The Return of Itachi
Summary: Exactly as the title says. Someone finds Itachi's remains and start experimenting. It all ends in Itachi coming back to life and he's about to take the shinobi world by the storm. At least Sasuke will be happy, especially when his nii-san starts playing matchmaker.
A/N: Hello again! Here is another short story. This will be three, four chapters tops! It happens after Kabuto tries to get Tobi to hand over Sasuke for experimentation. We'll go by the guess that Kabuto stole Itachi's body and experimented further with the revival technique, ending up with Itachi alive and killing him. Kisame is still alive and decides to make Sasuke carry out Itachi's will by dragging Sasuke back home. I won't say anymore, so please read to find out what happens! Also, Sasuke knows the truth about Itachi, so this might be a bit of a tear jerker.
Kabuto could not believe his own luck. He wasn't sure if he was the luckiest bastard out there or if he was the unluckiest individual in the universe as he hid behind one of the giant snakes he had summoned that was about to be killed.
He should have known all his plans on succeeding where Orochimaru had failed would backfire. But he had thought that the biggest obstacles were crushed into the ground, by Uchiha Sasuke no less, yet it would seem he has been wrong. Orochimaru had planned on getting the Sharingan for years before actually daring to try and take over an Uchiha. Too bad for him, but his former master had chosen Uchiha Itachi as his target and that man was almost unbeatable, if his reputation was to be believed. Kabuto blamed Orochimaru for this whole mess, despite the Sannin being dead for a few months now.
It really was all his fault, as Kabuto's troubles were always revolving around him. He could all trace it back to the day when Sasori of the Red Sands sent him to Orochimaru to become his spy on the Sannin, back when they were still both part of the mercenary ninja organization called Akatsuki. Orochimaru hadn't taken long to see Kabuto was under Sasori's jutsu and the talent Kabuto had for healing ninjutsu so he had freed Kabuto of Sasori's influences and had taken in Kabuto as his own. Kabuto had resented him for a long while because of that but had accepted it and became truly loyal to the Snake Sannin. Before he knew it, Orochimaru was obsessed with Uchiha Itachi and his master and mentor was getting his hand cut off by the genius.
Kabuto had never seen Orochimaru so petrified in as long as he knew the sickly pale man.
They were in hiding for a couple of years before Orochimaru had decided to go after the younger of the two last remaining Uchiha so Kabuto found himself being a spy in Konoha and then entering the Chuunin Exams, meeting Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun and Sakura-san, getting beatings as the 'weak guy', killing lots and lots of other genin because he was bored, making 'friends' with the Uchiha and the Kyuubi vessel and then dropping out of the Exams, just to lead the attack known as Konoha Crush a month later, during the final stage of the Exams. The Sandaime Hokage ended up sealing away Orochimaru's arms and jutsus so they had to retreat. And before he knew it, there was that fight between the three Legendary Sannin and Naruto-kun with that blasted Rasengan of his and he and Orochimaru had to run again. However, things had seemed to be looking up when Sasuke-kun came to Orochimaru-sama willingly, even though there was some manipulation involved.
And that's when things became difficult. For three years, Orochimaru and Kabuto had to endure the young Uchiha's increasingly mad moods and as the boy grew into a man and he became stronger, they only got worse. There were even a few instances where Orochimaru himself had been tempted to slit Saduke-kun's throat, but the teen had already grown too strong for Orochimaru to subdue so easily. In fact, Orochimaru had expressed a concern that, should Sasuke ever catch him in a genjutsu with his Sharingan, the Snake Sannin wouldn't be able to escape it without cutting off a limb so he could achieve a high enough level of pain to escape it and come back into reality. Kabuto had lived on eggshells for three years, especially the last few months. Sasuke's mood had gotten far worse after he had that little reunion with his old teammates.
To think that they would kill Sasori and then think up the plan to kidnap his 'inside man' in order to gain information on Orochimaru's plans and whereabouts ... Quite cunning, really. Konoha had certainly benefited from the old man's death a few years back. Kabuto hated to admitting that Naruto-kun had scared him when he used his Jinchuuriki powers. Who wouldn't be scared, when he had so easily defeated a Sannin like Orochimaru? Although, the pale man had had to flee in order to stay alive... Then they were approached by that guy, Sai, a part of Danzo's Root. He supposedly had a message for the Otokage and they had foolishly let him come along, only to be followed by Naruto and his team, one of whom was one of Orochimaru-sama's old projects that Danzo took over and completed. They did manage to find the hideout and even enter it, then they had some sickening moment or something and Sai seemingly took their side instead of Danzo's and they went to search for Sasuke.
They had obviously found the Uchiha, judging from the boom and the almost battle that took place. Orochimaru and Kabuto had to stop the Uchiha from fighting them seriously and they left, but the brief encounter with his old teammates left Sasuke in a foul mood and it showed. The gray haired young man had caught him muttering things about idiots and replacements but he had never paid it any mind, let alone confronted him about it, especially as his temper seemed to be getting worse and worse with each day.
Kabuto had honestly thought that Sasuke would murder them all after that day. His mood swings got so unpredictable and violent that everyone started avoiding the boy. Someone had even suggested sending Sasuke out to take over a few ninja villages all on his own, just to get the tension out of himself. Another, far dumber follower had said that they should send out someone to kill the Uzumaki so that Sasuke's temper will settle a little. That idiot didn't even live long enough to finish his suggestion, as the Uchiha had heard and resented the idea that the blond could affect him so much. Or he simply didn't like someone implying such a thing. Or he didn't approve of the suggestion. Orochimaru and Kabuto had been discussing it until a few days before Sasuke killed the Snake Sannin (they had been discussing how Orochimaru will first test out the Uchiha body he will be gaining and how to make sure that they completely kill Sasuke's consciousness so that he may never find out Orochimaru had absolutely no intentions of ever facing Itachi of all people, ever again despite the promise he made to the younger Uchiha).
Kabuto had, of course, jumped at the opportunity presented before him and absorbed all of Orochimaru's remaining powers before setting on the move. He never stayed in one place for too long and he made no more allegiances or accepted any in return. He became a loner and traveled, seeking ways to outdo his his former master. And that's how he stumbled upon the news that Sasuke was now aligned with Akatsuki of all people, seeking revenge for Itachi. Kabuto had been confused, as he had heard that Sasuke had accomplished his ambition by killing his older brother with his own hands, but here he was now, seeking revenge against Konoha and all others who had somehow wronged Itachi. Kabuto may not have known what was going on, but he had seen a golden opportunity in all of this.
So he had sought out the new leader of the Akatsuki, a man who claimed to be none other than an immortal Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha and one of the most powerful Uchiha and shinobi in history, intending to bargain for Sasuke for experimentation on the powers of the Sharingan and ways to stop the blindness from taking his eyes, but that's where he met another new obstacle. "Madara", as suspected, wasn't the real Madara and he needed Sasuke because he was strong, the only one strong enough and angry enough with Konoha to fight Naruto, the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. He wasn't giving away Sasuke, and although he wasn't Madara, he was still strong enough to chase Kabuto away.
But he had made the fatal mistake of thinking that Kabuto would give up so easily. He now knew where their HQ was and he had gladly sneaked in, risking his life and skin to find the Uchiha. Only he hadn't found Sasuke, but rather Itachi, much to his surprise. Knowing he'll never get a chance like this again, Kabuto had took the older brother's body and fled, hoping he will be the first person ever to unlock the secrets of the glorious Uchiha bloodline and their Kekkei Genkai.
That must have been where whatever little luck he had ended, the moment he started experimenting on the Uchiha's body in hopes of reviving the body and using it as his new vessel. It would be an achievement Orochimaru had only ever dreamed of and Kabuto felt smug that he'll succeed where his master failed.
Of course, he had never expected for Itachi's body to be so resistant to revival jutsus, so he had to spend a week investigating the reasons why and that's when he found that, apparently, Itachi wasn't killed by Sasuke - despite what the wounds he had when Kabuto started healing him would suggest - but rather by a vicious disease that had no material cure and none of the Akatsuki knew healing ninjutsus, so the elder Uchiha had lived as long as he head on pure stubbornness and force of will alone. Who would have thought that someone who has been described as perfect his whole life would have such an imperfect ending?
But Kabuto found that now that the disease's host was dead, it had died too - or was burned into nothingness by the Kirin - and all that was left to do was repair the damage it had done over the course of its existence in Itachi's body. The gray haired young man had with great glee and eagerness set to work, almost already feeling the powers the Uchiha genius's body would give him.
And then he, much to his greatest frustration, found out that Itachi's eyes were missing. It would seem that Tobi - the so called Madara - had transplanted Itachi's eyes to Sasuke at the younger raven's request. Kabuto was tempted to take his scalpel to Itachi's body and completely destroy it in his anger (so many days spent repairing the damn corpse!) but he resisted the urge. Instead, he did a bit more research and had to stifle the urge again when he found out that Uchiha eyes couldn't be returned by revival techniques. So instead, Kabuto decided to risk it all once again and try to sneak into Tobi's lair once more. He had been able to very easily summon Uchiha Madara's corpse there so he had a suspicion that Tobi had plans for the great Uchiha.
Too bad for him that Kabuto did, too. More specifically, he had plans for Madara's eyes. He was going to make his vessel the ultimate body and for that, he doubted Madara would suffice. He has been defeated, after all, while Itachi remains as unbeatable, even when deathly sick. The man had just finally sucumbed to his illness, which was a long time coming. With Madara's eyes, Itachi was bound to be unbeatable and since it will be Kabuto who is in the body, Kabuto will be unbeatable! And it hadn't even been all that hard, either. It was actually kind of pathetic how easily he made it to the room holding a few bodies (there was the body of some young girl - twelve to fourteen years old - that Kabuto couldn't see anything special about) and stole Uchiha Madara's eyes. No one even noticed. In fact, it would seem that no one had even noticed that he had stolen Itachi's body and that had been weeks ago.
Of course, he knew Sasuke was out on Akatsuki missions with his Team Taka that he formed right after killing Orochimaru, using the organization to get the support he needed for a campaign like killing Danzo required. If the last Uchiha was still sticking around, Kabuto knew he would have been dead already.
Still, he had gotten the eye, he had healed Itachi's body and he had found the things he needed to revive the body. In his research, however, he had found that Uchiha bodies were generally hard to revive for reasons not mentioned so they were in need of stronger jutsus and more chakra. And so, Kabuto had found a few great sources of chakra, since he doubted there was a stronger reviving jutsu than the Edo Tensei, his new and greatly improved version of it, that is. He just had to make sure that the jutsu wasn't completely finished, or else Itachi's soul will return to his body and all hell could break lose.
And that's when Kabuto really got screwed because something important for the transfer had fallen and he had looked over, cursing and distracted, not even noticing that he had held the jutsu too long and the next time he looked back to the Uchiha's body, he was met with open coal black eyes. Before he could even begin cursing himself, the eyes bled red and then a red chakra giant was hovering over Itachi and flinging him against the far wall of his cave that he used as a lair.
And that brought him where he was now. Hiding behind his last snake. Whiiich just got killed. Kabuto scrambled to his feet, intent on escaping but it would seem that Itachi wasn't going to let that happen. And all his strength returned. It really was a bad idea to give him Madara's eyes.
Red eyes peered down at the gray haired individual, the fully developed Susanoo acting as Itachi's guard and shield and sword all at the same time, making it impossible for Kabuto to deliver a single attack. He had heard about the powers of Itachi's Susanoo from Zetsu as he was delivering a report to that Madara wannabe after the fight (he had been observing them fr quite some time and had only a little bit later decided to confront them) and he knew he didn't stand a chance against it. Especially not when Itachi was once again fully healthy and he had not just the Mangekyo Sharingan, or even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan; Itachi now had Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, a double Eternal right there.
Kabuto decided he really did have the worst luck in the entire world. ''Itachi-kun.''
A black eyebrow arched elegantly. ''Kabuto-kun, I would like to inquire as to why you felt the need to disturb my final rest.''
The snake sage gulped uneasily. ''You see, I believed Sasuke-kun to be in danger and that he could use his elder brother's help. So I perfected the revival technique so I could bring you back and you could-''
''Cut the crap, I've heard enough of it while I was with the Akatsuki.'' Kabuto gapped at the annoyance so clearly shown in both tone and face. This was probably the first time he had heard Itachi expressing himself in such a way. The man had always been as polite as they come, never cursing (not that he had ever had a need to), never cutting someone off and never, ever openly showing his annoyance or displeasure. Then again, no one had ever been able to lie to him and Kabuto had just lied to him in regards to Sasuke. He might have just crossed the last line. ''How much has passed since I have died?''
And Kabuto had to admire the way he was talking about his own death so casually, as if dying and being revived was an everyday occurrence. Well, to Hidan it had been but Itachi was no Hidan. The man had probably never received a single blow in his life until he had fought Sasuke, let alone been close to dying. That is, if you don't count his illness. ''A few months. Sasuke-kun has been devastated when he found out the truth behind your actions, though, and I must say, he is even more determined to destroy Konoha than he had been to kill you. He killed Danzo not long ago and has joined Akatsuki when Madara told him everything that happened.''
Itachi looked at him as though he was crazy. ''Uchiha Madara has been dead for decades. You must mean Tobi.'' Kabuto nodded and Itachi sighed. ''As for Sasuke, you have nothing to worry about. I will find my otouto but you will not see the day when we stand together to protect Konoha.''
''Wha-'' Kabuto was cut off by coughing up his own blood when the Susanoo's sword, the Sword f Totsuka, stabbed right through him. He could feel as he was slowly sealed away, seeing a jar appear in the elder Uchiha's hand, a white snake manifesting itself as Kabuto's soul. He looked into Sharingan red eyes and saw no pity or satisfaction in them as everything turned black.
Itachi stared down at the jar in his hand, not even flinching when black flames consumed it. He was surprised, though, when he realized he felt no discomfort in using Sasunoo and the lack of a sting in his eyes from using his Amaterasu. He lifted a hand to his face and felt no bloody tears rolling down his cheeks. Whatever Kabuto has done to his body, Itachi could tell that he was in a better condition than he had been for quite a few years now.
And then what the now dead man had said rang through his head and Itachi clenched his hands into fists.
''Just you wait, Sasuke. Nii-san is coming to get you.''