"Oc in Naruto"

Chapter 13

The cold underground air of the Root base felt heavier than usual as Aria knelt before Danzo, her scales dulled to an ashen gray. Fresh bandages wrapped around her arms and torso beneath her standard-issue Root uniform - evidence of her most recent "correction" after a junior operative had faltered during a mission."Your influence on the operatives is... concerning," Danzo's voice carried through the dim chamber. He stood before the kneeling kunoichi, his visible eye narrowed. "They perform their duties with increased efficiency, yes, but I sense something else. Something that threatens to undermine everything Root stands for."Aria kept her head bowed, her voice carefully neutral. "The improved mission success rates speak for themselves, Danzo-sama. Operatives who trust their teammates' capabilities perform better in the field.""Trust?" Danzo's voice took on a dangerous edge. His bandaged arm shifted slightly within his robe. "Trust is a weakness. Root operates on absolute control."The familiar burning sensation of a Sharingan genjutsu began to take hold, and Aria steeled herself for what was to come. She had learned early on that Danzo's extensive collection of stolen Sharingan meant each punishment could be uniquely crafted to target one's deepest fears and regrets."Perhaps another reminder is necessary," Danzo continued, "of what happens when emotions interfere with duty."As the genjutsu took hold, Aria caught a glimpse of Fu and Torune watching from the shadows. Their faces were carefully blank, but she noticed the slight tension in their postures - the barest hint of concern they'd developed over the past months of working together. She closed her eyes, knowing her choice to protect them by taking their punishments was worth whatever pain was to come.In the genjutsu realm, Danzo's stolen Sharingan created a nightmare scenario where her actions led to the deaths of her teammates. But even as the illusory torment began, Aria's scales flickered with a hidden determination. She had seen futures far darker than anything Danzo could show her. This pain was a necessary price for the changes she needed to set in motion.Hours later, Fu found her in one of the base's sparring rooms, methodically going through training exercises despite her injuries. He approached silently, holding out a small container of medical salve - a wordless offering that would have been unthinkable months ago."You shouldn't have covered for my mistake in the mission report," he said quietly."The mission succeeded. The details are irrelevant." Aria's scales shifted to a subtle blue as she accepted the salve, their fingers brushing briefly - the smallest acknowledgment of the humanity they weren't supposed to possess."Your methods are dangerous," Fu observed. "For yourself most of all."Aria's scales flickered with something that might have been amusement. "Everything about Root is dangerous, Fu. But sometimes the most dangerous path is the only way forward."She resumed her training exercises, each precise movement a reminder of why she had chosen this path. Somewhere in the depths of Root, small changes were taking root - changes that would one day mean the difference between salvation and destruction. Until then, she would endure whatever punishment Danzo dealt out, protecting the seeds of humanity she had carefully nurtured in the organization's darkest shadows.Fu watched her for a moment longer before melting back into the darkness, leaving Aria alone with her resolve and the weight of futures only she could see.Aria's scales rippled with barely contained power as she moved through the compound's shadows. The Ryūgan activated silently, her dragon-scaled irises shifting to a deep crimson as three tomoe patterns began their eternal dance. Through its enhanced vision, she could see the chakra signatures of twenty-three guards scattered throughout the facility, their heat signatures burning like candles in the darkness.What would have once caused significant strain now felt as natural as breathing. Months of enduring Danzo's "corrections" had pushed her body and chakra control far beyond normal limits. The Dragon Essence responded to her will with fluid grace, scales shimmering beneath her Root armor as she signaled Fu and Shin to hold position.Through her Dragon's Heaven Eye, she observed the entire compound in perfect 360-degree clarity. Three guard rotations, two hidden sensor arrays, and one sealed underground chamber - likely their true target. Her Dragon Time ability flickered to life, showing her the next few seconds of guard movements before they happened.A guard rounded the corner ahead, but Aria had seen it coming. Her scales shifted to match the shadows perfectly as the Dragon's Intimidation technique activated with subtle precision. The guard's eyes glazed slightly as he passed, his mind registering nothing but empty corridor. The absolute control she'd developed meant no excess chakra leaked to trigger the facility's sensors."Underground entrance, forty meters ahead," she subvocalized to her team. "Three-layer security seal. Fu, prepare for infiltration pattern Delta."As Fu moved into position, Aria's Ryūgan analyzed the seal's structure. Dragon's Judgment broke down its components instantly - a modification of a standard Uzumaki containment matrix, but with a clever chakra-sensing trigger woven through the third layer. Nothing her evolved abilities couldn't handle.She channeled her dragon chakra with surgical precision, her scales resonating with the seal's frequency. Where once this would have burned through significant chakra reserves, now it felt like hardly more than a gentle warmth. The seal recognized her chakra as authorized, a benefit of how her Dragon's Mirror ability had adapted to and replicated its pattern.Inside the chamber, she spotted their target - a scroll containing forbidden techniques. But her Ryūgan detected something else, something that made her dragon scales bristle in warning. Beneath the scroll's obvious chakra signature lay another pattern, nearly invisible to normal senses."Secondary trigger seal," she warned her team through their hand signals. "Linked to a stasis field. Someone's expecting high-level infiltration."Without missing a beat, she activated her Dragon's Authority. The air shimmed slightly as she created a microscopic pocket dimension around the scroll, isolating it from the trigger seal's influence. Her mastery meant she could maintain this space indefinitely without strain, giving Fu the opening he needed to make the switch with their prepared decoy.The mission proceeded perfectly, the compound's security never registering their presence. As they moved to their extraction point, Aria's Dragon Sense detected a familiar chakra signature observing from afar - one of Danzo's watchers, monitoring her performance. Let them watch, she thought. Every successful mission bought her more freedom to operate, more opportunities to protect her team, to slowly reshape Root from within.Her scales shifted in the moonlight, reflecting not just ambient light but the confidence of absolute mastery. The Dragon Essence had evolved far beyond its original limitations through her trials in Root. What Danzo had intended as punishment had instead forged her abilities into something far more refined and powerful, though she was careful to never show its full extent.As they disappeared into the night, Aria allowed herself a small smile. Her Ryūgan showed her glimpses of possible futures, and in more and more of them, she saw hope - not just for herself, but for all of Root. Sometimes the best way to break chains was to appear to wear them perfectly while growing stronger within them.The purple flash of Aria's modified Flying Thunder God technique had barely faded when she felt it - the violent shattering of Danzo's curse seal. The sensation ripped through her like a lightning bolt, her dragon scales flaring instinctively in response. Without hesitation, she teleported again, following the resonance of the broken seal.The scene she materialized into was one of calculated devastation. Danzo's body lay broken among the debris, his bandaged arm exposed to reveal the grotesque collection of implanted Sharingan eyes - now dull and lifeless. Standing over him was Sasuke Uchiha, his own Sharingan blazing, sword still drawn and dripping with blood.Their eyes met in instant recognition. Aria's Ryūgan activated automatically, its dragon-scaled pattern spinning as it confirmed what her other senses were telling her - this wasn't the revenge-driven Sasuke that others knew. Her Dragon's Memory ability caught the subtle hand signal at his side - a coded message only Root operatives would recognize. *Mission accomplished. Threat eliminated.*"You're late," Sasuke said flatly, though his eyes held a glimmer of understanding. They both knew the role they played in the village's deeper games.Aria's scales shifted through colors as she processed the scene, her Dragon Time ability showing her the echoes of the battle that had just occurred. "You made it look convincing," she observed, noting the genuine damage to the surrounding area. The fight had been real enough - it had to be, to maintain Sasuke's cover.She knelt beside Danzo's body, her Ryūgan analyzing the moment of death. No genjutsu, no substitution - this was real. The man who had tortured her and countless others with his stolen Sharingan eyes was finally gone. Her scales rippled with a complex mix of emotions she didn't need to hide anymore."The others in Root," Sasuke began, sheathing his sword, "their seals?""Breaking as we speak," Aria confirmed, her Dragon Sense already feeling the ripples of chaos spreading through the Root organization as hundreds of curse seals shattered simultaneously. "Fu and Torune will need immediate extraction. They're the most likely to be targeted by those loyal to Danzo's ideology."Her hand moved to her tongue where the curse seal had been, the phantom pain of its breaking still fresh. Freedom felt strange - dangerous and exhilarating at once."Your position won't be compromised," she assured Sasuke, understanding his unspoken concern. "The evidence trail leads exactly where it needs to. The village will see exactly what they expect to see - a rogue Uchiha taking revenge." Her Ryūgan's perfect analysis confirmed their planning had held true.Sasuke nodded slightly, then paused. "The things he did to you in Root...""Were necessary," Aria cut him off, her scales settling into a steady, determined pattern. "Every punishment, every session with those stolen eyes - they pushed me to perfect my abilities. To be in position for this moment." She stood, her dragon chakra flowing freely now, unrestricted by the seal's constraints. "Sometimes the best way to destroy a system is to excel within it.""Naruto still doesn't know," Sasuke stated. It wasn't a question."And he can't. Not yet." Aria's scales flickered with affection for their loudmouthed friend. "His reactions have to be genuine for your cover to hold."They shared a moment of silence, two deep-cover operatives who had sacrificed so much for the village's shadow games. Then Aria's Dragon Sense picked up approaching chakra signatures - ANBU, right on schedule."Time to play our parts," she said, her scales already shifting to display the appropriate level of shock and grief for a Root operative discovering their leader's death.Sasuke's eyes held hers for one last moment, conveying silent respect for her role in this elaborate dance, before he disappeared in a flash of movement that perfectly matched his supposed rogue status.As the ANBU arrived, Aria let her Dragon Essence abilities recede to more subtle levels. She had played the perfect Root weapon for so long. Now she would play the perfect grieving subordinate, all while setting in motion the next phase of their mission - the careful dismantling of Root's darkest elements and the protection of those who could be saved.Her scales shimmered once with hidden satisfaction. Danzo had tried to turn her into a weapon, never realizing that she and Sasuke had turned his own methods against him. Some chains, once broken, forged better tools than their makers ever intended.