The Scorpion's Apprentice

Chapter XIII

Alrighty. New chapter of Scorpion's Apprentice. I can't wait to see the theories y'all come up with by the end of the chapter. This story is...different in comparison to my others, so I'm being cautious not to overdo it. I'm going off script of the typical formula, so I hope you're enjoying this new change.

But, anyhow, I hope you enjoy and be sure to leave your comments and theories on your way out!
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Under the cover of the night, Torune and his partner Fū stood in the shadows quietly whispering to each other. "You heard about the Inuzuka Head's ninkin disappearing, yeah?" Fū asked. "Of course. Konoha is rotting all because of Hiruzen's negligence. The person who truly deserves the title is Lord Danzō," Torune answered. "Agreed," Fū said with a nod.

They stayed quiet, silently taking in the night until Torune looked up in front of him to see a hunched shadow standing in front of them. "Excuse me, youngster, would you care to help an elderly old lady find her way?" the figure asked as she stepped out into the moonlight to reveal a hunched over old lady with a strange black cane in her hands.

Fū and Torune looked at each other before taking in the old lady. The two Root members glanced at each other before Torune nodded to Fū. The Yamanaka nodded and took a step forward. "Sorry, lady, but we're waiting for some friends of ours. I'm sure you can find where you're going on your own," he said.

"Please, sir, I am but an old lady. I am a merchant, you see. I will be willing to pay you fine young gentlemen for your services," the woman said. Fū glanced over at his partner only to see him shack his head. The Yamanaka looked back at the elderly woman. "Leave, we're busy," he ordered.

The woman sighed and lowered her head. "You really are rude young men, aren't you?" she said softly. Torune narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him. The woman was starting to cause the Rinkaichū within his body to become restless.

"Get back," Torune ordered as he stepped forward. Fū nodded and jumped away from the woman. A frown appeared on the elderly woman's face. "How rude. I guess I will just have to teach you youngsters a lesson," the woman said as the woman's cloak ripped into pieces and shadows rushed at the two Root members and their vision went black.

~Root HQ, a few hours later~

Danzo stared at the two Root members in front of him. His one eye stared at the white tarp that laid out in front of him. "And you could not find a trace of Torune anywhere?" he inquired calmly. "No, sir. When we arrived, Fū was dead and Torune was nowhere to be found," the Root member said. Danzo remained silent as he stared down at the corpse of one of his best subordinates. "And you did an autopsy and found no trace of poison?" he inquired. "No, sir," the Root member answered.

"Interesting..." their leader mused as he turned away from his followers. "Dispose of the corpse," he ordered. He heard the two Root members confirm his orders as he walked away. "It would appear that we have a rat within our village. To make matters worse, this rat is strong enough to defeat two of my best men. But what is the motive? An attack on me? Or could it be a power play against the whole of Konoha?" Danzo said to himself as he began to walk through the Root compound.

As he walked, the other members of Root bowed to him but he paid them no mind. He had to get to the bottom of the current predicament that was laid out in front of him. Danzo wracked his mind to find a possible answer to who had killed his two top members. Torune and Fū were two of his strongest, yet someone had made killing them easy.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway when he felt someone standing behind him. "Lord Danzo, you have a visitor," the Root member said. Danzo looked around to see a Root member kneeling behind him. "And who would that be?" he inquired. "I am unsure, sir. He said that he was a friend," the Root member said. Danzo frowned slightly before nodding. "Very well, send him to the conference room but have guards ready to attack if something happens," he ordered. "Sir," the Root member said right before he vanished from sight.