I do not own Naruto or Akame ga Kill. This story is meant for entertainment purposes only, and in no way, shape or form does it express the opinions of the original authors, or myself.


Esdeath idly sat cross-legged in her tent, sipping at a cup of tea made for her by her servants. They consisted of the wives, children and other close family members of the soldiers who had either died in battle, or those that wished to keep their loved ones safe at the heart of her army. They were off limits to the soldiers, and she never gave them more than a fair share of work.

It had been a month since she had attacked the outpost and officially declared war on the North. Up until now, the progress of her army had been frustratingly slow. The Northern army had avoided strict contact with them on all occasions, using guerrilla warfare to wear away at her ranks and food supply. They set traps at every chance they got, blocked off open paths to force her to swerve around, and using ranged weaponry such as flaming arrows and debris to cause havoc among her campsites.

She had retaliated by ordering her soldiers to obliterate any village they came across and kill all the people in them. However, her opponents seemed to be one step ahead of her. Any village they neared had been left abandoned; some of the villages were even loaded with lethal traps, killing or injuring a fair number of her soldiers.

Not to mention, if her men ever encountered the opposing side, they were unable to capture enemy soldiers, provided they were not ambushed and slaughtered by enemies before hand. The soldiers of the North appeared to be extremely well disciplined, committing honourable suicide if the chance of capture seemed nigh, preventing her from gaining any information on Numa's possible stratagems.

Suffice to say, her progress had been greatly slowed by the numerous annoyances. Yet, despite this, she was nearing the capital of the North, where no doubt the infamous Hero of the North planned to confront her in battle.

She tightly gripped the handle of the rapier at her side, a slow smirk forming on her face from excitement.

"Numa Seika...perhaps you shall be the match I have been longing so dearly for?"

Before she could continue to ponder the coming battle, her tent flap burst open as one of her attendants urgently came inside, his face flustered with sweat and anticipation. "Milady, we have reports of having captured a lone soldier from the North!"

Esdeath immediately stood at the news, leaving her cup of tea on the ice table she had constructed- it was easier than carrying around wooden furniture for her to use.

"Excellent! Relay that I want the soldier brought to the torture tent immediately!"

The attendant nodded, rushing out immediately afterwards to carry forth the news. Esdeath herself casually strolled out of her tent, smiling to the soldiers who saluted her upon seeing her, and began her short trek to the torture tent.

A sadistic smile spread across her face, her eyes flashing with promises of pain and suffering.

"Finally, a person to keep me company for the lonely nights."


Numa frowned as he read over several reports, skimming to find and take in important details. The attacks against Esdeath's army was going better than Numa had initially expected, considering how fearsome she was considered to be. However, despite having maintained a flawless record of not having a single soldier captured by Esdeath, her army was still advancing.

They were making great progress in raising the defensive capabilities of the city, but Numa feared that it would do little to stop Esdeath. At their current rate, Esdeath's army would reach their doors with three weeks at best, a fortnight at worst; his current defensive plans would be done by then, he predicted.

They had defensive battlements, buckets of oil ready to be heated and thrown over the wall in the cause of a siege. There were numerous traps all across the inner city, which was abandoned by all citizens during the evacuation. All that remained were soldiers, who were being educated in the new layout of the city. The entire capital of the North had been transformed from a bustling center of commerce, to a live trap for any soldier not of the North, just waiting to be sprung.

"I need something to counter her. I could engage her myself, and potentially take her out to boost the morale of soldiers, but should she best me...I fear the will of the soldiers will be crushed," Numa thought, gripping the ink pen in his hand tightly, nearly snapping it. He frowned. "I need an ace."

But who could possibly fulfill that role? Idly, his thoughts drifted to Itachi, the stranger who had come in with the now Captain Segusa and his squadron. He had come to him a week after their initial meeting, requesting to take part in the war effort.

Numa frowned questioningly as he beheld the stranger mercenary before him. "May I ask why you wish to suddenly join the war effort? The last time we spoke, you were keenly against it."

Itachi stayed in his kneeling position, thought he raised his head to answer. In a sombre tone, he spoke. "I have heard of the suffering of people at the hands of the Empire. While I do not wish to fight, I cannot simply allow this madness, on my honour as a warrior, to go on much longer. The least I can do is offer what little of my blade as I can in your war efforts."

In all honesty, this was the entire truth from Itachi's part. He didn't have to feign sorrow or create lies to explain his reasoning; all of it came from his personal desire and anger.

Numa, while still not completely trusting, nodded in response. If he had another fighter, then who was he to complain? He beckoned an attendant forward, quickly scribbling away at the piece of paper provided while Itachi knelt patiently. A minute later, he finished, going over it once, before nodding in satisfaction. He turned his attention back towards Itachi.

"Rise, Uchiha Itachi, newly instated Private of the Royal Northern Army (RNA). You shall serve in the First Northern Battalion of the Third Division, under Captain Segusa to replace Corporal Hayabuto, who, as you know, was slain in battle. You have worked with his squadron before, so I expect you to adjust quickly. You are required to attend rudimentary drills with the civilian trainees, though you will be moved into more difficult training once your level of skill has been assessed. Any questions?"

Itachi shook his head, taking in the information that was given to him. While he truly did not require the training, it would certainly do well to learn the patterns of combat used by the Northerners. Teamwork was a key in large scale warfare, rather than individual efforts, per say.

"Good. I will have a proper uniform sent to you later today at your place of rest, along with the basic tactics booklet provided upon entrance into the army. You are to report to Training Camp Seven at 0700 sharp. The location will be provided to you among other short pamphlets. Dismissed!"

Itachi promptly stood and bowed, following by quickly seeing himself out.

Numa didn't know why his thoughts drifted to the stranger. He had quickly shown to be far more skilled than the civilian militia he was training with, and was quickly moved up the ranks of the training camps to the levels of the elite soldiers. Yet, from personal observation of the elite training, as he usually saw, it almost seemed like the now Sergeant was holding back his skills. He completed the daily routines with relative ease, whereas the other soldiers would be sweating like pigs.

"I do not have time to ponder how strong you truly are, Uchiha Itachi, but I pray that you not hold back your strength in the coming battle," Numa mused idly, unaware he was under watch by the aforementioned person.

Itachi, or rather, a clone of himself who he left to observe Numa and incoming reports, heard this. Observing Numa from the beams of the ceiling which he used to conceal himself, the clone of Itachi discreetly dispelled himself, relaying the memories to his creator.

He was not aware of how strong Esdeath was, but from what he had learned, it was frightening. He would fight to the best of his ability while keeping his current allies alive, and Numa would have his ace. He just wouldn't know it.


Itachi paused mid swing of the tanto he had been able to take from a storehouse as his weapon of choice. It had been surprisingly well made, and it reminded Itachi of his former weapon from his time in ANBU.

Currently, he was going through the daily training routines with the other soldiers of his physical ability at the training camp they were required to attend 6 days a week, with one day allowed for rest. It was fairly light training, and he continued to work on his own chakra training off to the side to test exactly how much he could or could not do. He had an arsenal of jutsu available to him from his days wandering as a missing-ninja, though he preferred not to use them. Many were large scale or unnecessarily flashy, a stark contrast to the normally discreet Uchiha.

As he continued his drills as guided by the instructor, he gleamed over the information his clone had gathered from today. Usually his clones would wait until the end of the day to dispel, but for them to dispel mid-day meant that there was something mildly urgent to be brought to his attention. As he went over the information, he agreed.

'It seems that the guerrilla warfare tactics being employed can only hold off this Esdeath for so long. She will be here very soon, and Numa has yet to have a true method he knows of to counter her directly.'

While Numa was clearly beginning to suspect him from his vocalized thoughts, it was also shown that he would not pry for information. Esdeath was currently occupying too much of Numa's mind for him to care about a new soldier hiding his strength.

Itachi had come to respect Numa's wisdom and strength. He did not question the man's young age, he himself having been much wiser than his age. He had shown himself to be strong, both physically and mentally, along with displaying impressive tactics in what appeared to be a superior opponent.

Yet, for all his strength, Itachi's instincts told him that Esdeath would be on a whole different level than Numa. He predicted that Numa would be defeated should he engage her, which he seemed to have fortunately decided against for now.

As it seemed, Itachi would have to fight against Esdeath head on.

'I would be lying if I said that my body is not shaking in near anticipation,' he thought to himself, almost amused.


Esdeath entered the makeshift torture area, a light smile of false kindness and hidden malice plastered on her face. She found herself staring into two dark, feminine orbs, filled with enough hatred to make the average man die from the very shock of seeing it.

The prisoner before her had been stripped of her armour, which was laid out neatly on a table next to Esdeath. She was dressed in a simple black bodysuit, which stopped short of her neck, hands and feet. She was tied up by her hands, though her feet had also been restrained by chains close to the ground to prevent her from lashing out with kicks. There was no noticeable injury, though from the way she favoured her weight on her right leg, Esdeath reckoned that her left was injured, or possible broken during her attempts to prevent capture.

Esdeath strolled to her, circling her like a Danger Beast examining it's prey for the night. She completed her circle, and approached the table a short ways away from her prisoner. On it were various tools for torture, made to make even the trained and toughly conditioned elites of the Empire scream for mercy.

"Why don't we start simple?" Esdeath offered, her hand brushing over the tools, before she reluctantly left them. It wouldn't do to jump into the dismemberment so quickly in the process.

She pulled out her rapier, pressing it lightly into her prisoner's foot. "Why don't you tell me what Numa hopes to accomplish with these pitiful tactics, before I cut off a toe."

The woman before her merely glared, spitting in Esdeath's face.

Esdeath's mouth formed into a sickeningly sweet smile. She didn't bother wiping her face, merely applying some force into her repositioned rapier. "Wrong answer."

The woman let out a noticeable gasp at the sudden pain coming from her foot. Esdeath didn't need to bother looking down to know she had correctly carried out her threat.

Esdeath moved her rapier to the big toe of the woman's left foot, the smile still not leaving her face. "Now, same question. Why don't you tell me?"

She waited a grand total of two seconds without a response from the prisoner, before she sighed and lopped off the toe. Another gasp of pain followed, but yet again, there was no overly vocal reaction from the woman.

"You know, I really don't mind doing this for the next couple days," Esdeath informed her. "I just hope you can last that long."

The prisoner's mouth opened, catching Esdeath's eye. She gave her a wry and cheeky grin, before pointing her middle fingers at her as best as she could in her bound situation.

"How about you take that rapier of yours and shove it up your ass first, bitch?"

With a determined look on her face, the woman stuck out her tongue as much as she could. At first, Esdeath assumed it was something like the childish action performed by children. This opinion changed however, as she saw the woman begin exerting force with her jaw muscles as her face transformed into a mask of pain.

Esdeath's eyes widened as she realized what the woman was doing. She raised her hand to stop her, to freeze her in place before she could go any further. It was all for naught however, as while Esdeath managed to freeze the woman in place, a single small block of ice fell away from the main body. Within it was the frozen and self-severed tongue of the prisoner.

Her face was contorted in that mark of pain, but in her eyes, easily visible to anyone who bothered to look, was the twinkle of self-satisfaction.

Esdeath was silent for a while, seemingly shaking in rage to the prisoner, who could still see and view what was unfolding before her. However, to her surprise, Esdeath began chuckling. That chuckle soon turned into full blown laughter.

"Yes, this is perfect! Such loyalty! Such determination! This is a true warrior before me!"

It was a few minutes before Esdeath finally calmed down, waving her hand to free the woman trapped in ice. She left her mouth frozen, making sure to stop the bleeding to prevent the death of her first Northern prisoner.

"I must respect your loyalty to your country and commander," Esdeath told her as she cut away the black body suit the woman wore, with great care to make sure she didn't cut her skin. The prisoner shivered as the cool Northern air made contact with her naked form, the wisps of wind and chilliness tentatively slithering against most sensitive regions. "Unfortunately, I have great need of this information. Even though you have made it so that you will be unable to speak, you can still write."

Esdeath clapped her hands, an attendant rushing into the tent moments later, waiting for orders from Esdeath.

"Inform the men they have a new plaything," Esdeath told the attendant, cruelly enjoying the way the woman's eyes gained a look of shock and fright. "She is a trained soldier, along with having assets that will surely keep them busy for a few days. Be sure to inform them that she must, at all costs, not damage her hands and keep her alive to the point she retains motor function. Beyond that, tell them to do whatever they wish with her. It is of no concern to me. However, should she be willing to tell me of Numa's plans, then she is to be brought to me at once."

The attendant bowed, turning to leave and carry out his orders. "Milady."

Esdeath herself left, no longer caring for the state of the woman. It was her choice to bite off her tongue in an attempt to prevent revealing vital information. While respectable, Esdeath was not going to simple give up. Either way, it was her that won. If the woman broke, she would have information on Numa's tactics. If not, then it kept her soldiers happy and willing to fight and kill for her.

Esdeath, while a female herself, cared little for the difference between the bodies of men and women, along with the concepts of sexual desire. She had no need for it, and merely longed for battle and nothing more. The strong prevailed, and the weak were crushed underfoot.

The woman had been weaker, and was therefore about to be crushed, one way or another. It was to be expected, of course, for Esdeath was the strongest.

There was truly no one who could overcome her completely, despite whatever she hoped otherwise. Or was there?


Two Weeks Later
Capital of the North
Center of the Capital

Itachi stood uniformed, along with the rest of the members of his squad of twenty. Segusa stood at the head as one of the thirty squad captains which made up the entirety of the Royal Northern Army's First Northern Battalion of the Third Division.

Standing at a total of three thousand men strong, the Third Division was the smallest battalion of the RNA; they made up for the lack of numbers with each member being extremely skilled in teamwork, even though most were not the greatest combatants. It was a unique division because of this- the individual Battalions were divided further into squadrons of about twenty soldiers each, who would constantly train together and develop good cooperative ability. It was a completely support based division.

Esdeath's army had been spotted in the distance an hour ago, finally having arrived at the capital of the North. Numa had sounded a city wide alarm, the soldiers immediately rushing to their assigned posts, which Numa had planned weeks in advance. The Third Division, due to their unique method of division, had been assigned to remain near the center of the capital until the First and Fifth Divisions made contact; at that moment, they were to move in their squads to whichever areas of the battlefield needed most support. The Second and Fourth Divisions had been divided in half; half joined at the defense of the main gate; whereas the remaining half was sent out to circle around the enemy, in an attempt to pincer them in.

The crisp morning air bit into Itachi's face, urging him to break rank to get into warmth. However, his discipline, gained from years of being a shinobi, prevented him from breaking formation.

'She is finally here,' Itachi thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he glanced over his squad-mates. 'When they fighting starts, I must do all I can to protect my current comrades and engage Esdeath before she is able to cause too much damage.'

"For the Empire!"

The shrill cry cut though Itachi's thoughts, as many more cries of war erupted from their enemy. He looked as he saw a grand chunk of ice form in mid air, easily thrice as large as the walls of the city.

He looked upon it with awe. "So this is the power of the Teigu which controls ice. The power of Esdeath."

As if moved by an invisible push, the large ball of ice and death flew towards the main gate of the Northern Capital, behind which the First and Fifth Divisions scrambled to move, lest they be crushed underfoot.

It was all for naught, as the ice landed, destroying the main gate and claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers within the Northern army as it buried them in ice that was hundreds of metres thick.

The horrible war, which Itachi despised so much, had begun.


Esdeath's Command Tent, a Kilometer Away from the Capital of the North
A Few Minutes Earlier

Esdeath stood over a large rectangular table, upon which a roughly drawn map of the capital and it's surroundings was drawn. There wasn't much, as the Northerners had cleared away surrounding forestry as much as they could to create a large open battlefield, making it difficult for Esdeath to lay siege on the Main Gate without her receiving some losses.

"How annoying," she commented, though her voice sounded more like that of a predator, amused at it's prey's feeble attempts for survival.

"Ne, Esdeath-sama, you wouldn't mind if I lead the charge, would you?" An excited masculine voice came from across the table. "That's where all the fighting is, and I'd level up a lot!"

"Ha, Daidara, you'd only get yourself killed," another voice remarked, clearly attempting to rile the one who had spoken earlier.

Daidara was not pleased. "Oi, Nyau, at least I'm gonna do something instead of spend the entire battle creepily skinning the face off some person!"

"As if a muscle-head like you would understand art," Nyau said, sticking out his tongue, further enraging Daidara.

"Why you!"

Before Daidara could execute his attempt to strange Nyau, a final voice stopped him. "That is enough, Daidara, Nyau. We are in the presence of Esdeath-sama. Behave yourselves."

Esdeath smiled at all three of them. These were her three most loyal fighters, handpicked and trained by her personally to become killing machines of the highest caliber. She trusted them to destroy those she told them to, and follow her orders to their final breath. They were the Sanjushi, the Three Beasts.

"At ease. Daidara, you may lead the first charge, as you've requested. Nyau, you will be playing your music over the battlefield when I give the order. Liver, you shall protect Nyau, as he is weakest when using his Teigu. Is that understood?"

All three of her elites nodded as one, understanding their roles without question.

"Good," Esdeath said, strolling out of her tent. With a wave of her hand, she rose on an elevated platform of ice, overlooking ranks upon ranks of her army. Standing at five thousand men strong, she had no doubt that the Northern army currently dwarfed them.

She would have to fix that.

"Men! This is the moment you've all been waiting for! This is what you have trained for! Even if you die tonight, die a hero in battle, rather than a coward who runs!"

Her soldiers cried in approval, stomping their weapons and feet on the ground in approval. "Hooyah!"

"For the Empire!"

With a grand wave of her hand, she began forming a grand ball of ice in the sky. Within seconds it was ready, the awe on every soldier's face, even those who had seen it before, clear.

She shot her hand forward in a pushing motion, the great structure made of ice shooting forward at her command. Within seconds, it reach the gate of the North, easily destroying it.

Even at the large distance, she could hear the screams of pain and despair. Her army surged forward, running at high speeds to cover the distance and destroy the Capital of the North from the opening they had been given.

The glorious battle, which she longed and lived for, had begun.

The End

I know, I know, you all wanted to see Itachi versus Esdeath. Believe me, I did too. However, it was too early to jump into the main fighting without having some quick background added to it :P Now, I know what happened in the anime. However, I'm gonna take some creative license to write exactly how this happened, as well as altering a few events here and there. Certain things will occur, though in a different way than implied for the manga. You'll understand when that happens.

So! Both sides are pretty much ready to clash, and Itachi has gotten a witness of some of Esdeath's abilities. Fear not, for Esdeath will be getting her taste of Itachi's very soon as well... that's pretty much all for the summary tbh.

There was some confusion over when I said pairings for Itachi. When I say I have some pairings in mind, it does not mean that I'm actually going to do them. I really cannot see the character of Itachi being romantically involved with anyone, especially in a serious manner of story as this is. I might add in touches of romance and fluff if enough people want it, though I probably won't if I don't feel comfortable writing it, otherwise I just would've feel like I wrote it my best.

Furthermore! You're all probably surprised with this quick update xD I admit, the five month thing really wasn't planned. The chapter did take me some time (two months, in fact), but the majority of the time was spent waiting for my beta to reply, and also being lazy to edit it myself, simply because it was such a long chapter. I'll pick up the update pace as much as I can, though school does take precedence over FF.

Anyway, that's all. Review! Reviews are the life of my writing. More reviews means I actually do get motivation to write faster! So Review!

HokagenoNaruto, out.