*Note: Getting closer to the main part of the plot...let me know what you guys think! :)

Chapter Two: Chasing Conflict

"Forgive me, Sasuke…it ends with this."

Sasuke woke up in a cold sweat. It was the same nightmare, night after night. But no, it wasn't a nightmare, was it? Itachi had died – right in front of his eyes. Saying these very words to him.

The world and its cruelty had left him with no one to call kin…except Madara. Something about Madara made him want to think twice. In fact, if it hadn't been for Madara's revelation to Sasuke, shattering the truths he'd built his life around, Sasuke wouldn't have had anything to do with someone that…eccentric, that…questionable. But, on the other hand, an alliance with Madara had finally helped him begin his journey of vengeance. One down, two to go, he thought grimly, thinking of Danzou, one of the three who had condemned Itachi to the life he had been forced to lead. It had been a moment of pure soul-satisfying ecstasy giving him what he deserved – death.

Getting out of bed, Sasuke made his way to one of the inner chambers of the Akatsuki's hideout. Turning on the oil lamp that lit the room, he sat on the chair that used to be Itachi's and brought a long, slender kunai out of his pocket.

This is for you, Madara had said, handing a kunai to Sasuke soon after Taka had formed. It was his. I thought you'd want to have it. He…he would have loved to be here with you, even if he hadn't wanted you to know his secret. Keep it.

Exhaling, Sasuke got up to go and twirled the short blade in the air once. Catching it deftly between two fingers, he was about to put it back inside when a glint of white reflected in the kunai made him pause. Following the angle made by the diffused shaft of light, he stepped towards the door. Widening a crack in the door frame with the kunai, he pulled out a small piece of paper with his thumb and index finger. It looked like the corner of some piece of paper had gotten stuck in the doorway when the door was shut, and had gotten lodged in the door jamb.

He carried it over to the oil lamp to make it easier to see. There was no mistake – there was some sort of writing on the paper.

X

"….and then a pincer-like attack will force them to the center of the field, where we will be waiting for them…"

Sakura leaped from tree-to-tree just as fast as the rest of her battle unit, but her mind was on another plane. For the millionth time she asked herself how this could have happened, how Sasuke just morphed into some…They were his team members – how had they not noticed the change? Unbidden, a scene played out in her mind...the day the three of them had come together for the first time…the day their team had been formed.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."

No…it had been obvious from the beginning. They had just chosen not to notice it. Especially her. She'd been blinded by his charisma. Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if at least someone had survived the massacre that day…if there had been someone for Sasuke to turn to…someone to tell him it was gonna be okay. Would it have made a difference? Maybe, maybe not. She sighed. I just wish he had had the chance to be happy.

A million miles away, Naruto flew through the trees, making his way back to Konoha. He sensed impending disaster…even the birds were quiet. I wonder what's gonna happen….I hope everyone's alright, dattebayo!

Just then, Naruto noticed a small group of ninja, carrying what looked like a palanquin, travelling the other way. That's one of the Daimyous, Naruto realized with a shock. He stopped and tried to make himself scarce while trying to pick up on their conversation.

"…apparently gotten worse," one ninja was saying. "I wonder how much longer it will last."

"I've heard…greatest war….history…..Allied Shinobi Forces….Madara Uchiha and the Akatsuki fighting…."

No way! thought Naruto. Madara actually declared war? Is he out of his mind? And what's with the "Allied Shinobi Force" thing? Could it be that…I have to get back to Konoha fast so I can find out what's going on!

Naruto was about to leave, when, "…after that Nine-Tails brat and Killer Bee from the Cloud Village…," he heard someone say, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Ano sa, ano sa!" Naruto jumped to the forest floor. "What's going on? What war? Who's after me and Bee-sama?"

"You! What're you doing here?" one of the men shouted. "Go back now! You're putting us all at risk by being here."

"Me? Putting you at…what are you talking about?" asked Naruto, suddenly confused. "I have no idea what's going on!"

"You idiot! Why did you have to tell him? You know it's supposed to be a secret!" another man yelled.

"Secret? Tell me! I wanna know, dattebayo!" shouted Naruto, getting really riled up now. "It's about me, right?"

"I don't care if it is! I can't…"the second man began…

"SILENCE!" the curtains of the palanquin were pulled back to reveal the Daimyou's face. "The five Great Shinobi Nations have entered into an alliance in order to defeat Madara and his Akatsuki partners. They want to capture all the tailed beasts in order to dominate the world and bring about Madara's twisted idea of peace by uniting the world under one person – him. The war is being fought further north from here. The Alliance was formed mainly to protect you and the Eight-Tails from falling into their hands. You were not informed about this because the higher-ups feared that you wouldn't be able to restrain yourself and would hot-headedly rush off to the battlefield…Hey! Where are you going? I haven't finished yet!"

"Sorry! I have to go - my friends are fighting out there! I have to go help." Naruto yelled over his shoulder. "And besides," he said, a twinkle in his eye, "there's no way they'll win without me!"

X

Sasuke peered closer at the small shred of paper he held between his fingers. The scrap of a scroll looked like the end of a letter of some sort. There were several smudges, making it look suspiciously as if the writer had been crying when they wrote this. Sasuke leaned in even closer and slowly attempted to decipher the script on the page.

"…won't…be….…back….for…about a week…..business…take care….Love, Itachi." Sasuke sharply sucked in air. Itachi had written a letter? To whom? It was obviously addressed to someone he cared a lot about…and why didn't he ever deliver it?

"Feeling lonely?" The soft voice of Madara drifted from the entrance of the room, as Sasuke fumbled, hastily slipping the shred of paper into the sleeve of his long cloak.

"I….I had some thinking to do," Sasuke muttered, sensing it wouldn't be a good idea to talk about what he had found.

But it was too late. "What was that in your hand a moment ago?" Madara asked interestedly. I've been standing here for a while now. You were so engrossed in whatever it was that you hardly noticed my presence at all. For a person with your reflexes…well, it must be a very interesting find."

"It's nothing," Sasuke said, his throat suddenly going dry. "Just a bit of paper I found…I was just checking to see what it was."

"And what was it?" asked the senior Uchiha, not letting go.

"Nothing," said Sasuke. "Just a scrap piece of paper."

"Hmm…," said Madara, apparently not very persuaded. "Well, just remember that you may find many interesting things in this place. Don't dig too deep where it is not asked of you – it will not always be appreciated," he finished, with a steely glint in his one, visible eye.

Sasuke gazed unflinchingly back at Madara until he spoke again, the cheerfulness back in his voice. "Come, why don't I accompany you back to your chambers? It's far too late for either of us to be wandering around alone down here." Sasuke thought he detected just a hint of a warning in that seemingly-friendly gesture. He decided it was best to accompany Madara for now. But he would be back. I'll find you, whoever you are, he thought, thinking of the intended recipient of his brother's letter.

X

"He's not coming back, is he, kaasan*?" Hirohito asked in a quavering voice, looking at the young woman beside him for an answer.

"I….I don't know, child," she replied, with a voice attempting to show bravery.

"But he promised me! He promised me he'd be back!" the child cried, lower lip quavering. "Why isn't he coming back? Doesn't he love us anymore?"

"Of course he does, my baby. He does. And always will." Akahana turned away to hide the tears that were brimming over. He was not even four years old yet, yet her son had become increasingly perceptive. It was true – Itachi was late. He had said something about business to attend to, and that he would explain in his next letter, but his letter had never come. It had been three weeks since then. He had never gone longer than three days without sending her a letter, even when he said he was working. So what had happened to him now? He would never abandon them, his only family…

Japanese translations:

*kaasan: mother

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