After getting ready, Ryuu left his house and headed to the Anbu changing rooms.
'No one from my team is back except Tenzo?' Ryuu thought as he headed to Sakumo's office.
"Reporting for duty." He said and kneeled.
"That's great, but there's nothing you can do for now, all missions have been cleared, or are being cleared by your clones or capable shinobi."
Sigh…
"So I'm stuck here, guarding you today?"
"Is that such a bad thing?"
Ryuu nodded.
Sigh…
"Hokage-sama, there has to be something I can do to keep myself busy before the Daimyo arrives."
Sakumo took out some documents and handed them to Ryuu.
"What's this? I thought you said there aren't any missions?"
"Read it." Ryuu read the document given by Sakumo.
"Mukai Kohinata, you want me to assign Itachi?"
Sakumo nodded.
"So, I'm going on a mission with him?"
Sakumo shook his head.
"This is a test, I'm testing Itachi's abilities one last time.
I don't think he should go with you because I think it'll be too easy.
Let him select someone else he trusts, that person doesn't have to be in the Anbu as long as Itachi trusts him."
Ryuu nodded.
"Alright, I'll tell him, I already know he'll ask Shisui for help so I'll inform them about it."
Sakumo nodded.
"But what about me? Any missions?"
"No."
Sigh.
"Well, alright, I'll be back in a minute."
Ryuu teleported to Itachi.
He was at the Uchiha training grounds, training shuriken jutsu.
All his Kunai were on the targets.
"Yo." Ryuu waved at him.
Itachi looked back and smiled.
"Big brother…"
"Take a walk with me." Itachi nodded.
"Danzo's foundation members are always following us, the Uchiha clan, I find it very tedious. Especially after Danzo himself pulled that fake assassination attempt."
"Yeah," Itachi responded as if he was already tired of talking about the clan and the root.
"Hmph, how's Sasuke?"
Itachi's eyes lit up again as he looked at Ryuu.
"He's alright, he started the academy recently, he was excited about it and he still is, especially when he heard Naruto will join him.
Well…
He wouldn't say he was too excited about that."
Ryuu smiled and said,
"Yeah, Naruto's like that…
He joined today, Ichika, and I couldn't handle his nagging, so we figured he could take all of it to the academy." Itachi smiled.
After walking for long enough, they were far from the village and compounds.
"Now that we're far enough." Itachi looked at Ryuu.
"I have a mission for you."
"A mission?" Ryuu nodded.
"More like a test, a test to see if you're suitable for the Anbu."
"I see…"
"There's a man, he's around 34, he's a talented shinobi, he rose through the ranks from genin to being an Anbu, in fact, he's been in my team for a short while.
We learned he used to collude with Kirigakure back when we were enemies.
He's a traitor, a traitor with a family, a wife, and two kids, one and three.
He was quite a great ninja, trusted by the Hokage himself.
I only say he was because I know you'll get to him."
Itachi nodded.
"You're required to have only one teammate, select someone you trust other than me, apparently it'll be too easy if you have me."
"I get it."
"Well, good luck with your mission." Ryuu waved him off and teleported to the Hokage's office.
'Someone I… trust?' Itachi knew who he would go to.
He ran to the cliff where he'd find Shisui and then he informed him about the mission.
"Ryuu-sensei has you doing an assassination right off the bat, huh," Shisui murmured as if to confirm the story Itachi had just told him.
They were facing each other on top of the cliff that only they knew about, but Shisui made no move to look Itachi in the eye.
He kept his gaze focused on the ground to one side as he pondered the situation.
"Other than Ryuu, you're the only person I trust," Itachi said.
"Kohinata Mukai, he's a pretty decent ninja," Shisui of the Body, Flicker noted, having himself grown up into a leading ninja in Konoha, before falling into thought again.
"I don't have any right to ask this of you, given that you're not connected with the Anbu, and there's no one else I can trust with a mission like this."
"That's 'cause you're bad with people," Shisui said, with a grin.
Mukai Kohinata was the name of the man Ryuu had ordered assassinated.
His family was distantly related to the Hyuga clan, but they had branched off several generations earlier, so they didn't have the Byakugan kekkei Genkai.
"I can't believe he was secretly connected with Kirigakure back then."
"What's he like?" Itachi asked.
"He might be Anbu, but he's also a sharp jonin. He does regular missions, and the Hokage trusts him.
He was following his orders as an Anbu when sensei was with him guarding the Daimyo."
"Do you know anything about him being susceptible to genjutsu?"
"It's not like we go around telling each other our weaknesses, you know."
Itachi regretted asking such a stupid question.
"But I know what he's good at."
Shisui lifted his face and looked at Itachi.
The light in his friend's eyes dispelled the shadow of unrest. From long years of opening up to each other, Itachi knew that this was proof of his friend's resolve.
"Mukai's good at physical techniques.
If you followed Mukai's bloodline back, you reached the Hyuga clan, one of the most distinguished families in Konohagakure."
"He uses Gentle Fist?" Itachi asked.
Shisui nodded.
"So as long as we don't get close, we have the advantage."
"Mukai's pretty skilled. I can't imagine he'd let you fight him from a distance."
The hypothetical battle with Mukai was already happening inside Shisui's head.
"Will you come with me?"
"Of course." Shisui bumped his fist up against Itachi's chest.
"You got no one else you can trust, right?"
"Yeah."
"You join the Anbu, and the clan will be closer to the center of the village. And if you do that, you'll be invaluable to our clan."
A few hours passed, and the Daimyo arrived during the evening, he was being escorted by Guy and Asuma, the Daimyo couldn't risk another attack, especially when he heard Ryuu won't be with them.
'Asuma hasn't been in the village for years, is he finally coming back?
It's been a while.' Ryuu thought as he watched them pass by.
Sakumo entered his office with the Daimyo while Ryuu stood outside, guarding the two of them.
For the rest of the day, Ryuu stood outside Sakumo's office.
'Sorry I couldn't pick you up, Naruto.'