Crossroads (A Naruto Fanfiction)

Rotten Roots

The entrances to the Anbu base were scattered around the village walls. Only after exiting the village would one be able to make their way inside. These entrances were established by the Second Hokage and only opened after seal identification. The seal itself was hidden under the dirt as though it were just another random empty space along the walls of the village. It was placed within the blind spots of the village guards, and even if patrols found the area, the Anbu would only wait until he was alone.

Itachi stepped onto the placement of the hidden seal and slithered a small amount of chakra past the dirt to activate it. The ground soundlessly trembled and split apart just wide enough for a grown man to fall through. Familiar with the process, Itachi landed weightlessly after a few seconds of falling through darkness. The ground closed above him and not a spec of dirt was out of place. Only after walking past a few dead ends and traps did the maze opened up to a rather normal living space. Other Anbu lounged on the hard chairs, masks in place and silent. They idled about with either a Kunai or a book as they patiently waited for the team to assemble.

The identity of Anbu were supposed to be a secret even among Anbu members themselves, but Itachi quickly learned how meaningless such a rule was. As shinobi of the same village and as observant as Anbu was, it was so easy to recognize your peers.

On the chair playing with his Kunai was someone he had yet to meet outside Anbu, so his identity was yet to be confirmed. His hair was slicked back into a loose ponytail behind him and sported an easy-going personality; his code name was Parrot. The Anbu waved his hand that held the Kunai and greeted him with a lazy hello. The one reading the book had a short cut of dark hair. He sat upright and proper, a complete opposite to the other. Itachi knew he was an Aburame since their first encounter and spars. No one else would utilize bugs and insects like they did, but his common shinobi identity was unknown. Itachi knew him as code name Beetle. It barely bothered Itachi that both of them knew his original identity, given that his code-name remained his original name.

"So it's Itachi," Parrot mused. "I called it."

"Very well," Beetle sighed.

Itachi ignored what seemed to be a bet between them and took his seat across the entry of the lounge. It wasn't long after them that Kakashi, code name Hound, arrived. All the Anbu stood at attention. Hound walked past them without a moment of acknowledgment unlike his usual self, a testament to his current temper. Hound was angry. He led them to one of the brief rooms and only spoke once the door was locked and the privacy seal was activated, "An in-village investigation. Target is Shimura Danzo." Itachi barely held in his surprise.

"... Of what suspicion?" Even Beetle, who always spoke monotonously, sounded hesitant.

"Dissent." Kakashi answered curtly. "Undermining authority and plenty more we are tasked to find. This will be an S-class mission. You are forbidden from mentioning anything about it unless directly inquired by me or the Hokage. Beetle, you've been appointed for your Ant colony. It's noted you can expand it across the entire village if ever allowed. Congratulations, you've been permitted. Track anything of note. Anything out of place. I'll give you a map of Konoha's underground tunnels and bases as reference." Beetle seemed speechless as he caught the rolls of information thrown at him.

"Parrot, you're here for your memory and information tracking. All archives, including Anbu and Hokage classified are open to your disposal. Find and note any discrepancies, big and small, irrelevant or relevant."

Parrot scratched his head and shifted his weight which showed how affected he was with what he was being told. "This is dangerous. You're letting Beetle essentially gain control of our underground networks and me of the village functions."

"You're underestimating just how well we can track your movements. Any sign of disturbance will get you arrested. Any form of betrayal or abuse of this, no matter of what kind, will be nothing more than execution. Understood?" Hound then turned his focus on Itachi. His piercing gaze, blazed with a lust for blood made Itachi stiff. "You're not here for any of your abilities. Danzo has shown interest in you. You're task is to draw more of it, enough for him to make any move towards you." Itachi accepted his mission without issue.

Once details were further worked out amongst them, Beetle and Parrot left Itachi and Hound in the brief room. Hound slowly came back to himself now that the mission was on its way. The bloodlust and tension still lingered on him, but it was now tamed. Kakashi only stayed behind to organize the mission rolls but turned a curious eye to Itachi who still lingered about like a ghost.

"What triggered the investigation?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi long noticed Itachi's weird behavior since Danzo's name was mentioned. He answered for the sake of curiosity, "The alarms by the Uchiha Clan were deactivated and the matriarch was attacked by a group of plain masked individuals during the Kyuubi attack. At first, that was equated to the accomplices of that anomaly which held Obito, completely separate from the village. Now, a string of rumors are tied to descriptions of those plain masked individuals. Curious isn't it?" Plain masks that triggered an investigation on Danzo. It could only be Root, the organization specifically created for war as a subset of Anbu. They should have long been disbanded under the Sandaime's reign. "Coincidently, no more of those rumors for the past few months could be linked to any sort of plain masks after initial links were made. Now who's paying attention to this side quest of the Hokage's student? It's rather interesting."

Itachi spoke without even being asked the question, "Satsuki mentioned it before." He said carefully. "He warned me about Danzo."

Kakashi immediately put away his sarcastic attitude and demanded, "When did this happen?"

"When I informed him of my recruitment to Anbu, he specifically warned me about Shimura Danzo." The fact that his task revolved around Danzo's attention on him spoke volumes of just how relevant that warning was. "Let me be present if you ever decide to question Satsuki." Itachi said quickly before Kakashi could respond.

Kakashi shrugged, "Sure, he'll be more open that way anyway. What did he say exactly?"

"He said not everyone in power could be trusted. How the loyalty Danzo has for the village isn't for the people, but for it's power and reputation, and he would do whatever it took to maintain Konoha's dominance over the other villages... even at the expense of it's own citizens. That he wants to stand as its leader."

Kakashi didn't respond for a very long time. He sat down on the table's surface and contemplated Itachi's words. "Maa, your brother seems to have some bigger secrets than what I already believed. It's good isn't it? If he already knows so much, it'd make putting Danzo down much easier." Kakashi waved him away, "Bring him to the Hokage's office tomorrow after he's done with the academy."

Itachi exited the room with a heavy heart. He didn't know how to feel about involving Satsuki in such a matter. If he hadn't brought it up then Satsuki's name wouldn't even be thought of. Yet, he didn't regret it. Maybe he was growing impatient. He was scared for his brother and the secrets he held. He needed to know the dangers of those secrets and the burden it placed on Satsuki's head. To help him.

He would do anything for him.