Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, that's Kishimoto
Chapter 1: Izanagi
Sakura was in heaven, or close to it anyway. Their first real ninja mission, one that involved actual ninja on ninja combat, had come to an end with everyone coming home with all of their limbs attached. It was quite a feat considering they were still genin with no real combat experience.
From what she could tell, Kakashi-sensei had done pretty much all the work what with Sakura catching a glimpse of his hand halfway through that Haku boy's chest and Zabuza… Well, what mattered was that they were all still alive.
Better than alive really. Sasuke had apparently managed to turn on his Sharingan…even though he had only been able to do it intermittently since they started heading home. But it was still something.
"Kakashi-sensei, is it me, or should we have been back home by now?" Naruto asked.
Sakura blinked when she realized that Naruto had a point. They had only taken a week to get to the Land of Waves, but the trip back had already been nine days of walking. The scenery didn't look familiar either. Which meant…
"Kakashi-sensei, why are we taking different route if its so much slower?" she asked.
The elder ninja looked back with a half-closed eye that at least hinted he was smiling beneath his mask. "Why, to keep my reputation. You know I never show up to anything on time." Of course his real reason was much more practical, but Kakashi didn't want to tell them he was patrolling the area for other Mist ninja that might had infiltrated the Land of Fire's boarders while hunting Zabuza.
"Besides, it good for you kids to get out and see the world," he added before Naruto and Sakura could start shouting at him. "How many times have you three even been outside the village before this mission?"
The question put Sasuke in a sour mood. "Ten."
"Kakashi-sensei, I already told you this is my first time," Naruto reminded him.
"Three…that I can remember," Sakura said. "My family went on vacations every few years."
Kakashi took a moment to study Sasuke and his sudden change in mood. Probably should have approached that differently with him, the man realized. But, it wasn't as if he could completely avoid the topic of…well anything to do with family really. It wasn't just Sasuke, the matter was probably a touchy subject with Naruto as well.
Then there was Sakura… Kakashi hated to admit it, but he had no idea what to do with Sakura; on any level. While she had good chakra control, the girl was just so…average. She didn't come from a well established family, and was the only person capable of graduating the academy's preliminary exam that her family had produced since they had come to the Leaf. Her intelligence might earn her a spot on the Leaf's encryption squad, but that seemed as far as she was going to go.
He turned his attention back to the road, and kept walking.
"What the?" Sasuke said.
"Uh, is it just me, or-" Naruto mumbled before his voice cut off.
Then again, she's young, Kakashi reminded himself. She could just be a late bloomer. I should stop trying to think about things as if we're still in the old days.
That was the difference between their childhood and his: they actually got time to have one. In retrospect, that was probably one of the better decisions his teacher had made as Hokage. There would be no more early graduations for students, no children with their age still in the single digits sent out on the battlefield. Itachi hadn't been the only kid to become horribly scarred from that.
As always, thinking about his teacher made Kakashi remember that night so many years ago. He couldn't help but wonder what had gone so wrong with Kushina's pregnancy that the nine-tails had been set free.
He remembered being told to stand on the sidelines as the fox ravaged the village.
For the millionth time, Kakashi thought how things might have gone if he had been there at his sensei's side, both during the delivery and the battle. Would his Sharingan of noticed something wrong with the seal? If he had offered his life to seal away the fox, would Minato still be leading the Leaf?
Idiot, stop thinking about such things, you can't change the past, he told himself.
"Kakashi-sensei!"
Sakura's panicked calling of his name drew Kakashi out of his melancholy remembrance to check the surrounding area while he spun around to see where she was looking, and what had gotten her so worked up. When she came into view, Kakashi caught a glimpse of her fading form before the girl completely disappeared, leaving a pile of clothes and her ninja tool bag next to similar piles that consisted of Sasuke and Naruto's belongings that looked like they just just been dumped haphazardly on the ground.
But at the moment that was only a tiny concern in his mind. It was the other thing that Naruto had left behind that held Kakashi's attention. A mass of red chakra swirled around the clearing he was in, slowly taking an all too familiar shape as the demon's oppressive presence filled the air.
Kakashi didn't have time to think, to question what was going on, or wonder how this was happening. Before the Nine-Tails could fully reform, the man quickly formed the hand signs needed for an Earth jutsu.
A second later, Kakashi was covered in dirt hand hidden underground as four enormous clawed paws covered in dark orange fur slammed into the ground around them when the Nine-Tails completed it reformation.
"Free! After twelve long years I AM FREE!"
From his hiding place underground, Kakashi watched through the small peephole he had left as the creature looked around the area, then sniffed the air.
The fox…but how? What the hell is going on? Kakashi wondered as the nine -tailed demon scanned the area above him.
-Four years later…or about twenty minutes ago, depending on your perspective-
Naruto tapped his foot in irritation as he waited at the designated meeting spot, taking a moment to check the sun overhead to double-check the time and make sure he wasn't late. Which he wasn't.
"Ugh, why do I have to be the first person here?" he grumbled while looking around the empty mesa in the middle of the desert. He couldn't even feel anyone else approaching, and that meant he'd have a long wait.
"Actually, I've been here for a good twenty minutes."
Although the voice was familiar, Naruto reached for a kunai out of habit when he heard someone taking from behind him that he hadn't felt disturb the surrounding chakra. Even when he saw Sakura standing there, Naruto didn't lower his guard. "How did you-"
A wave of chakra hit Naruto's senses, and he put his weapon back in its holster. But he still wanted an answer to his incomplete question. "How did you sneak up on me." As far as he knew, that was impossible now.
Sakura pointed to the tiny green diamond symbol on her forehead. "Chakra storage. I did more than just inventing the inverse seal these past few months," she explained.
"So, you can do Granny's regeneration jutsu now?"
The question seemed to depress Sakura somewhat, and Naruto winced. He knew the cost that jutsu had brought on the former Hokage when the war ended. But Sakura did answer his question.
"No, I use it for something else. But if I divert all my chakra into storage, sensors can't find me just as if I've hidden it and stopped new chakra production."
Then Sakura looked around the level ground and frowned. "So it's just us?" When Naruto nodded, Sakura reached into her pouch to pull out a storage scroll and activated it. After the smoke cleared, she checked the storage chest that had just appeared in front of her to make sure it had all the brushes, ink, and several jars with IV tubes attached.
Sakura took a needle attached to a tube, and looked over to Naruto. "Hey Naruto, give me your arm."
The request along with the gleaming sharp object brought a frown to Naruto's face. "Uh…what for?"
"I need your blood…about one and a half liters, maybe two," Sakura told him.
Naruto backed away from the crazy girl with the needle. "W-WHY THE HELL WOULD I NEED TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING LIKE THAT? USE YOUR OWN BLOOD!"
Sakura threw the jar and hit him in the head, which didn't actually break the container, but managed to knock Naruto down. "I DID!" she yelled. "And for your information, seals work best when the people involved have their own blood mixed in with them. If you want this stupid plan to have even a chance of not blowing up in our faces, then I need a proper conduit for your chakra!"
Naruto looked at the jar, then listened to his own heartbeat. "Uh…won't loosing that much blood kill me?"
"There'll probably be some light headedness, but considering you've got the fox inside of you, I doubt there will be any real danger if you bled out five liters and not have any bad effects." Sakura told him.
Whn Naruto looked inside himself for Kurama's conformation, the giant fox raised an eyebrow. "How the hell should I know? It's your body. I'm made of chakra, remember? I don't even HAVE real blood when I'm outside."
His partner's tone made Naruto wonder if agreeing to this was such a good idea. It all sounded ridiculous. But, he found a vein and stabbed it to start collecting Sakura's grisly art supplies.
As he waited for the blood to drain, Naruto watched Sakura take out a brush and normal pain, then start drawing a circle on the ground along with numerous kanji, arrows, and various other symbols. "I thought you said we needed blood."
Sakura finished the designs around the circle that nearly encompassed all of the mesa, then started work on a much smaller one. "We do, but we don't have enough to waste on sloppy design and do-overs." She frowned at the last kanji on the ground, then carefully washed it away before making another. "Something I can just trace makes things easier."
Several minutes later, a chakra entering his sensing range brought Naruto to attention. He stood up to look around, then up into the sky where the chakra signature was coming from. "Well, he's here."
Sakura stopped her drawing, then set the art supplies aside before she stepped away from the drawings on the ground and put on her gloves. Beside her, Naruto took a moment to look at the tiny symbols etched all over them, too small to read. It seemed that Tsunade's storage technique wasn't the only thing Sakura had learned in the past month.
As close as she was, Naruto could feel the numerous emotions that ran trough her: trepidation, hope, sadness, joy, and outright fear. Naruto couldn't really blame her since his own gut was churning with several of those same feelings.
Half a minute later, a giant hawk swooped down and disappeared in a puff a smoke that dropped the third member of their little cabal with a large black case in his right hand. Sasuke looked at the two other Leaf ninja with his Mangekyo Sharingan, then turned his full attention on Naruto. "What's she doing here?" he demanded evenly. "I told you to bring a sealing master."
"Sakura is a sealing master…now anyway," Naruto told him, mumbling the last bit before looking at her. "And I told her about the jutsu. She says that its possible." Then, Naruto looked back to Sasuke and steeled his face. "Besides, who the hell else was gonna help us?"
Sasuke studded the young woman for a moment, then looked back at Naruto. "Let's just say I've become better at persuading people this past month than I used to be." But he didn't object, which Naruto took as a good sign.
Then Sasuke sighed and tossed the case to Sakura. "Whatever, I suppose this is better than the original plan in any case. Here's the materials for the jutsu" he said.
Sakura caught the plastic case and opened it up. The things inside made her gasp. Naruto too, when he peeked over her shoulder to see inside. "There's are-"
"Sharingan," Sasuke interrupted. "One hundred and forty in all." The number was greater than what should have been preset during the night of the massacre, which made Sasuke wonder just how long Tobi had been harvesting them, and how. The Leaf would have made note of any missing Uchiha eyes, before Danzo's backroom dealings anyway.
On the other side of the mountaintop, Naruto studied Sasuke. The man's aura was too guarded to read fully, but Naruto knew Sasuke's reasons behind what they were doing were genuine, and the deal they made on top of that would finally put things right.
Still, Naruto had more than a few doubts about if it was even possible. "So uh, tell me how this is all going to work again," he asked.
Sasuke growled at Naruto for making him repeat himself for the third time. "I told you, when Suigetsu and Juugo were re-supplying, they came across Orochimaru's secret library containing the theories on this jutsu."
"What makes you so damn sure it works?" Naruto grumbled.
The apparent blind faith Sasuke had in a madman's writing and the sheer ridiculousness of the claims made Naruto wonder his friend was just grasping at straws. "If this really is time travel, then don't you think someone would have used it already to do…something that we would have heard of by now. What sort of jutsu just let's you hit a reset button and start over?"
"Izanagi."
"Bless you," Naruto said.
Sasuke managed to resist the urge to whack Naruto upside the head. "No you idiot! It's a Sharingan technique called Izanagi! When you found me at that bridge, do you honestly think that fool Danzo could have pushed me so much in combat that I was ready to collapse?" Sasuke asked before going on with his explanation. "He used a forbidden jutsu that rewound his personal timeline to a point where I hadn't killed him. This technique does that, but instead of just effecting one person, it effects the entire world and leaves the caster alone!" He sighed and grit his teeth. "Unfortunately it needs the power of a tailed-beast, and that means I've only got you to turn to."
As far as Sasuke knew, the technique was created by the Sage of the Sixth Paths long ago, when he had been the host to the Ten-tails and could use Izanagi without limit. It was originally intended to be a last resort in case another disaster occurred.
"And since we don't have a Sharingan, and Naruto's jinchuuriki, and you're the only one who actually knows how to do this jutsu, we need a conduit to channel everyone's chakra," Sakura said, explaining her part in this whole mess.
Naruto looked over to the case that held all of the creepy eyes. "Then why so many? These are just normal Sharingan too. Wouldn't your eyes work better?"
Sasuke crossed his arms, actually glad for a stupid question he was expecting. "They're fuel. One month per eye. After that, they become useless to anyone."
After doing the math in her head, Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke. "So, that's about twelve years then."
"It's one month per person," he corrected. "So it's more like six with-"
Sakura cut him off. "I'm going too."
"Forget it," Sasuke told her.
"Why not?" she demanded. "Even if you split the time between the three of us, that would make…about 3 years, nine months, and maybe a couple weeks. That's plenty of time!"
Then Sakura took her own stubborn stance. "And let's face it. Neither of us trust you enough to let you go alone, and…to be honest I'm pretty sure Naruto will mess something up."
"Hey!" Naruto complained.
Sakura ignored the blonde and kept going. "And the thought of me being stuck with the two twelve year old versions of you two makes me want to step off the edge over there," she said before thumbing behind her. "So face it, it's all of us, or none of us."
-Present day…or the past. Oh hell, it's after the damn time travel thing when Naruto and Sasuke forced their way into the past okay?-
Naruto hit the ground, the windblown rock floor touching his skin. He felt sick, and cold…and wondered why there was the weird taste of ash in his mouth. His whole body hurt, and it felt as if someone had reached inside of him and ripped out yesterday's dinner. "Hey Sasuke, you alright?"
"Shut up."
I'll take that as a yes, Naruto thought before he looked over to were Sasuke was laying, then started to turn his attention to the other member of their group. "Sakura."
"Look at me, and I'll kill you!" the pink hair told him.
"I said shut up," Sasuke grumbled. When Naruto looked at him again, the boy was rubbing his eyes.
Concern ran through Naruto's body for a moment. "Hey, you okay?"
"Headache," the other ninja grumbled. "And my eyes are sore."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well I've got a whole freaking body ache over here!" he yelled. "Geeze, you never said it was going to hurt so damn much!"
The blond ninja groaned, then turned to his inner world to get some support from his other partner. Hey Kurama, how about a little tailed-beast healing power? Naruto asked.
…Kurama?
Only…when he closed his eyes and 'turned' to his inner world, nothing happened.
Worse, he couldn't feel the presence of the nine tails at all.
Naruto reached down and placed a hand on his stomach. He almost expected to feel a hole where the demon had been, but found only skin. "Hey, what's going on?" Naruto demanded before he looked over to Sasuke and found the other boy staring at his hand with his Sharingan glowing in the darkness of the night.
Oh sure, he still has his eyes, but Kurama didn't come back, Naruto thought.
Then, a sudden dread made a shiver run through Naruto's body. He remembered what his mother had shown him about the night Kurama had gotten out. Loosing the tailed beast had nearly killed her.
Naruto patted himself down to check off any injuries, and then frowned then he realized he was just fine. His chakra reserves were stable, and he could still move around all right. Aside from his missing tenet, everything seemed to be okay.
"What're you guys talking about? I feel fine…if a little sick," Sakura told them.
"From the looks of things, I'm guessing the jutsu only brings people back, not weapons or…other stuff," Sasuke said as he answered Naruto's question before finding something else to look at than the naked blonde.
Naruto opened his mouth to almost shout that wasn't what he was talking about, then closed it. I should probably keep the fox a secret for right now, Naruto told himself. "Well, let's head to the village."
The suggestion had Sasuke giving Naruto a scowl a second after he said it. "Excuse me?"
"The village," Naruto told him. "I can't wait to see me and show him how awesome I am! Or we are…this is going to get confusing real fast, isn't it?"
Sasuke snorted at the idea. "Do whatever you want. We're here, and so our agreement's at an end. I'll keep my promise, long as they stay out of my way."
Before Sasuke could just take off, Naruto wracked his brain to try and figure out a way to convince him to come along.
Sakura beat her to it. "Wait!"
Despite his better judgment, Sasuke turned around. "What?"
"What about Itachi?" she asked.
The question didn't receive an answer before Sasuke turned back around and started walking away again. "That's not your concern."
"How are you gonna find him then?" Sakura demanded. "There's no way you can do it on your own, and you know it!"
Sasuke scowled and turned to glare at the girl, which made her let out a small eep and turn around while trying to cover herself. "Don't tell me you actually thought I would be coming back to the Leaf with you idiots. Just what kind of fools are you?"
A smirk crossed Naruto's face. "I'm the biggest fool in the world," he replied before becoming more serious. "Look, even if you know where some of the Akatsuki are, there's no way you'll be able to find him on your own unless he wants to be found. You're not going to come back to the village because you want to, its going to be because you need to. Face it, the only place you actually know where he's gonna show up is the Leaf Village."
"…you may have a point there," Sasuke admitted.
"Great!" Sakura exclaimed. "…but uh…we should probably find some clothes first."
With the medic off guard, Naruto couldn't help sneaking a peek…or stop what came out his mouth. "Huh…so the pink hair is natural?"
"DIE!"
-The Road-
What's going on? Kakashi asked whoever was listening as he fought to keep himself under control.
He had seen a jinchuuriki die during the war. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. The monster was supposed to dissipate when its host died, and slowly reform over the years. If Naruto had died, then the Fourth's seal would have taken care of the Nine-Tails.
Was it some type of new jutsu? Kakashi hadn't seen any residual effects with his Sharingan. If only Sakura had called out to me sooner…no, I shouldn't blame her. It's a sensei's duty to keep an eye on his students, and I failed in that.
The was the possibility that they were still alive…although that idea carried its own problems.
But the fox was whole and Naruto was…gone. On top of which, Sasuke and Sakura had also vanished. It didn't make any sense! Had they simply been too close to Naruto and got caught up in it somehow?
Or was it the other way around? Kakashi didn't know how many other villages knew about Naruto's jinchuuriki status, but everyone knew about Sasuke. The Uchiha heir and his eyes would be a tempting target. There was also the timing, with Sasuke disappearing the day after he had awakened his Sharingan.
Then again, both of them could have been the target, Kakashi considered. The Nine-Tails and the Sharingan could make a destructive combination. Kakashi held no illusions towards the excuse that Naruto and Sasuke had been put on the same team because of their performance in school.
But that didn't explain why Sakura had also gone missing.
Whatever had happened, theorizing about it did no good. He needed to get back to the leave and report on what had happened to the Hokage. The Nine-Tails being loose was a very dangerous threat in more ways than one. It would wreck havoc in the countryside, and if another village managed to capture it…Kakashi didn't even want to think about the problems that would cause.
So, after searching their belongings for some type of seal that might have been used as a way to target the jutsu and finding nothing, Kakashi abandoned the road and headed strait through the woods.
-Meanwhile-
Naruto zipped up his new suit and studied himself in the reflection of the window's store. Behind him, Sasuke let out a sound of disapproval. "A hundred outfits, and you steal that one," he grumbled while adjusting the leg ties of his generic dark green shinobi clothes to keep them from being too loose.
"I know," Naruto mumbled before he turned around so he could see the back of the black and orange jumpsuit. "It doesn't have the whirlpool design anywhere." But, that was to be expected since he wasn't in the Fire Country, or Grass…or Rain. Just how many countries did my relatives in up in anyway? "Ah well, I'll just get a new one when we get back to the Leaf."
"That's not what I meant," Sasuke deadpanned. "What kind of ninja runs around in orange? I always thought you dressed that way because you were stupid and poor. Orange isn't what you'd consider stealthy." As if to back up his point, Sasuke was dressed in the 'tradition' ninja attire of a long-sleeved jacket over netting and long pants.
Beside the boys, Sakura finished tying the straps for the armguards on her own tradition ninja outfit, then glared at Sasuke. "Would it kill you to be a little less rude?"
"Probably."
After he finished checking himself out in the substitute mirror, Naruto spun around and crossed his arms. "Feh, only amateurs need clothes to help them blend in," Naruto told him, as if quoting someone. "Besides, the crap you wore after meeting Orochimaru wasn't all that inconspicuous either."
Sasuke frowned at the blonde. "By then people needed to worry about hiding from me. Not the other way around."
Before he could come up with a good putdown, Naruto felt the security they had outrun when they nabbed the clothing was catching up. He let out a sigh, then dropped his arms.
"HEY YOU BRATS! STOP RIGHT THERE!"
Naruto turned to the entrance of the alley they had stopped in to get dressed. He spotted four ninja with waterfall headbands armed with kunai. Judging from what he could tell by their chakra, they were probably chunin…or just really old genin working security for the town. "Hey look Sasuke, they brought us weapons."
One of the ninja security team grit his teeth. "We didn't bring you weapons!"
"We're still in the Wind Country, right?" Sasuke asked as he noticed something odd. "Why are Waterfall ninja guarding this town?"
"Maybe it's cheaper?" Sakura theorized.
A thought crossed Sasuke's mind as he his a smirk. "Or there all a bunch of losers that Waterfall wanted to just get out of town…like you Naruto."
Naruto frowned and looked over to the other young man. "So you're picking a fight with me now?" On the edge of his senses, he could feel the rest of the town's shinobi moralizing. From what he could tell, there were about twenty six in all.
Sasuke cocked his head in a halfhearted shrug. "It's more interesting than these nameless idiots," he admitted.
"WE DO TOO HAVE NAMES!" the lead Waterfall ninja shouted. "I am the great-urk!"
"NOBODY CARES!" Naruto shouted after the man finished rolling back along the alleyway. He spun with a kick to one of the other ninja's midsection and took out the other two with a couple of quick blows to their jaw before they could react.
As the last of the ninja in the alleyway fell, Naruto spun around to face Sasuke and Sakura right before the rest of the town's guards could show up. "Hey, you going to give me a hand here?"
Sasuke let out a bored sigh, then looked up as two shinobi jumped off the rooftop above and came down strait towards him. "I suppose," he mumbled before activating his Sharingan.
"Oh right! don't kill anyone!" Naruto reminded him. "It'll cause a parot-tox…or something…I think."
Sakura sighed and rubbed her temple. "It's called a paradox Naruto."
"Tch. Idiot, that's only in the movies!"
Less than a minute later…
Naruto kicked the lead ninja in the head to knock him out completely, then dug through the guy's bag to take any shuriken or kunai he was packing; weapon scrolls were left behind since he had no idea what would come out when he activated them. Sure there was the symbol for kunai paintedo n it, but everyone had their own styles and sizes.
Once he had a full set of ninja tools, along with a pouch to carry them in, Naruto picked himself up and stretched. "Was it just me, or did those guys kinda suck?"
"You all did," Sasuke grumbled as he picked up a sword from one of the few ninja that had been carrying one, then hit the side of the blade to test its durability. When it snapped in two, he tossed the broken weapon aside.
Naruto pressed his lips together tightly and let out an angry groan as he frowned at Sasuke, but didn't take the bait. "You know what I mean."
"They're trading town guards, what did you expect?" Sasuke replied before testing the last of the swords the ninja had been carrying, that also proved too fragile for his tastes.
The question made Naruto shrug.
"I dunno," Sakura cut in. "Guys like this probably wouldn't have even got past a chunin exam." When Sasuke jumped onto the roof, she quickly followed. "Hey, we are gonna make it back in time for that, right?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You saw the date on the newspaper." If he remembered correctly, they had a little under a month before it started. She can't seriously think I'm going to sign up for that.
Now that he had some time to think about things, Sasuke knew what his next move was: to fake his younger self's death. Itachi would come running to check it out, and Sasuke could move from there.
-Elsewhere-
"You've stopped bleeding then?"
The sound of Kisame's voice cutting through the darkness took him by surprise. Itachi reached up in the direction it had come from, and took what felt like a cup of tea. "It wasn't hard."
He could almost see Kisame's smirk when the man spoke again. "So you're a medical ninja now?"
"I know enough to patch basic wounds," Itachi lied with an even tone as he reached up to check the bandages where his eyes had been to make sure they were still secure. Performing medical ninjutsu on yourself was hard enough, doing it while in extreme pain and without the ability to see even harder.
The bench he was sitting on moved with a loud thunk when Kisame sat down on it. "I knew your eyes were going out…but I didn't think they'd just up and melt on you."
No, this wasn't the work of wear and tare, Itachi thought to himself. One moment his eyes were there, and the next…nothing. "Don't worry, I've had a long time to prepare for something like this," Itachi assured him falsely.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kisame asked. "Even if you've trained… A blind Uchiha…seems kind of stupid if you ask me."
Itachi smirked at the comment. "That's why there are spares lying around. We'll need to head to base thirty-seven. Lives weren't the only thing I took from the Leaf the night I killed my family."
The bench moved again as Kisame stood up. "Alright, I'll go get our stuff together for the journey. All things considered, we should probably make this trip incognito."
"I'd offer to help but…something tells me none of the outfits I pick would go with my shoes," Itachi replied with a smirk. As soon as he was sure Kisame was gone, Itachi turned his ears to face the cave wall. "So how long have you been there Zetsu?"
"Oh my, did loosing those eyes of yours make you more…perceptive?" the black voice asked.
Itachi shook his head, then rested his elbows on his knees and put his hands together as if he was considering something before bending over to use the pose to hide his mouth. "No, but I guessed you would be here at some point, all things considered. Have you already reported this…problem to Madara?"
"He'll be waiting at the hideout, I'm here to tell you about another development," the white Zetsu said.
"As per your arrangement with Madara, I am here to tell you about an incident earlier today involving your brother," the black told him.
Underneath his hands, Itachi couldn't suppress a small twitch of his mouth. "Get on with it then," he mumbled.
"He finally managed to turn on his stupid eyes, but that's not the important part," the white began.
"During their return trip. Both your brother and the Nine-Tails container were swept up in what we can guess to be a space-time ninjutsu," the black concluded.
Itachi almost frowned, but the pain from moving the muscles around where his eyes had been stopped him with a flash of pain. His eyes and Sasuke vanishing along with Naruto in the same day, it wasn't a coincidence. "This happened about three hours ago…didn't it?" he asked.
"Yep," the white one said.
"However, whatever jutsu was used to transport the two of them…and your eyes it would seem, did not effect the Nine-Tails."
The baited words annoyed Itachi, but he took them anyway. "What do you mean it didn't effect the Nine-Tails?" What he really wanted to do was ask about his brother, but if Itachi's eyes and Sasuke had been swept up in a transportation technique along with Naruto…he could guess what someone meant to happen.
"The beast reformed on the spot, Madara has gone to capture it himself," Black Zetsu explained. ""It will be awaiting for the sealing jutsu at the base by the time you arrive."
-The Hokage's Office 3 Days Later-
"After the Nine-Tails left, I dug my way out and summoned my tracking hounds to reconnoiter the area on a spiral and cross search pattern for the Nine-Tails, and anyone looking for it. If they haven't come back yet, then they're still out searching. That's everything sir," Kakashi said as he finished giving his mission report.
On the other side of the Hokage's office, Sarutobi took out his pipe and exhaled a long stream of smoke. Now he understood why Kakashi had insisted upon doing this in the Hokage's office. Zabuza was troubling enough…but the Team genin missing? The fox now running around free?
It was disastrous. Beyond disastrous. With the Nine-Tails roaming around, the Land of Fire was in danger in more ways than one. If one of the other nations made a play for the beast and succeeded, it would go a long way in tipping the precious balance of power that had made the current peace last as long as it had so far.
Then, there was the other disturbing fact…
"I take it that you will want to assign me to the Nine-Tails…what are we calling it anyway? A retrieval team? We don't have a container capable of trapping a tailed beast like some of the other villages. I can head out at once if need be."
Sarutobi held up his hands. "That's just it, your report is the first I've heard about such a thing."
Shock kept Kakashi silent for a moment, then recovered his voice, if not his composure. "WHAT? It…sir, it's the Nine-Tails! It was freed three days ago. The damn thing would have wrecked a quarter of the Fire Country by now! Are you telling me you haven't received a single report on its activities?"
"I trust you know what this probably means, correct?" Sarutobi asked.
"Someone planned this," Kakashi theorized. "But who? Do you think Cloud would make another play for the beast?" Kakashi wouldn't put it past them. In the past they had tried to take the creature during Kushina's sealing ceremony in the Whirlpool Village; but Minato had put a stop to them back then.
The possibility made Sarutobi let out a tired sigh. "It's a possibility. But, what you describe with Naruto and Sasuke… You felt no danger or killing intent? Your Sharingan detected nothing afterwards?"
Kakashi shook his head. "Nothing. One moment they were there, and they faded away in the space of a second, leaving behind just their clothes and weapons. By the time Sakura called for me and I turned around, Sasuke and Naruto were already gone, and I only got the briefest glances of Sakura."
Kakashi took a moment to pause and let the man think. "Your orders sir?"
"Do you believe them to be alive?" the Hokage asked. Everyone knew what happened when a jinchuuriki lost its demon. Still, everyone also knew what happened to a demon who lost its host. If one had survived, Sarutobi wasn't willing to give up on Naruto just yet.
The question made him take a deep breath and sigh. "I have considered the possibility that they're dead, and after hearing what you told me involving a lack of reports concerning the Nine Tails, whatever jutsu was used…there's a possibility that it was meant to kill Naruto in a way that allowed the Nine-Tails to avoid being scattered and needing three years to put itself back together. But if that were the case, it wouldn't explain the other two disappearing.
"There's also the timing to consider," Kakashi continued. "They vanished the same day Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Considering the connection between it and the Nine-Tails…it makes more sense that whatever jutsu was used was meant to kidnap Naruto and Sasuke, and it did just that, but left the Nine Tails behind. Although if that were the case, I suppose the beast wouldn't have just disappeared, and Sakura wouldn't have been caught up in it."
"I'll send out teams of ANBU to where you said the fox emerged as well as notify our other black ops teams operating near the other villages to see if they can pick up any unusual activity," Sarutobi assured him.
"As for the children…put together a pair of squads with tracking skills and recall your hounds to see if they managed to find anything. After that, I'll leave any decisions of pursuit or continuing the search to you. You are dismissed."
Once Kakashi had closed the door behind him, Sarutobi put his pipe back in his mouth and chewed on the thing in frustration. Team 7 gone, and the fox released…the more the thought about it, the more he didn't like where his ideas of what it all meant were heading.
There was the possibility of Cloud of course, Sarutobi wouldn't put it past them. Although they had backed off from the usual trouble they caused after a few run-ins with Minato, with the Fourth Hokage gone, it was very likely the Raikage was once again engaging in his old tactic of abducting children and ignoring treaties. I hope that's all it is though.
The other options were worse.
There was also Danzo to consider. Sarutobi's old friend had protested the other man being given the position of Hokage after he found out that Sarutobi had very different ideas for the Leaf's future than what Danzo envisioned. When the Fourth died, he had tried to slither his way into the position of Fifth Hokage, and in truth Sarutobi had barely managed to wretch the position away from him that time.
It hadn't come without cost of course. What had once been a position of unquestionable power became harder to hold onto than a slippery eel. Any slip, any showing of weakness, and the title of Hokage would pass to another.
Meanwhile, although he hadn't gained the post of Hokage, Danzo had gained a great deal of power over the village. Root and the Uchiha Massacre had driven that fact home for Sarutobi. And then there were the bodies, Sarutobi reminded himself as he discovered his old friend's true self that night. It was very possible that Danzo had ANBU watching Naruto and when they reported the demon's chakra had gotten out, he could have very well of taken Naruto for the safety of the village…or to make the boy a weapon.
Then there was the third possibility…that the man behind the plot was an enemy still hiding in the shadows. If that was the case, there was no real preparations or counter-moves that Sarutobi could make.
More than likely if he did move, his actions would come into question, and Danzo would attempt to take the position of Hokage, using the excuse that Sarutobi was too inept for the job as he wasted manpower. If Sarutobi explained himself, then it would give the council the full go-ahead to make as many paranoid restrictions and moves in the name of security as possible.
Please let this be just Cloud trying to stab us in the back again, Sarutobi begged whatever force was listening. Them he could deal with.
-Outside The Hokage's Tower-
Once he left the tower, Kakashi moved off the beaten path and raised his hand to motion to the ANBU squad that had been following him since he left the Hokage's office.
Four masked men appeared behind him, and motioned to each one in turn as he gave orders. "Go to the Inuzuka Clan and get their two best trackers. You, I want the head of the Aburame Clan and another bug handler that specializes in searching large areas brought here at once. Find the second and third best sensors in the village and bring them here now, don't get Fu from the Yamanaka Clan." Kakashi knew the man had ties to Root, if he wasn't an outright member of the organization. "You and I will go to the Hyuga's main household. Once the rest of you have your volunteers, meet us there."
Kakashi knew it was a bit of a risk making a whole squad of tracking-related shinobi. Finding his kids was one thing, bringing them back was another. Still, Shibi was no stranger to combat, and if Kakashi could get a main branch member of the Hyuga to come along, the three of them could deal with any real threats short of a Kage.
Ten minutes later, Kakashi looked over the assembled mix of jonin, chunin, and the single young genin that looked pretty out of place. Although Hiashi looked a little uncomfortable at being there as well, it was more due to the person who forced him into it in the first place rather than the mission itself that was causing the disturbance.
But that wasn't really a problem. What needed to be dealt with was the genin that had been included on this mission.
He motioned the boy's mother over, and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Tsume, I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I wanted your best trackers…what's Kiba doing here?"
The rough woman gave Kakashi a scowl, then looked back to Kiba for a moment before turning back and getting in close to whisper to the masked man. "That's because he is one of our best trackers. Look, don't tell him because his ego is bad enough already, but Kiba's nose is potentially the most sensitive my family has seen in generations. In about two years, it won't be Akamaru that's following scents."
After giving the boy a look, then turned his attention back to the mother. "This is an A-Rank mission, and potentially it could go up to an S. Send your son home, and get me someone else."
"Shit," she grumbled. "Next time you might want to put that on the invitations your handing out via ANBU."
With all the looks he was getting from his mother and the guy he'd seen leading Naruto's team around a few times around town, Kiba finally got tired of just sitting on the sidelines and raised his hand. "Excuse me, uh…Kakashi?" Kiba asked, hoping he remembered the man's name correctly. "What's going on?"
Since it wasn't really a secret, Kakashi decided to go ahead and tell him. "Three days ago Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were transported to an unknown location by a jutsu I've never encountered. These two squads will meet up with my dog pack that has been scouring their last known location, and either assist in the search or partake in a retrieval mission."
If anything, the explanation only confused the boy. "But…" he said before looking to the setting sun in the west.
-Leaf Village Border-
Naruto's eye twitched as he looked in front of him at Sasuke's 'secret' entrance into Leaf Village territory. "This is how you snuck out of the village that one time?"
The river in front of him didn't seem all that special. It was a little wider than the others going into the village, but other than that, there didn't seem to be anything big about it. It flowed into the village through a grate, and was one of several sources for the village's canals.
"It was more than once really…Itachi used to take me hunting every now and then," Sasuke told him. "The barrier that surrounds the village extends below ground and detects all movements in or out. But since the water is always moving, the barrier is always detecting something in these areas and its ignored. Just make sure your through the sensor dome before you come up for air or we'll get caught."
Sakura looked over to the wall around the village in the distance, then the river she was standing on the edge of, and finally back to Sasuke. "It can't be that easy," she mumbled. "Shouldn't there be guards or something?"
The question had Sasuke frowning at the girl with pink hair. "And I suppose you also want the village to put out a big sign saying 'hole in defense enter here' while they're at it?" he asked. "It's not like they can move the rivers."
"Yes they can," Naruto told him. It would probably take some creative Earth and Water jutsu, but it could be done.
Just to make sure there really wasn't anyone around, Naruto paused for a moment and held his breath while he drew in a bit of sage chakra. The feeling of the area around him opened up to him. He could feel the barrier in front of him, the leafs in the wind as they fell off the trees, the eleven chakra signatures coming towards him, the…ah crap. "You sure we didn't trip any signal flares or something?"
"Yes," Sasuke grumbled in annoyance. When he saw Naruto looked back towards the village, he could guess what the blonde was worried about. "I thought you led us through all the patrols."
Naruto let his sage chakra run through him and turned back to Sasuke. "I did! There was no way anyone saw us. You probably left a trail or something."
The accusation just made Sasuke more annoyed. "Don't be stupid. Now, who's coming?"
"No idea," Naruto told him.
"What?" Sasuke demanded.
"Hey, you want to train with a bunch of frogs and be the radar guy?" Naruto asked. "I don't know who's coming because everyone's so different from four years from now. Now come on and hide."
After Naruto disappeared behind a tree, Sasuke leaped up into another tree's branches and waited for the patrol to come along, and Sakura rolled her eyes before diving into some bushes. Naruto closed his eyes to help him connect with the surrounding nature chakra as he tried to get a feel of the interceptors.
Eleven signatures, Naruto told himself. There was something different about two of them. They're dogs…so that means nine shinobi. The dogs probably meant it was a pair of tracking squads. But the numbers were off with the extra team member. He could see a squad moving out with one member down, but not with just one extra man.
So… Was it some extra large force sent to protect the village? A pair of retrieval squads with a surviving team member to lead them to a ninja's last known location?
"Not like it matters, they'll be here soon enough," Naruto mumbled before releasing his sage mode again and peeking out in the direction they were coming from.
A few minutes later, a trio of ninja landed in the clearing on the other side of the river without any dogs. Naruto wondered what had happened to the others, but on the better side of things, he did recognize the ninja in the lead.
"Hey Kakashi!" Naruto shouted before he slid out from behind his tree and waved his hand in greeting.
Still in his hiding place, Sasuke frowned at the action. Idiot, why didn't you transform first?
The friendly wave didn't have the effect Naruto was hoping for. Instead of putting Kakashi at ease, the man with the headband covering his eye turned from giving off a cautious vibe to one of outright anger, and revealed his Sharingan. "You picked the wrong time to try this kind of crap with me!"
Confusion replaced joy on Naruto's face as the man in front of him was joined by several ninja that looked familiar. "Hey what's the deal?" Naruto asked.
"Where are my students," he demanded before lightning blazed in his hand. "Tell me, and I'll make your death as painless as a I can."
Naruto flinched at the threat, and the killing intent that was coming off the man in waves. "Hey wait, don't you have a super nose or something?" he asked before another ninja joined the group, one Naruto actually knew personally. "Hey Kiba, get your dog to tell Kakashi it's me!"
But Kiba stayed silent as Kakashi continued talking. "You may have copied his scent, but your transformation needs work. Your much too tall, your color scheme is off. And if you're going to try walking into a village, you might want to actually wear our symbol on your forehead."
After debating just staying hidden or going to out to help Naruto, Sakura crawled out from the bushes, then looked up to the tree. "Sasuke, get down there already!"
"Why? It's just Kakashi." Sasuke replied as he leaned back against the three's body. The wannabe Uchiha didn't even have his Mangekyo yet. "You two wanted me following you back and not doing anything. Wish granted."
Sakura sighed at the young man's refusal for help. "So now what?" she asked Naruto.
"I dunno, beat them up until they'll listen to reason?" he replied.
The definite Naruto response made Sakura slough. Of course he'd think of something like that. What was it with boy's a violence? It didn't solve everything!
Naruto gave Sakura a pensive frown and crossed his arms. "Well, I suppose you have a better idea?"
Let's see, a way to make them listen to us about who we are without hurting anyone or getting hurt ourselves, she thought. Of course, it's so obvious. Sakura held up her hands. "We surrender."
-Akatsuki Base 37-
For once, Itachi didn't bother to hide the apprehension he was feeling. The masked man he could hear walking around in from of him knew more than enough about the fake rouge ninja that putting on airs was useless. They were enemies held together by an agreement and the opportunities it presented, nothing more.
To help reassure himself, Itachi reached up and touched the bandages over his right eye. "So, you captured the Nine-Tails I assume?"
"Yes," the man's deep voice replied in front of him. "After I implant your replacement eyes, we will begin the sealing procedure at the twenty-fifth hideout. Kisame is already headed there."
Itachi reached into his coat for a kunai. "Were you the one to cause this…disappearance?" he asked, not bothering to try and hide the contempt for Madara in his voice or intent.
"If I could remove the hosts at will and leave the beasts intact, what makes you think I would need the Akatsuki at all?" he countered.
Itachi knew that was a definite no; despite the lack of a forward response. He had been around the man long enough to read that much out of him.
The man with the bandages on his face heard the sound of stone sliding on stone as Madara slid one of the storage units that he kept a pair of Sharingan taken from some long dead Uchiha. He could almost feel the other man's confusion, then frowned when he heard another coffer being opened.
"What?"
Itachi tensed at Madara's tone. "Something wrong?"
"The Sharingan, where are they?" Madara asked, more to himself than Itachi.
As for Itachi, he didn't answer, he didn't care. Instead, he reached up and cut the bandagers from the right side of his face and charged forward. He had been waiting for this for years.
A master of time-space Ninjutsu, Madara might as well of been invincible. He could slip through any attack, and counter in the unguarded moment that followed. So when Itachi had joined the Akatsuki, he had resolved himself to keep his eye on Madara and wait for that one, tiny, unguarded moment when Itachi had the chance to deliver a single fatal blow.
But the old Uchiha had never let down his guard…until now.
Itachi drove the kunai into the man's left kidney, and reached around to shatter Madara's mask with his free palm before clawing at the other man's eye to rip it out. As the man lay there on the ground, Itachi backed away. "You were careless."
Suddenly, Itachi felt the eye in his palm disappear, and the man in front of him stand up with an undamaged mask and the Sharingan Itachi had taken shinning through its eyehole. He could even make out the frown as Madara studied Itachi's face, and the Sharingan staring back at him. "That's not your Mangekyo…where did you get that eye."
The shock of the sudden reversal lasted only a moment. He was able to use Izanagi with a damaged kidney? The man should have been in so much pain he couldn't even scream, much less focus chakra! Damnit, I underestimated him.
"It was given to me by the man I admire most in this world," Itachi told Madara as he reached for the shuriken hidden up his sleeve while thanking his dead cousin. The vision was…perfect. It had been so long since Itachi had been able to see things clearly that it almost brought a tear to his eye.
Madara took a step forward. "Shisui. Well, with my one eye consumed by Izanagi and all my spares missing, I'm going to have to take that new eye of yours."
Stay calm, Itachi told himself. His opponent might be Madara Uchiha, but the old man was in the same boat as Itachi. "I could say the same," Itachi replied before he tossed his handful of shuriken and leapt back.
Surprisingly, the other Uchiha didn't just let them pass through him. Instead, he adjusted his posture and turned so that all the throwing stars did was nick his coat.
"Your missing eye…it was what gave you your intangibility?" Itachi asked.
Madara chuckled. "So, I've been found out then."
Don't believe him, Itachi told himself. There was no reason to believe either of Madara's most common techniques relied on his eyes.
Still, the greatest danger to the world was right there, weakened and cornered. If Itachi could kill him…
And Sasuke? Itachi asked himself. The boy was missing. If anything happened to him…
There was no guarantee that he could get away if he ran.
There was no guarantee of victory if he stayed and fought.
"You know what the real letdown is?" Madara asked as he tossed his cloak aside and advanced his eye to the second stage. "Even when I kill you, I'll still need to get a complete set."
The unspoken half of the threat made Itachi's decision for him. He took up a fighting stance after removing the cumbersome clothing with its red cloud design. "Alright then. It'll be your Mangekyo Sharingan versus mine, and we'll see who comes out on top."
