~14~

"The wall was too thick too see anything well, but there was a trace of an underground entrance," Hinata reported.

"My insects made their way straight through based on Hinata's coordinates. They were able to reach the second inner chamber," Shino reported. "There was a narrow hall leading to different passageways that were blocked by chakra detectors. That's as far as I got."

"Not bad," Tsunade thought.

"I scanned the rear," Neji said. "I'll have to look at it again to make sure but there seems to be a pathway underneath that leads out of the village. The trace is very hard to notice even with Byakugan."

Tsunade pondered on this for a moment. A secret passage in and out of Konoha. No one ever considered investigating Root's Headquarters in the past. Only someone with a specific goal would think to sift through the whole parameter in such a manner and manage to find even a trace of that secret passage. She knew it was Shikamaru who identified the right ninja for each task. She turned to Naruto. "And what's your role in this?"

"He's the diversion," Shikamaru answered. "He went straight to the front of the entrance and did what he does best, make a lot of noise. It's not a hidden fact that he's been looking for Sai. He got everyone's attention in his usual way. It gave us a chance to take a little peek. They don't know how far we got. We were caught just after everyone was already gathered to go back. They thought we were just about to start."

Tsunade was impressed though she didn't show it. Outwitting Root was no easy task. "But because you were caught, you're now on their watch list," she said.

"It should be fine, I think," Shikamaru said. "They still believe their headquarters is impenetrable. We're no threat to them based on today's bungled activity. They think we're just a bunch of idiots."

Shikamaru's mind was racing. There was a great deal of planning to be done in order to get into Root's Headquarters further. For now, they've successfully managed to map out certain coordinates that have never been revealed to an outsider. It's a start. They would have to figure out how to get past through the chakra detectors as well. Other ninjas might be willing to help with that.

"Well then," Tsunade said. "It's time for you to go and find Tora-chan."

Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"But Tsunade-bachan..." Naruto was about to protest.

"What? Did you think you're off the hook just because I sympathize with your cause?"

Her expression turned serious. "I understand your concern for Sai but you're treading into something very dangerous. An internal conflict with Root is hardly what we need to engage in right now."

Everyone's face was grim. Tsunade chose her words carefully. "Danzo trusted Sai enough to assign him outside of his Anbu unit and into yours. I believe Danzo values his service and will not harm him so easily. If Sai's in trouble, he will find some way to get in touch. For now we have to believe that he chose to not bid you farewell on purpose. It could mean he intends to come back someday."

This made some sense and Tsunade perceived the logic in her words got through. She herself needed a little more convincing. She sent the young ninjas out to look for the runaway cat.

~15~

The assignment was to take out a target from the country of Hail. An influential lord was reported to have contracted the services of rogue ninja from his own territory to assassinate key council members of the Fire Country. The Hokage obtained the information and dispatched the Anbu to protect the council. Danzo, however, deemed this insufficient and so dispatched Sai's team to get rid of the notorious lord.

Sai's mice led him and three other shinobi to where Lord Hisamegoro kept his residence. They staked out the location for two days taking note of guard rotations and other activities. They made their move on the third night.

The team's leader signaled for Sai to create a more inconspicuous creature to seek out the lord himself within the mansion. Sai took out his scroll and brushed in a few small lizards.

"Ninpo choju giga."

The lizards crawled out from the surface of the scroll and headed inside. They made their way to the ceiling peeking through the crannies between each door until they reached Hisamegoro's room. Sai signaled to his leader that the target had been located.

Two guards stood at the front of the mansion, two more on opposite corners of the façade. From what Sai saw through the mice's eyes, two more guards stood right in front of the house itself. The plan was for the operation to be stealthy and quick such that the rear guards wouldn't even have a chance to respond until the team had exited the mansion's gate.

Sai and his leader positioned themselves to attack the two front guards. The other two members of their team headed for the two corner guards. On the leader's signal, the four simultaneously and silently took out their targets with short swords. The victims' mouths were covered to prevent any noise. Without stopping, they jumped over the wall, made their way by the edges until they reached the house.

In such operations, they limit ninjutsu usage both to save chakra and to prevent outright detection by other ninjas. They were sure Hisamegoro had at least one ninja acting as guard somewhere inside the residence. The two who took care of the corner guards were assigned to the guards by the door. Their team leader would seek out the ninja guard inside while Sai was assigned to take out the main target.

Sai took out his scroll and painted three snakes that sprung out and slithered by the edge of the walls until they reached the room where Hisamegoro slept. One snake quickly encircled the man's neck and squeezed it until it snapped. A second snake bound his arms to make sure it will not be able to struggle or make a sound. The third did the same to his legs. Sai stood watching the snakes without emotion as Hisamegoro was being strangled before him. He had done this many times in the past. This man had ordered the assassination of Sai's countrymen. Such a thing was unforgivable.

Continue to Part 16