Chapter 90

Isobu, sans Haru, tumbled onto the floor, disoriented by the sudden departure of his human companion from their body. He began an animalistic growl but was cut off by a sadistic kick to the gut that showed his captor had zero concern for Isobu's well-being or continued existence.

"Shut up. Not even your bijuu can save you now," Obito snapped. The cave that surrounded the two of them was lit only by the occasional torch. The floor was moist, mossy soil and the walls were strewn with veiny tree roots.

"What have you done with the boy?" Isobu asked.

"What are you talking about, Haru?" The Uchiha sneered at the teenager in front of him.

"Indeed. I can no longer sense Haru-chan within this body. What have you done to him?" With a single eye clenched shut, Isobu did his best to demand an answer while sealed into a pathetic human body.

Obito curled his fingers upward and pale roots drew from the ground and immobilized Isobu's body, covering him to the neck. A collar of wooden speartips encircling said neck made it clear that Obito's patience was depleted and that a flippant answer would be unacceptable.

"Explain. If Haru isn't with you, then where would he be?"

Ino, Hinata, and Choji were huddled behind Shikamaru as he manipulated the Hokage's crystal ball. It was just before dusk. The treasure hunt had been simple, although it had taken them through a secret tunnel that led outside the village. The notebook Haru had left Ino was programmed with a seal to display its message when in the presence of copious amounts of flower pollen and then touched, a nod to Ino's reading habits during slow work days. A scroll explaining how to spy on Orochimaru accompanied the viewing glass, hidden a short distance outside the walls of the village.

The snake Sannin had planted himself within the Hokage's office, a permanent guest who sat through all the Hokage's ordinary business. It wasn't until they turned the ball's attention to Danzo Shimura that they found incriminating evidence.

Hinata gasped, "That's where we found Haru all those years ago. I thought they tore down those tunnels…" She remembered how suspicious it was that there were stretches of 'blank' space deep under Konohagakure. A lesser Byakugan wouldn't have seen enough of the picture to notice, by the absence of chakra, a void maze of tunnels lined with seals that masked chakra signatures. Since then, Hinata had always wondered whether Haru's cryptic question about the depth her Byakugan was a clue on how to save him from Danzo or merely a coincidence.

"Yo, Shikamaru, why are all those people grouped up down there?" Choji asked.

A mix of pale, adolescent Konoha ninja, Oto ninja, and deformed, monstrous humanoids were gathered before Danzo, who looked far more sickly than any of them remembered him being.

Shikamaru pointed out a couple of the monsters within the orb. "Look at these two."

"No…" Ino paled. "That's...Sakura and Sasuke." The combination of pink hair and a single sharingan was unmistakable. Why was she there? What was going on? Haru had obviously known something because he specifically pointed out that his teammates couldn't be trusted, to not fight them unless absolutely necessary. They could only trust genin that they personally knew. Anyone chunin or above might be compromised.

The four of them listened grimly as Danzo announced, "Tonight, the Hokage ends. And Konoha's future begins."

The leaves behind them rustled loudly immediately after that declaration. Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan. Ino peeled a pair of kunai from her thighs. Choji dropped his bag of chips.

As the sun began to set beyond Konoha to the west, Inuzuka Kiba, with Akamaru on his head, shouted, "Hey, guys. What are all of you doing out here? I know we don't hang out much anymore but you could at least bother to invite me."