How's everyone doin? Well, another chapter, another little intro from me. Reading over last chapter I found some spelling errors, which happens quite a lot. I just wanna apologize for not noticing them beforehand and thank you for bearing with me and not going crazy with "FIX YOUR SPELLING, RETARD!" comments. 'Preciate that. Okay, that'll be all from me today, so until next time…
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He had been known as a monster. They had called him a demon. He may as well have been a demon; he lived in a dark hell. They stared at him with cold eyes, they ignored his very existence. He had hated the villagers and wished all of his pain upon them. Why did only he alone have to feel so much pain? The way Naruto was going back then, he would have ended up just like Gaara, making other people suffer and killing to feel alive.
But something happened. He met someone who looked at him without hatred, someone who didn't stare right through him as if he weren't there. When Naruto was with Iruka-sensei, he didn't feel worthless. The day that Mizuki had revealed that Naruto had the kyuubi sealed within him, his young mind was delicate and confused. But Iruka had defended Naruto and let him know that he was not responsible for his parent's death; that he was not a demon. That was the moment when Naruto had learned the true strength and importance of bonds with other people. Soon after that came Sakura and Sasuke, Kakashi and Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune, Team Gai and the rest of the rookie nine, and Gaara. Then there was Sato and Baine, Takahiro and Akiko, and of course, Suki. He had made it his duty to protect his friends, he had made it his nindo to never abandon them, never go back on his word, and never back down from anyone. When he was still a boy, he had made it his goal to become Hokage. If these things weren't worth dying for, Naruto didn't know what was.
He stood in front of Akatsuki now, prepared to fight for everything he believed was worth fighting for. Two S-class ninja were his opponents, but he wouldn't run away. He couldn't; he didn't know how to. Five kage bunshin's stood around him, ready to attack.
Itachi, after many fights with Rakugosha, had learned not to take the Naruto's talent lightly. He could take his opponents by surprise when they least expected it: that was the ex-prankster's greatest ability. Even someone like Itachi who had the sharingan had to be careful not to get caught up in all of Naruto's shadow clone tricks.
The man who had at one time been considered the pride of the Uchiha clan was ready to finally take in the jinchuuriki that had been assigned to him.
"Zetsu's poison must have had some side-effects, Naruto-kun. You're delusional. You and your little group have never been able to defeat us, so what makes you think that you can do it by yourself?"
Naruto brought his fist to his chest.
"My friends…they give me strength. Aki-chan and Suki may not look like they're doing much right now, but they're always with me, giving me strength. The others, Takahiro, Baine, Sato, their memory gives me tremendous power."
He extended his arm and his fist out in front of him.
"I won't lose here. It's true that the two of you can overpower any ninja no matter how strong he is. But I'm not fighting alone. I'm never alone, not anymore."
He looked over at Sasuke who was still trying desperately to control his chakra and the curse mark.
"Did you hear that, Sasuke?" Naruto thought, "I know you know exactly how I'm feeling right now…"
(flashback)
The sand shuriken from Gaara's Shukaku body pummeled Naruto through the trees. Helpless to do anything, Sasuke watched as his team mate was repeatedly hit with wave after wave of sand. But each time, the loud mouthed boy in the orange clothes got back to his feet.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke could hear him cursing.
"Damn it!"
Even Gaara was surprised that Naruto had gotten up. At this point, Sasuke had no clue what his friend was thinking.
"What is this feeling gushing out of me? I don't know why, but I don't want to lose to this guy even if I have to die!"
(end flashback)
"Watch closely, Sasuke!" Naruto called out. "I'll help you remember what it's like!"
"Enough talking! I'll crush you!"
The water under Kisame rose up into a giant wave, and he rode on the top of it by concentrating his chakra into his feet. The wave came crashing down, defeating the five clones, and Kisame tore through the real Naruto with his sizeable sword. Rather, he tore through what he thought was the real Naruto. All six of them had been clones, and Kisame jumped back to Itachi's side in disappointment.
"So, it was a clone from the beginning, eh?"
"That's right!"
Naruto's voice surrounded them. Shadow clones ran at them from every direction. There were hundreds and hundreds of them…thousands of them.
Surfing on the water's surface as he had before, Kisame weaved in and out of the clones, slashing at them wherever he went. Itachi stayed away from the clones while burning through twenty or thirty of them at a time with his fire. The Naruto clones threw shuriken at Kisame, and no matter where he went, the outlawed criminal had no chance to dodge the five hundred projectiles that were coming his way. But the Kisame that was hit turned out to be a water clone, and five more of them leapt out of the water and took out a few more shadow clones before they too were destroyed. Kisame, hidden underneath the water, focused his chakra into hand signs and used the same jutsu he had performed on Kakashi and the others.
"Suiton! Oonami Bakuha!" (Water Element: Surge Explosion)
The mass shadow clones that were caught in the blast were puffed away, leaving only a small, manageable amount of them standing. Itachi turned to deal with the rest of the clones.
That's when Naruto came charging in on a great toad's back. He threw two kunai at Kisame, but he easily dodged. Another water clone jumped out of the water and got a hold of Naruto.
"Suirou no jutsu!" (Aqua Prison)
As the trap surrounded Naruto, the henge was dispelled and the small toad known as Gamakichi swam happily in the small orb of water. Meanwhile, the large frog transformed back into Naruto. He came at Kisame with a punch that the larger man caught in his hand. Like an acrobat, he cart wheeled and aimed a kick at Kisame's head, but his foot was also stopped by the elbow of the swordsman's katana hand. Naruto grinned. He had distracted Kisame and now that both of his hands were full, it was time to attack.
The two kunai that he had thrown were actually two clones in henge, and now they had returned to their normal forms. One of them quickly formed the Rasengan in the other's hand. Kisame tried to move, but Naruto held him in place.
"Rasengan!"
The spiraling sphere made contact with its target, leaving a circular mark on his blue skin and sending him flying back.
Yamato was even more impressed.
"To be able to maintain so many clones and transformations at once…that boy is really something else. Guess he didn't need my help after all…"
Kisame's aqua prison was undone, and Gamakichi hopped playfully onto Naruto's head.
"Those were some nice moves, squirt!" said the small amphibian.
"Hey, don't call someone bigger than you 'squirt!'"
"Don't be mean to me, squirt!" called the frog, "or Oya-jii will squash you!"
Kisame was on his hands and knees. He belted out a roar of frustration.
"You….you fucker…I HATE SHADOW CLONES!"
Itachi seemed unfazed, and he spoke in his usual voice of unconcern.
"Zetsu, Kisame, we should leave. Both of you are seriously injured, and we've all exhausted our chakra since we've been fighting for quite a while now."
Naruto wasn't about to let them escape, but using all of those techniques in succession had taken a lot of chakra, especially with the vast number of shadow clones he had created. But he had one more trick up his sleeve. He began to breathe heavily, over-emphasizing his fatigue.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"
A single clone appeared.
"Only one, Naruto-kun? You were foolish and tired yourself out already?"
"What are you talking about? This one clone is more than enough to take care of you. Right, Naruto?" he asked his own clone, patting him on the back.
"That's right!" the clone answered and ran to Itachi.
Itachi wasn't stupid. He knew there was more to this attack than just a single clone. But what has Naruto up to? Did Naruto want him to dodge the clone or destroy it? He decided to bypass the clone and get the real Naruto. His first punch missed, but he managen to lay a single finger on Naruto's shoulder. That was all he needed. It looked like the boy had fallen asleep standing up. The clone exploded.
"Kamikaze Kage Bunshin? You put an explosive on him when you patted it on the back. Shame on you, Naruto-kun, did you really think that would work on me?"
Naruto was trapped in Itachi's world. He was standing in the middle of a circle of people. He recognized them easily.
"Kitsune," Takahiro's voice echoed in the small universe, "if I never met you, I'd still be alive. Why did you make me come with you?"
"It's your fault we died," the two brothers said in unison, "why did you kill us?"
Akiko was there as well. "We were happy together, right, Maki-san? Why couldn't we just settle down and be a family together? Why did you have to drag us around on your little quest to save your friend?"
Suki picked up where Akiko left off. "Do our lives mean nothing to you compared to your best friend Sasuke? You were willing to sacrifice Takahiro, Baine, and Sato to save him. Are you willing to sacrifice my life too?"
Naruto was standing next to himself and the graves of his five friends were in front of him. Sasuke was at his side.
"It must be hard for you, Naruto."
"Not really. You came back to Konoha and that's all that matters. Your life is much more important than theirs."
Back in reality, tears were squeezing through Naruto's closed eyes.
Temari and Yamato stood up again. It looked like they would have to fight some more. They were about to advance on Itachi, but an arm reached out and blocked their path. It was Sasuke. Gaining control of the curse mark, he was ready for another go with his brother. Itachi smiled and tossed Naruto aside.
"I may not have much chakra left, but neither do you. Are you sure you want to face me alone, Sasuke?"
Sasuke stared at Naruto. The emotion he was feeling right now…he didn't know what it was. But there was something he could vaguely remember as if it were a dream he had had a long time ago.
(flashback)
"Oi, Naruto. You'd better save Sakura no matter what. And once you rescue her, take her and run. You can do it."
Sasuke began to rise to his feet. The psychotic Gaara was a menacing sight.
"Sasuke…are you…"
"I can buy you some time. If it ends here, it will mean that I was only capable of making it this far. I have already lost everything once. I never want to see an important friend die in front of me again."
(end flashback)
Was that what this was? That day…it felt like a lifetime ago. He had seen the bodies of his clan littered in the streets. He had seen his mother and father's corpses. He never wanted to have to see anything like that happen again. If he lost here, Itachi would take off with Naruto. Something deep inside of Sasuke's gut told him to do everything in his power to stop that from happening. Something was telling him to protect Naruto at all costs. Naruto was…was…
Naruto IS his friend.
Coming to this sudden revelation, Sasuke drew his sword.
"You're not taking him anywhere."
His voice was strong, and sincere. Itachi had killed their mom and dad, slaughtered their family and friends, and left Sasuke alive. He had taken everything. Sasuke remembered the dark loneliness, the hatred that he lost himself in. He had pushed all of the other kids away, jealous of their loving families and the bonds of love that they shared. He thought of himself as superior to them. In his own empty world, that was the only thought he could cling onto. If he wasn't strong, he would never beat Itachi, and so he told himself over and over again that he was the best, and he strove for perfection. He was a genius, called a child prodigy, but always felt a step behind his brother, who had activated the sharingan at an unprecedented age. But then Sasuke met Naruto, a boy who had no parents or family whatsoever. In his heart, Sasuke was eager to get to know him because he also understood loneliness. Both of them, longing for a friend, would never admit a connection.
Naruto, who had never been given attention his entire life, was jealous of Sasuke because everyone seemed to admire him. At that time, Sasuke was still bent on revenge and was hesitant to get close to anyone. That's how their rivalry began.
His mind was a terrible mess, but Sasuke knew one thing for sure: just like when Gaara turned into the Shukaku, and just like when Sasuke had stepped in front of Haku's needles, saving Naruto was more important than revenge.
"If you think you can stop me, little brother, come."
Sasuke did as his brother asked.
"Katon! Ryuka no jutsu!" (Fire Element: Dragon Flame Technique)
We the attack missed, Sasuke made a new set of hand signs.
"Katon! Housenka!" (Fire Element: Mythical Fire Flower)
Multiple fireballs hurtled at Itachi, who used a Doton to hide himself underground. Sasuke jumped into the air and threw several exploding kunai into the ground. The blasts ripped the ground apart and revealed Itachi's hiding spot.
"Seneijashu!"
Sasuke shouted as two snakes shot out and took a hold of his older brother by biting him in the arms. When he landed, Sasuke pulled Itachi towards him and drove the kusanagi straight through his body. However, after a second he realized that his sword had pierced a wooden log. But Sasuke had expected this. When Itachi came in for an attack from behind, Sasuke released the wire he was holding in his teeth and pulled the rest of the wires forward. They came up out of the ground and entangled him. Before Itachi could reach him, he was tied up in the trap Sasuke had set for him.
"Wires? When did you set these?"
"When I threw those kunai, the wires were attached to them."
Their eyes met. Sasuke's sharingan was just as highly developed as Itachi's. The only genjutsu that would work on Sasuke was the Mangekyou, and if Itachi used that now, it wouldn't do him any good. He was already almost out of chakra, and even if he did take out Sasuke, Yamato and Temari could still fight. For the first time in a long time, Itachi was panicking. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught. When he had fought Sasuke earlier, his moves were predictable, easy to counter, and not very well thought out. He only seemed to be using techniques that would cause the most destruction. But just now, Sasuke had actually thought ahead and outsmarted Itachi. What was different?
"Those eyes…is that how our father's looked before you killed him, Itachi?"
Itachi said nothing. He hadn't expected to lose here. He couldn't believe he had gotten caught. Not able to do much of anything, the other two Akatsuki were surprised as well.
"I surprise in them. Yes, our father was probably very surprised. I see uncertainty. I see fear. This is exactly how I wanted to see you, Uchiha Itachi."
The chirping of Chidori rang true.
Sasuke felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Naruto. Yamato had dispelled the genjutsu from him. He searched Sasuke's eyes.
"Wait, Sasuke. Before you kill him, you need to tell me…are you only doing this for revenge? Because if you are..."
Sasuke spoke over him.
"Itachi…you and I have the same last name. We share the same blood. Even so, you are not my brother. Brotherhood goes deeper than blood or name. There is another person who I am proud to call my brother now."
He looked back at Naruto, who withdrew his hand and stepped back
Itachi was still speechless. He could only wait until Sasuke chose to give him death.
"I don't know why you did it," Sasuke continued, "and I don't know why you left me alive. All I know is that you are about to get what you deserve. You ruined my life. I won't let you ruin any others."
He walked right up to Itachi and whispered in his ear.
"Do you know why I was able to beat you, foolish brother? I finally freed myself from my……hatred"
Sasuke pulled his hand back. Itachi's sharingan watched as the chidori moved closer and closer. It was right in front of him, and he couldn't do a thing. With the might of his entire family poured into his chakra, Sasuke slammed the Chidori right into Itachi's face. It exploded like an egg in a microwave. The headless corpse fell to the ground, his spattered blood glowing in the moonlight.
"Itachi!" Kisame yelled for his partner.
"No way…" whispered Zetsu to himself.
Gathering around, the team from Konoha (those that were able to walk) formed a circle to gaze at the gruesome sight.
S-class criminal. Murderer of his family. Member of Akatsuki. Hunter of jinchuuriki. A genius unlike anything the shinobi world had ever seen. Master of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Uchiha Itachi was dead.
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So uhh…whaddya think? Not really an "epic battle" between the two brothers but…take into account their lack of chakra and Itachi's extreme overconfidence. Hopefully none of you will yell at me for killing off Itachi like this or Sasuke's somewhat sudden turnaround :) I'm pretty apprehensive for the reviews I'll receive for this chapter much like I was for the reviews when Orochimaru died. And also sorry for the wait, I've been busy. Actually, that's a lie, I've been lazy. Ok, you can bash the chapter all you want now, I've prepared myself for the worst… :D But c'mon, any chapter where Itachi's head explodes is a good one, no?
Heh, later.
-King of Slackers