So many views and I can't believe it! To the three that continues to review I love your reviews so much! So here's Chap 11 ;)
*I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto-sensei does
CHAPTER 11
Time skip!
It's been a week and the village was buzzing with excitement as the Chunin Exams progressed. This batch is quite interesting as it gathered a lot of Daimyo's that came from all around to watch and bet in the final matches and everyone, villager or tourist has their own opinion of who will win. The village security had also been tightened in response to the big crowd. Leaf shinobis had their hands full because of this. They were stationed around every corner of the village, alleys, streets, entryways, everywhere. As troublesome as it would seem, they have to mobilize not to make history repeat itself. History. A word that describes what happened in Konoha in the past eight years. One of those happened in a day just like this one. 'The final matches huh?' a dark haired man thought as he reminisced. He had a jounin attire, leaning to the wall of the alley he was guarding and he had his hands dug in his pockets.
"Oy! Sasuke-teme!" a blonde said as he paced towards him. Sasuke was put out of his deep thoughts by this loud mouth, though he wasn't upset just 'annoyed'.
"What?" he remarked as he stood straight.
"You on duty by yourself here?" Naruto asked.
"No. There's another up ahead" he replied coldy.
"Then let's go to the arena! The matches are gonna start soon!" his friend insisted. Sasuke rolled his eyes but yeah, he still needs to fetch Ichirou as the boy wanted to watch the matches too.
Flashback!
A few days more and the Chunin Exams are going to happen. Everyone had been preparing and was busy concerning the occasion. Students often have their usual lesson turn to self study and sometimes their substitute proctors let them go home early. Those were one of those days as Ichirou was heading to the Uchiha compound.
"Tadaima!" Ichirou said as he entered the hallway, taking his shoes off and made his way to the living room. As being enrolled in the Academy he was already progressing nicely and most of the students were facinated by his bloodline although it never came to him to brag he was Itachi's son afterall.
"Okaeri" his mother greeted as she gave her a quick hug.
"Have any assignments?"
"Hai"
"Then here, have your snack and after that do your assignments okay?"
"It's just a few so please Kasan can I do it later?"
"Sigh"
"Pleeaase?" Ichirou pleaded. Sasuke who was going down the stairs overheard the conversation and joined them in the living room.
"Ichirou" his uncle called. For some reason the boy had a very high respect for Sasuke and was very fond of him.
"You know that the Chunin Exams are going to happen this week right?" he asked which Ichirou nodded to.
"And you know that the final day is a one-on-one fighting competition ri–"
"No I didn't!" the boy exclaimed and was quite surprised. He loved those kinds of events and it seems that by watching those matches he seemed to learn from them.
"I propose a deal then," Sasuke said though not meeting the boy's puppy dog eyes, "If you do what your Kasan says until the matches I will take you with me. Also if she agrees."
"Really? Can I really go?!" he said turning to her mother who nodded in response. Sasuke stooped down to him.
"Now, go do your assignments" he said shoving Ichirou slightly to the direction of his room and he ran excitedly to his room.
End of Flashback!
"Hello! Earth to Sasuke here!" Naruto shouted which made his mind process what's happening.
"I still need to go and get Ichirou" he said in his usual tone, hiding the fact that his mind went somewhere.
"Eh? Are you a doting oji-san?" the blonde teased which earned him a 'Hn' from the raven haired.
"Fine forget I asked. Let's just meet at the arena. I still need to get Hinata anyway. Oh! You better get Sakura too" he replied shoving an arm around Sasuke's shoulder.
"Hn" his friend remarked as he shoved it and with that Sasuke turned and started to walk away, silently.
"Later" his friend emphasized and started walking to the Hyuga compound. The streets were already half busy as the sun is reaching it's peak and most of the crowd has headed to the Arena, securing their seats for a great view. Less people were spotted in the residential streets and although a big crowd from all over came the villagers also wanted to see the big matches. 'As peaceful as it seems, it might turn into another ruckus. But I hope not' Naruto thought as he walked towards the compound. It was silent except for a group of kids running around the streets. In a few seconds he reached the door.
Knock knock!
The door was opened by a lovey Hinata who was wearing a laced and simple light purple dress that flowed just above her knees which revealed a very fair complexion. Naruto was star strucked by the goddess which appeared before him. She looked so innocent and pure as he didn't know what to say. Hinata's hand suddenly reach to him and slowly closed his mouth. He didn't even notice his jaw was dropping and with that his face turned beet red.
"Ah, um.. Sh-Shall we?" he said stattering.
"Yes" she said letting out a small giggle as she went out of the door and her escort took her hand and they started walking towards the arena.
"So how's your duties?" she started.
"Busy but nothing worth reporting though" he replied, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.
"I see. So how's the child?"
"You mean Ichirou? Well as I can see, Sasuke is spoiling him dattebayo," he said with a grin, "He's bringing him to the Arena and I hope he gets to bring Sakura too"
"I hope so. But what about his mom? Won't she be coming?" she inquired.
"About that. Tsunade-baachan told me the other day that they found poison in her body and that they can't find any antidote so they advised her to stay home" Naruto explained.
"Hope it's nothing life-threatening.."
"I hope so" and after a few more steps and talks they reached the arena. Securities are tight and everyone, villager or not gets inspected. The crowd was really huge and you could bearly hear your voice due to the overpowering noise. As they entered the arena, they found a line of bleachers empty, sat there and reserved the others. And in a while they were joined by Sasuke, Sakura and Ichirou who was having a hard time looking through the crowd. As the three walked towards the couple, Ichirou ran pass the crowd and went to greet Naruto who he hasn't seen in a while.
"Naruto-jisan!" he exclaimed.
"Hey there Ichirou" Naruto said as he softly patted the boy on the head.
"Hello Ichirou-kun" Hinata greeted which made the boy curious of who she was.
"Ichirou, this is your Hinata-neechan" Sakura said, joining the talk as she saw the blonde wreck his brain for the right words.
"Nice to meet you, Hinata-nee" he said with a smile. You could see evidences in every angle that he really is Itachi's son. Especially in this kind of smile that is painted on his face.
"My, he really does look like his father" Hinata commented.
"Do I really look like him that much?" Ichirou asked as he turned to look up at Sasuke. He was pouting. Maybe had enough of people describing him as his father's 'replica'.
"Yes. You really do" that was his only reply as he led Ichirou and Sakura to their seats. That smile struck him hard. It was like looking at his brother's reincarnation. The matches started and the competitors showed every ounce of determination. A few from Suna had made it to the final round too and the others were a mixture of shinobis from other lands. Everyone is excited to see their bets win especially the Daimyo's. And with all these around, Leaf shinobi were posted around the area, on the look out for 'something out of the ordinary'. Naruto and Sasuke, although they were audiences they also had their guard up, just in case. After a moment they announced the beginning of the first match. It was a match between someone from the Kiri and Suna. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and began to observe their moves. 'The one from Kiri is fast. But the one from Suna counters well..' he thought to himself.
"Sasuke-jisan? Why is your eyes red?" he asked, looking a little bit scared of those eyes. He deactivated them as he met the boy's eyes.
"That is our bloodline. Your father had it too"
"But it looks scary" Ichirou remarked as he shrugged.
"It's in your blood. Whether you like it or not, you will also have these eyes... someday and soon"
"Soon?"
"Being an Uchiha has its own circumstances. One day you'll have to learn to accept them" Sasuke said as he raised his head. Ichirou didn't response as he didn't understand and stayed quiet as the matches progressed. 'Did I say something wrong?' he questioned. Sighing he began to rummage to his pockets.
"Here, go get some snacks if you want," he said giving a few ryos to him which made Ichirou cheer up immediately, "Sakura? Can you go with him?"
"Sure! I was planning to get some too. Hinata want to come?" the pinkette offered.
"If you don't mind" she said smiling and the three of them stood up.
"Careful not to talk to strangers okay?" Naruto joked which made Sasuke shook his head.
"Hn. Here's an earpiece just in case" he said
"Don't worry, we'll be back in no time" Sakura said and with that they left the two guys. They went just outside the Arena and they began to check the food stands.
"Found anything you want Ichirou?" Sakura asked.
"Not yet," the boy remarked as he rushed to one store after another, "but can I go to the bathroom first? I wanna pee"
"Go ahead. We'll wait for you here. I hope you know where though" she said.
"Yup! Be back in a minute" the boy said as he ran towards the bathroom.
"You're quite close to Ichirou, aren't you Sakura?" Hinata said, smiling to her friend.
"I often go to their compound to check up on Atsuko and it sometimes ends up like that" Sakura explained and she this content and happy look on her face.
"At least Ichirou-kun is adjusting well"
"Yeah... speaking of Ichirou, shouldn't he be here by now?" Sakura said as she looked around.
"Wait, let me try," Hinata said, "Byakugan!" she shouted and she began to search the surrounding areas.
"Ichirou-kun's heading towards the main streets with someone. His chakra signature is familiar though I can't tell whose" she reported and Sakura picked the earpiece Sasuke had given her.
"Hello? Sasuke? Do you hear me?"
"Yeah. What is it?"
"Ichirou's been taken by someone. We're pursuing them now and it seems like they're heading to the main street towards the main gates" she said as they followed their trail. 'Tch! Don't tell me it's him'
"Don't engage them. We'll be there in a moment"
"What's up?" Naruto asked as he sensed a change of aura from his friend.
"Someone wants to take Ichirou out of the village. Let's move before Sakura and Hinata gets involved with all this" he replied. Sensing the urgency, they picked up the pace and headed towards the streets. The main street was empty and only a few shinobis were posted and the bulk of security was concentrated on the gates and entryways. It was a perfect chance to sneak in and out and if you're a high-level shinobi you could come and go undetected. The ladies who were a few steps away from the mysterious kidnapper was joined by the guys soon enough. They peeked by the nearby building.
"They didn't detect you?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't think so" Sakura answered.
"He has his coat on and we couldn't figure out his identity. Though his chakra signature really is familiar" Hinata reported.
"We'll handle this. We won't let him take Ichirou. Report this to Tsunade-baachan and send for reinforcements just in case" Naruto said as the girls took their leave.
"Sasuke?" his friend asked, glancing at his battlefront face.
"I'm pretty sure about this guy's identity and I know that you already get the idea" the raven haired said, activating his Sharingan.
"Yeah. Having that chakra signature and this sneaky plot, it all ends up to him"
"Playing hide and seek are we?" a dark voice came from behind them. Both were startled as they took their stances. They stood a few inches opposite to where they were.
"Hello to you too, Madara.. Or should I say Obito?" Sasuke said as he gripped his katana tightly, causing it to shrudder from anger. Ichirou stood still at his, maybe a cause of a genjustu.
"I wouldn't care about what you call me" he said, as he removed his hood revealing his one-eyed mask.
"Hn. I just wanted to pay my utmost respect to an elderly Uchiha. Naruto this is my fight, stay out of this" Sasuke said, emphasizing the last phrase.
"But-"
"We don't need to create another war here. I'll handle this," he said giving a deathly glare at the blonde who only nodded powerlessly. He moved a step backward as he saw how serious Sasuke was.
"Now, just you and me. Let's get down to business"
"Indeed we shall," he said as he walked a few steps backward, making the boy their midpoint. 'What is he doing? Did he just want to lure me out?' Sasuke thought.
"Kai!" the masked man said and Ichirou's consciousness flickered to the current happenings.
"What-? Where ... Am I?," he said sounding confused, "Oji-san!" he exclaimed as he tried to ran towards his uncle but was prohibited by a White Zetsu sprouting from the ground.
"Behave yourself Ichirou-kun" he said as the boy stood still.
"Don't worry Ichirou. I'll get this over with quickly" he said reassuring his nephew.
"Don't be cocky, Sasuke. I just wanted to ask little Ichirou about something" he said. 'Ask? If he just wanted to know if the kid is going to be useful to him, why lure me out?' the young Uchiha wondered.
"Ichirou-kun, you didn't meet your father right? But what do you know about him?" he asked the boy. Ichirou glanced at Sasuke who nodded in response meaning it's okay.
"My dad is an excellent shinobi of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke-jisan said that he'd give anything for the village's safety..." he answered, trailing off.
"Do you know how your father was murdered?" the man then asked. 'Is he going to use Ichirou against me?! Though what he'll be saying is the truth' Sasuke said as he slowly lowered his head. 'Damn this guy! He always spells trouble!' Naruto mentally screamed, suppressing his itch to fight.
"No"
"What if I tell you who it was, what will you do?"
"I would ask him why..."
"And what if I tell you, that this man, your very own uncle was the one who killed your father, what will you do?" he said in an evil tone as he pointed at Sasuke.
"Oji... san? Please tell me... it's not true?" the boy said as he glanced at Sasuke who had his head down.
"I'm sorry, Ichirou" those were the only words he had uttered as Ichirou's eyes began to get blurry and the tears began to flow from his eyes. Sasuke bit his lower lip and a little blood gushed out. Naruto looked away in dismay as he knew this matter was hands off to him.
"Then why! Why did you kill my father! Why Oji-san, why!" he exclaimed.
"He killed the whole Uchiha Clan. My mother my father, everyone but me. I held that grudge against him, gathering hatred and almost lost sight of my life. But please hear me out Ichirou," he said as he lifted his head to see the boy shoving his tears away, "Remember when I told you that he loved me even though I hated him? In that battle we fought, I only wanted revenge but he, he still fought to give me protection although he was already weakened," he said as he began to explain, "He took away my Curse Mark and gave power to my eyes to protect myself from this man... I never wanted to kill him. He was my brother but revenge blinded me and I lost him and you lost your father. I didn't know the meaning of regret till I lost him"
"I don't think he'd still believe you Sasuke-kun. I'll give Ichirou the final decision" the man uttered with a winning tone. But Ichirou somehow sensed how his Oji-san was also hurt. He cleared his eyes of anger and was opened up to what is right.
"Oji-san? Even though I feel mad at you for learning the truth, deep inside of me there's a voice that tells me that I should still believe you" the boy said which surprised the group. After he said that, Zetsu was going to grab the boy but he was shoved away by Sasuke's katana, cutting him in half.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted as they approached them. She was with Kakashi and some other jounins. 'It was him all along!' Hinata thought. Naruto signaled for them to stop.
"We'll meet again Sasuke. I'll assure you that" he said as swirls began to appear and he disappeared. Sasuke turned down to his nephew at his back.
"I'm sorry about all this Ichirou. But one day when the time is right, I'll tell you everything. I promise" he said to the boy who had his head down, still shoving his eyes.
"Are you still crying?"
"No Oji-san but my eyes feel weird," Ichirou said as he looked up, "Is there something wrong with it?"
Sasuke gasped as the boy's blood red eyes stared at him. His sharingan has awakened. 'At seven, he had already awakened his eyes. Just like his father huh?' Sasuke thought.
"Ichirou, remember when I told you that you're going to have the same eyes as mine?," he asked activating his own Sharingan, "You already have them" as he said that the boy ran into one of the store windows to check his eyes. Sasuke walked up behind him.
"I wonder what can they do..." he said blinking and checking his eyes.
"I'll tell you about that when we get home"
"So Naruto, fill us in will ya" Kakashi said.
"That guy wanted to use Ichirou against Sasuke" he said.
"By against you mean? The truth?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, but as you can see..." he said, turning to the two who were starting to walk towards them.
"I guess there's no problem then" Hinata concluded.
"Sasuke and Naruto go and report this to Tsunade-sama yourselves. I believe he wants a very detailed report" Kakashi ordered as the two nodded in understanding.
"Sakura can you bring Ichirou home for me?" the Uchiha asked.
"Sure" she said happily as she took the boy's hand.
"Hinata can you go with Sakura for a while? I'll come and fetch you after we report" Naruto said to her.
"Okay" she said and the ladies started to lead Ichirou home while the guys paced towards the Hokage's mansion.
"Say Ichirou-kun, you have learned the truth right?," Sakura asked, earning the boy's attention, "I just wanted to know why you chose to believe in your Oji-san"
"I can't explain it much but deep down there's something or someone telling me to believe Oji-san"
"Maybe your father's love reached you through your Oji-san" Hinata said.
"Maybe you're right. Your dad loved your uncle, his little brother so much. I've also seen him cry in his sleep one time, maybe because of loneliness"
"Then I'll promise to never make him feel lonely" Ichirou said with a smile.
"I agree with you on that" Sakura smiled.
"I wonder if they've finished reporting" Hinata wondered. Meanwhile the two just got out of Tsunade's office. It felt like interrogation with all the questions she asked but complaining doesn't do anything good either. They began to exit the building heading towards Sasuke's place.
"You know what, I thought you're not gonna let Ichirou know the truth about Itachi" Naruto said.
"He's going know about it sooner or later anyway"
"I've seen his eyes. You gonna train him?"
"More or less"
"Sigh, we all had a long day here. And here I thought that we are not going to have any issues. I didn't even get to see the rest of the matches" Naruto complained.
"Hn. Dobe"
"Hey! What did I say? Teme!" and they started their usual routine. It was a long day afterall they deserve their own breaks.
~End of Chapter 11~
-About the part of Madara/Obito I don't know how to call him. I started it by Madara but now that I know he's Obito I don't know how to call him (I just recently read the manga two weeks ago I think, sorry about that) Well, thanks for reading. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Love lots people ;D
