The door looked exactly the way Naruto had described it.

Massive and heavy.

The three friends stepped closer and examined the unblemished metal plate that had been affixed to it.

Restricted Area

Entry only for authorized personnel

The two Uchiha exchanged a short look of silent agreement, and Naruto suddenly found himself behind Itachi as the two older boys flanked the metallic entryway.

Shisui activated his Sharingan and carefully scanned over the door, before turning around and signing 'Chakra' and 'Symbol'.

Itachi raised his hands and formed the sign for sound.

A short moment passed before Shisui sent him a 'negative' back.

Itachi signed his affirmation, and Naruto took this as his cue to step around him. He squinted at the point Shisui was indicating and scowled when he realized that he was not tall enough to read it correctly.

He turned towards Shisui and extended his arms.

Shisui blinked at his action and Naruto pointed at the door, signing 'High' and then at himself, grudgingly forming the sign for 'Short'.

A smirk grew on Shisui's face when he realized his problem. He threw a very amused glance at his best friend, who returned his look with equal amusement and easily lifted the boy up.

Naruto shifted slightly in his grip and leaned forward to inspect the engraved symbol. Noise cancellation. His jiji had mentioned something about it being one of the seals protecting the ledge. It was a main component of secrecy barriers.

Naruto looked at Itachi and signed 'Speak', 'Safe' and 'Permission'.

Itachi took one look at his serious face and nodded once.

"It's a noise cancellation," Naruto informed his friends. "They won't hear us inside."

"Noise cancellation, huh?" Shisui muttered grimly and gently sat Naruto down again. "That means whatever happens inside must be done without outside disturbance."

"Indeed," Itachi agreed. "That would explain the guards we have encountered, too."

"So," Naruto asked, looking between both of them. "How do we get inside?"

Shisui grinned. "Watch closely," he told him cheerfully. "This is a very useful skill to have."

Naruto scooted closer and watched curiously as Shisui made short work of the lock while Itachi kept a close eye on their surroundings.

Finally, the lock gave with a silent click and Shisui triumphantly stepped back. "It's done."

"Good," Itachi stepped forward and the two Uchiha exchanged a serious look before turning towards Naruto.

"This might get dangerous," Shisui warned him, all his previous cheer gone. "I want you to stay behind both of us this time. Let Itachi and me worry about the things in front of us and just focus on covering our rear, okay?"

Naruto looked at his companions. The joking air around them had been replaced by sharp alertness, and their postures clearly showed that they meant business.

It was apparent that he was now in the presence of two ANBU operatives on a mission.

Naruto nodded once. "You can count on me. I've got your backs."

The three exchanged determined looks and Itachi opened the door.

White blinded them the moment they entered the room, and it took them a few seconds to adjust their eyes to the sudden change in light intensity.

The first thing they saw were the sterile countertops; eerie, cold light reflecting from stainless steel.

The second, the tubes sitting on the counters, filled with a strange sticky fluid.

Naruto felt sick.

Not because of the liquid.

But rather because of what was swimming inside it.

"Are these… eyes?!" he asked, looking in horror at the squishy floating orbs.

"Yes," Itachi answered quietly, a distinct strain in his voice.

Shisui's gaze wandered across the room and finally settled on a tube that had been placed slightly apart from the others.

He walked towards it. His friends immediately followed after him.

Naruto squinted at the small label next to the eyes.

Example Zero

Uchiha Kagami

Naruto recoiled. "This…"

"…are the eyes of Uchiha Kagami," Tobirama's voice sounded grimly behind him. "It seems that Danzo has made it a habit to rob his former allies' graves. What a nice way to repay the one who saved your life. "

Naruto was horrified.

"I was about to go and look for you," the Nidaime informed him and put a grounding hand on the child's head. "I intended to return earlier, but then I found this." He used his free hand to gesture at the room, disgust written over his face.

"Therefore, I stayed and investigated a bit further. It might interest your friends that there is an adjoining room containing a few… illuminating documents."

Naruto threw a hesitant look at his friends.

They were still staring at the tube; crimson eyes spinning in silent fury.

"We need to search this room." Itachi's tone was so cold it could have frozen ice. "Spread out and search for everything that might be helpful in identifying the owner of this laboratory."

Shisui nodded wordlessly, his eyes reflecting a harshness that was completely uncommon to him, and Naruto realized with sudden clarity that his friends were dangerous.

Dangerous and deadly.

Naruto almost pitied those who made them their enemies.

"Um, there's a door over there," he informed Itachi tentatively and pointed in the direction Tobirama had indicated. "Maybe we could find something in there?"

Itachi's gaze followed Naruto's outstretched finger, and he nodded once. "I will accompany you. Shisui, will you be alright here?"

"Yes," Shisui answered firmly.

Itachi scrutinized him for a moment, searching for any signs of discomfort, and only found steely determination. "Good. Come, Naruto."

Naruto paused for a moment before he ran towards Shisui, threw his arms around his waist, and hugged him tightly.

Shisui froze in surprise before his gaze softened and he ruffled Naruto's hair. "Thanks, kid. I am fine."

Naruto nodded into his stomach and dislodged himself. He smiled brightly at Shisui and returned to Itachi, who had watched their short interaction with a fond look.

Naruto grinned sheepishly at his friend and the equally amused former Hokage.

Tobirama put his hand on his shoulder. "I will go and stand guard outside. The last thing we need now is to be surprised by enemies. Send out a chakra spike if you need me." He gave Naruto's shoulder a last encouraging squeeze and left towards the entrance.

Naruto slipped his hand into Itachi's and dragged him to the door. "Let's go."

The older boy followed him willingly, the dangerous air surrounding him dissipating completely.

They found themselves inside a small office that was mostly dominated by a gigantic desk in the middle of the room.

It had been completely cleared. Not even a single pen was lying on top of it.

In fact, the entire office was just as sterile as the laboratory itself. The white walls were completely blank and not a single picture could be found anywhere.

The rest of the room, too, was completely devoid of any personal items and there was absolutely nothing that even hinted at its owner.

Four cabinets were lined up at the wall across from the door, and that was where Itachi and Naruto immediately focused their attention on.

In silent understanding each of them moved towards the cabinet closest to them and they started shifting through the folders.

For a while, the only thing that could be heard was the quiet sound of paper being turned.

It was about two folders in that Naruto stumbled over something interesting. "What was the name you mentioned earlier? Orochimaru?"

"Yes," Itachi answered, lifting his head from the document he was studying. "Why?"

"Here is a paper that has been signed with this name," Naruto replied. "Something about experiments and ocular improvements."

He handed the paper to Itachi.

His friend scanned over it. It might have been a trick of the light, but for a moment Naruto was sure that he had seen a flash of red bleeding into Itachi's eyes. "We will be taking this folder. In fact, we will be taking all of them."

"All of them?!" Naruto lowered the folder and stared at him. "Won't they notice that?"

"Of course, they will," Itachi answered calmy and stared to empty the cabinet. "But these documents are important evidence. We need to secure it."

"How are we supposed to carry all of this?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Two words, Naruto: Storage scroll. Luckily enough, your little shopping trip did not manage to fill up all of it."

Naruto grinned mischievously at him. "So, you didn't secretly snack a few boxes while we were searching for the keyhole?"

"Naruto."

"Yes?"

"Less backtalk and more work."

"Yes, taicho."

Itachi threw him the same deadpan look he usually reserved for Shisui's idiocies.

They met Shisui outside the door less than six minutes later. He was holding the tube containing Uchiha Kagami's eyes. "Have you found anything?" he asked when he saw them come back empty-handed.

"A document signed by Orochimaru and four cabinets filled with documents," Itachi answered. "We have secured everything."

Shisui whistled. "That's quite a lot. There was not much in the lab itself. Just a lot of eyes." His face was grim. "I took Kagami's."

Itachi nodded. "We should leave now before we get discovered. I have no desire to fight my way out. Especially not when we are in the possession of sensitive documents."

"I have no problems with that," Shisui replied. "This place creeps me out." He shuddered slightly and the three quickly exited the laboratory.

There was a slight shift in the air, and Naruto was relieved to see Tobirama rejoin them immediately. The ghost nodded at him and inclined his head in the direction of the door. "I strongly suggest not to leave the laboratory unprotected. If Danzo becomes aware of your intrusion, he might decide to get rid of the remaining evidence."

Naruto turned towards his friends. "We should seal the door."

"How quickly can you get it done?" Itachi inquired, not even bothering to question his ability to do it. "We should not linger for too long."

"He is correct," Tobirama agreed, "It would take too much time to walk you through a barrier construction. We will have to adjust the noise cancelation seal instead and build our array around it. It should be done in less than four minutes if you allow me to guide your hand."

"Four minutes," Naruto repeated Tobirama's answer.

His two friends exchanged a look, nodded once, and positioned themselves behind Naruto.

"Itachi and I will guard you," Shisui assured him. "Go ahead."

They were done exactly three minutes later. "I am done," Naruto informed his friends, and they turned around just in time to see the door disappear in front of them.

Shisui stared blankly at the bare wall. "Where is the door?"

"It's a camouflage array, "Naruto repeated Tobirama's explanation. "It wraps the perception. The door is still there. You just can't see it."

"Interesting," Itachi mused. His eyes spun as he studied the wall. "I can indeed see some faint outlines. Like a genjutsu and yet not."

He glanced at Naruto. "I would like to discuss the schematics behind this further at some point."

Naruto blinked. "Okay," he agreed, slightly surprised. He had no idea how it worked either, but then he could always ask his jiji about it later.

Shisui rolled his eyes. "You can hold your academic expert corner later, now we should really leave."

"Of course," Itachi deactivated his Sharingan. "We should remain cautious. It might be possible that there are more entry points we have not discovered yet."

Itachi took out the sealing scroll and handed it to Naruto. "Take this in case Shisui and I are drawn into battle and you need to leave."

Naruto shoved the scroll back at him. "No," he answered resolutely, "Keep it. We are going to leave together. All three of us."

All four of us, he corrected mentally and brushed slightly against Tobirama's arm. The man shifted closer without realizing it, and something tense inside Naruto relaxed again.

Itachi eyed the determined child with a mixture of fondness and exasperation but pocketed the scroll again. "Very well," he agreed, "But do not take any unnecessary risks."

"I won't."

A/N

Aha! That was behind the door. Did you guess correctly? If yes, take a cookie. If not, take one anyway. ;)

Also: more Teamwork™

Thanks for your support. =)

Please take care.