Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and its characters.
Search for Danzo
Root Base- Near Valley of End
Masaru, Torune, Fuu and some other Root agents assembled in Danzo's dimly lit room expecting orders or reactions from Danzo on the latest report brought by Torune but Danzo remained impassive.
"So... what now?" Masaru asked the question that had been bothering everyone.
"What do you want to do?" Danzo asked the agents, taking them by surprise.
"Danzo-sama, if I may I can still catch up to Jiraiya and Kushina and retrieve Tsubasa," Masaru suggested, the only one expecting Danzo to explode any time, "They are still quite far from Konoha."
"And?" Danzo asked strangely calm.
"We can still get rid off the witnesses and evidence, Hokage only knows that we exist but still needs proof," Fuu added.
"And then what?" Danzo asked again.
"And then we lay low till the Hokage-" Fuu paused when Danzo stood up and glared at him.
"Till the monkey lowers his guard, then we become active again, come under Hiruzen's surveillance and then hide in our holes again, like rats!" Danzo spat every word like venom, "ARE WE RATS?! TELL ME FUU ARE WE RATS?!" Fuu and other Root agents lowered their heads as Danzo rebuked them.
Danzo walked towards the door and before walking out he faced the Root agents with authority and said, "Masaru, Torune, call the others. No more hiding, it's time Root sees the light," then Danzo left the agents disturbed by what he was implying.
Konoha- Hokage's Office
Dead silence was all that could be heard despite the assembly at Sandaime's office as the Sandaime Hokage analysed each Shinobi assembled before him. These shinobis included some of the Commanders of Konoha's Ninja Force, they were Okami the Anbu Commander, Shikaku Nara the Jounin Commander, Ibiki Morino the Head of Torture and Interrogation and Fugaku Uchiha the Head of Konoha Police. Kotetsu Hagane from The Konoha Barrier Team, Hyuuga Hiashi, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka and the Hokage's Advisers Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were also present. Reassured that they were paying their utmost attention Hiruzen decided to brief them.
"This week Daimyo-sama had asked Konoha to investigate the case of children, especially orphans disappearing all over Land of Fire. Today we learnt that the cause was none other than Root," Hiruzen revealed earning gasps from those present, "As you're all aware Root used to serve under Konoha with Danzo as its Head till it was disbanded and outlawed after the Third Shinobi War. But now we know Danzo has been running Root despite the ban."
Hiruzen paused to let the information sink in then continued, "I can't afford to have an organization that turns children into machines running independently right under Konoha's nose. In order to deal with this threat we need to arrest Danzo, find his hideouts and his subordinates."
"Hokage-sama, are you giving Danzo a trial?" Koharu asked almost protesting.
"And why wouldn't I do that?"
"We only know Danzo has been running Root but have no concrete proof against him and knowing him he will make sure that we never do. Even if we manage to convict him a public execution of someone as politically important as Danzo will send a negative message to our ranks, that they can not trust the higher ups. It'd be more convenient to just do away with him."
"Moreover, from what we know of Root, the Shinobis of Roots are little more than drones with Danzo the sole brain and the one holding the remote control. If we slay him Root will fall apart on its own," Homura added to Koharu's argument.
"My Honourable Advisers, you have put forward some valid arguments but they are flawed. Firstly, we don't know where Danzo is as of now., how many people has he got serving him, how many bases does he run. Then, we can only assume that Danzo is the only one in charge but Danzo is an old man and very much mortal. He must have groomed someone to be his heir to Root by now. Then there is the possibility of Danzo's men hiding among our ranks, how else did Danzo know about the mission given by Daimyo. And I am very sure he has friends in some good places aiding him and his organization so even if we shoot the old war-hawk down it won't be the end of his nesting grounds. To put an end to Root we need to find and capture all of Root's bases and soldiers before we deal with Danzo. But we must deal with Danzo by exposing him before Konoha and through a fair trial so that we can make an example out of him for all those fanatics like himself who think they are above the law, above Konoha, above Humanity and above God."
Everyone nodded in agreement, "First of all we need to upgrade Konoha's security. Uchiha-san, I want Konoha Police to patrol every street and corner of Konoha and assist Anbu Black Ops in investigating every possible Root hideout, Okami-san and I shall personally assign Anbu teams for this purpose. Then we also need to arrest everyone in close contact with Danzo, Konoha Police will arrest the ones in and close to Konoha while Anbu will arrest the ones outside Konoha. Torture and Information Department will interrogate Danzo's open supporters and known contacts within and outside Konoha and extract every piece of relevant information from them by every means possible. Nara-san, instead of the usual two Chuunin guards at the Gates I want a team of Chuunin guards lead by one Jounin at each Gates, no one will enter unregistered or unchecked, I also want some teams to scout the Konoha Forest. Konoha Barrier Team, you shall strictly monitor the Sensory Barrier, not a bird should fly over us without us knowing," Kotetsu nodded, "We also need to search for bases outside Konoha, we don't know exactly where to look but I believe re-investigating the case of Missing Children of Fire will lead us there. For this task I want the Inuzuka, the Aburame and the Hyuuga clans to coordinate with Anbu and Jounin teams. And all of you must order your teams that if they find the bases do not attack immediately, request and wait for the backup to arrive and if they find Danzo try to arrest him alive but if that is not possible bring me his head."
"Hokage-sama, what of the borders of Hi no Kuni? Surely, we're not assuming Danzo will not escape from this country?" Homura raised his concern.
"Your concern is genuine Homura but it has already been taken care of," Hiruzen explained, "Daimyo-sama has sealed all exit routes, mountain passes and ports of the country with his personal forces and I have already sent many Shinobis to join Daimyo-sama's forces on his request. The traitor won't be able to leave the country."
"As you say Hokage-sama," the Anbu Commander asked, "But what about the moles in our ranks? The mission given by Daimyo-sama was only known to you, me and the Anbu officers involved, someone must have alerted Danzo about the mission. And there is no telling how many double agents there are in Konoha's forces."
"It's not like we can interrogate all our Shinobis to know which ones are loyal to us and who the traitors are," Ibiki stated as a matter of fact, "We'll just have to wait for them to slip up."
"I don't see why not? If our soldiers have nothing to hide they shouldn't," Okami downplayed Ibiki's concern.
"With all due respect Commander-sama, not every Shinobi of Konoha is an Anbu officer and not everyone will take kindly to being under their Hokage's suspicion or the Intelligence Division knowing their most private details. Doing something this hasty could escalate unwanted tensions within our forces," Fugaku pointed out and others agreed.
"There must be something we can do," The Anbu Commander sighed.
"We are already arresting Danzo's identified supporters and contacts, they should have some info on Root and the double agents," Ibiki consoled.
"We can do more, like identifying areas frequently visited by Danzo, keep people who met him and his supporters frequently under our surveillance and check records to identify Shinobis with suspicious behaviour. I would also place guards along Konoha's sewer system. And the old Root bases we should definitely investigate those," Shikaku suggested. Others were nodding convinced with his idea but Homura wasn't so convinced.
"That will require a lot of manpower. And the sewers, most of them are too narrow for any human to fit in." Koharu dismissed the idea.
"Do you have a better plan?" The Hokage asked, no one answered, "Then we stick with Jounin Commander's idea," the Hokage turned to Shikaku, "You will prepare Jounin squads to secure the underground sewer systems," then to Fugaku, "You will prepare a squad to investigate the old Root base," then to everyone, "I will personally check records of every Shinobi to check for double agents. Clear?"
"Yes Hokage-sama!" Everyone saluted.
"Then get to work!" And everyone left the office.
Between Naka Valley and Konoha Forest
The normally quite forest was put into turmoil as Kushina and Jiraiya dashed through the forest scaring every bird, deer, and what not as each cursed them in their own language. But Kushina could care less, as far she was concerned she had to get her son to Konoha as soon as possible. Jiraiya also wanted to reach Konoha quickly but he was getting concerned about the tracks they were leaving so he decided to make his concerns known.
So after taking a deep breath, and a silent prayer, Jiraiya said, "Kushina we need to slow down."
Kushina didn't react, as she continued with her freerun, taking care not to drop Naruto who remained unconscious over her shoulder. Jiraiya sighed, though he actually expected a much worse reaction from her.
"Kushina, we're leaving too much tracks," Jiraiya insisted.
Kushina looked behind and glared at Jiraiya then looked ahead as they continued their freerun.
"Seriously, even a Genin can track us at this rate," Jiraiya complained for the umpteenth time but Kushina didn't pay him any heed as they continued their freerun, "Kushina, now you're just being outright unprofessional," Jiraiya warned as his patience wore thin. Kushina stopped on a branch ending their freerun.
'Did I push my luck?' Jiraiya wondered, 'No, even if she's angry she has to be reasonable.'
Jiraiya readied himself as Kushina reached into her Kunai pouch, Jiraiya slipped a pair of Kunais from his gauntlets.
"Relax old man, I'm not going for your perverted balls," Kushina assured as she pulled out a three pronged kunai, "I'm just speeding things up, so just hold my hand, and remember just the hand."
"Thanks for the compliment..." Jiraiya grinned, then held Kushina's hand. Kushina threw the Kunai far ahead, like half a kilometre and they flashed into another part of the forest. She repeated the process as they reached closer and closer to Konoha.
"So how come we didn't do this earlier?"
"Didn't occur to me earlier," Kushina shrugged.
"Oh."
And they reached the North Gate of Konoha in a minute, passing by a heavy security at the gate.
Konoha- Hokage's Office
'What else could go wrong?' Hiruzen thought to himself as he puffed his worries through his pipe waiting for the records to arrive, when Kushina and Jiraya entered with a boy he didn't recognize at first. The explanations didn't take too long.
While on the bright side Kushina had her son back and he now had some evidence against Danzo, the news of Minato's dead son being alive and serving under Root had heavy implications.
Hiruzen looked at both Jiraiya and Kushina extremely serious, "Are you sure of this?"
They both nodded, an Jiraiya explained "I know what you're thinking. How can this be the real Naruto if the baby that died twelve years ago was also confirmed as Naruto by medical reports? But this boy has Kyuubi sealed within himself, while Kyuubi's body should have been destroyed to reform ages later, unless Naruto never died in the first place."
Jiraiya had a point. When a Jinchuuriki dies there are two things that can happen to a Bijuu, one it'll die. Two, traces of its Chakra will survive allowing it to reform ages later. When Naruto supposedly died they assumed Kyuubi died along with him as they weren't able to find any trace of Kyuubi's Chakra, but the Kyuubi being alive and sealed in the same seal that Yondaime placed spoke otherwise.
'This proves Naruto's status among the living, but that means that the baby twelve years ago was a fake,' Hiruzen realized as he stared at a map of the World on one of his wall, 'But to achieve a hundred percent DNA replication of anyone, I know of only one clan capable of this,' he turned to Kushina 'And they were destroyed.'
"Hiding an organization from us, kidnapping a baby but making it look like murder and killing a squad of elite ninjas I call Anbu Black ops, it seems Danzo has some talented Human resources under him," Hiruzen shared his thoughts.
"Quite impressive for an underground organization," Jiraiya added his two cents, "And someone as young as Naruto being able to fight Kushina, someone must have taught him very well. And the fact that Orochimaru admitted that he 'killed' Naruto, he must have been or still is in some sort of alliance with Danzo. He might be the one who actually kidnapped Naruto and then delivered him to Danzo for some sort of deal."
"Possible, but there's no point in pondering over those things. Right now we need to find Danzo and his hideouts. For that we must place Naruto and his comrades under Intelligence Division under S-rank security," Kushina was about to protest but Hiruzen raised his hand, "I understand your sentiments, but right now Naruto is an agent of Root and a threat. He even tried to kill you despite accepting the possibility of you being his mother and I have no doubt he will try to return to Danzo. We can't allow Danzo to have Naruto back under his command. On the other hand he and his comrades are perhaps the best lead we have." Hiruzen rationalized. Kushina seethed in anger but kept quite seeing Hiruzen's logic.
"Sensei, if you wish to interrogate Naruto let me tell you he won't wake up before two days. I suggest we ask Inoichi Yamanaka to check Naruto and his comrades' memories while they are unconscious."
"Otter! Cat!" the two Anbus appeared from the shadows, "You two along with Kushina," as Hiruzen wasn't willing to antagonize Kushina anymore, "will escort Naruto to Intelligence Division and place him under S-rank security. I will send Inoichi Yamanaka to search Naruto's memory shortly." Kushina took Naruto over her shoulder as Otter and Cat escorted them to Intelligence Division leaving Hiruzen alone with Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya, we may have strong proof that this boy is Naruto but we still need absolute confirmation. For this purpose I want you to compare Naruto's seal to the one Minato used. I will have a medic do a DNA test on him and a DNA test on whatever remains of the baby that was buried under Naruto's name," Jiraiya wanted to protest but the Sandaime would have none of it, "This is a matter of National security, I will have no more discussion on this," Jiraiya nodded in understanding, "As for the other two agents send them to Ibiki, I will send someone to have a look. I will also consult with Hyuuga-san on the lady that Kushina described."
"Fine, I will inform them of Kushina's return." Jiraiya nodded and left the office in a Sushin. Hiruzen stared at the spot for some time, solemnly. Then he placed his hat on his desk and slapped his forehead, "I just had to ask, didn't I?" the Hokage sulked running retirement plans through his head faster than the bullet train.
Konoha- Nanmin district
Shisui Uchiha was leading the squad investigating the old Root base. The squad mainly consisted of Uchihas but also had some Shinobis affiliated to no clan. Fugaku had been recruiting clanless shinobis into Konoha Police to match the deficit in manpower, but only non-clan Shinobis, not willing to let go of the influence Uchihas held due to the department. The old base was located directly under the bustling district. This district didn't even exist fourteen years ago, it was a forest called Nanmin forest, under which once Root had operated till it was officially disbanded sixteen years ago.
Shisui watched as one of his comrades dislodged the drain cover. Shisui activated his Sharingan and put on a mask before entering. Others followed suite. Making sure everyone had entered, Shisui pulled out an old map of the base and read it before leading his squad towards the base. The sewage system was based on underground passage formerly used by Root nins thus validating the accuracy of the old map. He stopped in front of a wall.
"Danial!" A bulky Uchiha came forward, and pressed his hand against the wall, the wall melted like mud revealing a steel door.
"Ogami!" a short Uchiha stepped forward as Danial made way, Ogami made a few quick hand signs, "Welding Torch Jutsu!" a thin streak of blue flame appeared from his fingers, he sliced the door open like a cheese revealing a dark room, Ogami entered first with his torch as his light source revealing a corridor that led to many rooms, Ogami found a lever, seemingly the main switch, he pulled it up switching on all the lights instantly.
'The lights are working fine, so is the air conditioning,' Shisui noted signs of the base still being used. Ogami dispersed his jutsu and Shisui led them through the corridor, checking every room, till they reached the balcony revealing many floors below them and a courtyard the size of Hyuuga estate below, "Woah!" Shisui worded the shared sentiment of his awestruck cousins and non-Uchiha comrades.
Naruto's Cell
This cell was under tight surveillance with Kushina, Cat and Otter standing guard inside, twenty Anbus in the corridor outside and a hundred and fifty guarding the whole Division in addition to a hundred ninjas that worked in the T&I Division. The department was under heavy security due to Naruto as there was a high possibility of Root trying to break out Naruto or he himself escaping the place. Unconscious, unaware and shirtless, Tsubasa was currently hooked up to some sort of machinery by Information Division. This machine looked more like a guillotine with his neck and hands confined, only the execution blade was missing. Earlier a medic had come and taken some samples from Tsubasa, then Jiraiya came and took a picture of Tsubasa's seal before leaving quickly. Now they were waiting for Inoichi to arrive.
"I can't believe it!" Inoichi entered the cell, "It's true! Minato's son is really alive! And he looks just like him!"
"Ahem!" Otter coughed turning Inoichi's attention to the task at hand.
"Oh yeah! Check Naruto's mind for useful memories," Inoichi recalled the mission given to him and got serious. He stood in front of Naruto and performed a few handsigns.
"Mind Infiltration Jutsu!" He placed his palm on Tsubasa's forehead and entered Tsubasa's mindscape.
"ROAR!" Inoichi was immediately pushed out by Kyuubi's roar.
"The Kyuubi, it's interfering," inoichi huffed out. Kushina checked Tsubasa's seal and applied pressure to Jiraiya's seal and turned to Inoichi "Try again."
Inoichi nodded before going through the same set of handsigns, "Mind Infiltration Jutsu!" Inoichi infiltrated again but this time he was punched out of Tsubasa's mindscape and fell on the floor.
"Now what?" Kushina asked irritated.
"He woke up," Inoichi pointed to Tsubasa. They all turned to Tsubasa to find him awake, his cold blue eyes scanning the cell and people around him till they stopped at Kushina who was closest to him.
"Hey Naruto-kun, how are you feeling?" Kushina asked but stepped back when Tsubasa stood up and broke his hands free from the machine before he tore the machine off his neck and smashed it to ground proving to his jailers that his six packs were indeed a result of intense workout sessions.
"I guess that means 'never been better!'," Cat whispered to Otter.
"Those things don't come cheap you know!" Inoichi snarled pointing at the debris. Tsubasa just cracked his fingers.
"A machinery not worth a single penny spent on it," Tsubasa remarked which made Inoichi really mad as he stomped towards Tsubasa.
"You brat! That machine was a piece of art! It reduced the chakra needed for Mind Infiltration Jutsu and increased the time frame by-" Inoichi's rant was cut short when Otter held him back noticing Tsubasa's fingers twitch subtly biding time and waiting to grab something or someone.
"Keep your calm Yamanaka-sama," Otter advised as he gazed at Tsubasa, "Don't fall for his ploy." The Yamanaka gaped at Otter not quite understanding the ploy, "As for you Naruto-san, I suggest you co-operate with us for we have other methods..."
Tsubasa didn't bother answering, he stepped on a debris of the machine and crushed it below his foot.
"What ripping it apart wasn't enough?" Inoichi growled but Otter got the message, 'Not the giving up type, definitely an Uzumaki.'
"Shut up Inoichi! I'll pay for your stupid machine!" Kushina argued on behalf of her son.
"It's not about-"
"Yamanaka-san please..." Otter warned Inoichi glaring daggers, Inoichi obliged and the attention was back towards their captive, "Your bravery is commendable but futile," Otter spoke as he walked towards Tsubasa, "We have collected enough evidence to convict Danzo of high treason, we have various supporters and contacts of Danzo under our custody who have confessed being in cahoots with him," Otter stopped right in front of Tsubasa, "We also have your comrades under our custody, I am certain they can't put up enough resistance in front of Ibiki-sempai. It won't be long before we find Danzo, but if you help us the Hokage may even pardon you." Otter offered his hand.
Tsubasa stared at the hand then swat it away defiantly, "I have nothing to say."
"Of course you don't..." Otter muttered sarcastic as his eyes bled red and the Sharingan came to life, the tomoes spinning wildly along the ring. Tsubasa tried to avert his eyes, shut his eyes or push Otter away, but couldn't as his body froze up unable to move. Tsubasa still conscious struggled against Otter's hypnosis but had nothing but sheer willpower to do so but that wouldn't be enough with his chakra sealed and Kyuubi's blocked.
"Let me be of some help..."
When Otter was sure his hypnosis worked he decided to interrogate Tsubasa, "Where is Danzo?"
Tsubasa turned to Otter with dazed eyes and replied, "I don't know."
"What-" Otter was interrupted by a punch to his face that shattered his mask. The mask broke off revealing a boy with creases below his Sharingan.
'Uchiha Itachi!'
"I broke you out of his hypnosis but Uchihas are masters of Genjutsu, you will have a better chance fighting him blindfolded," Kyuubi advised, Tsubasa took heed and shut his eyes before attacking Itachi. Itachi waited for Tsubasa to get close before sidestepping and kicking Tsubasa but Tsubasa ducked under the kick and tried a sweep kick to trip Itachi who jumped over. Some more Anbus entered the cell hearing a commotion.
"NARUTO! ITACHI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Kushina screamed as Inoichi and Cat held her back preventing her from getting involved, "LET GO!"
"You can't get involved!"
The other Anbus attacked Tsubasa together as Tsubasa waited for them to come. The first one that got close was punched thrice in his abdomen before being flung into a wall as blood seeped from his mouth, the second had her left arm twisted and Tanto snatched before being flung into the first one, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth earned cuts all over their bodies before being flung into the heap. Just then Tsubasa felt a sharp blade against his throat.
"Drop your weapon..." Itachi warned pressing the blade harder. Tsubasa did as asked, but as soon as the bade hit the ground Tsubasa grabbed Itachi's arm and flung him into the ground. Still holding on to the arm Itachi held his Tanto with, Tsubasa kicked Itachi's abdomen repeatedly to make him let go but Itachi didn't. As Tsubasa kept kicking Itachi grabbed his foot with his free hand and pushed Tsubasa off him. As soon as Tsubasa fell on the ground Itachi lunged at him as Tsubasa got back up to intercept Itachi. But were prevented from clashing again when a chain made of Chakra wrapped around each one's arm. They turned to find Kushina holding out Chakra Chains that restrained them, while Cat and Inoichi tended their mysteriously swollen cheeks.
"Enough you two! Stand down this instance!" Kushina ordered. Itachi was in no position to stand up to her with the Chakra Chain draining his Chakra but Tsubasa already had his Chakra sealed... Tsubasa held the Chakra Chain binding him with both his arms and used his bodyweight and brute strength to pull Kushina off her feet and into swung her over Itachi and into a wall.
Tsubasa's stunt surprised Kushina enough for her to let go of Itachi and Tsubasa. As soon as Kushina flew over him Itachi dashed at Tsubasa. Tsubasa saw Itachi coming and picked up a Tanto lying down to brace for Itachi. As soon as Itachi got close they both swung their blades. Metals rang but their blades never met, blocked by kunais held by an Anbu in Dog mask.
"My my, quite a mess you boys have made here," The Anbu remarked as he held against the pressure from Itachi and Tsubasa. The Anbu pushed their blades away and broke them apart from each other.
"Kakashi, what are you doing here?" Kushina hissed as she stood up.
"Kitsune-san, please call me Inu while I'm under the mask. I was sent here on duty by Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied before turning to Tsubasa, "Naruto, I'm honestly more surprised by your ability to fight while your Chakra is restrained than the fact that you're alive but for all your skills even you must've realized that fighting your way out of a prison guarded by hundreds of Anbus is not an option. In fact Otter-san here is enough to hold you here." Tsubasa sat down with his eyes still shut. A few more Anbus entered the cell and began helping their injured comrades, others surrounded Tsubasa ready to strike at the slightest movement.
"Good," Kakashi turned to others, "Aright, now I'd like to know how exactly did a twelve year old kid cause an emergency with his Chakra sealed?" Everyone turned to the only Sealing expert in the room, much to the Kushina's annoyance.
"Well let's see," Kushina went in front of Tsubasa and analysed his seal carefully as others waited for her report. Kushina was done within minutes and ready to report, "There is nothing wrong with the seal."
"Then what gives?"
"There is nothing wrong with the seal as such but with the choice of seal in use," others were confused, "This seal only seals his Chakra within his body and prevents him from accessing Kyuubi's Chakra. This means he still has Chakra running through his system but locked in his body."
"So, he can use Taijutsu, but not Ninjutsu and Genjutsu," Kakashi remarked.
"Also he still has a mental link to Kyuubi."
"That explains why neither Mind Transfer nor Itachi's Hypnosis worked," Inoichi noted.
"Is there anything you can do about the seal?" Itachi asked.
"Not really, Jiraiya placed the seal in a split second reaction, but he placed it in perfect order and in perfect working condition. Adding any more seals could destabilize the seal holding Kyuubi. The only way to 'fix' Jiraiya's seal is to remove the seal and replace it with another..." Others were convinced but Kakashi stared at her with a hint of suspicion but chose not to voice it.
"Yeah... I think our young friend would like nothing better..." Kakashi noticed Tsubasa's muscles twitch ready to react.
"I hope others are having better luck," Inoichi prayed.
Interrogation Cell
Morino Ibiki was expecting a hell lot of task at hand but was disappointed when only twenty arrests had been made, his consolation that more were coming but twenty would be enough to gather info and satisfy his appetite... For now he hummed a tune as the T&I department was filled with the background music of prisoners screaming and pleading for mercy as the interrogators played punching-bag with them. His guest, a young man in embroidered silk tunic, on the other hand would rather be elsewhere.
"If it isn't Muramasa Higurashi, the greatest blacksmith and weapon trader of Hi no Kuni. It's a great pleasure, and it would be an even greater pleasure to use goods Konoha purchased from you on you."
"Look sir, I am just a simple blacksmith, I have not done anything wrong-" Whatever Higurashi wished to say got stuck in his throat as Ibiki unsheathed his Tanto and struck it between his legs and into the chair a few centimetres away from his precious.
"I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ON PURPOSE! THEY FORCED ME! THEY THREATENED ME AND MY FAMILY!"
Ibiki held the blacksmith's shoulders tightly, "Who threatened you?"
"ROOT! ROOT!"
"You can stop screaming."
"Danzo-sama came to me personally with an offer to supply him weapons in exchange for cash and his services. I refused as I didn't want trouble with Konoha, when he insisted I warned him that I would inform Hokage-sama but then he threatened to kill me and my wife and take my sons as his soldiers."
"Are you sure you were threatened and not seduced by your old friend and the profit?"
"It's true that when Root was still legal, I was its main weapon supplier and when Root disbanded my business was hit poorly but not enough to go against Konoha. I did what I did only for my family."
"And you didn't inform us because?"
"Surely, by now you must have realised that Danzo-sama's strength. He has contacts and spies everywhere. I would have been killed even before reaching Konoha and you wouldn't be able to find my corpse."
"Well now that you're in Konoha how about you tell us about these spies and contacts you mentioned."
"I don't know." Ibiki plucked the tanto and struck it closer to the blacksmith's precious.
"IT'S TRUE! IT'S TRUE!"
"Then how did you supply weapons?" Ibiki asked his blade now touching his victim's point of great inconvenience.
"I WAS GIVEN DATES! DATES TO PREPARE WEAPONS! AT NIGHTS SOMEONE WOULD STEAL THE WEAPONS LEAVING A CHEQUE AND THE NEXT ORDER! I SWEAR THAT'S ALL I KNOW! THAT'S ALL I KNOW!" Ibiki plucked the blade and sheathed it to the comfort of the squirming man.
"Sir! Aoba reporting!" A young Shinobi with spiky black hair and goggles entered.
"Report."
"We've got nothing," the young man reported bravely, as Ibiki narrowed his eyes drilling holes into his subordinate but remained calm.
"Explain."
Aoba sighed in relief before reporting, "Most of them confessed to providing Danzo money and weapons, in return Danzo did some dirty work for them. But they claim they really don't know about Danzo's whereabouts or his hideouts."
"Most?"
"Some of them say they had no part in any of Danzo's schemes, one of them even said that this is all a conspiracy by Hokage-sama to save his throne, Hiro made sure that guy won't be be sitting on any throne."
"What'd the hothead do?"
"Hiro actually baked his ass with the Grand Fireball. The old man's critical but alive."
"Did they tell you about the locations? Where they supplied their money and weapons? Through whom did they supply? Anything as such?"
"Negative, they claim they were given dates to prepare supplies, the supplies which could be weapons, food, clothes, cash, etc. would be 'stolen' on the date with something in return."
"What about the Root agents?"
"Inoichi-sempai tried reading the brat's mind the brat caused an emergency situation, the security around him has been tightened but no one's gonna bother him for the time being. Especially not with his hothead mom around."
"A twelve year old caused Anbus trouble?" Ibiki exclaimed with disbelief, "And what about the other two?"
"They're not as much trouble but they are stubborn. All we got were their names."
"Let me see them." Aoba and Ibiki marched towards the cell where Tsubasa's comrades were placed ignoring the sights of people bleeding, hanging, burning, pincushioned and what not. Till he stopped at a cell where two men had their faces covered in bags filled ice cubes were being smashed into each other by a purple haired woman in trench coat. The bags of ice were already stained in blood but they couldn't even flinch as their arms were pinned to the chair.
"Anko-sempai," Aoba made Ibiki's presence known to Anko Mitarashi. Ibiki motioned Anko to lift the ice bags. Anko complied revealing two faces right from the nightmares. Their faces had been smashed so many times that they were painted completely red by blood, even the hair. One of them seemingly dislocated his eye and they would both need surgery. They were beyond dazed they probably didn't even remember where they were any more.
"Sir, meet Jian and Geom."
"They're in no condition to give answers directly or to resist, use the mind transfer or hypnosis," Ibiki ordered.
"We tried that but it didn't work, or rather it worked but they don't seem to remember."
"'Don't remember'?" Ibiki repeated and Aoba nodded in confirmation, "What's that suppose to mean?"
"Sir, that means when Yamanaka Sei used mind transfer and searched their minds for the location of the hideouts, he couldn't and when Uchiha Yu hypnotised them and asked for the location, they answered that they didn't remember."
"If they don't remember why are you still interrogating them?"
"They're obviously using some trick!"
"If they were, I doubt they're in any condition to physically or mentally use a trick as you put it," Ibiki rebutted, "I have to report to Hokage-sama any time now. Tell Sei and Yu to try again." Aoba nodded.
"This will be an interesting report."
Konoha North Gate
As per the Hokage's orders each gate had a team of guards lead by one Jounin. Like at other gates everyone that passed in and out were thoroughly checked. Everything was normal except the visitor that had just arrived, an old man with one eye and one arm.
"SURROUND HIM!" the leader ordered and all the guards surrounded him with blades drawn out.
"SHIMURA DANZO-"
"I know, I am under arrest," Danzo surrendered with his good arm raised and a smirk screaming he was up to something.
Hokage's Office
The Hokage frowned at the report feeling great disappointment. Jiraiya had come just before Ibiki to discuss with Hiruzen if Jiraiya should leave and continue his espionage or stand by but had to wait as Ibiki's report held more priority.
"In other words you weren't able to find Danzo or his hideouts," Hiruzen summarized.
"Sir, the supporters merely supplied weapons, money, etc. They have no clue about Root's whereabouts or any member. As for the Root nins, Inoichi can't enter the kid's head and the other two seem to have 'forgotten' their hideout," Ibiki justified their disability.
"Hmmm... interesting?" Hiruzen mused as if recalling something.
"Has this happened before?" Ibiki asked.
"Yes, just a few years ago I had Inoichi-san dive into Danzo's head. Inoichi searched every nook and corner of Danzo's head but Danzo came out clean," Hiruzen recalled, "It was as if Danzo forgot Root was still operational."
"Sasori of the Red Sand," Jiraiya's eyes lit up like bulb, waving his index finger, "Sasori is known for creating Sleeper Cells. These Sleeper Cells are Sasori's spies who have their memories erased and infiltrate or rather join forces of his target nations like regular Shinobis till Sasori returns their memories. Even the spies don't know they are spies till Sasori reminds them and till then they have gathered a lot of info on their targets. It's also rumoured that Sasori uses a complicated sealing technique for this method while others believe this is done by Hypnosis."
"You think Danzo is using something similar?"
"Either that or Sasori joined Root," Jiraiya guessed, Ibiki, the head of T&I, felt a shiver down his spine.
"Would you be able to do anything about this?"
"If it's a seal I can. But I'll need a Yamanaka and a Hyuuga or an Uchiha. But it'll take a lot of time."
"Well hurry up then!"
Just then an Anbu barged in and reported, "Sir! Report from North Gate! Danzo has surrendered. He is in our custody."
"Finally! Some good news!"
"No Jiraiya... Danzo is up to something..."
"Of course..."