Part Three of The Past!

*Oh yeah, if anyone wants to see Uchiha Uzume's appearance when she was thirteen, see this story's avatar.*

Here you go!

13 years. Fucking 13 years old.

Uzume growled under her breathe, scaring out Sasuke who was near her vicinity.

Shisui is only 13! And the bastard thinks he could lay his dirty tainted hands on him?!

It was tempting for her to stroll in Danzō's underground base and blowing everything up. Unfortunately, that would destroy Konoha, which was above the base.

(She had figured that out after she had prepared the paper bombs.

Yeah, not her best moment there.)

Uzume had no choice but to wait for Danzō to make a move.

Oh, and she ought to buy a camera. For evidence.

Uzume never been so thankful of Kushina-sensei for giving her the slug's summoning contract. Katsuyu was useful for spying on the Konoha's council and the clan's council members.

She processed to 'ask' Katsuyu to stalk Danzō and photographed him when he was doing his shady jobs.

Life as an Uchiha and a shinobi was not that difficult with Katsuyu at her side.

The 木ノ葉刑務部隊 (Konoha Keimu Butai: Konoha Military Police Force) members showed that they were extremely unpleased of the Hokage when Kumogakure succeeded their goal of getting a Hyuuga.

To a bunch of prideful people, it's almost like the Sandaime blamed the Police Force for not being careful on their jobs during the fake Kumo peace delegation, forgetting that Kumo was also targeting the Uchiha for their eyes, but unsuccessful as the Uchiha district was the home of the Police Force, and Kumo was being a moron to even try.

They raged for what seemingly a countless time, feeling betrayed (again), they set up a meeting on under the 南賀ノ神社 (Naka no Jinja: Naka Shrine).

This was not the first time. They had been under put under heavy scrutiny by the village since the Kyuubi's Attack, and they had raged then.

Oh truly, it seemed like someone wanted the Uchiha to be the bad guys here.

"We are the founding clan of this village! We can't be backed down by it!"

"Konoha is not appreciating our services anymore, we cannot accept this."

"We have to make them see that we're one of them!"

The children of the clan were there, including a bewildered Itachi. They watched as the adults threw in their voices of disagreement of the village's treatment towards their clan.

In a muted horror, Uzume stifled her voice and tried to ignore the pain in Itachi's eyes as he watched the meeting.

It was the first meeting that Itachi had allowed to watch and the boy learned why Shisui and his sister was averse of attending them.

Uzume and Shisui quietly discussed their opinions on the matter between the clan and the village.

"What do you think about this?"

Shisui gave out a tired sigh, "They're too paranoid. Hokage-sama is not blaming us."

"And yet, Sandaime inaction allowed this to happen."

"You're not on their side... right?" Uzume shook her head. "So, why do you blame the Sandaime?"

"I'm not?"

Shisui gave an 'I don't believe that' look. Uzume conceded reluctantly.

"Fine, I just think that he doesn't try enough, what's with our clan being prideful to be ignored and all."

Shisui gave a disapproval hum, but he kept quiet.

"I don't want this to get worse," Uzume admitted, "I have to speak in the next meeting. Itachi is not going to watch our clan flirting with their deaths. I... I don't want him to attend the clan meetings if this keeps up."

And so Uzume spoke to the clan council in the next meeting, that she would do her best in proving that they were a part of the village, and when they 'suggested' her getting close to the Konoha Government by entering ANBU, she accepted it quickly, eager to not make them even think about overthrowing Konoha.

All the while hating the idea of it.

After all, she had just recovered from her insane bouts of killing countless Kiri shinobi, and here she was, assigning herself to an organization with the name 暗殺 (ansatsu: assassination).

Luck was not by her side that day.

Kakashi's blood ran cold when he saw her.

There, at the entrance, was the new ANBU recruit.

It would be an everyday occurrence, but the face, the eyes, the posture of the person in front of him resembled her so much he had rooted on to the ground unconsciously.

"Ri-rin," Kakashi stuttered out, hands trembling in horror.

While the hair color and the absence of purple markings were clearly pointed that she was not Nohara Rin, all Kakashi could think was,

Rinrinrinrinrinhekilledherhow?

Uzume stared at him, wide-eyed, looking just like the Rin he had killed, and that was the trigger.

Kakashi collapsed to the ground unceremoniously.

When Kakashi woke up with her hovering above him, he used the logic that had escaped him recently, and desperately tried to find the differences.

For once, she had bangs swept to the left when her 額当て (hitai-ate: forehead protector) was not secured around her forehead. Her eyes were a darker brown if he looked right, her eyelashes were thicker, face shapes a bit more angular, lighter skin tone and more importantly, there are no rectangular purple marks on her cheeks.

That was a relief.

And when she introduced herself, hell rained upon him once again.

She was an Uchiha.

It was like looking at a personification of both of the person he had failed.

For the second time that day, Kakashi's logic failed him as he collapsed to the bed like a heap of bones.

Hatake Kakashi didn't seem like someone who was prone to faint at first glance.

Uzume was sure that he was not, and yet here he was, fainting for the second time.

Tenzō was beside her when it occurred.

"Is he always like this, Tenzō-san?"

Tenzō predictably shook his head, "No, Kakashi-senpai isn't. There must be something wrong... maybe he didn't eat today."

Uzume stared at her superior in disbelief.

There was no way someone who had experienced war was fainting because he lacked food, no, it was almost impossible, unthinkable even. She guessed that it was his mental health that made him faint, and that was not something she could help, being horrible at being sane herself.

Uzume felt weird wearing an oversized ANBU mask. She still felt weird even after two years of wearing it.

Kakashi-Taichō and Tenzō were looking at her with blank looks.

"Are you sure she got recommended, senpai?"

Uzume kept silent to listen. They knew she was in the room with them anyway.

Kakashi decided to humor both his subordinates, "Danzō-sama, Homura-sama and Koharu-sama, basically, the council vouched for her."

Ah, Danzō and his Friends, huh? Finally trying to do something there. With Shisui out of ANBU, the man might think that he can pull her to his not so secret organization.

No way would she join that. ANBU was too much for her, and she cannot imagine what would transpire if she was pulled into 'Ne' or Root.

Performing suicide again, perhaps?

... okay, for now, let's stay away from thoughts of suicide and focus on the now.

Aburame Shigure.

He was the one who will slowly poison Shisui to weaken him for Danzō to snatch his eyes easily.

In another world, that would happen, but not in this one.

With a whistle, Uchiha Uzume used kamui on Shigure and quietly removed the man from the living plane to, hopefully, his hell as she used Genjutsu to interrogate him.

"Naruto, you need to lay low."

Uzume was seldom checking in on her sensei's son, but the time when she visited, she was making sure no one was there to tattle-tale.

Naruto raised his eyebrow at her, gesturing her to explain why he needed to lay low.

"You can't train in the training ground anymore, you can't excel at the academy, you have to make yourself average or, the very last of your class. Oh, and don't talk the archaic way," Uzume pointedly stared at the defiant bright blue eyes of one Uzumaki Naruto. "Otherwise, a man will knock down your door and ship you off to a rather bad place that is somewhere in underground Konoha. Oh, and don't snoop into it, you could get killed, I know you're not strong enough to even defeat the weakest chūnin yet."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, coughed, and did a 'proud of myself' posture and started his act.

"I'm seven, and you treat me like a grown-up, nee-chan! That is soooo weird, dattebayo!"

Uzume gave an approval hum and started to walk out of Naruto's apartment, before the boy's statement stopped her on her tracks.

"Oh, by the way, a man with an orange mask approached me sometimes!" Naruto cheerfully informed, his hands behind him in a picture of a 'cute innocent' boy.

The world grew colder around her when she heard that.

Uzume had talked with the Sandaime a few times outside of mission reports. With her former teammate being the man's nephew, it was natural.

She had discovered something about the man that broke any hope for her to trust her leader.

He was too jaded. Too old, already broken too many times in his incredibly old life (for a shinobi, 63 is an incredible age).

Sarutobi Hiruzen was trying, at least.

While the 木の葉のご意見番 (Konoha's advisors/council), which consisted of Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzō was too militant to not even try a little, but actually suggesting for the removal of any possible traitors.

And that was how Uzume knew she had to do something about the Konoha Government.

At this rate, the tie between the village and the clan would break and one of them would shoulder the consequence.

"You are trespassing, traitor."

The figure grew rigid, and then he turned to face Uzume who caught him about to overhear the Uchiha Clan's meeting.

He, the moment his eyes caught her full form, promptly staggered backward, backing away from her like she was a disease or a ghost.

That reaction oddly was familiar. She tried to remember and then Kakashi-taichō's face flashed in her mind.

"I suggest you leave," she said, her eyes directed at Uchiha Obito with the intent to convey that his presence was not welcomed. She was ready to fight, but she wanted to prevent one. She didn't want a fight inside Konoha, and importantly not inside the clan's grounds.

There's a strangle of noises coming from him and then he left.

Uzume realized that Uchiha Obito had the same Mangekyō ability, Kamui, like her. She speculated that only those that denied the world and wanted to escape from it was granted with that ability.

Seemed like she was more alike with Kushina-sensei's favorite, Uchiha Obito.