"You asked to see us Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen smiled as the three Genin walked into the room, all noting that their sensei was present as well.
"Yes Naruto, I called you here to talk about your performance in the Chuunin exams." Immediately a gleam of anticipation appeared in Shisui's eyes, Naruto likewise felt excited, but hid it better to maintain his dignified exterior. While Itachi... continued to be Itachi - his face stony and stoic, eyes staring ahead like a spectre. Naruto wondered if he was always lost in his thought or just completely mindless. All three straightened up slightly, already half-knowing what this was about now and none of them feeling any less honoured.
"Our performances?" he said it with a straight face but it was all Shisui could do to stop himself bouncing around in joy. The Hokage for his part simply smiled kindly; he always enjoyed this moment and it was never any different.
"After your outstanding participation in the Chuunin exam finals as well as exemplary instances of both teamwork and individual cunning, I'm proud to award you all the rank of Chuunin." As he said it he pulled out three standard Chuunin flak jackets from a drawer, handing them to Ensui who, in turn, passed them on to the three smiling Genin. "I can only say I'm proud of each and every one of you, now go and serve your village in your new roles." All three newly promoted Chuunin gave a quick and very much happy nod before being ushered out of the office.
Hiruzen smiled warmly as he leant back in his large chair, confident in the knowledge he made the right decision to promote those three. Hiruzen thought excitedly, 'Naruto, you are already well on your way to surpassing your father!' However, that idea made the aging Hokage sink as he swivelled in his chair. The stoic faces of the past Hokage stared back at him through the open window, their grim looks mirroring his own. "Minato, it should have been you standing here giving your son that flak jacket." He thought of Minato's own rise through the ranks, Jiraiya standing beside him - and it made his nostalgic heart clench. He sighed slowly before returning to the large stack of paperwork that always appeared around the Chuunin exams, the emptiness of the office doing little to quiet the twisting in his stomach.
The looks of glee on each of the boy's faces could be likened to that of a child receiving the present they had been waiting for all year. Itachi was the only one who managed to maintain somewhat of an air of composure while his two slightly more open teammates were just barely restraining themselves from bouncing off the walls.
"Yes! I can't believe we did it!" Naruto just grinned with equal fervour as he looped an arm around his friend's shoulders.
"Ahh, please! Like there was ever any doubt - we are the best Genin team after all!"
Itachi even chuckled at that, but only just a little, his lips parting as he said at last, with total, cold confidence, "We were the best Genin team."
When his friends only looked at him strangely, obviously waiting for an explanation, he simply lifted up his recently acquired jacket as well as a single eyebrow. Both Naruto and Shisui broke out into enormous grins before being lightly smacked around the back of their heads by their sensei.
"Hey! Ensui Sensei, what's the big idea?!" The elder Nara simply sighed in exasperation at Shisui's antics before slowly walking off down the hallway.
"Don't get too ahead of yourselves, you're only Chuunin." Both Shisui and Naruto managed to snort at that, still keeping their smirks up.
"As if anything could get me down today, now come on Naruto, Itachi, it's not every day you make Chuunin, we need to go out and celebrate." His redhead friend nodded quickly as both looked towards Itachi expectantly. The most calm and level-headed of the group merely sighed before looking up with the barest hints of a smirk.
"I guess a few drinks would be alright." He instantly regretted that comment as Shisui fist pumped the air before grabbing both of his friends' hands and disappearing in a large swirl of leaves. When they all reappeared next to the dango hut they often frequented with Anko, both Naruto and Itachi nearly keeled over.
"Dammit Shisui! What've I told you about taking us along on your Shunshins?!" Shisui just grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head; he was still too happy to particularly care though.
"I'm going to have a lot of fun getting back at you for that when I get the Hiraishin down." Naruto's lips curled at the corners, evilly smirking at his Uchiha friend as he struggled to right himself after the disorienting experience. To this day, he had unpleasant memories of when his father would take him through his famed technique. While his body adjusted eventually, the first few times were still nerve-wracking; humans just weren't meant to move at those kinds of speeds naturally.
"Awww, come on, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Shisui couldn't understand his friends' positions. He suffered absolutely no ill-effects when he used his favourite jutsu. However the two equally hard glares he got from his teammates told him otherwise. "Anyway, come on, first drinks are on me then." Sweat dripped from his temple at how quickly his friends recovered after that, making him briefly wonder if he just got swindled. He wasn't given much time to ponder it before he was pulled into the dango hut by both arms.
A few minutes later and the three of them were sat down around a booth with a plate of steaming dango in the middle next to a jug of sake and a small bowl of red bean paste. The general atmosphere of the small restaurant and bar was light and jovial, another reason why the three former Genin enjoyed visiting so often; that, and the fact that it was practically Anko's second home. All three of them were eyeing their new flak jackets with grins, or in Itachi's case, a small smirk.
"Man, this is so cool! I've been waiting way too long to get this jacket." Even as the self-proclaimed Shunshin expert said that he was slipping on said symbol of his new rank. Naruto just nodded slowly, even as a small frown managed to work its way onto his features despite the happy occasion.
"Yeah, me too... but I don't know whether it's even worth putting it on." Both Uchiha just looked at their friend oddly before their own frowns found their way onto their faces.
"Oh, I guess you're right." Shisui couldn't believe his happy mod had been deflated so quickly.
"That's right; ANBU." Naruto and Shisui nodded at their friend's comment, their minds going back to when each received their own letter from the elite organisation.
"What do you guys think it will be like in ANBU?" Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, as did Itachi, both seeming lost in their own thoughts about their future careers.
"Kaa-san was in ANBU for a while but she had to stop when I was born." Itachi nodded quickly, putting his jacket to one side for now.
"Yes, she was on the same team as my mother. From what she tells me they generally handle the more covert missions for the village, more danger but much less recognition. However generally Shinobi tend not to do more than five years within the organisation, most see it as unhealthy to go on for more." That put both of the stoic Uchiha's teammates into thought.
"I don't get it, we're only just Chuunin, why are we getting this invitation now?" Itachi sighed as he looked at his jacket again before turning his gaze over to his fellow clan member.
"You forget that Kakashi Hatake, the Copy ninja, was in ANBU at around our age." Naruto perked up at the mention of one of his father's students.
"Yeah but that was just after the war, and he was already a Jounin." Itachi just shrugged, in honesty he knew just as much as his teammates; he was only trying to offer what insight he could. Shisui looked around at his friends, noting how the atmosphere had been effectively dampened in only a few minutes.
"Hey, come on guys, today was supposed to be a great day I mean come on, we're Chuunin, this is the start of a new chapter in our careers and ANBU will be just the same. As long as we're a team, then we're unstoppable." Naruto smiled at that, feeling his confidence return quickly.
"Yeah, ANBU won't know what hit them!" Itachi sighed with a small smile as he looked up at his friends.
"Well we can all agree on that." With the mood effectively restored they began to dig into their otherwise untouched plate of dango.
"Anyway, I bet I can make captain before Itachi can." The Sharingan wielder merely raised an eyebrow at his redheaded friend while covering up the small smirk that overcame his features.
"You do realise the previous captain has to resign or be incapacitated for a new one to be picked?" Naruto just grinned happily between mouthfuls of the sweet dumplings.
"So you admit that you can't do it?" This time Itachi couldn't hide the smirk as hit slipped over his face.
"Never."
The three Chuunin emerged from the dango hut laughing, smiling, and just a little drunk. There were about to take off in their individual directions, namely home, before another leaf Chuunin dropped down in front of them. Almost instantly sobering they watched as the Chuunin took out a small scroll from his pocket and handed it to Shisui before sprinting off again. His friends looked curiously over his shoulder as he read the message, watching as his face grew whiter by the second.
"Shisui, what's wrong? What does it say?" He didn't get an answer as Shisui vanished in a large swirl of leaves, dropping the scroll on the ground. Naruto picked it up and quickly scanned its contents, with each passing line the frown on his face grew before a sad sigh escaped his lips.
"What does it say?" Naruto turned to his other Uchiha friend before showing him the message, like before Itachi's usually impassive face quickly dissolved into a frown. The two Chuunin immediately took off in the direction of the hospital.
Both Naruto and Itachi waited anxiously outside the hospital room door; Naruto paced nervously while Itachi passed the time staring at the clock hanging in the corridor. They had already been waiting for fifteen minutes for Shisui to re-emerge from the room. Finally the door opened slowly and a pale Shisui walked out with unsteady feet. Immediately Itachi was on his feet and Naruto was across the hallway, both looking to their friend with worry.
"How is she?" Shisui looked up at them and both could see his bloodshot eyes, stained from recent tears.
"The doctors are still running tests, they said when she wakes up they will have a better idea." He looked down again, fresh tears already beginning to leak from the corners of his eyes. "But they said it wasn't good, they said she probably won't last the night." Both Itachi and Naruto's eyes opened wide at that, unable to find the words to express their shock. Naruto settled for placing his arms around his friend's shoulders in a comforting manner while Itachi patted him once on the back, rather awkward in situations like these.
"Is there anything we can do?" Shisui shook his head slowly, his breathing returning to normal from his panting sobs.
"I'm going to stay here, see if she wakes up before..." he trailed off, unable to finish the thought as his body was once again wracked with sobs. Naruto was force to support his friend as he nearly collapsed from the emotional stress. He looked up at Itachi and after receiving a nod from the other Uchiha they both led the quietly sobbing boy back inside the hospital room. The window was left slightly open and a light breeze drifted in, moving the curtains slightly in the wind.
A woman with dark hair lay on the single hospital bed reserved for Uchiha patients when the need arose. Her face looked serene in her sleep but there were the unmistakable signs of exhaustion and her whole body spoke of her tiredness. Naruto had to admit that even he was rather shell-shocked by this whole affair and with his mother's passing and his befriending of Shisui, Nemui Uchiha had almost become a surrogate mother for him.
Now he was looking down on her peaceful form as he led Shisui to the chair by her bedside. For all the world it looked like she was merely asleep, if he didn't know any better he might have believed she would wake up tomorrow like nothing was wrong. The signs had always been there, she was always tired when he would come around to their house; then again he attributed that to the stress of being a single mother.
With Shisui's father passing away not long after his birth, Nemui was practically all the young Uchiha prodigy had as family. He still had his clan but nothing really compared to the love of a mother or the bond of a father, Naruto could certainly attest to that. If the doctors were right and the woman wasn't long for this world, then... Shisui would lose his last shred of true family. He looked to his left and saw that Shisui had managed to drift off into a somewhat fitful sleep, the emotion of it all finally catching up to him.
Naruto sighed quietly as he took the seat to Nemui's other side, he would keep watch all night if he had to in case the woman woke up, Shisui shouldn't have to miss his mother's last words. He sat there all night, just watching over their sleeping forms through half-lidded eyes, never moving an inch until sunlight finally streamed through the blinds. Itachi had long since gone home, probably to inform his family of what was going on; the passing of an Uchiha was a big affair in a clan like theirs.
It seemed as though nothing would happen. That as the sun began to bleed through into the room, the woman would pass without a word, her breaths so shallow and irregular that it seemed like she was already dead.
Naruto had to go to the bathroom as dawn came, he excused himself hurriedly, the door to the cramped room slipping open and shut quietly.
It seemed Shisui's mother picked just that time to awaken. Her dim, dark eyes opened slightly, seeing her empty son by her bedside. She may have tried to smile just then, but a withered, pained look was all she produced. She swallowed dryly, her voice like a cracking hiss, "Shisui."
Her son looked up at her with wide, spinning eyes. He was stressed enough to activate his Sharingan and Nemui felt the hint of pride swell in her belly. Her son was strong. So strong. She spoke those words to him, her vision swimming and fuzzy, but she clinged to her own strength, knowing she did not have much longer to live.
"I want to give you a gift, Shisui." She breathed, "It's not a pretty gift, but I want to live on through my son..."
"Kaa-chan..." Shisui murmured pitifully, words failing him.
"Forgive me." Was all she said, as she lifted her hands, releasing the last of her chakra, trapping her son in a genjutsu.
When Naruto returned, his body stiffened. He saw Shisui's face buried silently into the stomach of his mother, who was completely still, her eyes wide, her body stiff with the grip of death.
Shisui's body tremored in agony, his entire body just as stiff as his mother's. Two bloody tears dripped from his eyes. As Naruto turned to call for a doctor, they would all fail to miss the three tomoe in Shisui's Sharingan shifting into a new design resembling a thick four-pronged Shuriken, the boy collapsing onto the floor painfully, his body finally going slack.
The three Chuunin knelt in a line in a darkened chamber well below Konoha-proper. The space was dry and airy but held the unmistakable air of a military instillation. The corridors were very utilitarian and uninspired with their monotonous design and dull grey paint. In front of the trio stood a tall man wearing the dark coat common to most ANBU operatives, however, he was not wearing the standard mask. It allowed the sight of his bandaged right eye and the cross-shaped scar on his chin as well as his spiky black hair.
"Do you know why you were chosen to be here?" Naruto looked up from his knelt position straight into the man's single visible eye which looked back with a blank, emotionless expression.
"To work in the shadows where even Shinobi fear to tread." The man nodded once as his gaze turned to Itachi on Naruto's left.
"And do you know why we must move in those shadows?" Itachi looked up as well, meeting the man's steeled gaze with an equally steadfast look.
"So that we can protect our village from the dark by harnessing it ourselves." The man nodded once more as his gaze finally drifted across to Shisui to Naruto's right.
"And at what cost would you protect your village by?" Shisui paused a moment before he too finally looked up, the three tomoe of his eye spinning slowly in a cold gaze.
"With our lives and souls." The man nodded for the last time with a small fleeting smile before he was handed three masks from another operative standing just to his left.
"Then from this day, until you leave this organisation, you are no longer Naruto Namikaze." The redhead stood up as he accepted the white porcelain mask he was handed and looked at the animal design emblazoned on its surface.
"I am no longer Naruto Namikaze, I am Tora." He smiled as Naruto walked backwards a few paces.
"You are no longer Itachi Uchiha." Itachi repeated the process as he too took his mask.
"I am no longer Itachi Uchiha, I am Taka." The man nodded curtly as he finally turned to the last member of the trio.
"And you are no longer Shisui Uchiha." Once again the young Uchiha hesitated before slowly rising to his feet and looking the man right in the eye.
"I am no longer Shisui Uchiha, I am Tori." The man finally stood back as Shisui rejoined his teammates in their line again.
"Excellent, then welcome to ANBU." The three now masked Shinobi all bowed curtly even as the man began to walk from the small room.
"Thank you lord Danzo." None of them saw the smirk on the man's lips as he slowly limped from the room, refusing to use his cane for an important ceremony like this. 'The Nine-tails Jinchuuriki and two Uchiha prodigies, everything is just falling into my lap.' When the man was finally out of the room the three newly anointed ANBU operatives breathed a sigh of relief. Danzo had a way of making any room rather uncomfortable. Even as they relaxed, another ANBU dropped from the ceiling, seemingly having been there the whole time.
"Yo." The trio just stared at the dog-masked man for a moment blankly, not that you could tell from behind their new masks. He was taller than them but he didn't appear that much older, maybe four or five years at most. His most defining feature thanks to the mask covering his face was the incredible mass of gravity-defying silver hair. "I'm Inu, your ANBU captain. From this point on you answer directly to me unless I say otherwise, my word is only superseded by that of the Hokage, got it?" After receiving a few nods from the latest recruits he smiled lazily behind his mask, both of them.
"Good, then let's see about setting you guys up with a mission, shall we?"
Anko couldn't help but sigh as she walked out of the leaf village's main gate. She was finally going on her year-long trip with Orochimaru yet Naruto hadn't turned up to see her off; it was really unlike her redheaded friend. She knew he was a lot busier now that he was in the ANBU corp but she still thought he would at least turn up seeing as it was the last chance they had to see each other for a long time.
Still, she was happy. After all, she now had the chance to properly learn from one of the Sannin! Not only that, but she was going to be able to see the elemental nations; she had been studying all she could so she wouldn't disappoint her sensei. The tall, long-haired man was currently standing next to her, looking rather impatient as he tapped his foot irritably. He had granted her five minutes for Naruto to show up then they would be leaving.
Soon enough, her time was up and with a small sigh of exasperation she turned from the village and walked out the gates with her sensei. Luckily for her she turned back to look at the village one last time, managing to catch a glimpse of a lone Shinobi standing up on a rooftop. He was clad in the classic ANBU uniform of slate-grey body armour and black underclothing with his tiger-themed mask glinting in the sunlight. He waved once before vanishing in a burst of speed reminiscent of a red blur. The sight made Anko smile warmly as she turned back to the road ahead of her.
"Alright Sensei, where to first?" Orochimaru just hissed happily at his prized student's enthusiasm as he looked out over the horizon.
"I have some contacts in the land of rice I must meet up with Anko-chan." The purple-haired girl simply nodded happily as the two Shinobi walked away from their village.
Naruto flew down a narrow corridor, ignoring the cracked and peeling wallpaper on the old and termite-ridden wooden walls. His feet made audible splashes as he sprinted across the water-covered floor behind his Hokage. To his left was a bird-masked ANBU operative he had never worked with before, but by the sword on his back and the many Shuriken dotted around his person, he could tell he was a weapons specialist. Naruto wasn't sure how much that was going to help them here, but the ANBU were currently spread quite thin.
His gaze flickered back to Hiruzen running in front of him; it was so rare nowadays to see the aging Hokage in his full battle-dress. The old samurai-styled armour was still as freshly polished as the day Sarutobi had first worn it. The old man had lovingly cared for the reminder of past days as much as any ninja would their weapons. The fact he was wearing it at all was a testament to the importance and seriousness of their mission, especially considering who it concerned.
They stopped in front of a mildew-covered door, he and the ANBU taking up flanking positions while the Third took point. With a hand signal the two masked Shinobi burst through the door into the room while Hiruzen followed in a slow and deliberate walk. The room itself was lined in shelves holding jars that contained various viscera and other object Naruto would have rather not thought about. At the front of the small room stood a tall pale man with long black hair in the standard garb of a Konoha Jounin.
"Ahh, so I've been found out have I? What a pity..." Naruto's skin crawled at the man's voice; he had seen firsthand what he had done at his other bases across the Land of Fire.
"Orochimaru, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?" Naruto found his hand unconsciously flexing against the hilt of his tanto as he waited.
"...and after I set all those booby traps to give me plenty of warning." Naruto nearly scoffed at that, the snake Sannin considered himself a master of seals but the redhead was an Uzumaki, there was no comparison. "Heh, I wasn't expecting you, I should have known. You could get past anything..." The other ANBU operative in the room stepped forward, his hand clenched in obvious anger even though his voice remained level.
"A steady flow of people have gone missing from the village over the past month, Genin, Chuunin, even ANBU black ops; all of them were last seen with you." Naruto clenched his fists again, his body ever so slightly trembling from rage but he managed to hold back. Orochimaru just chuckled light-heartedly, as if he wasn't being called out for crimes against his village.
"Aww, now I'll have to kill you as well."
The other operative gasped as Hiruzen's eyes narrowed in anger and betrayal. "So you admit it! It is all your doing Orochimaru, but why?"
Orochimaru sighed in a bored way with that same smirk on his lips, finally turning to face the three Shinobi. "Ah well, since you caught me red handed there's no point in pretending now is there?"
Orochimaru paused as he turned to fully face his former sensei, the weak light of the room only highlighting his sickly features. Even his yellow snake-like eyes seemed to glow lightly in the darkness of the room. "It's simply my research. I'm developing a new jutsu."
Naruto finally couldn't hold back any longer, the man in front of him was sick. "No kind of jutsu is worth the lives you destroyed you sick snake!"
The snake Sannin turned to the masked redhead with an almost mirthful smile. "I was wondering when little Naruto-kun was going to speak up, maybe a fox had your tongue?" he laughed briefly at his own joke, meeting the frigid gazes of his opponents.
Hiruzen looked down at the ground in despair over his fallen pupil. "It's forbidden Jutsu you're after, isn't it? But what is it you want? Why are you doing this?" Orochimaru tore his gaze away from Naruto to stare smugly at Hiruzen, an almost maniacal gleam overtaking his eyes, smiling at his teacher's heavy words.
"I want everything! Every jutsu in the world! And even those yet to be discovered. I shall become all knowing and all powerful."
Naruto stepped forward in anger, his tanto already drawn and at the ready. "You're crazy! That's impossible, even if you manage to learn all the jutsu, what about bloodlines? You'll never get your slimy hands on those. You'll never have everything!"
Orochimaru snarled in the redhead's direction before his face managed to return to his more neutral smirk. "Maybe you're right Naruto-kun, maybe if I were a weak fool like Sensei." He added, "But with time there comes possibility. And I plan on having all the time in the world to find all the techniques and knowledge I want. Eventually, I will have what I desire."
He took a step forward causing both members of ANBU to step in front of their Hokage while Hiruzen himself raised his hands ready for hand signs. "But what are you going to do Sensei? Kill me?" Naruto stepped forward with his blade raised up at eye-level.
"If he doesn't then I will, you bastard!"
Orochimaru leered as he brought his own hands up in preparation, a wicked, warped laugh filling the bunker.
"Ah ah ah Naruto-kun! Your voice is so sweet, so full of disgust and confusion. You would be amusing to play with, but will you find my precious Anko-chan, I wonder? Do you have time to waste with me?" Naruto growled beneath his mask as he took another step forward just as Hiruzen slammed the floor. The flash of smoke was all the distraction Naruto needed as he sprinted forward, seemingly disappearing from the spot before materialising behind Orochimaru. The Sannin paid him almost no attention as he flipped through hand signs almost tauntingly slowly.
Before Naruto could land a hit, the air around Orochimaru exploded outwards, shattering the various jars along the walls and ending with Naruto shooting across the room to impact painfully with the far wall, his body crunching. His body left an imprint in the rotten wood, holding him up despite his aching muscles' protests, splinters piercing into his back. By the time he managed to get to his feet again Orochimaru was already out the door, the other ANBU operative dead on the floor while Hiruzen just watched, frozen in place.
"Hokage-sama, Orders!" When Hiruzen didn't respond, Naruto gritted his teeth and ran past the aging Hokage, sprinting through the corridor they had entered by. He was too late though, by the time he jumped up the stone stairs leading into the complex, Orochimaru was long gone. Naruto desperately looked around him, almost absently dismissing the various dead ANBU members lying on the ground around the entrance.
He fell to his knees, staring down at the blood-stained ground as his hands clenched into fists so hard he began to draw blood from his palm. 'Anko.' He wanted to say her name, but his voice was lost to him. A great ache pulled at his senses, his whole body tingling with the desire to run. But to where? Where was she?
Naruto grunted slightly as he pulled roughly on his Tanto, ripping it out of the body lying on the ground. He cursed under his breath as he looked around the small lab he was in, content to let the small rivulets of blood drip lazily down the length of his short-sword. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down on Amachi's dead body, the man's formerly silver hair stained by the growing pool of blood beneath him.
"Damn bastard."
The man had caused him and his team nothing but trouble since they arrived in the land of Sea. They had been called out because of rumours saying one of Orochimaru's bases was out here. Currently, the leaf Shinobi were stretched rather thin, so, Naruto had personally asked for the mission, as well as a few fellow ANBU that were available. He sighed as one of his teammates dropped down next to him, a young man with jet black hair and a mask with a depiction of a rabbit.
It was disconcerting working without Shisui or Itachi but due to the flexible nature of ANBU missions and duties it was rare for the three of them to be assigned to the same mission, not that they didn't make time to hang out or train together. He turned to the other operative, staring at them through his tiger mask with a blank, expectant expression. It was amazing how much you picked up on body language when everybody you worked with wore masks almost constantly.
"Yes Usagi?" The ANBU quickly nodded, his posture and stance purely professional, it spoke of experience within the organisation.
"We've scoured the entire base, all of Orochimaru's research notes that weren't destroyed are being collected and the human test subjects have been released to their families." Naruto nodded grimly, it was sickening what Amachi had been doing in the base, experimenting on live people.
"And...?" he left the question hanging in the air as the ANBU in front of him sighed slowly; it was no secret to the personal mission Naruto had set himself on ever since confronting Orochimaru with the Hokage.
"I'm sorry Tora, there's no sign of her." Naruto said nothing but his hand clenching into a tight fist was words enough. This was the fourth base they had taken down and he was no closer to finding Anko than he had been before.
"Thank you, we'll meet up in a few hours and head back to the leaf to make our report." Usagi nodded quickly before vanishing in a whirl of leaves leaving Naruto to his thoughts as he looked around the now empty lab.
'Dammit Anko, where are you?