Chapter 253 - The Betrayer

March 17th.

The door to Ryoma's suite opened and the two adults entered expecting to see the enemy shinobi Daichi captured, tied up and unconscious. Instead they were met with an empty room.

Ryoma turned to the Genin with a questioning look. "Where is the enemy?"

Daichi had a sheepish smile as he looked at the client. "Yeah… About that. There are two ninjas. But I couldn't exactly carry them here without attracting attention. They're safely hidden in the forest along with my real self. The clone that was here dispelled itself after making sure everything was safe."

Daichi turned to look at his sensei. "I figured you'd know what to do with the prisoners once you interrogated them."

Ryoma accepted that logic and Kakashi too silently nodded along to his student's reason. "Where are you?"

"Approximately 450 meters north north west from here. I'll stay here and make sure nothing happens." Clone Daichi replied.

The silver haired Jonin nodded and the next second vanished from the room in a swirl of wind and leaves. Daichi turned to his client who was relaxing in a chair.

"Do you think they'll agree to your idea?" The Genin asked the man.

"Well see. If we can use the prisoners in the right way we might have a good chance for an alliance." Ryoma replied as he took a sip from his cup.

Daichi nodded and looked out the window. At that moment the client asked him a question. "How did you find the culprits? Is anyone from within the families involved in this?"

Daichi turned to look at the man. 'Hiding that person's involvement won't do any good for me. Might as well spill the beans on that. But I'll have to keep the involvement of the Root ninjas a secret.'

With that Daichi told Ryoma about the saboteur inside the building. The Dealmaker narrowed his eyes as he listened to the events that Daichi saw. 'What would he gain from this? What possible reason could he have to jeopardize this alliance?'

At that moment his eyes widened as if he recalled something. He quickly got up from his seat and opened the scroll he brought with him. Numerous files and paper appeared in a smoke and Ryoma began to go through them as if he was searching for something specific.

Daichi, who was watching the man, crossed his arms and sat in a chair. 'Looks like he has an idea as to what this is all about.'

—-

The sun had set and the sounds of various animals big and small roaming the night could be heard throughout the forest. The real Daichi was leaning against a tree keeping an eye on his surroundings and the two sleeping Root prisoners. It wasn't long before Kakashi reached the location.

"Fill me in on everything that happened."

The Jonin ordered and Daichi gave an account of his version of events.

The Jonin glanced at the prisoners and then turned to his student. "Daichi, what's the real reason you didn't bring these two back to the resort? I know it's not because you were afraid of being caught."

The Genin uncrossed his arms and looked at his teacher. 'He saw through that little lie huh. Not unexpected. I already have an excuse prepared just in case...'

"Because, I think they're part of the organization Root. I'm not sure though."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed and turned to the two ninjas unconscious on the floor. 'Root? Danzo sent them? But why would he…?'

Daichi continued. "I don't have any proof to back up my claims but if it turns out to be right then that would be proof that shinobi from our own village were interfering in business matters of the Capital and tried to assassinate a respected member under the Daimyo. It would have caused a huge backlash. So I didn't take that chance."

"What makes you think these two are part of Root?" Kakashi asked.

"Their chakra. I'm sure the Hokage has already told you this. I've fought several Root ninjas before. During my time training under Lady Tsunade. At that time I made a clear note of their chakras. Its properties and how it behaved. Their chakra was cold… How do I put this? It's the way their chakra behaved. It's almost as if they were suppressing their emotions to the point of being emotionless… These guys… Their chakra behaves in almost similar ways."

Kakashi silently listened and nodded. 'His sensory skills are top notch.'

The Jonin turned to the other shinobi present. 'If he believes these two are Root then chances are he's right. Still, I need to check…'

The silver haired ninja bent down and opened the mouths of the two. 'If they're Root then they should have…'

He saw the distinct seal of the Foundation on their tongues. 'Well, that confirms that.' He stood and turned to his student. "You're right. They're Danzo's men. Lord Hokage is not going to be happy."

"What should we tell Ryoma?" Daichi asked his teacher.

"We can't interrogate these two. They have a seal that prohibits them from divulging any information about their organization and they would definitely have mental defenses in place to protect against standard interrogation." Kakashi reasoned. He was silent for a few moments and then came up with a plan.

"Daichi, did anyone other than their contact in the building act suspicious during your surveillance?"

The Genin shook his head. "No. It was just that one guy."

"Right now, our mission is to protect Ryoma. We have to proceed on the assumption that there is only one enemy in the building. We will tell Ryoma that we made a deal with the captured ninjas. Information on their informant in exchange for their freedom. He might be able to use that as leverage or he might not. The outcome of the negotiations doesn't concern us."

Daichi inwardly disagreed with that. 'Not to you maybe…'

"If there are other dangerous parties after our client we'll deal with them discreetly. This way we complete the mission and make sure the reputation of the village isn't damaged."

"I like the plan but there is one problem. How do we get sensitive information about that guy?"

The Jonin had an eye smile as he answered that question. "How else? I'm going to interrogate him. Let's see if we can't get the info straight from his head. Stay here and keep a lookout. I'll be back soon." With those words Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke.

Daichi sighed. He created and dispelled a shadow clone to update the clone that was with Ryoma of the current situation. 'Guess all I can do now is wait.'

At that moment the shadow clone keeping Ryoma company also sent Daichi new memories. 'Well, this just got a lot easier. If we can corroborate the information then we can win.'

Daichi patiently waited in the forest and about an hour later Kakashi returned.

'He got past the guards at the resort and interrogated him without anyone knowing? Not surprising. Guess this is what a former Anbu captain is capable of. Those Jonin were never on his level to begin with. And with the Sharingan, pulling the information from his head and making sure he doesn't remember it will be a piece of cake.' The gamer ninja thought as he looked at his teacher

Kakashi told his student what he learned and Daichi told him of the memories received from his clone.

Now having solid intel worth great value the two ninjas secured the Root shinobi and made sure they stayed hidden and couldn't escape.

—-

Ryoma looked at his two shinobi escorts. He listened to every word Kakashi spoke and by the end he had a smile on his face. "While I would have liked to see those two who tried to kill me pay, I suppose the information they shared makes up for it. This will definitely turn the tides my way tomorrow."

"When are you planning on confronting him?" Daichi asked.

"Tomorrow at the pavilion. Ohh this is going to be fun." Ryoma chuckled to himself thinking of the chaos he was going to start tomorrow.

With a plan in place the two Leaf ninjas resumed their guard duties. They stood guard outside the room in shifts and soon morning came.

March 18th.

Ryoma had called a gathering of all the family members to the large pavilion. Seeing the mediator still breathing and well, one person among the group was tense and Ryoma picked up on it. He along with Kakashi and Daichi were scrutinizing everyone to make sure there were no other enemies in the crowd. The two ninjas had several folders in their arms.

"I gathered you all here because I have some interesting information to share." Ryoma stood in front of the group and spoke.

The two presidents frowned as they didn't know what the man was up to.

The dealmaker continued. "There was an attempt on my life yesterday. Someone here wanted to poison and drown me in my bathtub."

Eyes widened and immediately murmurs began to appear. The two presidents glanced at each other while the guards present were on high alert. The person standing to the back was panicking inside but he kept a calm face.

"Now, thanks to my capable escorts I was unharmed and we were even able to find out who's responsible. That person is here among us."

"Are you accusing us of trying to kill you and sabotage this meeting?" Yamamoto gripped his cane and asked the mediator in a stern tone. The people standing around calmed down and looked at the man in front of them. It was a tense atmosphere.

But Ryoma had a calm smile as he replied. "Just one of you. Yes. I am."

"If there was an attempt on your life yesterday then why weren't we informed? If the goal was to sabotage this meeting then any one of us could have been in danger." Tsuyoshi asked the man with a frown.

"Because my attacker had information that only someone inside this building could have provided. The truth is I didn't know who I could trust. But I'm happy to inform you all that I have found the person responsible. You'll understand once you read the information compiled in these files."

The people in the pavilion looked at the rival family in suspicion. At that moment Kakashi and Daichi started distributing their folders to the two presidents, their advisors and their children. They began reading its contents and soon their eyes widened.

They turned to the two people standing near the back with the Satoru family. Yusuke Satoru, the youngest child of the Satoru family, had wide eyes as he looked at the documents in front of him.

"This can't be. There has to be a mistake." Tsuyoshi's youngest son was in shock.

Daichi stepped forward and spoke. "There is no mistake. After the attempt on our client I was keeping an eye on everyone present here. During that time, I personally saw him send crucial information to enemies outside the perimeters of this resort last evening. I followed the trail and subdued the enemy shinobi. Sensei and I interrogated them and got the information..."

Tsuyoshi looked at the mediator and understood that the Leaf ninjas were telling the truth. He had anger as he looked at the mediator. "You sent your guards to spy on my family?"

"Yes." Ryoma nodded without showing a hint of hesitation.

Even Yamamoto frowned at that nonchalant reply. "You have no right-"

"I have every right!" Now anger was present on the man's face. He looked at all those present and he spoke with commanding presence.

"Let me make this clear to all of you. I might not be a direct member of the Fire Daimyo's Royal court but I am a high ranking official under the 3rd Minister. An attack on me is the equivalent of attacking him and his reputation. Do you think that's something that's going to be taken lightly? Do you think you have the authority to question me? Especially after what happened?"

Ryoma's words poured cold water on everyone present. They now fully realized the gravity of the situation and both families feared the retaliation from the minister. The Satoru family more since it was one of their members that committed the act.

Daichi was impressed with the presence of the man. 'Looks like this guy can be quite intimidating when he wants to be.'

Yusuke was in disbelief. He turned to the man standing beside him. "No. That can't be. Tell them Yuta. Tell them they're wrong about you. That this is some mistake."

Everyone's attention was on Yuta Genjira. The spy who infiltrated the Satoru family.

---------------

Author's Note.

The revelation that Yuta was the traitor was kinda obvious huh. I'll try to come up with a better hidden villain in the future. anyway,

This arc will end soon. I promise. Then we'll jump straight into Naruto graduation. I mean the right into middle of the whole cluster fuck.(spoiler.)