38 Fox Masked Kurama

Next Day, Namikaze Orphanage

Itsuki woke up with a start, his chakra going into high gear, ready for combat at any movement. His whole body was covered in sweat, remnants of his horrifying nightmares. Itsuki expanded his senses but relaxed after sensing no threat in his immediate vicinity. Rising from the bed, he stretched his body, ignoring the acute pain in his limbs. His muscles were still recovering from the intense stress he put them through but his chakra pathways were all healed up.

After morning stretches, he checked his watch before turning his attention to the small figure peacefully sleeping on his bed.

"Wake up Ichika." Itsuki moved near her and softly whispered in her ear.

Ichika moved, her eyelids flung open. In a tired voice, she spoke, "Itsu" before trying to get up to sit.

Itsuki smiled, picking her up while ignoring her protests. "Itsu, I am a big girl. I will walk on my own." Ichika tried to push him bit her limbs lacked any real strength behind them. Itsuki just pinched her nose before opening the window of the room.

In a burst of speed, he vanished and appeared on the roof of the orphanage. Sun had just started to rise, covering the entire village in a golden glow.

"Are you ready Ichika?" Itsuki asked, putting her down. Ichika nodded her head in determination.

Weaving dozens of hand signs, Itsuki constructed a powerful genjutsu on the roof, hiding him and Ichika from view while keeping the chakra output low enough to not be detected by sensors. Even if all sensing corps were deployed in anticipation of war, the entire village filled with chakra signatures gave him way more leeway than a single sensor did during border skirmishes.

"Balancing Kunai is the next step after mastering wall and water walking exercises. Use chakra to balance the kunai on your palm without tipping it over." Itsuki then took out a blunt kunai and placed it standing on his palm and let go of hand holding it straight. But the kunai did not fall, standing straight alone with chakra holding it at the tip.

"Ok, now your turn,"

Ichika tries to imitate him but her control is not up to par. Kunai stands for a second before falling over. She picks it and tries again, only for kunai to fall again. Getting irritated, she tries again, this time succeeding to hold for few seconds.

"Good" Itsuki rubs her head affectionately, smiling at her."But don't lose your focus, and use a little more chakra."

Stepping back, he leaves Ichika to practice. Just as he turns his head away from her, his smile turns into a frown. Ichika's progress was phenomenal, enough to label her genius even among elitist Uchiha. But it was still not enough.

Using Yang creation rebirth, he bought Ichika a dozen years before the minor damage that is left behind every time he uses this technique catches up to her. Apotheosis can cure her, but it is not a medical jutsu that could be administered. She had to use Apotheosis herself and no one else.

But that was next to impossible.

Using Apotheosis requires such precise chakra control that despite having better chakra control than Tsunade, I can barely meet the requirement.

I believed that I could teach Ichika the same way I taught myself but looks like I was deluding myself.

A ping in Itsuki's mind brought him back to the present. Someone was knocking on the room's door.

Making a quick shadow clone to watch over Ichika, Itsuki left the roof and entered the room via the window. Deactivating the seals, he sensed the chakra of the person standing outside before opening the door.

In front stood an excited-looking Kuhara carrying two brown envelopes. From academy teachings, Itsuki remembered these were special mission orders. Something that could be dispatched only in case of an emergency where no higher up is available to personally designate missions.

'Looks like the village command is awfully busy.'

"Look we got special orders and from Jonin commander himself," Kuhara exclaimed excitedly.

"What's there to be excited about special orders?" Itsuki asked, before reading Kuhara's orders.

'He is being transferred to Sensing Division.'

"Congrats on making it into Sensor Corps." Itsuki congratulates him with a smile.

Kuhara blushed, "I have been trying for a long time to get in you know. It was honestly a shock when I was not selected after graduation." He added, a little wistfully. Itsuki realized, there is definitely a story there.

"What orders did you get? Maybe you are being transferred back to Medic Corps."

Itsuki broke the seal and took the orders out. Reading it, Itsuki frowned. Kuahra got impatient and tried to snatch the orders but Itsuki pulled his hands back.

"What orders do you get?" Kuhara asked, a little subdued. The look on Itsuki's face did not bode well.

Itsuki just shook his head, "I am getting a long-term mission to guard and escort Hyuga clan head's daughter."

"But's that great, now you will not have to go to battlefie..." Kuhara stopped himself from completing, looking horrified.

Itsuki just gently shook his head and smiled, reassuring him. The idea that a ninja did not want to fight for his village was just below treachery, just someone hearing it could land him in trouble. But Itsuki understood where he was coming from. What he witnessed during our last mission left him with mental scars deeper than he shows.

"Don't worry Kuhara, it's all right. You just focus on becoming a good sensor." Itsuki patted Kuhara's shoulders.

Kuhara nodded before leaving after giving his good wishes. It would be some time before they could meet, their duties and war had kicked the village into high gear.

Itsuki turned his attention back to his orders, furrowing his brows. His orders were simple on paper, guard Hinata Hyuga for a period of time until further notice. But he can bet on his life it is not as simple as it looks on paper. If he knew any better he would have assumed it was an ornamental mission, like guarding Hokage, to build prestige and political connections.

'As if a reserve like me would ever get such mission.' Itsuki thought. The fact that this mission was sanctioned by Shikaku Nara put's him on edge.

Itsuki stared at the orders, trying to read between the lines. Over and over again, he went over the wordings but could not find any hidden meaning or clause. Sighing, he folds the letter into his pocket. Looking at the clock, he spams five shadow clones. Each clone did not stop for a second before picking up writing supplies and taking a seat in the different parts of the room, each working on a different technique he had in mind.

Itsuki exits the room through the window and slowly closed them behind him, simultaneously reactivating the seals in his room.

"Now, Let's go meet Byakugan princess."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Danzo walked down a winding path on the outskirts of Konoha. The war was at the horizon and the entire village was busy preparing for it. For all intent and purposes, he should too be busy, preparing strategies and counter-strategies but a very interesting piece of information from a spy in Kumo forced him here.

Arriving at a patch in the forest that looked no different than others, he stopped. A small figure dropped down and kneeled in front of him. If Itsuki was here, he would have recognized him as the young ninja who he fought among Kumo ranks, whose life he spared.

"Kabuto Yakushi reporting." The young ninja with ash-grey hairs and round glasses spoke. Danzo looked at him impassively, "What intel do you have?"

Kabuto took a writing scroll and handed it to Danzo. Danzo made a single hand sign to break the seal and read the mission report.

Nearing its end, he furrowed his brows and turned towards kneeling Kabuto. "Kumo's temporary HQ was attacked by just two ninjas, who made short work of them and then went toe to toe with an S-rank threat and retreating before reinforcements came."

Kabuto nodded in affirmation, "One of them was Kenta, now a missing-nin of Kumo. But he just kept Darui engaged, it was the other unidentified ninja that killed the entire battalion."

Kabuto stopped for a second as if steadying himself after reliving a particularly horrifying memory before continuing, "That ninja was fast, very fast. He took my entire team down and knocked me out in less than a second. I pretended to be unconscious while the rest of the Kumo ninjas fought him. After some deliberation, the rest of the Kumo ninjas were able to surround him in a formation countering his speed, but then... something strange happened."

Kabuto looked unsure of himself, "There was a lot of dust but I was able to get a clear view of what happened. The ninja made a hand sign and everything around turned to ash, ninjas, tree, everything but their clothes and ground below."

Danzo jerked, as if stung. He asked, somehow looking even more pensive than usual, "And he used just one hand sign."

Kabuto nodded, "Yes, it was the rat, I think."

"And?" Danzo suddenly looked a lot more interested.

"I was able to get a side profile of that ninja. He wore a face mask of a fox and was about 5foot 4 in height at max. But it was just a glimpse before he turned towards me, with kunai in his hand and I had to close my eyes back." Kabuto recounted.

"But weirdly he did not kill me, choosing to target the sensor before engaging with Darui and Kakuzu." Something he did not tell Danzo was that he did not feel any killing intent from the ninja, even when he was slaughtering the Kumo nin. He himself could not get his head around the idea that the ninja hand no innate desire to kill. Every ninja who kills will have the intent to kill, a certain aura of malevolence which is projected when two ninjas clash. He himself was unsure if it might have been the result of him being injured and borderline unconscious, however unlikely it may be.

Danzo went silent, thinking to himself. Call what you want about him but he was not Hokage's advisor by being a fool. He recognized the technique the ninja used, Flameless ash, an S-rank Kurama clan hidden technique, a very difficult and deadly technique only useable by those who had a near-complete mastery of Kurama Bloodline. He also recognized Itsuki among survivors of the border skirmishes, the spawn of that infernal woman, who also had Kurama bloodline limit. Itsuki was at the mission, and the reports he read about the mission and the physical profile made it clear who was the ninja behind the fox mask.

Waving his hand, he dismissed Kabuto and summoned a root ninja in front of him. He ordered the kneeling ninja in front, "Raise subject Itsuki's priority to level S, and add him to subversion and assassination lists, both with level S priority."