Chapter 11: Chasing after Itachi
"What's the news?" Naruto asked, as Sai walked with the team towards Tsunade's office. "Where's Sasuke?"
"Can't say I know" Sai replied, while avoiding Naruto's gaze. "I think he does his best to avoid me most of the time, so I can't say that I've noticed that he's missing at all. All I know is that I was told to come and get you while I walked past the office."
Kakashi stared suspiciously at Sai as they walked and he had to clench his fists in order to keep calm.
"He's lying" he thought, "Why is that? I've heard that he's a member of Root, so I know that he's untrustworthy by nature. Yet, he couldn't possibly have a reason to lie here, could he?"
The next few minutes were silent and awkward, as each member of the team contemplated the news that awaited them. Had Sasuke left again, or was it something even more sinister? Finally, they reached the door to the Hokage's office and Sai left them. Naruto went to knock on the door, but hesitated for a second. Naruto had been in that office more times than he could count for all sorts of reasons. Yet, he had never felt as nervous about entering before as he did at that moment.
"Avoiding the issue won't make it go away" Kakashi sighed. "We just have to deal with whatever the next few minutes brings us."
Kakashi took over and knocked on the door. Tsunade gave her permission to enter. Team Kakashi walked in gloomily and even avoided eye contact with the Hokage for a few seconds. However, when they finally looked up they were greeted with a tremendous site.
"Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed, when she noticed her teammate stood next to Tsunade. He'd changed clothes once again, with a sleeveless brown shirt and dark blue under shirt replacing his previous uniform. Signs of exhaustion were evident on his face but his very presence brought relief to the team.
"What's going on here? We were worried sick!" Naruto exclaimed, while throwing his arms out in a dramatic fashion.
"Sorry Naruto" Tsunade said, although Sasuke didn't seem to share that sentiment. "Sasuke and I have been up practically all night, talking through some things."
"What things?" Sakura asked, joining in with Naruto's inquisition of the Hokage.
"The details of your next mission" Tsunade responded, which drew surprised reactions from the group.
Kakashi let out another huge sigh as he connected the dots and realised just what that mission was. He knew that this day was coming but he had hoped that they would have at least a little longer to prepare.
"That's right Kakashi" Sasuke said, knowing what his Sensei was thinking.
"Your official mission" Tsunade said, regaining control of proceeding and placing a lot of emphasis on the word official. "Will take place two weeks from today. You are to go to the Uchiha hideout, where you will find rogue Shinobi and Akatsuki member Itachi Uchiha. You are to capture him and bring him back to the village alive, with killing only where necessary."
The rest of the team looked towards Sasuke at that moment, who stood with his head facing the floor. Despite this, two things were clearly visible. One was the Sharingan activated in his eyes and the other was the devious smile etched on his face.
Shikamaru felt some tiredness begin to creep in as he continued to jump from tree to tree at a frightening pace. He wasn't unfit, that was impossible for an active Shinobi, but he certainly wasn't used to the intense speed with which this squad mas moving. However, he didn't complain like he usually would and he didn't even want to ask for a break. They were chasing the Akatsuki and he knew that it was his duty to give it his all.
As he ran, he looked over at his team leader and Sensei, Asuma. Before that day, Shikamaru had never really paid much attention to the sash that Asuma wore. He just figured that it was something he picked up while he was travelling around and he didn't bother to ask about it. Yet, after hearing about his teacher's past and the large bounty on his head, Shikamaru was suddenly worried for Asuma.
"So, what kind of relationship did you have with that Chiruku guy anyway?" Shikamaru asked, needing to say something.
"What's brought this on all of a sudden?" Asuma countered, with an inquisitive look on his face.
"You're quite a heavy smoker, but you haven't lit up at all in the last two days" Shikamaru replied. "Whenever you quit like this, it's always because something serious has happened."
"How observant" Asuma responded, while allowing a wry smile to slip out. "If you can read me that easily, I guess I'm not hiding it very well."
"After playing Shogi with you so often, I can read you like a book" Shikamaru admitted. "But you haven't quit like this since the third died."
There was a pause as Asuma considered what Shikamaru had said, before he decided to reveal a little more of his rather mysterious past.
"Chiruku and I" Asuma began, before being interrupted by Koetsu.
"What's that up ahead?" he asked, as the team stopped near the edge of the forest. They had come to a small field, with a large mark in the middle. It was obvious that a battle had taken place not long ago and this brought many questions.
"I wonder if it was our Akatsuki pair" Shikamaru said, while he drew a kunai from his pouch. "We need to check out the damage."
"I'll go in first," Asuma said, and the tone of his voice let his lower ranking teammates know that this was an order. The team then moved over cautiously, constantly checking their surroundings for the sign of a trap. Finally, they reached the middle of the field and they were stunned at what they found.
"My god" Koetsu gasped, "I can't believe that someone could have done this."
Two men lay on the ground, both with torn Akatsuki cloaks surrounding them. The larger man with long hair had five black masks around him and each one was torn up and utterly destroyed. The man was quite clearly dead and judging by the state of his body, he had been crushed by a powerful force. A few seconds later, the grey haired man started coughing loudly.
"He's still alive!" Shikamaru explained, as he rushed over towards his body. "Tell us what happened."
"I can't believe he made a poison capable of killing me" Hidan croaked, as he struggled to breathe. "That bastard, I should have known that he'd have something like that."
"What are you talking about?" Asuma pressed, as it became obvious that Hidan would die in the next couple of minutes.
"He took our rings as well," Hidan muttered, while slipping into unconsciousness once again. "He's really as strange as they say. That Orochimaru is surely one of a kind."
Two weeks after Tsunade had announced their mission, Team Kakashi stood at the gate ready to go after Itachi Uchiha. Kakashi and Sakura were busy checking all of the supplies that they needed, while Sasuke stood off to the side in quiet contemplation. Naruto was scoffing down a pack of instant ramen, completely oblivious to the stress of his team.
Sasuke closed his eyes and allowed himself to daydream only for a moment. He thought back to the night where it all began. He could still remember everything in detail and he supposed that it would be like that for the rest of his life. He could remember the deadly silence that greeted him as he ran around the corner and into the Uchiha compound. He could see dark and empty houses that were bathed in the shadows from the moonlight and the bloody bodies that lay scattered on the floor. He could still feel that sense of panic and dread, as he ran through the streets to his home hoping that his family would be safe. It still angered Sasuke that he actually worried about Itachi at that time, oblivious to the revelations that he would learn just a few minutes later.
Despite all of that, it was the memory of walking into his house that he focused on the most. He almost slipped on the floor as he ran in and reached the door to the living area. He knew that someone was in there, even before he heard the cry for him not to come in. That call must have come from his father and Sasuke found some comfort in that his father's dying words were to try to protect him. He then opened the door slowly and saw-
"Sasuke" Kakashi called out, freeing Sasuke from his nightmare. "Are you ready to go?"
"I've been ready for years" Sasuke replied, as he prepared to leave. However, before he could step over the threshold and leave the village, Tsunade and a small group of ANBU appeared before them.
"I'm not going to beat around the bush on this" Tsunade said, while looking at Sasuke in particular. "Team Kakashi is to be taken off this mission and replaced with an ANBU squad."
"What!" Sasuke yelled, as he screwed up his face in pure rage.
"What's the problem?" Kakashi asked, hoping that the answer would be enough to calm Sasuke down a little.
"Orochimaru is the problem" she replied. "It seems he's found a powerful new body, as we've just found out that he killed two Akatsuki members. It's too big of a risk to let Sasuke go now, he is in serious danger."
"I don't care about that!" Sasuke screamed back. "I only care about killing Itachi and you are getting in the way of that. Now get out of my way!"
"Sasuke, Lady Tsunade is right" Sakura said meekly. "Maybe you should just let it go this time."
"Let it go?" Sasuke responded angrily. "Let it go? I can't let it go, killing him is the most important thing for me right now. I can't move on with my life until he's dead."
Move on? Kakashi thought. That's the first time I've heard him talking about that. Maybe there really is more than just revenge to him.
"Can we talk for a second?" Kakashi asked Tsunade, who agreed. They walked off to the side to talk in private.
"You should just let him go" Kakashi advised.
"I'm surprised at you Kakashi" Tsunade replied. "I thought that you would care more about the well being of your student. You know how high the risks are now and if he's caught the ramifications for everyone will be enormous."
"I know" Kakashi sighed. "However, he'll just go anyway. We can't keep an eye o him all of the time and he'll probably be able to sneak out eventually. At least this way, we have a team to watch out for him."
The conversation continued in a similar vein for the next few minutes. Eventually, Kakashi turned back to his team and gave a thumb up.
"The mission is back on!" he declared, to Naruto and Sakura's visible delight. Sasuke remained emotionless and simply began walking forwards. His team soon followed and the mission to capture Itachi officially began.
Jiraiya cried out in pain as he heard the snapping of bone and felt the warmth of his blood drip from his arm. He was then flung through the wall and landed on the water. He slammed his feet onto the water's surface and willed himself to stop. Finally, he was able to recover from the shock of the surprise attack and to consider the situation he was in.
"Jiraiya, your arm!" Ma explained, as if Jiraiya wasn't aware that he had just lost a limb.
"What just happened?" Pa asked, wondering how they could have been attacked after killing all three of the bodies.
"It was a different face," Jiraiya said, while he gasped for air. "He must have summoned it before we caught them in the genjutsu."
There was then a flurry of movement and six flashes of black appeared from the hole in the wall. Six people stood on the ledge of the building and stared down at the injured Sannin. The six men were of different sizes and shapes but all shared two features. They had ginger hair and they all possessed the legendary Rinnegan in their eyes. The purple colour and spiral pattern were clear but the fact that six people possessed this mythological dojutsu was perplexing to say the least.
"The three we just killed are with them!" Ma cried out, to the horror of Jiraiya and Pa.
"One of them must have used a jutsu to revive them," Jiraiya stammered, knowing that the idea of a jutsu reviving the dead was both ludicrous and frightening. "Just what are you Pain?"
"That name is shared by all of us" the spikey haired man at the front of the group declared. As Jiraiya stared, he realised just who that man was.
"Yahiko?" Jiraiya asked, hoping that he was wrong. "How do you have Nagato's eyes?"
"You can still see Yahiko in me?" Pain asked. "You really are his teacher, aren't you? No mistake though, Yahiko is dead. Only Pain stands up here right now."
"Enough of this bullshit!" Jiraiya yelled. "Why do you have his eyes?"
"I already told you, I am Pain!" was the reply, as all six bodies jumped into the air. "I am god!"
The longhaired body that Jiraiya fought with first charged straight towards him. A long, black rod came from his arm and stabbed Jiraiya through the arm and chest. Jiraiya cried out in pain once again but this time there was some relief.
"He jumped into my barrier" Jiraiya said. "I finally managed to kill one."
"Are you ok Jiraiya?" Pa asked, concerned about his students welfare.
Jiraiya was about to reassure Pa, when he felt a terrible surge of chakra run through his body. He could feel the pressure of those eyes drawing him in and he attributed it to the rod in his chest. Once he pulled it out, Jiraiya returned to normal.
Jiraiya then looked at the body that lay before him and felt a sense of guilt. If only he had stayed, things might have turned out differently for Nagato and Yahiko. Yet, when the headband on the corpse slipped, Jiraiya had a horrible realisation.
"That's not Nagato" he gasped, stunned at what he saw. "I fought him years ago and gave him the scar on his forehead. Come to think of it, I recognise all of those bodies."
Jiraiya thought back and, even though he wasn't sure where from, he recognised the general appearance of every person there. What it meant, he wasn't sure but he knew that he had to find out.
"You two should leave, I don't want you to get hurt" Jiraiya said quietly. "I need to face him again, to confirm something."
"Are you crazy?" Pa asked. "You'll get killed if you do that alone."
"I need to figure out his identity, I'm sure that I'm close to it" Jiraiya replied.
"This is your only chance to get out of here," Ma shouted, hoping to make Jiraiya see sense. "Think about what you'll be giving up if you go out there again."
Jiraiya had an answer ready, but then stopped before he began. His thoughts drifted to Naruto, who was no doubt waiting in the village for his return. Jiraiya had let so many people down in his life before. He hadn't been able to protect his teacher from Orochimaru or protect his last student from the Nine Tailed Fox. He wasn't even able to protect these orphans from falling into the darkness. When he left, the red haired boy had sworn to protect his friends with his powers. Now, Jiraiya didn't even know what had happened to him. If he wasn't in any of those bodies, where was he?
"I've figured it out," Jiraiya said, realising that the answer was obvious from the beginning. "I know his secret. Although, I can't beat him in this condition. We need to get back to the village as soon as we can, this information is invaluable."
Sasuke led the way as they reached a small village. They ran across the rooftops and Sasuke's anticipation grew. His Sharingan was already active as they drew closer to the hideout. Naruto watched his teammate and felt much concern.
"Kakashi Sensei, can I ask you something?" Naruto said, looking towards his Sensei hopefully.
"What is it?" Kakashi replied.
"What happens when this mission is over" Naruto said. "What will Sasuke do then?"
"I worried about that before" Kakashi said, "but some things Sasuke has said recently gives me hope. For now, we have to concentrate on the battle to come so keep that from your mind."
"Someone's coming" Sasuke declared, which made the team stop in there tracks. A sharklike man carrying a huge sword appeared before them, smiling maliciously.
"Itachi only wants Sasuke to fight him, so the rest of you should stay here," the man declared.
"Kisame Hoshigaki" Kakashi said, as he revealed his own Sharingan. "Why don't we just take you out here and then continue on."
"Don't do that," Sasuke said, turning back towards his team. "I can't afford to be tired out when facing Itachi. I only brought you along so that we don't run into problems like this. I want to face Itachi alone, so you should stay here."
"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura called out, as Sasuke ran past Kisame alone. Kakashi sighed once again, something he'd done a lot in the last three years.
"Just like Itachi" Kisame said, as he watched Sasuke disappear in the distance. "Loners, driven on by the hatred they feel. Still, it's only right that Itachi will be the one to finish him off. After all, they say that an Uchiha can only be defeated one on one by another Uchiha right?"
"Shut your mouth!" Naruto yelled, as he prepared to attack. "I'll kill you!"
"No, Naruto" Kakashi declared, as he brought his arm across Naruto's chest to stop him from moving. "We take him down together. Looks like we're in look though. We get to take out two Akatsuki members in one day."
