Chapter 3

Author's note: Hey guys, I apologize for submitting this chapter a month late. University's just been tough lately, with essays and exams and all that stuff. Anyways, here is the chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd be living in a nicer place, ha-ha.

"It's been nearly two years since your training on Jiro Island commenced, Himiya-kun." Danzou smiled at the blond teenager as he led the taller shinobi down a dark, torch-lit tunnel; a mouth carved into the side of a large hill at the base of a small mountain range in Sea Country's outback. "And of the four young shinobi inducted into the THORN, you have produced the best results, farm more than I anticipated. You are ready."

The ninja merely nodded. He didn't express his answer because he wasn't asked to.

The tall, blond shinobi, dressed in black military fatigues, followed his master as they trekked deeper and deeper into the maw of the great rock, which lead into a network of hallways that bore the markings of ROOT masonry. The air became thinner and dingier as they ventured past hallways and stairs that spiralled down into the deepest recesses of the hidden safe house. They passed rooms brimming with keen weapons, chambers filled with computers, and cells littered with skeletons.

Eventually, they came across a thin hallway that led to a small door – Small enough that the tall shinobi was forced to crouch through to enter the dark room. The room was just barely taller than the door, forcing the blond to crouch at an uncomfortable position. The room was colder than any room they've visited. Hollow thumps echoed as Danzou's walking stick tapped on the steel floor: The room was clearly not meant to hold in a person, better suited as a storage closet.

The old and withered warlord walked to the center of the small room and propped his good hand on the ceiling until it met a knob. He twisted it and the sound of a match being struck echoed. A single, solitary light bulb was brought to life, exposing the dark, steel room to be a prison cell unlike the ones they had passed by.

Chains and seals hung on the low ceiling and a single chair sat at the back of the tiny, uncomfortable room. What surprised Himiya, however, was that a man sat on it; his mouth and eyes were wrapped in bandages and his arms and feet were nailed to the walls and floor. A thick pool of congealing blood welled beneath him like jelly and the shackled man was so thin that his lung's waxing and waning could be seen through his thin physique.

Himiya ignored the rotten smell, surprised that the man–whose flesh was ripped and naked stomach was punctured, whose red hair and skin had begun to sink and pale due to the lack of nutrition and sun, whose muscles had begun to atrophy due to what Himiya deduced were months of disuse–began to stir awake, rousing painfully out of the luxury of unconsciousness. His breathing picked up as his thin, naked body writhed in the cold, macabre cell.

The tall shinobi crouched, growing tired of bowing in the cramped cell, while the subdued man screamed into the bandage over his mouth like a caged animal.

Danzou handed Himiya a blunt kunai. "As I've told you, you are ready. This your last test. Kill this man."

Himiya took the rounded kunai. He noticed that its handle was made of a rough polymer that made it hard to detect his own fingerprints. The dull edge made it so that any wound would cause so much collateral damage that it could be made to seem like an animal attack. He deduced Danzou wanted him to kill the man, who was possibly a foreign ninja who once held a high political title, and to have his death untraceable.

"But," Himiya stuttered, "why? What did he do?"

"Does that matter?" Danzou crushed his eyebrows together in irritation. "I gave you an order, soldier!"

"I can't just kill him!" Himiya countered defiantly, yet surprised and afraid that such treacherous words escaped his lips. "I've never killed anyone before, much less an innocent man! I need to be briefed! Who is he?"

"That swine," Danzou pointed and sneered at the terrified prisoner, "is not a man. Not anymore. I gave you an order, agent."

"But is he an enemy? A villain? Tell me what he did to deserve this!"

"That is above your clearance level." Danzou grabbed the shinobi by his spiky, golden locks and dragged him towards the bound and gagged man. "Kill him. For your country. This is what you signed up for, no? If you turn back, I have no qualms of ripping that thing inside of you out and sealing it into another agent! You aren't irreplaceable, asset!"

The shinobi craned his head down at the old man. "F-for my country?"

Danzou nodded.

"Then I have no choice…"

The blond shinobi inched the unkempt blade towards the squirming man's neck. The man sensed the cold touch of death coming closer and closer and writhed harder and harder until the rope that kept his mouth shut fell.

"Stop! Please! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Don't listen to him, Himiya-"

"I didn't do anything! I have a wife, kids – A family! Please-"

"Do it!"

"I'll do anything-"

"Now!"

"Arghh!" Himiya slashed the man's neck. Thick, dark-red blood didn't spray out as much ooze out due to the red-haired man's dehydration. That, however, didn't stop from the blood catching onto the dull kunai and onto the blonde shinobi's black fatigues.

Himiya tossed the kunai on the metal floor with a hollow thunk and turned towards his master and bowed. "I apologize for questioning you, my lord."

"It is quite okay, Himiya-kun." A smile wormed its way back to the decrepit man's craggy face. "You have passed."

Danzou nodded at the body for the shinobi to clean up. The teenage boy scrambled to seal away the body into a scroll that managed to get stained in the prisoner's blood. The boy's hands shivered as he ran through the hand seals, though he was able to complete the task. He then stood up and waited for his master to lead him out of the lonely cell, passed the thin hallway, the cells littered with skeletons, the chambers filled with dead computers, and the rooms brimming with keen weapons, the hollow men could no longer feel the perfectly flat floors on their feet, as the ROOT masonry quickly turned into rough tunnels full of stalagmites.

As the two walked back up the spiraling staircase, Danzou nonchalantly mentioned casually. "You asked me before who the man was and what crimes he committed against our nation."

Again, the shinobi wasn't actually asked to speak.

Danzou continued, mostly to himself. "He was spirited away from the last haven of Whirlpool country, far from the waters of the village hidden in the whirling tides, Uzushiogakure – We found him squatting within the alleys of Konohagakure, no less, spying on the Empire. It took thirty jonin men and women to nullify his water techniques and take him down. It wasn't until later that we found that he was the father of agent Owl, someone he'd been looking for, for years. He was the last shinobi of the Uzumaki clan."

The blond shinobi didn't say a word.

Danzou peered back at his dog with a smirk. "Well, not exactly."

"I hate you." Suigetsu stared holes into the back of Naruto's head as they ambled through the bustling market streets of Yugakure. "I can't believe you're making me go see them."

"Agents Owl and Bull? I wasn't aware you three knew each other." The Fox sidestepped as a lumbering man with children hanging by his arms passed them by. The Fox gave the family plenty of leeway. It was early in the morning and the two had been traveling overnight. Upon reaching the Land of Hot Water's border the other day, the two kept walking – Ignoring the sumptuous smells and crackling of frying food from the stalls filled fiery woks, drunk, laughing connoisseurs, and tents stocked with clothes and shrewd women. They hadn't felt fatigue set in, but the Landshark had begun to allow mental exhaustion to set in like a fog as they ignored the world they weren't a part of. The two men simply tucked their straw hats down to cover their masked faces and continued on their way.

"Don't pretend like you don't know our history. I can't stand them, especially Owl." Suigetsu growled, sounding less threatening than usual under his guise as a traveling merchant. He watched his companion as the taller man, transfigured as an older, greying traveller, avoided the civilians like the plague. The Landshark noticed that his traveling partner's stance became rigid and kept everyone at an arm's length – Not enough to be outwardly noticed by even the best trackers, of course, but it was still noticeable to those have ran missions with the Fox before.

"You have something on your mind?" Naruto asked as they ducked between crowds of people. He didn't turn around to ask.

"You just seem uncomfortable around other people, especially regular folk. Has the great Fox finally succumbed to guilt?"

"We're almost there."

"Can't wait." Suigetsu rolled his eyes at the thought of seeing his old comrades and continued to melt holes into the back of the dark-haired shinobi's head.

It wasn't long until they left the merchant quarter of town and entered the residential district. The dirt roads lined with tents and carpets full of produce and buyers slowly turned into streets made of cobblestone, lined with small, quaint houses.

Eventually they reached a small commercial house; the kind that real estate companies kept to show off to those looking to settle down. It was perfectly ordinary: A white picket fence, freshly trimmed grass, and windows wide enough to show off the warm, inviting rooms. Naruto motioned towards it, and the Landshark followed him in. Once inside they immediately dropped their disguises, their genjutsus, and assumed their original looks and demeanors. They both now stood at full height, having lurched forward as they walked to avert speculative ogling.

The house was absolutely empty, as if no one was home despite all the rooms' lights were turned on. The kitchen was simple and filled with a welcoming scent of freshly baked cookies, though there were none. The fruits that garnished the table were plastic, and the living room was no better with the furniture laid out yet seemingly untouched. There was no hint of life.

Naruto led him into the furnished living room and touched the mantle of the blazing fireplace. Suigetsu felt a small amount of chakra being released from Naruto's hand and a web of seals suddenly covered the mantle. The fire immediately extinguished itself and the red-brick fireplace began to moan and crack and shift until a dark passageway revealed itself to them. Naruto gestured the Landshark to follow him, to which Suigetsu nodded and followed. The Fox summoned a tiny flame to his finger to light the way, revealing a spiral staircase.

As they climbed down the long flight of stairs, they heard the fireplace shift once again and close behind them.

Naruto said, "I acquired this home from a corrupt real estate salesman a few years ago. He was a target of one of my missions with THORN –"

"The black ops unit you worked for?"

"I lead it, I didn't work for it. But yes. It turns out the guy owned plenty of houses across the countries, so I decided to acquire them and maintain their commercial front. They make perfect safe houses."

"Small, and under plain sight. Completely your style." Suigetsu jabbed sarcastically. "Are they here?"

Just before the Fox could answer, they felt a rumble, stopping them in their tracks, followed by a high-pitched scream that spelled murder for whoever was caught in the immediate vicinity. Suigetsu uttered curses while Naruto stifled a small smirk.

Eventually, they reached the bottom of what seemed like a ten-story climb down the staircase and were met with a terrifying sight: A small compound big enough for a tiny family filled with crashed monitors along the walls, as well as a newly wrecked living space with black leather furniture tossed to the side at what seemed like a skirmish. As the dust of the small quaking settled, the two ninjas could see a woman with long, black hair point a thin blade at a large man's throat. The man himself was lying supine on the tatami floor, as her foot nailed him to the ground, whilst uttering apologies.

"You idiot!" The woman accused; she wore square-framed glasses a small, black skirt, and a white half-sweater that exposed her tight midriff. "You and your fucking animals wrecked the monitors! I was streaming the latest episode of Princess Yuki! Now I'll never see how it ends-"

A sharp cough interrupted the squabbling woman as she and the supinated giant turned and saw the Fox and the Landshark, each powerful shinobi in their own rights, with blank looks etched on their slightly irked faces.

"N-Naruto-san," the woman stuttered, backing away slightly, allowing the large man to get up from the hard floor, "I can explain what happened to your safe house!"

The large man with long, spiky orange hair motioned her to stop. "No, I can explain."

"Y-yeah, he'll explain! Tell him how it is your fault, Jugo!"

"The reason why the safe house is ruined," the red-eyed giant said before bowing deeply towards the smaller Fox, "is because it was an accident."

A twitch wound its way to the black-haired woman's face and she immediately snapped towards the groveling man, "You Lumbering oaf! As if he'd believe that!"

"Enough." The Fox ordered, and the two apologetic shinobi immediately perked up in attention. "I don't really care what happened here. Just get Suigetsu here situated while I rest."

After softly saying his orders, the Fox immediately turned around and climbed back up the winding staircase, leaving behind two relieved shinobi and one extremely blank-faced, deadpan Landshark.

"You made this mess," Karin crossed her arms at Jugo, "you better clean this up before he comes back."

The silent giant nodded before bringing two fingers to his lips and whistling loudly. Suddenly a line of rodents crawled in from the adjacent room through the hallway and helped the large shinobi clean up the living room. As if used to the scene, Karin beckoned Suigetsu to follow her, ignoring the small animals as they carried objects nearly fifty times their own weight on their backs and passing it to the large, orange-haired shinobi. Suigetsu stared at the scene with bewildered purple eyes while following the thin woman. He nodded to Jugo, who immediately smiled back as Karin and Suigetsu both left the room.

As soon as he caught up, she said, "This place is a lot bigger than you think. Naruto-san built several dojos to train in, as well as living quarters for each one. They're all in separate floors. We were just in the shared living space, but you can choose to train on your own if you want."

They reached the end of the hallway, and met yet another flight of stairs – This one, unlike the last one, was lit by torches along the spiraling walls.

"My place is the level underneath the shared space, and below that is Jugo's. Yours is the last level, all the way at the bottom."

"Sounds swell." He rolled his eyes again. Karin remained silent.

As they reached his quarters, she said, "Help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen; it should be fully stocked. We'll be staying here for a while before we make our next move, depending on Naruto-san's plans."

The Landshark grunted in response and made his way to the kitchen without thought.

"Oh, and Suigetsu?" The blue-haired shinobi stopped in the middle of the hallway but didn't turn around. "I know that you and I don't have the greatest relationship, but we really need your help. It's really good to see you."

She turned around and made her way up the stairs, but Suigetsu turned around and spoke, "Hold on."

"What is it?" She inquired.

"I have a few questions regarding this whole…operation."

"I see," she said before doubling back and walking past him. She led him to his small, simple kitchen and made a line towards the fridge and tossed him a pale ale. She gestured to the round, kitchen table and kicked him a seat before finding one herself. She took a swig from her ale and he sat down and followed suit. "Ask away."

Suigetsu took several gulps and sighed. "Where is Naruto right now?"

She took another sip. "Resting."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nobody knows where he goes."

"But you're a sensor."

"Your point? He just disappears. The moment he retreated up the stairs his chakra signature–and believe me it's hard to find his chakra signature–vanished just as soon as he did. Jugo thinks he's a ghost, I think it's a space-time technique."

Suigetsu whistled. "Space-time, huh? He never taught me that when he was my handler."

"Me neither."

"Hold on," Suigetsu set his ale on the table, "he was your handler too?"

"And Jugo's. Surprised?"

"Well, not really, but he trained me for a very long time while juggling missions for THORN. I knew him before he got famous in the Empire as both a cleaner and a leader. How the hell did he find the time to train you guys as well?"

"Shadow clones." She said dully while taking a sip from her drink. She took a look at her watch.

"But I sparred with him; I gave him a few hits! Shadow clones can't withstand that!"

"Upgraded shadow clones." She shrugged. "Listen, if all your questions are gonna' be this boring, then I'd better go."

"Okay, well explain to me how he was able to infiltrate not one, but two high-level security ROOT compounds. One of them being the Spire, the one I was in. You've heard stories about how secure it is–well, was–haven't you?"

"Jugo and I ran recon on them a couple weeks ago. Don't forget, we've been there before and know all its ins-and-outs, despite all the regulatory weekly changes in security. It was a hitch. All Naruto-san had to do was disable the security system after we scouted for him all the patrol routes."

"But even so, even a Kage couldn't get passed all those elite Jonin. Don't tell me he tackled two full armies by himself."

"Well, he isn't called the best for nothing, right?"

"It's just that it sounds so…Impossible. I've fought him before and he didn't seem that good."

"It may be hard for you to hear it, but he was just going easy on you. Trust me, I know. Have you ever felt like he keeps you at an arm's reach away from him? Almost as if you're just another enemy? That's just him trying to keep his powers a secret, I think. With power that tremendous, you'd want to keep it a secret, too."

"But he killed two entire armies by himself! Like hell that would be a secret for long."

"Don't worry about that. Remember that guy in THORN with shadow powers? Naruto-san explained to us that his powers bear the closest resemblance to his."

"The Scarecrow? He's a Nara, isn't he? How can he help us? He defected before Naruto did. Nobody knows where he went." Suigetsu waved it off. But suddenly, his eyes widened. "Hold on, are you trying to pin the attacks on him? That's a longshot!"

"No it isn't. We found out that the Scarecrow leads the rebellion. The only reason ROOT doesn't know that is because we covered their tracks for them. Jugo, Naruto-san, and I spent weeks planning the infiltration. And besides, Naruto's the best cleaner out there. He can doctor a scene perfectly, even to the point ROOT's best couldn't detect it, trust me. Now is that all?"

Suigetsu nodded.

Karin took one final, long swig of her drink before slamming it back on the table with a satisfied sigh and left him alone in his quarters. He sipped on his own and laughed.

"Clever as ever."

"Drinking with someone, Himiya-kun?" A tall, long-haired woman asked a spiky-haired blond man sitting at a corner table of Sea Country's Shiragiku Inn, a roadside establishment overlooking the coastal inlet of the Haha Island port. The blue waters carried with it a warm front of air and breathed hot, salty wafts into the small lodge through its wood-framed windows. The woman sat down in front of the man whose sole focus was the afternoon sun into the western horizon, kissing the ocean and sprinkling slivers of light into the blue waters.

The tall, blond man sat facing to the side towards a window beside his table with a straight back as his eyes glazed over and mirrored the orange and red and yellow hues that stained the sky and the ocean that threatened to wash over the silent storm that served to darken his own blue pools. He remained silent as the women awarded him with a small sigh.

The man didn't shift in posture to accommodate her, but glanced at her in acknowledgement before quickly casting his gaze back into the waves like a net. He watched as the sun cascaded into the glimmering ocean, its fiery spears stabbing it as if it were a great, blue beast.

"I came alone." He said as he watched the climactic battle.

The woman, clothed in a dark cloak, pulled back her hood and shot him a doubtful look with her soft, white eyes. She noticed that he had three shot glasses beside a tall pitcher of spiced rice wine. Her hair began to undulate as the hot coastal winds and an electric fan served to push and pull on her hair like the nomadic waves – A strange, homeostatic calm that tried to quell the chaos in the blond's eyes.

"I see."

"How much longer until we need to get back to the Jiro Island black site, Aoi?"

"Not long." The woman gave him a small, regretful smile. "We should go back upstairs. We should pack."

"Do we have to?"

"Himiya, we have a mission." She said sternly, worriedly.

"I know. You're right." He started rapping his knuckles on the sturdy table.

"Himiya-kun, is something bothering you?"

The man looked into her soft, white eyes and found that they pierced right through him. He quickly looked away. "We've travelled so much in the few short years we've been away from Konoha."

"You mean the Empire."

"Yes. The Empire. We've passed by so many countries in our travels, so many people… knowing that someday we will have to take away their homes."

"Himiya," she grabbed his hand from across the table, "The Empire's goal is to share its wealth, not take it from other countries. You know that. We aren't taking away their homes; we're offering them better ones. Danzou-sama told it to us himself."

He noticed that her hands were no longer soft, but hard and calloused, and her fingernails were now plain and unpolished, dried and scratched – Unlike their days when they were in the academy or even when she was a chunin. He slowly drew back his hand from hers.

"But what about the collateral damage? It isn't just land that we're taking. We're taking human lives as well."

"That was what we signed up for when we joined THORN. You and I know that we are one of the only people capable of bringing about a great change in the world. Danzou saw it too, that's why he recruited us. But that's precisely why we're here now. That's why we killed our past selves and assumed these hollow identities. Sometimes if you want to protect a cause, you not only have to be in the shadows, but walk in it. It's a tough place to be, but Danzou-sama believes in us. And if you don't believe in that, then at least believe in him."

The two adults sat there in silence, Naruto watched the slowly sinking sun and the pastel colours that hung in the sky, a bright similarity with the warm tones painted on the walls of the loud inn. Merry drinkers and tourists gathered together by the bar, but the two shrouded ROOT ninja sat away from them, perfectly content in their serene isolation.

After a long while the man whispered, "I don't remember her face, you know."

"Tsunade-sama?"

"No. I can never forget baa-chan's face. I meant my teammate's face. It's just been so long – I can't even remember how my name sounds like when she says it."

Aoi stuttered slightly. "Did you love her?"

"Once." The man said softly. "Once.

"We have to go." She said as her soft eyes suddenly became sharper, darker even. She pushed herself away from the table and stood up without looking back at Himiya.

"These people have seen our faces," she reminded him before she walked out the front entrance, tailed by her long, dark cloak.

The tall, cloudy man sat there and allowed himself just a few more seconds to enjoy the blazing sunset before regretfully turning his eyes back to the cold embrace of his duty. He, too, stood up unnoticeably and produced a small note from his sleeve and let it slide down the length of his palm.

He walked towards the entrance without the other patrons noticing and inconspicuously tapped the scribbled note onto the post of the wooden doorframe. He didn't look back at the smiling tourists' faces, nor did he attempt to hear their incessant drinking songs. He merely walked away from the building, into the busy sea-side market streets and quickly found a crowd of grocers to melt into.

Once he did, the establishment that he and his partner had previously occupied, the Shiragiku Inn, exploded in fire, smoke, and wood. The large blast completely wiped the building off the streets and into the ocean. Some shrapnel even flung into the stalls and the people occupying them. Citizens screamed and ran away fearful and disoriented.

Himiya followed the unfaltering silhouette of his partner through the chaotic crowds with a practised calm–yet his face betrayed the slightest of creases upon his brow–as ninjas sailed in the roofs overhead for disaster relief.

He and his partner averted their attention; two black ants scurrying through cracks in the ground, with a tower of fire, like a paint brush, coloring the vibrant sky black behind them.

Shikamaru groggily opened his eyes at the intense beam of light shining on his face light as if he we're being interrogated. He found himself naked in a yellow bedroom, in a queen-sized bed filled with several pillows and a comforter. He noticed that a couple stuffed toys had been pushed to the floor and snickered at that. He couldn't hear or see her, but he could smell her – rich lavender filled his senses – and reached out for her bottom with a curt laugh. But she wasn't there. He sat up and couldn't feel her chakra signature anywhere. She was gone.

Suddenly his nose caught whiff of a delicious smell and he followed it to the kitchen. On the table was a plate with eggs, bacon, and desert greens, with a cup of orange juice and a bowl of camel-milk porridge on the side. There was also note in her neat handwriting that said: Went out to eat breakfast with Sakura-chan. Made you some myself. Don't be late to the meeting!

Shikamaru shrugged, pulled himself a chair and began scarfing food down his throat, in Ino's kitchen, naked.

"But aren't you concerned about the Red Lady?" A woman with long, pink hair and large, green eyes asked Ino, who helped her diagnose a patient. "And how about you, Toru-san? Aren't you worried that her vigilante work is just a front for something more?"

"In my age, you come to appreciate young ninjas who help the authorities do their job, especially if they do an even better job!" The old man lying on the procedure chair released a belly-rumbling laugh. His deep voice infected the two beautiful women who laughed as well.

"Well, Toru-san," Ino interjected, "It does sound suspicious."

"It's all poppycock if you ask me." He harrumphed as Sakura finished running her hands along his body with green-tinted chakra. "Oh, we're finished already? It is very rare that an old man such as me is surrounded by such beautiful women!"

"Toru-san!" The pink-haired woman laughed into her palm. "Don't let your wife hear you say that!"

"Too late." A voice deadpanned behind them, coming from an elderly woman with a little too much make-up at the entrance of the walk-in clinic. She immediately stalked to the chair her husband had been lying on and pulled at the terrified man's ear, bringing about a harmony of laughter from the two elegant women. "So now you're cheating on me, eh? Well lemme' teach you a thing or two about how I feel about that!"

"But, Gertrude! I was just having a regular check-up!" The poor, old man yelled as they made their way out of the clinic and into the sandy streets.

"Check-up my butt!" Ino and her friend exchanged chuckles as the elderly couple's antics.

"Seriously," the pink-haired woman turned towards Ino, who began to assume an innocent look, "you shouldn't be spreading rumours of the Red Lady, especially since rumours of the Resistance sprouted."

"I know, I know, Sakura" The blonde woman assured, "Bad press is still press, I get it."

"Exactly, we can't have the other countries sending in more spies our way. We barely avoided the last batch." Sakura wrapped her hair in a ponytail and tossed it over her shoulder. She unbuttoned her white medical coat and placed it on the rack as Ino watched with a smile. Sakura acknowledged it and asked, "What are you keeping from me?"

"What makes you think I'm keeping something from you, pig!" Ino immediately shook her fist at her friend.

Sakura merely laughed as she led them out of the clinic as another doctor came in to replace her. They waved at one another before the two tall women entered the dusty streets. "You're always keeping something from me. It's just that you seem so happy lately. I'm happy for you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded with a smile. "Have you seen Shikamaru-kun lately?"

"N-no." Ino fumbled. "Why do you ask?"

"What's up with you?" Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's expense. "I'm just worried about him. We all know he's still in mourning about his dad's and all our teachers' deaths. And here he is leading what's left of our crumbling Resistance. We've all lost our parents, but he's the only one who stepped up and led us."

Ino sighed and nodded.

"And what's more, the other divisions of the Resistance disagree with him and went into war despite his warnings and are all fighting losing battles with ROOT. I just can't believe he up and left us a few days ago, possibly in a panic, and messages us to meet him today."

"Shika doesn't panic," Ino reminded her friend, "ever. I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Well, whatever they are, I hope he explains them." Sakura sighed.

Eventually, the two women made their way to Gaara's residence, a large compound surrounded by thirty-foot walls made of rock and sandstone, towering above the residential districts like a palace. The streets were cleaner and quieter, with several palm trees and the rare patches of grass. They avoided the guarded front gates–those were for esteemed guests–entering instead through a side entrance that maids and workers entered through. They walked unnoticed along Gaara's family's sacred grounds until they found his personal home, a four-story mansion unlike the rest of the houses in his residence. It was made of wood and steel, sitting on a foundation of stone rather than sand. It was modern and artistic, home to Gaara and his wife, Matsuri, and their two children.

They knocked on the front door until a beautiful short-haired brunette answered, followed by two children; a short, red-headed girl with a small, stuffed tanuki clutched in her chest, and a taller brunet boy chasing after her. The two children hugged the adults, "Aunt Sakura! Aunt Ino!"

The two women hugged the children back and smiled to their friend. Sakura laughed while Ino said, "How are you, Matsuri-chan? I can see your kids are doing fine."

"We're here for the meeting." Sakura chuckled as she kissed the two children.

"Of course," Matsuri smiled at the women who carried the kids in their arms, "this way."

They made their way through the posh house as Matsuri explained how her life as the Kage's wife hasn't at all affected her ninja career, as she'd taken on a genin team since the end of the academy's last semester, having already notched several D and C-level missions under their belts. The kind, beautiful jonin led them behind their mansion – a backyard comprised several training fields surrounded by houses filled with extended family and family friends. The two kunoichi waved their goodbyes to their smiling host as they made their way to the meeting place, already seeing a familiar face along the way.

Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets as he strolled down a road beside one of the Sand family's houses. He wore the same clothes he wore when he left his broken home and allowed a tiny crinkle to mar his stoic features in thought. Upon making the final turn towards the meeting, he spotted a familiar set of stunning kunoichi who'd each waved towards him.

"Shikamaru-kun!" Sakura ran to the dark shinobi and gave him an intimate hug. "Long time no see. You had us all worried."

"That's right." Ino feigned relief. "You should have contacted us before doing something so reckless, you big ditz!"

Shikamaru scratched his scalp with a finger and nodded at them equally. "You're right, I should've. But in my recklessness I've found a little success."

"You mean…" Sakura gasped.

"I'll tell you when everyone is here."

"Then we'd better go meet them." Ino slapped him on the shoulder before leading them deeper into the maze of houses and training fields and streets, all of which were littered with red and blond-haired, pale-skinned suna-folk dressed in rare silks.

The trio reached a small, yellow-bricked house without a name or a number to indicate its vacancy. It was one of the empty homes in the Sand family's compound, a product of the clan's lack in numbers and expensive tastes. The Nara knocked on the door twice, and then twice again after a small pause. After a couple more moments, the door opened, revealing a tall man with short, spiky brown hair and dark eyes. He wore a sleeveless, black-leather flak vest, a light-grey pair of cargo shorts, combat sandals, and two red, upside-down triangle tattoos on his cheekbones.

The tall man nodded at the two women with warm familiarity and sent the Nara a colder look as they passed him by in the small entrance-way. He wordlessly followed them into the bare living room, where several other shinobi lounged, including a man garbed in white robes and a white turban – which he had unrolled and let hang around his neck like a scarf, exposing his unruly flaming hair.

Gaara, the most powerful man in Sunagakure, the village hidden in the sand, eyed the three visitors of his property with calculating care. He stood up from a chair he had been leaning on and the other shinobi quickly perked up, as well, each pair of eyes on the Nara – some with glares, some with gazes of expectation. Shikamaru eyed them all back calmly as they all stood at attention in the confined, white walls of the living room.

Shikamaru cleared his throat and allowed Sakura and Ino to situate themselves as he remained at the doorway. "I know you all are wondering why I disappeared a week ago without any form of warning, nor why I came back with injuries. I thank you all for giving me space as I rested with my family, but you all deserve answers."

"Damn right you do." The man who had opened the door for them muttered with a low growl as he crossed his arms whilst leaning into a corner, away from any windows and doors. "You ran away when we needed you the most. Our branch leaders in Wave and Snow all lost confidence in us and refuse to communicate! The entire resistance is left to fight for their selves because their leader was missing in action. And to top it all off, each of our sleeper agents and informants are left in the dark!"

A taller man with long, straight hair and a pair of white eyes laid a gentle hand on the huffing brunet. Though the other powerful shinobi didn't voice their concerns the way the brunet did, they expected answers from their enigmatic leader, even the Kazekage.

The Nara fought to keep his composure, rubbing the bridge of his nose to ease the swelling headache. "I understand that, Kiba. But I found him, the man Gaara and I have been searching for. The man that appeared at our doorstep months ago, surrounded by an entire platoon of dead ROOT elites."

"Fox." The long-haired man concluded. "You have found him? How?"

A slender woman wearing a sleeveless tube top and a large scroll on her back nodded in speculation. "You said that he was impossible to track – you even said that his movements were sporadic…"

A large man with a brown mane of hair added. "And let's not forget to mention that he might not even exist. And even if he did, a man who's wanted by ROOT like he is should have died by now. He might not be the same you and Gaara met five months ago."

"He is, Chouji." Shikamaru said. "I kept track of all the places where our informants had found the deep fissures in the ground. Wave country, Snow country, Fire country…these are all places currently occupied by ROOT, or at least allow ROOT forces to tread in. A week ago, I realized that the Fox was observing the ROOT kingdom and had a final stop, Grass Country, seeing as it was the only one he hadn't already been to. And so I left for Grass country, specifically for the ROOT facilities. My goal was to try to intercept him as he was staking the place out, but it seems that he had already done that, as he had already infiltrated the western facility, and was on his way to the eastern one, the Spire. It was there that I saw him, in the rotting forests. I offered him our partnership, but he refused. I think he had other plans. But after traveling back here, I asked myself why he would travel to Grass, a country with no importance in the war effort. After contacting one of our informants in the Empire, I found out that agent Landshark stayed there. And upon realizing that, I noticed that the other countries he visited were the homes of agents Owl and Bull. I concluded that the Fox was making a team."

Every man and woman in the room stood in silence, gawking at the resistance leader's suggestions.

"A team?" Sakura asked. "Why? Why would he want a team full of ROOT agents?"

Shikamaru answered. "These aren't normal ROOT agents, Sakura. Agents Owl, Bull, and Landshark are all agents he had trained before he defected. They are all skilled individuals with particular talents."

"But what kind of talents?" The pink-haired woman rebutted. "Why would he need them?"

"Their skills are classified, but my informants are digging into the ROOT databases as we speak, so we might get an answer. I can only guess that the team he's scouting is loyal to him and share his goal, an ours, in wiping out ROOT."

"So you found him but came back empty-handed." Gaara finally drawled. "And judging by those wounds it appears to me that he declined your offer."

"He hasn't." The Nara replied quickly, drawing everyone's surprise. "He will come here shortly."

"What makes you so sure, Nara-san?" Gaara asked.

"He needs us. His objectives align with ours. He hates ROOT more than we do. And trust me, I know Fox better than I know even myself. I trained with him, remember? I was a cleaner like him before I escaped that life. Before they transformed me into him."

"How can we trust that you know him?" Another man with spiky, black hair and equally dark sunglasses spoke monotonously. "After all, you and Gaara-sama still refuse to reveal to us his identity despite you having left ROOT to oppose it."

Shikamaru looked away and walked towards the living room window and observed as the morning began to transition into noon while noble children played in the streets with their servants stumbling after. He then closed the curtains before turning around to meet everyone with a frown.

"I wanted to keep this from you all for as long as possible, for your sakes, of course. But seeing as I expect the Fox's arrival, it is better that I tell you now before you meet him in person."

"Spill it out, you dumbass!" Ino shouted in frustration. "We can take it."

"I hope so." Shikamaru muttered and then sighed. "Agent Fox, the man who I trained with, the man who we spent years and lives fighting against, the man who now plans to follow us in our crusade to wipe out ROOT is, or was, Naruto Uzumaki."

Suddenly the entire room was clouded by a fog of silence so thick that all of the room's occupants–except Gaara, Ino and Shikamaru–could not see the other's reactions, as they each were occupied with their own. But when a few moments had passed and the fog had dissipated, each shinobi bore feelings of varying degrees. Chouji and Kiba were sputtering while Sakura walked up to the Nara clan head and slapped him in the face before exiting the meeting in tears. Ino ran after her while the rest stood in white-knuckled silence.

Shikamaru didn't rub the swollen cheek the powerful kunoichi had bruised, allowing only his shame to cover it. He spoke once again, this time with small notes of emotion cracking the stoic walls of his voice. "I'm sorry that I chose to reveal his identity at such an insensitive time, but it is important to know who we are dealing with. I didn't choose to reveal his identity because I want you all to trust him. It is because I do not trust him that I chose to tell you his identity. Just because we knew him does not mean we can trust him. After all, he is still the container of the nine-tails and a former cleaner of the Empire; there is no telling what he would do to achieve his goal. And there is no telling what he will do after he completes it. He doesn't care about collateral damage. He was trained not to."

"Well, then." Gaara auspiciously interjected before letting the information and their deceit sink in. "We will certainly him just as he plans to use us. In order for us to come out on top, we must think steps ahead of both Danzou and Naruto."

"I can't believe it." Chouji gritted his teeth. "The man who killed our parents and our teachers, the man who lead death squads against our numbers was our friend?! That traitor!"

"Chouji." Neji attempted to relax the mammoth of a man, who easily dwarfed him, the way he soothed Kiba. "Let's not forget that it is Danzou who manipulated him the same way he manipulated Konoha."

"How can you say that after he killed your cousin! You're spitting on her memory –"

"That is enough, Chouji." Neji muttered coldly, his pale eyes as cold and as sharp as ice. "I know he killed my sister, but we need him. Right, Nara-san?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I will never ask you to forgive him, or me, for what we have done against Konoha. I only ask that you work with him."

Wordlessly, each of the powerful shinobi–most of them clan heads of what was formerly Konohagakure–left the room in fury until only Gaara and Shikamaru were left.

Shikamaru took a couch and sat with his old friend as they quietly exchanged tired expressions.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." The Nara said while lighting himself a cigar.

"I must admit that I hoped they would." Gaara attempted at a joke, though it was cut in half by his seriousness.

"You're a peach." Shikamaru scoffed.

"So what was he like?" Gaara asked. "Naruto-kun, I mean."

"You mean when I met him in Grass?" Shikamaru frowned as he dug into a repressed memory. "Well, though we trained together, he operated at a different pace. He was always the stronger, cleaner killer. He was the only agent Danzou completely trusted. But what I saw that day was just impossible."

"Impossible?

"He decimated an entire army of hand-picked jonin. ROOT jonin. You know as well as I do that Danzou's standards are above any other Kage's, and Naruto destroyed an entire battalion of people that wen above and beyond Danzou's standards of competence."

"You must have helped." Gaara guessed.

"Barely. I struggled to stay alive while he struggled to keep himself from killing me in his bloodlust. I saw it in his eyes, he isn't the same man we knew in our youth and he is far worse than the man that I trained with on Jiro Island. He was like a god on that battlefield. And he didn't even use the kyuubi's chakra."

"Not even a shred?"

"Not one. No, he used something else. Something that is similar to my clan's own. It was lethal, as if it had a mind of its own. And that worries me."

"Why, is this power stronger than yours?"

"That's part of it." Shikamaru sighed out a cloud of smoke. "What worries me the most is that these new, strange powers bear such close resemblance to my clan's jutsu that Danzou will most likely paint a target at me and my family."

"That can be useful." Gaara observed.

"What?" The Nara demanded incredulously. "Why the fuck would that be a good thing?"

"It keeps the target away from the Fox." Gaara stated. "You mentioned he was the best soldier that ROOT trained, so that means he could kill without leaving behind a shred of his own DNA, including blood or fingerprints. So I can only assume that there is most likely no proof of his presence in or out of the battlefield. Can you confirm?"

"I cannot." Shikamaru shook his head. "I didn't want to look at the bodies any longer than I could stand."

"Then more likely than not, upon close inspection, ROOT will most likely pin the killing and the infiltration of the Grass facilities on you."

"That's a long shot." Shikamaru puffed out another cloud, laughing lightly although a layer of sweat had begun to coat his forehead.

"Is that so? Well, let me ask you two more questions before I go see my wife and children: Did the Fox wear a disguise? And did he let anyone live?"

"Shit. He wore black hair. Fuck. That bastard! He's chancing that Danzou will lose scent of him and instead will find mine."

"He has nothing to lose."

"Had nothing to lose. And I'm the collateral damage."

"You will have to move your family: My sister and her children. Are you sure Naruto didn't leave anyone alive to see his disguise?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru tried covering his stress with smoke. They stayed like that for a while until the cigar was reduced to a small, pathetic stick, crunched on by his teeth. Still, he kept sucking in every last millimetre of the smoked, local tobacco.

"Your wife wouldn't appreciate that addiction of yours."

"I told her I wouldn't smoke in front of the kids."

"I meant the Yamanaka woman. My sister would not appreciate your…extramarital affairs."

"My what?" Shikamaru sent his Kazekage, the brother of his wife, a surprised look.

"I see how she looks at you. It would be best that you give her closure before my sister finds out about the Yamanaka's little crush."

"Oh, her?" Shikamaru slowly breathed out his relief without looking too suspicious. "That's just the way she is. She was my teammate, after all. We're like siblings."

"And Temari is my sibling. I grow weary of keeping secrets, Nara-san. I would have revealed the Fox's identity sooner hadn't you asked me not to five months ago. I refuse to keep any more of your secrets for you. See to it that you take care of your business – before I do."

The Kazekage veiled the threat with his stoic tone just as he had begun to re-wrap and veil his head with his white turban. The Kazekage then stood up, nodded to the Nara clan leader, and left.

Shikamaru sat in the small, empty room alone and in his own silence. He sucked in a cloud of smoke from his cigar before coughing it back out.

Author's note: That was a shorter chapter than expected. I originally planned to make it a bit longer, but I decided to cut off a couple scenes (including a fight scene) to make it more streamlined. Each chapter is supposed to give a perspective on the themes and living conditions of the characters' lives, and I felt adding more scenes than needed would take away from the important stuff. Don't worry, though, you'll get an awesome fight scene next chapter. Stay tuned, and please R & R!