Last week – Sasuke had a run-in with some bullies and Pein gave a demonstration of what he would do to Konoha if Itachi betrayed him by destroying Hanzou's clan's village.
Thanks for all the reviews!
Wow, everyone likes Madara. Yeah- he's a cool villain. He's easier to write than Itachi, actually, because he's so laid back. There isn't much that is out of character for him because he'll do anything to get what he wants. There will definitely be more of him as the story progresses.
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Kishimoto
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Chapter 14 – Darkness Rising
"Everyone check in." A voice crackled over a wireless radio and was soon followed by several other voices.
"Agent 1 in position."
"Agent 2 in position."
"Agent 3 in alternate position. Primary was occupied by an old man."
"Agent 4 in position."
"Agents 5 and 6 in position."
"Agent 7 in position."
"Decoy is in position and is going to kill you if this doesn't work."
The first voice came over the radio, "It'll work; it can't fail."
"Just because it works in a movie doesn't mean it'll work now." The decoy complained.
"But you were really excited about it before."
"That was before I found out I was the decoy, Sasuke."
"Quit complaining Naruto. As soon as those guys show up we'll all descend on them and take them out. You'll be fine." Sasuke peeked through the binoculars he had "borrowed" from the police station. "Just don't anyone break the radios. I'm not supposed to have them."
"Yeah, yeah, you've told us that fifty times already." Shikamaru complained.
"Agent 3 checking in. Targets spotted and heading towards decoy. Ahhh! There's a cockroach!"
Sasuke groaned, "Ino, be quiet, they'll hear you!"
"But it's a cockroach! Icky!" Ino yelled into the transmitter. "Ow! Stop that! Get it away…" The radio went dead for a minute before a boy's voice commandeered the airwaves.
"Hey! Asshole! I've got a hostage! What are you going to do about it?"
"Ino's now the decoy! Everyone move in!" Sasuke yelled into the transmitter as he stood up and ran towards Ino's position. Streetlights lit the way as he bolted through the early evening darkness, Sharingan blazing. There weren't very many people out since most stores now closed around five o'clock due to merchandise shortages - but those that were gave him curious stares as he passed them.
"Sasuke!" Shikamaru caught up to him and matched his pace. "We sorta lost the element of surprise here. You know that right?"
"Oh yeah. I know." Sasuke replied grumpily. The two boys burst into the alley where the bullies they had been stalking – unsuccessfully – were holding Ino. Sakura, Hinata and Ji were already there. Shino and Kiba ran up behind them only to fall forward when Naruto failed to stop in time and bowled everyone over.
Eight bodies, sixteen arms and sixteen legs tangled together as everyone tried to get up at the same time. The boys holding Ino started to laugh hysterically and Ino, who was sitting on a wooden box between two boys, began crying in frustration.
"What the hell is going on here?" A woman's voice silenced the children and everyone looked up fearfully as a bright light illuminated the dark alleyway. They strained to get a look at her but all they could see was a black shape standing in front of a brilliant yellow glow. "We told you to hold the two boys for us, not create a spectacle of yourselves. And what's with all the witnesses?"
One of the boys sitting next to Ino spoke up in very respectful tone, "We didn't know they would be launching a sneak attack on us tonight, Sensei. They brought all their little friends. You can take all of them, right?"
"Well, we can't leave them here. But we should just kill them. All we need are Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. Those were our orders." The woman sounded put-out and groaned as the eight children on the ground managed to disentangle themselves and stand up. "You! Sit back down on the ground!" She ordered. The kids promptly dropped down and looked up fearfully.
"They are the kids of some prominent Konoha clans. You have Hinata, chief of the Hyuuga clan for one. This here," He pointed to Ino who was busy wiping tears off her face, "is the only child of Inoichi Yamanaka. The others are Nara, Aburame, Inuzuka, and that is Ji Kim the nephew of the Kim clan's chief who has no children of his own. That makes him the next in line to succeed his uncle."
"Humph. Quite the jackpot. We will take them all then. However, your little 'friends' we don't need." The woman looked at the accused bullies with an emotionless gaze and then, as if it were an afterthought, issued a command. "Kill them."
The silence that followed was absolute. No one spoke, no one breathed, no one moved. fifteen seconds later all hell broke loose as the nine friends and six bullies yelled out protests and stood up to defend themselves. The woman and her two charges took defensive positions as they prepared to fight.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and started to form the hand signs for a fireball jutsu the same time Hinata activated her Byakugan and got into a defensive stance. However, before the boy could complete his jutsu a man used a transportation jutsu to appear behind him and knock him unconscious. Hinata met the same fate when a second man, this one with a Byakugan, was able to avoid the girl's thrusts and shut off her chakra system. She collapsed onto the ground, feeling very weak and nauseous. The man kicked her in the head once and she also fell into unconsciousness.
"Cover their eyes." The woman ordered.
The six bullies went down next as the two boys who had been sitting besides Ino each pulled a kunai and attacked. The boys didn't even get the chance to scream as their throats were slashed open and they collapsed to the ground to suffocate on their own blood. The entire attack took only a few seconds.
The rest of the kids were so freaked out by the efficiency of their captors that they stopped struggling and bunched together, clutching at each other's clothing and arms. Ino was shoved roughly in their direction and collapsed against Sakura who grabbed onto her tightly. Both girls were too shell-shocked to cry.
The woman looked over the group appraisingly, then pointed at Sakura. "Who is this?"
One of the boys answered as he walked forward into the light. He was a little taller than them, probably only a year older, with black hair, a thin face, and empty black eyes. His voice held no emotion. "Captain, she is Sakura Haruno. Orphan. No clan. Rated highly by the Academy because of her near-perfect chakra control and excellent memory. Expected to become a top kunoichi."
"Hmmm." The captain gave the young girl an appraising stare. "We can't get anything for her from Konoha. She is a cute little girl though. We might be able to indoctrinate her into Root, or sell her to a brothel for some money. Bring her along." She turned around and flipped off the flashlight as she re-entered the street.
"Don't worry, Sakura. I won't let them hurt you." Ino mumbled. Sakura was shaking so bad all she could do was nod her head once as she followed everyone down the street. Even though she was nine she understood completely what the implications of the captain's words were. Her mother had explained it very well in an attempt to scare her away from being a kunoichi; telling her that female shinobi would sometimes be made to work in places like that. Tears started falling, but she stifled her sobs, instead she rested her head on Ino's shoulder and silently cried.
Shikamaru nervously reached into his pocket and fingered the dials on the radio. Their captors hadn't removed them yet. He knew he wouldn't be able to use it - they would most likely kill him the moment he tried. Things had gone beyond wrong, they were now in the "disastrous" category. Obviously these people were part of Danzou's Root. He could certainly guess why they would want Sasuke – his father was the Hokage and his brother had killed Danzou – but why was Naruto included? True, he was living in Fugaku's household, but wouldn't kidnapping Sasuke have a bigger impact than adding an extra body?
Naruto had always been a curiosity to the youngest of the Nara clan. Everyone hated him – even the adults - but there didn't seem to be a good reason for it and when he asked he was told to mind his own business. Shikamaru hated it when he couldn't solve a puzzle and this was going to bug him until he had the answer.
He continued to absent-mindedly run his hand across the radio, before he settled on twisting the volume dial between his fingers, 'Sasuke's going to get in a lot of trouble when he doesn't return this stuff tonight.' Shikamaru's mouth formed a lopsided grin as he thought of the implications of the theft. 'That means… if I drop this…' He pulled the dial off the radio and let it fall to the ground, 'they'll know he was here. This isn't hopeless yet.'
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"Fugaku?" Mikoto called out as she walked down the hallway to greet her husband who had just entered the house. "The boys haven't come home yet. It's almost nine-thirty."
"What?" Fugaku asked sternly. "They know they aren't supposed to stay out after nine-o'clock. What could they be doing?"
"Lady Mikoto?" Toshiro's voice called out from the porch and entered the house, "Is Hinata here? She said she was going to play with Sasuke and Naruto, but its getting late and there's school tomorrow…" His voice trailed off when he saw the look of panic on Mikoto's face and the annoyed glare from Fugaku. He got the message. The kids were missing. "I'll go check the schoolyard."
"I'll alert the police and have them start looking. Mikoto, stay here in case they come back. Sasuke and Naruto may push the envelope occasionally, but if Hinata isn't back yet something must have happened." Fugaku quickly slipped his sandals back on and ran out of the house at full speed, followed closely by Toshiro.
Reaching the police station he started walking toward the open office area where the night shift worked but was stopped by the officer on duty, "Fugaku, are you here to return the radios?"
"Huh? Radios?" Fugaku was pretty sure he hadn't borrowed anything recently.
"Sasuke was here earlier asking about them. I told him they weren't toys and he couldn't borrow them. Oddly enough they took a walk the same time he did. I figured he just wanted to play with his friends so I didn't go after him. I expected him to have them back by now though." The man leaned back against a wooden desk and looked curiously the clan lord.
"How many did he take?" Fugaku asked hurriedly.
"Nine. And one flashlight."
"Damn it." Fugaku cursed, "Assemble everyone to search for Sasuke and bring him to the station, as well as any other children you find. He, Naruto and Hinata haven't come home yet and if he took nine radios the other kids he's been hanging out with are probably missing as well."
"They are." Toshiro called out as he rushed into the room, followed by Iruka Umino. "I ran into some of their parents who were also out looking."
Iruka spoke up, "I took roll call a few minutes ago of all the orphans and we're missing Sakura, who has being playing with Sasuke lately, and six older boys, aged eleven to thirteen, who hang out together."
"Sasuke and Naruto have been having problems with some bullies. I wonder if they did something stupid and are now…" Fugaku was interrupted when the teacher shuddered.
"Please don't say it. Let's just go look for them." Without waiting to hear anything else Iruka turned around, "I'll notify the other instructors about what is going on and have them go around question their classmates. They may have heard something."
"Good idea. Tune your wireless to band 3 and let us know what you find out." Fugaku walked out of the building and stood in the street staring up at the stars. Toshiro joined him a minute later. "I should have known Root would pull something like this."
"What makes you think its Root? They could have just gotten in over their heads with some older kids and lost track of time." Toshiro stuck his hands in his pockets and frowned.
"Fifteen kids, all late coming home. If it were an eight-year-old Itachi I would be worrying that he'd killed them all and was lying behind a bush somewhere having a nervous breakdown. However, eight-year-old Sasuke isn't like that. He is powerful enough with his Sharingan and fire jutsus to beat those boys, but he's the type that would refuse to harm them. If Root had recruited them then Sasuke might not realize that deadly force was called for and hold back. Otherwise – I'm betting he and the others would have been home by now."
Toshiro sighed, "I suppose at this point thinking positive and hoping they're just sitting in the park drinking beer, smoking and passing around porn is too much to hope for."
"Let's hope they live long enough for us to actually worry about such things."
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Within an hour all of Konoha had been alerted about the missing children. Several of Sasuke's classmates had overheard him and his friends talking about some bullies they were going to beat up but no one had heard the actual plan itself so the police and volunteers spread out over village looking for leads.
Kiba's mother and sister, Tsume and Hana, had their dogs out sniffing around the schoolyard. They found the kids' scents pretty quick, but it became complicated when the dogs reported that all nine had split up and gone off in different directions. Kakashi joined them and summoned his dogs to split up and follow each trail.
The dark night seemed to close in around the villagers, suffocating them with anxiety and despair as they tirelessly searched the village. The childrens' scents had been tracked to seven locations where they had suddenly vanished – no doubt the work of Root. However, it did narrow the search to one corner of the village, near the business district. The area was practically shut down after five pm; perfect for a showdown between school children. Unfortunately, that also meant there were no witnesses.
One and a half hours later Kakashi's dogs made a disturbing discovery and he quickly activated his radio, "Six bodies, Kabuki district. Children. Request identification." He moved in closer to the corpses and played his flashlight across their faces.
"Do you recognize any of them?" A voice Kakashi didn't recognize came over the transmitter, causing him to scowl. There were too many people running around and he was afraid things were getting out of hand.
Another voice quickly spoke, this time it was Fugaku, "Don't answer that, Kakashi. We'll be right there."
"Acknowledged." Kakashi breathed a small sigh of relief. He had no intention of announcing the names of six dead children over the radio; the panic it could cause would be traumatic for their families. He leaned up against the wall and sighed sorrowfully as he closed his eyes.
"Where are they?" Fugaku strode into the alley a few short minutes later.
Kakashi pulled himself together and pointed. "Over there. Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata aren't with them. I don't know any of the others by sight."
"Humph. Iruka? Are these the six boys you were missing?" Fugaku called out.
Iruka moved closer and looked closely at the bodies, then sank to his knees beside the closest one. "Yeah. This is… all of them."
Fugaku couldn't help but feel relieved that Sasuke wasn't one of the corpses, but that relief was short-lived. Just because he was alive when these six were killed didn't mean they wouldn't kill him later. And Hinata was just as valuable a pawn as Sasuke. He was going to have to move carefully in order to ensure their safety. If he messed up, both his own clan and the Hyuuga clan – whom he had worked so hard with to cultivate a friendly relationship – would have his head.
As if reading his mind, Kakashi asked why the renegades, after capturing an Uchiha and a Hyuuga, would bother with the rest of the children.
"Good question." Was all Fugaku could answer. They needed more information about what Root's current goals were before he could answer that question.
Kakashi suddenly stiffened, "Do they know about Naruto?" Iruka looked up at the silver-haired man with a thinly disguised expression of loathing. Kakashi ignored him, he understood the man's sentiments – both his mother and father had been killed when the nine-tails had attacked Konoha eight years ago.
Fugaku answered in a quiet voice, "Danzou knew, certainly. A lot of people know."
"This is turning messy. Pakkun?" Kakashi ran his hand through his hair as he turned around, looking for the small pug who, up until a moment ago was sitting on ground next to him.
"Over here!" Pakkun called out. "The cat found something, I think."
"It's a knob off of a radio. It doesn't smell like Sasuke though." The all-white cat responded in a feminine voice as she sniffed at a small silver piece of metal lying discarded in the dirt.
"Iruka, stay here and wait for the police." Fugaku ordered as he followed Kakashi back onto the road. He looked at the item in the road as he spoke to the cat, "I should have had you learn the scents of all Sasuke's classmates. Anyway, can you track whoever it was that dropped this?"
"Yes." Both the cat and dog responded simultaneously as they trotted down the road. Completely professional, both animals quickly teamed up to search for the scent they had detected. Three blocks later another knob was found about three feet down a side street.
"He or she was dropping breadcrumbs. I guess this means they turned right." Kakashi mumbled and he and Fugaku continued to trail behind the two animals for another block before the trail led them into another alley.
"I'll bet there's a secret entrance here." Fugaku made some hand signs and slammed his palm onto a wall. Nothing happened. He tried the opposite wall with the same results.
"Try the ground. It looks like there was some kind of disturbance over here." Kakashi suggested as he knelt down to look closer at the dirt. Whoever had been here last had done a very good job of erasing any marks on the ground, including those of the shopkeepers that had deposited the four bags of garbage sitting against the wall. The ground was too perfect. "Actually…" He brushed the dirt away, revealing a trap door. "How anti-climatic. It's just a regular door."
Fugaku sighed, "Well that's a bit of good news anyway. However, going down a rabbit hole before checking for snakes would be unwise. I take it you weren't aware of this particular tunnel?"
"Correct. Itachi or perhaps Yuri might know." Kakashi stood up as he spoke and looked around the dark alley. The renegades had gone to great lengths to kidnap the children, knocking out streetlights, covering their tracks, even infiltrating a third-rate gang of bullies. This was definitely not something that would be solved in a few hours.
"Call Yuri out here and have her check it out. If this is a hostage situation they may try to make contact with me so I'm going to check in at the Hokage tower. Let me know what you guys find out."
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Sasuke's head was pounding as he slowly opened his eyes. A flickering light caught his attention and he wondered why there was a lantern in his room even though the electricity had been turned back on weeks ago. A hand brushed across his forehead, smoothing his bangs away from his face.
"Are you awake?" A young girl's voice asked hesitantly. He looked up and saw pink hair and vivid green eyes looking down at him.
"My head hurts."
"They hit you really hard. Do you have to throw up? Hinata did when she woke up."
"I don't think so. Where are we?" Sasuke realized he was lying on a futon and as he looked around he saw they were in a large room that had the windows boarded up. Chairs and old plastic toys were scattered around the periphery. Old posters hung half rotted and forgotten from the walls. Several futons were spread out on the floor and a rusted metal screen with a blanket thrown over it was hiding something in one of the corners.
Lifting his arms Sasuke saw wide silver bands encircling his wrists. The same type of bands that Itachi had worn when they had found him imprisoned in the secret level of the police station. "Why is my chakra being blocked?"
Naruto scooted over as he answered, "After they hit you we went through a tunnel that lead outside of the village and they covered our heads with fabric and carried us through the trees for a long time. When they uncovered us it was daylight. Then they took us into a huge building that Shikamaru says is an abandoned hospital and put us all in this room. It's night time again."
"You were asleep for a long time." Shikamaru added, "We were afraid you were really injured bad but a man who said he was a medic-nin said you would be fine. Hinata woke up a few hours ago. They put those chakra inhibiting bracelets on all of us." He lifted his own arm in demonstration.
"You should drink and eat something." Ino walked over as Sasuke sat up. She handed him a nutrition bar and an unopened bottle of water.
"Have they said why we're here?" Sasuke asked.
Shikamaru answered in a worried voice, "We're hostages but I don't know if they want to ransom us or kill us. They were happy to find out who our fathers were, anyway. Except Sakura. They want to make her a Root member or sell her because her parents were civilians. They think she might be useful 'cause she's cute."
Sasuke looked at his classmate and watched as her face turned a light red and tears started dripping from her eyes. He remembered the dream he had while he had been in the prison – in the dream Sakura and Naruto died. There was no way he was going to allow that to become reality. Slamming down the now-empty water bottle the boy stood up and clenched his fists in anger.
"We've got to get her out of here. We've got to get all of us out of here." Sasuke growled, "How dare they do this? What's wrong with them? We're just kids!"
"Kids who are being trained to become assassins. You know that makes us something other than 'kids'." Shino spoke in his usual monotone. "And you're not saying anything we haven't already realized hours ago, so sit down and get a grip."
"Well, I was asleep." Sasuke mumbled as he dropped back down onto his futon. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
"I was dropping pieces of my radio as we moved so a rescue party should be here soon." Shikamaru gave Shino a dirty look as he tried to reassure Sasuke in an attempt to keep him from doing something rash. "We're all cranky, though, so try not to pick a fight."
"Okay." Sasuke was quiet for a minute, "You did what to the radio?"
"I took it apart and dropped pieces of it as we travelled."
"Oh god… dad's gonna kill me…"
"Better him than these guys." Kiba added.
Ji nodded in agreement, "Yeah, they looked like the sort that would go for slow and painful."
Sasuke smiled, "Okay, but when my dad cuts off my head and sticks on a pike, promise me you'll come visit." He was actually relieved that Shikamaru had been clever enough to do something to help.
Shikamaru smirked, "Sure thing. We'll even bring flowers."
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"Is there a good reason why we have to stop at every single dango shop in Grass country?" Deidara groused as he stuffed a round confection into his mouth.
"It's bad for you if your sugar levels drop below a certain level." Itachi responded, completely serious. He and Kisame were working with Sasori and Deidara to track the movements of Root and collect information. They had been together for about a week and things were getting a little tense between Itachi and Deidara.
"If I made a clay bomb in the shape of a dango and covered it with that brown sticky sauce stuff would you eat it?" Deidara picked up a second stick and continued to stuff his mouth.
"Probably." Itachi responded sarcastically. "Of course, I would then stand next to you and make you blow it up. We would both die of course, but at least I wouldn't have to listen to you complaining all the time."
"Are you going to eat that one?" Deidara pointed at the remaining stick on Itachi's plate.
"If you eat more dango than I do then why do you complain so much about stopping? And yes, I am going to eat it."
"I'm a growing boy. I need lots of food."
"Are you two finished arguing?" Sasori was getting annoyed and wanted to continue their search.
"Yeah." Itachi reached for his tea but paused when a high-pitched "clink" was heard. Staring in disbelief he picked the cup up and looked at the crack that now stretched from the lip to the base.
Deidara gloated, "You're gonna have bad luck now."
"Sasuke…" He whispered as he stared at the broken cup. He had no idea why, but his little brother suddenly entered his thoughts, quickly followed by a surge of apprehension.
"Who's that?"
"Your worst nightmare." Kisame volunteered.
"Huh?"
"Another Uchiha kid." Kisame gave a short laugh at the look of disgust that crossed the blond boy's face.
Deidara fished out some money to pay for his food and slapped it on the table, "Great," He mumbled, "They're breeding."
"What about you, you got a brother?" Kisame asked as he set his money down.
Deidara gave a non-committal shrug, "Don't know. Probably. My dad kicked me out of the house when I was a toddler so he could remarry. He probably had other kids after that. Doesn't matter though. I did okay without him."
Kisame looked at the boy for a few seconds, then shook his head, "That's for sure."
The conversation was interrupted when the four companions felt their rings grow warm and glow. Pein's voice called out to them, utilizing the psychic link created by the rings, ordering them to contact him as soon as possible.
"Let's go." Itachi started walking down the road, "There was an area a half mile back that should hide us."
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"You have got to be out of your mind!" Itachi yelled angrily at the Akatsuki leader. Pein and Konan's holograms stood next to each other, glowing white with a faint rainbow of colors pulsating at the edges. Everyone turned to look at the teen's uncharacteristic outburst with varying degrees of concern and amusement.
"I most certainly am not." Pein answered in a deep voice. "I do not trust Danzou and a stunt like this would be completely within his power to execute."
"But I killed him myself! I cut off his head! It's hanging on a pike next to the Konoha front gate."
"I realize that, Itachi, and I understand your feelings in this. But I still want you to return to Konoha and sample his DNA. Make sure it's him. Every Konoha shinobi has a DNA record for identification of corpses." Pein finished in a kinder voice. "The way Root is moving – it's as if the man never left them. He was a dictator who shared very little information with his subordinates. The fact that they would continue to operate without any diminished capacity is very suspicious. We must look at all options. You four have been unable to dig up much information about Root and that also disturbs me. I believe there is no reason to doubt any of your loyalties so I choose to believe that none of you are withholding information."
Itachi took a deep breath and let it out slowly before conceding to Pein's wishes. "I understand now. I will check it out and report my findings. But…" He wanted to ask if Madara had any contact with Danzou, but while Kisame and Sasori knew of the man's attachments to Akatsuki, Deidara did not. "When Danzou was interrogated large portions of his memory had been erased. Not many people can do that." He hoped Pein could read between the lines and know who he was talking about.
"That's true. I did look into that, but it was inconclusive."
"Ah." Itachi scowled, then thought to himself, 'So that's how it is. Madara is playing games with Pein. Just what is Pein's link to Danzou anyway?'
"Shall we continue the search or wait for Itachi's report?" Sasori interrupted. He was becoming impatient and wanted to leave.
"Continue to search. Itachi can catch up to you later. Depending on what he finds in Konoha I may have him stick around and dig for more information there." Pein's piercing Rinnegan eyes looked over the four men appraisingly before speaking again, "This takes priority. We cannot allow Root to exist. You are dismissed."
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As soon as Pein's communication jutsu dispelled Itachi shuddered and wrapped his arms around his chest. The idea that Danzou was still alive was so abhorrent that he couldn't bring himself to even remotely accept it. He had almost killed himself over that man.
"Itachi?" Kisame asked curiously as he watched his partner. "Will you be leaving right away?"
Itachi remembered the broken cup and his earlier apprehension over his brother's safety returned. He stood up and verified his pack was secured under his cloak. "Yes. Right now."
Kisame, Sasori and Deidara watched as Itachi ran around the tall rocks and shrubs they had used to conceal themselves during the meeting.
"I find it hard to believe…" Deidara paused, as if debating whether he should continue speaking or not, "but he almost looked scared. Just who is this Danzou guy, Kisame? You said he had staged a coup against Konoha and Itachi's dad was now Hokage, but really, that doesn't seem like something Leader would be interested in."
"That's all I know, Deidara. And you're right - this sounds more like a grudge. Leader is still fighting his own civil war in Rain so I would think going after a criminal from another country would be stretching things too thin." Kisame scratched his chin absent-mindedly.
"Hanzou is no pushover. Pein is having trouble. He himself is very powerful, but his ninjas are average at best. Soon he will have to face Hanzou himself." Sasori stated calmly.
"What does that have to do with Danzou?" Kisame snapped. He had been rather pleased when Itachi had reported the Root leader's demise, but the chance, no matter how slim, that the man had somehow cheated death was angering him.
Sasori laughed – it was a gravelly sound that, no matter how many times they heard it always sounded ominous. "Pein does have a grudge against Danzou. And Hanzou. The two are linked together, supporting each other. If Danzou is alive and running around with his ronin Root he could very well be in Rain right now helping Hanzou. That could
be why Pein's ninjas are having so much trouble."
"Ronin?" Deidara asked.
"Ronin were originally masterless Samurai. It can be used loosely to apply to any person without a master. The word isn't used much anymore." Sasori explained patiently.
"Oh. Um… shouldn't you have told Itachi this instead of letting him run away so quick?"
"Concerned about your buddy?" Kisame teased.
"What? No! But if he gets himself killed then I won't get to kill him. Do the math fishface!" Kisame hit him over the head with the flat of his hand and Deidara fell down on his rear. "Ow!"
"Mind your manners kid. I don't care what fight you want to pick with Itachi, but you will show respect to your elders in this organization." Kisame stated angrily.
Deidara scowled and wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled them up to his chest. Resting his forehead on his knees he closed his eyes.
"How hard did you hit him?" Sasori asked, amused.
"He'll have a headache for a couple hours."
"Serves him right."
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Itachi stepped away from the large boulder and closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his head. He had intended on leaving but decided at the last moment to hide his chakra and rest for five or ten minutes so he could digest what Leader had told him. Then Sasori had started talking.
Danzou was connected somehow to Hanzou. Could it be that Root was a bigger organization than anyone had previously suspected? When he had joined he had been told that the group he had joined with were the first members of Root. Was that true?
He remembered a few months ago when he and Sheeta had run into some renegades in the woods outside of Konoha. They had laughed at him when he had asked why there were still following Danzou. At the time he had thought it was nothing more than arrogance on their part. But what if it had been something else?
Standing up Itachi took off running through the six-foot tall grass toward the road. A slight drizzle had started up and the cool water felt good on his face as he picked up his pace. It would take two days of running to reach Konoha, but until then he would have a lot to think about.
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Next week – Demands are made by Root and Itachi arrives in Konoha.
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