Chapter 7: Greed

He raced through the trees at high speed. He had been running all day and he had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

"Konoha, it seems you need me to make the decisions you cannot once more." said Itachi. He didn't know how he was alive and frankly, he didn't care. When he woke up on a large tree stump he didn't bother to wonder how he had ended up there. First things came first and that was the state the village was in. He spun around, carefully mapping out the surrounding area in his mind. He could tell from where he was that he wasn't more than a days run away from the village. But there was a much smaller town not too terribly far away. Rather than run straight to the village he figured it would be better to stop by there first. After all the village couldn't be in that much trouble… right?

But he was wrong. Konoha needed him now more than ever.

He had taken a chance to get something to eat at a small family owned noodle stand. He made his order, thankful that there was still some left over money in his old Akatsukis robe (which he promptly tossed away, no longer wishing to have any affiliation with them anymore). As he waited for his bowl of ramen, he noticed an old man sitting two seats away eyeing him suspiciously. When the man saw the headband on Itachi's head he frowned. It was common knowledge that a line cut straight through the symbol on your headband was a standard symbol for a rogue ninja.

"So you're a missing nin of the village hidden in the leaves are ya?"

Itachi simply nodded his head.

"Tell me, why did you leave?" Memories of the Uchiha massacre flashed through his mind. He closed his eyes forcing the old images out of his head. As his bowl was passed to him he thanked the cook and broke his chopsticks before answering.

"I simply didn't like the way the village was being run. That's all."

"So you don't want it destroyed?" Itachi's eyes darted quickly to the old man.

"No, I would never wish that. I love Konoha, I just don't love what it has become."

"You… haven't read the papers lately… have you lad?"

Itachi knit his brow, worry beginning to permeate his heart. The old man sighed and reached into a bag hanging around his hip. He pulled out a crinkled newspaper and handed it to Itachi. "Read the front page young man."

Itachi looked at him cautiously before accepting it. He unraveled the crinkled sheets and looked where he had been told to. The article caused him to drop his chopsticks. He held the paper in his shaking hands, looking staring at the photo of his ruined village as he slowly and painfully read each word of the depressing article.

"I don't know who you are," said the old man. "And I don't know about your history with that village. But if I had to take a guess, I'd say that no matter what happened in the past, that village needs you. And they need you now."

Itachi finished his bowl as quickly as possible, thanking the old man and taking off for the village at top speed. He didn't have time to waste. Things were worse there than he ever could have dreamed. He cursed himself for not predicting this. Had he known he would have taken measures to prevent it. His beautiful city of Konoha… reduced to piles of rubble.

Pain had destroyed the village. Shinobi were getting kidnapped. People were committing suicide openly in the streets. And worst of all… Tsunade was dead. Everything was in disarray and they lacked a leader to mitigate any further damage. Itachi was terrified. If someone didn't take control of the situation quickly, the village was likely to rip itself apart.

And so he sped forward, his feet following a path he never thought he'd have the chance to tread again. Konoha was battered, beaten, and broken.

And it was up to him to put the pieces back together.

He stood on the rim of the city, looking down at the large ramp that descended into what was now just a large empty pit with a few makeshift buildings and some tents. Villager and shinobi alike were toiling away at a bone breaking pace, trying to at least make the city habitable again. Itachi felt a familiar pressure rise to his throat, but he choked it down. Now was not the time to cry, he needed to be strong. They needed him to be strong.

With s swift movement he jumped down into the piles of rubble and quickly placed on his old ANBU mask. With that on he could at least buy enough time to find someone who would be willing to hear him out.

He walked around, a sharp eye out for any familiar faces. His choices were slim as the majority of ninja would immediately attack him if they found out his real identity. Itachi knew he was strong enough to take on almost all of them, but he didn't want to risk any more damage to the village. He needed to find someone who would listen. Someone who knew enough about him to at least hear him out. Someone who could tell him everything that had transpired since his 'death'.

He noticed a ninja walking not too far away. Chunin, by the looks of it, and walked up to him his hand held in the air. "Ah, an ANBU. How can I help you?"

"Yes," said Itachi. "I've been away on an extended mission helping to look for the Akatsuki's hideout… what the hell happened here?!"

The young Chunin closed his eyes and sighed, like he had told the story a hundred times already. "It wasn't that long ago really. Everyone was just minding their own business when out of nowhere this man calling himself Pain attacked. There were five shinobi all with orange hair and strange black metal rods pierced through their skin and another woman who could turn her entire body into paper bombs. They were searching for Naruto but everyone refused to tell him where he was, even me. When they discovered that he wasn't in the village, Pain used some crazy jutsu that leveled the entire place. The Hokage jumped in and tried to fight, but she was already so weak after taking care of everyone. Finally Naruto came out of nowhere, and after almost turning into the ninetails, managed to defeat him."

"A little while later, everyone who had died, both civilian and shinobi alike, were somehow brought back to life. No one knows how it happened except for some of the higher ups and they refuse to say anything on the matter."

"After that we began rebuilding the village, and even though everything was in ruins, things were alright. Then… then it happened. Lady Hokage, ah former Lady Hokage, ordered a four man team to assassinate a rogue ninja at the behest of the village elder Ututane. They were gone for a couple of weeks then came back, thoroughly defeated with their medical nin, Sakura Haruno, knocked out cold."

"She was in the hospital for a while before she woke up and went ballistic. She attacked everyone in the village using fire jutsus then disappeared. The Hokage launched an investigation into it and found out that there were certain villagers hiding the truth about an even that happened a long time ago in the past."

"We discovered that the heir of the Hyuga clan was the next target and tried to protect her but it was hopeless. The enemy snuck in, crushed all of our best troops, kidnapped Hinata and then… and then…

"And then murdered the Hokage?" Itachi said. The Chunin didn't need to finish. Itachi was more than capable of piecing together the rest on his own. With this new information Itachi parted ways with the young shinobi and continued to scour the village. He had to find someone who he could speak to. Someone who wouldn't automatically jump at the chance to kill him. Someone like…

"Itachi? Is that you?" He turned around with a start. He had expected to find someone, not be found. And of all the people he thought would recognize him, this person was the last one. He stared right at the spiky blonde haired ninja named Naruto Uzumaki waiting for him to make a move.

"If that's you Itachi, then don't say anything. Just follow me. It's not safe to talk here." Naruto started to walk away as Itachi remained motionless. Deciding there was no better course of action to take he relaxed from his battle stance and followed the young ninja.

They walked for some time, gathering a few strange looks. Naruto was a ninja of course, but it was strange to see him walking around with an ANBU. When they finally stopped, Itachi found himself to be in the old training grounds that many of the brand new genin used to practice their techniques. He was surprised it wasn't destroyed in the attack by Pein.

"Itachi I have two questions. One, how are you alive? And two, what are you doing here?"

He looked down at Naruto and crossed his arms to think for a moment. "To be honest I can't answer the first one. I have no idea how I've been brought back to life. At first I thought it was the reincarnation jutsu Orochimaru's famous for using. But I found myself to have completely free will, and when I looked at my face in a mirror, my eyes weren't the shade of black that they would have been if someone had used the jutsu on me. So I have no idea. As for your second question I'm here to help the village. I know it may be hard for you to believe, but…"

"I know Itachi. Madara told me the truth about the Uchiha clan and what happened that day."

"What?!"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, it was strange for me to. It was right after he and Sasuke had attacked the five Kage summit. I tried to beat him and bring him back to the village again but…"

"I understand. Madara's a tough opponent. You lucky to have walked away with your life."

Naruto lowered his head in shame. Itachi walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, I know you think everything's going wrong, especially with the recent attacks, but don't worry we can fix this. Now cheer up. You're this villages hero at the moment right? They need you to wear a smile. If you look like everything is going to be fine, then they'll think there's nothing to worry about. Besides, you're a Jinchuriki. A fake smile ought to be easy for you by now!"

Hearing that Naruto forced himself to perk up a bit. "So, how are you going to introduce yourself to the village? Nobody but me knows the truth!"

Itachi put his hand on his chin and thought. Naruto was right about that. Aside from the two of them nobody else knew what really happened the day that the Uchiha clan was brought down. If they weren't careful, then him coming back would only cause the village to go into an even bigger uproar. He considered only working from the shadows, acting like a vigilante and helping from where he couldn't be seen. After all that had been how he had lived most of his life and it wouldn't be too much of an issue to simply continue on that path.

Of course that's when Naruto spoke up. "Hey! Why don't I just tell the village what really happened?! They'll believe it if it's me! I am their hero like you said after all!"

Itachi waved his hand, dismissing the thought. "The village's morale is low enough as it is what with the attacks and the death of their Hokage. Telling them that a previous Hokage ordered the death of an entire clan just because they were being prejudice would not help things at all. Even if they did believe you, you'd only make everyone that much more depressed."

Naruto put his hand to his face hitting himself. Of course that would be a bad idea why didn't he think of that? Just then his head shot back up, like a light bulb had gone off. "Of course! Why didn't I THINK of that?! That's what we need, more people to think!"

Itachi just looked at him, a confused face hidden by his mask. "Stay here Itachi I'll be right back with some people I know we can trust to help us! After all, a bunch of heads are better than two!"

Itachi crossed his arms as he shook his head and sighed. "Not if they're all yours, Naruto."

…

"He's been gone for awhile. I wonder if he even remembers if I'm here?" Itachi said sitting on a stump. Three hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set. Insects were beginning to whiz around annoying all of their passerby. He sat alone, twirling a kunai with his finger as he watched the sun slowly vanish behind the horizon. Just as the last tendrils of light were beginning to fade he heard footsteps crushing grass from across the field. Looking up he saw Naruto accompanied by four others, Shikimaru, his father, Kakashi, and Iruka.

Kakashi spoke first. "Is this who you wanted us to meet so badly Naruto?" Naruto nodded his head as he stood between this new group of people and Itachi.

"Yeah, but I need you to promise one last time that when he removes his mask you won't freak out."

The group looked at each other worrying about who it could possible be that would cause even Naruto to try and be this hush hush about it. With a smile on his face, Naruto beckoned to Itachi who promptly stood up and walked to his side. With a little confidence he managed to pull of his mask, revealing the truth and earning some varied reactions.

Iruka immediately looked like he was ready to fight. Shikimaru gasped and took a step back, while Kakashi and Shikaku just raised their brows. After letting the initial shock sink in Shikaku took the lead in continuing the conversation. "Alright explain. Now."

Itachi and Naruto then spent the better part of the next half hour explaining what they knew and what they wanted to do. They needed the help of the best minds in Konoha if they were to get Itachi accepted back into the village as a shinobi and they needed to do it without telling the village the truth. When all was said that needed to be said the group of men stood around thinking of a way to complete this monumental task.

Finally a plan was decided on.

"Are you okay with that, Itachi?" said Shikaku. "It'll put you in a rough position and will raise more than a few questions. It will put the village on edge for a bit and you'll need to do something big and do it fast if we want everything to settle down."

"I'll do whatever the village needs me to do to protect it. Even that."

…

The crowd was silent, all stunned in shock. An entire village of thousands of people had been quieted with a few words and the removal of a single mask. The word had been spread quickly over the past week. A new Hokage had finally been decided, but the identity would remain secret until the ceremony took place. The village had been in an uproar with numerous people placing bets trying to determine who it
would be and by the looks on their faces, everyone had lost.

It didn't take long for the silence to break. One indiscernible man made a shout out against the man now wearing the Hokages clothes. Like a poison his words seeped through the masses and infected their minds. In no time at all the unknown voice had become a shepherd among a crowd of mindless livestock that blindly repeated his words with little to no thought about what they actually meant.

It was a dismal job but the people of Konoha were finally quieted long enough for their new Hokage to speak. Itachi took a few steps forward, puffed out his chest with a bit of false confidence, and began to speak. He explained how he had been a POW for years, how he was kidnapped by the now extinct Sound Village and a look alike had taken the heads of his kin. He explained the details of his torture, how he endured years of pain refusing to divulge any secrets of his precious village to the enemy. He talked of the fall of the Sound, of his escape and the injuries he received during it. The same injuries that robbed him of his memories. He spoke of how he was lured in by Madara during his time of weakness, how he was tricked into joining the Akatsuki having been told that it was the village the ordered the death of the rest of his clan.

He spoke of his battle with Kakashi a while back. How he used a jutsu that took slow effect on him. One that restored his memories piece by piece over time. He recounted the tale of his battle with the other members of the Akatsuki when he tried to withdraw, of his failed attempt to save the other tailed beasts. He told them all of this and more. As the lies he so carefully practiced rolled off his tongue he could see the angry faces of the villagers beginning to soften as they sympathized with him. When he was done telling the epic that was his life he gave the stage to Naruto who, as the villagers current hero and source of hope, was the best person to back up his claims.

Finally when all was said and done, the crowd was noticeably upset. Some were accepting of the new Hokage, others completely against, and some still didn't know what to think. Opinions raged war like samurai in a field and the chatter made the village seem more alive than a young couple on a nice summer day. After a whole weeks worth of preparation the six shinobi who worked so hard to bring all of this together breathed a sigh of relief. While the results weren't quite to their liking, they were certainly not the worst and even exceeded their expectations. The situation, though not optimal, could certainly have turned far more sour.

Several hours passed and Itachi was sitting at his new desk, looking through old papers left their by both Tsunade and Danzo. He had spent the vast majority of the day handling the different needs of the village. Everything from stabilizing it's economy, to affirming building permits, to assigning missions to various ninja squadrons. He had a pile of work that would have taken anyone else weeks to finish, but Itachi was prone to hard work and with the help of his sharingan speeding up any reading he had to do with the papers, he was done by nightfall. Now he was being left to his own devices and decided to take the opportunity to get acquainted to the place he would now have to call home.

He continued shifting through the old papers on his desk, checking their contents and recording them in his memory. He shifted the papers and scrolls through his hands, old mission briefings, letters of recommendation, casino debts. Most of it was old junk that had simply built up, but there was one thing in particular that caught Itachi's eye. He stayed his hands, placing the other word works down and raising this one to his face so he could better see. It was an order by Danzo to a group of ANBU led by a woman called Sekushi. As he read the contents of the order, his eyes grew wide. They had said that if the village was to keep his trust, he'd need to do something amazing and quickly. Something that would restore their faith in the Hokage. Something that would give them comfort, give the hope.

THIS was that something. He was sure of it.

Just then Itachi began to feel an eerie presence lingering in the room. He looked behind him, studying the landscape that was Konoha before turning his attention back to the sheets of paper. After a few more moments with that intense feeling he folded the paper into his coat pocket and sighed as he jumped to the other side of the room.

Black spikes as thick as his legs shot up from the ground, impaling everything where he had been sitting. "You could have at least let me make it through my first day without an attack, Akumu Taka." A puddle of black liquid appeared on the floor and from it began to rise a form. Akumu stood there with a look of minor annoyance on his face. It was obvious to him that Itachi wasn't going to go down as easily as Lady Tsunade.

Itachi wasted no time forming hand signs Akumu lunged forward but was just a split second too late. "Fireball Jutsu." A flame shot forth from Itachi's mouth sending Akumu soaring out the wall and through the village. He tumbled in the air struggling to regain his balance before finally landing atop a construction site. He looked around for his opponent and found Itachi in the air right above him. "Phoenix Flower!" Hundreds of balls of fire rained down. Akumu had never seen so many and if he hadn't been so quick he surely would have died.

Akumu touched down on the roof of another building while Itachi stood opposite him. Akumu gave a small smile as blasts of fire and water went off in the distance. "Looks like Hinata and Sakura are getting work done over there. Let's say me and you get this dance started, shall we?" He pulled a chocolate coin out of his pocket and began to flip it in his hand. Just as it was about to fall in his mouth a single small wave of flame passed by melting it in mid air and turning it into a puddle on the ground. Akumu looked down at the bubbling mass that had once been his precious chocolate coin and sighed. "That," he said as he placed a hand on his staff. "Was my last chocolate coin!" He charged at Itachi at full speed. But Itachi casually dodged. He could keep up with Akumu just fine on his own and with the assistance of his sharingan Akumu almost seemed slow.

Akumu kept pressing with blow after blow but could never land a single hit. It wasn't that Itachi was faster, he was just better at reading his movements. After realizing that taijutsu wouldn't work he retreated a ways away and placed his staff on his back. He put his hands at his side rising the to show his new weapon to Itachi. "Shadow Style: Shadow Senbon." Needles black as midnight shot from Akumu's hands and embedded themselves in the roof. Each one sank through the top leaving holes half a foot around. Itachi drew a kunai ready to deflect them but thought better of it and dodged instead. As he flew through the air he dropped the kunai and watched as it got hit by one of the senbon, effectively erasing it's existence.

Itachi was now on the defensive as he dodged attack after attack. No longer capable of blocking, forced only to run. "Uchiha, why do you and the rest of the village intend on getting in our way? If you just let us take what we wanted we wouldn't have all of these problems. Just give us Uzumaki and we can end the fighting. Please, don't let anymore blood be shed than necessary!" Akumu created a massive senbon and threw it towards Itachi like a javelin. He managed to dodge, but watched as the senbon swallowed an entire unfinished house.

Landing a ways away he found himself standing not eight feet away from Akumu who was already in the midst of his attack. Itachi had no time to run. "It's over, Rokudaime."

He threw the senbon at Itachi, who just stood there, unnerved and unmoving. A smile flashed across Itachi's face enacting a look of surprise on Akumu's. Akumu watched as the senbon flew… and dissolved in mid air right before touching Itachi, each one vanishing without a trace. Akumu took a step back, visibly confused and shocked.

"Surprised Akumu? I've taken the time to study your tricks since I've been back. Now that I've had the chance to observe them up close I've been able to come up with a counter measure."

"Are you trying to say you LET me attack you?"

"You said it, not me."

"I see. So you can see through my trick can you? Alright then, I can't waste anymore time with you. Shadow Style: Shadow Prison!" Large black needles whizzed through the air, embedding themselves in Itachi and wrapping him in chain. Itachi looked down, unimpressed.

"This is the jutsu you used on Kakashi." Itachi pressed his arms against the chains. In seconds he snapped them breaking his bindings and setting himself free. He rushed at Akumu, weaving handsigns as he summoned a wall of fire that rained down on the rogue ninja.

"Shadow Style: Hell Sphere!" he said summoning an orb of black flames to deflect Itachi's fire. But it didn't work. While the blast was definitely weakened, most of Itachi's fire still slipped through Akumu's defense creating an explosion that sent him tumbling through the air.

When he landed he drew his staff just in time to deflect Itachi's kunai. Itachi raised his hands and charged at Akumu engaging him in close combat. This time it was Akumu on the defensive as he dodged and blocked Itachi's numerous attacks. Occasionally he would get a blow or two in but for the most part he was being pushed back.

As Akumu tried an upward sweep to Itachi's ribs with the bottom of his staff, Itachi caught it forcing a struggle over the black cross. "How are you neutralizing my attacks?"

"It should be obvious. The data on you says that you're a master of genjutsu and extremely fast, yet your battles against Kakashi's team and Naruto's recovery squad had you mostly using Ninjutsu. Why would someone who's greatest strength is genjutsu use ninjutsu as their primary fighting style?"

"During our fight I realized the truth. You DO use genjutsu during battle. A lot of it. In fact you use it with every single attack. It's your own little style I would guess. Genjutsu afflicts the mind, forcing it to believe things that aren't true. You take that a step further, putting genjutsu into your every action. When you swing your staff you use genjutsu to make it seem your hitting harder than you are. When you use your jutsus you use genjutsu to seemingly increase their power. Truthfully your ninjutsu is average level Jonin at best, and above average Chunin at worst. In other words, it's weak. But by combining the physical element of a ninjutsu with the illusionary element of a genjutsu gives your abilities enough of an impact to overpower most opponents."

"There's two flaws with this however. Anyone who knows about your abilities from the start can easily avoid falling prey to your techniques by taking counter measures beforehand as well as anyone who happens to have a built in way of seeing through genjutsu, such as me with my Sharingan."

"The second flaw is battle length. Any Jonin level ninja can find this out if they were to fight you long enough. That's why you've trained your speed. You have to finish your fights quickly or else you'll be put at an extreme disadvantage."

Akumu grit his teeth. Techniques had just been laid bare against an opponent who could easily outclass him. He shut his eyes as he took a deep breath, calming his nerves and throwing Itachi off his staff. He looked up at his opponent, the sound of the wind the only thing that could be heard in quiet of the night. Sakura and Hinata's assault had long since ended and Akumu knew he was entirely too late for their rendezvous. He would have to have faith that they could carry out the rest of the job without him. For now, he was locked in an inescapable battle with Itachi. And with the rest of the village's shinobi closing in, he didn't have much time.

"If I want to get out of here it appears that I have to finish this now, so no more dillydallying!" Akumu raised the staff above his head and charged. Itachi readied himself for the attack, but lost sight of him. Akumu appeared behind him bringing down his wooden cross. Itachi jumped to the left, narrowly avoiding it as it smashed into the ground. He threw explosive notes but no sooner had they left his hand than Akumu had disappeared yet again this time showing up at his right side to attack with his palm.

Itachi spun in the air grabbing onto Akumu's arm and attempting to land a solid blow to his head. Akumu spun his staff, bringing it to his head and reducing the impact as he rocketed to the ground. He landed on his feet, skidding several yards before lunging at Itachi yet again. Itachi barely had the time to recover before his opponent was overtop of him swinging his cross at top speed.

Itachi realized that Akumu wasn't holding anything back anymore, giving up on his usual battle style and going in for pure taijutsu instead. Itachi steeled himself ready for anything Akumu could throw. He summoned the chakra in his body and pushed it outward, like a balloon being kept just on the verge of popping. Akumu's cross landed a direct hit on his shoulder, but it didn't affect Itachi in the slightest.

Akumu danced around him, striking Itachi time and time again. His speed was incredible, making him seem ethereal as he faded into his surroundings. Aside from Itachi the only thing anyone could have perceived was a black whirlwind wrapping itself around the new Hokage's figure, leaving bright orange sparks as it occasionally struck his skin.

Finally Akumu landed one last blow to Itachi's neck and watched in horror as Itachi grabbed the staff, looking him dead in the eyes. "It's over, Taka." Itachi squeezed the staff lighting it ablaze and forcing Akumu to let go. But Akumu wouldn't let up.

"I never thought anyone from Konoha would push me this far, but here goes!" Akumu began weaving hand signs at a speed only he was capable of. "I'm ending this now! Shadow Style: Dying Hydra!" Black flames shot forth into the sky winding their way higher and higher to form over a dozen black dragons that all connected to him at the base. They all lunged at Itachi ready to rip him apart with their blazing teeth. But Itachi stood stalwart. His gaze never faltering. Akumu watched as Itachi was engulfed in the flames. They spun around at frightening speed, forming a cylcone from the dark blaze. Fire and ash mixed up in the tower of burning destruction. But was suddenly cut through by a massive blade.

There stood Itachi, untouched and unphased by the burning column. He uttered a single word.

"Susano'o." With a single swing Itachi's Susano'o cut through Akumu's flames and sealed them away. Raising his hand he brought the pommel of Susano'o's sword down on Akumu.

Akumu was defeated.

Itachi deactivated the Susano'o and walked over to Akumu. Surprise flashed across his face when he found that Akumu was not only still alive, but conscious as well, albeit he wasn't getting up any time soon. "You think you've won, don't you Itachi?"

"Of course not. I won't win until I have the phantom tail in my possession."

Terror flashed across Akumu's face. "How-?!"

"It was in a report left by Danzo. He had sent Anbu to capture a girl who was suspected of having something called the phantom tail locked away inside of her. It's said to rival the nine tails in sheer power, but seems to have an extra element that makes her far more valuable than any Jinchuriki. I suspect she's one of you?"

Akumu turned his head to the side, refusing to speak anymore.

"That's what all of this was. A diversion. While you, Sakura, and Hinata were attacking the village, I suspect that your eldest sister Ayame, snuck in here to do something detrimental to the search for the phantom tail."

"If you knew then how come you didn't try to stop it?"

"Because I didn't realize it until we were already in the heat of battle. By that point there was nothing I COULD do, even if I wanted to."

"So you're saying you didn't want to?"

"Of course not. I'll do anything to protect the village, but part of protecting it means protecting it's standards. If I chased down the phantom tail with everything I had, I'd be endorsing the fact that Konoha was just ninja village fueled by greed. That is not the Konoha I fight for. That is not the morals I wish to uphold."

"Yet still you will pursue the phantom tail?"

"Of course, as a Hokage it would be wrong of me not to attempt to get something that could protect the village."

Akumu chuckled and shut his eyes. "I see. So you're both upholding your reputation while covering your ass at the same time." Akumu leaned his head back, his voice growing heavy and his words getting sloppy. "You one hell of a shinobi… both now… and back then."

Akumu was placed in a prison cell. Medical nin had evaluated his condition and determined that he was in a self induced coma. Likely as the result of some genjutsu he placed on himself. They had commissioned Inoichi to gather intelligence from Akumu's mind, but as Itachi had already guessed it didn't work. After all, to be able to use genjutsu at the level he could you had to have almost complete control over your mind. Being able to keep people out was child's play for Akumu.

Itachi sat once again at his desk, taking a break from the mountains of paperwork he had been given so that he could think. He looked at a few reports he had received recently that were troubling him. They were reports of people randomly disappearing. Not just in Konoha but all of the five great nations and more. Some were disappearing and people who were thought to have long since died are returning, often with little to no memories.

It pained Itachi to believe that whatever was happening was in direct correlation to the events Akumu had triggered. Just how big of an issue was he being forced to deal with? Was it truly something that could affect the entire world? What was this past they kept talking about? Just how many lies were being thrown under the rug? Itachi held his head in his hands, racking his brain for answers when someone stepped into the room. Without looking up he said "Is it important? I'm on break and I've asked not to be disturbed."

"You should always make time for me, Itachi."

Itachi's eyes grew wide, he knew that voice. It shouldn't have been there. It COULDN'T have been there. He had gotten rid of it himself years ago, that much he knew for sure. He had cried that day. Not only that, it was the first and last time he ever had. It was the sin that had weighed on him all of these years. It was just… impossible.

Ever so slowly he looked up, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. He scanned her with his sharingan again and again just to make sure it wasn't a trick. But no matter how many times he looked her over, no matter how many times he tried to find the faults in her jutsu, it always came up the same way. It was real. SHE was real. And she was standing here in front of him, smiling just as kindly as the day he plunged his blade into her heart.

Tears welled in his eyes for the second time in his life as he shakily spoke one word…

"Mother?"