The sound was sharp, almost painful. A piercing screech, like a thousand birds screaming at once, tearing through the quiet air of the ravine.
Sasuke was running.
His body was low, his feet barely touching the rocky ground. His right hand was enveloped in crackling white lightning, a mass of chakra so bright it hurt to look at.
He was running, but his target wasn't a training dummy.
From the edge of the ravine, a shower of kunai fell in silence.
"Control, Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice was calm, almost lazy, from his position high on a rock. "Your speed is useless if you run in a straight line! The Chidori gives you tunnel vision! You have to compensate!"
"Shut up and throw more!" Sasuke yelled, his voice tight with effort.
He dodged the first kunai with a sharp twist. The second grazed the blue fabric of his shirt, cutting the shoulder. He tried to turn to avoid the third, but the strain of maintaining the technique and moving laterally was too much.
The Chidori dissipated with a dull pop and died.
Sasuke fell to one knee, his chest burning. His right arm trembled uncontrollably, muscles seizing from the effort of containing so much power.
Dammit.
He gasped, gulping in air. More chakra. I need to hold it longer. I used it against Gaara in combat, but maintaining it... keeping it controlled... is completely different.
Sweat stung his eyes.
"Again," he said, breathless, getting to his feet.
"You're shaking," Kakashi pointed out.
"I said again!"
Sasuke brought his hands together, forcing the chakra to his palms. The lightning formed, slower this time, more unstable.
"Chidori!"
He launched himself again. This time, Kakashi threw a volley of shuriken.
"They're coming from the left!" Kakashi yelled, as if instructing a child. "You're blind on that side! You're not using your ears, only your eyes! The sound tells you where they are!"
"I know!" Sasuke roared.
He tried to turn his body, but the jutsu pushed him forward with unstoppable force. He stumbled, and the Chidori slammed into the ravine floor, tearing a ten-foot trench in the earth before extinguishing.
Sasuke fell flat on his face, gravel scraping his chin.
He lay there for a moment, his shoulder aching. He could hear Kakashi sigh. It was a long, disappointed sound.
"No, you don't know," Kakashi said, his voice closer now. "You remember the theory, but you don't understand it in practice. You're fighting the jutsu, Sasuke. You're trying to overpower it. The Chidori isn't overpowered. It's directed."
Sasuke pushed himself up, spitting dirt. "My arm... I can barely feel it."
"It's the recoil. You're burning out your chakra networks. You're trying to use an elite assassination tool so crudely."
"Then teach me!" Sasuke snapped. "Isn't that why we're here? Or are you just going to sit on that rock and recite theory?"
A canteen landed in the dirt at his feet with a soft thud.
"You're forcing it."
Kakashi walked over, hands stuffed in his pockets, his posture relaxed. He was the polar opposite of Sasuke's vibrating tension.
"You're running with the need to prove something to someone. You're running with rage."
Sasuke grabbed the canteen but didn't drink. His hand was still shaking. "So what? I'm supposed to use rage! I need it!"
"You need focus. What you have is... something else." Kakashi tilted his head. "The envy is still there. I can feel it. You're comparing yourself to Naruto's strength. And to Sakura's."
The names of his teammates ignited his fury.
Sasuke leaped to his feet, his face contorted. "Envy! Don't say their names! Don't compare me to them!"
"I'm not. You are," Kakashi said, his tone calm and unchanging. "Every time you fail, you don't think about the jutsu. You think about how they aren't failing. You think about Sakura's monstrous strength, about Naruto's limitless chakra. And you feel... small."
"Shut up!"
"Why? Because it's true?"
"Whatever Naruto gave them is a trick!" Sasuke shouted, his voice breaking slightly with frustration. "A shortcut! It came from him! It's not real strength! It's not what they earned themselves! It's... it's borrowed!"
"Exactly."
The simple word stopped Sasuke cold. He had expected an argument, a scolding. Not agreement.
"What?"
"You're right," Kakashi continued, his tone quiet, mentor-like. "It's a shortcut. And it's shared. What do you think happens if Naruto isn't around? Or if he decides he doesn't want to share that power anymore?"
Sasuke thought about it, his breathing still ragged. "...They're left with nothing. They go back to being useless."
"Precisely. They depend on him. It's a tremendous strength, no doubt, but it's also a dependency. Their power depends on another's will. Your strength... is pure."
Kakashi took another step closer.
"It's born from your lineage and your dedication. It's harder, yes. It's slower. It's more painful. And it's a lonely path."
Lonely.
The thought settled in Sasuke's mind. Kakashi was right.
"Itachi's power..." Kakashi continued, his voice lowering. "Did it depend on anyone?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. His brother's name was like a physical blow. "No."
"Neither will yours. When you master this, when you master your Sharingan, when you finally reach your goal... it will be yours. Purely and absolutely yours. No debts. No attachments. No one will be able to take it from you."
Mine alone.
The thought was cold, but comforting.
Sasuke twisted the cap off the canteen. He took a long drink, the cool water a relief to his dry throat.
"Understood," Sasuke said, his voice steady now. The agitation was gone, replaced by an icy determination.
He threw the canteen back to Kakashi, who caught it effortlessly.
"Again."
Kakashi looked at him. Beneath the mask, his eye seemed to smile. "Good. But this time, don't run. Stand here. Form the seal. And just... listen to it. Feel how it wants to move. Don't force it."
Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The screeching began again, but this time, he was still.
High on the ravine, hidden by a genjutsu that made them look like a pile of rocks, two figures watched.
"Just as you reported, Danzō-sama," Fū whispered, his pale eyes fixed on the scene. "They are training together. The training is... loud."
"It's foolish," said Torune, the other Root operative. He wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face. "The Uchiha is burning chakra for no tactical result. Hatake is a lenient instructor. He's letting the boy's emotion rule him."
"I disagree," Fū replied quietly. "Observe the interaction. Hatake isn't being lenient. He's wearing him down."
"To what end?"
"To break his pride. Did you hear the conversation? The Uchiha is frustrated. He's comparing himself."
Torune adjusted his glove. "To whom? His brother?"
"Worse. To his teammates. The Jinchūriki and the Haruno girl. The 'Last Uchiha' feels threatened by a civilian and a demon."
"Interesting," Torune murmured.
"Precisely. And Hatake is using that insecurity. He's isolating him. Look at his body language now. There's no camaraderie. It's a master and a tool. Hatake is mentally separating him from the rest."
"A broken tool," Torune said. "He's not stable. He's a risk."
"Which makes him perfect for us," Fū corrected. "Eventually. An isolated Uchiha is an Uchiha who seeks power elsewhere. For now, we are only confirming his status."
Down below, Kakashi stopped suddenly. He had been about to throw another practice kunai. His single visible eye rose, slow, methodical, and locked onto the exact spot where Fū and Torune were hidden.
The genjutsu didn't flicker. The rocks remained rocks.
Torune tensed, his hand instinctively going to his kunai pouch. "He stopped."
"Stay calm," Fū hissed. "The genjutsu is perfect. He cannot see us."
"His eye... it's looking... directly here."
"He just senses something," Fū said, unbothered. "An elite ANBU. To be expected. He probably thinks it's a fluctuation in the wind. Do not move."
They remained deathly still. Kakashi's eye didn't move for what felt like a full minute.
Then, his voice echoed in the ravine, louder than necessary.
"That's enough for today, Sasuke."
"But I can still...!"
"I said that's enough." Kakashi's voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. "You're exhausted. Your arm is at its limit. Go home."
Sasuke glared at his teacher, clearly wanting to argue, but he seemed to see something in Kakashi's stance that stopped him. With a grunt, the Uchiha turned and began to walk away, massaging his right arm.
On the ridge, Torune finally relaxed his hand. "He felt us. No doubt. His perception is elite, after all."
"Yes," Fū agreed. "A former ANBU captain's. And he did nothing."
"What does it mean?"
"It means he doesn't know who we are, only that someone was here. He probably assumes it's a standard Hokage patrol, or just a feeling."
Torune watched Kakashi stand still, observing Sasuke's departure. "A dangerous assumption on his part."
"It doesn't matter," Fū said. "He made no hostile move. He didn't alert the Uchiha. He doesn't suspect our true objective. We have what we came for."
"And what is that?"
"The confirmation. Kakashi and the Uchiha are outside Tsunade's inner circle. They are training alone, without the Sannin's supervision. They are alone. They are 'Outsiders'."
They waited until Sasuke was out of sight. Kakashi remained on his rock for a few more seconds, his eye still sweeping the ravine's crest. Then, with a swirl of leaves, he was gone.
"He's gone," Torune said.
"Report to Danzō-sama," Fū said. "Let's go."
The two Root agents disappeared without a trace.
*********
The air in Danzō's underground office was cold and sterile. There were no windows. The only light came from an oil lamp that cast long, deep shadows.
Fū and Torune were kneeling before the stone throne, heads bowed.
"Report." Danzō's voice was a rough, dry whisper, a sound that seemed to absorb what little light was in the room.
"Report complete," Fū said, his voice monotone and emotionless. "The Uchiha and Hatake are confirmed 'Outsiders'. They show no knowledge of the anomalous power. Their training is conventional, though intense."
"Conventional?" Danzō repeated, his single visible eye narrowing.
"The Uchiha is attempting to master the Chidori," Torune added. "He is failing repeatedly. He is consumed by frustration. His mental state is volatile."
"Volatile? Or malleable?" Danzō asked.
"Both, Danzō-sama," Fū replied. "He is emotionally isolated from his team. We observed Hatake actively encouraging that isolation. He is separating him from the Jinchūriki and the Haruno girl."
"Good. Kakashi was always smarter than he was loyal to Hiruzen's ideology," Danzō muttered, more to himself. "Is the Uchiha a recruitment target?"
"Negative," Torune said. "Not for now. He is obsessed with personal strength, not ideology. He wouldn't give us anything on the 'anomalous power' because he doesn't understand it and, frankly, doesn't seem to care. He only cares about his own weakness."
"An Uchiha who doesn't care about the power of others... how disappointing. Understood. Leave the boy to his hatred. The other target?"
Fū paused for a second. "The target is unfeasible, Danzō-sama."
The silence that followed was heavy. Danzō didn't move, but the air in the room seemed to grow colder.
"Unfeasible," Danzō repeated, slowly. "A civilian house. In a civilian district. Are you telling me Root cannot enter a bakery?"
"It's not the house, sir," Torune said, his voice tense. "It's the surveillance."
"Explain," Danzō ordered.
"Tsunade has assigned a permanent ANBU guard," Fū said. "Two agents in constant rotation. It rotates every eight hours. Twelve agents in total on the full cycle."
"ANBU loyal to her?"
"Confirmed. They are unknown to us. They must be from her personal guard."
"And their positions?"
"They are disguised," Fū continued. "Street vendors. A vegetable stall on the street corner, a roof repairman on the building opposite. Their positions cover all entrances and exits. The house's perimeter is watched 24 hours a day."
Torune added, "Any extraction attempt, no matter how stealthy, would alert ANBU, and by extension, the Hokage immediately. It would be an open move. A declaration of war."
Danzō slammed his hand on the arm of his stone throne. The sound was dull, but it echoed loudly in the small room.
"That damned woman!" he hissed. "Is she as paranoid as I am? Or is she just protecting her pet Jinchūriki's friend?"
"She's protecting the user of the anomalous power, sir," Fū said.
"She's protecting her weapon!" Danzō corrected, his voice rising for the first time. "That power... that strength... whatever Naruto gave them... it's an unknown factor in the village! And she is hoarding it! She is cultivating it in secret! I cannot move! I cannot secure the village's future while she creates this 'family' of monsters under my nose!"
He fell silent, his single eye fixed on the darkness. Fū and Torune remained motionless, knowing their leader was calculating.
"If we can't use the parents as leverage..." he muttered. "If we can't get to them..."
"Sir," Fū said quietly. "Do we cancel the operation?"
"No." The answer was immediate. "We change the target. Leverage isn't necessary if we have the source."
Torune lifted his head an inch. "The source?"
"The girl. Sakura Haruno."
There was a moment of hesitation, even from the trained Root agents.
"Danzō-sama," Fū said, "the girl sleeps in the Senju Fortress. She is under the direct protection of the Sannin and the Hyūga girl. The Byakugan makes infiltration..."
"Impossible! I know!" Danzō hissed, cutting her off. "I am not an idiot, Fū! We are not going to assault the Senju compound. That would be foolish."
He leaned forward, his knuckles white on the armrest.
"She is a genin. Still a genin. What do genin do?"
Torune answered, "Train? Go on D-rank missions? Go to the library?"
"Exactly. Tsunade can't keep her locked in that fortress forever. That would raise suspicion from the rest of the village. She'll send her on some low-level mission to keep up appearances. She'll go to the hospital to help Shizune. She'll go to the library to study that ridiculous strength of hers. Or," and here his lips curved, "she'll go visit those parents of hers that we can't touch."
"She's vulnerable when in transit," Fū understood.
"She is the most vulnerable. Always has been. We don't need the parents if we have her."
Danzō leaned back, his mind working at high speed.
"Prepare an extraction team. Four men. The best we have in suppression and stealth."
"The protocol?" Torune asked.
"Quick. Silent. No witnesses. I want her alive and unharmed."
"The destination?" Fū asked. "Do we bring her here?"
"Absolutely not." Danzō's reply was sharp. "Bringing her here is an open declaration of war against Tsunade. She would tear down this mountain to find her. The abduction must be clean. Find her when she's alone. I want her in one of our safe houses in District 3."
Fū tensed visibly this time. "The Yamanaka clan is in that district. Inoichi is loyal to Hiruzen... and now to Tsunade. If they use their detection techniques..."
"They won't," Danzō interrupted. "The shelter is lined with chakra-suppression seals and mental barriers. They won't detect her if she's already inside. The trick will be getting her there without anyone seeing."
"And once she's there," Torune said, "standard interrogation?"
"No. Use the Root Mental Suppression Seal. I want Inoichi to find nothing if he tries to read her later. Open her mind carefully. Do not break her."
"The information objective?" Fū asked, her voice returning to professional monotony.
"Everything." Danzō leaned forward, his single eye glinting in the dark. "I want to know everything about the 'anomalous power'. Its origin. How it works. What is its exact connection to the Jinchūriki? Can it be replicated? And what does she know of Tsunade's plans?"
"Understood," Torune said. "And... after the interrogation?"
The silence stretched.
"Tsunade will look for her. She will tear the entire village apart," Danzō said quietly.
"Eliminate her?" Fū suggested. "She disappears. Another lost shinobi."
"No." Danzō considered it and dismissed it. "No. Killing her is a mistake. Killing her confirms an abduction. It confirms an enemy. Tsunade would raze the village looking for revenge, and she'd have the Jinchūriki on her side. It would be a civil war."
"Then we release her?" Torune asked, confused.
"Erase her memory," Danzō ordered. "Use the Complete Erasure Seal. Erase the kidnapping. Erase the interrogation. Erase us. Erase the time she was missing."
"Danzō-sama," Fū warned, "that is a risky procedure on such a young mind. It could leave her... empty. Or damage her capacity as a shinobi."
"That is an acceptable risk. When you're finished, take her to training ground 7. Leave her 'unconscious' in the middle of the field."
"Just... leave her?"
"Make it look like she overexerted herself training," Danzō explained. "With that monstrous strength she has, it's plausible. She passed out from chakra exhaustion. They'll find her in the morning, confused, with a headache, but alive."
"Tsunade will suspect," Fū stated, her tone a statement, not a question. "Shizune. The Hyūga. They will suspect something is wrong."
"Let them suspect," Danzō hissed. "They will suspect everything. But they will have no proof. They will have no body. They will have no witness. And they won't have the girl complaining about masked men."
Danzō leaned back into his stone throne.
"And we... we will have the secret."
"Yes, Danzō-sama," Fū said.
"Yes, Danzō-sama," Torune repeated.
"Go. Prepare the team. I want this done before the week is out."
The two Root agents vanished into the shadows, leaving Danzō alone in the cold darkness.
"You won't leave me behind, Tsunade," he whispered to the stone. "Not while I breathe. Hiruzen's Will of Fire is soft. And that softness will have a cost."
***
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