Binas: Here is chapter 10, and now since the big climax is super close, I decided to call this chapter "Need to be Strong", after the instrumental track from Naruto. Besides, this is a Naruto story too, so I have to throw it in despite the fact a few other songs were competing to be chosen. Those songs were Needless Violence (an instrumental by INTELLIGENTSIA for RPG Maker VX Ace), GO! By Flow, Narukami (Shippuden OST), and Shippuden (Naruto: Shippuden OST).

Also, I'd like to recommend this journal entry for those curious of Itachi's illness.

chuunin*livejournal*com/6039777*html

On a side note, if it seems like I dropped a plot point, please be aware, in this chapter, things happen off screen and some of them do occur the same way they do in the anime.

Reviews:

Interviner: I have actually, but Castiel would need a reason why he should bring Minato back, his body and soul, and the mechanism behind the Dead Demon Consuming Seal (mainly because Minato's soul was eaten by that jutsu). If I just did it out of the blue with no build up, then it would not work well. If I find myself writing up to something like that, then you and everyone else reading would know.

Guest (Chapter 9, September 14, 2016): Well, in a way he does have to worry about. He is very impulsive and he does do things in the spur of the moment. However, I do have something that you and everyone else might want to see in this chapter… The best part, there was subtle build up at least two chapters back.

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As the moments passed around Castiel, things got progressively worse. More and more buildings fell. More and more people got slaughtered. More and more screams were heard from all corners of the village along with mourning for those who were lost. It was heartbreaking for anyone who was present within the carnage. The poor seraph could barely stand it as the screams were just as bad as the screams that his siblings sent out through Angel Radio almost non-stop. It made him question his decision of sitting out. He had very legitimate fears of losing himself to the power he swore to not only not abuse it again, but to keep others from making the same mistake he did while high on Leviathans. He felt that if he did something as simple as evacuating civilians, he would still feel anxious about his extra "Angel Mojo". He felt so helpless despite the power he now wielded.

While Castiel was basically sulking, someone was watching him. The person made no sound, but could easily tell how torn the angel was. The person walked carefully towards the seraph, being sure that no one besides Castiel would notice himself.

Castiel looked up and saw a familiar face. It was the face from that picture he had found in the Uchiha District. Itachi Uchiha was his name. Castiel was about to teleport somewhere else when Itachi spoke up.

"I didn't come to fight you."

"If you are asking for the Angel Tablet, I will not give it to you. I already had to tell the others that possessing it is dangerous." Castiel said.

"I am not here for the tablet either." Itachi stated. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"What do you want to ask?" Castiel asked.

"What is your purpose here?" Itachi asked.

Castiel thought a bit. He had originally came here wanting to keep the tablet safe and atone for every wrong doing he committed. Then with the discovery of how lost and unstable this world was without any angelic presence, he began trying to right that wrong. Then came Obito's messed up plans, which infuriated him with the implications involved. With the discovery of how the tablet affected his grace, he became very fearful of himself, distracting him further from his original purpose of being here.

"I don't know anymore…" Castiel replied, looking away in forlorn. "I thought I could fix what my brethren refused to, but now I am not sure if I can."

"So you are going to give up?" Itachi asked. "What would happen if you did?"

Those were two questions that Castiel tried not to think about. He wanted to go back to when things were not as complicated. When right was right and wrong was wrong and that there was no need to worry about his family feuding with each other.

Then there was the possibility of what could happen if he quit right now. This world could lose everything that his Father gave them such as free will. This world could have its own apocalypse and there would be no one who could put an end to it. This world could die for real this time.

"No," Castiel began, "I won't let this world die because of me being selfish."

"Very well." Itachi spoke and handed Castiel an envelope. "This has information for Jiraiya and Tsunade. Please don't tell anyone it was from me."

As Itachi was about to leave, he broke out into a huge coughing fit. Blood spurted from his mouth in large quantities. He fell to his knees, unable to find the balance he needed to stand. Castiel sniffed the air and smelled something very wrong with Itachi. He reeked of unnecessary amounts of antibodies, inflammation deep within his lungs and veins, and much more. With no second thoughts, Castiel touched Itachi's forehead and poured some healing grace into him. The pain that was going rampant through Itachi's body ceased and was replaced with the feeling of warmth and comfort, something that he had not felt in a very long time.

"I healed you your of the Microscopic Polyangiitis and deteriorating eyesight. Consider it as a thank you for not being like the others within the Akatsuki." Castiel said.

"Do you know why you healed me aside from trying to say thank you?" Itachi asked.

"Because, your brother needs you regardless of what he may think of you now. And you can't be there if you are dead." Castiel said. "I have been on the same road Sasuke is currently on and I am still trying to gain penance for what I did while on it. If my friends weren't there for me, more damage would have occurred."

Itachi said nothing. The sign of him being in thought not very visible at a glance, but he was, without a doubt, thinking about what Castiel said.

"I know that you killed your family, and you don't have the soul of a person who would kill family members without a justified reason." Castiel continued. "If you took time to explain everything, I am sure your brother would eventually understand."

With that, Castiel disappeared with the sound of large, flapping swan wings. Itachi looked at were the angel had been, silently thankful for Castiel's good nature and the bit of returned help. He had not expected for Castiel to help with his terminal illness. He now knew, Castiel's presence was not toxic like Madara (Obito to the readers) and Pein had declared. He saw that he was just trying to do the right thing. With the seraph helping Naruto, he was one-hundred percent certain things would work out in the end.

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Konan could not believe her eyes. She was looking right at Deidara, of all people, looking for the source of the carnage when he was presumed dead. What really took the cake was the fact he was in civilian clothes and lacking the scratched Hidden Stone Village headband and Akatsuki cloak.

"Deidara, what are you doing?" Konan asked.

"Who are you?" Deidara asked, perking up. "And how do you know my name, un?"

Konan frowned. She was certain the blonde right in front of her was playing some sort of big joke. Sure, he was typically a little more serious, but he did have a small streak of being a brat with mean spirited behavior.

"Enough of this, explain yourself now." Konan commanded. "Why didn't you come back to the hideout?"

"In case if you didn't get it, I have no clue who you are, now just leave me be." Deidara said and shoved past the paper wielder and walked away.

Konan was unsure what had just occurred. The feeling that this was genuine sat into her stomach, making it feel a bit knotted. He had no memory of the Akatsuki. This was something that she had not seen coming. All she knew now was that Castiel was the one who did this to him.

'I need to alert Nagato right away.' Konan though before dispersing into hundreds of sheets of pristine, white paper.

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Castiel appeared in the middle of the Hokage's office. Tsunade (who had a blue slug on her shoulder) quickly turned around and was met with an envelope addressed to herself and Jiraiya.

"I was asked to give this to you." Castiel said as he handed the envelope over to Tsunade.

Tsunade took the envelope and began reading the contents. What she read shocked her. She could hardly believe what was in her hands. She was holding the answer to who Pein was. Tsunade looked up at Castiel.

"How did you get this?" Tsunade asked.

"An anonymous source." Castiel replied, "He told me that he does not want to be known at this time."

Tsunade and her slug's eyes trailed back to the papers. There was no denying it, the Hidden Leaf Village had a chance to survive now. The Fifth Hokage quickly grabbed the duplicate papers and handed them to Shizune (who also had a slug on her shoulder).

"Take this information to intelligence immediately." Tsunade said, "There is no time to lose."

"Yes, my lady." Shizune replied and darted out the door.

Tsunade turned around and saw that Castiel was not there. She sighed, knowing that Castiel was most likely going to go back to avoiding battle. While it was not the time for such behavior due to the Akatsuki Invasion, she didn't question it. It was something that the angel needed to overcome. Just like how Tsunade herself had to overcome her fear of blood.

'It's time to end this...' Tsunade thought and went up to the roof, ready to confront the assailants.

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Konan's paper butterflies flew threw the village at high speeds, searching for one of Nagato's Peins. However, when she found them, they were all on the ground outside of the village, unmoving. If she wasn't a mass of paper butterflies, her eyes would have widened, knowing what was to come next and she could not stop it as she knew that Nagato would do anything to inflict horror upon the village that was responsible for so many evils towards himself, his friends, and the Hidden Rain Village.

'Oh Nagato...' Konan thought sadly and immediately went to where Nagato himself was.

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It happened so quickly. One moment he was standing in a vacant part of the burning village looking for at least one of the attackers. The next thing Castiel knew was he was on the ground surrounded and covered by rubble. With his angelic strength, he threw the massive chunks of what used to be buildings off of himself. All bruises and scrapes mended themselves within the blink of an eye, leaving no scars behind.

Everything was quiet, and not in the good sense. This silence was the type that followed after a massacre with wails of the survivors being the only sound for miles. This lack of noise left a pit in Castiel, gnawing at his being. This had to stop now for it had gone way too far for far too long.

Castiel looked in the distance and saw a hulking blue man in the Akatsuki cloak with a bandaged sword. With little warning, Castiel lunged at the man, his ALL three pairs of wings exposed (a pair emerging from his head, a second from his feet, and the ones he used to fly) to the world as translucent shadows, flapping furiously as he tackled the man. The seraph was royally angry now.

The man managed to throw the angel off of his back. From the look on his face, Castiel had clearly caught him off guard. He probably was never caught off guard before if anything was to be assumed. The seraph tried to overpower the man again, but found it useless as he was able to block it in time with his large, bandaged sword. That was when Castiel felt the sword attempting to absorb something from him. That was when it screamed. Castiel was greatly confused by this because as far as he knew, swords don't exhibit human characteristics.

The hulking blue man quickly removed the sword from Castiel's scratched hands, alarmed by the sudden outburst from his sword. He carefully placed it on his back and patted it.

"Sorry, but it looks like you will be sitting out of this battle, Samehada." the man said to his sword before turning his attention to Castiel. "You are going to pay for that."

The man threw the first punch at Castiel, nearly missing him. Then came the second punch, which was caught by Castiel. The seraph threw the man's fist to the side and once more attempted to tackle him. The man kept his footing and reacted fast enough to prevent him from doing so.

"Aren't you a feisty little guy?" the man asked with a sadistic grin while making a series of hand signs. "Guess I will have to do something about that. WATER STYLE: WATER SHARK BOMB JUTSU!"

A large shark made of water manifested itself and with a single gesture from the man, it slammed into Castiel, sending the seraph back several feet. Castiel managed to get back up and quickly teleported a few feet away before the man could land another attack on him. From behind, Castiel tackled the man, pinning him on the ground.

"Where's Pein?" Castiel hissed. "Tell me right now!"

"I would die before telling you anything." the man said.

Following this, the ground around the man became like a fluid, allowing the man to sink into the ground, effectively freeing him of Castiel's hold. The seraph looked around the surrounding area for any sign of the man's presence. What he found was that the man had came back a few short seconds later, slamming into him. Castiel once more was knocked over. The man came back up from the ground and landed a punch on Castiel before he could recover.

"You're not making this very exciting by not even trying." the man said.

"I don't want to accidentally kill you like I did to Hidan." Castiel replied, getting up from the ground. "Just, please tell me and I will leave you be."

The shark-esque man burst out laughing. Castiel tilted his head in pure confusion, failing to get the reason behind the unexpected reaction.

"You accidentally killed Hidan? Impossible!" the man chuckled then slamming a fist into Castiel's torso. "Hidan is immortal. A shark could maul him and he would still cuss up a storm from inside his or her belly!"

Castiel once more pinned the blue man to the ground, this time using a bit of his grace to make sure that he would not get up.

"I am not sure what you found funny, but I assure you that I was not lying." Castiel stated sternly.

The man frowned before saying, "Prove it."

Without warning, Castiel gripped the man tightly and then within the blink of an eye, the man found himself standing right in front of Hidan's charred husk. The man was obviously very surprised, having a hard time believing what he saw. He even tried to dispel the non-existent genjutsu to find that it was indeed real.

"See why I was not using my full strength?" Castiel asked. "I didn't want to kill him but he insisted on going too far. Please, don't do the same. I don't want anymore blood shed…"

"Then why did you tackle me?" the man asked.

"I was angry that Pein destroyed everything here." Castiel replied. "It is bad enough this could be happening due to all of my own brethren being banished from heaven back on the Primary Earth. I just want this all to stop."

The man gave Castiel a weird look. It was apparent that he had not expected that to be the answer.

"You're really naïve, aren't you?" the man asked. "You think that this will stop? We live in a world full of lies and fighting. There is nothing that can stop it, but Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan."

Castiel frowned. He thought he was done hearing about that horrible plan. It was still very wrong.

"Please, don't mention that insulting plan again." Castiel said looking away.

"It's not insulting." the man said. "The Eye of the Moon Plan is supposed to create a world of truth! No more lies and betrayal!"

"I hate to say it, but you were misinformed…" Castiel said grimly. "That plan is going to remove the gift my Father gave all of humanity."

"What part about lying is a gift?" the man asked, glaring at the angel.

"Lying is not a gift my Father would ever give. The gift He gave your kind was free will." Castiel said shaking his head, displeased at the numerous times he had to explain this. "Very few angels are able to comprehend the concept of free will like humans can."

"I still rather live in the world Madara promises." the man argued. "What is the point of free will if others are going to use it to betray and lie to everyone?"

Castiel glared slightly, feeling very insulted by the words that flowed from the man's mouth. With only the movement of closing his fists, the man became telekinetically bound in place, unable to squirm from the seraph's hold.

"Don't ever say that again." Castiel said sternly, once more forgetting the definition of personal space. "Your kind chose what to do with my Father's gifts to you. He wanted you to be able to chose your own paths, not be drones who only obeyed commands like majority of my brothers and sisters do."

"If being a drone means no more betrayal, then I'd gladly give up my free will any day." the man said, glaring back at Castiel. "It has caused nothing but suffering!"

Castiel, in a fit of insult induced rage, threw the man on the ground and slammed his palm onto the man's forehead. With a burst of grace, he killed the man. Once more, it was very saddening and disturbing. He was reverting back into the soldier mentality that had been ingrained into him the day he first came into existence and he didn't like it.

At this point, he realized it was likely that this would eventually happen again thanks to how this world got so easily under his skin. Normally he would be more controlled than this. But with all the talk of getting rid each others free will, it was just too much. Much more than Crowley could ever hope of being.

Castiel sat on the ground next to the man's corpse and held his knees close to his body. He was trying so hard to prevent this, and he knew he couldn't quit now for there were too many lives at stake. He could barely think of anything that would stop this peacefully and in a way that would prove that he was there to repair everything that has gone wrong.

As Castiel was more or less sulking again, a large, dense cloud blew throughout the area. If Castiel had been human, it would have blinded him completely. The seraph looked up and saw four toads that could rival the size of a two-to-three story house back on the Primary Earth. On top of two other them was Naruto and a white haired man with two, small, human baby sized toads fused to his shoulders.

In front of Naruto, the white haired man, and the toads, of the Paths of Peins showed up and they were Tendo, Ningendo, Shurado, Jigokudo, Chikushodo, and Gakido. The Tendo Pein looked at Naruto and the white haired man (Jiraiya, Castiel learned from a quick mind read) while Gakido Pein looked at Castiel.

"It seems that all of my targets are in one place now." Pein said.