Departure
Chapter 1
You Were Never in
Don't you know the cost of your betrayal?
What have you done?
How low you've sunk.
Spare me, I can smell your fear from here.
What happened to you?
….
Entry 1: Note to self, Exercise Restraint
You're right I haven't sunk so low, in a while at least but the allure of treasure is just to much for me. How rude of me, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Naruto Namikaze, that's right Namikaze you heard right, noble clan, pretty high up in Konohagakure no Sato. I mean my father is the leader, Hokage, chief, whatever you want to call it.
Hell I was going to be Hokage one day, but the mundane and repetitive office life isn't one for me. No, this isn't the part where I shout 'It's a pirate's life for me'. Although I have thought about it, maybe once, or twice, three or four.
But I digress, these journal entries are your gateway into the mind of a man who just wants freedom, which the irony has just struck of where I've decided to start. It's a long story but my partner and I, oh right I have a partner, sometimes I get lonely. His name is Itachi Uchiha, I know right, Uchiha, aren't we an odd pair. A criminal and a greedy rogue, sometimes I wonder who's, who some days.
….
Takigakure no Sato
Prison
"This chakra suppressant seal itches", Naruto complained as he scratched at the tag on his left shoulder over the top of his simple blue prison uniform, which consisted of a pair of pants, a white undershirt, blue hoodie and white canvas shoes.
The only thing that set him a part was his striking blonde hair, cut into an oddly shaped style that had his spiky hair slicked back and the front spiked with a bang coming down the left side of his and a sliver stud in his left ear. His striking crimson eyes scanning the situation in front of him, rocking back and forth slowly, calculating.
"So this is your big plan huh?" a whisper pierced the silence between a pair stationed on a simple wooden seat. This man sported the same uniform, minus the jet blue hoodie. His hair was long, sported two short bangs that reached the bottom of his cheek bones. The most noticeable feature was two tear marks that cut deep into the sides of his face.
The sun above them fluttered past the clouds as their fellow prison inmates chatted amongst themselves in the exercise yard. Their conversations becoming a muttered mess of voices as Naruto honed in on a small group of three men, stationed just outside the entrance to the yard.
"Have you no faith me, you hurt my feelings Itachi", replied Naruto, making sure to smile for good measure, showing his straight white teeth. "Waiting is the best part, the tension rises, things develop, poetry in motion before our eyes", he joked resting his right leg on his left thigh.
"If any of these rogue ninja discover our identities there's likely to be trouble", Itachi spoke in a calm voice crossing his arms and leaning on the fence behind them. "We've been in here for a month already and there hasn't been any word on your informant", the ravenette pressed earning a chuckle from his friend.
Naruto looked up to see a prison guard step out of the building, a short man with a bulbous figure. A bead of sweat rolled down his throat as he visibly swallowed the lump in his throat. His buzz cut showing the large shape of his head. The prison guard uniform was a simple grey button up with grey pants, however he possesed a green badge on his shoulder, marking his status as a high-ranking officer.
The guard nodded discretely across the way from Naruto earning a chuckle from the blonde.
"It seems fortune favours the clueless, our wait is over", he placed his hand on his shoulder and stepped off onto the freshly cut, yellow and brown grass.
The yard was square surrounded by a large wall, topped off with barbed wire and some watch towers scattered at good vantage points could be seen.
"And it begins", Itachi watched him walk off to a group of prisoners, a sigh escaping his lips as if he had seen something like this play out 100 times before.
He watched the seen play out in front of him as if Naruto had rehearsed it a million times over in his head. His handed landed on rogue ninja's shoulder that had been closely observing a game of shogi play out in front of him, kneeling on the concrete. He turned to face Naruto, Itachi rolled his eyes as he eyed one of the prisoners slightly reveal a blunt, shortened version of a kunai from in his pants pocket.
"Hello friend", said Naruto with a smile, looking down kindly at the man sporting the same uniform as him. He was cleanly shaven and sported numerous scars on his face. A tell-tale sign that he had a colourful past and been in numerous encounters with danger.
"The fuck do you want?" he asked standing to full height and pushing Naruto's hand off roughly.
Instantly the entire area was on edge, the relaxed mood and friendly banter had changed to anxiety and pent up aggression. Naruto held his hands up and chuckled as eyes were squarely on the duo. Some prison guards in the area looked ready to act at a moments notice as did the prisoners around them.
"Now, now I just wanted to chat", chuckled the blonde as he roughly slapped the man of the back.
"Watch it Namikaze!" shouted the prison guard whom had nodded at Naruto prior, instantly murmurs broke out causing Naruto to chuckle again.
"Relax sir we were just talking, see?" this time he backhanded the man's face slightly more aggressively,causing him to stumble back, slightly dazed and enraged.
"Why you-
"You didn't hear me I guess", the blonde then delivered a crushing punch to the man's nose. A cracking sound signified the its breaking, Naruto then held his hands up as if he had done nothing, choosing to smile and step back as the inmates began to circle him like a pack.
As if a riot were about to break out the prisoners shuffled forward.
"Enough!" the guard ran into the yard with a metal baton in his hand, he ran his chakra through it allowing his chakra to cover and strengthen its dexterity. "I hope you enjoy your stay with the rats!" he slammed the weapon across Naruto's back causing the blonde to fall to the ground.
He was then handcuffed and carted away as another two guards joined in removing him from the situation. He was taken through a side door, which one of the guards unlocked, stepping through he was greeted by a damp, hallway and the lingering smell of rat faeces, he wasn't lying. Lamps were scattered randomly on the roof, dimly lightning the way.
"Go outside and subdue the situation! We could have a problem on our hands", the two guards nodded to each other and they ran back through the door, shutting the door behind them.
"You didn't have to hit me so hard", complained Naruto fidgeting with his cuffs. "A simple, 'you're coming with me' would have done just fine'", he huffed in mock sadness causing the guard to laugh, some spittle getting on the back of Naruto's neck.
"Relax boy, I got the scroll for you right here", he pulled out the paper stepping in front of Naruto. The scroll rested in his right hand, it was torn in some places and judging from its look it was very old, coloured a bright crimson red, matching his eye colour.
"Let's cut to the chase, now realising the magnitude of the what I've gone throw to get this. I want a bigger cut!" he laughed letting some of his saliva hit his shirt.
"You've got to be kidding me, you're getting 10 percent already, which is more than generous, it would set you up for life", argued Naruto trying to talk him down but no avail.
"Tsk, tsk, I could hand you over to the Leaf authorities if I wanted to, now couldn't I, hmm?" he taunted waving the scroll roughly around in front of him, earning a growl from Naruto.
"Stop that, that's delicate!" he coughed chuckling nervously. "Gatsu, ol' buddy ol' pal, we need not fight, we can work out a deal", he shook his head and tried to speak as if he were choking on the damage possibly been done to his prize.
"That's more like it", he smiled showing his rotting teeth, riddled with decay from his smoking twenty a day habit.
"H-How much m-more would you like of the, treasure", wheezed Naruto having some heart palpations as if the question was hurting him.
"Twenty-five", he responded quickly and concisely making Naruto choke even further.
"TWENTY-FIVE-twenty-five, are you mad fool!" he shouted "Why don't you just take a finger instead, I know you collect them or whatever", Gatsu laughed at the remark. "You see, I've waited a month in this hole for you", stressed the blonde shaking his head.
"At your request to throw the authorities off your trail, I haboured you while I stole from the village leader, which wasn't just a stroll. This way you could stay close to your target without raising an alarms and for the manhunt to stop, upon the standings of our deal", he chuckled in his 'check mate' position, having the advantage.
"Take it or leave it boy, either I undo these cuffs and let you go on your little treasure hunt, or spend the rest of your days, in here, with me, dwelling on the things you could have done", he smirked earning another angry growl from Naruto.
Finally sighed in resignation he made eye contact with the Gatsu.
"Fine! I'll take it twenty-five, now give me the scroll, get rid of these handcuffs and let me go", said Naruto leaning forward earning another laugh from the man. He pulled out a key from his pants pocket, returning behind him and undoing his restraints.
"What about your partner?" he asked as Naruto rubbed his wrists.
"Yes, yes him too", he dismissed standing to his feet, looking to his shoulder.
"And this?" he asked gesturing toward the seal. "Unfortunately, Fuinjutsu was never my forte'", Gatsu placed his hands on the seal, it glowed blue for second then disappeared.
"How do they work? Out of curiousity of course", he asked raising an eyebrow causing the man to smirk.
"Simple, you just run chakra through them, although nobody in here can use chakra", he handed the paper to Naruto who snatched them from him.
"Easy boy, its delicate like you said", Naruto's grin spread from ear to ear as he opened the scroll reading its fabled contents.
"You've been so helpful old friend, I don't know what to say", he placed his hand on the man's shoulder.
"Just make sure you get me that treasure!" he let out an arrogant laugh as Naruto's grip tightened.
"That reminds me, I do have some parting words for you", he chuckled, his gesture mimicked by the prison warden.
"What's that?" asked the jubilant prison warden.
"You were never in, friend", Naruto's hand shot to the man's throat as the look of shock struck Gatsu. "Thank you for all you have done, you greedy rat", his eyes bulged out of his skull as Naruto lifted him of the ground his features turning blue as he foamed from his mouth, struggling against the vice-like hold.
A few moments passed and he stopped his flailing and Naruto threw him against the wall.
"It's the little things that I enjoy about my work Gatsu, unfortunately you, yourself need to make some lifestyle changes", he chuckled to himself placing the scroll inside his pants pocket.
"Boss we've-
Two guards rounded he corner as Naruto standing over the choked out. Naruto looked down a his former informant and then back at the guards.
"The horror, call an ambulance", he chuckled as one bolted away back around the corner to sound the alarm, while the other pulled out a kunai.
The blonde pulled out a shuriken from his left pocket. He threw it at the man who ducked underneath it with a grunt and shallow breath. He turned briefly to see it spin off.
"You missed kid", taunted the guard stepping closer as the shuriken sailed around the corner, behind at a fair angle. A moment passed a shrill, painful cry followed by a thud.
Naruto hummed cockily as the man charged at him. The guard outstretched his weapon, stabbing at him. The blonde sidestepped him sweeping his off balanced form and catching him by the scurf of his neck. He then proceeded to deliver a savage knee to the temple, the guard fell to the floor, wasting no time, Naruto slammed his foot into the man's temple, killing him and staining his shoes in the process.
"Messy business", he commented he shook off his foot, picking up the key that Gatsu had dropped, placing it in his hoodie pocket with the scroll.
The blonde then proceeded to make his escape.
….
"Was that really necessary?" Itachi turned to his partner as a raging fire burned behind them and explosion followed shortly. "You really need to exercise restraint sometimes", he commented as he unlocked his handcuffs his shoes making sloshing noises as they hit the wet dirt.
The sounds of waves crashing against the rocks on the coastline interuptted the sound of the raging fire in the distance. The prison was located in furthermost northern part of the country, a large distance away from the village and a perfect hiding spot to throw off any pursers was an added bonus.
The duo walked down the dirt road away from the prison, just outside the barrier of the village. Itachi's cuff fell to the floor as Naruto rested his hands behind his head. Naruto chuckled as he laughed off his partner's comment as the prison walls burned to the ground.
"I'm not a very restrained person, carefree, maybe", he hummed in thought. "As in free of care about anything that doesn't concern me, such as the world, other people's lives, the law, my family, villages, relationships, pretty much anything that isn't made of gold", he laughed and shook his head.
"Fine", responded Itachi quickly.
"When did I become such a cynic", he wondered aloud looking upward. "See, this is what happens when you're an overachiever", the wind picked up around them, making them hault in their tracks.
A black wisp suddenly broke them out of their stupors, the black mist creating a figure. The pair halted their walk as a figure appeared in front of them.
"Zetsu", greeted Naruto with a slight hint of amusement in his voice. He watched the Akatsuki's spy appear in his full form a neutral look spread across their faces.
Zetsu was easily distinguished by the two venus flytrap-like extensions that emerged from his sides, enveloping his head and upper body as a shell, which they were able to open and close. Beneath these extensions, White Zetsu had short green hair and a single yellow eye. The right half of his body was covered by Black Zetsu, a stoic black entity.
"Lord Pain said you'd be here", said White Zetsu eyeing the explosion behind them. "Should I ask?" commented Black Zetsu, following another explosion.
"I'd rather you not", said Naruto looking down at his feet sheepishly. Itachi remained stoic as he eyed the creature.
"You have been left to your own devices for a month, you must return to your duties and work on information gathering and raising funds", Black Zetsu ordered as Naruto rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands in his hoodie, gripping the scroll.
"But we only just got started" Naruto sighed. "If I knew joining a top-secret-super-evil-criminal-organisation was going to make me so busy I'd have stuck to piracy", the blonde turned to his partner whom shook his head.
….
The Land of Rivers
The incessant dripping of water upon rock was enough to drive anyone mad. Although the Akatsuki members had to bare it, in an effort to waiti for the remaining two members to arrive in holographic form.
"Whilst they gather themselves after their adventures I'd like to take this time out to thank you all for making it, it has been a while since the last time we got together", Pain spoke in a deep voice regaining the attention of his compatriots.
The members of the Akatsuki convened in a jutsu used to communicate from across the world. A jutsu that allowed the user to broadcast themselves as a holograph in any location. A single lantern illuminated the small area as the figures were featured standing around the single light.
"A pleasure as always", this comment was followed by a number of small laughs.
….
"Faith in these bunch of criminals is idiotically admirable", Naruto sat down on a rock. He and Itachi had set up a small camp site near a roaring waterfall. Itachi had set up a number of traps around the area, after all, they were still wanted men and wanted men never slept.
The night sky was clear and full of stars, the cold hair nipping at anything living causing discomfort.
Itachi tossed him a ring from his pocket, the ring of the north. Naruto slipped it onto his right ring finger. He summoned an Akatsuki cloak out of a sealing scroll and threw it on, keeping the collar open as the fabric fell on his clothes. He had also dressed the same with the ring of the south adjourning his same finger.
"Let's just get this over with", said the golden blonde. They both sat crossed legged making the ram seal, gathering their chakra and transporting a portion of to a far off destination.
….
Their projections appeared in the small cave, haul ting any semblance of conversation and friendly banter that had broke out among the organisation's members. Itachi's Sharingan showed itself, giving his image an intimidating gaze.
"Welcome, I understand that you are both up-to-date with our state of affairs?" questioned Pain as his ripple patterned eyes moved back and forth from the duo.
"Of course, capture some Jinchuriki-or something or other-take over the world", Naruto chuckled openly mocking the powerful leader.
Itachi remained stoic and merely offered his silence as an affirmative, earning a laugh from an opposing member.
"I trust your travels were eventful, it is good to see you both alive", offered Pain to the pair of criminals earning a cough from Naruto.
"Yeah thanks, I'm glad to see that you've gotten yourself in shape, have you lost weight? You're looking slim", he complimented earning a chrous of silence from the mysterious leader. "I didn't think so", his tone of voice dropping.
"Enough of your nonsense, why have you called us", demanded a voice from across the cave.
"Patience, Kakazu, you all have your targets, Itachi, Naruto, I have a different mission in mind for you both. You are to collect from a mercenary faction that hired us and has not paid for our services. They're stationed in the land of Hot Water, they go by the name, 'Genshi' (Atom). Make sure you make an example of them, show the people of that nation what happens when you cross us", Naruto raised both his eyebrows at the very specific order.
"Sounds simple enough", commented Black Zetsu in a monotone.
"Unfortunately I must go, I trust Zetsu will inform of the intel needed to carry out this mission effectively. The rest of you have been given your assignments", he disappeared followed by the rest of the members.
….
Sharingan and crimson eyes opened as the calm landscape appeared again.
"Here we go again, more missions, more killing, more order-taking", Naruto growled falling back onto the rock. "You and I are going to have to put our swash-buckling adventures on hold for a while", the blonde chuckled at himself as his partner merely uncrossed his legs.
"We're left with two choices to think about until Zetsu contacts us again, we continuing working under the banner of protection that is the Akatsuki, or we break away and risk our lives to achieve our goal", he offered earning a strained look from Naruto.
"Why are you helping me, it's more my goal than yours?" asked the blonde looking over toward Itachi.
"This is just as much my goal as it is yours", he responded in a monotone.
"Didn't think you were into treasure", taunted the blonde with a smirk. "Wait a minute, you've got yourself something else to be invested in", seeing through Itachi's ploy.
"You are correct, there is something else that I want", admitted Itachi earning a laugh from Naruto.
"You're a lot more interesting than you let on", he swayed back and forth his crimson eyes scanning Itachi's form. "So do tell, what is it then, jutsu, secrets, you want a nice girl?" questioned Naruto in amusement.
"Nothing you've listed", he dismissed earning a grin from Naruto.
"Fine, don't tell me", he shrugged. "So what's the plan?" the question earned a hum from Itachi.
"Show me what's in the scroll", Naruto tossed the scroll toward Itachi who caught it.
He opened the scroll and read the contents, allowing a rare smile grace his face. He let his eyes scan over the dirty paper, making his way to the title of the scroll.
"The Lost Village of Uzushiogakure"
Chapter End
I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter of my new story.
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