Chapter Three: Life as Root Operative (1)

Note: Just warning you guys ahead, but there's a quite important character death in this story – sorry! But just because someone is "dead" doesn't mean he stays dead. (Regarding what I mean, you will have to read my story XP .) And just to let you guys know, Orochimaru has already defected Konoha by this point, but I'm not going to spend my time writing about his defection. Kakashi and Tenzo will appear in this chapter! ~~

Warnings: AU. OOC.

Ever since Haruto had found his reason and conviction to being a shinobi, he had approached his daily trainings and missions with a new vigour. Haruto pushed himself harder and harder, faster and faster, and often didn't stop until he collapsed on the ground of one of the Root training rooms in exhaustion.

It's not enough, Haruto realises. He needs to work harder, do better, in order to fulfill his obligation, his duty.

Sending chakra to his legs again, Haruto jumps up and flips upside down, brandishing four kunais in both of his hands and throws them. Immediately, he takes out two more kunais in each of his hands, while still in the air and flings them. Flipping over to land in a crouch on the ground, Haruto automatically sends chakra through his legs to cushion his landing. Standing up, Haruto takes a look at the targets. The later thrown four kunais both re-directed one kunai each, and all twelve kunai thrown have hit the centre. Readjusting his footing, Haruto prepares himself to repeat what he just did, when he hears a voice to his left.

"You are quite skilled for someone your age." A boy who looked a couple of years older than Haruto and had distinctively similar looks to the Jonin Commander – Nara Shikaku, says. "Sorry for interrupting your training, I'm Hinou."

Haruto stares at the older boy awkwardly and replies, "Yuurei." He doesn't really know what to say, as Haruto had never interacted with anyone other than Yuuto and Toshio.

"Ah, so you're Yuurei. It's nice to meet you." Hinou smiles kindly at Haruto and for a moment, Haruto feels as if the one standing in front of him is Toshio. "My real name is Nara Shunsuke, so you can call me Shunsuke, if you want to."

Haruto stiffens and his breath catches in his throat. What Hinou, or Shunsuke, had just said was forbidden. Root members had no past; that was the rule. Stating their true name meant that they were admitting the fact that they had a past, and that could result to them being severely punished, or at worst case, killed.

"I apologize." Shunsuke's eyes soften as he looks at the younger silver-haired boy, who had lilac eyes and a feminine face. "You don't have to answer if you don't – "

"I don't mind," Haruto cuts in. "Giou Haruto, that's my real name."

"Haruto, that's a good name," Shunsuke comments. "You are exactly how Toshio described you to be."

Haruto's eyes widen in surprise and his heart races, "you know Toshio?"

"Yes, I was often paired up with Toshio during Root training sessions." Shunsuke answers gently, making Haruto avert his eyes; he had been the one to take away Toshio's life.

"You are interested in Ninshu?"

"Eh?" Haruto looks up, startled at Shunsuke's question.

"That book." Shunsuke points to the side of the training room, where Haruto had left the novel that he was in the middle of reading – Rikudou Sennin: Creator of Ninshu. "What do you think about it? I found it quite admirable of the Sage of Six Paths to spread ninshu around the world, which made people's lives much easier."

"Me too," Haruto's eyes light up and he nods agreeing with Shunsuke. "It's amazing how the world was peaceful and there were no wars, during the time of the Rikudou Sennin."

Haruto felt surprised; it was the first time that he had been able to talk and feel so relaxed with someone other than Yuuto and Toshio.

Ever since Haruto had met Shunsuke in early April, the two of them spent an immeasurable amount of time together, despite the age gap of five years between them; training, learning or teaching each other new tricks or skills they had learnt, talking about books they had recently read. Haruto loved this time the most. It was only when he was with Shunsuke, that Haruto could feel what it was like to have a friend again. Shunsuke, like Toshio, didn't mind that Haruto had two kekkei genkais and he was someone Haruto could confide in, someone he could trust.

Both Haruto and Shunsuke constantly pushed each other past their limits when they were training together to become stronger, as the two of them shared the same desires – to protect Konoha and the King, and their families. Shunsuke had told Haruto that he entered Root in order to protect his family, as Danzo had wanted his younger cousin – Nara Shikamaru, the son of the Jonin Commander, Nara Shikaku, in his Root ANBU. Shunsuke had volunteered himself in place of Shikamaru, because he didn't want Shikamaru's innocence to be destroyed by the darkness of ANBU.

It was exactly like how Haruto accepted Danzo's proposal to join Root, so that Yuuto would no longer have to live out on the streets of Kirigakure.

Alongside with Shunsuke, Haruto had also made another friend – Sarutobi Kaito.

Shunsuke had introduced Kaito to Haruto, and even though Kaito had a rough and rude attitude, he treated Haruto like his own younger brother. Haruto couldn't help but be reminded of his life with his aunt and Toshio. To the rest of Konoha, Kaito, who was also the son of the Sandaime Hokage, was someone who had been declared KIA. But in actuality, Kaito had been forcefully taken during one of his mission, and the cursed seal had been placed on him, causing Kaito unable to disobey Danzo's orders.

Though unlike Haruto, Kaito hated the Sandaime with a fury passion and felt no obligations to protect Konoha, as to Kaito, Konoha was a village that was rotten to the core and no one in the village cared about how children after children were disappearing.

Nevertheless, Kaito was a good friend, who didn't care that Haruto could use the hyoton and mokuton. Haruto knew that, so he had no complaints about Kaito.

XXXXXX

The months passed quickly after Haruto had met Shunsuke and Kaito, and soon it was early September.

Haruto and Yuuto had turned five and three years old, respectively, on August 14th. Though Haruto was out on a mission on the day of their birthday, he had made sure to give Yuuto a snowflake-shaped necklace, made out of his hyoton chakra. Since the necklace was made out of Haruto's chakra, it was unbreakable unless Haruto was dead and no longer in the world. Not to mention, the necklace also served as a 'marker' for Haruto to keep track of Yuuto's chakra with his ability as a natural chakra sensor.

Haruto's skill in the hyoton and the mokuton had drastically increased, even though Danzo had ordered him to keep his ability to use mokuton a secret in Root. Now that Toshio was dead, Yuuto, Shunsuke, and Kaito were probably the only ones other than Danzo and himself, who knew that Haruto could also use the mokuton in addition to the hyoton.

There was one person in Root, aside from Haruto, that could use the mokuton, and that was Kinoe – a survivor of one of Orochimaru's experiments. But unlike with Haruto, Kinoe and his ability were common knowledge in Root.

Haruto had risen through the ranks of Root extremely fast, and now, he was one of Root's top assassins. There was no other Root operative who could match Haruto's overwhelming speed and unreal stealth, or his uncanny ability to disappear and appear wherever he wanted. Yuurei, Haruto's codename in Root, meaning ghost, suited him perfectly well.

In one of the training rooms in the Root headquarters, Haruto forms a few one-handed seals with his left hand and watches as ice senbon form in the air. He stamps on the ground with his foot, causing the ice senbons to fly towards the targets engraved around the room. Haruto is about to form the seals of another hyoton jutsu, when he senses a presence behind him. Haruto stops and turns to see a Root operative with the usual blank mask covering their face.

"Operative Yuurei. Danzo-sama has requested your presence in his office." The Root operative says with a monotone, blank voice.

"Understood. I will go immediately." Haruto answers, and the Root member disappears in a blur of shunshin.

Haruto quickly forms the ram seal with his left hand and releases a burst of chakra, as the ice in the room melts into water, before evaporating into the air. He heads out of the door and makes his way towards Danzo's office. Haruto steps into Danzo's office after receiving permission to enter and kneels a few steps away, in front of Danzo with his head bowed down. "You called for me, Danzo-sama?"

"Operative Yuurei, it's been about half a year since you were inducted into my Root ANBU division. So far, your performance has been nothing but exceptional," Danzo remarks. As expected of someone he had his eye on; Giou Haruto was an outstanding member of Root. His expertise in wielding the hyoton was outstanding for someone his age, and his mastery of the mokuton had already long surpassed Kinoe's level. Well, Kinoe was an incomplete copy of the Shodai Hokage after all, while Haruto was a direct descendant, the son, in fact, of the Silver Death – Senju Yukine. Their skill difference and degree of usefulness was nothing surprising.

"Your next mission will be to tail two Root members – Kinoe and Kinoto, while they complete their mission," Danzo continues. "The two of them are due to report here for the mission any time now, watch from the shadows and follow them when they head out. Make sure you are not seen, understood?"

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Haruto answers, before merging and becoming one with the shadows of Danzo's office. He suppresses his chakra to the point that unless someone was as good as he was when it came to sensing chakra, which Haruto doubted as Danzo had said that his chakra sensing ability was on par with the Nidaime – Senju Tobirama, then they wouldn't be able to notice him at all.

Haruto watches as two Root operatives, with their ANBU masks covering their faces walk into the room and kneel in front of Danzo. Both look to be in their teens and Haruto guesses that they are Kinoe and Kinoto, with Kinoe being the one whose chakra reminded him of dirt and trees.

"From the very start, Sharingan is a disposable power. Even the ones from the Uchiha clan who possess the sharingan, lose their eyesight the more they use the sharingan, and is said to eventually become blind. Not to mention, there are rumours of being able to activate a power, a kinjutsu, only once the sharingan is lost." Danzo says, as he raises the bandage covering his right eye to reveal a sharingan, making Haruto start slightly in shock. "Go obtain a replacement for this eye of mine."

"If we are to attack a member of the Uchiha, thorough preparation is most likely needed though." Kinoto brings an important point to attention.

"There is someone that is not an Uchiha, who has no parents or teachers and has killed his own comrade, that possesses a sharingan."

Kinoe raises his face, "Hatake…Kakashi."

"There will be no complications afterwards," Danzo agrees with his raspy voice.

Kinoe and Kinoto shunshin out of Danzo's room with a burst of chakra, and Haruto follows suit. From above on a tree branch, Haruto looks on as Kinoe and Kinoto hide in the bushes, while watching Hatake Kakashi stand in front of a grave. The grave of the comrade he killed, Haruto thinks. The image of Toshio's bloody body and smiling face flashes through Haruto's mind, and he wonders what kind of situation led Kakashi to killing his own comrade.

XXXXXX

Kakashi races through the forest, heading to one of Orochimaru's abandoned hideout with Kinoe, Kinoto, and Haruto at his heels. They stop in a clearing, at what appears to be the entrance to the hideout.

Underground, huh, Haruto muses. He forms a shadow clone and commands it to wait outside and observe Kinoto, while Haruto, himself, enters the base behind Kakashi and Kinoe.

As Haruto trails Kakashi and Kinoe from a far distance, ensuring that his presence is not detected, he thinks about Danzo's sharingan. Haruto had suspected that Danzo had a sharingan in his right eye from before, since the chakra signature in that eye was extremely similar to that of an Uchiha's. But Haruto didn't want to believe it, as it meant that Danzo had stolen it from an Uchiha, someone from the same clan as Toshio. Why would Danzo-sama go that far? Haruto questions in his mind.

Haruto shakes away his thoughts as he sees Kinoe slash at Kakashi with a kunai in his hand. The mission, focus on the mission, Haruto thinks, and he focuses his attention on Kinoe and Kakashi.

Kakashi leaps away, barely dodging Kinoe's strike, and blocks the kunai thrown at him with the katana originally strapped on his back. They clash at each other, their katanas drawn out, only for Kinoe to knock Kakashi's katana out of his hands. Kakashi jumps back to avoid a diagonal slash that Kinoe makes with his katana, only for a pillar of wood to break out of the ground and hit Kakashi square in the chest. Being thrown into the wall, Kakashi pushes up his forehead protector to reveal his sharingan, ready to use its power, but Kinoe covers his eyes with his arm while taking a few steps back before jumping away. Kakashi, too, channels chakra to his legs and jumps away, hiding behind a pillar.

As expected of the Copy-Ninja, Hatake Hakashi, Haruto comments silently. It was clear to Haruto that Kakashi was holding back, yet he was able to fight Kinoe to a standstill while avoiding taking any true damage.

"Stop it, Kinoe!" Kakashi says, while blocking Kinoe's strikes with a kunai. "Abandon this mission!"

"For a shinobi, the mission is absolute!" Kinoe replies, continuing to slash at Kakashi with his katana. Kinoe stretches out his left hand and a small square pillar of wood grows out and makes contact with Kakashi, who simultaneously throws a kunai that impales itself into Kinoe's left leg while being pushed back by Kinoe's jutsu.

"The mission is not absolute." Kakashi doesn't give up, as he tries to convince Kinoe. "If killing a comrade is the mission, then that mission is wrong! The one who ordered you to do so is wrong!"

The sounds of bird chirping along with blue lightning sparks forming around Kakashi's right hand, fills the room. Chidori – Hatake Kakashi's unique jutsu, Haruto recognizes. Kinoe lies on the ground, with Kakashi on top of him, hand raised, ready to deliver a final blow. Haruto's breathe hitches slightly as he hears what Kakashi says.

"I wasn't able to protect my comrade, that's why they died!"

For a second, Haruto couldn't help but remember the day of his Root graduation exam. Toshio...I, also, wasn't strong enough to protect you…

Haruto observes from the shadows with conflicted feelings, as Kinoe leaves a message for Kakashi and then makes an eye that looked like a sharingan made out of his mokuton. He dispels his shadow clone and follows Kinoe and Kinoto as they dash back to Konoha at a fast pace and head to the Root headquarters to report to Danzo.

"This…" Danzo stares at the fake sharingan that Kinoe handed to him. "What is the meaning of this, Kinoe!?"

"I am very sorry," Kinoe replies. "The mission was a failure."

"If you were taken down by Kakashi, then it's my responsibility, my failure, for miscalculating Kakashi's strength and assigning you the mission. But you returned after abandoning the mission, with a stupid trick like this." Danzo admonishes as he raises the fake sharingan. "The two of you should have just teamed together and get rid of Kakashi!" Danzo's voice becomes even angrier, as he smashes the fake sharingan on the ground, making Kinoto flinch in fear. But Kinoe doesn't flinch, already expecting Danzo to explode in anger.

"Answer me. What is your reason behind this!?" Danzo demands at Kinoe.

"Kakashi-san is a shinobi of Konoha, a comrade of Konoha." Kinoe tries to explain. "Is it really okay to kill such a comrade?"

"The only people that you can call as comrades are the members of Root."

"Is Root not a part of Konoha!?"

"Root is an organization that supports the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth, without being seen. Like how the tree and the earth are separate from each other, Root is an individual existence. Danzo proclaims. "Kinoto, what is a shinobi of Root?"

"A shinobi of Root has no name, no feelings, no past, and no future. There is only the mission." Kinoto answers stoically.

"As one who commands Root, my orders are absolute!" Danzo declares angrily. "Are you listening, Kinoe!?"

"No!" Kinoe stands up furiously. "My name is not Kinoe! I am a shinobi of Konoha. Everyone is my comrade!"

Haruto looks on shocked, along with Kinoto, as Kinoe continues to refute Danzo. Both Haruto and Kinoto are stunned and slightly amazed at what Kinoe had said, but Danzo feels not a single ounce of similar feelings; rather, he is appalled by the thoughts Kinoe expressed.

Filled with rage, Danzo lifts up the bandage over his right eye, and knocks Kinoe unconscious with his sharingan. If Kinoe refused to follow his orders, then Danzo would simply have him eliminated. Even without Kinoe, he still had Haruto, who was much more exceptional. "Dispose of Kinoe immedi – "

"Danzo-sama, please wait!" Haruto cries, body-flickering in front of Danzo in a kneeling position. A million thoughts race through Haruto's mind, as he frantically scrambles for a reason that will persuade Danzo not to kill Kinoe. "Kinoe is a user of the mokuton, which is a very important ability to Konoha. Furthermore, if Kinoe is disposed of now, Hatake Kakashi and the Hokage would want answers. Is it really wise to get rid of someone like that, so easily?"

"Very well." Danzo calms himself and takes a step down, acknowledging the fact that Yuurei made a good point. "Take him to the treatment room; we'll bind him with a stronger cursed seal."

Kinoto hurries to obey Danzo's orders, while Haruto remains kneeling on the floor with his head bowed. "I apologize for my actions," Haruto apologizes, lowering his head even further down.

Danzo is about to say something, when a Root operative shunshins inside, telling him that the preparations for the cursed sealing is complete. He snaps his gaze away from Haruto and walks out, motioning for Haruto to follow him while remaining unseen. As Haruto accompanies Danzo to the treatment room, he can't help but hope that Kinoe would be okay. Haruto feels a surge of relief when he sees Kakashi and Kinoe come running out of the treatment room, and he watches silently as Danzo and a number of Root operatives surround the two, debating whether he should interfere or not. If it was Haruto, then he could knock out Kakashi and Kinoe without causing anyone else to get hurt.

Before the situation could get worse, the Sandaime Hokage drops down from somewhere above, and lands in between Danzo, Kakashi, and Kinoe. Haruto listens as the Hokage manages to convince Danzo to give Kinoe to him, and Haruto can't help but wonder whether the Sandaime was aware of what kind of treacherous deeds Danzo had done so far, and would continue to do.

Kinoe takes a few steps forward and bows, "thank you for everything."