V

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Arc V Chapter 12

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Nara Satoshi was a proud Konoha ninja, a ninja history didn’t care about, a ninja whose fate mattered little, but history cared in a rare show of mercy.

Satoshi was one among many. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes to protect Konoha. His name remained unknown, forever shrouded in mystery.

Satoshi wasn’t a Sannin. He wasn't a White Fang. He wasn't a Minato. He wasn't a Kakashi. He wasn't an Itachi. He wasn't an Asami, the rising star among Konoha's ANBU.

The girl possessed the necessary intelligence, the necessary strength to secure her place in history. He had seen her in action. In defeat, unbeatable. In victory, unbearable.

Satoshi wasn’t like them. He never would. He wasn't born lucky.

He was just a normal ninja, such was his destiny. He was a simple man with modest goals, the very definition of Konoha’s abundant mediocrity.

At least, he was an ANBU, which meant he wasn’t completely worthless. He was only insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

Satoshi passed unused training facilities, unused barracks on his way. They remained unused for years since the day the Hokage officially dissolved Root.

Satoshi was a former member of Root, a high-ranking member, and remained a leading figure to this day.

On paper, Root didn’t exist anymore. The Hokage fully integrated them into ANBU following the Uchiha massacre and their involvement in the entire affair, but reality differed.

No arrests, no demotions, no investigations, no serious consequences followed. They retained their ranks and positions. Not the smartest choice the Hokage ever made. As usual, Hiruzen was all bark, no bite.

Root survived their dissolution, and remained active behind the scenes, albeit not as active as in the past.

Root suffered from a dubious reputation, mainly due to Danzo's shady activities. But not every Root member was inherently evil, rotten to the core.

Reality was complex, full of shades of grey and beyond simplistic black and white distinctions. Good people fought for Root, brave people who fought and died for Konoha just like everyone else.

Critical voices existed within the organisation with a little bit of common sense left. Most of them were senior members like him. They founded Root under Danzo's leadership, and they often disagreed with his course of action, but Danzo overruled them.

Younger recruits underwent Danzo indoctrination with mixed results. His program produced excellent ninja, but the failure rates were staggering, the casualty rates appalling, the side effects plenty.

His training regime had a negative impact on their psyche and mental stability. Danzo crippled the children emotionally. Many of them broke and developed psychopathic tendencies. His inhuman training turned them into soulless husks.

Satoshi entered the conference room. Perhaps he should quit Root and search for a less troublesome post.

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“Morning.” Satoshi yawned and joined his colleagues. No reply came. They sat around a round table. The general mood wasn’t the best judging by their gloomy faces.

A series of files lied before him and bore the innocent title “deployments orders”.

Satoshi grabbed the documents and gave them a look. ”Noriaki, what are these?”

Noriaki furrowed his eyebrow. He showed no smile, no joy. He answered with his professional glare. ”Deployment orders, and the reason for our lovely meeting.”

Satoshi studied the documents. The plan was to encircle the invasion force and annihilate them. A bit risky, but worthwhile.

“Are they from Danzo?”

Noriaki gave an uneasy smile. “They are. Fu delivered them together with special orders from Danzo, but they are not from him. Someone else wrote them.”

Satoshi raised his eyebrow in surprise. Danzo put every single Root ninja on standby. As usual, Danzo didn’t tell them anything. He didn't share any details.

Satoshi didn’t like special, nor did the rest of his colleagues. Danzo rarely paid the price for his special orders. Not every Root ninja was a mindless drone, eager to discard their life.

The old man was quite good at running. He would drop them without hesitation to save his skin, just like back then in Amegakure.

Satoshi’s composure faltered. ”Someone else? Who wrote them?”

It wasn’t Danzo. It wasn’t Hiruzen. Too cautious. It wasn’t Shikaku. Too conservative in his approach.

Noriaki crossed his arm and surprised him with a cryptic reply. ”I think you might know her, our little princess.”

---

Satoshi stiffened. His limbs froze. There was only one person who carried this nickname. The girl carried her title with pride.

“Noriaki, stop these stupid games. Tell me her fucking name!”

Noriaki rubbed the bridge of his nose. His smile faltered. ”It's Her Haughtiness Asami herself.”

“And what's the problem? As far as I know, Asami is quite ... capable.”

Noriaki took a deep breath. “That's exactly the problem …”

No. No, no, no, no. No. Satoshi had an uncanny feeling. This entire situation reminded him too much of Ame.

Natsu folded his hands,” The problem is not our official mission.”

No. No. No.

“But Danzo's unofficial special mission.” Noriaki handed him another folder.

“What's this?” Satoshi dreaded the answer.

”These are our real orders, our real target.”

His hands touched the soft paper. The folder was thin, light, but the paper weighted heavily on his arms.

Satoshi opened the files and studied the single pages with a sense of detachment. His mind refused to accept reality.

He stared at her picture for a small eternity. The cute little girl looked quite harmless, but the picture didn't betray her true nature. The girl was a natural calamity.

Satoshi murmured her name. “Asami ...”, He studied her file. Apparently, black was her favourite colour. Not that it took a genius to figure that out.

“What did you say? We need to kill her?” Satoshi grew pessimistic.

“Yes.”

“We all know Asami, don't we?” Satosh remained calm.

“Yes.”

“We know what she is capable of?”

“Yes.”

Satoshi sighed. “I guess It was nice to have met you. Nobody will survive this shit. ”

Noriaki narrowed his eyes. “Stop being so pessimistic, but I agree, our chances are 50-50 depending on the circumstances.”

Satoshi clicked his tongue. ”50-50, very encouraging. I will let my men know that they have only a 50 percent chance to die.”

“Noriaki, seriously, why are we even doing this?”

”What do you mean?”

Satoshi crossed his arms. ”Sure, we are all part of Root, but why are we doing this?“

“I have no problem with his Danzoness deciding to fuck around with little girls, but please without getting us involved. I don't want to bite the dust because of him and his little adventures.” The rest of the table remained silent. Nobody looked excited about their special mission.

...

...

...

Subaru joined his side. “I think Satoshi has a point.”

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