Chapter 3
Tsunade looks up at me over her papers and frowns. This would be my second visit to her office this week, the eighth visit of this month. Each time, I came with the same request: let me see Itachi. I expect her to launch into another tirade about how bad of an influence he's had over me, how I have no business seeing him ever again. More than that, I expect her to get angry when I seem, once more, unwilling to follow her advice.
Tsunade sets her papers down with a sigh and takes off her glasses. She and I both know the drill by now. I'm ready.
"Sit," she tells me. It gives me pause. She has never asked me to sit before, not during these visits. "I've read your report, half a hundred times since you gave it to me. The interrogators' reports on Itachi all say the same. And then there are… other circumstances that I must take into consideration."
What is she saying? Has she come to believe we're telling the truth? It seems so, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I keep quiet, waiting for her to go on. Her voice holds a dark undercurrent as she speaks.
"Prompted by your allegations, I had no choice but to review all the case files regarding what happened the night Itachi massacred his clan. I found nothing."
My heart sinks. Of course you didn't find anything, I want to tell her. Who would have been stupid enough to leave a paper trail after giving such an order? Unfortunately, that means Tsunade will have to rely on the word of a criminal. And mine, though I'm not sure it weighs all that much anymore.
"However, given that the man Itachi accused of giving the order has left the village, I couldn't help but wonder." Danzo! She's talking about Danzo, whom Itachi and that ANBU were discussing when I went to visit. "There is also the matter of a certain testimony recently brought to my attention, along with evidence that Itachi has been providing our village with intel from within the Akatsuki."
My heart gives a jolt in anticipation, though I'm trying not to look hopeful. Will all this be enough to give Itachi the benefit of the doubt?
"In light of these facts, I'm willing to release Itachi Uchiha for the time being." I open my mouth, but she holds up a hand to stop me. "I don't mean to say he's been proven innocent. He will be subjected to 24-hour surveillance and the investigation will continue."
That's more than reasonable, I think, while my inner self jumps around with joy, screaming 'justice will prevail, shannarou!". Once outside, it will be much easier for Itachi to build a stronger case in his defense.
"Tsunade-shishou," I say, trying to keep myself grounded, "there's also the matter of Itachi having that illness. I mentioned in my report that I started treatment and I would like your permission to continue treating him."
"Granted," she says. "Itachi will be released tomorrow afternoon. I've given him use of a small apartment for the time being. Needless to say, I think, that it's been fully equipped with cameras and microphones by our tech teams."
She gives me a look over her glasses and I blush as I grasp its meaning.
"It's nothing like that," I say, in my defense, fully aware that my tomato-red face is saying the contrary.
"Dismissed," Tsunade says with a knowing smile.
I realize it doesn't matter how many times I'm going to say nothing happened because nothing actually did happen. People are still going to believe what they want. I stand up and leave, unable to fight the feeling of embarrassment. However, I realize there's also a twinge of regret. Did I want something to happen?
I start overthinking again as I head home. It's one of the things I'm very good at and doing it is effortless. All I have to do is let my mind wander and I find myself worrying over an idea like a dog gnawing at a bone.
The days are getting shorter and it's already dark outside, despite the early hour. The park is deserted. A cold wind blows and I shiver in my clothes. I didn't take my jacket off in the Hokage's office and I'm suffering the consequences. I wrap my arms around myself as I walk over a bridge. The moon comes out of the clouds, bathing everything in silvery light.
I look up and freeze. A figure is standing at the end of the bridge, where there was no one before. A black, laquered mask conceals their face. My body shifts into a defensive position instinctively. I've never seen a mask like this among the ANBU. I back away, but when I glance over my shoulder to find an escape route, I see another silhouette at the other end of the bridge. I'm trapped.
I place a hand on the railing, ready to jump over it, but my legs don't even get to move before the figure in front of me springs forward. Moonlight glints off the edge of a blade. I can't move fast enough to avoid it and I don't have time to parry with a kunai. My back is just as exposed. I manage to turn sideways in an attempt to make myself a smaller target. The blade is coming down.
"Kagezukami no Jutsu!"
A shadow springs forward, catches my attacker by the legs and swipes him from the ground. It drags him through the air and slams him into the pavement with such force it cracks. I turn my head and see Itachi's ANBU standing on the railing across from me, her hands already forming another series of seals as the second figure moves to attack. Dragon. Tiger. Rat.
"Kage-Kubishibari no Jutsu!"
A hand-shaped shadow wraps itself around the target and settles around his neck like a snake ready to bite into his arteries. I hear a chirp to my left, see a flash of blue light as the ANBU rushes forward.
"Raikiri!"
There's a strangled scream as the jutsu pierces the second attacker's chest. The shock makes his body convulse and the force of it cracks his mask. It breaks and falls off as the ANBU pulls her arm back, revealing the face of a man I don't know.
I hear rapid footsteps coming from the left and turn to see the first attacker back on his feet, running towards me. The ANBU turns around, throwing a handful of kunai to delay him. I manage to pull out a kunai from my pouch, at long last, bracing myself for the impact. The ANBU tackles him before he has a chance to get near me, directing her knee into his abdomen. She must have put chakra into it, because he's thrown back through the air before he lands on the ground. She walks to him as he's struggling to get up and her katana drops, piercing his neck. A gush of blood comes out, pulsing. She severed an artery.
It's over.
I lean against the railing, feeling limp. What the hell just happened? My eyes find the horrified expression of the stranger pierced by the Raikiri and I fight a wave of nausea. One thing is clear: they were after me. But why?
"Nara-san," I say. It's safe to assume now that she is, indeed a Nara, if only by the techniques she used. The ANBU wipes the blood off her katana with the attacker's cloak, sheathes it and looks up. "Who are these men?"
"Members of the ANBU Root, acting under Danzo's orders," she says, walking up to me.
It makes no difference Danzo is not in Konoha, I gather. He can pursue his interests from afar, through his minions.
"Why were they after me?"
"My guess is Danzo wanted to strike at Itachi through you – the price of his breaking the silence over the Uchiha massacre," she says. "Itachi thought this might happen, so he asked me to keep an eye on you."
It's not a lucky coincidence that she was here, then. I smile at the thought that Itachi worked to find a way to keep me safe even in his absence. My joy is brief, though, overshadowed by a sensible deduction: if the Root struck once, they will strike again.
"Tsunade-shishou should be informed about this," I say. "She'll take measures."
The ANBU shakes her head. "Officially, the Root organization was disbanded years ago by Sandaime-sama. They have been operating in the shadows since then. There is no data whatsoever on the Root."
"So they can't be stopped? Not even if Danzo is killed?"
"We have no information regarding Danzo's whereabouts."
We're fighting shadows. The futility of it strikes a nerve. "There has to be something we could do." I catch glimpse of her gray eyes through the slits in her mask. For the first time, I realize the mask depicts a weasel.
"For now, we wait," she says.
Sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a great weekend :)