favours from the leader of Amegakure, Hanzō. Some of these recorded help included gaining free passage through Amegakure, assassination jobs, and a return of military aid, for purposes that I wasn't aware of." The Hokage explained with an emphasis on the last few words. Around the Room, save for Danzō who just stood in the middle with that look of distaste, everyone either had frowns on their face or surprise in their eyes or both.

"It also was recorded that Amegakure shinobis received help from Elder Shimura in entering the village, for the attempted kidnapping of Uchiha Sasuke nine years ago. Along with the scroll recovered from Amegakure, archived patrol reports showed that there are unauthorized personnelles wandering around the area, pretending to be Anbu forces that I had not sent. Jōnin Hatake's ninken had confirmed that there are multiple scent trails disappearing near the village wall at two hundred metres from the Northern gate, showing that there should be a secret entrance unbeknownst to me." Every time the Hokage spoke, he put strong emphasis on the idea that he had no idea. In a hidden village, the Kage is the centre. They were the symbolism of the people's trust and authority. By keeping treacherous secrets from the Hokage, Danzō had just broke every shinobi's trust.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Elder Shimura?" The room stayed silent as Hokage directed everyone's attention to the lone figure standing in the middle of the room. Black coat, white shirt, he give off the image of a man of tradition. Yet with one of his eyes covered in bandage and the other closed, I felt like he was an impenetrable stone fortress.

"I would like to question the validity of this so-called evidence from Amegakure. Since it was retrieved from a foreign village, I believe that everyone here should be informed of the circumstances, for example, the shinobi who had retrieved it." From the moment that his mellow words flowed out, I knew exactly what he wanted to say. It was me; I was the ultimate weak link in this case. It was as if Danzō's piercing gaze was following me, I shifted uncomfortably in the back seat.

"The scroll was retrieved by Anbu agents, whose identities should be kept secret." After a small frown, the Hokage answered. Perhaps I should thank him for trying so hard to keep my identity even if it is futile.

"There is no one here who doesn't have the clearance for the information, Hiruzen." The other Elder sitting beside the Hokage immediately added, and soon, a few Clan Heads were nodding their heads. And here I thought there is at least some anonymity left to accompany their dignity.

"I did." To save the Hokage some pain, I spoke up, instantly drawing everyone's attention in the room. Out of all the reactions, I believed that Inoichi-san's was the funniest with his eyes so wide as if he was surprised to see a patient from his psych ward out of the asylum.

"I retrieved the scroll under the codename Rabbit, along with another Anbu agent under the codename Bear." To my surprise, my voice was very clear, no cracking or hoarseness at all despite the fact that I hadn't spoken a word in half a day.

"Describe the circumstances of the retrieval." Elder Utatane's harsh words shut the murmurs floating in the hall. Very slightly, I narrowed my eyes at her. What was her aim? She wanted to help Danzō, I knew that, but how? Nevertheless, I told her everything - well, everything with a twist. One of the nice skills I had picked up over the years was how to leave the words sounding normal but ambiguous at the same time.

"I was sent by Hokage-sama to retrieve the missing-nin list from Amegakure. A secondary mission - investigating Amegakure's potential contact with Konoha - was added after some suspicious information arose from the investigation of Uchiha Sasuke's attempted kidnapping. We infiltrated Amegakure and secured all the information from hostile parties, two enemy individuals were killed during the mission, but our identities were not exposed to the best of my knowledge. Is there anything else that you'd like me to clarify, Elder Utatane?" I asked as I looked into the older woman's eyes innocently. She minced her mouth sourly, obviously trying to find fault in my testimonies as the whole room of Clan Heads contemplated the information given. Just as the female Elder fell silent, the second Elder spoke up, picking up the mess seamlessly.

"Uchiha Maiko, I believe that you had some misunderstanding with Elder Shimura a few days ago." Oh, you mean that I planned this as a revenge plot? I thought silently. Even an idiot could see the angle these Elders were playing.

"Yes, but that has been resolved." Oh, it was far from resolved, but at least on a surface level, Danzō and I had gone back to being strangers. When the person in question didn't contradict my words, I continued, "With all due respect, Elder Utatane, but what does that have anything to do with my mission? I was sent out by Hokage-sama to retrieve the missing-nin list, as well as investigate the unusual circumstances brought about by the report nine years ago. I completed my mission and brought the information back, as for what Hokage-sama had intended for it, I do not question."

I locked eyes with the Hokage, and he nodded slightly to the crowd, confirming my story. I knew that Danzō would try to bring up any personal history, which was why we had decided that Tenzō shouldn't be there, in case they started to pull out his background. It was a good thing that my public appearance was a loyal Anbu agent. Everyone liked a good shinobi that didn't question the orders.

"Hokage-sama, council members." Suddenly, a mellow voice sounded in the middle of the room, causing me to frown in surprise. "if I may request for my mind to be examined by Yamanaka-san. I believe that whether I am guilty or not can be determined." What!

How the … why was he throwing himself in the pit? The Yamanaka mind probe was no joke, and by all accounts, he should be avoiding it like a plague. One snippet of memory, he was doomed. In fact, Hokage and I were thinking of letting Inoichi-san be the last resort, just in case the paper evidence wasn't enough.

He was up to something, I knew it. But once again, I couldn't stop it. The Hokage didn't have a legitimate reason to stop it; the jury were intrigued by this development. With no choice, the Hokage sanctioned the mind probe. It was a great crime to use mind invading techniques to anyone in the village without permission, therefore, Inoichi-san only moved when Hokage had given the order.

"My apologies, Elder Shimura." The Yamanaka Clan Head said as he stood behind the one-eyed man. When he was forming the seals that I had seen so many times, My mind wandered to all the possibilities …

No. He wouldn't.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I didn't get any memory from Elder Shimura about consorting with Amegakure." Inoichi-san's words were like wildfire, making the whole room burned with whispers and mumbles.

He had used Kotoamatsukami on Yamanaka Inoichi.

It was stupid, how we didn't catch it. We thought for sure that he would go for someone that would inadvertently invalidate the paper trail. But I had forgotten for a moment, how in a shinobi's world, nothing could beat ninjutsu.

The Yamanaka's Mind Body techniques was the most trusted jutsu to provide information, and it was all left up to the interpretation of the user. The worst of all, now that the Yamanaka Clan Head had performed the technique himself, no one would think of invalidating him.

He was just supposed to be an observer, Yamanaka Inoichi. But Danzō had a tendency to draw them into his web without them even noticing.

The room was already starting to argue in doubt, wondering what's the point of having these charges when even the mind probe said no. I couldn't let that happen, not after all the hard work Tenzō and I had done.

"Wait!" I shouted just loud enough to catch the room full of people's attention. "Hokage-sama, even for a technique as versatile as the Yamanaka secret art, there are countermeasures involved that can block one's memory from being accessed. With paper trail evidence, I don't believe that it's fair to just dismiss them, especially since the foreign intelligence is corroborated by reports made by our own shinobi." I shouldn't be saying anything unless I was asked, that was the deal, but I couldn't let it go on. So now, I shall face the wrath of everyone in the room.

"Are you suggesting that I am withholding information?" Defensive, quick to judge, distrustful, those were the out of character traits that I had gathered from Inoichi at the moment. Danzō had probably planted an impression in him that told him to have complete faith in Danzō while being weary of me.

"No, Yamanaka-san, I am not questioning your loyalty; I am merely proposing a possibility. I still very much trust your skill, Yamanaka-san, but their are more than one way to evade the mind-body technique, especially when the skill is performed on such short notice. For example, a curse seal, or a genjutsu." I eyed the man who was being trialed very subtly, but he knew what I meant.

"What's your point, girl?" Elder Utatane asked. I'm trying to figure it out myself, so please shut up.

"I am willing to let Yamanaka-san look at my memory of the events regarding the retrieval of the scroll. Perhaps having two testimonies will help you determine the validity of the evidence." I was taking a huge risk here. I had too many secrets to hide, and if Inoichi was really hexed to be distrust of me, then if he poked one wrong snippets, this would be my funeral. The Hokage definitely did not approve of this, but like before, he couldn't stop it, not when a whole court of people were demanding it.

"Please refrain from poking too deep, Yamanaka-san. There are some self-defense mechanisms that even I can't turn off." I warned the man before he could form the seal and he didn't bother to answer me. Here's hoping that Shisui loved me enough for his Mangekyou to back off when fighting mine.

The mind probing was very uncomfortable to say the least. It started with our trip to Amegakure, we did talked about Root on the way, but they could be explained away as information provided by the Hokage. Then it went to the drainage pipe - that could be explained away as following the trail left by a suspicious third party. Then, it was the actual fighting. It was like I was reliving the scenery, but for some reason, he was not very focused on retrieving this part. Instead, the reach started to drift, and I knew it was going on a dangerous direction towards something ugly - my past. Needless to say, I activated the mangekyou, projecting that large eye in my brain scape.

Come on, wake up, Inoichi-san! If the Mangekyou didn't have any effect, then I didn't know what to do. Instantly, he was booted out of my brain. Before he could speak up, I glared at him as if saying 'I warned you not to touch things you shouldn't'.

"It seems that everything she said matches with her memory. The scroll is retrieved in the Amegakure intelligence department, but it seemed that she didn't retrieve it from the Amegakure shinobi." Good, it seemed that honesty to the Hokage was still something he possessed. Further proof that Danzō could only implement suggestions that did not deviate too far from target's usual habits.

"No, I retrieved the scroll from a suspicious third party. We are not aware of the fact that there were other Konoha party sent on the same mission, therefore, we treated them as a threat. We only managed to eliminate one of them without compromising our identities." I answered meticulously, not leaving a single hole. Please, Hokage-sama, follow my direction. I pleaded silently, hoping that he would ask the right question.

"Is there anything you'd like to add now, Yamanaka-san?" He did asked the right one.

"Perhaps, I had seen memories in Elder Shimura's mind about the old organization Root that looked very similar to the third party shinobis in Uchiha-san's memory." There it was, I needed him to say it. He was still the same Yamanaka Inoichi, his loyalty to the Hokage would force him to say things he had omitted once being prompt. "However, I still deny seeing any connection between Elder Shimura and Amegakure." And here was the limit for decades of loyalty.

"Danzō, I had ordered the disbandment of Root a decade earlier. Why are your operatives still active and sent to retrieve a sensitive information without my knowledge?" Suddenly, the Hokage slapped table with a bang. Yes, keep it up, Hokage-sama, anger and betrayal is your goal today.

"I do not deny to having continued the Root faction, Hokage-sama, for it's an effective solution for missions that are too much for the public eye, and perhaps, your reputation. However, I deny having any involvement in any treasonous activities. The Root faction is built for Konoha's benefit." Bullshit, but still, I could tell that he didn't want to say it. But he was the one who had used Inoichi before. If he chose to invalidate this testimony, then the previous one wouldn't hold up as well. Root or Amegakure, he picked the lesser of two evils.

"Sandaime. I believe that Elder Shimura's intention is good, even if his methods are lacking, therefore …" One of the Elders started the sentence, but he never got to finish it.

"Homura, good intention does not mean acceptable action. Having personal military faction inside of Anbu is a treasonous act, let alone the fact that I had ordered for its disbandment years ago. Just because Danzō perceived his actions to be beneficial, doesn't mean that it is actually legal." The Hokage said in stern words, and it earned him a chorus of agreement from the jury.

"Even then, the charge against him on consorting with foreign village still do not stand. Yamanaka-san's testimonies does not match the paper evidence that your shinobi has retrieved. Personally, I am more inclined to trust the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique instead of some paper made by an untrustworthy foreign village." Relentlessly, Elder Mitokado argued. This was the battle, paper evidence against ninjutsu, and I knew immediately which one was more favourable.

"It's the jury's decision now to assign a judgement for Shimura Danzō, given all the evidence you have heard today." Without much delay, the Hokage announced. Then, there was the silence.

"If I may propose, Hokage-sama, I wish to suggest a sentence for Elder Shimura." It was the Hyūga Clan Head who had spoken up. Despite the fact that he had held his silence during the trial. Just his voice commands much of the attention to his dignified status.

"Imprisonment for an indefinite time with chakra restraining devices as the sentence for having unauthorised military factions in Anbu. With regard to the matter about Amegakure, it can be discussed later when more evidence came to light." I second that. Those that agreed with him give small nods, but it seemed like no one was in a rush to make a decision.

"I disagree with Hyūga-dono. Imprisonment with chakra restraints is too harsh for such a crime. I suggest that the punishment be decreased to house arrest for now, and Shimura Danzō be stripped of all his position within the government. Root should be disbanded immediately." Come on, Inoichi-san. No one would blame you if you don't speak. I had the urge to cover my face in exasperation.

"How about we find a middle ground. Imprisonment with no chakra restraints for an indefinite time until the results about Amegakure can reach an conclusion." The sentence that had sealed the deal was from Commander Nara. It seemed like mostly everyone agreed with him, other than the Elders. For a second, I wondered if they had planned this. Having two of the most influential Clan Heads proposing two different sentences with the first one being very high and the second one being the 'middle ground'. By the rule of reciprocity, most would accept with the second.

"Then that's what we will do. Shimura Danzō will be confined to Konoha's prison. The disbandment of Root will be immediate. Shimura will provide all information regarding this Root faction including its past activities and current member list." I could have swore that the Hokage looked at me before yelling out "Meeting adjourned". That look, it was the look of sorrow and pity.

I know, I had lost. I needed him in jail with no chakra access. Unless I could cut off all his resources, he would bounce back and bite me in the neck.

When they say that missing the first sniper shot was deadly, they really weren't kidding. And I had just missed my aim.

(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

The teacup crashed against the wall and shattered into pieces.

Temper tantrum, I hadn't had one of them in forever. But when I had managed to get my hands on something breakable, I threw it against the wall without any delay.

The water had long stopped boiling on the counter. 'Go home and do something comfortable, there's nothing else you can do today,' The Jōnin Commander suggested. Yet, all that seemed to make me feel better was to smash something until it broke - just imagine that it was Danzō's head.

I eyed the broken shards on the floor distastefully one more time before leaving the apartment, not even bothering to clean up the shards scattered all over the floor. Ever since the attack on my apartment, Shun went to live with his shishou temporarily and Sasuke was in the Nara Compound. No one would come back here for a while, at least, not until I had fixed everything

As I flickered through the hushed streets, I saw the hidden building I was looking for - the prison by the Interrogation Unit. They had put Danzō in one of the cells, stuck him behind bars full of barrier seals. He wouldn't be able to affect those outside, but it didn't mean that it couldn't be broken. I knew for a fact that Amaterasu could burn it all. The problem was, could Danzō?

However, before I could enter the building and find out, someone pulled me to the side alley.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kakashi stared me down, not at all like some creep who lurked the alleys of Konoha.

"You already asked me that once," I answered, pointing towards the bleak prison. "And I'm pretty sure that you know where."

"I'm guessing that you're not going to listen even if I told you that it's not a good idea?" When I shook my head peacefully, he stepped aside and let me pass. Without a doubt, I walked towards the guards situated at the door.

"Good evening," I greeted, before pulling out a scroll with the Hokage's seal. "Hokage-sama has given me the permission to see the prisoner, may I?" I signalled towards the door. The four guards scanned the scroll with the utmost caution, then one of them ran his eyes thoroughly over me before moving onto Kakashi behind me.

"He's with me," I said briefly. The man retracted his eyes and returned to the whispers between his fellow shinobis. They could check the scroll all they wanted, but it was definitely the real thing. I saw Hokage-sama drafted it and pressed his seal with his chakra himself.

"Uchiha-san, Hatake-san, even if the scroll is real, we would have to inform the Hokage of your entry, is that acceptable?" One of the guards asked me and I nodded. He pressed the scroll to the seal engraved on the door, allowing the barrier to open for a moment. With a small thanks, I led Kakashi through the iron door and watched it close behind me.

"Where did you get that?" Kakashi questioned as we stepped down a flight of stairs. The prison was mostly underground, and the cell where they were holding Danzō was on level three - for those who had committed military or political offence. It was too bad that he wasn't in level four - treason and awaiting for execution.

"Right from Hokage-sama's hands," I responded. "We had a deal, he would give me full access to Danzō once he was deemed guilty." And you won't believe how easy it is to ask for what you want when your very presence is making them feel guilty.

"It seems like you have it all planned out."

"I did, but now, I'm starting from square one." I supposed that my voice didn't hold as much bitterness as I would imagine. My plan, or rather new plan: talk to Danzō. One thing that had bugged me to no end was the fact that he just willingly went to jail. There had to be something else that he had planned, he was hardly the kind that would just roll over and die. It was stupid, but I didn't know what to do. I was betting that I could figure something out from him before he did the same with me.

"So your motive for our current actions is …?" He trailed off indefinitely, but I didn't pick it up. The reason being that when we stepped off the stairs into level, I saw someone - a temporary prison guard. It was Ryuu.

It was a snapshot of the moment. He paused for a second before his feet moved again. But I didn't. I just walked straight past him, not even sparing him a glance. He is still so young, so much more to learn about hiding one's emotions.

I knew that Kakashi had followed me instead of stopping to look at the questionable scene. But I also knew that he recognized my little subordinate - the one who was still stuck in Root and muted by Danzō - and he was probably wondering why he was here instead of somewhere safe.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to know as well. Ryuu should have been watched - not trusted, but still had the potential to be reused. He should be ordered to be as far away from Danzō as possible. He would have limited freedom, but he would be alive. So why was he here? It couldn't have been the Hokage's order, so it must had been Danzō's arrangement. What the hell do you want, old spider?

I didn't have the time to think any further, one, because Ryuu had already disappeared from my sight and two, Danzō's cell was just a few steps away.

"How was the power you stole from my cousin, screwed enough people's minds to get a taste?" Perhaps that wasn't the right line-opener, but I thought it delivered my point across pretty well.

"Don't you know, girl, that there are surveillances around here. You should be careful with what you say." The words floated around the room, but it sounded like it was filtered by an imaginary glass panel that blocked his cell from the hallway. He was sitting so calmly in his cell, on that rug covered stone platform. It made my heart wrench in suspicion, not knowing what he was up to.

"Oh, I know, but I don't have anything to hide. You, however, do." I stared at the man's bandaged eye - where Shisui's eye would be. He couldn't see me because the barrier seal also worked like a one-way mirror, but I was sure that someone as vigilant as him could pretty much guess everything that happens on the outside.

"Why did you do it?" I asked, not quite sure why. "Shisui had done nothing to you, he wanted nothing but kindness and peace for the village. Yet, you destroyed him before he could even prove it."

"Peace isn't worth a thing in this era, sometimes, we do everything we can to save the village. Sometimes, it's better to take things into our own hands, replacing chance with reassurance. You understand, don't you? I've read your reports, and your details are ruthless, deadly. You are an Uchiha, yet you prefer slashing people's throat with your own blade rather than trapping them in a genjutsu." He spoke like a true politician, skidding around the line of literal and metaphorical. The information he gave me was just enough for me to catch the meaning, yet useless enough as official evidence.

"Either way, I am getting my cousin's eye back, after I make sure that you will stay here and rot away for good." He didn't answer me, instead, he acted like he couldn't hear me. I didn't even need Kakashi's words of warning to know that this wasn't working.

"So you got information on my fighting style by setting a spy on me. But sending him to kill me, that was quite a big chance you were taking, don't you think? If he had given you an accurate report, then you should have known that he wouldn't stand a chance." I asked again, changing the direction of our conversation.

"It was the boy whom you had discarded afterward, wasn't it? Not bothering to look at him again. It's interesting how bonds can be so one-sided sometimes. That teammate of yours, even an old man like me can sense the pity in an unrequited infatuation." There it was again, just enough to get me riled up, but never directly admitting anything. It was like playing a game of riddles, the first one unable to crack the riddle or say the answer out loud would lose, whichever came first.

"Alas, nothing could cut ties quite like a heartbreak. Remember that whatever he does now, whatever he becomes, it was because of you," he added a second later. Despite the ambiguity, I could feel my own heart rate speeding up just trying to unravel that sentence. What does he mean? Did he believe my act, or did he not? Was he trying to inject fear in me by telling me that I pushed Ryuu to despair? Or was it guilt? I couldn't tell. The game of riddles was shaky now, because I had lost track of the true answer.

"The Root that you are so proud of? It's your downfall. No matter how hard you try to get out of this, you can't." Leading questions, fear, emotional arousal. Those were the three things I had learned as my first interrogation lesson back in OLYMPUS. I had tried the leading questions, no effect. Fear wouldn't work with him, not when I had nothing that he would fear. Time to try emotional arousal.

"Oh, that's where you are wrong. I am not trying to deny it. You are too young to know this, but Root has been a fundamental part of Konoha ever since the Second Shinobi War. Sometimes we have to do things that no one else wants to do, and as the root which could never see the light of day, it's the only thing we can take pride in. The Root may be disbanded, but its spirits, its teachings will never die, not when Konoha is still a shinobi village competing with other villages." How grandeur, his words. If I weren't so disgusted by him already, I might even buy into his light and shadow theory.

"Good, then watch me tear it down, piece by piece. By the time I am done with it, there won't be a single shard left of its existence. I will destroy it all, your precious Root faction, your teachings, your reputation. Give it a year or so, your name won't even exist in the history books." That was some bullshit I was spitting out, but I had hoped that it would make him show some sort of emotional response. To my knowledge, Root was the closest thing to his children. I had hoped that he would fear being forgotten in history, having his power diminished.

To my disappointment, he was as still as a rock. I guess that you had to have a heart first to care.

"That arrogance matches well with you, Uchiha Clan Head. I had sincerely hoped that you wouldn't fall onto the same path as your ancestors, but it seems that the same arrogant ego has caught up with you." He paused a bit and I could just sense those sinister intentions from the way his lips curled slightly. "I wonder if the young Sasuke-kun will be the same. It's such a shame, I hope that someone can get rid of that fatal flaw for him. After all, he is still quite young and keen to learn, no?"

Is he suggesting … No. There's no way, not when Sasuke is being protected inside of the Nara Compound. Think logically, he can't, it's just a bluff.

"You wouldn't dare. Remember that you have charges stacked up on you like a mountain, and there will be more to come. Can you really afford to add another one?" I asked in a mocking tone despite the fact that my insides were already turning into tidal waves at the moment. It's so ironic, how I'm the one who is being emotionally stirred when I had intended to do the same to him.

"You tell me, girl. You have fought with my Root agents, one of them a very talented Yamanaka, and the other, an Aburame. Who else do you think is in the ranks?" That creepy smirk has definitely grown wider now. Unlike his previous ambiguous statements, this one was as clear as day to me. I had no idea which clan members he had in his grasp. For all I knew, there could be a Nara somewhere in the midst.

"I'm done with you. Enjoy prison life." Somehow, I had managed to squeeze out the last words without rushing them. But the moment I reached the stairs, I ran like hell.

"I know what you're going to say, but-"

"Go." I stopped dead on the track and the emergency brake almost caused Kakashi to crash into me. Immediately, I turned around and stared at him like I was seeing something unbelievable.

"You are not going to stop me? Tell me that it's a trap and he is probably just bluffing?" I asked incredulously, unsure if I had heard him right.

"No. I know how important he is to you, therefore it's probably better if you can put your heart down. It's your decision, and it's not like you can't handle yourself. But if you're not back in an hour, I'm reporting to the Hokage and sending out a search party." He had no idea how reassuring those words sounded. It was probably the nicest thing he had said to me ever, and definitely the best piece of news in the past week. Now that I had calmed down a bit, I suddenly remembered the other thing that had plagued my mind.

"Listen, about Ryuu …"

"Yeah, you don't have to explain it to me. I can understand why you did it," I could just imagine the disbelief on my face, because Kakashi added in annoyance, "Don't give me that look, I'm not that stupid. Besides, Tenzō told me." Ah, that makes sense.

"I mean, about him, something's wrong," I said, seeing Kakashi frowned. "He shouldn't be there, neither the Hokage nor Danzō would put him there if they are still sane. So that means, either Danzō is desperate to use anyone, or he is planning something."

"He has a way of contacting me if any emergency were to happen, but just in case …" I pulled out the scroll that the Hokage gave me and placed it in his hand. "This scroll will give you access to the prison, and you can use this to get an urgent meeting with Hokage-sama anytime. Please, watch Ryuu and Danzō for me?" I asked hopefully. Without any hesitation, he nodded and tucked the precious scroll into his jacket.

"Thank you. If I'm not back in an hour, I'm either dead or captured. But at least someone knows what happened." I said to him with a dim smile, before turning around and rushing down the complicated alleyways. The chances of Sasuke being in danger was less than five percent considering the fact that he was protected in the Nara compound. However, unless that chance was zero, I wouldn't be able to get rid of that twisting feeling in my gut.

The Nara Compound was everything that the Uchiha Compound was not. The former was well kept, situated in the populated region, and surrounded by lush green forest while the latter was worn down, located by the outskirt of the village, and confined by desolated rocky mountains. Perhaps, the most significant difference was the fact that the Nara Compound housed a dozen families, while the Uchiha Compound was a home for none.

"Maiko-chan, what can I help you with?" The woman who answered my knock - Nara Yoshino - asked in surprise.

"Yoshino-san, I just … May I see my brother?" I asked tentatively, knowing that this was a very long shot. And by the way she frowned in unease, I doubt that she would let me in.

"I'm sorry, Maiko-chan. I'm sure that my husband had told you that it's for Sasuke-kun's safety as well as for your convenience." Yes, he had. So blatantly, not even bothering to hide that threatening tone in his voice. The woman sighed in pity when she saw my distressed expression, but she knew as well as I did that she didn't have a choice.

"I just checked on him and Shikamaru a few minutes ago. Please, don't worry, they are safely asleep," Yoshino comforted me. Somewhere after that, I muttered a few thank you before she closed the door with a conflicted look.

So what now? I thought as I trotted near the Nara forest. I knew that it was probably a bad idea to wander around Nara, since the chance of me being mistaken for a creeper was very high seeing that the late night 'walk' lasted close to thirty minutes. I just couldn't bring myself to leave. However, if I didn't start making returning trips soon, Kakashi might actually call the search party.

The muffled sound of a tiny footstep, the presence of a foreign chakra, and the nearly undetectable warping of reality. These clued me in on the fact that someone was trying to use a genjutsu on me. However, it wasn't until my own Sharingan manifested and shattered everything, that I realised the little perpetrator. Immediately, I flickered in the outskirts of the forest, catching the young boy by surprise.

"What in the world are you doing, Sasuke?" I asked, mildly angry. "Why are you out of the compound, let alone hiding in the Nara forest?"

"Nee-chan!" Sasuke yelled in surprise. "Umm, I'm sorry. I thought you are one of the patrol. I was so close to getting out and it's only my fifth time trying! Mai-nee-chan, I don't want to stay here anymore. No one would tell me anything and you haven't visited me forever."

Now, I was definitely feeling the guilt. Carefully, I pulled him closer and hugged him, stroking his hair as if trying to express my guilt and helplessness against the situation.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, there are just some things that I needed to resolve. I promise, when everything is over - which it should be within a few days, I'll you everything you want to know. No more secrets, and everything that has been plaguing you - plaguing us? I will give you the answer." I whispered softly as he placed his head against my chest. I had actually planned to tell him everything from the coup to Danzō after I made sure that everything was settled. As for how he would react, that shouldn't be a reason to keep him from the truth - contrary to what the Hokage and the Jōnin commander felt.

"Will you trust me?" I asked again. He stayed still for a second, before I felt the rustling of his hair, signifying a yes.

"Alright, let's go back to Yoshino-san, and you will apologi―" I never got to finish the sentence, because the rush of pain forced me to direct my attention elsewhere. My left hand was clamped over Sasuke's right hand, stopping the hidden kunai from piercing into my body any further. However, the sharp tip had already dug into my stomach a few centimetres deep as the droplets of blood clung on the blade.

"What are you doing?" I spoke in a voice so dreadful that it even scared myself. Sasuke stayed still, but his strength in the kunai was already gone which allowed me to pull it out easily. I snatched the kunai from his hand and threw it as far away as possible, but it wasn't until I placed my other hand on his shoulder that I realised he was shaking uncontrollably.

"Why." That was all I said.

"You lied to me! I heard Nara-san talking, you knew about the truth behind the massacre all along! What's so wrong with our clan's doing that you had to help Itachi kill our own family!" Wait, what? "You ran away, so you had never known of our clan's treatment." No, that's not true, please stop. "But you had to act like that in front of me, for what? So you can keep me in the dark, so I wouldn't hate you or Konoha?" He was yelling so loud. Each of his screaming words pierced my heart more painful than the kunai ever did.

Shimura Danzō, that scumbag. He used Kotoamatsukami on my brother.

Wait, but how? How and when the hell could he had done that? But other than Danzō, there was no other known explanation.

"No, that's not true." I said in a forceful voice as I tried to keep him still. "Look at me, Sasuke. Someone has fed you lies, and I need you to believe me." My Sharingan stared into his equally red eyes, forcing him to stay calm, to feel safe. Kotoamatsukami had no trace, therefore, I couldn't find any trace of chakra disruption in his brain. I had already failed to break the jutsu with Yamanaka Inoichi, so how would I break him out of this? I had no idea. but I had to try.

I was trying to show him the truth using a genjutsu, telling him the full conversation between me and the Hokage. Still, I didn't need to be a genius to tell that he was rejecting the truth I was showing him. It's no good, Danzō's influence was one half truth and one half lie. Considering the emotional shock he had experienced, it was unlikely that he would accept my version that was delivered through a genjutsu over the hard earned 'truth' he had discovered himself.

My attempt lasted far shorter than I had wanted. While I was desperately trying to convince Sasuke of the truth, I left myself inattentive and vulnerable to the surroundings. Before I fell victim to a blunt force trauma to my head, I realised that I had never really understood Kotoamatsukami.

I had established that the jutsu had a cool down interval longer than 12 hours, because Danzō had used a traceable genjutsu on Falcon for him to assassinate me instead of Kotoamatsukami which would have a better success rate. However, I had never really figured out how long the jutsu could last, especially since I was the only known victim before today.

The Jōnin Commander reported back on Sasuke's activities everyday. Given my brother's temperament, I doubted that he would be able to hide his thoughts very long. Therefore, Danzō would have to hex him right before the trial for the ambush to work. But the problem was, there was no way that he could have done that if he had placed Inoichi-san under the influence specifically for the trial.

In hindsight, I realised that we had never found out who tipped off Danzō about our shifting of focus on Amegakure. But now, it all made sense. The only people who had known which archived report I presented to the Hokage was Shun, myself, and Inoichi who had to unseal the archive.

That had happened five days ago.

(づ。◕‿‿◕。)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

That was simply ingenious. It took Kakashi a while to realise that, which was a rare feat in itself. However, when the person in question was Danzō, it was not a compliment, but rather a very dreadful and scary realisation.

That earlier conversation which Maiko had instigated, Kakashi had thought that, at worst, it was an impasse. It wasn't until fifty minutes afterwards that Kakashi realised that Danzō was leading Maiko along all the way. From the first time he brought up the concept of 'take things into your own hands rather than leaving it to chances', he had guaranteed that Maiko would run to her brother no matter what. She was not taking any chances indeed.

When he had first figured that out, he wanted to rush to Danzō, interrogate him, and figure out his ultimate plan. However, he had stopped that train of thought before he could even reach the third flight of stairs. It was simply stupid, walking up to the most dangerous manipulator in Konoha and asking for answers.

As Kakashi sat on the stairs between level two and three, all he could do was staring at the clock, watching it ticking closer and closer to 11:37. Danzō hadn't spoke to anyone since Maiko had left, and the third level had been quiet ever since.

When the clock reached 11:32, Kakashi saw the first point of suspicion in this calming prelude. And this suspicious event came in the form of a boy.

Kakashi had little knowledge about Maiko's little kouhai, however, he could clearly tell that their relationship wasn't as standard as it seemed on paper. He had little intention to meddle either. Be it infatuation or whatever, Kakashi saw no effect on Maiko's professionalism, and that would probably continue forever, if not for this whole business with Danzō and Root.

The said boy was standing in front of him right now, staring at him with that nervous look. Okay, Maiko definitely needs to teach the poor boy how to hide his emotions, under the condition that he keeps his loyalty in the right place, Kakashi thought boredly. He raised his eyebrow at the boy, silently asking what he want (probably judging as well).

'Hatake-san, I need to pass. So if you can …' The boy signed carefully. Kakashi then realised that he was sitting shamelessly in the middle of the stairs, blocking everyone's path to the third underground floor. Yeah, very mature of him.

"Why do you have to go down there?" Kakashi asked lazily, looking like he had no intention of moving. The boy shifted uncomfortably in his presence, which Kakashi was sort of proud of the fact that he still had that effect. The more he spent time with Maiko, the more he felt like she was growing too fearless.

'It's the normal rounds, Hatake-san. It happens every half an hour, and I'm three minutes late.' The boy signed the complicated sentence helplessly and suddenly Kakashi remembered that the last round happened at eleven o'clock, but it was a different Shinobi back then. Technically, Kakashi could be sued for obstructing governmental duties, but he doubted that the boy would dare.

Nevertheless, he moved to the side and provided a way for the boy to pass. Kakashi wasn't a particularly mean person, and he definitely didn't want to be seen as being difficult to a young muted boy. As much as Kakashi didn't like the fact that Ryuu betrayed Maiko - literally tried to stab her in the heart, he knew that the boy didn't have a choice and the temporary muteness was his punishment. Perhaps, a bit too light, in his opinion. It was definitely too light, when compared to the price Maiko had to pay. Anger, guilt, fear, and responsibility, everything was poured onto her like some badly mixed paint. But if she couldn't look presentable after that, she would be judged harshly.

Silently, the boy moved past him and disappeared over the corner. A piece of paper fell out of his pocket, landing on the step right next to where Kakashi was sitting. Initially, Kakashi didn't pay it much attention, because at this point, who gave a damn? But after a few minutes, he caught the speck of red hidden carefully by the crumbled paper.

The faint smell of blood lured Kakashi to pick it up, but before he had the chance to inspect it, he heard the rushed footsteps coming from above. Immediately, he put the piece of paper in his jacket before turning around to face the panting shinobi.

"Hatake-san, Hokage-sama has summoned you for the emergency, he said to be there immediately." The shinobi said in between heavy breaths.

"Emergency, what emergency?" He asked with a frown and the shinobi just gave him a shocked expression.

"You didn't know? Everyone is sent to deal with that thing! There has been a mob attack by the civilians on the Shinobi Operation Centre. It just started out of nowhere a few minutes ago, but there are already more than a hundred civilians gathered." At that moment, Kakashi had stood up. He had to stand there for a second to process the information because one, what? And two, what the hell?

The shinobi was long gone by the time Kakashi was ready to leave the prison. Just before he had left, he looked at the clock that was turning idly, not at all feeling the dread caused by the time it was showing.

It was already 11:43, and Maiko hadn't come back.

When Kakashi ran out of the prison, he wasn't sure which news was worse; that there was unexplainable civilian revolt or that Maiko was missing, most likely either dead or captured.

Nevertheless, Kakashi was sure, it was the combination of both happening at the same time that was truly terrifying.

---

A/N: Right, so I know this story was last updated in 2018, and now it's been 2021 ... Yeah, I started writing this story when I was in highschool. Then I went into University and ran into some issues and I didn't have the time to think or wirte this story, so a lot of my draft just went unattended. Now, I've finally graduated and I had sometime before I had to go back to school again, so I decided to upload all the chapters I've had and some new ones I've written recently. Can't promise anything after these 8-9 chapters, but at least I'll finish this arc on Danzo and Root and resolve some stuff about Itachi. I don't have my beta with me since she is as dead as I am in terms of university life, so there will be mistakes. I tried my best, but again, English is not my first language.

Also, I looked back and realized how bad my writings and logic were a few years ago, not that they are much better nowadays. I can't do anything now about the previous chapters, lol, I don't think I have the energy now to fix them and some plot holes are too large for my brain to work it out on the spot. I tried my best to make these chapters that I will upload make sense, but huh, I'm just putting bandaid on at this point. But, this is for completion's sake, so please bear with me. Thank you.