So, some of you may be confused about Kyuubi and why he basically froze at the sight of Menma. Lets just say that Kyuubi can tell that Menma is going to grow up as a very powerful ninja.

I'm not sure I'm going to keep their baby's name as Menma. I'm open to suggestions, but for now Menma will be his name.

I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"
'thinking'

Chapter 11:

With Kabuto's death came something no one would have expected. A man wearing a blood red cloak stood before the giant gates of Konoha. He had been sent here to protect the place. It was a strange order, but it was fine with the man. He wanted to protect his old home. There was one important thing he had to do. He had to see the Hokage.

It was easy getting into Konoha. All he had to do was go through the secret Uchiha hideout. A tree only those with a Sharingan were able to see marked the entrance. Hitting the right code, the tree moved, revealing a set of stairs. He began walking down the stairs. Waving a few signs, he spat out a large ball of fire that lit up the tunnel. It hit every torch, lighting the way. The tree moved back over the hole. The man continued through the tunnel.

It wasn't long before he reached a door. He opened it using as little Chakra as possible. Making sure to lock the door behind him, the man continued up a set of stairs. He came to another door. This one he just opened knowing that no one ever bothered to lock it. A familiar sight welcomed him. He had to admit that he was surprised to see the place so clean. Someone had cleaned the place despite its owners not being in Konoha. He took another step into the room and that's when he felt it. He wasn't alone. And that was a problem. The owners of the two Chakra signatures were people he didn't recognize, at least not fully. He had felt them before, but he had never met them. He wasn't sure if it was safe to meet them. But he didn't seem to have a choice. A girl with red hair stepped out of the kitchen. Her eyes locked with the man's.

"See Suigetsu?" the girl said. "I told you it was him."

"It's impossible," a boy said, appearing from behind the girl. "I thought Sasuke killed him."

"He did," the man said grabbing their attention.

"Oh!" the girl exclaimed. "Your eyes! That's Orochimaur-sama's jutsu!"

"Kabuto must have brought him back," Suigetsu said. "But why are you here?"

"My reasons are my own," the man said. "The real question is why are my foolish little brother's ...teammates doing here?"

"It's a long story," Suigetsu said. The man just gave him a look telling him to shorten it. "Well, you see..."

"Sasuke-kun sent us here," the girl interrupted crossing her arms. She ignored Suigetsu's call of her name. "He believes that Konoha needs us to help defeat Madara."

"I see," the man said. "Then we're here for the same reasons." Karin didn't seem to believe him, but Suigetsu held her back. "I'm going to speak to the Hokage."

"Wait!" Suigetsu said. "Don't forget who you are. You're going to surprise her with you being alive or dead or whatever. I'll go with you." The man only smirked before disappearing in a burst of smoke. "Dammit! I hate that jutsu!" Suigetsu ran out of the large house. Karin rolled her eyes before following him.

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Tsunade was pissed. Even after Team Kakashi went to the second hideout, all they had was a small note telling them that Naruto as ok. To make things even more strange, while Team Kakashi was gone, two members of Sasuke's Team Taka or Hebi or whatever had come to Konoha with a scroll allowing them to live in the Uchiha's main house. She would have kicked them out had it not been for the fact that Karin's abilities would be useful in finding Naruto. Suigetsu had more than willingly given up information including a surprising fact that Naruto was with child. She believed nothing else would be more surprising than that. But Uchihas just had to prove her wrong.

A popping noise alerted her to the arrival of someone coming. When her honey brown eyes met dark onyx, her first thought was, 'did someone put something in my Sake?' But when she blinked and the man was still there, she knew this wasn't an illusion or a dream. She instantly got to her feet, ready for a fight that would most likely end in her death.

"Lady Tsunade," the man said, bowing. "I'm not here to cause any trouble, quite the opposite."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked.

"You can probably tell that I've been brought back by Kabuto using Orochimaru's jutsu," the man said. "His orders were to protect Konoha against Madara. It seems he really hated him enough to side with this village to defeat him."

"And how do I know he won't just use you against us once he's finished with Madara?" Tsunade asked.

"He can't," the man said. "Kabuto is dead. I felt his control over me slip. However, any orders he gave me are set in stone." He held up three fingers. "I am to protect Konoha," he put down a finger. "defeat and kill Madara, and bring Naruto to Kabuto." He dropped his hand. "The third one is impossible since Kabuto is dead."

"I still don't believe it," Tsunade said. "Why would Kabuto side with us? Even if he hated Madara, what could he possibly gain from having us watch his back? To bring Itachi Uchiha back, it just doesn't make sense."

"If I have to guess, I would say Naruto-kun has been busy," Itachi said. "To not only have three Uchihas in love with him, but Kabuto as well, he is an amazing shinobi."

'Three?' Tsunade thought. She looked into Itachi's eyes and saw the honesty the man displayed. 'Damn. Not sure if it's good thing or a bad thing to have three members of the most powerful clan after him.' She paused. 'A bad thing.' "What are your plans then?"

"I will stay here to check out Konoha's security," Itachi said. "A small attack on Madara's part is going to happen in three days. He will be using fallen shinobi like myself." Just then, Shizune, Suigetsu, and Karin came in. Tsunade held up a hand and motioned for Itachi to continue. "The only way to stop them is to seal them. Of course, it won't be easy to seal them. That is why I'd like to be put on the front lines. I have a way to seal them at a faster and easier rate."

"What he says is true," Karin said.

"And why should I believe all of this?" Tsunade asked.

"Behind the Fourth's photo is a seal only the Hokage can break," Itachi said. "I believe there is something in there you would like to see."

"Does it have anything to do with this whole secret plot to get rid of the Uchiha Clan?" Tsunade asked. Itachi glanced at Suigetsu and Karin. They had obviously been busy. Itachi nodded. Tsunade stood up and walked over to the Fourth's photo. Just as Itachi had said, there was a seal there. She bit her finger and smeared the blood over it. The seal lit up before vanishing, revealing a hole. Inside was a scroll. She pulled the scroll out and opened it. Her eyes widened at what she read. She sighed before placing the scroll back in the hole. "Alright. I'll trust you, for now."

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"...and you cause as much damage as you want," Madara said. He was in a large room with over twenty Reanimated Shinobi. He was going to send them to destroy Konoha and kill the Hokage. It was also rumored that Killer Bee was staying in Konoha. If they found him they were to capture him even if they had to bring him back nearly dead. "Go!" Within seconds they were gone. Madara sighed.

"You look tired," Zetsu said.

"With everything going on, I'm amazed I've lasted this long," Madara said.

Zetsu looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Naruto and Sasuke have gotten very close," Madara said.

"They did create a child together," Zetsu said.

Madara glared at Zetsu, "You sound like Kisame." He stood up. "I need to rest." The swish of his cloak was the last noise Zetsu heard before the eldest Uchiha left. Zetsu rolled his eyes before vanishing into the ground.

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Karin ran into the room. "They are here!" Team Kakashi, Itachi, and Jiraiya were already in the room.

Tsunade stood up. "How far?"

"Three kilometers to the west," Karin said.

"Good," Tsunade said sitting back down. "I want you and Team Kakashi to head that way. Make sure to let those coming come. Itachi, Jiraiya, and I will protect Konoha." Karin could only nod. "You must not be seen." Team Kakashi and Karin disappeared. "Itachi."

"I know," Itachi said. He stood up. He was more than ready. He vanished in a rush of leaves.

"Jiraiya," Tsunade said.

"I know," Jiraiya said. "I'll make sure that Itachi doesn't lose." He vanished in a puff of smoke. Tsunade sat back wishing for a cup of sake.

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Itachi stood fifty feet from the gate. He felt Jiraiya's presence just behind him. He gave the older man a look saying to stay back. Itachi closed his eyes. "Amaterasu." Black flames flew out in an arch, blocking the entrance into Konoha. He then waited until all Reanimated Shinobi were before him. He counted twenty-seven people. Itachi smirked. This was going to be fun.

Jiraiya knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Itachi was known as a genius for a reason. Itachi had made three clones of himself and that was all the man needed. Itachi was well known for his speed and if Jiraiya had to compare it to someone, he'd say he was faster than Minato and Gai with the 7th Gate open. One by one, with only a small sword, Itachi slashed through the enemy ninja. One of the clones, that Jiraiya just noticed had his eyes closed the entire time, opened them. A red giant surrounded the clone. "Susanoo," the Toad Sage whispered. He had heard about it from one of his sources, but to see it in person, he was amazed. The real Itachi and the other clone kicked each ninja towards the giant's sword. They were slashed by the sword then sucked into a large gourd. Jiraiya knew that they had been forever sealed.

If anyone had counted how long it took for Itachi to take the Reanimated Army down, they would have been shocked that it barely lasted ten minutes. What was even more amazing was that Itachi hadn't even gotten a scratch on him. Then again, he too was a Reanimated Shinobi. Itachi's clones vanished, since their job was done. Itachi then summoned Susano again and swung the sword at his Amaterasu flames. The flames were sucked into the gourd before Susano disappeared.

Jiraiya jumped down and pat Itachi on the back. "Good job, kid." Itachi just nodded. Jiraiya's eyes widened as he saw blood drip down from Itachi's eyes. "Your eyes."

"A side effect of the Mangekyo Sharingan," Itachi said. "Only the transference of like eyes will stop it. I will admit I didn't think it was possible to bleed when I'm already dead. Must be something that even that Forbidden Jutsu can't fix." He whipped the blood away. "But it matters not."

"You're going blind," Jiraiya said.

"I was," Itachi said. "But it is fine. Death seems to have saved my sight." He took one last look around before vanishing. Jiraiya just shook his head and followed.

Zetsu stepped out of a tree. He was more than surprised to see Itachi here. He had to tell Madara everything that had back into the tree, he didn't notice that Team Kakashi and Karin were on the way to their hideout.

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Madara cursed when he heard Zetsu's news. "Don't let Sasuke find out that Itachi protected Konoha." He slammed his fist into a wall. "Damn Kabuto!"

Zetsu didn't have to tell Sasuke. The raven had already heard. He made sure neither saw him as he returned to Naruto's side. Naruto and Menma were still asleep. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sight. He loved Naruto and his son very much. The raven looked up at the ceiling. Itachi had protected Konoha. What did that mean? Was Sasuke wrong about everything? He looked down again. He hoped he wasn't.

The fight may seem too fast, but this is Itachi was are talking about. Also, the shinobi that Madara brought back weren't very strong. He was stupid to think that Konoha would fall with such an attack.

As for the whole Team Hebi/Taka thing, I may have a flashback of Sasuke telling them to go to Konoha.

Finally, if everything goes as planned, there are only four more chapters left after this one. This means a lot will happen in the next few chapters. I hope you enjoy as the story comes closer to its end.