Chapter 72 - Dark Deals Made In The Shadows 01

Now that his quest was complete, Daichi was running at a moderate pace. He was going back to the orphanage to check up on Reo and talk to Aiko.

'One problem solved. But now when Aiko talks to Kensei about all this and asks about my cloak, I'll be in trouble.'

Daichi gave a long sigh as he ran through the rooftops of the village under his invisibility cloak.

'I could have told her it was my ability but if anyone found out then I would have been killed for having such a dangerous ability or tortured or experimented to find out how it works. Saying it was the cloak would minimize the risk but not entirely. I could have said I found it somewhere but I doubt she'd believe that… For some reason or other she trusts Kensei and I needed that… What's done is done. I'll need to have a talk with him when he gets back.'

Daichi reached the orphanage and went inside. He reached Miss Aiko's room. She was looking at the sleeping baby Reo with sympathy in her eyes. Sensing Daichi's chakra she turned to him.

"Is it done?" Aiko quietly asked.

Daichi nodded his head. He looked at Aiko. "Thank you for this." He said after a minute of silence. Both of them had various thoughts running through their heads.

"I'll try to come by every one or two months." Daichi said to the matron.

Aiko nodded her head. She wouldn't mind him visiting every now and then. "It's getting late. You should head back home."

"Yeah… Miss Aiko?"

"I'll keep what happened here tonight a secret. But I'll need to talk with your grandfather first." Aiko replied to the question she knew Daichi was going to ask.

"Thank you…" The boy slightly bowed his head. He straightened and spoke. "I should go home. It's really late."

Aiko went near Daichi and gave him a hug. "You're a good kid Daichi… Get home safely."

Daichi shortly left the orphanage and headed straight home. On his way he saw several ninjas rushing in all directions.

'Looks like the Anbu and other forces are scrambling to keep things under control… This is the point where Hiruzen removes Danzo from power and disbands the root… Too bad for him. This will only force Danzo to go underground with his root agents… But still… I won't have to worry about him for a while. This incident will force him to keep a low profile. Even if it is for a short time.'

Daichi reached his home a short while later. He got inside the barrier and found his clone sitting on the porch of the house. Daichi removed the cloak and the clone looked at Daichi.

"Everything alright?" The clone Daichi asked.

"Yeah… What about you?"

"See for yourself." With this the clone dispelled itself. The chakra of the shadow clone returned to Daichi and along with it, its memories. Daichi reviewed every second of the memory since the clone left the academy.

'Nothing of significance happened… Good.'

Daichi felt relief spread through body. 'Its over.'

He was feeling several emotions at the moment and the events of the last couple hours were taking its toll. He went straight to bed and soon fell asleep.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere near the Uchiha clan Compound.

3 people in masks were swiftly moving through the trees. One in the front with the other 2 slightly behind on each side. Each of them had a scroll in their hand. They were root ninjas assigned by Danzo to complete a certain mission.

"We need to move faster. The Anbu have been alerted. We need to make sure these scrolls reach lord Danzo." The Anbu leading the other two said as they jumped through the branches.

At that moment a hand with a short sword suddenly came out of the tree trunk in front of them and beheaded the root ninja leading the team. It was an instant attack they couldn't defend against.

A masked ninja came out of the trunk and took the scroll from the dead ninja before his corpse even fell to the ground. The masked ninja quickly stored the scroll in his sleeve.

The other 2 stopped dead in their tracks and made eye contact with each other. Their mission and priorities were clear to them. Make sure the scrolls reach lord Danzo at all costs. A second later they made their decision.

"Split up." One of the 2 root ninjas said and they quickly fled in different directions.

The masked ninja looked at the two escaping targets. A deep dark chuckle emanated from his throat.

"How cute. They think they can run from me." The man spoke in a voice that would send shivers down the spine of anyone who heard it. The next second the man disappeared in a swirling vortex that came from his eye.

The root Anbu who was running through the trees heard the sound of several shuriken flying towards him from above. With a single motion he took his sword and deflected all the shurikens aimed at his vitals. But it was just a diversion.

He sensed his enemy coming from below and looked down. He saw the spiral mask and in the single eye hole he saw a glowing red eye with 3 tomoe.

'Sharingan?? It can't be!!' This was the last thought of the root ninja before he was caught in a powerful genjutsu. The next second a hand pierced through his chest and destroyed his heart. Taking the second scroll from the dead man the masked ninja disappeared.

The third root ninja was getting closer to his destination. 'Once I reach the base, I'll have back up.'

The next second he saw the masked assailant appearing in front of him. The root Anbu quickly went through several hand seals and sent a fast lightning style attack. The lightning strike went right through the masked figure and he quickly rushed towards the root ninja.

The root Anbu jumped down to the ground and dashed forward, taking his sword in one hand. 'Does physical attacks have no effects on him? Or did he somehow avoid that attack?'

The root ninja blocked the incoming strike of a kunai with his sword and sent a kick to his enemy's chest. The kick seemed to phase through his opponent and the next second the root ninja felt something stab his heart.

'How could I die so…'

Without even being able to complete his thoughts the man's life vanished. The masked Uchiha searched the root ninja's body and found the scroll. The next second the several paper bombs covered the scroll and was about to explode.

'A trap. So predictable.'

The explosion that was about to happen vanished in a spiraling vortex.

'He rigged the scroll to be destroyed and take me out with it in case he failed. Oh well. No matter! I have enough stock to last till my plans are complete. Time to pay that old fox a visit.'

The masked ninja disappeared from there leaving no trace of his existence.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------

Root base.

Danzo was in his office drinking sake. A very rare indulgence for him. He had a small smirk on his face as he poured another cup of his finest drink.

'Finally! It's over. My life's work is finally completed… Ohh how I had longed for this day. To rid this village of its greatest problem. The root of evil and threats that the Uchiha clan represented. And to top it off, the one with the greatest chance to become the 5th Hokage of the village will now be considered a traitor. When the time comes… I'll be the 5th hokage of this village.'

Feeling pleased with how everything turned out he drank another cup and quelled his emotions. He remembered Itachi's threats at the end. And his confrontation with Hiruzen. The Hokage had ordered to disband his root forces but Danzo was not someone who accepted something like that.

'I'll keep my head down for now. Let things pass. Now with my forces moved underground I can operate with even less restrictions. But I'll have to be careful. This is a setback for the moment but… This will be helpful in the long term. I'll need to move the funds and change the base of operations soon.'

As he sat there making plans, he kept an eye on the time that passed. He was starting to wonder about the 3 root agents assigned with a specific task.

'Where are they? Those three should be here by now.'

He was about to send some of his agents to look for them when he sensed movement from the shadows of his room. Danzo immediately knew something was wrong when his personal guards didn't come.

"Don't worry. I didn't kill them."

Out of the shadows came a deep voice. It carried an intent that set Danzo on edge. Danzo had lived through three wars. He knew when a dangerous enemy was in front of him.

"You have quite the ability to get here without anyone noticing. And to even deal with my agents… Who are you?" Danzo, while alert, was not someone who was cowed by threats.

A masked ninja with a spiral mask and a single eye hole came out of the shadows. Only the upper body could be seen and the rest were hidden in darkness. "Who I am is not important to you at the moment… As to why I came… To take away what isn't yours." As he said this the masked ninja took out a scroll from his sleeve. And lightly tossed it up a few times in his hand.

Danzo narrowed his eyes as he looked at the scroll. He recognized the special scroll and he knew what it contained. They were scrolls specifically designed to store organs and safely maintain them.

'So that's why they're not here. He got to them. I must have those scrolls at all costs.'

"How about we make a deal?" Danzo spoke.

The masked ninja tilted his head as if he was interested but didn't make a sound. After several seconds of silence Danzo continued.

"Give me the scrolls and the contents in it intact and I'll get you the forbidden scroll."

Hearing the proposal, a chuckle escaped the masked nins lips. "Interesting proposal… But I have a counter offer… Forget about the Sharingan and I'll let you live."

The second those words were uttered Danzo rushed forward. His hand already weaving sings for a wind style jutsu. In less than a second Danzo stabbed the man's head with a wind chakra coated kunai. But seeing no blood or brain scattered, and sensing the chakra of the enemy still strong, Danzo immediately stepped back.

A dangerous laugh escaped the masked ninja's throat. "Haha… The human condition… So predictable."

The next second Danzo felt a strong kick to his midsection that sent him reeling back.

"Ghaa…" He clutched his stomach and looked at the man. He was sending signals for the root agents currently in his base.

The masked ninja looked at Danzo and spoke. "I could kill you right now… But it would be boring. Letting you live… I'm interested to see how it turns out… We'll meet again… Danzo Shimura."

Danzo scrutinized the man. As the last words were spoken, Danzo saw something that shook his heart. A fully matured Sharingan in the single visible eye. As Danzo stood there surprised at the revelation, the masked ninja disappeared as if he was never there.

The second the ninja disappeared, Danzo snapped himself up from his stupor. He gritted his teeth in anger and frustration. But after a few seconds he took several breaths and calmed down.

'To deal with a Sharingan, one must need the Sharingan… It's a good thing I have a back up plan… But for this to work… I'll need his help.'

Danzo walked out of the room to find his guards unconscious on the floor. He stepped past them and walked to meet someone.