Chương 9: Chapter 9: Hunt
-Itachi-
An oppressive silence reigned in the Hokage's office. Three shinobi stood before their leader, their faces somber, eyes glued to the large storage scroll on the ground before them. They did not move, did not blink, and each drowned in their own thoughts. Finally, the Hokage broke the silence.
"Kaito-san, open it."
Kaito nodded, unrolling the scroll and revealing a complicated script surrounding a single symbol: corpse.
Itachi watched with dull eyes as the man knelt, his fingers touching the edge of the sealing script. Corpse… was that what she had been reduced to? A nameless body to be inspected, gawked at, and pitied?
In the fraction of a second it took Kaito to activate the storage seal, Itachi's eyes traveled to their leader. Did he have any pity for her, for them? Were they even human in his eyes, or simply tools?
A puff of smoke appeared, shielding the old man's form from his eyes. Itachi didn't look down. He knew what that scroll contained, after all, he was the one to lay her body on it. He was more interested in the Hokage's reaction. What would his face tell him? What glint will he see in the depths of those eyes?
The smoke from the scroll receded and Itachi could once more see the carefully controlled expression on their leaders' face. His emotions were expertly concealed.
"Just as I thought…"
What? What does he mean? Question's fired through Itachi's head, his thoughts turning into a cacophony of 'how' and 'what'. Shisui placed a hand on his shoulder, his eyes warning him to keep the thoughts to himself.
By their side, Kaito observed their interaction. "Have there been any leads, Hokage-sama?"
The Hokage sighed gravely, motioning for them to cover up the girl. "Four months ago, a chuunin went missing while on a mission. It was a simple escort, so she and another chuunin were sent to take care of it. Her teammate was found dead, and the girl was nowhere to be found. She was declared MIA soon after. She was an orphan, her only caregiver being her mentor, Orochimaru."
Shisui's eyes widened. He'd seen that girl, knew her. She was two or three years younger than him and always hung around the Sannin when he was in Konoha.
"Two days ago she was found wandering outside the village gates. She had no memory of who she was or where she had been, only that Konoha was her home."
"What happened to her?" asked Itachi, eyes fixed upon the Hokage's face.
It was Kaito who answered. "Mitarashi Anko was taken to T&I for observation. We had to make sure that she wasn't being used as a planted spy or weapon by another village. Loss of memory is a symptom of being brainwashed – there have been such cases during the war."
"Was she?" asked Shisui.
Kaito shook his head. "We don't know. She would not speak, so we brought Inoichi-san in. As soon as he started looking in her head, the girl blacked out. She's been in a coma ever since –"
"Until now."
All three turned to their leader in surprise. There was a barely leashed pain in his eyes that startled Itachi.
"What does she have to say?" Itachi asked, fascinated by the twitch in the other man's jaw and the shadow that fell over his eyes.
The Hokage looked at Kaito, his eyes communicating what his lips could not. Kaito knew a silent signal when he saw one. His mission had ended, and the rest did not concern him anymore. With a nod he turned to leave, a frown twisting his lips.
As soon as the large door closed, the Hokage turned toward the window overlooking Konoha. He took a long drag of his pipe.
"Anko is awake and seems to have regained all her memories. She is traumatized. We hope she will recover, but there is no guarantee."
"Hokage-sama, who did this to Anko and, what does this have to do with Izumi's death?" asked Shisui.
"At first we assumed the enemy did it. Such means are often used to break captured kunoichi. She disappeared during the mission, so it was a natural conclusion. When Anko woke up though, she told us everything. She spoke of hideous experiments and unspeakable acts performed..." the Hokage paused, his voice failing him. "… performed by Orochimaru."
Time froze. The two Uchiha boys did not dare breathe in the ensuing silence. Orochimaru, one of the three legendary Sannin and a former student of the Hokage himself was well known throughout Konoha. He was a strange fellow, but a Konoha shinobi nonetheless. To think… to think he could do such things, and hurt his own student in such a way… it made them shudder with revulsion.
"Under Inoichi's guidance, we came to find out the truth about many illegal operations, experiments, kidnappings, and multiple instances of using forbidden jutsus both on himself and on those he experimented on. We also found out about the other missing Uchiha members."
Shisui's eyes were wide, his thoughts racing. It was Orochimaru? "Then how is it that it was solved by the Root division? And – "
"It doesn't matter." Itachi was as stiff as a board, his knuckles white and trembling. His eyes pinned the Hokage, wavering between red and black; between anger at the man before him and the deeply ingrained respect he had for him. "Where is he?"
The Hokage sighed, his whole face filled with dejection. "Itachi, I understand your pain, but you cannot do anything against Orochimaru. A platoon of ANBU is headed toward his lab as we speak, ready to apprehend or eliminate him."
"Hokage-sama," began Shisui in a deceptively calm voice. "With all due respect, this issue concerns the Uchiha clan as much as it concerns the rest of Konoha. Both Itachi and I are well aware of the tension between the village and the clan. We agree that the village comes first and that there cannot be one without the other; I believe this is why we were placed on this mission, why we were tested and watched. You wanted to know where we stand, to know whether we would report to the clan and shake the little trust they now have in Konoha, or do our duty. We've done our part, we know the stakes. But we cannot sit idly by and let others handle Orochimaru. Izumi was a part of the family, and he made her suffer and took her eyes. This will not be easily overlooked. If we as Uchiha don't pay him back, then the clan will surely take it as an insult, and all our work was for naught."
"You are very perceptive, Shisui-san. Indeed, I fear that the trust between the Uchiha and Konoha is hanging by a thread. We all know that inner turmoil is the last thing a hidden village needs. We are a well-oiled machine, and once that machine stops working, we are all in peril."
Shisui nodded. "The Uchiha will stand with Konoha, as they have done from the very beginning. But they must get something in return."
"And that something would be?"
Shrewd dark eyes were fixed upon the Hokage's sunken brown ones with the intensity of a small sun. "Orochimaru's head would be a start," said Shisui, his voice blank.
Itachi watched the exchange with trepidation in his heart and adrenaline coursing through his limbs. A sheen of cold sweat coated his brow, yet he dared not look away from the two. Shisui's words were bold, more so than he would ever allow himself to say, but most of all they were dangerous. And yet Itachi agreed with him. That was the way the Uchiha were raised, how they were. An eye for an eye. No debt was left unpaid, and all wrongdoings were to be immediately and swiftly righted. Hate was a known disease in the family, and one knew that it could not be allowed to spread. The earlier unraveling of the case had barely placated everyone, and that was only because there really wasn't any other option. Yet now, with revenge clear as daylight and within their grasp. There was no other choice. They all deserved this; Izumi, Taro, Uko, Muro, Asami, Saburo, and Takeshi… this was for them.
"I see there is little choice in this," said the Hokage. "Itachi, do you feel the same?"
His eyes rose to look at the tired face of their leader. "Yes, sir."
"An ANBU team is already in sight at the lab hidden beneath the old weapons factory." There was a hidden feeling in the Hokage's eyes, but it was gone before any of the boys could see what it was. "Disperse."
"Yes, sir!"
-Kakashi-
Kakashi took a deep breath, stilling the nervousness he felt. His hand gripped the tanto on his back for the fifth time, making sure that everything was ready. Stay calm, it's just another mission. He touched the transmitter and spoke decisively.
"Approach the target using formation C. Do not underestimate him, or our numbers will mean nothing. Move out!"
A chorus of "Yes, sir!" echoed in his ear.
Kakashi immediately flashed to the main entrance, his left eye-opening to reveal his implanted Sharingan. He could take no chances with this one.
The door opened with no resistance, and his eyes met only shadows. The silhouettes of large cupboards stretched like towers over a haunted town. The room, both long and tall, seemed empty. Kakashi took a tentative step, the sound of his rubber soles terribly loud to his ears. Behind him he could hear the rest of the squad cautiously entering, hiding in the shadows. His eyes narrowed, as his brain adjusted to the double vision of his lone Sharingan. Chakra appeared before him, fluctuating in subtle colors. The Snake was there.
At Kakashi's signal, the first line of attack strode forward, their steps silent in the dark. One step, two, three… pause. Swords were drawn and in a fraction of a second Kakashi saw a bright flash of sickeningly yellow chakra, followed by a wet splash. His muscles tensed. A wave of killing intent more intense than anything he'd ever felt before flooded the room, freezing everyone's movements for one crucial moment.
In the blink of an eye, all hell broke loose as countless snakes rushed toward them from the darkness. Blood spattered the walls in crimson arcs as the bodies of the first attack line hit the floor.
-Itachi-
Blood roared in his veins as they rushed through Konoha. Shisui's speed wasn't something he couldn't hope to reach, yet Itachi pushed himself further, the adrenaline of the moment bringing his muscles to their limit.
"We're almost there, get ready," said Shisui.
Itachi nodded, his optical pathways flooding with chakra. His eyes turned crimson just as the metal door to the underground facility came into view. He was ready. He will make him pay; he will bring justice to Izumi, to the Uchiha, to Konoha.
A wave of killing intent washed over them, cutting their momentum and filling their hearts with unbridled terror. Itachi couldn't move, his muscles paralyzed as fear like he'd never felt before plunged deep into his soul. A primal instinct inside him took over, fighting to dominate his prior determination. By his side Shisui was also frozen, his eyes wide.
Run, flee, live. The instinct turned to desire, and the desire morphed into a thought that encompassed his entire being. This chakra, this power… it was inhumane. Strength… his strength, their strength… their pride, and all the years of being told that they were special, that they were something better than the rest… it all evaporated under the heat of that aura. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. Itachi's lungs burned, begging for air, but he didn't trust his body to properly breathe. His entire being wanted nothing more than to leave, yet his mind wished to fight, to do something. His muscles tensed as he regained control, holding back his animal instinct to flee.
Next to him, Shsui stepped forward, drawing his tanto.
And then, Orochimaru came. From the darkness of the room before them, he walked out like a king toward his throne. His steps were as smooth as silk, his aura deadlier than venom. The parchment white of his skin was stained red, his serpentine eyes shining with bloodlust. He was a monster in his element, walking toward them like a god of death. And they were… mere offerings in his path.
Breathing was no longer an option for Itachi. His brain shot different commands that morphed into a cacophony of impulses, locking his muscles in place.
The man – no – the creature before them stopped, thin lips stretching in a grotesque smile. It was hungry, vicious.
A thousand deaths flashed before Itachi's eyes; a thousand ways to die at the hands of this creature if he as much as breathed out of turn. His head hurt, his heart beating so loudly there was nothing else to be heard. The entirety of his universe narrowed to the man before him and the choking energy he emanated.
Behind him, trailing like a dead-weight was the bloodied body of an ANBU, his grey locks firmly held in the Sannin's grip.
"What a surprise, what a delight!" Orochimaru said with barely contained glee. "To have such promising cases placed before me… " The muscles in his arm flexed, raising the limp body to dangle before them. "You three… it would be a pity to kill you all now."
His fingers unclenched, and the man in his grasp fell, hitting the ground with a painful 'thud'.
With that, Orochimaru strolled between the paralyzed Uchiha, chakra oozing behind him like a poisonous trail of violence and death.
A moment later he was gone, and Itachi felt like he could finally breathe again. His legs gave out, knees banging on the hard ground beneath him. Sweat poured down his temples as he stared with wide eyes in the room before him. Shame crawled over his body like slime, entering his pores and whispering taunts in his ear.
Useless. They were useless, unable to move, too petrified to even breathe properly.
By his side, Shisui cursed, urging for a chase, anything to clear the vile feeling of being utterly hopeless when the man in front of them moaned in pain. That's when Itachi gave him a closer look. He was wounded, badly.
Again, Shisui cursed, rushing to the ANBU and removing the cracked dog-like mask from his face.
"Kakashi-san," he said once he saw the other man's half-closed lone Sharingan. "What happened?"
The bloodied man blinked, eyes rolling in the back of his head as he fought to keep conscious. "We stood no chance… a whole platoon… he killed them all." The words fell from his lips in a whisper before he fainted.
"We need to bring him to the hospital," said Shisui as he bent over to pick up the other man.
Itachi didn't hear his cousin. His eyes were glued to the darkroom before him. The stench of blood and guts spilled through the door, reminding him that he was alive solely due to some passing fancy on Orochimaru's side. The pride of the Uchiha, the prodigy of his generation… it meant nothing. He could do nothing but tremble, and the only reason he still lived was due to a monster's whim. At Shisui's insistence, he finally rose.
He had failed… for the second time in his life, he failed, and it hurt more than he dared to admit.
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
Itygirl2412
Itygirl2412 Some of you might wonder why Itachi is so/seems so weak. Well, as I said in a previous note, my premise for his development is that he wasn’t always the all-wise, OP God he became as an adult. He’s still an inexperienced kid that makes mistakes, is relatively driven by feelings and his family’s tendency to seek vengeance and still has a lot to learn. His super cool attitude comes with age.
As for Yahizui, well she’s the best benchmark against him. They're the same age, yet she’s much less mature, sees things differently and her problems are ridiculous compared to him. But the thing is, she’s the normal one (for her age) and he’s the abnormal one here.
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