Chapter 57

"So you've known Maiko since she was twelve," Itachi asked, finding the conversation quite interesting. It got boring quickly when they had to search the forest for days and days in order to reach the bread crumbs that Orochimaru had left them.

"I'm not sure if 'know' is the right word here. We're not really friends until much later, at least, I figured that's how she sees it?" Yamato said with uncertainty as if Maiko was a perplexing entity that he was still unsure of even to this day.

Perhaps he was right, Itachi thought, after all, he had missed a bulk of her life from twelve to sixteen. When it was just Sasuke, Itachi could maybe send his crow to stalk his little brother - all for the best intention, of course - However, Maiko would notice, with her Mangekyou already awakened then.

That period of four years was a gap that would forever remain blank in Itachi's memory, where he could only beg for glimpses from others around Maiko.

"If Orochimaru led us here purposefully, then he likely has some sentinels set up to monitor what happens," Itachi said, resting his eyes on a spot to their left.

There was a moment of silence before the bush ruffled. However, before the white snake could even get out, Itachi's shuriken had already pinned it to the ground, eyes flashing red for just a moment. Conservation of chakra was something Itachi prioritized without thinking because his broken body simply could not endure any mishaps. Even now, when he was somewhat healed, that habit was something he planned to keep.

The reptile writhed on the ground before sagging into dust, typical of Orochimaru's tricks.

"There, he knows we're here. Now we just have to wait," Itachi said, seeing Yamato's stunned face at his words. He supposed that the standard procedure would be to proceed with caution, infiltrate and examine the so-called base, and then report the findings without causing a scene.

But Itachi had a different idea.

"Orochimaru is arrogant. The fact that he has time to deliberately bait us means that he thinks he is above Konoha and he can do whatever he wants. In that case, all we need to do is to give him something that piques his interest, and he won't deny his curiosity for something as mundane as 'plans'," Itachi explained.

One couldn't judge Orochimaru using the standards of a normal entity, or even the standards of a normal Missing-nin. Itachi happened to understand that more than anyone else in the village.

Yamato looked at him, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to say it. To that, Itachi just smiled and asked, "Why, am I not an interesting entity?"

Before the man could answer, however, Itachi locked him in his red sharingan, catching him in a gentle genjutsu. Yamato resisted at first, like any normal Anbu, but eventually, he let Itachi in. Itachi was thankful for his trust. Only in this way, he could tell him what he wanted to do without being spied on.

A minute later, Yamato's eyes cleared as he returned to reality. He looked at Itachi and finally said the words that he had wanted to say earlier, "No offence, Itachi-san, but you're a little crazy."

"None taken. Thank you," Itachi said, knowing that the man had decided to let him do what he wanted.

"Ah, he replied." As soon as Itachi said the words, the ground shook. Itachi heard the sound of explosives just before the earth split open and shattered into pieces.

Yamato's arm extended into columns of wood and latched onto a tree branch. While the Anbu pulled himself up, he also pulled up a wooden bridge on the ground, allowing Itachi to run upwards as well, escaping the fallen ground that attempted to swallow them up like the mouth of a giant snake.

However, to think that the trees were safe was naive. In fact, to think that anything Orochimaru had stepped on and tampered with was safe was naive.

The leaves ruffled, revealing the little pieces of explosive seals sticking behind the surface. Before Yamato could say anything, the blast engulfed the tree in flames and the explosion pushed Yamato down into the broken earth.

The Anbu looked up and saw Itachi disintegrate into a flock of crows when touched by the explosion. Yamato only had the time to coat himself with wooden armours before being swallowed up by the underground maze.

"To think you put your comrade under a genjutsu, you never cease to surprise me, Itachi-kun." Orochimaru's voice rang from the distance. As the smoke cleared, Itachi stood on a tree a dozen metres away, ninja wires in hand, away from the ruckus.

"It seems that I wasn't special enough, for you to only send a shadow clone," Itachi said as he flickered down from the tree and landed on the stone rumbles. His eyes travelled across the battered forest until they landed on a scorched tree trunk.

"You should be honoured that I sent a shadow clone on such short notice." Orochimaru walked out behind the tree trunk, eyes glued on Itachi. "If only I had known you were coming … but I supposed there's no way for me to guess that you had returned to the village after leaving Akatsuki."

Well, that settles it. Itachi didn't actually know if it was a shadow clone, after all, not even the Sharingan could tell the difference. But a bluff was a bluff, especially when Orochimaru answered it for him.

"To think the Uchiha Massacre had such a secret behind it, you fooled a lot of people, Itachi," Orochimaru said, the threats clear in his voice. With Itachi's presence beside a Konoha Anbu, it was easy to put the two and two together.

But Itachi supposed that it wouldn't matter now. Maiko was clear that they wanted to use the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre to exchange for Itachi's innocence - what innocence? - and by then, everyone would know, including Orochimaru.

"You could have found out when Danzō contacted you, but I supposed you didn't think it's worth your time." Itachi took a step forward, his eyes spinning into the Sharingan and Orochimaru didn't waste a second before he disintegrated into snakes.

"First, the shadow clone, and now this. Is this fear I sensed?" Itachi was playing a dangerous game here, agitating the Snake Sannin, stepping on his pride. What replied him, of course, was a horde of snakes converging towards him, turning the ground into a carpet of white.

Itachi sent a batch of wired kunai into the air, and with a few more shuriken, the metal etched themselves into the ground, the tree trunk and the branches, pulling the wires taut. Without a pause, little fireballs lit up the wires, followed by a wheel of wind that pushed outward.

The fire rode the wind, spreading like a firestorm, incinerating the snakes into ashes.

Suddenly, he felt the coldness looming down on his neck. A flash of metal sliced across his neck, making the blood rush out like a water wall.

"Fear? You jest. The smell of medicine stinks on you, is that why you're so weak now? I'm a busy person. Your battered body simply does not make the list of my priorities," Orochimaru said as he hovered over Itachi's half-sliced neck, savouring the taste of his blood as the blade retracted into his mouth.

Blood soaked half of Itachi's body, turning him into a crimson doll. Orochimaru eyed him with pleasure, but the smugness soon turned to distaste as he turned around and jumped away.

The image of Itachi's dead body shattered as the ground exploded again, forcing the Sannin to call out earth walls to shield himself.

"As sneaky as always," Orochimaru muttered towards the real Itachi standing on the other side of the clearing. Smoke blurred their visions, but even then, Orochimaru didn't make the mistake of looking into his eyes.

"To answer your question earlier, no, I don't think the integrity of the Uchiha clan is worth my while. The Sharingan is powerful, but it's just a Kekkei Genkai. Only a short-sighted fool like Danzō would get trapped by that glamourous power," Orochimaru spoke, always eager to make his speech, as Itachi had come to gather. "What I'm interested in are the individuals in the clan, a complete package of youthfulness, vitality, and a talent compatible with the Sharingan, like your sister."

Itachi let out a laugh because as much as Orochimaru tried to justify his actions as some sort of pursuit of greatness, he too was just a person who was trapped by his own arrogance and desires.

"You came to me for a reason, Itachi-kun, and I was even kind enough to give you some alone time." Orochimaru wasn't in a rush to attack again. He was just a shadow clone, after all, sent here to satisfy his curiosity. It would be awkward if Itachi had dispersed it before he got entertained.

Itachi didn't answer, merely letting the fire burn around them. The silence seemed to intrigue Orochimaru even more as he licked his lips and started his deduction show.

"For revenge after what I did to your sister? No, the Anbu would have aided you, but instead, you barred him from this encounter. You don't want his duty as an Anbu to interrupt our conversation. You're looking for something that only I can give you. Your health … no, Tsunade is more than enough. It's something that even she can't heal." Orochimaru's eyes lit up as he grinned at Itachi with a newfound mockery. "The deteriorating Mangekyou, you wondered if I have another pair of eyes."

Orochimaru started laughing as if he had just witnessed the most ironic comedy in the world. "You think you're above Danzō and my pursuit of eternity, yet you still have to seek me out to obtain even more power. No, perhaps you're seeking it for your sister, it's about time, isn't it, no one can abstain from the power of Mangekyou."

In the flash of an eye, Itachi appeared in front of Orochimaru, his hand tightened around the kunai that licked Orochimaru's neck and his eyes turned into that of the Mangekyou. "Do you have it, or are you just a waste of time like you're a waste of space?"

"Run, Itachi, run towards me. If you want my answer, then search for me and come find me. I may or may not have a pair, perhaps I can remember where I had put it if you bring me something I want - I'm sure you can figure it out." Without giving Itachi a chance to move, Orochimaru stepped forward and let himself be impaled by the kunai.

"However, if I haven't heard from you in a month, then I don't know what I would do with that pair of treasured eyes from your father." Orochimaru's words faded in the air as the shadow clone dispersed into snakes and disintegrated into dust.

Itachi glanced around, letting a flock of crows fly around him and circulate the forest, before closing his Mangekyou. Making two hand seals, Itachi jabbed his fingers into the rubble of stone beneath his feet and sent a burst of lightning through the ground.

A moment later, columns of wood erupted out from the ground, clearing the stone rumbles with ease. Yamato appeared out of one of the columns a second later, dust and scorch marks covered his clothes and a part of his hair had burned off.

Noticing Itachi's gaze, Yamato let out a sigh and said, "Somehow all I got were dead bodies and a lot of traps. I tried storing everything I can move into storage scrolls, but everything else is a mess now."

"Sorry for troubling you, Yamato-san," Itachi said. It had always been the plan for Yamato to go ahead and enter the base, giving the pretense that Itachi left him in order to speak with Orochimaru alone.

Itachi never believed that the base would produce anything substantial. Talking to Orochimaru, however, might produce something new and unexpected. To get Orochimaru's attention, Itachi was the first piece of the puzzle. The second piece was simply some time alone, a missing-nin to missing-nin.

Itachi asked the Anbu, "If I may?" Yamato nodded and came face to face with Itachi's red eyes.

It took a few minutes for Itachi to relay to him what happened using a genjutsu. It took a whole load of trust for Yamato to open his mind to him, who was known to kill shinobi using just genjutsu. It took even more trust for Yamato to believe that Itachi would relay the event exactly the way it was.

After all, it would be so easy for Itachi to gloss over the details, edit the memories, or spin the tale however he wanted.

At this point, it was as easy as taking a breath.

When Yamato got out of the genjutsu, he sucked in a cold breath, staring at Itachi with worry. "What does he want in exchange for your father's eyes?"

Itachi looked up into the sky, seeing the crows disappear into feathers after finding nothing that was spying on them. The answer was obvious. "A vessel, an Uchiha body. My body, to be exact." It would only take a minute for Orochimaru to piece the details of the Uchiha Massacre together and to figure out exactly who Itachi was trying to protect.

Itachi's body might have been damaged and was imperfect, but with Tsunade's help over the last year, it was still a vessel that was leagues above what Orochimaru could find.

A pair of Mangekyou that Orochimaru didn't use in exchange for an Uchiha vessel, Orochimaru had a good deal going for him.

"He must be dreaming," Yamato exclaimed and Itachi agreed. However, that made one thing clear.

"He's planning something alright. Even knowing that it was me - somewhat of a rare species these days - he had only sent a shadow clone over. When I try to suggest that he did it out of self-preservation, more than once, he defended that he had more important things to worry about. Instincts were never that far down the surface, especially for someone as arrogant and prideful as him," Itachi analyzed, watching Yamato's frown getting bigger and bigger with every word.

"And then there was that offer of the Mangekyou, even setting a time limit … he wants me to spend my attention - probably Maiko's too - on a wild goose chase all over the minor countries." Itachi paused a little and pointed to the stack of storage scrolls hanging by Yamato's belt. "If I have to guess, then somewhere among that mess he left, there might be a clue, just hard enough to discover that it seemed believable, that will lead us to another place with his trails."

"He's thinning Konoha's resources. He knows that no matter what happens, we have to take him seriously," Yamato caught on to Itachi's train of thought immediately. As long as Yamato's words stood true, then Konoha would always be at an inherent disadvantage against Orochimaru.

'Precaution' was Anbu's primary principle, Itachi hadn't forgotten about that yet. What kind of leader would let a detail of such an S-rank missing-nin go amiss just because it might be a distraction. Tsunade wasn't foolish to take Orochimaru's trails seriously, it was simply called duty.

"We should propose to Hokage-sama to ignore Orochimaru's bread crumbs instead of participating in his wild goose chase. He wanted to do something else that would require a large number of Konoha's resources to defend, we can't do that if we're chasing his shadows." Itachi made his decisions in an instant. Against Orochimaru, they needed to change their mindset.

"What about his time limit, what if he really has the eyes you need?" Yamato asked as they flickered across the forest, heading back to Konoha without a rest.

Itachi was glad that Maiko had teammates that cared for her well-being enough that their first reaction towards a deal with the devil wasn't to judge. Everything related to the Mangekyou was brutal, the method for gaining the Eternal Mangekyou was even more so. Without genuine understanding, it wouldn't be far from the day that their clan's heritage was labelled as barbaric and inhumane.

"Orochimaru set the time limit because he knows that we are desperate and have no other options." Itachi was quite desperate. There were no other pairs of eyes from close kin left in this world. If Maiko hadn't stumbled upon the way to tame a tailed-beast, then maybe they would have more time.

But she did, succeeding in her first try and made herself a crucial component of the war they would have to fight with Akatsuki, where the involvement of Jinchuuriki and tailed-beast was inevitable and constant.

"However, if there was one thing we learned from the Uchiha Massacre, then it was that desperation was the worst driving force for making a decision," Itachi said to Yamato. "Maiko would not forgive me again if I gave in to desperation and walked straight into Orochimaru's plan, even if that seems to be the only path to our goal."

"After all, we are expected to learn from our past."

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

I heard the drumming of the shamisen even before I opened the door.

Tsurune picked the strings of the shamisen, checking the tune before tightening the strings one by one. Ayumi, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight.

He waited until I closed the door before looking up at me. "Your order's ready." He pulled out a scroll from behind him and threw it to me.

"It's long," I exclaimed, feeling the weight of the fabric.

"We are professionals and we take our jobs seriously. I don't know what you have to complain about." Tsurune rolled his eyes, hands going back to the instrument. That's because you don't know how I'm going to pass the information.

With a sigh, I opened the scroll and let the fabric fall onto the ground. Under his watchful eyes, I guided the chakra into my eyes and blinked into the Sharingan. Quickly, my eyes scanned through the words written on the scroll, imprinting every line, every character, and every stroke into my memory.

Even with the Sharingan, it took me a whole five minutes to go through everything. Silently, I closed the Sharingan and threw the scroll back to Tsurune. "Please get rid of it. All of it."

"Uchiha, huh," Tsurune muttered as he caught the scroll, staring at my eyes without any fear, only curiosity.

"Merely civilians, huh." Clearly, the tales of my clan travelled to every part of the continent.

"Look, if every civilian in your village knows, then there's no reason I wouldn't know." The amount of confidence there was infuriating, still, I didn't doubt that. "Anyway, thanks for the business. Although, I would be much more thankful if you decide to visit the normal part of our business instead."

"And what would that even entail?" I asked out of curiosity.

Tsurune raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting me to ask that. Still, he entertained me. "I can always sell you the names of the noblewomen who are sleeping with the Wind Daimyo right now."

That was not quite the kind of answer I had expected and that definitely showed on my face, seeing that Tsurune laughed and said, "You'd be surprised at how high of a price it can fetch." He made a number with his fingers and he was right, I was surprised.

"You and I live in different spheres of the world, Uchiha Maiko. But even without things like chakra and ninjutsu, we civilians find problems and conflicts all the same," Tsurune said, placing the tuned shamisen back on the shelf.

"Ayumi used to be a talented koto player. She had a chance to play for a noblewoman and a little longer, she might have advanced to become a court musician. However, on the day of her rest when she was just on the market, a Noble rode a carriage through the street without a care for the peasants. Ayumi's right arm and hand were broken and with the medicine she could afford at that time, she didn't recover fully. Dexterity of the limbs was what musicians lived for, and she could never play koto at the highest level again. Still, a nobleman couldn't be compared to a simple lowlife entertainer." I wasn't sure why he was telling me this, but nevertheless, I listened.

"However, when the carriage ran through her and sped away without slowing down, Ayumi had a glimpse of what was inside. It was that nobleman, busy entertaining his lover, who was not his wife. With what Ayumi had described and some of Okuyama's other information, we figured out who the lover was. Three days after I sold the information, that nobleman was killed on his bed and the lover who was with him at that time was charged as the murderer."

Who did he sell the information to? What was that information used for? I didn't ask and he didn't tell. That didn't change the fact that I understood the story.

"The information Okuyama gathers might sound mundane and insignificant to you shinobi - which is reasonable, given what a flick of your fingers could do - but that's what 90% of the world's population is revolved around," Tsurune said, rolling up the scroll with a careful touch. To him, Okuyama had a raison d'etre. It might have evolved and changed over the years - as he said, he had phases - but as of now, he wanted Okuyama to survive, to have a purpose in this ever-shifting world dominated by shinobi.

"Now, is it true that you wanted the information for world peace?" He asked, to which I let out a chuckle.

"Yes, at least, I believe so." Akatsuki, Jinchuuriki, and Tailed-Beasts, are entities that could influence the direction of the world in which both shinobi and civilians lived.

"World peace …" Tsurune mused it over and after a pause, he turned to me, eyes glistening with a spark of an idea. "I never had anyone I could talk this with, and I supposed I would never talk about it if I hadn't met you here. But ever since I came here, I felt that this world is strange."

"Yeah, with chakra, ninjutsu, shinobi, I wonder what it could be." I felt like he was stating the obvious.

"Not that, you dumbass, what I meant is that this world is incomplete," Tsurune said, stressing his syllables to show his seriousness. I narrowed my eyes and signalled him to continue.

"The existence of chakra is prevalent knowledge and every shinobi is taught the way to manipulate them, including you. Tell me, how has chakra come to be, how did humans develop the ability to use chakra?" I opened my mouth to answer Tsurune's question, but strangely, I had no answer in my head.

Chakra was just … there. It resided in me so naturally that I never questioned why it was there. It was simply the principle of this world and no one ever doubted it.

"I have no idea, nor have I learned anything about it," I answered with a shake of my head.

"Neither had I come across any research, theories, or even creation myths that would explain the origin of chakra. Ninjutsu is a godly power, especially considering it belongs to an elite group of individuals in this world, yet, no one has ever wondered why such … favour descended upon us."

"What if it's just the order of the world? A feature of this universe that's different from ours?" I asked. It just felt so ingrained, so right that we were born with chakra and shinobi just know how to manipulate it.

Still, Tsurune shook his head, "It's still not normal, given how advanced and complicated this world is."

At this point, I fully understand where he came from. Humans were naturally curious about our origin, especially the origin of power. Numerous creation myths in our old world explained where we came from and how we came to be.

However, not here, not about the most important principle of our world.

"Again, this is just my instinct as an … outsider. Perhaps this world is just built differently, it's not like we're experts on world orders, are we?" Tsurune gave me a sarcastic smile and I had the nerve to laugh at it. True, we couldn't even understand how we got here in the first place.

"But, if not, then this world is missing something, like someone had put clothes in front of our eyes, erasing a part of the world and pretending it never existed," Tsurune said as he looked up and I did the same, looking past the ceiling in hopes of seeing the sky.

"Only a god can do that," I muttered. But what was the power of a god in a world where godly deeds were already being done using chakra?

The discussion got cut short when we heard a roar - yes, an actual roar that reverberated in the sky, shaking the walls of the building.

"Not again." Tsurune had the time to let out a sigh of irritation before Ayumi rushed through the door with panic.

"Sir, it's the beast again. He's rampaging in the desert," Ayumi said with a basket in hand, locking the doors immediately. Tsurune walked over to the window and opened a slit. True enough, I could see the sand storm gathering in the distance, along with the shrieking scream of the One-Tail.

"Unlucky, you should probably leave while you still can, before …" Tsurune didn't finish his words because he saw me tightening a cape around myself to hide my face. However, with the way I was staring in the direction of the sandstorm, he knew that I wasn't thinking of ways to run away.

"Are you crazy? Actually, never mind, what's the life of one shinobi to me?" Tsurune mocked me as I opened the window.

I hadn't forgotten why I had come to Suna - to gather intel about the state of the One-Tail Jinchuurirki. Okuyama was one means for doing so, but nothing was more informative than the chance to see it myself.

The power of the tailed beast was mighty and without equal, but shying away from them was not the answer.

"See you around, hopefully not too soon though," I said to Tsurune before letting the lightning chakra fill my limbs. Without another word, I flickered and the world around me started shifting wildly.

Sand grazed my face as I pulled the cape tighter. One-Tail was a demon of the sand, so when he was mad, the whole desert raged with him.

I stopped a few hundred meters away behind a sand dune, before coating myself in a genjutsu and letting the scene focus under my sharingan. It was the farthest I could go without my eyes being out of range. I was trying hard to keep my job at the 'gather intel' stage, no more and no less.

Coarse sand clashed with the golden ones, fighting and entangling each other. The messy sandstorm only rested for a little bit, revealing the giant sand-cladded tanuki, before the creature slammed his tail down on the ground and the waterfall of sand rose up again, crashing towards his opponent - Yondaime Kazekage, Rasa of the Golden Dust.

Against the waterfall of sand, Rasa's golden dust pierced through the cape of death like an adamantine spear, destroying the integrity of the sand attack. However, the Sunagakure shinobi standing guards were less fortunate. The violent sand crashed down like a tsunami, burying them into the desert.

They were probably not dead - I was sure that Suna had more experience dealing with One-Tail than this - but they wouldn't be able to do anything in this situation except to stand as a human barrier, warning the citizens of Sunagakure not to come too close.

It was soon that I realized that Suna's way of quelling the tailed beast rampage was simple - beat them up until they submit. It didn't seem to be a problem of the sealing methods, so it made one wonder if the behaviour of the One-Tail in Suna was in some part by design.

Golden dust attacked the shell of sand, all the while avoiding the sand tendrils created by One-Tail to swipe away the human pest. Rasa's features were hard against the Jinchuuriki that was supposed to be his son, his mouth moved, and I squeezed my eyes to read his lips more clearly.

"... Gaara … wake …" I struggled to make sense of the words, my eyes straining to catch the details. The giant figure of the One-Tail made no sign of recognition as it summoned up two sandstorms and sandwiched the Kazekage without a moment of pause.

Before I could see the Kazekage's counterattack, however, the giant creature of sand turned its head in my direction. My heart skipped a beat when the menace seemed to materialize out of the thin air. My mind seemed to freeze as the flying dust around me shook in fear. For a moment, I saw the projection of the One-Tail, bearing its fang at me as its eyes melted in the black tattoo running down his face.

It wasn't my intention, but it seemed that the tailed-beast noticed the gaze of the Sharingan, as well as the rehabilitating mind operating behind it, even at a distance where I was able to fool dozens of Suna-nin.

It was angry and rageful, welcoming of any challenge from any threats, inconsiderate of the consequences because it just wanted to destroy something.

As I thought, the tailed-beast was not an entity that could be judged using common sense.

My eyes pulsed into the Mangekyou and the tri-petalled flower forced my mind to move and focus. In a fraction of a second, lightning chakra coursed through my body, fueling my movement. The moment I flashed out of the position, a torrent of sand slashed through the sand dune, cutting through where I once stood.

I didn't stop moving, my feet leaving the sand a millisecond after touching it, only leaving behind sparks of lightning as an afterthought. Even then, the desert turned into a violent sea as pikes of sand tumbled up to catch me. Still, that wasn't even the most troublesome issue.

I heard a roar of anger behind me. I tilted my head a little and caught the tailed-beast in my vision. Spears of golden dust pierced through its body of sand, spilling out sand from the wound. The giant tanuki didn't have the energy to chase me anymore, not when its body was cracking, disintegrating from the assault of the golden sand.

The unrivalled shield and the formidable spear. The loser would be the first one who wavered.

In the corner of my vision, the sand creature peeled away, leaving behind a small blot of red hair cradled by the falling sand. Rasa didn't spare any more looks towards the fallen Jinchuurirki, instead, he waved his hand towards his subordinates. In the span of a few seconds, hawks screeched, the sound travelling clear and loud across the desert now that the roars of the One-Tail had ceased.

Thanks to our raging tanuki, now everyone knew that there was an intruder.

By now, the Sungakure shinobi would have been alerted, forming blockades around the area. My Jinrai wouldn't have lasted long, considering it was never a technique meant for long-distance travelling. It was meant to be used in a fast-paced battle and the more I used it, the more my body would fatigue, until they entered a state of lull that wouldn't respond to the lightning stimulation.

My body moved while it still could, taking me back to the town where I came from. The moment I dashed through the street in the shadows, I heard the drumming of the shamisen again. Without thinking, my feet turned, taking me to the window that was still propped open with a slit.

"We heard Suna's sentinel hawks. It means they have an intruder. Is that you?" Tsurune asked, pausing the shamisen after finishing a phrase. Meanwhile, I put a hand over my heart to calm the racing adrenaline, steadily taking the lightning chakra out of my system.

I turned towards Tsurune, seeing him let out a gasp as my Mangekyou reflected in his eyes. Immediately, I closed my eyes. One-Tail's menacing face flashing through my mind, sending dread and shivers down my spine, before all of that got sucked in by the spinning tri-petalled pattern, cleansing and washing away the menace like the guardian it was.

It took a few seconds for me to calm down the Mangekyou and return to normal. Then, I looked at Tsurune again and said, "Who knows that One-Tail had time to worry about little me when he's duelling it out with the Kazekage?"

What could I say, the Sharingan was just too triggering for the tailed-beast, it seemed.

"I can hear the footsteps of the shinobi gathering outside the village, as well as the sound of their weapons. They won't let any suspicious individuals leave the village," The man warned, glancing over my cape covered in sand and dust.

Without a word, I took off the cape and bundled it up into a ball. "I don't suppose you have a dustpan?" A tiny lotus flower bloomed in my palm, incinerating the cape in an instance, leaving only ashes falling down on the ground. "I'll find a way out." Disguise, genjutsu, or just straight-up violence, there's always a way out.

Tsurune let out a sigh as he swept the dust to the side. He turned to Ayumi and said, "Pack up the instruments, we're leaving." Then he turned towards me, "You too. You walked into my workshop with that face and clothes. If you get found out, that's bad for business."

"Get her the stuff, Ayumi. Tell Shirou to come and take over the shop while we're making the delivery." Ayumi nodded as Tsurune walked into one of the backdoors. The woman dropped off a bag of clothes for me as well as a basket of make-up and brushes, before making her way to the counter and started writing a letter.

I picked up the brushes and a moment later, I got to work.

I didn't question if Tsurune was confident of a way out. This village was a node of commerce and trade. Businesses to Suna rested here as they flowed towards everywhere in the country. Even the Kazekage couldn't keep every civilian here under the charge of suspicion. Just look at how Tsurune was so used to the One-Tail rampage. The civilians here knew that work and life had to continue even with the rampage not long ago.

My first choice of escape would have also been to disguise myself as a civilian traveller, but with the way Suna was alerted, it would be quite hard to find an identity and an excuse that was convincing enough. At that point, my plan would have turned into genjutsu.

Tsurune came out of the backroom carrying cases of instruments just as I was finished with the disguise. "Good, it looks like your years are well-spent," he commented after taking a look at my disguise. "Now, use your red eyes, and learn how I handled the instruments. I don't need to repeat the importance of details to you, I assume." No, he didn't.

The lineup of civilians with cargos exiting the village was already in motion when we brought the cart carrying the instrument to the gate.

"Murada-jii-san, you're also making a delivery?" Tsurune called out to the old man riding the carriage in front of us just when we were within the earshot of the shinobi conducting the inspection. It was intentional, the moment at which Tsurune decided to bring the conversation up, establishing proof of relationship in front of these shinobi.

"Ah, the Haneda youngster. Yes, our other branch is running out of stock. Even with the beast rampage earlier, this matter can't wait, otherwise, I'll go out of business!" The older man said, waving his hands towards the direction where the sandstorm had been just half an hour ago.

"You too, huh, where is this batch of work going to?" Old Man Murada asked when he saw the instruments carefully bagged and laid out on the cart.

"These two koto are going to Lady Hibana at the Daimyo's capital, while the rest are going to another one of our branches for the customers to pick up. Like you said, even with the beast, some of these orders simply cannot be allowed to go wrong," Tsurune answered diligently, guiding the older man's attention with his hands as he motioned towards the instruments.

"Lady Hibana, someone of her status, what an honour! But of course, your father always makes the best sounding shamisen and koto, he would surely be proud." Old Man Murada commented with a laugh, to which Tsurune simply returned a smile.

"Ayumi is here as well, and … this is …" Old Man Murada turned his attention towards me. Faced with his gaze, I took a step back and stood behind Ayumi.

"That's Sana, she's new, from that branch I was talking about. She's just starting out as an apprentice under Kurosawa - you know him - and she came here to run the errand." Tsurune explained, finishing my backstory without batting an eye.

"Of course, that young boy who used to be your apprentice, to think that he has grown to a point to be taking on his own apprentice, how time has passed." As expected, Murada's attention was directed towards Kurosawa, someone he was familiar with, instead of me.

The line moved on right after that, sending Murada's cart and ours right into the gaze of the shinobi guarding the gate.

It was so very natural, Tsurune's conversation with Murada, that it made the shinobi examining our cart felt like he knew everything there was to know about us. He asked for Tsurune's business permit as well as an order from the Daimyo's castle itself to prove his destination, all of which Tsurune produced with a humble bow.

"We need to examine your cargo, if that's alright?" The shinobi asked, laying his eyes on the instruments covered with fabrics.

"Be my guest, but please be gentle, these are delicate crafts that need to remain pristine." The shinobi nodded, not intending to make life harder for the civilians unless they had a reason to.

Under the Suna-nin instruction, all of us - including myself - had to unload and reload the instruments for their examination. I knew they were watching our motion with care, making sure that nothing was out of the ordinary.

I made sure to carry the koto just like how Tsurune had done, hands on the hardwood panel, staying clear from the strings and the softwood - the sweat might stain the surface and leave a mark. Tsurune had given me an identity and placed me within a web of relationships, now it was my job to make sure I acted like who I was supposed to be.

Carefully, I re-wrapped the shamisen, tying the knot that was identical to my co-worker's handiwork, before placing it on the wooden rack with a gentle touch.

Just then, there was a loud explosion that sounded a fair distance away.

I hid my face on Ayumi's shoulder, like the young girl I was supposed to be, who just experienced her first tailed-beast rampage. However, I kept my chakra flow steady, controlling its urge to surge stronger and faster in reaction to potential danger.

It was a test, a rather rudimentary one. There most certainly should be a sensor shinobi nearby, checking for large chakra surges in the people lining up at the gate, as well as those that were thinking of sneaking out.

"It's okay, Sana-chan. Kazekage-sama has suppressed the beast. You'll get used to it if you come here more often." Ayumi comforted me, placing a hand over my shoulder. Behind us, a few Suna-nin exchanged a glance before flickering away.

In a town like this, there were bound to be a few shinobi, whether they were simply passersby, escorting clients, or spies.

"Sorry for the scare, you can leave now." The Suna-nin that inspected our cart said as he stepped aside, allowing Tsurune to push the cart through. Within minutes, I sat on the cart with Ayumi as Tsurune herded the horse along, the shape of the village faded in the background, covered by the blowing sand.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked, switching on the shinobi sandals that used to be in the storage scroll tied around my waist. It would take days of running to get back to Konoha, after making the detour with Tsurune's carriage.

"Just a piece of information will do, I suppose," Tsurune muttered, making me look up in confusion. "Were they mad?"

It took me a second to understand what he meant. But when I finally got it, I let out a laugh. "Of course. They wanted you, the genius, but instead, you mocked them and they had to settle for me." I was sure that whoever was watching that battle between 31 and 32 must have felt like they swallowed a fly. How long had it been, for someone to play them like a fool?

"Good, that's all I needed to hear," The man said, giving me a wave before driving the cart along with Ayumi.

Taking a breath, I turned around and started running. The information on One-Tail Jinchuuriiki's rampages clogged my mind, and along with the scene I had seen myself, a picture started to form in my mind, about the state of the Suna Jinchuuriki and what's really happening behind his rampages.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

"Suna's One-Tail Jinchuurirki is testing his limit?" Tsunade-sama repeated my words as she scanned through the long-ass document I had transcribed from my memory.

"Yes, I believe so," I answered, turning my head to the map of Wind Country hanging on the wall, pins marking out the locations where the rampages had occurred for the past year, according to Okuyama's information.

"The rampages occurred frequently at set locations, specifically at places where it's some distance away from any civilian settlements and infrastructures." Even that rampage I had encountered a few days ago, it only appeared scary because the sound travelled far in the desert and the sandstorm was easy to spread.

"There are also rarely any reports of property damage and civilian deaths." I clearly remembered that four or five years ago, there was a Jinchuuriki rampage inside Sunagakure, damaging a whole sector of the village and killing a good number of civilians. "These rampages are prepared and controlled, with measures in place to prevent damage. These are training sessions, whether or not it's with the Jinchuuriki's consent."

"I can see a pattern too. Weeks of smaller rampages - or as Maiko suggested, training sessions - built up into a larger one where the scale of impact and the time it took for the Kazekage to suppress the tailed-beast was way different," Kakashi said, flipping through the report. "They are testing the Jinchuuriki's limit, pushing him to access more tailed-beast power while seeing if he could stay in control."

"The seal the boy has, it seems that it's working as intended. The Kazekage didn't need to reapply any fūinjutsu, but rather chose to suppress the tailed beast with force," I said, recalling the memory from my encounter that day while looking to Jiraiya for confirmation.

"Every village has their own brand of fūinjutsu for storing the tailed-beast within their Jinchuuriki. If what you're describing is true, then the seal encourages the power of One-Tail to be drawn upon. However, that often means that the condition is stricter for the host to keep his consciousness," Jiraiya explained after some thinking.

Naruto's seal was one of the safest options there was. The boy didn't have to do anything when he grew up; Nine-Tail's chakra and consciousness were denied access to Naruto's mind and body until he absolutely needed it. However, it also meant that he wouldn't be able to use the chakra as easily without the seal being loosened, whether by a 'key' or by repeated leaking of the chakra.

Sabaku no Gaara, on the other hand, seemed to have a seal that allowed One-Tail's power to course through his vein, regardless of whether he had control over it or not.

"The boy must have found a way to keep One-Tail in control, at least well enough that he could draw on much of its power without losing consciousness," Tsunade concluded, peeling her eyes away from the report.

"But the fact that rampages - the kind that you saw, where the transformed creature clearly had no human control left - still occurred meant that the method is imperfect. Now the question is, while he's in our village, will he be pushed beyond a line where his control falters?" She looked around the room, looking for any answers from people who also didn't know.

"It depends on what they think is acceptable, doesn't it? Both Sunagakure and the boy," I said, remembering the way the Kazekage stood over their fallen Jinchuuriki - his own son - like he was examining a test paper, checking if the proper answer had been given, even if in all likelihood, he was the person who pushed the boy to that state.

Still, partial control was better than no control. Then, it all came down to, if the situation appeared where the boy was pushed to the limit of his control, where he needed more power than he could control, which one of the outcomes could Sunagakure tolerate? More so, which outcome would the boy choose?

The fact remained that the Jinchuuriki of One-Tail, Gaara, was just a boy not any older than Naruto. When he was in the heat of battle, facing enemies and opponents from other villages, it was hard to tell what he would do next.

"Huh, not on my watch," Tsunade let out a cold laugh, pushing the words out of her clenched teeth. "This is Konohagakure and I don't find that acceptable. The moment the boy starts to lose control, we will suppress him and tell Suna to take him back to where he came from. I don't give a damn if Suna will be unhappy about that. "

Next, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and Kakashi. "Chunin Exam is for the younger generation to show off their own abilities, but as soon as they lose control over the power they hold, they are no longer 'them' - they relinquished their identity to something else. The same applies to our Jinchuuriki and anyone else taking the exam, if Naruto loses control, he will be disqualified as well."

See, these are the moments when I thought that I was lucky to have convinced Tsunade to come back. The responsibility of the Hokage seat included a lot of compromises - compromise to the Daimyo, to other villages, and even to her own villages. However, Tsunade always knew when to draw the line.

Her stances were always strong and she wouldn't hesitate to push back if her lines were stepped on. Once she made that rule in her Chunin Exam, she might get a lot of accusations, especially from Suna, questioning if Konoha was targeting them. However, I was sure that Tsunade-sama would tell them to take the exam elsewhere if they didn't agree.

"Now, measures for suppressing the One-Tail. You mentioned that the Kazekage used a means that was based on pure force rather than fūinjutsu. Elaborate." Without a pause, Tsunade-sama nodded at me.

"It's a case of shield and spear, I suppose," I started, drawing her and everyone else's attention right away. "The fully transformed tailed beast seemed to encase the host inside its body made of sand, and the moment this shield was broken through, exposing the boy at its core, the Kazekage had won the battle."

It was always like that with the tailed-beast, it seemed. Their host was their prison and their window. It was through their host that they were able to act freely, but only when their warden was away.

"So, perhaps the Kazekage pierced the boy's shield that was also his prison and forced him to interact with the world once again." It was a little bit more philosophical sounding than I would have liked. However, the scene between Rasa and the transformed beast played out countless times in my mind until I was sure that the older man had called out to his son and told him to 'wake up'.

"Piercing the shield, huh, sounds easy enough, but how many shinobi can produce a 'spear' that could rival that of Rasa of the Golden Dust?" Tsunade shook her head. The answer was 'not many', in case it wasn't clear enough from her reaction. "Still, that sounds like a plan. Kakashi will spread the words in the regular shinobi force and I will inform Anbu. We want efficiency when dealing with this mess."

It wasn't long before we moved on to the second matter - the matter that was handled by the other Uchiha, who had returned two days before I did.

I read over Itachi's report, hand-written in neat calligraphy and outlined using clear and succinct language.

"To think that my brother would blatantly call Orochimaru over with himself as the bait, I'm not even surprised," I muttered as I closed the report. Why bother spending hours filtering through a base full of traps and distractions, covered in disgusting experimental wastes, when you could just talk to the owner himself?

"What's in a month?" I asked.

Kakashi let out a laugh at my question and said, "Take a wild guess."

"The Chunin Exam again?" The answer came in an instant. Man, everyone wanted to join in on the fun at the Chunin Exam, even if there was just a bunch of genin running around and battling it out in an arena.

"Itachi suggested that we should ignore his trails and direct our energy elsewhere. However, knowing Orochimaru, if he did have your father's eyes, he would most definitely destroy it if Itachi doesn't play into his game, just out of pure spite," Tsunade warned. It was nice of her to tell me as it was so that I wouldn't have any false hope from the beginning.

"I think both Itachi and I would agree that he doesn't deserve our attention right now. Of course, I don't mean that we should ignore the threat he imposes, but rather, he will show up in our sight again, whether it was at the Chunin Exam, or somewhere else," I said, returning the report to Tsunade.

It was appealing for us to strike first and gain an upper hand, whether it was to prevent his scheme or to get what we wanted. However, a simple math calculation would show that we would be dispersing much of our resources to search for a dream.

"Like Itachi said, why play along to his tune when we could just keep our sights on his goal." I finished my words.

"We will already be putting much of our resources into the Chunin Exam, to watch for the Suna Jinchuuriki and the potential troubles he will bring. Rather than sending out more forces to follow Orochimaru's trail, we could just reinforce what we have in the village and add one more objective in there," Kakashi added from the side, agreeing with me on this one.

"Just to play the devil's advocate here, like my job requires, while it's very likely that he's onto something big, we can't be 100% percent sure that it is about the Chunin Exam, nor do we know what he has planned. It's a lot of weight to bank on the fact that we will be ready to handle both Suna's Jinchuuriki and Orochimaru." Jiraiya proposed the other side of the equation, pointing out the biggest flaw in our strategy.

It was always a tug-of-war between risk and benefits. Ultimately, it was the Hokage who would make her decision.

Tsunade tapped her fingers on the table, contemplating her options. After a good three minutes, she announced. "We will not be chasing Orochimaru's bread crumbs until the Chunin Exam is over. Meanwhile, add him to the list of troubles for our shinobi forces at the Chunin Exam. Expect the worst, that he will stir up something bad while we have our hands full with Suna's Jinchuuriki, and tread with caution."

"Best Chunin Exam ever, isn't it?" I said to Kakashi while we left the Hokage's office.

"Right, it's like a party and everyone's invited," Kakashi replied. I could always count on him to make the best sarcastic comments in a time of stress.

"Your father's eyes ..." Kakashi started, but couldn't find the right ways to finish the sentence. Both of us understood very clearly that getting Father's Mangekyou was a problem that belonged to Itachi and me, not the village, so we needed to be careful on how we approached this issue.

"Don't worry about it. Do we look like the type to give up?" I answered him anyway. Kakashi shook his head, quite familiar with us Uchiha and our obsessions.

"It won't be the last time we see of Orochimaru, he too, has obsessions," With Konoha, with a pristine Uchiha vessel, and with 'immortality'. "If he is obsessed enough to come to the village, then he won't be able to leave that easily." I turned to Kakashi, seeing my red Sharingan reflected in his dark pupil, swirling with both determination and excitement.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

Kakashi pushed open the window with a simple tap on the lock. The frame made a loud creak as he swiped it aside and let himself in.

"Rise and shine, it's a new day!" Kakashi cheered with empty words, seeing the bundle of orange lying on the floor, drowning in scattered scrolls filled with chicken-scratch calligraphy.

Naruto smacked his lips and rolled to the side, but otherwise gave no indication that he would wake up.

Kakashi shook his head at a scene, picking up the scrolls so that he would at least have some space to put his feet down. Stacks of scrolls rested on Kakashi's arm while he picked up the one hanging by Naruto's hand.

The kanji for 'suppress' stood bold on the fabric, each stroke filled with force and sharpness. Compared to the one given to him by Jiraiya, the kanji lacked a bit of precision and finesse, but the shapes still fit together somehow, one stroke leading into another, knitting the structure tightly.

It showed a familiarity with the strokes that could only be achieved with repeated practice.

It seemed that Naruto also mimicked the pattern at the outer ring of the seal, but the strokes seemed much less confident. Curious, Kakashi pushed his chakra in, filling the seal that hungrily took it in, racking up energy, until … it blew up in flames.

"Ah! Enemy invasion!" Naruto screamed as he propped himself up, making the scroll that covered his neck fell down on his lap.

It took him a moment to wipe off his saliva and tune his mind back to reality. "No, Kakashi-sensei! I was supposed to show that to Ero-sannin, so he can be awed by my talent!" Naruto screamed in devastation once he saw the shape of the kanji amidst the flame, which Kakashi quickly put out.

"Naruto, if a suppression seal bursts in flame after you put the chakra in, it probably means that something is wrong with it," Kakashi explained, stretching the half-burned scroll in front of Naruto and pointing at the outer ring of ink strokes. "You missed a stroke here, and the circuit is incomplete."

"Oh man, I was so close." Naruto scratched his head in disappointment. When he dropped his hand, it knocked the tray of ink on the table next to him, making it fly up in the air. If nothing was done, in a second, it would splash all over him, staining his clothes and the scroll on his lap,

Naruto didn't have time to panic, quickly reaching up and steadying the ink tray with his fingers. The swaying liquid calmed under Naruto's delicate touch.

'Delicate', that was a word that Kakashi never thought he'd be using on the blonde-haired boy, but he supposed that delicacy and sureness with one's touch were two sides of the same coin when it came to fūinjutsu.

"That could have ended really badly," Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he placed the ink tray back on the table. He picked up the scroll on his lap and carefully sealed it back together. The insignia of Uzushiogakure stood bold on the surface of the scroll, telling Kakashi exactly what it was.

"Ne, Sensei, why are you here in my house?" Finally, Naruto remembered to ask.

"I should be asking you, Naruto. Team 7 training is supposed to start three hours ago, you make Sensei and your teammates worry." Kakashi rubbed his heart as if he really was worrying his heart out where in reality, he had only arrived five minutes ago.

"Oh no! I overslept and I missed the time. Sorry, Sensei! I'll apologize to Sasuke and Sakura-chan as well," Naruto screamed as he flipped up from the ground and started to pack up immediately. The first thing he went for, of course, was the sealing kit scattered in his room.

When Kakashi returned with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke already looked like they were done with life. That can't do, I can't allow my precious students to be so unenergetic.

"You're late, Naruto, even later than Kakashi-sensei, that's a new low for anyone to reach," Sakura said with a hand on her waist, while the other one is clenched into a fist. After three hours, lady-like behaviours be damned, she just wanted to hit something.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! Forgive me!" Naruto cried out immediately, clasping his hand together and raising it above his head, asking for forgiveness. Then, he looked up and said, "Ohhh, is that a new hairstyle, you look even prettier!"

Sakura's anger dissipated just like that as her ears went red from embarrassment. "Maiko-senpai taught me how to tie it so that it won't get in the way while fighting," Sakura said, pressing her hair to make sure that most of the loose strands were tucked into the braids and tied into the ponytail.

"It suits you!" Naruto yelled, successfully making Sakura forget about his lateness.

Sasuke on the other hand was less forgiving. "Are we going to do something, or are we going to stand here after three hours of nothingness?" Well, Kakashi was sure that it wasn't 'nothingness', based on the fresh marks left on the training ground made by ninjutsu and weapons.

Naruto shrank a little under Sasuke's accusing gaze, but Kakashi just curved his eyes, much to Sasuke's disgust. "Maa, maa, we're all here, that's all it mattered."

"Before we start with today's group bonding activities, there's something I'd like to announce." Kakashi paused a little for dramatic effect, watching curiosity brewing on his student's faces, including one Uchiha Sasuke. "The Chunin Exam is here!"

"Whoa!" Both Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in awe. Naruto asked without a pause, "What's the Chunin Exam?"

"Ah, the Chunin Exam. It's a place where not many genin survive. Brutal tests designed to break you physically and mentally, where you will face the worst of humanity," Kakashi said in a deep and dark voice, watching the nervousness start creeping up over Naruto and Sakura's faces. "But if you do, then … you become a Chunin!"

All the atmosphere of horror was broken by the lackluster reveal at the end. Sasuke let out a cold laugh that showed that he was less than impressed. "It's called the 'Chunin Exam', of course, it's an exam to test and promote successful genin candidates."

See, with Maiko and Itachi around, Sasuke got to know the inner workings of many things in a shinobi's career that Kakashi felt like he was losing much joy in his teaching experience. Still, as a teacher, he couldn't be frazzled by merely one unenthusiastic student.

"Anyway, I nominated you all, so unless anyone wants to withdraw, then do try your best to survive," Kakashi said with a smile, waiting for any objections. He didn't get any, as expected.

Naruto with his natural optimistic energy and the will to never give up.

Sasuke with his pride that stemmed from his history and the desire to make changes.

Sakura with her resolve to protect and a newfound self-confidence in medical ninjutsu.

Even with all the dark currents that ebbed and flowed underneath, threatening the village's integrity and reputation, Kakashi hoped that they could all enjoy the Chunin Exam to their heart's content, using the skills they had learnt and honed with blood, sweat, and tears, so that they could cut across the obstacles and see the view on the mountain top.

Leave the scheming and the uninvited guests to the adults, he thought. They weren't that useless yet.

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~

During the day of the Chunin Exam, a red-haired boy arrived at Konohagakure, carrying a gourd that could probably encase himself. He raised his head and looked into the distance, the uneasy feeling of something amiss nagged at him from the pit of his stomach.

"Gaara! We need to move." The red-haired boy snapped his head around towards the sound, scaring his brother with his gaze.

"I'm just … you were staring at empty space," Kankuro muttered in a small voice, trying not to rile up Gaara's unpredictable temper.

Gaara didn't bother sparing another glance at him, as he moved his feet and followed their leader Baki deeper into Konohagakure.

It was the demon in the pit of his stomach, Gaara thought with annoyance. It was irritated by something - a gaze perhaps, his father did mention someone spying on the One-Tail's rampage but managed to get away unscathed from both the beast and Sunagakure - but Gaara couldn't find anything. It wasn't like the demon ever tried to tell him anything other than those damned threats.

Pushing it to the back of his mind, Gaara walked down the street of Konoha, taking in the architecture and landscape so different from the sand-adorned buildings of Suna. The lush colour and the clear sky stood in sharp contrast to the dim desert and the sand storm.

It reminded him once again that not everything was fair. Suna could be struggling with water supply, erosion, and pollution, while Konoha was bathed in the riches of nature. Just like how his siblings could keep their sanity while he wanted to rip his mind out whenever he was awake.

But whatever, at least in death and destruction, everything was fair and sane.

A little bit farther away, in a corner hidden by shadow and silence, the space started to spin until two men appeared out of the distorted space.

Orochimaru reoriented himself and as soon as he realized where exactly he had arrived in the village, he let out a mocking laugh. "As far from the Uchiha Compound as you can get, I see you're wary of Itachi-kun."

"I think it's better to say that Itachi is wary of me, don't you?" The man in the orange mask twisted his upper body as he turned back at Orochimaru.

"Itachi has made the Uchiha Compound full of his chakra and sentinels, so I can't go anywhere near that. It's quite tragic that he's so guarded against me. What would I even do? Steal his sister, hex his brother?" Tobi said with something that sounded suspiciously like a pout, which sent creeps even to Orochimaru.

"To think you agreed to help me when everyone in Akatsuki is out for my blood," Orochimaru chimed, seeing Tobi's erratic behaviour changed to someone who was calmer, and more dangerous.

Well, they were all a little crazy, otherwise, they wouldn't have met in the first place, spending quality time with each other on illegal missions, missing-nin to missing-nin.

"There's that old saying, how does it go again? The mantis preys on the cicada, while the canary lurks behind." Tobi drawled, dragging out the words little by little. It was irritating, what he was suggesting with that sentence.

"I believe you're missing a part. There often was a snake that looked on and devoured all of them," Orochimaru said, making Tobi laugh in amusement.

"Konoha, Suna, you, and Akatsuki. Does it matter which is which, as long as you get what you want?" The masked man asked, his red sharingan looked at him and even Orochimaru had to admit that all he saw there was pure madness.

Orochimaru supposed it didn't matter. There was no point in being prideful in front of someone like Tobi, not when Orochimaru decided to contact him. As much as it annoyed him, the Konoha today was not the Konoha he had once known, where Root sprawled underground, festering the rotten tree from inside, leaving holes where he could come and go with ease.

"Well then, let's see the results, shall we?" That was the last thing Tobi had said before he stepped into his portal once more.

Cicada, mantis, canary, and snake … things were never as simple as this linear, static relationship. The snake of yesterday could be the cicada of today. But those who couldn't see where they stood, had no chance of ridding themselves of their fate.

From this point, the race had begun.

At the other corner of the village, rested a teenage boy who sat on the back porch, hearing the rhythmic dripping of water into the pond.

Itachi's eyes twitched a little, as if the scent in the air had changed but he couldn't quite put his fingers on it.

Suddenly, the teacup that he had placed on the wooden deck cracked, leaking out the scalding hot tea from the side.

Itachi watched the cracks extend and expand, until finally, the china split into pieces, falling onto the deck with a clatter.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked as he popped out from behind the shōji door. His little brother glanced between his outstretched hand and the broken teacup, finding the whole scene confusing.

"It seems like some of our kitchenware needs replacing," Itachi explained, standing up to get the broom. Sasuke on the other hand, couldn't find anything proper to say, as he watched Itachi walk into the living room.

The awkwardness happened whenever Maiko wasn't home. She was out since yesterday, taking Ryuu with her. Official Anbu duties, they were probably hiding somewhere in the shadows, spying on the Suna Jinchuuriki and keeping vigilance over the village.

Still, Itachi figured that he could try. "Good luck on your Chunin Exam," He said, giving his little brother a smile.

It took Sasuke a whole five seconds to nod at his words, before walking away with his shinobi supplies.

"I'm leaving," Sasuke said as he left for the gate. Eventually, he decided to add a "Goodbye", making Itachi smile in contentment.

As soon as Itachi felt the boy leaving the compound, he summoned his crow and released it to the sky. The crow cawed as it flew around the compound, eventually soaring away, surveying the village to the best of Itachi's ability.

The crow's scream seemed to lash through the air, severing the peaceful facade and cutting into the uneasy tension underneath, where the muddy streams clashed violently, travelling from nowhere and heading to the unknown.

Some things were inevitable, but they were never the ones to fear.

A/N: Somehow this has become a four-way poker game : ) Again, no one here has any prior knowledge of what happened, so they're trying their best lol, to predict and caution against the future. Somehow, Konoha is prepared for trouble, but like, for slightly different reasons than what's actually happening (? I had to rewatch Naruto to remember what the hell was going on in the original Chunin Exam)

Itachi's health is ... sort of okay? After a year with Tsunade's intense care, his life-threatening issues are solved. His hereditary disease is suppressed and is in the process of being healed. However, his body still accumulated damages over the years that will take even more years to improve, if it ever could be healed, and the side-effects will be more apparent when he strains himself too much.