Dusk Till Dawn

31

Naruto saw the men and women before him look at his cloak before reassessing their postures. Before, they had been slightly slouched and relaxed; now they were alert and upright, as would be expected of an inspection of troops.

Takahashi Kenji, the name given to the man who had been 'saved' from ROOT before, stood next to Sai as they welcomed Naruto, flanking behind him as he walked down the lines. The number of the group was substantially less - Sai had mentioned that others were quick to leave after Danzou died - but the time to get these soldiers back to what could be considered normal was running out.

A shadow passed over the sun as a black bird flew over the sun, blotting it from Naruto's eyes. Itachi-raven circled downwards and accepted the arm Naruto offered, dipping his beak to Sai and Kenji as he did so.

As Naruto walked into the office area, he could feel the ninja behind him relax, going back to their previous duties without a second thought. Naruto took a seat in front of the desk as the two men seated themselves behind it.

Naruto looked to Sai and flickered his gaze to Itachi, telling the bird that it was okay to transform if he so wished. In a second, Itachi stood behind the Hokage's chair with his hood pulled up and shadows covering his face.

"What exactly is your plan of action?"

Sai reached into the desk and pulled a ring binder from the depths, placing it carefully on the table. He flipped open to a page and ran a finger over a certain line.

"This is the planning folder Danzou left for us and, before we get into the specifics, there is something I need to tell you."

Naruto tilted his head in curiosity and Sai continued,

"I have had each of the group tested by a member of the Yamanaka clan and their claimed intentions seem to be their true intentions... and what I mean is that Danzou trained four members of his organisation to fit you perfectly. Of course they won't fit with anything you have learnt outside of Konoha, anything that is not recorded anyway, but these Shinobi have been trained so they could complete any flaws to your style."

Naruto shook his head a little, obviously knowing where this was going and knowing that he didn't want it.

"Danzou trained them to be your perfect guards, Naruto... He began the training when you first began in the Academy and had them observe you a few times to see what they could come up with. During your absence, Danzou trained them to the point of no return; all they have left is to serve you."

Naruto hid the pain laced into his eyes; Danzou's intentions may have been good, to protect the Jinchuuriki, the one who holds the key to the destruction of the world, but his methods were debatable. Naruto knew he would never be able to look at a member of his so called guard and stop himself from wondering how they would be without this duty.

"What do they call themselves?"

Sai shuffled a few papers and opened the ring on the folder. Naruto ignored the deep click it produced and stared at Sai.

"Danzou... he named them Team Karasu."

Itachi jolted slightly behind Naruto and the Hokage sighed heavily. The team he was supposed to accept as his private guard could very well be the reason Madara found out about Itachi; with Kisame knowing there was the added chance, but to flaunt it so openly?

"The plan with the remainder of the troops under Ne is to get them back to ANBU or lower, depending on what they'd rather. With the younger members, I'd personally like then to undergo a rehabilitation programme that mainly people who have been hostages or held in isolation for long periods of time undergo. ROOT could fund that, Danzou left quite a large sum of money for us to work with."