041 - Among Us

KONOHA

Shikamaru exhaled as he stood before a door bearing a restricted area sign.

It was no big deal, he argued to himself, attempting to reconcile the fact he—a mere Genin—had, for the fifteenth time in the past seven days, been escorted by an entire squad of ANBU operatives to a restricted room in a secret underground facility that should not exist. The fact that he had been held in isolation—forced to undergo similar repetitive intrusive medical and psychological evaluations under constant surveillance—for the past three weeks, did not help ease his worries.

The heavy steel door creaked as it swung open. On the other side, Shikamaru's gaze met his father's worried one.

Opposite the Nara Patriarch were Inoichi and Princess Tsunade. In the centre of the room, Kakashi, his newfound comrade-in-circumstance, lay supine on a medical cot between the three. The masked shinobi donned a strange scientific ninja tool on his head. Shikamaru had long grown accustomed to seeing the device through which the Yamanaka clan head explored the psyche of his subjects. After all, since his arrival here, Shikamaru had repetitively found himself on the receiving end of the contraption.

"He is here," announced one of the ANBU behind Shikamaru. The Genin looked around the room as Tsunade waved her hand, dismissing his escorts. Soft, diffused light emitted from a single fluorescent lamp, casting an eerie glow across the room and its matte stone floors. A small handful of medic-nin, dressed in white overalls lingered, crosslegged, in the shadows of the room, all donning contraptions similar to the ones worn by Kakashi and Inoichi. Thick black cords connected their devices to a mainframe that towered in one corner of the room; from the computer a single, slightly thicker cord extended out, connecting the Yamanaka Patriarch—and subsequently, Kakashi—to the network.

"Come," the Senju princess said to Shikamaru, gesturing to another cot parallel to the one the masked, white-haired Jonin occupied. "Get in."

Shikamaru looked to Shikaku. In response, the older Nara simply stared at him, his eyes squinted in silence.

Assent.

Shikamaru exhaled again as he made his way to the cot. He managed a stiff smile as Tsunade strapped one of the corded devices to his head. His heart sank slightly when she failed to reciprocate the expression, before turning to regard one of the screens on the table behind her.

"...Still nothing," Tsunade said after a few minutes of silence. "The read-outs aren't displaying anything out of the norm. I can't find anything."

Shikamaru tilted his head to look at his father. Grim. Shikaku's expression was grim.

"Nothing at all?" the older Nara asked.

"No," Tsunade replied. "It's as if it never existed. Shikamaru has no recollection of being terrified of the Uchiha boy; some envy existed before acceptance settled in, as well as self-doubt when comparing himself to Sasuke, but there is not a single length of memory suggesting he ever feared the boy."

"But he did!" Shikaku argued, much to Shikamaru's resurfacing horror; an emotion which he promptly suppressed and pushed back into the crevices of his mind. "I showed you my memories, didn't I? He was terrified of the beast, so much so that for a while I was worried it would affect his prospects as a shinobi … That does not just disappear!"

Tsunade sighed. "There is nothing there, Shikaku."

The room lulled into a foreboding silence.

"I still cannot find anything either," Inoichi said moments later, disengaging the scientific ninja tools connecting him to Kakashi. "No signs of tampering or whatnot … Although, I did notice an uptick in Kakashi's attachment to the Uchiha as well as a budding sense of disillusionment regarding the village's policies following his return from Wave. I am still not sure if I should take that as an indication of tampering or not."

Another pulse of foreboding silence ensued. The arrayed medics in the background exchanged worried glances.

"...So, theoretically, if what we are all most likely thinking is true, then Sasuke can seamlessly remove and modify memories… without leaving a trail? That's a level of Genjutsu proficiency that's simply unheard of."

Everyone looked to Kakashi who had just spoken.

"...Yes," Inoichi nodded stiffly, his face turning pale and expression distant. "Unheard of… but frankly, I am willing to consider anything as possible at this point."

"There has to be limits to something like that!" Shikamaru interjected, feeling a dark churning in his guts. "Right?"

"...There might be," Tsunade replied. "We still aren't certain if he could tamper with the memories of a Jonin-level actor. The ability could be more effective on weaker opponents and the inverse the higher up the power scale one goes. Kakashi's attachment and subsequent sense of disillusionment could simply be a result of lengthened exposure to certain psychological triggers completely unassociated with the Uchiha. We can't just make assumptions without any concrete proof."

Shikaku scoffed in response. "In the same vein, we cannot be certain if Kakashi's mind wasn't simply tampered with. This could all be a result of that little bastard's second Mangekyo ability for all we know … If that's true, then anyone who has had prolonged contact with the Uchiha stands the risk of being compromised…"

"...Even the Second Hokage?" Inoichi asked, his left brow crooked.

"Possibly."

"...This does not leave this room," Tsunade ordered moments later, her stern gaze panning across everyone in attendance.

"But—"

"I know more about the Uchiha's Mangekyo than you do, Shikaku," the Senju Princess interrupted as she glared at the man. "Ignoring the implausibility of a Shinobi as competent as this using an ability as self-destructive as a Mangekyo just to simply make your son more comfortable around him, have you thought about the consequences of letting a rumour—confirmed or not—like this leak?"

Shikaku winced, suitably chastised.

Tsunade sighed, as she massaged her temple. "...I understand the reason for your antagonism, Shikaku, but that does not mean I would just stand by and watch as you help tear the village apart from within. I might bear little affection for my status as a Kunoichi, but this village is still, first and foremost, my home."

"...We cannot keep this to ourselves, Tsunade-hime," Inoichi said as he helped Kakashi to his feet. "To do so would harm the village even more."

"Fine. Inform Lord Third. He alone and no other. Not my grand uncle, not the council, and especially not Danzo. I recommend that everyone who has had significant contact with the Uchiha should be monitored for signs of foul play, and those—"

"Tsunade-hime!"

Shikamaru's gaze swivelled to the entrance. There stood a lithe, dark-haired woman, leaning against the door, panting, her forehead beaded with sweat. Behind her stood a single ANBU operative.

"What's the matter, Shizune?" Tsunade asked the newcomer.

"Trouble, Tsunade-hime! Big Trouble!" the young woman replied, unable to articulate herself.

"Compose yourself, Shizune!"

The woman nodded, inhaling deeply before attempting to speak again. "...The Uchiha Clan… the massacre," she said. "Someone has been distributing scrolls claiming it was orchestrated by Lord Third and his Council."

The room froze. Shikamaru paled.

"What?" Inoichi and Shikaku exclaimed in unison.

"When did this happen? Has the one responsible for this slander been apprehended?" Tsunade asked.

The woman shook her head. "We can't. It's everywhere."

"...What do you mean "everywhere"?"

"The culprit gifted scrolls containing the supposed secrets anonymously to the Jōmae Village in the Land of Keys.

The village, upon receiving the scrolls, proceeded to sell them to the Kumo, Iwa and Suna at the behest of the one who provided them.

"Apparently, the Fourth Raikage reached out to Lord Third in order to negotiate a deal to keep the scrolls from spreading, but before an agreement could be made, both Suna and Iwa had distributed copies freely to as many people as they could reach. By the time our agents caught a whiff of what had transpired, the scrolls had spread as far as North as the Land of Iron, and west to the Land of Peas. It's everywhere Tsunade-hime."

"...The scroll," Tsunade asked, "It's all just slander… right?"

The messenger fell silent.

"Shizune! Answer me!"

"...The contents are still being reviewed by the Hyuga, Akimichi and Aburame clan heads, but what information they have managed to verify is all accurate … There is a very high likelihood that the contents of the scroll are entirely true… and the Hokage and his Council were indeed behind the Uchiha clan massacre."

Although Tsunade's face had turned expressionless, Shikamaru could still acutely feel the anger and disappointment radiating off her. The two clan heads beside her wore disbelieving expressions on their faces. Kakashi sighed as he sat back into his cot, seemingly unwilling to involve himself in the matter.

"...Belay my previous order," Tsunade said with clenched fists. "Not a word leaves this room. Not until I say so. Shizune—"

"Yes, Tsunade-hime!"

"Find Jiriaya and inform him that I wish to speak with him. Before that, get me a copy of that scroll. Now!"

"Yes, Tsunade-hime!"