Disclaimer: Naruto is the work of mangaka Masashi Kishimoto, Harry Potter is the work of author J.K. Rowling. The author makes no claim to ownership of the aforementioned works and no profit from this fanfiction.

Uchiha Fukurou

Of Old Lechers, Genin Tests and Shadowplays

The old man tried; and failed, to hide a leer. His eyes were locked onto the manager's generous cleavage and stayed there. The woman pretended not to notice, valiantly doing her job in spite of the borderline sexual harassment. If he tried to feel her up across the counter again she'd slug the pervert. Until then, "I'm sorry sir, but such a small order should really be handled by the Less Than Carriage Load Department, not Bulk Freight."

The man puffed his chest out like a buffoon and even twisted the tip of his mustache between the thumb and index finger of his left hand, "Aha! But this is a rare batch of Fire Mountain sake we're talking about here! One barrel costs as much as a half a year's tithe to the Daimyo." He leaned over the counter and waved her closer conspiratorially.

The manager was extremely reluctant to oblige him, especially after his elbow contrived to brush against her bust when she started to lean forward, causing her breasts to jiggle. The man blushed slightly but spoke in an exaggeratedly confident tone of voice, "If your company can carry this load quickly and safely into Earth Country, we'll be talking about Bulk Freight later." He nudged her heavy breasts so as to accentuate his point and a vein throbbed on the manager's brow as she nodded stiffly.

"Very well," She aqueisced, "I'll be honored to take your order and look forward to carrying future loads from you."

She ignored the man's lewd comment of, "I'll bet you're happy to carry my load," and maintained a polite smile. Unseen, a seal on the back of her throat triggered.

Mi:: The Toad Oil Merchant has made contact with the Northwestern Fire Country trade office. He requested shipment of a class two controlled substance into Iwa. Command, how should I proceed? ::

Command :: Stand by for orders. ::

Kagami :: Sir. ::

Command :: Status of the Rice Farmer? ::

Kagami :: Rice Farmer has left his field and gone to market. He's currently negotiating favorable prices with a cousin to the west. ::

Fukurou stopped what he was doing and looked at the starless sky above. Rice Farmer was Orochimaru. Cousin to the West, Northwest, Northeast and East were Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure and Kirigakure respectively. He began thinking furiously, biting his lip as he thought. He moved pieces, measured outcomes, examined memories; both his and Danzo's, he weighed his options.

Command :: Pass a message to that effect on to the Toad Oil Merchant. He's currently trying to sell Mi some bad sake. Use two levels of separation. Have one of the greedy merchants sell the info to yakuza. The Onizawa and Fuchida families are that man's information trading partners, they'll pass it along. ::

Kagami, the code named Root agent in charge of controlling deep cover operatives in Northern Fire Country and the nations along that border, was already selecting an expendable dupe from a list of bribed officials.

Kagami :: Yes sir. ::

Command :: Mi, coordinate efforts with Kagami. He will provide details. Accept transport order, send it above the table. Most likely our man is fishing and wants to trace the secure lines. ::

Mi :: Yes sir. ::

Jiraiya of the Sannin sat atop a toad at a roadside temple. He frowned as the clone he sent to infiltrate the Tengu Corporation management offices came up empty. Summoning another toad, this one sleek and darkly pigmented, he gave it an order; "Go back in there and keep an eye out for anything strange," He told the silent amphibian who nodded and disappeared in a shimmering of air.

Three days later he'd abandon the investigation into certain allegations made about the company due to recovered intel from imprisoned criminals. He reasoned that a counter terrorism group from AnBu would do better to look into the suspected terrorist links of the alleged smuggling operation. Leads on Orochimaru were rare and needed to be followed up immediately when they came. What the hell was the man doing in Suna?

Kakashi took a single step forward, evading the brace of shuriken coming from his blind side. He leaned forward slightly, ducking under the leg that kicked at him. Naruto was attacking, the question however; was whether or not he was going at it alone. He reached out with a hand. It wasn't a strike, just a little push that would tip the boy over and make him land on his head if he wasn't agile enough.

His hand passed straight through Naruto…

Kakashi's eyes widened, "I definitely felt the wind displaced by that kick, genjutsu?" He wondered. Being caught out by an academy graduate's illusion would have been mortifying. Fortunately the answer was somewhat simpler and from the perspective of the true test of this survival exam, promising. The bunshin of Naruto dispelled revealing Hyūga Hinata perfectly concealed in its shadow.

It made Kakashi wonder, that kind of co-ordination didn't happen overnight. Further speculation was halted because he urgently needed to withdraw his hand from the hornet's nest that he'd inadvertently stuck it into. He yanked his appendage away from the girl's questing fingers and pivoted. Seemingly as an afterthought he smashed a low-running Naruto in the face with the heel of his sandaled right foot.

Judging the right moment in a split second, his left hand reached out like a striking serpent. He grabbed at the loose cloth of Hinata's sleeves. For a ninja, anything can be a weapon, most likely the extra material was meant to hide the movements of her lower arms. Kakashi used it against her. Holding onto her sleeves, he pulled her hands together without touching her and risking a counter attack. Then using the momentum from his turn, the jounin jerked Hinata past his body and hurled the girl at Naruto who was in the process of kipping to his feet.

The boy and girl collided with a meaty thwack and tumbled to the ground stunned. Kakashi would have made a snarky comment then, just to see how well the two handled the set back. Unfortunately, several pointy objects set to skewer him put a hold on that thought. The log that he replaced himself with bounced on the ground with a thump, it was pierced multiple times over. Seconds later Kakashi leapt down from a tree. His eyes were fixed on the location the shuriken came from.

Naruto and Hinata were already gone.

He wondered, "Did Sasuke just help them escape?" A slow smile spread across his face then at that thought, "Interesting…"

A command group of Root shinobi remained with Mei Terumī and the constantly relocating rebel main base. Although they were in largely unfamiliar territory, Fukurou spread his operatives throughout Water Country in four man squads. Using the seal network for communication made this a highly effective tactic as the squads were engaged in guerilla warfare with the support of the rebels and rebel sympathizers.

It was a well coordinated operation that was slowly but surely breaking the Mizukage's hold over his country. The Rebels had been primarily fighting with the goal of saving as many advanced bloodlines as possible. With Root establishing numerous human smuggling routes out of the country, Mei's forces were left with fewer dependents than able-bodied warriors and thus had more resources for fighters. The rebels began fighting offensively.

Root aided their efforts by setting ambushes wherever possible for the Hidden Mist Loyalists. They utilized procure on site procedures to supplement their stores for as long as possible before returning to a port key way point for rearmament. This method was also used to recall agents and infiltrate the country without either the rebels or the Mizukage knowing the Root's true numbers. Fukurou fought with an eye to the future. The Water Country rebels may not always be allies and the Elders were trying their damndest to find a way to discredit him. Setting Jiraiya on his trail had to have been their doing.

Squads of Root Shinobi would spread out to gather intelligence while under constant threat from hunter ninja. When a target was ascertained and approved by Mei, the squads of Root shinobi pooled their talents to take it down. The constant economic and political strain of so many failed missions and perished shinobi served to weaken the Mizukage's military power. This in turn aided the rebel's position.

Ao, the Rebels' top lieutenant watched them all like a hawk with his 'acquired' byakugan. Fukurou chose to do nothing about the man for the moment save for preserving the identities of his covert forces by keeping as many of them away from the him as possible. Ao didn't get very far in any case. For every team put under surveillance by their Mist shinobi guides, there were two more evading discovery long enough to plant portkeys seals all over the countryside. The only places not covered were Kirigakure itself and a few other strongholds like the Daimyo's inner city at the capital.

Ao's paranoia served a purpose much as Zabuza's violent reputation did. They made Mei a more attractive option to the disaffected and the fence-sitters in the civil war. Zabuza was well regarded by those who wanted an end to Yagura's reign but didn't feel comfortable supporting a blood line user. Ao reached out to the veteran's that saw the Mizukage's purges as a weakening of their nation's forces.

Zabuza more often than not intimidated defeated shinobi into surrender and sympathizers into greater collaboration with the rebels. Ao trained and commanded squads of AnBu level ninja and oversaw security. This left Mei free to plan fresh attacks, and use soft diplomacy with agents of the Daimyo's court, the Daimyo himself having gone into seclusion at the onset of the civil war.

Due to her actions, several bloodline clan ninja stayed behind to fight for their country, thereby mitigating the future drain caused by the mass emigrations. Obviously, Mei was hoping that the families of those shinobi would ultimately choose to return to Mist should the war end in the rebel's favor. A kind and level-headed woman, there was nonetheless a ruthless shinobi at her core.

Prisoners were treated humanely and a constant psychological battle was fought for the loyalty of Water Country's shinobi and civilians. A war the rebels were winning as the Mizukage ravaged his own country in an effort to eliminate the proscribed bloodlines and rebels. It was an effort that killed the guilty and innocent alike and starved the general populace. Mei did not however, balk at gruesomely melting the bloodline hunters that were caught red-handed. And the Water Rebels only fed fighters and their close relatives.

She was a truly formidable woman. In the few battles that she became personally involved in, it became quickly evident that there was more to her than a pretty smile and a conniving mind, to quote Zabuza. Mei was someone that very few could fight against or even beside without being horrifically killed by her power. The Mizukage had been sending assassins after her for years. This was another reason why gaining Zabuza's aid was useful. The man was a lightning rod for the assassins previously meant for her, Haku spent most his day keeping knives out of his master's back.

Kakashi was waiting in another clearing when Naruto attacked. A volley of shuriken flew over the attacking genin's head at Kakashi. The man put away his book as he caught the thrown weapons, already slinging them at Hinata who was charging in tandem with Naruto from out of his blind spot. His attention was forced back onto blond when the boy came within inches of carving open his face with a Kunai.

"Wha-"

His fist met only air as it passed through a bunshin. Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly in thought. He twisted to one side in order to avoid being tagged by a trio of kunai. Then he had to leap away from the trap they sprung. All the while he was thinking about what he'd seen. A shift in the air currents on his right warned him of an attack a half-second before it came.

This time instead of dodging, he tried to put the boy's arm in a joint lock, only to come away with part of a torn sleeve. The burst of chakra he felt and sudden, accelerated movement confirmed his suspicion, "Shunshin…"

And it was combined with a flawless bunshin as a distraction rather than a burst of leaves or smoke, ingenious. Kakashi honestly found himself impressed a little, the kid reminded him of his sensei with that maneuver. Then images of Naruto started flickering all around him. All save one was a bunshin but Naruto was flawlessly using shunshin no jutsu to dash from image to image a feat only made possible by his massive reserves.

It was like fighting a sea of blond haired doppelgangers. He was literally swarmed by them. That too was a familiar feeling. He'd known a kunoichi once who favored highly overwhelming attacks, "Just like Kushina-san, no concept of over kill. More is better than less." Kakashi was completely on his back foot when Sasuke and Hinata joined in to triple-team him.

For a moment Kakashi actually felt quite happy. Then Sasuke attempted to light him afire like a torch.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The size of Root had greatly expanded since that night when Fukurou took control of the command group and the four platoons of shinobi hidden in Danzo's Konoha base. Root had initially been started as something of a cult of personality comprised of a core cadre of operators cherry-picked from AnBu by their commander, Danzo, for the organization. With nominal control of AnBu, Danzo hadn't needed Root to be large. Or rather, keeping Root limited to four hundred agents was an unavoidable necessity for a force of essentially expendable agents carrying out politically and morally questionable actions on behalf of a nation that disavowed their very existence.

Fukurou had used Danzo's memories to gain access to Root's top commanders and supporters, quickly suborning them to his cause. The compartmentalized nature of the organization meant that by controlling those fifty or so key individuals, all four hundred agents automatically came under his thumb, some without ever even knowing that there had been a coup. From there, the next five years were spent expanding.

Danzo already had arrangements through middlemen with suppliers of smuggled goods, yakuza, terrorists, and several legitimate businesses. Fukurou parlayed these assets into shadow partnerships and controlling interests in both the businesses that traded within Fire country and those who preyed on that trade. The funds thusly acquired were used to run day to day operations. Partially decoupling from the village's finance alloyed Fukurou the independence to expand which in turn translated into greater military and economic power.

By the time Fukurou began negotiating with the Water Country rebels on behalf of the Hokage. Root had tripled in size over a five year period. With twelve hundred agents, it was equal in size to AnBu and counted for a little less than one tenth of the hidden village's military might while costing even less than the AnBu program as Fukurou's business empire expanded. Like Konoha's regular military forces and AnBu they were highly dispersed across the whole of the Elemental Countries. The greatest concentrations were actually to be found as deep cover agents or hidden as workers for the various legitimate businesses that Root was secretly connected to.

One such example of the latter was Tengu Shipping and Hauling, a company that transported goods across national borders over land and by sea. The Water Country rebels believed them to be a privately owned company merely aiding Konoha in exchange for future profit from economic concessions and trading rights between Fire and Water. Even if the truth were to be revealed, the Tengu Corporation was hardly the only merchant house of its kind to be infiltrated.

Following Old Harry's experience on the matter, Fukurou ensured that his movements were largely obscured to his rivals and allies alike. The Commander of AnBu, Nara Shikaku, however; manage to glean a clearer picture of their numbers and operation methods. As a concession to the Hokage, for approval of the Mist Campaign, Fukurou eventually indirectly confirmed the Nara's suspicion that Root was using a system of human summoning.

It wasn't a terrible loss as far as security was concerned. There were other facts about how Root went about their business that people simply couldn't figure out. Ao and Mei still believed that Root was simply a task force of Konoha AnBu. This was in part because they couldn't believe that Konoha would allow an independent entity to amass hundreds of highly talented shinobi without the Hokage being able to control them.

The Hokage and Shikaku knew otherwise. What they didn't know was where these people were being trained. This more than anything caused the Elders to intensify their efforts to neutralize Fukurou's influence. Seventy-five percent of Konoha's standing force came from clan-specific, affiliated shinobi villages and pseudo-orphanage, shinobi training centers located across Fire country. These shinobi were processed through Konoha and assigned ranks based on aptitude and ratified field promotions from the Hokage.

Not one of the ninja declared by Fukurou a year after the death of Danzo had ever previously shown up on a Konoha roster. It was just one of many unanswered questions about the new Root. A highly successful asset, but one that the Elders did not believe could be trusted. The Hokage, simply chose to remember the look in Fukurou's eyes when he promised to maintain peace with the village, and chose to have faith.

Kakashi tried to remain nonchalant as he watched Sasuke and Hinata triumphantly hold up their captured bells. He watched as Naruto kept a brave look on his face from where he'd been tied to a training log. Looking to one side he casually said, "Well, it seems like Sasuke and Hinata pass, better luck next time Naruto-kun."

They boy's face crumpled for a moment before he tightened his lips and looked Kakashi in the eye while maintaining a tremulous smile. "Y-yeah," He said as the others seemed uneasy, "I guess I didn't get a bell… That's alright, just you wait and see. I'll-"

But Hinata stuffed her bell in his mouth, inadvertently causing the boy to gag. Kakashi turned a surprised eye to her although he was secretly cheering on the inside. The Hyūga heiress stared back defiantly at him, "Naruto-san can have my bell." Her voice stood firm as she said this but her frame trembled, "Failing a single exam is not a problem for me unlike this dunce that failed twice. I have no wish to pass in such an ungraceful manner." The girl was terrified of what the consequences of her actions might be and couldn't quite hide it. Even Naruto noticed.

Juggling the bell between his teeth he started, "Hinata –erg"

Sasuke shoved his bell in Naruto's mouth, saying to them, "Going to the academy was just a farce anyway," He revealed, "I was still going to be a shinobi regardless of how things turn out here." He gritted his teeth, because this meant that he'd be working for that Man but it couldn't be helped. Besides, he'd be getting rid of Naruto this way. Sasuke smiled wanly at the thought.

Kakashi watched the three of them bicker for a while over who would fail. Only the way this argument went was far different from all the other times that he'd posed the Question To a genin team.

"No I deserve to fail! I'll become Hokage even If I fail three times!"

"B-be silent mongrel! Are you telling me what to do? Know your place! I fail!"

"Mongrel… Whatever, shut up the both of you… Take back your bell Hinata, Naruto can have mine. It doesn't matter if I fail anyway."

"I refuse to be party to nepotism!"

"What she said!"

"Shut up Naruto. You're helpless. Do you even know what that word means?"

"Yes! You can take your fruit cocktail and stuff it!"

"…"

"…"

"Eh heh… I said something stupid, didn't I?"

"…that…goes without saying."

"I rest my case."

"Mean!"

Were they idiots? It was hard to tell. He did know one thing though…

"You all pass."

…

"EHHH?"

AN: Naruto's vocab flub and my attempt at a pun. The word Hinata uses for Nepotism is Mibiiki. Naruto breaks it down into Mi for fruit and Bi for tail (Bibu). Hinata is kinda tsundere now. I personally hate posting author notes with no story so I always wait until I'm ready to post before writing these things. I got a lot of helpful feed back, thank you, it helps me to write a good tale. I haven't been ignoring this advice but rather I have been implementing it carefully.

This story follows canon only loosely, change is not there for the sake of showing there is a change but because the plot of Uchiha Fukurou revolves around the ripples created by this character. We each have a story and in different ways, to different degrees we touch the world and change it; even as the world touches and changes us.

Sometimes the challenges are like a mountain looming large on the horizon. Sometimes, we go along oblivious of the challenges that face us until things just seem to blow up in our faces. That's life and Fukurou is getting a dose of it. Next on Uchiha Fukurou, Of The Womb, The Mirror and Painful Contemplations. Powerful enemies are the last thing he has to worry about not having.