What Was the Charge?

What was the charge?

Yun squeezed Izumi's hand to reassure her, then glanced at the headless corpse.

Since its head had been cut clean off, the mask had fallen away too. Its lifeless eyes were still wide open.

"Weren't they intruders from outside the village? I've heard about the Anbu from my family. Aren't they the Hokage's personal force? And what's Root?"

Yun put on an innocent look. "Some unidentified ninjas told me to go with them, but wouldn't say who they were. Rule number six taught at the Ninja Academy says to always be wary of strangers who suddenly show up."

As he spoke, Yun looked at the group led by Danzo. "Come to think of it, you don't seem to be wearing Konoha headbands either. Old man, who are you?"

"Bang!"

Danzo slammed his cane against the ground. His dead fish eyes showed no emotion as he said, "My identity is none of your concern. But you managed to take down three Root shinobi. So you've been hiding the fact that you awakened your Sharingan, have you, Uchiha brat..."

Yun scratched his head. "Another answer like that? So, are you going to ask me to come with you too? This is Konoha. How did a group of unidentified shinobi like you get in here in such numbers?"

A shinobi standing beside Danzo, who had taken Aburame Ryoma's place, spoke up. "We're Root shinobi, trained to serve in the Anbu. And the men you just killed... were Root shinobi too."

"Uchiha brat, surrender peacefully, and perhaps we can save ourselves some trouble."

Yun felt Izumi's hand tighten in his. He looked down and smiled. "Don't worry. Just because they say something doesn't make it true."

Then Yun looked across at them and replied, "The Uchiha have always had a good degree of autonomy. The Konoha Military Police Force handles all matters concerning the Uchiha themselves. I've never heard of some department I'm supposed to obey on command. And I'm only a student who hasn't even graduated yet."

"Without identifying yourselves, you have no right to take me away. And right now, you don't seem to have anything that proves who you are, either."

"Take down the barrier. Once Lord Fourth Hokage arrives, he can decide what's what!"

Danzo slowly shook his head, then said calmly, "The fact that you dealt with three of my men proves your strength. I certainly underestimated you. But I never expected even a Uchiha child to refuse to consider himself part of Konoha."

Yun cut him off. "You don't speak for Konoha. Even if you really are Root, the only person who can speak for Konoha is Lord Fourth Hokage."

"Ha!"

Danzo sneered and shook his head. "The Fourth is too young. He knows too little about the Uchiha. He has no idea how dangerous your clan is."

As he spoke, Danzo glanced at Izumi behind Yun. "That's your little sister, isn't she? As her older brother, you shouldn't put her in danger..."

"Uchiha Yun. After your father died, your mother, Uchiha Hazuki, brought you back to the Uchiha Compound. Brat, the choice you make next will affect your family."

As Danzo finished speaking, the Root shinobi silently spread out, surrounding Yun and Izumi.

The scene fell silent.

The barrier nearby had isolated them from the outside, turning the area into a battlefield of its own.

At the center, Yun frowned, already growing impatient.

A threat?

The last person who'd threatened him with Izumi had already been separated from his head.

The barrier could cut them off from the outside, and a large-scale Deep Forest Emergence could wipe out the Root shinobi below the tree line. After that, Flying Thunder God Jutsu combined with Word God should be more than enough.

But killing Danzo in such a conspicuous manner didn't fit with his plans.

If too many people died, and Danzo ended up dead too, the Third would certainly demand the truth.

And as a Uchiha—and a student at that—Yun might end up having his memories searched by the Yamanaka Clan.

In that case...

Defect?

Where would he defect to, somewhere he could eat and drink well every day? How could sleeping rough and braving the elements compare to living comfortably in Konoha?

Besides, his mother and Izumi were here. They certainly wouldn't want to leave Konoha.

In that case, he'd kill everyone in front of him, along with those who'd put up the barrier!

Threatening his family?

Yun glanced at the headless corpse, then raised his gaze to Danzo. "Old man, what makes you so sure you can take me away? Or threaten my family?"

Danzo's narrowed dead fish eyes slowly opened. "Looks like you've made your decision..."

"Uchiha brat, you don't know your place. You were born with the Uchiha's evil blood flowing through you. The greater your potential, the greater the threat you'll pose to Konoha!"

"Everything I've done today is for Konoha!"

Yun let go of Izumi's hand and sneered. "Only you could say something that shameless and make it sound so righteous."

As he spoke, he brought his hands together...

"Bang!"

The sound of the barrier breaking rang out nearby, and a golden figure appeared in front of Yun in an instant.

"Root?"

The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, spoke. Yun lowered his hands before he could finish forming the Snake Seal.

Shisui followed close behind Minato, along with Itachi, who was holding a Ninja Cat.

The moment Izumi saw the three of them, the tension drained from her. She slumped to the ground.

The Ninja Cat in Itachi's arms was the friend she'd made not long ago...

Why it was with Itachi, though... Yun wanted to know that too.

"Fourth, Uchiha Yun killed Root shinobi. I need to take him to Root for questioning. Is that a problem?"

Danzo's reply held no courtesy whatsoever. In truth, he'd never thought much of the Fourth, who was the student of his own former student.

In Danzo's mind, no one was better suited to become Hokage than him. And that was especially true compared with the disciple trained by Hiruzen, whom he'd always considered too soft.

Namikaze Minato surveyed the area. When his gaze passed over the three Root shinobi, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

Shisui had told him that this Uchiha Yun was strong, but judging from the wounds on the one corpse and the two unconscious Root shinobi, each had been taken down with a single strike.

Had his Body Flicker Technique already reached Shisui's level?

This was an Uchiha even more talented than Itachi... But for now, that was a good thing.

"Uchiha Yun, what's your explanation?"

Minato turned to him, and Yun repeated what he'd just said.

He added, "Are they really Root? I'm a student, and I've never heard of Root existing in the village."

Shisui, a jōnin, looked at Danzo. "He's just a Uchiha student at the Ninja Academy. Why are you looking for Uchiha Yun, Lord Danzo? And as far as I know, Root has no right to take villagers away at will."

Right!

In an instant, Minato realized the key point in Shisui's words.

Note: Danzo's going down tonight in the story. Let's hear it for him!

For readers who haven't read Naruto and have only read fanfiction, please check the chapter comments in my replies to other readers. Finding pictures and adding explanations is a bit of a hassle.

Orochimaru defected after Itachi turned eight. He didn't leave before the Nine Tails Incident.