Tobirama had never been one to waste time. Especially not when it came to potential threats to the village's security.
Naruto's promise to visit Itachi was the perfect opportunity to start his investigations at the Uchiha compound, so he was quite willing to postpone the child's training until later tonight.
He would just have to come up with an exceptionally challenging exercise to make up for the lost time.
Tobirama already had quite a few ideas for that.
The two males stared at the dango boxes piling up in front of him.
"Do you think this is enough?" Shisui asked.
Naruto scratched his head. "I am not sure. Two more, to be safe?"
"Okay." Shisui smiled at the stall owner. "We are taking two more."
Wordlessly, the stall owner placed the requested order on the dangerously high pile.
"That should suffice," Shisui decided and leaned past the dango mountain to pay the owner.
"Thanks for your patronage," the man told him and watched as the two friends shared the load between them. "Enjoy your meal."
"Thanks!" Both Naruto and Shisui answered in unison and walked off, ignoring the stares passers-by were sending their way.
Behind them, Tobirama shook his head.
Children and their sweets.
When Uchiha Itachi rounded the corner, he was greeted by two mountains of walking dango boxes.
At least it looked that way.
Besides the legs and the hands carrying the boxes, no body part was visible at all.
Then one of the dango mountains began to speak and Itachi immediately recognized the familiar voice. "Itachi! We brought some sweets!"
Itachi made a mental note to get Shisui a dictionary for his next birthday–with a nice earmark on the page containing the definition of some.
"Do you think it's enough?" That was Naruto.
He was getting a dictionary explaining the word moderation, too.
"If you intended to feed an entire army, I believe it is," Itachi confirmed.
Naruto huffed. "We just wanted to bring you a nice gift."
Itachi smiled gently and leaned forward to ruffle the boy's hair. "Thank you, Naruto. I truly appreciate it. But I think it might be more convenient if we put the dango into a storage scroll. They would be easier to carry this way."
Behind him, Shisui groaned. "I've completely forgotten about that!"
Itachi smirked "I realized that. Well, it's good I have this, then. Right?"
He waved a scroll in front of Shisui's face.
Naruto was feeling rather uncomfortable. He could feel the stares of several people burning into his back.
He did not know why, but he had the distinct impression that they seemed to have a problem with the three of them being together.
Naruto glanced at Shisui. The young man's smile was rather strained.
Itachi looked slightly tense, too.
Naruto did not like this at all.
He just wanted to spend some time with his friends. But at this rate they would not enjoy it.
Naruto bit his lip and threw a questioning look at Tobirama.
Tobirama could feel the tension, too. Could feel the agitated chakra saturating the air. He knew that something had been simmering inside Konoha. A slow brewing unrest.
The ghost had the distinct impression that they were quickly spiraling towards an abyss.
Something was going to happen soon.
He had to find out how to prevent the worst.
But for now, he needed Naruto and his friends somewhere safe, or he would not feel at ease leaving them alone.
"Follow me," he told Naruto. "I know a place where the three of you can meet in peace."
Naruto turned towards his companions. "There is something I want to show you."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Naruto grinned. "It's a surprise. Come! I promise, you will like it."
The two Uchiha exchanged a silent look over his head.
Shisui nodded inconspicuously and Itachi inclined his head in response.
"Okay! Lead the way." Shisui patted him heartedly on his back.
Naruto nearly doubled over.
"Oops."
Itachi threw his best friend an unimpressed look.
Naruto quickly trailed after the ghost, not questioning him when he led them closer to the town's outskirts.
Itachi and Shisui occasionally traded curious glances behind him, but never questioned their destination, content to follow him in silence.
Naruto smiled at the unmistakable show of trust.
Tobirama finally stopped in front of a run-down wooden shed. "This is the entrance to one of the storage units used during the Second War," he informed Naruto calmly. "It is not in use anymore and has most likely been forgotten over time. There should be a sealed entrance in there."
"So…why are we looking at a shed?" Shisui asked, coming to a stop behind him. "It's quite nice, I guess, but not what I expected."
"It is almost falling apart." Itachi commented drily. "Do you really consider that nice?"
"Hey, I never said I wanted to move in," Shisui shot back.
"Please do. Then I would be spared from your eccentrics."
Naruto laughed at their banter. "There is something inside."
The two Uchiha turned back to him. "What do you mean, inside?" Itachi inquired. There was now a serious quality to his voice.
"A sealed entrance," Naruto answered. "I think it might be one of the former storage units."
"Interesting," Shisui muttered, now equally serious. "Why don't we take a look at it?"
Itachi nodded in agreement. "Very well. Naruto. Stay between us."
"Okay."
Tobirama found himself approving of the two Uchiha more and more. His impression of Shisui had already been favorable, but he had been unsure about Uchiha Itachi. This was the first time he had actually met the young boy, and Itachi's actions had been nothing but impeccable.
It seemed that Naruto had an excellent intuition when it came to choosing his friends.
Itachi entered the house first, followed by Naruto and Shisui. Tobirama was left to bring up the – unseen- rear.
The shed's interior was rather sparse, the only table covered in dust and full of holes, undoubtedly the work of woodworms.
The dirty floor squeaked under their steps and Itachi effortlessly slashed through an especially thick cobweb blocking the doorway to the adjoining room.
It was empty except for a flag on the floor; a rusty iron ring marking it as an entryway.
Shisui knelt down and inspected it. "It looks like the entry to a cellar. Or maybe even a tunnel."
He activated his Sharingan. "There is a chakra residue on it."
Itachi's eyes narrowed, and he activated his own dōjutsu. "It is an old one," he agreed, "Weak, but lingering."
"Maybe it's a seal," Naruto suggested, crouching down next to Shisui. "Seals always leave a chakra signature."
His fingers traced over the stone. "Can you see where it is the strongest?"
Next to him, Tobirama nodded in approval.
"The top-right corner," Itachi answered calmy. Shisui nodded in agreement.
Naruto leaned forward and carefully brushed some dust away. There was indeed a small array of symbols carved into the stone. "I found it!"
Cloth shifted as both Itachi and Shisui moved in to look at it.
Shisui grinned. "Way to go, Naruto."
"Indeed," Itachi agreed. "Now if we just knew what it was used for."
Naruto bit his lip. "I am not entirely sure, but I think I have seen it before."
His two companions looked at him.
He mentally went through the different seals Tobirama had told him to memorize. The middle one looked like a simple locking seal. The one to its left was clearly a balancer meant to stabilize two opposing seals. The one to its right was a complementary, further enhancing the main intention behind the array.
There was a memory niggling in the back of his mind.
Then his eyes lit up. Of course! How could he have forgotten that! "It's a Rokku array!"
Tobirama ruffled his hair. "Well done." Naruto practically glowed at his words. It was very rare for the ghost to praise him like that. Usually it was just "Acceptable," or "Passable." But "Well done" ? That was high praise, and Naruto reveled in it even more.
Shisui blinked. "A what?"
"A Rokku array," Naruto repeated. "It's a barrier that stops people from entering places if they don't have the key. If they try to force it, they get thrown back by a shock wave. It's strong, but easy to get past because the key is universal."
They had not covered that part yet, though.
"I will guide you through it," Tobirama told him calmly. "We will find a way to cover up for your knowledge about this later, if necessary."
"Are you saying you can disable the seal?!" Shisui asked incredulously.
"I can," Naruto agreed and rummaged through his pockets until he had found a piece of crayon. "Look."
"Start by drawing a vertical line right below the main seal," the ghost instructed him. "Good. Now add another one at thirty degree…no, a bit higher… yes. Now we need a complementary at the conjunction…"
About five minutes later, Naruto finally put down the crayon. "There. That's it," he told his two companions cheerfully.
The two Uchiha stared at the strangely geometric shape.
"This is supposed to work?" Shisui asked skeptically.
"Is it safe to use?" Itachi asked, throwing a sharp look at Naruto. "No mistakes?"
"Yes," Naruto answered resolutely, evenly meeting the teen's gaze. "It is completely safe."
Itachi nodded. "Then activate it."
The two Uchiha watched pensively as Naruto channeled his chakra into the seal.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Suddenly the locking array started to glow, and the carvings smudged out, until they were nothing but blurred carved lines on the stone.
Itachi activated his Sharingan.
"The residue is gone," he informed them. "Only Naruto's chakra is left."
Shisui nodded. "Good."
They exchanged another profound look.
"Well," Shisui grinned at them. "Now that Naruto's mysterious sealing skills have saved the day," he winked at an innocent looking Naruto, "Why don't we take a look at what's inside? Maybe it's more dango."
"Or ramen." Naruto added. "I would really love to stumble across a secret stack of miso ramen right now."
Itachi rolled his eyes. "I believe any edibles that might be down there are way past their expiration dates. Fine. Shisui, open it."
"Yes, taicho," Shisui answered mock-seriously.
He grabbed the iron ring and yanked.
The first thing they saw was the jagged stairway that looked like it had been carved out of stone.
"Well, that looks really inviting," Shisui commented.
Tobirama walked past them. "I will go down first to make sure it is safe. I do not wish to take any risks."
He sunk down.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Shisui, do you still have your flashlight?"
Shisui took out the requested item. "I am going first."
"I will bring up the rear, then," Itachi agreed.
They watched as Shisui slowly walked down the narrow stairs.
"Why did you switch positions?" Naruto asked the only remaining Uchiha.
"We do not know if we are entering a narrow space or not," Itachi answered calmly, "and Shisui's dōjutsu is further evolved than mine. His sight will be clearer."
"He's going first in case you can't swap positions," Naruto concluded.
Itachi smiled slightly. "Exactly."
Nodding in understanding, Naruto followed after his older friend.
Their precaution paid off.
The flag had indeed been the entrance to a tunnel.
Naruto did not know how long they had been following the darkened path, but it felt like an eternity.
Suddenly Shisui moved.
A grunt pierced the air, followed by a loud thumping sound as something heavy met the floor.
A body?
"You can come," Shisui's voice called. "It's clear."
Naruto did not lose any time storming in, Itachi trailing closely behind him.
Three pairs of eyes settled on the unconscious form sprawled out on the floor.
"Is…that an ANBU?" Naruto asked, wide-eyed.
"No," Shisui answered grimly and bend down to turn the man over, "this is not an ANBU."
"ROOT." Itachi's voice was cold.
"ROOT?" Naruto repeated, looking between his two friends.
There was a moment of silence as the two Uchiha seemed to hold a silent conversation.
"An underground organization founded by Shimura Danzo," Shisui replied finally. "They claim to act for the good of the village, but some of their actions have been rather...questionable. The shinobi belonging to ROOT are loyal to him alone."
Naruto froze.
Danzo.
There was that name again. His jiji would be very interested in that.
"The question is," Itachi continued, looking at the downed ROOT agent. "What was he doing inside an empty room? Was he guarding something? And how did he get inside? There has to be a second way to reach this place."
"That's three questions," Shisui pointed out helpfully. "But you are right. His presence here must have a reason. We will just have to find out what it is."
"Indeed."
A/N
Uhm...don't ask me what happened here. Actually, I just wanted to write about Tobirama exploring the Uchiha compound...but now Itachi, Shisui and Naruto have gone spelunking together and are discovering random ROOT agents?
Edit: To all those who think they should return and warn the Hokage now: Please keep in mind that Itachi and Shisui have a personal interest in finding out more about Danzo's secret operations. They are like a two-man-team on a secret mission and playing a dangerous game to keep their clan and the village safe. They would not let an opportunity to possibly gain leverage pass by. (At least not in this story)