Last week: Danzou blew up two of the four tunnels housing the civilian villagers and Itachi figured out why Danzou ordered him to kill his clan.
Answers to some of your questions:
Madara returns to torment everyone in chpt 8 xD
Why didn't Danzou stage his coup after Itachi killed his clan and left? Well, my theory is that it's because Itachi left Sasuke alive. He threatened Danzou to reveal all Konoha's secrets to enemy villages if Sasuke was hurt. The coup might have been construed as "hurting" so Danzou called it off. Other than that, it is a hole in my theory because he could have taken Sasuke into protective custody. But then again, would Itachi have allowed Danzou to do that, knowing what the man was capable of? I do actually believe Danzou is afraid of Itachi. After all, he would have killed him after the massacre if he could have, I'm sure of it.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto.
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Chapter 6 - Underground
Only one tunnel led through the cliff and into the woods north of the village. Considering how well planned out the village was, this seemed like a tremendous oversight. An over-reliance on the security of the tunnels had probably led to a certain amount of arrogance when it came to designing escape routes. Around ten thousand villagers walked through that tunnel under the cover of darkness and a Genjutsu supplied by the Uchiha clan. In order to ensure secrecy they were not told where they were going. The Konoha ninjas herded them through the tunnel and onto a path that wound for two miles through the forest. Stragglers were prodded forward under the suspicion that they may be spies for Danzou, trying to escape. The entire operation took eight hours and was finally finished at two in the morning.
About three thousand of the remaining villagers had been moved into the hospital for observation due to age or illness. It was a tight fit, but Dr. Yakushi, who had been briefed about the problem, pulled out a folder that contained a contingency plan for just such an emergency. The man was quite resourceful.
The area the villagers were evacuated to was a lightly wooded area protected by a second Genjutsu also maintained by the Uchiha clan. Anyone who happened to walk passed the area would see an empty forest and hear nothing but birds and wind blowing through creaking branches. Konoha ninjas had been busy all day, working inside the Genjutsu area constructing tents taken from emergency stock.
The small truce was hanging by a thread, but the desire to protect the civilians overrode, for the most part, their mutual hostilities. There were still quite a few arguments, and some of those resulted in fights. It was all overlooked, though, as the people in charge saw it as a way to "get it out of their system" and allowed the transgressors to return to work. After all, the life of a ninja was full of violence anyway, and for most, the only way to let off steam was to fight.
When the civilians started arriving they helped with the remaining tasks and by morning everyone had a place to stay. It was not comfortable, far from it. Several families shared tents and food was strictly rationed, leaving most people feeling a little hungry. The supplies they did have had been carried by the civilians during the evacuation, as well as ox-cart and was only about half of what was remaining in the tunnels. It was unfortunate because when Danzou destroyed the last two tunnels, the remaining supplies would be lost. However, the plan was for ox-carts to run non-stop until the last minute in an attempt to get out much food and water out as possible. The rest of the supplies were secondary.
The villagers were not happy with the situation. They had been stuck in the tunnels, fearing for their lives for two days, wondering if their tunnel would be the next to collapse. Now they were "imprisoned" inside a Genjutsu shield by the very people who had started the rebellion. Most didn't consider their position improved and many felt that it just made them easier targets.
Nine o'clock came and the distant sound of an explosion broke the villagers from their negative thoughts as everyone quieted down and turned their heads in the direction of the village. Another tunnel had exploded. The arguments disappeared as they realized that perhaps their current situation was better than they had thought.
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Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief when the tunnel exploded. He hoped it meant Danzou did not know about the evacuation and the villagers were safe. At least for a while. It also meant they had at least forty-eight more hours to locate the Hokage and hopefully Danzou. In order to solidify his position as the new Hokage, Fugaku had to take out the Third.
A message arrived by carrier pigeon a short time after the explosion, informing Fugaku that the last tunnel would be destroyed the next morning if he didn't surrender. Well, that was expected. He had a passing thought as to why pigeons were being used to deliver messages instead of hawks as was usually the case. It wasn't important though and he dismissed the thought almost immediately.
Several Hyuugas and members of Uncle's clan descended into the tunnels, using radios to search the area. However, there were no leads. The area was just too large and in the absence of any information about the underground the search was nothing more than a stroll in the dark.
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In the early evening Fugaku got word that his son wanted to speak with him. Unfortunately, it was one o'clock in the morning before he could get away. Making his way into the isolation cells in the police station he entered the large room and nodded once to Nui who was sitting at the table keeping watch. Sasuke was sitting next to her with his head on the table fast asleep.
Nui whispered as she smiled up at Fugaku, "He wanted to keep watch with me."
Fugaku stood looking at his youngest son for a minute, frowning. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and sat straight up in shock when he saw his father. The look on the man's face was harsh and the boy felt his stomach drop at the sight.
"Fa…father." Sasuke stuttered.
"Itachi would not have fallen asleep on watch. If you cannot fulfill your duty do not offer to do it." Fugaku's disappointed voice cut into Sasuke like a knife. He turned his back on the boy and strode over to Itachi's cell. Parting the makeshift curtain he entered silently and lightly shook Itachi's shoulder.
Itachi quickly opened his eyes, alarmed that he hadn't sensed anyone approach him. Of course, it was because of the chakra limiting bracelets. He sat up and saw Fugaku standing over him. The bright lights in the isolation block could not be shut off so other than being tired, 1am looked the same as 1pm. It was a little disorienting and as he looked up at his father he wondered if it was dark outside before realizing what a stupid thing that was to think.
Fugaku pointed to the door and Itachi rose from the cot and quickly pulled on his pants, shirt and sandals. As they walked out of the room he glanced at Sasuke, pausing for half a second. The boy had tears running down his face and Nui was rubbing his back.
"Ignore him." Fugaku snapped as he opened the door. Itachi walked out into the hallway, correctly deducing that his father had probably said something to upset his younger brother.
'He never changes.' Itachi said to himself.
"You definitely look better than you have in weeks." Fugaku said appraisingly.
Itachi sighed. Despite the ill-will he felt toward his father, this was not the time or place to voice it. He had more important things to discuss. "I was thinking… I… I…" Suddenly what he wanted to tell his father was really hard to say.
"I don't want to push you, son, but I'm really busy." Fugaku said impatiently.
Itachi nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just… I think I know what Danzou was up to. You may have figured it out as well. It's just… I don't think the kids are very safe here."
"What have you figured out?" Fugaku was curious.
"He set Uchiha up to stage a coup, then gave me the task of stopping the coup by… killing… everyone. But he expected me to fail, and possibly die in the attempt. Then while you attacked, he would stage his own coup. Or, the alternative is that I succeed and leave the village and his coup goes forward without any hindrance. Either scenario works for him. And in both scenarios I am no longer in the picture." Itachi found it hard to admit how badly he had been tricked to his father. He had always endeavored to stand up to him as a strong, powerful ninja worthy of his clan status as heir, but now... he felt like none of that. He felt like an ignorant child who had fallen for a simple trick.
However, Itachi still wasn't ready to forgive his father for the coup. He had heard from the others about all the dead bodies and knew that the total number of casualties must be much higher. And, as expected, civilians were among the dead. If only he had been more observant he would have seen that the whole thing had been a setup from the beginning.
Fugaku frowned. "Yeah, we figured that out in the last few days as well. We still haven't found Danzou, but the clans I invited to the battle are busy fighting his minions. Some of whom don't seem to be following his orders. I know for a fact that Danzou would never harm Naruto and the fact that one of his ANBU tried to kill him is disturbing."
"What about Sarutobi? Konohamaru…" Itachi asked.
"Don't worry about that." Fugaku said quietly.
"I can't believe he thought I could be Hokage." Itachi said dejectedly.
"How do you think he felt when he realized what Danzou had done? He probably wasn't feeling much like he deserved the title either. Danzou… I think he might be able to give Madara lessons on backstabbing. His level of treachery is certainly unparalleled."
Itachi nodded, then lifted his forearms. "I need to protect them, unless you want to assign a couple ninja down here with us. He will come. No matter where you put us, Danzou will attempt at least one more assassination."
Fugaku smiled, then pulled the chakra key out of his pocket and unlocked the bracelets. "If Danzou is not found soon I am considering sending those seven to Mist. You would go with them as escort."
"That's a last resort, I hope." Itachi realized it might be a good idea, even if it did have a large number of drawbacks. Madara, as Mizukage, had offered to give sanctuary to anyone Itachi didn't want killed in the planned massacre. He had already taken in Sheeta and Nui's sister Aya after she botched an assassination assignment a year ago. He had also kidnapped the twin infant sons of an Uchiha woman and taken them to Mist when Itachi had refused his offer.
"That goes without saying." Fugaku was quiet for a moment. "We need to get this all sorted out quickly so you can get back to Akatsuki. In fact your partner has been running around outside the gates attacking ninjas. Luckily he isn't wearing his cloak so even if someone recognizes him as a missing nin they can't trace him to Akatsuki. Of course, it also helps that the organization is virtually unknown."
"Do you… want me to talk to him? He… might be worried about me." Itachi sighed. He imagined the shark-man was having a lot of fun; he loved fighting with his large, oversized sword.
"I already did. He's only attacking ANBU now. He said his leader told him to back off so he decided on his own that the order didn't apply if he wasn't acting on behalf of Akatsuki and took off his cloak. Rather flimsy logic if you ask me, but he seems half insane anyway. And he did ask about you, but I told him you were inside the village fighting." Fugaku smirked.
"Hn. Well, I should get back. I will guard the children, father. I swear nothing will happen to them." Itachi looked his father straight in the eyes for the first time in months with a clear, penetrating gaze.
"As expected of my son." Fugaku said confidently.
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Itachi re-entered the room and stopped next to the table. He reached down and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Sasuke…"
"Get away from me!" Sasuke yelled as he stood up and backed away from Itachi. "It's always about you, isn't it? I'll never be good enough!"
"Sasuke…" Itachi was alarmed by his brother's sudden outburst, "what happened? What did he say to you?"
"What do you care? You're the only one he ever sees! No matter how good I am it never matters!" Sasuke had been backing up as he yelled. Hitting a corner he slid down into a crouch and wrapped his arms around his legs and put his head on his knees. Bitter sobs wracked his body as he vented his frustration with tears.
"Please Sasuke…" Itachi started walked forward.
"No. Leave him alone." Nui grasped Itachi's shoulders and bent down to whisper in his ear. "Aya and Sheeta used to argue like this all the time and I found the best thing to do was to leave them alone for a few hours. It'll be okay in the morning."
Nodding almost imperceptibly Itachi turned around and faced the older teen. "What happened?", he whispered.
"Lord Fugaku snapped at him for offering to stand guard then falling asleep. He compared him to you, and said you wouldn't have fallen asleep." Nui frowned. "Things… aren't going so good up there, are they?"
"I have no idea. He still won't tell me anything." Itachi replied. He heard rustling and saw that they had an audience. Naruto, Hinata and Sheeta were standing a few feet away looking back and forth between Sasuke and Itachi. Their faces were sleepy, but also curious and concerned.
"Okay, everyone back to bed." Nui said cheerfully. "Just a bit of sibling rivalry. Nothing for you guys to worry about." She walked over to Sasuke. "You too. Go to bed and we'll talk again tomorrow, okay?"
Sasuke stood up, looking at the floor. His face was streaked with tears and he clenched his fists tightly at his side. Nodding once to indicate he heard Nui he walked silently back to his cell and disappeared behind the strung-up sheet.
Itachi watched his little brother and frowned. Sasuke was not one to let go of grudges. In that regard he was very much like his real father – Madara Uchiha. The bitter disappointment Itachi had felt when he had learned the truth washed over him again as he stared at the sheet that hid his brother.
Itachi looked up at his father, "Explain yourself."
The words took Fugaku aback. He blinked a few times at their coldness. This was not a five year old boy sitting in front of him. What was it? 'I'll have to tell him the truth.' Fugaku sighed and sat down on the bench. "Itachi. I made a terrible mistake. I thought of myself instead of the welfare of the clan." He sighed again. He was not used to talking about his feelings, or showing emotion. Explaining himself to a child seemed even more absurd.
"Itachi, your grandfather, my father, was a man who loved to kill. He killed on his missions, and it wasn't always out of self defense. In fact, the last few years of his life he wouldn't just kill his targets. He would go looking for someone powerful enough to challenge and fight them to the death. He was obsessed with proving his power. Eventually the Kage found out, then others in the village. The clan was disgraced and he was executed by the council of elders. Before he died he killed my mother and was going to kill me, but instead he made me promise never to have any children. I broke his promise and had you. But I couldn't live with the guilt and I had a medical procedure done that would prevent me from having anymore children." He stopped talking and watched as the breeze picked up a little, blowing some fallen leaves across the pavement.
"But how did mother get pregnant then?" Itachi was watching his father closely.
"I take it you know how babies are created?" He hoped the answer was "no".
"Yes, mother told me."
Fugaku sighed and wiped his hand across his face, then tried for a very simplistic answer. "A doctor can remove sperm from a man and the egg from a woman, combine them, then put the egg back into the woman. That is how Sasuke was born. Do you understand that?"
"Yes. There is still something about grandfather you aren't telling me." Itachi was very direct.
"There is a lot about him I am not telling you. But one day, I will tell you. I want… I want you to grow up a little more. To develop your own personality without being weighed down by his legacy. He was my devil, I don't want him to be yours too. Please don't ask me or anyone else anymore questions about him. What I told you a few minutes ago was the truth, it was not the whole truth, but… just honor my request, Itachi."
"Yes. I will." Itachi stood up. "Sasuke is my brother, no matter what."
"And he is my son. Just as much as you are."
Well, Fugaku did love his sons. Itachi had never doubted that. But he was very strict to the point of being cruel. He had hoped it was because his father wanted him to grow up strong and capable, to be worthy of the title "heir". However, while Fugaku had yelled at Sasuke for normal things like leaving toys in the hallway or running in the living room, he had never before berated him by comparing him to his older brother. Itachi understood Sasuke well enough to know that was the worst thing their father could do. The young boy felt like he was living in his brother's shadow; never good enough to cast his own. Hopefully, it was just stress that prompted Fugaku's behavior and it wouldn't happen again. Itachi also knew Sasuke well enough to understand that the boy would not take it for long before striking back. And knowing Fugaku, that could land the boy in the hospital. Subconsciously Itachi rubbed the arm his father had broken when he was four-years-old. That man did not hold back when applying "discipline". Sasuke could be in for a lot a trouble.
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Itachi returned to his cot, laid down on top of the blanket and stared at the ceiling. He sent his chakra out into the room, testing it. Finding himself at full strength once again, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly fell asleep.
The rain poured down on a destroyed Konoha. A boy, an older, teenage version of Sasuke, knelt down next to two corpses. Pink hair and blond hair mixed with each other as the newly dead embraced. They were the teenage versions of Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. Tears were coming out of the teen's eyes as he collapsed over their bodies. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't able to save you. Itachi, if only… if only things were different, you would have been here with me to save them…"
Itachi walked up to the teenager and tried to call out to him, but his voice was gone. He looked down at his body and saw that not only was he an adult, but he was transparent. He was a ghost. He couldn't help his brother because he was already dead. Where were their parents? They should be here… Itachi gasped as the transparent forms of Fugaku and Mikoto appeared in front of him, looking down at Sasuke they also tried to reach out to him but they were dead as well. They looked up at Itachi, shock on their faces, then anger. He was supposed to have protected his little brother, yet here he was, dead.
Looking away Itachi noticed that all of Konoha was gone. The buildings had all collapsed. Corpses were everywhere.
A desperate plea was shouted into the rain, echoing impotently among the destroyed buildings and bloated corpses, "Please! Don't let this be my fault!"
Itachi gasped and sat up quickly, his breath coming in short gasps he clutched at his shirt and closed his eyes tightly trying to forget the images in his dream. Konoha destroyed. Everyone dead. Sasuke being the only one left alive to bear the grief. Itachi suddenly opened his eyes in shock. If he had succeeded in killing the clan, his plans were to leave only Sasuke alive. And, if his own plans to kill Madara succeeded, then he would probably die in the attempt… or at least from his illness a short time later. That would mean… Sasuke would be alone.
And even though he had experience this particular dream perhaps a hundred or more times, he still didn't know who had cried out at the end of the dream. Himself or Sasuke.
But if he didn't kill the clan, why did he have that dream again? Perhaps, was he going to get another chance to kill his clan? No. He wouldn't do that. It had been Danzou's idea, not his, and now that his mind was clear he could see the lies he had fallen under while in that man's grip.
"What does it all mean?" Itachi asked himself quietly. He had that dream many times over the years and despite its familiarity it always scared him. Standing up he made his way to the small kitchenette. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost seven in the morning. Pouring some rice in the rice cooker he started it up. He wasn't hungry, but the others would be waking up soon and they would expect him to eat.
"I wonder if Sakura and Ino are okay." Sasuke's voice interrupted Itachi's thoughts and he looked over at his little brother who had silently wandered up to the small table. He was looking at the floor, a little sheepishly, as if embarrassed about his outburst a few hours earlier.
"Why?" Itachi remembered Sakura was a little pink-haired girl from the Haruno clan and Ino was the daughter of Inoichi from the Yamanaka flower shop.
Sasuke frowned. "No reason."
"They're his fan club." Naruto piped up, smiling as he walked up to them. "I'm sure they're okay. They wouldn't give up on you that easy!"
"Ami is dead. She was one of them too." Sasuke's face turned red and he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He thought his little "fan club" was irritating, but when he had seen Ami's corpse he realized how much he had gotten used to them, and oddly enough, how much he missed them. He also realized he only knew the names of three of the girls, Ami, Sakura and Ino. He now felt bad about that, too. In a way, they had been his only friends at school.
Naruto's face fell and he sat down next to Sasuke. "Oh." Was all he could say. After all, he had seen the corpses, but even though he couldn't remember the faces clearly due to trauma, he did remember the emotions he felt when he had seen them.
"I saw Choji too." Sasuke whispered.
Naruto gulped, "He was one of the kids who would play with me sometimes."
"I had another nightmare. Sakura and Naruto were dead." Sasuke said quietly.
Itachi had to exercise every bit of mental control he had to keep from reacting to his brother's words. It was more than a coincidence it was downright terrifying. He was dying to ask what the details of the dream were, but he couldn't do that here.
"Don't be silly! No one can kill me! I'm going to be a powerful ninja someday!" Naruto declared.
Sasuke smiled half-heartedly, "You're too lazy."
"Am not! Take that back!" Naruto demanded.
"Boys, it's too early to argue. The rice cooker just finished, get something to eat." Itachi broke up the impending fight and the boys decided that stuffing their mouths was more fun than arguing.
The door opened a few minutes later and Fugaku entered the room. With a grim expression he gazed intently at the three boys sitting at the table. Sasuke refused to look at him, instead keeping his gaze on his rice bowl. Finally, he ordered Itachi out into the hallway, closing the door after them.
"Itachi, do you have any knowledge of the tunnels under Konoha?" Fugaku asked seriously.
"Yes. I know them very well." Itachi was shocked at the relief that flooded across his father's face.
"We are in a very grim situation. A few hours before the coup began Danzou kidnapped Sarutobi. We have been unable to find him. Several ANBU have been working on his side, killing indiscriminately. They have blown up two tunnels killing all the civilians inside them. We evacuated and hidden the rest of the civilians. In a few minutes the fourth tunnel will be blown up. Tomorrow they will target the ninja prison, and then this prison the day after unless we surrender. A loose consensus seems to be that the Konoha ninja would rather follow Uchiha than Danzou so for the moment they are standing beside us.
"However, we need to find Sarutobi as soon as possible. He is probably underground somewhere." Fugaku stopped talking and looked down at his son, who was returning his gaze with a pensive look on his face.
"ROOT appears to have been a mistake. I had no idea he was that corrupt." Itachi felt like a fool admitting that to his father. "I have about ninety percent of the underground committed to memory. If you would like, I could go down and find him. However…" Itachi paused, wondering what the best way to phrase his next words was, "I will not harm him."
Fugaku wasn't surprised by his son's words, "What happens after that is between me and him. You don't need to shoulder that burden, Itachi. The cares of the world are not yours alone. You got into this mess partially because you internalize too much. You are my son, Itachi, and I don't want you to feel trapped like that again."
Itachi creased his brow in shock. That was probably one of the last things he would ever expect to hear his father say. What was going on? Fugaku had, two years earlier, accused Itachi of underestimating him. Back then he had been witness to his father's power as he fought and killed the Kage of the village hidden in the Stones. However, could it be that Fugaku also understood human nature as well? And, God forbid, mercy?
'Not possible.' Itachi said to himself, remembering all the beatings he had suffered over the years at the hands of both his parents. In fact, he fully expected, when all this was settled he would be picking himself up off the floor again as his father went all out on him. There was no way it wasn't going to happen. In fact, he considered himself lucky he was even alive. If he had been anyone else he would be dead by now. And in a way, he felt that this time he would deserve it.
"I'll return shortly." Fugaku said quickly, then opened the door to let Itachi back into the jail before leaving.
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An hour later the door opened again and Mikoto walked in followed by Kisa and Yuri. The three women smiled at the children and Kisa pulled Hinata and Hanabi aside, giving them hugs and reassurances that "everything would be okay soon".
Yuri, even though she was smiling, looked the worse for wear. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes and her hands were clenched into fists. "Good morning, Itachi." She said quietly.
"Are you okay?" Itachi responded. The fifteen-year-old teenager had been on his Genin team, and later his subordinate during his short stint as an ANBU captain. Skilled at earth jutsus she had the unique ability to call roots out of the ground with her chakra, using them to spy on the enemy or wrap them around a person and strangle them.
"Yeah." Yuri replied without emotion.
"Itachi, Fugaku wants to see you at the top of the stairs." Mikoto held the door open and pointed at the narrow staircase.
The teenager looked at his ANBU teammate, worried about what she might have gone through. She didn't appear to be injured, just exhausted and upset. Well, whatever it was would have to wait. Itachi exited the room and ran up the stairs, finding the physical exertion comforting after being trapped underground for so many days.
"Itachi, there you are." Fugaku said calmly.
"Hey there! Long time no see."
Itachi looked at the person standing behind his father. "Kisame, what…"
Kisame threw Itachi's backpack at him. Itachi caught it and stared. "How were you able to see through the Genjutsu?"
"I found it." Fugaku replied. "I want you and Kisame to go down into the underground and find Sarutobi."
"Okay, I can do that." Itachi replied firmly. "But… why is Kisame here?"
"Danzou. I have some personal business to iron out with that demon and this is definitely the closest I'll probably ever get to him." Kisame sneered in anger, "It sounds like you have a reason to as well, boy."
Itachi was a little taken aback. Kisame had never called him "boy" before. Sometimes he called him "kid" if he was being familiar or lecturing him. He decided from the context of the sentence he probably meant it as a challenge. Well, Itachi wasn't exactly one to pass up a challenge.
"Yeah, I have a reason." Itachi replied bitterly.
"You have until midnight, at which point I will have to evacuate the ninja prison. Considering who is in that prison I am considering just letting them all be blown up. The resources to manage hardened ninja criminals is beyond our capabilities right now and would place the civilians in danger. Danzou's really got us between a rock and hard place." Fugaku said sternly. "Mikoto, Kisa and Yuri will help Nui and Sheeta guard the children while you are gone."
Fugaku handed his son a small vial of blood and a scroll. "Use this to summon a cat when you find him. Have the cat find me and bring me to your location. You only need to use a small drop of the blood, and you should already know the handsigns."
"Yes." Itachi acknowledged.
"And Itachi… I am going to forgive you for what happened, but if you betray me again do not let me catch you." He paused for a moment, holding his son's gaze. "You better get going."
"Yes." Itachi and Kisame walked up more stairs to get to street level then exited the police station.
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"Does Leader know you're here?" Itachi asked quietly as he rooted through his backpack for his weapons. He saw that his father had also picked up his sword from the house as well.
"No. Didn't tell him. We are allowed to do whatever we want as long as it doesn't conflict with the overall goals of the organization so I thought I would stick around and play for a while. He probably already knows, though. Zetsu does a lot of spying." Kisame explained as he waited for Itachi to arm himself. The teenager then stuck his backpack in an alley and placed a Genjutsu over it to hide it.
Collapsed and burned out buildings, empty lots where buildings used to be and corpses piled up waiting to be collected were just some of the sights that made Itachi cringe. The knowledge that even if he had succeeded in killing his clan Danzou would have still staged his own coup made him feel even worse. There seemed to have been no way to have avoided the situation they were now in. War was raging in Konoha and half the population was already dead.
Itachi thought about what his father had told him a few minutes earlier. Why was he forgiving him? It was completely out of character. Was he regretting the coup? Itachi found that he had mixed feelings about what was going on. On the one hand, he felt his father would do a better job of running the village than Danzou, but on the other hand he wanted Sarutobi back. Fugaku tended to be reactionary and violent. War was inevitable if Fugaku was in power. Of course, it was probably inevitable anyway once the neighboring countries discovered how chaotic things were in Konoha. It would be the perfect opportunity to strike. Not to mention Akatsuki's goal of destroying countries.
"Lord Itachi!" He turned around when someone called his name and recognized one of the Uchiha elders.
"There you are! Lord Fugaku said you were around but this is the first I've seen of you." The old man walked up to him and patted him on the back.
"I am pleased to see you recovered from the temple collapse. You shouldn't be out here, though. There are enemy shinobi in the next street over." Itachi responded politely. "I am on my way now to do some important work, so I really can't stop to talk."
"I understand, and I'll be careful. Well, I'll tell the others I saw you, they have been curious." He wandered away and Itachi breathed out a sigh of relief.
"You remind me of a caged animal Itachi." Kisame observed.
"I feel like one. And not just because I was trapped in a prison with a bunch of kids." Itachi mumbled a confession.
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The ANBU building was, surprisingly, still standing. Itachi fully expected to see it collapsed on the ground in a heap of rubble. The circular structure was guarded by several Konoha nins who glared as they approached the front door. Three dead bodies lay sprawled on the ground near the entrance.
"Huh?" Itachi stared at the bodies.
"Do you recognize them, Itachi?" One of the Konoha nins asked cautiously.
"Subordinates of mine. Masanori and Toshiya. They were members of ROOT." Itachi looked at them for a few seconds before turning back to the building. His short stint as an ANBU captain had put him in charge of four subordinates, Masanori, Toshiya, Yuri and Iria. He briefly wondered about the fate of Iria.
"What is he doing here?" One of the ninja's challenged, pointing a kunai at Kisame's scratched out forehead protector.
"None of your business." Itachi responded.
"Humph. So Fugaku is aligning himself with Mist scum now, huh?" The man spat angrily.
Kisame grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him up two feet before shoving him roughly against the wall. Scowling he growled, "Would you like to rephrase the last part of that sentence before or after I kill you?"
The ninja scratched at Kisame's hands and gurgled as he tried to free himself. The other ninjas backed off and one of them yelled at Itachi, "Make him stop! He didn't mean anything!"
"It sounded to me like he meant it." Itachi frowned. Considering what was going on in the village he didn't see how calling people names was going to help and was quite irritated at the man's childish behavior.
Kisame threw his captive to the ground and walked into the building.
"He's unconscious!" One of the Konoha ninjas said, "How come he didn't kill him?"
"I don't waste my time on weaklings." Kisame called out from inside the building. Itachi smirked when the ninjas scowled at the shark-man's words. Silently, he followed Kisame into the building.
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"So where do we start?" Kisame looked down a long, seemingly bottomless shaft. The pair was standing on a platform that acted as a crossroads to four different parts of the subterranean village. Large pipes climbed their way out of the depths making their way to the surface and the faint hum of machinery could be heard in the distance.
"The lights are on down here." Itachi said quietly.
"Danzou probably has his own power plant then." Kisame sighed and readjusted his oversized sword.
"I've been thinking," Itachi finally said, "I know a lot of places he probably wouldn't be and a lot of places he could be…" He was quiet again for a couple minutes as he stood motionless with his eyes closed. In his mind he saw a three-dimensional map of the underground. He knew almost the entire facility. "The big problem is the size. Even cutting out the parts that I am positive we won't find him still leaves a lot of area to cover."
"Should we split up then?" Kisame offered doubtfully. He was looking over the edge of the platform again and trying to count the number of platforms beneath the one they stood on. There were too many though, and they disappeared into the depths of the earth, out of sight.
"No. We shouldn't separate under any circumstances. We are essentially in a maze. Taking time to find each other would be counter-productive. So… let's start on the level we are on now and work our way down." Itachi moved off to the north passage, followed closely by Kisame.
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"This is not good." A cloaked man spoke severely. "I never thought Fugaku would use Itachi after what he did. In fact, since no one has seen or heard anything of him for the last few days I was sure he had killed him. I expected him to kill him."
"Should we move the prisoner?" A masked ANBU spoke from a crouched position; head averted respectfully.
The figure was silent for a couple minutes. "No. Perhaps we should allow Itachi to find his target. If Fugaku has convinced Itachi to work with him then we will have to withdraw. He knows too much about ROOT and passing that information onto his father will…" He sighed in frustration. "Withdraw immediately from Konoha and gather at location four. I will have to take care of the matter myself."
"Yes." The ANBU disappeared to deliver his commander's orders.
"Dammit!" The man yelled, banging his fist into the wall.
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Next week Itachi continues searching the underground for evidence of the Hokage.
Fugaku breaking Itachi's arm is in chapter 3 of "Itachi the Early Years". If you haven't read that story, it might be worth going back and reading that chapter for more insight into Fugaku's character. That's also the chapter where Itachi first met Madara. Occasionally, I'll recommend chapters for you all who haven't read the first story and don't want to. That way you can just read the "important" parts without wading through 65 chapters. You don't have to read them, though, it's just a recommendation. I promise there won't be pop-quiz… or will there be? xD