-Forgotten Friendship





“Lord Hokage I do not think it is a good idea to pair a junior ANBU and a genin for a mission like this.” A man dressed in ANBU attire and a monkey mask says.

“And what do you suggest we do? All of our teams are busy for the moment and I need all of the anbu on call. They are the only two available.” Hiruzen replies taking a long drag off his pipe.

“Th-this a mission more suited for upper level ninja! What happens if they fail?”

"Hmph. Trust me. I do not think these two will fail. They’ve shown great promise.”

“Lord Hokage I’ll argue one more time… the junior ANBU and that kid you adopted haven’t had the proper training.”



“Enough Takagichi, my decision is final. Summon the both of them here.”



The anbu sighs, “Yes Lord Hokage.”



The troubled anbu exits the room leaving Hiruzen alone. An hour goes by before a young boy no older than thirteen enters the room. He has black hair with a couple of white spikes that stand out against the black. He also wears a ring with a yin-yang symbol on it, lavender shoes, a black shirt, and white shorts.



“Hello Ryu.” The third Hokage says.



“Hey…” The young boy solemnly replies.



“Whats’ wrong? Something bothering you?”



“Just sad that I couldn’t go on that mission with Asuma and the others.”



Hiruzen chuckles, “No need to worry boy. There will be plenty of others, trust me.”



“Heh. If you say so.” Ryu says while slightly grinning, “Why’d you want me here anyways?”



“I actually have a special task for you. We’re just waiting on one other.”



“Oh ok.”



Several more minutes go by while Hiruzen and Ryu talk to each other about small things, mainly about Ryu’s training and other little things going on in the village. There’s a knock on the door as another person walks in. They seem to be a kid wearing a lizard mask and anbu attire, which includes the typical armor piece for the torso, arms, legs, as well as black ninja sandals. His spiky black hair extends almost all the way to his lower back.



“Thank you for coming. Please, take off your mask.” Hiruzen says.



“Yes Lord Hokage.” The young anbu replies, slipping off the mask.



“Shizake?” Ryu says examining the kid he knew before becoming a genin.



“Oh. Hello Ryu.” Shizake replies almost blankly.



“I’ve been wondering where you went seeing as you never joined a squad.”



“Oh yeah… there were too many people so I guess I kind of just ended up here.”



“It’s good to know you’re still doing good though. Really, I thought something bad happened.”



“Nope. I’m good.”



“You two are probably wondering why I brought both of you here.” Hiruzen interrupts.



The two kids nod their heads.



“At the moment all of our teams are busy. Even some of the anbu are out on missions. It’s not that the rest aren’t available but they might be needed in a moments notice and I want to have them ready in case anything happens. As you know the chunin exams are in the coming month. Tensions run extremely high during these times so we need the village security to near maximum.”



“So then that means you have a mission for us?” Shizake asks.



“Precisely. It’ll be just the two of you.”



“That’s a little unorthodox for missions right?” Ryu questions.



“It is but this mission doesn’t require a full squad. It’s special. So please, read over the mission scroll.”



Hiruzen hands them a brightly colored yellow scroll, one that’s not usually seen among the common array of scrolls. The top of the scroll reads “Joint Op”. It stands for joint operations referring to Shizake who is in the ANBU and Ryu whom is a genin in the academy.



“We believe there’s illegal experiments being preformed on humans outside of the leaf village.” Hiruzen explains taking another heavy drag from his pipe. The sweet smoky aroma fills the air making Ryu cough while swatting away the smoke. Shizake stands there still at attention, ready to listen.





“H-humans?” Ryu replies.



“Yes. It’s very grim. Not only humans, we believe whoever is behind this is developing illegal jutsu as well.”



“What do you need us to do sir?” Shizake asks.



“Infiltrate and dispose of this garbage. If you find out who’s behind this then dispose of them as well. Scum like that doesn’t deserve to live. Any one still alive in there will need to be extracted too.”



“We’ll get right on it Lord Hokage.” Shizake says.



“A-are you sure about this grandpa? It seems pretty dangerous just for us two. Plus you know I don’t like to kill…”



“Like I said, we’re busy at the moment. I picked you two because you show great promise as shinobi. I know deep in my heart you two can complete this task. As for killing… I know Shizake will complete the task. I know it makes you uncomfortable Ryu but I want this threat gone immediately. Anyone in need in the land of fire needs our assistance. Do not worry though. The ninja I had track him said he appeared to be an amateur. He didn’t cover his tracks well but when confronted he had a dark aurora about him. ”



“If you say so grandpa. I trust your judgment.”



“Please be careful. We have no idea what kind of monster is behind this. And Shizake?”



“Yes my lord?”



“Keep my grandson safe as well.”



Shizake glances at Ryu then back at the leader of the leaf village, “You got it.”



The two young shinobi then make their way out of the bright red building. Shizake stops in the street and turns to Ryu.



“We’re going to do this right. Gather your supplies then meet me at the front gate. We have a two-day journey ahead of us. Luckily this place is in fire country.”



“Ok. Oh and Shizake, it’s good to see you again.”



Shizake nods his head before making his way to his place while Ryu runs off to his place. The sun slowly makes it’s way across the sky as the day goes by. Both Ryu and Shizake make it to their abodes and gather their supplies into a small pack. Only the essentials are needed but enough to survive for a couple of days. Soon enough the two meet each other at the front gate and embark on the journey well ahead of them.



Like any other travel, it is made on foot and in fire country it is usually made from one tree branch to another. Through small chakra fueled leaps, many miles can be traversed quicker than most forms of travel.



The day goes by in a blur. The trip was mostly quiet; the only time the two talked was to make slight adjustments in direction so that they will arrive at the right place eventually. Shizake and Ryu then decide to set up camp once the sun begins licking at the horizon. Both manage to set up a good-sized fire and set the tents up just as the sun disappears for the night. Soon enough the pink and orange glow of the sky begins to darken and darken until it’s pitch black. The creatures of the night begin to come out and the crickets begin chirping their songs.



Shizake pokes the fire with a stick, staring into the embers and losing himself within the fire. Ryu looks at Shizake with a puzzled look on his face. He remembers Shizake when they were younger. He was depressed after the massacre yes but he still remembers Shizake smile and laugh and play with the others. Something seems off to him, so he decides to speak up.



“Shizake. Can I ask you something?” Ryu asks.



Shizake glances up from the fire, “Yeah, go ahead.”



“Well… you…you just seem different. I remember you being more outgoing and happy, even after the… uh… well you know,” Ryu says, “You seem blank now. Almost… emotionless. What’s wrong?”



Shizake a bit taken back tries to search his brain for what to say, “I uh… n-nothing. I…well I… I’ve just been busy with the anbu. I haven’t had time exactly…to well… I haven’t had time for friends. The anbu really changes you as a person. As much as I try to fight it…”



“Everyone misses you. Especially Naruto, and the others too. I’m sure even Sasuke misses you.”



“Sasuke?” Shizake asks, perking up, “H-how is he?”



“I’m not… the greatest of friends with him. He’s still cold and closed out to everyone.”



“Oh…”



“But don’t worry Shizake, I know he’s doing good.”



Shizake seems to relax, “Good… I miss everyone else also. I wish I could’ve gone and been on a team… the anbu have taught me a lot but… you know.”



“Don’t worry Shizake. I’ll tell everyone that you’re alive and well. I’m sure it’ll make them happy. I’m happy as well.”



“You have a kind soul Ryu. I’m glad to have someone like you as a friend.”



“No problem Shizake.” Ryu says while smiling.



“Um…how about you? How are you doing?”



“Me? Good I suppose…”



“You all right after the incident with that Daichi character? You were incredibly brave that day.”



“Oh that… I don’t like to talk about it. Thanks though.”



“I never got around to thanking you… for protecting Sakura. She helped me a lot after the massacre, emotionally that is.”



Ryu, flustered, says “ Oh, it was uh…it was n-nothing. I’m sure you would’ve done the same.”



“Yeah but to the extent you did? I snuck into the village archive and read the report about what happened. You endured hours of torture via mind jutsu. Not just anyone can survive through that. Especially receiving it from a trained shinobi to a kid who wasn’t even a genin yet.



Ryu bites his lip remembering what he had gone through that day. He closes his eyes and shakes the memories, pushing them back into the recesses of his mind. The pain and agony that day was unbearable.



Shizake noticing he has brought back bad memories apologizes, “ S-sorry. I just… thanks. For protecting one of my… one of our friends. You’re a true shinobi.”



“I’ll protect her at all costs.” Ryu slips out.



“You like her don’t you?” Shizake asks with no emotion or hint of curiosity in his voice.



“M-me? Well n-no but… I-I.”



“Don’t be embarrassed about it. If you like her then go for it. Life is short… it could end any moment. Keep the ones you like close because you’ll never know…”



Ryu stares blankly at Shizake unsure of what to say to something dark like that, “W-well… I suppose your right.”



“Trust me Ryu, she’ll be lucky to have someone like you around.”



“Thanks Shizake… w-who do you keep close?”



Shizake looks at Ryu, blinks, then looks down at the fire and then to the side.



“I haven’t had time for those things. The anbu take up most of my time. I would say Sasuke but we rarely see each other. The times we do are short. He hasn’t much to say. The only thing we can really talk about is our unrelenting hatred for our clan’s killer and how we plan on exacting our revenge.”



“Oh…I’m sorry Shizake.”



“It’s ok. As long as I know you all are doing ok, I can be happy.”



Ryu stands up and holds out his hand. Shizake, confused, stands up and sticks his hand out as well. The two clasp hands, a sign of friendship, brotherhood, and understanding.



“We have a long day ahead of us Ryu. I’ll take first watch.” Shizake says.



“You got it. Wake me up when it’s my turn.”



“Ok.”



Shizake climbs into a tree and conceals himself among the thick leaves. Ryu glances up at Shizake in the tree before going into his tent and laying down. The night plays on as the two eventually switch out for keeping watch. Ryu, taking the last half of the night is the first to see the sun rise. When the sun’s halo is fully visible, he decides to go and wake Shizake up. The two shake the sleepiness off while gathering everything into their pack. With the campsite cleaned up the two continue heading southeast, the objective slowly coming closer.



“What exactly are we looking for Shizake?” Ryu loudly asks through the wind.



“Well. We are looking for some sort of illegal lab. I assume it’s going to be hidden though as these types of things usually are.” Shizake says back.



“What’s the plan then? It isn’t going to be an easy walk in, take down, and leave.”



“You’re right. We’ll have to survey this village. The scroll here says it’s a sort of rest stop village for long travels to other villages. It isn’t going to be huge but won’t be small either. We’ll have to ask around probably and with extreme caution. If one person catches on to us it’ll compromise the whole mission.”



“Jeez the anbu sure do teach you a lot huh?”



“You wouldn’t believe half the crap they make us go through… but it’s for the safety of the village.”



“Then I’ll follow your lead.”



Shizake nods his head, “Lets stop for a second.”



The two take one last jump onto a branch and then down on to the forest floor simultaneously. Then Shizake turns to Ryu while holding his pack.



“Yeah so… we’re going to need to change clothes.”



“Hm? Why?”



“Well considering what I’m wearing, someone will become suspicious. They’ll see your leaf headband, which will also set off some red lights. Seeing as your headband is sewn into your pants, you’ll need to change those. Lastly you need to change out of those ninja sandals too. The tiniest thing could alert someone. Here take these geta sandals.”



Shizake hands Ryu the wooden block looking sandals, which Ryu quickly puts on, stowing away his ninja ones in his pack as well as exchanging pairs of pants.



“Me on the other hand, I brought a change of clothes because I’m a dead give away with this armor. I’m going to have to seal it away though, I don’t have room in my pack for all this armor.”



Shizake throws all the separate armor pieces aside on the forest floor leaving him only in an undershirt and boxers. Out of his pack he pulls a black and grey t-shirt and some dark blue shorts. He too throws on some geta sandals completing the normal citizen attire. Finally he pulls out a scroll and seals away the anbu armor pieces.



“Now we can continue.” He says.





Ryu nods as they both leap back into the trees and continue the journey…

“Finally we’re here…Nokori.” Ryu says examining the sign that sits along the path to the medium sized village.

“Come on. We’ll grab a motel room, relax and then go from there.”

Ryu nods as the two continue along the main path of Nokori. The village is what you would expect of a typical rest stop village. Hundreds of restaurants and motels line the streets. Every type of food you can think of is wafting out of the chimneys. The motels are so inviting that you want to stay at every one of them for a night. There’s even quite a commotion going on with the number of citizens walking around. They’re all here to relax and enjoy the amount of time they have until they have to continue with whatever business they are up to.

“I really didn’t expect this much.” Ryu says gazing at all the people.

“Neither did I, seems like the perfect place to hide an operation though.”

“True. Where do we even begin?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll grab this motel room first and then split up.”

“Sounds good.”

The two enter one of the several motels and purchase a room for two. The motel most likely won’t be needed but it’s a good place for the two to fall back in case anything goes awry. There’s no time to rest as both split up within the village looking for anything suspicious.

Shizake scouts the east side of the village, which mainly consists of small shops. They range from weapons, knick-knacks of all sorts, books, scrolls, you name it. On the west side is Ryu. The west side consists of more restaurants and more motels. Since it is a major rest stop village it’s to be expected that there is a plethora of places to eat and places to sleep. Some of the motels are cheap, a quick place to stay for a night or two, while some are more luxurious, for extended stays and for those who can afford it. The restaurants are the same as well. After hours of scouting around most of the city the two meet back up at the motel.

“Find anything?” Ryu asks.

Shizake shakes his head, “You?”

“Sadly no. I noticed a lot of children running around but nothing too suspicious.”

“Rgh…What did we miss? How do you hide a laboratory within all of this?”

“Hello.”

Ryu and Shizake, startled, turn to see a young boy with soft angel white hair, a regular long sleeve red shirt, black pants, and… no shoes or sandals or anything of the sort.

“Um hello there.” Ryu says.

“Would you guys like to play?” The young boy says innocently.

“Sorry kid we’re busy.” Shizake harshly says.

“Hey don’t be so mean Shizake, he’s just an innocent kid.” Ryu says, walking over to the kid and getting on one knee, “What’s your name?”

“Mmm…. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? Well how can that be?”

Ryu turns his head back and gives Shizake a concerned look. Shizake shrugs and walks over to the two with his hands in his pockets.

“Well what are you doing here by yourself? Where are your mom and dad?” Ryu continues asking.

“What’s a mom and dad?” The kid asks tilting his head.

“W-what…?”

Shizake immediately grabs Ryu by the shoulder and pulls him aside.

“Something’s up with this kid. I don’t know what it is but I don’t feel right at all.”

“I know what you mean Shizake… It’s very odd that he doesn’t have a name and doesn’t even know what parents are.”

“You think it has to do with our mission?”

Ryu turns his head and smiles to the kid before turning back to Shizake, “Could be. We should stick around this kid in case.”

“Right.”

The two follow the seemingly harmless kid who slowly skips through the streets of the village. The set of paths the three takes seems to be endless and random at that. Every once in a while the kid will point out a spot he likes to play at, describing it in a way only a kid would understand. Ryu goes along with it talking to the kid while subtly trying to gather information about him. Shizake for the most part ignores the kid and looks around mainly at the sky. Still, nothing suspicious has shown itself besides this kid.

Finally the kid takes a path that deviates a ways from the village. Not too much to be oddly suspicious but just enough that it just seems like another part of the village.

“Where are we going… um…” Ryu thinks for a second, “I’ll just call you… Shiro?”

“Oh. Ok.” The kid says without a second thought.

“So where are we going Shiro?”

“My favorite place! It’s where all the kids go to play!”

Shizake turns his head to Ryu and squints; Ryu immediately knowing what Shizake is thinking nudges his head towards the kid. Through silent communication they decide to keep following this kid now known as Shiro. Both Shizake and Ryu come to a complete halt when they arrive at a graveyard. Shiro keeps going along through the graveyard happily humming to him self.

Ryu and Shizake glance at each other wide eyed before continuing to follow the kid through the eerie place. Normally a graveyard wouldn’t be in village like this considering it’s only meant for passing through. It means that this graveyard is for the locals who run the businesses.

Ryu and Shizake catch up to Shiro who is standing in front of a large crypt. The two stop immediately looking at the giant stone grave. Shiro walks through, disappearing into the shadows. Shizake looks to Ryu who mumbles something to him self while shaking his head. The Uchiha shrugs before the duo step into the crypt.

Almost immediately the air goes zub zero, well, at least that’s what it feels like. “What have we gotten into?” Ryu speaks out.

“I have no idea…” Shizake hopelessly says back.

The only thing visible for now is Shiro’s white hair that somehow shines out against the darkness. Shizake looks around for a moment before finding a stick on the cold ground and lighting it with a simple fire jutsu.

The room becomes illuminated, the fire providing some warmth as well. Shiro walks up to one of the columns of coffins and presses a button that is blended into the wall. The room begins to rumble causing small pebbles and rocks to fall off the ceiling. Suddenly the whole wall of coffins opens up to a set of stairs the lead down deeper into the earth.

Shiro begins flying down the stairs, running as fast as a cheetah. It takes a while for the two young leaf shinobi to register before they take off after the innocent child.

“Damn. Where’d he go?” Shizake asks as the two reach the bottom of the stairs.

“No idea. What is this place?” Ryu responds.

The two look around at the massive chamber the sits below the cold earth. The area is circular with doorways laid out along the walls on both sides. The two walls converge back together to lead back to another hallway that, as expected, stretches on forever.

“He must’ve kept running…” Ryu says, his quiet words echoing throughout the chamber.

“I wonder if anyone else is here besides Shiro.” Shizake wonders.

“There has to be. Even though it seems abandoned.”

Shizake’s ear twitches, “Footsteps. Someone is coming,” Shizake warns, putting out the torch he’d been carrying.

The two shinobi step back into the cover of shadow waiting for whoever else could possibly be coming by. Shizake, wanting to use his Sharingan, refuses because the crimson glow will stand out against the dark. Whoever this person is walks up to one of the many sets of doors lining the wall. Luckily it’s on the opposite side of where the two young ninja are hiding.

The person opens up the door, allowing three children to step out. It’s hard to make out their features but they follow whoever let them out without any disobedience.

“I-Is he preforming experiments on k-kids?” Ryu whispers.

“Shh…” Shizake replies.

The group leaves the current chamber and heads back down the hallway the leads further in. Eventually they disappear from view and into the never-ending blackness of the hallway.

Shizake carefully steps out signaling to Ryu that it’s safe, “I think you hit the nail right on the head Ryu…”

“How could someone be so cruel, so inhumane…?”

“I don’t know but we’re going to stop him.”

“Right.”

“I say we ambush him. There’s no need to confront him head on that will only complicate things. If we can take him down in one strike then we can end this mission quick with no fighting.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I’ve been wanting to use this wire and shuriken idea I’ve had for a while. It would kill him instantly.”

“K-kill?”

“Yes. The Hokage ordered us to kill him remember?”

“Well yeah but… isn’t there some other way?”

“Afraid not. Look just leave the killing up to me, I’ll need your help though.”

“How so?”

“I’ll explain while we walk, lets keep going down the hallway.”

The two continue down the eerie dark chamber. Shiro has completely disappeared and the two leaf ninja wonder if they’ll ever see him again. As they journey down the endless stretch of darkness, Shizake explains his plan to Ryu. Ryu is to use his static field jutsu when the man comes within sight. Once he’s paralyzed Shizake will spring the trap causing the wire trap to launch dozens of shuriken. To top it off, Shizake says he’s going to hit the shuriken with a fire jutsu just in case.

The next room freezes the shinobi dead, no – cemented, in their tracks. Only the eerie green glow from the lamps around the room illuminates the disgustingness, the absolute horror of dead subjects lying on metal tables. About a dozen tables line the room with only seven of them filled. The patients’ arms and legs hang off the table, mangled, obviously a sign of struggle. Crimson red blood drips off the table along with organs splattered around their respective subjects. Everything ranging from intestines, to livers, and even hearts lie around the room. Some dried blood remains on the silver graves, leading back to the lacerations and slashes that they protruded from.

Shizake’s jaw trembles, gazing repulsively, horrified at such a gruesome sight. Ryu closes his eyes immediately, trying to force the sight out of his head. Neither of the two can shake it, only because the putrid and noxious smell of chemicals and rotting corpses consumes the air.

Ryu eyes still closed says, “I can’t do this Shizake, this is…”

“Ryu, I would normally agree with you but.” Shizake replies, stopping to gag, “But this is even more of a reason to take him down.”

“Ugh… Can we please just get out of this chamber at least?”

“Y-yeah lets double time it.”

The two make like bullets across the room, trying as hard as possible to not glance at these poor young children who had no fighting chance. The innocent soul of someone who never truly experienced the world, gone at the hands of some mad scientist.

As Ryu and Shizake escape the surgery chamber, they find themselves in one of the many empty holding cells, just to keep away from any main paths the enemy might show up on. For a while the two don’t speak, hell, they don’t even look at each other. Their young faces will only remind them of the horrible monstrosity that they just witnessed.

Shizake, sitting on a bench with his back against the wall, bites his finger continuously. He gazes at the black wall, trying to empty out his mind. Even with the anbu sanding down his emotions, he still feels the absolute fear and hopelessness he felt for those few minutes back there. Ryu, with his knees pulled up to his chest and head buried in them, does the same. Why did he have to get sent on this mission? Why couldn’t it have been someone more suited to deal with this…?

Finally Ryu breaks the silence, “Shizake…”

Shizake jumps at the sound of Ryu’s voice and turns his head instantly, “Y-yeah?”

“We need to continue. As much as I don’t want to…”

Taking a deep breath Shizake stands up, “You’re right.” He walks over to Ryu and extends his hand out, helping his comrade up to his feet. Shizake then grabs Ryu’s wrist and makes them clasp hands, putting his free hand on Ryu’s shoulder. That was such a mood change Ryu thinks to himself. He’s hiding it obviously, trying to be strong.

“There’s no denying what we saw back there. We’re going to get this guy and bring justice to those kids. Any one still alive needs to be taken out of here permanently. We’ll need to be strong Ryu… because I have no idea what’s coming.”

“I agree Shizake… We’ll fight through this darkness and shine a light for those kids who were robbed of life.”

The two nod at each other and are about to exit the chamber when both of their spine’s shiver. Both the ninja turn around to see a shadowy figure. Before either of them can let out a yelp, the figure grabs Shizake by the collar, the figure and Shizake disappearing into a black void in the ground.

“Shizake!” Ryu screams, hoping to get a response… “SHIZAKE!”

When no answer comes, Ryu goes into a panic. Unsure of what to do and where to go. It was more bearable with someone else to go through the darkness of this place but now his friend is gone.

“I-I have to find him… b-but how? I have no idea where to…”

“Hello!”

Ryu spasms, immediately reacting to the loud voice that comes from behind him. In the doorway is Shiro, his white hair still glowing against the dark,“Oh Shiro, you scared me.” Ryu says relieved it’s not the enemy.

“What’re ya doing?” The kid asks, tilting his head.

“Um…well me and my friend got separated…”

“Oh yeah…” Shiro says, looking around for Shizake.

“D-do you think you can help me find him?”

“Hmmm ok!”

“Awesome. Now is there any place you can think of around here? Any secret places you’re maybe not allowed to go into?”

“Hmmm… not really…” The kid ponders aloud.

“Oh…” Ryu says, his shoulders slumping.

“Only because I can go everywhere in this place.”

“That still doesn’t help. We should star-“

“Well except for this one place…”

“Wha?”

“I don’t know how to get in… but maybe you can help!”

“Heh. Now I’m helping you? Well ok show me the way!”

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

“Ungh…” The young Uchiha groans, blackness the only visible sight, “Where am I?”

All of a sudden the darkness is relieved, Shizake groggily looks around at the torches illuminating the room. Once he shakes off the haziness, he looks down to notice he is tied down to a metal chair, cemented into the ground. He feels sharp throbbing pains on both his biceps and looks to see ivs sticking into each of his arms.

“Ah… you’re awake.” A voice whispers.

Shizake’s face is grabbed and forced to look up at his abductor. He wears a black cloak that conceals his face but something is odd about the hood. It seems to produce a shroud of shadows that hide his face. The only thing that shows are two glowing red eyes in the shroud.

“Where the hell am I?” Shizake demands.

“You’re in no position to ask questions. I should be asking you the same thing…” The man quietly hisses.

“Heh. I wouldn’t worry about that.”

“Enough.”

The man flips a switch as fluid begins running through the ivs connected to Shizake’s arms. Nothing happens at first until Shizake feels a flood of power through his system. Within seconds it becomes too much to handle until his body bursts into visible chakra.

“UAGH!!!!!!!!” Shizake screams, every inch of his body screaming in hellish agony.

Without purposely doing so, his Sharingan flares into eyes, spinning uncontrollably. As soon as that happens, the man shuts off the machine, this time the chakra draining backwards.

The flood of power disappears from Shizake’s body, draining him of all energy. His head hangs down recovering from the aftershock.

“Heh. There are a lot of people with special abilities in this world… I do this to every new subject because things like your Sharingan will show themselves.”

“What do you want…?” Shizake says.

“Now that I know what you contain, I’ll help myself to your powers.” The man says.

“Heh. You’ll die before you even think about touching my Sharingan.” Shizake retorts.

“Kids. Always so sure they know how this world works when they really don’t. You’re not escaping, it all ends here.”

“Is that why all your subjects are kids…?’

“Quiet. You’re going back under.”

Shizake meets his gaze with his captor, casting a genjutsu on him. Shizake makes it seem like he and the man have switched places. Now the man is tied up while Shizake stands over him.

“See. I don’t go down easily.” Shizake says proudly.

The hooded shroud man looks around for a second before the red glowing eyes on his shroud close then open back up, shattering the genjutsu.

“Nice try.” He says.

“Tch.” Shizake grunts.

The man chops Shizake on the neck, hitting the exact nerve needed to knock Shizake unconscious. Shizake immediately blacks out, his head handing to the right. A never ending void of blackness, trapped in his mind.

“How about you don’t run off this time eh Shiro?” Ryu says, following the young child.

“Heh heh sorry.” Shiro replies.

“So how do you know your way around this place so well?”

“Hmm secret tunnels and stuff!”

“Should’ve known. Why do you come back here though? This place… it’s well it’s horrible.”

“All my friends are here! We come and play and meet new friends every day!”

“Must be referring to the new subjects…” Ryu mumbles to himself, “So what about the guy who took my friend?”

“Heh heh he’ll never catch us! It’s the best game of hide and seek!”

“Sometimes I wish I could see the world like you see it…”

“Here!”

The two take a left down another corridor and come to a door that almost looks like a solid wall. The only give away that it’s a door is a triptych of symbols, three of them, lined vertically along the wall. Under the last symbol are two handles bounded by tangled up chains and locks.

“I could never find a secret tunnel into here… but if you can help me it’ll be another good hiding spot!”

“Well I can try…” Ryu says looking at the puzzle.

Ryu runs his hands along the symbols that seem to ominously glow with a purple tint. The chains don’t budge an inch as Ryu pulls on them. He then backs up and scratches his head. Ryu pulls out a kunai and tries to slice the chains but to no avail. For the next attempt Ryu backs himself and Shiro away from the door. Then he puts together a set of hand-signs.

“Lightning style: Lightning snake jutsu!” Ryu yells putting his palms up.

Three bolts of lightning snake out of Ryu’s palms and slam into the chains. The metal chains jump up from the force but still don’t break.

“Grr… maybe it has something to do with those symbols. I remember… learning about sealing symbols in the academy. It’s almost like a genjutsu but doesn’t alter the visible world around you, just a specific part. So maybe… just maybe I can break it just like a genjutsu.”

Ryu makes the tiger seal with his hands, “Release!” He yells, but to no avail.

“What am I missing…?”

Ryu studies the symbols then scans his brain until a light bulb goes off in his mind, “I’m still right about the genjutsu but it’s more than a basic tiger seal break. These symbols! They’re the kanji for different hand signs! So maybe if I preform the right seals…”

The first symbol is horse, “Uma” Ryu says aloud making the sign. The next symbol is Tiger, “Tora.” Finally the last symbol is dragon, “Tatsu.”

The symbols begin to glow bright gold before disappearing one by one. As soon as the last one disappears, the chains break by themselves and fall off the handles, allowing free passage to anyone who pleases.

“You did it!” Shiro screams.

“Heh. Yeah. Now lets go save Shizake…”

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

“You know someone will come to save me…” Shizake groggily says, awakening from being knocked out.

“What that little runt of a friend of yours?” The shrouded man says while flicking a needle containing a red fluid.

“He’s not a runt… he’s a strong ninja. He will stop you.”

“Even if I gave him a head start… he would fall within a minute, two minutes tops.”

“Heh. You’re so wrong…”

“You’re lucky this damn serum takes so long to prepare. I’ll shut you up soon enough.”

“What are you going to do?” Shizake helplessly asks.

“This will put you out and it will break down your chakra system, allowing me to bypass the gene security sequence so I can pluck out that wretched Sharingan of yours. You see, the Uchiha have a natural immunity to those other than other Uchiha from obtaining the Sharingan. There are only a few in the world who have been able to get passed it. That bastard Danzo being one of them…”

Shizake stares wide eyed, his jaw trembling, thinking of the horrible agony that is soon to come. The Sharingan is the only thing remaining from his clan. Without it Shizake would be nothing, an empty shell of his former self.

“That’ll be the last thing you take…”

“Quiet kid. It’s time.”

The man approaches Shizake, pressing down the syringe so that a tiny amount of liquid spurts out from it. Shizake begins struggling in his restraints, trying as hard as possible to break out of them. It’s no use because the shrouded hood man straps another restraint around Shizake’s head and chest, allowing for zero movement. The man locates the vein and presses it to Shizake’s skin.

“Static field jutsu!”

The man convulses, flowing with electricity, causing him to drop the syringe. It shatters against the solid ground as he falls over, still convulsing.

Ryu runs over and slashes off the restraints on Shizake with a kunai, allowing the Uchiha to get up out of the chair. The man recovers, smashing Ryu in the face and sending him careening into the wall. Shizake does a backhand spring off the chair and launches himself back to where Ryu is, checking to see if his partner is ok.

“Ryu! You all right?” He asks, placing a hand on Ryu’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Ryu says wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“You saved my life back there Ryu. Lets get him!”

The two ninja kick into battle mode, each sliding out several shuriken between their fingers. With one swift simultaneous moment, the shuriken are soaring towards the man.

“So it’s resulted to this…” The shroud man hisses. He looks down and just before the shurikens hit him a wall of shadows lift up before him, blocking the tools. They clang against the shadow like shield, some bouncing off and hitting the cold walls. Shizake runs to the left side of the room and jumps on the wall, using his chakra to stick to it. Ryu does the same, the shinobi splitting up to divide the shrouded man’s attention.

The two launch of the wall, kunais armed in their hands. The hooded man lifts up both his arms slowly. Once they’re aimed at the two young leaf shinobi, the tentacles stretch up from the ground, twisting around both his arms and launching out, pinning Shizake and Ryu to the wall.

“Ack!” The two shinobi let out from being slammed against the wall.

POOF!

Shizake disappears, a shadow clone that he used to replace himself with. With blinding speed, Shizake runs up and jumps, placing a foot on the hooded man’s chest. He uses his other leg to swing back and kick the man in the face, launching Shizake in the air at the same time. Shizake then swiftly puts together hand signs. “Fire style: Flame spear!” He roars, flames flowing out of his mouth and leaving a blazing trail of fire behind the blazing pointed tip.

The spear rockets towards the enemy, causing him to drop his hold on Ryu while using the shadows to block the fire attack. Ryu lands on his feet, making hand signs without a second thought.“Lightning style: lightning snake jutsu!” He yells, three bolts of lightning zipping out from his palms. The bolts separate before converging back on the enemy.

The shadow jutsu that the enemy is using wraps more shadows around his blind spot, it too blocking the lightning jutsu.

“Shadow style: Pulse burst!” The man says, dropping his shadow shield.

A thin wall of shadows pulses out towards Shizake and Ryu, launching them farther away from the man. The two gracefully land, the jutsu not being a lethal one.

“Rgh. It seems he likes to fight at a distance…” Shizake says.

“Yeah he wouldn’t develop that jutsu for any other purpose other than to move his enemy back.”

“So up close is his weak spot, which explains the shadows he’s morphing to defend himself.”

“Shizake look!”

The man slams both his hands on the ground and deeply says, “Shadow style: true shadow clones…”

The shadows lay out across the ground, stopping about halfway between Ryu and Shizake. From the sea of darkness, clones of the hooded man begin forming. All of them form looking down before they simultaneously look up, their glowing red eyes ominously staring at our young heroes.

Both Shizake and Ryu go wide eyed, staring at the army of clones made from the shadows gazing at them.

“Either give up now, or be eaten alive by my shadows…” The hooded shroud man says.

“We can take them Ryu…” Shizake quietly says.

“No Shizake. I can. You need to be able to get in there and fight him with your sharingan, it’s the only way you’ll be able to break his defense. This jutsu will take a lot out of me, so it’s up to you.”

“Ryu… a-are you sure?”

“Yes Shizake… get ready.”

“I’ll need some more power…” Ryu mumbles to himself, placing his left index and thumb on the ring on his right hand. He slightly twists it, not taking it off all the way. Visible chakra begins bursting out from Ryu, encasing him in the blue energy.

“You ready Shizake?!” Ryu roars.

“Yeah!” Shizake roars back, the dark crimson glow replacing his black eyes while the two tomoe spin into place.

Ryu swiftly makes a set of signs before slamming his palms on the ground.

At that moment the shadow clone horde charges at them, the red eyed demons coming for their lives.

“Lightning style: static storm jutsu!” The Sarutboi yells at the top of his lungs.

Magnificent towers of lightning erupt from the floor, unleashing an electro hell storm among the army of clones made from shadows.

Shizake uses chakra to jump up on to the ceiling and stick to it. He runs through the storm of lightning, dodging the bolts that manage to hit the ceiling. Thanks to the sharingan, he can predict each bolt’s movement and move accordingly.

The horde of shadows explodes into a massive cloud of smoke, concealing the entire room. Shizake pops out of the smoke, a trail following him. He locates the enemy who is still shocked at the jutsu to notice Shizake.

Shizake levels out from soaring through the air and lands a few feet away from the enemy, using the momentum to slide and slam kick the man in the chin. He launches into the air so Shizake runs up the wall and jumps in the air with the man. Shizake lands two crushing blows to the enemy’s back before spinning around and connecting heel to rib. The shroud man soars into the wall to the right, cratering directly into it. Shizake lands, huffing from exertion while staring at the enemy. Eventually the man slides out of the crater and onto the ground like a ragdoll.

“Ryu,” Shizake thinks to himself. He turns and runs back to check on his comrade. When he arrives he sees Ryu on one knee, panting heavily.

“Did ya get him?” Ryu asks.

“I think so, I came back to see if you were ok.” Shizake says.

“I’m fine, just weak right now.”

Shizake sticks out his hand to help Ryu up and to his feet, “That was incredible Ryu. Where’d you learn that?”

“Heh. Training has been paying off lately. I’ve been toying with the size of my static field jutsu.”

“Nice. Lets go make sure we got him.”

The two jog over to the enemy who is still seemingly lifeless on the ground. They warily walk up to the figure and begin checking him out. Suddenly the body dissipates into shadows, melting into the darkness of the room.

“Damn!” Shizake yells out turning around and looking about the room hastily.

Both the leaf shinobi are lifted in the air, shadows wrapped around their necks.

“Gullible children. Believing the world as they see it…” The man says.

“Heh heh…” Shizake begins giggling.

“What’s so funny?!”

“You forgot about something ha ha ha!” Shizake begins laughing almost maniacally.

“What’s that?!” The man roars, desiring to know the answer while tightening his grip on the two ninja.

“Shizake why are you laughing at a time like this…?” Ryu says, wheezing.

“My…” Shizake starts, pausing to take a breath, “My Sharingan is still activated!!!”

“What the…”

Two of Shizake’s clones jump out of the darkness kicking the man in the back of the head with full force. His face is pile drived into the ground, shattering the rocks below him. The grip he has on Shizake and Ryu releases, the shadows retreating back to the man to fend off the clones.

“Come on Ryu!” Shizake says, bursting into a sprint while picking up Ryu by the arm.

Ryu startled at first catches his feet and begins sprinting alongside his comrade. The two glide into action and just as the man’s shadows defeat Shizake’s clones the young ones reach the enemy. They begin firing off tandem combinations of taijutsu crushing the man with each and every blow. Shizake cartwheels to the right, slamming the hooded man in the face with his foot. Ryu slides under Shizake, planting his feet and using the torque to bring his ankle directly into the man’s stomach.

The enemy slowly stumbles back, trying to use his shadows to fend himself off but to no avail. The two young ninja are able to keep up with him being in a weakened state and also from being on the offensive.

The shadows seem to be slowing down as well, a sign that they are part of the enemy and his chakra. Shizake and Ryu flip and duck under one another, dodging more shadows. Both jump up at the same time striking the man in the stomach with the bottom of their feet. Once again the shadowed enemy stumbles back, the air being knocked out of him heavily.

“One more time!” Ryu calls out.

They simultaneously dash at the man, preparing for the final blow. Shizake’s fist fills with electricity, as does Ryu’s. The lightning elegantly flows off their hands, leaving sparkling trails of pure energy behind. With one final attempt the man sends his shadows soaring towards Ryu and Shizake. The two use their empty hands to knock the attack away, turning their bodies right to avoid the shadowy clutches of death.

“Ragh!” The two yell out, striking the man in the chest.

The electricity explodes against the man, sending him soaring into the wall adjacent to them. He craters into it deeper than before, his body slumping down but refusing to fall out of the indent in the wall.

“Agh…ugh...” The man groans.

“Huff… huff… not this time!” Shizake says, whipping out a scroll and roaring into full speed once more.

“Shizake what are you doing?” Ryu says..

“I won’t make the same mistake!” He yells back.

A poof of smoke appears next to Shizake who yanks the short sword out of the air, gripping the wooden shaft in his hand. Just before he reaches the man, he sticks the sword out, placing his other hand on the bottom of the sword handle.

SHINK!

The sword cleanly enters the man’s chest, blood slowly leaking out of it. Shizake sits there for a moment, staring at the man through the shroud before taking his sword out. He then rips the man out of the crater, tossing him to the ground.

“Sh-Shizake…” Ryu nervously says while walking up.

“What?” Shizake asks.

“Why…?”

“It had to be done Ryu… I should’ve done that the first time.”

“But… no one deserves to die…”

“Ryu. It’s ok. It’s on my shoulders. I’m aware of what I did. I can carry the burden.”

“I…”

“Trust me Ryu.”

“Ok Shizake…”

Ryu turns away, looking around the room before turning his head to Shizake, “I’m going to free everyone from here. Meet me at the entrance when you’re done…”

With that, Ryu runs out of the room, quickly going to free the young children who’ve been trapped here.

Shizake crouches down, grabbing the hood on the man and sliding it back, “What the…?”

Shizake stares at his former enemy, whom doesn’t have a face at all. The shroud is still concealing his face before it disintegrates into nothingness, the identity of this evil person never being known.

“Odd…” Shizake says before turning around and exiting the room.

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

Ryu and Shizake watch as all the young kids run joyously out of the stone crypt. The glisten in their eyes as they run around and smile warms Shizake and Ryu’s hearts, causing them to smile wide. Eventually everyone including Shiro exit the crypt.

“That’s everyone.” Ryu says, finally sighing happily.

“Good. We should destroy the entrance.” Shizake says.

“Rgh… I agree. We can’t have anyone discovering that.”

Shizake pulls out one bomb tag and places it on the secret door inside. The two make sure everyone is well enough away before Shizake activates the tag.

BOOM!

The explosion rips through the air, collapsing the door that leads down below the earth. It no longer is accessible which means no one will be able to discover the horribleness of what exists below the village’s feet.

“I think we’re done here Shizake…” Ryu says tiredly.

“I think so to. Let’s get out of the village and set up camp for the night. We’ll head home in the morning after a good night’s rest.”

“Heh. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep tonight after that.”

“I have just the remedy for that. This special tea brew I have will knock you out cold for the night. It’s common among the ANBU for… troubled minds.”

“Sounds good. Hey by the way, where did you learn lightning style?”

“Um… well…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I saw my cousin, Sasuke training with Kakashi. Kakashi was teaching him lightning style. I used my Sharingan to watch their movements, trying to learn it myself. I figured I could attempt to learn it as well… So far I haven’t had any luck but back there my Sharingan was still activated and I copied your movements.”

“Oh…that’s good then!”

“Yeah!” Shizake says, grinning and rubbing the back of his head.

“Lets get a move on. I want to get home.”

“Agreed.”

***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***

“I see… so it was children he was experimenting on…” Hiruzen says, chiefing his pipe while shaking his head.

“Yes sir. We managed to locate him and take him down.” Shizake says formally.

“And you disposed of him correctly right?”

“Yes my lord. Ryu can attest.”

Hiruzen glances to Ryu who takes a huge gulp before nodding, trying not to replay the memories in his head.

“Very well. A great burden has been lifted off the land of fire’s shoulders thanks to you two. I am very proud of you both. Rest. Gain your energy back for a few days, you deserve it.”

“Thank you lord Hokage.” The two say, bowing.

They exit the room and head back into the leaf village.

“Hey Ryu… I have a question.” Shizake asks.

“What is it?” Ryu says.

“How come you named that kid Shiro…? Wasn’t he the one along with Daichi…?”

“Oh…” Ryu says, scratching the back of his neck, “Well… I don’t believe that everyone named Shiro is evil. One bad person doesn’t generalize them all. That kid was nice, a bit odd, but not evil.”

“I see. Well… I guess I should go report back to the ANBU.” Shizake says.

“Oh. Ok. You want to hang out after your done?”

“H-hang out…? Um y-yeah! Sure. Just let me wrap this up real quick and I’ll meet you at…?”

“How about the barbecue place, the one by the hot springs?”

“Yeah sure. See you soon.”

The two part their ways for the moment. A friendship long lost, re-forged out of darkness and despair but also through brotherhood and the will of fire. They say that great power shows itself when one has a strong will to do what is right. Many great obstacles will be overcome; the darkness will rise once again. But the force of good will be there to crush it back down.