vyoom: I'm glad you're enjoying the story thus far! I definitely have a replacement for the darkness that would be missing without Sasuke. It won't be a walk in the park for Ayo.

adam110902: Thanks for reading!

Chapter Fourteen - Conspiracy

"HOLY SHIT!" I exclaim, trying to hold in my dinner. Knowing that my life as a ninja will be full of death, caused by me or not, and seeing someone commit suicide in such a fashion are two completely different experiences.

Looking over to the rest of my team, Naruto and Kayana appear pale and shaken while Kakashi is just standing over the corpse with a hand on his chin.

After a minute Kakashi speaks. "Well... That was interesting. Do you have any idea who this is... Err... Who this was?"

Shaking my head, I respond. "I don't recognize him." I pause and double check my memories. "This is somehow the first time I've sensed him throughout my life. However, I can trace his path to where he first entered my range. I'm not sure how much it'll help though. He just walked in casually."

Nodding, Kakashi says. "Okay, Naruto, summon some clones and have them secure the area. Send one to the Hokage's office and report the situation. Everyone be ready, we have no way of knowing what, if anything, we'll find. Ayo, can you teleport us all?"

Taking a deep breath, I nod and everyone grabs onto me. I use the Flying Thunder God, taking us all to a non-descript four-way intersection within the civilian residential sector.

Indicating the road directly across from us, I say, "From what I could see, he came walking in from this road and took a straight line to the market. We shouldn't assume he came from this direction though. It's too convenient, too direct. We don't know if whoever he was working for has any information on the range or limits of my senses. He could have come from almost anywhere in the village, or even outside the village."

Kakashi then takes over and orders, "Naruto, you and any more clones you can create are to sweep the area in a typical grid pattern and look for anything or anyone out of place. Ayo, I want you to focus fully on your senses and check the area as thoroughly as you can. Kayana, you and I are going to guard Ayo so he can dedicate fully to his task. Alright, move out!"

I sit down and expand my senses to their full active range of slightly over five miles, and begin systematically checking every single inch of the area that the man could have come from.

It's an hour later when I suddenly discover a cellar door that I can't see anything beyond. Paling, I jerk back to myself and say, "Sensei, I think I've found a hidden underground area that shouldn't be there."

Kakashi quirks a brow and asks, "What makes you think that? The village has several underground training facilities and tunnels used by the ANBU and other divisions."

"I know where the ANBU tunnels are. I can see inside of those tunnels. I can't even see this area, it just appears like the ground is solid and undisturbed. I wouldn't even know that anything might be here if it not for this door. I don't even know how it's possible to hide from my senses. They don't function the same as any other sensory type skills I've researched."

Kakashi frowns and says, "Kayana, go find Naruto and meet us there."

I give Kayana the location and teleport to the cellar, bringing Kakashi with me.

I stumble and barely manage to catch myself as we appear. The events of the day seem to be taking a toll on my chakra reserves. Kakashi frowns further and makes to ask if I'm alright before I cut him off, raising a hand, "I'm fine. It's just a lot further than I'm used to without using seals and I'm low on chakra from searching for so long."

He stares at me with a critical eye before asking, "Where's this door? I don't see anything."

Confused, I point to the cellar. "What do you mean? It's ri-" My voice cuts off as I raise my head to see nothing where my senses are indicating the door to be.

Frowning, I gather my chakra and surge it throughout my body, dispelling any genjutsu I may be under. Kakashi notices and does the same.

Widening my eyes in shock, I turn to Kakashi, only to see a clear look of confusion on his face. Understanding after a moment I speak. "Try it again with your Sharingan active."

Without hesitation, he uncovers his Sharingan and dispels the genjutsu again, showing a shocked expression himself. "What the hell? How can a genjutsu be cast so quickly that you need reflexes akin to a Sharingan to notice? Not to mention that my Sharingan can't detect this genjutsu"

Taking a deep, calming breath, I exert the full force of my will and mental prowess. I take control of every bit of my chakra and force it to flow naturally, as it should when undisturbed by genjutsu.

Straining to maintain this incredibly taxing level of control, I quickly inspect the door looking for anything that could explain what's going on.

Gasping for breath as my control falters, I turn to Kakashi. "The frame is lined with seals. I think they're somehow casting the genjutsu. Some of them are faded and damaged, which should be why I could find it to start with."

Before he can respond, Naruto and Kayana reach us, followed by the Hokage who asks with a deep frown on his face, "What have you found?"

Kakashi responds, "There's a cellar door here, hidden under an elaborate genjutsu that can recast itself so fast that the Sharingan can barely perceive it. We're not sure what lays beyond, even Ayo's senses can't see further than the door."

The Hokage looks at me questioningly with an eyebrow raised.

I respond, "I have nothing but theories to what's going on. None of which are more than deductions with no real evidence. I don't even know how whatever is on the other side of this door is hidden from my senses. It's like this door is just laid down on the ground, not connected to anything."

Frowning again at the implication that my foreknowledge is coming up empty on the current situation, he gestures to an ANBU and says, "Put a detail on his area, notify me immediately if anything happens."

He turns and heads off, gesturing for us to follow.

A short, silent walk later we stand in front of the Hokage's desk after finishing a full report on the incident.

Lighting his pipe, the Hokage turns to me, "Are you able to provide enough detail for someone to sketch our mysterious fellow?"

Smiling for the first time, I respond, "I can do you one better." I then take out a series of drawing supplies and review my memories of the incident while beginning to draw several pictures of him from different angles.

Reviewing my memories a final time, I accidentally break my pencil and exclaim, "FUCK! HOW DID I MISS THAT?"

Jumping at my sudden outburst, Naruto breaks his unusual silent streak and asks, "What's wrong Ayo?"

Gritting my teeth in frustration, I take several deep breaths before responding. "I didn't notice it the first few times that I reviewed my memories, but there's a faint chakra signature on his tongue. It's so small it blends in with his chakra and is almost undetectable."

My statement is punctuated by a loud crack, which comes from the Hokage's pipe being crushed in his hand.

With a grave look on his face, he asks slowly, "Could you identify who the chakra belongs to if you met them?"

Sighing grimly, I respond. "I've already met the owner. It's Danzo."

I stagger backward as the breath is knocked out of me when I'm suddenly hit by what I can only describe as a wave of pure, unadulterated wrath given physical presence.

An almost visible wave of chakra flows from the Hokage, placing an incredible pressure on everyone in the room. This completely solidified the power of the man in my mind.

'Holy shit! He hasn't even done anything, just accidentally let his chakra slip due to his anger! It's no wonder Orochimaru had to reanimate the First and Second Hokage to take him down. He wouldn't have stood a chance by himself!' Speculating to myself, I look over to see Naruto unconscious and Kakashi struggling to guard Kayana against the effects of Hiruzen's outburst.

'Shit!' I force myself to take a breath and yell, "GRAMPS!"

The pressure instantly vanishes and I fall to my knees. Looking up to the Hokage I see him scratching his cheek in embarrassment.

"Ehhh, sorry about that. I let my anger get away from me. Is everyone okay?" He asks, still looking embarrassed.

I give him a flat glare and respond. "Well, my entire body won't stop shaking. Naruto is unconscious and bleeding from his nose. Kayana was covered by Kakashi Sensei but is still unable to stand. Even Kakashi is twitchy… So yea, remind me to never fuck with you."

He just stares at me for several seconds before bursting out in laughter. "Hahahaha. I don't think there's anyone that's not another Kage who could still respond with such colorful words after experiencing that!"

His laughter is interrupted as Naruto groans and sits up. "Ugh. What happened? The last thing I remember is Ayo saying he'd already met somebody. Why am I on the ground and bleeding?"

Sighing, I rub my face. "Gramps had a temper tantrum and you passed out from the force."

Naruto stares at the Hokage incredulously as the memory slowly comes back to him.

Turning back to the Hokage, I continue. "We do need to come up with a plan of action. I'm pretty sure that Danzo was testing me. Why else would he stage an attack on the village, even if it was just the civilian sector?

Falling into a nearby chair, I put my head in my hands before saying, "I gave away way too much. He now has information on the range and limitations of my senses. That's not mentioning anything he managed to gather about my combat abilities and usage of the Flying Thunder God."

Hiruzen reaches into his desk and pulls out another pipe, lighting it and saying, "This situation is certainly disturbing. I doubt we'll find anything with that cellar door. It was likely a false lead placed to test your senses as you said. With that and the lack of evidence remaining on the body of his agent… We don't have any definitive evidence to move against Danzo. He's played this well. If I take any action against him, he'll use it as an excuse to take my hat."

He stands and begins pacing behind his desk. "My main concerns are his plans. Why is he just now taking action? Why was his first action since the Uchiha to test you? Even if he was confident that you wouldn't be able to notice the cursed seal, he should know that I would still suspect him."

Glancing at the rest of my team, seeing them deep in thought, I hesitate for a moment then ask, "Is there any chance he knows about my knowledge?"

Considering my question for a moment, he responds. "I can't say that there's absolutely no chance, but he shouldn't be aware. Your knowledge would certainly be reason enough for him to go after you, but I believe it's more likely that your abilities pose a threat to whatever he's scheming. He needed more information to ensure you can't disrupt him."

Sighing and sinking back into his chair he continues. "He shouldn't make any direct moves against you for the time being. The one thing that I am certain about is that everything he does is for the village, or at least it is in his twisted mind. You are too great of an asset to have removed or to risk causing you to defect. As long as you stay loyal to the village, he'll leave you alone. What we need to worry about is ensuring that he doesn't get any chance to drag you off into Root. You're public enough that that risk is minimal, but we need to be extra careful in the coming days… I'll be extending your ANBU detail, and I'm going to personally do a full check of the village's operations and security."

Glancing over Team 7 one last time, he smiles and says, "Now. Team 7, you've done a great deal for your first mission. It's being bumped to C-rank, and your payment will be adjusted accordingly. Dismissed. Kakashi, stay behind."

Naruto, Kayana, and I turn and head out. Before we pass the door, I turn back and say, "I'm going to tell them. Will you fill in Kakashi?"

Receiving a nod, I catch up to Naruto and Kayana, pausing again as Danzo walks into the edge of my sensory range and stops.

We stand, looking in each other's direction for a long moment before he turns and walks off.