Chapter Ten: Climax
And so it began.
The trap was set, and the enemy was walking right into it. Her nemesis, the pale-skinned boy, was finishing up his rounds. At his side, she noticed a sketchbook, which he kept on hand. Even now, he finished cleaning, though he'd done a less than ideal job. He and his friends were good workers but lacked a passion or real work ethic.
It was just a job for them.
"Alright, good work. Here is your payment," said the employer.
"Thank you, sir, we appreciate your patronage," said the boy.
On he and the others walked. Tenten looked from the corner and signaled to Naruto on the rooftop. Immediately, Naruto descended onto the place with paint and brushes and got to work. The people screamed and hollered, but he was done in a flash.
Hours of work were ruined in a moment.
"Haha! You suckers will never catch me! I am Naruto Uzumaki! And none of you will ever catch me!" Tenten made a mental note to help him with acting later.
"Hey, you kids, come back! The job isn't done!" said the employer.
The pale boy turned and smiled. "On the contrary, the job was done. If you wish to purchase our services again, you will have to pay for them. After we finish."
"Why you-" began the man. "You think you're my only option! You won't get my business again after this!"
Hook line and sinker.
"Tenten, are you sure about this?" asked Lee.
"We're fixing it for free, aren't we?" asked Tenten. "Besides, it's either this or gets put out of business. Now come on, both of you."
Out the three of them ran and saw the mess. "...Unbelievable. Why would Naruto do this?
"Excuse me, Mr. I could take care of this for free. We just finished our rounds." Technically she hadn't had any rounds today.
The man shifted. "...Right, thank you for your help. I'm going to need it."
And so they got to work. Even so, Tenten felt a bit guilty about using this kind of tactic. She'd had much preferred to just do her work. But all those kids were wrecking her business, and they didn't even want the money. Actually, that was one bit she couldn't figure out.
"So, Neji," said Tenten. "What did you find out about those kids?"
"All of them entered the village in the past few weeks," said Neji. "All of them dwell in barren apartments with no personal effects. They only communicate with each other for the most part. And when they do communicate, they do not emote.
"Almost all of them lack real expressions. Somehow they have been slipping beneath notice until now. But people have begun to ask the Leaf Village about them and are being told nothing."
"How could they have all ended up inside the Leaf without anyone knowing about them?" asked Tenten.
"Is that presently relevant?" asked Neji.
"No, I guess not," said Tenten. Neji had been pretty cagey about this.
"Then don't ask," said Neji.
"No, I want to know," said Tenten, deciding to put her foot down. "Tell me what you know?"
Neji remained silent, and Tenten expected him to give a flat refusal. "...I really shouldn't."
"Tell me, now," said Tenten, doing her best to be commanding. "We're all in this together."
Neji sighed. "I've already spoken to Lord Hiashi about our operations. When he heard about one of the things I observed, he was furious. He forced me to duel Hinata and would not stop the match until I had drawn blood."
"Why was he so angry at you?" asked Lee.
"I do not think he was," said Neji. "Myself and Hinata were merely a convenient outlet. I think that he suspects we may have lost a Byakugan. The Main Clan is determined that anyone with a Byakugan must be one of their own, or part of the Branch Clan."
"You uh... didn't hurt her, did you?" asked Tenten.
"I was as restrained as was possible," said Neji. "He may have been making an example. Then he went into his office and started sending letters.
"One of them was sent to Fugaku Uchiha, another to the Hokage."
"Now hold on a sec," said Tenten. "Don't change the subject. What was so important that we saw that could drive your Uncle into a rage? Actually, what was so important that it would make you duel your cousin.
"How do those two things connect?"
Neji paused. "Tenten, I... I can't tell you."
"Yes, you can," said Tenten, feeling very, very angry about being kept in the dark. And part of her, a part she kept hidden, came up. Neji was her friend, and he was going to open up to her. "And you will."
"...one of those children had a Byakugan, Tenten," said Neji. "The Hyuga Clan is obsessed with making sure no one outside of the Clan gets one. We've fought wars over one Byakugan; my Father was sacrificed to keep it."
"Wait, your father?" asked Tenten.
"Yes, I... when I was three years old, Lady Hinata was nearly kidnapped by an emissary of the Cloud," said Neji. "My Uncle killed him before he could escape. However, the Cloud Village threatened a full-scale war if we did not hand the killer over to them.
"The Cloud had unsurpassed military might at the time. We were still recovering from the Nine-tails. Hiashi and my Father, Hizashi, were twins. Hizashi was forced to take Hiashi's place as a sacrifice. The Caged Bird Seal on his brow prevents any removal.
"The Cloud they... they tortured him to death."
Well, that was... sad, Tenten guessed. She ought to be horrified but felt nothing. It was just one more bit of new information for her. Tenten wondered if she ought to feel differently. But she settled for trying to look sympathetic in place of actually caring. "I'm sorry, Neji."
On a moral level, the whole thing sounded awful.
"Yes, I was not aware of your pain," said Rock Lee. "You've never spoken of this before."
A long silence ensued as they worked. Tenten was finding this conversation very awkward. "So, on a different note, how did you know he was talking to the Hyuga and the Hokage?"
"I read his hand movements when he was writing the letters," said Neji. "He forgot to close the door, which means he was furious. Hiashi rarely shows his emotions outwardly, but you can tell by small behaviors. You... really shouldn't ask me about these things, Tenten.
"Knowledge can be dangerous for us both."
"If you didn't want to tell me your dark secrets, you should have said no," said Tenten.
"I did," said Neji.
"Whatever," said Tenten with a shrug. "Geeze, I was expecting something a bit more climactic, to be honest. Let's get this job done. After this, I've got to take my earnings to the Hokage."
They spent several more hours cleaning up after Naruto's messes. As it turned out, he hit a lot of different places. The good news was that their enemy was meticulous in time schedules. They had planned out the most efficient route possible, so all Tenten had to do was follow behind them.
Tenten had quickly come to realize that these people were really, really stupid. Oh, they were intelligent, intelligent enough to come up with detailed plans. But they had absolutely no comprehension of human emotion. Any normal person would know that behaving that way would alienate their customers.
But to them, after doing the bare minimum, they were free of obligations. Which was why Tenten was going to control this market. People who got hung up on counting every last bean tended to get the worse deal in the long run.
In the end, however, the work came to an end.
Tenten quickly got together the last of the money she needed and took it to the Hokage in her fuijutsu scroll. She also had a spare mop and bucket within it too, something she'd bought to keep her apartment clean. Once she was out of debt, maybe she could splurge and get some furniture.
The world was hers!
Of course, when she arrived at the Hokage's office, she found the place very crowded. As it turned out, a lot of people were complaining about her enemies. Actually, they were complaining more about them than Naruto. All kinds of inquiries were being made even now.
Tenten managed to get to the front of the line, though, when she said she had a payment to give the Hokage. So she got to go in first! This was so awesome! Tenten was important, and she basked in the envious eyes of those cretins!
Of course, she'd only had Naruto target people who had broken a contract with her. That was an important consideration. Did they suspect? Maybe some of them did. But a few suspicions was better than being put out of business. Then she'd have to beg for a stipend like Naruto.
When Tenten got to the Hokage's office, however, she felt a bit hesitant.
Tenten wondered what was going on with all those weird kids anyway. And more importantly, how did it affect her personal life?
Eh, whatever, those conspiracies didn't affect her, so why should she care?
Knocking on the door, Tenten waited to be recognized.
"Yes, what is it?" came the voice.
Tenten put on her best manners and opened the door, entering with her Fuijutsu scroll. "Um, Hokage, sir.
"I brought the rest of the money I owe you. I've got it all right here in this scroll."
Inside, Tenten saw Danzo and Sarutobi sitting at a table discussing things in private. Danzo looked extremely grave. Sarutobi frowned as he saw her, then nodded. "Yes, I can see that, Tenten. Put it on the table."
Tenten quickly summoned the money and put it there.
"Ah, the child who caused such chaos by pure accident, Sarutobi?" asked Danzo.
"An unfortunate set of accidents, Danzo, now put right," said Sarutobi. "No one was permanently harmed, and my ANBU got a bit of practice."
"Perhaps, but many of them were drawn away at a critical juncture," said Danzo. "What might have happened while they were gone? And we might have had a far stronger position to act from."
"The matter is concluded, Danzo," said Sarutobi. "To no one's satisfaction, perhaps, but everyone's benefit. And, in all honestly, we are all very lucky to have gotten out of it in one piece.
"Let the matter go."
Danzo nodded. "I understand Sarutobi.
"Still, what about the disruption of our observation teams that have occurred lately? Naruto Uzumaki's arrival was quite... fortuitous for certain parties."
"We'll discuss that momentarily," said Sarutobi. "Tenten, will you excuse us?"Leave us.
Tenten nodded. "Yes, sir." Quickly she went out the door and began to walk back home. "What was that all about? And who is Danzo anyway? I've never heard of him, though he looks as old as the Hokage."
Tenten suddenly shuddered as she felt a presence near her. Looking up, she saw a kunai at her throat and Anko Mitarashi looking at her carefully. After a moment, she drew the kunai back. "A veteran of the World Wars.
"Danzo is the head of the ANBU black ops. Don't mess with him, kid."
"I wasn't planning on it," said Tenten. Then she walked on out. Had those weird children been working for Danzo? Well, it served them right to be exposed for doing such a poor job of blending? Why would you even put them out in the village when nothing was going on?
Did this relate to that whole Uchiha thing?
Come to think of it, Fugaku had been pretty stressed. And Danzo had obviously thought some kind of attack might happen. So maybe an uprising or coup? If so, maybe those kids got pulled into the village to secure the area. But how did the Hyuga fit into this?
Probably they didn't until Neji found out about the Byakugan.
Eh, Tenten didn't really care much. It wasn't like she knew any of the people involved in this. Although, now that she thought of it, she'd been feeling different lately. It had happened since running into the Uchiha. Meeting them had filled a desire of sorts, one she'd never known she had, and Tenten had sort of... come out of it.
She felt sort of like she was at the end of a long journey. Except she hadn't even begun her journey. With a sigh, she walked in the waning light out of the Hokage's HQ. "Well, anyway, I am good.
"I'm out of debt, my grades are good, and I'm going to be making a lot more money in the future. Take that Master Panda, I'm going to be a great ninja! Who's the sucker now?!"
Suddenly, a stern-faced man with long black hair walked past her, clad in silk. A moment later, Itachi Uchiha passed her, sparing her a momentary glance. Tenten stopped and looked at that. "...Is that Itachi Uchiha? And a Hyuga?
"Why is everyone running to the Hokage's office lately?"
Tenten had a bad feeling about this, all of a sudden. It occurred to her that this might not actually be over. And therefore, she could get caught in the crossfire.
Quickly, she ran the rest of the way home. Getting there, she cooked herself dinner, even using some meat and spices to celebrate. As she ate, however, she kept glancing to the door over and over. Something was happening out there.
But no matter how many times she looked out the window, nothing happened.
It was maddening, having this feeling that everything was about to explode. But never knowing when it would, or if it was just her. She wished someone would tell her what was going on so she could prepare for it.
Eventually, she got sick of it. "...You know, I think I'll go to bed early.
"I think I've earned it this time."
Getting to sleep was difficult, to say the least. Tenten shifted, looking at her Fuijutsu scroll next to her bed. She tossed and turned, unable to concentrate with the feeling of wrongness.
Then, all of a sudden, she felt something. Someone was knocking at her door. Standing up, Tenten ran to it. On the other end was Neji, who moved in. It was pitch dark out, and not a star was in the sky. "Neji, what are you doing here so-"
"Shut the door, lock it, dim the lights, and find somewhere to hide," said Neji.
"Neji, what are you talking about?" asked Tenten.
Neji slammed the door and shut it for her. "There's a battle going on in the streets. I've seen three of the children we were competing with cut down. Several others are fighting with Leaf Ninja and Uchiha. They are trained ninjas."
"Fighting? But why would they be fighting?" asked Tenten.
"I do not know, but they may come here," said Neji.
"And what are you doing here?" asked Tenten.
"I came to return your mop," said Neji, handing it back. "Do you have anywhere to hide?"
"Well, I guess I could go to the closet," said Tenten.
Neji shook his head. "That's the first place they'll look if anyone comes here. Get down and get into the sink. It's lower in their field of vision."
Moving over to the kitchen sink, he opened it, and Tenten had to bow low, squeezing into it. She hid behind a pipe, so only the top of Neji's face was visible. "What about you?"
"I'm going to straighten the place out and leave. Lee could be at risk as well," said Neji.
"Why would we be at risk at all?" asked Tenten. Though some part of her suspected she knew.
"Whatever is happening now may be happening because of something we did, Tenten," said Neji. "All of this started when we went to the Uchiha compound. If there is a possibility we will be targetted, we must take precautions." He drew up a tarp and tossed it to her. "Stay here and keep this tarp over you."
"R-right," said Tenten, feeling scared for the first time in... forever.
All she could do was sit there under a tarp behind a pipe in a closet. Waiting. Her Fuijutsu scroll was with her, but all she had in it was a mop. What was she supposed to use that for?
Tenten waited, and waited, and when she heard a crash.
It sounded like someone had broken the door down, and two footsteps entered the room. "Tear the place apart, quickly! She was here! Find that blasted ninja quickly!"
"I will, Lord Danzo. However, there are few possible places for them to hide," said the voice of the boy from before. "If I might, perhaps we should go elsewhere? We are unlikely to gain anything from this. Our forces are being wiped out."
"That spy has undone years of work and even now is undermining the Leaf!" said Danzo. "She must be removed immediately before she can escape. And we will need to know who trained and sent her.
"Not here.
"Check the sink."
Tenten stayed very still and clutched the Fuijutsu. As she did, she heard the door swing open. She prayed no one would notice her. "...You're hiding place is disappointing in its crudity."
Suddenly snakes wrapped around her arms. She could hear hissing as she was pulled out of the sink. She struggled in them, but they were sinks of ink. Pulled out into the center of the room, the snakes vanished. Sai was on her, holding a knife.
"Take her out into the center of the room," said Danzo. "We have a little time yet; Sarutobi doesn't see her nature yet." Then he turned to Tenten, who Sai held in place, a blade at her throat. "Well, now, the spy is found.
"How did you do it?"
Tenten blinked. "I...
"I don't know... what do you mean? I don't know what you want to know?!"
"Sai," said Danzo.
Sai pressed the blade just a little bit against Tenten's throat, so a drop of blood spilled down. She felt it soaking her neck, only a small stream. He hadn't cut an artery, thank god.
"I recommend you answer Lord Danzo's question," said Sai. "I have no ill will toward you, but I will hurt you if he desires it."
"Tell me how you did it?" asked Danzo.
"I uh... I'm sorry I..." Tenten thought through all the things she'd done up until this point and found the worst one. "I asked Naruto to focus his pranks on the people who were killing my business! Then I cleaned up after him so people would know I was a better alternative.
"I figured it would put people off my trail."
Danzo looked at her without pity or amusement. "You have a great deal of nerve to speak with such defiance in your position. I assure you, I am more than powerful enough to finish you. And I will rebuild from this.
"Sai, cut her eye out."
Her eyes? "NO! NO! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU! I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING!"
"Then do so," said Danzo. "Who sent you? Why have you come to this place? Which one of the Five Great Nations dispatched you here?"
"I wasn't sent by any of the Five Great nations!" said Tenten quickly. She scrambled to try and open her Fuitjutsu scroll, but Sai snatched it away and tossed it to one side by the window.
"The Sound Village then?" asked Danzo.
"I just wanted to become a ninja!" said Tenten.
"For which nation, I wonder?" asked Danzo.
"The Leaf! That's why I came here!" said Tenten.
"I've had enough of your lies, girl!" snapped Danzo, voice hard. "If you will not tell me the truth, then I will cut your body apart piece by piece and have it analyzed."
"Lord Danzo, is it not possible that her interference in our designs is coincidental?" asked Sai. "She does not seem to be trained to resist interrogation."
"He's right!" said Tenten. "I'm barely making it through the academy between day jobs, I just-"
"Be silent!" shouted Danzo. "It is not possible that she does not have training. We are seeing the same act that allowed her to disrupt the peace of the Leaf Village. To have fooled even Sarutobi...
"She is a clever serpent."
"I don't even know what you're talking about!" said Tenten, realizing she had to wait for an opportunity. If she missed it, she was a dead woman.
"You threw the Inuzuka and Abarame Clan into absolute chaos. In so doing, you drew a significant portion of the ANBU off!" snapped Danzo, advancing on her. "In doing so, you forced my organization into the open before their training was complete. From there, you defused the Uchiha Clan conflict. This prevented me from initiating a permenant solution to their insurgency. Once done, you dragged the existence of my organization into the public view. And in so doing, you alerted the Hyuga to several of my missteps.
"In so doing, you have forced Sarutobi to initiate a purge of his own right arm and given the Leaf into the Uchiha's hands. Do you seriously expect me to believe that all of this was manufactured by sheer chance? Simply for your sole benefit?"
Danzo advanced in seeming rage and Sai's hand shoot.
"Well... yeah?" said Tenten. She hadn't once thought of anybody but herself during all of this, after all: her chakra, her rules.
"I give you points for acting at least," said Danzo. "But you have made the classic mistake of all direct lies. Your story has grown in the telling and is now too unbelievable to be credible. I can believe that a child your age could be trained by certain methods into an infiltration genius.
"But no one is that lucky.
"Sai, kill her. We'll examine the corpse later."
Sai flinched. Tenten didn't know whether it was because of the order or some other reason. But Tenten didn't waste it. Grabbing his hand, she bit it before tearing toward the Fuijutsu scroll. Throwing it down, she saw Danzo and Sai leap back to evade whatever she was about to unleash.
Big mistake.
If they'd just attacked her, she'd have been dead. But instead, she summoned her mop and bucket. Danzo blinked in surprise, and Sai looked for him for confirmation. It was mere moments before she rushed toward the far window, and it was enough. Sai prepared to defend against and attack. But instead, Tenten lanced the bucket through the window. She leaped over the broken glass and landing perfectly.
Suddenly, there was a roar behind her. Turning back, Tenten saw a tiger of ink rushing after her. Rolling away, she saw its paws shatter the ground beneath her feet. Sai was above her now, on a bird of ink, painting sketches. As he did, more and more creatures were created.
What?
"You cannot escape," said Sai. "Soon, my tigers will devour you, and all that remains will be your blood."
And then there was a blur. One of the tigers exploded into ink, while another broke down. Neji and Lee landed before then. Pretty good timing, but they were probably still all going to die. "Neji, Lee?!"
"Come on, this way," said Rock Lee. "Into the trees. We'll leap from branch to branch."
Together they rushed into the forest. As they did, however, Tenten found it pretty difficult. Even so, she kept a hand on her mop and bucket, an idea forming in her head.
"Why are we going into the forest?" asked Tenten.
"That floating creature of ink is an excellent vantage point, Tenten," said Rock Lee. "However, he will be unable to see into the forest from above while astride it."
"Good thinking," said Tenten.
"Guy-sensei has always taught me to be aware of my surroundings," said Rock Lee.
"We need to head for the river," said Tenten.
"Why the river?" asked Neji.
"If we face his animals in a river," said Rock Lee. "They will simply be washed away. Excellent thinking, Tenten!"
Then another tiger came at them from the walls. Spinning around her mop, Tenten slashed through it. Instantly it was destroyed, and her mop handle was soaked.
"These tigers look fearsome, but they are fragile," noted Neji.
And then they heard it.
Rats.
Thousands upon thousands of rats. Looking down, Tenten saw the creatures, all made of ink, swarming up the trees around them. Even as they ran, their avenues of escape were being cut off.
"Faster!" said Rock Lee. "We are near to the river!"
Sprinting with all their might, Tenten leaped onto a branch. It was half-covered in ink rats by the time she leaped off. They came out under the moon and stars to land by the riverbank. Rushing into the waters, they saw the rats snaking out toward the water and halted.
Sai was now above them again.
"Hmm," said Sai. "You appear to have stalled my rats." As he spoke, Tenten filled her bucket with water. "However, I have creatures that do not travel by land." Birds appeared around him, swooping, and Tenten knew they were in trouble. "I shall simply allow them to pick your corpses clean of flesh.
"Or better still, wait for you to die of hypothermia?"
The thing is, she wasn't worried. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that ink stains Sai?"
Sai blinked. "My brother did. Though I fail to see the relevance in this-"
"Well, I'd say it's about time I cleaned house!" said Tenten, hooking her mop around the bucket handle. Spinning it around, she sent both hurtling toward Sai. The bucket spun through the air and hit him in the face. The water poured over his sketchpad as he fell backward.
Landing hard, Sai struggled to stand as the rats died. "What...
"My drawings! No! You ruined my drawings! I've got to save them, got to air them out before-"
Tenten hurled the mop to plonk him in the face with the cleaning end. He slumped to the ground, even as the mop caught the bucket midfall. Tenten then caught both before they fell.
"Ha!" said Tenten. "Did you see that! And you, Neji, thought cleaning streets wasn't going anywhere!"
And then Danzo stepped into the light. Everyone went cold as he walked forward, staff in hand. "So, it would appear you do possess the skills.
"I confess, your act had awakened doubts in me. Now that you have defeated Sai, however, you have confirmed my earlier suspicion. I will admit that you do not seem to be a combat specialist. But then, combat was never the purpose of your mission, was it?
"Now I will remove you from the equation, and the trees of the Root shall take hold again."
"Duck!" said Neji, getting low.
Both of them ducked, and giant metal shuriken spun through the air where they'd been moments ago. Tenten tried to rise, only to be clubbed to the ground by Danzo's staff. "The three hundred and sixty-degree vision of a Hyuga?" He gripped Neji by the throat. "You are talented to have developed it at so young an age—such a waste. Still, perhaps you may be of value for your eyes. I will need another set to replace those that were stolen today."
"Neji!" cried Lee, charging forward, only to be slapped across the face by Danzo. The old man had not even looked up. His movement naturally turned toward gripping Neji's eyes.
No! He couldn't kill Neji!
And then a blade was put to Danzo's throat from behind. Danzo halted and glanced back, and Tenten followed his gaze. Itachi Uchiha was standing there, blade in hand. "Danzo Shimura, you are under arrest by order of the Third Hokage."
"Itachi, so it was you," said Danzo. "I had wondered how a foreign agent had such an in-depth knowledge of the Leaf's pressure points. I see now.
"Well played."
Itachi reached forward and gripped him by the back of the head. Danzo slumped forward unconscious. A moment later, Itachi threw him over one shoulder. He looked to Neji, Tenten, and Lee as they tried to pick themselves up.
"The Leaf thanks the three of you for your assistance," said Itachi simply, picking up Sai. "Please return to your homes and await the cessation of hostilities."
Hang on, the Leaf thanked? But hadn't Danzo been working for Sarutobi?
"Aren't you going to tell us what's going on here?" asked Tenten.
"No," said Itachi.
And then he vanished with both their assailants.
The three of them had to walk home, and were left to work out their own explanation.
Author's Note:
Well, this has been a long road. To me, at least. It probably seems like lightning-fast-updating to you.
The next chapter should be an epilogue—one which, to an extent, what happened throughout this whole story. I'd love to hear your read on what happened before I explain it. Most of the story can be deduced by careful attention to detail. So if you have the time, I recommend you reread and see if you can figure it out.
This is very much a mystery novel of sorts, after all.
That said, however, this is not the end of Legend of Tenten. Merely the end of the first arc. I may continue it in future chapters or make a separate fic.