Gift of Pein
Summary: Itachi was Pein's and Konan's favorite, everyone knew that. He was the youngest Akatsuki ever, even if Deidara joined later. They see him as more than a member of their organization. So how far will Pein go to prevent Itachi's supposed inevitable death and what are the consequences?
"Shinra Tensei!" Both Itachi and Nagato yelled, thrusting their palms in front of themselves, towards each other as the great repulsive forces from both shinobi collided, creating a rather large crater in the middle of the clearing by the lake they were fighting in. The shock wave of the collision pushed them both a good five meters away from the crater but neither S-rank criminal stayed there for long, Nagato summoning his Giant Multi-Headed Dog and the Giant Drill Beaked Bird while Itachi moved to attack him up close, using genjutsu to confuse him to the best of his ability. It wasn't easy, since Nagato, even under the strongest of illusions, could still easily feel chakra around him due to his great sensory abilities.
The giant dog was the first to attack Itachi, trying to stomp down on the Uchiha but Itachi either dodged its massive paws or pushed them away from him with more bursts of Shinra Tensei. When the bird joined in, Itachi resorted to the good old Amaterasu, burning both summons to ashes and then to nothingness, since the black flames were hotter than the sun and burned even atoms until nothing was left. Nagato escaped from the giant bird at the last minute and landed a few feet away from Itachi, sending out strange metallic ropes to wrap around the prodigy with his use of the Asura Path, pointing a gun at the raven's head. But Itachi burst into a swarm of crows and disappeared from within his grasp, reappearing behind Nagato and placing a single palm on his back. It glowed purple and Nagato gasped when he felt his chakra suddenly being sucked out of him. He whirled around as best as he could and dislodged Itachi, attempting to do the same with his own Preta Path, but the Sharingan user just burst into another flock of crows and reappeared far out of his reach.
Seemingly growing tired of the games being played, the summoned of the Edo Tensei ordered Nagato to summon the King of Hell and attempt to steal Itachi's soul and body with it so he can make an Edo Tensei fighter out of the prodigy as well. Having no power to stop the Human Path other than to destroy the King of Hell itself, Itachi set about to Amaterasu the thing but Nagato kept attacking him with all his other Paths, making it rather difficult to take aim. Itachi quickly put his hands together and made a single hand seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he calmly said and four more Itachis appeared, all five of the scattering around, darting in to kick or punch or stab Pein at seemingly random intervals, distracting the redhead from protecting the King of Hell. When one of his Shadow Clones actually managed to push Nagato a few feet away from the statue, the real Itachi darted in, his Mangekyo Sharingan ready. "Amaterasu." The statue caught fire as easily as anything else ever had, burning out of existence within a few seconds. Itachi, however, grunted when he was suddenly thrust hard against a nearby tree, having been hit with a Shinra Tensei from Nagato.
"Bansho Ten'in!" Just as suddenly as he had been pushed by an invisible force, that's how easily he was now drawn in by it, hurtling at a frightening speed towards Nagato's outstretched hand, Itachi's Sharingan informing him that if he continued traveling on this path that that hand will wrap directly around his throat and strangle him to death. So Itachi once again thrust his hand out and delivered another Shinra Tensei at Nagato, sending the Uzumaki back and letting up his control on Itachi. The Uchiha fell to the ground, winded but alright.
Itachi looked up when he felt Nagato raise to his feet again, gritting his teeth despite his tension not showing on the surface. He had the powers of three Paths while Nagato had the powers of all Six. The fight, under any normal circumstances, would have already been on Nagato's side, never mind now that he can't be injured, let alone killed. And despite Itachi now having greater chakra reserves and him still using his impeccable chakra control to use only the minimal amount needed to preform these jutsus, using Susanoo, Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu as much as he had still lapped up a good portion of his chakra. If this continues for much longer, Itachi will be reduced to his original levels of chakra and while that might be enough against a mortal Nagato, against this Edo Tensei it might as well be suicide. He needed to end this as soon as possible, but he first needed a moment to think up that way to end this as soon as possible.
So he put his hands together in front of himself, weaving signs at such speed that his fingers were nothing more than a blur to the normal and even to the Sharingan eye, before putting his fingers in front of his mouth to breathe fire. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" The fireballs hurtled at Nagato and he raised one hand, intending to use the Preta Path to absorb the technique, but Itachi made the fireballs change direction at the last moment, arching around where the absorption would happen and to the sides of the Rinnegan user. Nagato quickly rose both his hands parallel to his sides and started absorbing the fireballs, but Itachi wasn't done yet. "Katon: Gokakyo no Jutsu!" The purple eyed man looked up just as the giant fireball almost reached him, extending his field of absorption and holding it like that until all of the fire was absorbed.
However, those fireballs had not been an attack, but rather a distraction! Something Pein soon found out when the very solid Yata Mirror easily passed through his absorption area and flung Nagato onto the other side of the lake. He skidded across the surface of the water and along the dirt on the other side before slamming into a tree. There was a small cloud of dust. Nothing moved.
"Alright! That was insane!" Naruto cheered from where he and Killer B had been dumped before the seemingly brief battle had begun.
"You sure are cool, fool!" The would be raper rhymed and Naruto sweat dropped before focusing on his ex teammate's supposed to be dead older brother.
"You could explain now." He suggested but Itachi raised a hand to stop him from asking any questions.
"Before I answer your questions, you need to answer mine first." Naruto would have protested, had he not known what it was going to be about. The younger Uzumaki just nodded and Itachi asked what he knew he would. "What of Sasuke?"
"He found out about your super secret mission."
"Super secret mission?" Killer B repeated, lost all over again. Who knew Konoha shinobi could be so troublesome and complicated. Itachi's eyes widened a friction but he let the whisker scarred boy to continue.
"He now understands your resolve and pain, no doubt, but instead of following your wishes and protecting Konoha, he chose to take revenge against the village by joining the Akatsuki in hopes of attacking and destroying the village. It's his way to avenge the pain and suffering his beloved older brother went through at the hands of Konoha." The blond's words were almost a whisper by now and Itachi's face had went completely blank.
"I see." Was all the Uchiha said, drawing Naruto's gaze back up to look at the Uchiha.
"So it's true, what Madara told us?"
"How many people know about this? Do the villagers know?" Itachi asked instead, dreading that all his hard work was for nothing, that the people have found out about the coup d'tat, that all he and Shisui have went through and sacrificed was for nothing, that he had tortured his little brother and killed his clan for naught, hat Shisui's death, and even his own, were meaningless.
Naruto knew from those two questions that, without a doubt, what Madara had said was true. Itachi really wasn't the bad guy he had been pretending to be for all those years. Eight years, being hunted by his fellow Leaf shinobi just to protect them from war, making his little brother hate him so Sasuke will have something that will keep him moving forward, a purpose, a goal, deceiving the Akatsuki and providing the village with necessary information to fight back and take them down ... Naruto felt suck to his stomach as he recalled every bad thought or word he had ever had to say or think in regards to Uchiha Itachi. Itachi was no one of all that great importance in Naruto's life. They had met and conversed a few times in the past five years and this is the reaction he has, simply for disliking the man since he was technically the reason Sasuke left the village. Imagining what Sasuke had went through when he found out ... No wonder he had been so unstable as of late. It must be eating away at him from the inside, the guilt.
"There had been no proof to confirm what Madara said, so Kakashi-sensei kept it between us. That is, between myself, himself and Yamato. That's the group that had been there when he told the story. The only others that I am aware of that know of your true story seem to be Sasuke, Madara, that freaky plant guy and Kisame."
Itachi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his lover's name. "Kisame?"
"Um, yeah. You didn't want him to know?" The blond rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, not sure how to go about this anymore. Itachi had been an enemy for as long as Naruto knew of him. To now know he really was an ally ... Well, it was still weird, okay?
"Oh, no. Kisame actually knew for years." The Uchiha waved him off. "I told him myself. I mean, did you see him recently?"
"Oh, yeah!" The Uzumaki replied almost cheerfully. "We had him trapped and wanted to question him about the Akatsuki just last week, dattebayo, but he ran off. He'd apparently been searching for your body. Something you have yet to explain, the whole not being dead thing."
"We can deal with that later, gator." Killer B interrupted, pointing towards where Nagato had been flung and Itachi and Naruto turned to see the redhead had recovered and had just formed a black receiver.
"Shit." Naruto cursed softly, remembering the technique that was sure to follow.
Itachi couldn't agree more.
00000
"What, exactly, are you doing here, Hoshigaki?" Terumi Mei asked incredulously when, out of nowhere, said shark nin had appeared just before she was to leave with her fellow Kage to the battlefield to fight Madara. Kisame turned around and grinned at the Godaime Mizukage, showing off his very sharp teeth.
"Hello, Mizukage-sama. I didn't expect to run in to you so soon. I am actually here to see the Hokage." The blue man replied cheerfully, shifting the Samehada on his shoulder casually. "I thought I might offer my assistance in this battle. If not on the battlefield itself - I have a feeling you wouldn't trust me out there - then at least to give some advice about the Sharingan."
"What?" The confused woman asked, staring at her missing nin uncomprehendingly, not knowing what to think. For all she knew, this man was supposed to be their enemy. He was supposed to be on the other guy's side! Yet here he was, seemingly offering advice. Advice they could really use. "And just how would you have any information on the Sharingan?"
"Because his partner was none other than Uchiha Itachi." A different voice behind the blue man said and Mei and Kisame turned around to see a rather tense Hatake Kakashi and Yamato standing there, the silver haired man being the one who had spoken. "Any advice he'd give us could be more accurate than any books and rumors we have to go by."
"And he's trustworthy." Yamato added, but still carefully eying the ex Akatsuki. He was now wearing his old clothes from when he was in the Mist, possibly what he had always been wearing under his Akatsuki cloak. The tight muscle shirt, black pants and light blue arm warmers on his forearms were mostly covered by the black travel cloak he now wore instead of the Akatsuki coat. He still had his slashed hitai-ate on his forehead, though. "The last time we saw him, he was already against the Akatsuki. Sasuke and another member had come to take him away and they hadn't appeared all that friendly."
"They weren't," the older man said with a derisive snort. "They would have either tried to get me to tell them where Itachi-san might be or try to use me against him."
Kakashi arched an eyebrow when he heard this, staring at the blue man with interest. "You are talking as though Itachi were alive."
Kisame shot the Copy Nin a grin. "It's very likely."
"But I thought the Uchiha was dead?" The Mizukage questioned, staring between the three men that had, at one point, been all very important people to Itachi in his life. The only differences between them were very few but very noticeable. For instance, Kisame wasn't from Konoha and was possibly the only person alive who had seen Itachi cry, even if under the illusionary curtain of rain to mask it. He was also the only person alive to know all of the man's secrets, too. Kakashi was the only one currently sharing a nickname and almost the same fearsome reputation as Itachi. He was, besides maybe the Nara, the only one alive who could match Itachi's intellect. And Yamato was perhaps the only person alive who had the same level of patience as the older Uchiha brother, not to mention that he was also the only one who could possibly understand what it must have been like for Itachi to be under Danzo's thumb. Only difference between him and the Sharingan master was that Itachi had managed to wriggle free on his own power and terms while Yamato had needed Kakashi's help. They were also both insanely young when they joined the ANBU.
Kisame snorted again. "If Madara was sure Itachi-san, who he knows is undefeated, was dead as he'd like him to be, he wouldn't be making such a ruckus out there." When he got blank looks from his conversation partners, the blue ninja sighed in exasperation. "Madara knows next to nothing about Itachi-san's techniques and skills, only that he's a damn good fighter who has never been injured before he all but let Sasuke almost kill him-"
"But how did he-"
"He died of a terminal illness," he interrupted the expected confused question from the only female in this particularly interesting conversation. "Anyway, Madara knows Itachi-san is good and he knows just how powerful Itachi-san's eyes are. But he doesn't know what to expect from Itachi-san. All throughout our partnership and his stay with the Akatsuki as a whole, Itachi-san only used three or four fire techniques, his shurikenjutsu, fought with his katana every once in a blue moon and would occasionally use his Sharingan. The Mangekyo he used even more rarely. Amaterasu can, to a point, be evaded and it's a jutsu all Uchiha can use. Tsukuyomi, however, even Madara fears, as we have no idea if anything can stop it from taking effect. I have yet to see anyone withstand the Tsukuyomi and that thing can be quite deadly, too. Madara wouldn't want to risk being stuck in that place." He shrugged casually. "Not to mention that Itachi is the first person who has mastered one of the techniques only Madara can use involving the Mangekyo Sharingan and is, as such, even more of a threat to him since he can meet him on equal ground."
"What would that be?" Yamato asked curiously, wondering what jutsu he was talking about that could be so dangerous that a person would need to know in order to fight Madara.
"It's the Susanoo," a new female voice stated and they turned around to see Tsunade walking up to them with a serious expression on her face. "Isn't it." It wasn't a question, but a statement. She didn't even bat an eyelid at Kisame's presence, so she had either been informed of his sudden, unexpected appearance or she didn't care at the moment. "It's the only technique that only Madara and Izuna of the Uchiha Clan could use and that used to devastate my grandfather's and great uncle's forces in the Uchiha-Senju war. The ultimate defense."
"The technique Sasuke uses?" Gaara appeared behind her, standing on her right. The Kazekage had a very grave look on his face. He had just returned from fighting the reanimated version of his father, not long ago. He wasn't going to be an all that happy camper right now.
"Yeah, that's it. Although I have no idea how well that little bastard uses it and I don't give a flying fuck." When he got many raised eyebrows at this, the former Swordsman of the Mist just shrugged. "I have a years long grudge against Uchiha Sasuke that I would rather not explain right now. Let's just say the brat's an ungrateful little prick and the worst brother in the history of the world and leave it at that, yes? Good." Kakashi got a good idea of why Kisame thought as much but didn't bring it up, letting the matter drop.
"So Itachi is alive and is going to fight for Konoha?" The blond woman asked, crossing her arms and regarding the shark like man.
"Yes."
"You're sure of this?" She questioned again and Kisame grinned at her, the expression a bit more on the feral side.
"Itachi-san sent me a message a week ago, one that made it clear he was coming to protect you ungrateful pricks and that if I wanted to see him again, I should come here. Itachi-san doesn't make idle threats or empty promises. Whatever he's doing right now will be sure to help us and he will come when he thinks the time is right. Until then, I am here to help out. And if you need any more assurances that Itachi-san is alive," Hoshigaki suddenly turned sober and glared over their heads in the direction of the battlefield, where he could sense Madara's and Tobi's chakra. "Their haste to get the remaining two biju and get rid of you as soon as possible ought to be clue enough."
"I don't follow," Tsunade said as way of demanding further explanations and Kisame sighed but readily gave in.
"Their plan is called the Tsuki no Me or rather the plan to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so they can trap everyone in a world wide genjutsu, a dream of a happier life with no pain or suffering, to stop all the wars and lies and whatnot. It's supposed to achieve world piece. Pein wanted that, too, and bet everything on this plan. That's why we were collecting the nine biju. They're needed for this plan to work. Itachi-san, however, never liked the plan. I have no idea if his Tsukuyomi is inspired by the Infinite Tsukuyomi or not, but he is the only one who is sure to be immune to it. After all, he controls a similar power, if only on a much smaller scale. But he can manipulate his powers correctly. I think Itachi-san always suspected that Madara won't be able to do so. I don't really know. You'll have to ask Itachi-san himself." He looked down towards them again with a cross of a fond and annoyed expression. "Itachi-san seemed to always know a lot more than he was letting on or willing to share. He is against this plan so he probably knows something about it that nobody else does and he doesn't like it. He won't let this plan be executed."
Tsunade hummed in thought before nodding. "He might need some time, then." She looked towards the other two Kage before gesturing backwards with her head, probably indicating the two remaining Kages somewhere in the crowds of shinobi and the maze of weapons and scrolls and who knows what else. "We will keep Madara busy for as long as we can. We'll buy him time to come. But we won't rely solely on him. We can't afford to do that. Not with all these lives at stake."
"He'll come." Kisame said confidently but didn't argue with the Hokage. He knew his partner wouldn't like it if people died while waiting for him. He'd no doubt feel guilty. "And I'm staying right here to wait for him." He stated just as firmly. "Whether you let me fight now or not is your thing. But when Itachi-san comes, I will follow him to the gates of hell." It was not a warning or a threat, but a promise, a vow. Kakashi and Yamato had to admire Kisame's loyalty to his partner. Well, they guessed it shouldn't surprise them as much as it did. Kisame did leave the Akatsuki just because they wanted to take his dead partner's eyes.
"Do as you please, as long as you are on our side." Tsunade answered this declaration with a small smirk. She could tell that the shark man would gladly risk his life for the Shinobi Alliance. She didn't know Itachi's story but she could see the truth in Kisame's words when he said his partner sent him here to help Konoha. She wasn't one to turn down an ally at a time like this. "I supposed you have nothing against this, Mei?" She asked of the Mizukage but the bearer of three Kekkei Genkai just smirked.
"Nothing at all."
Kisame grinned. He was allowed to stay. He was now one step closer to finally seeing Itachi-san again! Now all he had to do was wait. He knew his lover will come. Itachi's crow was not one to spread lies. He'd spent the entire week resting and had only exerted himself to go to the dock where he had met Itachi in the first place. If what the crow had shown had been a lie, then the slashed Konoha hitai-ate he found sure as hell hadn't been. Whether Leader had left there or if Itachi-san himself had sent it there by his crow for his partner, Kisame didn't know. What he did know is that it was definitely Itachi's. His scent still clung to the fabric of the forehead protector and it had been comforting when Kisame had placed it to his nose. He had kept it, of course he had. He still had it on his person. It was currently hidden in his weapons pouch, safe from getting damaged or lost in the fight. He planned on giving it back to Itachi-san when they finally met up again. He hopes he just doesn't die before then.
The peaceful mood was broken when there was a heavy shift in the air and the gathered group soon found themselves joined by other jonin and, of course, the other two Kage. They had all turned their gazes up to where Madara and Tobi were standing before their eyes lowered to the army of Edo Tensei on the battlefield.
"They've come." Gaara said in a steely voice before all hell broke loose.
