"So, Orochimaru's pet found out, did he? What will you do now?"
Shimura Minori's voice cut through the quiet of the empty tea house and drew her cousin's attention away from the steam curling off his full cup. Danzō looked at his older cousin slowly before raising the mug to his lips and drinking long and deep. He sat for a moment, savoring the flavor before he swallowed. "You added wisteria to this brew," the old man stated mildly after a second's contemplation.
The smile on the aged poisoner's lips confirmed the village elder's assessment. "You always were the best at playing 'What's in my cup?'. Still can't mix or brew anything to save your life, but I suppose that's what you keep me around for. It's been almost a year since I've been able to dose you with the seeds," her scratchy voice responded, a subtle contrast of warm and cold, compassion and critique, leaving no doubt that she was scolding the man, maybe even mocking him. "Your resistance will weaken if you aren't regularly exposed, Danzō-chan. I know well enough that your father beat that into you, yet you continue to miss our regular teatime. There's always some noble in the Land of Lightning who needs to disappear or a missing nin from Kirigakure who needs to be 'recruited'. You need to make our family time a priority, or one day you'll get dosed with some new scorpion venom that hag from Suna has cooked up, you won't survive it, and all our efforts will be for nothing." Smiling nastily, the wrinkled old woman gestured rather forcefully at the fine ceramic in her cousin's hands. "Now, drink up."
For almost anyone else, addressing the bandaged man so informally would have invited a quick death, but Shimura Minori was a special case. Not only did she whole-heartedly support her cousin's vision of how the village and the world should be, but her skills had also proven invaluable in resolving several delicate situations over the years. Thus, as her younger cousin returned to his steaming mug, the old crone repeated her question. "But family matters aside, what are you going to do, Danzō? Orochimaru knows about the clan heirs, and I'm sure he won't settle for any other group during this 'operation' you've planned together."
The bandaged man snorted derisively into his cup. "Of course, he won't. Orochimaru doesn't tolerate anything but the best. Unlike the rest of Hiruzen's upstart brats, the snake knows that quality material is a necessary component in developing reliable tools." Placing his cup onto the table, the village elder watched in silence as his cousin refilled it for him. When she laid the teapot back on the hot plate, he reached once more for the steaming mug before continuing. "The snake simply needed to believe that I was trying to hide their existence from him so that he wouldn't look further when they came to his attention. It is for precisely that reason that I arranged for his simpleminded rat to discover them."
Minori's eyes raised showed her surprise at her cousin's declaration, but she had learned from long years aiding his plots that Danzō saw opportunities where others did not. Thus, she held her tongue and returned attention to her own cup, content in the knowledge that she would learn more when he was ready to tell her. That patience was rewarded after several minutes, when the commander of ROOT set his empty mug on the table and waved a hand toward his cousin. A masked agent appeared and offered the aged poisoner a thin folder, which she took and opened to find a bio of each member of the class, in question. Flipping the first page, she stopped briefly at a face she recognized. "Aburame Shino. Didn't you almost recruit this one, Danzō?" The crone's question was posed rhetorically; she was aware of her cousin's efforts to enlist the Aburame heir. Working with young Shino's older cousin, Aburame Torune, and his rinkaichū for the past several months to develop an antidote for the teen's venomous swarm and to improve his control had been quite an enjoyable distraction from the monotony of presiding over the teahouse. "Good marks in most fields. It's a shame you missed out on this one. He might have been quite an asset."
"Early success in Hiruzen's academy means nothing," the one-eyed veteran replied, his posture and tone betraying only the barest measure of the disgust Minori knew he felt for the institution. "Clan life more than prepares those children with the knowledge and fitness to exceed the standards of a curriculum designed to allow for civilian applicants."
"Mm," the old woman grunted noncommittally. Danzō was nothing if not set in his ways, and the poisoner had heard this opinion expressed enough times over the years to lose interest in continuing the conversation. Idly, she flipped through the pages before stopping abruptly at the picture of a small, whiskered face. After a second reading the file, her dim, grey eyes turned to inspect her cousin. "This is why," she declared with conviction. "This boy is why you let Orochimaru find out about the heirs. You plan to hand the snake prime samples from seven of Konoha's bloodlines to increase your chances of laying claim to the Kyūbi." Laying the open folder on the table between them, she gestured to the shock of golden hair that lay to the left of the name Uzumaki Naruto. "He is barely passing his classes, Danzō; classes at that academy you just finished telling me you find to be abhorrent and inefficient."
The old cripple eyed his cousin coldly. "Uzumaki is an ideal candidate for ROOT. Hatake Kakashi has reported to the Hokage that the boy is a kinesthetic learner with singular dedication to becoming a ninja. His mental deficiencies only mean that his emotional conditioning will be easier to accomplish and more effective. Besides, the kinds of tasks to which the Kyūbi makes him best suited do not require tremendous cognitive ability, only power."
"Alright," Minori responded, nodding to herself as she rose to refill their teapot. Busying herself with the ingredients, the Shimura clan elder continued the conversation over her shoulder as she measured and mixed. "I can see how you'd proceed from there. In the chaos of the abduction, Hokage-sama and the Uchiha will be vilified for their failure to prevent such an intrusion. You can push to secure the Kyūbi and, depending on how the situation settles, pressure can be applied against either one to improve your position." Bringing the pot back over to the table, the old woman filled the two cups and settled herself on her cushion. Smirking, she raised the pottery in a mocking toast to her cousin before taking a long sip. "So, how will you prevent Uzumaki from being taken with the others?"
The crippled veteran raised his own cup and took a long sip, considering the flavor. "Kirigakure habu venom," he finally commented before taking another long sip. "I had eight months before I needed more of this."
Minori cackled, "Right again! I moved up your schedule since you're working so closely with the Sannin no Hebi. His summons' venom is always more potent than what I can get my hands on, so it's a good idea to have your immunity as strong as possible before this operation starts."
The pair sat in silence for several more minutes before Danzō finished the last of his tea and placed the cup gently on the table. "Your insight continues to serve you well, Minori," his gravelly voice grated out. "Though, you misjudge my priorities. The Uchiha clan's planned rebellion makes them the most dangerous threat to the village now. This event offers an exceptional opportunity to curtail their influence from corrupting the rest of the population and remove some of their strongest supporters. The clans will never move so quickly or so decisively as if their heirs have been taken." Picking up the ceramic that his cousin had just refilled, the old war hawk continued, "Funeno Daikoku-san has just scheduled a survival activity with his class at the northern border of the village for two weeks from today. He believes that he has requested the proper security detail with village forces, but no such paperwork has been filed. Instead, an investigation after the kidnapping will reveal that a Sharingan genjutsu implanted him with the idea of this outing along with false memories of filing the paperwork. Several administrative officials at the school whose job it is to double-check and sign off on the outing will yield similar evidence. Even Hiruzen, weak and compromising fool that he is, will be hard-pressed to do anything but declare the clan guilty after that."
"How did you manage that?" Minori asked as her cousin took a drink. "I didn't know you had an Uchiha stashed away somewhere. I would have loved to play with them. Are you keeping secrets from little old me?" The bandaged man looked up, and his glacial stare froze his cousin where she sat. For some reason, the withered crone found her gaze drawn to the bandage that covered her cousin's empty left eye socket. The pressure in the small room rose as Minori broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that she may have broached a topic which would prove too much for even her immunity. Waving trembling hands as though to dismiss the thought, she continued, desperately trying to give the impression that she wasn't worried about the death she saw promised in her younger cousin's single eye. "Never mind, never mind. So, you've set up bait for Orochimaru and a trap for the Uchiha. Seems as though there's a problem with that plan, though. There's an Uchiha brat in that class, too. Your evidence will seem a lot more circumstantial if Uchiha…" the old woman quickly searched through the academy profiles she had been given, "Sasuke disappears with the rest, especially since he's probably the one that Orochimaru wants the most. The snake never got any Sharingan samples while he was in the village, did he?"
Danzō's frigid stare turned away from the old woman, and she took a shuddering breath as the atmosphere of the room returned to normal. "It will be enough," the crippled veteran declared confidently. "The Uchiha's history of sacrificing family members for their individual and collective gain will work against them in this case. Trading an inferior second son for the opportunity to spread village resources throughout the continent during the search effort would be an exceptional tactic… if the clan were able to capitalize on it. As it stands, they will be unable to take advantage, and there will be nothing lost which would have been useful to me in any other way." A single, hooded eye turned back to gaze at the poisoner, the previous sense of danger replaced with the unyielding ice that was Danzō's usual aura. "The Uchiha must be neutralized. No matter what happens, this operation accomplishes that. If Orochimaru's attempt fails, unlikely though such a thing may be, I can frighten the clans with stories of what might have been. If the snake gets what he wants and the rest of the class is killed in the process, the Kyūbi will be destroyed forever, as it should have been had Shodai Hokake-sama kept his wits about him. The most likely situation, however, is that the trash survives. Then, I can claim the Uzumaki by pointing out that, had he been trained, this 'tragedy' might never have occurred. Regardless, pressure on the Uchiha grows, and more resources are devoted to crushing this nascent rebellion before it is prepared to respond."
Nodding to herself, Minori finished her cousin's thought. "And while the Hokage worries endlessly about clan loyalties, village politics, and rescue missions, you will follow the leads I know you already have on Orochimaru's location to recover the stolen children. Then you will return them to their eternally grateful families. Sarutobi will lose support and may even be forced to step down in favor of a new, formerly overlooked, Hokage."
"Exactly," Danzō agreed. "And then, as the Godaime, I will lead Konoha to its proper place at the head of the shinobi world."
Riiiing!
At the ringing of his alarm clock, Naruto startled awake. Unfocused blue eyes cast about, and the blond gradually realized that he had, apparently, fallen asleep at his kitchen table last night. Idly, the whiskered almost-seven-year-old decided that his table was a mess: crumpled paper spilled over the sides from where he had thrown away rejected attempts to complete his homework. Looking around, the blond picked out the more neatly stacked pile of completed work that he had set aside before beginning last night's real project: the storage seal that would cement his status as an Uzumaki. Most of the table was covered with the unrolled expanse of the scroll Jiji had given him several months ago. Naruto's practice of the different brush strokes and symbols required to replicate the seal had filled every bit of the paper, only sparing the first section, which the Hokage had marked off to hold the finished product. All of Naruto's efforts had paid off, however, as the last Uzumaki felt confident that today he would be able to show the Sandaime his progress and become an 'official' member of his clan.
Naruto's musings were cut short, however, by a banging on his floorboards from his downstairs neighbor, Shibata-obaasan. "Stop that racket," the scratchy voice cried from below the floorboards. "Cut it out, or I'll complain to the building manager." Rushing to his bedroom, the blond hurriedly quieted the alarm. The screeching from downstairs stopped, as did the banging, but Naruto could still hear muffled grumbling through the floorboards. "Blasted gaki. Sets an alarm for six thirty in the morning, when decent folks are all fast asleep, and then …" The commentary died off in volume as the old woman apparently stumped into her kitchen to continue complaining there. Naruto found that he was continually confused by Shibata-obaasan. She always seemed to be awake before he was, but she also complained that his alarm woke her up. She didn't seem to like anything about where she lived (including Naruto, despite his initial attempts to be polite), but she didn't move anywhere else. Jiji said that it was probably just the way she was, and that Naruto shouldn't hold it against her.
Choosing to ignore the quirks of strange old women for the moment, Naruto made his way to the bathroom to prepare for the day. Once there, he realized why the Hokage had told him that it was important to go to bed before you fell asleep over your work. The blond's whiskers had been joined by an array of smudged kanji and swirls from where he had used his seal work as a pillow. Doing some quick mental math as he scrubbed his face clean and brushed his teeth, the last Uzumaki decided that he should be able to go show the completed seal to the Hokage before school started, but only if he skipped breakfast. He couldn't be late, or Daikoku-sensei might not let him take part in today's survival exercise.
After a quick shower, Naruto got dressed in his favorite outfit: a blue and orange jacket worn overtop his most comfortable t-shirt and a pair of nigh-indestructible green shorts. The ensemble was completed when the blond strapped his goggles from Kaka-nii to his forehead. It was going to be a good day, and the outfit was a necessary component of being able to celebrate properly.
As he transitioned back to the main room of his small apartment, Naruto grabbed his backpack and began loading it with the things he would need for the day. The completed homework assignments were unceremoniously stuffed in the bottom of the bag. Over those, a thermos and several store-bought onigiri that would be Naruto's lunch were placed with slightly more attention. Then, last of all, the scroll with the Uzumaki boy's seal practice was rolled up and placed carefully at the top of the pile. Zipping his bag shut and rushing out the door, Naruto barely remembered to stop and lock his apartment before he was once again off, racing through the early morning streets of Konoha on his way to stop in at the Hokage's office before class started.
Plowing through the tower, Naruto left a mess of scattered paperwork and shouting administrators behind him before he came to rest at the desk of the Sandaime's secretary. "Ohayō Hiseko-san. *pant* Can I *pant* go in *pant* and see Jiji?"
As the middle-aged woman looked over the calendar to confirm that the Hokage had some space in his schedule, Naruto took a second to finish catching his breath. When she looked up to find azure eyes fixed on her in eager anticipation, the stern woman nodded primly, her eyes warming slightly at Naruto's obvious excitement. "He has a meeting with Hyūga-sama in twenty minutes, but I think he can squeeze you in before then."
With a wordless shout of joy, the blond plowed through the heavy door to the Sandaime's office. Throwing his bag down, Naruto pulled out his practice scroll. "Jiji, I got it, 'ttebayo! I'm gonna make my first seal today!"
"You don't say?" The Sandaime chuckled to himself as Naruto waved the rolled parchment in the air. "I had a feeling I'd see you this morning." Sarutobi gestured to the end of his desk where a space was cleared, and an ink tray and brush sat waiting. "Show me what you can do, Gekage-kun."
Nodding in agreement, the blond unrolled his scroll and grabbed the brush. Setting aside the report he'd been perusing, the Hokage rose from his desk and walked over behind the whiskered six-year-old to inspect his work. Naruto's brush work demonstrated more haste than the old man would have liked, but the boy's handwriting was still remarkably clean and legible. Ten minutes later, Sarutobi watched as Naruto traced the last glyph and set his brush down on the nearly empty tray. Letting out a deep sigh as he massaged his hand, Naruto's blue eyes ran over the completed seal one last time before they turned up to the old man, expectation written plainly on his whiskered face. "How did I do, Jiji?"
The Hokage grinned genially, pride clearly visible on his wrinkled face. Leaning closer, Hiruzen ran a careful eye over Naruto's work. "I'm no master, but this looks very well constructed, Naruto." The blond's delighted smile squeezed his eyes shut as the Sandaime continued: "There's really only one way to know for sure, though. You'll have to seal something inside the scroll and then unseal it to demonstrate that you've succeeded."
"What should I use, then?" Naruto cast about the room looking for something to seal before his face lit up in another huge grin. Scooting himself off his seat, the whiskered Uzumaki made his way to his backpack.
Sarutobi raised a curious eyebrow but understood when he saw Naruto draw out the picture the boy had received from Kakashi. So, Naruto was trying to take care of his adoptive family with the tools of his clan? Despite approving whole-heartedly of the symbolism, Hiruzen was hesitant about the whiskered boy's choice to use such a treasured possession in his test. "Naruto, you know that you won't be able to get the picture back if your seal doesn't work, right? Why don't we use a pencil or a piece of paper that you won't miss if it doesn't come back?"
The young Uzumaki shook his head as he walked back to the desk. "I know, Jiji. I just feel like I need to do it with this." Looking up at the old man, Naruto tried to explain. "I know I'm not good in school, even though I work super hard, dattebayo. But this…" The blond gestured to the scroll laying open on the desk. "This is something that I'm supposed to be really good at. My clan was good at making seals, and I want to be good at it, too. I know I did everything just like you showed me, so I'm gonna try it with Kaka-nii's picture. I'll get it back. I just know I will, 'ttebayo."
The blond finished with a small grin and made his way back over to the waiting parchment. Sarutobi noticed that, despite his brave words, Naruto's hands shook as he laid the picture down on the barely dried ink. Reaching gnarled hands over to the blond's shoulder, the old man massaged Naruto's back and leaned down to whisper comfortingly in the small boy's ear. "I know you can do it, my boy."
Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, Naruto placed his hands on either side of the completed seal and began to pull his chakra from where it pooled in the pit of his stomach. Loudly declaring "Fūin!", the blond closed his eyes and pushed the chakra out through his palms. Instantly, he felt the seal catch ahold of the energy he supplied, and, with a small puff of smoke, the picture disappeared. In its place, the containment circle was filled with the carefully inked kanji for "full". After a second, the last Uzumaki pushed a bit more of his chakra into the scroll, and there was another puff of smoke. When it cleared, the picture of Naruto in the Hokage's hat sat atop the crisp parchment, just as crumpled as it was before sealing, but otherwise, none the worse for wear.
"Ah!" A wordless cry of joy came tearing out of the blond at the sight of his seal performing precisely as it was supposed to. "Ah ha ha ha ha!" Stumbling off the chair, Naruto began to dance around the room in a giddy circle. "Jiji! It worked, Jiji! I did it, dattebayo! I'm really an Uzumaki."
The last comment was made much more quietly than the others, but Sarutobi heard it anyway. "Did you think that I lied to you, Naruto?" The old man quirked an eyebrow at the suddenly penitent blond.
"Well, no," Naruto admitted as a blush dusted across his face. "I was just scared. Maybe you made a mistake, and I'm not an Uzumaki, after all."
"Well, Naruto," the Hokage knelt down until he and his ward were at eye level, "I may not know everything about you, but I am very confident that you are a member of the Uzumaki clan." The whiskered boy smiled and clutched his Jiji in a tight hug. As tired fingers stroked soft, blond hair, Hiruzen whispered a small promise. "Naruto, I never want to lie to you. There are things that I don't know and things that I can't tell you, but I remember very well the morning that I met you. There has never been any doubt in my mind that you belong to that prestigious clan, and today it is my privilege to make it official. Congratulations, Uzumaki Naruto. I'm immensely proud of you."
The duo hugged again before a knock at the heavy oak door caused them to break apart. The Hokage's secretary leaned in and addressed the old man. "Hokage-sama, Hyūga Hiashi-sama has arrived."
Nodding to show he understood, Sarutobi rose and turned back to his desk. With a flash of chakra, the picture was again sealed into the scroll, which was itself quickly rolled and handed to the grinning blond. As Naruto placed his hard work in his bag and shrugged it onto his shoulders, the Hokage spoke: "Naruto…" Something in the old man's voice grabbed the blond's attention, and inquisitive blue eyes turned up to see the Sandaime looking quite tired again.
Hiruzen said nothing for several seconds, so Naruto decided to prompt the old man. "Yeah, Jiji?"
Shaking his head, the Hokage replaced his hat from where he had laid it on the desk and smiled at the boy. "Why don't you come by after you finish school today, and we can go visit Ichiraku for a snack? I have another story I'd like to tell you about some incredibly special heroes … called jinchūriki."
"Yatta!" Naruto scurried out the door, a huge grin plastered on his face.
As Sarutobi settled down at his desk, he mused on the decision he had just made. Naruto had earned the right to call himself an Uzumaki; that much was certain. Of far less certainty was whether the boy was ready to learn more about what he was. Well, regardless of the old man's hesitation, he had mentioned the dread word to Naruto. It was too late to change his mind, even if he wanted to. Deciding to trust the blond's remarkable tenacity, the Sandaime rose from his desk to greet the Hyūga clan head as the stately man strode into his office. "Ah, Hyūga-dono, come in. Thank you for coming to speak with me. I hope your elders were receptive to my thoughts about the Hyūga's role in an expanded Barrier Division…"
"Good morning class! I hope that you all had a good weekend."
Daikoku-sensei smiled happily as his students swarmed into the classroom, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. They had been extremely excited to hear about the survival exercises he had arranged for today, and the hefty Chūnin felt confident that the day's activities would live up to their expectations. Today, the students would learn to prepare a campsite, build a fire, and erase signs of their presence in the forests to Konoha's north. Looking around, the chubby instructor smiled again as he took in the bulging backpacks that sat next to each desk. Doubtless, many mothers had prepared exceptionally large lunches to make sure that their children were fed and able to participate fully in the day's activities. That, coupled with the normal load of homework and any extra toys that had been brought to supplement the day's activities, left the bags notably larger than normal.
There was only one seat that was empty, and Daikoku mentally shrugged as he noticed that Uzumaki Naruto was not yet in the room. If the boy didn't arrive in the next… 29 seconds, he would be late, and the instructor would be able to exclude that headache from the day's activities. Just as that thought crossed the teacher's mind, however, a pounding could be heard in the hall, and the blond burst into the room, puffing loudly just before the school bell rang to signal the start of the day. "Sorry *puff* Daikoku-sensei," Naruto offered as he made his way to the open seat next to Chōji. "I had to go see Jiji this morning." The boisterous blond set his backpack in his seat and pulled out his completed sealing scroll. "I made a storage seal, so I'm an Uzumaki now, dattebayo!"
"Wonderful," Daikoku-sensei's flat tone was anything but enthusiastic. Opting to ignore Naruto, who had rolled open his work to show to Chōji, the bulky man surveyed the rest of the class, a subtle pressure in the back of his mind pushing the Chūnin instructor to move the students outdoors and start the day's exercises. "Well, I'm sure that you're all as excited for today's lessons as I am," he smiled at the bright eyes and shining faces. "Please stack your homework from the weekend on my desk and make a line at the door."
There was a flurry of movement as the class dug in their bags for completed assignments and then a stampede of feet as twenty-seven six- and seven-year-olds rushed to deposit their work on the desk before pushing to the doorway. Daikoku smiled at the nervous energy in the room, gently straightening the line until his entire class was fidgeting impatiently, eager to leave the classroom for a new adventure. Once he was satisfied, the hefty instructor led the way down to a storage shed that lay on the edge of the school grounds. "Okay, everyone. Please break into groups of three. Once you have your group together, let me know and then wait quietly for instructions."
Naruto looked around warily as the class began to break into smaller groups. Shikamaru and Chōji would be in a group together, obviously. The only question was whether Kiba would be willing to stay with the blond or leave to complete a group with the other two. The answer came when a quiet boy who wore glasses and a hooded coat with a high collar approached the pair and started speaking, his voice too low to hear. Shino! That was his name! Naruto nodded to himself, pleased at remembering, as he cast around the rest of the crowd, easily finding Kiba and Akamaru. The pair pushed boldly through the groups as they made their way toward the blond Uzumaki.
"Hey Naruto," the young Inuzuka greeted his friend. "Looks like Chōji and Shikamaru ditched us. At least you, Akamaru, and I can team up and show everyone how awesome we are. They'll be calling us 'Kings of the Wild' after today." Akamaru barked his agreement from atop Kiba's head. "Hey, Daikoku-sensei, we've got our group of three!"
The teacher gave a deep sigh and massaged his brows. "Kiba, we've been over this. You and Akamaru are partners, so you count as one when we break into groups." The heavyset man cast a glance around at the class, trying to find those who weren't already part of a group. "Ino, Sakura, and Hinata. You girls, please group up. Jun, please join Hibachi and Unagi. Sasuke, can you come join Kiba and Uzumaki?"
The class split according to their sensei's directions with various levels of grumbling at the chosen divisions. Naruto greeted the Uchiha excitedly as the black-haired boy made his way over to join Kiba and the blond. "Hey, Sasuke! Looks like you're gonna be a King of the Wild with Kiba and me."
The pale boy smiled easily at his louder, rowdier classmates. "If that does happen, it'll only be because I'm here. Sensei probably put me in your group so that you two would be able to get done with everything on time. Everyone knows how bad you do on tests." Though he didn't join in on their mischief, the young Uchiha felt that he was on good enough terms with his classmates to tease them about their subpar academic performance.
"Oi! Don't look down on me, 'ttebayo! I'm gonna be Hokage one day, and I've already learned how to go camping with Kaka-nii. Besides, those tests are boring and dumb." The blond leveled a challenging finger in Sasuke's face. "Just you watch. I'm gonna be the best at setting up a tent and making a fire."
"Yeah," Kiba chimed in. "Just 'cause you're Mister Perfect doesn't mean we don't know stuff too!" The Inuzuka boy jabbed a thumb into his chest. "Nobody's a better tracker than me and Akamaru, not even you, Sasuke."
The good-natured bragging was interrupted by Daikoku-sensei's call. "Knock it off boys. I need everyone's attention as I give out the next directions." As the entire class quieted and turned to pay attention, the goateed teacher allowed himself to break out into a proud smile: every face was flushed with excitement for this new adventure. "Alright, I need one person from each group to come up and pick up a tent. Then, bring it back to your team, and we'll go over how to split it so that each person has a part to carry. After that, we'll load up our bags and head off to the training field."
Naruto whooped and ran toward the shed, leaving his smirking teammates to wait for him. Watching his blond classmate leave, Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion. "Hey Kiba, does something about Naruto seem weird to you?"
The Inuzuka chuckled at the question. "Of course, he's weird. Haven't you seen those marks on his face? And he's always so loud!" Stopping to ponder the question, Kiba's face screwed as well. "Is that what you meant?"
Sasuke allowed his bewilderment to show on his face as he continued. "I don't know. My nii-san mentioned him this weekend, and then my entire family started acting weird." The raven-haired boy's face scrunched up as he tried to remember how the conversation had played out.
"Welcome home, Itachi," Uchiha Mikoto had greeted her eldest son as he slid open the door to his home and began to remove his shoes. "You're just in time for dinner."
"Thank you, Mother," the teen responded, unstrapping the kunai holster from his leg and making his way to the table where his father and brother sat, awaiting their meal. "Father." Itachi bowed stiffly to the stern-faced man sitting across from him before turning to greet his brother. "How was your day, Sasuke?"
"It was good!" the youngest member of the family replied enthusiastically. "I worked on my shurikenjutsu for class. I can throw two shuriken at the same time and still hit the target!" After a moment basking in the glow of his accomplishment, Sasuke turned to his older brother. "How was your mission, nii-san?"
A soft smile worked its way across Itachi's face as he regarded his younger brother. "It was largely uneventful. I spent some time watching one of your classmates: Uzumaki Naruto."
Sasuke's small brow furrowed in confusion. "Why did you do that?" the seven-year-old asked. "I thought you were too good of a ninja to have babysitting missions anymore. Besides," the small boy continued, "Naruto may be an idiot, but he doesn't need a babysitter. I think he said that he lives on his own, anyway, so no one could hire you and make it a mission."
"You should ignore that boy, Sasuke," Fugaku interjected, suddenly. "Worrying about a talentless troublemaker will only hold you back."
Surprised, Sasuke nodded at his father's words, but stopped when his mother protested the comment. "Fugaku, I don't approve of that manner of thinking," Mikoto's normally soft voice rang with disapproval and an undercurrent of steel. "That boy's situation is not of his own making."
"No, it is not," Fugaku bowed his head briefly as he acknowledged his wife's point. "The Kyūbi attack took parents from many children. However, Uzumaki cannot escape his circumstances. If he lacks talent, as Sasuke suggested, he will die an early death in the field. Perhaps even earlier if he… loses control. We will all have our parts to play in the future, after all."
The last comment meant nothing to Sasuke, but the young boy saw his mother and brother stiffen, as though struck. "It sounds as though you've given much thought to this matter, Father," Itachi eventually replied, his voice slightly strained. "Apparently, I still have much to learn about what it means to lead the Uchiha."
At that point, his mother had deftly steered the conversation to other topics so that Sasuke had forgotten it entirely, but seeing his blond classmate had brought the conversation back to the forefront of the young Uchiha's conscious. Seeking to dispel the confusing memories, Sasuke waved a hand dismissively. "It was just something my father said this weekend."
Kiba seemed to accept this answer easily enough and set about making space as Naruto heaved the tent up and dropped it in front of the other two boys. "There we go," the blond's face lit up in a grin as he opened the tent bag and began to empty it. "Kaka-nii showed me how to split up the tent. We need to make piles that are all the same size and weight for each of us, 'ttebayo."
Daikoku-sensei's directions supported the whiskered boy's claims, so Kiba and Sasuke set about sorting the equipment into three different piles as Naruto pulled it from the canvas sack. Before long, three separate piles of roughly equal size sat on the ground. Throughout the unloading process, Daikoku-sensei had been making his rounds through the class, offering advice to the different groups. Finally, he arrived at the self-proclaimed 'Kings of the Wild'. Looking over the piles, he commended the boys on their work before turning to the larger class and raising his voice. "Okay, everyone, please load your part of the tent into your bag." The bearded Chūnin smiled to himself as he continued. "I know that many of you brought plenty of extra supplies for our day out, so if you need extra space, you can store non-essential equipment in the shed here. This means toys, extra clothing, or textbooks that don't want to carry on our hike to the training ground. You are responsible to carry everything you bring with you, so it's a good idea to lighten your load while you can. I will lock the door as we leave; I promise your things will still be here when we get back."
There was a rustling as the class worked to fit their load into already stuffed bags. Looking around, Naruto sought out his friends to see if they had brought anything extra with them. Shikamaru seemed unsure whether he even wanted to bother packing the tent, while Chōji's face was scrunched in indecision as the Akimichi heir regarded the enormous bento box his mother had packed for him. The hefty boy eventually seemed to make up his mind and proceeded to unwrap the meal before inhaling two of the four trays of food and retying the now much smaller lunch, obviously quite pleased with his cleverness. Turning back to his own groupmates, the blond was greeted by the sight of Kiba mournfully pulling a collection of toys for Akamaru out of his bag. Sasuke was already loading his portion of the tent into his bag, and when the raven-haired boy noticed Naruto's attention, he raised an eyebrow and grinned. "My nii-san helped me pack my bag for today," he explained. "I knew not to bring too much."
"Kaka-nii taught he that too," the blond agreed. Lowering his voice, he gestured his groupmates closer before whispering, "The first time he took me camping, he let me pack whatever I wanted, even though it was a lot more stuff than I really needed. Then he made me carry everything I brought. When I asked him to help me carry stuff, he said that 'experience is the best teacher' and left me there. I almost died; it was so heavy." Kiba and Sasuke chuckled at the story, and the blond hmph-ed, crossing his arms in apparent annoyance, though the grin on his face suggested that had been the desired reaction.
Turning, the whiskered boy regarded the contents of his own bag. The blond's silver-haired older brother had eventually said that it was important to have enough food and water when camping, so Naruto decided to keep each of his onigiri and his thermos, content in the knowledge that he could follow Chōji's example if the bag got too heavy. The main object of concern was the scroll he had just completed that morning. It wasn't heavy, so the weight wouldn't be an issue. The real problem was that Naruto had agreed to carry the tent stakes, and the blond didn't like the thought of the sharpened metal damaging his hard work. Also, he wasn't quite willing to let go of this proof of his new identity, so leaving it in the shed wasn't an option. The young Uzumaki contemplated for several seconds before brightening and sticking the finished scroll into the pocket of his jacket. Quickly loading his share of the tent, the blond turned to his still grinning groupmates and smiled back as he slung the now much heavier bag onto his back. "Okay, that's done, dattebayo! Let's go become the Kings of the Wild!"
"Here we are class: training ground 94!"
Gaichūmaru stirred from his position in a tree overlooking the clearing to watch as a fat adult clad in Konoha's standard Chūnin garb led more than two dozen ankle biters around the last bend of the path and into view. The ratty man leaned forward in anticipation, idly rolling his left shoulder to ease a passing ache from Orochimaru-sama's gift. The curse mark truly was a marvel, Gaichūmaru mused silently. He had never felt so hyper-aware of threats and keyed to respond on an instant's notice. Borrowing its power had made the thin man's entry into Konoha nearly effortless, especially given the patrol schedule that their partner had provided. Now he sat in a tree just outside the training ground's perimeter and watched, eager to confirm that his master had forced Shimura Danzō's hand to ensure that the appropriate class was there in the clearing.
The brats seemed to be grouped into teams of three that spread out over the entire campground, chatting excitedly, and dropping their bags before returning to their chunky teacher in the center of the clearing. The spy's ears twitched when he noticed a blond with whisker marks on his cheeks screeching at one of his groupmates. "Shut up, Sasuke! My fūinjutsu is awesome! I bet you're just jealous, because whatever your clan's jutsu is, it isn't as cool as mine."
In response, the pale, black-haired boy to whom the blond was speaking ran through several hand seals and breathed out a fireball over the small pond at the back of the training ground. The boy sustained the inferno for several seconds, likely to demonstrate that he could. By the time he released the jutsu, the raven-haired child had the attention of the entire class. Many of the girls wore a look of open admiration, while the boys threw dark looks at their smirking companion. Gaichūmaru smiled to himself when 'Sasuke' dropped his bag and turned back toward the teacher to reveal the red and white clan symbol beautifully embroidered on the back of the boy's dark blue shirt. He had found the Uchiha.
Over the course of the next hour, Gaichūmaru observed the children as they listened to their sensei demonstrate how to set up their tent before breaking up into the groups of three to attempt on their own. He listened to their chatter and watched them interact, analyzing names, behaviors, equipment, and conversations. Danzō had provided photos and names of those he claimed were the clan children in the class, but Orochimaru's spy didn't trust that the information hadn't been altered. It would be just like what he'd seen of the manipulative tree-hugger to mix things around and give them civilian pictures and names to protect the more valuable clan children. Thus, Gaichūmaru sat and observed, assessing the children until he was confident that he had found all seven of his targets.
Several of the brats were easy to pick out. The Uchiha, arrogant snot that he obviously was, had identified himself early on, and it was easy to find both the Hyūga, with her milky eyes, and the Inuzuka, with his facial tattoos and the tiny puppy that followed him everywhere. The remaining four were harder because they lacked the obvious physical identifiers, though Gaichūmaru felt confident that he had the correct targets. When the class broke up after an initial demonstration and returned to their bags, the little man couldn't believe his luck. The Uchiha and the Inuzuka were grouped together, as were the Hyūga and the Yamanaka. The Aburame, the Akimichi, and the Nara had even formed a group of three, and best of all, all three teams had congregated at the back of the campground, nearest to where their kidnapper-to-be now sat. There would be no problem collecting the children when the time came!
Idly, the spy regarded the other two children in his targeted trios. The blond who was teamed with the Uchiha and the Inuzuka had strange whisker marks on his cheeks, though it was hard to tell if they were tattoos, birth marks or scars. Regardless, the brat had said something about his own clan jutsu upon arriving, and no one had corrected him. Even if the blond was part of a very minor clan, Orochimaru-sama might have some use for him. The last girl, who was paired with the Hyūga and the Yamanaka, had neither the bearing nor the clothing of a proper clan, but what she did have was pink hair. Pink! As pointless and ridiculous as it seemed, Gaichūmaru had heard his master speak about 'genetic abnormalities' and 'mutations' enough to know that something that seemed as ridiculous and unhelpful as pink hair might be indicative of other, less visible abilities. It might be worth the effort to bring them to the Sannin no Hebi, as well. Of course, he resolved, it might also be that one or both 'extras' were just worthless, but if that were the case, they could be disposed of quite easily.
Once he was confident that he had identified his targets, the wiry little man settled himself onto his branch, closed his eyes, and focused on every bit of fear and loathing he felt for Shimura Danzō, Konoha, and anyone who had ever looked at him as though he was something vile and repulsive. Finally, the kidnapper-to-be allowed himself just a moment to hate Orochimaru-sama, whose cruel smile simultaneously promised a world of pleasure and unimaginable pain, before clamping down on that forbidden emotion. As his anger rose, Gaichūmaru felt small, skittering tendrils of energy burning their way across his skin from the curse mark on his left shoulder. Opening beady, brown eyes, the small man smiled at the sight of the black lines that traced across his skin, much like the tunnels of a rodent's underground burrow.
Fiddling suddenly anxious fingers, the spy cast his gaze around the training ground again, franticly taking notice of everything at once. The forest air, once soothing in the way it had muffled even the children's voices, now hummed with ominous threat. That was how it should be, though, the spy reminded himself. Orochimaru-sama had said that the powers bestowed by the cursed seal differed from person to person, though improved speed, strength, and chakra reserves were nearly universal traits. For Gaichūmaru, activating the curse mark excited his adrenal gland so that he was hyper-attentive to his surroundings.
Seconds after his assessment began, the little man nodded in relief. There was nothing nearby that was more dangerous than the fat Chūnin instructor: not the standard guardians that any class on a field trip would merit, not the ANBU that might be assigned for such a high-profile class, not even the ROOT agents that were probably waiting all around the village to intercept him and his "team" as they made their escape. Though it had likely been meant to facilitate his capture of the escaping spy at a later time, Danzō had kept his side of the bargain and arranged for there to be no protection for the class.
Reaching into the hollow of the tree that had served as his perch, Gaichūmaru drew out a small satchel containing a scroll and a vial of blood. After unrolling the parchment on his branch, the small man took a moment to grimace as he looked over the summoning seal painstakingly scribed there. Though it was an integral part of the plan, he did not relish what came next. Orochimaru-sama had assured him that, so long as he used enough chakra and offered the snake summoner's blood, there would be nothing to worry about, but the Sannin's familiars had always unnerved Gaichūmaru. They tended to watch him unblinkingly, as though sizing him up as a prospective meal.
Uncorking the vial, the spy muttered a quiet curse before he poured the blood onto the scroll, slammed his hand into the center of the complicated array, and pushed with the malign chakra from the curse seal. Instantly, he felt the energy being caught and drained before the array erupted with a cloud of smoke. The obstruction cleared within moments, and Gaichūmaru was greeted by the sight of a tremendous boa constrictor with pale yellow and white scales draped lazily on the branch.
"Have you identified the targetsss?" the pale serpent hissed out at Gaichūmaru. "Orochimaru isss quite excccited to meet them."
"They're right there," the slender spy indicated with his finger. "If you swallow everyone in these three tents, you'll have all of the clan brats."
The snake looked away from the scene to regard the spy with unconcealed disdain. "Ssso, morsel, you could not identify your targetsss, even with all the sssupport provided to you? There are nine children there, not ssseven."
"Oh, go nap in an ice box," was the harshly whispered reply. "I know exactly which ones're the clan kids Orochimaru-sama wanted. I just noticed that the other two are weird enough that he might find some use for them too. If you can't take the extras, ignore the blond idiot in orange and the pink-haired brat in the red dress."
"Do not presssume to question my abilitiesss, morsel," the pale, blockish head leaned forward threateningly. "I sssimply have no desire to deal with your guesssswork while time is of the essenccce."
"You think I don't know that we're on a clock?" Gaichūmaru whispered back, voice tight with stress. "That ticker started the instant I summoned your ugly face. 'Sides, it's not like you have any real risk here, as it is. It's me who's got to distract the fatty and me who's got to sneak back out after Orochimaru-sama summons you back nice and safe. Now, I've got a job to do. You take care of yours, I'll take care of mine, and we'll all get what we want."
With that, the slender man unrolled the scroll further and pumped even more chakra from the curse mark into the second array inked there. Though he was unable to perform it unaided, Orochimaru-sama had constructed a seal to allow Gaichūmaru to cast the Nehan Shōja no Jutsu, a powerful genjutsu that would greatly reduce the difficulty of apprehending so many targets. As the jutsu took effect, the air shimmered and waves of illusory feathers began to waft back and forth in the clearing as though caught in a gentle breeze. Gaichūmaru took a moment to watch as the children began, one by one, to slump over, eyes closed in a forced slumber. Then, he drew a kunai knife and leapt toward the Chūnin instructor, who apparently had enough skill to dispel the illusion as it took hold.
The snake watched the thin man for a moment, wishing in vain that it would be able to savor the man's terror scent for a while longer. That was, however, not to be, so with a sigh that would not have been out of place on a mammal, the reptile began to wind its way down the tree to ground level. Making its way to the tents that Gaichūmaru had indicated, it paused to taste the air and assess the bodies slumped there. The chakra of these mammals was, indeed, stronger than normal for their age, and their faces matched the pictures Orochimaru had been given. The blond especially tasted of power and destruction. Satisfied that the spy had done as ordered and deciding to indulge his idle suggestion, the muscular, scaled form quickly slithered through the canvas structures and, unhinging its jaw, swallowed all nine sleeping children, being sure to use just a touch of chakra to make sure that each was protected from the crushing forces and acidic bile of its stomach. They would be safe there until the boa regurgitated them in Orochimaru's presence.
Emerging from the third tent, the serpent watched in mild amusement as the rat of a man who had served as Orochimaru's spy darted around the chunky instructor, gradually adding small cuts to the Chūnin's heftier form. Eventually, the Konoha ninja slowed enough that the spy was able to slip through the big man's guard and ram two kunai through the protection of his flak vest. The large man went down with a gurgle.
Turning to his observer, Gaichūmaru panted, his voice just higher pitch than normal. "Snake, *pant* I don't feel good. *wheeze* My heart's *cough* goin' faster *pant* than it should."
The boa took a second to taste the air before it responded. "Yesss, Orochimaru anticipated this possssibility," the serpent informed him smugly. "The stressss of combat with your curssse seal active seems to have unbalanccced your chakra. It is unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected, that you could not handle itsss power. Now, you will die here, and your corpssse will serve as Orochimaru's sssignature on today's eventsss."
Gaichūmaru's eyes widened, and he began emitting that delicious fear scent again. His breathing increased in tempo, and his heart rate went even higher than before. The ratty man collapsed to his knees, eyes closed in an obvious attempt to calm his heart rate, perhaps by willing away the cursed seal's chakra. It was to no avail, however, as the black lines continued to widen, slowly covering the man's entire form until there was no indication of the original tone. He bent and writhed in pain as his fingers lengthened into wicked looking claws. A second later, his sandals were destroyed as his feet stretched and warped, extending his toes and nails. Finally, the small man's jawline jutted forward, changing his face to a snout. After several seconds spent convulsing, the spy stopped moving, drips of blood slowly leaking from his eyes and mouth to join the patchwork of crimson streaks that he had carved into himself during his flailing.
The serpent watched for several moments more, tasting the air to confirm that the spy was no more before allowing itself to be dragged along to the pull of Orochimaru's summoning. With a puff of smoke, all that remained in the clearing was a bloody, misshapen corpse, a Chūnin struggling to breathe through the blood collecting in his lungs, and a group of nearly twenty schoolchildren that slept on, unaware that nine of their peers were now in the clutches of one of Konoha's greatest enemies.