It Was You!

Root was forever cut off from the sun, shrouded in eternal darkness.

Its pitch-black corridors and cramped rooms, the faint screams that seemed to come from nowhere... made it impossible to tell whether this was reality or some hellish realm.

Danzō sat cross-legged on a faded tatami mat, his hunched back like a rusted blade.

A single lamp flickered on the table. Its dim light fell across him from the side, pinning his shadow to the wall, where it clawed and writhed behind him.

Half his face was hidden in shadow, his emotions unreadable. His lone eye was half-lidded, glinting murkily in the darkness like a crocodile lurking in a swamp.

A shinobi stood at the edge of the lamplight like a withered tree, without a trace of life about him. Only the occasional rustle from the Insect Jar on his back hinted at any living presence.

Even in such a dim place, he still wore sunglasses, and a mask covered half his face. He was dressed in standard Root attire; only the distinctive Insect Jar on his back revealed his origins in the Aburame clan.

"Are you certain this wasn't the work of someone from Root?" Danzō asked languidly.

"Yes, Danzō-sama." Aburame Torune kept both hands tucked into his sleeves, his voice utterly flat. It was as cold as that of any other Root member. "I accounted for every member of Root and confirmed where they were at the time of the incident. None of them could have carried out the attack."

"Besides, every member of Root is absolutely loyal to you, Danzō-sama. They have no independent thoughts of their own. Without your orders, they would never attack the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

"I see!" Danzō sighed as if reciting a verse. He raised his head, a fierce glint flashing in his lone eye. "So the enemy framed me this time!"

"How rare!"

His withered fingers tapped against his knee. There was not the slightest hint of frustration or anger in his voice—instead, it held a trace of excitement.

"Just as I thought. The enemy has finally realized that to destroy Konoha, they must first eliminate me and Root!"

"Too bad Hiruzen's old and senile. He understands less than the enemy!"

"Alas!" Danzō sighed, speaking with deep sorrow. "Since Hokage-sama is incompetent, we in Root will just have to do more!"

"Nara Shikaku is a clever man. He'll only investigate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki incident and won't ask about anything else. Still, it wouldn't do for him to learn too many of Root's secrets."

"You deal with him. Have Yamanaka Fu lead a team to search for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."

After a moment's hesitation, he added:

"Once you've identified the enemy, report the intelligence to our incompetent Hokage-sama at once. Then bring the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki back before the people Hokage-sama sends arrive."

"I understand!" Aburame Torune bowed, then vanished with Body Flicker, leaving Shimura Danzō alone to rub the eye beneath his bandages, brimming with ambition.

Ah, everything was finally falling into place!

The evil Uchiha had finally been eliminated, and Monkey, that senile old fool, had finally made a mistake he couldn't cover up.

All he had to do now was turn the tide, capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, reveal the truth to the public, then fan the flames and stir up the emotions of the victims' relatives. Even if Monkey wanted to keep clinging to the Hokage's seat, he wouldn't be able to!

Heh...

Hokage... At last, it was my turn!

Danzō laughed, utterly satisfied with himself, as if he could already hear the Hokage's cloak snapping in the wind.

His dry laughter echoed around the room, but Root's corridors quickly swallowed it, keeping it from spreading any farther. Just like all the ambition he had devoured over the years, it would ultimately remain buried deep beneath the earth, cut off from the sun.

Elsewhere, Uchiha An ran through the forest with Naruto in hand. As clusters of trees flashed past him, his heart remained still, utterly undisturbed.

Only the bloodstains on his sleeve showed that the journey had been anything but peaceful.

The Land of Fire was the strongest nation in the world, and Konoha was the strongest shinobi village. Even within its own borders, it kept its defenses tight, with Patrol Teams everywhere to prevent enemies from launching a surprise attack and making it straight to its doorstep.

Although Uchiha An knew the village's security measures inside out and could easily slip past them, he also understood that he had only a few hours. Once Konoha discovered that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was missing, they would surely come after him.

So, to save time, he kept going straight ahead without taking a single detour.

As a result, he was bound to run into Konoha's Patrol Teams head-on.

He had already killed several Patrol Teams along the way.

At most, a Patrol Team would be led by a Chunin, so they were no match for him. But rather than fight him head-on, they used all manner of traps and poison to stall him. Their Ninjutsu tactics were varied and unpredictable, costing him a fair amount of time.

And the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki recovered far too quickly. Every so often, he would suddenly wake up, make a racket, and do everything he could to cause trouble.

If the time weren't right, An would have loved to chop the brat into pieces!

He had to kill the Patrol Teams to silence them, keep the brat under control, and make sure he didn't hit him too hard and accidentally kill the Jinchuriki, releasing the Nine-Tails.

Pulled in so many directions, he inevitably slowed down.

As he ran, Uchiha An's ear twitched. A faint rustling came from the woods on his left, and the weight in his palm suddenly shifted as the Jinchuriki started struggling again.

"Seriously, what a troublesome brat..."

Uchiha An stopped abruptly and struck Naruto precisely at the nape of the neck, making sure he wouldn't wake up again and cause trouble while An was fighting.

Hit him too lightly and he'd wake up; hit him too hard and the monster would get out—the line between the two was more perilous than walking a tightrope.

Then, holding Naruto in his left hand, he formed Hand Seals with his right at blinding speed. Firelight welled up in his throat, illuminating the killing intent in his eyes.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball burst from his mouth, distorting the air as it shot toward the woods on the left.

With a thunderous BOOM, the trees shattered and toppled, and Blazing Flames surged into the sky. But six black silhouettes sprang from the burning treetops and lined up before the forest, unharmed.

The moment he saw their familiar outfits, An knew that his window to escape safely had finally closed.

"Ah, the pursuers finally caught up!"

"Looks like Konoha's still as quick to react as ever!"

An curled his lip. One glance at their bearing was enough to identify them.

"What? The ones who came weren't Anbu, but Root?"

"So Shimura Danzō really is Sarutobi Hiruzen's true love!"

"Even after his own grandson was killed, he still trusts him?"

"Would Sarutobi Hiruzen really put Danzō in charge of hunting down the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

"Or did Shimura Danzō suppress the news again and send his people out on the mission without permission?"

The five paid no attention to An's probing questions.

Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Ryoma exchanged a glance, then spread out in Tacit Understanding and advanced toward An as they shouted:

"You're not Hatake Kakashi. Who are you, and which village are you from?"

"Are you trying to declare war on Konoha?"

"Heh..." An let out two strange laughs, formed a seal, and with a POOF, changed his appearance again.

A Konoha forehead protector, an Uchiha Gunbai, blood-red eyes, and that familiar face made Yamanaka Fu stop in his tracks and cry out in shock:

"It's you!"

"Uchiha Itachi!"