Naruto: Yomi
Prologue
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Yasashi Kishimoto
Standing solemnly among his fallen kin, one of the last Uchiha wondered how this slaughter it came to be. Only a few months ago he had been serving his village no differently than his peers amongst ANBU and fellow Jounin, protecting his village through surveillance and the occasional clandestine operation that was never made public knowledge to the masses.
Despite his youth Itachi was one of the most respected Jounin in Konoha, something his clan took great pride in. Few knew Itachi's true thoughts on this matter though, while he took some pride in his abilities as a Shinobi he regretted the sacrifices that had been made to progress as far as he had. He'd deprived himself of a childhood, friends and a social life all for the sake of Konoha. All that remained were two simple yet profound things in his short fifteen years of life thus far. His clan and village, they were all that mattered in the end.
At least they had been before this night as he stared down at the motionless bodies of his parents. Their lifeless dark eyes stared right back, damning him for the genocide he had committed against their family. A trail of long dry tears ran from his eyes to his chin and no more followed. The subtle heaves of his shoulders spoke a thousand words of the grief his training and experience barely kept suppressed.
"I'm sorry Kaa-san, Tou-san," he tightened his grip on his ninjato, loathing how comfortable the bloodstained weapon felt in his grip.
Yet again he'd been forced to sacrifice for the sake of Konoha, all for the sake of the village. The night was not yet over though, and there were still more sacrifices to make. His mission was clear, eradicate the Uchiha Clan and there was still Sasuke to deal with. His own little brother who was innocent in this entire ordeal, but his orders were clear. They must all die.
Shivering violently, Itachi turned from his parents and heard the telltale patter of feet that indicated Sasuke had returned. Judging from the erratic footsteps he had seen the bodies littering the streets of the family compound. He had made no effort to hide his handiwork knowing that his fellow Anbu were stationed to keep all residents well away from the district.
Taking a shaky breathe he stepped into the shadows, anxiously waiting for his brother to step in the room and see their parents bloodied bodies on the floor. He didn't need to wait long as Sasuke threw the sliding door open seconds later, gaping in horror at the sight of his parents. Watching silently as his little brother rushed forwards, crying for his parents to get up.
Fresh tears grew in the corners of his eyes and his grip tightened on the ninjato in his hands as he readied himself for what was to come. Could he go through with it? To kill his own brother?
Emerging from the shadows silently like a wraith, he stood behind his brother knowing that it would be mere seconds before Sasuke sensed him. Any who might have come across this scene would believe Itachi a cold killer, unaware of the turmoil that seethed below the surface. In that single instance, he was determining the fate of his younger sibling, whether the sole remaining Uchiha besides himself would live past this night.
'I can't do it, forgive me Sasuke' silently exhaling he took the final step forward, ensuring his presence was felt by his sole remaining kin.
Hesitantly turning round Sasuke gaped at the sight of Itachi smothered in the blood of his relatives. In the dimly light room he could barely make out Itachi's features yet the flash of the blade held in his hand was crystal clear. Not a single part of the ninjato was absent of blood, the weapon used to cut down their entire family.
"Why Nii-san? Why'd you do it!?" he bawled "Why'd you kill them?"
Using what training he had, he stood in a basic defensive stance, nothing that would hinder Itachi for even a few moments. His Nii-san was considered by many in the clan to be the most powerful Uchiha since Madara himself. None among the clan were considered equals in power nor ability.
"Why?" a mocking grin followed. "To test my power, they were all weak. Not fit to be Uchiha. I alone killed the entire clan."
In an instant his hand wrapped around Sasuke's throat and slammed him against the wall. Stars swam across his vision briefly before all he could see where the spinning tomoe of the Sharingan. Fear paralysed Sasuke, refusing him to make a single move as the cold red eyes stared deep into his own. Then something happened. The Sharingan changed, becoming something similar yet different. Sasuke had little time to examine it further before Itachi's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live… if you wish to kill me, then hate me, despise me… and by all means flee, cling to your wretched life" Those words would haunt Sasuke for every day and night for years to come, changing his life forever.
What followed next was torture as he foundhimself back outside in the Uchiha district, watching as something cut down his kinsmen from the shadows. Witnessing only the briefest glimpses of Itachi as his emotionless voice surrounded him.
"I control time, space and mass, here I am god. For the next seventy two hours you will witness the slaughter of our clan, and you will learn hatred. When you have eyes like mine, come and seek me out." Were his final words. Sasuke could only do one thing, he screamed.
Dropping his brothers motionless body to the floor, Itachi felt fresh tears trailing down his cheeks. By doing this he had saved his brother, but in return earned his eternal hatred. One day in the coming years Itachi would die by Sasuke's hand and redeem the clan of their crimes. Until then Itachi would be considered a criminal of the very village he'd sworn to protect.
Looking down at his unconscious brother, he placed the ninjato back in it's sheath and vowed that at the soonest opportunity he'd destroy it. This would be the last time in perhaps years that he would see his little brother and the very final time that Sasuke would not look at him with hate filled eyes.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, forgive me." A final farewell.
Fleeing the Uchiha destrict with haste he had one final stop to make before leaving Konoha for good. Those who oversaw the politics of this village, those who dipped their hands into the darker affairs of of Konoha would need reminding that they were not to touch Sasuke lest they risk his wrath.
Despite being barely forteen years of age, he was considered on par with the sannin in skill and strength, there were few who could match him should the village earn his ire. With any luck that would keep the more obscure and self serving members of the council at bay. If all went as he intended Sasuke would be his legacy and the beginning of a new Uchiha clan.
In one of the seedier parts of Konaha, a young blonde haired boy stumbled through a filthridden alley, dressed in mere rags. What substituted as clothes hung from his malnourished starving frame. He could barely remember the last time he'd eaten a full meal and not the meagre scraps he'd been able to scrounge from the garbage of the residents.
His apartment provided to him by the village had been ransacked months ago, fortunately he hadn't been there at the time it occurred. It had been his sanctuary for nearly a year, it had protected him from the scathing glares of the villagers and their harsh words.
He could never understand what he'd done to deserve their glares and words, calling him all sorts of names he couldn't understand, but knew that they weren't kind words. Their angry and disgusted tones as they spoke told him all he needed to know. They were rarely violent though, and the rare ocassion that it happened, it always left him with a few new scars by the time one of the masked ninjas came to the rescue.
It had been this experiences that taught him that it was best to remain unnoticed, to stay away from crowded and bright areas. Hence he rarely ventured onto the main streets and instictively stuck to the shadows of alleyways and smaller less travelled roads that were abundent in Konoha. He'd been on his way to the one place that would serve him food, sometimes for free, but the pain in his stomach and the weakness in his limbs that had been growing day by day was finally taking its toll on his skinny frame.
For months now he'd been ingesting waste not fit for consumption and what food he did eat from the ramen stand wasn't enough to sustain someone for long. It was only thanks to the presence of Kyubi which he remained oblivious of that he'd lasted this long in the first place. What Naruto was experiencing was starvation, the latest method of the villagers in their attempt to rid themselves of the Jinchuriki.
Naruto only managed a few more steps before falling, his head colliding with the side of a stonewall as he fell, leaving a thin trail of blood to slowly make it's way down his forehead. Shifting so that his back lay against the stonewall, he stared at the street the the alleywar led to.
"Hello, is anyone here? Please help." A weak and hourse voice came from his throat. Despite it being late evening the streets were deserted, and there was no one around to answer his plea for help. He felt so weak, so hungry, why couldn't he be loved like the other orphans? What had he done that made him scorned by the adults, and ridiculed by other children?
'It's not fair, what did I do to die like this? What gives them the right to hate me for all they've done. I did nothing to them and they treat me like a monster. They're the monsters! I'll show them one day' These thoughts did little to comfort the young boy, nor did the rare kindness that few of Konoha took to the time to show him. In the distance seemingly watching over the entire of the village with vigilant eyes was the Hokage monument. Once upon a time Naruto had taken comfort at the sight of it. Now it was a reminder of how nearly the entirety of the village loathed his very presence.
"One day, I'll show you." Naruto whispered weakly before slipping into the painless embrace of unconsciousness.
Jumping swiftly and silently from rooftop to rooftop, Itachi silently pondered upon the brief discussion he held with the elders of the village, both Sarutobi Hiruzen the Hokage, Jiraiya the Sannin and Danzo, leader of Root had been present. While the discussion had been short, he doubted he would forget it for years to come. He had warned them that should they leave Sasuke alone, the truth of what occurred tonight would never be revealed and he would continue to protect Konoha from behind the scenes.
Surprisingly what had bothered him the most had been their final words as they parted ways. They had praised him for doing his duty, and despite his desire to protect Konoha those words had stung. Perhaps because it was the truth, killing his entire clan had been his duty. An obligation to ensure Konoha's future stability and survival.
While the Hokage only meant to reassure the young Anbu that he'd done the right thing tonight, it had stung. He'd done more than his duty he'd slain his own flesh and blood, his kin in the service of Konoha. With the truth of what the Uchiha Clan had been planning, he would forever be reviled as a butcher amongst those who remained unaware.
Sighing he knew that he had to leave quickly, the Hokage and his advisors could only delay his former comrades for so long. Anbu and Jounin alike would begin hunting for him soon, and Itachi had little idea on where to go from here. Jiraiya had mentioned a group of missing nin that were strangely interested in the Jinchuriki of the various villages. Investigating the motives of that unusual group would be a good place to start.
As he leapt effortlessly to the next rooftop along his path, a weak call for help nearby startled Itachi from his thoughts. Peering down to the streets he saw that they were empty, which would be unusual if it were one of the more busier districts like the Merchant Quarter or Residential. These were the slums where only the poorest of the village resided, and was often avoided by all others.
Spotting a speck of golden yellow amidst the dirt brown and grey surroundings, he shunshined to a closer rooftop. Peering down he saw that the speck of gold was none other than one of the village pariahs, this one being Naruto Uzumaki. While he wasn't actively abused or tormented, he was completely ignored and socially isolated.
Despite this Naruto was in terrible condition, what he wore passed for nothing more than rags and was very likely the skinniest child he'd ever witnessed. He was very likely little more than skin and bones at this point. Jumping down he silently landed next to the boy, he saw that Naruto was on the verge of unconsciousness.
"Naruto-kun, can you hear me?" he waited several seconds. There was no answer. Pressing his index finger against Naruto's jugular, he felt a faint pulse, he was weak and likely wouldn't live much longer without nourishment. This complicated things clearly.
With the actions taken tonight, there was nowhere he could take Naruto and escape Konoha in time before his fellow Anbu colleagues closed in to capture him. If that happened, he would be forced to either injure or kill those who had been his comrades in arms just earlier today. He couldn't very well leave Naruto here otherwise the Jinchuriki would die of malnourishment, and if he took Naruto he would well and truly be a traitor, not just officially.
"Why can nothing ever be simple." Itachi sighed before making his decision. Gathering Naruto into his arms he took to the rooftops once more, the extra weight he carried did nothing to slow him down. He knew there would be consequences for kidnapping Naruto, consequences he couldn't begin to imagine. What he did know though, was that he could no longer integrate himself as a spy amongst Ataksuki. What fate awaited him and Naruto was unclear. He would be hunted by Konoha and Ataksuki alike, but his conscience wouldn't allow him to stand by and do nothing as a boy no older than his brother died.
AN: This is my first Naruto story which I thought up a scenerio where Itachi found Naruto on the night of the massacre and consequences that would follow. Itachi won't joining Akatsuki, nor any other group or village. Itachi will remain a missing nin, on the run from hunter nin and his former comrades.
What I struggled with was the concept of how Itachi would find Naruto, there are plenty of stories where Naruto is physically abused by the villagers. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. With a protective Hokage with a loyal force of Anbu who are sworn to serve, I think the most the villagers could get away with his emotional abuse and neglect (with the rare exception of vandalism by one or two villagers). Such as ignoring him, shops refusing to sell him anything. So instead of outright trying to kill him, they are attempting to do it incorrectly by starving him.
Now if Itachi came across this in the state he was after the massacre, after killing his own family and the guilt he no doubt felt, I don't think he could stand by and let it happen. Let me know what you think with any constructive criticism.
On a final note. There will be timeskips, Naruto will become powerful enough to go toe to toe with the Sannin though not until after several years of training with Itachi's guidance. Naruto will be considered dark, the villages will consider him evil though Naruto believes he's doing the right thing, and what will he be doing, well…you'll see. At the moment there is no planned pairing and am unsure whether the person Naruto will become would be interested at all in romance.
Thanks for reading.