XXI: On to the Next
Itachi made one last check of his supplies as he walked down the hallway away from his bedroom. He finished just as he reached the door to his parent's.
"Mother, are you ready?" he asked, knocking on the cracked open door.
"I'll be just a second," Mikoto replied. "Just...this is the first time I've gone on a mission in almost 15 years. Give me a moment to collect myself."
"Understood," Itachi replied. "I'll be waiting for you at the entrance to the compound," he added before walking away.
He made his way out of the house, and it wasn't until he got outside that it occurred to him how novel going on a mission with his mother was. He had worked with Shisui and his father before, so it wasn't abnormal for him to go on missions with family, but his mother had retired shortly after Itachi was born. It was only now that she mentioned it that this was occurring to him.
Maybe it was just a lack of empathy on his part that was undermining him again. He always did have a tendency to not understand others, not that he had ever given much effort on that front. But Itachi knew that had to change, his position in the clan and in the village was starting to demand it. He couldn't help but think of Danzo, whose best intentions were lost in his inability to understand the emotions and motivations of others.
Not that Itachi believed that he could end up like Danzo, but he knew he had to be better than that, for the sake of the village and for the sake of his clan.
Maybe he had just started to take the first steps towards that end.
Itachi came to a stop at the main entrance to the Uchiha Compound and began waiting. For his mother to join him, in part, but there was more than that for him to be patient for.
As the Uchiha Clan Head stood there at the entrance to the family compound, a figure approached. She was hobbling along on a prosthetic leg, a crutch tucked under her arm to help her along as she relearned how to walk.
"Lord Itachi?" Jun Uchiha asked, seeing the leader of her clan standing at the entrance to the Uchiha compound. "I'm sorry, are you waiting for someone?"
"For you, in part," Itachi answered.
"For me?" Jun asked. "Oh, please, my Lord, there's no need for you to do that for me."
"I'm here to tell you to wait, to be more precise," Itachi replied. "There's someone else who should be joining us soon."
Jun fixed Itachi with a questioning look. "Who?"
As if in answer, a loud yawn heralded the next arrival. Shikaku Nara turned the corner onto the street leading to the Uchiha Compound, holding his hand to his mouth as he fought against the yawn.
"Oh, man, bringing me all the way out here so early in the morning is a real drag," the Jonin Commander said to Itachi as he neared. "But I have a job to do, so it can't be helped."
"Lord Shikaku!" Jun exclaimed, nearly falling over as she turned to face the Jonin Commander.
"Calm down," Shikaku responded. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a lord?"
"Sorry...Sir," Jun replied. "But...why are you here?"
Shikaku glanced at Itachi. "You didn't tell her?"
"I thought it would be best if she heard straight from the source," Itachi explained.
"Heard what?" Jun asked, looking back and forth between the Jonin Commander and the Head of her clan.
Well, then," Shikaku said before turning to the young woman. "Jun, as I understand it, your injuries mean that your career as a kunoichi is over."
"Yes, Sir, that's true," Jun confirmed, her gaze falling to the ground.
"Your career on the front lines, anyway," Shikaku added.
Jun looked up at the Jonin commander. "What do you mean?"
"Running a ninja village takes more than fighting, there's a lot of work to be done behind the scenes, most of which I have to deal with as Jonin Commander," Shikaku explained. "While it's not as glamorous as fighting, it is just as important, and I need a number of aides to help me."
Jun looked down at the ground, her face belonging to someone whose confidence had been broken. "I'm sure there are other people who are better suited than me."
"You have a unique skill that makes you especially valuable," Shikaku responded, pointing at his eye. "Everyone thinks of the Uchiha and the Hyuga in terms of their prowess on the battlefield, but I've always considered the most valuable asset of the Sharingan and the Byakugan to be information gathering, which is useful in any context. To be honest, I've been trying to get someone with those abilities in my office, but previous Uchiha leadership always insisted on keeping clan members within the Military Police, while the Hyuga have been too proud to allow one of their own to fill such a role. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when Itachi recommended you."
Jun turned her attention to the Uchiha Clan Head. "You did, my Lord?"
"Yes," Itachi answered with a short nod. "I thought that you could do well as as aide to the Jonin Commander." He didn't mention that he hoped that this would help to heal her mind and spirit, better to let her discover that for herself.
Jun closed her eyes, fighting back tears. "Thank you, Sir. I accept."
"Great," Shikaku replied, patting Jun on the shoulder before stepping past her. "Come now, let's get you started."
"Wait, now?" Jun asked even as the Jonin Commander walked away from her. "I'd very much like to go home first, Sir, I haven't been there in days."
"There's much to do, starting with the paperwork for your transfer," Shikaku said. "You're going to have to get used to paperwork, by the way. It's a drag, but it's necessary to keep the village running smoothly."
"Um...yes, Sir," Jun responded, hurrying after the Jonin Commander.
Itachi was distracted from watching the scene further by the sound of his mother's footsteps behind him.
"What was Shikaku Nara doing here?" she asked her son once he turned to her.
"We were just arranging for Jun to transfer to his office," Itachi answered.
"Transferring Jun to the Jonin Commander's office, huh?" Mikoto commented. "I guess we'll see how that turns out."
Itachi watched Shikaku and his new aide slowly moving away from them. "Are you ready to go?" he then asked his mother, turning to her.
"Yes, I am," Mikoto answered. "Come, let's not be late."
Sasuke walked through the entrance to the Academy, replaying his trip to Ichiraku with his mother and Naruto in his mind. The blonde looked happier and more worry free than Sasuke had seen him since the kidnapping, even as he was sitting in the very spot where it had taken place.
The young Uchiha had brooded over that scene all the way home and even as he went to sleep. The imagery was still with him as he walked into school. But the thoughts of Naruto that went through his mind distracted Sasuke from the real boy creeping up behind him.
"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, putting his arm around the young Uchiha and letting his weight rest on Sasuke shoulders. "Man, your mom is awesome! And I'm so glad Ichiraku is open again!"
"Glad to hear it," Sasuke replied. "What are you planning to do with Sai?"
Naruto pulled away from his friend. "I thought you didn't want anything to with that."
"Let's just say I've changed my mind," Sasuke said. "Let's do it like we did before."
"OK, but..." Naruto began before hesitating.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
"That Sai, he's so...there's something off about him," Naruto said. "It's like he doesn't have feelings, he doesn't react to things like normal kids would."
"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty obvious," Sasuke commented.
"No need to make fun of me," Naruto responded.
"Wha..." Sasuke began, surprised. "That's...that's not what I meant."
"Ach, whatever, doesn't matter," Naruto said. "Anyway, it makes it really hard to figure out a way to prank him. The point is to get a rise out of him, but what if he never rises?"
Sasuke paused for a moment, considering this conundrum. "Well, there has to be something that would get under his skin. We just need to figure out what."
"How would we do that, genius?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke shrugged in response. "I don't know, you're the prankster here."
Naruto smiled. "Alright, if I'm the expert, then give me a day. I'll have something to work with by tomorrow."
Sitting in the middle of base camp, Itachi watched the other members of his team. He found himself pondering the issue of leadership as he did.
On the face of it Jiraiya should have been the leader of the group, as he was both the oldest and most accomplished shinobi in their group. Yet it was clear just from watching how he carried himself that the Toad Sage was uninterested in such a role, preferring to keep to himself and handle his own matters. He wouldn't step up to lead if he could help it.
The next most obvious choice was Mikoto Uchiha, based both on her experience and on the fact that as the head of the Military Police she had the highest formal rank in the village hierarchy. Yet she had only just come out of retirement after more than a decade out of action, so it would have been unfair for her to have taken on that extra responsibility of leadership.
Shisui would also be a fine choice on paper as an experienced jonin, yet Itachi knew his friend and clansman well. Shisui was not one to take up the mantle of leadership of his own accord, only agreeing to it reluctantly when no other option was available. His deferring to Itachi on defusing the clan's coup plans was such an example.
Itachi allowed himself to consider stepping up to the mantle of leadership for a moment, yet the young Clan Head found himself thinking back to his final exchange with Danzo. There was much that Itachi disagreed with the now deceased Root leader on, and even more that he wanted to deny. But thinking back on Danzo's assertion that Itachi lacked the natural charisma and magnetism to be a great leader, the young Uchiha could not help but agree with the old war hawk.
That left one last candidate to consider.
Kakashi was doing something Itachi had seen his old ANBU captain do many a time before, studying a map, in this case a copy of the one that Shisui and Jiraiya made while everyone else was dealing with Danzo. The one marked with probable locations of the Fourth Hokage's secret safe houses.
"Are you getting any ideas?" Shisui asked, approaching the Copy-Cat Ninja.
"I am," Kakashi answered, holding up the map for Shisui to see. Itachi could see it himself from his position, noticing that Kakashi had outlined a number of routes on it.
"I believe that these will allow us to investigate every location in the most efficient manner," Kakashi explained. "Assuming we work in pairs and I summon my hounds."
Shisui studied the map, nodding as he read. "That seems reasonable," he said. "Master Jiraiya, are you fine with this?" he added, turning to the legendary shinobi.
Jiraiya glanced over his shoulder at the pair of Sharingan wielders. "Yep," he said with a thumbs up before returning to his prior task.
Kakashi gave a short nod of recognition before summoning his ninja hounds. The pack appeared out of a cloud of smoke, Pakkun sitting atop the head of Bull the giant bulldog.
"Before we go any further, may I ask that you and I work together, Kakashi?" Shisui asked.
"May I ask why?" the Copy Ninja returned.
"I think this would be an opportunity for me to start learning the Chidori as we travel," Shisui answered.
Kakashi nodded in response. "I think that would be a good use of time. I was intending that I work with Pakkun, seeing that we have an odd number of people, but I suppose he can work with someone else."
"Just so long as it's not that rude Uchiha," Pakkun commented, staring at Shisui.
"Ah, come on!" the Uchiha exclaimed. "You're going to hold me trying to shoo you away over my head every time we meet, aren't you?"
Pakkun gave the closest thing a dog can give to a smirk.
"It's alright, Kakashi," Itachi called out, raising his hand. "I've worked with Pakkun before, so I'll partner with him."
Standing off to the side as this exchange went on, Jiraiya watched. His gaze flitted from Shisui and Kakashi to the group's third Sharingan wielder, standing apart. Then he began walking towards the Uchiha Clan Head.
"Itachi, can we talk?" he asked with an unassuming smile.
"Um, sure," Itachi replied. To the young Uchiha's surprise, the Toad Sage grabbed him by the shoulder and walked him away from the rest of the group.
"So, do you have any interest in the Chidori?" Jiraiya asked before Itachi could make any inquiry himself.
"Um, what?" the young Clan Head questioned.
"I heard Shisui and Kakashi talking about it," Jiraiya explained. "I know the basics of the technique from conversations I had with Minato, and I know how it combines with the Sharingan. So it seems to me that it would be natural for you to learn it as well."
Itachi was surprised at the Toad Sage's perceptiveness and ability to connect the dots, but he didn't let it throw him off for more than a moment. "To be frank, I have no interest something like the Chidori," Itachi said. "It is a technique for killing at melee range, and I find myself wanting to go in another direction."
"And what direction is that?" Jiraiya asked.
"I wish to develop my fighting style to be more long ranged," Itachi explained. "Using genjutsu and other techniques to defeat opponents without killing them."
"Hm, that does change my plans a fair bit," Jiraiya commented. "I've got no skill at genjutsu and i'm a bit of close range bruiser myself."
Itachi's eyes narrowed as he studied the legendary shinobi. "Are you saying that you were looking to teach me?"
"Nothing that formal, more like show a few tricks," Jiraiya responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Sarutobi-sensei has high hopes for you, and I was thinking that I might be able to help you along."
"Well then, you have my gratitude," Itachi said.
Jiraiya held up his hand. "Hold on, the only reason I'm considering this is the Sharingan. If you can use it to copy jutsu it can considerably speed up the process. Otherwise I'm not looking to make that kind of commitment."
"I can do that," Itachi said. "The only limitations are that I must be physically capable of performing the technique, so no Kekkai Genkai or body modification I do not possess, and the technique must involve some physical motion that I can see. If it relies too much on pure chakra control then my Sharingan can't copy it."
"Makes sense," Jiraiya commented. "I believe that I have a jutsu I can teach that fits into the fighting style you want to develop for yourself. How about it?"
"I would be honored," Itachi answered.
"We'll see if that lasts," Jiraiya responded before turning towards the rest of the group. "Itachi and I will be working together," he said to Kakashi.
The ANBU captain nodded before turning to Mikoto. "Are you alright working with Pakkun?"
The Uchiha matriarch exchanged looks with the ninja hound before shrugging her shoulders. "I don't see a problem with it."
"Alright then," Kakashi said, pulling his map out. "If everyone can gather around we can discuss our routes."
With that the team began to plan their mission, knowing full well its potential importance.
