Chapter 1

The sun had already set on the highest hill of a northern mountain range facing the Hidden Village of the Leaf, Konoha. At the top, under the shade of a weeping willow tree, stood a tall man. He was only in his late teens, but his body seemed to carry the burden of a man three times his age. But if any weakness was supposed to show because of this, it was immediately countered by the man's uniform and by the haunting look in his uncanny eyes. He wore the classic fishnet garments of the regional ninjas, but on top of that, he wore a spectacular and infamous cloak—jet black with swirls of crimson clouds. The cloak accompanied by the scarlet ring on the man's right ring finger equaled the same thing—the trademark uniform of the Akatsuki.

However, being a member of the Akatsuki was not the only thing unique about this man…nor was it even the most dangerous…

One had only to look into the man's eyes to know who he was and where he'd come from. Neither orb had the look of being human, their irises a deep red and three black tomoe surrounding both pupils. Only two other people in the world had eyes like his, they were part of his kekkei genkai, his bloodline inheritance limit—a mutant trait that was passed down through the generations of a certain family that gave them superhuman abilities that could not be copied using human means. His was distinctly known, famous or infamous depending on whom you talked to—the Sharingan...

This gave way to the nature of his christened name, for the Sharigan belonged more or less, solely to the Uchiha Clan. Which made the man's identity plain; he was the black sheep of his clan, an S-Class Criminal, as well as a noted ninja within the dreaded and notorious bingo book—his name was of course: Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi stood upon the hill, feeling the wind shift through his jet black hair. He looked over at the nearby Konoha, and instantly he knew that the place had been under attack recently. He knew by who and why and under what circumstances. Though he'd read it in the reports he'd received, he could see how everything gone down with just a glance using his Sharingan. Orochimaru was a fool if he thought it would be this easy… People are their strongest when they have someone special to protect.

A person with someone to protect, could beat someone out only for personal gain, without even thinking about it! He knew that better than anyone…

Speaking of which, he should be coming any minute. Itachi had made sure that he'd be alone. Kisame had gone to check out the surroundings and find them some food and shelter. He'd already surveyed around, making sure no ninja bystanders were in the area, or that Zetsu was lurking beneath a rock or something. If it was up to him, that guy should go back to whatever rock he'd been born under, and stay there…

"You're not on your game, Itachi. I could have killed you twenty different ways already." A voice said from behind him.

Itachi smiled, his body suddenly disappeared in a poof and column of smoke.

The mystery caller suddenly felt the point of a kunai in the small of his back. He smiled slightly, knowing that Itachi had used a clone of himself , and had instead used genjutsu to hide within the tree that he'd leaned against. The real Itachi whispered in the man's ear from behind him. "I'm not that easy to kill…"

That when the Uchiha teen felt the blade of another kunai under his chin and against his neck. The visitor he'd held at bay, also exploded but left a simple log in his stead. Itachi ground his teeth. Taken in by a simple substitution jutsu, I really must be losing my touch.

The man smiled from above Uchiha, and removed the blade, before somersaulting perfectly, down the ground in front of Itachi. "You sick or something? Those little genin in the village could have done better."

Itachi looked at the man. He was dressed like a simple sand-nin, his face was anonymous, nothing to stand out or to identify him.

He knew that this wasn't the man's true form, nor was it his voice. Yet, Itachi knew that chakra anywhere. "Forget about me, you shouldn't be around here in that form, Kizu. I don't think the ninjas of the Sand Village are going to be that popular around here for a while."

The man hunched his shoulders, then suddenly his whole body began to become like liquid and rippled slightly before becoming solid again. The whole procedure had taken less than half a second, and in that space of time, the sand ninja was gone, replaced by a woman ninja from the Village of the Leaf!

It was better than any transformation jutsu and amazed even Itachi, no matter how many times he'd seen it done. It was as complete as being the real thing, slightly different flow of chakra, different fingerprints, even different DNA. It was Kizu's own bloodine inheritance.

This time Kizu's voice was perfectly feminine. "How's this? Those Sand Ninja were dim-witted to follow Orochimaru, I wonder what they'll think when they find out the dissenter Sannin murdered their Kazekage. Never follow anyone blindly, unless you're willing to pay the consequences."

"I didn't think he would go so far as to kill the Kazekage, but I guess that's Orochimaru; doesn't even care that he's made a whole village of new enemies. He's as brash, bold, and ambitious as he is stupid." The Uchiha teen commented back.

The "woman" looked directly at Itachi, all forms of amusement gone. "I haven't much time, Uchiha. Your Akatsuki partner will be here soon. You know your orders and know that I will be watching you. Akatsuki has been stepping on their plan. I need you on your toes…You don't want to fail, Itachi."

The Uchiha prodigy looked back at him with the same fierce severity. "I won't fail. You can be sure of that, Kizu."

Kizu nodded, "Don't let the fact that this is the first time you've been back to Konoha affect your mind, Itachi."

Itachi looked away from him, "I won't."

"He's still there, you know. He's a Genin now, he was even in the Chunin exams, and would have probably passed if Orochimaru hadn't decided to crash the party, right in the middle of his duel."

Itachi looked at the disguised Kizu, the look of hardened steel had left his eyes. "What's he like now?"

" He'll be 13 soon, but I guess you know that already. It's actually quite a coincidence that he's in a team with your Uzumaki."

"What?"

"Yep, and their sensei is the renowned "Copycat Ninja" Kakashi Hatake."

Utachi nodded. He knew Kakashi well. He was the only man who had the power of the Sharingan without being a descendent of the Uchiha lineage. He'd heard he'd gotten it from an Uchiha companion who had been killed and had given Kakashi his Sharingan eye as he died, to replace the one that Kakashi had lost in a previous battle. He'd always thought it amazing, that anyone other than an Uchiha, could ever handle that type of power.

Kizu handed him an envelope, bring him back to the present. "These are your new instructions. They have a seal on them like always, so read it fast."

The "woman" turned to leave, but Itachi stopped him. "Wait…could you…please, show me?"

Kizu gazed back at him piercingly. "No, Itachi. Stop torturing yourself."

"Kizu, I will probably never even see him here. I don't usually ask you about anything. Please! Do this for me."

The disguised man felt the younger ninja pull at his heartstrings. Even though he'd always worked extra hard to make sure that all those strings stayed cut, it never worked with Itachi. "Fine Itachi, but you're only hurting yourself."

The woman's body rippled and her stature shrunk a foot. Suddenly, in her place, was a young preteen boy. He wore dark black short pants and a dark blue jacket, the back embossed with the symbol of a red and white fan. He had fighter's bandages and endurance bands surrounding his arms, knuckles, and calves along with ninja sandals on his feet. His black hair was pushed back with a Konoha headband.

Itachi had to stop himself from breaking down completely. "Sasuke…"

"Yes…he has grown, hasn't he?" Kizu answered in the mature voice that Itachi would never forget.

The Uchiha teen looked at the "boy's" dark eyes. They held a look of emptiness and hatred such as he was familiar, but never expected it of the boy Kizu was portraying. "Are his eyes really like that?"

"What did you expect, Itachi?" He answered with Sasuke's voice. "His whole goal in life is to kill you. He lives and breaths only for your death. He must avenge his family, which you murdered."

Itachi's cold visage came back up.

"Shut up." He said with finality.

Kizu's guise of Sasuke rippled once again back to the female ninja. "I told you, it would only do you harm, Uchiha. You have work to do. Get to it. Or do I have to remind you that I am still under orders and that I'm still your superior. You're not the only one in this fix, or have you forgotten that too?"

"I've forgotten nothing." He answered back solemnly.

The "woman" turned to leave. "Remember that I'll be watching. Don't let Kisame know anything."

"Same-old, same-old—I know."

Kizu stopped, and looked back at his colleague. There was another slight ripple and for an instant, his natural eyes showed through.

"Oh, and try to a smile a little. You look much better that way."

Itachi shook his head with a smile. "I've forgotten how to smile, Kizu. You're the only one who's been able to jog my memory."

The ninja smiled and nodded, "Until next time, Uchiha."

Itachi watched as the shapeshifter walked away under the light of the evening star, only to disappear completely when he hit the darkness beyond.

His senses picked up on Kisame's approach. Well, none too soon.

He swiftly opened the instructions in his hand. He had a photographic memory which was enhanced by his Sharingan, he immediately knew every word on the page by heart.

It was a good thing too, because the paper instantly flash-disintegrated in his hands; the product of the seal on it, which would activate when exposed to the air only giving itself a two-second delay before destroying itself, and taking the note with it.

Itachi wiped the dust from his hands and watched as it floated on the wind.

"What was that, Itachi?" came Kisame's voice from behind him.

The Uchiha instantly placed back on his mask of emotionless indifference, which he had done many a time. It was the only face the Akatsuki saw, the only one they'd ever know.

He turned his cold scarlet eyes toward the former Mists ninja. "Nothing…just a pesky insect. Let's go."

Walking past the man, he walked in the direction his Akatsuki partner had come from knowing that the man would follow.

He knew everything there was to know about all the Akatsuki members, and frankly, he wanted this mission to be over sooner than later. Life undercover was getting dull after being with them for the last few years. But he was under orders to keep it up, with Kizu as his only link. He was the only friend he had, and that was nothing short of a miracle considering their history, and what Kizu would do, if he ever disobeyed orders…

Yes, everyone in his true organization was under orders…always under orders…

Yet, going back to Konoha after all these years...how could it not affect him? Everything had started here. 6 years ago…he had died here. 6 years ago…he had been reborn into a new life—a life worse than death…

It had all begun when he was 13…when he was still among the living…