Disclaimer: Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto. All characters in this story are copyrights of Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump and Studio Pierrot.
The Lazy Uchiha
By Bud
Chapter 25: Foolish Little Brother
When he arrived on scene, he knew he didn't make it in time. The first thing that greeted his eyes was the mass amount of shadow clones filling the acre of forest, more than any genin should be able to create. Hell, even a typical Jounin, with the exception of himself and a couple others, shouldn't be able to create this much. But Naruto, the loudest and clumsiest ninja in all of Konoha, happened to be the source of such technique. The most he had seen Naruto create at one time was thirty, which didn't really surprise him considering what he had heard from Umino Iruka, Naruto's Chuunin friend and former academy instructor. But two thousand? That was a whole different story.
He just brushed that off to the side for another time.
He didn't care who Naruto was facing, his team taking precedent over such a trivial thing. Everyone that didn't have a Leaf forehead protector was your enemy. One stood off to the side, a shocked expression in her eyes and face. She seemed to be low on chakra, possibly injured, and was also distracted by Naruto's crazy, but effective antics. Ignoring that his student shouted something about a shuriken chapter, whatever that was, he leaped, landing next to a shocked, flabbergasted even, Haruno Sakura. He removed her mask, slapping her a couple times to wake her out of her shocked stupor. He couldn't see Sasuke, and that alone was fueling the fire within him to do something drastic.
Like killing someone.
"S-sensei..." she muttered, looking at him when he removed his mask then back out at the fight. "Naruto.. he..."
"Naruto can take care of himself," he said, shaking her a little bit. "Where is Sasuke?" She gasped.
"Sasuke-kun! He..Ugh!" She tried to stand, but the feeling in her sides grew. Itachi didn't have to be a genius, which he is, to know that she had something broken. Ignoring the sounds of battle, he forced her to lay down, chakra building in his hands before he applied it to her side. What little that he had learned from Mozuku and various other medics that had been under his command was finally paying off. "Sensei... Sasuke-kun.. he.."
"Shhh..." he hushed her, concentrating on the healing procedure. "Is he dead?" Please don't say it..
"N-no, sensei.. he's alive, but.." She coughed, yet felt relieved when the pain along her side faded away. "..but.. that Gaara guy has him trapped in .. some sort of torture technique that's slowly crushing him over time. He said.. the only way to stop it is to defeat him."
"Where?" he asked. She pointed in the direction Sasuke is located. He nodded and began to head in the direction, but Sakura's voice stopped him. "Hn?"
"Sensei... Sasuke, he.." she gulped. "..he.."
"Sakura," he turned his head to look at her. "Tell me when everything has settled down."
"THERE'S NO WAY I CAN LOSE TO THIS GUY!" came a yell filled with anger.
Itachi turned around, just in time to see a giant column of sand shoot up into the air, followed by a gigantic plume of ninja smoke. His calm, uncaring visage didn't even flinch once when the smoke cleared, revealing a gigantic.. raccoon? It looked like a raccoon, to him that is, but it was made out of condensed sand. As for it's size, it was possibly three times the size of the giant serpent summon that he killed off earlier. But, there was something wrong about this summon. It felt.. wrong, in some way he couldn't describe.
"That.. is one big raccoon," he stated in a dead-panned tone.
"Sensei!" Sakura called to him once again. "You have to help Naruto! He can't take on that thing!"
He sighed. "I do not believe that I can I face this creature," he said, shocking the pink-haired kunoichi. "Summoning is something I am not incapable of achieving, but I am not contracted to any creature." But I have something else that will make a difference. His eyes closed briefly, then suddenly snapped open to reveal the 3-point spiral Sharingan.
Mangekyou Sharingan, the Kaleidoscope Copy-Wheel.
"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" Summoning Technique!
The Sharingan faded from Itachi's eyes, his visage taking a look of disbelief at what his subordinate just summon. Summoning at the genin level wasn't unheard of, but it was very rare. Tenten, Gai's subordinate, can summon weapons using her scrolls. There are also technique where a ninja can summon a comrade out of a sticky situation using a scroll of summon that was written in the target's own blood, a safety precaution. Summoning creatures were impossible for genin. Summoning a beast ally was considered a Jounin-level technique, something which he can easily achieve, yet never really required. Yet, Naruto, his subordinate, summoned a creature out to battle the raccoon thing.
Of all things, he summoned Gamabunta, the Frog Boss.
The attack of the Nine-tails happened when he was five years old, a year before he entered the Academy and graduated the same year, two months after Sasuke was born. During the attack, most of the Uchiha who were non-combatants were instructed to take shelter with the rest of the civilian population in their designated shelter sections. Itachi, being the lazy, yet curious genius that he was, sneaked out of the shelter, ran through the heavily damaged streets of Konoha, then climbed the stairs of the Hokage Monument to get the best seat in the house. With a pair of binoculars, he watched the battle between the Nine-Tails Fox demon and the Yondaime Hokage as he rode on top of the head of Gamabunta, the Frog Boss. The first and last image that Itachi saw of the Yondaime before a patrolling ANBU swooped and took him back to his shelter was of the blue eyed, blonde shinobi standing on top of Gamabunta's head, his arms crossed and a look of fearless confidence radiating off his countenance.
The same image that he saw in front of him, copied by Naruto.
"Yondaime-sama..." He shook his head, looking back at Sakura. "Like I said, Sakura, he can take care of himself." Seeing no response from his subordinate, he bounded from tree to tree, looking for his little brother. But in the back of his mind, he was thinking about what he just witnessed. Jiraiya-sama, what have you been teaching him? You and I are going to have a very long talk when I get my hands on you.
Finding Sasuke was real easy since Sakura pointed him in the right direction. The sand claw that held him against one the large forest trees was like finding a blue napkin in a white-washed room. Not even a second after finding him were Sakura's information becoming true. The claw clenched slightly, squeezing his little brother tighter against the tree, making him grimace in pain.
He didn't even form the seals for the technique, only held out his left arm and allowed the blade of chakra to form, beginning at his elbow then stretching along his arm and past his finger tips into a meter long blade of chakra. With several careful swipes of his chakra weapon, Sasuke was freed of the sand, the tiny rock minerals crumbling down to the forest floor little by little. He dispelled his weapon, catching his brother and carefully setting him down on the thick branch. Just by looking at him he could tell that he was injured bad. He couldn't tell if that was his own blood or blood from the enemy that coated him from head to toe. The bandages that he wore on his left arm seemed like they were burned or eaten away, he couldn't tell.
"Ototo..." he murmured, wiping away the blood that covered his face. "Please be alright..." Again, he ignored the sounds of battle. Ignored the earth-shaking impacts of summoned beast trampling the ground, landing or crashing. All that really mattered to him was that his brother, the only family he had remaining, was alive.
"...naruto..."
His eyes snapped open when Sasuke shifted, blinking his eyes awake. Itachi carefully studied him, noting the tears building when both their pitch black orbs met eye to eye. The last time Sasuke shed tears was many years ago when they were still mourning the loss of their family. Something bad must have happened here to effect his little brother. Something so horrible that it would crack the shell that he placed upon himself, that they both placed upon each other.
"A-aniki..." he began, gasping for breath as the emotions that he normal held in check were surfacing after so many years. "I.. Naruto.. I.."
"What about Naruto?"
"I.. I kil... I killed him...I killed Naruto..!"
"Wha..." Itachi paused when his brother clutched his body, letting himself go after such a long time. His words made no sense to the elder Uchiha sibling, since he just saw Naruto summon a huge frog to fight a huge raccoon made out of sand. Yet, his brother was an emotional wreck, not to mention physically, because he killed Naruto, someone who was alive? But... Then it suddenly hit him. Sakura was trying to inform him, possibly something important that happened prior to his arrival. Something that happened to Naruto, Sasuke or herself. Was she going to tell him that Sasuke killed Naruto, even though Naruto was right in front of their face?
Even with the sudden down pour the felt like a storm, which he knew was caused by the battle between Gamabunta and the giant raccoon, he started to wonder. "Sasuke..." he soothed his brother, wiping away the water that remained on his face, thankful that it washed away the blood from his body. "Explain."
He listened to him, the explanation of when Naruto, Sakura and Pakkun arriving as reinforcements for him, how the three of them engaged a transformed abomination that was Gaara of the Desert. Sasuke went on to explain how he used the Chidori, something that he did not expect Kakashi to teach his brother, to kill Gaara when... Oh God, no. Please tell me this is not happening. Not him. He thought to himself. Not Sasuke.
"Sasuke," Itachi began, a stern tone in his face. "Activate your Sharingan. Now." His little brother nodded, and he observed his eyes when the copy-wheel manifested.
In his time of great need, when he wished to protect those he cares for the most, he masters our family advanced bloodline technique. Then it happened. Once he saw the three comas appear around each black pupil within the red iris, the eyes suddenly changed. Just like he had earlier, the comas were manipulated to form with the black iris, lengthening into three swirling points within the eyes. Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi knew what he had to do, now. With his own Sharingan activated, his gazed into his brother's tear flooded eyes.
The world suddenly turned black.
Sasuke suddenly found himself standing in the middle of the street of the Uchiha district of Konoha instead of the forest with his brother's arms. From what he could tell, he was in the market section, only a few minutes walk from his original home. The streets were empty as they have been for over five years, empty because of the psychotic power trip one man, someone that was considered a surrogate older brother and best friend by both Itachi and himself. The only difference between the streets he was standing on now and the real thing was that everything seemed fake, as if it was some story of illusionary technique made to taunt him. This was supported by the crimson sky filled with scarlet clouds and the black moon that hovered overhead.
"Where am I?" he wondered. "What kind of genjutsu is this?"
"In the world of Tsukiyomi," a voice began behind him. He turned around, seeing his brother standing several feet away from him wearing some sort of black cloak with scarlet clouds. He looked like he was fake, also. "It's time, space and substance are all controlled by me." He began approaching him. "Hello, Ototo."
"W-who are you? You're some sort of illusion like everything else, aren't you?" Sasuke snapped, taking a step back.
Itachi looked amused. "Foolish little brother, you look just as fake as I do. Genjutsu Tsukiyomi, the Illusionary Underworld Moon, is where we are now. Everything you use it just a figment of your imagination, it is only I that can choose if or when your mind will accept something as faux or legitimate."
The world suddenly changed around Sasuke, shifting back to the forest. Yet, just like the Uchiha district, the forest seemed just as fake. "What the hell is going on, Aniki?" His eyes widened.
It was like watching a movie, except it was real, from his own memories. He watched Naruto being caught by Gaara of the Desert. He watch as he charge the enemy, the Chidori blazing along side him. He watched himself extend out his arm, preparing to strike Gaara's chest. His knees buckled under him as he watch in horror, seeing himself slam his arm and tear right through Naruto's chest. He just saw himself kill his best friend.
He cried.
Itachi silently walked over to his little brother, kneeling down behind him. His arms embraced his younger sibling, realizing that even if Naruto was somehow resurrected, his brother's eyes were already corrupted permanently, just like his own. The Kaleidoscope Sharingan, the ultimate form of the Uchiha advanced bloodline, can only be achieved by the death of ones closest friend of those who which to attain it's power. Like Sasuke, he had involuntarily gained the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan when he killed Uchiha Shisui, his best friend, the same man to used his own image to kill the clan, to frame him, Uchiha Itachi, of murdering the Uchiha. He loved Shisui like a brother, even after he found out of his alleged suicide drowning weeks earlier. Now he knew how close Sasuke and Naruto were.
The scenery changed once more, morphing into the steps of the Nakano Shrine near the Nakano River, outside the meeting place where the Uchiha Clan use to hold their secret meetings. The shrine, besides their original home, was a place where the two siblings would pay their respects to their fallen clan. Even if Itachi disliked the path the clan was taking, the path of destruction, he still mourned their loss. They were family, after all.
"Ototo, what do you know of Mangekyou Sharingan?" he asked when Sasuke finally calmed down, settling himself in his lap.
"..." Sasuke glanced up at him, then cast his eyes down to the ground. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Just answer the question."
He sighed. "Father... once said that the ultimate form of Sharingan was the Mangekyou Sharingan, the Kaleidoscope Copy-Wheel. It's said that it's very rare and only a select few can actually attain it's power, but it requires some sort of special requirement."
"..." Itachi nodded, seeing that his brother at least knew about it.
"Why do you ask?" he wondered.
"The requirement to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan..." he paused, gaining his brother's full attention. "...is to kill your closest friend."
Sasuke eyes snapped open wide. Itachi continued.
"Normally, if we were a pair of sadistic, blood thirty bastards, we both wouldn't really care who we kill to achieve such power." He looked up at the crimson sky, as if looking for some sort of answer to an unknown question. "... maybe we were siblings in another life, and this was heaven's way of punishing us, by making us gain unwanted power through the blood of those we love. Or maybe we are just unlucky."
"..." Sasuke stared at his left hand. "I would rather have Naruto back than these damn eyes that I gained..."
"Naruto is alive."
"What?" Sasuke snapped, turning to face him. He then calmed down, snarling at his brother. "Don't play any damn games with me, brother. This is something serious..." He noticed the serious look in Itachi's eyes. "...you're.. not lying."
Sasuke slumped down onto his knees. "Naruto.. is alive?" Itachi nodded. "How?"
"I am stupefied as to the true answer. I did not wait for Sakura to give a situation report when I arrived. Truthfully, I don't even think Naruto knows how it happened, either. There is one reason, but I am not entirely sure. Tell me, have you noticed anything strange about Naruto, besides the obvious?"
He paused. "There was this one time in the forest of death during the exam..." He looked at his hands, then at his brother. "Naruto went berserk. His eyes changed and he looked really wild. It happened when we were facing Orochimaru before he was knocked out with some sort of weird technique." He shivered. "That chakra he was using felt weird. It's the same power he used during his match against Ino."
So, he unconsciously tapped into the power of the Nine-Tail's chakra and controlled it during his fight with Ino. Now, I at least know what Jiraiya-sama has been teaching Naruto, and why he can summon someone like Gamabunta. His mind started going through several calculations, replaying every mission, every training session that involved Naruto and his use of chakra, his injuries and usage of technique. After several minutes of silence, he came to one conclusion.
"Do you remember the legend of how the Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox demon?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, I have... What's that go to do with Naruto?" Itachi chuckled.
"Foolish little brother, allow me to tell you the true story..."
While Itachi and Sasuke had trapped themselves in the world of Tsukiyomi, a battle of epic proportions was being waged between Gaara with Shukaku of the Sand and Uzumaki Naruto with Gamabunta. After the first attack by the Frog Boss, slicing off Shukaku's arm with his tanto, Gaara initiated a forced sleep technique. This technique put himself to sleep and allow the demon inside him to emerge. Shukaku of the Sand was originally a powerful priest from the Country of Wind, but he was corrupted by evil spirits which in turn transformed the man into a demonic raccoon beast.
A battle of such power between demon and summon beast was enormous. Chakra powered techniques were being thrown around like a ninja throws shuriken and kunai, except the power held within each technique could literally change the land, bringing destruction to the beautiful forest that was their battle ground. Even simple movement caused destruction, acres of land that took mother nature years to create, ruined in a matter of seconds. While Naruto and Gamabunta were trying not to cause as much damage, the same thing couldn't be said for the Shukaku demon, whose wish to kill the Frog Boss and the noisy ninja took precedent over something as trivial as nature.
Down below in an area that Gamabunta was trying to avoid, Sakura watched in awe as her teammate and the Frog Boss fought Gaara. The level of combat she was watching went beyond what she knew and was capable of. The power being used was something she couldn't comprehend, something she would expect from Sandaime Hokage, Itachi-sensei or that Kakashi guy.
"What kind of battle is this...?" she muttered. Her eyes widened when the Frog Boss and Naruto executed a Kombi Henge no Jutsu, or Combination Transformation technique, and change into a fox.
A nine-tailed fox.
She didn't care what kind of fox it was. She was glad that no one else from the village was out there with them or they would start attacking Gamabunta and Naruto. She had read all books, knew the legends, heard the bed time stories. The Nine-Tailed Fox Demon, Kyuubi, was a hated being in all of Konoha. Because of the demon, the Yondaime, according to the stories, was forced to sacrifice himself to destroy the fox demon and save the Hidden Village of Konoha.
Ironic how it's image was helping to save Konoha.
She tore her eyes away from the combat when she heard a rustle near by. Narrowing her eyes, she cautiously started creeping into the shadows, placing her owl mask on her face once again.
Off to the side, supposedly out of Sakura's vision, Temari of the Sand was watching the battle in fear. Once the blonde kid and the frog turned into a nine-tailed fox, the battle began to escalate, becoming more dangerous with each passing moment. Soon, the place where she stood would also be effected by combat. This place won't be safe for too long, she thought to herself, turning and leaping away for better cover. As she made her way for safety, a calm voice called out, not for her, but it's proximity forced her to stop.
"Sakura, stop."
Temari turned around, seeing a Konoha ANBU with an eagle mask facing her, an unconscious Uchiha Sasuke riding piggy-back. She felt a bit of fear being near this individual. ANBU, no matter which village they came from, even just a single operative, were a force to be reckoned with. And from what she could see of the tattoo on his left shoulder, he was an ANBU Captain! A rustle came from above her, and she gasped at seeing that pink-haired girl wearing the owl mask handing upside down on a branch, a kunai held as if meant to strike a passing target. If the ANBU Captain did not say anything, she would have been dead.
"Why?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked, not taking her vision off of the trembling sand kunoichi.
"You are still injured. If you strike now, you will fracture ribs L3 and L4. They will both puncture your lung and heart causing instant death. I suggest that you not perform any act that would further jeopardize your health. My medical application was only temporary."
Seeing the pink-haired girl relax, Temari quickly made haste, getting as far away as she could from the ANBU Captain before he decided to kill her on the spot. Itachi watched her leave, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Sakura, come. The battle is almost over."
"Don't get near me!" Gaara shouted, unable to get away from Naruto, who was crawling toward him using only his chin. He was completely out of chakra, exhausted from the battle with the blonde genin.
Naruto, for his part, completely ignored the immobile shinobi in front of him. It was by sheer will power alone that he was still conscious, using whatever muscles that were still capable of moving to haul his body forward at a snail's pace. The memories were coming to him, of the times that he was completely shunned by the village, standing alone crying while everyone had their backs turned to him. Memories of when others expressed how alone they felt in the world, how useless and unwanted the felt. He knew that feeling like no other and he knew that the shinobi he was crawling toward also knew that feeling. That pain of feeling unwanted; alone.
"The pain of being alone..." Naruto began in a soft voice that he knew Gaara heard. He looked at him with sad blue eyes, that sympathized with him. "...is completely out of this world, isn't it? I don't know why... but I understand your feelings so much, it actually hurts." His eyes narrowed, his mind willing his protesting body to get closer to the shinobi. "But I.. I have people who are important to me, now." He face turned to one of anger. "You forced one of my precious people to do something he didn't wish, you killed me, then tried to kill them. I don't care how similar we are, even I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!"
Gaara stared.
"My lonliness... that Hell.." he began once more. "They saved me from it, and they acknowledged my existence. They're important to me... that is why I'll gladly sacrifice myself to protect them."
"That's enough, Naruto."
The blonde genin's eyes snapped open at the sound of that voice. "I-itachi-sensei.."
"My Ototo and Sakura are fine now." he stated, shifting his hold on Sasuke slightly. He glanced over at the Sand shinobi. "He's completely out of chakra and does not pose a threat any more. I removed the sand that held Sasuke during your battle and treated both of them as best as I can. We should head back to the village, now."
A pair of ninja landed in front of Gaara. Itachi recognized them as the two siblings of the one laying on the ground. He seemed amused at their little facade, trying to put up a front as if they could actually fend off him, Uchiha Itachi, in their injured and chakra depleted state. He amused himself, shifting in various ways that made the pair freeze in horror, as if they were seeing their lives flash before their eyes. He should of felt ashamed of himself, messing with other's minds in such a way, but they could not even be considered a threat. It was just more incentive for them to run away.
"Let them go, Sakura." he commanded when the pink-haired kunoichi landed next to Naruto. He watch the trio leave, the elder siblings supporting the younger. His eyes were locked onto them until they finally left his vision, then he turned his attention to more important matters. "Do you think you can handle him?" She nodded, carefully picking up the now unconscious Naruto, supporting him by slinging one of his arms around her neck, though making sure he was on her uninjured side.
The Jounin and Genin took their time walking back to the village. Even though they could easily run and bound from tree to tree, the elder Uchiha was not taking any chances in causing any further injuries to his team, who all needed some form of medical attention. He knew that Konoha's medical facilities would be working around the clock treating the wounded. In the case of Team 7, they would have to wait for the more critical injuries are taken care of before they would receive any attention. He glanced at Sakura, removing his mask and setting it on his utility belt.
"Never forget this day, Sakura." he said.
"I doubt I ever will.." she muttered, then looked at him. "Sensei, about earlier, I was going to-"
"Tell me about Sasuke killing Naruto?" He questioned, catching her before she could finish. "I know, Sakura, my foolish little brother already told me."
"B-but what about Naruto... coming back to life?" He sighed, knowing that somehow this might become messy.
"Naruto is... special, Sakura. Unlike normal human beings like you and I, Naruto had two different kinds of chakra." He paused to let her soak in that information. "I believe you have witnessed it first hand, when Naruto went berserk in the Forest of Death, and earlier when he fought Yamanaka Ino." He could feel the curious gaze from behind her mask, so he continued. "Even though he has these two different chakra signatures, the red chakra that I know you have seen is different from normal chakra, which is blue in color. For Naruto, it really is not natural, because the source was place inside him when he was born."
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
"Naruto was born 12 years ago, October 10th," His eyes moved to his female subordinate, seeing that she recognized the date. "Yes, it was the day that the Nine-Tail's Fox demon attacked Konoha. The day the Yondaime Hokage sacrificed his life to destroy the demon fox and protect the village." He snickered. "That is what was stated in the history books. In actuality, the Yondaime lost his life sealing the demon fox inside a child whom just had his umbilical cord cut."
She gasped, realizing who he must be talking about.
"Yes, Sakura, that child was in fact our own Uzumaki Naruto." His eyes turned forward, watching their path as he spoke. "The Yondaime Hokage's final wish was for Naruto to be heralded as a hero, a citizen of Konoha whom bears the burden of being the Nine-Tail's container, his living prison." His head shook, as if he was disgusted. "Unfortunately, according to Sandaime-sama and a few others, Naruto has been seen as the demon itself to many of the villagers, especially those who have lost many precious people during the battle."
"So... that is why all the adults have treated him as if he was some sort of disease..."
"Naruto himself did not find out until the day he graduated from the Academy. Even myself did not know until I became Team 7's instructor, which Sandaime-sama sought to inform me before hand." Itachi glanced at her once more, seeing her distant, thoughtful look in her eyes. "I know many of you younger ones, especially those at the academy have treated Naruto with distaste because their parents have done so. Despite knowing the truth, knowing that Naruto carries the Kyuubi with him, sealed for all eternity, I do not wish harm to this boy, nor wish upon his death because I believe he is actually the demon. Only a fool would believe that a boy this innocent would be capable of such crimes. The real crime is done by those who which to condemn him for something he had no control over."
"What you saw today was something he didn't have control over. If you haven't noticed since the three of you have become teammates, Naruto had a healing factor which surpasses human ability. My theory is that the Kyuubi indirectly heals Naruto using it's chakra, to keep the boy alive. Today, Naruto was clinically dead. His heart stopped beating and his breathing stopped. I believe that the Nine-tail's Fox demon used it's chakra to heal Naruto's wound, then jump-start his heart before brain damage occurred, which was how he somehow resurrected to save you and Sasuke."
Sakura was silent for a long moment when Itachi finally stopped talking. He glanced at her once more.
"Now that you know the truth... does it change how you feel about him?"
She did not answer at first. It took her a few minutes to process everything that he just told her, it was a lot to digest at once. After some more thought, she shook her head, a sad smiling forming behind her mask.
"No, Sensei... It doesn't. Naruto is still Naruto."
He looked amused. Somehow, he knew she would say that.
A full day has passed since the Hidden Village of Konoha successfully defeated and drove off the combined invasion force of the Sand and Sound. The ninja battles that dotted the village, both internal and external, nearly left the once peaceful village in ruins, a shadow of it's former self. Lives were given and lost in Konoha's defense, lives who had dreams, who had goals.
Of the lives whom were lost was the famous Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi, the one who was heralded as the Professor because of his knowledge of ninja techniques both far and wide. Sandaime Hokage lost his life defending the village, fighting his former student and apprentice Orochimaru. His death, the death of the village Hokage, was the biggest lost experienced since the death of the Yondaime and the Uchiha Clan massacre. The Third held the title of Hokage for three separate generations, watching those that grew old, have their own children, who had their own. He had protected the village during the best and worst of times, though peace and war. It would be very difficult to find someone that would be able to fill his shoes.
A funeral procession was in place to say goodbye to the Sandaime and those who paid the ultimate price for protecting their village and the ones they love. Shinobi and Kunoichi, from Genin to Jounin, young and old, were present to pay their respects. Yet, even as the funeral began, there were a few faces missing.
One of those faces happened to be Uchiha Itachi. The elder brother stood at the entrance of a district that he once considered home. It was ironic, really, that while nearly every building in the village had sustained damaged from the fighting, from those summoned snakes, the district that once housed the Uchiha clan showed no damage at all. A place were blood had already soaked it's streets, that had no residence, no protection, was untouched.
Even has the sky began to pour, even as the sound of the bells being tolled in the distance, he did not wish to attend the Third's funeral. It felt... wrong, actually. He knew Sarutobi-sensei was going to die. He had seen it in the old man's eyes when they had last spoken with each other earlier that morning, and despite the feeling of wish to protect his Hokage, he knew that the reason was personal. That facing Orochimaru was something the Sarutobi-sensei had to do, had to complete. And that was something he respected about the old man.
Another reason why he did not attend was because of those who thought ill of him. The water clone he had left to protect the Hokage was only to give his Hokage a little more time to prepare himself, to serve has a distraction in case of an attempted covert assassination. Many Jounin and Chuunin, along with some of the civilian population, who had found out, with the exception of those in ANBU and a few that understood the situation, had a severe dislike of him, borderline hatred. He was the Uchiha, the village genius; one of the the strongest ninja in the whole village. Yet, he allowed the Hokage to die, someone he was suppose to protect.
"I kind of figured I'd find you here, Aniki."
Itachi didn't take his eyes away from the banner of the Uchiha to acknowledge his little brother. Sasuke approached him, standing at his side with a thoughtful expression.
"Sakura and I have talked with Naruto about you-know-what," he began, shoving his hands in the pockets of his completely black outfit. "We all came to an understanding, and we're going to keep it to ourselves."
"Hn."
"..." Sasuke glanced at his stoic expression. "A couple of the Jounin were wondering why you didn't show..." He paused. "...I said I would go look for you before the ceremony starts."
"You didn't want to be there, either, hmm, Ototo?" Itachi asked.
"Hn. It didn't really feel right, no matter how much I cared for the old man."
"It hurts knowing that someone that you knew, that you care for, has died." He paused for a moment, mimicking his brother's hands in his pockets. "But it hurts more when you actually see them die, even if it is by your own hand."
Itachi sighed, turning away from the entrance to the Uchiha district, making his way to the center of the village were the funeral was being held.
"Come, Ototo."
"... Hn."
When the funeral ceremony was completed and the gathered mourners departed, only a few remained to hang around a little longer. Kakashi, along with Washimaru and Izumi from his ANBU platoon, Izumo and Kotetsu, the Hokage's personal secretaries, Mozuku, another ANBU operative and Medical Shinobi, Umino Iruka, an Academy teacher. Also present was Naruto and Sakura, both of which were sporting bandages from their battles the previous day.
It was only then that Itachi and Sasuke arrived, both brothers ignoring the group of friends and teammates in favor of paying their last respects. Of the two, the one who seemed the most effective was Itachi. While the young Jounin shed no tears, the expression in his eyes, his face, was all that was needed to describe the sadness in his heart.
"Good bye, Sarutobi-sensei..." he said, placing a single flower on top of the others that rested before the altar.
Of all his friend and teammates, it was Washimaru that understood Itachi better than anyone. He knew from experience that Itachi was beating himself up over Sandaime-sama's death. Like a few years ago, when a replacement third member of their old genin team died during a B-rank mission, it was Itachi that took responsibility and blamed himself for his death, even though it was their teammate's fault from biting off more than he could chew. His expression was the same at it was during their comrade's funeral, just like it was when his clan was wiped out. Itachi-kun...
"I heard a few others blaming Itachi-sama for the Hokage's death," muttered Izumo, who shook his head in disgust. "Times will be hard for him, I know that much."
"It's because no one knew where he was but ANBU and those that saw him in combat," Kakashi added, letting out a deep sigh. "Even I was tempted to blame him, also... until I realize what kind of fool I would look like."
"Even you, also, Kakashi-san?" asked Iruka, who looked at the ground in shame. "If it wasn't for Uchiha-san, we would of lost at least three times as many ninja and the village possibly wouldn't even be standing."
Naruto's eyes widened. "Itachi-sensei is that strong?" He furrowed his brow. "How can they blame sensei for saving so many peoples lives? He should be treated as a hero!"
Kotetsu shook his head, sniffing a little to clear his nose. "It's not that simple, Uzumaki-kun. Many blame him because it was his job to protect the Hokage during the tournament. They blame him because he skirted his duty and allowed someone like Orochimaru to get his filthy hands our Hokage."
"You must look underneath the underneath," Kakashi began. "It is a little something that I learned from my sensei before he passed on. It is something I had always needed to apply to Itachi, especially when his actions are concerned. Everything that he does has a reason for it, and even those reasons have reasons."
"The old man was planning to die." Eyes turned to Itachi and Sasuke, who just walked up to the group. "Sarutobi-sensei ordered me to not interfere when he encountered Orochimaru. It was more a personal favor than anything else, which was why I returned to ANBU to lead a squad in the defense of the village. If I had remained at Sandaime's side, I would of interfered despite his personal request."
"Is that so?" Iruka sighed. "Well, at least we know the truth, even thought now it will only be water under the bridge."
After a few moments, the group began to disperse, good-byes being said and promised to see each other later. Soon, only Team 7 remained. There seemed to be a sign of feeling awkward between the four ninja, which made each of them a little tense and nervous. With the revelation of Naruto's hidden powers, the team make up seemed to have changed. At first, many have thought that Naruto's power was Naruto, especially Sasuke who wanted to know how to access the red chakra. But, now that he knew what it actually was, he was glad he didn't have it. Even though the explanations were given, Sasuke and Sakura were still effected by Naruto's death. No matter if he did resurrect, the sight of him dying before their eyes would be forever etched in their minds until they day they die. Itachi could sense the atmosphere and decided to say something.
"Since the village is in bad shape, there won't be any missions for us to do right now." He looked out toward the village. "The village is in bad shape, but we all will have to do our part to rebuilt and mend the broken wounds she suffered."
There was long pause of silence.
"Naruto."
"Hai, sensei?"
He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "To me, you will always be Naruto. Nothing more, nothing less. I do not intend to treat you differently than I always have, since I already knew. Do not be ashamed of being the container, because a great man believed that you can handle the task and bear the burden. So bear it proudly, for the Yondaime and for the Sandaime."
The blonde boy nodded, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "Hai, sensei."
"Our team has a rough road ahead. We'll need to trust each other all over again and re-learn how to work together." He turned for face Team 7. "Are you three up to the challenge?"
"Hai, Itachi-sensei!" they all replied.
End of Chapter 25
Author's Notes:
Nothing to really explain here, just another finished chapter. Since this arc of the story is complete, I'm gonna hang it up and take a break for a while to work on my other story, "Semper Fi: The UN Marine Corps".
Next is Chapter 25: The Mirage