Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

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'Person thinking'

"Person talking"

"Jinchuriki talking inside his head with Bijuu"

'Bijuu thinking'

"Bijuu talking"

"Bijuu talking inside jinchurki's head"

Chapter 20 – The Great Game Begins

"Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, Sumire-san?"

"…There are some merchants here to see you."

Sighing, Hiruzen responded "Let them in."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. At once."

Soon enough, the old Hokage was greeted by the sight of several merchants whose expressions ranged from frustrated, to downright furious. He tried hist best not to chuckle when seeing some of them covered in a mixture of pink and orange glittery powder. Knowing what was coming, Hiruzen decided to get the show on the road.

"How may I help you, gentlemen?"

"This 'Prankster King' has struck again, Hokage-sama! He is a menace! He must be stopped!"

"What exactly did he or she do?" asked the Hokage, maintaining his ever-present poker face.

"M-my entire antique shop was wrapped in toilet paper! Every. Single. Piece. Even the encased ones!"

"All the stray dogs in the neighborhood were barking at my shop's door this morning! When I went in to check, it was full of cats!"

"My robes were assaulted by this pink monstrous powder! My robes! My fine, wonderful robes! I paid six hundred thousand ryo for them! This is an outrage!" at the end of his statement, that particular merchant was bawling his eyes out. Hiruzen, on the other hand, was wondering just how much money that man had if he was able to spend such an amount on a business casual attire. It also didn't escape him that the merchant mentioned that number to flaunt his wealth in front of his competitors, some of which were in the office with him right now.

"I see. The Konoha Police is already conducting an investigation. Once the culprit is apprehended, he will be dealt with accordingly. Please file your written complaints and leave them with Sumire-san. They will serve as evidence against the offender when the time comes."

"Hokage-sama! I know who it was!" spoke the merchant whose shop had been assaulted by cats and dogs.

"How do you know, Kiraku-san?" asked Hiruzen.

"He was running from the scene when I arrived!"

"And who might it be then?"

"It was the Uzumaki brat!"

"Are you sure, Kiraku-san? It wouldn't do you well to lie to the Hokage." The threat was clear to all present. The Hokage would not tolerate slander. The old man made sure to leak just the right amount of killing intent to make the merchants shake in their boots. Internally, Sarutobi was smirking to himself 'Yeap, I definitely still got it.'

"H-Hokage-sama, there was a boy that was running away from the shop when I got there, but I couldn't really make out his appearance."

"So, you are not positive it was Uzumaki Naruto then."

"N-no."

"I see. I appreciate your honesty, Kiraku-san. I will have Naruto Uzumaki questioned however, just to make sure. Would this be sufficient?"

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama. Thank you."

"You are welcome. The safety of the villagers is of utmost importance to us. I assure you we are using the best resources available to identify and apprehend this self-proclaimed 'Prankster King of Konoha'."

The merchants filed away one by one, leaving behind a written account of their experiences. Once they were gone, Hiruzen lighted his pipe, leaned back on his chair and glared at the ever-expanding stack of paperwork dubbed "The Prankster King".

'How did he manage to strike so many shops in just five days? This is insane! I will gut the little blond devil once the operation is over. He is enjoying his undercover assignment way too much… Then again, I can't argue with the results. Of the 50 underground bunkers, 38 have already been scanned at least twice and the rest at least once. Alas, we must scan them all multiple times and at different times of the day before we have a clear picture of ROOT's numbers. Sigh… by the time he finishes his part, I fear my office will be drowning in prank complaints. Thank Kami I had briefed him on the importance of avoiding actual property damage. Who knows what disaster I would have had on my hands otherwise? Hell, he probably would have made killing the Uchiha worth it, just to avoid dealing with the paperwork resulting from his shenanigans.'

A bored and tired Naruto sneezed in the middle of Daisuke sensei's lecture. The instructor, annoyed, glared at him but resumed his work. The blond maelstrom was glad about that. He really wasn't in the mood for another punishment.

"Hey, Kurama, what do you think this guy wants? I mean, he keeps coming here every day hiding in trees and just watches. It's giving me the creeps. And we still don't know if he's after Sasuke or someone else. Urgh, this is so annoying!"

"Keep your cool, Naruto. Remember what Itachi said when you discussed your cover."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember: 'undercover operations take time and those with the coolest heads are generally the winners.'… I still can't believe ANBU-niisan's Sasuke's brother."

Flashback: 4 days earlier

The day following ANBU-niisan's nightly visit went by without much incident. Naruto was thankful for that. Some of his classmates still snickered at him and Hinata occasionally, but it seemed that their attention span was quite short and other matters distracted them already. Of course, it probably also helped that he did everything in his power not to draw attention to himself throughout the day.

Hinata for her part still remained very withdrawn. He caught her stealing a few glances towards him but nothing else. Oh well, at least she didn't seem upset with him. That was a good thing in his mind. He did think her self-confidence issues needed some work but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

Looking towards the front of the class, he stopped his gaze on Kiba's back. Heh, who would have thought that the first person to befriend him would be the Inuzuka? Alas, he was grateful for that. He couldn't help but wonder if he would still be his friend if he knew about the Kyuubi though. Oh well, they'll cross that bridge when they get to it.

The bell rang signaling the end of the final class of the day. Naruto extended his senses to see if the strange ANBU was still around. Sure enough, he was still there. There was something else though. Another presence, approaching at a civilian's pace.

'ANBU-niisan? He's coming towards the academy? Maybe he wants to deal with this weirdo himself?'

Naruto got up, grabbed his backpack, threw it over his shoulders and made his way towards the entrance to the academy where he felt ANBU-niisan approaching. It was really weird to him that ANBU-niisan would come straight through the front gate and without a care in the world at that, if his emotions were to be believed.

As he was walking towards the academy entrance, he was brushed aside by Sasuke who sprinted straight towards the signature of ANBU-niisan.

'What the-'

"Itachi-nii!"

'Itachi-nii? Wait, ANBU-niisan is Sasuke's older brother?!'

"Hello, Sasuke. How was the academy today?"

"It was alright. Kinda boring but I guess it will get better later."

"Indeed. Come, mother wanted us to buy some groceries before heading home."

"Oh, ok!" As he said that, Sasuke made to walk outside the academy premises but noticed Itachi looking at something. Following his gaze he noticed him glancing in the direction of Naruto with cold, calculating eyes. Naruto for his part was looking towards Itachi with a glare of his own.

"Itachi-nii, do you know Naruto?"

Itachi then glanced towards Sasuke and responded "I know of him. Come, let us go. We must not be late for dinner."

"Huh, ok, niisan." He glanced towards Naruto once more and then made his way to his brother's side.

Naruto stood there for a moment, still glaring in Itachi's direction. It was more for appearances' sake than anything else really. When Itachi glared at him coldly in spite of the fact that his emotions showed no ill-intent, the boy caught on to the fact that he was acting like most of the villagers did in order not to arouse suspicion. Not long after that small incident, melancholy struck him, wondering what it would have been like to have such a caring older brother. He could feel the intense love Itachi had for Sasuke. In truth, he was actually kind of envious of his classmate. Sasuke seemed to have everything going for him – he was talented, he was from a powerful clan and, apparently, had one of the coolest ninja in the village as his older brother.

Waking from his trance, the blond maelstrom made his way home. He still had his long-term cover to set up and he was going to enjoy every bit of it. Passingly, he also took note of the fact that the ANBU agent moved out when Itachi made his presence known. He would have to tell ANBU-niisan about that. It might prove helpful.

Present Day

"I kinda wish I had a brother like him. He's awesome."

"He is respectable, for an Uchiha."

"The Uchiha clan really got under your skin, huh, Kurama?"

Immediately, Naruto felt Kurama growling threateningly, a gesture that sent shivers down his spine.

"Ok, ok, I'll drop it. You know, I really hope that one day you'll tell me why you hate them so much."

The Kyuubi said nothing, choosing instead to retreat back to his nap.

The day following Fugaku's official meeting with Hiruzen, Danzo, Homura and Koharu found themselves in the Hokage's office once more.

"So, how did it go?" asked a very skeptical Danzo.

"We reviewed the reasons for their angst towards Konoha's leadership, after which he presented me with the clan's terms. Obviously, their terms were not something I could agree with so we began discussing a middle-of-the-road solution."

"What would this solution entail?" asked Koharu. Curiosity was written all over her face.

"We initiated a discussion on a multi-part reparations plan in order to, firstly, help improve the Uchiha clan's reputation within the village and, secondly, assist them in better integrating with the rest of Konoha's populace. It is nowhere near refined enough, which is why I will refrain from providing details at this moment."

"And do you think these talks will prove fruitful?"

"I certainly hope so, Homura."

"And if they fail?"

"I have a… contingency."

"And which would that be?" this time it was Danzo who asked the question. His answer however did not come from Hiruzen, but rather from someone whose appearance was not felt in the room until that very moment. A seventeen year old shinobi, with short, messy dark hair, wearing standard ANBU attire.

"Uchiha Shisui." Danzo's remark was neutral, but his former teammates could see that he was a bit surprised. Turning his gaze back towards the Hokage, he continued: "You intend to have him use Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku, to make him agree to the terms?"

"Yes. Not only that, but I also intend to have Shisui infiltrate their clan meeting and persuade the Uchiha elders to agree with Fugaku, in order to rally support behind him. All of this shall occur should the talks with Fugaku fail to bring forth acceptable results on their own."

"And how long do you expect your talks with Fugaku to last, before you reach a consensus?"

"I suspect it will take us two more meetings at least. This means, in about two weeks' time, we should have a workable solution. I will ensure that the terms are reasonable for both sides, so in the event that we need to use Kotoamatsukami, it would not look suspicious."

"I see. And you truly believe that Kotoamatsukami will work? It is a Sharingan genjutsu and that room will be full of Sharingan users."

"Danzo-sama, I will ensure that it works. There are ways to be… subtle, which will work on my clansmen as well."

"I believe you are young and overconfident in your abilities. I do not agree with this course of action. Let it be known, Hiruzen, that I warned you against such foolishness."

"I appreciate your candid counsel, Danzo-san. If there are no more questions, this meeting is adjourned. I will keep you informed regarding the developments of my meetings with Fugaku-san."

"Did you find anything interesting, Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage, now sitting on a chair in his private study, smoking from his pipe. Crow and Naruto were sitting on chairs opposite him, having just finished monitoring the meeting.

"Umm, well, there wasn't much. Bandage face felt super greedy and spiteful when he saw Shisui enter the room. Beardy and Old Lady just felt surprised by him. Then after you said about your plan, all three had doubts, and Bandage Face seemed to relax a little, like he was not as desperate as last time. They didn't feel like they thought you were lying about anything, but all three of them felt like they think you will fail."

"I see. Thank you for the information. Crow, please escort Naruto-kun back home. Also, Naruto-kun, could you please take it easier with the pranking? I have a very large stack of paperwork currently dedicated just to 'The Prankster King of Konoha'."

Mischievously, Naruto responded "That's what you get for ditching me in the middle of our calligraphy lessons, old man!"

Hiruzen expected this to be Naruto's reply. It was time to put him in his place a little. "I was also forced to agree with sending you in for questioning concerning this matter, so expect that to happen in the next few days."

"Umm, like, the police will come for me?" Naruto was a bit concerned about this. This may blow his cover if he didn't do it right. Worse, he may be under close supervision and that would prevent him from scanning for the bunkers, but most importantly, from pranking. Never forget about the pranking.

"Yes. One of the merchants who filed a complaint said they suspected the prank to be your doing. I agreed to have you questioned in order not to show too much protectiveness of you. I am sure I don't have to tell you that you must not disclose your involvement in this operation to anyone, not even Fugaku Uchiha. He may be an ally, but until the dust settles, the fewer people that know about what you can do, the better. Crow, you know how the Konoha Police Force operates, yes?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Make sure you train Naruto here on how to respond to the questioning so as to ensure plausible deniability. I will ensure Fugaku will send no one to tail you, but that is assuming the questioning goes well." Hiruzen noticed that Naruto was now shaking in his boots a little. 'Two can play this game, brat' thought Hiruzen with satisfaction.

"Understood." Having said that, Crow and Naruto made their exit with utmost discretion. These were sensitive times, and it wouldn't do to be sloppy.