Chapter Six: Life as Root Operative (4)

Note: A bit of a time skip, since nothing really major happens after the hyuuga affair to the time Naruto and the others enter the academy. We are getting really close to when Root will be revealed to the masses XP.

I hope you guys had a good New Year! This is my second chapter I posted this time! But this is only because I'll be taking a bit of a break from writing - sorry, sort of buried under preparation for finals, reports, and presentations I have to do... :(

Please give me some reviews! The more reviews or follows I get, the more likely I will try to get back to writing earlier XP!.

Warnings: AU. Slight OOC. Some parts from Itachi-shinden.

Hiruzen felt his old age once again as he listened to Fugaku speak up about the low number of Uchihas in the shinobi force, and his complaint about how his son was still not recommended for the Chunin Selection Exams, despite Itachi's prowess and ability that far surpassed that of a genin's.

He had been feeling old every day since he had been forced out of his retirement, and dealing with the Uchiha and trying to lessen the hostility between them and the village, only made him feel even more old and weary. Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose and puffed out on his pipe. He really was getting way too old for this shit. Not only did he have to look after Uzumaki Naruto, who had been moved out of the orphanage a year ago, and make sure no civilians or shinobi got their hands on him. Hiruzen also had to deal with Danzo, who had yet to give up on turning Naruto into a weapon for the village, and was still expressing his distrust towards the Uchiha.

While it was true Hiruzen had once wanted the Hokage position, that was almost forty years ago, and now, he just wanted to spend the remainder of his life peacefully with what little family he had. But there was no suitable person in Konoha who could take over the Hat, and so Hiruzen was stuck with dealing with endless conflict and politics for the majority of his time, unable to relax with his family. Due to that, it was no surprise that the only son Hiruzen had left – Sarutobi Asuma, had grew dissatisfied and frustrated, and left Konoha to become one of the guards for the Daimyo.

One of the possible candidates Hiruzen had wanted to pass the hat onto, was boozing and gambling her way through the Elemental Nations, swearing to not ever return to Konoha. Another was too busy perverting on women in hot springs and chasing after leads that would lead him to one of Hiruzen's former prized student – Orochimaru, and the third candidate was far too young and currently doing his best to drown himself in depression, sinking further and further into the harsh depths of ANBU. There was one person who desperately wanted the Hat since many years ago, but he was in no way, suitable for the job. The only way for that man to become Hokage, was if he stepped over Hiruzen's lifeless corpse.

The admired position of Hokage, that had once been a symbol of pride and happiness for Hiruzen, was now nothing but a shackle chaining Hiruzen down and reminding him of the multiple mistakes he had done so far, in the past.

Hiruzen knew that Fugaku was dissatisfied and angry about how the Uchiha were suspected and isolated since the Kyuubi Attack, but there really was nothing Hiruzen could do, even if he was the Hokage. If it was that easy to convince and control the opinions of the people of Konoha, then Naruto's situation would never have gotten this messed up.

Despite Hiruzen's and the Yondaime's wishes for Naruto to be seen as a hero, hardly anyone in the Konoha viewed him as so, and so poor Naruto was left being raised in an orphanage, not a clue about why he was hated by the majority of the village. Hiruzen's move to make Naruto's status as a jinchuuruki an S-rank secret, punishable by death, had not improved Naruto's treatment at all. Rather, it had made Naruto even more isolated from the village.

The village looked at the Uchiha with suspicion because the Sharingan had the power to control the Kyuubi, and a prideful clan like the Uchiha saw this as an unfair treatment, and so they responded with anger and frustration, which made the village even more suspicious of the Uchiha, which resulted in the Uchiha being even more dissatisfied, and so the cycle went on, never ending.

Maybe allowing Itachi to participate in the Chunin Exams next year in March, would help improve the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha? Hiruzen thought.

Normally, it was required to be a team of three genins, in order to enter the exams, but making an exception in this case, should be fine. Hiruzen decided to ask for Danzo's opinion, later on.

XXXXXX

It had been about three years since Yuuto and his older brother, Haruto, had started to live in the Root Headquarters. Many seasons had passed, and it was now November, and the weather was starting to become much chillier. Yuuto had turned five years old three months ago, while his nii-san had turned seven.

About a year ago, when Yuuto had turned four years old, Danzo-sama had deemed him ready to start his Root training. Yuuto knew that Haruto was not very happy when it was time for him to start his ninja training, but Yuuto was glad that he did. Yuuto wanted to hurry up and become a shinobi, so that he could help lessen the burden of his older brother. Haruto had once told Yuuto that his reason for being a shinobi was to protect Konoha and the King, and Yuuto felt he could understand. He also wanted to help protect Konoha, because Yuuto, just like his older brother, had fallen in love with this village. Konoha was so different from Kirigakure, where Yuuto's hyoton had been feared and hated. But in Root, almost everyone had a special ability, and no one had ever tried to kill Yuuto simply because he had a kekkei genkai.

Though the Root training was harsh, Yuuto had made close friends with the other Root trainees. His closest friends were Sai, Shin, Torune, and Fuu. Sai was the same age as Yuuto, while Shin, Torune, and Fuu were all three years older than him. While Sai and Shin were orphans and part of Root since they could remember, both Torune and Fuu had offered themselves to Danzo, so that Danzo would not take their younger cousins into Root.

All five of them, Yuuto included, adored and admired Haruto. Haruto's name and fame had spread throughout Root, that there was probably not a single Root trainee or member that didn't know his name. The Root trainees all respected and acknowledged Haruto, because Haruto was their goal, and who they wanted to be. Many of them like Torune and Fuu, had joined Root in order to protect some precious to them. Protecting that one person from Danzo took all their ability, and they didn't have the leeway to care about other people. But Haruto was different; Haruto was able to protect not only his precious people, but also the whole of Uchiha clan. That was the kind of shinobi all the Root trainees strived for, and wanted to become.

Ever since Yuuto had started his ninja training, he didn't have much time to see his older brother at all, and Yuuto really missed him. To be honest, Yuuto didn't even remember the last time he was able to see Haruto, because it was too long time ago. But for now, as long as Yuuto knew his older brother was alive, then he was fine with that.

At first, Yuuto had been a bit depressed because he wasn't as smart or as talented as nii-san, but he had quickly gotten over it. Nii-san was the best brother, and Yuuto was forever glad that his nii-san was so kind and caring; he would never trade nii-san for anyone else. Yuuto had long noticed that his older brother didn't actually like being a shinobi, despite how good of one he was, and so Yuuto was fine with just training hard and slowly making his way towards his goal.

It had been quite clear since the beginning, that Yuuto did not possess the same overwhelming and phenomenal talent in the shinobi arts as his older brother. But nevertheless, Yuuto's skill in the shinobi arts was still much greater compared to other children, so Danzo was not dissatisfied. Rather, Yuuto was actually even better in some areas compared to Haruto. For example, Yuuto's ability to twist his words and his competence at reading other people, gave him the edge when it came to areas like infiltration and interrogation. In fact, Yuuto would probably be ready to be inducted into Root in two, or at most, three years later, from now.

Almost two years ago, Danzo had assigned the long term mission of observing the Uchiha to Haruto, also known as Operative Yuurei, and he was not disappointed. Operative Yuurei had done his work perfectly well, and there were absolutely no signs that he had any form of attachment towards the Uchiha. It was for that reason Danzo had placed his trust fully in Yuurei, and gave him the position as his own right-hand man. Other than Danzo, himself, there was probably no other person who knew as much about Root as Operative Yuurei.

Danzo tapped a finger on his cane, as he thought about Hiruzen's offer to have Uchiha Itachi participate in the Chunin Exams this coming spring. Itachi was someone that Danzo wanted under his control; Itachi could be the trump card to sever the link between Konoha and Uchiha that had continued since the establishment of the village.

But on the other hand, there was another way for Danzo to use Itachi. If Uchiha Itachi, the renowned prodigy of the Uchiha Clan, was to die in the Chunin Exams, then it would cast a suspicious light on the Uchihas, as one who pressured the Hokage and the village administration to allow their heir to take the exams alone, despite not being ready. The capability of Hiruzen as Hokage, would then be questioned by the people of Konoha, for being the one who gave in to the Uchiha's requests and permitted a genin who wasn't even ready, to participate in the Chunin Exams.

The latter was the better option, Danzo decided, smirking darkly.

The relation between Konoha and Uchiha would weaken further more with the death of Itachi, and even without Itachi, Danzo had many pieces on hand that he could use to get rid of the Uchiha. Like Uchiha Shisui, he was a very skilled shinobi that if Danzo played his hands correctly, could be the one to take Itachi's role.

And Danzo knew the perfect person to assign this job to; his smirk growing even wider.

Danzo summoned one of his Root operatives, who shunshined into his office and kneeled in front of him.

"Danzo-sama."

"Operative Tsuchinoto, bring Operative Yuurei here."

"Right away, Danzo-sama." Tsuchinoto bowed, before disappearing in a shunshin. He reappeared a few minutes later, with Operative Yuurei beside him, and bowed once more to Danzo, before leaving the room.

"Danzo-sama." Haruto greeted, while lowering himself into a bow.

"Operative Yuurei. There is a mission I want you to do." Danzo started explaining. "In a few months, the Chunin Selection Exams will be held in Konoha and Uchiha Itachi will be participating by himself. Your mission is to eliminate Uchiha Itachi, while making it look like the work of Kumogakure. Failure is not allowed, understood?"

A cold chill washed over Haruto's body, and he froze, unable to respond for a moment. Kill an Uchiha!? Haruto quickly bowed in acknowledgement, wishing that Danzo didn't notice his reluctance.

"Hai, Danzo-sama."

XXXXXX

Haruto jumped his way across the tree branches, as he followed Uchiha Itachi behind secretly to the Naka River. Over the past two years since Haruto had been observing the Uchiha clan, he had long noticed that it was common for Itachi to meet up and talk or train with Uchiha Shisui, up on the cliff that overlooked Naka River. While Haruto, himself, agreed that it was peaceful and quite calming to watch the river flow, along with the rustling of the trees when the wind blowed, he liked the view from the top of the Hokage Mountain, where the faces of the Hokages were carved, more.

Perched on one of the top branches, Haruto observed Itachi spar with Shisui, deep in thought about the latest mission he had been assigned on.

"Hah!" Expelling a breath full of ambition, Shisui looked at Itachi and smiled. "Yeah, training with you forces me to really put my back into it."

Itachi looked at his cheerful friend and felt refreshed in both mind and body, as he stood there drenched in sweat.

They had been sparring seriously for three hours or so, as a way for Itachi to vent his anger with his life as a genin. They had already gone fifteen rounds, with breaks of about three minutes after each one, resulting in six wins for Itachi and nine for Shisui.

The only rule was no sharingan; everything else was fair game. Sharingan was off limits because the visual technique used up a large amount of chakra, and they wanted to spar for as long as possible.

Both Itachi and Shisui very skilled, Haruto thought, as he watched the two continue to spar, in front of him. Both looked to be having fun, and it was a big difference to the atmosphere of the Uchiha Clan. Ever since Haruto had been given the mission to spy on the Uchiha roughly two years ago, he had become aware of just how strained the relationship between the village and the Uchiha was. The Uchiha were extremely dissatisfied and frustrated with how they were treated, that many had decided violence was the only solution; there were even some people in the clan who were in favour of launching a coup d'etat.

The words that Kaito had said to him a few years ago, kept on appearing in Haruto's mind. If you had to choose between the village and the Uchiha, which would you choose. Haruto felt very conflicted, and he couldn't understand why the Uchiha couldn't work toward a peaceful solution with the village.

If it were you, Toshio, what would you do? Would you choose your clan, or Konoha? Haruto questioned, as he eyes looked at the two people spar with vigour.

The shuriken they flung at each other clashed in the air, and flew off in some unexpected direction. Neither Itachi nor Shisui watched to see where they went; they were already leaping at each other, and closing the distance between themselves.

"Yah!"

"Hah!"

Their fighting cries blended together.

Their bodies collided in mid-air, tangled together, and crashed to the ground. Shisui got to his feet and into position first, launching a kick at Itachi, who was propped up on one knee. Itachi immediately thrust his right arm out to block it. His field of view shaking with the impact of the kick, he saw his friend quickly weaving signs.

"Katon: Goukayuu no Jutsu!" Shisui shouted, and an enormous ball of flames shot out of his mouth.

Itachi stared at the flames streaking toward him, a smile pulling up his lips at the corners. Just like Shisui…Itachi was thrilled. He gloated to himself that even among the people of their clan, only his father and Shisui could release a fireball this massive.

"No way!" Shisui cried out at the unexpected result.

The giant ball of flames ripped Itachi into countless pieces, which transformed into a myriad of crows that attacked all at once.

Kawarimi no Jutsu.

The real Itachi was running around behind Shisui. Before Shisui could sense his chakra and whirl around, the smaller boy had a kunai at his throat.

"So you win, huh," Shisui said, regretfully.

In the end, they sparred thirty-five times. The result was eleven wins for Itachi, and twenty-four for Shisui.

"You're beyond genin level already." Shisui took a swig of water from his canteen. "Your chunin exam being put off again this year?"

"Yeah," Itachi replied, before tilting his own canteen back to pour cool water into his mouth.

"You said your supervisor jonin was Minazuki Yuki or something, right?"

Itachi nodded silently.

"Is he maybe jealous of you? Maybe he doesn't like geniuses, so he's putting off recommending you for the chunin exams?"

"There's nothing I can do, even if that is what's going on with him."

There was no point in thinking about Yuki's thought process in not recommending Itachi. He wouldn't get to take the chunin exam again this year. That was a fact.

"But I mean, you're already so—"

"Let's just forget about it." If they talked about it anymore, all that would happen would be that his regret would just grow stronger.

"That reminds me, what happened to that girl Uchiha Izumi?" Shisui awkwardly changed the topic, and Itachi turned wide eyes on him. "It's usually hard to figure out what you're thinking, but I guess this at least, is pretty easy."

"What do you mean?"

"Go take a look in a mirror," Shisui said, a playful smile spreading across his face.

Itachi averted his eyes. "I don't have an opinion on her either way."

"And yet, the minute I said the name 'Izumi,' you looked like you had a pretty strong opinion."

Strong opinion ...

Did he? There was no doubt that Izumi was one of the few friends he had. But he also felt like that's all she was. But then, when pressed by Shisui like this, he felt like maybe she was different. Still, that said, whatever his feelings for her were, they didn't seem romantic.

In short, he didn't really know either.

"Anyway, how's your father?"

"Don't change the subject," Shisui said with a grin, before his bright expression clouded over the slightest bit. "Same as always." His father had lost a leg in the last Great War, and fallen ill because of that injury; he was currently bedridden. Shisui lived alone with his mother and father, and was the family breadwinner. "He's gotten a lot weaker lately. He's even stopped recognizing me."

"Really..."

"Well, everybody dies someday. I'm ready for it."

Faced with Shisui's sad resolve, Itachi looked like he didn't know how to respond. Haruto didn't know how he should feel either, by the fact that Toshio's father was going to die soon.

What should I do? Haruto glanced up at the sky, hoping it had an answer for him.

Haruto had noticed that Itachi wanted to enter the exams, but was it really okay for him to kill Itachi, simply because it was the order of Danzo? If Haruto didn't kill Itachi, then Danzo would assume him to be disloyal and have him killed. If that happened, he wouldn't be able to continue gathering evidence on Danzo, and then, Shunsuke, Kaito, Yuuto, along with all the others, would be forever be stuck in Root. It was true that if Itachi, who the Uchiha viewed as their pride, were to die, then many Uchiha would lose the will to protest and rebel against Konoha. Nevertheless, Itachi was a fellow comrade of Konoha, not to mention, part of the same family as Toshio.

Haruto didn't want to kill Itachi.

He was sick of the blood that continued to stain his hands; blood of his own comrades; blood of people that Haruto was supposed to fight alongside with and protect.

Please give me your thoughts and comments!