Okay, hey everyone, this is my first fanfic. yeah if you wanna know more about me check the profile. at any rate, I intend to make this a great story. I intend to at least try. I really like the idea and think there are lots of angles. anyway, I'm going to update once a week. yeah, there are going to be a few OCs in this story and alot of the charactes will be OOC in the beginning. that is the point, but don't worry everyone will be back to normal in a few chapters kay? also, this chapter may seem very angst and tragic, but its just setting the backdrop. this story is about hope, redemption, and friendship. So please just stick with my here, or rather hop on board. just give the story a read and please review, review, review. review about anything and everything. this is my first fanfic so please help me out here. at any rate on with the show.

the management

prologue (part 1): passing on the fire

The dark haired man awoke screaming from the dream he had been having. He looked down at his hand. There was no blood them, at least not yet. He looked over at his lover, soundly asleep. He listened to her breathing; the sound alone was enough to bring him happiness. He wished he had the power to freeze time at exactly the point where it was now. He had met the girl at an anbu meeting just 2 years ago. they had always been compared to each other. she was 3 years his senior and considered the great uchiha genious of her graduating class. In the beginning she had hated him. She wanted to prove that she was stronger and better. He never really cared much about it, he actually kinda looked up to her. she was his senpai(senior) afterall. the passion she had for defeating him had turned int an infatuation. Soon that infatutation become love. his admiration had always been deeply rooted from love. so it was no surprise that they hooked up. He shook her gently to wake her up. Her eyes snapped open exposing a deep red with 3 dots.
"don't worry, my dear Mayu-chan, its only me." Said the man

"Oh Itachi, dear please don't scare me like that" Said Mayuko deactivating her sharingan.

"Today is the day," Itachi said in a somber voice "Tonight it will be over, my life shall come to an end"

"oh dear, you are way too dramatic, you know that" said Mayuko leaning over to kiss here lover

Itachi was so in love with the fact that his wife could joke about virtually anything. She could make even one such as himself laugh basically on command. she could take something as serious and somber as killing and make you laugh about it. she could take away your pain. It was a power that he acknowledged above all else. He thought more of it then her status as the "princess of fire and the uchiha's crown jewel", her Mangekyou Sharingan, and her astounding good looks. She was and would always be his little Mayu-chan. When the kiss was over he vanished in a flash leaving his beloved to long for him in his absence.

Itachi stood in the dark and wet room below the peaceful village of konoha. Everyone was most likely asleep his thought to himself. He had a million and one thoughts running through his mind. His heart would have exploded if it hadn't been for the fact that he had long since done away with his emotions. Not in the sense that he didn't feel anything, but more in the sense that he could put them to the said for the greater good of things. He always knew this day would come, he had been etching away at his emotions strictly for this purpose. He knew what he must do. I no longer had a fear of it, he was completely calm and mastered as he stood before the village elders and the hokage.

"We trust that you weren't followed?" questioned Danzou

"No, Danzou-sama, I was not followed" replied Itachi humbly

"Good" said the village elders stepping forward

"Then let us waste no time," said the Danzou continuing on "today you have been given a mission, no more than that, it is a duty. It is your duty, to konoha and to the whole world. You have always been loyal to us, a true soldier. And now we are here to conclude this business relationship.

Itachi could have killed them; he could have no doubt killed them all with absolute ease. This mission was top secret and there were no anbu or guards around. He could have killed them and walked away from it all he told himself. However, the small voice in his heart held him back. Remember the killing, the blood, the stench, the pain it causes. He wanted so badly just to end their lives and then his own, he wanted to be free from all of it. Why was he born into this curse?Think of Sasuke, of Mayu-chan, and of konoha village. We can not walk away from our duty.

"Well then, you have already been briefed numerous times. Today you are to commit the murder of every single Uchiha. Their extinction will bring about the ultimate peace for konoha. Failure will not be accepted. After you have finished, disappear. Kill yourself, leave the village, do what you like. You will no longer be a part of konoha or the ninja world. You will be nothing, but a ghost.

"Hai. I shall go now, Danzou-sama, elders, Hokage-sama" he said bowing to them each in turn.

"Itachi, please…" the 3rd was saying "do we really have to go through with this? We could try to continue negotiations. There are many different routes to take. It does not have to end like this. I feel for the Uchiha, and I feel you, Itachi. "

However, Itachi had long since given up on turning back. His mind was already made up. There is no other course of action. This, I believe, is my true purpose. This is why I was born into the Uchiha. I know I may have not done much, but I will protect my village. Even being given an impossible decision like this, I will always live for my beliefs and my village. But you don't want to do it do you?Of course, I don't who would? Then stop, we can just ignore the mission can't we?No, we can not! This is a matter of life and death. Not just for me, but for all that I hold dear.

Later that day (during the massacre)…

Itachi walked through the streets killing everyone and anything that moved. He easily took out the civilians, academy students, and genin. He knew that the same was going on elsewhere. All the Uchiha that had been on missions were on a goose-chase. They were all suicide missions meant for the Uchiha in question to perish. These were tasks such as the kidnapping of a Kage, or the forceful infiltration of another village's anbu base. The Uchiha being as arrogant as they were willingly took such rough tasks upon themselves. All they cared about was their stupid clan name, they were just searching for fame and glory. In fact, those that had been on team missions were going to be betrayed and killed by their very own teammates. This wasn't just a massacre it was genocide.

Elsewhere Madara had agreed to take on the Uchiha military police force, which he was more than capable of doing. Itachi made his way to Mayu-chan's house, he dreaded what he would face inside. We love Mayu-chan, we were going to propose to her next month! Spare her please, we must spare her.She is an Uchiha and a very famous one at that. They will be checking for her body. You heartless fiend! Oh foul and cruel beast, that you would slay your own beloved. And for what? The sake of a village that has forsaken you. The village has not forsaken me, I have forsaken myself as have all the Uchiha. From the start we were arrogant and selfish creatures. Rather than trying to be apart of konoha and form a true alliance with the senju clan, we cared only for power and tried to conquer them. We failed in every aspect measurable and this is the only path left to us. Death.

Mayuko had stayed in the house, rather than go out and face Itachi in public. It assured them some alone time. Mayuko understood Itachi. She did not hate or even dislike his actions. She was more than willing to give herself up for him and for the village, but there was one problem. She uttered the words and time had stopped, Itachi froze. Everything froze; Itachi's world was spinning out of control. She is…pregnant. Itachi had no time to think of a plan, no time to think about consequences, he had no time to think period. So he didn't think, he told her to close her eyes. He kissed her goodbye and did a few handseals. In the next moment a large spinning hole emerged. It seemed like a mirror, in it a small mountain cabin could be seen.

"I was saving this for my escape, my love" said Itachi "but I guess kami-sama has other plans. Raise the child to be strong, but don't teach it ninjutsu. Do not tell it of konoha or of this event. I pray to dear god that it is not cursed with a sharingan. NOW GO!"

Itachi watched as his lover and unborn child walked through the portal. He then turned to face several shocked Uchiha jounin. He activated his Mangekyou and wasted no time in killing them all. He was scared to death, was anbu watching his movements. Would they be able to recognize his little cottage deep in the mountains near the old ruins of the whirlpool village? It didn't matter; he would defend his child with his life. He had just one more matter to attend to: his parents. He entered the house and to his surprise found his parents sitting and waiting for him. He couldn't kill them, not like this. They weren't even going to put up a fight.Why? He wanted to know, but did not have the strength. They probably wanted to ask him the same question. A dark silence filled the air. Fugaku was the leader of the Uchiha clan and was not to be taking lightly. However, Itachi had never even seen his father activate the sharingan.

"Any lasts requests?" said Itachi with an evil grin trying to seem maniacal.

"Drop the act son. I know you are perfectly sane. I also know why you betrayed us and I know what you will do from here." Said a rather expressionless Fugaku.

"Why…don't you resist?" asked Itachi near to tears on the inside.

"Well, I have come to see your point. I understand why the Uchiha must die. Not that I agree, but I understand. I have been betrayed by my own son, I no longer have the will to fight. We have lost, Uchiha is over" Sighed Fugaku.

"I see…" said Itachi hesitantly walking around behind his parents." Well then…"

"one last thing," this time it was his mother who spoke "I have provided you with a short instructional on how to change my body to a dummy corpse of Mayuko-san. Its on your desk"

"And why would need something like that?" questioned Itachi trying very hard to remain emotionless

"Call it a mother's intuition" she smiled at him. After, that there was nothing left to be said. He brought his blade down on them. His parents, those whom had given birth to him. Those who had raised him and taught him a fair amount of what he knew about the world. He cried, he just sobbed and cried. He didn't know what else to do, but he had to pull himself together. Sasuke would be home soon, he couldn't be seen like this.

He had not been able to do it. He could not kill his only brother, his beloved little brother. He had failed his mission. He ran towards the Hokage's tower crying. The 3rd had sensed Itachi coming and ordered his private anbu to leave. Itachi came in and relayed all the details of the massacre, except things concerning Mayu-chan.

"I see. so young Sasuke lives…" said the 3rd with a somber expression "I shall do my best to keep him safe. Itachi, what will you do now"

"I have no choice but to leave the village. I still want to protect it though, so I can not die just yet. My dreams are shot; there is now no chance for me to be what I wanted to be. However, there are still things to be done." With that Itachi turned to leave

"Anything else?" questioned the 3rd.

"Well…" Itachi considered telling him about Mayu-chan for a minute "no, nothing sir. I apologize for my failure"

"If it was anyone's failure it was mine. I'm truly sorry" said the 3rd bowing down before Itachi.

"Please, rise my teacher. You are not to blame" said Itachi with a slight tear in his eye. He opened the door and started out.

"You really are like him, Itachi. Minato, I mean. You and the 4th Hokage are more alike then you will ever know. I just wanted you to know that" smiled the 3rd.

Itachi merely left without saying a word. He used shunshin get to the boarder of the village. It was not really like he had anyone to avoid, anbu had been given strict orders to let him pass. He looked down at the village one last time. It was raining heavily, how ironically cliché he thought to himself. He looked up to let the rainfall hit his face, it was a pure feeling. He looked down at the village. He remembered all that had happened since his very birth. This had been his home, and he had fought for it. He thought back to what the 3rd had told him. A genuine smile graced his lips. He was similar to the 4th Hokage. How had the old man known that the 4th was Itachi's hero. Itachi had never told anyone. He had only had the opportunity to work with the 4th for 2 years, but that was more than enough. He had wished that the 4th could have been his jounin sensei. In fact, one of the last acts of the 4th had been to give Itachi his chunin jacket. The 4th was truly astounded by the genius of the young Uchiha and even slapped him on the back as a show of approval. Itachi had nearly cried out of joy at that time. Now looking back at the village, Itachi wondered what the 4th would think of him. Itachi turned to leave. As he did he said to himself Uchiha Itachi is dead. His hopes, dreams, feelings and views are gone. The person called Uchiha Itachi no longer exists. He died along with the rest of the Uchiha. I am nothing, but a spirit. However, maybe I could be a spirit of hope.

Prologue(part 2): fire extinguished

Exactly 20 years had passed since that fateful day in konoha. Itachi had sacrificed nearly all he had to save the village and for the sake of his little brother. However, No one had ever known of his sacrifices or his wishes. No one had known of his dreams and hopes. No one had known that he too had dreamed of one day becoming Hokage and protecting the village. His original idea had been to become the hokage and the head of the Uchiha, uniting them and ending the problems once and for all. No one had known that he didn't want the village to fall to Madara. Itachi had given all of his eye techniques to Sasuke. He had hoped Sasuke would be smart and keep the village safe. He had put the same faith in Naruto. He had passed on his duty to these two young boys, hoping and praying that they would be strong and smart enough to take down Uchiha Madara. He had thought they could put aside their differences for the sake of the ninja world and become strong together and he had been wrong.

20 years after he committed that act and about 14 years after he himself had died, the ninja world lay in ruins. Uchiha Madara had simply out thought Itachi. Where Itachi had relied on hope and faith in others Madara had used careful planning and manipulation. No one really knows what sparked the 4th ninja wars, but people do know what happened as a result. Konoha became the enemy of the ninja world. Only the sand allied with them. Because of this the sand and the leaf fought every other ninja village simultaneously. Konoha was a fairly strong village and actually managed to survive the war and set the record straight with most of the warring villages. However, just when konoha thought it was in the clear they were attacked by the village hidden in the mist.

The battle scarred konoha was in no condition to fight, but what shocked them the most was that the forces were lead by 2 missing ninja. These 2 ninja in particular had been a part of konoha at one point; they even possessed a bloodline limit exclusive to konoha. The Sharingan, Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Madara had used their surprise factor to simply overwhelm konoha by military force. However, they didn't kill anyone initially. They merely rendered the village powerless. It was madara's idea, he did plan on taking over konoha, afterall. A ninja village without ninja was useless to him. So he spared all the inhabitants, at least in the beginning.

The killings were yet come and they weren't going to pretty. First, thing Madara did was declare him self the kage of the leaf. He now held 2 kage titles. Naturally this scared people so they planned to take him down, however Madara had already won the war. Through Akatsuki and numerous other missing Nin organizations he had managed to weave his influence into literally every village, from big name villages like the sand and the cloud, to the little back alley villages like the falls and star. His plans had come to full fruition. When the time had come he defeated all of the other countries and won the war with ease. At the end of the 4th ninja wars Madara had taken control of the entire ninja world, both the underground missing nin and the ninja villages. The feudal lords realized the problems that were taking place, but they were simply too late. They were removed from the picture swiftly by Madara. Madara now assumed the title of zenkage(kage of all or all-kage). As zenkage he ruled basically the whole continent, and he was only beginning. He planned to build his forces and take over the whole world. then he would truly have revived the Uchiha clan to his own satisfaction. But what of the konoha shinobi? What of those who opposed Madara? Surely everything did not go perfectly.

It is true, things did not always go perfectly and Madara was more than willing to sacrifice a head or two. He started with the village elders. They were by no means easy pickings, but he knew if he let them live too long they would become a threat to them. At first he had thought of recruiting them and putting their wise minds, but he soon realized that they would not cooperate. So he staged his first public execution, he tried to calm the people. He told them that the elders had been traitors and that they had instigated the war. Madara was an adept liar and the people, even konoha's own shinobi believed him. The world had fallen into a completely twisted manner. Sasuke stepped foward and beheaded all of the elders with his kusanagi, much to the cheers of the crowd.

Madara had imprisoned the 5th hokage and all of her private anbu, but as time went on he got comfortable in his position. He had used her as a dummy leader, but he knew that she had been planning a coup. He staged his second public execution and this time it was down right brutal. He had lost it ; at first he just threw slanders at the chained up Tsunade. He called her a failure and a peace loving fool. He also called her a lot of other bad names that didn't have anything in particular to do with her status as hokage. When he was done with that, he just stood there for a minute. Then to the surprise and horrow of everyone he removed his robe to reveal his flawless and naked figure. He looked out upon the people grinning evilly beneath his mask. I am a GOD, and this is what a god looks like!! He screamed to the masses. He then turned to Tsunade. She was glaring daggers at him, but her defiance only fueled him more. The following scene needs no more description nor should it ever have one. Madara raped Tsunade the 5th hokage, he raped her before the entire ninja world. Those not there in person were forced to watch it on TV screens from their own villages. He did it slowly and painfully, taking petty care to humiliate the former-kage. When it was over she lay curled in a ball in a ball in the floor. Madara had also drained her of her chakra causing her to lose control of her henge. She lay there with her head hung in shame. Madara was laughing maniacally and then drew a kunai and began slicing her to bits. When that was done he used a fire justu to clear aways the remains. He turned to the masses and told them that this is what would happen to anyone who opposed him. He walked off laughing to himself.

That was 5 years ago; things have gotten even worse now. Madara had implemented a few rules on konoha. Firstly, any born child that wasn't of at least a little Uchiha descent was branded as a slave and had their full power sealed. This included all the clans of all the villages. No other clans were allowed to use their bloodline limit without the permission of an Uchiha. Also, all women were to take bed with Madara at least once and then with another Uchiha once a week. In the beginning this had not quite worked to perfection because only Sasuke and Madara were present and Sasuke wanted no part in such things, but soon the Uchiha started to come back. It turns out that Itachi hadn't done a very good job at all. Uchiha came from other continents and hiding places. they very literally came crawling out of the clock works. Madara was disgusted with all of them for dishonoring the clan and hiding however, he needed them around.

Madara well knew just what a taboo sex was for women. When she was forced into it against her will, her spirit would be broken. And seeing as how the majority of the population was women, he had won over a fair percentage of people. They resisted, they almost always resisted. However, once they were broken in once they served him loyally. He loved it, breaking the spirits of strong kunoichi. It gave him a great sense of empowerment. The men were a bit difficult to break in, he couldn't use torture. All ninja were trained to resist physical torture, so he used his mangeykou on them. He put them in very painful alternate realities for long periods of time until they had finally submitted to him. It was long and tiresome work, but after 5 years he was nearing his goal. He had an army of nearly 5000 Uchiha; some of them had even been gifted with bloodline limits from other families to compliment their sharingans. He had no resistance to worry about and he had successfully tamed the whole continent. He sat upon his throne in his castle, which was built on the defaced ruins of the Hokage Mountain and tower. He laughed and laughed as he enjoyed his success, but little did he now that he would soon have problems to deal with. You see, it is always darkest before dawn and trust me dawn always comes. Madara was arrogant and could not think that anyone would be a threat to him. However, even at this moment a hooded figure approached the gates of konoha.

"Oi, who are you, eh?" questioned one of the guards suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I'm one of you." Said the hooded figure looking up and activating his Sharigan

Okay, thats that. Im fairly happy with the way that turned out. Im also very sorry to tsunade fans, but I needed to establish that madara is a mad crazy rapist who scares all the people to death. however, don't worry tsunade is not quite out of the story yet "wink,wink". I have many ideas and I intend to keep updating until this story gets popular. please let me know what you think and help me make this story better. next chapter will be up on june 25th! "the ghost of hope returns" chapter 1!

later!!