History is a lie agreed on by consensus.

-Madara Uchiha

Neji inhaled the predawn air, letting the moist cool air fill his lungs. He moved through the halls of the Hyuga compound silently, not just out of respect for the still sleeping residents, but in deference to the somber news they had received yesterday. Hiashi had been transferred from being overdue to missing in action. The news was expected, but when something was official it carried more weight. There was a slim chance that he was injured somewhere out there, and more likely, that he had been taken prisoner, but death was the most probable reason.

A clan that produced as many ninja as they did knew this was always a possibility, and yet even in the time of a war, each loss was felt. The Hyuga took losses stoically, though, and as always, when he was in the village he rose for his morning training.

Moving through the garden on his way to the dojo he noticed a flash of bright yellow just at the corner of his eye. Pausing, he looked and recognized the long dark hair. Not losing a step, he changed directions, walking quietly behind the young girl sitting on the bench. "Hanabi, I hope you didn't stay out all night dressed like that. There are such things as summer colds, you know." The girl startled and that showed him how deep in thought she had been. His approach had been quiet, but not silent.

"Neji, you startled me."

"And you startled me. It's early in the morning for you to be up and about."

Hanabi looked down, her hand smoothing out the silk pajamas as if she was only remembering now that she was wearing them. "Couldn't sleep so I thought a little fresh air would help. The stars were out, it was nice."

Neji considered and decided to be blunt as he took a seat next to her. "Your father taught you to navigate by the stars, didn't he?"

She nodded, "He used to take me out and point out the stars. Sometimes, Hinata would come with us too. Sometimes father would point out the stars and tell us what they could be used for or just their name. Once I memorized all the constellations and could point them out, he let me make up my own."

"I remember seeing you a couple of times like that. At that time, I hated him so much."

That startled her into looking at him before quickly looking away. "Because of your father?"

"Yes," Neji said, remembering how he had held on to that hatred for so much of his childhood. "It did not allow me to see him for the man he was. I came to understand that later, fortunately."

"You trained together," Hanabi ventured.

"He trained me well, but I refer to something else. As you know, our fathers were twins, born moments apart, but one condemned to the branch family and the other to the main. I blamed him for that and continued to blame him even when you were born. Oddly, though, you were never put in the branch family although you were born several years after your sister. Officially, it was because he worried about Hinata's strength, but I don't think that was it. I think in his own quiet way he was resisting tradition. The elders couldn't disagree with his decision, since on the face of it, it made sense, but it was different, a precedent, a change."

Hanabi was quiet for a moment. "Father would ask me about tradition sometimes and I never knew what he wanted me to say. When I would repeat what I was told he would nod, but he seemed a bit disappointed I think."

"Well, I'm just telling you how I see him, as a brave and cunning man."

"Yeah. He's a great ninja."

Neji considered, wondering if referring to him in present tense had been a bad decision. "We are what we leave behind and I know he was proud of you."

"I don't want him to be gone. I want him to be here. I know that's a selfish thing to say, especially to you, but it's how I feel."

"It's not selfish. It's human. I still wish that myself. It doesn't become easier, it just becomes different." He paused for a moment, remembering his own father whose image he could only conjure from a photo. "You, however, are better off than I was. I had no friends to turn to, but you do. I know some of them are not unfamiliar with loss. Also, for what it's worth, I am here."

Hanabi looked up at him for the first time, locking her gaze to his. "Do you think there's any chance?"

Neji felt torn. Part of him just wanted to reassure the girl that everything would be okay, but another part of him knew that would be cruel. "It is very unlikely given the circumstances."

Perhaps she had been expecting that answer because she just nodded and turned her gaze back to the ground. The seconds of silence that followed seemed to stretch into infinity. "I can't remember the last thing that I said to him."

Neji nodded, he could remember himself clinging to such insubstantial things. "I think the important stuff is always left unsaid. You were his beloved daughter and anyone who saw you with him knew you adored him. You may have fought at times, but families do that and I don't think he ever doubted your love for him." Hanabi said nothing to that, and after a moment, assuming their talk was over, he started to get up.

"Wait," Hanabi's hand reached out and grabbed his forearm. "Could you just sit with me for a little while longer?"

He smiled and sat back down. "Of course."

Together, they sat in silence as the sun rose. Both of their thoughts went to their fathers, one felt an old loss still there after years and the other felt it as new.

Sasuke worried about many things as he prepared to give his final briefing to his hand-picked team. He worried that it was too small or too big. He worried that he chose wrong when selecting Musashi over Ranmaru, choosing to go with experience over slight familiarity. Then there was Jiraiya. The man had seniority over him, and although he had been nominally placed in charge of the mission, he wondered if the more experienced ninja would try to usurp him. Now that he was worried about that, he also worried if Naruto would back either him or Jiraiya if such a problem arose. As quickly as that thought came up he squashed it, realizing Naruto would either not notice or not be interested in such a petty squabble.

The older man was the last to arrive, but he wasn't late. He greeted Naruto and nodded to him. Taking that as acknowledgment of his role, he began his final briefing. "We are all here, so before we head out, here's all the information I have. Our destination is the Abandoned Uchiha Stronghold. There, I have a meeting with a man who may have been behind the attack on Kumogakure. The mission is to capture him alive, but we cannot let him escape so we'll take his head if we have to." He glanced at Sakura just long enough to inform her that it would be her responsibility if it came to that. "There is a possibility that he is Madara Uchiha, so be prepared for genjutsu."

Sasuke waited a moment to let that sink in before he knelt on the ground and performed a quick jutsu. The small patch of earth took a moment to form into a small model of the compound. "The location for the meeting was specified but not the room. As you can see , it's fairly big. Unfortunately, since it was designed by ninja, ambush spots are few and far between. There is one in the largest room and that's where I intend to meet him. Naruto will take up that position. Everyone else will wait here," he pointed to a partially collapsed outer building. "Once the battle begins, you can come to our aid, but I want you to keep a lookout for any reinforcements he might bring along with him. If they stay outside of the building, attack them first, and if they come in with him don't make a move until the fighting starts. Questions?"

"Do you know anything else about him?" Naruto questioned.

"He is old," Sasuke said, standing and letting the model collapse back into dust, "but was considered one of the strongest of his generation, and as far as I'm concerned he's a missing-nin. Legend and fact have merged around him. Honestly, we're not even sure if this meeting is genuine or an ambush to catch me. He took my brother's eyes for some reason and it's possible he's after mine. It's equally possible he's just an old man with a few tricks up his sleeve. Most of us have fought against Akatsuki members in the past. The only thing they have in common is they are strong and unpredictable."

"Great," Musashi muttered. "Is there anything you can tell us about his abilities other than he can seemingly appear out of nowhere?"

"No." Sasuke answered flatly. "They say he is a master at everything and brought the Sharingan to unheard-of levels." He shrugged not knowing what weight to give to the rumors.

"And they say you're respectable," Naruto said, directing his comment at Jiraiya.

Naruto and Sakura laughed while Jiraiya smiled weakly. Sasuke waited for the laughter to die down, like Musashi, he didn't get the joke. "As I said, we're mostly going in blind. If there are no other questions there is one more thing I need to say." He paused, making eye contact with those he knew best. "If I fall, my eyes cannot be taken. Do whatever you must, but they must be denied to the enemy."

"Yeah, you got it," Naruto said after a moment.

Sasuke nodded towards the blonde, secretly grateful. It seems they both had grown up. "Let's head out."

Last time, Sasuke had pushed his team to cover the distance in a day, but this time they didn't want to arrive exhausted so he broke it down into a two-day trip. The bulk of the distance was covered on the first day. When they set up camp it was under infiltration rules. No fire and no unnecessary talking. He was grateful for that. His mind kept switching from working feverishly on different possibilities of what he might be facing to feeling dull. It didn't feel real. He was going to meet someone who claimed knowledge of his brother who just might as easily want to kill him. If it wasn't for the sleep jutsu, he would've gotten none.

The next morning, they split up. Sasuke took a radio and walked until he was almost out of Musashi's sight. From here on out, the foreign ninja would be concealing the others presence, and if there were any unseen observers they would hopefully only notice him from here. With the others out of visual range, Sasuke felt strangely isolated. In the past, he had done solo missions and never felt this way before, though. He wrote it off to nerves, which didn't make him feel any better.

He carried on, his senses alert, almost hoping for an ambush to break the tension. As much as he tried to will an ambush, all he heard was the ambient sounds of the forest around him. When the ruins of the compound came into view, he raised his arm to wipe away sweat and said into his radio, "I'm heading in. Hold positions until I give the all clear."

There was a brief crackle of static and then Sakura's voice. "Musashi says it's clear, but check-in every three minutes." Personally, Sasuke thought that was a bit excessive, but he confirmed and headed in.

When Sasuke reached the main entrance he called out to see if the man he was here to meet had already arrived, but only the insects and ghosts heard him. Checking the abandoned stronghold by himself was frustrating. He kept drifting in and out of radio range either due to distance or the thick walls themselves. As far as he could tell, though, he had been the last person here and gave the all clear signal for the others to move into their positions.

Naruto ran up to meet him, a silly grin on his face. "Jiraiya and I had an idea on the way here." Sasuke grunted, which was his way of saying that the blonde should continue. "Since I'm going to be in the room with you, we were thinking that maybe I could use the Toad Mouth Bind to capture the guy."

Sasuke found the name vaguely familiar, but was not able to place an image with it. "What exactly is that technique?"

His friend frowned before he seemed to remember. "Oh, that's right, you were unconscious. Jiraiya used it on your brother that one time at the Inn. You were out for like a month, remember?"

He did remember that. What happened afterwards had been relayed to him. "Your point?"

Naruto blinked at him. "Well, if I use it, the… mouth kind of captures his arms and feet. Then we can restrain him. The only disadvantage to summoning it is that the others will be trapped on the outside and won't be able to help us, and your brother did manage to escape using that black fire stuff. Of course, we don't know if he can use that."

Sasuke considered as he led Naruto into the building. Even if the man could escape, this might be a good way to distract him for a split second when he attacked if nothing else. The trouble would be the timing. He was supposed to try to pump the man for information if possible before attacking. "Hold it in reserve," Sasuke announced. "We have no idea about his capabilities, but he might at least have an idea of mine. You on, the other hand, are a complete unknown. So, keep the summoning in the bag and the same goes for the excessive use of clones."

"All right," Naruto said, placing his hands behind his head.

Sasuke showed Naruto where to hide. There was a small lip around the room where the ceiling and wall met. Either by accident or design, the lip was slightly larger in one area, allowing one person to be concealed if they crouched and were careful enough. A person could be concealed and remain hidden from anyone on the floor. It wouldn't be comfortable for Naruto, but that was his problem, Sasuke thought. Retreating to the floor, he double checked, making sure Naruto was safely concealed and checked his radio. The others were out of range which was a problem, but not one they could do anything about. He quickly ran back towards the entrance to give them a quick update and told them to use their best judgment in moving in before retreating back to the large room. He sat, perhaps a little presumptuously, on the stone throne and began to wait.

By not specifying a time, the man had given himself the only possible advantage. The ground was neutral, and the date selected had been at the time far into the future. That had only left the exact time of the meeting. Someone waiting in ambush would have to wait hours. It would also allow boredom to set in, because no matter how vigilant you were, there was a limit. Of course, if he had watched them from a distance, the man would've seen the setup. At least that's what he would've done, which made this whole exercise pointless. Then again, maybe not, he could be arrogant enough to believe he would spot any ambush before they were sprung.

Such were Sasuke's thoughts as the sun crept across the floor, the only proof that time was passing. He had at least one advantage over others at least; he could get up and walk around the room. Morning turned to afternoon and he had a small, prepared lunch, and just as he was finishing the air in front of him seemed to twist around. It was almost like a heat illusion, but somehow more focused. Instinctively, he leaned forward, his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword that he had leaned against the stone throne. The twisting space resolved itself into a human shape.

"Hello, Sasuke," the man said removing his mask.

Consciously, Sasuke tried to relax leaning back, but not letting his grip loosen on his sword. "A neat trick. Genjutsu?"

There was a pause just long enough to indicate that the man had not been expecting that question. "More like a Shunshin, but not really like that at all."

"Informative," Sasuke said, trying to keep the sarcasm in his voice. "So, the unadulterated truth is what I believe you promised me."

The man stared at him for a minute, obviously trying to regain his footing. "Yes, the truth about your brother. Of course, before I tell that story I have to go back a little further. As always, the seeds of one-story come from the flower of another. Tell me what you know of our clan's history."

"History is a lie agreed on by consensus," Sasuke said.

The man was silent for a second before he laughed. The sound echoed around the room, giving it a hollow nature. The man's allowed his mask to clatter to the floor. "To have yourself quoted," he shook his head slightly, "stroke your ego in a way few things can. However, as I am the person who said that, let me add an addendum to it. It's not history if you were there."

Sasuke decided that this was indeed Madara as he sat and listened. It was a long, rambling story. He knew some of it and some parts he did not. He was almost tempted to believe the depths and capabilities of the Sharingan and the evolved form of Mangekyo Sharingan, but the price was repulsively high, even if it allowed him to control a demon. The loss of an eye was a common enough injury in their profession, but there was something macabre about the fact that the eyes looking at him now belonged to a man now decades dead. Then came the revelations about his brother and those were the hardest.

At first he felt anger, his hitai-ate even began to burn on his forehead, but he squashed that feeling down. Madara had every reason to lie to him. However, the more he heard the more he believed the man was telling the truth. That was when he started to feel detached. To him, his father and mother would always be the people who raised him, but to the village, they had been a threat. He wasn't sure what he felt. It was a decade ago, a lifetime. He flashbacked to staring down at his dead brother and wondered what had been his story now forever out of reach. For the first time, in a long time, he wanted to know his brother.

Despite his change of thoughts, he was a professional and he had a mission to do. "So, you're saying my brother acted as an assassin because my clan was planning a coup d'état. He then joined the Akatsuki, which you happen to be a member of." He allowed contempt for the convenience to slip into his tone.

"His intention was to spy. He knew I was always the one pulling the strings. Unfortunately, due to a combination of his deteriorating physical health and his inability to reconcile what he had done, he was not a very useful spy." Madara held his gaze as unblinking as a statue.

"So what was the purpose of this, Akatsuki, anyways? Just to gather jinchuriki so you could become one? So you could become like the Sage of the Six Paths? To what purpose?"

For the first time, Madara hesitated as he began to smile slowly. "Well, I wish to become the sole source of stability in the world. I will become the pillar that will hold the world aloft, to create a better world, one that I will guide for an eternity."

"A single man?" Sasuke question.

The man shook his head, "Not quite. One of my secondary purposes of forming the Akatsuki was to find individuals that could be the core of a very small army. Several of them, like me, had effectively conquered death. They knew what they wanted and I was prepared to give it to them."

"So, you and a handful of men would do this? You are reaching beyond your grasp. You would have to take on every village and one village brought the Kyubi to heel."

The man smirked and it lacked the evident malevolence Sasuke suspected was behind it. "The villages will not be much of a problem. With the destruction of Kumogakure, I've turned them into a paranoid mess. Kirigakure is drawing up plans even now to destroy Iwagakure. Even if they don't manage to destroy it, at least two of the great powers of the world will be left weakened. Smaller villages will move to fill the gap left by those villages, causing even more conflict. In a few years, people will be begging for the stability I can bring. You can, and should, be there with me."

Sasuke let the silence stretch out as if he was considering. "If these jinchuriki are so powerful how do you intend to capture them?"

The man made a dismissive gesture. "That feat is mostly done. All but three have been captured and their chakra is being stored in special scrolls."

"Not kept on your person, I assume?" Sasuke interrupted.

The man leveled a contemplative look at him. "Nekobaa has more places to store items then even she or her granddaughter is aware of."

Nekobaa, Sasuke thought, he had not thought of the cat woman in years. He considered for a moment and realized there was only one question, he needed to ask. "Why did you take my brothers eyes?"

"I was wondering when you were going to get to that." The man's hand disappeared into his black robes and produced a small jar that had two roughly spherical objects in it. "It is said that one must feel the loss of the person closest to them to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but that was written when even the concept of any strong relationship outside of the clan was deemed inconceivable. It must be the death of a clan member, and like it or not, your brother helped mold you into the person you are. Perhaps you've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan already, but are unaware of it. If you have, though, it's only a pale imitation of its true power. The true power is brought forth when you transplant the eyes from one to another. Consider them a welcome home gift."

Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to tamp down his roiling emotions. This man's manipulative ability was disgusting, but he tried to find an island of peace in his mind. Throughout the conversation he had been fiddling with his sword, and without so much as a word, he let it come to rest in his hand. He sprung forward, drawing it from its sheath without saying a word

Sakura had watched Musashi's deteriorating condition with some alarm. The older man was propped up against the wall, sweating as if he was in the desert of the Land of Wind. The man had also started popping soldier pills like they were candy, and worst of all, she could do nothing for him. When she had asked, the man had just snapped that he was older than he had thought he was. Still, he kept a lookout as best as he could, his head scanning back and forth, pupils red like Ranmaru's.

"There's someone out there," Musashi whispered before adding, "I think it's a person."

The statement grabbed both Jiraiya and her attention immediately. "Approaching?" Sakura asked in a low whisper.

The man shook his head slowly. "He is next to the tree or maybe in it."

The two ninja shared a look before following his line of sight into a wall. Carefully, Sakura crept to the window and peered out and froze as she spotted a familiar form. The man, if such a term could be used, was partly merged with a sapling that had obviously only grown since the compound was abandoned. The half that wasn't merged with the sapling was not what was familiar to her. The only difference was, instead of being black, it was white. She mentally cursed.