Trials of Faith

Karrafear

Summary: SEQUAL to Faith in Humanity and Restoration of Faith; PG-13. 2 and half years have passed and now is the beginning of the trials of Faith. Chapter 9: Scenes V

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Disclaimer: Naruto is an anime and manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It does not belong to me; I'm simply using the characters and plot for my own creative devices.

"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/, "Speech", 'Speech emphasis', (FLASHBACK), Titles, (Author's interruptions)

Warning: More building of the plot and jumping from one 'scene' to another. Hope you enjoy.


Chapter 9

In five different parts of the world, shinobis gathered to say farewell and god's speed to their respected and admired leaders, whom in their hands now hold the future of the world…

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(Suna Gakure no Sato)

"You're late, Kankurou!" Temari complained as her younger brother rushed towards her with a large box behind his back.

"It took me a while to figure out this new trick." Kankurou apologised, bowing slightly to his younger brother.

"Be careful, Kazekage-sama. Kankuro, Temari, Ino-san, please take good care of him." Many of the villages (shinobi and civilians alike) turned out in masses to wish their beloved Kage well.

"We will. Thank you everyone for turning up." Ino waved excited at the crowd, although many noticed how close she was standing next to Gaara, who remained silent at the mass's support for him.

"Not that Gaara needs any protection..." Kankurou muttered beneath his breath.

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(Iwa Gakure no Sato)

"Kurozuchi, Akazuchi, Ahiru (1)! Take good care of the old man!" A voice shouted above the others in the large crowd that surrounded the four ninjas.

"Tsuchikage! Show those other Kages what you've got!" Another voice rang out.

"It's a pain going to a meeting at my age." An old man, short and stumpy complained while still standing as dignified as he could in his old age. "You youngsters don't understand what it's like when your hips are a virtual time bomb."

"How about retiring then, gramps? You can't rely on your former glory forever." A girl with short black haired grinned cheekily at the old man.

"Ahahaha. I'll take your luggage, Tsuchikage-sama!" A large, rather round man helpfully picked up the older man's backpack and was just about to strap it on his old shoulders when he was interrupted by the older man.

"Don't touch my stuff, Akazuchi! I don't need your help!" The old man rebutted. But upon pulling his pack back and strapping it on himself, a loud 'crack' could be heard in the vicinity of the old man's spine. "OWWWWW! My Hips!"

Sighing, the black haired girl simply shook her head. "What do you say? Should we send someone else in the Tsuchikage's place?" She asked sarcastically at their fourth teammate, who had so far remained silent.

"Ano, Tsuchikage-sama. Maybe you should give me the pack and Akatsuch-sani can carry you." A medium height, brown haired girl with hazel eyes tried to reason with the old, stubborn man. She had her long hair tied back in two pigtails and showed off her youth, even though her village's jounin outfit belied her youthfulness in comparison to her battle strengths.

"Don't be ridiculous! Who do you think I am? I am the Tsuchikage, the great and fearsome leader of Iwagakure!" The old man gripped tightly to his package, refusing to look weak in front of his ninjas.

Sighing again, the black haired girl named Kurotsuchi signalled for the large man to grab onto both the Tsuchikage and his luggage. "Alright, now let's go."

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(Kirigakure no sato)

"Take good care of Mizukage. Make sure nothing goes wrong, okay." An old, thin man with trembling fingers urged as he gave his honourable leader the Kage hat which symbolised all of Kiri's power.

Gently taking the hat from the old man, a beautiful woman with long luscious hair stated kindly. "Thank you sir. I swear on my name as Godaime Mizukage that I will fulfil my duty."

"Hohohoho." The old man softly laughed.

"Hey, as members of the seven swordsmen of the Mist, you all have to protect the Mizukage with your life! Remember that!" Another member of the crowd pressed.

A youthful shinobi standing next to the Mizukage hesitantly stated. "I... I think... I'll be fine... probably."

"Have faith in yourself, kid. You're strong." A third member of the crowd encouraged.

"That's why you were chosen to guard me, okay Chojiro-kun?" The Mizukage smiled disarmingly at the young Ninja, resulting in the young man blushing at her compliment.

"Uh... Yeah... I'll try my best." The teen grinned sheepishly. /Mizukage-sama is so kind.../

"All you need to say is 'Yes, Ma'am!' No one wants to hear your waffling! Man, why can't you be more like Juro over there. You kids nowadays really have it too easy. Just be a man..." An older Ninja complained as he glared unhappily at the blushing youth.

"Ao... Enough with the lecture. You need to hurry or you'll be late for the meeting!" "Yeah, and Juro-san doesn't seem to be happy about the wait either." Another voice rang out from the crowd.

The newly introduced Ao glanced quickly at their forth member, silent as always standing some distance away. He never could understand the kid. Kapasu Juro (2) was one of the weakest, most useless ninja in Kirigakura not more than three years ago. But upon returning from the Kuunoki Chuunin Exams, the kid became obsessed with training and becoming stronger, jumping to Chuunin and then Jounin in a matter of a few months. The boy then challenged, defeated and then killed his own grandfather, claiming one of the seven great swords for himself. After that, the enigmatic red-head has been a loyal follower of the new Mizukage, helping her rise to power and remaining in the shadow as her bodyguard, spy and assassin.

Ao was just about to complain again about the sheer difference between Juro and the timid Chojiro when he was interrupted by the Mizukage whispering in his year. "Ao, Shut up or I'll kill you." Obediently, he shut up.

"Come on, Chojiro, Juro, Ao. Let's go." Waving to the crowd, Mizukage-sama smiled angelically while she started moving towards her destination, ignoring Ao's irritated look, Chojiro's hero-worship and Juro's indifference.

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(Kumogakure no sato)

Giving a loud stomp on the ground, the large dark skinned man known as the Raikage commanded loudly: "Alright! Let's go." With those words he smashed his way through a window, out of the floating castle that is the Hidden Cloud Village and landing on the snow covered ground below, leaving behind his three guards and a secretary.

Giving a heavy sigh, the female secretary glanced at the new broken window with an irritated look. "Not again. That's gonna come out of his personal pay, if I have anything to say about it." She muttered under her breath. "You guys better follow him before we lose his tracks. Darui, Shii, Bado."

"Yeah, and he complains about me using that window as an entrance all the time. Hypocrite!" A tall brown haired, light skinned man groused. Turning to the secretary, Bado issued his own orders. "After losing Nii Yugito, he's been acting a little irrational, probably fearing that Akatsuki would go after Bee-san. Please tell Sakeyama Asahi and his sister Sakeyama Saporo that I'm requesting a favour of the Sakeyama family, to ask them to look after Killer Bee-san in my stead. Can you do that?"

Once the secretary had nodded in agreement, Bado too jumped through the man shaped hole that was once the window pane in the Raikage's office, leaving the other two guards behind.

"I think I'll take the stairs, Shii." The dark skinned Darui comments walking towards the doors instead of the window.

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On the journey towards Iron country, the Konoha contingency stopped over at a small town. Tsunade was very tempted to go to the local pub and gambling dens to spurge a bit on her favourite activity other than drinking sake. But having three guards always surrounding her, one of which being a Hyuuga, she was just never given the opportunity and gripped about her missed chance for the next several days on the road. The three talked a bit about security, the Iron Country in general as well as speculating on what Jiraiya was up-to as interim Hokage. None the less, the journey was uneventful and passed quickly.

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Days later, the five strongest shinobis in the world sat around a round table – a first in shinobi history. "Please place your hats on the table." The host of this summit, leader of the Iron Country stated courteously. "You are here today because the Raikage has called this meeting. My name is Mifune. I will be your moderator. The meeting will now begin."

Instantly, Gaara opened the forum. "Please let me initiate this meeting. I have something to say so please listen." Before he could start, he was interrupted by the Tsuchikage.

"The Five Kages sure have changed. It's impressive that you call yourself a Kage at that age, Kazekage-dono. It seems that while your old man surely trained you well, he wasn't able to teach you any manners." The oldest Kage in the summit replied rather snidely.

"I suppose you're right, Tsuchikage. And yet, here I am – the Kazekage of Suna, one of the five great nations." Gaara answered calmly.

"Gaha.. What a cheeky guy." Tsuchikage laughed at his impudence, a bit put off that the boy wasn't intimidated at all.

"Tsuchikage-sama, that's enough, stop teasing him. If you could continue, Kazekage-sama." The Mizukage interrupted the back and forth arguments, wanting to get to the heart of the issue.

"I was a former Jinchuriki. I was held by Akatsuki and came to the brink of death when the Bijuu was extracted from my body. As such, I consider the Akatsuki to be an extremely dangerous entity. They threatened to destroy Suna just to get to me and almost succeeded, and indeed did succeed in capturing myself." Pausing a little, Gaara continued. "I appealed for cooperation among the five Kages many times but was ignored, except for the Hokage – who had single-handedly undertaken thorough investigation into Akatsuki's dealings, their members and the strengths of those members. I believe Jiraiya, Sannin of Konoha had forwarded missives to all Kages, informing us of the impending danger, and yet, here we are... with only the Hachibi and Kyuubi Jinchuriki remaining. We let the Jincurikis be snatched away. Our cooperation came too late, even with the forewarning provided weeks in advance. My question... is why." Gaara's last words were harsh and demanding.

Silence reigned for a short period before Tsuchikage bravely intervened. "Hmph. The fact that the Hidden Villages of the five great nations allowed the Jinchuriki to be abducted puts us in a bad light among the other nations. It's a show of weakness and embarrassing. It's common sense to try to recover the Jinchurikis quietly and privately. There's no way we'd seek cooperation when they were taken."

Starring impassively at the Tsuchikage, Gaara intoned: "Appearances... dignity... what worthless, old-fashioned ideas." Tsuchikage glared in return.

Trying to defuse the situation, Mizukage interrupted again. "Just because the Bijuus were taken doesn't mean we have immediate cause for alarm. Controlling them will require jutsu, knowledge and time after all."

"Since the Jinchuriki and Bijuu grow together, they need to adapt to one another. Even then, control is difficult. It can't be done in an instant." Tsuchikage agreed somewhat reluctantly.

Before the discussion could snowball further, Tsunade decided to get involved. "That's not the point. Or have you all forgotten that Uzumaki Ruri have now officially joined the Akatsuki. She is the most renowned person in the entire world in the use of Fuuin Jutsu. There's no way we can even guess how she's helping Akatsuki control the power of the Bijuus. It's true that in the past, the only ones able to truly control the Bijuu are my grandfather – the first Hokage Senju Hashirama, his rival Uchiha Madara, the fourth Mizukage Yagura who was a Jinchuriki himself, and rumours have it Raikage-dono's younger brother Killer Bee. However, none of that matters if they have Ruri working for them." She emphasized strongly. "We may not have the 'time' we thought we did. We can't underestimate the Akatsuki!"

The Raikage smashed his fist impatiently onto the table. "Enough with the useless jabbering!" He shouted in frustration, he glanced up to see a siege of shinobis were aiming their weapons at him only to be blocked by his own guards. Bado especially was glaring at the Raikage with an offended expression on his face as he held firmly onto the giant fist of the large Iwa ninja that was the bodyguard of the Tsuchikage. Bado's expression distinctly says 'Do you really need to do this?'

"This is a conference. I'd like to ask that you all mind your manners." Mifune stated calmly, completely ignoring the giant dent on the table.

Sighing, Tsunade snapped at Neji and Gai to get back at her side, while Shikaku stayed exactly where he had been standing, right behind Tsunade herself. Gaara too called back Kankurou and Temari. Under the table, he gave Ino's hand a light squeeze of reassurance knowing instinctively she had been just a second away from launching a poisonous needle at the Raikage in retaliation. The Mizukage called back her ninjas Ao and Chojiro. Surprisingly, Juro had not moved from his position standing on the sides of the room's wall. The other ninjas quickly and quietly returned to their posts.

The next few minutes were spent having all the bodyguards move to the balcony above the room, the five kages returned to their original discussion. "Konoha! Iwa! Suna! Kiri! Akatsuki is composed of missing-nins from your villages! And that's not all! There's evidence that some of you, including your predecessors, have made use of Akatsuki!"

Raikage's comment immediately raised outbursts from Gaara and Tsunade, denying that they had never done so. But Raikage simply ignored their outbursts and continued on with his accusation. "I don't trust any of you! I only called this conference was to find out how trustworthy you half-assed bunch are!"

"What do you mean by 'made use of them'?" Gaara immediately inquired, silent fury bled into his once blank expression.

"Huh! You're supposed to be the Kazekage, and yet they haven't told you anything? Ask the old timers in your own village!" Raikage pointed an accusing finger at all the other Kage's in the room. "You guys have used Akatsuki during times of war in the past!"

"At this point, the great nations have all stabilised. They're switching from military expansion to disarmament. As the tensions among the nations ease and the threat of war decreases, the villages which hold the nation's military power are nothing more than money-sucking annoyances. On the other hand, there's a risk to military reduction too. Just watch if there's a sudden outbreak of war! In that case, there'd be the problem of depending on shinobi without real combat experience. And that would mean losing the war. One way to eliminate that risk is a group of mercenaries." The Tsuchikage explained blandly, as if unconcerned about Raikage's accusations. "While it takes time and money to raise superior shinobi in your own village. A professional group of mercenaries like Akatsuki are career fighters that is always on duty. And they'll undertake a war for low pay, while delivering excellent results."

"Don't sound so fucking proud of it, Tsuchikage!" Raikage demanded.

"Hrmph!" Tsuchikage snorted.

"Suna used Akatsuki to destroy Konoha – Orochimaru. However, we're not sure if he was still an active member of Akatsuki at that time. This then resulted in the death of Yondaime Kazekage and Sandaime Hokage. It's hard to shake the feeling that this could all be part of someone's plan." Raikage glared at all the Kage's, waiting for anyone to refute his claims.

Tsunade quickly rebutted with no concern over the fallout. "Our intelligence shows that Orochimaru abandoned Akatsuki between five to six years ago or more. He set up his own village – Otogakure, without permission from the Akatsuki. His invasion on the Konoha are his own actions. However, during the second invasion, four Akatsuki members took advantage of the confusion to infiltrate Konoha and was almost successful in capturing their intended target. It took the combined efforts of some of the Kuunoki's strongest ninjas to kick them out."

"And yet, here they are refuges in your village because their lady betrayed them and joined their greatest enemy, Akatsuki. Just face it, there's no one in the world you can truly trust now!" Raikage predicted an uncharacteristically gloomy future. Turning his focus now on the Mizukage, he continued his charge. "The most suspicious is the Hidden Mist! You from the mist have no diplomatic ties. There's even the rumour that it's the birthplace of Akatsuki!"

The Mizukage looked hesitant for a moment before deciding to speak. "Since it's come to this, I'll speak plainly. It's come into question whether the previous Mizukage – Yagura, was under some outside influence. It's possible that influence was Akatsuki, which is why I didn't want to draw attention to it." She admitted frankly.

"Damn you! Each and every one of you..." Before the Raikage could go off on another rant, Tsunade interrupted yet again with even more disturbing news.

"It's recently come into Konoha's intelligence that Uchiha Madara is alive, and he's possibly the true leader of Akatsuki. If he is indeed alive, then he could very well have taken control of the Yondaime Mizukage and forced him to carry out all his wishes." The other four Kage stared at Tsunade in shock.

"Surely he should have been long dead?" Tsuchikage almost stuttered.

"I don't understand it either. But this is reliable intelligence." Tsunade stated grimly before deciding to open the floodgates. "It came into question when some truths were revealed regarding the Uchiha Clan Massacre some years ago. Uchiha Madara had participated in the killing of members of the Uchiha clan, and after he took Uchiha Itachi away as his apprentice. I don't really know when he formed the Akatsuki, but Konoha intelligence have investigated and is under the belief that their main base now reside in the Hidden Rain Village."

The five Kages remained silent for a time, before Mifune as the moderator decided to input his own opinion. "Please listen to my opinion as the head of a neutral power. Akatsuki's leader has read the flow of this era. He stabbed at the gaps in the equilibrium and distrust among the nations and measured the expansion of their strength... The same goes for this, the Iron Country... But the disaster has been averted and has become good fortune for use... After all, haven't all five Kages come together, which seldom happens? What do you thing? Until Akatsuki is dealt with... Perhaps you should create the world's first ninja alliance among the five great hidden villages?"

"Alliance?" Raikage asked in disbelief.

"It's a good idea. We need a level of cooperation appropriate to the state of emergency." Gaara agreed instantly.

"It would be best to unify the chain of command. We need to protect ourselves against further disorder." Mifune insisted.

"So... The question is, who do we entrust with authority over the allied forces?" Tsuchikage thought out loud.

"You will only quarrel amongst yourselves... therefore, from my position at the head of the neutral nation; I would like to suggest which among you five Kage would be most suitable." Mifune suggested somewhat firmly. "It is my opinion that we should entrust the leadership of the Ninja Alliance... to the Hokage."

Upon his declaration, calls of disbelief and anger erupted from the other Kages.

"I don't agree with this! No one from our village is involved in Akatsuki! I am the only one trustworthy enough to..." Raikage's rant was cut off by Mifune.

"I beg to differ." When asked to explain his reasoning, Mifune merely pointed at his somewhat dented table. "It's true that some amount of emotion and power is necessary to lead so many strong warriors... but someone like you who lets his emotions control him will destroy the alliance as surely as you destroyed that table. I am simply offering my suggestion as a neutral party. The Kazekage is too young to lead. The other countries will never accept it. Even addressing him as Kazekage is hard for some. The Tsuchikage on the other hand is too old and is seen as having mobility problems. Furthermore, he has been used by Akatsuki too many times. He is the least trustworthy. Kirigakure is the seat of the origin of Akatsuki. If the Mizukage were in charge, there would be worried about information leaks. There would be concerns about spies too. I don't know what Akatsuki plans with the tailed beasts. But we can't let them have the last two Jinchuriki no matter what."

Before the Raikage can erupt yet again, Tsunade interrupted. "Thank you for your strong support in Konoha's favour, Mifune-san. However, as the Godaime Hokage of Konoha, I regret to inform you that I wish to decline the position."

Again, shocked silence reigned in the room. Tsunade waited for this new piece of news to be digested before continuing on with her explanation. "It is a great honour to take the lead role. However, at this point in time, Konoha is not strong enough handle the responsibility as we too need to uncover any hidden links between Akatsuki and our own internal factions, which have recently come to the surface. I, myself, am currently neck deep in political and tactical warfare with some of the village's internal parties."

Once everyone had calmed down and accepted her refusal of the position, Tsunade launched into her own idea – having discussed this with Jiraiya before she left Konoha. "As a renowned medic, I specialise in medical support and I can bring that to the table of this ninja alliance. Not only that, Konoha can supply the alliance with accurate and up-to-date intelligence. Those two items are critical in any war, and having Konoha focused on those fronts, I do not believe I have the capability to also set my attention on offensive manoeuvres against the Akatsuki. What I propose, gentlemen and ladies, is a fractured governing body, with the leader of the alliance focused on organising strategic plans against the Akatsuki, while the other Kages take on specific roles – one to lead the front line soldiers, one to take on support duties (organisation of medical support, intelligence or other such specialities), one to act as reserve, and the last to run interference and or act as our own offensive unit, targeting the heart of the Akatsuki and disrupting their plans for the Bijuus."

The meeting at the five Kage summit lasted through the day and went long into the night. Ideas were brought forth, debated and hashed out, before the skeleton of a detailed plan was formed. Raikage would be the overall leader of the Ninja alliance. Gaara would lead the front line soldiers with Mifune's samurai soldiers as support. Tsunade would take responsibility for all support necessities. Mizukage would be their reserve and Tsuchikage would be the wild card thrown into the throe whenever necessary. For the first time in ninja history, the five great nations were working together to fight a common enemy.

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Itachi staggered and leaned heavily against a tree. Completely exhausted of his body's chakra, Itachi's using pure will power to keep his body moving. He had to keep on moving, he had to somehow free Ruri from Akatsuki. Although he understood her reasons for joining Akatsuki, he completely disagreed with her methods. Having recognised that Akatsuki was the only, single organisation that was strong enough to challenge the existence of the 7 high councillors of the Kuunoki, she had joined them willingly, using their influence to set herself, her people and Naruto free of their birth right duties. However, she basically swapped one cage for another, while ensuring her people the freedom to join other villages, enabling them to do what they feel is right. Itachi could not agree with her sacrifice, for he did not want her to continue to live in yet another glass house. That was one of the reasons why he had pushed his body to the limit, learning the three powerful Mangekyou Sharingan techniques before he reached the age of 20. He had originally planned to use Ameterasu on the 7 high councillors to free Ruri, but his own plans had been waylaid by Pein's own.

Stepping on a tree root, Itachi stumbled and fell forward onto the ground. Grunting in pain, he used his unburnt hand to roll his body over until he was facing the sky. /Who am I kidding? The moment she's out of my and Pein's sight, Madara will swoop in to have her captured somehow. I have to stop him, but in my current state, I'm useless.../ Itachi could feel a single tear escape his right eye and fell across his face, he ignored it just as he had ignored the inner pain he's been carrying for years. /Perhaps I shouldn't have granted Sasuke's my powers so soon, not when I still plan on facing Madara... but the chance was simply too good to pass up. I owe him too much... All those years I've missed... he's grown up to be a fine man, my little brother./ Here Itachi couldn't help by smile as he mentally compared his once cute and innocent brother to the young man he's become.

Unfortunately, that was also the moment Itachi started coughing up blood. He kept on hacking up his own life blood out of his abused throat for many minutes before simply turning his head away from the sky, allowing the bile and blood to slowly ooze out of his lips. /Damn... looks like even though I don't want to die, the gods will not allow me to stay much longer... I'm so very proud of you, Sasuke./ More tears leaked out of his eyes, and Itachi couldn't be bothered to stop them. /Yuuki-sama... I'm so sorry. The prophecy you gave me... The one favour you asked of me... I don't think I can keep my promise... I swore... if the time came... I would protect the one which you hold most dear to you... I'm so sorry.../

Just as Itachi's eyes were slowly closing in the throes of death, three angels swooped into his location and landed beside him. Although his eyes were blurry and unseeing, he could still hear them.

Once female voice spoke up. "Damn! Look at the state he's in. I'm glad I used sage mode in order to track him down. Had we left it a few more minutes, he may have passed away completely."

Itachi felt another's hand move over his chest, just above his heart. "We need to do the transfer now. He's not gonna make it if we wait another minute." She confirmed as she pressed down on his chest, and he felt warmth overwhelm his cold body.

Soft hands covered his eyes and a young girlish voice stated with concern. "I will hold his soul here until the procedure is over."

"Right, let's start the transfer." The first voice commanded while Itachi swiftly fell into unconsciousness, fully expecting to join his parents in the bowels of hell.

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Such was his surprise when he blinked open his eyes again only to see the stalagmites of a cave above him. /I'm alive?/ he thought to himself in curiosity. /Wha? How am I alive?/

"I see you're awake. Good, that means the transfer worked." A young girl with short violet hair and piercing purple eyes stood before Itachi and gazed down on him with slightly concerned eyes. /Dokudes.../ Itachi's mind immediately supplied having remembered those vibrant purple eyes only belonged to the famed poison handling family.

Although he tried to move his fingers and jaws, his body refused to react. Frustrated Itachi had to utilise chakra but he could only flinch at the pain that move inflicted.

"Don't move or try to use chakra yet. Your new body and you mind isn't yet fully synchronised." Seeing confusion in Itachi's eyes, Seiko decided to explain further. "You're body was dying, Itachi-san. And there was nothing we could do to save it without resulting in our own untimely death. As such, we decided to take a page out of Orochimaru-teme's book and used a technique similar to his soul transfer technique. Basically, we found a compatible body and transferred your soul, memories and mind over, ensuring that you fully take over the new body as your own. You don't have to worry; the original owner of your new body is fully dead, his soul having been devoured by hell beasts. Welcome to your second life, Itachi-san."

Itachi wanted to frown or make a sound of distress but this body fought him every second, he didn't feel welcomed at all in this body. And more than that, he didn't want to use Orochimaru's disgusting techniques, even if it meant a new lease of life for himself. Noticing his distress, Seiko tried to calm the man down a bit. "This body originally belonged to a Konoha Chuunin who turned traitor, his name was Mizuki. As I stated before, his soul is gone now and the body would have rotted away had we not preserved it specifically for this reason. Mizuki has no close family or friends, so you don't have to worry about that front either."

Seiko's words did nothing to alleviate Itachi's concerns and it only made him more agitated. He wanted to know why he couldn't move. Orochimaru had swapped bodies multiple times and was perfectly adapted to them, so how come he couldn't move in this one. Seiko having no clue what was upsetting the man and quickly ran off to get her teammate, perhaps they would have more luck in convincing the ex-Uchiha to settle down.

It didn't take long for Maya and Akiko to arrive at the cave. Maya immediately settled herself next to Itachi. Placing her hand upon his chest, she read his spirit in order to find out if anything's wrong. Upon opening her eyes, she decided to take over explanation of the situation from Seiko. "Please don't fight your body. As Seiko-san stated before, it's not fully synchronised yet. Although this technique's concept is similar to Orochimaru's, the implementation stage is very much different. Orochimaru had spent years manipulating and mutating his own body, shedding his human form to become nothing more than a snake like symbiote. He finds powerful hosts that can contain his spirit and devours their souls, forcing his entry into their body and utilising as his own. As you know, chakra is a special energy formed by combining the soul's spiritual power, and he body's physical energy. If the soul and body are in imbalance, the chakra that is formed is chaotic and cancerous in a way, eating away at the spirit and the body. If the spirit is completely eaten away, a person goes mad. If the physical body is eating away, then the body rots and decays. Due to Orochimaru's technique's forceful entry, the original body and his soul are never fully compatible. As time flows on, the body continues to rot away even while Orochimaru continues to live on inside it. Because of this imbalance, Orochimaru is forced to inhibit new bodies every 2 to 3 years, sometimes less than that depending on how weak the host body is. At the same time, Orochimaru's own spirit is splintered and dissolving with time, he just never noticed that his soul is fading away. Or he just didn't care."

"Our technique also transfers your soul into another's body. But our main priority is to ensure that the two (spirit and body) can become as compatible as possible, synchronising together as if it had been born together. In order to do that, we need to inject foreign, neutral chakra into the body, letting this new chakra merge with both the spirit and body, tricking the body into thinking that the soul and chakra belonged with it, and same to with the spirit. Unfortunately, even medical chakra is unable to achieve this. The only chakra type in the known world that can do this is sage chakra. This means that until sage chakra has been injected into your body, Itachi-san, you will not be able to move it even though you're conscious." Maya patiently explained all the details. "Luckily it seems that at the very least, you're still able to blink. Now, I will need to ask for your permission to inject your body with sage chakra. Blink once for yes, or two for no. Please would you allow us to inject your body with foreign sage chakra?" Maya asked slowly.

Itachi blinked once. Of course he wanted to have a body and be able to move. Itachi wondered if this was a trick question up until he watched Maya and Seiko bowed to Akiko and left the two alone. Now that wouldn't have worried Itachi much, had Akiko not started taking her clothes off piece by piece. Let's get one thing straight, Itachi is a healthy twenty year old male. And although he had no access to this body right now does not mean he was not affected by the sight of a naked female, let alone one with such voluminous breasts. Unable to move and unable to speak, he felt completely helpless when Akiko removed the thin cloth covering his body. Had he been able to, Itachi would have flinched at the sight of his own naked body.

Now trying desperately to ignore what was happening around him, he couldn't help but wish he could actually feel Akiko's touch against his skin. He could watch but couldn't feel anything; he felt trapped in someone else's body and forced to watch as stranger initiate intimate acts. It was embarrassing as hell and sort of arousing had he the capacity to feel aroused.

Watching Itachi's eyes dart one way and then another in desperate plight, Akiko flushed as she imagined what he must be thinking now. Deciding she might as well explain the rest of it before she begins, Akiko somewhat bashfully coughed to catch his attention. "As Maya explained, you need to have sage chakra injected into your body for you to be fully compatible with it. And unfortunately, there are only three people in the world who can attain sage chakra - Jiraiya-sama, possibly Naruto-sama and myself. To inject sage chakra into a foreign body, you need skin to skin contact; the best way is through... hum... sex... uh that is... sexual intercourse(3). Which is why we needed to ask for your permission first..." Pausing as she sat on his pale thigh, Akiko waited. "You can still refuse if you want. But this is the only way forward. Please blink once to acquisition or twice to decline."

Itachi took a long time to respond. He knew that this wasn't really much of a choice. And compared to the 2 other options, he'd much rather do this with the red-headed girl... but... but he just couldn't stomach the principle of it all. Strangely enough he didn't feel violated in any way. Instead, he felt pity for the other girl. Here she was offering her body has a sacrifice in order to save him. Was his life really worth it? But if he had refused, all their work would have been for naught. He decided there really was only one choice, and he blinked his agreement to his partner. In silence, he watched as she planted herself slowly onto his member, or at least the body's member. Once settled, he watched as she closed her eyes in concentration. What followed after left him in wonder and sparked a bit of attraction for the other shinobi.

Akiko's long hair started floating and flapping in the air, the bright red colour faded into brilliant white. Had Itachi not known about Akiko's true look, he would have thought her a real angel. In her sage form, she looked beautiful, pure and holy in a way that made him feel kind of sad for tainting her in any way. Upon opening her eyes, her pupils had disappeared leaving only whites behind. This divine being sat comfortably for a long while before she silently started to move upon his body. Shutting his eyes to the beauty of it, Itachi wished for this all to be a dream, a wonderful dream but a dream none the less. (4)

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When Itachi next woke, he blinked at the familiar cave. Rolling over, he was surprised that he could now close his fish and open it to his will. Blinking once more, he wasted no time in sitting up and looking over his body. Everything felt fine, good in fact. Spying a neat pile of folded clothes laid down beside him, he quickly got dressed, happy to have clothes on once more before deciding on venturing out of the cave to find his three savours, well, 2 savours and a possible lover.

Upon reaching the entrance of the cave, Itachi wasn't surprise at seeing all three girls sitting around a camp fire. Maya had already prepared a pot filled with stew, and upon seeing Itachi she quickly grabbed another bowl and filled his share in there. Quietly walking towards them, he sat down and gracefully accepted the bowl of food from Maya.

Conversations halted slightly at his joining the group but since he wasn't about to start up another conversation, the other three went back to discussing their own topics. "Jubei says that Kaga-san, your mother Dokudes Ryoko-sama and Touya-kun have gone to Hidden Rain Village to ascertain whether that is the actual hideout of Akatsuki and whether or not Ruri-sama is there." Maya stated and Seiko followed on, frowning slightly knowing that her own mother was back in the battle field and somewhat uncomfortable about that. "I think it's kinda dangerous to face Akatsuki with just the three of them. There are also rumours going around that there's going to be another Shinobi World War soon."

Any further conversation was halted by Itachi's sudden input. "The Hidden Rain village is the hideout for Akatsuki. But Pein is not your typical shinobi; he's going to be quite a very difficult opponent. However, that's not all they need to worry about. There's also Uchiha Madara, who is the real mastermind behind everything."

All three kunoichi's glanced at him, suddenly realising that Itachi has inside information that would have been damn helpful to their cause on taking Akatsuki down. "Damn. I forgot that you would know a lot more about Akatsuki. We'll need to get a statement from you or bring you to Konoha to…" She trailed off as Itachi flinched at the mentioning of the village.

"I don't think it's a good idea taking Itachi-san to Konoha." Akiko spoke up for the first time since Itachi's awakening. "He needs time to get use to his body, learning its limits, what it can and can't do, what techniques he can still perform and what he cannot." Glancing at Itachi's raised eyebrow, Akiko launched into further explanations to help him understand his situation better. "You no longer have the Sharingan. We simply could not implant the eye into the body without some sort of side-effect. At best, you'd end up somewhat like Hatake Kakashi, constantly having to cover the Sharingan eye up since it will not recognise the body as its master's even though the spirit is the same. At worst, you would still go blind because your Sharingan eyes have reached its limits. Before you ask, we have taken out your eyes and disposed of your body, so that Madara can't collect them off you. I hope you don't mind." Ducking down, Akiko blushed and avoided Itachi's dark eyes.

Blinking and looking away himself, Itachi thought for a moment before agreeing with their actions. "That's fine. I've already given my powers to Sasuke, and he may need my Sharingan eyes at a later stage if his own eyesight deteriorates. I have been cursing my own eyes for many years and to finally be free of it is a godsend." He admitted quietly.

"You hated your eyes? Why? It's just a bloodline ability." Seiko asked in curiosity. Being a bloodline user herself, she's always been proud of her heritage and could not understand how one would hate one's ability.

"The Sharingan drives my clansman mad with the amount of information it can store. Our brains simply aren't meant to remember so many things in such detail, at least, not just on battles and the negative aspects of life. I know of no one who ever used the Sharingan to memories parties, weddings or anything good. My clan viewed it as a tool and only ever use it for battle purposes. So you see, if a user only uses a knife to kill people, eventually, even the knife would be tainted by the souls of the dead, and the memory of its kills. Had the person use the same knife to protect people, cut up meat for food or cut wood for shelter, the knife then becomes an all encompassing tool that can be used for a variety of reasons. I've only ever used the Sharingan for battles myself; I'm not able to stop myself from doing that anymore. So to have that option taken away from me is a relief." Itachi smiled slightly at the thought. "I will learn to use this body as my own, and I will train myself in order to perform the techniques that I use to be able to use, not depending on my previous bloodline ability. To me, it's a new lease on life, a rebirth I suppose."

"Good connotation. A rebirth indeed. You can no longer claim yourself as an Uchiha anymore because your body was not born an Uchiha. I don't know whether this means that you'll want to change your name completely or just stick with Itachi?" Maya asked curiously.

"Well…" Itachi glanced at Akiko for a split second before looking away again. "I'll think about that later."

"Hmm. Good then. We need to go soon, Maya and myself have been called back to Konoha, and I know for a fact that Maya wants to see if her future-husband's okay. You really did put Sasuke-san over the grinder didn't you, Itachi-san?" Seiko teased slightly before pulling the older, black haired girl up with her and rushed away from the other two. "Akiko-chan will stay with you to oversee your recovery. See you guys later!" Seiko waved enthusiastically before summoning forth one of Jubei's rings and stepping through the portal, pulling Maya in with her.

Itachi then found himself alone with Akiko. Before he could venture to ask any questions, Akiko interrupted. "Maya-chan's engaged with your brother. Suffice to say, he accidentally stumbled on her bathing. And as an Oniyoubu, she has an obligation to marry him now. Strange as it may seem, the two really do get along okay, so I don't foresee any problems. It was during the cleansing of the Uchiha district that your parents' ghosts used the Oniyoubu's power to send a message to Sasuke, explaining what actually happened during the Uchiha Massacre. Since then, Sasuke's changed a little. He doesn't hate you, not really, but I don't know whether he can truly forgive you either. Maya's been helping him with that."

Blinking in astonishment, it took a few minutes for Itachi to evaluate it all. "I see, so my brother is engaged to a Kuunoki Gate Guardian… I suppose us brothers have similar tastes then." He glanced at Akiko again only to see her face flush red in embarrassment. Coughing into his hand, he decided to finally attempt to talk about what was really on his mind. "Um.. about... last night. Thank you... for... doing what you did... helping me get this body. I really appreciate what you have to sacrifice in order to grant me this body, and I will forever be in your debt, if there is anything you require of me, please feel free to ask and I will oblige." Itachi was messing up his speech, he knew it, but didn't know how to stop. Luckily, he was interrupted by Akiko before he could make this conversation even more awkward than it currently was.

"Um. There's one thing I forgot to mention." Her face flushed completely red to match her hair, Akiko took a deep breath before continuing on. "I'm gonna have to stick with you for the foreseeable future, because we're gonna have to... uh... do that… at least once a month until you're fully compatible with your body. And even after you've completely synchronised properly with that body, you will still need regular sage chakra injections around once every six to twelve months to insure the body doesn't reject your soul, not like Orochimaru's technique." By now, she was looking at anything except Itachi.

Itachi's mouth was hanging open at the implications. He's going to have regular sex sessions with this girl for the rest of his life, as long as he continues to live. Reorganising his thoughts, Itachi suddenly realised the monumental sacrifice Akiko had taken upon her shoulders in order to save him. She's given up the ability to have a family of her own. No husband would allow their wives to sleep with other men even if it meant saving their lives. She's forever chained to him, just as he's chained to her.

"Why?" He finally asked. "Why do all this? You didn't have to. You could have just let me die."

Akiko stood and walked some way ahead leaving the warmth of the camp fire. She stopped moving and answered with her back towards Itachi. "Maya, Seiko and myself were given a mission two and a half years ago by Ruri-sama. She asked us to find a way to save your life. Yuuki-sama loved you. She loved you as she would have loved her own son, and to lose you would be like losing Yuuki-sama again. Ruri-sama wanted to save you and we would do anything to help Ruri-sama achieve her dreams. We came up with several options but this was the one we decided would work best, considering our abilities. When we explained our plans to her, she refused. She didn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for anything but I told her it wouldn't be a sacrifice at all."

Here, Akiko paused and Itachi waited patiently for her to continue. "My body... I know you noticed the scars." Itachi nodded even though he knew she could not see him. "Well... suffice to say I'm no innocent. My body's been damaged long ago, and I can't have the kind of relationship normal people do. It's not the physical aspect; I simply can't connect on a spiritual, mental and emotional level to people. I would never marry, could never marry, not in the traditional sense of the word. I didn't mind tying myself to you, if it was only physically and with the purpose of transferring sage chakra to keep you alive. I can live with that; for it's as close as I can come to a real relationship."

For a long moment, neither spoke nor moved. Eventually, Itachi pulled himself to his feet and moved towards the other girl. Standing behind her, he pulled her back to his chest in a comforting embrace. "I would marry you in a heart bit. We'll be each other's crutch, for I too, do not believe I would ever be able to connect well with another. That's the price we pay as shinobis. Our lives are harsh and often short, only the lucky few live to form families. I've been given a second chance and I hope... one day, I can live this life to the fullest." (5)

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Upon arriving to Konoha, Maya left Seiko to report to Jiraiya and Jubei while she quickly made her way towards her new home – the redeveloped Uchiha district. She had a distinct feeling that Sasuke had arrived home and need consolidation. Not to mention, depending on his mood, her news about Itachi could uplift him or depress him, so she need to see him for herself first before deciding whether she should tell him anything.

Opening the house's front door, Maya nodded to her mother in respect and she inturn pointed her head towards Sasuke's bedroom. Knowing that it meant her future husband had returned home and had most probably locked himself in his room again, this meant that Maya had better make her appearance as soon as possible before he fell into yet another inconsolable state of depression as he is prone to do whenever he over thinks about his family. Entering the bedroom, she saw a mould of blankets in the middle of the bed and sighed. Sometimes, Sasuke really does act like a child.

Pulling the covers away slowly, Maya was heartbroken to find Sasuke underneath, with dried tear marks down his face, trying desperately to hide from the world. There she sat and waited.

"He left... He left me again..." Turning away slightly, Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to will away the pain of abandonment once more. "Why... why does he do this... always?"

Taking a deep breath, she answered as best she could. "I don't know, Sasuke. But I do know... he loved you. He must have... And deep down in your heart... you also know this." Pausing for a big, Maya let those words sink in. "I have a confession to make." She admitted quickly.

Opening his eyes to gaze at his intended, Sasuke stayed silent waiting for Maya to explain. "Akiko, Seiko and I were sent out on a mission to track Itachi down. We succeeded."

Sasuke immediately sat up. "He's here? In Konoha?"

Maya shook her head quickly. "No, he was badly injured." Turning away, Maya gave him a short description of the state she had found Itachi in. "It was obvious disease had been eating away at him from the inside for a long time. His organs were barely functioning, and his heart erratic. It must have been extremely painful, so he must have known his time was running out. Seiko found evidence of him taking all sorts of drugs and medicine to keep himself alive, and or numbing the pain enough for him to move. He seemed to have developed a rare type of cancer that is eating away at his organs, which spread the damage over the years. The drugs he took probably helped at first but with the multitude of different medicine he had ingested, they fought one another and in the end became ineffective. He was dying, Sasuke. In fact, we were very surprised he wasn't dead weeks ago when we finally found him collapsed on the floor like that. Even then, he stayed mostly conscious through the excruciating pain through will alone." Smiling sadly through her masked face, Maya could not help but show admiration. "Even then, all he could think about... was you... and Ruri-sama."

"Did he... Is he...?" Sasuke couldn't bring himself to believe that his unstoppable brother, his impossibly strong brother could be that weak and vulnerable. He simply could not imagine Itachi as anything other than the powerful ninja in the man's youth. As his thoughts drifted, the familiar pain of betrayal, abandonment infused with anger and hate resurfaced and Sasuke had a hard time tapping those rampant emotions down.

"He's not dead, although it was a close thing. We had to transfer his soul into another body. He's going to have to spend the next few months getting use to it." Maya noticed the varying emotions flashing through Sasuke's eyes, and gave her intended a light squeeze on his shoulder in support. "I do not believe he will ever return to Konoha, Sasuke. Although he loves the village, he could not bear to live with the guilt of what he has done, the memories and the ghosts will follow him."

A quiet knock on their door interrupted the couple's thoughts. "Sasuke. Maya-chan. Jiraiya-sama, Jubei-sama, and Seiko-san are here asking to have a conference with you. Are you willing to see them?" Maya's mother asked politely.

Rubbing any residue tears from his eyes, Sasuke pulled himself out of bed. "Yeah, we'll be done in a minute." Cleaning himself up slightly, Sasuke makes his way to the door with Maya following not far behind.

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"I take it you've been informed about Itachi being alive and somewhat in our custody." Jiraiya went straight to the point.

Sasuke nodded but kept his expression as blank as possible.

"I see. Sasuke, I need your permission." Jiraiya stated shortly after.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Sasuke asked. "Permission for what, Jiraiya-sama?"

"I need your permission to let Itachi live, just so I can interrogate him about Akatsuki and Danzo." Jiraiya answered.

"Wha?" Sasuke's stunned expression said it all.

Sighing at the situation, Jiraiya explained more thoroughly. "Look kid. Itachi, regardless of orders, did the deed and caused the death of all your relatives. You have every right to want him dead. And I won't take that from you. However, no matter how much you look at it, Itachi is far more useful alive than dead. He has information, detailed information mind you, on Akatsuki, on Uchiha Madara (who is also an accomplice during the Uchiha Massacre), and I have a strong feeling Itachi had been neck deep in controversy and secret dealings with Danzo and the other advisors. As such, he could provide us intelligence that is critical for the war against Akatsuki as well as writing the wrong for the past by providing evidence against those three old cronies and getting rid of them once and for all. This is a chance in a lifetime to destabilise their powerbase, get rid of them altogether and start afresh by creating a Konoha we can all be proud of. So what say you, Sasuke? If you still wish for Itachi's death, I won't stop you. But please heed my words, hatred only begets more hatred." Jiraiya gazed sadly down at the boy for some time, thinking about his own past and those of his previous students. "At some point, someone has to take a stance and stop the cycle of hate. Or else the pain will never stop."

Sasuke remained silent for a short period of time before sighing. "I don't want him to die. I know it's hard to believe, but... Katono-sensei once told me that a heart drenched in hate and mind that thinks of only vengeance would lead to nothing but regret. An avenger hates so deeply is because they cannot let go of their love. Forgiveness is the hardest thing anyone could ever decide to do." Nodding in remembrance at those words, Sasuke gazed sadly at Jiraiya. "Even in death, he never found atonement. I... don't want to be like that." He finally decided, and it was certainly a turning point in his life.

"So no, I don't want Itachi dead either."

A few long minutes of silence ensued before Jiraiya nodded. "Thank you." Turning to Jubei, he immediately launched into the reason why he was here in the first place. "Jubei, can you contact Akiko. I want the information that Itachi holds right now. Time is of the essence after all."

Jubei nodded in return before lifting his delicate looking left hand. Instantly, one of the small rings on his index finger floating up into the air and started spinning. As it spun, the metallic ring started expanding in size until eventually it was the size of two basketballs. Suddenly, it stopped spinning and a simmering, liquid-like effect happened in the centre of the ring. Once the vision in between ring stopped simmering, Akiko's face could clearly be seen.

"Yo, Jubei-san. What's hanging?" Akiko's cheerful response lifted the mood in the room somewhat.

"I've got some questions for Itachi, if you think he's up to them." Jiraiya interrupted, completely focussed on getting what he wants.

"Okay, ask away." Akiko's face disappeared from the ring-mirror and instead the face of a young man in his early to mid thirties with white hair was presented.

"Mizuki-sensei?" Sasuke couldn't help be ask, having recognised the once Chuunin-sensei that had taught him a long time ago.

"That's not Mizuki. It's Itachi. Mizuki turned out to be a traitor working for Orochimaru. When the snake died, he decided to try his luck and steal Konoha's scroll of forbidden seals. He was caught and was going to be executed but Jubei here decided there's a much better use for his body than to burn it to ash." Jiraiya explained somewhat, having completely forgotten to fill Sasuke in on this little titbit of truth.

"Hello, little brother. Jiraiya-sama, Jubei-san, Maya-san." There was no mistaking the tone and manner in which Itachi always calls his younger brother. Sasuke knew straight away that this was his brother, regardless of looks and age.

"You wish to ask me something, Jiraiya-sama." Itachi prompted with no annoyance, glad that he could see his brother's shocked but recovering face once more.

"Yeah, tell me all you have about Akatsuki; their members and abilities. What are Madara's plans and his abilities, all that you know. Next, tell me everything you know about Orochimaru and that bastard Danzo." Jiraiya immediately replied.

Itachi nodded, somewhat distracted by his new and course white hair. "I don't know what Madara's secret plan is. He's only ever confided with Zetsu, whom I believe is a creature created by Madara himself. However I can tell all I know about the other members, which I admit may seem somewhat lacking in certain details." Itachi spent the next few hours going over each of the abilities of the members of Akatsuki.

Itachi mentioned the existence of Konan and Pein, who struck Jiraiya deeply as his once thought dead students. Itachi explained that although he knew the individual abilities of the six Pein's, he had never met the original and didn't know what the man looked like. But since Jiraiya knew there was only one member of his students that had the Rinnegan, it wasn't rocket science to realise that Nagato had to be the real Pein, the only question is why. For a moment, Jiraiya almost regretted not going to the Hidden Rain Village himself and confronting his former students, however, after thinking about it logically, he probably wouldn't have the heart to kill them anyway. Like master, like student, and Jiraiya admitted to himself he may be a little too similar in nature to Sarutobi – the Sandaime Hokage.

"Damn, this information would have been useful to Kaga and other prior to them heading off to face Akatsuki in the Hidden Rain."Jiraiya muttered beneath his breath.

"Doesn't matter, I can relay this information to Kaga via one of my rings. I can even do it right after this meeting." Jubei answered confidently.

Itachi informed the group that Deidara was alive, and that he was teamed up with the disguised Madara. He went into a detailed report on what Madara was capable of, and disclosed shocking news about how Madara had been raiding the Uchiha clan for their eyes for years, and utilised them for his own selfish purposes. Sasuke especially was infuriated by what he was hearing.

When Itachi started talking about the abilities of his former partner – Hoshigaki Kisame, Jiraiya interrupted, informing the former Nukenin that the ex-Mist ninja was pronounced dead.

"I highly doubt that, Jiraiya-sama. Kisame is a resilient fighter, a true shinobi. I should know, having been his partner for over 5 years. The only way that Kisame will truly die is if he wills it himself." Itachi's haunting words made Jiraiya hesitant about his own beliefs on the report of Kisame's death.

After that, Itachi started informing the group about his investigation into Danzo. And again, the rest were shocked that Danzo too had raided some Uchiha corpses in order to attain the power of the Sharingan eye. However, other than that and Danzo's hold on the secretive Root Anbu division, even Itachi did not know the true depth of Danzo's treachery.

"That's good enough for now anyway. If there was some way for me to prove to the Daimyo of what Danzo's been conspiring behind the backs of the Hokage. Even that old guy will have no choice but to sack him and move him from his post. Once Danzo is without political backing, it's easy to send an assassin after him. Once he's gone, then I can start working on merging the Root Anbu division into the real Anbu." Sighing and shaking his head slightly at the enormity of what he had recently heard, Jiraiya silently agreed with himself that there was still a lot of work to do.

It was somewhat late at night when the conference ended with Jiraiya and Juubei leaving to plan what they should do next, Maya and Sasuke to stay and savour some peace and quiet, Akiko and Itachi to stay hidden and recuperate.

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Ruri opened her eyes and barely suppressed a yawn of boredom. Turning to look right and then left, she decided that nope, nothing had changed since the last time she checked. She was still trapped with both her arms pulled to both sides and held up by strange vines or giant plant roots, not dissimilar to the ones that could be summoned forth by the first Hokage. Her legs too, were tied together and held trapped by large and ugly greenish-brown roots. Suddenly, a swirling of air illusion appeared before her and soon, the form of Uchiha Madara – still wearing his infamous mask – emerged.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed me yet." Ruri stated nonchalantly, as if she had expected this whole thing to happen from the very beginning.

"You are useful, I don't doubt that. What I doubt was Pein's power over you. That doesn't mean I don't have a use for you either." Madara stated calmly from behind his mask. "I want to know the truth."

"The truth?" Ruri stated, one eyebrow rising in curiosity.

"There is a stone monument passed down amongst the Uchiha for generations. Upon it are recorded the secrets left to us by the Rikudou Sennin." Madara started his story. "Without the Sharingan, it is impossible to read. What's more, the Mangekyou Sharingan can decode more than the Sharingan, and the Rinnegan still more than that. You of all people should know why the Rikudou Sennin became the stuff of legends, worshipped by the shinobi world almost like a god."

Ruri nodded, having learnt of this story since she was a child. "Yes. The Rikudou Sennin saved the world from an indestructible monster. It all started with the being which was the original fusion of all the current bijous - a being possessed of the ultimate chakra - the Juubi. The Ichibi through to Kyuubi are nothing more than beings created from the divided chakra of the Juubi by the Rikudou Sennin. So! What exactly do you want to know?" She asked but only to be interrupted by Madara who wanted to finish his story his way.

"The Rikudou Sennin developed a certain Ninjutsu in order to project the world from the Juubi. Even now, that Ninjutsu, the seals that created Jinchuriki - are still being quietly passed down. The Rikudou Sennin was the Juubi Jinchuuriki. In order to suppress its power, he sealed the Juubi into his own body." Madara paused for effect, not that Ruri gave much care.

"As the man who freed the world from the terrible Juubi, the Sennin was worshipped like a god by the people. But the Juubi's chakras was so massive and so foul that if the Jinchuriki were to die, it would escape the seal and terrorise the world once more. Fearing this, upon the deathbed, the Rikudou Sennin used the last of his power to divide the Juubi's chakra into nine portions and scatter them across the world's surface. And with that chakra removed, its actual body was sealed away and blasted into the sky, where its power could not reach us. It became the moon." Madara finished slowly.

"And... what do you want to know?" Ruri repeated somewhat impatiently.

"Was all that was said on the monument the truth?" Madara finally asked.

"You doubt your ancestor's words?" Ruri enquired curiously, surprised that this ancient fossil doubted his own clan's history, considering he was the one that was obsessed with it from the very beginning.

"I want to know the whole truth. Who was the man called the Uzumaki leader? Was he the Rikudou Sennin? Why does the two historical records look so similar and yet, to the Kuunoki, the Uzumaki leader turned his back on the world and closed his village away, while the rest of history state that Rikudou Sennin continued his journey to liberate human kind and created the Shinobi world that we all know. Why didn't the Uchiha records ever mention anything about the demonic DNA sequence in our bloodstream and why did it not mention any of the lower class demons, just the Juubi. Why did the Uzumaki records include both the Juubi and Kyuubi as destruction gods, when one is a division of the other? Answer me, Uzumaki Ruri, as the last member of the Uzumaki Prophet house?" Madara clarified, his voice echoing in the empty underground chamber.

Ruri smiled grimly at him, impressed that he had been so thorough in his research of history. "You're well informed." She would have saluted the man, but her hands were tied. "Did you gain this information from the interrogation you made on Uzumaki Kushina (6)? Or... Did you get this information from my uncle, Uzumaki Tenka(7)? Curious man, aren't you."

Behind his mask, Madara narrowed his eyes. "It seems you are just as informed as I am, perhaps more so."

Ruri raised her head in defiance and pride. "Of course, I was after all the Lady Oracle. What kind of Oracle would I be if I couldn't see far into the past and understand what's coming in the future. To tell you the truth, my Yochigan was far more advanced than my uncles and his uncle before him. Had the Kuunoki survived, and I died, my soul would have definitely become part of the life stream and formed the eighth high councillors. I am indebted to Pein for freeing me from that fate."

"Indebted or not, answer my questions." Madara demanded, finally showing his true temper.

Ruri smirked, taking her time to answer his questions. "Is the Rikudou Sennin the same man as the Uzumaki leader? Yes and No. Both histories recorded by the Uchiha and the Kuunoki are correct. What you have to understand is that there was only one Rikudou Sennin... But there have been many Uzumaki leaders."

Pausing for effect, Ruri continued. "The Rikudou Sennin adopted two boys in his travels. The eldest was your ancestor, Uchiha. The younger was Senju, the forefather of your greatest rival. Both boys were born Hanyous, abandoned by society at the time and abused on a daily basis. The Rikudou Sennin only picked them up because he felt sorry for them. What you didn't know was that the Rikudou Sennin had his own children, pure Uzumaki children born from a peasant woman and the most powerful Jinchuriki in the world. When the Rikudou Sennin decided to try to follow his foolish dreams to 'save the world' after successfully sealing a destruction god into his own body, his children disagreed and eventually deserted him to his journey. They became the next Uzumaki leader, and closed the gates. This was not recorded on the Uchiha taper stone because it happened some years before the Rikudou Sennin even picked up the two boys and adopted them into his family."

"Even though the new Uzumaki leader disagreed with his father and kicked him out of the Kuunoki, that didn't mean the two men completely stopped communicating with each other. He knew exactly when the Rikudou Sennin was dying, and he knew what had befallen the two boys who had turned into such monsters of war. Just as was predicted, human nature cannot escape the beast that is within them, especially two powerful bloodlines who descended from the demons they so hate." Ruri taunted subtly at Madara's accursed blood. "You believe that you were fated to be filled with hate, with vengeance and a lust for power. In a way, you are right. But it has nothing to do with the Rikudou Sennin's choice of successful, the truth is, it's in your very blood, your demonic blood."

"Quiet!" Madara snapped suddenly, hateful of how the women demeaned his clan's pride and history. Yes, his family may have roots in demon breeding, but none the less, they were powerful and so should always be respected. "Now answer the rest of my questions!" He demanded with a strong voice.

"Hmmm." Ruri grinned in retaliation. "Why didn't the Uchiha records ever mention anything about the demonic DNA sequence in your hated bloodstream and why did it not mention any of the lower class demons, just the Juubi. How the hell should I know?" She taunted whimsically. "Maybe, like you, they were ashamed of their demonic background, afraid that the rest of the world would learn about their deep dark secret and start looking at them as nothing more than replacements of demons. After all, in that era, demons were hunted and killed by any means necessary. Even a demon cannot face hundreds of human hunters and live to see the next day."

"Stop your incessant battle, woman and answer my last question!" Madara's patience had snapped some time ago.

Grinning unrepentantly, Ruri continued in a sing-song voice. "The Uzumaki records include both the Juubi and Kyuubi as destruction gods, because the title is well deserved. While the other Bijuus were all smaller, almost random aspects of the once great and powerful ten-tailed god, Kyuubi retained its memories and it lived true to its nature. Kyuubi was born in the instant that the Juubi was ripped apart. Suffice to say it was a violent birth, and one that gave instant consciousness and understanding to the beast that is known as the nine tailed Kitsune. Kyuubi is an ancient, and although it has served forcefully under you for a few brief moments in its long lifetime, it still remained true to its nature. One so old deserves to be called a destruction god."

Madara glared hatefully at Ruri from behind his mask. She had waffled on and on about Kyuubi's characteristics as if Madara himself had no clue about his own pet, but in the full minute speech, there was absolutely no substance as to why the Uzumaki truly refers to the Kyuubi as a destruction god. She was wasting his time. "I could very well break you, the way I broke Kushina and your deal old uncle." He threatened.

"Aha ha ha ha ha!" Ruri laughed abruptly, clearly having no fear of his threats. "You didn't break Kushina, you killed her... Same too with my uncle Tenka. Uzumaki Kushina was a distant cousin of mine who had been a resident of the branch Uzumaki Breed house that established themselves in the land of whirlpools. She was chosen to be the next Jinchuriki for the Kyuubi because of her strength of will power. She would never break, not in a million years. My uncle Tenka, too, had long anticipated that you would finally go after the Uzumaki Prophet house, and had deliberately made himself a target in order to keep me safe. Everything went according to plan; I knew every move you made even before you make them." She taunted back without regret.

"That's a lie!" Madara denounced. "Had you known what I planned, your dearly beloved sister would have lived." He supported his claim with a direct attack at one of Ruri's only weaknesses – the death of Yuuki.

Immediately, Ruri stopped laughing and glared at the man instead. "Even Yuuki's death was in my calculations. From the very beginning, you've been played Madara." She stated coldly, her eyes suddenly as stone cold as ice. "Many years ago, even before the forming of Konoha, Senju Harashima found the Kuunoki. As a descendant of the Rokudo Sennin and a younger adopted brother to the original Uzumaki clan, he asked Uzumaki Mokutaku (8) (the leader of the Uzumaki clan at the time) if they would be willing to form an alliance with the Senju, and create a whole new village – Konoha. But the Uzumaki leader declined. Instead, he allowed various members of the Uzumaki Breed house to leave the Kuunoki and form a neutral state – later known as the Whirlpool country, which was allied to Senju Harashima. Not only that, he allowed one of his younger nieces Uzumaki Mito to marry into the Senju line. Again strengthening the Senju while ignoring the Uchiha."

"However, there were rules to the building of this new country." Ruri continued in a bland and emotionless voice, as if reminiscing the past. "The new line of Uzumaki who lived there must carry a different symbol to the Kuunoki. While the Kuunoki is a dot within a circle, within another circle – each isolated and disparate, the new Uzumaki breed house used a spiral, where the lines once more connect the body, with the soul and its essence, it's a connection that reflects the tentative relationship between the Uzumaki and the rest of the world. Soon after, Senju raised his hand to Uchiha and eventually Konoha was born. We of the Prophet house knew then that you would betray Senju and send in the Kyuubi. We placed one of our own strategically in line just to intercept your plans."

"When Uzumaki Mito was dying, my uncle Tenka allowed Kushina to join Konoha to become the next Kyuubi Jinchuriki. We offered her up as a sacrifice because she was the strongest of us all. The rest of the Uzumaki had been ordered to return to the Kuunoki. Those that did not immediately come back (there were many) were soon killed and their bodies brought back to the Kuunoki by the then gate guardians to remerge with the life stream, or they scattered only to be hunted down by our own people. We are a cruel clan, cruellest to our own." Ruri admitted, and it was true. The Uzumaki, though not exactly power hungry, were obsessed about controlling themselves, more so than the Hyuuga ever did. Why, because they feared their own power, and they feared what they were capable of. With this fear, it felt safer to give oneself chains and rules to abide by, to create false gods in order to judge one's actions. It was safer to be alone, to ensure that one cannot hurt others around them.

"When Kushina was kidnapped by ninjas of the Hidden Cloud Village, we had been keeping an eye out on her. Even then Minato had loved her, and was not far off her trail. That is... until you interfered (9), killed the Kumo Ninjas and took Kushina away, giving Minato no clue as to where she went. He spent years searching her, never quite giving up. We knew he was the key to stopping you. And because you got rid of Kushina, we had to send someone else in to replace. Yuuki was the only choice I had left but she was not ready. In the interim we sent in Dokudes Hina to act as a mediator and keep an eye out on your activities. We knew that there was no way you could extract the Kyuubi from Kushina as she was still too young. You needed her to be pregnant and only during childbirth would the seal weaken in order for you to extract the demon out."

"Hmp. So you watched indifferently as I put her in status for the rest of her life, artificially impregnated her with a child before finally extracting the demon and killing her in the process? My, you Uzumaki's are cruel, letting one of your own endure such pain and trauma for so many years without doing anything about it." Madara stated snidely, finally having a comeback to use against Ruri.

"And this coming from the man who almost single-handedly killed off every member of his clan..." Ruri rebutted calmly, before turning her expression back into the past. "Kushina was lost to us. But we knew you were less than happy with the catch. You wanted a member of the Prophet house, and so my uncle made himself conveniently available."

"Che. Uzumaki Tenka died before I could extract the information I wanted from him." Madara snorted inelegantly. "Even his mind was completely wiped clean of memories – probably a memory destroying seal. I thought by extracting his soul and implanting it into Nagato with his fully developed eyes, I would be able to get the information I want from that avenue, or at least have access to the famed Yochigan. But upon awakening, Nagato had no memories from the life lived as Uzumaki Tenka, only vague knowledge of techniques, most of which he couldn't even perform. And instead of the Yochigan's bright golden rings I instead found myself facing the blank purple irises of the Rinnegan."

"Of course, Yochigan is a technique developed by fusing ones soul and body with the life stream. Without that connection, it will never work. But the Rinnegan is something passed down through our line as the birth children of the Rikudou Sennin. We never successfully evolved our eyes into Rinnegan because we never had the practice of removing one's eye and implanting into another. If we had to go blind so be it. That's the difference between the Uzumaki and Uchiha. We are each willing to become a sacrifice for the betterment of others, while the Uchiha would willingly sacrifice each other for one's own gain. Such selfish creatures, filled with hate and anger – these are your fate as children of the Shinei no Tori (Death Birds) (10)."


Yah, another chapter done.

(1) Rensa Ahiru, one of the Original Characters introduced in Restoration of Faith. She and her team mates Jikizuka Tsubame and Iwama Uzura all became Chuunins upon recommendation after the Kuunoki chuunin exams. Tsubame eventually worked her wayup to become Iwa's high administrator, helping the Tsuchikage in the day-to-day running of Iwagakure. Iwama Uzura earned his jounin rank recently and is currently working as a HunterNin for Iwagakure, hoping to capture his late uncle – Deidara, and clear the name of his family. Ahiru had worked her way up to jounin status as well as if proving to be one of the strongest young shinobis to come out of Iwa in recent years. Her strength is comparable to Kurotsuchi's (the Tsuchikage's own granddaughter) who is almost 8 years Ahiru's senior.

(2) Kapasu Juro appeared really briefly last chapter and a few chapters before that. He's now obsessed with hunting down Hoshigaki Kisame for revenge. In the last chapter, it was implied that he killed Kisame but we don't know whether that's true or not.

(3) YES! That is right. Don't look at me like that; I've been planning this from the very beginning.

(4) No, I will NOT be writing the sex scene out. You've got imaginations, use them. I'm blushing as all hell just typing this up. I just don't do romance or... sex...

(5) There you go, it's as mushy as I can make it. ItachixOC! For some odd reason, I really like this pairing. ^_^

(6) Yes, I'm including Kushina's character in this story, but remember SHE IS NOT NARUTO'S MOTHER, and she will not play a very big role in the overall storyline.

(7) Uzumaki Tenka, former head of the Prophet house, uncle to both Ruri and Yuuki, brother to Uzumaki Rika and teacher to Kaga. He disappeared many years ago, which resulted in Ruri taking up the mantle of being the new Prophet house leader at the age of 14.

(8) See the Uzumaki clan profile on my website. Uzumaki Mokutaku and Uzumaki Kintaku were bothers, one become the leader of the Prophet house and the other a member of the Breed house. After them is Uzumaki Tenka and Uzumaki Rika. After them is the current set of Uzumaki Ruri and Uzumaki Yuuki.

(9) This is where the originally story deviates from the Canon series. I thought to myself – what if Minato never found Kushina, what if he never rescued her.

(10) Something I made up. It was the chapter of when Sasuke declared that his group will be known from this point forth as 'Hawk' instead of 'Snake'. Then I realised, Itachi has a thing for crows and Sasuke how has a thing for 'hawk'. The pictures draped on both sides of the historical Uchiha monument also reminds me of birds. So why not make it that the Uchiha worship birds because they are descended of ancient bird-like demons!

Sorry. I wanted to include the fight scene between Kaga and Pein this chapter but it became too long. So I cut it out. It should hopefully be in the next one.

Hope you enjoy!