Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
"It's too late to discuss such things," her uncle said. "Let's go to bed." Mikoto nodded and bade her uncle goodnight, making her way to her bedroom.
"I hope you enjoyed your childhood," Itachi murmured to his nephew. "Because it'll end soon."
Chapter 21 - Eavesdropper
The next morning, the entire Uchiha family were up at the crack of dawn.
"Bye," Sasuke said as he left to get the final details of his mission.
"Be careful!" Sakura said, giving her husband a kiss. "I want you back all in one piece!" He nodded.
"Ah, Sasuke," Naruto said when the Uchiha entered his office. "You're early." The man in front of him 'hnned'.
"What's my mission?" he asked his best friend/Hokage. Naruto sighed.
"Here are the details." He outlined the details of the S-Ranked mission.
Unbeknownst to both of them, someone was lurking outside the window. Eavesdropping. Memorising every detail of the mission. Luminous green hair swayed in the breeze. 'Interesting... they thought. Ruiizu-chan needs to hear about this. A second after Naruto finished giving Sasuke his instructions a purple-eyed girl vanished in a cloud of smoke, materialising miles away.
"What do you want?" she was asked.
"I need to talk to Ruiizu-chan, urgently," the fifteen-year-old replied.
"I'm here," a small, thirteen-year-old said, appearing out of a tent. "What is it?"
"I have important information," the spy said. "Very important."
"Come." The young teen led the way into her tent. For about half an hour all that could be heard were quiet mutterings. They eventually emerged.
"You did well," Ruiizu-chan said. The older girl took the complement and took her leave.
"What is it, Ruiizu-chan?" the sentinel asked respectively.
"It would appear the Konoha is making its move, Yanafu," she said. "We will show them that we are not a force to be underestimated. Summon our supporters. All of them." Yanafu nodded and disappeared.
"Are you sure about this, Ruiizu-chan?" another asked her. She smirked.
"We will show Konoha that they need to do better in the future, that is, if they had one." Her sky blue eyes glinted behind her black glasses. "Kukukuku!" She laughed manically. The braver of her followers joined in. "Kirigakure and Kumogakure have fallen, and Iwagakure is on the verge of collapse. Konohagakure is next, then Sunagakure! Then all the minor shinobi countries will be ours too. We will conquer the whole continent and I shall rule them all! Kukukuku!" She laughed again. "The title of Gokage will be MINE!"
"Are you sure you want to do this mission?" Naruto asked his best friend. "If they realise what you're up to, there'll be no mercy."
Sasuke nodded.
"I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure," he said. "I will do anything to keep it safe – and more to protect my friends."
Naruto smiled grimly.
"Good luck. And I hope, for everyone's sake, that you return in one piece."
"I'll try," Sasuke promised.
"I can't ask for any more than that." Naruto said. "Don't spend any longer than necessary out there." Sasuke inclined his head before leaving the office.
An eighteen year old ANBU was having a heated discussion with one of her teammates. Sasuke smirked when he heard that the object of their argument was his son.
More and more fan girls… the only way he'll get rid of them is if he has a girlfriend…
"Sasuke-sama!" the first one said when she was him. She had midnight blue hair with black streaks.
"Tsukihana," he responded civilly. "Why are you having an argument with Nami?"
She blushed at looked at the black haired girl for support.
"Nothing, Sasuke-sama," the other girl said. He smirked, giving them the message that he knew perfectly well what (or rather, who) they had been talking about. They looked uncomfortable and were about to say something when he walked off.
I wish they'd stop calling me Sasuke-sama, it's annoying, he thought. Silently, he made his way out of the village. The green-haired spy watched him go.
I almost pity you, she thought. Almost. She didn't follow him – she knew that it wouldn't take him long to realise that she was shadowing him. She melted into the breaking dawn as Sasuke donned his old Akatsuki cloak. Isn't it ironic that the dawn – Akatsuki – will be the last time you see your village, she thought, knowing her mistress's plans for the unfortunate Uchiha. Goodbye, Sasuke-sama. She teleported to where Ruiizu-chan was waiting for her.
"He's coming, Ruiizu-chan," she told the younger girl.
"Good," the younger girl responded. Her next command shocked everyone except the spy.
"But… Ruiizu-chan… I thought…" Yanafu said. Her mistress laughed loudly.
"You thought I'd challenge him?" she asked. "No, no, no. I have a better idea…" she trailed off. Her followers waited for her to continue but she glared at them. Didn't I tell you to pack up?" she said. Hastily they went to do her bidding.
Sasuke walked towards the direction of Akatsuki's last known hideout. It was a cold morning and he pulled his cloak tighter around himself. It was only a deterrent – all the Akatsuki members knew to where he was allianced. Its main use was to keep other, unwelcome, people from challenging him. Once he found the Akatsuki he had to stay hidden – if any of them found him he was dead. He came across an area that had recently been camped in but thought nothing of it – after all, it didn't affect his mission. He walked past it, unaware of the many people watching him from the bushes, hiding their Chakra signals. As soon as he was out of earshot, some of the more battle-hungry ninja asked to chase him and were harshly rebuked.
Back in Konoha, Sakura was nervous and pacing.
"Settle down, Mum," Mikoto said. "Pacing won't make any difference."
Sakura sighed.
"I know, but it's a dangerous mission. The chances of him dying are very high, and you know that."
Mikoto nodded.
"Yes, but we can't make any difference. It's up to him," she said wisely. Sakura smiled weakly at her eldest daughter.
"Sasuke wouldn't like it if he knew you were worrying about him. After all, he's a very experienced Jounin," Itachi pointed out. "Are you three coming to train?" he asked his nephew and nieces. They nodded and followed him to the same part of the forest that they had been in the day before.
"Are you going to teach us some new jutsu?" Tani asked hopefully. Her uncle laughed.
"Of course I am," he said. "The first one I'm going to teach you is Katon: Hiru…" he trailed off. "Itachi, are you listening?"
Mikoto and Tani looked at their brother and sighed.
"Itachi…" their uncle said. The teen didn't reply. "Itachi!" Mikoto poked her younger brother. He jumped. "Spacing out is strictly forbidden," his uncle said sternly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that showed that he was joking.
"Sorry," the boy muttered, looking at the ground.
"Now, if you'll watch, I'll demonstrate," Itachi continued. Katon: Hiru no jutsu! A glowing red thread appeared and wrapped around a twig. Upon closer inspection, the young Uchihas could see that it was actually a thread of fire. Slowly, the twig started to burn.
"Cool!" Tani said. "Can I have a go?" Her uncle laughed.
"You can all have a go. The signs are Inu Ushi Tatsu Saru I Tora." Simultaneously, the youngsters formed the Seals.
"Inu, Ushi, Tatsu, Saru, I Tora! Katon: Hiru no jutsu!"
To their uncle's pleasure, three threads of fire had appeared, albeit at different standards. Itachi's was the strongest, but it wasn't perfect, Mikoto's was flickering and Tani's was struggling to stay in existence. Soon, all three flames died. The two girls glared at their brother jealously, all too aware that his attempt was far better than theirs. Their uncle chuckled.
"To be honest, that was more or less what I was expecting," he admitted. "Try again, and see if you can get a steadier flame." The younger Uchihas obeyed. After ten attempts each, their uncle spoke.
"Do you want me to demonstrate some more that I'll teach you at some point?" he asked. They nodded. "OK." I, Inu, Mi, Tatsu, Saru, Uma, U, Hitsuji, I Tora! Katon: Sarakei no jutsu! Ashes began to fall from the sky. As soon as they hit the ground, multiple fires formed.
"Wow!" Tani exclaimed. "What was that?" Her uncle laughed.
"You get to learn that after you master Hiru," he told her. "Want to see another?" They nodded. Ushi, Ne, Inu, Tori, Tatsu, Tora, I, Mi, Ushi, Uma, Saru, U, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Tora! Katon: Kurenaiya no jutsu! A massive flame appeared, so big that the sky seemed to turn red. Even Itachi was impressed.
"That's enough demonstrations. You're supposed to be mastering Hiru," the older Uchiha told his brother's children. They looked disappointed, but focused on the jutsu he said.
Thank you for reading!
Tsari