"They've gone loose!", one bulky man yelled as he entered the room. He was met with the sight of the three Anbu waiting and ready for a show. They immediately tried to recapture them, but were met with a tough resistance.
This time, they really fought them. The men were easily outsmarted and outmatched using the sly, underhanded methods that Anbu were known(and feared) for. Three of the men ended up being tied up and locked in the storage instead.
That was phase two of their plan complete.
Perfect.
Phase one had been to find and enter the headquarters of the operation, which was achieved by allowing themselves to be captured. Phase two was to capture some people and adopt their identities. So they used the transformation jutsu to look like their captors. Now that that was done, it was time for phase three, which was to enter the main base. Then, they would steal as much information as possible.
The last of the men was knocked out and taken with the squad. They left immediately. The idea was to further formulate a course of action, and see just where all the children(mainly orphans) were disappearing to.
"The mastermind's name is Subaru. Tosuke Subaru. He's a daimyō's son.", Fukurō reported to his teammates. They ran through the dark streets of the village, heading for the where their target lived. Suzume and Oukami hummed in acknowledgement. They shared a look, although it couldn't be seen under their masks.
This changed everything. A person in power dealing in, kidnapping, possible slave trading and drugs. This was where all that missing money was going as well, then. They had to get back to Konoha as soon as possible if they wanted to get anywhere with this information.
Tosuke Subaru was the third son of the Daimyō of Land of Fire. The thought of him leading such operations was disheartening.
"I'll take this one. You guys look around the outer parts of the residence. We'll meet back here in three days.", Suzume said as they entered at clearing behind the Subaru estate. Turning to face her teammates, she said, "You know what to do."
"Yes.", they said in unison. They gave her a curt nod, and she turned to leave, leaping back up onto the high walls overhead.
"Goodluck.", Fukurō called after her.
[Fukurō, Suzume and Oukami]
...
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, the supreme council was in a frenzy.
The Hokage watched, unimpressed, as they argued among themselves.
Ibiki stood before them, somewhat rigid with tension. If the Faction Captains heard of this, they would surely retaliate. Luckily for the council, they didn't mingle with them.
"They must return at once. No report this late into the mission is suspicious."
"Utatane-san is right. Considering the fact that Suzume is also on this team, I can't help feel rather doubtful.", Danzō said.
"Indeed.", Homura said.
Indeed what? Indeed, let's kill the child because we can't control her? Indeed, let's let all those missing children continue suffering because we want things done our way?
Bastards.
Ibiki grit his teeth, resisting the urge to drive a fist into a wall. Or better yet, into someone's face. Just what was he doing here again? Did they call him in just so they could question his leaders' authority over their spies? Did they only want to just tell him how much they wanted to control his fation?
He glanced fleetingly at the frowning Danzō, not allowing his dismay to show in his expression.
“There's no report. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for their return. I'm not calling the mission off.", he said lowly. Danzō's frown deepened. The Hokage hummed in agreement.
"Morino-san is right, too much is at risk here. This is our only chance to finally locate him, and possibly even defeat him.", the man said seriously. The him that he was referring to was none other than his own forner student, and an enemy of Konoha, Orochimaru.
It was no secret that the snake sage had been running vile operations in which he used humans as specimens. The likes of Yamato, an escaped victim of his, were notable pieces of evidence for this notion. They knew thus far that his experiments were extreme and inhumane.
Recently, a large amount of children— mainly orphans— were going missing around the Land of Fire. They disappeared without a trace, like they never existed to begin with. There have been no sightings of them, so it only made sense to think of Orochimaru.
Yamato himself had been kidnapped as a child, and put through many painful experiments during his time with Orochimaru. He was rescued by a team of Anbu when he managed to escape, by some miracle.
Knowing this, the Hokage couldn't let this mission stop. Not when a lead was found.
"It doesn't matter, now. This team is too dangerous to be trusted—"
"What are you so afraid of, Shimura? What does Suzume have that scares you so much?", Ibiki snapped, slowly inching towards the old man. The room fell silent immediately, some people looking extremely shocked.
"You dare imply that I am guilty of using underhanded—"
"Well, the shoe fits. Now, doesn't it?", Ibiki sang boldly, causing the man abruptly stop talking. Danzō looked about ready to fight. He rose from his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at Ibiki.
"Your insolent—"
"That's enough, both of you!", the Hokage bellowed as he rose from his seat as well. He came to stand next to Ibiki, a frown set onto his face.
"Thank you for your time, Morino-san, you're dismissed.", he said with a nod.
Ibiki paused, casting a look at his superior. Without a second thought, he immediately turned to leave. They watched as the young man left, almost flying out the room in silent rage.
"Danzō-san, to behave this way is unbecoming of you. You make it look like you're against my decision. It almost seems like you want this operation to fail.", the Hokage finally said, setting his displeased gaze on his advisor. Danzō didn't even start. He narrowed his eyes at the Hokage.
"I am only thinking in the village's best interests. It has come to me attention that you are overlooking certain things.", Danzō said. The Hokage wondered what his end goal was. Such a hunger for power at duch an old age...
The man was bound to fail in his ventures.
"If you should hate me for putting Suzume in charge of this mission, then so be it. I care only for the wellbeing of those children. If it makes me a bad leader, then I am willing to be viewed as such. Otherwise, your twisted opinions are useless.", the Hokage said slowly, keeping his stern gaze lock with that of Danzō's. The latter frowned deeply, seemingly put off.
"You forget just how undeserving you are of your position as Hokage, Hiruzen-san. If I were—"
"Now, Danzō-san, let's not overdo things. Tensions are already high as is...", Utatane said lowly, trailing off. The Hokage cast her a brief look, not letting his distrust show in his expression. They locked gazes ever so briefly, and the woman averted her gaze guiltily. The Hokage frowned. Utatane was another suspicious person to look out for. The Hokage looked back at Danzō, who was still simmering with rage.
"My patience runs thin with you, Danzō-san, do not force my hand.", he said, before turning to leave. The council sat in silence for a long time after that, until they began to leave, one by one.
Danzō immediately left for his headquaters as well. It was high time he took action against the Hokage, he was becoming too difficult to deal with.
That Suzume was another problem he had. He had no evidence, but he was sure she was the person who was hindering with his plans. If she hadn't interceded on that day, three years prior, he would have gotten Shisui's eyes. The thought of it alone made him seethe with anger.
...
Tama had been on a mission for a week or so. Sasuke was staying alone during that time, so he left a letter on the kitchen table in case she came back before he did. Their first mission outside of the village was due to start the next day.
He didn't talk to Tama much about stuff, he never really knew what to say to her. She had never been one for talk much so she wouldn't usually be the one to start a conversation as well. She was either always reading, out training, on a mission or meditating somewhere no-one would find her.
It was a wonder how she made time to interact with him and Naruto, it was one of the things he loved about her. He decided that if he got back before she did, then he'd buy her a gift using the money he would get from this mission.
Sasuke felt a bit ashamed for the way he treated his elder sister, but he couldn't help the anger he felt every time he saw her. She reminded him so much of Itachi, and the thought of him made Sasuke seethe with rage. It made him want to find him all the more, and his anger could only be quenched by spilling Itachi's blood. He needed to get stronger, and he wasn't going to at home, what with Tama always being too busy too train him these days. He thought that being on a genin team would help but it was no good, either. As such, Sasuke only saw fit to seek outside help.
The thought occured to him frequently, he wouldn't never be happy until he killed Itachi. So his mind was set, he just needed to see how he would gain the power to do so.
Kakashi was strong, he would probably gain something from him as well.
"You want me to teach you how to..."
"Use chakra enfused weapons. Teach me how.", Sasuke said, impatient. Kakashi glanced at him sidelong, before turning his gaze back to his book. He paused, seeming to consider something before setting the novel aside. He jusmped down from his high perch in a tree.
"Aright guys, let's get going.", he instructed. He cast Sasuke one last glance, and a curt nod. The boy nodded, and it seemed like a silent agreement had been reached.
Patience would do the trick, Kakashi would teach him.
Now, their client was a regular civilian, a builder who lived in The Land of Waves. The mission was simple, escort him to his village and protect him from bandits along the was. It was the most exciting his time as a genin would probably get, so Sasuke had no complaints.
Naruto could be annoying sometimes(almost all the time) but, he really did his team a favour by causing that scene. It's just that, things happened that no-one had foreseen, and not too far along, they only had a manged corpse to call sensei.
It started with a puddle of water, two ninja flew at them from behind and cut Kakashi to pieces. He was the only one who realised the oddity, knowing that there hadn't been rain in weeks.
At current, Sakura chocked back a scream, but it was obvious that her brain had stopped working. Sasuke jumped into action immediately, using a shuriken to avert the projectile of chains that flew towards the girl and him, pinning them to a tree. He then threw a kunai to reinforce it, rendering the enemies immobile.
He immediately got to work on them, climbing on their arms and kicking them both in their faces. It was a shortlived victory because not a minute later, the two were already loose and ready to kill the client.
To Sasuke's surprise, Sakura was the one to come to his defense. She had a kunai ready, making sure that the man wouldn't move from behind her. Sasuke immediately got between her and the enemy, it wouldn't be good if she got hurt.
They waited for the impact, hearts beating and both covered in a layer of sweat, but hit never landed. Instead, Kakashi easily caught the enemy and knocked him out, catching everyone off guard with the realisation that he wasn't dead.
"Naruto, I'm sorry for not helping you sooner. I didn't think that you'd be unable to move.", he said as she walked over the other two. "Let me say, Sasuke, Sakura, good job you two."
Naruto's whole world might have stopped just then. With everything that Tama had helped him through, he shouldn't have hesitated like that. What kind of a ninja would he be if he continued like that? If Tama heard about this then she would be so disappointed in him. No. He would disappoint himself. All that special skills training that he went through, what was it for? It was Sasuke's first encouter as well but he fought like it was nothing, without getting so much as a scratch! They trained together for four years, and this was all he could do? Tremble and stare? Sakura wasn't prepared either and even she reacted!
"Hey!", Sasuke called, a mocking smile on his face. Naruto frowned at him as he turned to face him. "Are you hurt, scaredy cat?"
"Sasuke!", Naruto screeched, about ready for a fight.
"Naruto!", Kakashi called, stopping him in his tracks. The boy turned to face him. "They have poison on their claws, you have to open your wound and remove it quickly. Don't move so much or it'll spread.", he warned. Now this caught the boy's attention. He looked down at his hand, startled.
Poison?