Haha, I've broken an old pledge to not give the main character more than one Bloodline. In my defense, I intend Platinum Particles to be too unwieldy to use in battle, so only economic benefits (such as making profit selling it) and medical ones. Since Naruto gets that, he's not going to ever be able to control sand unless Shukaku fully takes over (in which case, it's not Naruto doing the controlling), probably not even if he becomes a Perfect Jinchuuriki.
Danzo's motivations behind pushing the Uchiha to rebel and his plan to raise the kids and harvest the eyes of the rest were, for the most part, thought of by user gardenof on SpaceBattles and borrowed with their permission. Danzo's thoughts about those who put something other than Konoha as their top priority, especially Konoha's clans, are also borrowed from them.
A part of the dialogue in the last part was inspired by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. Α really small part of it was almost identical, and I disclaim that particular part. Anyone familiar with HP should recognize it.
User mandalorianjedi of TFF has looked this chapter over and provided suggestions. (He's known as M2J MandalorianJedi here.)
Interlude 4 (Chapter 10.5)
After sending off a Shadow Clone for some reason, all of a sudden, Tsunade looked at the ground with purpose. She bent down, picking up some dirt- no, what looked like powder, except it was silver-colored.
"Is that- silver?" Naruto asked, his mind spinning with questions.
Tsunade brought her palm closer to her face, looking at the silvery powder, then she formed a single-handed Ram seal, lighting up the hand holding the powder a little bit. Tsunade told Naruto to use the Mystical Diagnostic Palm on her through the powder, which Naruto did.
"Whoa," he said, surprised, "it's a lot easier to channel Chakra through this than any glove I've used! Though my inner flow of Chakra feels a bit- sluggish. Hopefully, it will pass soon," both having a bit of trouble with his Chakra Control and feeling his Chakra network to be strange, like an itch he couldn't scratch no matter how he tried.
"Tell me if the problem persists," his aunt said. Then, Tsunade's usually hard-to-read face forming a smile, she said, "It's not silver. This one is far, far more resistant to unaligned and most types of aligned Chakra than silver and far, far less resistant to medical jutsu. It's platinum!"
Naruto wracked his mind for what that was. It was- a precious metal? Was it even a metal? Naruto wasn't sure, but at least he knew it was very expensive. He said, "Okay. What's platinum, though?"
His aunt lifted her head, saying, "You don't know-? Well, platinum is a precious metal, rarer and more useful than gold."
"Really?!" Naruto said, not having expected that.
Tsunade went on to explain that many anti-cancer drugs -most of which she had invented, of course- and medical devices like catheters and pacemakers needed platinum. "I threw myself into medical research while I was- well, out of it, with Shizune doing most of the legwork," Tsunade said, looking ashamed.
Naruto quickly changed the subject, saying, "How did it get here, though? Do you think-"
"Katsuyu," Tsunade said all of a sudden, "have you been digging out and hoarding platinum recently?"
Naruto hadn't even realized Katsuyu -a part of them- had reached him and Tsunade. Either they were faster than he had given them credit for or they had used the Reverse Summoning jutsu or some form of it. Hopefully, Katsuyu could help Naruto with reverse engineering the Hiraishin, because he hadn't trained with them much, whereas Biwako had trained with the boss of the Hawks a lot.
He couldn't read their body language well at all, but he thought Katsuyu was confused. "I have not. Why, Tsunade-sama?" Katsuyu said.
His aunt revealed the powdered metal. Filings? She said, "It's pretty much pure platinum. The other explanation is- Naruto, are you able to use Jiton (Magnet Style)?"
"I don't know. Is it supposed to be an elemental Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) with Wind and Earth natures?" Naruto said, thinking back to the fight.
Tsunade blinked and said, "Yes. How did you know?"
"Both Gaara and Shukaku controlled sand, and the Chakra in it felt to be made of Wind and Earth. I would know – I've been using those elements, and an elemental Bloodline, for years," Naruto said, biting his lip. He then said, "some things have confused me, though. One, I've never heard of a Kekkei Genkai that controls two things that are as different as sand and platinum. Two, wasn't Shukaku supposed to die with his Jinchuuriki? How did he manage to just- get free?"
"Well, the answer to your first question is that there are many varieties to the Magnet Style Bloodline, even without counting the Kumo flavor, and having talent for more than one is very rare. Nobody has been able to use three, as far as I know. The Third Kazekage could control iron – his Iron Sand was notoriously dangerous. The Fourth Kazekage has Gold Dust, which he is also rumored to have used to earn Suna more money…. Or barely keep it afloat, either or. The gradual but significant drop in the price of gold supports those rumors.
"As for the Ichibi being freed rather than killed…. Well, I'm not sure. It's supposed to be an oddity even among the Bijuu. I'm sure that the Ichibi having been in control at the time played a role. Did you notice anything peculiar about it?"
Naruto thought it over for a bit. He said, "I can't think of- wait. There is something. His Chakra was climbing in intensity and power as time went on."
Tsunade's eyes widened for a moment. She said, "Hoh, interesting. So, it's because the Ichibi was in full control, for long enough to get most of its Chakra out of the seal, and its Jinchuuriki was killed!"
Naruto gritted his teeth. He said, "Damn it! We should have subdued the guy without killing him! We should- no. I know my limits, and the chances we would have been able to get Gaara with exactly the right level of force without getting killed are very low. For some reason, though, I wish we had!" Temari's bloodshot eyes haunting his thoughts.
Tsunade suddenly started tearing up. She said, "Please let me keep the platinum! It's so useful! Besides, I can get a lot of money for the rest, if it's enough," making puppy eyes.
Naruto's palm didn't strike his own face, but it was a very close thing. He wasn't even sure if she wanted the metal for medicine or to gamble. Probably both, knowing her. He said, "Auntie Tsunade. I want to keep the money for the future," exasperated.
Tsunade snapped out of- whatever that was, her face becoming serious once again. She said, "Oh? So, you've decided on a plan, after all?"
Naruto took a deep breath, then said, "More the shadow of a plan, but yes."
Tsunade said, "Care to share with the class?" Lifting an eyebrow.
"Give me a bit of time to flesh it out. I also want Biwako to be there, so that I don't have to explain again. I can only tell you this: don't keep money in Fire Country banks if you can," Naruto said, smiling a bit smugly. "Now, give me the platinum back, please."
Someone cleared their throat. To be exact, a part of Katsuyu. They said, "I beg your pardon Tsunade-sama, Naruto-san. You found this in my lands. Before you say anything, I do understand that without Naruto-san, it would have taken a thousand times the effort and time to dig this up, but I am entitled to a cut, correct?"
Tsunade stepped up, saying, "How much?"
Katsuyu's part said something about fifteen percent, half of it as it was and half of it in equivalent amounts of royal jelly.
"That's rather- generous," Tsunade said, "is there a catch?"
The Katsuyu fragment hesitated, fidgeting. They said, "Do you remember what I said years ago about how I stay healthy despite my- age?"
"Yes, you said that you need a mixture of a certain metal and royal jelly to- oh," Tsunade said, her eyes widening a little.
"Of course," Katsuyu said, "that amount of platinum and royal jelly should do no more than simply sustain me, but I am willing to offer you a second deal: give me more platinum and royal jelly, outside of the one in my lands, and I will cover a quarter of the Chakra cost for every Summoning for the next however much time. Each gram of platinum and each two hundred grams of royal jelly will be the equivalent of a day."
"…What do you mean, 'no more than sustain' you?" Tsunade asked, a serious look on her face.
"While I simply do not get bigger anymore, no matter what I eat, more Royal Platinum Serum in a short time span increases my capabilities -and those of my fragments- a little bit. Permanently," Katsuyu admitted.
"Will that make Summoning you more Chakra intensive and is that affected?" Tsunade asked.
The Katsuyu fragment said, "Yes to your first question, though it is a worthy trade-off. At worst, the Chakra cost will increase by a third for the same size, if you give me the equivalent of a hundred years of Chakra cost discounts. As for your other question, most likely only negligible differences. What say you, Tsunade-sama, Naruto-san?"
His aunt made a gesture that meant, 'it's worth it', so Naruto accepted.
"So," Naruto said, "what does it mean that I have Jiton for the stability of my seal, and how can we make sure I do have the Bloodline?"
Tsunade tensed a bit for a moment, then said, "Honestly, I have no idea whatsoever what it means. As for how we make sure… well, you should try to control the filings."
Naruto groaned in annoyance, but he also felt a chill go down his back in fear. He decided to change the subject, saying, "So, I have a couple questions about Fuuinjutsu," Naruto said, "the first: is it possible to make a seal that weighs down someone for muscle training and write it on their skin?"
Tsunade thought it over for a few seconds, then said, "Perhaps, but I wouldn't recommend it. Such a thing might require dabbling into Juuinjutsu (Cursed Seal Arts), which on its own isn't bad, but it's rarely a good idea to put a Cursed Seal on yourself, and even without Juuinjutsu, it's probably too much of a risk, for obvious reasons. Sealing a lot of heavy material into objects and making how much of the weight is allowed to leak out adjustable is the way to go. The closest viable equivalent might be training underwater," grinning sadistically by the end.
Suppressing a shiver, Naruto asked the other question. He said, "is it possible for me to carry scrolls full of water for my Water Style?"
Tsunade shook her head, then nodded. She said, "Of course it's possible, but why scrolls?"
Naruto thought it over, then palmed his face. He said, "Of course! They would be single use because paper and scrolls are ruined by water, and turning normal scrolls into Sealing Scrolls isn't as easy as some people think, so it's a waste. What would be best, then?"
"What do you think is best?" Tsunade asked him back.
Naruto thought it over. Something that could be used for water, that didn't break easily. He said, "Shatter-proof glass containers?"
"Close," his aunt said, "well, we haven't gone over different mediums for seals in detail. I'd say we need a rust-proof metal that is a good medium for seals on the inside as lining and a less expensive metal but still rust-proof like brass, on the outside. Normally, it's shatter-proof clay vase or something similar, which is why you were close, but we have resources not available to others."
Naruto thought it over for a bit, then said, "You mean you want me to use my new Bloodline -if I have it- to help make it? Isn't platinum resistant to Chakra other than Medical Ninjutsu? That's what you said earlier. Won't it be wasteful to use platinum, too?"
"That and Biwako, who is an Uchiha, with a long tradition of blacksmiths and Fire Style; I'm sure she has tricks. Platinum is very, very resistant to most forms of Chakra. It's extremely conductive to the vast majority of Medical Ninjutsu, even more conductive to the Chakra Transfer Technique and an excellent medium for seals. It is said that the Sage of the Six Paths himself blessed the material," Tsunade said, frowning a bit, "while I don't know how much truth there is in that legend, my suspicion is that the easier a jutsu is to use through platinum, the more relation it has to the legendary Ninshu. Are you able to channel Mokuton through it?"
Naruto tried it, and it was nowhere near as easy as the Diagnostic Palm, but platinum still conducted it a little bit better than his usual gloves, even with the new challenges his attempts to manipulate his Chakra were facing. He said so to his aunt.
"I see," she said, looking contemplative, "that debunks a lot of my hypotheses. On Mokuton, on platinum, on Ninshu or all of them, I'm not certain. No. I shouldn't be rash in my conclusions."
Naruto's inner flow of Chakra felt sluggish still, so he and Tsunade decided to try out some more things. After quite a few tests his aunt had him conduct: with manipulating his Chakra, with Mokuton, with platinum, mainly in -mostly failed- attempts at controlling the metal, his aunt told him to go to sleep – that he could try making his new bloodline work another time.
The most Naruto had managed was to make a small amount of the platinum they had found easy to attract to a magnet. When his aunt told him to sleep Naruto, yawning, tried to protest. He was getting a headache, starting from the eyes and spreading through all of his brain, though.
It's like the times I used the Night-Vision jutsu- oh.
After assurances from his aunt that she had things well in hand, Naruto unsealed a futon, lied down and tried to sleep.
Ino had always loved mystery novels, especially murder mysteries. At least reading them when alone, because otherwise, Shikamaru would somehow realize who the murderer was long before her and spoil the mystery every time. The newest mystery she was trying to solve, though, was a person. Her Academy classmate, Uzumaki Naruto, to be exact.
"Give it up, Ino," Shikamaru said, like he knew what she was thinking, "Naruto is too troublesome for you to get any info out of him. Can you even tell what his favorite color is?"
"Sure," Ino said, putting a hand under her chin, "I'm pretty sure it's orange- wait. Maybe green or black…? Or even blue! He isn't wearing as much orange as he used to." She thought of Naruto's newest jacket, which was sakuramento*, ocean to peacock and white. It was very stylish, and he usually wore it over a black or sometimes white shirt.
'Come to think of it, there are a few colors Naruto avoids. I've never seen him in anything brown or purple, and only at most a couple of times a month in gray. He's also good at combining clothes. He either has had decent color coordination all along, or Biwako has beaten it into his skull,' Ino thought to herself, 'that's it! He really doesn't like what he finds dull – he always wears either bright colors or something stylish enough even I can't find fault with! Then, he leaves his shirt untucked like he's lazier than Shikamaru, ha!'
A sigh from Shikamaru knocked Ino out of her thoughts. Her dad had asked her to hang out with the lazy bum, but even being in the same room as him was a chore and she knew Shikamaru felt the same. "Doncha have something -anything- else to do and not bother me, Shikamaru?" Ino asked the bum, getting up from her desk chair and putting her hands on her hips.
"This digging you're doing won't end well, Ino," Shikamaru said, the serious tone making Ino pause.
What Shikamaru had just said really annoyed Ino, but she managed to control herself. She said, "Why d'you think that?"
Shikamaru shook his head. He said, "Other than the fact he's 'taken', like you said? Well-"
"Do you think he hates most hues of purple?!" Ino exclaimed, that worry overriding everything else. "That can't stand!"
Ino heard a slapping sound from Shikamaru's face, but she ignored Shikamaru's dramatics.
Iruka had been suffering from terrible headaches and migraines almost every day for the past few months, barely able to hide them. Even so, he knew some students had noticed. The doctors had found nothing wrong with him, so when the aches had continued, he had paid the small fee to be looked at by a medic-nin. Nothing out of place.
Long blond hair, somewhat familiar-
'Was that Ino?' Iruka thought to himself, confused. 'Or maybe her father, since the hair was darker than Ino's and had hints of orange.'
'Here's what I have to do.' '…I need to see Naruto!' Iruka thought to himself, 'why haven't I sought him out? The headaches aren't an excuse, nor is his graduation!'
Iruka's shaking hands told him there was something really wrong, but he wasn't sure exactly what. He left the not-yet-marked papers on his desk and power-walked through the corridors of the Academy, then into Konoha's streets, intent on finding Naruto.
Tsunade was dreading the time Naruto would fall asleep just as much as Naruto himself was, even though she was hiding it as well as she could. She had sent a Shadow Clone to find Jiraiya -which, with Katsuyu's help and an implied offer to do 'anything' had only taken an hour or so- and gotten him to give her a couple of those suppression tags she had never had the knack for making, just in case, with an actual offer. 'I would have told Naruto to use that communication scroll, but fortunately, it wasn't necessary,' she thought to herself, preferring to keep Jiraiya from making all too accurate deductions.
She was dreading what Jiraiya would ask, too, but she knew that he was honorable enough not to go too far with his request. Tsunade shook her head in fondness. She loved the great lump, even though she couldn't find any romantic interest for him in herself. Even if she could, she was siding with Naruto against Konoha, which Jiraiya really, really wouldn't like. In fact, she should step up her training further, because there was a chance-
"Tsunade-sama!" The piece of Katsuyu on her shoulder said in warning.
'So, it begins,' Tsunade thought to herself, letting more of Katsuyu's gathered Natural Energy mix with her own energies, making more Senjutsu Chakra, enough to put herself into Sage Mode.
Sand got out of Naruto's sleeping form, grinding down the soil, turning it into sand, which then converged back into Naruto. The process repeated itself quite a few times very quickly.
"Ha, fuckin' brat," the Ichibi said, "like I wouldn't have found a way to get free!"
"Ichibi no Tanuki. I would very much like it if you left my nephew alone," Tsunade told the Bijuu out loud. In her thoughts, she was confused, though. The Ichibi sounded- apprehensive? Worried?
"Whatever, old hag," the Ichibi said, its voice reverberating through the Shikkotsu Forest, shaking the white, dead looking trees -though to Tsunade's senses, they were full of life- and the brown ones with leaves further away. "You're just like Bunpuku's niece, refusing to admit how decrepit and past your prime you are."
Tsunade smiled at the Ichibi, jumped into the air saying, "Sage Art: Strength of a Hundred jutsu, Quake," spun and landed with a vertical roundhouse, causing the ground to shake and dropping the Ichibi on its ass.
"Oh, that's fuckin' bullshiiii-"
As the Ichibi was getting up, Tsunade stamped onto said Bijuu's tail on her way to its head, stunning it with the pain and narrowly missing being sat on. Her reasons were pragmatic. Mostly. Hitting Naruto to wake him, however carefully, wasn't the most elegant method, but-
Ha, who am I kidding? Even if I had a better alternative, I would slap him awake anyway! It's also a good thing I'm able to keep the Jinchuuriki-grade Chakra suppression tags for the future.
The ranged finger-flick made a 'poof' sound and barely grazed Naruto's cheek, making it start bleeding.
All the sand making up the Bijuu's body started dropping to the ground, though it didn't turn back into normal soil. Tsunade caught Naruto's falling body and landed on her feet, causing further damage to the ground of the Shikkotsu Forest. She knew Katsuyu wouldn't be pleased, but all Tsunade could think about was the boy in her arms.
"Ow ow ow!" Naruto said, shivering and rubbing his ears and eyes. "What hit me?" He then said, his voice at low volume.
Tsunade put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, using the Diagnostic Palm without hand-seals. A few seconds later, Naruto sighed in relief, headache evidently alleviated and cheek no longer bleeding.
Bracing herself to deliver the bad news, Tsunade said, "So, the Ichibi has, indeed, managed to weaken the seal enough."
"Yeah," Naruto said, his voice shaky, "I can hear something like whispers in the back of my mind now. It's creepy, and- and- it worries me." Admitting to weakness -or what he felt was weakness- was rare for Naruto.
Tsunade hugged him for a short while. Then, she let go of him and said, "Sleep is out of the question, so we'll have to find another way. Do you know that there are various ways to meditate?"
Naruto scrunched up his face cutely, then he blinked repeatedly. He said, "there's a form of meditation that can help!?"
"Yes. Have you heard of half-sleep?" Tsunade said, "there's a form of meditation that is about entering -and staying in- a half-sleep state."
Naruto could see a problem with that. He said, "That's all well and good, but what if I fall asleep? You know very well that the first however many times you had me meditate, I would nod off!"
"Well, you know ways to keep from falling asleep when meditating, so we'll have to try again and again until you manage to get rest," Tsunade said. Seeing Naruto's worried face, she said, "We'll figure things out, kid. Besides, this is just a stopgap until you've figured out how to use Mokuton to block the Ichibi."
Naruto opened his mouth to say something, closed it and crossed his arms, looking sulky.
Tsunade didn't often get to see Naruto act his age -and younger-, so she cherished those moments. If only it were in better circumstances! She gently said, "Naruto, while I can seal a Bijuu, I don't know what to do with its Jinchuuriki. I can't maintain the seal. Maybe we should consider asking Jiraiya for his help."
"Who is Jiraiya loyal to first?" Naruto asked, looking at her almost without expression.
Tsunade shook her head, saying, "Konoha."
"There you got it. There's no way I'll trust him," Naruto said, grimacing. Then, his face lit up and he said, "got it! I'll have clones try out the meditation first!"
Despite being a clone, he was every bit a part of Naruto. Thus, when Biwako had started questioning him on where the original was, Naruto had tried to comfort her… only to be coldly rebuffed by a pissed off female Uchiha. 'Of course Biwako wasn't fooled for long,' Naruto mused, smiling bitterly.
The expression on Biwako's face had briefly changed into something filled with guilt, but she hadn't apologized, so Naruto had gone to his room -the boss' room, whatever- to do… something. Whatever that 'something' was.
As usual for people who had nothing to do, his mind started to wander. He was home safe, after all. Home….
Konoha hadn't felt like home in a long time, if ever. A lot of people had waxed poetic about home and how it was where one's heart was and other such things, but if they were right, every bit of Naruto told him that Konoha was not his hometown. It was an unsafe, untrustworthy, strange environment.
In fact, even the trees, at least the largest ones, felt almost alien these days. The Hashirama trees, to be exact. 'Even our ancestor is rejecting us. Typical,' Naruto mused.
He wanted out, and the original had conceived the beginnings of a plan he had started calling 'Somewhere I Belong Mark Two' after finding out about Pakura and the Kyuubi's seal, or rather his lack thereof. The problem was that the boss had been having trouble distancing himself from Iruka.
!
Other clones dispelling got his attention. Naruto hoped that the boss would be able to deal with the insomnia coming their way. He grasped for Biwako's Chakra, finding her awake. He went to her room to tell her the news.
…The way Biwako was gripping her bedsheets made Naruto worry, but when he put a hand on her shoulder, she didn't shrug him off, though Naruto could tell she had barely kept herself back.
Another influx of memories hit him, and he realized that even clones could lose control to Shukaku's Chakra, though none of them had been fully possessed by Shukaku himself so far, and the Chakra was sent back to the original… and other clones, too. 'That's not good,' he thought to himself. "I'm gonna dispel now. I have to," he told Biwako, drawing back his hand, which had already started to be filled with Bijuu chakra.
The way Biwako's Chakra flexed, then drew back into her made his heart break, but it was necessary for her safety. That was what he told himself. Really need to hurry and figure out how to suppress a Bijuu with Wood Style!
As much as he hated it, Danzo had to admit that everything had gone off script during the culling of the Uchiha. It wasn't like he had wanted them all dead – only the threats, and he didn't mean purely regarding the coup.
Some clans had never properly integrated into Konoha, and would place their own interest far ahead of the village's. The Uchiha clan; the Kurama clan; the Hyuuga clan. Even the Senju clan. While the Kurama clan had contained -and still did- a convenient danger and scapegoat in the form of its Bloodline Limit and the ones who could wield it, and the Hyuuga had an even more convenient method of control readymade, the Uchiha had had no such restraints.
Of course, Danzo had made sure over the decades that the Uchiha wouldn't be trusted lightly. A nudge here, a few words in the right ears there and everything had been going well. Then, an Uchiha had apparently orchestrated an attack on the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, leading to great losses in Konoha. Whether done by a rogue element or not, it had been a great chance for Danzo to establish a new, truly loyal, overall better Uchiha clan.
He had had it all planned in his head. Itachi would have eliminated the greatest threats and died in the process, but not before he had killed his own parents -who were sentimental fools to a point- and others, including that waste of space Yashiro who, by Itachi's expression whenever the man had been mentioned, would have died by Itachi's hand no matter whether the rest of the Uchiha survived or not. Even if Itachi had survived his deed, that could have been rectified, and the boy would have been too fatigued to resist.
Root soldiers would have collected eyes and hopefully samples of genetic material from the dead and dying, making sure that Root's finest would be equipped with great tools in their eye sockets and that the Uchiha would have had a higher likelihood of rising from their ashes. Danzo would have taken in the orphaned children, including Itachi's younger sister, out of a desire to cultivate the future of Konoha and the Uchiha. He would have educated them all the right way.
Unfortunately, Danzo had not taken a particular factor under consideration: if he had been correct in his assessment that a rogue Uchiha had been the one to orchestrate the Kyuubi's attack, then what else could and would that rogue do? In his folly and desperation, Itachi had enlisted the enemy's help, blast that idiot boy! At least, that was what Danzo had pieced together. As such, Danzo's plans for a new Uchiha clan had been thoroughly ruined, and even the eyes had disappeared completely. His Root hadn't even found a single eyeball!
It wasn't like Danzo had bought into Tobirama's nonsense. 'Feel too deeply' and 'Curse of Hatred', my foot! The Senju and the Uchiha weren't too different from one another… which was why Danzo had used the Shodai's hype against his own clan after both siblings' deaths, playing on other villages' fear that another Senju Hashirama would emerge. He hadn't been able to do that with the Uchiha because of Tobirama's previous meddling – Police Force, indeed! Of course, everything had fallen into place later.
Before and during the Second Shinobi World War, every single Senju other than Tsunade had been eliminated, one by one, by Konoha's enemies. Which, again, was further than Danzo had hoped to take things, but how could he have planned for Sarutobi's incompetence as an administrator in times of war? Sarutobi had always been incredible at tactics in his own fights, so Danzo had overestimated the fool.
Later on in the Second Shinobi World War, a decisive strike had seen Uzushio destroyed – one executed by Kirigakure (Hidden Mist), though Iwa (Rock/Stone) had also been involved, even if it had never quite been proven. It had blindsided Danzo, which meant that Sarutobi hadn't stood a chance. The retaliation force, led by Hatake Sakumo and consisting of only him and the Sannin, had reportedly turned Kiri's mist and rivers red and, along with Suna changing sides, ended the war in Konoha's favor.
While Suna had hated the White Fang and still cursed his name, apparently the man had been going somewhat easy on them. Kiri, despite how hardboiled their shinobi tended to be, had become absolutely terrified of him, and Sakumo's name was still told only in whispers there. Though the 'calling down true Lightning from the skies to kill hundreds at once' part must have been an exaggeration, Danzo had still worried.
Of course, Sakumo had been a threat. His philosophy had run too close to Danzo's own sensei, Senju Hashirama, before the latter had lost his will to live. At least Tobirama had had some of the ruthlessness required for leadership. If the White Fang had become Hokage, Konoha would have become weak, possibly even weaker than during Sarutobi's reign. Thus, Danzo had slowly but steadily eroded Sakumo's support base. The opportunity Danzo had prepared for had taken a while to present itself, but the results spoke for themselves.
It was a pity that Sakumo hadn't at least gone through with the assassination of even one of the Cloud's young Jinchuuriki, but at least he had been blamed for starting the war, with predictable results, never mind the fact that Kumo had been not just pushing boundaries, but putting proverbial exploding tags on said boundaries repeatedly for nearly six years by then, including but not limited to the attempted abduction of Uzumaki Kushina.
Back to the Uchiha clan, Danzo wanted two things: leverage over the last 'loyal' Uchiha and for her to at least awaken the Sharingan. The Yondaime's children, her teammates, were an obstacle to him getting control over the Uchiha, but since the female teammate was Konoha's Jinchuuriki, he would leave that one alone until his mastery of Mokuton and the Sharingan had progressed enough.
Fortunately, Danzo had had the foresight to retrieve Kagami's eyes before they would truly become necessary -curse Danzo's previous hesitation and Sarutobi's vigilance!- and to delay Sarutobi's discovery of Orochimaru's labs just enough for the research into Mokuton to progress really fast. After quite a bit of brainstorming, Danzo had the bases of a plan that would likely allow him to both awaken the girl's Sharingan and put her in a position that she would have no other option but to become one of his Root.
It would take a sacrifice or two, but Danzo hadn't gotten where he was without the ability to sacrifice a few pawns. Or a lot, for that matter. The Sharingan was an important asset. So was the Kyuubi. Compared to those two assets, most others paled. Thus, they were expendable in comparison, as were potential threats to Konoha's prosperity, stability and power.
Mito was really confused. Nothing made sense! Kakashi, her Jounin teacher, had taken her aside just after the C-rank that had nearly ended up an A-rank, to tell her that she was the container of the Kyuubi. Jinchuuriki was the term for those like her, and she suspected that Gaara was- had been one too. At first, she had gotten angry at the Pervy Sage, but Kakashi had explained that the Old Man- that the Hokage had given permission only then.
Supposedly, Jinchuuriki were weapons for their villages. 'The Power of Human Sacrifice' was what the term meant. All ninjas were weapons and tools if the Ninja Code were to be believed, though. Was there a set of Ninja Code clauses for Jinchuuriki?
What would Ino and Chouji say? What would- what would Shikamaru think? Mito tried to keep her worry away, but she couldn't help it. Her thoughts kept coming back to that topic. What about Naruto? Would he accept her? Mito kept thinking about all of that on her way home, passing Ebisu, her former tutor in the basics of the ninja arts.
"Honorable Daughter," the man said, "I would like a word with you, if you don't mind."
Mito hadn't seen Ebisu in a while. The memory of him lying on that hospital bed, hooked up to machines came back to her, so she accepted.
"Well, you see," Ebisu said, adjusting his sunglasses with two fingers, "status and reputation are important in this world, do you not agree?"
"I- guess…?" Mito managed to get out of her mouth, quickly becoming uncomfortable.
"As such, spending time- ahem! I mean, hanging out with those far beneath one will drag that one down, do you not agree?" Ebisu said, playing it cool.
Mito could only say "Um-," the talk making her more and more uncomfortable.
"As such, would you not agree that spending time with ruffians such as that Uzumaki boy will drag you down?" Ebisu said.
A cold shiver ran down Mito's spine. Kakashi had told her something about Naruto becoming known as the supposed container of the Kyuubi. 'Would he be saying the same to Konohamaru, or- everyone who's ever made friends with me, if he knew?' She thought to herself, a cold shiver running down her spine.
"Therefore, through my guidance, you will be able to separate wheat from chaff. Keep away from the bad sort, as it were, haha. After all, I am an Elite Tutor," Ebisu said, but Mito could barely hear him over the ringing in her ears. "Honorable Daughter, are you listening?" Ebisu said, looking both annoyed at and worried for her.
If he knew, he would be looking at me like that old fart looked at Naruto.
Mito shrugged off Ebisu's hand on her shoulder. She said, "You talk too much for an 'Elite Tutor', Ebisu-san. Talking like you can decide my life for me…. I can tell the bad sort myself, thank you!"
Ebisu looked taken aback for a moment, then his mouth turned thinner. He said, "Where does this impudence come from, Honorable Daughter? I was only trying to warn you. To prevent you from associating with riff-raff – scum, filth, as it were-"
"Stop it-"
"-Perhaps that boy has already started tainting you with his nonsense. If you hang around such- individuals, you might end up just like them, Honorable Daughter," Ebisu said, adjusting his sunglasses again.
"Enough!" Mito said, almost roaring, "my name is Mito, not 'Honorable Daughter', and I can tell that I shouldn't associate with the likes of you, Ebisu of the Broken Glasses. Now, go away, you bootlicker."
Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses again; twice, thrice, four times in a row. He said, "is that what this- mentorship that we share amounts into, Mito-san? That time I put my life on the line for you," his voice sounding- broken and his glasses never fully straightening out.
Mito almost fell for it. Almost. Then, she remembered just why she had gotten so angry. That man was dismissing Naruto because of the rumors; the rumors were because of the Kyuubi. So, he didn't care about Mito anyway. She said, "you put your life for something that wasn't there – for an 'Honorable Daughter', for a false thing, for someone that never existed.
"Ebisu-san, if you're so easy to fool with a few rumors, then what would happen if people spread rumors about me? Because you only look at the top -surface, whatever- you wouldn't be able to tell if they were true, because you don't know me," Mito said, feeling a bit more calm than before, but in a vicious mood. "If you did, or at least paid attention, you'd have realized that I knew the crap you spewed about status was bullshit. After all, my godfather is Jiraiya of the Sannin-"
"A legendary shinobi," Ebisu interjected.
"-A street urchin who grew up into a legendary Ninja. Years and years later," Mito finished her sentence, almost whispering.
Ebisu said, "It was Jiraiya-sama's destiny to become great. Unlike that boy-"
"Not arrogant of you at all to pretend to know people's destiny," Mito said with heavy sarcasm, easily to the point of rudeness, reminded of that fool she would never again call 'senpai', Hyuuga Neji.
"-He was dead last in the Academy for most of his time there. Also, do not interrupt me-"
"So was Pe- so was Jiraiya-sensei," Mito said.
At that point, they started talking over each other, so Mito stopped talking and started walking away.
"Hono- Mi- Mito-san, please think it over. Perhaps that boy has told you things that are simply not true," Ebisu said.
Mito turned around to look at Ebisu, eyes to eyes-? Yes, he had removed the sunglasses. She ignored that and said, "You were right – I shouldn't spend time with riff-raff. Bootlickers, 'Elite Tutors' who have trained a lot of Hokage candidates. A big, fa- a big, giant zero of them. I don't like being lied to in my face, Ebisu-san. Not to mention that, even now, you're blaming someone else for your own sho- shortcomings, like being a bootlicking liar."
Ebisu let out a strange sound, similar to a gasp interrupted by choking. After a few seconds, he said, "I had not anticipated this. Are you truly going to choose tha- that boy over your tutor of years?"
Mito shook her head. She said, "Even if Naruto stopped talking to me for the next ten years, I wouldn't trust you ever again," turning away. For that matter, Mito should be much more careful about who she trusted in the future. She should have listened more carefully, the times when Pervy Sage had taken her aside.
"May I at least know why?" Ebisu asked, but Mito didn't even turn to look at him.
"I'd tell you… but I don't trust you with that information," Mito told him, her anger spent and only tiredness and -something else- remaining. "Sayonara (goodbye forever)."
*Sakuramento: Sacramento, a certain hue of green with some blue mixed in
