Prologue
Amegakure…
Akatsuki was a strange bunch in Naruto Namikaze's opinion.
As he sat in the large room, where the other members gathered, the blonde watched the various nuke-nins sizing each other up whilst completely disregarding him.
It didn't matter, Naruto didn't care about this organization to be honest, and he was only there because it was the only place to go.
That had been a two years ago, now as the organization was fully formed, Naruto took stock of just exactly who his partners were supposed to be.
Zetsu, supposedly a former ninja of Kusagakure, had unique plant abilities and two personalities? The man didn't show any skill in taijutsu but Naruto wasn't fooled. This was an organization of S rank ninjas after all. There was no telling what talents he had, all Naruto knew was that the man could hide well, very well. The man wasn't an 'official' member of Akatsuki and was only a spy acting on the word of the leader.
Naruto's eyes slinked to the other side of the room as he held a squirm at the impassive look this woman held.
Akio Yotsuki, the younger sister to the Yondaime Raikage. The woman was well known in Kumo and she possessed Storm Release as well as incredible skill in taijutsu and immense speed. How the woman became a missing nin was unknown but Naruto suspected it was because of the fact she didn't become the Raikage. Akio was skilled, there was no doubt, and she had an S rank ranking in all the bingo books. She also held a lot of political power and had helped Kumo get many allies after the Third Shinobi World War but she wasn't the Raikage.
The woman's red eyes flitted throughout the room before looking away. Naruto's sensory skills picked up a second reserve of chakra there and he held a sigh. According to rumours, Akio was a descendant of Ginkaku and possessed the man's massive chakra reserves as well as his jinchuriki abilities. This was what made other shinobi so wary of her during the Third Shinobi War, there was not telling if she was as aggressive as his ancestor.
Hidan- a shinobi from Yugakure who was seemingly unkillable. Immortal too. The man was a devote follower of the cult of Jashin and had left his village by killing hundreds. He had great skill in taijutsu but seemingly nothing else. No skill in genjutsu. Naruto supposed the man's seemingly invulnerability was helped him win battles. The power to keep going after experiencing life threatening injuries was indeed fearful.
Sasori of the Red Sands. Someone who Naruto was wary of, the man was suspected for killing the Sandaime Kazekage who was an extremely powerful Kage. The man fought using puppets and poisons and was known throughout the Elemental Countries. He was feared and was also known for his skill in genjutsu and fuinjutsu.
Naruto kept that in the back of his mind in case he was ever turned against. Sasori was the type of shinobi who was more subtle in what he did and one small mistake in a battle against the man could result in a painful death.
Deidara of Iwagakure. A powerful shinobi and former leader of Iwa's explosion corps. Despite his demeanour and his praise about 'Art', there was a shrewd mind there. Deidara was skilled, there was no doubt and powerful as well, one had to if they fought the Tsuchikage to a standstill and later defeated squads of ANBU.
Naruto hid a snort. If the Tsuchikage had been ten years younger, then the outcome of the battle would have been much more different. Old age and agility was the only reason the Tsuchikage lost and he seemed to be well aware of it as rumour had it, he was training his granddaughter; who was the same age as Naruto; to become the next Tsuchikage.
Kakuzu of the Jiongu. A very powerful man with skill in all five elements. Kakuzu was feared for the fact he attempted to assassinate the Shodai Hokage and survived. He'd taken the precious kenjutsu of Taki which had made him seemingly immortal. Afterwards Kakuzu had slaughtered Takigakure's main council and become a nuke-nin obsessed with money.
And boy did he have a lot.
Over the years, Kakuzu had accumulated in Naruto's opinion billions of dollars and the man was jealously protective of it, not allowing anyone to even look at it. Naruto didn't care. The man could do whatever he wanted. He just wanted to know how to stop him if possible.
Kisame Hoshigaki. The Monster of the Hidden Mist. The Tailed Beast without a Tail. The Daimyo Killer. There were lots of rumours about him and they did not disappoint. The man had humungous chakra reserves as well as a powerful affinity for water and a secondary affinity for earth. As expected of someone who has risen from the Bloody Mist, Kisame was bloodthirsty and yearned for battle. His powerful sword Samehada helped him with this thirst for battle and the man had a shrewd mind in there. But Naruto also sensed something else behind that façade.
His eyes lingered over to a pale figure who sat in the room calmly flicking his tongue in and out of his mouth. Orochimaru of the Sannin, a shinobi who was feared throughout the Elemental Countries and had survived against a battle with Hanzo the Salamander. Naruto kept an eye on Orochimaru at all times, he didn't trust the man and never would. Orochimaru's experiments were known throughout the world and his methods of achieving immortality were crude and exceptionally brutal. If Naruto got the chance he would kill the man. No buts about it.
He hated the man.
And then there was him.
A 'prodigy'.
One of the best shinobi to come out of Konoha since his father. Genin by 6, Chunin by 8 and ANBU at ten. Naruto's skills had blossomed and he had fully committed himself to Konohagakure only for the village to betray him and show its dark side. The secrets the village had kept from Naruto had angered the blonde and he'd left. No reason to stay in such a corrupt village. Especially with they were planning to do against the Uchiha clan despite the fact there was no evidence they were behind the Kyuubi attack.
He'd left the village two years destroying its government and giving the Sandaime a warning as he did so.
'Don't fuck with me, old man.' Massive amount of chakra began to circulate around the blonde's hands. 'What else did you do, you bastard!' He rushed forward the chakra forming an all too recognizable ball around his hand.
Last he heard, there were several in contention to be the Godaime Hokage, and all were apparently highly skilled. It didn't really matter to Naruto who was Hokage as long as the village felt his wrath. Naruto's hand briefly turned metallic giving off a sheen in the cramped room raising the interest of a certain man.
A single chain of chakra wafted out from Naruto's back as he caught a kunai thrown at him by Orochimaru. The other members watched this in fascination as the son of Yellow Flash and the Crimson Devil turned to face the smiling face of Orochimaru.
"Ku-ku-ku." Orochimaru's smile threatened to split his face. "To think you had the Steel Release, Naruto-kun? How … fascinating isn't it?"
Naruto simply threw the kunai back at Orochimaru before answering. "What do you want snake?"
"So aggressive," Orochimaru began to walk calmly towards Naruto his eyes glinting with interest. "Although it's to be expected given your summons isn't it?"
Naruto's hand went to his katana as he stood back from the wall. "Problem with my summons eh? That's okay given the Snake clan's many losses to them isn't it?"
"No, no." Orochimaru held up a placating hand as if to stave off any concerns. "Just curious as to how you gained it, that's all."
Naruto looked away briefly before shrugging. "My father's line apparently. His maternal grandmother was from the Land of Water. Mom being a jinchuriki simply awakened it." Hopefully the Sannin would leave him alone and not bother continuing to ask stupid questions.
Well, in his opinion the questions were stupid.
Orochimaru opened his mouth to talk but was cut off by another member of the group.
"Oh, so you're from that clan hmm?" Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Kisame now eyeing him. "They were pretty powerful, skilled too. Shame I killed them all isn't it, you could have learnt some of their techniques if they were alive."
Naruto narrowed his eyes briefly. Kisame had killed a lot of people with his time under the Yondaime Mizukage Yagura, it was a surprise he remembered killing this clan. "I suppose. Doesn't matter anyhow. My father had a scroll detailing all of their abilities, he never used it because he never unlocked the bloodline."
Kisame grinned, his teeth making him look even more maniacal. "That's great. It would be nice to spar with you, eh, you know being a Namikaze and all."
Naruto shrugged. "If you want to, you can. Be warned, I don't muck around."
The threat was clear but Kisame grinned. "An honour."
The door slammed open jerking Naruto's attention. From it, he could sense two massive chakra reserves, one much smaller than the other but still easily kage level. Naruto began to get curious, who were the leaders of Akatsuki? Despite being a part of the organization, Naruto knew nothing about the leaders, his only interaction being with Zetsu as of yet.
The two figures made their way into the room and Naruto's eyes widened briefly as well as everyone else's in the room.
The first figure with the smaller chakra reserved was a tall graceful woman with blue hair and grey eyes. The woman wore a black and red cloak like everyone else and had a neutral look on her face. The woman impassively looked at Akatsuki before turning away her eyes dismissing them before she looked at the second figure.
The second figure was a man who entered the room on a floating chair made out of metal with what appeared to be cushion which the man was sitting on. At the head of the chair was a large symbol of a salamander surprising Naruto. The man also had red hair similar to Naruto's mother and had a muscular figure. That however wasn't what caught Naruto's eyes. No what caught Naruto was the man's eyes.
The Rinnegan.
Dojutsu of the Sage of Six Paths.
"The hell?" Kisame growled.
"Fuck," Hidan growled.
"How interesting," Orochimaru said. His interest was piqued, he would love to have the power of the Rinnegan at his disposal. However at the same time, he was incredibly wary of the power that the man had. No the power the man oozed out from every facet, the way he leaned in the chair an example.
Other members in the room expressed their shock at seeing the fabled dojutsu and the man smirked, his purple ringed eyes hiding something in them.
"Well," the man began. "My name is Uzumaki Nagato but you can call me Pein, this woman is my friend Konan."
"Uzumaki?" Naruto asked. Nagato's eyes flickered over to him before turning away.
"Ah, yes, distant relatives Namikaze." For a moment Nagato paused before continuing. "I have called you all here to inform you of Akatsuki's goals."
"Hmm?" Kakuzu here looked up. "A bearer of the Rinnegan needs our help?"
Naruto nodded with Kakuzu. If the man had the Rinnegan what would he need their help for?
"Despite my power, I am not arrogant." Here Nagato shrugged haphazardly and ran a hand through his hair. Naruto recognized that it was an attempt to placate and keep the nuke-nin calm. "That is why I have formed an organization such as Akatsuki."
"To do what exactly?" Sasori's voice floated from his position. "You have called us here, a collection of some of the most powerful shinobi in the land discounting the Kage. Shinobi from all five major villages and you still have not told us your plan."
Nagato gave a look at Sasori before speaking. "I desire … peace."
Now that was unexpected.
The other shinobi in the room merely looked at the man before scoffing. Kisame stretched his head, his 'gills' seemingly opening up and back. "That is the biggest load of bullshit I've heard in my life."
"Peace?" Akio said. "You do realise we are all nuke-nins wanted throughout the world correct?"
"My sensei said, 'one must associate with vipers before they can get down to the prey'." Nagato began to open and close his hand as he leant back. Above his hand a small ball began to form turning into rock before turning back to dust. "Of course, Hanzo was way too … paranoid. It took me a while before I understood what he meant."
"Hanzo was your sensei?" Orochimaru's interest in Nagato waned, attempting to take over Nagato's body now would be less agreeable if he was Hanzo's apprentice.
"Ah, yes." Nagato continued with his thing, whatever it was as he spoke. "But that's a story for another time. What I intend on doing is continuing Hanzo's dream and creating a world of peace."
"How do you intend on doing that?" Naruto spoke. "The villages are already demilitarising apart from Kumo and no-one wants to be at war. It seems as if peace will come regardless."
"If you believe that, you're a fool," Konan spoke, her highly articulate voice resonating throughout the room. "There is no hidden village that would demilitarise. They have too much to lose. Iwa is recovering the last war, Kumo is attempting to gain power, Suna have begun to take steps to ensure their military strength, Kiri is recovering from a civil war and Konoha is recovering from the chaos you put them through. Eventually someone will stake the flames of war and this war ravaged world will be set ablaze."
"Not very cheerful huh?" Kisame said. "So, then all powerful leader, what do you want us to do?"