"You. Hey you! Yeah, with the cloaks and the hats."
The two men in question stopped and turned to face the speaker. Their collars were high and their straw hats pulled low. Neither of their faces was visible. One of them was very tall, and the other was of average height.
The man pointed at the taller of the two figures.
"Uchiha Itachi," the man said, "There is a great price on your head."
Itachi said nothing.
"I intend to cash in. Surrender and I will not hurt you."
The tall man reached for the sword on his back, and the speaker tensed. But the shorter man stepped forward, and stayed his arm.
The bounty hunter relaxed slightly, as the shorter man removed his hat. Then, he spoke:
"Hold, Kisame," he said. "This man has very little Chakra. It isn't worth using Samehada's primary attack." The shorter man's voice was low, deep, and cold.
The bounty hunter had no idea what they meant, only that one of the big guy's moves, one of his favorites, by his reaction to the shorter man's comment, was useless against him.
He stood up a little straighter.
"So you're Itachi," he said to the shorter man.
The shorter man's next comment was much easier to interpret:
"He's no threat. I'll handle him."
The bounty hunter became angry.
"That's it! Prepare yourself!" He drew his sword with a flash and the grating sound of metal on metal. Rushing forward, he lunged at the shorter man.
Itachi never moved. At least, not that the man could see. As the bounty hunter slashed out with his sword, all he saw was Itachi's eyes turn red, and then felt the shock run through his hands as his sword hit the earth. Itachi was gone, and the tall man, Kisame, laughed.
"What?" The bounty hunter spun around. Itachi was right b ehind him, a kunai knife in his hand. The man swung his sword around, and buried its blade in Itachi's shoulder.
The cloaked criminal didn't even flinch.
The bounty hunter's eyes, however, went wide as he felt another knife stab him in the back. He turned slowly, to see another Itachi, holding the offending kunai. The Itachi that the man had slashed at disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"I told you," Itachi spoke to Kisame, but stared into the bounty hunter's dimming eyes.
"He was no threat."
Then, staring into the would-be bounty hunter's eyes, he spoke the last words the man would ever hear. His voice was a combination of bored indifference and amused contempt as he spoke:
"You are weak."
•••
The 5th Hokage unraveled a scroll, and handed it to the masked ANBU member standing in front of her desk.
"Another Akatsuki mission? It seems they're up and about again."
"That's right," answered Tsunade. "There was another murder, just outside the border of the Fire Country. Specifics listed on the mission scroll."
"Understood."
The ANBU member left the office, and read the scroll more carefully. He was to take his entire squad. He smiled under his mask, and said softly to himself,
"Looks like we have to get going soon. I better tell the rest of the squad."
•••
Akatsuki members often had problems with bounty hunters and ninja. No; problem was the wrong word. Perhaps "delayed" was better. Either way, it was a burden that came with the job. Itachi had grown used to that. It was the life that came with scoffing at the law. But at least it was easy to deal with.
Occasionally, bounty hunters and such scum teamed up, with the intention to split the bounty among them. This would be troublesome for most, but not for any of those involved in the Akatsuki; those accepted into the organization were the best of the best, perhaps with the exception of that kid Tobi. He was Zetsu's student. Not that it mattered anymore, considering Zetsu had been killed by an ANBU squad from Konoha.
Now, Itachi turned his attention back the the group of men blocking his path. He stopped walking, and Kisame, to his right and slightly behind him, stopped as well. Neither said a word, they merely pulled their hats down.
A man from the group stepped forward.
"You guys are criminals," he pointed at them. "Akatsuki. Right?"
"…"
"I'll take that as a yes. We outnumber you by sixteen. No one can stand up to odds like that. Give up."
How original, were the words that passed through Itachi's mind. He didn't move.
The men began their advance.
So Itachi made his move. He knew his techniques so well he didn't bother with the hand seals most of the time. The speaker of the group reached him, and reached out to grab him. But before he could as much as blink, a Shadow Replication appeared in front of him and grabbed his arm.
"Wha– hey! Let go!"
The other men stopped and stared. Things had changed. They now had three opponents. Confused, some of them began to back away.
Itachi himself took a few steps back. Better to kill one of them and scare the rest away, rather than waste time killing them all. He would make this man a dramatic example.
"Bunshin Daibakuha," Itachi muttered, and with that, the Shadow Replication exploded like one of Deidara's well-known creations.
The man disappeared in the eruption. Limbs, blood and bits of charred flesh rained down on the scene, and the victim's compatriots stared in disbelief.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Itachi intoned, and twenty copies of himself scattered along the path.
The rest of the gang fled the scene.
•••
ANBU Platoon Leader Uzumaki Naruto threw open the door to the barracks of Platoon 9. "We have a mission, people!"
The ANBU members inside abandoned their activities and stood up.
"Again? So soon?"
"Now? We just got back. How troublesome."
"Yes sir! Orders sir!"
"Alright! What now?"
"Eh. Here we go again"
They all gathered around the table where Naruto had laid the scroll out for everyone to see. Armor was being put on, and ANBU masks were coming into view. Naruto briefed them.
"The Akatsuki are moving again. But their movements have reversed. This may mean another Bijuu is under their control. If we can follow them, we can find out where their new hideout is."
"…hmph. That wouldn't be necessary if someone hadn't trashed their previous one before we knew they weren't in there."
"Hey, what was I supposed to--"
"Come one guys, calm down." Everyone stopped and looked at Naruto. They had all known him from childhood, and even now, the rate at which he had matured was extraordinary. He was such a drastic change from the silly clown he was before, back in the academy, even for a while after his two-year training spree with the famous Sannin, Jiraiya.
Now, he stood, slouched to one side, his hands in his pockets, a serious look on his face. "We need to work together on this one. Let's save the fighting for after the mission."
Uchiha Sasuke, also a member of the squad, smirked. He and Naruto were best friends, and he was proud of the man that Naruto had become. He absent-mindedly rubbed the scar on the back of his neck, where the curse seal had once been. The curse seal that had skewed his thoughts and twisted his mind. The curse seal that Uzumaki Naruto had personally ripped off, with his bear, clawed hands, out of concern for his friend. It brought back memories, but Sasuke was jolted from his reverie by Naruto's next comment.
"You'll like this mission, Sasuke. We're to go after another two-man Akatsuki team. The team that consists of the Monster of the Hidden Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame, and your brother, Uchiha Itachi."
Everyone went silent, and slowly all eyes turned to Sasuke at the mention of his despised older brother. Sasuke's mask was already on his face, but his bright crimson Sharingan were visible through the eyeholes.
"Well," he whispered, softly but intensely, as he tucked the katana he'd received from Orochimaru into the back of his belt, "what are we waiting for?"
A/N: Hope all you readers like it. This is my first posted story. Opinions would be appreciated!