Chapter 9


~The Offering~

Kakashi had signaled to an Anbu to sound the alarms at the moment the ninja guarding the northeast front reported something suspicious was in the sky. The scattered teams will be told to get ready as well.

"Doton users!" he calls to the earth element users among the ten ninjas in the training ground. He signals a command and very quickly they form seals and draw out soil from the ground and send masses at the direction of the miniature clay bombs. Then he yells at me as the masses wrap at each of the bombs.

"Water, Itachi!"

Kakashi and I release our water jutsu and let the liquid seep through the earth enclosures.

"Katsu!" I hear Deidara shout from above to detonate his creations. Each of the enclosed bombs gives a faint pop and mud sprays us below instead of hot explosive debris.

"How dare you interfere with my art, yeah?" Deidara screams angrily from his flying clay bird. He then swoops down on us making the two other persons on board visible from our view.

"You bastards are heavy, yeah!" Deidara says to his two companions as they jump off from the bird to the ground. Kakuzu makes a motion as if to shoo him away. Deidara clicks his tongue in protest but proceeds to fly off somewhere toward the center of the village.

"Woohoo! There should be plenty of blood today! Jashin-sama will be pleased at my offering!" Hidan happily declares, just as blood-thirsty as ever. He swings his scythe as he looks around, tongue wagging at the ninjas present.

Kakuzu takes out his bingo book, flips on it then settles on a page. He looks up and focuses his neon green eyes on Kakashi. "Hatake Kakashi, correct? You will fetch a good price."

We hear the alarms sound to warn everyone. Damn, I hope the villagers get evacuated in time. This is too sudden. Our ninjas are still in training.

Our back-up forces arrive on the scene. I focus my attention on our two challengers. One immortal and one near-immortal, they will not be defeated by sheer numbers. In fact, numbers could prove detrimental.

"Whatever you do, don't let yourselves get a single scrape of your blood on that scythe!" I tell our ninjas.

"You bastard, Itachi! Ruining my fun," Hidan says. "Jashin-sama will see that you get punished!"

I stand in front of Kakashi and take a defensive stance. "Kakashi-san, you can't engage in confrontation. We need the Hokage overseeing everything. You must get yourself to command post."

Kakashi reluctantly agrees. He knows his responsibility as Hokage is bigger than winning a single battle. "I'm leaving this to you, Itachi. Don't get killed." I nod. He takes off.

Kakuzu pockets his bingo book and quickly goes after him. I signal to half of the ninjas present to follow and protect the Hokage. Kakashi's not exactly helpless but we need him more to issue the commands instead of defending himself at this point. And it just gave me an opportunity.

"So it's true," Hidan says. "You're Konoha's lapdog, Itachi-yero! Wha-"

"What is this? Where am I?"

"You're in Jashin's hell, Hidan. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"But, but I haven't offered any sacrifices yet."

"You don't need to. You've offered enough. You have earned a place here and feel the pain for every blood you've drawn out since you became Jashin's follower."

"I will? I have? That makes me so happy. But I want to draw more blood. I want to offer more sacrifice. I know Jashin wants more! I want more!"

"You will be the sacrifice from here on end, Hidan. It's what Jashin desires.

I look down on Hidan, lying still on the ground in his catatonic state, his eyes wide, his mind buried within his own special hell. Thin, long and slow slices, here and there, on all parts of his body as it lies prostrate in darkness, unseen by anyone, even him. I can almost hear the screams but Hidan will be the only one to hear them in his head.

Thankfully, while Hidan seems immortal, he's also not that intelligent. I got him locked in genjutsu the moment his eyes caught mine. This is why he was always paired with the more level-headed Kakuzu.

But it seems I was under-estimated. Kakuzu chose to abandon his partner, likely believing Hidan can handle his foes even with me being here. Their recent victories have made them too confident and careless. Or perhaps he forgot that I was here or what I was capable of. Perhaps Kakuzu himself just couldn't fight his own weakness to think clearly. The love of money always leads to unwise decisions.

But the bigger enemy isn't driven by money but by power. Tobi's out there somewhere. We don't have the upper hand at all even with this small victory.

oOoOoOoOo

I left orders to hack Hidan to pieces while he's still under a trance. Members of the Nara Clan sent by Shikamaru came to take charge of the body parts to be taken to Nara Forest. "Not in any circumstances are you to bury his body parts together," I reminded. They were to dig up deep trenches in separate areas in the forest where no one can retrieve them. I heard Hidan's severed head cursing at all of us as I left.

I hurry to the direction of the Hokage's building where Kakashi should be headed. If Kakuzu caught up with him, I should reach them in no time. I already told Kakashi about Kakuzu's four extra hearts apart from his own. I'm not too worried.

Boom!

Deidara. I stop in my tracks. Kakashi should be able to handle Kakuzu. I should go where I'm needed. I change my course and head to the center of the village.

~Wild Things~

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Louder ones! From more than one place! It's not just Deidara creating the explosions. I leap faster. I wish I had Shisui's speed. It feels like I'm too slow. My Tsukuyomi against Hidan earlier depleted my chakra reserve. I was too impatient. Maybe I shouldn't have used something that powerful so early. Dammit, my eyesight's getting blurry again. I have to rest a bit.

I lean against a wall on top of a building's deck and witness hazy smoke as it engulfs Konoha. What's going on? The Barrier Corps was supposed to detect intruders ahead of time. I can make out blurred images of gigantic animals wreaking havoc on the village below. It's Pein. It must be.

"Itachi, this is Kakashi. Can you hear me?"

"Yes!" I reply, quite surprised at hearing Kakashi's clear voice in my head. Where is he?

"I'm talking through Inoichi and Shikamaru's combined telepathic jutsu."

"I see. Kakuzu?"

"Neutralized thanks to your tip off. Listen, the Barrier Corps picked up one intruder but it seems more got through. Several attacks were confirmed throughout the village. The Analysis Corps estimates up to three battalions in size, but no one has seen the presence of that many."

"It must be Pein."

The giant animals continue breaking down buildings from far off. A very long dark creature is slithering through the passages and tearing down structures.

"I just received another report, two or three strange-looking beings are asking for Naruto's whereabouts. They're wearing black coats with red cloud patterns so definitely Akatsuki. They have piercings on their bodies."

"Then it really is Pein. But more than one with piercings?"

Damn, I should have spent more time investigating who Pein is. He goes out on missions by himself. I never got to see how he worked. Did he meet up with others apart from the Akatsuki members I know?

If they get Naruto they get all nine. If that happens, there's no hope for us. Only a handful knows where Naruto is but that won't stop them from killing anyone else who doesn't.

"Is there anything else you know that we can use?"

I think hard but nothing comes to mind. I already told them about his eye features. Jiraiya said it could be what he called the Rinnegan. He seemed confused when I described what he looked like and looked visibly disturbed when I mentioned Konan. While he didn't tell us anything, he promised to come back as soon as possible. Tsunade said he took charge of three orphans during the Second Shinobi War but she didn't know any other significant details.

"I think you should send a message to Jiraiya-san and ask him to come back. He seems to know something we don't and Pein may be more than we can handle," I finally say to Kakashi.

"It's important that Naruto completes his training but I will send him a message. For now, we're trying to locate the one summoning those giant beasts. Get ready to fight."

"I'm always ready."

Kind of. I just need a few minutes. I close my eyes and concentrate.

BOOM! BOOM!

I open my eyes again. My vision starts to return slowly. As I regain focus, I realize that the long dark creature I see slithering down there is actually a giant centipede. Not only that, a giant rhinoceros farther off to one side of the village, a bull in the other. And something that's too far for me to identify. They're pulverizing everything in their path. What looks like a giant pre-historic creature is flying above us. Anbu teams are attempting to control them with various pillar enclosures but they keep breaking free.

I leap from the building and make my way to the nearest creature, the centipede. It spots me as I approach; its eyes are like Pein's, light purple with rings around the iris. It raises its body then slams down hard severely damaging the pavement. I leap out of its way then jump on its head. As I hold on to the creature going wild beneath me, I search around for the summoner. Where is he? Where's Pein?

An Anbu gets my attention then signals a location. They found him. Apparently he's at the farthest point where a giant three-headed dog is thrashing a town. I jump high and out of the way as three Anbu attempt another pillar enclosure on the centipede. I can think of one or two techniques I can use to defeat this giant but I can't use up my reserve chakra unnecessarily. I'll have to save it for Pein himself.

I feel my strength level return to its full having refrained from using any ninjutsu so far. I scramble past over damaged streets littered with dead villagers that didn't get evacuated in time.

The giant rhinoceros is in sight within the once lively commercial district but it's not my target. I have to get to the dog where the summoner is. I have to hurry past it. Another Anbu team is trying to subdue the beast. Its eyes are also like Pein's. So he's this powerful! Hurry! Wait, what is that?

People! There's a bunch of them trapped in a dead-end, surrounded by debris comprising large boulders from collapsed buildings. The rhino charges forward with great speed! Anbu chase it as the frightened people scream helplessly. Damn, I can't leave them like this.

Dusk Crow!

The black crows fly around the beast relentlessly, blocking its view just twenty meters from the crowd. Genjutsus hardly affect summoned wild animals but if they have Pein's eyes, it may mean he's seeing through them. The illusion might work to distract it without my spending too much chakra.

The beast stops in its tracks, the Anbu catch up and reel it in and it changes direction.

Katon Great Fireball!

I blast a hole straight through the blockage at one side then release water to quench the fire.

"Hurry, get out!" I command the frantic crowd. I wait till the last person passes through then I continue on my way. I hope I reach that summoner. Fly!

Then on a narrow alley, I spot something familiar. Black coat, red clouds! Akatsuki! Orange hair and piercings but not the Pein I know. He's taller and has a stocky built. He's holding up a person, a ninja by the neck. A strange machine is in front of them and it looks like it's pulling something from the captive's mouth. I race to them.

Shadow Clone!

~Pressure and Pain~

My clone reaches him and it proceeds to strike with my sword. He evades my attack but the ninja gets released from his grasp. The ninja drops to the ground, coughs while grabbing his own neck before collapsing to the ground. I try a couple of ninjutsu but my foe's too quick.

"Who are you?" I demand. "Where's Pein?"

"Itachi," he says while he dodges a fireball. "Why are you fighting against me?"

"Where's Pein?" I ask again. I'll save my strength with minor attacks since he's not engaging at all. He only keeps evading. I'll just keep him here till I extract some information.

"I assumed you knew pain but apparently not enough. Not as much as I do."

Is he saying that he is actually Pein?

"Pein?" I ask to make sure.

"This village has greatly benefited from inflicting pain on the world. It must pay."

Suddenly he stops moving. Now's my chance. If I can't get any information, I might as well kill this one.

"Mount Myōboku," he says suddenly as if talking to himself. I freeze. That's where Naruto is. How did he know? I charge forward and slash but only manage to cut one arm. He quickly disappears into thin air. I pound on the ground with frustration. How did he know?

"Itachi!" I hear Kakashi's familiar voice in my head.

"They know!" I say. "They know where Naruto is!"

Me. Kakashi. Tsunade. Shikamaru. Shizune, Jiraiya…who else knew? From who?

"It's Shizune." Kakashi informs as if to directly answer my question.

"Shizune?"

"She was helping out the Cypher Division to analyze one they've captured. But it was a ruse. It suddenly revived and it extracted the knowledge from her brain through a powerful telephatic jutsu. She's dead."

I look around. The giant creatures have also disappeared. All is quiet.

"They know where Naruto is!" I say again.

"The Toads are on alert. Hold your ground. We'll keep fighting wherever it takes us."

I admire Kakashi his calmness at this time. I remind myself that I have to follow his example. I'm not panicking but I remind myself to keep my head straight anyway. Think. There is more than one that has Pein's features. Some created physical damage on the surroundings and some sought out Naruto's location. The first served as diversion, their true goal is the jinchuuriki. Dammit! That's nothing new. We couldn't prevent this any way I look at it.

"Itachi, a slug will make its way to you."

"A slug?"

"Tsunade-san has transferred her chakra to the giant slug Katsuyu which divided into numerous smaller slugs. They're making their way to everyone in the village to heal injuries. It will serve as your protection."

"I understand."

A couple of slugs appear from one direction. One attaches itself to the ninja that was earlier caught by Pein. Another climbs up to me and settles on my shoulder. It speaks with a soft female voice.

"Itachi-san, you have no major injuries. I'm glad."

"Is there still an Akatsuki present?"

"No, they all seem to have retreated."

"You're in contact with everyone?"

"Yes, everyone I'm adhered to."

I watch the other slug as it heals the collapsed ninja across me. So this is the power of the giant slug Katsuyu by Tsunade-san's summoning. I can feel my own strength reviving. My eyesight too seems clearer than they've ever been.

"How big is the damage?" I ask almost afraid of the answer.

"As you can see, most of the buildings have been ruined. A number of our ninjas are dead, villagers too. But a lot of them still made it to evacuation. Your preparations were not wasted.

"Not wasted, huh?" I didn't even get to engage in a real fight. Was I too careful? I was reserving my full strength for Pein. But at the back of my mind I was also expecting the Uchihas to turn up at any moment and was saving it for them. I should've killed that one Pein that was here at least. Something tells me they will get together and do something terrible.

Were the other Akatsuki here, I wonder. I only saw Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu. Or is Pein truly enough to destroy this village? What now?

My gaze turned to the arm that I severed just two meters away from me. I pick it up and pull out the rod embedded on it. I roll it between my thumb and forefinger. What is this about?

Suddenly I feel it vibrate. The vibration translated into words, words that I can feel and hear in my head.

"And now this world shall know pain."

What?

"Shinra Tensei"

FOOM!

What was that? I feel the earth vibrate, the air too, along with the rest of the surroundings.

"Itachi-san!" Katsuyu yells. I feel her getting bigger and covering my whole body, then my head.

oOoOoOoOo

At the last, I saw white from outside. Nothing but white, as Katsuyu covered the rest of me.

oOoOoOoOo

No one saw it coming, that great repulsive force that originated from the center of Konoha and expanded a great distance outward. It pushed everything away so easily as if one was simply blowing a single leaf out of the way with one's breath.

When we came to, none of us immediately realized just how vast the destruction was. We were all swept away to the edge of the now almost non-existent village, a deep chasm stretching for miles as if the moon itself landed on Konoha.

If it had not been for Katsuyu who covered as much people as she could, we would have all perished. And then there's Tsunade-sama.

"Is she okay?" I asked Katsuyu when I finally realized what took place.

"She's alive," she replied but there was sadness in her voice. "She's asleep."

Tsunade fell into a coma. She released all her chakra through mitotic regeneration jutsu at that moment in order to absorb the impact that would have otherwise consumed our bodies. Her skin shriveled up like a frail old woman. We're no longer under her protection. She's asleep. She will not witness what will take place next.

~A World in Pieces~

I rush through and over the debris by the edge of the chasm trying to find my comrades. Survivors emerge through the rubble, a shrunken slug attached on each of them, but there are also plenty dead.

"Where are they, the Hokage and the others?" I ask Katsuyu, who now only measures no bigger than my hand.

"They got swept across the opposite direction. They're making their way by the edge from their left."

"Good, I'm going by the right. We should meet halfway."

"I have to go back now," Katsuyu says softly, her voice reflecting her fatigue. She is totally drained and will have to return to her own land with no way to come back to us, unless Tsunade-san regains consciousness.

"Thank you," I say, truly grateful for her devoted service. It's been more than enough.

As I continue to rush through the edge, my eyes strain toward the middle of the vast gorge. There's something there but it looks like a mere dot at the moment. A short distance from it, a puff of cloud appears. What looks like three small creatures become visible as the smoke clears out. No, not small creatures. It only looks that way because of the distance. Are those…frogs? It's hard to be sure.

"Itachi!"

Kakashi leaps through the debris and makes his way toward me. I'm glad to see he's safe though gladness doesn't seem to be an appropriate emotion in this situation. There are other ninjas with him, Shikamaru, Inoichi and Hyuuga Neji. I immediately point to the object of my curiosity.

"It's Jiraiya and Naruto with the Toads," Hyuuga informs, his byakugan active. "The one in the middle is an Akatsuki. They seem to be talking."

"Let's go," Kakashi says.

"Hold it right there!" We heard someone demand from behind us. Kisame! Our barriers are down. The rest of Akatsuki can now freely enter the territory.

"Now that's art, yeah!" Deidara declares, marveling at the destruction. "But damn that Pein! If I wasn't close to the edge and airborne, he would've killed me too, that bastard! Look, look, bruises! I got thrown off by the impact, yeah."

"Shut up and get on with it," Kisame says. Deidara curses him then throws molded clay into the air. It expands into a bird and he quickly jumps on its back and flies off, apparently intending to add to the damage.

"I really liked you Itachi. You were pleasant to hang out with unlike that noisy bastard," Kisame says flicking his head toward Deidara. "But you turned out to be a traitor to our cause."

"What cause is that, Kisame? Did you know about this?" I point to the chasm. "Or were you as clueless as I am about Pein?"

His mouth stretches into a broad grin revealing his sharp teeth. His shark eyes are bright and penetrating.

"Who cares about Pein?" He replies. "The Eye of the Moon is all that matters. We're going to nab ourselves our final jinchuuriki."

He rests his oversized sword Samehada on his shoulder. That's right. Kisame was one of Tobi's first recruits and one of his most loyal, lured in by the idea of ultimate control.

We all take our positions but then Morino Ibiki appears before us with a report. "Something's up on the west front that needs your attention. I'll take this one on."

I look at Kakashi who gives me a nod. We take off leaving Neji who chose to fight alongside Ibiki. Shikamaru and Inoichi, who act as Kakashi's invaluable link to the rest of our ninjas, join us.

"You're fighting me Itachi, you bastard!" I hear Kisame shout but Ibiki and Neji should be in his way. He won't be able to go anywhere.

Our heads turn toward the far off center again and can pretty much tell that a battle is ensuing.

"Are you sure Naruto can handle himself?" I ask with apprehension.

"I'm sure," Kakashi answers. His confidence immediately rubs off on me. "Besides, Jiraiya is with him."

oOoOoOoOo

We reach the west front and find Kurenai with two ninjas from the Hyuuga Clan. "The speed is unbelievable," one of them says. "They should be here within ten minutes."

True enough, almost at the speed of light, the Uchihas arrive and line up twenty five meters from us. Twenty, thirty, forty men, about half an army unit, but with their ability, their force is more equal to ten battalions. Father is in front and Sasuke beside him.

I don't recognize any of the men behind them. They're all young, possibly around the same age as Sasuke. But one thing is certain; the Mangekyo is present in all of their eyes.

The ten ninjas I was training leap up from opposite directions and stand behind me, all new to using the sharingan but all veterans in battle, capable of more than their adopted techniques. My father scans them one by one and his eyes widen as he realizes what is before him.

"You truly have disgraced yourself, Itachi!" My father declares angrily. "How dare you defile the bodies of our kin and allow their eyes to be used by these lowlifes?"

Twenty from the Hyuuga Clan join our ranks. Kakashi stands beside me.

"Kakashi-san," I say. "Leave this to us. The Hokage -"

"Someone else can take my place as Hokage after this is over," He cuts in. "Where else can my sharingan be of best use if not here? My friend Obito would laugh at me if I back away from this."

I look at him and recognize that firm resolve. I understand. Shikamaru and Inoichi nod to him and take off, ready to fight the other enemies located elsewhere. This is it. We will have no communication with the others from this point. We can only have faith in our comrades. All of them scattered and fighting, ready to die to protect the land and the people they love.

"Listen all," I say to the men behind me. "The Mangekyo is powerful but it drains the user very quickly. Use that knowledge to your advantage."

My father raises his arm and signals to his proud brood. All at once, they form the same seal with their hands and together they unleash the most powerful ninjutsu that the Mangekyo can bestow.

Everyone in our ranks brace himself as we hear the one word chant that will produce the highest form of fire release in existence.

"Amaterasu!"


Next: Chapter 10 ~True Peace~

Before that, the last bonus Chapter 9.5 ~The Gallant Youth of Konoha~ (Last Spurt!)