A/N: Back with an update! :D Thanks for the kind reviews! And just to answer some questions from Guest and No-Username (very fitting name, dude!):

1. Itachi is as old as Kakashi here, yes. I know in canon he's not.

2. Since Shisui is alive... no, Itachi doesn't have a mangekyou sharingan.

3. F-Fifty Shades of Grey? Bro... whuuuuuttt? I'm speechless. O.o I have never read 50 SoG. So I don't know.

4. Yes, this is a requested fic. I know it's out of the ordinary from me, but experimenting is also what I do.

I always dedicate a chapter to reviewers Kukasabe Swift and FanficBaka this extremely long chapter is for you awesome guys(gals)! :D

Onwards to the chapter! This one massive chapter ahead of you! Be ready! Good luck! ;)

Sorry for any mistakes. :/

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


Chapter 1: Supremacy

Deep within the Foundation Organization twelve fully clad ANBU ninjas were neatly aligned in front of Danzo. Their masks at their side, sabers fully strapped on the back of their metal plate armor, with their faces stoic and expressionless. Kakashi was among the twelve he, too, was abruptly ordered back in the Foundation in an ungodly hour.

"Team Haku will be split into smaller groups for my given assignments." their leader announced strongly, keen eyes wondered left to right to meet every soldier's inscrutable eyes. "Your skills that were assessed a week ago has been given in and your leader - Kakashi Hatake - will distribute you into groups of fours. He will also sign a Captain to manage your group."

"Hai!" all of the eleven ninjas replied with synchronization.

Kakashi took his step forward from the line, body calm and posture prominent. With moderate paced steps he joined Danzo, six feet away from the group. His leader extended his hand as a kind gesture of a handshake, reluctantly Kakashi sealed the handshake with his own hand. "The honor is mine, Danzo-sama."

Swiftly he turned back around to meet his peers' gaze, he calmly returned the favor with his scarlet eye gleaming through the darkened room. "I'd like Shisui Uchiha, Yugao Uzuki, Yuukimi Astal, and Nohagami Igami to step up from the line." he strongly ordered.

All four chosen ninjas stepped forward, patiently waiting for further any notice. "The Captain for this team shall be Shisui Uchiha. And I want this team to work closely with mine." he announced. "We will be working loosely side-by-side with our missions, understood?"

"Yes, Senpai."

"Alright. Team 2 shall contain - Myself; Itachi Uchiha; Genma Shiranui, and Tenzo."

The three members of Team 2 marched forward in sync. Silently they nodded at Kakashi who glanced at each and every one of them. "The captain of this team shall be myself. However, if I am absent in missions as such, I'd like Itachi Uchiha to command Team 2."

"Hai!"

Kakashi looked at the remaining four members of Haku but he didn't utter a single word, he only looked at Danzo with a stern expression. His eyebrows knitted together and his lips twisted unpleasantly before he turned back to the remaining four. "Can I ask the following members - Ayame Hiryo; Mariko Kin; Hiro Keiki; Aoi Daiki - to stand forward."

As the remaining celled team leveled with the two other teams the silver-haired ANBU's eyes tightened with a steely glare. "The captain for this team will be Aoi Daiki. Team 3 shall be taking direct orders from Danzo. For today's mission, however, you'll be working with Team 2 - my team."

Danzo stepped forward, purposely shadowing Kakashi, and cleared his throat. "Today's objective is a clean sweep assassination of a clan who are believed to have abducted three members of the Leaf. Wipe them out and do whatever you please."

"Will Kakashi-san be joining us?" Aoi asked.

"No, I will be in the Training Grounds recruiting new members for the Foundation. The appointed leader for this mission will be Itach-"

"Aoi Daiki, you shall govern this team. They will be at your disposal." the elder interrupted hastily, gaining a menacing growl from Kakashi.

"Danzo-sama, a word."

It wasn't a request. Far from it.

"Of course." he replied, smiling mockingly, knowing he had pulled his strings.


Deep in another private seclusion the two leaders engaged into a feud of disagreement. Unpleasant chakra began to resonate within their atmosphere, drenched with Kakashi's anger boiling. Strands of flames from the burning candles flickered along with his truculent mismatched eyes, emphasizing what could only be the inevitable if Danzo carried on with his carefree attitude.

Kakashi wasn't ignorant to the fact his superior had become more tensed and wary. Despite the circumstances of Danzo embodying passivity his eye had began to flare with fire, mirroring his rage silently with his own.

"Do you know how catastrophic the mission will end if Aoi Daiki commands these teams?!" Kakashi was enraged and he made sure his leader was aware of his asperity. Rage of such is highly advised not to be taken lightly, especially if it's from a person like himself.

The room fell into a dark slumber, but the tension remained as ferocious as before. The deafening silence began to pose great threat for the both of them, if resumed further. It wasn't until Danzo spoke up Kakashi's imminent rage became tamer.

"I take it you don't approve of my decision," he spoke confidently, unfazed. "But may I remind you Kakashi Hatake - this is my Foundation and I shall run it however I damn please!"

"Aoi Daiki and his team are malicious ninjas!"

"Now, you're being a hypocrite. You have killed hundreds of people in cold blood! First degree murder! Enough to have you executed, Kakashi."

Kakashi's face darkened with each and every remark Danzo made. He slammed his hand on the wall to release his growing wrath, warning the elder of the line he was stepping on. "However, I do not degrade myself with unspeakable crimes during missions!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Aoi Daiki and his team are ruthless killers. They don't just kill their targets," he lowly spoke, "They torture them to death - mentally and physically."

"You won't have anything to worry about, Kakashi, Itachi will be there."

"Yet, you choose Aoi to govern the team?!"

Danzo gave a simple nod.

"If this is going to be more than a clean sweep, Danzo, I'll personally handle Aoi."

"You'll go to such lengths?" Danzo grimaced, "You're even willing to kill a fellow comrade?"

"He's not a comrade of mine."


Kakashi soon returned with Danzo by his side, looking ever so displeased. Without Danzo's consent he motioned towards Itachi and pulled him away from the cluster of shinobi.

"Keep an eye on Team 3. Make sure you save the hostages before them." he whispered in his teammate's ear, gripping his forearm to refrain him from moving. "And make sure that this is a clean sweep."

"Consider it done, Senpai." Itachi obediently replied, drawing away.

Aoi sauntered towards Kakashi with a grim grin adumbrating his face. Upon reaching his superior he grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him towards him and to his attention. It didn't surprise him that Kakashi glared at him with his bloodthirsty sharingan. "I look forward to replacing you, Kakashi-senpai."

"Hn. You do know that you have to fight me in order to get my position, right?"

Aoi drew closer, enough for Kakashi to feel his breath against his skin. His unwanted breach of personal space was enough for Kakashi to smell the aura of excitement around him. It assaulted his nostrils with its concentrated repulsive scent.

"And I shall have pleasure in doing so." His lips curved into a flagitious smirk against the rim of Kakashi's ear, enough to repulse him.

Mixed in with the celled teams, Genma witnessed the overwhelming tension between two team leaders. The sensation which seemed to resonate throughout the expanse of their dark HQ was coated with nothing but supremacy.

"It's about time we set off!" Genma announced, intentionally breaking the tautness between two powerful ninjas. "Aoi-san, let's go."

Aoi patted Kakashi's stiff shoulder before he withdrew from his personal space. "Don't forget it, Kakashi. You'll be working for me when I come back." he smirked, wielding his mask to conceal his growing mirth.

Kakashi kept his peripherals on the celled team until they took their leave. It wasn't until the remaining team, without an objective given, caught his vision. Shisui was stood in front of him with a blank expression.

Slowly, he was approached by the raven-haired Uchiha who meekly smiled at him. "Is there anything I can do for you, Kakashi-senpai?"

"Can you get me the files of the members of Team 3, Shisui?"

"Certainly, but may I ask why?"

Kakashi closed his eyes nonchalantly before it reopened with a fearsome flame burning within his orbs. "I need to do some research."

~O~O~

In the quarters of the Hokage Tower another issue arose.

"These are the only files on Kakashi Hatake?!" Tsunade shrieked in disbelief. "There are only two files about him! Surely there's more!"

Hiruzen massaged his temple, sighing, for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He had longed to have a peaceful start of the day without any abrupt interruptions, but with Tsunade's presence in his office he deemed it impossible.

"They are files from when his was still an adolescent to when he became an ANBU who took orders directly from me."

Hazel eyes tightened: she was unconvinced. "You expect me to believe, a man of his caliber, has only this amount of documents about his skills and missions?"

"...Tsunade-"

"Where are his other files, Sarutobi-sensei?"

Another sigh slipped out of his lips. He had thought she would have become more tame because of the temporary disbandment of Team Hiruzen but it was on the contrary. He clicked his fingers casually, a silent calling for one of his ANBU bodyguards to summon themselves from the dark to his office. With a distinct poof of white smoke a masked woman formed next to Tsunade, inevitably earning a shocked shriek from her. "Hamaru, I'd like you to escort Tsunade to the underground library."

Hamaru nodded and gave her obeisance before she turned to look at the Senju princess whom she had startled by abruptly appearing next to her. "Tsunade-sama, please follow me."

"Wait." the Third abruptly ordered, drawing the attention of both women. "Hamaru, remove you mask. You are not in duty, you're only going to escort Tsunade underground."

"As you wish." Hamaru removed her mask with haste - no sign of hesitation. However, when her mask had been attached to her side she was befuddled by the Senju Princess' initial response. "Are you alright?"

'She's beautiful..' Tsunade quietly noted in her head.

Hamaru is a slender, tall ninja who would often be found garbed in her ANBU uniform, which vaguely outlined her slim figure. However, when unmasked, she's bound to capture anyone's attention, even the likes of the blonde Sannin. Her beauty was captured with her long, light-brown, wavy tendrils which framed her pristine, slender face to absolute perfection. The loose strands of her hair crowned her eyes and its rare color - her orbs had enough consistency of brown and red blended together to create an exotic shade - a soft red close to maroon. Despite her nude, pink lips personifying stoicism it crowned her pulchritude well.

"Y-Yeah," she barely gave clear response as she was deeply infatuated by her beauty, which rivaled or even surpassed hers. "I'm fine."

The maskless ANBU gave a soft smile before she led the way out of the office. "This way, Tsunade-sama."

They walked in silence through the long, narrow corridor that bent accordingly with the structure of the building. Tsunade kept enough distance between her and Hamaru for her to idly recall the incident which occurred four nights ago. The infamous mismatched eyes had been imprinted into her mind, giving her the occasional shivers down her spine. His cool gaze and deep voice had enough poison to seduce her moral senses out of her. As much as it infuriated her, it had enamored her at the same time.

As much as his looks intimidated her, his skills which bellowed across the Five Nations shook her by surprise. Kakashi Hatake is a prodigy, a man with a large caliber of jutsus, the only non-Uchiha who's able to wield the three-tomoe-sharingan - the list goes on. There was an over abundance about him that has scattered all over the Nations - from heroism to unimaginable fighting prowess - yet he remained a phantom at the same time. A man like him - so unpredictable, calculating, powerful - posed great threat more than Tsunade could even fathom. It was both agitating and challenging.

"Right this way, Tsunade-sama." the ANBU officer unlocked the wooden door which had since worn out since Tsunade's grandfather, the First Hokage, took charge.

Upon entering the dark and claustrophobic premise, Hamaru grabbed the torch which was prominently placed in its handle just by the door. She swiftly grabbed Tsunade by her right arm to halt her carefree actions. "Don't walk any further." she insisted, clutching harder onto her arm.

Slowly, she knelt down and placed the torch into the lining of the floor. "Brace yourself.."

The gas which occupied the deep straight line in the floor reacted with the flame which was deliberately placed into its crevice. With a violent roar, the shadowed, secluded room was ignited back to life at its sides, enlightening the room from the unknown to the known.

Tsunade calmed herself from the fright she had experienced and resumed to pace behind Hamaru who trudged in front of her. At the end of the hallway were titanic, wooden bookshelves filled with boxes, files, books and scrolls.

Hamaru turned back round to Tsunade, her eyes flickered with each strand of flame. "What are you looking for?"

"The files of Kakashi Hatake." she plainly replied, stepping closer to the bookshelves that overshadowed her very existence.

Without realizing it, the ANBU officer had flinched back. "K-Kakashi-kun?" she whispered, discrete enough for Tsunade not to take notice. "May I ask why?"

"It's confidential."

Hamaru led Tsunade to the other shelves which contained former ANBU officers who were in the team force called Phantom Four. She knelt down in front of the bookshelf and knocked along the wooden kick-plate until she was met by a hollow part. "Here it is..."

Tsunade's interest piqued and she knelt down beside the ANBU officer. "What is it?"

"The files of Kakashi Hatake." she responded, dragging a dusty cardboard box from underneath, labelled: Top Secret. "And others."

"Others?" she questioned, taking the box. "What do you mean?"

"There was a team called Phantom Four, two years ago. It consisted of four members, one of them was Kakashi. They were the shadowed assassination squad of the Leaf. They handled all situations no ordinary celled teams would."

Tsunade grabbed a torch from her pouch and shone it into the box, checking all of its contents briefly before she sealed it once more. "I'll need this. I'll return it to you soon."

"Of course."

The blonde Sannin stood up with the box in her possession, content with her findings. "What's your name?"

"Ru-Ruka Shoen."

"I'll see to it this box gets returned to you, Ruka." Tsunade smiled before she walked ahead of the ANBU member who remained in the room.

~O~O~

Shisui and, his teammate, Yuukimi, met with Kakashi in his private chambers with the files of the given targets. With a light knock, the Uchiha opened the door and handed in the green files to his superior.

Patiently, he waited for Kakashi to finish pondering through the sheaf of documents. "About this morning, Senpai, what did Aoi-san tell you?"

"He wants to replace me." he bluntly replied, eyes remained fixated on the files he scanned through. Satisfied with the information given he glanced at the Uchiha, "I appreciate this Shisui. Is there any way I could repay you?"

"Dango would be nice." he cheekily grinned, scratching the back of his head.

Kakashi chuckled back and opened one of the compartments of his desk, pulling out a box of dangos. "Mind you, this compartment is strictly for Itachi. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him."

"Heh. Itachi has his share, I don't think he'll mind having one less." Shisui replied, taking the box with a giddy expression. "Anything, else?"

"Yes. I want you to train those new recruits for a couple of minutes. I'm already late as it is, but I have important work to do. So I can't make it."

Shisui nodded, turned on his heels and walked out of the room with Yuukimi silently pacing behind him to close the door. When Kakashi heard the door close shut he opened the curtains which deprived sunlight seeping through his own office. He sighed and sat back down on his chair, reclining back in comfort.

"What is it, Yuukimi?" he asked with exasperation.

"Team 2 and 3 have reached their destination just half an hour ago. Do you have any orders to give?" she asked, walking closer to the desk.

Kakashi's eyes tightened briefly before he nodded. "Yes, I'd like you to send one of your summons to their destination. Report back to me with your findings."

"Of course. I'd like for you to meet me in the local-"

"Miso cafeteria?" he finished, hidden lips arching into a small smile. "The usual, I presume? I'll be there, tonight."

Yuukimi nodded, masked her identity and disappeared without trace with a small howl, leaving Kakashi to his own bidding. He took the four given files from Shisui and piled it up on the other three files he had compiled earlier. With a small jaded sigh he scanned through the first file.

Yugao Uzuki - A young woman who has straight purple hair, crowning her face and her brown eyes. Specializes in kenjutsu, ninjutsu and is a sensor-type. Kenjutsu techniques: Dance of the Crescent Moon and Hazy Moon Night.

Kakashi casted the file aside and reached out for the next. "Yugao Uzuki, a former apprentice of mine who followed me to the ROOT ." he mused briefly. "..Interesting girl."

Yuukimi Astal - Experienced and well trained. She has completed fifteen S rank missions - six by herself. Specialties: kenjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu. A timid woman who has radiant navy blue eyes and black hair.

Nohagami Igami - Skilled male sensor-type shinobi. Specializes in genjutsu and taijutsu. Description: tall, lean man with long, brown hair which is tied together.

"Yugao, Yuukimi, Nohagami and Shisui." he whispered, propping his chin on his palm with deliberate laziness. "Team 1 seems to be a balanced attack and defense group. Moreover they're all highly skilled, which can only mean they can become sporadic with their gears and formations."

The first celled group consisted of reliable people, both strong and intelligent. By having a balance of both defense and offense meant that they were a flexible group which can be assigned to any given mission. May it be an escort mission or an assassination mission, they're bound to complete it without much difficulty. They were just the team Kakashi wanted to work closely with.

Kakashi turned to the remaining files left. "Team 3.."

Ayame Hiryo - Cold blood killer. Completed thirty S rank missions; fifteen A rank; forty B rank... Specialties: taijutsu, ninjutsu and kenjutsu. Appearance: She has short, chocolate bob cut hair with cold red eyes, with a lean but masculine body frame made to dominate any type of mission.

Mariko Kin - Former female mercenary. Sensor-type. Specialties: silent assassinations and genjutsu. Appearance: Curvaceous, dark blue hair with black eyes.

Hiro Keiki - Expert in assassinations and interrogations. All-round genius. Appearance: short white hair with ice blue eyes; tall and masculine.

"Hiro Keiki.." Kakashi threw his file away from his desk with a hardened grimace. "Responsible for killing over a hundred innocent victims whom he was assigned to save. Repulsive bastard."

The silver-haired officer tossed the unwanted files of Team 3 until he was left with one file. It remained prompt on his desk as if it was mocking him; with growing agitation, Kakashi grabbed the file.

Aoi Daiki - A prodigy who is armed with hundreds of techniques. The son of the main branch of the Daiki clan, and is in possession of a Kekkai genkai. Specialties: genjutsu, kenjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu. Appearance: Short raven hair which parts in the center of his forehead; dark purple eyes; extremely masculine.

With another moment of silence, Kakashi slammed the file back down on his desk and impaled Aoi's picture with a kunai. "...Take my place, huh?" he said mockingly.

"I'd like to see you try."

~O~O~

Team 2 and 3 remained on high ground, taking every single vantage point they could gain as they plotted their plan of infiltration. Aoi unfolded a fairly large map from his pouch and placed it on the ground. He pointed at their current location and dragged his finger down a centimeter away and pressed on a small area color-coded as red to represent a town.

He then unraveled another map on top of the previous one. The second map showed a clear bird's eye view of the town and its premise, informing them the best way to penetrate through the enemies' defense. "There are twelve houses in the area and one church further down South." he grabbed his marker from his pouch and circled their positions. "Team 3 shall take the lead with the infiltration. Team 2 you sha-"

Itachi muted his orders and walked back to the edge of the cliff, examining meticulously around his surroundings. Through his given perspective very little was revealed, especially if the town was situated underneath gigantic trees that looked exactly like willow trees, except these tress grew out of proportion.

It couldn't be helped. In situations like these, he had no other choice but to unleash his clan's gift of sight. His obsidian orbs dramatically swirled, seeping out the color scarlet with the jet black three-tomoe-sharingan eventually swirling erratically to make its appearance. The infamous three point figure glowed in action and was as fierce as its user.

Everything became stronger, the colors became so vibrant yet so distinguishable; even through the monstrous trees deprived him of the view he wanted. Gentle tendrils of blue came into his peripherals: the enemies has been sighted.

Six in the South. Four in the East. Eight in the North. Three in the West. However, the center of the town contained a number of at least twenty enemies.

"Hey, Itachi, are you listening?" Aoi snapped from behind. "I'm not repeating my strategies again."

"There are a total of twenty-one enemies just at the border of the town," Itachi calmly stated, ignoring his leader's evident irritation. "And around twenty in the center. That's the hotspot, meaning our objective lies somewhere inside where some people may be held captive."

Both Genma and Tenzo stood up from the circle and walked beside Itachi with wide grins surfacing from their stoic faces. "What's your order, Captain?" they whispered, masking their identities.

"Clean sweep, just like Kakashi-senpai ordered. We charge through and hope we can extinguish the enemies before they do." he wielded his saber to his side before his feet curled whilst his body began to pent up enough chakra at the bottom of his feet. "Let's go!"

Aoi and his team were too startled to react, or rather Team 2's rash decision was in his favor. As shrouds of dark clouds began to shadow the sun, Team 3 masked themselves and enveloped their armored bodies with matching black cloaks.

"Don't kill them," their captain ordered, stepping forward to the edge of the cliff. "We'll show Team 2 the terror we inflict on our prey."

Itachi's chakra-coated-feet skidded down the cliff's edge with tremendous speed. His companions fell behind him as they lost control of their chakra from their feet, resulting for them to tumble and roll down.

Genma's arm's flesh began to tear against the violent friction caused between him and the rigid cliff. He watched Tenzo get back on his feet, but his body refused to copy his comrade. "Damn it all.." he cursed whilst his hands and feet became fueled with enough blue chakra to stop him from falling any further.

The tip of his fingers began to bleed and his nails became awfully crooked. At the right moment Genma pushed himself off from the cliff, startling both Itachi and Tenzo that they halted to watch him turn one hundred eighty degrees in midair with a steel string in his possession.

"He wouldn't..!" Tenzo's mouth gaped open whereas Itachi merely smirked at their comrade.

Upon seeing one of the branches from a gigantic tree he threw a shuriken at the branch before he threw a kunai, that's connected to the steel string, through the center of its hole to create a small swing for him.

Itachi watched Genma push his body forward to reach the top of the branch. He swung on top of the branch with a grin plastered onto his face. The Uchiha prodigy stopped his chakra control and jumped on the grass-filled surface to meet with Genma who jumped down from the tree with absolute ease.

They were surrounded by humongous willow trees with vines wrapped around its body and its branches, omitting an ominous aura which could only indicate that they're presence wasn't favored by the untamed wilderness.

Tenzo followed seconds later, unscathed to say the least.

"You're quite reckless, Genma." the wood-user noted gaining a small grin from him. "Not bad. You're still quite crafty."

"Can you not say it like I'm an old man who just learnt how to use the toilet?" Genma deadpanned.

"I wish I coul-"

Drops of water began pouring on their flesh, but it wasn't natural rain. It was drenched it chakra - Aoi's chakra. Each drop which had made contact on their flesh transmitted back to Aoi; his jutsu identifies both enemies and allies from a distance using rain.

"Aoi's team have made their move; it's time we made ours." Itachi slashed his katana through the uncut grass before he knelt down within it whilst he gave silent signals for his comrades.

They slithered through the tall grass with lightweight footsteps and controlled breathing. Upon reaching the end of their trails their eyes feasted upon six enemies. Everyone in their checkpoint seemed idle and carefree, oblivious to the fact death had just become the inevitable fate for them.

It was an advantage for Itachi's team.

On Itachi's signal his companions climbed the trees beside them with their chakra control. Once they had reached the top of the tree they perched themselves on another branch which extended closer to the enemies. They shadowed their chosen targets, silently equipping themselves for the moment to strike.

'Two enemies: one meter away from me. Three by the campfire. One behind the tree, taking a leak.' Itachi mentally noted, adjusting his sword into the palm of his hand, ready to slash the enemies as an opening.

With great haste, the dark-haired Uchiha advanced forward, thrust his katana in the man's chest on the left and threw his kunai into the other enemy's neck, bursting his windpipe. His gloved hand covered the man's mouth to muffle his screams to a mere minimum, buying enough time for his teammates to jump down.

Once he had pulled his katana out from the man's chest, both Genma and Tenzo had swooped down with a clean shot of their enemies' heads. Blood red splattered around their surroundings but they remained stoic despite their bloody assassination.

"I'll take care of this man." Itachi quietly said as they waited for the survivor to finish with his business.

"Pity. That man is going to die right after he finished relieving himself." Genma shook his head, biting back his laugh.

Itachi grabbed the man by the neck, slammed him to the tree's bark and activated his sharingan onto him. The man's orbs trembled then reciprocated with the spiraling sharingan, unknowingly becoming hypnotized.

"Where are the Hidden Leaf medical ninjas you have captured?" he sternly asked, pressing his forearm harder against his throat, threatening to crush his trachea.

"Underneath the third house with a steel door." the man mumbled unconsciously, eyes rolling back. "Tw-Two have already died..."

Their captain withdrew from the enemy after he had whispered inaudible orders into his ear. He turned around and began to walk away nonchalantly further into the woods, stoic. However, his companions remained glued on their positions with their eyes and mouths gaping wide open as they witnessed the enemy stab his own kunai into his throat. A bloody and forced suicide by the cruel act of Itachi's genjutsu. Although his Sharingan prowess can be breathtaking at times, infatuating to witness, it bore a dark power which can contort the user's illusion into reality in a flicker of an eye.

"Let's get a move on!" Itachi ordered from afar, drawing their attention back their mission once more.


With team 3...

"Looks like I was right, there are eight enemies here." Mariko smirked, tracing her fingers on the ground to sense out more chakra before she stood back up to look at the enemies who stood still with fright. "I guess we can have some fun."

"What are you waiting for then, Mariko?" Ayame asked, peering over her shoulder.

Mariko joined both of her hands together with only her index and middle fingers left unfolded. Her deadly eyes creased with delight when more helplessness radiated around the atmosphere. "It's time for you to sleep, dogs." she whispered with a hushed tone as her body began to multiply into shreds of paper.

Their enemies took several steps back with overwhelming desperation to escape the marathon of papers that had began to circle around them with immense speed, enough to make them sick. After her normal body form had started forming again, six ninjas had fallen unconscious. Two remained just as shaken as before.

"What the hell?!" one of them shrieked, kunai trembling in his grip. "Wake up you bastards, there are enemies in sight!"

"Genjutsu is a powerful tool, fools; once used right, it can be very deadly. I was being generous, you know." her dark eyes tightened with disgust. "You should have just slept."

"What did you say, you bitc-"

"She's right.." Hiro interrupted, walking slowly towards them with dark purple chakra emitting out of his system. His white hair began to darken in a shade of black whilst his nails began to protrude out in a sharper manner. "You should have slept." black and silver chakra started to coat his hand per step he took.

"Oh, this will be very beautiful to see!" Ayame laughed.

"Wait-Wha-He's a... monster!" they bellowed across the forest.

Hiro smirked before he dashed towards them with inhumane speed: the first enemy he managed to take hold off had his guts ripped out of his system; the second, and remaining man, felt his hand on his head with his nails digging into his scalp before it finally penetrated through his skull.

"Indeed, I am." he whispered.

His feet landed on the ground after he had taken the head of his target. "...It sickens me that they consider themselves ninjas. They just stood there, pathetic bastards." he scoffed, throwing his victim's head up into the air over and over again before he finally let it rest on his palm.

Icy blue eyes began to spiral into a strong ruby red hue as his hand grappled the head which contained last-moment terror. His unfortunate victim's face was terror-ridden - the horror which screamed in his eyes served as hard evidence. "Pitiful man." he mouthed before the head dispersed into tiny fragments of skin, muscles and bones.

"All the enemies don't pose much threat to us." Ayame finally whined after Hiro's bloody execution.

Mariko shrugged apathetically, "That's because we're far more superior."

BOOM!

A catastrophic impact from afar shook the ground violently with reinforced forest fire starting further in the East and West. They stared ahead after they had sensed the all-too-familiar-monstrous chakra dawning closer to their force.

"I'm sorry for the delay." Aoi started, jumping right in front of his team, bloodied and stained. "Checkpoints from the West to the East have been eliminated."

"What do you propose we do with these?" Ayame asked, specifically pointing at the unconscious enemy shinobi lying flat on the ground.

"Bring them with us. We'll finish them in the heart of their town."


Rain had become more rapid, forced and violent, with the soil's humidity it would seem that in order to have a perfect breach: they would have to be cautious and quick on their feet. Translucent drops caressed the edges of their distinguishable masks vigorously, leaving short and long trails of silver linings on the porcelain masks.

Genma clicked his tongue, his patience was on a whim. He and his teammates remained hidden behind the trees situated eight meters from the path to the town. "Itachi, what are we waiting for?" he quietly snapped, keeping his back completely rested on the tree whilst he peered at his enemies.

Twin sharingans burst back into life, feasting greedily on his chakra. The dark premise suddenly burned back to life with hot and cold colors wrapping around the original, mundane surrounding. "Five lie in wait for us." he said in a quiet tone. "Tenzo, back me up."

"And what do I do?!" Genma rolled his eyes when Itachi ignored his question. "Figures." he unmasked himself and his teeth clamped onto his senbon before he began biting onto it harshly.

Tenzo fell behind Itachi as he leaped up into the air with his dominant hand stretched out. "Wood style: Shower Pins!"

The first two ninjas were deeply penetrated all over their bodies by thin, wooden, sharp pins projected by the wood-user from behind. This allowed Itachi to jumped on top their body, like a launch pad, to gain more area to the survivors. With lithe motions he took out the final three guards who deprived them space from the heart of the town.

Itachi peered over his shoulder, raised three fingers up and folded them for each second. When his third finger folded down he mouthed the order: move out.

Their quiet assassination spiraled into a loud bloodbath in the center of the town. The three separated ways to cover the area of the town in a smaller amount of time. They breached and searched every single compound in search of any hostages whilst they killed anyone who became inferior to their mission.

Itachi raced through the thin alleyways before he dashed up on the rooftop to gain better access of the town. He closed his eyes briefly and sensed that Tenzo's chakra was beginning flare out in the distance with great intensity. Somewhere in the West wing Genma's chakra spewed, which can only mean he was engaged in a ninjutsu battle.

"There's been a breach! Fucking ANBU officers have infiltrated our town!"

"Shit!" Genma screamed against the searing pain, burning into his flesh. He dropped down on the ground and ran his trembling fingers on his upper-thigh: his skin was burnt and there was a gaping, deep hole that his fingers plunged into. He hissed through the pain as he pulled his fingers out once more, agitating his open flesh.

As he tried to tend to his injury smoke had began to linger around his surroundings. The white-silk fog thick with consistency poisoned his peripherals, and without any visual prowess he was at a major disadvantage.

"You're mine!" a prominent silhouette appeared before Genma with a longsword, it would seem. His sword swung down but Genma managed to flip back on his feet, not the most lithesome of his movements but it was enough to dodge away from the fatal attack.

Heavy footsteps crushed through the ground with every intent to ram his sword into Genma. "Have you ever been discrete with your killings?" he asked sardonically as he spurred towards the enemy with an explosion tag.

"Quit mocking me!" he growled, recklessly swinging his sword to the left. "You're a dead man!"

Genma slid down on the ground, using the wetness to his advantage, so he could slap the explosion tag onto the enemy's armor without him noticing. After he had slapped the tag onto his enemy he kicked him on the stomach to buy him enough time to drag himself out of the collision from the explosion.

"Agh, fuck!" he gasped when he felt the impact from the explosion sweep him off his feet. His body involuntary dragged itself across the fogged land until his back crashed against firm concrete. The impact had left him vulnerable and dazed, open for any possible attacks.

"Wood style: Laughing Buddha Hands!" one dozen of titanic sized hands made out of wood surfaced from the ground, crashing and slamming the enemies near and far.

A familiar figure from the near-distance made Tenzo drop his guard, completely. "Itachi, hey, have you seen Genma? We need to regroup again!"

Strangely, Itachi didn't reply.

"Itach-" Tenzo had come to a sudden realization, but it was too late. "That's a henged shadow clo-" he clapped his hands together, hoping he would, somehow, negate the power that was coming. "Wood style: Ultimate Gate!"

As his ultimate defense formed the explosion gave off, blowing his incomplete shield out of the way. Tenzo was pushed by the harsh explosion, and much to his dismay, his incomplete shield began to disassemble against the ferocity of the explosion. Despite his constant struggles he could only watch parts of his own shield launch at him: the first large piece embedded itself into his shoulder blade whilst smaller bits impaled into his shin and forearm.

Once his back slammed back down on the rigid ground his body became completely useless. Tenzo's onyx eyes began to wither alongside his body, it was reasonable considering his current situation. "Damn it... I can't move my arms or my legs." he cursed through his bloodied mouth. "Move, goddammit!"

His fingers merely twitched before he saw another shadow clone henged like Itachi roaming aimlessly with an explosion tag set to explode any second. Tenzo's eyes flared open, desperate to move out of the way. "Fuck!" he vociferated. 'Move... Move. Move!'

BOOM!

"This will never end!" Itachi growled as he slashed and diced through his opponents with utter ease. His three-pointed sharingan began to swirl, bend, reverse anti-clockwise then rapidly rotate, meticulously analyzing his foes' movements.

He slammed his kunai into one's throat, plunging its tip into his neck. His spare hand that held his katana tightened around its handle before it swung forward to the other enemies. The back of his neck's hair began to raise. The thick fog extended towards him, like strands of silver reaching out. Swiftly he slammed down an explosion tag on the ground before he disappeared from the battlefield and onto a tiled rooftop. He silently watch his enemies fall into disarray before attempting to flee from the radius of the explosion. It was nothing but a fruitless attempt. The tag sizzled and set off with a mixture of ember and grey, engulfing all of the remaining enemies.

Itachi joined his hands together whilst his feet parted. When his eyes flickered with ember an outburst of blue flames pushed the white fog away with its dense pressure. Once the fog had been pushed away from the town, it revealed the damage caused by their warfare. Itachi's eyes widened as he scanned left to right for Genma and Tenzo. Titanic craters from the explosions; houses which had collapsed from the collision; bits of tiles, wood and stones scattered the area along with bloodied corpses.

However, there was no sign of his comrades.

"Pull it out slowly." Tenzo said as he clutched onto the fabric of his damp pants. "Hey.. are you even listening?"

Genma clicked his tongue once more. Ever since he had saved Tenzo from his doom he had always whined and tried to order him about. His hand clasped onto the rigid edges of the piece of wood that had penetrated into Tenzo's shoulder blade. "No, I'm not." he replied, "I have treated all of your wounds, and you have done nothing but whine."

"Well you don-" Tenzo's hands grabbed a fistful of his pants as his nose and eyes flared in inhumane proportions. He felt the rough edges of the wood scratch against his tissues, it tore and inflicted more damage than before. "Genma!"

"Now, shut up, this is a disinfectant." his teammate poured its contents from the bottle onto the white cloth before he firmly pressed it against his wound, drawing another inscrutable scream from the wood-user.

Tenzo glared at Genma as he weaved dissolvable threads into his skin to close the open wound. "Honestly, you need to work on your communication." he sighed deeply as a sign of relief. The tension that welled up in his fingers started to dissipate slowly. Eventually he uncoiled his limbs from the fabric of his pants.

"And you need to stop trusting random shadow clones that the enemy's whipped up." Genma scolded, cutting the excess of thread.

"So this is where you two are."

They both raised their heads, automatically locking eyes with Itachi. "Hey, Itachi! You made it!" Tenzo smirked, not taking Genma's previous scolding to account by feigning deafness.

Genma expressed a smirk. "So, do you have any wounds that needs tending?"

Itachi shook his head before he glanced around. "Listen, I just saw Aoi and his team take our objectives into the church. We need to move in as fast as we can."

"Do you have anything in mind?" the wood-user raised a brow.

"I do have a plan."


Team 2 infiltrated the church by climbing up to the bell tower which connected to the religious building. Discretely, they leashed their chakras so that even Aoi wouldn't be detect them from above. They were perched on the beams, that supported the roof, as they kept a keen eye on Team 3 and the hostages.

Genma's brow arched when he saw Hiro grab an awfully familiar woman with matching jet black hair and eyes clad in a kimono dress. Quickly, he glared at Tenzo who shared the same look as he had. "Isn't that Dan's niece?!" he shrieked.

Aoi's eyes flickered back to life at the sight of the young, timid woman with short black tresses with eyes to match with it. Her face alone resembled an old comrade of his, which made him more cautious. "Woman, what's your name?" arms crossed whilst he leaned on one of the pillars adjacent from her.

At first Shizune remained silent with a deadly glare shadowing her fearless face, until Mariko kicked her down on the ground to pull her hair back by force. "I believe he asked for your name." a sharp kunai pressed on her neck, threatening to draw blood out if she refused to cooperate.

"S-Shizune.." her sentence unintentionally trailed off.

Hiro's eyes widened then creased with sheer joy. "Dan's pathetic little niece, huh?" he grabbed the collar of her dress, pulling her back up on her feet. "I loathe your uncle. That bastard fucked up my reputation."

Genma's eyes dilated with fury at the sight of Shizune being assaulted against another pillar. A strike swiped across her face before a weak chakra-coated fist rammed deep in her stomach. Subconsciously, his teeth gritted together as his nails dug into the thick wooden beam. "How long do we have to stand here?!"

Itachi's eye scanned left and right through the hostages that were forced to kneel down in a straight line, with their wrists binded together by chakra chains. There were six women, twelve men and five children in the line. "If you include those six enemy ninjas that they've captured; we have a handful."

"I don't care!" Genma growled, leaping from the beam and down to the ground with his hand seals already complete. "Aren't you back me up here?!"

The team leader jumped down and quickly weaved seals beyond ordinary speed. "Fire style: Phoenix Flower jutsu!" an array of circular ball flames scorched past Genma, indicating that it was up to him to deliver the next move.

The brown-haired ANBU smirked, "I knew I could count on you!" he joined his hands together and took a deep breather. "Wind Style: Vacuum Blaster!" an impressive amount of strong gale combined with Itachi's fire-style posed to be a formidable attack.

Its speed heightened with such velocity its flames became more violent, alerting Team 3. Ayame dashed in front with her hands already joined together. "Water style: Hydro Cannon!"

Her water against the combination of Itachi and Genma's collided together with a bang of thick, grey smoke that blinded Ayame briefly. Before she could fully recuperate, Genma had already set foot on the ground with his hand curled into a fist. At the right moment his hand opened and clasped onto her neck before he slammed her towards Hiro.

"Bastards!" he vociferated when his foot dug deep into her stomach muscles, making twist in the most unpleasant manner that it drew a handful of blood out from her mouth. The impact was powerful enough that her body crashed into several church benches until she finally burrowed down on the ground.

Hiro wielded his saber out and attempted to slash forward to Genma, but instead his blade met Itachi's when the Uchiha had intercepted his attack midair. "Damn you..!" the collision between their weapons caused a recoil for Hiro, his tanto flew upwards until it embedded into a wooden pillar, just adjacent to their position.

Upon his defeat, Itachi stabbed his foot with a kunai before his katana slashed into his upper torso's mid-section, "You disgust me." he whispered, kicking Hiro a few meters away from him.

"You're going to pay for that!" Mariko growled, running towards the Uchiha with exceptional speed.

"Wood style: Grand Prison!" Tenzo slammed both of his palms on the red carpet, summoning a big enough box to case Mariko inside with ease. She pounded, sliced and diced to break through the wooden walls but it regenerated back per strike - rendering her attack useless.

"You guys really don't know your limit..." Aoi menacingly whispered. "Let me teach you a lesson."

Even with Itachi's fully-developed sharingan, Aoi's speed couldn't be monitored nor predicted. It was lightning fast: Aoi punched Genma in the gut before he elbowed his body to the marble altar; Tenzo's body looked as if it floated by its own accord before he was kicked back to the entrance door with tremendous power.

Once Aoi's feet touched the ground he dashed towards Itachi. In order to dodge and delay the inevitable, his twin sharingan locked with his purple orbs, momentarily casting a genjutsu onto him to slow his movements down. When there was an opening in his attack, Itachi rolled on the ground to dodge the swing span of his sword.

Before Itachi could retaliate back, the tip of the sword was already harshly pressed against his throat - drawing blood out from his thin skin. They remained in that position momentarily until, eventually, Aoi cracked a grin. "I'll make a deal with you, Uchiha, I'll let you have one of these ninjas..." he drew his weapon away. "But, in return, I want you to kill a man, woman and a child - and don't think about rushing it - make it satisfying."

The Uchiha glared with trepidation, a twist in his features showed overwhelming disgust. Nevertheless, he didn't voice it - he didn't need to, the lines on his face and the grimace which surfaced, spoke volumes all by itself. "...Why?" he finally inquired.

"Simple," Aoi licked the sharp edge of his katana. "It's a fun game to play."

"Don't do it, Itachi..." Genma managed to say with the last ounce of he energy he has. "Don't-"

"Five seconds to decide."

One...

Itachi surveyed the hostages.

Two...

His hand balled into a fist.

Three...

They all gawked at him, hopeful that he'd choose to save them.

Four...

His limbs moved by itself.

Five...

Itachi quickly approached Shizune.

She attempted to up at him, befuddled. He was a coalescence of black hair and pale skin, blurred through her wet lashes, nameless. "Take my hand." Was all he said as he stretched out his gloved hand. Shizune could only dry her tear-streaked cheeks and attempt to make herself as small as possible. A glimpse of thin lips, delicately curved, was the most she could see, too shy to meet his gaze.

Itachi knelt down in front of her and swiftly ran the pad of his thumb against her cheek, wiping the remaining tears away. "Take deep breaths, Shizune." He unfastened his short black cloak and engulfed her with it, tugging at its lapels to make it more prominent on her petite body.

Shizune grabbed the lapels of his cloak, indulging in the warmth it provided. "...Thank you." was all her soft, timid voice could form.

He smiled softly then pulled away, turning back around to Aoi with steeled eyes. "W-Who do I have to kill?" he asked, retracting his sharingan back to dull, onyx orbs.

"Anyone."

Tentatively, with the greatest regret already drowning him inside, Itachi pushed the closest woman down on the floor so he straddle her before she could attempt to flee. His eyes tightened as his arms rose up, the edge of his sword gleamed downwards on an innocent woman.

"H-Have mercy! No-No, spare me! Please!" she pleaded relentlessly, shifting and wriggling underneath the ANBU Uchiha. "Don't you have a heart?!" tears clouded her eyes which tightened when she noticed that his movement didn't recline. "I'm begging you!"

"I'm sorry... there's nothing I can do."

Itachi's face crumpled as his teeth gritted together with his eyes closed shut.

"Don't do thi-"

Shizune's face paled. Her eyes gaped in shock-horror. The cloak in her grip dropped. "Please, don't do this, Itac-!"

His sword struck down on her stomach. He began to stab her - repeatedly.