Chapter 17: In the Shadows

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Orochimaru's POV (???)

A group of five traveled to a structure well known to Leaf Shinobi but now abandoned. An old holdout of the Uchiha's a symbol of their independence even once joining the leaf. The Uchiha Hideout was the former base of the Uchiha. The Saninn had heard cats were maintaining the grounds. But seemingly knowing the four were there avoided them. Perhaps the Saninn would send some men to investigate. The five were led by quite a famous man. Orochimaru of the Sannin, walked with his most powerful and trusted soldiers. His right-hand man Kimimaro was a younger man with white hair that parted with an odd zigzag pattern. His forehead was marked with markings that told of his Kaguya clan heritage. His eyes seemed almost lifeless, just green orbs impassively observing their surroundings. He wore a lavender kimono wrapped in the braided rope his elites were gifted. He might just be his strongest soldier. A likely candidate for his newest host. The utterly loyal man was a favorite soldier. Walking to his left was a woman with a most unique kekkei genkai. Crystal Style was a tempting choice as a host but she was widely useful. Once he had removed the young boy from her life she had shattered. A bit of manipulation and Guren had become quite a useful tool. Her unruly spiky pale blue hair pulled into a bun but still spilled out onto her face. She had a cold expression that fit her beauty. She wore a green turtle neck dress with one long sleeve and a short one. As well as brown gloves and boots. Lastly and certainly not finally was his most dubious ally. Doubtlessly powerful and useful but his loyalty was impossible to guarantee. He had served a master slain by the leaf but had yet to give details. Merely demanding to work with the Sannin in exchange for the destruction of the Leaf. While not necessarily his end goal it would certainly be worth his time for what the man self-named "Zetsu" offered. He could move undetected at high speeds making him perfect for the more fragmented Sound Village. In battle, he was a simple fighter using earth jutsu and his travel to kill his opponents. After all, the man had killed several when Orochimaru had sicked them. Rarely would Orochimaru gather his leaders so at once, but the circumstances demanded a show of force. The group that was waiting to meet them was uniquely dangerous. Orochimaru was sure in a pitched battle they would be victorious but it was impossible to guarantee due to the powers of his newest allies.

The group finally arrived at the main chamber of the room seeing their other party waiting. Ikam sat on the throne, seemingly expecting the other group. Next to him stood a woman with a remarkable resemblance to Kushina. But she was shorter and slightly thinner. Orochimaru wracked his brain before releasing who it must be. Mishio Uzumaki, the infamous thief of the Uzumaki. She had stolen the mask before a team of Leaf had captured them from her. Using it as a bargaining chip to form an alliance. He had sworn her dead at the very least she would be ancient. But Orochimaru sensed no transformation; she somehow was still young. The man standing to the left of Ikam was even more shocking. Standing next to Ikam was the man of history, Ashina Uzmumaki, the man who had helped seal the tailed beast. The founder of Village Hidden in the Whirlpool. If Mishio should be dead Ashina should've been rotten. Two dead shinobi stood alive and well next to Ikam.

"Ah, Ikam, Uzumaki, clever in a simple way I suppose." Orochimaru started.

"Yes you may forgive me but I must hide my own identity as far as history is concerned I'm a dead man. I prefer it that way. Also, refrain from calling us that accursed name. It is my shame the world even knows it." Ikam replied as he stood. "Mishio put on the mask I gave you." The woman nodded silently doing so. Putting on an unnerving mask that showed some ghoulish face of a woman. The eyes of the mask seemingly glowing in the dark room.

"Ah the Amanojaku Mask." Orochimaru observed. "Said to see the hearts of all. An effective lie detector. Quite wise when dealing with a snake."

"Of course, no offense to you but in business situations like this I find it best to have honesty. Even if forced." Ikam replied evenly.

"No matter, how did my drug perform?" Orochimaru asked hungrily.

"Mizuki did receive a noticeable boost of power but still was defeated handily. It increased his speed and strength. Not to mention he had become as durable as stone. Blades are not even able to pierce his skin. I must admit I intend to buy some from you."

"Kukukukuku, it seems it worked as expected, excellent. I have enough on me for this Guren!" Orochimaru called. The woman walked forward with a large duffle bag sitting it a couple of feet in front of the Uzumaki.

Ashina silently walked forward and grabbed the bag. Checking its contents brought it back to his group nodding towards Ikam once he was satisfied. "Wonderful doing business with you Orochimaru. I'll be in touch about that seal you asked for. But remember if you find an Uzumaki you report them to me."

Orochimaru merely nodded with a smirk. Ikam glared at the Sannin but gave up once it was clear he would not be cowed. Orochimaru's group left with caution. Then tension in the air did not go away until Ikam could no longer feel them. He would have to be careful of that snake. He may very well be the death of him after all.

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Sai's POV (Root Home Base)

Sai was woefully conflicted. He never really had his own personal thoughts. Years of training had seen to this. He always thought towards whatever the objective had been stated as being. He didn't mind this, sure he had read books that discouraged him from having work as his life. But reading those books was against the rules anyway. Sai knew his existence was a poor one. But he felt nothing for it or did anyway. Now Sai was having thoughts and opinions, he even smiled without meaning to once. He knew this meant he was compromised but to the life of him, he couldn't stop. He was compelled by Danzo to report this, but he did not fail. But he had failed, but such wasn't accepted by root. Besides he had read in a book that double negatives cancel out. He blamed Tenten and Shikamaru. Shikamaru was oddly understanding; it seemed his intelligence made him relate to some degree towards Sai. Shikamaru also explained various social constructs very well. Tenten seemed to be supportive not only in regards to befriending Shikamaru but also in general. In such a degree Sai was sure she was either trying to seduce or manipulate him. And since Root rarely engaged in breeding he doubted the first one. If she was trying to manipulate him she was almost certainly a deserter or spy. Sai knew he should report this to Danzo yet he chose not to. After all, he may not feel anything but he remembered he used to hate the man.

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Obito's POV (Nearby Ikam)

Two men silently flew through the forest of the Fire Country. Both men had been hand-picked by the Hokage himself to act as his "Shadow Force". As the man had dubbed them. They were barely known in the village itself as shinobi. Being used only for low key operations. Itachi officially still in prison. And Obito officially being dead after a mission gone wrong .This allowed Hiruzen to always be able to make a move without being detected.

One of the two men was concerned. This being Obito, while the mission itself was important Obito did not worry about failing it. It had been years since he had allowed such a thing. Not to mention having Itachi Uchiha as the back was always reassuring. Powerful, intelligent, and utterly loyal to the Leaf. He along with Obito and several other Uchiha had been the ones to assist the Leaf in squashing the Uchiha Coup. No, the reason Obito was concerned was due to what it meant that they were the ones attempting to find the masks. Either the culprit or culprits were so powerful he wanted to send his best to gather these dangerous masks from them, or he believed someone in the Leaf was involved with its theft. Before he could ponder this any further, Itachi held up a hand signaling they were close. Due to the combined efforts of the science corps and Kushina, they had managed to create a Seal that would glow when facing the direction of the chakra of the individual who had shattered the seals in the temple. Obito sighed as he prepared himself. There was no telling if they were here at the moment or if it would be a trap of some kind. Though to speak of irony, the two ultra loyal Uchiha had arrived at the Uchiha Hideout of old treacherous ones.

"Ironic we particular Uchiha, are sent and we end up here?" Obito asks jovially.

"Most certainly, I must admit to feeling upset at their choice of residency." Itachi agreed calmly.

"Ya now that you mention it, these bastards are rude. Time to show them how we new Uchiha boys do it aye?" Obito asked with a giant smile.

"It would only be fair." Itachi said with his own small smile. As he finished this Obito swirled away into nothing while Itachi dispersed into crows. The two immediately appear on top of the building scanning the surrounding area with Sharingan active.

"I'm not seeing anything Tachi."

"Do not call me that."

"Why not Tachi?"

"I will strike you down, Obi."

"Ya that doesn't feel great, touche." Obito said, rubbing the back of his head. An instant later a blue arc cut through the man and Itachi seemingly bisecting both. Itachi faded into crows showing genjutsu, while Obito merely still stood where he was seemingly unaffected. "Hey my buddy and I were talking, show yourselves and be polite!"

Itachi flew onto the roof two men held in his hands by the throat. As always Itachi moved quickly and efficiently. "It seems we have rogue samurai." Itachi said plainly.

"Stop being cool! We talked about this!" Obito complained as Itachi choked them both out, dropping them.

"I thought you taking that attack was pretty cool Obi."

"I said we're dropping that!"

"You two shinobi, my name is Sanada. I and my comrades are former samurai of the Land of Iron. We were shamed for our sins and we are now here. I am ashamed to admit it but now we are nothing more than mercenaries. Mercenaries who have been hired to kill any shinobi who show up here. I am sorry to announce your death. May you find peace in your next life."

"That was very polite." Itachi replied evenly, smiling at them.

"You realize they are saying they will kill us." Obito said annoyed.

"I assumed they were joking. They are unable to kill us so it's humorous." Itachi stated.

"STOP BEING SO DAMN COOL!"

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Ikam's POV (Nearby Observing)

Ikam sighed heavily as he watched the two make short work of the samurai. It seemed the enhanced items were wasted on peons. Or at the very least, Ikam would need to find a way to deal with the two. He hadn't expected the Samurai to do much. But had hoped to see the capabilities of whatever team the Hokage had sent to investigate his recent theft of the mask. He had been prepared for an anbu squad but seeing what seemed to be two Jounin had been surprising. He had almost hoped the goons he had hired would manage to stop the two. Or at the least expose some critical weakness he could exploit. But the one named Itachi had almost immediately caught half of them in genjutsu. Worse yet the other one named Obito seemed to be either avoiding attacks absurdly quickly or just unaffected by them. The swords the former Samurai used had been fused with some civilian souls. The result had been a decent boost of power for them. It seemed though, for a significant boost, he would require stronger souls. He watched as the two finished them off. Itachi merely finished off men trapped in various genjutsu. Mercilessly slitting throats and piercing hearts. And Obito merely counter-attacking the remaining few. More merciful but using more crushing strikes. It was hard to say which of them were lucky ones.

Ikam hated to admit it but the Leaf was formidable. Either of these men may prove his match. The Hokage himself was even stronger. They even held the power of two of the Sannin. Since his goals would likely align against the Leaf, he had started working with Orochimaru. It seemed now with this level of threat leveled against him he may very well need to maintain this foul alliance. Whatever it took truly would be of no consequence. Ikam would finish what he had started years ago. "Anyone with the blood of the Uzumaki must die." He said quietly to himself.