Part I: Chapter 14
The lavender-haired boy charged again, but with his Sharingan activated, Itachi saw it happening practically in slow-motion. He had enough time to glance upwards at the other two. The boy who had taken his shirt off was covered in something purple and was trying to touch one of the ANBU and the final boy, a blond boy, was using his tanto as well.
Seeing that his fellow ANBU were faring decently, Itachi turned his attention back to the boy charging him just in time to block a blow. This time, Itachi moved too fast for the boy to react. In three swift movements, he had disarmed the kid, had him on the ground -possibly breaking his leg in the process- and was looking into his eyes. The boy tensed and then collapsed. The genjutsu Itachi used would likely keep the boy unconscious for a few hours. Itachi turned to see the purple boy finally succeed in touching the ANBU ninja. Within seconds, the ANBU was on the ground writing in pain. The third ANBU and assassin were still engaged in their fight and it concerned Itachi that these kids were just as good as the ANBU. That meant they were in Itachi's league. The purple guy moved towards the medical room and Itachi quickly launched a small fireball that almost vaporized the kid.
"You won't get into that room, I promise." Itachi stated. The purple boy sighed and charged towards Itachi. The Uchiha deduced that the boy needed to make physical contact in order for his ability to work and launched a few more fireballs. The boy was fast. He dodged each flame and was in front of Itachi in an instant. Instead of trying to defend himself, Itachi quickly dodged a few strikes and made his way towards the medical room door, stringing together handseals the whole time.
"Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!" The flame quickly took up most of the hallway and Itachi heard the sound of a window breaking and cursed. When the fire was gone, both the purple guy and the lavender-haired boy were gone. Itachi looked for the third assassin, but only succeeded in finding the ANBU he had been fighting. The one who had been touched by the purple boy had died, his body covered in painful looking violet sores.
"Keep an eye out for those guys." Itachi ordered as he retreated further into the room. The ANBU ninja glanced at the window. What happened next was so quick, Itachi barely managed to deflect the brunt of the blow when the ANBU tossed a massive forearm into his torso. For all his training, Itachi was still a kid and the ANBU outweighed him by a good 90lbs. Itachi hit the wall hard with a loud gasp. Through the window, he saw the purple boy carrying both of his comrades' unconscious bodies. The boy had wrapped up his arms and torso so that his skin wasn't touching either boy. Itachi made a mental note of that before struggling to stand as the purple guy made his way back into the building.
"Dammit, leave him alone!" Itachi howled as lunged forward with his katana, the possessed ANBU jumped backwards just in time. Itachi attempted to breathe, but a few of his ribs were broken. Everything hurt as he stood between the assassins and Shisui.
"You're pretty good. It's a shame you're not with us." The ANBU sneered. Finally, Itachi realized what had happened. The blond-haired boy was a Yamanaka and he had possessed the ANBU. Itachi clenched his jaw and prepared for another fight when something he couldn't quite describe happened. The air behind him suddenly went both scalding hot and freezing cold and through the peripherals of his Sharingan, he saw something that looked like chakra. But it couldn't be. It was so dark, so...wrong. Before Itachi could even turn around, something had slammed into the ANBU, sending him flying as if he were spitball instead of a grown man. He crashed into the purple guy and instantly began screaming. And then he stopped. Slowly, the blond-haired boy stood up.
"Sh-Shisui?" Itachi asked, afraid to turn around. He didn't have to. Shisui confidently strolled between Itachi and the assassins and Itachi gasped, as did the assassins. Dark purple chakra seemed to rise off Shisui like steam and the left side of his body was covered in strange, black markings that almost resembled fire.
"You guys have something to say to me?" Shisui said tauntingly, which was in of itself, very unlike Shisui. Itachi grasped at his ribs, using the distraction to apply a healing technique. It was nowhere near Tsunade's work, but it did enough to ease the pain to the point Itachi felt ready to fight if necessary. That seemed unlikely though, as the assassins were rightly hesitant of attacking Shisui. Even after getting a second and third look, the boy in front of Itachi barely seemed like his best friend.
"Wh-what the hell is this? Danzo didn't say anything about this!" The Yamanaka exclaimed, clearly terrified. The two conscious assassins looked at each other, unsure of how to continue. It was clear that they were no match for Shisui as he was now. Hell, Itachi didn't think anyone was. The assassins looked as if they were about to run off when they suddenly tensed up. What appeared to feathers began to descend around them and the boys were suddenly unconscious. The purple boy, in his last seconds of consciousness, managed to toss the lavender-haired boy away from his body before passing out, ensuring the two wouldn't touch.
"That's enough," came the vaguely familiar voice of Orochimaru. Within seconds the Hokage, along with Tsunade and a boy Itachi didn't know, were in front of the door. Tsunade frowned when she saw Shisui.
"So this is your cursed seal, huh?" Tsunade asked as the black markings on Shisui began to fade. Shisui blinked and staggered slightly, taking a deep breath.
"Wh-what was that?" Shisui asked, looking down at his hands. He felt simultaneously drained and energized and part of him wanted that power to return. It was intoxicating. He could probably even beat Itachi or even Fugaku with that kind of power! And that knowledge was almost frightening.
"That, Uchiha Shisui, is the cursed seal of heaven. It's a fuinjutsu of my own creation that I used to save your life," Orochimaru said as he continued forward. Tsunade looked as if she wanted to say something, but changed her mind and went to check on the fallen ANBU. Kabuto reached down towards the young assassins when Itachi stopped him.
"The guy with the tape, if you touch him, you'll die." Itachi warned. The boy, who seemed a few years older than Itachi, gave the Uchiha a curious look and then looked down at the semi-topless boy in front of him.
"Aburame," he said. "This is troublesome," he continued as he slid his hand into his pocket. He pulled out a roll of tape and carefully began to wrap it around the Aburame boy's body. That crisis averted, Itachi turned back to Orochimaru who was now regarding Shisui as if the boy were some kind of unexpected -and not particularly good- present.
"How do you feel?" Orochimaru asked, although his question was clearly less sympathetic than it was curious. Shisui was about to answer, but Tsunade spoke up.
"Orochimaru, we have more important things to worry about right now." She said sharply before turning to Shisui. "Shisui, what do you remember before you blacked out?" At this Shisui straightened up, going into Konoha police mode. He quickly went over the details of his encounter with Danzo, losing his eye, and finding Itachi before blacking out. As if just realizing Itachi was there, Shisui quickly turned around and wrapped his around the slightly shorter Uchiha, much to Itachi's shock.
"Thanks Itachi, I owe you my life." He said, somehow looking into both of Itachi's eyes. Itachi nodded.
"Sure thing, Shisui." Itachi said before turning back to Orochimaru who was looking at both boys with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Shisui, the Kotoamatsukami technique has a cooldown period, correct?" Orochimaru asked suddenly. Shisui nodded slowly, unsure of how Orochimaru knew about his technique.
"Yes, sir. I know I can only use it once every few days and even then, it's exhausting." He answered, slowly understanding what Orochimaru was getting at.
"Knowing Danzo, if he fears his plan is in jeopardy, he'll push up the date. He'll tell the Uchiha to start the coup tonight!" Tsunade said urgently. Despite the growing tension in the room, Orochimaru appeared calm as ever. He stared out the window for a few minutes.
"If he has told the Uchiha clan to begin the coup, then Danzo will likely still be in the Uchiha residence. Shisui, Itachi." Orochimaru called, putting on his official Hokage voice. Both boys stood straight up and looked at Orochimaru.
"Go to the Uchiha residence and find Danzo. This is an S-rank mission. Try to detain him as long as possible while I deal with the Uchiha clan. I'll send help when I can." Itachi and Shisui looked at Orochimaru dumbfounded. They were both highly skilled shinobi, but Danzo was Danzo - possibly the only man alive who the Sandaime could call a rival.
"Go!" Orochimaru ordered. Both boys swallowed their fear and disappeared into the night. Orochimaru frowned as Tsunade came to stand beside him.
"Kabuto, we'll be needing that technique of yours again soon." The Hokage said solemnly.
"Will a genjutsu work on the Uchiha clan, Orochimaru-san?" Kabuto asked. Orochimaru's frowned deepened.
"More than likely, it won't. It should incapacitate a few of the unsuspecting ones and the ones who have yet to activate their Sharingan." He predicted.
"And the others?" Tsunade asked. Orochimaru's response was silence.
"Like I said, Itachi, I have no idea what happened in there." Shisui said as the two boys quickly made their way towards the Uchiha compound, their faces grim. There was no way Itachi was at 100% and Shisui had just woken up with a power he wasn't sure he could control. But Orochimaru had said detained. And Danzo wasn't the kind of man to pick a fight with two kids a third his age. At least, that's what Shisui told himself.
"It was insane. I didn't know chakra could be so...dark." Itachi said, purposely not using the word 'evil' to describe his friend's chakra. The other Uchiha said nothing for a few minutes.
"When I woke up," Shisui began. Itachi glanced over at him and he looked completely normal. It was as if the scene in the medical room was just a bad dream. "I could barely think straight. Then I saw you squaring off with those guys and, where I would normally feel the need to help you out, I felt just sheer, unadulterated rage. At them. Like, I would kill them before I let them touch you. It was scary, to feel that angry, that out of control." Itachi listened silently, unsure of quite how to respond.
"Itachi," Shisui said sharply, much to Itachi's surprise. When he turned, he saw that Shisui had stopped. His one eye was trained on Itachi with an intensity the latter rarely saw from his best friend.
"Shisui?" The two Uchiha stood facing each other. Finally, Shisui sighed.
"Don't let me become a monster."
Danzo inwardly cursed as he slammed his fist into one of the Uchiha homes with enough force to form a small crater in the building. He had grossly underestimated the chakra toll of the Kotomatsukami. Even with the first Hokage's cells, putting the entire Uchiha clan under his spell had been exhausting. It was all well, however. Danzo's presence here would only help prove his innocence in the eyes of the villagers.
Still, Danzo would have preferred to have a few more weeks to work over the Uchiha clan. The Kotomatsukami technique worked best when used gradually. Forcibly rewriting an individual's thoughts and priorities was an arduous process for both the caster and the victim. Were the Uchihas not already planning a coup, there was a strong chance it wouldn't have worked.
Danzo sat down by the house he had dented, his face grim. He took no pleasure in what he was doing, although he was sure Orochimaru thought the contrary. He sighed, wishing Hiruzen had named him the next Hokage. All of this hiding in the shadows would be unnecessary. He was only protecting Konoha from the Uchiha clan, but no one would see it like that. It wounded Danzo, how blind his people could be. Soon, however, it would all be over. The Uchiha, assuming they weren't killed outright would be imprisoned. A few might escape the punishment, mostly the children, whom Danzo could easily just recruit into his Root program. The Council would elect him the next Hokage, there was no doubt. Hiruzen's other prospect, Minato, was far too inexperienced to deal with this sort of crisis.
When Danzo noticed the two figures sneaking into the Uchihia head's home, he was regretting the loss of Tsunade. He knew she had trained the medical ninja of Konoha somewhat, but the amount of knowledge that would be taken upon her death was immense. Hopefully she wrote her research down somewhere. And there was still her apprentice, so it wasn't a total loss. Slowly, Danzo stood up. His age fought strongly against the Senju cells in his right arm. When Orochimaru had first injected Danzo with the cells, he had felt 30 years younger. The effects had lessened over time, but the cells still did marvelous work.
"Sasuke!" Itachi whispered urgently. He and Shisui had arrived at Itachi's home and he was desperately searching for his younger brother. Realization sunk in. Danzo had sent the entire clan to participate. Even Sasuke.
"So you survived, Shisui-kun." Danzo's voice came from the entrance. He saw again the cold fury in Itachi's eyes when the boys turned to face him. Shisui put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but kept his left eye on Danzo. The empty socket where the boy's right eye once was seemed to have its own special intensity that Danzo, under different circumstances, found mildly amusing.
"Stop this, Danzo." Shisui ordered. Danzo's eyes narrowed. It was strange, Shisui thought, looking at his own eye inside of Danzo's head. But he pushed the thought from his mind and focused on Danzo.
"You do not command me, boy." The man said evenly. Even though his chakra reserves were beginning to stabilize, Danzo still preferred not having to fight. Regardless of their ages, Itachi and Shisui were formidable shinobi. Danzo would likely need his Sharingan, even though it would only serve to drain his chakra more. If it came to a fight, he would have to rely mostly on taijutsu.
"This is insane, Danzo. You're ruining the lives of innocent people. People who aren't even shinobi!" Itacih responded. The building was eerily silent. The kind of silent that was almost tangible. Danzo scoffed, breaking the silence.
"Ruining their lives? Don't be so foolish boy! The Uchiha clan made their choice long before I interfered. The Curse of Hatred that your clan bears, will finally be its doom. You two, though," Danzo said, his voice growing softer, more intrigued. Both Itachi and Shisui felt the man's mood shift.
"Even now, you boys are managing to suppress your hatred of me, aren't you? Or perhaps, the Will of Fire just burns brighter than your hatred." Danzo seemed more to be talking to himself and neither boy knew what he was talking about. They looked at each other, concerned. Danzo turned his focus back to them.
"Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, you two are different from the rest of the Uchiha clan. You should be marching towards the Hokage, prepared to fight for your clan and yet here you are, in a last-ditch effort to save Konohagakure, even if it means you might die." Danzo took a step towards the boys, who were struggling with man's words. Were they in the right place right now?
"The Hokage will find a way to stop the clan without hurting anyone." Shisui declared stubbornly as he took a defiant step forward. Inside, Itachi smiled as the faces of his family began to enter his mind. He too took a step forward.
"Shimura Danzo, you always say everything you do is for Konoha and maybe that's true. But right now, you're its biggest threat. And we're going to stop you." Itachi stated in a cool voice, pulling out his ANBU katana. Danzo's face was a mask of disappointment. The kind of disappointment Itachi saw on his father's face when Sasuke failed a training exercise or when Itachi refused to aid the coup. It was a bitter, sad sort of disappointment. Danzo was legitimately upset that he and Shisui were fighting against him.
"Shisui and Itachi, you boys are the shining example of what a Konohagakure shinobi should be. A ninja's allegiance should be solely to his village, without ties to family or foolish ideas such as personal loyalty. It's a shame, it's come to this. I would have been honored to have you in my ranks. Come, then!" Danzo exclaimed as his right arm shot from the sling that usually held it. Itachi and Shisui felt sick, seeing how sickly pale the arm was. And on Danzo's right shoulder was what looked like a face, struggling to break free from the man. "Show me your devotion to Konohagakure and I will show you mine."
Author's Corner:
Woo! Next chapter Shisui and Itachi vs Danzo! Don't worry, I'm making sure it's a pretty even match-up. I'm honestly kinda hoping to stretch it out throughout the entire chapter (without it being repetitive or unrealistic), so wish me luck on that. As for the fate of the Uchiha clan, well you'll just have to wait and see for that :)
I kinda played around with shorter POV sections, but I doubt it will be a regular thing. It's just something that's always kinda bothered me in books, but I didn't want to put a bunch of random fluff in there either so I just went with shorter POVs.
Anyway, as usual, thanks you guys for always showing the support you show. It's awesome and really means a lot. And sorry that ending was so cliche and video-gamey. Honestly, as cheesy as it is, I kinda feel that's how it would happen. Plus it kind of made me laugh since Danzo reminds me of the villains from the Pokemon games.
As usual, if you find any mistakes or inconsistencies, let me know. Your reviews, favourites, and follows are always welcome. I love you guys and hope you enjoy the rest of your weekends. Aloha!