Disclaimer: If Naruto was mine, Hinata would have died long ago.

And here I present the fourteenth chapter of the prince of rain.

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GO!

sincerely,

Toph the Trickster

Chapter Fourteen:

Honor of the Fallen

"You called me, Namikaze Minato?

"...

"I see; so you wish for me to deal with this problem you have here?

"...

"I certainly hope you have taken into account what I have observed, yes?

"...

"Very well, then, I suggest that you bid your child goodbye now, as you will have to wait a while before you acquire the privilege see him again.

"Now...

"Let us begin."

-The God of Death to Namikaze Minato.

~TtT~

"What do you think of this?"

"Please explain, Toyotomi, you were being vague again." requested Tokugawa as they looked at the battle that was unfolding before their eyes.

The moment the rescue team got away, Chikushodo immediately engaged in combat with the two Akatsuki members that attempted to remove the said team from the mission.

From the distance, the two storm guards saw the fox jump to the side as Hidan threw his triple-blade-scythe at the animal while Kakuzu started to flash through several seals; all three combatants were now on the ground, their flying companions removed quite early on in the fight.

Shortly after dodging the religious's attack, Chikushodo dashed onward to rip Hidan's throat out while the latter was trying to pull his weapon back to his body.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu! (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu)" the two Ame shinobi could hear the distinct voice of the senior between the two missing nin cry out.

"I mean this." Toyotomi gestured to the area around them as light from the large fireball radiated through their surroundings. "This whole situation we're in." they continued to talk casually as they both heard a resounding explosion coming from the venue of the battle, ignoring the smoke that blasted past them.

"As in this specific battle, or the mission as a whole?" the earth-user of the two storm guards asked.

Back at the battle, the smoke from the explosion cleared to reveal the fox standing behind a large, stone, demon's hand that was ten to fifteen times his size; it was obvious to everyone present that it was that hand that blocked the fire jutsu.

All the participants moved, and the fighting started once again.

"I'd say both, senpai." Toyotomi stated. "Both this battle, and this mission is not something that we usually are exposed to."

His companion nodded. "True," Tokugawa looked on as Kakuzu sent another one of his extending fists at the fox; the latter dodging the attack, and jumping over Hidan's scythe as the weapon's owner attempted to decapitate the animal. "But it's not always that we are sent on missions that require us to take a hand in the rescue of a kage from band of mercenary missing-nin; am I correct?"

"Yes," they heard a voice say from behind them before the other shinobi could give his senior a response. "This type of mission is quite unique from what you usually take as shinobi of Ame."

The pair turned around to find Chikushodo sitting under a tree behind them.

"Kage Bunshin?" rhetorically asked the water style master among the three, his tone amused.

The fox clone merely nodded, not a word coming from between its teeth.

"What is it, sir?" Tokugawa took the initiative when he noticed his superior's regalia.

The fox remained silent for a while, closing its eyes as the battle between the two Akatsuki and the real fox continued. "I came here to inform you that I have managed to gain..." the beast paused, allowing the two listeners' imaginations to attempt to complete the statement that he was about to make: "... Clearance from the prince;" Chikushodo opened his eyes, the said organ's now a cold, piercing purple.

"I am certain you both know what that means, yes?"

The eyes of both shinobi widened at the implications of the statement.

It was the younger of the two that spoke first: "Sir, what are we to do now, then?"

"It's simple really." the senior answered for the clone; he looked to the fox. "I presume, then that we are to pursue the rescue team, and assist them in the completion of their own orders?"

The fox nodded. "That is what we were sent here for." it looked to the ongoing battle once again: the real Chikushodo had just jumped off a summoned bat, and called forth a large quantity of iron spikes that rained on his opponents from the air.

The clone turned back to the two people it was giving orders to: "Move quickly, it shouldn't take more than another ten minutes before Chikushodo uses that;"

The fox clone looked both subordinates in the eye, and, using all the authority it could make present in is voice, said:

"Go."

~TtT~

This person… Sakura thought with widened eyes. This is Uchiha Itachi.

"Uchiha Itachi?" Chiyo commented, appraising the Uchiha prodigy. "So this is the boy that murdered his entire family."

The comment itself caused the pink-haired girl to stiffen. So it was Itachi who executed the massacre. She turned her glance to the Uchiha of the group. Is this the person that Sasuke said he wanted to kill all those years ago?

The aforementioned Uchiha, meanwhile, just continued to look at his brother, the former's Mangekyo spinning silently.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Itachi asked, activating his Mangekyo, and sweeping his glance over the group: all of them entered their respective defensive stances, preparing their weapons in the process. "How have you been, Sasuke?" he turned to the younger of the two Uchiha. "It seems that you've activated your second stage; I presume that you've done what I advised you to do then, perhaps?"

Sasuke frowned at the statement while Kakashi's eyes widened. He turned to the former: "So, he told you about the Sharingan, then?" the silver-haired man asked.

Sasuke nodded. "It was during the massacre." He kept his gaze on his older brother, taking note of, even the slightest, movement. "He used it on me after I found him with our parents." Sasuke directed his next statement to the Akatsuki member. "Isn't that right, onii-sama?"

The wordplay that Sasuke made use of caused Itachi's guard to drop, his eyes to widen, and his Mangekyo to revert to its natural state.

"Sasuke," Itachi whispered, "I didn't expect you to-."

He was interrupted when he heard the sound of a thousand flapping wings, and felt an arm punch through his chest.

"Chidori! (One Thousand Birds)" Itachi's wide eyes looked to his punctured chest, taking in the sight of lighting; he turned his shocked expression to the Sasuke that was standing behind him:

Itachi gasped as the Sasuke that used the Habataku Chidori wrenched the latter's arm free of the former's spine. "H-h-how-?"

And much to the older brother's surprise, Sasuke's answer was totally unexpected:

"Tsukuyomi is really a great move, isn't it, onii-sama?" Sasuke said with an arrogant grin.

Everything within sight of the older brother shattered as the genjutsu was broken; it revealed to the world the sight of Uchiha Itachi, panting.

"It seems…" the aforementioned man gasped. "… that you've gotten a good grip of your abilities, Sasuke." He stared at Sasuke, noticing the fact that his younger brother was sweating profusely. It appears that even you are not exempted from the exhausting effects of the Tsukuyomi, little brother. He had already caught his breath, and returned to his previous stance.

"When did you activate it, Sasuke?"

The said teenager raised one of his hands, and pointed his index finger at the object on Itachi's nose. "When you put your glasses." He went into his combat stance.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, brother." Itachi stated in a blank tone, his expression reflecting his voice. "But, why didn't you kill me?"

Sasuke's profile remained unchanged: "I have my reasons, onii-sama." At the last word, the younger Uchiha's expression took on a mischievous smirk.

Itachi, however, as opposed to his initial blunder, lowered the intensity of his reaction to narrowing his eyes. "May I ask as to what those reasons mat be?"

Sasuke's smirk disappeared upon hearing his brother's reply. "Nothing much, really…" He drew two kunai from his holster, and held them back-handed, his thumbs sent through the hole located at the back of the hilt. "I just have a few questions."

Itachi tilted his head, ever so slightly, to the side. "And those questions may be?" I wonder…

Sasuke shook his head: "What I have to ask you, brother, is not important right now." He stole a glance at his teammates:

Sakura already had her gloves on, and she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

Kakashi was already had his left hand ready, placed over the lowered part of his forehead protector, and his right hand inside his weapon pouch.

The sand shinobi were also ready, and antsy, for the upcoming fight as well:

Temari held, in each hand, a small battle fan, abandoning her larger one due to their close proximity to their opponent.

Chiyo entered the same taijutsu stance she made use of during her brief skirmish with Sasuke.

Matsuri, meanwhile, already had a kunai hanging, by a wire, from each of her fingers; the said weapons had explosive tags wrapped around the blades.

All of the shinobi held the same expression, their countenances betraying no thought or emotion to the single shinobi that they collectively faced.

Sasuke looked back to his older brother: "After all, we have a mission to complete." He then began to flash through several seals as marks of black flame began to across his skin, the tattoos originating from the left joint between his neck and shoulder. "And I'd be damned if I let you get in my way."

Itachi stared at the spreading marks of the cursed seal of heaven. "What are you doing with that, Sasuke?" He gestured to the seal as his younger brother stopped his current movements. "That power is from Orochimaru, I presume?" his gaze turned to a disapproving glare. "That power is not yours, but his.

"I wanted to see how much power you have gained, brother dearest, but it seems that you are only using things that do not belong to you."

The sibling snorted at his counterpart's statement. "I've met many shinobi, and each of them has told me of where they got their power." He completed the set of seals he was forming from moments ago. "Some said from hate." Sasuke sent a sharp glare at Itachi, making the latter take a step back unconsciously.

The image of Naruto entered the younger Uchiha's mind: "Another said from protecting one's loved ones." The cursed seal started to spread again, now moving to cover the right side of his face, and the upper part of Sasuke's right arm.

"But which of these are true?" he formed his left hand into a claw as his other hand wrapped around the other's wrist.

"It doesn't really matter." Sasuke's skin was black now, the whites of his eyes a shade of stark grey; his Sharingan deactivated to reveal shining golden irises before flashing into the familiar six-point star of his Mangekyo.

"Power is power, where one gets it is not important." Sasuke looked to Sakura, their eyes meeting; they stared deeply at each other before the pink-haired female sent her teammate a nod.

The sound of flapping birds began to fill the air.

Lightning erupted from the claw that was Sasuke's left hand.

"And it is that that will never change."

The Chidori became black.

"Do you hear that sound, onii-sama?" Sasuke asked his older brother. "…The sound of flapping wings? ..."

Sakura looked to Kakashi, who, in turn, nodded to her.

"But before I go there," the male holding the collection of black lightning stated. "I might as well tell you what this move is about:"

Kakashi sent another look to Chiyo; the old woman nodded.

"The Chidori, the move I used earlier, was a move originally made to protect one's friends."

The elder woman placed her hands on each of the Suna kunoichi's shoulders, squeezing slightly; they nodded as well.

"This move is different from that.

"Do you remember what you said about the clan?"

Itachi opened his mouth to give his brother a reply when-

"Shut up and listen." Sasuke growled. "I never told you to answer.

"You said the clan thought itself above others, all because of the Sharingan," he looked to Itachi, grinning wildly. "Your right, onii-sama; we were arrogant.

"We were using the Sharingan for selfish reasons, only advancing ourselves.

"Now, let's look back to what I told you earlier: the sound of flapping birds.

"The sound is the flapping of the birds is the sound of our respects flying to the sky; we remember all of those that we have lost."

As the older brother listened to his relative, he couldn't help but react. Sasuke, you actually thought of that? Itachi couldn't help but smile slightly when he realized that his brother, although not growing in the way he had planned, grew into something more, something more beautiful. You are something, little brother.

"Very well, let's see if your memories can match against my power." the older Uchiha stated as he began to flash several seals of his own. "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu! (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu)"

And the fireball flew.

Sakura punched the earth as the rest of their group jumped up to avoid the force of her impact with the ground below them, resulting in Itachi's loss of balance.

Sakura then jumped and rolled to the side to avoid the body of concentrated heat that was fireball.

Kakashi, who landed on Sakura's right-hand side dashed around the projectile's trajectory to arrive at Itachi's left; he flashed through several seals. "Doton: Doryuuheki! (Earth Style: Earth Style Wall)"

Behind the Akatsuki member, a stone wall, decorated with four dog heads, rose from the ground.

Temari, meanwhile, jumped directly above the fireball, accompanied by the Kazekage's student; she opened the object as large as it could go, with Matsuri positioned behind it.

She then swung: "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!(Wind Scythe Jutsu)"

The result?

The fireball that, was then, positioned right below them expanded beyond reason when the technique hit it; turning the are that the rescue team had occupied earlier into a place of blazing plains, consuming everything above the area process.

They killed themselves? Itachi wondered, but was unable to give himself an answer when he remembered that Kakashi was still next to him. Shit-!

The Uchiha was greeted with the sight of Sakura spinning in the air while being pulled in by Chiyo who was making use of ninja wire.

The next thin Itachi knew, there was a large fissure separating himself from Kakashi.

It was then that realization struck the elder Uchiha;

He looked to his front: Blocked by fire...

He looked to his right: Stone wall...

He looked to his left: Fissure...

They're boxing me in...

That leaves... Itachi gasped when he looked back.

There, in front of him, was his younger brother: skin as black as night, shouting, fanged jaws, daggers for claws, and Mangekyo blazing.

Sasuke...

"Here are my respects for you, brother!" Sasuke declared as he drew his arm back a little more, keeping his ground low, with his movements minimal.

"With this, I honor you, Naruto, and us all!

"Habataku Chidori! (A Thousand Flapping Birds)"

I once said that it doesn't matter where one got power.

I still stand true to that; it doesn't really matter.

It's how you use what you have that counts the most.

~TtT~

"Yo, kid," it was Mitarashi Anko. "Ready to go?"

At the center of Konoha's gates, stood the Prince of Rain; he looked over his shoulder to look at the companion that the Hokage gave him for this mission.

Anko was dressed in her regular attire: her tan trench-coat, mesh shirt, and skirt.

The prince's outfit, meanwhile was less generic, or redundant, than that:

He was dressed in a black buttoned-down shirt that had a high collar, over which, he had something that resembled a chunin vest, albeit with am ankle-length train and three slits: two at the sides and one at the back; his leggings were made up of a pair of cream-colored pants.

Over it all, he wore his Storm Guard Coat, hat and all.

The blond royal smirked. "That depends, Mitarashi-chan, are you?"

The said woman frowned at the speaker's words: "Don't be smug with me, you little pervert."

"Oh." The prince feign hurt at her words. "First it was insanity; now you plead perversion?" he smirked again. "Make up your mind, will you, Anko."

She huffed at his words. "I'll make up my mind once you make up your mind with what to call me; you keep changing your references; what are you gonna' do if someone starts questioning my relationship to you, your majesty?"

The reply she received?

"No, never mind." he laughed heartily. "It's far too enjoyable to give up." his face then turned serious: "Yes, Anko, I'm ready."

Anko had to blink several times when she noticed his attitude change. Whoa, talk about a mood swing. "Alright then, brat, Hokage-sama told us that we're heading to assist the rescue team." she walked on, leaving the prince at he gate; upon walking several meters ahead of him, she stopped, and turned to face him:

"Let's go."

So?

What do you think?

How was the description during conversions and combat? (overall)

also:

What changes can you point out from Sasuke and Itachi?

P.S.:

On a personal level, I really hate Sasuke, but that isn't shown here.

(that is, if you noticed)