XXVI: … And His Secret Abilities

Sagase Ichiro
First Person's Point of View

I groaned heavily, my entire body still weak from the multiple forbidden jutsu I had to use before I fell unconscious. I could faintly remember my mother forcing others to give me chakra, pulling me back from a void I almost succumbed to, but even then I still felt as if I was missing something.

Then, as I tried to recall previous memories, I understood what it was. Sayomi had briefly mentioned I would lose part of myself, part of my memories, but I had not realized they would be ones of such importance to me. I could not remember when Kimimaro came into my life, something that hurt above all, or my Jounin exam. The day I graduated from the Academy was lost, including my mother's reaction the following night. I was sure there were more that had left me, but for now that was all I fought to reclaim. I simply couldn't.

When I could at last take in my surroundings, I noticed I was on the back of someone with dark hair. I knew Itachi immediately, carrying me on his back and holding tight to the fabric shielding my legs. He did not seem troubled with the extra burden, something I was thankful for, and I could tell without trying that I would not be able to walk.

"Ita," I whispered, onyx eyes trained to my surroundings. We were in some sort of village with others I could not recognize. "Where are we? Who are they?"

Itachi's blind eye moved to me and then he twisted his head around the other way to view me properly. Even with the forbidden jutsu to give life to him again, his eye had not been recovered from using Izanami. It was a small sacrifice, along with my memories, that I hoped he was glad to pay.

"We are in Konoha," he disclosed quietly, the hood over his head something that kept him from view. I did not wear such a cloak, because I had never been seen here before and none would recognize my presence. "We are traveling with Suigetsu, Juugo, Orochimaru, and Sasuke."

"Did you say…" My teeth ground together painfully, "Orochimaru? After what he did to Sayomi-"

"It is necessary," the Uchiha cut me off, "for now. He will not touch Sasuke as long as I'm around. This also means, if she should come around again, he will not touch Kobayashi Sayomi either."

"I agree. I won't let it happen either." I situated myself further on his back, trying to find Sasuke. "Where is he?"

"Staring down at the village. He needs to regain his sentiment. I hope it brings back good memories and not those that will further his resolve to destroy this place." Itachi pushed me further up on his back when he noticed my movement. "You still can't walk."

"Guilty."

We traveled in silence at the back of the group from that point on, though I studied the dark cloaks in front of me. None of the village spared us a wayward glance, though it must have been because their strongest shinobi were off protecting our world from devastation. It was somewhere I should have been, but my place was beside the two Uchiha for the time being.

We traveled to a destroyed sector of the town, one that felt as foreboding as the war itself. I could not place my feelings, even as Sasuke moved a large stone from atop a set of stairs leading underground, but as soon as the stale air beneath hit me I knew why.

This was what was left of the Uchiha Compound.

"We are in the Nakano Shrine," Itachi explained when he felt my form stiffen. "It is a sacred for the Uchiha. It will welcome your presence, but the others will not feel as at home as we will."

"But, I am not part of the Uchiha."

"Your Sharingan says otherwise. Activate it, if you can."

I did as instructed, though felt the dull throb of pain behind my eyes. Water collected in the corners from the strain, but I held up as best as I could under Itachi's instruction.

Through the dusty halls we continued until coming to a room bearing a single stone in it. I could not quite make out the words, but tried desperately to do so until I heard the simple call of, "Mangekyo Sharingan, Ichiro." After that, with the tomoe in my eyes spinning to activate the dojutsu, I gasped.

"I can read it!" When my voice became louder, all eyes turned to me and I could fully put a face to the name Kobayashi Sayomi had tried to kill. He was certainly snake-like in all aspects, but the darkness that was buried in his golden eyes was unmistakable. Why had Sasuke enlisted the help of such a monster?

"Eh, the brat's up," the one with sharp teeth scoffed. "It's about damn time too!"

"Suigetsu," Sasuke warned. "Shut up. That 'brat' can kill you." To my surprise, the man did so easily before the young Uchiha waved me over. Itachi carried me, much to my embarrassment at not being able to do so myself, and when I was before the stone and next to Sasuke, he set me upon the ground. "Read it while you have the chance. Do so quickly."

And I did, though in a way I wish I hadn't. I yearned for knowledge, considering I wanted to prove myself at such a young age and disregarding my position as Jounin, but this was stuff I had never dreamed of learning. It spoke of the Sage of the Six Paths, Uchiha Madara's 'body', the secrets of the Mangekyo Sharingan, and most of all it spoke of the Juubi, the Ten-Tails. I was in awe, but it was short-lived when Itachi pulled me away to watch what unfolded next.

"Keep him far enough back," Orochimaru warned, eyeing me with some sort of sick delight I could not place. "Impossible child…"

"Eh?" I was not allowed to speak again, but instead had been given a front-row view to the horrors of multiple White Zetsu being dragged from Sasuke's body.

Orochimaru pulled a mask over his face, one that was the embodiment of a shinigami, and with a frightening ease, the very same sort of beast arose behind it. It cut open itself, giving Orochimaru the use of his limp arms once more. I had read in Sayomi's journal that she had taken those arms from him, and not the soul either. How had he regained them?

"He is a sly snake," Itachi murmured, though I didn't know I had spoken my thoughts aloud. "That is a question for another time, Ichiro."

Again, I was silenced and simply took to leaning my chin on Itachi's shoulder, in awe over the thing that happened next. The undead had been one thing, a feat all in itself, but to see this was monumental, unbelievable.

Because before my eyes, the four Hokage were resurrected, despite their souls being given to this very jutsu so very, very long ago.

"This Orochimaru guy again!" Tobirama, the second Hokage, spat.

"What do you mean?" the 'God of the Shinobi World', Senju Hashirama, asked. My mouth had slackened and I thought I was honestly dreaming. What side was Sasuke going to put these guys on? If it was not the side Naruto, Bee, Kimimaro, and my mother fought for, I would leave and warn everyone the moment I had the chance.

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi, went into an explanation of how Orochimaru had removed the seal of the Reaper Death Seal and brought them back with Edo Tensei, a feat that was deemed remarkable. Of course, imagine my surprise when I realized the 'God of the Shinobi World' was nothing more than a silly dolt just like Uzumaki Naruto. From a laughing fit to complete hilarity for one that should have been more serious, more stoic, I thought I was going to faint.

"He is not what I expected," I grumbled in my guardian's ear. "In fact, he reminds me of Naruto."

"Yeah," Itachi agreed plainly.

After Hashirama pouted over his younger brother, Tobirama, chastising him into silence, I truly did just lean my head down and pray to Kami-sama that this was some sick, twisted dream and that the beings before me were a figment of my imagination. Unfortunately, I can't have everything I want so easily and I was forced to believe this was real.

"I simply wanted to create an occasion for him to talk to you about his strong wish," Orochimaru called to the four before us. All eyes turned to Sasuke, undead and alive, and the youngest of the two Uchiha brothers stepped forth willingly.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. There is something I want to ask you." My interests were piqued and after the spew of recognition and blatant rudeness- the later coming from the Second before the First told him to shut up- Sasuke continued, "Third, why did you order Itachi to do that? I killed Itachi to take revenge for the Uchiha Clan-"

"Itachi is not dead," Sarutobi mentioned, motioning his hand towards us. "If he killed you, how are you alive?"

Itachi seemed disinclined to answer at first, but I nudged him in the ribs with my foot. If Orochimaru tried to come after me later for what I could do- if he did not know already- I would find a way to permanently rid the world of that damned snake. I would do it for Sayomi to thank her for allowing Itachi to live, for allowing me to get to know a man that would be my mentor.

"Because of Sagase Ichiro," the stoic, formerly dead Uchiha said flatly. "Kobayashi Sayomi crafted a jutsu to allow the undead to be brought back at the expense of other lives. Much like Orochimaru just did to resuscitate you, though different."

"That's impossible," Tobirama replied. "That is only a future dream for shinobi. To bring the dead back is impossible."

"Obviously not," I scoffed. "She taught me something that only those bound to a certain summoning could do, though I lost a good few of my memories and have obviously been useless and unconscious for days on end."

"My perfect host body," Orochimaru cooed, letting his disgusting tongue rake across his lips. "Only one with my genes could manage to create something like that. Heh…"

"That is not what I was asking," Sasuke intervened, causing everyone to focus on him again. "I want to hear it from you, Third."

"I see…" Sarutobi sighed heavily as his eyes trained to the ground. "After forcing him to kill his family, we marked him as a traitor and eventually had him watch over the Akatsuki alone." Again, he went onto a spiel of things Sasuke and I had already learned from Uchiha Itachi himself. Despite what was being said, the one holding me did not stiffen or snort in pride, but just simply listened. "We entrusted everything to him alone and he carried it out, considering his mission."

"I understand how Sasuke feels in a way. If someone forced Kimi to do something like that and left me alive after he killed my mother, I would hate my village too," I whispered to Itachi and it was then his grip on my legs tightened.

"Don't speak like that." The way his tone curdled, fierce and angry but still cautious, made my blood freeze. He meant it.

"He did all this on the condition that I protect you."

Sasuke's mouth quivered just once, the sadness prevalent in his dark eyes that resembled my own, and I knew if Itachi would have died back when Edo Tensei was released that his younger brother might have gone on a rampage after bawling in front of these four heroes. Thankfully, Sayomi had been looking out for the boy as she always had. Itachi was alive because she had allowed me to know a jutsu I would have never even realized was possible.

"The Uchiha are a clan possessed by evil!" I had skipped out a good portion of the conversation then, so enraptured by my own thoughts, but Tobirama's hatred of the Uchiha drew me out. My teeth ground together and it took all I had to not leap at the man for insulting Itachi and Sasuke- and me, if my Sharingan was hereditary.

Even then, I continued to listen. I was enraptured by Tobirama's tale, depicting how the Uchiha know love unlike any other. That is why they become evil if they lose a loved one. I knew, at the bottom of my heart, that if something happened to my mother and Kimimaro, I would become the same. I would seek revenge religiously until I was graced with the blood of those that took them from me on my hands.

With all my similarities to this clan, it was hard to believe I was not an Uchiha. The Sharingan had been the first key point to bring up my secret longing to know, but these feelings within were proof enough. I was an Uchiha, by blood, and I needed to know…

Who was my father?

Who had my mother forsaken?

Had they loved her enough to want to kill someone when she left them?

Had she even left them, or had they died? Considering my mother was obviously not an Uchiha since her eyes were the color of the clearest oceans and she did not possess the Sharingan, I knew that if my father had died, my mother's disposition would not allow her to hunt down the one that killed him.

"Your father is alive, somewhere." Those groundbreaking words, uttered from the mouth of Uchiha Itachi, made my head spin. How had he read my thoughts? Did he know my actions so well after spending such a short amount of time with me? Was that even possible?

"He is not… Madara… right?" The eyes from before turned to the two of us, needing to know just as badly as I did if that monster was my birth-parent. If he was, I do not know how I would proceed in this battle. I would kill him, if I had the strength- and I knew I did not- but if my mother was currently facing the man she had slept with, possibly loved, I was unsure on what she would do.

"No, he isn't. That's a tale for another time."

"Itachi, why don't you tell us?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes on his brother. "Do you know?"

"Listen to the First, Sasuke. His words are important." Itachi craned his neck so his good eye could view Hashirama. "Continue, Hokage-sama."

"This will take a minute. I'll hurry." Hashirama took a seat and I urged Itachi to put me down so I could return the blood to my legs. When I was situated, the undead man began his tale.

Madara and Hashirama had met as children, skipping stones together without telling each other their surname. The Senju and the Uchiha had been at odds for some time, thus the two becoming friends would be unlikely if they knew one another. Gradually, the two got along and in some semblance, did become the friends they were never destined to be.

As a child, Hashirama had detested the idea of war. To this day, it was obvious he hated it, but his brother was not so keen on avoiding bloodshed. Tobirama knew what had to be done from a young age. Thus, when the younger Senju tailed his older brother, discovering his new friend at the river, it was only a matter of time before it would become nothing but war.

And it did; Madara broke off their friendship, their dreams of a perfect settlement, because other Senju clan members had killed his brothers. It had broken Hashirama's heart, but even then he knew there was still something inside Madara that valued him. Even still, the future leader of the Uchiha Clan did have a new purpose for Hashirama, and that was to end his life as his Sharingan awoke that day.

Through the years, they fought endlessly to become the heads of their clans. A time of peace could come, but Izuna's death- Madara's remaining brother- marked the beginning of the end of the war, but not in the way the two had hoped as children. Near the end, when Madara was beaten and had the Senju's hands ready to slay him, he gave Hashirama a choice when he pleaded for something else, for a way to spare Madara and bring peace.

Kill your brother… or kill yourself, Hashirama.

In the end, Hashirama had been prepared to commit suicide. It was Madara's hand that ceased his death, keeping the kunai from piercing skin and showing, in a way, that he still cared very deeply for his old friend. A pact was made for peace between the feuding clans, but peace can never last in this shinobi world. Even I knew that at such a young age. I had killed, I had been wounded, I had been near death… I knew that peace was a forlorn hope. Yet, thanks to Madara's appearance with the masked man, the entirety of this world was closer to peace. The Five Great Nations had joined together under one symbol to abolish the threat to their livelihoods. In a way, peace had been accomplished.

Again, peace cannot last.

Hashirama and Madara built Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and the Senju leader wanted the Uchiha head to become the first Hokage. Unfortunately, he was the only one that shared that dream, that hope, and Hashirama was named the First Hokage soon after. It brought a bitterness to Madara's heart, and that was when things changed and became evil.

The Final Valley was created the last time the two faced, though Hashirama prevailed over Madara for good by stabbing him in the back. It was not an honorable way to win, but I would be lying to say I would not do the same thing to protect my village, my loved ones.

At long last, the final question came…

"Sasuke," Orochimaru began in a drawl and I forced my legs to work to stand up. I felt out of place here, considering I was from an entirely different village, but in a way I could relate. I wanted those I loved to be safe, and that included Kumogakure. Despite the secrets hiding, despite everything going on around me… "What will you choose? To destroy the village or…"

Sasuke's eyes opened, the Sharingan blazing as he stared his brother down. "I will do what my brother did. I will not let his previous death be in vain… I will not allow his name to be sullied any longer. I will protect my brother… and my village!"

And so, I knew I would follow Sasuke to the end.

-( Our Sweetest Memory )-

Uchiha Sasuke
Third Person's Point of View

From atop the stone heads of the Great Hokage Monument, four figures stood proud, ready for what was to come, as another seven stood just above, staring with pride at Konohagakure no Sato and what it had become.

In the darkness, the swimming night, the cries of the Hokage brought forth a new era, but it was not their voices that carried to the ears of the youngest in that party.

Uchiha Sasuke, his red eyes burning into the skies above, asked one last favor. "Orochimaru, there is one more I wish for you to resurrect before we leave."

"Oh?"

He had one last person he wished to honor, one last person he owed a debt to that was greater than all besides the one to his brother.

He would honor her by giving her a gift she would cherish forever.

"Ichiro, when your strength is regained, you will need to perform that jutsu at least one last time."

"Yeah, I think I know what you're wanting."

And he did…

For her.

Next in 'Our Sweetest Memory':
With Maname in the cruel hands of the Uchiha duo, it was expected for Kimimaro and even Kakashi to bring nothing but fury upon their heads. Would Maname be rescued? And... did Kimimaro just ask Maname to sleep? What did Kobayashi Sayomi say to the bone-wielder? And what was that strange emotion behind Hatake Kakashi's eyes?