After the Akatsuki were defeated, the Hidden Leaf village, Konohagakure, had much remodeling to do. Tsunade led the village in its reconstruction. It was coming along smoothly. Halfway through the reconstruction, something devastating happened. We join Naruto and the others now.
Sunshine illuminated the temporary living quarters of the village. Neji had just set off for his morning training with Lee. "What kinds of strenuous, rewarding practice shall we engage in today Neji. "I was thinking of trying to open up my eight inner gates," he replied. Lee's eyes grew large (larger than usual) and illuminated with a shine and sparkle. "Are you serious," he exclaimed with a broad smile. "No joke," Neji answered, smiling. "Then let us begin with running exercise as a warm up," Lee shot back taking off through the woods. Neji shook his head, smiling and quickly followed leaping into the treetops. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the village, a giant snake was sliding steadily towards the village. On its head sat three figures. They were Madara, Sasuke, and Itachi Uchiha. {Surely you're wondering how this is possible, so here's how. After Itachi's alleged death, Madara told Sasuke the story of the Uchiha. Sasuke joins the Akatsuki for a short while. When the Akatsuki are defeated, the only remaining members are Sasuke and Madara, not even Team Hawk is alive. Well not including Nagato and Konan anyway. Madara tells Sasuke that it is time. They traveled to a remote location and met up with none other than Itachi. Surprised out of his mind, Sasuke turned to them for answers. They revealed that the Akatsuki setup was simply to buy time and to ensure Sasuke's arrival. They staged Itachi's death to awaken Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan. It would aid them in the battle against the Leaf village. He now understood what was going on. Madara supplied Sasuke and Itachi with armor resembling his original attire. They then set out to crush the Leaf village.} Sasuke looked over at Itachi who was staring dead ahead. He noticed Itachi squint at something and suddenly became aware of his own slightly blurred vision. "Madara," he questioned, "isn't there any other way to overcome becoming blind from using the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Itachi's expression became stern and attentive, but he continued to look onward. "There may be one alternative to becoming blinded, but I'm unsure of its believability," he said. They continued forward and would arrive at the village shortly.