CH_4.40 (140)

CH_4.40 (140)

"Do not believe a word from that man's mouth!"

It took Itachi everything to hold back his instinct to break Shisui's arm as the latter pulled him in a Body Flicker without warning. He set Shisui's words aside for a moment to see where Shisui had transported them and found that they were in the woods near the Uchiha Compound. Despite knowing Shisui's skill with the Body Flicker Jutsu, Itachi couldn't be amazed every time at just how good he was at the jutsu; speed, distance, control— Shisui outclassed everyone else Itachi had seen use the jutsu. He wondered how much time he would need to hone the jutsu to be able to match Shisui.

Ages, he assumed— there were people seemingly tailor-made for particular jutsu.

"Are you listening to me, Itachi!"

Itachi replied, "I am." He turned to face Shisui. "I'm well aware of Shimura Danzo's reputation. I know better than to let my guard down around him."

"That is not enough," Shisui sounded as serious as he had ever been. "That man is dangerous. It doesn't matter if you're prepared for him, give him a sliver of an opening, or enough time to make a scratch, he will somehow get what he wants. People called Orochimaru the Snake; they don't know that something more dangerous crawls in the roots of this village."

Itachi furrowed his brows, wondering what had made Shisui react so strongly from simply hearing a man's name.

"Is it about ROOT?" he asked.

Shisui nodded and was about to speak when his eyes narrowed as he looked at Itachi.

"This isn't about some petty departmental rivalry, Itachi," Shisui's voice turned grave. "Danzo's ROOT is something that shouldn't exist. The worst part is that they operate with complete autonomy. Do you know what response we get every time we ask them specifics about a mission of theirs? They give nothing as they refuse to share any details. And because "Elder Danzo," we can't force them to turn things over— WE! ANBU can't get access! I don't know why Lord Hokage allows ROOT to exist, but it does, and every day they exist, they operate under the name of the Hidden Leaf, doing who knows what for the supposed good of the village, with zero operational oversight."

Itachi had only been in the ANBU for a year and didn't know about ROOT because of all the secrecy and fog surrounding them.

"Why does he want to meet you?" Shisui asked, half to Itachi and half to himself.

Itachi shrugged. He got no additional information except an invitation from a ROOT operative and the way to contact them when Itachi was free to meet.

"Do you think Lord Hokage shared our information with him?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, he has assured me that he has kept the risky truth to himself." The Hokage had initiated talks with the Uchiha Clan and thus had to work with his office as people needed to know to start the diplomatic process. But the Hokage had kept the fact that the Uchiha Clan was planning a Coup D'état against the village. The Hokage was still the only outsider aware of that hazardous information.

But Itachi could tell that every failed conversation with the Uchiha Clan thinned his patience and willingness to work using 'non-aggressive' means. Sarutobi Hiruzen had been cooperative, but the man had been thru three Shinobi World Wars— once the "Kind Professor" stepped back, the "God of Shinobi" was bound to step out, and that man wouldn't have any kindness if the village were threatened.

Shisui clicked his tongue. "Then the clan might have been too aggressive with their moves recently. Danzo might've gotten a whiff of something suspicious."

Itachi glanced at Shisui, wondering where he put Danzo on the scale of an omniscient devil to a highly trained bloodhound.

"... Do you know that we were once able to steal some of their mission details from ROOT?" said Shisui. "The information we got was that ROOT assassinated a series of influential figures in the Daimyo's court. The ROOT treated them as threats because they spoke against the Hidden Leaf in the high political circles; those people hadn't actually done anything to harm the village, just showed their detestation for the village's policy. Danzo had them assassinated over the course of two years, making every death an accident or a scheme from the victim's potential enemy. We weren't able to prove anything... not a single death was ever connected to ROOT... or the village.

"What do you mean?"

"The entire clan is in an aggressive mode right now. If our friend Takuma continues to perform well, they might try to push him as the poster boy. He'll see more opportunities, which is good for him. But there's a fear that he might be overwhelmed to the point he might break... There are many cases of shinobi being too lost in their work until they become too lost and aren't able to claw their way back out. Then comes opium, heroin, cocaine, painkillers— anything to keep them working. It's a bad cycle...."

Itachi asked, "You knew anyone like that?"

"Not anyone close, but there are some right now in ANBU who're ruining their health and personal life just to be able to work and not fall behind."

Itachi thought about if his clan could ruin a man, and they were very much capable of doing it. What was a single man against an entire clan? But then he recalled a conversation he had with Izumi— Takuma's academy batchmate— and how she had told him about her observation of Takuma since their academy days and how much he had changed. A potential conclusion they had reached was that Takuma was always pretending to be less competent than he was, so he could use it later to have a jump in ability when he desired and exude a highly positive impression on others. He knew close to nothing about Takuma; they lived in very separate worlds. But from what little he had heard from others, it seemed Takuma had continued to climb up, grabbing opportunities on the way.

"I don't think he will break," said Itachi.

"Oh? Why makes you think he won't?"

"Let's just say that Genin Takuma is capable of a lot more than he shows."

Looking at everything, it was clear that his clan was laying the groundwork to potentially use Takuma as a poster boy. Yes, it would benefit Takuma but also bring him harm. It wasn't just the things that Shisui talked about— those were speculations based on very limited knowledge, unlikely to come true. But Itachi did know one thing solidly based on reality: the Uchiha Clan weren't the only one running the Police Force. Ally clans had a significant stake in the Police Force.

And it was ugly human nature to feel jealousy and envy because of other people's success— especially those they thought didn't deserve it.

Itachi liked to think that Takuma was using his clan just as much as they were using him; someone smart in his position would definitely do so— and his impression of Takuma was of someone who understood a lot but spoke less. And he didn't mind it. What relationship didn't have aspects of selfish motivations— some had them more than others. If Takuma was able to get what he wanted while the Uchiha benefited as well— who was he to ruin good things for a single genin?

"I look forward to hearing about him the next time he comes up; I wonder how far he would've climbed," said Itachi— until then, the man named Takuma would return to the dark recesses of his mind, forgotten until bought up.

The two Uchiha eventually left for their homes.

They, however, didn't notice a figure observing them from the shadows

— a figure wearing an orange mask.

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