Chapter 14: The Fool's Gambit

The Root agent who had retreated from the forest arrived at a hidden, subterranean base—the heart of Danzo's operations, a place where Konoha's sunlight never reached.

"Lord Danzo," the agent knelt before a large desk, head bowed. "The mission was a failure."

The man behind the desk, Shimura Danzo, did not look up from the intelligence report he was reading. "A failure?" His voice was like dry leaves scraping against stone. "An elite Jounin of Root failed to retrieve a single child who hasn't even graduated from the academy? Explain."

"Sir, it was the ANBU. Hokage's ANBU intervened and took Uchiha Sasuke into their custody under the Hokage's direct orders."

Danzo slowly lowered the scroll. His gaze, from his single visible eye, fixed upon the kneeling ninja. The right side of his face and his right eye were heavily bandaged, hiding the stolen power within. "ANBU… I see. You are dismissed."

"Yes, my lord." The agent bowed lower and vanished as silently as he had arrived.

Danzo sat in the ensuing silence. *"Hmph. Sarutobi… you still seek to protect the Uchiha remnants. It seems I must deal with this personally."*

---

A similar debriefing was occurring in the Hokage Tower.

"Lord Hokage, the mission is complete. Uchiha Sasuke is safe and secure," the ANBU captain with the boar mask reported, kneeling with his team.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk. "Well done. You are dismissed."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The ANBU operatives vanished in a series of soft *shunshin* sounds.

Once alone, Saratobi set down his pen, picked up his long-stemmed pipe, and walked to the large window overlooking the village. The lights of Konoha twinkled like distant stars.

*"Itachi… I am sorry. This is all I can do for you now."*

A soft knock came at the door.

"Enter."

A chunin aide stepped inside. "Lord Third, it is very late. You should retire for the evening."

"I am waiting," Sarutobi said, not turning from the window.

"Waiting, sir? For whom?"

"For a guest. Do not trouble yourself. You may go."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The aide bowed and left, closing the door softly behind him.

Not five minutes later, the door opened again without a knock. Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed on the wooden floor.

"You're here, Danzo," Sarutobi stated calmly, finally turning around to face his old friend and rival.

"You knew I would come," Danzo said, his one eye narrowing.

"I know you better than anyone, Danzo. I knew you would come the moment my ANBU returned."

"Why did you interfere?" Danzo's voice was a low growl.

"Perhaps a better question is why you felt the need to abduct a child in the dead of night," Sarutobi countered, taking a long draw from his pipe.

"I said a year ago that the Uchiha are too dangerous. We cannot allow their power to exist outside our control. I agreed to spare both boys, but one was to be inducted into Root. That was the agreement with Itachi."

"Oh?" Sarutobi's tone was deceptively light. "In that case, I will have Uchiha Ren delivered to your Root headquarters tomorrow. Will that suffice?"

"Enough, Sarutobi!" Danzo snapped. "You know who I want. Uchiha Sasuke. Not that imbecile, Ren."

"As you are well aware," Sarutobi said, exhaling a plume of smoke, "there are only two Uchiha children left: Sasuke and Ren. Since the tragedy a year ago, Uchiha Ren has suffered a complete mental collapse. He has been reduced to a babbling fool who cannot even feed or clothe himself. He is, for all intents and purposes, a vegetable. Uchiha Sasuke is the clan's only viable heir. If any harm were to come to him, Itachi would not stand idly by. You understand the implications."

"What tricks can a mere missing-nin possibly manage?" Danzo scoffed, though the threat of Itachi's wrath was a calculated risk he had to consider.

"Missing-nin or not, you know the truth of his power. Furthermore, Itachi possesses certain… secrets of Konoha. If he were to decide to reveal them… the consequences would be catastrophic."

"Hmph! He should never have been left alive," Danzo muttered bitterly.

"That was not an option," Sarutobi said, his voice firm. "Such a grave event required a scapegoat. And do not forget, Danzo, Itachi possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan. Our teacher, the Second Hokage, warned us of the terrifying power of those eyes. Have you forgotten?"

*Mangekyo Sharingan.* A flicker of naked greed shone in Danzo's eye. He understood its power all too well; Uchiha Shisui's right eye was already nestled in his own socket.

"Will you simply protect that Uchiha remnant, then?" Danzo pressed, unwilling to concede.

"I do what is necessary for the stability of the village. Sasuke Uchiha is not to be touched. That is final." In Sarutobi's eyes, Ren was already a lost cause, a useless pawn to be sacrificed to placate Danzo's paranoia. "As for Ren, he is yours if you want him. He is of no use to anyone now."

"Hmph! I have no need for that worthless trash." Danzo turned sharply. "Very well. But remember, Sarutobi… I hope you do not live to regret the choice you made today."

Sarutobi watched his old teammate leave, the door closing with a soft click. He sighed, the weight of the village heavy on his shoulders. He had played his hand. He could only hope it was enough.

---

Later that night, Sasuke returned to the oppressive silence of his home. The encounter with Root and ANBU had left him shaken, his pride in tatters. He moved through the motions on autopilot, going to the kitchen to prepare a simple meal for two.

He placed one tray of food in a spare room where a figure lay completely hidden under a thick futon. Sasuke looked at the covered form with a complex mix of pity and frustration before closing the door and returning to the main room to eat his own meal in utter solitude.

Once the door clicked shut, the figure under the covers stirred. A head emerged from the blankets.

It was Uchiha Ren.

He sat up and crawled over to the tray of food Sasuke had left. "Eat, eat," he mumbled in a high, childish voice. "Sasuke finally brought food. Baby is so hungry."

In the other room, Sasuke heard the muttering and sighed, a fresh wave of despair washing over him. *The world is truly unpredictable,* he thought. The once-reserved and sharp Ren had been reduced to this… a babbling infant in a teenager's body. After Ren's complete breakdown a year ago, crying over their mother's body until he passed out, he had awoken like this. The medics said the trauma had shattered his mind, regressing him to a toddler's state. Despite their past rivalry, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to abandon his only remaining family to an orphanage. He had shouldered the burden, becoming his brother's keeper.

But as Ren picked at his food, he suddenly froze. A voice, cold and utterly devoid of emotion, spoke in the quiet of his mind.

***Ding! Host's surveillance status has been lifted.*** The most update n0vels are published on novel✦fire.net

Ren's dull, vacant expression vanished in an instant, replaced by one of sharp, focused alertness.

*What did you say?* he thought, his internal voice a stark contrast to the childish babble he used aloud. *The surveillance is gone?*

***Confirmed. There are no monitoring entities or devices in the host's vicinity.***

*Finally…* Ren's shoulders slumped with a relief so profound it was almost painful. *They're finally gone. A whole year… a whole year of this charade.*

The truth was a carefully guarded secret. Ren had not lost his mind. The "breakdown" had been a masterful act, a desperate gambit conceived the moment the System had alerted him to Danzo's surveillance a year ago. He had feigned catatonia, then a regressive idiocy, all to appear useless, non-threatening—a broken tool not worth Danzo's attention. He had played the fool, every day, every hour, under the watchful eye of an unseen enemy.

*I didn't dare leave the house. I didn't dare drop the act for a second. I thought Danzo's suspicion would never end… I was starting to think I'd actually go crazy.*

But the watchful eyes were gone. The gamble had paid off.

He was finally, truly, free. And now, the real work could begin.