Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Caution is Given Where Caution is Due

The Hokage and Danzo were as though light and dark. One shined in the public eye while the other garnered prestige through the roots - dark, bloody, and avoided by anyone who knew better to stay away. Itachi understood the need for such a shadow. Peace built on the back of war was fragile. One mistake, one show of weakness, was all it would take for watchful vultures to dive down and sink into their flesh. They needed to maintain there power and show their would be enemies that their weaknesses were not enough to bring them down. Shimura Danzo made sure of it.

Itachi threw a rock over the Naka river and watched as it landed exactly where he aimed for. Skipping stone would have probably been a more enjoyable choice for anyone that wasn't him, but maintaining his near perfect gauge of distance helped with his Kunai and Shuriken training. He heard the rustle of clothes overhead, a clear sign of Shisui making himself known. "How was the Anbu hazing?" His cousin drawled out humorously as he settled besides Itachi.

Itachi thought back to the endless hunt as dozens of Shinobi instilled the meaning of prey into his conscious. He knew they weren't going to kill or maim him, but there were an endless list of ways to torture a human enough to break their psyche. If the indoctrination was enough to break them, then they'd be useless in Anbu. "As well as expected." Itachi decided to answer.

Shisui hummed in understanding. He'd had to go through it himself just a few months prior after all. "Was Sasuke upset you missed his birthday?"

"He was, but he recovered quickly."

"What? Are you upset he wasn't mad enough?" Shisui teased.

Itachi couldn't hold back his smile at his cousins prodding before it slipped off his lips as it usually did during the times he and Shisui would meet for training, friendship giving way to their responsibilities. They sought in each other advice for matters they weren't comfortable to share with anyone else. "Satsuki warned me about Danzo." He stated bluntly.

Shisui blinked rapidly as he finally comprehended what Itachi said and didn't miss the lack of honorifics. "Well, that's straight from left field." He retorted blandly.

"'His loyalty is to the village's power and reputation. He will do whatever it takes to maintain Konoha's dominance over the other villages at the expense of our own citizens, and he himself wants to stand as its leader.'" Itachi quoted. "That it doesn't allow for peace, is what he told me."

"I can see where he's coming from, but..."

"Even you believe sacrifices are needed." Itachi stated.

"With limits at the very least." Shisui affirmed.

Itachi threw another rock and let his mind distract itself for a moment to regather himself. "What limits would those be?"

Shisui laid onto his back and stared at the sky. The vast blue seemed so close yet so untouchable, and he envied its freedom. It had no need for power, no need for shelter, no need for luxuries. It seemed to watch them from its perch with unparalleled smugness as they juggled responsibilities far beneath itself, and yet, it allowed for a world they could live within. "Anyone who could ignore collaterals are dangerous. Sooner or later they become desensitized and uncaring to protect those who may need it and believe it was for the greater good. I'm sure you understand, Itachi." He said.

"'At the expense of our own citizens'..." Itachi murmured.

Both fell into silence and the sound of the Naka River permeated the field. Shisui eyes widened and he sat up to lean towards Itachi. "I heard about a rumor from a few years ago about Amegakure." He said quietly.

"Amegakure?" Itachi repeated in confusion.

Shisui grinned and spoke smugly, "You'd be surprised how much gossip gets passed through the ranks once your in. Most likely because it's the only entertainment you could find. When you get the tongue moving, you just need to poor some oil to keep it going. I doubt you'd have the skill for that though."

Itachi couldn't imagine Anbu being so open with information. Then again, knowing Shisui, he wasn't surprised. Social engineering was Shisui's specialty and he was almost scarily perfect at it. It was one of the primary reasons he was scouted for Anbu in the first place. Being an ally of his just made his targets all the more vulnerable, even if there was no harm done. "But why Amegakure?" Itachi pressed as he knew the topic wasn't brought up randomly.

"Rumor says root could have been involved with Hanzo. Could have aided him, in fact."

Hanzo. The academy taught their students how the Sannin earned their title and reputation, and it was because of Hanzo. No other information was given besides him being a legendary shinobi who named the Sannin, the leader of Amegakure, and a warlord. He'd been a fearsome shinobi, but one who left his civilians to rot in war. Itachi would have to find documentations of the man. The Sannin wouldn't have kept their title given by someone he'd just described. Orochimaru, maybe, but never Senju Tsunade nor the Toad Sage Jiraiya. He noted that to himself before he asked, "Where did the rumor come from?"

"Hanzo was never a direct threat to Konoha but Anbu was dispersed to Ame as soon as news came that he was killed. You can't really ignore the loss of a man like him given that it wasn't from natural causes. Danzo tried to take over the matter, but the Sandaime held his ground to oversee it directly. Nothing really came up besides a place of destruction and blood. The Anbu sent to investigate described it like a Bijuu went mad there... but guess what was found?" Shisui paused dramatically and Itachi only stared back impassively. Shisui sighed, "Our sniffers caught the sent of Konoha Acacia Anegadensis. You know, the ones that only grow within the Forest of Death."

"That..." Itachi didn't know how to respond. The scent of a plant only native to a certain part of Konoha was more than enough during a time of conflict to imprison someone on grounds of suspicion. Being that it was during the third shinobi war, the only ones who utilized the Forest of Death were special operatives.

"The report was given to the Sandaime but he never said a word about it. Rumor says he couldn't afford to start civil conflict at the time. The reason they say its root is because Danzo wanted sole authority on the case. They say root might have aided Hanzo is because, as you must have guessed, someone was on the ground long enough to leave a scent mark. A root agent, sitting still in the middle of an open field within foreign territory? Improbable, unless they were lying there dead."

"Hanzo could have likely killed them himself."

"True, but then again, Danzo doesn't like the Akatsuki and that part's not a rumor. So it's unlikely they helped Akatsuki fight Hanzo."

"So he aided Hanzo to get rid of the Akatsuki?" Itachi wondered.

Shisui frowned and bowed his head. "Danzo was against the peace treaty, Itachi." That was all he had to say for Itachi to understand. Another, more disheartening, reason could be that Danzo wanted to extend the war.

He wasn't going to take rumors as fact, but he'll take what he knew was true. Konoha operatives were there during Hanzo's final battle, no doubt. The scent of  Acacia Anegadensis couldn't have been there otherwise. Danzo was against the Akatsuki and the peace treaty. He'd have to search through the reports of Amegakure to understand more, but Danzo's apparent involvement didn't seem anything positive.

Should he ask Satsuki what he knew? There was more that he didn't tell Itachi, as always, but perhaps he could divulge information about Danzo when his brother already warned him about the man. Surely he could explain more, such as what "at the expense of our citizens" truly meant. Itachi would refrain from asking how he knew such information, so surely...

Itachi didn't know what he was going to do if he did find something suspicious. Present it to the Hokage and warn him to keep an eye on Danzo? Root had it's own underbelly missions during war-time and perhaps the Sandaime had already been aware of the full story. All information the Sandaime had was passed down to the Yondaime, so perhaps the Hokage already dealt with it. There were too many variables that Itachi was hard pressed to be wary of. The Uchiha was already in an unfavorable position, and for them to seemingly try and start civil conflict between the leaders of Konoha would only make matters worse.

Itachi thanked Shisui for the information and decided to head back home. Although he may doubt Satsuki's warning, he already knew he'd keep an eye out on Danzo. No matter what, he trusted Satsuki the most.