NARUTO SI: A Burdened Soul (Elder Brother to Itachi SI)

Chapter 23

DANZO SHIMURA

The Third Great Ninja War was ending. And to Danzo this was a tragedy. Konoha had finally managed to claw back the initiative from Iwa and Kumo after so many years and just when the village had its hand on their neck, Hiruzen had decided to give it all up.

His weakness shamed them all. And yet Hiruzen was right about one thing.

He was the Hokage, and these decisions were all his to make.

But not for long. Not for long.

Iwa had agreed to the peace terms offered, and of course they would, given their generosity. To seek no reparations from them after all the death and destruction they had caused was near preposterous, and he was not the only one who thought as such.

As an act of revenge, Danzo had leaked the terms of peace to the public, and there was quite a bit of discontent amongst the populace at these generous terms. Not that it matters much now, but still, soon enough, this content would make its way to the court of the daimyo, and someone would need to take responsibility for it.

"You have failed in your mission," and when Hiruzen would do that, Konoha would need a new Hokage. And if he could not be the Kage himself, then the person standing infront of him was the next best choice.

"I am afraid I don't know what you are talking about," Orochimaru answered as Danzo's eyes narrowed.

"Izuna Uchiha. I ordered you to kill the boy, and yet he returns to Konoha as a hero," he challenged, and Orochimaru shrugged.

"The boy is not so easy to kill," the golden-eyed jounin commented, and then suddenly those eyes narrowed as Danzo felt the Snake-satin chakra roar at his command, cracking the woods inside his house.

"And I believe we have a little misunderstanding here," he began in a chilling voice.

"You do not give me missions. I am not your dog to order around. We work together as allies because our interests align. I am not one of those mindless shinobi of yours," he challenged sharply as Danzo remained unbothered.

"Is that so?" he questioned as he turned away from the man and looked at the recent debrief from the teams that had returned.

And he was much interested in the report from Namikaze's team, and how a sharingan had been implanted in young Hatake's eye.

"This will be very interesting," especially with how closely the Uchiha guarded their Kekkei Genkai; it was evident to him that this would transform into quite a headache going forward for both Hiruzen and the village.

Perhaps there was an opportunity here, as well. To sow discord amongst the village and the Uchiha, who were to surely rage against this.

"Hiruzen plans to retire soon," he added, not paying any more attention to the Snake Sanin little tantrum.

"Sensei is retiring?" the Snake-sanin seemed surprised as Danzo nodded.

"Indeed, the village will be looking for his successor soon enough. And I believe you should take the seat next," he offered, and the pale-faced shinobi shook his head.

"I have no desire to be a Hokage. My aspirations lie elsewhere," he whispered as he turned away and made to leave.

"It was not a suggestion, Orochimaru," he added. He saw the shinobi stop as he glanced back at him with a narrowed gaze.

"Have you forgotten my words so quickly, old man," The Sanin's cold voice raged, yet Danzo was not bothered by it at all?

"It is in both our interests that you are the one to inherit the position," he cleared up, deciding to lean on the carrot rather than the stick.

"The other two options being considered right now are Namikaze and Fugaku Uchiha, both of whom would spell both our deaths if they ever learned of our actions," he warned, trying to make the jounin see reason.

And it seemed that the necessity of this finally dawned on him as the pale-faced shinobi clicked his tongue.

"Your reputation is the only thing that holds you back. I have an idea to amend it," Danzo continued as he stood up, and walked towards the Snake-sanin and handed him a folder.

"These are all the students graduating from the academy this year. Take a look and choose yourself an apprentice. It would do much to further your image and ease the public's opinion about you," the man said reluctantly, taking the folder before he left his house.

"We are done," and with that, he walked out as Danzo stood there alone, staring at his retreating back.

"We will need to keep an eye on him," he did not think that Orochimaru would betray him, but their alliance was turning a bit sour, and he could not let that stand.

And to order that, he tapped his cane on the ground, summoning his men.

TAP!

And yet none appeared, making him frown.

TAP!

He tried again, and there was no answer again.

And with a frown Danzo walked out the door, to see what was going on and found himself surprised by what he saw.

For there, infront of his door, lay masks. Masks of the two men guarding his home, alongside another one—this one cut in half shaped in the form of a Peacock, belonging to the man he had sent after Izuna Uchiha.

"Is this your work, Orochimaru?" and the man could be quite sentimental. Had he left them here as a message?

No. The man would hardly go so far as to kill his men like this. He could leave a message in another way.

No. Only one name came to his mind as he saw those masks. But it couldn't be, could it? Was this Izuna Uchiha's work. Was the boy sending him a message? Or was this someone else?

"Interesting," Danzo added as he stared at the half peacock-shaped mask. Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine, and he felt as if he was being watched. He looked around and saw no one until his eyes landed on the Hokage faces and felt as if the gaze came from there.

And yet, it was too far for him to make out anyone.

"Could it really be you?" he asked as he felt that presence vanish.

0000

IZUNA UCHIHA

Izuna stood on the Hokage faces, watching as Danzo Shimura's gaze turned toward him before he vanished once more. The message was sent as he appeared in front of the hospital.

With a ceasefire being signed with Iwa and peace nearly made with Kumo, the hospital was emptier than it had ever been since the start of the conflict.

As he entered the building, he was greeted by eager faces. The staff recognized him and greeted him warmly. Many congratulated him on his success and promotion, while a few just looked on in envy as he walked up the main Hall and met with the woman who had taught her nearly all he knew of iryo-ninjutsu.

Kato Shizune sat there, reviewing a few files, when she saw him approach her.

"Izuna-kun," she greeted him warmly as he smiled.

"It is good to see you, Shizune-san," he greeted her as the older girl smiled.

"Congratulations on your promotion," and he nodded.

"I have heard that you are leaving again," he asked and saw her face contort, yet the brown-haired girl nodded nonetheless, as she sighed.

"Yes, tomorrow we will learn about the outcome of the negotiations with Kumo. And if they go well, Tsunade-sama intends to leave the day after," and it was just like the Senju princess.

The woman could not stand being in the village, not that she did much. Izuna knew that most of the work credited to her was done mostly by Shizune-san, and the blonde woman did little more than drink and wallow in despair as she found herself loathing the village that had taken her entire family from her.

He could not blame her.

He knew of her hate. Understood it even to some extent now. He doubted that a woman as smart as Tsunade Senju did not have an inkling that there was perhaps an internal hand that had played a role in the demise of her clan.

She must suspect something.

But perhaps her trust in her sensei and the sheer extent of pain and loss she had suffered blinded her.

"Is she in?" he asked, and Kato Shizune nodded as Izuna walked past her toward the blonde woman's office, his mind already made up.

But unlike her, he was not blinded. He knew exactly who had killed his friend, who had killed Shisui. And he would get his revenge. He would not fail.

He knocked on the door and, after a second, walked in to a somewhat drunk Tsunade-Senju waiting for him.

"Thank you for taking the time, Tsunade-sama," he greeted her with respect, for despite her faults, one would have to be an idiot to deny her all her accomplishments. The grief may have halted her progress, but there was no doubt that there was no finer iryo-nin in the entire continent than her. And that she could still do anything if she put her mind to it.

"Just tell me what you want, brat?" she spoke gruffly as she picked up a bottle of sake from under the table and began to pour it into a cup.

He had thought about his plans and, in the end, had decided that this was the best course of action. Powerful as he was, Izuna knew that he was not yet powerful enough to take on Shimura Danzo.

Even if he could fight and kill the man. There was still the matter of his ROOT, and all the shinobi who answered to him.

It loathed him. But he had to wait. He could ask for help, but he wished to end Shimura's life with his own hands, and even then, that option would only become available once a new kage was chosen, for he knew that Hiruzen Sarutbi would die before allying himself with a Uchiha against his old teammate.

He had to wait. He had to wait and gather his strength. He could join the Police Force as was expected of him, but he did not know what plots would that idiot hatch against him. And he had a suspicion that there were people within the clan, or even the Police force allied with that man.

So, he had to separate himself from the clan.

"I have heard that you are set to leave the village soon," he began and saw her raise a brow.

"Yes," she did not deny it as Izuna nodded, not judging her for it.

"Then I would like you to put my name forward as your stand-in for the head of the Konoha's Medical Corps," because it was clear that as long as Tsunade Senju lived, no one else would head the Medical Corps.

And yet whenever she left, a stand-in was chosen to lead the unit in her absence, most of the time by the Kage himself. But if she were to make a suggestion, he knew that the Hokage-sama would not deny it.

Even if it was as unorthodox as himself.

"Is that so?" His brown eyes glinted as he saw her put down her sake cup and look at him with renewed interest. She looked into his eyes, and he could see her mind racing.

He waited. And waited. But there was no answer until she finally spoke up.

"I never really understood why I did not like you before, but now I see," she began.

"It is your eyes. They remind me so much of myself that I hate them. Hate them," she whispered, and he stilled at those words as she slapped the cup back on the table.

"But there is hope for you still. You still have not lost everything," and with that, she stood up and walked past him and opened the door.

"I don't know what you are planning, nor do I really care. If you need this thankless job for that, then you will have it," she added as she walked out of her office.

"I will talk to sensei..."

0000

Back near the Norther border, Kumo's forces had reacted just as they had expected. And as the body of the Third Raikage was handed to Kumo, and only an hour remained until a ceasefire was enacted, they began their assault.

This attack was led by none other than Kumo's future Raikage and the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails as they tore through the forest, heading straight for the camp where Fugaku Uchiha was stationed.

And as the three-man elite unit from Kumo moved through the forest, a Konoha team stood in their way.

"They are here," one of them spoke in caution as he saw the Kumo elite rushing towards them, and yet the Kumo nin all stopped suddenly as a blonde-haired shinobi emerged infront of them in a blur.

"I am afraid I cannot let you pass," he spoke as he stood face to face with Unruly Ay and a jinchuriki all by himself.

"It's him. It's the leaf's yellow flash," one of the Kumo-nin gasped as Minato Namikaze reached into his pocket and threw two dozen of his kunai as he got into his stance.

"Everyone, stand back," he ordered calmly despite being outnumbered as he announced confidently.

"I will handle this..."

0000

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