Chương 55: The Uchiha Traitor

Kakashi stopped at the entrance to the Hokage Building. His gaze swept left and right across the flanking streets, a flicker of surprise passing through his visible eye. Hidden presences — not the Hokage's personal guard. He could feel them crouched in the shadows along the building's perimeter, holding position like coiled springs. He lowered his head slightly, thinking. Not ANBU. ROOT. Why would ROOT operatives be stationed here? The question nagged at him as he pushed through the doors and climbed the stairs.

Outside the Hokage's office, he nearly collided with someone coming out.

"Captain Kakashi." Itachi inclined his head in greeting.

"Itachi." Kakashi nodded back, his expression betraying nothing, though Tenzō's words from earlier still echoed in his mind. Itachi offered a slight bow and slipped past him, heading for the stairs. Kakashi watched his retreating figure from the corner of his eye. Said nothing. He knocked on the office door and waited for the voice inside before entering.

"Kakashi." The Third Hokage was seated behind his desk, slouched back in his chair. He straightened when Kakashi appeared.

"Lord Hokage." Kakashi's hands stayed in his pockets. His tone was as unhurried as ever. Hiruzen didn't seem to mind.

"You can stop looking into the Naka Shrine," he said.

"Ah." Kakashi's half-lidded eye gave away nothing. The Third paused for a long moment, then slowly retrieved a sheet of paper from his desk and held it out. Kakashi stepped forward and took it. A list of names.

"There's one more thing." Kakashi studied the list carefully. Not many names — and he recognized every single one. All active jonin currently stationed in the village. His own name was among them.

"These are the jonin presently remaining in the village," the Third said.

"Over the next few days, the village will require their services. I'd like you to notify each of them personally. All missions are suspended until further notice. They are to await orders." You want me to deliver the messages... Has all of ANBU already been deployed? Kakashi's eyes moved across the paper. Normally this kind of dispatch work fell to ANBU. The Hokage's personal guard couldn't be pulled from their shifts, and ANBU handled everything else.

If the Third was asking him to play messenger, that meant ANBU was already committed elsewhere. And this list... His brow furrowed. Something about it felt off.

"If this concerns the jonin," Kakashi said, "shouldn't Shikaku be involved?" The Third shook his head.

"I think you can guess what's about to happen. It wouldn't be appropriate for Shikaku to be the face of this." It clicked. Not a single clan shinobi on the list. Not one. So the Uchiha rebellion is confirmed... Itachi's silhouette flashed through Kakashi's mind. And then, unbidden — the face of a dead teammate.

"If there's nothing else, you're dismissed," the Third said. Kakashi nodded, folded the list into his vest, and left. He was halfway across the plaza outside when he realized the ROOT presences he'd sensed earlier were gone. Vanished without a trace. He thought of Itachi again. Itachi currently served in Danzō's ANBU division, and ROOT fell under Danzō's command as well. Itachi had just walked out of the Hokage's office, and now the ROOT operatives had disappeared at the same time— The Hokage. Danzō. Itachi.

The Uchiha... The threads were tangling together into something he couldn't quite see. I really don't want a civil war, Kakashi thought, squinting against the afternoon light. Especially not against an entire clan of Sharingan users. He sighed and turned onto the main street. The chamber was vast and sealed from the outside world. Beyond its walls it was midday, but in here the darkness clung to everything like a second skin. Two enormous stone statues dominated the room.

The first: a three-headed, six-armed figure clutching an iron staff, its faces twisted into expressions of savage fury. The second: a single-headed, six-armed figure with hands pressed together in a meditation seal, a halo of stone ringing its head, its face cold and utterly without emotion. Indra and Ashura. The two legends of the shinobi world. Beneath the statues, two figures stood in the gloom.

"Lord Danzō." Itachi regarded the old man before him, his expression blank.

"You summoned me?" When he'd left the Hokage Building, two ROOT operatives had materialized beside him with a single message: Lord Danzō wished to speak with him. His first instinct had been that Danzō intended to make a move against him. But on reflection, that didn't track. Danzō couldn't ignore the Third Hokage's existence. And Itachi's value to the village now was very different from what Shisui's had been.

"It concerns the Uchiha rebellion," Danzō said. His voice was low and measured, his left eye half-closed, its gaze unreadable. Itachi waited.

"Since you've chosen to stand with the village," Danzō continued, "you won't bear the Uchiha clan's guilt. The village will strike before the Uchiha can act. But knowing the Third — he'll show mercy. He'll stay his hand." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Itachi's brow creased. He couldn't tell where this was going.

"The Uchiha have gone too far to turn back. There can be no half-measures, and no tolerance for a clan that harbors treachery against the village."

"Itachi." Danzō's eyes opened fully. His gaze was still, depthless.

"I'm giving you a choice. You get to decide how the Uchiha story ends." Silence stretched between them.

"What choice," Itachi said at last.

"You have a very adorable little brother, don't you?" Itachi's face went dark.

"You must love him dearly. Your family was quite harmonious once, wasn't it?" Danzō's words came without pause, indifferent to the shift in Itachi's expression. There was something almost mocking in his tone.

"Your sense of duty drove you to choose the village. But the entire Uchiha clan will be destroyed under the stain of rebellion — branded as traitors for generations." Destroyed... Itachi's fists clenched.

"Growing up in a clan so prestigious and powerful — that should have been something to be proud of. But what happens to you afterward?

'The Uchiha Traitor' — and you carry that same name. Do you think the villagers will understand you? Your friends. Your parents. Every one of them will become objects of contempt." Danzō let his words hang in the air for a beat.

"So here is your first option. When the Uchiha rebellion begins, you assist the Hokage in suppressing and eliminating them. The Uchiha die in disgrace — everything they once were reduced to infamy." Itachi said nothing.

"Or." Danzō's voice dropped lower.

"You kill every member of the Uchiha clan yourself. Before the rebellion begins." Itachi's eyes went wide.

"As an Uchiha, you can enter and leave the compound freely. No one will suspect a thing before you act. You're the ideal candidate." Danzō spoke as though laying out a mission briefing — clinical, precise.

"Under this outcome, the Uchiha won't be remembered as traitors. The only traitor will be you. The clan's honor remains intact. And in exchange, you may name your conditions."

"For instance — your brother." The Academy. A pack of boys thundered around the running track, kicking up dust in the afternoon heat. Sasuke Uchiha was out front, naturally. He crossed the finish line first and slowed to a walk, barely winded. A swarm of girls materialized around him instantly — someone thrust a towel at him, someone else offered a water bottle, and the air filled with breathless chatter. The boys straggling in behind shot envious glances at the crowd. Sasuke ignored all of it.

If anything, the attention annoyed him. Naruto came in dead last, wheezing like a broken bellows. He took one look at the gaggle of girls fawning over Sasuke and felt his blood pressure spike.

"Damn you, Sasuke! I just wasn't trying that hard! Next time I'll smoke you for sure!" he yelled, jabbing a finger in Sasuke's direction. The girls rounded on him immediately, voices rising in a chorus of indignation. Sasuke glanced at him sideways.

"Try beating the guy in front of you first. Then we'll talk." Naruto's face went red.

"Shut up! You think you're so tough just because Shin isn't here?!" Sasuke didn't bother responding. Among everyone in their year, Shin was the only one who held his interest. The rest — especially the dead-last — weren't worth the effort. He turned and walked toward the far edge of the field, leaving the noise behind him. Naruto kept shouting at his back. Sasuke didn't look back once. The shouting did, however, redirect the girls' fury squarely onto Naruto.

Within seconds he was sprinting across the field with a mob at his heels. Sasuke settled against the chain-link fence at the edge of the grounds, closed his eyes, and let his breathing even out.

"S-Sasuke..." A voice pulled him back. He opened his eyes. A girl stood beside him — red floral sundress, pink hair falling past her shoulders. She was fidgeting, her hands clasped behind her back. Haruno... Sakura, right.

"Sasuke..." Sakura's face was flushed. She shifted from foot to foot, working up the nerve.

"W-Would you... would you like to have lunch together?" She brought her hands forward, revealing a pink bento box cradled carefully in both palms.

"I made it myself... just for y—""Watch out!" Sasuke had been about to refuse when a shout came from across the field. He looked up — Naruto was barreling straight toward them, the mob of girls still in hot pursuit, panic written across his face. Sasuke stood. Sakura flinched at his sudden movement. She'd been so focused on him that she hadn't registered the stampede behind her. Wham. Naruto plowed into her back. Sakura cried out as pain shot through her spine and the impact sent her stumbling forward.

The bento flew from her hands.

"Oh — Sakura?"

"Hmph, serves her right!"

"Ha!" The pursuing girls saw who Naruto had crashed into and immediately lost interest in their chase. They clustered together, snickering, and drifted off without a second glance. Sakura sat on the ground, dazed. Then she snapped back and scrambled to her feet.

"My bento—!" The pink box lay on the dirt. The lid had popped open. The contents — arranged so carefully, so precisely — were half-scattered across the ground. She rushed over and dropped to her knees, hands trembling as she tried to salvage what she could. Naruto picked himself up and saw the mess. Guilt hit him like a brick. He hurried over.

"Hey — are you okay? I'm really sorry—" Sakura stared down at the ruined bento. She'd spent all morning on it. Every piece placed just so. She looked up at Naruto. Her jaw tightened. This is all his fault. She was about to snap — but then, past Naruto's shoulder, she saw Sasuke walking away. Already halfway across the field, not looking back. The anger drained out of her. What rushed in to replace it was something worse.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to—" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, wincing.

"... This is your fault." Sakura's voice was small. Her eyes were turning red.

"Huh?"

"This is your fault!" The tears came. She couldn't stop them.

"H-Hey — why are you crying? I said I was sorry—" Naruto floundered, hands waving uselessly. Sakura stared at the bento in her lap through blurred vision. Then she shoved it into Naruto's hands, stood, and ran — wiping her eyes with her sleeve, not looking back. Naruto watched her go. He looked down at the bento box in his hands. He had no idea what had just happened. From across the field, Sasuke spared the scene a brief glance. He didn't care much. Kids being kids.

When Shin had been around, at least school had been interesting — a rival worth measuring himself against in every class and exercise. Without him, the days dragged. Sasuke wanted to train on his own, but school ate up most of his daylight hours. At least I can train with Nii-san tonight. The thought brightened his mood. He turned away from the fence and headed inside. Afternoon. Konoha. The Uchiha compound. The Naka Shrine.

A figure appeared at the main entrance of the shrine hall — a man clad in a fitted dark robe, his face hidden behind a mask of black patterns. No footsteps, no displaced air. He was simply there.

"Orochimaru left ahead of schedule." A shape rose from the stone floor in front of him — a pale thing wrapped in what looked like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, black on one half and white on the other. Black Zetsu's voice, low and flat.

"I thought he wanted to meet Itachi Uchiha." The masked man sounded faintly surprised.

"No idea what happened." White Zetsu's voice — airy, almost amused.

"He vanished for a whole night and was gone by morning."

"Doesn't matter. It won't affect the plan." The masked man's tone dropped back to its usual low register.

"Has Itachi Uchiha committed to joining the Akatsuki?" Black Zetsu asked.

"He has nowhere else to go." A cold smile bled through the words.

"He's out of options in Konoha."

"What's your purpose in bringing him in?" Black Zetsu pressed. His featureless dark half showed no expression.

"Itachi read the stone tablet," Black Zetsu continued, "and his reaction was... remarkably subdued. Learning the truth of this world and still keeping his composure — at thirteen or fourteen years old, that kind of mental fortitude will make him difficult to control once he's inside the organization."

"His heart belongs to Konoha," the masked man said.

"He'll almost certainly operate as a spy."

"Then why bother?" White Zetsu asked, genuinely puzzled. The masked man didn't answer immediately. A beat of silence passed in the dark shrine.

"Nagato is becoming harder to manage." His voice was quiet now, deliberate.

"At this rate, having the Rinnegan in his hands could become a problem. The Akatsuki's goal is to collect the Tailed Beasts, and that road leads inevitably through Konoha — the Nine-Tails is here. When that time comes, Itachi won't stand by and let Nagato do as he pleases."

"You want Itachi to keep Nagato in check?" Black Zetsu's voice sharpened.

"Nagato has the Rinnegan. Itachi wouldn't stand a chance." The masked man turned slowly. Through the single eyehole of his spiraling mask, one dark iris stared back — still and unreadable.

"Itachi is the most gifted Uchiha alive. Given time to grow, he may not fall short of the Rinnegan."

"Can you control him?" Black Zetsu asked again.

"With him, I don't need to." Mid-sentence, Zetsu seemed to sense something. The plant-like form sank into the stone floor and vanished. Itachi appeared a short distance behind the masked man. The masked man kept his back turned.

"Made your decision?" The question came low and unhurried — a stark contrast to the certainty he'd just expressed to Zetsu about Itachi joining. Silence from Itachi. A long silence.

"I need your help with something," Itachi said.

"Oh?" The masked man turned. That single visible eye fixed on Itachi through the dark.

"Killing, I assume." His tone was flat, as though he'd known all along. Itachi's gaze shifted, just slightly. He hadn't expected the man to guess.

"The Uchiha Military Police," Itachi said.

"Done."