The fog was thick. Hands invisible to your own eye to the heavy mist, rain pouring off the leaves. A peaceful atmosphere, if it wasn't for the sense of an incoming battle.
Itachi and Orochimaru were tasked with their hardest mission yet over the last year. To capture the Yondaime Mizukage, alive. The bait was set, the only thing missing was the jinchuriki.
They had waited for what seemed like hours until a silhouette appeared in the mist. He had finally arrived to rid the trash that was the Akatsuki. The mist quickly disappeared, due to the suiton control of the Mizukage. Leaving Yagura alone, no longer covered by a veil of mist.
"Oh my, he is as short as they say" proclaimed Orochimaru, hoping to get a rise out of the short kage.
The man, now known as the Mizukage gave no response and simply observed the people in front of him, waiting to make a move.
"You will be coming with us, one way or another" stated Itachi
"Why would I want to do that" replied Yagura, his voice completely monotone. These two had the audacity to enter his country and slaughter his forces. Now they wanted him to simply obey like a dog? He was going to make their deaths very, very painful.
"The alternative is to leave your short body broken, barely alive, and drag you to where we want to go" replied Orochimaru. He was enjoying taunting the kage. It was good practice for what he would do Hiruzen.
The Mizukage changed his stance, he was now fully ready for combat.
"You can try" stated the Mizukage "but you will fail," he continued. 'They must be trying to get the Sanbi, why else would they want me alive. I can't let them take him' he thought to himself
Quickly flipping through hand seals the Yagura began preparing a jutsu that would be beneficial to him.
Suiton : Tsunami he cried out, immediately the water began to condense around him, forming a large wave around him, eagerly waiting to lash out directly in front of him. All the water from the leaves and grass from the previous rainfall was now gone, now being manipulated by the prowess of Yagura. After what seemed like an eternity, being only 10 seconds, the wave moved forward at an incredible speed, ripping up trees and carving it's path of destruction in the dirt.
Quickly realizing the danger they were in, Orochimaru quickly prepared a ninjutsu. It was his trump card in any massive jutsu, especially from a jinchuriki. He did however expect to need it this early. Ending the sequence, slamming his hands on the ground he loudly cried out.
Kuchiyose no Jutsu : Rashomon , a humongous wall made of some type of metal rose from the ground at an equally astonishing speed. Acting as a massive shield to the two Akatsuki members.
The wave approached the massive barrier, the two members dressed in red clouds were tense, hoping the wall would hold without fail, they did not have another escape from this jutsu.
The tsunami clashed violently against the Rashomon, the pressure was immense, causing the structing to be pushed back a few yards before halting. The water whipped around the edges of the wall with extreme pressure, spreading the carnage of the earth even further than they thought possible. Despite all the destruction around them, Itachi and Orochimaru remained safe, despite being soaked.
"Quick thinking Orochimaru" stated Itachi, while he hated to admit it, without Orochimaru he would have had to used his mangekyo sharingan, and he was not wanting to tempt fate.
"My my Itachi-kun, is that a compliment, I didn't think could say such a thing" replied Orochimaru with a smirk. This was quite an upstep compared to the normal stoic Uchiha.
Itachi merely looked forward as the wall descended back to where it was summoned from. Ready to engage the Mizukage in whatever combat would be needed. He anticipated that Yagura would be somewhat winded after an attack like that, however upon a gaze he noticed that was far from the truth. He looked as calm as ever.
"So it appears you survived, no matter. You will not leave the fight alive" stated Yagura.
Not in the mood for discussion, Itachi quickly flipped through hand seals.
Katon : Fireball Jutsu, he cried out. A massive fireball the size of the hokage tower in Konohagakure flew out of his mouth, creating steam from the water left by the Tsunami, straight towards the Mizukage.
Yagura quickly responded Suiton : Water Bullet Jutsu, an equally sizable glob of water flew directly towards the fireball from hell, intercepting creating a large pressure wave to expand from the impact, turning all the water to steam. The battlefield became covered in an immense shower of steam and hot water. Quickly disappearing they both stared at each other, not noticing any difference in terms of fatigue.
They both realized this fight was not going to be as easy as they had hoped, causing Itachi and Yagura to quickly flip through hand seals, Itachi quickly going for the traditional katon style, while Yagura was going for a jutsu more favored in his hidden mist village.
Katon : Great Hydra Jutsu / Suiton : Dragon Bullet Jutsu cried both men simultaneously
A massive dragon with three heads, made entirely of fire, flew from Itachi's mouth directly towards Yagura, as if they were alive the heads were smiling. The fire attack was massive, easily dwarfing the previous fireball in comparing. At the same time, water condensed around the Mizukage and a massive water dragon formed around him, launching itself to intercept it's fire each other out like the previous techniques used,
'What a fool, using fire jutsu against me' thought Yagura.
'Fire isn't going to work, I need to change tactics' thought Itachi, ready to use his Mangekyou Sharingan.
Orochimaru simply observed the current engagement, his thoughts aligning themselves with the two shinobi in front of him. Deciding to finally entertain himself, he flipped through hand seals.
Raiton : Spear of the Thunder God Orochimaru cried out, this was his best lightning technique. He hoped that with the water surrounding the Mizukage he would undoubtedly get shocked quite badly by this jutsu even if it missed. A massive sound could be heard overheard, as if the gods themselves were roaring. A massive blinding light followed by a monstrous sound could be heard overhead. As if it could get any worse, a massive spear of lightning descended upon the mizukage at great speeds, he barely had time to move at all from his original position before it struck the ground, turning the dirt in the closest vaninity to glass, leaving the surrounding soil charred and steaming. Despite moving out of the way, the Mizukage was seemingly knocked unconscious due to high amounts of electricity that flowed through him. Itachi was also injured from the encounter, although due to the distance he was still standing.
"Damnit Orochimaru, some warning next time" stated Itachi in a barely audible voice.
"What is the fun in that" replied Orochimaru cooly. He enjoyed seeing Itachi like it, perhaps it was time to cut ties with the Akatsuki and take Itachi after this mission. 'Ah yes a splendid idea indeed' he thought to himself
Itachi merely grunted in return, his anger evident on his face.
Just as they were about to move to collect the Mizukage, a red clock made of chakra erupted around Yagura. Not in the mood for any games, Itachi quickly readied his eyes, swirling from three tomoes into a shuriken.
Tsukoyomi stated Itachi, it was the last thing Yagura heard before his world went black.
Itachi quickly tortured and destroyed Yagura's mind, leaving him unconscious on the earth, in an almost peaceful manner, completely contradictory to the fight that had just occurred. They proceeded to pick up Yagura and began walking away before they both heard a swirling sound. They turned around and were surprised to see a man in an orange mask with his sharingan ablaze. The next thing they noticed was his Akatsuki robe, immediately silencing the alarm either of them had.
"Leave Yagura, I have plans for him" the masked man ordered.
"Who are you?" questioned Orochimaru
"No one of consequence" responded the man
"We were ordered from Pien-sama to take him to the hideout" replied Itachi, not in the mood to make enemies of a Rinnegan wielder.
"I have already discussed it with Pien, he knows what the new plan is, he should be contacting you shortly" replied the masked man
As if on cue the rings pulsed, and they were staring into the calm eyes of Nagato.
"You will give Yagura to Tobi, we have plans for him that will make our lives easier" ordered Pien.
"Yes Pien-sama" they both chorused
When they returned to their bodies they quickly handed over to Yagura to Tobi, unknowing of his plans and the bloodshed that would follow, or the opportunity to acquire bloodlines. The masked man simply picked up Yagura and swirled away into nothing.
"What a waste of time" stated Itachi
"Not entirely, we did finally get to have some good combat. Who was that mystery member as well, I have not seen him before" replied Orochimaru.
"A good question, perhaps to be answered at another time" replied Itachi, he just wanted to go home and see his family. It had been some time since he had seen his brothers progress.
`I wonder if he is above Pien, a puppet master' theorized Itachi to himself. Little did he know he had hit a bullseye with his guess.
Flashback
"Are you ready for our spar Naruto-kun" questioned Itachi
"You bet nii-san" replied his brother, his voice filled with excitement
Mikoto meanwhile smiled at her sons, she would be the acting proctor for the match. He was happy to see them sparing in a friendly manner.
"Are you boys ready" questioned Mikoto
"Yes" they both curoused.
"Well then, Hijame" yelled Mikoto
The second Mikoto started the match, Naruto immediately flung three kunai. One directly towards Itachi while the other two flanked on either side, hoping to catch him when he moved to dodge one. However instead of doding the kunai, Itachi quickly pulled out a single kunai and deflected the one immediately in front of him, before throwing his own kunai at his little brother. Naruto recognizing the danger immediately dodged to the left before pulling out another kunai and moving towards his brother to engage in taijutsu.
The kunai in Naruto's right hand immediately clashed with Itachi's kunai being held in the opposite hand, as resounding 'clang' could be heard throughout the clearing.
Naruto immediately went for a punch with his left hand towards Itachi's abdomen, which was blocked by Itachi. Quickly following up Itachi kicked Naruto in the stomach, creating distance from each other.
Naruto quickly got off the ground, and began to fling threw hand seals
Katon : Fireball Jutsu Naruto cried out, sending a fireball towards Itachi.
'Impressive, to have power in that jutsu at such an age, incredible. Although I bet it's because of his chakra size' Itachi thought to himself
Following suit, Itachi quickly flung threw his own seals before calling out the same jutsu, sending an exact duplicate of the one Naruto launched seconds before. They clashed in the middle of them, sending a plume of fire and smoke into the sky.
As the smoke cleared Itachi noticed something different. Rather than the normal eyes his brother had, he was staring into the red eyes of the sharingan.
Itachi inwardly smirked, happy to see his brother with the sharingan activated.
'Good to see he is taking this fight serious' he thought to himself 'I won't activate mine for now, I want to see how he responds.'
"You will need more than the sharingan to beat me Naruto" stated Itachi cooly, seeing how his brother's emotional control was in the heat of battle.
"I know, but I need every tool available to even stand a chance against someone as strong as you" replied Naruto with a smile on his face. He wasn't foolish, he knew he was no match for his brother at the moment, and he likely wouldn't be for years to come, that didn't mean that we wouldn't spar his brother though.
As if an unseen force, both brothers ran towards each other at the same time, exchanging punches and kicks. Itachi was surprised when he felt a punch to him stomach but his face showed nothing. Itachi decided to take it up a notch and increased his speed, forcing Naruto to go on the defensive. He handled himself at first, however after a few moments he quickly lost his pace and caught a fist with his face, flying backwards into the brush. Itachi thought that would be the end of the spar, however before he could check on his brother he heard the sound of a jutsu being prepared.
Katon : Phoenix Fire Jutsu, five small fireballs quickly headed towards Itachi and his surrounding areas of escape, realizing this predicament, Itachi found an easy way out of the jutsu and a way to disable his brother in one quick move.
Doton : Hiding like a Mole Itachi sounded off, disappearing into the dirt, which the fireballs flew harmlessly over. Naruto was looking around for Itachi before he felt the cold steel on his neck.
"You lose Omoto, however it was a good spar, you sure have come a long way in such a little time" stated Itachi
"You really think so" asked Naruto
"Yes, six months ago you wouldn't have even lasted ten seconds at that level of combat, I am impressed." replied Itachi, however he didn't need to feed his ego and continued "However, you still have a long way to go before you can fight me on equal ground."
Naruto nodded "One day we will stand together as equals nii-san, we have the same goals after all." replied Naruto
Itachi merely smiled "I look forward to it"
Mikoto was inwardly giddish at the scene, however outwardly she only had a megawatt smile and ran over to hug her boys. She was extremely happy with her decision to take Naruto with her and Itachi.
They continued to discuss his strengths and weaknesses and what he needed to improve on in the future.
End Flashback
Itachi inwardly smiled at the scene, it had been roughly a year since he had last seen his family. He hoped they were doing alright. Sighing, he continued to the destination with Orochimaru. He had a bad feeling from his partner right now and refused to put his guard down.
They had been traveling for roughly a day when they arrived at the hideout.
Orochimaru had a very malevolent aura surrounding him, continuously glancing at Itachi, as if it were finalizing a scheme he had been plotting for quite some time. As Itachi and Orochimaru started walking up the steps Orochimaru abruptly stopped and faced Itachi.
"I have waited quite some time for this Itachi" stated Orochimaru
"What do you mean" questioned Itachi, activating his sharingan.
"Have you heard of eternal life" he paused before continuing, "I'm not sure entirely myself, however with your magnificent body I will be a step closer" stated Orochimaru.
Orochimaru then attempted to wrap snakes around Itachi, ready to steal his body, however before he could react he had wrapped himself with his summons.
'What is this, a genjutsu' "What incredible visual prowess" stated Orochimaru
"Your biggest problem is your greed" stated Itachi
Orochimaru went to start a fire jutsu, unfortunately before he could react his hand was sliced clean off by Itachi
"You can try any jutsu you wish Orochimaru, but before my eyes they are useless" stated Itachi "I am uncertain if I should have a use for you in the future, or simply end your pathetic life now. Someone with such little regard for human life has no right to live" continued Itachi. Quickly he went for the killing blow to Orochimaru, however before he could thrust his kunai threw the traitors chest he was intercepted by a mysterious young man with glasses.
"Perhaps you can kill him another time" stated the mystery man before being reverse summoned elsewhere.
Itachi noted the man and recognized him almost immediately, he had seen this man in different villages while he was away from his 'partner.' Itachi then continued towards the Akatsuki hideout to report the traitor to the other members, they would not be happy.
Itachi had entered the hideout and noticed how everyone appeared to be waiting for him, it was slightly nerve racking being the center of attention between so many S rank criminals.
"What took you so long Itachi, and where is Orochimaru" questioned Pien
"Orochimaru decided he no longer wanted part of the 'Akatsuki' and we had a minor skirmish before another friend of his joined in. He slipped away. He was trying to capture my body for some sort of 'eternal life.'" responded Itachi
"Interesting, we will deal with him later. He will die for his betrayal, going before a god." stated Pien "In the meantime Itachi I will find you another partner, I have been looking to add someone for quite some time. For now you can do whatever it is you do while not on mission" continued Pien
"What tailed beast are we going after now" questioned Akasuna no Sasori, he wanted to add more puppets to his growing collection.
"For no we remain silent, continue hunting bounties. In two years we will begin our hunt, due to the bloodline purges we should be able to acquire the three tails easily when the time comes. We still need to find the jinchurikis of the Kyuubi no Yoko, the Gonbi, Rokubi, Yonbi, and the Nibi. The Kyuubi will be the hardest, the rumor is that he has been missing from his village for quite some time" responded Pien.
"I want to kill some shit" stated Hidan is an unusually cheerful manner. Most likely due to thinking about sacrificing some poor souls to Jashin.
"In due time Hidan, no be silent" ordered Pien
"That is all, you may leave" stated Pien before his hologram disappeared from view.
Itachi wondered who would be sent to deal with the Kyuubi. He hoped it was him. He also needed to meet Pien in person, to hypothetically discuss what would happen if a jinchuuriki wanted to join the organization. If Naruto gained control over the Kyuubi and was my partner in the Akatsuki we could easily perform a coup of power and achieve peace. Thinking to himself of the possibilities that could happen, he set off to meet his family for the first time in a little over a year. He hoped Naruto would perform better than last time.
-END Chapter-
Notes:
Ok, so that Orochimaru being a traitor scene was one of my favorites from the anime, so I had to incorporate it in some way. Ultimately Orochimaru was going to be a traitor for the same reason anyways, so I went about it similarly.
Next chapter will be entirely Naruto/Mikoto/Itachi centric, primarily learning and they take a learning trip!
Itachi's new partner will also be introduced :)
As always PLEASE PLEASE review for constructive criticism. I am writing this without a beta, and as a first story so please anything would be great. Thanks a lot guys :D