บท 20: Chapter 20: Rescue

-Danzo-

Measured footsteps echoed down the empty, humid tunnel. The walls were illuminated by torches and moss clung to the rounded walls. A true snake lair, thought Danzo as he advanced, a platoon of Root agents slinking in the shadows behind him. As he turned the corner, Danzo could see the corridor widening, leading to a single, large chamber.

"You must have a desire to die if you called me here," said Danzo, his arm twitching, ready to give the killing order. "I was under the impression that our association ended when I kicked you out of Konoha."

From the shadows, Orochimaru rose like a cobra, an entertained smile on his lips. "I'm surprised you came. Did you not fear that I might plot your demise?"

A guttural, croaky sound escaped Danzo's throat. "I see you've kept your sense of humor in these dire times. Remember Orochimaru, I made you who you are today. I don't fear the likes of you. I came here because I'm interested in what it is that you could possibly offer me for my cooperation. After all, that is what you need, do you not? You're playing a dangerous game, trying to charm the Rice Paddy Daimyo, without my support. The fact that you asked me here makes me wonder if you are regretting your life on the run."

"Mock me if you want, but the truth of the situation is that you are here," Orochimaru said, his voice cordial despite the dangerous flash in his poison-yellow eyes. He gestured toward a shadowed table with two facing chairs. "So, shall we get to business?"

Danzo watched the man move with veiled distrust. For Orochimaru to call him here so boldly… he had to have something up his sleeve. And leaving Orochimaru with an unchecked advantage was the last thing Konoha – the last thing he needed.

"There is no business to be done between us, Orochimaru." Danzo made no move to accept Orochimaru's invitation to sit down, keeping the other man's hands within view at all times. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn and leave, and you might get to keep what little freedom you have as a missing-nin."

Orochimaru simply took a seat in response, crossing his legs and comfortably leaning back in the somewhat uncomfortable-looking chair. "Always so impatient… this is why you don't have a head for science."

"I am a patient man, but in your case, I deem to make an exception." The banter was starting to get on Danzo's nerves, making his jaw tense. "Now, speak."

"Very well," Orochimaru smirked.

Danzo could practically feel the self-satisfaction radiating off the man seated before him. He did not react as Orochimaru's yellow gaze trailed down his body and came to rest on his arm.

"How's your arm?" Orochimaru cocked his head to the side, false concern crossing his features. "It can't be that good, not by the looks of it." He waved a hand in the direction of Danzo's right arm, which was covered in seals and bandages to keep the implanted cells stable.

Though Orochimaru could not possibly know that.

Danzo did not react.

Orochimaru nearly pouted at his demeanor, but the tantrum passed quickly as his lips stretched into a smile. "I can fix it, you know," Orochimaru said, the words rolling languidly out of his mouth. "I can make it even more powerful than it is now. I can make it better."

"You have my attention."

Orochimaru leaned forward, his face taking on the contemplative look Danzo had seen every time he spoke of some new discovery.

"After the fall of Uzushio, documents about the clan started popping up. Many were hungry for the knowledge, but found…"

"Yes, the documents were all written in sealing code that was almost impossible to decode." His left foot twitched; the impulse to tap becoming increasingly hard to control. "Everyone knows that."

"I know how to decode it."

-Itachi-

"We're here." Pakkun stopped before the entrance of a cave. "The girl is inside, but there are around twenty other people between her and us."

Jiraiya stepped forward. "Is Orochimaru there?" he asked in a tense voice.

Itachi wondered if somewhere deep down, the Sannin dreaded the thought of fighting his former teammate. They must have been friends at some point…

"Not sure," muttered Pakkun. "There are too many scents, it's confusing."

"We go in," Kakashi ordered in a firm voice. He glanced back at Itachi and Tenzo. "One gets the girl, the rest of us will focus on any enemies and Orochimaru if he's there." He met Jiraiya's hardened gaze. "Jiraiya-sama, we're counting on you."

Before anyone else could speak, Itachi stepped forward. "I'll go get her," he volunteered. He had to find her and make sure she was all right.

Kakashi nodded. "Take Pakkun with you, he'll guide you. And be ready for anything."

At Kakashi's nod, Itachi slid into the darkness of the cave, activating his Sharingan with a flood of chakra. The world gained a new focus. His movements were swift, his steps sure but Itachi's heart was thrumming in his chest with anxiety. Would she be all right, or would he find a cold corpse, once again too late, as he had been with Izumi? The thoughts made the muscles in his jaw clench.

No, he told himself firmly. She would be alive. She would be okay.

She had to be.

Pakkun seemed to sense his anxiety and ran faster, guiding him through a labyrinth of hallways. He memorized them all, each turn, each crossroad. Then the tunnel began to widen, and Pakkun slowed down as a door came into view, sending Itachi's pulse racing once more. She was there, behind the door. The presence of the two large guards did nothing to deter him. Itachi's goal was beyond them.

Pakkun slowed, and Itachi darted ahead. His movements were a mere whisper as he approached the clearly unaware ninja, reaching for the tanto strapped to his back.

He struck with ruthless precision, blood splattering on the ground. Itachi didn't spare them a glance, already flashing past their cooling bodies, and cautiously opened the door they'd guarded. Itachi's crimson eyes barely had time to scan for her before his breath froze in his lungs.

Yahizui's body looked small and fragile, like a porcelain doll that had been carelessly thrown to the ground. She was chained to the wall behind her, dark bruises spreading around her wrists from where the too-tight manacles dug into tender flesh. Crimson hair spilled over her bare shoulders, unbound from its usual tie, only partially hiding the purplish blotches that were already blooming across her ribs.

In a split second, Itachi was before her, his cloak ripped off his shoulders and wrapping it around her own, covering her bare chest and the markings written over it.

Itachi's eyes roamed over her bound hands, the angry-looking bite mark on her shoulder, and the unnatural bend of her leg. His eyes were blown wide open, fine tremors traveling through his body as he struggled to keep the acid feeling in his heart at bay. He was going to make Orochimaru pay for this. He will skin that snake alive, even if it took him an eternity to do it.

Yahizui whimpered beneath him, a pitiful sound that snapped him out of his rage.

"I'm here, Hizui. It's going to be okay," Itachi said, reaching out and gently brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear, hating the sight of the purplish bruise that marred the side of her face. She'd been hit, hard.

"I-Itachi?" Yahizui's voice was hoarse, her damaged throat croaking out his name in both hope and disbelief.

"I'm here," he repeated softly. "Hold on - I'm going to get you out of here."

His voice seemed to calm her and worked as a mantra for his own nerves, slowly bringing back the calm that typically overlaid his mind.

Yahizui was alive, that was all that mattered. Now he needed to get her out of here and back home.

Itachi's fingers gently brushed her cheek before he stood, shifting his grip on his tanto, before infusing chakra into the blade. With a flick of his wrist, the chains holding her up snapped and Yahizui's arms flopped uselessly to her sides. Itachi gently caught her as she sagged forward, reaching out and adjusting the cloak better around her shoulders.

She didn't say or do anything, her head still bowed, body trembling.

Yahizui's silence unnerved him. Carefully, to avoid hurting her, he gripped her chin gently and tilted her head towards him.

The expression on her face made his heart clench and his rage spike. Her eyes were haunted, lost somewhere between terror and emptiness.

"You're okay now," he said firmly, with all the reassurance he could muster. "We're going to go home."

The flicker of recognition that flashed across her face gave him hope, even when she bowed her head and huddled inside his cloak once more.

"I'm going to pick you up," said Itachi in that same controlled tone. Her leg had been broken, but he didn't have enough expertise to handle something like that. Maybe Tenzo could fashion a splint until they reached Konoha, but until then she would have to be carried.

She weighed little to nothing as he picked her up, the still attached manacles clinging around her body. Slowly, Yahizui's arms lifted as she huddled them close to her chest. His chest clenched but he said nothing. This wasn't the time for that. He had to stay calm, get her out of this place and back to safety. Itachi glanced back toward the silent summon and gave a curt nod.

Itachi darted back the way he had come, Yahizui pressed to his chest. It didn't take long for the sounds of battle to greet him. The ground shook beneath his feet, but he ignored it, pushing forward through the twists and turns of the tunnels. He had almost reached the last corner when the structure around them shook dangerously, and the wall to his left collapsed completely. Large stones fell from the ceiling, forcing him to jump into the newly opened room.

Only to come face to face with Orochimaru.

"So this is what you were up to, Itachi-kun. It's not nice to simply take my prisoner," said Orochimaru, his long tongue darting out to lick his thin lips.

Itachi's chakra spiked, the barely controlled rage in his heart reigniting. His Sharingan was burning, urging him on to fight, to destroy. Before him Orochimaru's smile widened, his serpentine eyes shining with excitement.

"Come to me little Uchiha prince, come and let me feel your rage."

Orochimaru's aura burst from him like tendrils of coiling smoke, suffocating them. Itachi could feel Yahizui tremble in his arms and his grip on her tightened. He took a step back, intending to place her somewhere safe before facing the Sannin when Jiraiya's voice boomed behind him. Itachi's grip loosened a fraction. He was not alone, his team was here, and Jiraiya was here.

"You're surrounded, Orochimaru. This is the end!"

Itachi's Sharingan was trained upon Orochimaru's white face. If only he would look his way, then he'd manage to trap him in a genjutsu, but the man kept his eyes carefully averted.

"You couldn't be more wrong, old friend," replied Orochimaru as he leaped in the air, raising his arms and shooting hundreds of snakes at them from within his sleeves.

Itachi jumped back, his speed and agility allowing him to avoid the snakes. He retreated to a corner, watching Tenzo put up a Wood Style barrier between them and the attack.

"Yahizui," he began quietly, kneeling down the place her on the ground, but paused as he saw her evergreen eyes looking at him with blazing anger.

"Make him hurt," she said, her voice filled with venom.

He nodded, though the hate in her eyes raised questions in the back of his head. With one look toward Tenzo, the man stretched his hand toward Yahizui, and immediately, thick wood boards grew around her like a cage.

"Wait here," said Itachi. He spared her one last look, his eyes traveling from her trembling hands to her burning gaze, and turned around.

Jiraiya was already locked in fierce hand-to-hand combat with his former teammate, while Kakashi and Tenzo intervened with flash attacks meant to destabilize him. Itachi's chakra flared in his core, molding to perform any jutsu he set his mind to when a shadow appeared before him, his hands glowing with chakra scalpels.

"Not so fast," said the one before him his large, round glasses reflecting the flickering light of the cave. "You'll first have to get past me."

Itachi was never one for talking while fighting. He saw no reason in that. Why chatter when that time could be better spent analyzing your opponent? He pulled his tanto and waited. His eyes could see that the chakra concentration around his hands was not something to be underestimated. But the overconfident smile of the gray-haired teen told him that he was judging him based on his age and size—a mistake all his enemies made and regretted. His muscles tensed, eyes looking for an opening to ensnare the other in a genjutsu.

-Danzo-

Danzo's visible eye widened. To think this snake had managed to do such a thing…

"Seals fascinate me," continued the Sannin, "and I decided long ago to take the difficult path of learning the sealing code and deciphering instead of merely replicating. It's a time-consuming task, but the results are worth it. At this point, I am the only non-Uzumaki that can read their scrolls. And trust me; there are incredible things to be found there. One of these things is the key to stabilizing the Uchiha and Senju cells in your arm."

With the arrival of Uzumaki Mito in Konoha nearly eighty-seven years ago, seals had been introduced to Konoha through her knowledge. But even so, for reasons unknown to him, Mito had given Konoha a different sealing language than that of her native village. Whether it was to protect the secrets of Uzushio, or due to her own inability, the seals of Konoha were never meant to be on par with those of the Uzumaki. That Orochimaru had managed to learn their secret code… maybe he underestimated him. His eyes narrowed. Even if he knew how to break the Uzumaki codes, the island had been sealed off ever since the war, and no living being could enter it. Orochimaru had nothing but scraps to work with, things that escaped with the refugees. Still, the information was most curious.

"That is interesting. I imagine you want something in return for it."

The smirk on Orochimaru's lips betrayed how pleased he was with how things were going.

"I'm trying to build something here," Orochimaru said with a theatrical wave of his arm. "Having Konoha breathing down my neck while I'm doing it is inconvenient."

Danzo's eyes narrowed. "The Konoha hunter nins are not under my command."

"Oh, I'm not suggesting something so glaringly obvious. Help me gain immunity from the Daimyo of Rice Paddies, and I will help you."

Something didn't fit, and he didn't like the feeling of it. "Having immunity from a minor Daimyo will do nothing for you. What exactly do you want?"

Orochimaru rose from his seat and took a few steps backward, his eyes hidden by the room's darkness. "When you put it that way…" He said, the grin on his face spreading unnaturally. "Immunity granted to a new village leader—me, from the Fire Daimyo and official recognition of a newly formed village in the land of Rice Paddies."

What arrogance. Danzo's left arm slashed before him in a downward stroke. "Not possible!"

The sound of drawn weapons could be heard from the shadows as the agents reacted to his ire.

Orochimaru didn't flinch, as if the threat wasn't even there. "Then allow me to sweeten the deal. I —"

"Why do you want this so badly?" It wasn't like him to settle down. There had to be an ulterior motive, and for a man such as this to have immunity… what would that mean for Konoha?

-Itachi-

"I see you found her, congratulations!" the gray-haired teen said mockingly as he danced away from a fire jutsu.

His tactics so far seemed to consist of trying to tire Itachi out and verbal jabs. They had been circling one another for the last minute, neither able to land a hit on the other. Itachi's eyes kept him safe from the chakra scalpels, but his opponent seemed just as skilled at avoiding hits.

"You know," he continued in a snide voice. "Her screams are really something to behold. You should have heard them… music to the ears!"

Deep breath. Itachi freighted to the left, his right leg raising for a kick, then changed his direction in the last moment, twisting his body mid-air and coming face to face with the older teen. His eyes were dark and wide, staring into the spinning Sharingan. The illusion he placed him in was not a pretty one, and Itachi was glad to hear his screams echo in the illusionary world.

Just as the gray-haired teen's mind was about to snap, Itachi plunged the tanto into his chest.

The flesh around the blade melted, flowing like playdough on a hot summer day.

"It's a clone!" He heard Kakashi shout, followed by Jiraiya's loud curse.

-Danzo-

Danzo watched Orochimaru lean into his chair, his fingers drumming over the wooden table, and then he suddenly stopped. For a second, the breath in his body seemed to freeze, his fingers pausing mid-air. Then his eyes rose, and all was back to normal.

"I have my reasons," Orochimaru said in a casual tone. "But you're not really interested in hearing them. What you want to know is what this means for Konoha, no? Don't worry, I have bigger fish to catch…at the moment."

Danzo measured him from head to toe. His confident smirk could only mean that whatever this thing was up his sleeve, he was sure that it would grant him victory. This made him curious.

"You will need to put something more on the table than what you have. This is treason we're talking about."

Orochimaru's eyes flashed with joyful malice. "Well then, you really give me no other choice. You see, I have had the unexpected luck of coming into possession of something every Daimyo out there needs. Who would have thought that something as common as rice would be eventually seen as more important than gold? Strange times we live in, but in the end, it will be a pity if the nations were to starve."

"You think that having one type of rice seed will bring you victory?"

"Not at all. However, poisoning the rest of them and making them the carriers of a deadly disease will."

"I see."

This had been Orochimaru's plan. He'd had the upper hand all along, that grin should have told him that much. Danzo had to hand it to him; he had been bested in this round. Orochimaru had always been a fast learner, and such a play was exactly what he would have done if put in the same position. That he offered the scroll, showed how well the snake knew him. After all, a few months of dwindled food supplies wouldn't cause much drama. A few farmers would die here and there, maybe a few ninjas as well, but Konoha would endure, and he would make sure of that. Still, the combination of threat and reward was interesting and dare he say, very well planned.

"I should have expected this from you," said Danzo

"I try my best."

"Very well, tell me of the Uzumaki scroll."