Revised on 10/19/22

Chapter 10 - Guarding the Daimyo

Two Years Later

Izumi was running through the streets excitedly. The reason for her excitement was the news she had just received. She had just gotten out of a session with her sensei and the Hokage himself. They had talked about several things, the most prominent being a proposal to allow her to graduate from the academy nearly a year early. Usually, the girl wouldn't be so excited from stickily graduating, but she had one black-haired boy on her mind. Thinking back to the day he had returned from his C-rank mission.

Flashback

The trio of friends sat together, ice cream in each of their hands. Shisui was the first to break the silence, "You know Itachi, Izumi was awfully worried about you when she heard you left the village." He was tired of Itachi missing all the signs, and Shisui had a plan.

Izumi blushed; this was embarrassing. "Shisui." It was only a single word, but anyone could tell it was a warning.

"Why would she be worried? C-Rank missions are hardly dangerous. It's uncommon to encounter bandits outside of war." The logical boy stated. She knew he could handle himself.

"That would be true if she were worried for your safety." Shisui grinned, "But instead, our dear friend was worried you were angry at her.

Izumi buried her face into her knees, forgetting about her ice cream.

Confusion struck the boy, "Why would I be angry with her?" By now, Itachi had utterly forgotten about what happened with Sugio.

"Yeah, I'm a bit confused about that part." Shisui wasn't confused but instead wanted the two to talk it over. "Maybe Izumi can explain it."

Even with her face buried in her legs, she could feel the two boys turn and gaze at her. She mumbled something unintelligible.

"What?"

Lifting her head, she placed her face in her hands instead, "I thought you were jealous." Hearing nothing from the other two, she continued, "I thought you overheard a conversation between Sugio and me and were jealous about it."

"Oh, I was," Itachi stated, surprising both Shisui and Izumi. "It took me a few days to discover it, but I was jealous," Itachi said, no different than if he was giving a mission brief.

Shisui didn't expect this. He was just trying to tease Izumi. "Ya know, I just remembered the Hokage is waiting for a mission report from me." It was a lame excuse, but it allowed him to escape the awkward situation.

"Really?" Over the past few weeks, Izumi had figured she was just overanalyzing the situation. Realizing the entire situation, she became upset with her friend, "Idiot! Why didn't you just talk to me about it?"

It was the first time in history Itachi Uchiha had been called an idiot. He didn't know what to say. He chose to explain his reasoning, and hopefully, that would suffice. "I didn't realize what I was feeling until after I was already in the Land of Tea."

This comment slowed her down, "So you're no longer jealous, then?"

"I figured that if you wanted to date Sugio, that's your choice. I shouldn't try and stop you."

Itachi could sometimes be so thick in the head, "But I don't want to date Sugio. You misunderstood the conversation." This was frustrating. She wanted him to be jealous because that meant he had feelings for her.

"Oh," Everything finally clicked. Itachi felt stupid for making assumptions. A blush crept onto his face. What did that mean for them?

Izumi must have had a similar thought because a tense silence overtook them. "So, what does that mean for us?"

"I thought about that as well during the mission." Itachi wasn't good at beating around the bush, so he said it bluntly instead. "I think we should focus on our shinobi career before focusing on a relationship."

Izumi didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, it meant that Itachi wanted to have a relationship with her in the future, but on the other hand, she had to wait for the future.

"How about we talk about this again when we are both Chunin? I think we'll have a better grasp on our future then." Itachi suggested since she was sitting there quietly.

This sounded like a good idea. It would mean they were both independent enough not to need a sensei. "That sounds fair," Leaning over, Izumi wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, "Until then." She smiled.

The two sat together in a peaceful silence until Izumi decided to head home. Unbeknownst to the girl, Itachi waited there for a purpose.

Once Izumi was outside earshot, "You can come out now." Itachi spoke to seemingly no one.

Out from the bushed crept a bashful Shisui, "How'd you know I was there?"?

Itachi returned the question with a look that could only be described with one sentence, 'Are you dumb?'

"Okay, I know I shouldn't have been spying on you, but I needed to know how it ended." At the end of the day, Shisui was a romantic.

Itachi stood up, "Well, you did, and?"

Shisui was expecting him to be upset, "And?"

"What did you think? Did I make the right decision?" Even as cold as he seemed, Itachi did get anxious, doubt himself, and think back on all his wrong decisions.

"Honestly, I don't know. Only time will tell." Shisui might have been more friendly than Itachi. Still, he was another socially awkward prodigy at the end of the day.

Flashback End

She still had to wait three months to take the graduation test, but she wasn't going to spend those months sitting idle. She hurried to a nearby training field. She had to prepare for a test.

Hiruzen sat in his office, staring down stacks of never-ending paperwork. Although he was reading through a procurement form, his mind was still on his meeting with the future genin. He did not doubt that she could pass the test and become a genin, but he had never liked to graduate a student this young outside of war. However, the council was very adamant about the village's need for capable shinobi, and he had to select a couple of shinobi to graduate early. Since the village was still recovering from the nine-tails attack, every mission counted towards their near-collapsed economy. He agreed that it was for the best. This girl would be more beneficial outside of the academy.

Looking back at the paperwork on his desk, he could've sworn a new pile had formed. There were only five a moment ago, and now there are, One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. There were two new stacks! Hiruzen's head fell in defeat, he was one of the most feared shinobi in the world, but he sat here defeated by the dreaded paperwork.

Itachi was sitting cross-legged at the edge of a river. Currently, he was meditating, thinking back upon the last two years. Overall, the previous year had been highly prosperous for the young Uchiha. He had begun learning more about genjutsu. After his confrontation with his first client, he realized that genjutsu is a very effective way to end conflicts fast and efficiently. Allowing the user to choose whether to spare the victim or not. Honestly, he was unsure why it wasn't used in the shinobi world more often. Maybe it was due to the extreme chakra control required to be efficient, or perhaps it wasn't as flashy as some other areas, such as Ninjutsu or Taijutsu. It was rare to see a Genjutsu specialist.

His team had progressed a lot, but even though they were capable, Yuki refused to enter them into the chunin exams. Much to the dismay of all three members. They had a perfect track record for missions, with every single one being complete with no casualties. Obviously, bandits and a few rouge soldiers had died during the missions. Still, no client had died under their watch, and the mission was always completed.

This led Itachi to the reason Itachi was meditating in the middle of the day. Sure, he enjoyed clearing his mind, but it was because of the news his team had just acquired from the Hokage. Due to their exceptional performance over the past two years, his team was selected to guard the Daimyo on his annual trip to the village. Mostly it was ceremonially since no shinobi was stupid enough to start a war by killing another country's Daimyo. No bandit was stupid enough to try and rob the Daimyo of Fire, but it was still a great honor.

Even knowing this, Itachi couldn't shake the heavy feeling in his gut. Something was going to go wrong. That's why he was meditating, to try and calm his nerves. He already knew who it was, hearing a rustle behind him, even without looking behind him.

A girl walked into the clearing, looking embarrassed she tucked away a bit of hair. "Sorry, did I interrupt your meditation?" Over the past two years, Izumi had grown as you'd imagine. She continued to grow out her hair. It was now just below her shoulders.

It wasn't unusual for him to see Izumi here. After all, this had become the area the three friends met up. Opening his eyes, he turned to look at Izumi, "I was just about to be finished." looking at her, he could tell something was up. Motioning for her to sit next to him, he uncrossed his legs, placing them into the river in front of him.

Sitting next to Itachi, she looked at her friend. Over the years, she had learned to read his stoic expressions, and something was bothering him. She believed it would be easier to complete a B-rank mission than to find out what was bothering him.

A slight grin formed on her face, "Hey, Itachi, I had a meeting with the Hokage today." This seemed to get his attention, "He offered me the ability to graduate in three months if I passed the genin graduation test." Although the accomplishment didn't compare to his graduating nearly three years prior, she was still proud of it.

Itachi began looking back at his reflection in the river. The timing couldn't be worse, he was happy that his friend would be able to graduate early, but he knew that he would likely have to miss it. His mission with the Daimyo began in a month and a half and was going to take about two months to complete. That would put him about fifteen days late. Deciding to worry about that later, he turned back to his friend, "Congratulations, graduating early is no small feat." A slight grin formed as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Just be careful as a genin.

The girl's smile grew at her friend's kind words, "I not a genin yet." She chuckled. It was a rare sight, but she enjoyed it when Itachi shared his emotions with her, even if it was worry.

"Don't worry, you'll ace the exams," Itachi stated confidently, remembering a conversation like this between him and Shisui in the not-so-distant past.

This caused the girl's smile to grow even more prominent, "You think?" After receiving a nod of affirmation from him, she glanced at the horizon. She watched a rabbit at the edge of the woods.

The two of them sat like this for a while. Not talking, just enjoying each other's company in comfortable silence.

Finally, the third group member decided to show up, "What are you two love birds discussing now?"

This comment earned him a glare from Itachi and a blush from Izumi. Itachi probably could've fooled most people with that look, but not him. He probably knew him better than the boy knew himself. Shisui had been training with Itachi nearly every day for years now. Sitting on the other side of Itachi, the friends quickly began casually discussing missions and events that had happened in the village, as was usual for this time of day.

6 Weeks Later

It was the day of the mission, and Itachi was currently checking on his stocks of kunai and shrunken. Even if it was supposed to be an easy mission, Itachi knew better than to become relaxed. A few days after their talk, he informed Izumi that he would be unable to attend her graduation. She was rightfully upset by this, but she understood why he would miss out on it. She congratulated him and jokingly asked him why he constantly needed to outdo her. Putting his rations into his back, he did one more quick check of his supplies and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Arriving at the gates, he wasn't surprised to see the absence of his team as he had purposefully arrived early. However, he was surprised to see the figure of Izumi sitting up against the gate, reading a book. What was she doing here? Intentionally he cleared his throat to get her attention.

Looking up from her book, a small smile formed on her lips at the sight of her friend, "Oh, Itachi, I didn't notice you there." Putting the book in a bag to her left, she stood up. Scratching her head, "I guess you're probably wondering what I'm here, huh?" After receiving a nod confirming her assumption, she told him, "Well, since you're going to miss my graduation," she stated with a bit of teasing, "I thought it'd be best if I got to say goodbye before you left."

Itachi knew that she didn't usually get up this early, yet she did so that she could see him off. The kind gesture put a smile on his face, "Well, my team probably won't arrive for a little bit if you want to sit and chat for a bit?"

This brightened the young girl, and the two of them sat down with a nod. Now that Itachi thought about it, how did she know when he would leave? He hadn't told her a time, only the date. His team was purposefully going hours earlier than usual to cover more ground.

Deciding to voice his thoughts into words, he asked her, "How did you know when I'd get here?"

This caused the girl to get a bit embarrassed, "I didn't. I came here a little over an hour ago." She stated sheepishly.

Not many things surprised Itachi, but you could consider this to be one of them. She could've easily been waiting here for hours before he arrived, yet she came this early to ensure she didn't miss out on him leaving.

The two of them sat there talking with each other for an unknown amount of time until their conversation was interrupted by the ever-growing annoying voice of his teammate Tenma, "Stop whining to your girlfriend and get ready for the mission."

Itachi knew it wasn't right to hate your team members, but he couldn't help himself. This guy was a jealous idiot who believed Itachi didn't deserve the attention he got from the village.

Standing up so that he was eye-to-eye with Tenma, "Tenma, shut up," her stated, his cold glare penetrating the brown-haired boy's soul.

Tenma wasn't big enough of an idiot to try to fight Itachi. He knew that Itachi was on an entirely different level than he was and would be able to wipe the floor with him if he chose to. Trying to regain a bit of his self-respect, he retorted with the only comeback he could think of, "Whatever you say, freak." Before walking off to talk with the Chunin guarding the entrance.

Izumi had stood up during the brief confrontation. Itachi seemed entirely unfazed by the boy's words, but knowing they would've upset her, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let him get to you. He's jealous that you're a prodigy at this stuff, and he probably won't make it past Chunin."

Her statement caused a slight grin to appear on his face, "You're right."

Noticing Itachi's sensei in the distance, she quickly hugged her friend, knowing that he wouldn't have allowed it if he had been aware. Whispering in his ear, she said her goodbyes, "Just stay safe and come back to me. You still owe me that date."

To her surprise, he returned the hug, promising, "Wouldn't miss it." Releasing his grip, Izumi reluctantly followed suit.

By this point, Yuki arrived and looked down to see his three students, "Is everyone prepared to leave?" Receiving a nod from all three, he continued, "Are you sure because once we leave, we can't turn back?" Once again, he received a nod from them. "Alright then, let's go."

Izumi waited at the gates until Itachi was out of sight. Afterward, she went on her way to a training field. She had an exam to prepare for.

It had been a few days since they had left the village. Typically, they would make it to the Daiymo's palace in a week. Still, the Homage required that they retrieve a gift for him that took them in the opposite direction of the Fire Lord's palace. They were currently moving at a grueling pace, at least for Itachi. The other two genin seemed like they were going to need another break soon. Yuki must've noticed it, too, because he lifted his hand in a fist, signaling them to stop. Sitting on the branch, he happened to land on Itachi, pulled out his water, and took a small drink. Looking around, they were in a heavily wooded area, common in the land of Fire, but this one seemed a bit different. It seemed to put Itachi on edge, as if they were being watched by something or someone. Looking around, he didn't notice when a man disappeared into thin air. That boy paid too much attention to the mysterious man's liking.

After a few minutes of resting, they continued hopping through branches to reach the town by nightfall so that they could retrieve the package. Little did any of them know, the mysterious man was now following them from a greater distance, but still, he kept them in sight.

Eleven Days Later

Today was the day they were supposed to arrive at the Daimyo's palace. Although they had to see the palace itself, Itachi knew they were nearing its position. For the last day, towns had become more common and prominent than the other ones he had visited in the Land of Fire. Itachi assumed that the increase in people living in this area was due to Daimyo's Presence. The sun was starting to set, but from the look in Yuki's eyes, they weren't planning on stopping anytime soon.

Looking at their horizon, he was surprised when a tower appeared over the tree line. It was only a single tower, but Itachi assumed it was a watch tower. The end of the forest was coming up quick. Watching Yuki jump ahead, Itachi jumped down from his branch. Looking up, he was amazed by what he saw. The palace had four towers similar to the one he had seen before. They were positioned on the four corners of the palace wall. The wall was quickly twenty feet off the ground, probably to prevent direct attacks from shinobi. Although it wouldn't be challenging to scale in time, he doubted anyone below a high chunin level could accomplish it. Therefore reducing any village's army by at least 2/3. The next thing that caught his eye was the palace itself. From the looks of it, anyone could tell that the Daimyo had lots of money. The walls were built from precious stone, and immaculate sculptures rested on the roof's edges. The palace towered far above the trees, yet it was impossible to see outside this clearing.

Following their sensei's lead, the three genin approached the gates. They were greeted by an older man who seemed to be awaiting their arrival.

Bowing at the waist, "You must be Team Yuki from Konohagakure." After receiving a nod from Yuki, he continued, "Follow me right this way.

Following their guide, Itachi looked over at his teammates, both of which were amazed by the view in front of them, and Itachi couldn't blame them. The palace was beautiful from far away but stunning up close. With the palace only feet away, you could see the beautiful artwork that was etched into the outside. It probably took years for this place to have been fully built and designed. Most people would've probably gotten lost by the sheer number of turns they had taken, but team Yuki still had a grasp on their directions. After all, they were trained shinobi.

Turning around to face the group, their guide looked at Yuki, "Your team is probably tired. I'll set up a meeting first thing tomorrow, but for now, rest and prepare for the trip back."

Turning to their commander, the three genin waited to be dismissed before heading to their assigned rooms.

Itachi had seen apartments more minor than this guest room and rooms more diminutive than the closet. The room contained a giant bed with a chest at the foot. On the wall directly in front of there stood a dresser that probably required at least five people to carry in. Next to the dresser was a door that Itachi assumed led to the guest bathroom. Finally, there was a set of double doors opposite the entrance he came in from. Walking over to them, he opened one to find himself out on his own personal balcony. The air was a bit chilly, but he didn't mind. He grew accustomed to the cold night air back in Konohagakure.

Itachi stayed on the balcony for a little while, staring at the moon and the stars in the sky, hoping that his ancestors would bestow a bit of wisdom onto him. Deciding to get some rest, the young Uchiha went back inside. Lying down, he drifted to sleep.

Waking up early, Itachi decided to see if they had any training grounds where he could practice his taijutsu form. Obviously, he wouldn't practice any destructive Jutsus within the palace walls. Still, he could practice his form a bit. Finding the location from one of the guards, he quickly made his way to the training grounds. Itachi was the only one here at this hour, which meant he would have the entire training field to himself. Deciding there was no better time than the present, he began running through his katas entirely from memory.

A few hours had passed, and looking at the boy, you could tell he had been training based on the sweat that coated his body. Finishing up with a high kick, he turned to where he had heard someone earlier.

Figuring it was probably a guard servant watching him, he called out to them, "You can come out. I'm just finishing up."

After hearing a surprised "Erp," he watched as a young girl who couldn't have been much older than him walked out of behind a crate. Rubbing the back of her head sheepishly, "I guess you shinobi must be as good as they say." The girl wore a dark-blue kimono with a bow tied around her waist. She had brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, with brown eyes that seemed to match. "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just that you looked so graceful flowing through each attack." Her cheeks become a bit red after this.

Itachi was a bit curious about who this mysterious girl was. Only two people resided in the palace, servants, and guards. Since her outfit seemed a bit much for the daughter of a servant, he assumed that one of her parents must be a high-ranking guard. "You're fine. Watching doesn't cause any harm."

The girl straightened up after hearing this, no longer nervous about his reaction. A few steps closer, "You must be here for the trip back to the Hidden Leaf?" Receiving a nod in confirmation, she continued, "They sure start you guys out young," she giggled. Looking at him, she could tell he was at least two years younger than her, and she couldn't dream about leaving the palace to go on missions.

Itachi was trying to figure out what she was trying to accomplish, watching her moments for any sign of a threat. His gaze must have shown his confusion because the girl formed a surprised look, "My apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kyo. "

Where had he heard that name before? Thinking back to some of the books he read, his eyes grew wide. Bowing at the waist, "My sincerest apologies, princess Kyo. I was unaware." Itachi stayed in that position. The thought never occurred to him that he might be talking to the princess.

Kyo giggled at his reaction. She assumed as much, but part of her hoped that he was just different from the others. "Relax, you're acting like you disrespected royalty or something." Obvious sarcasm in her voice. "Outside of the throne room, you can forget the unnecessary pleasantries. I believe them to be nothing but a waste of air."

"I'm grateful for your extreme generosity, princess." relaxing at her statement, he rose to meet her eyes again. Generally, reality clung to their titles because it was the only thing giving them any power, but she seemed different. Itachi was curious why she would be acting like this.

She glared at the younger boy for a moment, "Like I said, outside the throne room or other high-priority events, it's just Kyo. "Placing a hand on his shoulder, "Just continue acting as you were a moment ago before you had learned my heritage."

This request was complex for Itachi. Being raised as a clan heir, formalities had been ingrained into him from a young age, but her voice seemed sincere, almost as if she was begging him. Usually, Itachi would refuse, but he knew what it was like for someone to treat you coldly because of who your parents were. "Alright, Kyo."

Although there were only two, those words held power and caused her to form a grin, "Thank you, by the way, I never got your name."

Itachi's eyes grew wide. In all of the chaos, he had forgotten to introduce himself. The sheer surprise caused him to briefly lose all thoughts, "Uhhh, "regaining his composure, "I'm Uchiha Itachi."

The girl giggled again at his temporary loss of words, "Well, Itachi, it was nice to meet you, but I've got to go. My teacher is probably worried sick." Walking away, she glanced behind her once to wave bye to her new friend.

It was probably about time that he left to prepare for his meeting with the Daimyo, assuming that most of his team would probably be waking up around this time. Leaving the training field, he debated what he had gotten himself into.

The meeting with the Daimyo went as good as one could hope. It wasn't exactly a meeting, more of a briefing with the leader of the Fire country explaining when they were going to leave and having his military leader discuss defense tactics with Yuki. Interestingly enough, Kyo was there in the meeting as well. She didn't provide any feedback and didn't serve much of a purpose. Itachi assumed she was only there to become acquainted with the duties she would have to take one day. The girl had acted as if they hadn't met earlier, reintroducing herself, but this time she placed emphasis on her title. Itachi got the point. She needed to keep the interactions away from her father a secret. Itachi knew the feeling of having an overbearing father, and he assumed the Daimyo was worse than his father.

Itachi was ready to leave and assumed the same could be said about Yuki, but his other two teammates were still exhausted. From the meeting, he learned that they would be leaving in a couple days so that his team could finish resting up. When his team had first provided the Daimyo with the gift, Itachi was probably more curious than the Daimyo. When the Fire Lord opened the box, Itachi nearly fell over. It was a decretive sword. From the looks, it probably couldn't handle the force of blocking one swing in combat. The Daimyo genuinely seemed to enjoy the gift, but it could've just been the result of so many years of receiving gifts.

After the meeting, Itachi decided to take a walk in one of the Daimyo's many gardens. Itachi found the garden clearly just a display of his enormous wealth, with rare plants from all over the elemental nations planted there, but that didn't make it any less of a peaceful walk. So lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice the girl in front of him. It was Kyo. Currently, she was crouched down, tending to one of the plants.

She must've noticed him from the corner of her eye standing; up. A slight grin formed on her face when she saw who it was. The smirk turned playful a moment later, "Careful, Itachi, if I didn't know better, I would think you were following me."

Itachi froze, running the thoughts through his head of what ramifications he would face if an accusation like that was ever brought against him. Stalking the princess was not a crime to scoff at. At best, he could be prevented from ever passing the rank of Chunin on request of the Daimyo. At worse, he could be put to death on the terms of being a potential spy or traitor. His face must've betrayed his thoughts because she laughed, "Relax, I was only joking." Regaining his composer, she continued, "You need to lighten up a bit."

A slight grin formed on his lips. Contrary to popular belief, he had emotions and could joke. He and Shisui joked all the time. "You had me worried for a moment."

This caused the girl to start laughing once more. After a moment, a more serious looked came over her, "Thank you for not blowing my cover in front of my father." Looking down, she appeared to be a bit upset, "I know he means well, but sometimes it can get a little overbearing."

Itachi didn't know what to say, so instead, he just stood with the girl, offering her his silent support. This continued for a bit until their conversation picked back up.

Ten Days Later

The convoy was small, consisting of only his team, the Daimyo, and a few servants. Yet, they still moved slowly. The Daimyo didn't feel the need to be in a hurry. Itachi sometimes forgot that everyone didn't train to be at the speed they were. Just as he had previously assumed, they didn't encounter any resistance so far. However, as it became a habit for the Uchiha, he was always cautious. They had been walking for about six hours, and he was sure that the Daimyo would request a break any minute. As if on cue, Yuki signaled for them to stop. From the look of the sun, it was about noon. They were resting under the shade of a huge tree.

Finishing the water in his pouch, Itachi looked up to see a stranger walking down the path. It wasn't strange to see others on this trail, but it was odd that they were alone. Most people traveled with others, or at the very least, a wagon. The other part that struck him as odd was that the stranger was wearing a cloak. The problem with a cloak was it concealed their hands and potentially hid weapons. Two dangerous things in their line of work. A cloak wouldn't stand out if it had been raining or if it was cold, but neither was the case. Now that they were closer, Itachi could see beneath the hood. The person wore a mask on their face. Moving over to his sensei, he tried to get the man's attention, but Yuki only had a blank stare.

His sensei was under a genjutsu. He could tell by the glazed look in his eyes. Even if they didn't get along, Itachi knew his sensei was a powerful shinobi. He would never drop his guard like this. Most genin probably wouldn't have learned how to release someone from the illusion, but Itachi had been studying up on genjutsu recently. Placing a hand on his sensei temple, he released a pulse of chakra, trying to disrupt his chakra network. However, it didn't work. This was a genjutsu that only two people could break, the user or the victim. This was someone they didn't want to get in a fight with. They would surely lose.

The mysterious man must have sensed Itachi's pulse of the chakra because he looked up at the boy. Sending a bit of killing intent, the man was surprised when the two boys joined. The girl was frozen in place, sweat visibly forming on her face. His killing intent should've been enough to quickly freeze a couple of new Chunin. These 'genin' were either skilled or stubborn.

Itachi leaned over to talk to his teammate, "This guy is extremely dangerous." Looking him in the eyes, "Do not engage him."

Tenma didn't take orders from anyone, least of all the freak. Pulling a kunai out of its pouch, Tenma charged at the masked stranger from behind, hoping to surprise him. It all happened so fast that Itachi couldn't even follow it with his eyes. At one moment, Tenma was charging at the stranger. The following, Tenma's blood covered his face. The man had managed to pull a tanto out and, with an impossible speed, got behind Tenma. The boy's head and body fell in different directions with one clean cut.

"This world has no place for hot-headed shinobi." The masked man uttered.

Itachi fell to his knees. The burn in his eyes was intolerable. He couldn't see because of the tears; the only sounds he could hear were the screams of the Daimyo and his servants. He pulled out a cloth to wipe his eyes. Something must've gotten in them. They burned as his sight blackened. He could feel the energy being sapped away from him to the point where he couldn't hold himself up anymore. With a thud, he fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

After finishing with the Daimyo, the masked man looked around the clearing. It was beautiful. The Daimyos lead the shinobi world. They were responsible for the shinobi world wars and all the deaths. They thought they were untouchable in their palaces. They needed to know shinobi could penetrate their walls. They needed to understand how the fear of death felt.

There must've been an ANBU team patrolling the area because the masked man could sense the chakra of an old friend approaching. Pulling out his tanto, the masked man shoved the small sword into jonin's chest. The wound was methodical. The masked shinobi was sure to penetrate the lung while nicking the nearby artery. It would allow him to escape while also ensuring jonin's death. At first, it would seem as if they'd be able to rescue the shinobi, and he knew how much the hound craved to be a hero.

Just as fast as he appeared, the man disappeared.

Itachi woke up to the feeling of cloth against his face. Someone was using a material to clean right beneath his eyes. Opened them, and he was relieved that he could still see.

Sitting up, "What happened?" Itachi asked the ANBU to provide him with care.

Not answering the question, "Hound, he's awake!"

The team captain approached the boy, "Mission debrief." He commanded.

Itachi explained the situation to his superior. After he had finished, a third ANBU jumped down into the clearing.

"We lost Horse and Scorpion. They fell to the cloaked shinobi." The third ANBU explained.

"Dammit. We need to return to the Leaf immediately. Grab the two genin and follow me. Don't stop for anything.

Absently Itachi heard him say two genin, but he didn't have the energy to think about that right now.

Chapter Words: 6,092

Story Words: 48,028

A/N: I don't know much about the honorifics in Japan. Still, I'd love to begin including them in my story if someone could give me a brief explanation.

I still need to rewrite this chapter later. I quickly made some needed changes but didn't fully revise this chapter. I was excited to get to some new content.