Right now, I have no idea if anyone is confused about where this story is heading, or if anyone is even interested in this story, but if you are, don't worry. I have a good idea where I want to take this. If you have a specific question, feel free to ask. By the way, the Zabuza saga has already occurred. I didn't go through it because Itachi would destroy anyone involved, combined. What's the point? It would be like, "We're the Demon Brothers." Dead. "I'm Zabuza." Dead. "I'm Haku." Dead. Or, "I'm Tazuna. Sorry about lying about the threat level of the mission." Dead, depending on how ruthless Itachi was feeling that day.
Standard disclaimer applies.
Ch. 3: Convergence
If there was anything that Itachi enjoyed in his life, it was a challenge. Granted, he never showed any outward indication of such a feeling, but he knew it, and it didn't matter if no one else did. He looked for anything that would test his capabilities. This mission was one such outlet. He hurtled through the forest canopy at breakneck speeds, consciously reviewed his objectives.
"You summoned me, Hokage-sama."
The old man did not speak, but pushed a folder across his desk. Itachi glanced down. It bore none of the markings of its mission classification. Two explanations were possible; either there was not enough information to judge the threat level, or it was black-ops, off the record. Itachi frowned. Those sorts of missions were reserve for ANBU exclusively. He cleared his mind of such thoughts. Conjecture was pointless, undoubtedly the mission briefing would have sufficient explanation. He reached for the folder.
"This is off the record, Itachi-san." Well, that answered one question. "We have reason to believe that Kumo has been taking missions with objectives lying within our borders, without our permission. They have been careful, and no one has been able to discover proof of these activities, but the rumors are too widespread to be ignored."
The folder was flipped open. Eye-witness reporting sighting of Kumo-nin two kilometers west of a small farming community, near the Rice Country border. Size unknown, skill level unknown. Purpose unknown.
"Try to find out what they are doing here, and if possible, capture one for interrogation. However, if you attempt to do so, be sure that, if there are others, they are unaware of the capture. We cannot let this tumble into a cause for war, but nor can we allow such operations to occur."
"Timetable?"
"Until the Chuunin exams. I will need you back here by then, regardless of the outcome of the mission."
"And my team, Hokage-sama? Who will be their instructor?"
"Kakashi-san. He will remain so until you have completed your mission."
Itachi glanced back at the folder, then up at his superior. "Understood."
Sandaime waved his hand in dismissal, but the gesture was in vain. Itachi had already left.
This mission could not have come at a worse time for his genin squad. It was prime training time for the Chuunin exams, and he expected for at least Sasuke to pass. How were they going to succeed if he wasn't around to guide them?
Focus. The Hokage has assigned Kakashi-senpai to their instruction. They will be fine.
With that thought in mind, Itachi coiled the muscles in his legs, pushing off towards the next branch.
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Not too far from Itachi's route of travel, two other ninja were also racing towards Rice Country. They bore no identification markings, not even the usual headband. One of the shinobi seemed to have trouble making his way through the forest.
"Let's stop here, Naruto."
The boy hesitated, and then landed on the ground next to the older ninja. "Hai, Yusuke-senpai."
Naruto was nervous, Yusuke could tell. And he could hardly blame him. This was his first excursion outside the Root headquarters. Being thrust into an alien environment would give anyone pause. The smells, the sounds, all of them reverberating inside Naruto's head. Yusuke wondered how long it would take for him to adapt. They were not far from their objective, and he could not afford to hold the boy's hand all the way. Showing weakness, even to the allies they were about to convene with, was definitely unwise.
"Rest, Naruto. You'll need to be focused when we get to the rendezvous point."
The boy wasn't listening. He stood still, listening to the sounds of the forest around him. The rough echo of a hawk's call resounded around them; Naruto rushed to the source. Yusuke cursed, and followed after his charge.
"Senpai, what is this animal?" Outstretched on Naruto's forearm was the hawk that drew him to this area.
"It's a bird, Naruto. A hawk."
Naruto turned his face in the direction where he felt the bird on his arm. "A hawk." The other arm slowly rose, fingers hesitantly stretching towards the animal. As they closed the distance, the bird let out a shrill cry. Naruto's hand whipped back from the bird. The animal left its perch on the boy's arm.
"Why did it leave, senpai?"
"You must have frightened it, Naruto. Many animals are afraid of humans."
"Then why did it land on my arm?"
Now Yusuke was getting annoyed. Why couldn't Megumi have taken this mission? She can handle his questions so much better.
"Now is not the time, Naruto. We have work to do, remember?"
"Hai, senpai." Without another word, Naruto started in the general direction of their campsite. Yusuke looked at the back of the boy, wondering what was so important about a blind boy who barely qualified as a ninja. Only Danzo-sama and few others knew that. He sighed. Regardless, he had a mission to complete. Yusuke started off after Naruto.
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Despite Keiko's initial anger at not seeing Itachi-sensei in the morning, she admitted to herself that the Copy-nin was a good teacher. Unlike the elder Uchiha, Kakashi was willing to explain some things when they made mistakes. Like when Sakura was practicing her taijutsu. She knew Itachi-sensei saw the problem in her technique by the way he continuously glared at her during hand-to-hand drills. Only when Kakashi changed the way her left knee was facing did Keiko see what Sakura was doing wrong. Even Sasuke paid as much attention to the jounin's instructions when he saw this interaction.
Maybe Kakashi-sensei will train us until the Chu- no! He's not our teacher, Itachi-sensei is. Besides, he's not a pervert. Itachi–sensei is so much better.
As if reading her mind, Kakashi slowly dragged the infamous novel from his weapons pouch, as if he was deliberately taunting the two females with his disgusting habits. Sakura's glare turned murderous.
"Sakura, Keiko, pay attention to your opponents."
Keiko looked back at the shadow clone, only to realize it had disappeared.
"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu! (Earth Type: Inner Decapitation Technique!)"
Keiko was surprised, to say the least. She was a Sarutobi! Yet, here she was, neck deep in the dirt. By a shadow clone no less.
I bet he's laughing at me behind that mask. Just you wait, you cyclopean bastard. I'll teach you some manners.
Good thing she didn't say that part out loud, otherwise she would have seemed more foolish as she tried to free herself.
After a minute or so of futility, Keiko gave up on her revenge, instead settling on observing how her teammates were faring. Sakura, surprisingly, fared no better than she had. Even though Keiko was by far a more naturally talented ninja, she simply did not have the analytical presence that Sakura had in spades…at least as long as Sasuke wasn't involved. Then her brain turned into mush.
"Sasuke-kun! Ahhhhhhh!" She fainted dead away.
Can't believe she didn't see through that genjutsu. She sure has some issues. Keiko conveniently forgot that she was the same with Itachi. After Sakura fell to the ground, the Kakashi clone burst into a puff of smoke. Keiko tried to look for Sasuke, but his practice occurred behind her, and judging by the sounds of clanging kunai, the battle continued. Straining her ear, she heard the whistling of multiple kunai and shuriken flying through the air. There was a loud thunk as the weapons bit into a tree nearby. The wind rushed past her as Sasuke prepared a katon jutsu.
"Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!"
The area became brighter for a few seconds, and then Keiko heard a pop, signifying the defeat of the shadow clone. Oh great, that asswipe is gonna be so bigheaded. 'Ohh, look at me, I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I'm better than everyone 'cause I have a stick up my butt. Jerk.
Kakashi walked over to Sakura prone form, and dispelled the genjutsu. When Sakura awoke, he looked in Keiko's direction, and she felt herself being raised out of the ground.
"Well done, all of you. Itachi's been training you well."
Sasuke smirked while Keiko beamed at the compliment. They were being praised by someone Itachi-sensei respected! Keiko wondered if Sakura felt the same. She turned to the female, only to find her leaning against a tree for support. She must be dealing with the after-effects of the genjutsu.
"However, you're still not ready for the chuunin exams. Not by a long shot. That's why we're going to do it again. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three more of the one-eyed jounin appeared next to each student.
"Begin!"
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"Sensei, what are we doing here?"
"Weren't you listening to Danzo-sama, Kaizo?"
"Of course I was! He said, 'Deliver this package to the Raikage.' So why are we in this village? Shouldn't we be in Lightning Country?"
"If you paid any more attention to the briefing, you'd know we're giving the package to an intermediary. If we went into Kumo ourselves, we'd be killed."
"If Kaizo paid any attention to the briefing, his tiny brain would have exploded."
"Shut the hell up, Sai! I'm gonna wipe that stupid smile off your fa-"
"Quiet! Just be quiet. You are representing Danzo-sama in front of our allies. We cannot afford a bad impression."
Kaizo had the grace to look ashamed, while Sai continued to smile.
The town they were in was large compared to most. With a large entertainment industry, there were many people going in and out of the gates. The perfect cover for an inconspicuous meeting. So was their civilian clothing. The trio entered a dango shop near the restaurant. Megumi scanned the room looking for their contact. A hand grabbed her shoulder. A masculine voice followed.
"Honey, you made it! The kids are here too! I got us a booth, so let's eat before we enjoy the sights." The man pushed her rather gently to a booth quite a ways from the entrance.
They all sat down, and Megumi got her first good look at the man. He was quite handsome, despite the scar running diagonally across his face. Attraction aside, if he could sneak up on her, he must be a ninja. So he was either the contact, or this was a trap. She glanced at her students. Kaizo glared at the man, and he was slowly reaching for his kunai. Megumi shook her head to tell him to cease his action. She knew Sai had seen it as well, so she returned her attention to the man in front of her. The only way to know for sure was the pass code.
"Did you get me something from Iwagakure, sweetheart?"
The man's shoulders slumped, and he replied, "No, honey. Customs was brutal. Who would've thought diamonds weren't allowed to leave the country?"
"Oh, that's too bad, Tou-san. But we got something for you." Sai then pulled out a small, rectangular box and slid it across the table.
"Oh wow, thanks guys! You know what? I'll open it when we get home. For now, let's enjoy ourselves."
The group then ordered some food, ate, talked about some meaningless things, and left the restaurant. Then they even went to a show together, trying to make the 'tourist family' façade as believable as possible to anyone who might be watching them. As they exited they exited the city, the man left their company without a word, heading directly towards Lightning Country.
"Wow, that wasn't so hard."
"No, it wasn't, Kaizo, and we were lucky for that. Anyway, we must report back to Danzo-sama. There are other tasks to be done."
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Again shorter than the last chapter, but it seemed like a good place to stop. If you're wondering about what happened at the end of the first chapter, I'll explain it later.