I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, I'm just a fan I enjoyed the anime but I love the fanfics even more, they made me fall for the whole franchise.
Chapter 74
Shisui Uchiha walked in front of Danzō Shimura who was adamant about not trusting him and his Uchiha brethren in general with his back. Shisui could only roll his eyes when Danzō had begun a history lesson on why Uchihas were untrustworthy.
Shisui of the body flicker still felt like his mortal enemy might have killed him in another life or world but he wouldn't let that bother him in this life.
Escorting Danzo is three of his Root operatives dressed in black cloaks and plain porcelain masks. The one who made Shisui the saddest was the teenage boy a little bit older than the new genin of Konoha. The Uchiha couldn't help but growl thinking of the torture the boy went through to become as emotional as a brick wall.
"I see you Uchiha's are still prone to your emotions, what a shameful display for a Jōnin." Danzo spoke, voice prideful and bitter with a hint of accusation. Shisui kept on walking, he knows the Shimura Clan head only wanted to get under his skin.
"No matter, my former teammate seems to come to his senses on how to handle village affairs." Danzo smirked when he saw something in Shisui's posture change. "We can only pray he sees Uchihas are not the most…." Danzo fained he was searching for a word that was obviously at the very tip of his tongue.
"Stable." The older man finished with his cane hitting the ground as he marched on.
"To hand an Uchiha anything delicate is to ask for failure and disappointment, it is no wonder a clan so gifted has never once done anything worth mentioning." Shisui understood exactly what Danzō was trying to accomplish but it did not mean he had to like it. His fists balled unintentionally and he frowned prominently.
It had been like this since they left the Capital and began moving toward Konoha. The relic of a generation that did not want to disappear known as Danzo Shimura seemed to be out to get Shisui Uchiha. The Jōnin would say it was personal but then every other Uchiha out there would be glaring at him and calling him conceited.
'The third Hokage can't be seriously thinking of bringing this man back into a prominent position in Konohagaru.' Shisui thought while leading the way through the forest at a civilian pace due to Danzo's 'inability' to walk without his cane. Shisui snorted and decided fuck it, a few words directed at Danzō would only make his day better.
"For a man who has no accomplishments in his belt with the amount of wars he has been part of I'm surprised you have such a mouth on you." Shisui shot back but Danzo didn't so much as blink and neither did his Root operatives.
"I do not seek recognition for all I have done for my village." Danzo wasn't done talking when Shisui turned around and began walking backward with his hands coming up to rest behind his head in a relaxed manner so he could face the three men and one teen behind him.
"Come to think of it, no Shimura has ever made a name of themselves here nor there. When the Uchiha warred with the strongest Clan the Senju and eventually allied with them to form this village you are so proud to call your own." Shisui smirked while he talked making sure Danzō saw the pride in his eyes and heard it in his voice. "The Shimura Clan were a backwater clan hiding from the Inuzuka and Aburama Clan while accomplishing nothing." The Uchiha Jōnin placed a lot of emphasis on the word 'nothing' before turning around to face forward, he was done with the conversation.
Danzō's Root operatives were silent, not saying a word to defend their master and leader. Not that they understood what Shisui said struck Danzō deep inside, a leader without people willing to speak out for him is not much of a leader is he?
"My mission was to deliver Hokage-Sama's missive, I think that is a mission completed, I'm out." Danzo squeezed his cane's handle in a death grip and watched Shisui's form fade away like a mirage in front of him.
"One day, you will kneel before me begging for mercy, Shisui Uchiha." Danzo promised with well-hidden anger.
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"The TAYA is a revolutionary sealing technique that can alter our way of communicating at a level never seen before. Imagine being able to have diplomatic meetings without having to step into enemy territory. Contemplate how a Jōnin commander can direct troops from miles away and in a matter of seconds." Gatō sipped on his glass of wine when he took a pause, and let the man sitting across from him nod in acceptance of his words. Gatō placed his glass on the device laying face up on the small table in front of him and poured wine inside.
"But that is going too far, now think of a soldier, a son, a daughter, a friend, or a lover who just misses someone dear to them and wants to communicate those feelings. With the TAYA you can simply do so from anywhere in the world by picking up a Taya which you have done an excellent job of modernizing if I do say so myself." Gatō complimented his companion and placed a finger on the transparent surface of his TAYA.
The glass of wine sank inside the TAYA by causing ripples on its transparent surface until it was completely submerged inside the tag when Gatō inserted his chakra that is unique to him with the idea of the person he wanted to send the 'message' to in mind.
The new appearance of the TAYA Tag looked more like an electronic invention than a complicated fuinjutsu script that had many arrays working together to give the user of said TAYA the best user-friendly experience.
With Chakra recognition arrays connected to Chakra memory arrays to save Chakra signatures as 'contacts' in your TAYA device. A space-time array to open a rip in space and time using the receiver 'contact' to link the sender's TAYA dimension to the receiver's TAYA dimension.
The tag uses space-time fuinjutsu arrays to link one 'Talk anywhere you are' tag to a specific pocket dimension connected to another 'Talk anywhere you are' tag that is Chakra registered to a specific person for connectivity and privacy sake.
Gatō did not understand a thing about how the Chakra recognition or Chakra memory part of the tags worked, how was he supposed to understand the part about space and time? The ex Business owner turned employee decided to concentrate on his strong point which was commerce.
"A truly wonderful invention." The man sitting inside Gatō's carriage with a TAYA tag of his own, that is linked to his distinct chakra signature said while watching with great interest when his TAYA's transparent surface glowed green.
'Wonderful indeed.' Gatō agreed inwardly, the young boss did an excellent job in working out the kinks of the TAYA tags alert system. Even adding a vibration system for silent alerts as well as a sound system for noisy alerts.
The gray-eyed man with shoulder-length black hair who looked to be in his late forties smirked with greed in his eyes and placed his finger on the surface of his TAYA.
Dotō Kazahana inserted his chakra to accept the object sent to him and a second later a wine glass slowly appeared out of his TAYA like it was coming out of a liquid surface.
The Diamyō of YukigKure took the wine glass in his left hand and raised it to his lips, smelled its content, and took a sip. He then proceeded to raise his TAYA in his right hand and examine its new look.
Encased in orange plastic with a glass front that had an array engraved on its right-hand top corner. The engraving is a smaller seal array of the Phasiest tag, which gives the glass surface the ability to phase objects coming out of the paper tag through its protective surface with minimal chakra use unless sending and receiving larger objects.
The land of snow modernized the tag by adding 138.3 mm in height, 67.1 mm in width, and 7.1 mm in diameter with a mass of 138 g. In simple terms, it was a portable convenience for the Elemental Nations with nothing but benefits.
"I have to meet this young prodigy of yours Gatō-San." The man with broad shoulders, thin eyebrows, and small eyes said with nothing but excitement in his voice, why would he not be excited? Gatō thought in the back of his mind.
The former shipping magnet never liked ninjas, in his eyes they were nothing sophisticated unless you were into blood, gore, death, and destruction.
'Naruto Uzumaki.' Gatō thought, listening to Dotō Kazahana. The daimyo of The Land of Snow ranted on and on about the amount of money they will all make with this partnership with the TAYA tag, and Gatō agreed.
'His foresight is too broken.' Gatō thought for the hundredth time. The blonde was unlike any other ninja out there in Gatō's mind, the short man didn't know if he could even call the boy a simple Shinobi because he was more than that.
'I don't even mind losing my company anymore.' Gatō inwardly sighed at the truthful thought crossing his mind. He was having fun, looking forward to the future, and doing what he loves, is that not what life is about? The little moments that turn into big rewards.
"I'm sure you will get along." Gatō said not sure himself in that regard, all he knew is that his mission was a success. It was all left in the hands of the boss who planned on revealing the TAYA tag to the world in the Chunin exams where many important figures would be located.
'Way too broken.' the man asserted one more time.
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"If I never step foot in Snow Country again it will be too soon." Danko groaned out loudly while he walked with his co-workers Rasen, Odama, and Mango his best friend.
The four-man squad each carried one corner of Gatō's luxurious carriage on their shoulders as they marched through the forest of the land of fire heading toward Konohagaru. With them were three of Dotō's trusted Shinobis. Nadare Rōga, Mizore Fuyukuma, and Fubuki Kakuyoku.
"So, you're a ninja Uhm?" Mango said while wiggling his eyes at Fubuki Kakuyoku the only female member of Dotō's escort.
Fubuki has green eyes and pink spiky hair that stuck out of two holes at the top of her grey helmet, reminiscent of pig-tails. She has small circular dark pink eyebrows. Like her teammates, she wore gray armor with blue stripes running around its surface with a circular device on her back with the yin-yang symbol in gray and blue.
Fubuki smirked arrogantly and looked to Mango who after a few seconds of staring into her green eyes began to sweat and get uncomfortable. The man quickly turned back around and faced forward scared out of his mind.
"How disgusting, why would anyone live in a place so hot? The sweating is annoyingly frustrating." Rōga Nadare, the right-hand man of Dotō Kazahana spoke up while wiping his sweaty brows.
Rōga is a man of pale skin tone, he has a thin and bony face, teal pupilless eyes, and a narrow nose. He has small diagonal purple marks below both of his eyes. His purple eyebrows are shaped like small thick purple dots and he wears a happuri-style forehead protector that frames his face.
Nadare has long purple hair that is held in a long ponytail running down his back, along with a long, thin strand of purple hair hanging over the right side of his face. He wore armor similar to his female teammate with minor differences like his armor's yin and yang like device located on his left shoulder.
"Only an idiot would live in such a place." Mizore Fuyukuma replied easily while pulling on his armor's collar. Mizore is a rather large man with a short crop of purple hair and dark eyes with small circular-shaped purple eyebrows. He wears the standard uniform of his team which consisted of a blue and gray outfit with Chakra Armour.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say every member of Gatō's entourage was openly gaping at the words to come out of the Yuki Shinobi's mouths. They had obviously never been to Sunagakure and everybody knows that the land of fire has the most optimum weather in the Elemental Nations.
Rasen looked to his best friend Odama, who had his mouth frozen for the duration of their journey by the only female in their escort group. The guy wouldn't stop talking and being stupid, embarrassing Rasen and making them look unprofessional in the eyes of the Yuki Shinobi.
Rasen looked into Odama's pleading gaze as he tried to make a sound and failed. Gatō's right hand frowned prominently at his ex-best friend and looked away from him with a huff. It was over between them, Rasen decided he couldn't be friends with someone who could not take anything seriously.
Odama looked down in sadness as a tear dropped from his right eye and froze when it reached the ice covering his mouth. The ice was in the form of a lower face mask.
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"Man, you guys are very good at healing people. That knock to the head must have been worse than I thought! Hahaha…" kabuto Yakushō laughed awkwardly while he stood in front of Ibiki Morino who grunted and patted the young adult on the shoulders.
"Yes, Make sure to watch where you jump next time. Now of you go soldier!" Ibiki finished his lie in an authoritative tone, shooing Kabuto off.
"Hai, Jōnin-San." Kabuto saluted stiffly, looking to even be serious in his act. The talented spy spun on his heel and casually walked away while rubbing his bold head that glistened in the afternoon sunlight.
"Tsk!" Ibiki sounded out loudly and placed his hand in his trench cloak as he turned on his heel, making the tailback of his cloak flap in the wind while he marched inside the T and I building.
Ino Yamanaka watched Kabuto walk off awkwardly, he had this wall of exaggerated confusion, exaggerated nativity with a tinge of smugness that she picked up very easily in his body language. The Yamanaka heiress frowned and jumped back into her mind.
She was located in a coffee store built close to the Torture and Intelligence administrative building that housed all of Konoha's secrets so you shouldn't be surprised that located next to it was ANBU headquarters.
'They think he's a spy?' Ino wondered watching Kabuto closely as he greeted a civilian passing by, the civilian smiled and greeted back smiling as he walked off.
'Uncle Ibiki gave him a haircut, so he must have been interrogated by the head torturer himself.' Ino sipped on her glass of juice and looked down to read the final words of her book and flipped it over.
"A sad man." Ino mumbled thinking of Kakashi Hatake who always read the orange book she now held in her hand. People who read such books were usually in it because they felt they did not deserve love.
It was pure smut on smut, Ino turned the book around and stared at the picture of the man who wrote it, Jiraiya of the Sanin. There was a theory that went around in the past that was still brought up randomly to this day.
'Jiraiya Hatake.' It wasn't far-fetched, he was very talented in the Shinobi art even though he lacked the large chakra capacity most Shinobi of his caliber had. Silver hair, Tall, Powerful. The Hatake Clan is filled with born Shinobis, a clan filled with prodigies and born leaders.
Ino frowned and thought the rumors might be true because she saw a pattern between the Hatake she learned about in history books, the one she met in the forest of death and the Sanin thought to be that clan's long-lost member.
'They all fall to depression.' Ino placed her empty glass of juice down and stood up. She left a few Ryo on the table and walked outside the cafeteria she had a plan in mind to quench her curiosity and she wouldn't back away from it until the very end.
The Yamanaka walked toward the torture and intelligence building knowing what she planned on doing was dangerous and against the law.
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"He knows nothing." Inoichi Yamanaka sighed thinking they might have just put a young man's body through hell for nothing.
"He does not remember a thing." Ibiki's only functioning eye blinked while taking a sit on a sofa located in their tea room. "You wiped the whole experience from his mind, and the medics did a good job of putting him back together." Ibiki finished and folded his one leg over the other seeming to relax.
"Still, the body does not forget and he might experience short-term PTSD just until the body forgets the phantom pains." The Yamanaka head/ Head of the Torture and Intelligence Division explained while he walked toward a desk and took a sit on the chair next to it.
"Admittedly the boy's head is a mess but his medical records can attest to him having suffered a head injury as a child." The Yamanaka spoke and grabbed the cup of coffee on the desk before taking a sip. The man was addicted to the beverage.
"Are you ready to write the report?" Inoichi asked and Ibiki grunted in approval. The platinum blonde man reached for the scroll on the table and grabbed a brush when he placed his cup down.
"Genin Yakushi Kabuto after intense torture and interrogation has proven to know nothing of the Sanin and traitor Orochimaru……" As Ibiki recounted his findings vocally, Inoichi wrote down the details on the scroll. Both Jōnin level officers did their best and pulled out all the stops trying to get Kabuto talking and they failed it would only be fair for them to think the now bold Adult Genin was innocent.
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"It is gonna take a while before I remember everything I deleted from my memory regarding all of my spying." Kabuto mumbled still walking down the streets of Konoha, it would not be far-fetched to think of him as the best spy In the Elemental Nations.
Thanks to the accident that had him lose the memories of his early childhood and left Kabuto with memory loss so severe he still cannot recall his early childhood.
'it's the accident that birth my talent.' The spy smirked while readjusting the spectacles on his face. With the ability to simulate memory loss for however long he wants, Kabuto was the perfect spy.
The perfect spy with a way to completely convince you of his innocence because, for all intent and purposes, he believes it too. Kabuto rubbed his now smooth scalp and growled in anger, grinding his teeth together.
'I'll personally kill that man during the invasion.' Kabuto promised with conviction, he ignored the third Hokage's grandson who walked passed him with his classmates.
The three children took the time to appreciate Kabuto's new look and laugh at him before moving on. The kids each had a Naruto Uzumaki figurine in hand while they played a ninja-inspired game.
Kabuto spent 3 weeks in that hell hole, three weeks he could have spent learning more about Konoha's Jinchuriki. Now with only a few days left before the exams, kabuto had no time on his plate to do as he pleased because he had to get in touch with Orochimaru, the Genin from team 8, and move quickly to finish his preparations for the invasion.
Finding himself in front of his cheap-looking apartment, Kabuto stuck his key inside the keyhole before twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open. Kabuto sighed and walked inside, he needed sleep for his brain to properly absorb the influx of memories that will be restored in a matter of hours.
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Inoichi would honestly say he did not expect his daughter to pay him a visit at work today and ask for a tour of the place. He was happy his only child was interested in his job and that she wouldn't be sent to the frontlines if she decided to become a special agent instead.
"Torture and Intelligence focuses on Information gathering, Decrypting messages, and Safeguarding Konoha's most sensitive information." Inoichi explained to his daughter who walked beside him. Ino had arrived unannounced at the front gates and with but a few words had a Chunin officer escorting her to where her father was located.
After greeting Uncle Ibiki and telling her father about her interests in his career path, the Yamanaka heiress was quick to 'come up with an idea'. The idea revolved around touring the restricted building with her dad and questioning him while giving the poor man her best puppy dog eyes.
"Konoha has many divisions that work together with the Hokage and his active Shinobi forces to protect and serve the village as a whole. The most important division is what this building represents." The father explained as they walked past doors in the corridor they walked down.
"Because it houses all the village's information?" Ino asked looking up at her old man. Inoichi shook his head in the negative and pointed to a door that had a sign written Hunter nin briefing.
"Information is only one part of it, this building represents order and preparedness." The Yamanaka duo continued walking with the eldest leading the way. "T and I is the core to our village's Shinobi System, without it Shinobis would be moving around like headless chickens which would cause many casualties." Ino nodded at her father's words, finding them to ring with truth.
"Archiving documents such as mission reports, information gathered by our spies in foreign nations, and important deals made between our village and foreign powers." Inoichi pointed at a door with a tag above it written Archives and continued.
Ino had to physically turn her head from the mother load of information behind that door and follow her father who continued the tour.
"Keeping an eye on potential spies in the village and helping Shinobis going through psychological trauma in their healing process." Inoichi stopped in his tracks and turned to face his beautiful daughter with a gentle but happy smile on his visage.
"Torture and Intelligence is more than the world sees it for, and less what it does not see it for." Ino nodded never really thinking her dad would be so quick to open up to her in this regard. "The Konoha Archives is filled with many secrets and sensitive information so here we only hold copies." Ino blinked, she did not know that but she didn't mind, it is here she planned on sniffing for clues.
"What about the information on dead Shinobi." The platinum blonde genin questioned her father who smiled and began explaining once more. Ino listened closely as she planned on becoming a usual visitor of the establishment most wouldn't want to hear about, even in passing.
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It would be hours later that Ino would step out of the torture and Intelligence building after her grand tour of the place. She learned a lot about the place and formulated a plan of action on how she would proceed with her self-imposed mission.
She would need access to the archives kept inside T and I. Ino spent hours in the Konoha library in the last few days trying to find anything on the Uzumaki Clan and failing. She was not deterred and visited her friend working in the Konoha Hospital about looking into Naruto's medical history and informing her about anything different about him that they could link to another person.
"Hey, Kid!" Ino blinked and stopped walking before looking behind her.
'Anko Mitarashi.' She wondered as she watched the kinky woman walk toward her and in her arm laying limp like a dead man was Kiba Inuzuka.
"Here." Anko said throwing Kiba at the unprepared platinum blonde who screamed in disdain and moved away. Kiba's battered and bruised body hit the ground and stayed there while Anko turned back around and walked toward the building Ino left a few minutes ago.
"Poor Kiba." Ino mumbled in sadness, she was not there to see how Akamaru died but she knew for a fact it was an ugly scene to watch, especially for Kiba. Ino bent down and lifted the boy off his feet, placing an arm over her shoulder and placing her own around the Inuzuka's waist. The Yamanaka made a detour and headed toward the Inuzuka compound.
"I wonder if he was training with her?" Ino mumbled but a sly smile was forming on her face when she thought back to Kiba's proclamation during the Chunin exams.
Ino craned her neck to look behind her, She watched the special Jōnin sensually make her way to the T and I administrative building. Hips swaying, and walk screaming sexual appeal.
"Anko-Chan! Please wait, just give me a chance I promise you won't regret it!!" Ino looked back forward to see a Jōnin running toward her.
The man has brown hair that is covered by his Konoha bandanna-style forehead protector. He has a small pointed goatee and wears the standard outfit of the Konohagakure shinobi. He also has small, squinted eyes that rarely seem to be open.
The man ran passed Ino, but not before giving Kiba a jealous look that Ino caught onto instantly. Ino followed him with her eyes until he reached Anko and brought out flowers. Ino's eyes widened at the significance of the events to transpire.
"I have to tell Sakura about this!" Ino squealed with a new plan in mind, she made a U-turn and began her trek toward the civilian Genin's home. The Yamanaka heiress wanted to play match maker and Kiba Inuzuka was her poor victim.
Ino did not see how Anko summoned a snake and had it swallow the whole bouquet while she gave a sadistic laugh to the heavens.
Authors notes...
I had plans for a Tora mission that I wanted Lee, Shino and Shikamaru to do together as a joint training session but I'm guessing I've been doing world building for sometime now and my readers might be bored so like the Chapter with the Uchiha dinner I want your opinions on whether I should add in the chapter or just let it fly and probably bring it in as flashback snippets during the finals?
Everybody say YEAH!!!