Interlude: Iruka
Since the Sandaime's death and Godaime's inauguration, Umino Iruka found himself in the unenviable position of being both an academy teacher and the Hokage's secretary.
That's not to say he's upset about it - Iruka's best trait is his work ethic, and the fact he's in such high demand means he's both trusted and competent, which is highly flattering.
Unavoidably however, some days are irritating; Iruka would go straight from chasing Konohamaru when skipping class in the mornings, to chasing the Godaime away from bathhouses when skipping meetings in the afternoons.
And while he takes immense pride in serving his village, every day is exhausting.
This is one such day.
Ever since Uzumaki Naruto's shadow clone disappeared an hour ago, the Hokage tower has been in uproar.
Well, no, the Hokage's office had been pandemonium before that, but the jinchuuriki's disappearance just compounded the chaos.
It's done in that low-key fashion ninja are used to and Iruka doesn't doubt that the civilians have no clue anything is different from an ordinary day. But to the shinobi, the high volume of people entering and leaving the Hokage's office is a sure sign that something has happened.
It's late in the afternoon when an ANBU comes flitting through the window to tell the Hokage that Shimura Danzo is dead. This leads to the revelation that the elder's secret army is in chaos due to the sudden loss of their leader, something which brought his people to report to the Hokage for some direction as to what to do.
When Jiraiya-sama sends his own shinobi to investigate, they discover that while Danzo's guards have been killed so quickly it appears as if they never even got the chance to fight back, there's no sign of the elder himself.
Only a room which has been reduced to molten slag, located deep within the tunnels below Konoha.
There's no smoke or ash, not a single scorch mark or smell of burning that lingers, but clearly an incredible heat has warped the ceiling and walls of the underground base until it has liquefied.
The Godaime looks incredibly grim when told, and he announces he knows of an attack that does exactly that. Uchiha Itachi can produce unquenchable black flames able to burn anything it touches, and he had been after the kyuubi last time he infiltrated the village. Uzumaki Naruto is instantly summoned.
The redhead arrives, tells everyone she has been training alone all day, and sits quietly for several hours while shinobi come and go as the investigation progresses.
And then she bursts into a puff of smoke and everyone promptly freaks out.
With the village's best trackers dispatched to trace Naruto's scent and chakra signature, Uzumaki and Uchiha's files are pulled up and people close to the jinchuuriki summoned.
While it's likely the Akatsuki have gotten their hands on the ninetails, they have to consider the fact Naruto may have defected willingly, the Godaime says reluctantly, like the words physically pain him to speak aloud.
Iruka digests the fact that the Hokage suspects Uzumaki and Uchiha to somehow be working together when his advisors - the Sandaime's old teammates - pipe up.
"Do you think she's under a genjutsu?"
"Perhaps. Genjutsu isn't her strong point. But, well…" the Hokage trails off, looking uncharacteristically hesitant.
"But what?" Utatane-sama asks sharply. "Isn't it clear that the Akatsuki now has the ninetails in their possession? What other reason would Uchiha have for taking Uzumaki?"
The elder eyes the Toad Sage keenly. She too can sense the man knows more than he is saying.
"But why kill Danzo-sama all of a sudden?" One of the profilers from Intelligence asks. "The first time Uchiha and Hoshigaki were here, they just looked around and left."
"What changed in between then and now?"
"He met Naruto again." The Hokage sighs, running a hand down his face. "I was fighting Hoshigaki, so I have no clue what happened, but when I found them they were –"
Jiraiya cuts himself off, grimacing. "Well, they looked like they were talking, not fighting."
"Perhaps," Homura-sama sounds out slowly, "it was just a probing expedition."
"I thought that too. But if he had wanted to take Naruto then, he definitely could have."
The two elders share a look Iruka can't interpret before turning back to the Hokage.
"You clearly suspect this isn't Akatsuki." Utatane states, a demand for an explanation hidden in her words.
Uzumaki's genin sensei inhales a sharp breath. "Her bracelet." He breathes, causing the whole room to turn to him.
"Naruto wore this bracelet with the Uchiha fan on it that she never talked about. I thought it had been a friendship bracelet for an Uchiha she met in the academy who was killed in the massacre. Do you think…?"
Hatake Kakashi – now out of his coma thanks to Tsunade-sama and leaning slumped against a wall – speaks up, sounding uncomfortable and rather morose. "Itachi wore a bracelet like that too."
As Iruka is boggling over the implication that Uchiha Itachi apparently galavants across the nations wearing a friendship bracelet – of all things – a person suddenly puffs into existence.
"Hokage-sama." The masked woman says, kneeling before the Godaime. "We uncovered something in Uchiha Shisui's house."
With Uchiha Sasuke's defection from Konoha – something Iruka feels enormous guilt over, he had been one of his students and Iruka had failed him – there is no one left with legal rights to the clan's properties. Jiraiya had ordered the compound be searched, to leave no stone unturned when looking for more clues. Iruka had wondered what on earth he was looking for, but clearly something has been found.
The kunoichi passes a square piece of paper to the Hokage, whose face spasms as he looks at it. Jiraiya hands it on to his advisors whose own expressions twist.
"So he was a traitor even then. ANBU weren't supposed to interact with the jinchuuriki."
Iruka can feel the growing curiosity in the room, even as he himself is uncomfortable with how coldly 'the jinchuurki' is said. As if she's an object and not a person.
He remembers Uzumaki from the academy. She was his student for years, after all, until she tested out at ten.
Naruto was a surprisingly cheerful child, focused during classes and no trouble outside of them. Her peers hadn't been interested in befriending the redhead, something that was reciprocated, and the Uzumaki would dash home each day as soon as lessons were over.
He guiltily remembers how relieved he was when he no longer had to see her.
Iruka knows Naruto is not at fault for the Kyuubi, that she never had a choice to host it.
But sometimes he would catch sight of her red hair from the corner of his eye and his heart would begin to palpitate in his chest. His fingers would twitch to his kunai despite the weapon proving useless against the fox. Sweat would bead on his brow, and he would have to run through breathing exercises to push memories of that terrible day back down.
Iruka thinks if Naruto had any colour of hair other than red, she wouldn't have been so feared.
But that red – that crimson, scarlet, blood red.
The room grows heated as people debate motives and toss around speculations and conjectures.
"So what you're saying is Uzumaki Naruto's childhood friend – her first and only friend she had growing up – was Uchiha Itachi!?"
"Is Uchiha Itachi. I don't think Uzumaki ever stopped considering him a friend."
"Do you really think that's it?" Yamanaka Inoichi – Head of Intelligence – asks sceptically. "Itachi massacred his entire clan, murdered his own mother and father, tortured his brother. By all accounts, he's been a part of Akatsuki for years. How do we know this wasn't done on the group's behalf? Do you really think a childhood friend would make him suddenly deviate from his ordinary behaviour?"
"Then let's summarise what we know." Nara Shikaku speaks up, a cool head in the crisis. "Uchiha and Uzumaki have a proven connection. Uchiha had the opportunity to kidnap her last time they met - as per his organisation's wishes - and didn't take it. Uzumaki definitely exited the village herself, sensors have all verified it was her." And Naruto was unmistakable to a chakra sensor.
"The scent trackers put them together when they left. What other conclusion can we draw?" He points out logically to the discomfort of most in the room.
"You're close to Naruto." Inoichi suddenly says to one of the trackers with three ninken at her feet. "What do you think she's thinking?"
Inuzuka Hana looks serious, grim, and there is a sadness to her she can't quite hide with a professional front.
"Naruto..." She sounds the name carefully. "She's a good judge of character. If she left willingly, she wouldn't leave with someone she doesn't trust."
"So you think she left voluntarily too." Shikaku concludes, watching her with sharp dark eyes.
"And she never mentioned Itachi before?" Elder Homura speaks, also eyeing her closely.
Hana meets the advisor's gaze steadily. "He never came up." She shrugs helplessly. "For obvious reasons, no one likes to speak of him."
With a mixture of dread and curiosity, Iruka picks up the paper – a photograph – which has finally made its way to him.
There is Uchiha Itachi, lounging in ANBU gear and blatantly disregarding protocol as his mask and sword are lying discarded beneath a tree. He's smiling indulgently at the small redheaded girl in his arms who looks like she fell into the river. Naruto's beaming, the mud plastered in her hair and clothes ignored as she holds something up for Itachi to see.
They both look so happy.
It's a scene of such carefree innocence, and even Itachi's armour doesn't detract from its halcyon nature. It makes Iruka deeply uncomfortable to look upon, to think that the boy who grew up to be a ruthless clan killer could look like that, that Itachi too experienced such happiness.
Then the teacher flips over the photograph and promptly chokes on his spit.
On the back of the picture is the cheerful writing:
Hey Tachi! I thought you'd like a picture with your cute little girlfriend since you're always blowing me and poor Sasu-chan off to go see her. Don't worry, I won't tell Fugaku-sama you're sneaking around with a girl!
No need to thank me.
Your favourite cousin,
Shisui ;D
Iruka's first thought is:
What the f-!?
His next, even less useful thought is:
It's a true miracle Itachi waited thirteen whole years before he murdered Shisui.
Iruka tunes back in as the elder's sharp question cuts through the conversation in the office.
"Can we even trust her? She's listed in both Uchiha and Uzumaki's files as a friend."
Kiba's older sister pointedly keeps her gaze fixed on Jiraiya even as tension rises.
"Nothing to say?" Utatane-sama prompts.
"Oh, were you talking to me? I thought you were speaking to Hokage-sama." Hana smiles 'politely'.
"You seem to make it a habit of befriending traitors." The older woman sniffs. "I find your presence here irregular, and your testimony suspect."
"I hardly think my acquaintances are an issue when our Hokage has two rogue teammates of his own." The chuunin replies coolly.
The Godaime snorts. "Enough. She's right, Koharu, we can't judge people just by who they know."
The advisor's face pinches but she drops the topic. "Then what about the reprisal for Danzo's death?"
"Is he even dead?" The Hokage asks rhetorically. "There's no body, all we have are several – admittedly suspicious – puddles of molten slag and reports from his shifty spooks. I wouldn't put it past the old bastard to fake his death and blame it on Uchiha."
In the face of their glares, he waves his hands placatingly.
"There's not much we can do. We don't want word of this spreading and there's no one we can send after Uchiha capable of neutralising him."
Koharu's lips thin. "So you will do nothing. Uchiha has just waltzed in here – for the second time – killed a respected elder and stolen an invaluable asset!"
Jiraiya snorts. "Well, what do you propose?" He asks with a hint of snark, sweeping a hand beckoningly before him. "I welcome your suggestions."
Iruka doubts anyone is surprised that they have nothing to say to that. Shikaku interjects with a more pressing question.
"What about Uzumaki?"
The Godaime grimaces, regret and sadness stealing over his face as he glances down at her file on his desk. Iruka knows he was teaching Naruto to use the ninetails' power, but that was only for a couple months and he hadn't thought them that close.
"I'll dispatch several ANBU squads. We need to recover Naruto at all costs." The Godaime turns his serious gaze onto the masked captain. "She may be under Itachi's genjutsu and is being held hostage. If not –"
His jaw clenches. "Observe and report back. If you see a chance to take her, do so, but don't risk engaging Uchiha. There's no need to throw your lives away pointlessly."
Iruka glances down at the photograph of Naruto, looking happier than he has ever seen her.
And like all others in the room, he wonders.
A quiet voice hidden deep inside whispers, and Iruka thinks they're all thinking the same guilt-tainted thought.
Uzumaki Naruto didn't need a genjutsu to convince her to leave Konoha.