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A week after leaving for the border outpost, Takuma returned home with two ROOT agents, the burnt remains of a third sealed in a special sealing scroll, and the outpost's second-in-command, Chūnin Hyouma. He had called in an ANBU iryō-nin to help in transport because he had no medical expertise to keep his prisoners in their forced slumbers.
"Did you know?" Takuma asked. He sat before Itachi's desk in the latter's office a few hours after his return. He wanted to know if Itachi knew about ROOT's involvement in the border outpost, and if so, why he wasn't told beforehand.
"No, but I was suspicious," Itachi replied.
"Was there any chatter? Because I didn't hear any," Takuma asked. ROOT wasn't an isolated organisation. If they wanted to develop their influence, they had to step into the real world and interact with others, and every time they did, they risked announcing their presence in minute ways, regardless of how much precaution they took. And people loved to talk. They might not say anything important, but there was always something to be gleaned from street-level chatter.
"Nothing like that. It was just a hunch."
Takuma narrowed his eyes. "I didn't know you worked on hunches."
"Hunches are often your subconscious mind's attempt to connect information you didn't even notice," Itachi said calmly. "You found ROOT, so I guess my mind was onto something."
Takuma sighed and let it go. He was bothered because he knew he had become part of a political cockfight between two jōnin he didn't want any part of.
"So, what did you figure out?" asked Itachi.
Takuma wanted to discuss things after he formulated his case report because it gave him time to sort his thoughts and present a cohesive account of what happened. But seeing that he was in the ANBU Captain's office, it wasn't like he could refuse.
"The core of this case is that two parties don't need to be allied to benefit each other. Party one is Jōnin Hanezawa Souta, who wants control over the border outpost, which is currently under the control of Jōnin Pyoga Jin."
He didn't know why Hanezawa Souta wanted that outpost. He didn't bother the investigation party sent by the jōnin, even though they were colluding with Hyouma; he only told them that he would be in touch before leaving. They were clearly concerned about Hyouma snitching on them, and it wasn't like they were running away or anything. Even if they were worried, they had a jōnin backing them, which would bring them some degree of comfort, making it safe to leave them alone for the moment.
Itachi nodded. "Jōnin Souta has made a couple of attempts to bring that outpost under his command for its trade potential. He has failed every time because Jōnin Jin is diligent with his duties."
"And party two, ROOT, who noticed those bids for control and decided to get involved," Takuma said.
"The question is, why would they interfere?" Itachi asked with a hint of a smile. He already knew the answer and was trying to quiz Takuma.
"I don't know much about Jōnin Souta, but his political stance seems to match well with Shimura Danzo's. Even though they weren't closely allied, they were still on the same side politically... At first, I thought that ROOT probably wanted to have control over the border outpost—and maybe they do—but they could also be aiming higher and want to put Jōnin Souta in a more powerful position."
Now that Danzo couldn't influence the Hidden Leaf directly, he needed other ways to exert his control. Those he was most publicly allied with were clearly under watch from ANBU and would come under instant scrutiny if they made any big moves.
"The solution to that?" Takuma said. "Find someone who holds similar values to you and supports them. However, the genius here is that ROOT is trying to do so without connecting directly with Jōnin Souta. Normally, it would be risky doing things that way because the other side could just take the benefit and not return the favour, but here the conditions were favourable..."
Jōnin Souta had an unspoken reputation as someone who abused his position and power for his benefit. If someone wanted to make something happen that needed his approval, they needed to "take care of him." It was a standard case of corruption. Being a jōnin, he was protected to a major extent as long as he didn't take it too far, making it difficult to get rid of him.
It benefited ROOT because, as they stood, doing anything in the Land of Fire would have them clash with the Hidden Leaf. But if they could simply grease the palms of the right person to make things happen while being reasonably cautious, they could remove that barrier. If Jōnin Souta gained more power, then that was one more avenue they could manipulate by buying his aid.
Not to mention, if Jōnin Souta became more influential, he would push his political agenda, which would mean pushing Danzo's agenda.
"They found someone who would be compatible with Jōnin Souta. Chūnin Hyouma has been facilitating smuggling by taking bribes. And he has the ambition to be the outpost leader. He's the perfect candidate to put in charge."
Initially, Takuma wasn't sure if Hyouma was directly involved, but seeing that the little fucker sent ROOT agents after him, he had to be, and Takuma was going to make sure he rotted in a prison labour camp for years to come.
"ROOT approached Chūnin Hyouma with an offer that if he cooperated with them, they would help him become the outpost leader," said Takuma.
"Did he know they were ROOT?" asked Itachi.
"I can't say for sure because I haven't interrogated him yet." Takuma was injured and tired after his fight. "In my opinion, I don't think he knew they were ROOT. As for how they convinced him? It probably wasn't that hard. He would've been able to earn much more through smuggling if he were the outpost leader."
Their plan was to eliminate Earth-aligned couriers and merchants and place the blame on Fujita. Additionally, they killed to the point that it turned into something so bad for Hidden Leaf's reputation that it needed to be swept away and forgotten. That was part of the plan. To make things so bad that the higher-ups would prefer to pick a scapegoat and get rid of the problem.
"From what I heard, Hyouma sent fabricated proof that would put Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita in trouble. That was enough for Jōnin Souta to take action. Not to mention, there's no risk here for the jōnin. If he found proof of wrongdoing, it's not strange for him to send in an investigation party. And if they find something wrong, he would get credit and the front-running position to replace Jōnin Jin in the potential aftermath."
"Did Jōnin Souta's men know that Chūnin Hyouma was being helped by ROOT? That's important if we decide to go after him," Itachi asked. There was not a hint of doubt or aversion in his voice. He was going to attack a jōnin if he had ample ammunition without thinking about the consequences.
Takuma was surprised because he had been involved in a case where the end result made a jōnin do things he didn't want to do, which was very tough to do in any of the hidden villages.
"I don't think so. I'll even go as far as to say that they didn't know that Hyouma was working with ROOT agents," Takuma answered with certainty.
When he returned to the outpost with the ROOT agents, the investigation party was boggled out of their minds. Every single one of them looked so uncomfortable because they were caught in a situation they weren't prepared for or even aware of. They tried to put on an act, but it was so flimsy that it fooled no one. Well, no one was looking at them, so they didn't really need to act.
"I believe they didn't even know that he was in contact with the bandits in the first place. They believed that the proof they had received was real—and that mattered because it gave them confidence to barge into that outpost like they owned the place," said Takuma.
It was a masterclass in manipulating everyone involved to get the maximum benefit. If Takuma wasn't there to pressure Hyouma, who then made the mistake of trying to kill him despite being perfect for so long, they would've pulled it off.
"I'll confirm everything for you. I would also like to bring in the investigation party to see if I can get something on Jōnin Souta. I doubt I'll get anything, but there's no harm in trying."
Itachi was deep in thought for a moment before he nodded. "I'll trouble you with that, then. You have been doing consistently great work, and I don't want to feel like you're being underappreciated, so you'll be getting another jutsu access pass soon."
Takuma expressed his appreciation. Including the Shadow Clone Jutsu, this access pass would give him a total of five potential B-rank jutsu. Five B-rank jutsu were a lot, and it would take some time before he could master them. He didn't think it was enough because he was unsure if all his choices would be the right ones. Some of his choices, regardless of how well he thought they suited him, might not gel with his combat style when he actually tried to use them.
That's why he wanted more access passes, just in case his choices were wrong.
"There's one more thing I wanted to talk about," said Itachi.
"Yes, what is it?" Takuma asked, thinking Itachi had another case for him. It annoyed him a little because he wanted to go home and rest before getting more work, but Itachi's next words were the last thing he was expecting to hear.
"It's high time you get a promotion, Ratel. I think you've earned it."
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In a small hut on the outer edge of the village adopted by ROOT as their new base, Shimura Danzo sat on a chair in the living room. He was reading a book written by a Hidden Cloud jōnin when the door opened and an agent of his stepped inside.
Danzo continued reading until he reached the end of the section and marked the page with a bookmark before turning his attention to his agent.
"Speak," he said.
"The Fire-Earth border outpost mission has failed."
Danzo paused to recalibrate. That mission was important. He wanted security around that trade route to be able to use it without scrutiny. But more importantly, he wanted to push Jōnin Hanezawa Souta to have more influence in the Hidden Leaf Village and around the Land of Fire. Hanezawa Souta shared his views to some extent, and he was blinded by greed, which was beneficial to the current situation.
His long-term plan was to push Hanezawa Souta to be a leader of a faction with enough power to influence change—change he wanted to come true for his return to a stronger Hidden Leaf.
But now that plan had ended before it could even begin.
"What happened?" he asked.
"ANBU investigated the outpost. For the progression of the mission, the handler deemed confrontation and elimination of the ANBU-nin necessary. The field team was deployed and didn't return."
"Are they dead?"
"Two captured, one killed."
That handler needed to be punished for ruining the mission. It would've been better if he had his field team killed, but two of them had been captured, which made things infinitely worse.
"Report," Danzo said, holding up his hand.
The agent put a scroll in his hand. The report was bare and only consisted of the essentials, so Danzo quickly reached the part about the ANBU operative that was sourced from their asset, Chūnin Hyouma, the outpost's second-in-command.
"A single operative?" Danzo asked. He would've loved to have more people of that calibre in his team.
"Yes, sir."
"Interesting. Was it a lieu—"
Danzo unfurled the scroll further to reveal a rough sketch of the ANBU-nin's mask.
"A badger," he muttered.
It was a mask design he recognised from another report he had received about another failure in the city of Inahara. It was a mask that belonged to someone whom he had ordered a team in the village to observe.
"...Call in Kon. I want him to conduct a joint mission with a team in the village," Danzo said as he stared at the drawing of the mask. "It's time we get rid of this threat before he does more damage than he already has."
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