Chapter 12: Crossroad Part I

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 12:

Crossroad Part I

Mikoto didn't know what came over her all of a sudden. It was the first time in her short life that she had ever been interested in another person.

Mikoto had been born to one of the most influential families within the Uchiha. Her father had increasingly strong political influence within the clan. Of course, it helped that her grandfather was also one of the members of the council of elders of the Uchiha. It was also due to this standing that Mikoto had become a bit…arrogant. She knew it herself. And she saw no reason to change it either. As far as she was concerned, others were beneath her. And she trained herself hard everyday so that she could back those words up. It was because of this thought of hers that other girls in her class in the academy didn't like her very much. Chief among them was Inuzuka Tsume. The young Uchiha already knew that that was the true reason why the Inuzuka had challenged her the other day. It went well with the typical Inuzuka thought process. It was in their nature to try and be the alpha. And Tsume saw her as a threat to that. Unfortunately for the Inuzuka girl, Mikoto had always been stronger than her since day one of the academy, something that just made the girl even more pissed off at her.

Mikoto was also very independent. She didn't need anyone else. She could get the job done all by herself. It was another one of the reasons why she didn't have any true friends either. But she didn't care. Her mind was set on her future career as a shinobi. She wanted to be one of the best, with her first step to that goal being when she finally activated her sharingan. Unfortunately, her father didn't see it that way. To him, all she was was a tool he could use to strengthen his standing in the clan. And that was exactly what he had done. He had arranged a marriage between her and the future clan head of the Uchiha. Needless to say, Mikoto didn't like the idea in the slightest. Marriage had never once crossed her mind. To her, it was just something that would get in her way. But she didn't really have any choice in the matter. To make it worse, the boy she was engaged to was a horrible candidate in her opinion. Well, to her just about any boy was a horrible candidate since she didn't really know any of them. But what she was thinking about was the fact that he was weaker than her. Fugaku had once asked her to a spar against him one day. She had beaten him, quite easily too now that she thought about it. Mikoto wondered for a moment what kind of training the current clan head was giving them before she shook the thought away. She had other things to worry about.

Right now, the young female Uchiha was staring at the entrance to the house of the clan head's family, mustering her courage to actually go inside. The academy had already ended for the day, and she had the rest of the day off fortunately. So she decided to confront the one person that she had been trying to figure out for the last few days.

Uchiha Sasuke.

From what she had already heard, he had no direct relatives in the clan. He had been found and brought in. Supposedly, he could have even lived in one of the other villages. Mikoto really didn't know what to make of the rumors, but she wasn't all too concerned about them. They didn't really matter as far as to what she was trying to accomplish. But the problem was that even she herself didn't know what that was. All she knew was that the boy was an enigma to her. Thinking of their talk during their first meeting, he seemed…..anxious about something. But she couldn't think of any reason as to why he would be anxious to begin with. And then there was how he stopped Tsume with a single look. She had seen it. It was…..dark. And scary, if she were honest with herself. Which she wasn't. There was the speed too. The boy was fast. Even that blond, Minato, had been genuinely impressed. And Mikoto already knew how Minato was a prodigy in his own right.

So, all of that internal struggle finally led the young girl to where she was at the moment, standing in front of the residence with a fidgeting look. It was the first time that she had felt this way. And she didn't like it. She didn't like feeling all hesitant. To make the feeling worse, she didn't know why she was hesitating in the first place. After all, for all intents and purposes, she was engaged to Fugaku. That gave her enough reason to visit the compound with the excuse that they should get to know each other better. Of course, it'd be a lie. But that was beside the point.

Breathing in slowly, the girl calmly walked into the residence, determined to at least figure out a bit of the enigma that was the new Uchiha. The girl walked past a few Uchiha servants that the clan head kept. They already knew of her, so they merely walked past her. Mikoto didn't really need directions. From what she had heard from her father, the young girl guessed that the clan head wasn't in the house or even in the compound at the moment. The leader of the Uzumaki clan was in the village to finalize the plans for the war. He was set to leave tomorrow morning. But none of that actually dealt with her, so she placed it in the back of her head. Knowing the two brothers, there was only one place they could be. And by the sounds of shuriken being thrown, it seemed as if she was right.

Following the sound, the young female Uchiha reached the backyard of the house which she herself had used a couple of days back to blow off some steam about her supposed engagement. She stopped by the steps of the back entrance, simply observing Fugaku practicing in silence while both Sasuke and Kazuki watched him in silence as well. There was a dark atmosphere around the boys which made Mikoto pause even more. Was there something else that was going on that she didn't know?

Sasuke, who was the one to notice her first, turned his head to her direction to look at her, a look of surprise flashing his face before he hid it. But not fast enough since Mikoto had caught it. It just added even more weirdness to him in Mikoto's opinion. From what she had observed so far, she was the only one that caused the boy random emotions out of nowhere.

"Oh, Miko-chan," Kazuki said with a small grin, now noticing her as well. "What brings you here? I thought for sure you would be training right about now."

He wasn't entirely wrong about that. In a normal day, that was exactly what she would be doing. On another note, she did well to hide her irritation at being called Miko-chan. For whatever reason, Kazuki wasn't scared of her unlike most boys at the academy. It wasn't like Mikoto disliked that, only that the boy had the annoying habit of calling her by that nickname. They weren't that close dammit.

For his part, Fugaku hadn't turned around to face her, not that Mikoto was surprised. The boy was as excited about their engagement as much as she was.

Walking forward, Mikoto replied, "I just came to see Fugaku. I want to spar with him."

Kazuki raised an eyebrow at the straightforwardness of the girl, whistling as well. "Woah. Did you hear that, Fugaku-chan? The princess herself came to challenge you! But still. You already kicked his ass. Are you trying to humiliate him again?"

Fugaku t'ched at that, showing the first outward reaction in days. As for Sasuke, the boy simply watched all of this in silence. After all, he still didn't know the relationship between his mother and father yet, only that his mother didn't like the idea of getting engaged just like that. Not that Sasuke could blame her. He wouldn't want such a decision chosen for him either. But he had just learned something interesting: his mother was stronger than his father. And judging by the annoyed look his father now sported, it seemed as if he wasn't too fond of that fact.

Finally turning around, Fugaku locked eyes with Mikoto. He didn't like her. She was one of the few people that he really didn't like. And the reason he didn't like her wasn't exactly her fault. After all, she was being forced to marry him as much as he was forced to do the same with her. Add to the fact that she was stronger than him. He didn't know how either. Just what kind of training was her father giving her? As far as he knew, both him and Kazuki were given more advanced stuff than any other kid in the clan, or even the academy too save for some of the other members of the different clans. So it was confusing to him. And frustrating. Kazuki had already activated his sharingan while he hadn't. That was an even more frustrating fact. However, as he continued to make eye contact with Mikoto, Fugaku realized that the girl was here for a completely different reason than she was saying. After all, he already knew she wasn't too fond of him, a feeling that was mutual. But then, what could her reason be?

Kazuki looked at his brother before he looked at Mikoto again. "Seems like he doesn't have a problem with it, Miko-chan."

"Stay out of this, Kazuki," Fugaku said. "You talk too much."

Kazuki shook his head as he walked up to him, bringing one of his arms around Fugaku's shoulders. "Now, now. I'm only being the interpreter here. After all, Miko-chan doesn't know your mood faces yet. I guess I should start helping her with that. I mean, you two are going to be together forever from now on, right?"

By the annoyed looks on both Fugaku's and Mikoto's faces, it was obvious that they weren't enjoying Kazuki's teasing as much as the young boy himself was. Sighing, Sasuke knew that he would have to be the unofficial moderator here. Otherwise, his parents would team up to get rid of Kazuki. And, as amusing as the thought was, Sasuke was much more interested in learning a bit more about his future parents' relationship.

"You came to spar with him, right?" Sasuke said in an even tone which quickly got the attention of the others. Seeing his mother nod, Sasuke motioned for Kazuki to follow him. "We'll get out of your way then."

Pouting slightly, Kazuki nonetheless followed behind Sasuke. He was kind of interested in seeing how things went too.

Mikoto's eyes followed Sasuke for a few more moments before turning back to look at Fugaku. What exactly was her plan again? Fight Fugaku and then what? It was at that moment that Mikoto realized that she didn't know what she was doing. It seemed as if her nerves were getting to her more than she thought. And like before, she wasn't too fond of her current self. Just what was wrong with her? Every action she took was always a part of her overall plan. But now, she realized that she didn't know where she was going with all of this. Not only that, but why did she even need to figure Sasuke out in the first place? It was a stupid and childish thing to do.

'But I don't really have a choice now,' she thought as she readied herself. 'I'll just get this over with as soon I can and then leave.' It was the best she could do now.

Sasuke watched on as Fugaku charged at Mikoto. For the first time, Sasuke saw that his father was really annoyed at the situation. Glancing at a grinning Kazuki, he asked. "Do they hate each other or what?"

Kazuki took his eyes away from the spar to look at Sasuke, a look of slight interest in his eyes. "Oh? Why would you be interested in something like that?"

Looking at the spar again, Sasuke tried to sound as uninterested as he could. "It just seems that way to me, which would be odd since Fugaku hasn't ever really expressed any true dislike to anyone so far."

Putting his hands behind his head, Kazuki hummed. "Well, that's true I guess. But Fugaku doesn't particularly dislike Mikoto, just the situation. Although if you asked him, he would say otherwise. If he actually bothered to answer you anyway."

Thinking back to what his mother had told him the first time they had talked, Sasuke asked. "And what situation is that?"

"I should have guessed you wouldn't know," Kazuki said before shrugging. "I don't really know why, but the old man accepted the proposal of the head of one of the other families in the clan to set up Fugaku with his daughter. And as you could guess, that daughter is Miko-chan. Fugaku wasn't happy when the old man told him about it. Not that I can blame him. I mean, he's basically being told who to be with for the rest of his life. But he's too strict to try and fight back. So is Miko-chan. She's not happy about it but because they're both idiots like that, they're going to let it happen anyway."

"So…..they really don't like each other?"

Kazuki was about to say no but stopped himself. Sasuke's tone…..had changed. Glancing at him through his peripherals, Kazuki was taken back at the odd look on Sasuke's face. The young boy didn't know what it exactly expressed…sadness maybe? But that didn't make any sense. Why would Fugaku and Mikoto's situation make him sad of all things? It only served to make the boy even more confused about what to think of Sasuke. But out of nowhere, the look disappeared in an instant. It was replaced with the same bored look that Kazuki was used to. At the very least, the young boy knew that he had been right so far. There was something more to Sasuke than the boy was willing to reveal. And Kazuki couldn't wait to try and figure out what that was.

As for Fugaku and Mikoto, the former was gritting his teeth in frustration as he was forced on the defensive, dodging his opponent's barrages of punches and kicks. Even though Mikoto had yet to activate her sharingan like him, her taijutsu was impressive. Not to mention her speed. She was certainly faster than him. She had already landed several punches on him while he had yet to land a single one. All he could was defend himself and even then it was barely. He just couldn't keep up.

So it was no surprise to him when he soon found himself on the ground on his back while staring up at the blue sky, sweating and panting.

On the sidelines, Kazuki whistled again while Sasuke simply watched on with a slightly curious look. Mikoto for her part breathed slowly as she relaxed, knowing that she had won. A thought did run through her head for a moment before she squashed it: it had been harder to win than last time. But it didn't really matter. She had won. Now, she just needed to get out of here. With that in mind, she headed straight back to the house.

"You know, Miko-chan….."

Mikoto paused for a moment. Turning her head, she came face to face with a serious looking Kazuki which that of in itself was odd.

"If you only came here to embarrass my brother, then you and I are going to have a problem."

Even Sasuke was taken back by the seriousness behind those words. After all, this was the first time that Sasuke had ever seen the younger boy get serious about anything.

Mikoto kept her uncaring demeanor while having a stare off with the boy who was her fiancee's brother. Continuing the stare off for a couple of more seconds, Mikoto simply turned her head away and walked off without another word. Sasuke glanced at Kazuki who began to make his way towards his still downed brother. Looking towards where his mother had walked off, Sasuke made a decision. Without saying a word, he began to follow his mother, leaving behind the two brothers.

He wasn't stealthy enough, though, as Kazuki noticed this through his peripherals as he stopped to stand next to his brother.

"Last time she kicked your butt you were really broody about it. But now, you're broody about something else."

"…What are you talking about now, idiot?"

Kazuki smirked at his brother's begrudged voice. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. But just because I love you, I'll let you have this one."

Fugaku didn't reply. Instead, he simply continued to look up at the sky, his mind still deep in thought. Some of those thoughts were about trying to figure out what exactly his supposed fiancee was trying to accomplish while most of them were still on an entire different subject all together.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Fugaku glanced at his younger brother who was also staring up at the blue sky.

"I know you don't care that you just lost, which is kinda amazing really if you think about it." Fugaku rolled his eyes at seeing a small grin appear on Kazuki's face at that.

"You're not the only one who's worried about him, you know."

Fugaku closed his eyes at hearing that. It was at times like these that he really did appreciate having a brother around.

"What was the point of that exactly?"

Mikoto paused at the same entrance that she had been hesitant to go through before. Turning around, she came face to face with the boy that she had been trying to figure out without knowing why. Not only that, but she didn't even what she was doing here anymore.

Sasuke kept his calm look while examining his mother. Things between her and his father were really complicated. But he at least wanted to know what was going through her head. And, if he could, build a good relationship with her. She was his mother. Or in the future anyway.

"It's not really any of your business," Mikoto replied after several moments of silence. It was the best response she could come up with given the circumstances.

Sasuke shook his head at that. "You're wrong about that. Those two are now my brothers. So whatever happens to them is my business. Understand?"

Mikoto took an involuntary step back at hearing the steel tone behind those words. Now, this really did take her by surprise. She had at first thought that Sasuke didn't really care about anything or anyone. But it just showed her that she really didn't know much about the boy in front of her.

Frowning, Mikoto looked at Sasuke one more time before she turned around and began to walk away, her mood now having turned sour.

Sasuke watched his mother walk off for several seconds before he walked back into the house with his hands in his pockets. Now, he was even more confused than before about his mother.

And he really didn't know how to fix that.

Night had fallen. All over Konoha, her residents were preparing themselves to rest up for the night after having gone through another day full of work. At least, that was how it was for most of the residents, namely the civilians. It was a different story for the shinobi populace, or a few number of them. These shinobi were mostly Anbu who were in charge of patrols throughout the night. It was a common practice during wartime. After all, they couldn't be too careful with their security. Not only that, but they also had important allies within the village too. It wouldn't look good for them to have the clan head of the Uzumaki clan attacked and possibly wounded while he was in their village.

One of the many active shinobi in the village was none other than Shimura Danzo. The one eyed veteran was currently leaning against a light post in one of the slum areas of the village. For the past couple of days, Danzo had remained in the village, the first time he had done so since the Second Shinobi War had started. He had a critical mission to accomplish, which was the reason why he had stayed in the village for more than a day. Danzo had been waiting for an opportunity like this for quite some time now. He was secretly pleased with how things had turned out. At this point, everything had to proceed perfectly, or his plan that he had been setting up for months now would fail. He was just lucky that the current Uzumaki clan head was as weak and idealistic as Sarutobi was. Then again, just about every Uzumaki was like that.

His train of thoughts ceased when his shinobi senses kicked in, telling him that he now had company. Good. He had been waiting for quite some time already. He made his discomfort show when two figures appeared from the shadow, one being one of his top ranked members of his Root and the other a dark skinned man with robes around him which covered his other features.

"You're late."

"My apologies, Danzo-sama," the Root operative said as he bowed. "The patrols were harder to get around than I anticipated."

Danzo kept his eye on him. "I trust you weren't seen?"

"That's correct."

The other man stepped up, removing his cloak at the same time which revealed his black hair and brown eyes. "Oi, I don't very much like to be ignored, Danzo."

Danzo turned his attention to the man. "You do best to remember your position now."

The man grunted in annoyance. "No. You better remember your position, Danzo. After all, you were the one that asked for Raikage-sama's help. One word from me, and your whole operation gets flushed. After all, I'm pretty sure not even you can handle the Hokage on your own in a straight fight."

Danzo didn't flinch at the threat. "It seems you're misunderstanding something here. Or rather, you're overestimating yourself. You're fodder. I'm sure the Raikage would have no qualms disposing you. I know just how much he has to gain if my plan succeeds. I'm sure he wouldn't want to see that end by a mere spy, correct?"

The bravado the man had shown just a few moments before disappeared at that, knowing full well that Danzo was correct. That didn't mean he liked it, though.

Changing the subject, however, the man looked around in an uneasy manner. "At any rate, why do you have us meeting out here in the open? We would both be executed if someone caught us."

Danzo shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I know how the Anbu are operating. There's no need to worry about any shinobi stumbling unto us this far into the village. It would have been harder and more dangerous if I had brought you to one of my bases. Not every Anbu there is under my control." Yet. It was a sad fact that Sarutobi was smart enough to put some of his own Anbu into Danzo's units. Sarutobi had been growing rather displeased with his methods as the war progressed. What the fool didn't know was that his methods were the only reason that Konoha was still standing and remained on top.

The spy hummed at hearing that before getting straight to the point. "So, Raikage-sama wants more details before he fully decides to join in. He's especially concerned with the barrier around the island, and those massive whirlpools surrounding it too. If you don't give him your solution to those, he will back off."

Danzo wasn't an idiot. He already knew that the Raikage was bluffing. Danzo was aware of how much the Raikage wanted to get his hands on an Uzumaki so that he could create his own clan in Kumo. Danzo did admit that it was a good plan. But there was no way he was going to let that happen. That would only come back to bite him in the ass some day if he let the Raikage carry it through. But for the moment, he needed to let the idiot think that he wasn't going to do anything to try and oppose it. He wouldn't learn of the true plan until it was too late. And then, not even he would have the courage to step up and confess what Danzo had done since it would implicating himself as well. And even the Raikage wasn't stupid enough to do something like that.

"Tell the Raikage that I will give him the information when the time comes," Danzo replied calmly. "There's still many preparations that need to take place before we can achieve our true objective. If your Raikage thinks that isn't fair, I'm sure either Iwa or even Kiri wouldn't mind taking the spoils."

The man gritted his teeth in frustration as he took a step back. "You're lucky I can't kill you myself, Danzo."

Once more, Danzo took the threat in stride. The man in front of him was at best a simple messenger who wouldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for his assistance in the first place.

"It seems we have reached an agreement then," Danzo said as he turned away from the man. "Lay low until your Raikage replies. Before then, don't do anything-"

Danzo paused mid-sentence as he felt a new presence in the area. An uninvited one at that. Danzo looked back at his Root operative who got the message in an instant. The spy was taken by surprise as the Anbu next to him disappeared in an instant.

"Oi, what's going on?" he asked with an annoyed tone. The night just wasn't turning out the way that he had been expecting it to be.

"It seems we have an uninvited guest," was Danzo's response.

The Kumo spy took another step back with wide eyes, his expression now alarmed. "Oi, oi, what the hell!? If Konoha finds me, I'm dead! This is why I told you that meeting here was a bad idea! Now everything-!"

"Calm yourself," Danzo interrupted with a tiny hint of annoyance in his voice. The man behind him was really starting to aggravate him, after all. "My Root can handle him. He'll be dead, whoever he is. So you'll have nothing to-"

Danzo was cut off as the body of said Anbu dropped down on the ground in front of him from the building that stood just beside them with a large thud, a giant cut slashed down his chest.

"Eeeek!"

The Kumo spy fell down to the ground on his behind with a shriek, his eyes wide in fear.

"It seems like you're still up to your usual tricks, Danzo."

Danzo's one eye narrowed as he looked up at the abandoned building to see a person in an Anbu uniform, complete with a mask, standing calmly on the rooftop, a hand on his hip. From the voice and form, Danzo immediately concluded that it was a male.

"And who might you be?" Danzo asked, keeping his tone calm all the while preparing himself to attack or defend if need be.

"Call me…..Itachi."

Danzo was taken back with the straightforward response. He honestly hadn't expected for the man to respond to him. Then again, there was the possibility that he was being lied to. And considering the fact that he had never heard of such a person and the current circumstances, Danzo decided to take everything with caution and as possibly a lie.

"So tell me then, Itachi, do you know what you're doing? You're attacking a high-ranking member of Konoha. That could bring dire consequences to you."

"Itachi" let out a hmph as he dropped down to the ground and landed softly in front of Danzo, the corpse of the Anbu lying in between them. "I wonder just how much of a high ranking member you'll be when Konoha finds out you're conspiring against Uzu."

'So, he's heard everything. Which begs the question as to how long he's been following me. Or him,' Danzo thought while quickly glancing towards the still shaking spy. By this point, the man was too afraid to even run away. It made one wonder as to where his confidence he had displayed before had come from in the first place.

Turning his attention back to Itachi, Danzo commented, "You could have left here alive tonight if you had better control of your emotions. I sensed your hatred towards me in an instant."

"That works well for me," Itachi retorted as he brought his hands together. "I've been waiting for the chance to kill you for some time now!"

Danzo narrowed his eye as he immediately recognized the handsings the man in front of him did in an instant.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Danzo jumped up into the air in response, just barely dodging the giant fireball. The Kumo spy that had been a shaking mess behind him, however, wasn't so lucky. The last thing the man saw was a giant fireball heading towards him before he was burned alive.

Landing on one of the rooftops of one of the other deserted buildings, Danzo didn't even flinch as the sounds of agony from the spy reached his ear. Well, not that it mattered. He could deliver the Raikage the message himself if need be. Right now, he had a bigger problem to deal with, namely the mysterious man that stood below him. He needed to dispose of him and quickly. It wouldn't dobe well if the rest of the village was alerted to what was happening here. Danzo could only hope that no one saw the giant fire based attack.

"What's the matter, Danzo?" Itachi said with a mocking tone as he looked up at him. "Too afraid to attack me? Or are you too wary of anyone else finding us out? Not like it matters to me. I'm shutting down your operation."

Rethinking his movements, Danzo realized that fighting this man right now wasn't in his best interest. If he did, he would just lose any chance he had of making another lie to cover it up in the chance that they were discovered. And that was the last thing he needed. But at the same time, if he let this man go, who knew what he would do with the information that he now had? Either way, he lost something. It definitely wasn't looking out to be a good night like he had first imagined it. After all, everything had been going perfectly just minutes before.

"Well then, if you're not coming, then I'll just come to you!" the unknown Anbu said as he jumped towards Danzo, his sword in hand.

Danzo unsheathed his sword that was strapped to his back in an instant, bringing it forward and clashing with Itachi's.

"Fighting you right now would be pointless," Danzo stated, already calculating that this Itachi person wouldn't go down so easily. "But before you think you can expose me, I do wonder how many people are going to believe you if you tell them what you've heard," he added, bluffing to the best that he could in order to deter this new unknown variable. It was the only other option that Danzo could come up with for now.

But Itachi didn't reply. Instead, he brought his knee forward, intending to continue the fight. Seeing this coming, however, Danzo jumped back instantly with Itachi right on top of him. Bringing his sword down on him, Itachi narrowed his eyes behind his mask as a puff of smoke surrounded Danzo the instant that his sword made contact with him. Landing on the rooftop, he clenched his freed hand as a simple log landed behind him, showing that Danzo had used a substitution and in turn gotten away.

The bastard was as slippery as Orochimaru when he tried to be. And that only infuriated "Itachi" even more.

Arashi sighed tiredly as he leaned back in his chair in his hotel room. The last couple of days had been extremely hectic for him. He really was beginning to regret ever having accepted helping Konoha in the war. Then again, Arashi already suspected that it was only a matter of time before the matter was brought up, regardless of his decision to whether accept or decline joining the war. And that matter was regarding the next jinchuriki host for the Kyuubi that was going to be needed soon. Arashi had always known that it was more than likely that he was going to have to deal with that issue during his time as clan head for a while now. That didn't mean that he was looking forward to it, though. After all, he knew what he would have to do. It was the only logical choice. But what made him angrier was the fact that the village elders seemed more concerned with that matter rather than the war. Given what Danzo had said, though, Arashi shouldn't be too surprised. They were more than likely planning to use the next host as a weapon, rather than a simple deterrent like they had done with Mito. And that only made him even more depressed and angry.

Standing up with another sigh, Arashi knew exactly who he needed to talk to right now. Kenji probably wouldn't like it, but Arashi knew that he wouldn't be able to get some rest for the rest of the night and more than likely many nights in the future unless he did this. Taking a couple of steps towards his bedroom, the Uzumaki clan head jumped back without a warning with a kunai in hand.

"I know you're in here, so don't bother trying to hide."

Not hearing a response, Arashi was about to pressure the intruder even more until he noticed a figure landing in front of him by the window. It was at that moment that Kenji burst into the room, a look of complete alert in his face despite the fact that he only had a pair of navy blue pants.

"Arashi, someone broke through the barrier!"

"I know," Arashi replied while keeping his eyes on the intruder, bringing Kenji's attention to the man as well. "As you can see, he's been gracious enough to show himself already."

"I'm not here to fight you," he said just as Kenji was about to curse him out. "I'm not your enemy. Believe me. I'm on your side."

Arashi raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? You make it sound as if there is a plot afoot at the moment."

The man shifted slightly before stepping into the light. Both Arashi and Kenji took in his form, recognizing the uniform that he was currently wearing to be that of Anbu.

"So, it seems like you don't know about it yet. It can't be helped I guess. Your enemy is as tricky as they come."

Kenji t'ched at that. "Stop being all melodramatic. We're not into that crap. Now, explain why an Anbu, from Konoha no less, has trespassed into my leader's hotel room. And you better make it quick. All your damn elders have been making me really irritated these past couple of days, so shinobi from Konoha aren't exactly on my top list as friends."

Arashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at hearing his best friend basically disrespect the leaders of the shinobi in front of him. But that quickly turned into shock as the mysterious Anbu chuckled.

"Now I understand where the idiot gets his attitude from….."

"What?" Arashi said, not quite sure what to make of what the man just muttered.

Shaking his head, the Anbu continued. "Nevermind that. Just know that I agree with you. It's the whole reason I'm here right now."

"And you expect us to believe that right off the bat?" Kenji retorted while rolling his eyes.

The Anbu paused for a moment before replying. "I guess not. But I'm only doing this because I owe a certain someone a favor. This is my way of paying him back."

Arashi brought his hand forward, effectively silencing Kenji who was about to retort yet again. "That's enough, Kenji. Let's hear what he has to say first before we make any rash decisions. After all, he hasn't shown any signs of hostility, nor has he tried anything since he's arrived. The least we can do is hear what he has to say."

Kenji relented, knowing that Arashi had a point. But like he had said before, he had become extremely frustrated with Konoha, or more specifically the elders. Those old fossils asked too much dammit. They were only being taken advantage of, which was why he wished for Arashi to pull out of helping this village. As far as Kenji was concerned, they didn't deserve it in the slightest.

Nodding towards the Anbu, Arashi lowered his hand. Seeing this, the Anbu continued. "Tonight, I clashed with Danzo. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

Both Arashi and Kenji knew that they weren't going to like what the Anbu had to say the moment Danzo's name was said.

"We do," Arashi answered carefully. "He's been really vocal during our meetings. I'm surprised to see he has this much influence in the village." The last part he said more to himself than anything else. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"Yes, I agree with you," the Anbu replied honestly. "But right now, that's the least of your concern. What you should be worrying about is what he has planned for your clan and Uzu."

Arashi's blood instantly went cold at hearing that. "And that would be what exactly?" Next to him, Kenji was feeling the exact same way.

"I stumbled upon a meeting between him and a spy from what I could tell," the Anbu answered, getting straight to the point. "I'm not quite sure of all of the details, but it's obvious from what I was able to hear that Danzo plans on attacking Uzu with Kumo helping him at the very least. As to why he's doing this, I'm not sure of that yet."

Both Uzumakis' eyes widened in complete shock at hearing what the Anbu had just told them. But that had to be impossible! Arashi already knew just how power hungry Danzo was. It was the man's dream to be Hokage, after all. It was obvious as saying that the sky was blue. But still. Not even Danzo would attempt to do something as ludicrous as what the Anbu in front of him was saying. Just what would Danzo have to gain from doing such a thing?

"I can see you have doubts as to whether I'm telling the truth or not," the Anbu commented, observing Arashi's reaction in particular.

"You can't fault me for reacting this way," Arashi said while sighing. "Yes, Danzo is a shinobi who lives in the darkness of our world. But not even he would try to do what you've said he's supposedly planning on doing. We have been allies with Konoha since it was founded by Senju Hashirama. And yet you're telling me that he's trying to break that?"

The Anbu shrugged. "I can see why you would doubt it. But you've said it yourself. The man lives in the darkness. While I don't know what his reasoning behind his actions is yet, it doesn't matter. I am telling you the truth."

"Do you have some sort of proof?" Kenji asked, coming out of his shock. "Or better yet, do you know when he's going to supposedly attempt this?"

Glancing at him, the Anbu replied, "I don't know the details yet, and that includes when he's going to attempt this. But I do have proof. Or better yet, you will have your proof tomorrow morning before you depart."

Now, Arashi was curious. "And what's that supposed to be exactly?"

"The Hokage," was the Anbu's simple response.

"He's on this too!?" Kenji exclaimed with wide eyes, his anger now rising.

Shaking his head, the Anbu said, "No, that's not what I meant. I meant that he will tell you the same thing that I just told you but with some added proof that you so desire."

Arashi studied the individual in front of him before something caught his eye. And that realization made him even more shocked about the current situation, if that was even possible.

"You…you're an Uchiha, aren't you?"

That revelation obviously caught the Anbu by surprise. "That's-"

"Don't try to deny it," Arashi interrupted with a shake of his head. "Those eyes…there's no way I could ever mistake those eyes for something else." Next to him, Kenji was just as shocked as he was.

The Anbu went rigid for a few moments. obviously not being pleased that one of his secrets had been found out. "Does that even matter?"

"No, it doesn't," Arashi answered truthfully. "But, we Uzumaki are distant relatives to the Senju. We were once part of the clan, after all. So, if what you're saying is true, then to have an Uchiha save us who once considered the Senju their worst enemy….you can see the irony in that, right?"

The Anbu chuckled slightly, obviously as amused as Arashi was at the notion. "You're certainly right about that, if I'm an Uchiha. But, I've come to learn of many ironies in this world. A few more don't surprise me at this point."

Nodding, Arashi said, "Then, I'll trust your word. For now. Tomorrow, I'll see if the Hokage does in fact do what you say he will."

"Believe me, he will," was the Anbu's answer as he turned to leave.

"Tell me one thing before you go, if you don't mind," Arashi said with a curious look.

The Anbu stopped in his tracks, his back facing the two men. "And that would be?"

"This person that you owe a favor to….who is he?"

The Anbu was silent for a few moments, giving Arashi the impression that even he hadn't considered that question before. Or maybe he had but hadn't found an answer to it yet. Either way, Arashi was really curious about the answer now.

"If I had to use one word," the Anbu replied, bringing Arashi's full attention back to him full force, "I guess you could say that he's my…brother."

With that, the Anbu disappeared the same way that he had appeared: without a trace.

"That was certainly a shocker," Kenji commented after a few moments of silence.

"Indeed," Arashi said while nodding. "But at the very least, we've learned something interesting."

"Do you really think he was telling the truth?" Kenji asked after a small pause. "Because if he is…..this spells more trouble to us than the war or selecting a new jinchuriki for this village."

"If he's telling the truth," Arashi began, "we won't have time to worry about such things. But for now, go get some rest, my friend."

Kenji looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Are you kidding me? I can't go to sleep like the others are after what I just heard. I'm not an idiot. I know just how big of a mess this will turn out to be if that Anbu is telling the truth. Not only that, but the danger that you're in."

Shaking his head, Arashi replied. "If he was telling the true, then Danzo plans on attacking Uzu. Not us in particular. So we're safe right now. Not to mention that we're also in the village. He can't try anything that big in here."

Kenji knew that Arashi did have a point yet again, but still. He just couldn't relax after having heard all of that. Sensing this, Arashi placed his hand on Kenji's shoulder.

"I appreciate your concern, my friend. I really do. But right now, I have to talk to someone alone. It's for my own benefit. I can't bring anyone else with me."

"At this hour!?" Kenji questioned with a mystified look. "Who would still be up at this hour other than shady bastards?"

Chuckling, Arashi brought his hand back before heading towards his bedroom.

"Oh, I don't know. I just have a feeling that she's been waiting for me this whole time. I guess I shouldn't be keeping her up anymore than I have to."

Sasuke sighed tiredly as he entered the Hokage's office through one of the opened windows, for his own benefit of course. The now eight year old Uchiha was wearing an Anbu uniform that Hiruzen had specially prepared for him equipped with a sword and a mask too. He didn't have to worry about anyone catching him since the man had already made sure that there wouldn't be any Anbu in the area around this time. It was also only through the Hokage himself that Sasuke had been able to do everything that had taken place tonight. It only proved to Sasuke that telling the Sandaime everything hadn't been a wasted effort, after all.

Climbing through the window, Sasuke said nothing even though he already knew that said man was already there by one of the other windows as he gazed down at the village, his famous pipe in hand.

"I take it everything went well?" Sarutobi said in his usual tone.

"Yeah," Sasuke replied. "Just like I thought, Danzo is scheming something, in particular against Uzu. I wasn't able to kill him, though."

Sarutobi sighed at hearing that. But it wasn't a normal sigh. It was one filled with disappointment. "Does your hatred still have control of you, Sasuke? Even though you already killed him once?"

"That was then, and this is now," Sasuke said, his tone becoming colder. "Everything is different now. I've been given a golden opportunity to stop everything wrong that took place in my time from happening. And if that can only be achieved through killing Danzo, then so be it. I have no qualms with it." Not only that, but what made Sasuke's blood boil even more was the fact that he now knew that Danzo more than likely had a hand in Naruto's clan's destruction in their original time, much like the man had done with the Uchiha. It just fueled Sasuke's hatred even more, something which he wasn't able to control fully at this point. But then again, Sasuke asked himself why he was even holding back. If he hesitated now, then there was a chance that he would fail. And then, he really wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Sarutobi watched the young boy, analyzing the look that he currently sported. Hiruzen was now completely aware of what the boy had gone through, namely having his clan destroyed and then finding out that the very village he had once called home had been behind said destruction. That same hatred that had fueled him all this time and had subsided while he had first arrived was now coming back full force. Meeting Danzo again only agitated the situation even more. Sarutobi knew that he needed to do something to make that hatred disappear. If things got out of hand here, then Sasuke would only become an even greater threat than the one that he was now helping to stop. The only problem was that Sarutobi didn't know how he could go about doing it. After all, the boy didn't like him, something to which he still didn't know the reason for. It only served to show the man that Sasuke really hadn't told him everything about himself once again.

"You need to find Danzo," Sasuke said as he turned away from the Hokage. "You now have all the proof you need. Once he shows himself to you, tell me. I'll be waiting to finish him off."

Shaking his head, Sarutobi said, "You can't just rush this, Sasuke! No matter what you may want to think, we still have nothing! Even with those corpses you just brought back. Danzo has safety measures against these kinds of situation. Both men had curse seals place on their bodies which activated the moment they died. A Yamanaka is practically useless now. And if we went forward with just this, he could easily counter our story. Not only that, but he'll know that I'm aiding you!"

Desperation entered Sarutobi's voice at this point. He really did want to put an end to Danzo's schemes and said man himself, but at the moment, their hands were tied. They would need something more solid. Something that would press Danzo up against the wall where he would have nothing to say as a rebuttal.

Sasuke's hand transformed into fists at his sides. It seemed as if hearing Sarutobi's response only aggravated him further. "It's no wonder both Orochimaru and Danzo managed to walk all over you. You're weak, Sandaime."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at that. The boy was starting to cross a line. "You can't-"

"I can do what I please," Sasuke interrupted as he turned around to face him again, his Eternal Mangekyo glowing in the darkness. "When it comes down to it, you just can't take any action. It's this weakness of yours that leads to Orochimaru's escape and everything else that he brings down to the village in the future. It's this weakness that allows Danzo to run free and do as he please, running circles around you. It's just like I thought. You're just too weak to be Hokage. No, you don't even come close to what being a true Kage should be. It's because people like you are in power that this world comes close to destruction. It's because people like you are in charge that Itachi has to suffer. I've had enough."

Sarutobi took a step back as…something started to surround the young Uchiha. The best way that Sarutobi could describe it as was a skeleton like form, a ribcage more specifically, only that it was a purple or violet color.

'So, this is the Susanoo,' Hiruzen thought in realization, having already seen it when Sasuke first told him about the future.

"Are you really going to go through this, Sasuke?" Sarutobi asked one final time with a sad tone. It had always been Sarutobi's intention to change the boy's outlook now that he had a second chance. Not only that, but change the dark emotions that fueled him. Even now, Sarutobi could almost see all the darkness in the room surrounding the boy with Sasuke basking in its presence. It was a sad image.

But just as Hiruzen thought that Sasuke was really going to go through with it, he saw a look of hesitation flash on the boy's face for just a split second. Had he imagined that, or was it real?

Sasuke t'ched as he deactivated his sharingan, his Susanoo form disappearing as well. Turning away from the man again, Sasuke jumped out the room through the same window that he had gone through a few minutes before without another word.

Sarutobi merely watched him disappear from his view, not bothering to try and stop him. No matter how much he wanted to help the boy, Sarutobi knew that right now his presence would only make things worse. For now, all he could hope for was that Sasuke didn't dive deeper into the world of darkness that had taken a strong hold of him before. If not, Sarutobi didn't know if he would live another day.

That went double for the rest of the shinobi world.

Sasuke, having ditched the Anbu uniform in one of the other training grounds, was now sitting under a large tree in the moderate sized forest in the infamous training ground forty four. He now wore his normal attire. For a split second, Sasuke wondered just how long the training ground had existed for before pushing that thought aside. Hiruzen had already reserved it to him as his own special training ground soon after the Uzumaki clan head had arrived. Apparently the training ground wasn't used by anyone and was only used for special occasions, much like the Chunnin exams. But right now, Sasuke didn't pay much thought to any of that. His mind was still trying to wrap itself around what had just taken place in the Hokage's office, or more like what almost took place. For a split second back there, Sasuke had been ready to kill the Sandaime and carry out his original plan. But he hadn't. At the end of the day, Sasuke hadn't gone through with it. And he didn't know why.

Needless to say, it was annoying the Uchiha to no end. Before the whole business of traveling back to the past, Sasuke had been so sure of his path. He knew what he wanted to do, what his new goal was. But now, it seemed as if he wasn't so sure of himself. And the problem was that not even he had known how deep his doubt had stemmed. After having confronted Danzo through a tip that Jiraiya, who was now keeping tabs on Danzo at all times after the one eyed man had broken in at the meeting in the hotel, had given Sarutobi, his old feelings of revenge had sprung back up. They had been partially reduced when he had talked with the Uzumaki clan head. But when he met with the Sandaime…..he had lost control. The worst part of it all was his hesitation. Sasuke didn't know what he wanted to do anymore.

Sasuke came out of his thoughts as laughter reached his ears. It was then that he realized that he was no longer in the forest of the training ground. Instead, he was in the familiar emptiness that supposedly represented his mind. But that didn't make any sense. The Sennin had told him that he wouldn't be able to communicate with him for some time. But then, Sasuke realized that the laughter wasn't familiar.

Standing up, Sasuke t'ched again, not exactly in the best of moods to deal with someone trying to mess with his mind again. "I know for a fact that you're not the Sennin…so then, who the hell are you!?"

"My, my. Such a disrespectful tone. It seems like I've caught you in the worst possible of moods."

Sasuke didn't react as a man suddenly appeared before him. In an instant, Sasuke knew that the man wasn't the Sennin. Much like the Sennin, though, the man had two long horns on his forehead, longer than the ones that the Sennin had. It made Sasuke wonder if they were related for a moment. Another noticeable feature was the fact that the man had no eyebrows. Also like the Sennin, he wore a full length battle kimono with the pattern of six black magatama around the high collar. Sasuke also spotted a sword that was sheathed and strapped around his left hip.

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke asked again, "And who might you be?"

"I can't answer that for you just yet, Uchiha Sasuke," he answered. "You're not ready yet."

"Ready?" Sasuke repeated with a small look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You're at odds with yourself at the moment," the man explained. "You don't know which road you want to take. In other words, you're at a crossroad. You were so sure of yourself before you were sent back in time. Now, you've started to make new bonds as well as help your family without much thought to your situation. But once more, your desire for hatred has gotten in the way. Your heart is still too consumed in it."

"And what of it?"

The man was silent for a few moments before he said, "Tell me, how did you like my gift?"

Taken back for a moment, Sasuke remembered what the Sennin had told him right before he had given him that jutsu, mainly that he was only a messenger. "It was from you?"

Nodding, he said, "Yes. I'm sure you're wondering why, but I'll tell you about it soon enough. I used to be an expert at genjutsu back in the day. Even more so than the man that you now know as the "God of shinobi." That genjutsu…..it was one of my most powerful ones. You now basically have the power to shape shift into any person you want. Not even the Hyuuga clan will be able to detect it. In its own way, it could be said to as powerful as your brother's. But then again, they're too different to even be compared. It seems you have yet to master it, though."

Thinking back of how the Uzumaki clan head had been able to spot his sharingan, Sasuke knew the man was right. But still…

"Why did you give it to me?"

"Because I've decided to place my trust in you as well," was the man's instant response. "Deep down, you've never been able to completely eradicate your old self. You've come close, though. I'll give you that."

Sasuke didn't reply to the man's accusation. He had nothing to say.

Smiling slightly, the man brought his hand forward. "It's been a long and painful road for you so far, Sasuke. And now, you're beginning to walk upon a new one. The choice that you now have is whether you'll walk in the light or in the darkness. Will you let me help you figure it out alongside you?"

Looking at the stretched hand, Sasuke was about to say no for a moment until he stopped himself. For reasons he couldn't explain, he felt an odd sense of familiarity with the man. Even more so than with the Sennin. Which was confusing to him. After all, he didn't know about this individual at all. But something in him was telling him that he could trust him. And maybe, just maybe, he could finally stop feeling so confuse. He would once again know with certainty what he wanted to do.

Looking back up at the man, Sasuke took the hand with his own which made the man smile.

"Now then, let us begin!"