A/N : - This isn't my first foray into the world of Naruto. I had (still have I presume) a fic up here that I uploaded a few years ago called Rinnegan :Gods eyes but I can't remember the password to that account and that story is (sadly) long abandoned. However, despite how the Manga has recently taken a turn into the...unusual I was struck with the writing bug and hit with this idea. And put finger to keyboard and boom. Few things before we get started. I obviously don't own Naruto so not making any money off this. I don't speak Japanese so I won't be using any Japanese language in my stories. I just dont feel comfortable using them and don't want to use them wrongly so I'd rather just leave them out. Any critism is welcome, only way to grow, and I don't have a beta so all mistakes are my own. Enjoy and feel free to review!

Blood Brothers

Prologue

Naruto sat up on his bed at the sudden knock at his door. Frowning; Naruto glanced at the battered alarm clock that sat amongst a few empty instant ramen cups on his bedside table. Eleven thirty-five. Nobody ever knocked for him; let alone at this time of night. He got up from his bed, walking toward the front door of his rather barren apartment, idly grabbing a vest that had sat half in, half out of his wash basket to cover his naked torso.

Naruto opened the front door hesitantly – his neighbourhood not exactly known for having the best reputation – only to relax when he saw the familiar figure of his team mate, Itachi Uchiha. Naruto opened his mouth to greet his team mate in surprise but paused, the words instantly dying in his throat as his eyes roamed over Itachi. Itachi was dressed in his standard issue ANBU uniform, his cat styled mask nowhere to be seen, his face was bruised and bloodied with his normally limp jet black hair matted with a mixture of blood and sweat. His uniform was ripped, burnt and wet with blood.

"Itac-"

Naruto didn't even get to finish saying his friends name before Itachi brought his Katana out from its sheath, slashing it down across Narutos exposed chest in one fluid diagonal swing, causing Naruto to hiss and stumble backwards into his apartment as the blade sliced through his skin, hitting his hallway wall as he did so and allowing Itachi the space to drive the tip of the Katana right into Naruto's sternum with a sickening squelch.

Naruto gasped, his mouth aghast as he looked at Itachi in utter shock, the breath in his throat seemed to become trapped as he let his eyes drift down to the point where the sword hilt rested against his chest, the blades tip sticking out of his back. Itachi was only a few feet from him, looking at him with a look that didn't scream much of anything...it was just vacant.

"Why..." Wheezed Naruto.

Itachi didn't answer; he just slowly pulled the blade from him, seemingly enjoying the pain that rippled through Naruto's body as he did so. Blood rushed out of the wound, staining his plain white vest a bloody crimson and ruining the carpet of his apartment. Naruto hunched slightly, trying to fight the pain, whilst looking at the point just over Itachi's shoulder, he knew better than to make eye contact with him.

Naruto watched as Itachi took a step backwards, drawing the sword back with him, keeping it aimed at Naruto but slightly higher than before, this time at his neck. He was aiming to kill this time.

Naruto closed his eyes briefly before opening them suddenly just in time to watch Itachi dart forward with his blade, luckily, Naruto's Sharingan tracked every muscle movement in Itachi's arm and he was able to move his head just inches to the left, just in time for Itachi's blade to miss him and poke into the wall of his hallway.

Adrenaline flooded Naruto's body, he grabbed Itachi by the wrist with his left hand, bringing his right hand up palm first in an attempt to break Itachi's arm at the elbow. It was no use though, Itachi had seen through the move and grabbed Naruto by the throat, squeezing as he did so before throwing him out of the open apartment door. Naruto went head first down the flight of stairs only to turn the momentum into a somersault in mid air and land on his feet, backing up against the wall only to see Itachi rushing forward at him. Naruto rushed forward too to meet him, trying to make impact first but Itachi was quicker, the sole of his foot planting on Narutos chest before connecting with a front kick and sending the blonde flying backwards through the concrete wall of his apartment block.

Naruto grunted in pain as he tumbled backwards from his third floor apartment in a cloud of dust, pieces of rock falling all around, he landed in a crumpled heap on the hard tarmac floor of Konoha's eastside with a grunt, the air in his lungs escaping and leaving Naruto gasping for air. Narutos nostrils filled with smoke and Naruto had to blink several times as he looked up at the sky and saw nothing but a huge plume of inky black smoke rising into the Konoha night sky. In the distance he could hear screaming.

What the hell was happening?

Naruto got to his feet gingerly. His chest felt like it was on fire and his back was going to be severely bruised from the fall but he was still alive. He looked up his apartment block to see a Naruto sized hole in the side where he'd been forcibly exited, Itachi was stood there, sword back in it's sheath and his arms folded comfortably over his chest as he gazed down at him.

Naruto watched Itachi jump down casually, softening the landing by landing with bended knees, before Itachi drew himself to his full height. It had always made Naruto laugh how intimidating someone as physically small in stature as Itachi could be. Some of the Akimichi clan members where man mountains but they cowered when confronted with Itachi.

"I should have known you'd be the one to fight." Stated Itachi, a fond smile tugging at his pale lips. "You never could just do what you where meant to."

Naruto cocked his head in utter confusion.

"And just what was I meant to do?"

"Die!" Itachi said before flashing through a variety of handseals. Naruto knew what was coming; he had seen those handseals used more times that he could count.

Naruto took off at a sprint before diving to the ground as a giant fireball erupted into the middle of the housing complex that he called home. Naruto rolled back to his feet and spun back around to see Itachi darting toward him, fist cocked, as the fireball raged off to the side, barrelling into the building opposite Narutos home, setting it instantly alight.

Naruto slapped Itachi's punch away, stepping forward and throwing an elbow out, it connecting with a crack, causing the smaller man to stagger as blood splattered against the pavement from his now broken nose. Naruto threw a punch combination of his own, left-right-left, all blocked easily by Itachi, who brought his arms up and used his slender forearms to cover his face and stifle the blows.

Residents of the building caught in Itachis fireball where beginning to panic, their screams joining those in the distance in a symphony of suffering, Naruto could even see a few sticking their heads out of the windows crying desperately for help.

Naruto inhaled deeply before spitting a bullet of air at Itachi that pushed him a few feet away, creating a few metres of distance between them and allowing Naruto space to inhale again a lung full of smoke filled air, bringing his fingers up to the formation of tiger before spitting several short bursts of air that burst into fiery bullets that raced toward Itachi. Itachi ducked, dodged and weaved his way through most but took one in the shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain as the fire burnt his pale skin, causing it to redden and blister.

Naruto and Itachi stopped for a moment, circling each other as they sized each other up, just as they as they had done in the ANBU selection a year ago. They'd spared countless times over the years, right from the academy to the Jonin exams to ANBU selection. They knew each other inside and out. One, the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, the proclaimed heir to Madara and the boy would bring glory back to their illustrious clan. The other, the black sheep. The blue eyed, blonde haired enigma that no member of the clan would claim as their own. The product of a Uchiha straying outside of the clan.

"You and Sasuke." Stated Itachi happily breaking the silence. His quiet voice carrying despite the crackle of the fire raging behind him, despite the suffering screams of the people of the leaf. "You're all I have left to eliminate."

"What?" asked Naruto, blinking at the statement.

"You are the only two with Uchiha blood left in Konoha. When you have died by my hand, Sasuke will be next."

Naruto stopped circling and looked at Itachi in disbelief.

" You...You killed them?" Naruto asked in shock, making sure he understood exactly what it was Itachi was telling him.

"It wasn't really that hard." Admitted Itachi with very little emotion.

Naruto had heard of this, though he'd never witness it with someone that he knew personally. Shinobi that lost their mind. Being a Shinobi wasn't easy – nobody had ever said that it was. They where trained from childhood for war. To do the things that would keep their boarders safe and the civilians within them away from harm. They didn't do the easy jobs. They killed, they hunted and they had power that defied the laws of physics at their very finger tips. The life of a Shinobi could take its toll. Some Shinobi quit after a few a years to start a family or a business and eased into civilian life. Most died. And others...others lost their mind, unable to cope with the lives they'd taken or the injuries suffered.

Now was no time to contemplate the morality of Shinobi life as Itachi suddenly burst into action. If it wasn't for Naruto's Sharingan, Itachi's hands would have been little more than a blur.

Rat...Tiger...Dog...Ox...Rabbit...Tiger.

Naruto's eyes widened. He'd seen this technique before. He took off at a sprint but he knew it was no good. The dozen or so fireballs raced after him, following every swerve, every change of direction and every angle with precision before the first struck him in the back with such force that it through him into the air. The pain didn't have time to sink in as the skin on his back burnt before the rest of the fireballs struck him. His torso flooded with pain. A scream erupted from his throat as his body burnt from the onslaught.

Naruto pushed himself to his feet; crying out in agony as his body reignited with pain. His vision was blurry, his head pounding from the impact of him being sent through a concrete wall and his body was literally burning. He tried to shut the pain off. What was it Shisui always said? Pain was a figment of the imagination.

Itachi appeared in front of him, Katana in hand again, there was brief pause as Itachi looked at him although Naruto avoided his gaze. Naruto's body was ruined. He knew what was coming next and that in his current state he couldn't hope to match Itachi's speed, he could only brace his body for the pain.

Itachi's blade darted forward, piercing Naruto through his left shoulder though Naruto didn't have time to dwell on the pain as Itachi withdrew the blade quickly, before stabbing him again this time through his other shoulder. Naruto staggered backwards slightly as his bare arms became heavy as led. Blood poured down his arms and his vest was basically nothing more than a bloody rag now.

"Just die."

Naruto blinked, focusing in on Itachi, who seemed to move in slow motion. The sword once again pointed at his jugular, hoping for a killing blow. The blade darted forward as Naruto become consumed in a rage that bubbled in his gut.

Naruto blocked the blade, revealing in the feeling of the blade sinking into his forearm, before twisting the blade away from him, grasping it with his hand so tightly blood trickled through his fingers and threw out his right arm, beginning to channel his chakra into the palm of his free hand using the technique that Jiraiya had taught him all those years ago. A technique he'd refused to use since. The Rasengan formed and swirled with fury in the palm of his hand. A perfect sphere of rage.

With a roar of anger, Naruto thrust his arm forward driving the Rasenan into Itachi's stomach.

Itachi's crimson eyes went wide. Naruto had never used this technique in front of him before. The swirling chakra drove into Itachi. Tearing through his ANBU body armour, ripping into his skin, blood spraying around Naruto's hand as he drove it forward into his former friends stomach. The Chakra was getting more and more unstable. Naruto's hand was shaking beyond control and Naruto was forced to cancel his chakra, sending Itachi flying backwards a few yards landing in a bloody heap.

The image of a burning building blurred in Naruto's vision as he swayed on his feet. Naruto fell to his knees, the smoke stinging his eyes as the sounds of screaming civilians filled his ears. Naruto fell forward face first in the dirt of his street, exhausted and bloodied but alive. Blood flooded his mouth, dribbling out of the corner and down his chin. He turned his crimson eyes toward Itachi, who was know facing him in a similar position to his own, laying motionlessly on the ground a few metres away from him. It was the first time Naruto made eye contact with his former teammate, crimson eye to crimson eye, and he instantly regretted it.

Naruto found himself not staring into the familiar three tomed Sharingan that he himself owned; instead he found himself staring into an almost pin wheel design in the blood red eyes of Itachi Uchiha.

The Mangekyo Sharingan.

The world instantly began to flicker and tear around him and suddenly he was in nothing but darkness. His body was forced to stand. His arms where thrown out so that he was standing in a crucifixion stance, his arms and legs so straight that his joints ached and felt like they where going to snap. Suddenly he was pulled into the air; something pressed against his tender back and he felt some stab through his hands and his feet.

Naruto swallowed nervously. Deathly afraid of this new situation he found himself in.

"Now the fun begins." Called the unmistakeable deep voice of Itachi from the darkness and before Narutos eyes dozens of Itachi appeared out of thin air, encircling him. A feel of dread washed over Naruto. This was going to be how he died, he could feel it.

Naruto found himself moving his head and looked at as many of the Itachi's as he could, they all stood around him, unmoving, unblinking and seemingly unharmed.

"You should have just died." Stated Itachi solemnly.

"I know you're awake, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes fluttered open before he blinked rapidly in a bid to get them to adjust to the sudden harsh light, even opening his eyes made him wince. He'd been on countless missions, suffered injuries just as every Shinobi had – hell his body was a patchwork of scars – but he'd never felt pain like this.

He cast his eyes around the room. He was unmistakeably in the hospital. He was alive. How, he had no idea, but he was alive. Sitting beside his bed was the familiar figure of the Third Hokage, sitting on a chair, hands folded as he looked down at him, a sad expression on ageing face. It looked like it had been days since Sarutobi had enjoyed the luxury of sleep.

"Good to see you finally awake, Naruto. We where beginning to get worried."

"Finally?" Naruto asked, his voice was hoarse and dry. "How long have I been out, gramps?"

"Six days." Answered the Hokage.

Naruto grunted as he pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing at the change of posture, he looked down and his torso to see it was heavily bandaged.

"What happened, gramps?" Asked Naruto desperately.

The Hokage simply shook his head tiredly, like it was a question he'd been asked countless times and he was still no closer to finding the answer to it.

"I don't know." Sarutobi said sadly. "Nobody does and if they do? They aren't coming forward."

"Is it true what he said?" asked Naruto sadly, hoping Itachi had simply been bragging in his delusional state. "That there all dead?"

Sarutobi bowed his head.

"It's true." The Hokage confirmed. "Itachi slaughtered his entire clan in cold blood."

Naruto didn't know how he was supposed to feel at that news or even if he felt anything. The Uchiha clan where undoubtedly his clan. The clan of his mother. An unknown Uchiha women who his father, the famed fourth Hokeage, had impregnated. She'd never come forward – even after his fathers death – she'd never claimed him. She'd left him to rot in the orphanage. The Uchiha had never accepted him after his Sharingan awakened. Never wanted to acknowledge that a clan member had breed with an outsider. Never offered him any training in the use of the Sharingan. The only information he ever got about his Doujutsu was from either Itachi or Shisui.

It was funny. He'd spent nearly every evening since awaking his Sharingan infiltrating the Uchiha complex, watching the happy families through the windows of their houses, wishing that one would open the door and invite him in, watching them teach their children their – his – family techniques. He was never been welcome though. He'd been chased out of that complex more often than he could count. Abandoned and left to go back to his threadbare apartment in the East side of the village. Alone.

Now they where all gone.

"There are only three members of the clan still alive." Stated Sarutobi sadly. "Itachi himself, you and young Sasuke."

Naruto stared at the third Hokage in shock. Sasuke had made it through the night? How?

"Sasuke's alive?"

"He is." Said Sarutobi, a small smile on his lips, clearly the bright spot of a very dark couple of days. "You saved his life. If you hadn't battled Itachi, he would certainly be dead."

Naruto shook his head sadly. He hadn't saved anybody. He hadn't even realised anything was wrong until Itachi had turned up at his door. Had he over looked a change in Itachi? They hadn't seen one another for a while, being on different ANBU squads meant socialising was limited but Itachi had loved his clan...when had that changed?

"You used your fathers jutsu." said Saurtobi with a knowing look in those wise brown eyes of his.

"Desperate times, call for desperate measures." Naruto replied, trying to shrug but quickly thinking better of it as pain raised down his spine.

It wasn't that Naruto hated his father, it was more that being the son of the fourth Hokage – the infamous yellow flash – was more hassle than it was worth. Most of the Shinobi world still thought of him as a war criminal. He had, simply put, been the most devastating Shinobi during the last Shinobi war. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Shinobi had been wiped out by him. Being his son, the heir to his techniques, would only bring about animosity. The village hidden in the Rock where especially hostile to any mention of the fourth. Advertising his famous techniques or using his surname would only bring about attempts on his life.

And Naruto had enough of those as a member of ANBU black ops.

"Well it caught Itachi by surprise and that's no easy task." Stated Sarutobi, a hint of pride in his voice as he spoke. "It forced him into retreat; he fled the village and is severely injured. When the Jonin found you, you where close to death. Whatever Itachi did to you before he fled almost killed you."

"He...he trapped me in a Genjutsu." Stated Naruto angrily. Angry at himself for getting trapped in a Genjutsu by a man he'd trained alongside for years. He had, arrogantly, thought he knew everything that Itachi had to offer. He wasn't even aware that Itachi had awakened the famed Mangekyo Sharingan. It certainly hadn't been when he was part of the team with Shisui and himself.

"Must have been an extraordinary Genjustu to do that much damage to your body?" half asked, half stated Sarutobi with a raise of his bushy white eyebrows.

"Itachi is an extraordinary Shinobi." Said Naruto, feeling sick to his stomach. "He's awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."

The Third gave a small gasp at the declaration.

"I've never seen a Shinobi awaken the Mangekyo..." said Sarutobi thoughtfully. "I had thought it a myth...an exaggeration of Madara's and Izuna's powerful Sharingan. A legend."

"I assure you, it was very real." Said Naruto dryly. "That Genjutsu felt like it went on for days..."

"It was most likely minutes. That's a powerful technique. We will have to adjust our profile on him in our bingo books, wouldn't do for our Hunter-nin to go in half informed on their target." Mumbled Sarutobi.

"I wouldn't bother sending hunter-nin." Argued Naruto softly. "Itachi is a different level to everyone but yourself and Jiraiya. He'd kill every Shinobi you sent after him."

Saurtobi fell silent in contemplation and Naruto felt his eyes growing tired, even talking was exhausting.

"I will have to talk to the council about it." Said Sarutobi coming to conclusion. "And reach out to Jiraiya and get his spy network to try and find out Itachi's movements. Better to keep an eye on the boy in case he gets any idea on coming back to finish the Uchiha that he missed."

"If he ever steps foot in this village again." Growled Naruto angrily. "I will kill him."

"You should focus on recovering not threats. You're too valuable an asset to rush back into operations. I'm signing you off duty until you fully recover and the Medical-nin are happy to release you." Ordered Sarutobi. "Get some rest, Naruto. You deserve that much."