Root Operative, Kitsune (A Naruto what-if Fanfiction)

Part 1

"No," A man's voice broke out, it sounded older and more defeated than the man himself looked. Sarutobi Hiruzen was getting on in age, it was why he retired and named Namikaze Minato as his successor, the young man seemed like the perfect choice, but if Sarutobi had chosen another instead, perhaps he and his wife would still be alive. And their son...

"You're sure? The boy wasn't anywhere near his parents... corpses?" He questioned the man in front of him feeling sick to his stomach. "Yes, Hiruzen, I dispatched all of my Root to search for the boy but they all turned up nothing. Lord Fourth's and Lady Kushina's son has vanished." Danzo spoke with a mournful tone.

"Your root... Danzo, if I ever find out that you had anything to do with this..."

"Now that hurts, don't you trust me, old friend? I had thought that our rivalry and friendship had meant something to you as it did to me, I guess I was wrong to believe in that assumption. Very well, Hokage-Sama, you may send out your own forces to search the village, I will give you full access to any of my sites if you wish to search it, even if I thought there was a bond of trust between us."

"Now- Wait- I mean- Of course, I trust you, Danzo. And of course your friendship matters to me, I- That was uncalled for to say and I apologize. If you say you didn't do it and that you searched then I believe you."

"Apology accepted, I must be going, I should check on my operatives, see if they found anything. I won't rest until the boy is found and given the care he deserves."

Sarutobi watched as Danzo left the office. He had allowed his instinct to overpower him and it led him to accuse his friend. He sighed before he started on the paperwork, he might as well get started so he won't have so much more when he gets reinstated as the Hokage.

~

Danzo entered the Root Anbu Headquarters, the guards bowing at him as he passed. When he reached a door in the very center of the building, he entered.

It wasn't long before cold emotionless laughter could be heard throughout the building. Danzo quieted his laughter as he watched a blond infant boy sleep in a crib.

"You don't even realize, Hiruzen that I've already won!" When Danzo looked at the poor child, he saw a tool, not a child that went through such trauma, but a tool that'll help him achieve his goals.

~

"Danzo-Sama! There's an intruder, two of the Hokage's Anbu!" Danzo moved his gaze from a spar between four Anbu against one Anbu, the four looked older and more experienced while the fifth one looked young, really young. Despite being in an Anbu uniform, Kitsune was only four and still had a tremoundous amount of learning to go through before he was ready for a mission outside of training.

"I'll handle this, you keep an eye on this spar, I don't want anything to happen to my prized Operative, understand, Shin?"

"Hai, Danzo-Sama!" Danzo ran to see what the commotion was all about.

Shin kneeled down and took his mask off as he observed the spar before him.

Kitsune had unofficially joined Root at the ripe age of three and had easily become it's most gifted member. He wasn't the strongest, at least not yet, but he was definitely getting there, and quickly at that. While only four, he had the skill to take out Chunin tier Shinobi with ease. 

Shin noted that Kitsune could hold his own even against four Jonin tier Anbu, before he changed the word to defeat as Naruto plunged his sword in one's chest and two clones had stabbed the other two through the back.

"Your weakness disgusts me!"

"Not bad, kid. But how about a real spar?" Shin questioned after he jumped off the platform and landed next to Naruto, his mask back in place.