Naruto: An Informant from the Uchiha

"What crime?"

Yun gave Izumi's hand a reassuring squeeze and looked at the beheaded corpse nearby.

Because the head had been chopped off cleanly, the mask had also fallen off. The lifeless eyes stared wide open.

"Aren't they invaders from outside the village? I remember hearing about the Anbu at home, they're directly under the Hokage, right? But what is this 'Root'?"

Yun feigned innocence: "Some unknown ninja told me to go with them and refused to tell me who they were. Rule six of the ninja academy: Always stay alert around strangers who suddenly appear."

After speaking, Yun turned to the group led by Danzo. "Speaking of which, you guys aren't even wearing Leaf Village forehead protectors. Old man, who exactly are you?"

BANG!

Danzo's cane struck the ground forcefully. His expressionless, dead-fish eyes looked over. "My identity is not something you need to know. But being able to kill three Root operatives... seems like you've been hiding the fact that you've awakened the Sharingan, haven't you, little Uchiha brat?"

Yun scratched his head. "Another one of those answers, huh? So now you want me to go with you, too? This is Konoha, you know. How did you, unidentified ninjas, manage to get in with such numbers?"

A ninja beside Danzo, replacing Aburame Ryoma, spoke: "We are Root operatives who train the Anbu. The ones you killed... were also Root."

"Uchiha kid, if you surrender now, it'll save us all some trouble."

Izumi's hand tensed in Yun's. He looked down and smiled, "Don't worry, it's not like what they say is automatically the truth."

He looked across again and replied, "The Uchiha have always had autonomy. The Police Force handles Uchiha matters. I've never heard of some mystery department that can just summon me at will. I'm just a student, not even graduated yet."

"If they don't reveal their identity, they have no right to take me. And right now, you also don't seem to have any way to prove who you are."

"Take down the barrier. Once the Fourth Hokage arrives, everything will be judged fairly!"

Danzo shook his head slightly and said calmly, "You defeated three of my men. I underestimated you. But to think even a child of the Uchiha doesn't consider himself part of the Leaf…"

Yun cut in, "You don't represent Konoha. Even if you are from this so-called Root, only the Fourth Hokage represents the village."

"Tch!"

Danzo sneered, shaking his head. "The Fourth is too young. He doesn't understand how dangerous your clan truly is."

He looked past Yun toward Izumi. "That's your sister, isn't it? As her brother, you shouldn't place her in danger…"

"Uchiha Yun, after your father's death, your mother, Uchiha Hazuki, brought you back to the clan grounds. Your next move will determine your family's fate."

As Danzo finished speaking, Root ninjas silently spread out, surrounding Yun and Izumi at the center.

The scene fell into absolute silence.

The barrier around them separated the area, making it feel like an isolated battlefield.

Yun frowned, already growing impatient.

'A threat?'

He remembered the last person who threatened him using Izumi… was now missing a head.

The barrier blocked the outside. A large-scale Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence could eliminate all the ROOT here. Then, combine Flying Thunder God with Kotodama, shouldn't be a problem.

But openly killing Danzo like this would ruin his plans.

Too many deaths, and if Danzo died too, the Third Hokage would definitely demand answers.

And as a student from the Uchiha clan, he might be subjected to a Yamanaka memory probe.

So then…

Defect?

Where would he defect to and still eat well every day? Living rough out there wouldn't beat the comfort of Konoha.

Besides, his mother and Izumi definitely wouldn't want to leave the village.

So then… might as well kill everyone here, including those who set up the barrier.

'Threatening my family, huh?'

Yun glanced once more at the beheaded corpse. Then he lifted his head and looked Danzo in the eye.

"Old man, what gave you the confidence that you could take me… or threaten my family?"

Danzo's narrowed, dead-fish eyes slowly opened. "So, you've made your decision then…"

"Foolish Uchiha brat. You're born with that cursed bloodline. The more potential you have, the greater the threat you pose to the village!"

"Everything I do today is for the sake of Konoha!"

Yun let go of Izumi's hand and sneered, "You really have a talent for saying shameless things so righteously. That's your style, alright."

As he clapped his hands.

BANG!

The sound of the barrier breaking rang out from afar. A flash of golden light appeared instantly in front of Yun.

"Root?"

The voice of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, rang out. Yun immediately lowered his hands, having not yet completed his Seal of the Snake.

Following Minato were Shisui and Itachi, who were carrying a ninja cat.

When Izumi saw the three appear, she instantly relaxed and collapsed to the ground.

The cat in Itachi's arms… was a new friend she'd made recently.

Why was it with Itachi, Yun also wanted to know.

"Fourth, Uchiha Yun killed Root operatives. I need to take him to Root for interrogation. Any objections?"

Danzo's tone was blunt. In truth, he had never thought highly of Minato, just a disciple of the Third's student. In Danzo's mind, no one was more suited to be Hokage than himself. Certainly not the overly soft Hiruzen, or his students.

Minato looked around. As his eyes scanned the three Root ninjas, surprise flickered across his face.

'Shisui had said Uchiha Yun was strong, but the wounds on the corpse and the two unconscious Root agents? All one-hit kills.'

'Could his Body Flicker Technique already rival Shisui's?'

'This kid… was more talented than even Itachi. For now, that was a good thing.'

"Uchiha Yun, your explanation?"

Minato looked over. Yun repeated his explanation once more.

And added, "They're really from Root? I'm just a student. I've never even heard of this Root organization in the village."

Shisui, a jonin, looked at Danzo: "He's just a student at the academy. Why is Danzo-sama after Uchiha Yun? As far as I know, Root doesn't have the authority to detain villagers at will."

'Exactly!'

In that moment, something clicked in Minato's mind, that was the critical point in Shisui's words.