Chapter 3: Gather the Clans Part I

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes and clenched his fists as he dealt with the strong emotions he had raging in his chest in response to listening to Itachi's report. He had just learned that one of his oldest friends had just betrayed Konoha and spit on everything he believed in. Shimura Danzo had betrayed his own promise to their teacher the Nidaime, he had betrayed all of Konoha, and he had betrayed their friendship.

Sarutobi knew that he was a soft man. He could not bear to kill his student Orochimaru despite what he had done to all of those children and despite all the people that he had killed. He had tried his best over the years to ensure that Konoha kept its public image as clean as possible allowing Danzo to do the dirty work for him. Out of sight out of mind, he had always told himself. He thought that allowing Danzo to run ROOT was a good thing for the village.

But not anymore. This was far too much. Danzo attempting to kill Shisui for his eye… This was enough reason to start a civil war. The Uchiha clan already are beginning to consider rebellion because of their mistreatment after the Kyuubi incident. The fact that they were not allowed to aid in the defense against the Kyuubi made them appear suspicious in the eyes of the civilians. This paired with rumors that were spread through the village that an Uchiha was to blame for the incident, which was supposed to be an S-class secret, made the many civilians hate the clan. Sarutobi had only just come to learn the other day that the origin of those rumors was ROOT.

As the Sandaime continued to think more and more about Danzo and his organization the more furious he became. Danzo had been kidnapping clan children in order to bolster his ranks in addition to all of the orphans that he took. All of the clans were angry. Yet whenever they had brought it up, himself, Koharu, and Homura always protected their friend. When he learned that Danzo had known about and even planned the Hyuga affair in order to give Konoha political leverage over Kumo, he had still stood by his friend and said nothing to the Hyuga clan.

Even when Danzo had sent assassins to kill him, he had forgiven him on the premise that he swore to always act in Konoha's best interests and protect it with his life. He had been soft. As a Hokage, he had let his own personal feelings get in the way. Danzo needed to die. Hiruzen slammed his fist on the Hokage's desk and shattered the piece of furniture carved from one of the Shodaime's own Mokuton.

"Itachi, these are the orders from your Hokage! Gather the clan heads and have them meet me here. Tell them it is urgent and I require their presence immediately. ANBU has potentially been compromised and I need to know I have trustworthy men behind me. Tell Hyuga Hiashi that I have information on the Hyuga affair. Ask Inuzuka Tsume about Kaemon, she would know him better than I. If this ninja who is trying to save Shisui is really Kaemon, she would be the one who could confirm his identity. Tell your father that I wish to make amends and bring the Uchiha back into the fold, I plan to make an Uchiha my next successor. Tell all the other clan heads that I have intel on their kidnapped children. Tell them the meeting is an S-class secret and only those who have also been called to attend are privy to the information. Ensure that you are not followed and that your message is not intercepted", by the time the Hokage finished his orders he looked as if he had aged ten years.

"I'm too old for this Shit", the Hokage said as he took out his pipe and furiously began smoking. Itachi paled at the information that he had just received from the Hokage but nonetheless bowed and Sushined (body flickered) out of the room.

Itachi's mind grappled with the facts that it seemed like the Hokage had known that Danzo was completely capable and willing to commit these crimes.

'Are the Uchiha right to hate the village? Has the village betrayed the individuals within it?', Itachi wrestled with these thoughts as he ran as quickly as he could to the nearest clan compound.

Hyuga Hiashi stood in the Hyuga Clan garden as he stared up at the moon. His clan had always revered the moon and felt a connection with it. Maybe that was why their eyes were so pale, just like the object they felt so attached to.

Hiashi tensed as he felt an approaching shadow leap over his clan's fence and sprint towards him. He got into the Jyuken stance and activated his Byakugan. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed the chakra of the person approaching him.

"Would you mind telling me what the prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, is doing in my garden so late at night?", Hiashi said coldly coming out of his stance and deactivating his Byakugan.

"Pardon my intrusion Hyuga-sama," Itachi said as he made eye contact with the clan head and his Mangekyo Sharingan blazed to life. Hiashi immediately fought to break from the genjutsu but could not and his world was dyed red. Itachi appeared before him and bowed.

"I apologize for placing you under genjutsu Hiashi-sama, it is extremely improper, but I ask that you forgive my misconduct as I am under orders of the Hokage to deliver you a message that can not be intercepted", the young Uchiha said with a bow, Hiashi still tense and angry at the blatant disrespect but nonetheless listening.

"Your presence at the Hokage's tower is required immediately. Hokage-sama has intel on the Hyuga affair. You are not to tell anyone of your purpose in visiting the Hokage's tower aside from those who also receive this directive. You are asked to move as quickly as possible. Discretion and secrecy are imperative", Itachi quickly repeated his orders from the Hokage and bowed once more to the Hyuga head. Hiashi blinked once and the genjutsu began to fade.

Hiashi's face slowly turned from one of anger to one of concerned interest as he came to from the brief moment within the Tsukiyomi. He watched as Itachi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

'This is... Usually, the Hokage would send a scroll rather than a messenger, let alone a messenger who would go to such lengths to ensure secrecy. And this late at night? This is obviously more than just giving me news… and what a powerful Genjutsu!', Hiashi thought as he turned to leave the compound.

"O-o-oto-sama?", the soft voice of his eldest daughter broke him from his thoughts. Hiashi turned back to see Hinata peeking her head out of the nearest door. He knew his daughter still had nightmares about that night two years ago when she was kidnapped. He could see her cheeks shine in the moonlight probably covered in tears.

Hiashi could feel his heartbreak every time he saw his daughter like this. He wished his wife was still here, she would be much better at comforting the girl than he was. Or his brother, Hizashi was much better at showing emotions than he was. Hiashi never knew how to bring what he felt to his face.

"Hinata did you have a bad dream?", Hiashi said as he walked to his firstborn daughter, picking up the six-year-old who even now looked so much like his late wife. Hinata's lips quivered as she gave a slight nod.

"Hyuga can not show weakness to others Hinata", Hiashi said sternly as he wiped the tears from her eyes, "Especially a clan head like you will be one day". Hinata looked down in shame, Hiashi felt awful, but she needed to learn. She was already being watched by the clan elders deciding if she will make a good clan head.

"Hinata, do not tell anyone what you saw tonight", Hiashi said firmly as he forced eye contact with his daughter, "and stay in bed once I tuck you in. If you have trouble sleeping look up at the moon through your window. It's what your mother and I used to do when she couldn't sleep…". Hinata's eyes widened at her father sharing something so intimate with her. Since her mom passed, her dad never shared anything with her.

Hiashi walked through the clan heads mansion and eventually made it to Hinata's room. There he carefully laid his daughter down and tucked her in bed. Hinata looked to her window and saw the brightly shining moon.

"Your mother liked it because even if you can't see it, you know it's there. It's a comforting thought", Hiashi said as he looked at the moon with his daughter. Hinata merely nodded, liking the warmth that her father was showing her. Even if it wasn't much, it was more than she had ever received from the man since her mother passed.

"I will make them pay for your nightmares…", Hiashi murmured softly as he turned to leave the room. Hinata barely caught the words, she was too distracted by the brightly shining moonlight.

Itachi did not stay for a response as Hiashi slowly came out of the Tsukiyomi and left quickly after finishing his message. He then headed to where he knew each of the clan heads would be at this time of night. Leaving his own clan for last.

After speaking to the Hyuga he had run and delivered the message to the more reclusive Kurama clan head. Breaking through the many-layered genjutsu traps and other precautions surrounding their clan home was far too easy with Itachi's new eyes. It took some explaining but Itachi told Kuruma Murakumo the situation and he readily agreed to the meeting. The Kurama clan head's nephew had been kidnapped just last year. Murakumo was ready to do anything to retrieve the heir second in line for the clan head, behind his own daughter.

At this point, Itachi had stopped caring about the blood streaking down his face from using the Tsukiyomi for each message he delivered instead focusing on pouring on more speed to reach each clan head.

Nara Shikaku, Akamichi Choja, and Yamanaka Inoichi were easy to find at the Rusty Kunai, their regular bar for their weekly drink. Itachi has to be very wary about how he got his message to each of them to make sure they didn't panic when one of them went under.

Itachi settled for brining under Shikaku first by catching his eyes in the reflection of his glass. The other two were too busy conversing to notice their lazy friend pause for a second and then begin frowning. Shikaku's mind already working on the puzzle in his mind with the new information given to him. He had long before thought that the attempted kidnapping of his own son and the disappearance of so many other clan children were connected. Now Shikaku knew his hunch was on the mark and now he had a guess as to who was behind all of it. Which was even more concerning if he was right.

Itachi chose Choza next as he was the soberest of the three and was less likely than Inoichi to make a scene when he later woke from the Genjutsu. The Akamichi's smile soon faded after the message landed and he gave Shikaku a questioning look. Shikaku only gave a nod in response with a muttered, "Troublesome…".

Inoichi was soon given the message. The boisterous and loud voice of the Yamanaka suddenly stopping made quite a few people turn their heads at the avid gossiper who looked a mixture of concerned and furious.

After delivering the message to all three, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio immediately called for their check and left. Each thinking hard about the news they had just received.