The war for the Elemental Nations is soon coming.
AND I CAN'T WAIT TO WRITE IT!
But I'm also getting a real bad itch to start my next story. Or at least the first chapter. It's my NarutoxEragon crossover. So, I want your opinions. Should I finish this one first, or at least write the first chapter of Oni no RyuKishu (title subject to change).
Also...... PARTY TIME! At the time I wrote this, I had reached 1,000 reviews, for the first time!
*All the Ranger Lair regulars come out, and a wild party ensues*
LR: WHOO HOO!
RS: 1,000 reviews! Yeah!
Elroth: TO LEAF RANGER! *Everyone raises a mug of drink in salute to Leaf*
LR: TO ALL THE GREAT READERS AND REVIEWERS!
*Everyone raises their mugs again*
Thank you all for reading and supporting my story. Or, if you aren't supporting my story..... thank you for reviewing anyways, and giving me 1,000 of them. Cheers!
Chapter 36
We Must Prepare
Naruto looked around at the other council members, then leaned over to Tsume, who had become one of his closest allies on the council. "Any idea what this is about?"
Tsume Inuzuka shook her head. "No idea at all. It must be big though."
Next to them, Hiashi joined the conversation. "One of my clan members did see three people with unfamiliar chakra signatures enter Konoha since noone else stopped them, he didn't worry about it."
Naruto nodded. "Guess we'll find out."
"Indeed." Shibi Aburame said.
Across the table, the civilian council talked amongst themselves, while occasionally shooting glances at Naruto. Since he had joined the council, Naruto had become a dominating force. He always stood for what he believed in, and while he made sure everyone knew his opinions on any matter, he never forced them on others. Most of the time, he was able to find the best choices for the village, or their allies, on a matter, so most of the council agreed with his ideas. A few of the hardcore haters though, who still viewed him as nothing but the Kyuubi, or as the second coming, disagreed, purely on principle.
Tsunade entered the council chamber, and nodded to all of them. Behind her were sarutobi, and three cloaked figures. Naruto looked up at them, and almost immediately sensed the dark presence of Morgoth's powers in two of the figures. Also, all three's chakra signatures were similar to those he faced three years ago, while searching for Tsunade. He immediately shot a look at Tsunade, who was sitting down.
"I thank you all for coming quickly. We have an important matter to discuss. Disturbing news about the Uchiha Clan Massacre as recently come to light."
At this, Homura and Koharu both looked uneasily at each other, as Tsunade continued. "Recent circumstances has revealed that in fact...... Itachi Uchiha did not randomly slaughter his clan. He was given orders to do so, by people with in this very room."
Immediately, the entire council were talking to each other. Naruto looked at the three cloaked figures.
One of the civilians stood up. "That's preposterous! No one here would dare order the death of one of the great clans of Konoha!"
"Speak for yourself." Kyuubi thought to Naruto. Naruto agreed mentally, while looking at Tsunade, and the downcast look of the Sandaime.
"There is something regarding the Uchiha clan that we don't know. Isn't there, Sarutobi-san?" Naruto asked. Sarutobi nodded.
"Unfortunately...... yes. As many of you know, it was believed after the Kyuubi attack that it was an Uchiha who summoned him to attack Konoha. Many people began mistrusting the Uchiha, thinking they wished to take over Konoha. Eventually, the Uchiha, feeling the need for self preservation, began plans to overthrow me, and take over Konoha. In essence, the village created it's own worst fear. Rumors of this plan reached me, and I ordered one of my most trusted ANBU to spy on the clan. It helped that he was considered the clans greatest prodigy."
"Itachi-san." Shibi said. Sarutobi nodded.
"Yes. When he was eight, Itachi saw the horrors of war, by witnessing a battle. When he learned of his clans intent, he came to me, and told me everything he knew so far. H wanted to avoid the civil war that the Uchiha's plan would bring. So, he spied for me, until he learned the Uchiha were preparing their plan. He informed me, Koharu, Homura, and Danzou, about it. I wanted to find a peaceful resolution, but Homura, Koharu, and Danzou argued that for the good of the village, they had to be wiped out. Eventually, I gave the order to Itachi, and he carried it out, with the stipulation that his brother Sasuke be spared."
The council sat there in silence. Eventually, Shikaku spoke up. "So...... this whole time...... Itachi has been a hero, who averted civil war....... by sacrificing his family...... and his soul?"
The middle figure stiffened slightly, while Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, he is. What's more, He went on, to infiltrate the ranks of the organization known as Akatsuki, and send us information on their movements. He has put himself above and beyond the call of duty, in service of Konoha."
Naruto sat back, thinking to himself. It does seem odd that Itachi and Kisame would go out of the way to give me a chance to defend myself, when we first met. They could have easily struck hard and fast, but instead, they knock on the door.
Shibi Aburame titled his head. "It would seem that all this has a purpose, in revealing to us this information."
Shikaku agreed with Shibi. "From you revealing all this to us, it seems that you are implying that Itachi may be returning soon."
Tsunade nodded. "Yes. Itachi sent word to us that Akatsuki sent him and Kisame to capture the Kyuubi, and not to return until then. So, his usefulness as a spy in Akatsuki has been negated, and it would be best for him to return to Konoha."
Many of the Council looked happy, while others seem to be uneasy at the prospect of having the Uchiha clan in Konoha again, after what they had learned. "Hokage-sama, while we do not doubt your words, or those of the former Sandaime..... is it still wise to bring Itachi back? After all, we've heard reports that he and Kisame killed many Iwa shinobi, when they captured their jinchuuriki. Doing this could lead to war between us and them." One council men asked.
"It all ready is too late." Jiraiya came I through the doors, as he said this. "I've been I contact with my spy network. A member of Akatsuki was seen entering the Tsuchikage's Tower. Shortly there after, Iwa agreed to an alliance with Ame."
The council room began to buzz with worried talk. Tsunade sighed.
"Just what we needed. Akatsuki's strength, with Iwa's numbers." She muttered. Jiraiya sighed.
"My spy network has been working overtime. Whoever this member of Akatsuki is, he's fast. He seems to be able to traverse countries in less then a day."
Tsunade nodded. "Thank you, Jiraiya-san. Let us know if you learn anything else." Jiraiya nodded, and left, while Tsunade sighed.
"So..... anyone else thing we shouldn't let Itachi back in, considering the threat we now may face?" As everyone shook their heads, Tsunade nodded. "Good. Itachi, Kisame, Alicia. Please reveal yourselves."
The three cloaked figures removed their cloaks and straw hats. Several people gasped, but Naruto, Tsume, and Shibi just nodded. "I was wondering when you were going to do that." Naruto said. "I recognized their chakra signatures when they entered. I bet Tsume-san recognized Itachi's scent, And Shibi-san's kikai bugs told him who it was." The two clan heads nodded.
Itachi slowly bowed. "Namikaze-sama, it is good to see you again. I've heard of your exploits, since last we met." Naruto bowed his head in return.
"I thank you, Itachi-san. Please forgive me though, if do act a little edgy around you. I've had bad experiences with Uchihas in general, although that is not entirely your fault."
Itachi nodded, before looking at all those present, before turning to Tsunade, and kneeling down, bowing his head. "Hokage-sama, I return to you, and swear my loyalty to you, and the village." He said. Alicia and Kisame did the same.
Tsunade nodded. "Rise, Itachi-san. I thank you for your efforts in aiding Konoha. When we reveal this information to the rest of Konoha, you and your companions will be ranked as jounin in Konoha."
The three of them nodded, as they stood up. Tsunade looked around the room. "Until it is time to reveal Itachi's return, and the truth of the Uchiha clan, all this will remain an S-ranked secret. Itachi, Kisame, and Alicia will stay in the Uchiha compound, until then."
The three mentioned people nodded, before disappearing. Tsunade turned to all of them. "This news of Ame and Iwa's alliance is disturbing. We must ready ourselves for a possible war."
Naruto slowly stood up. "Hokage-sama...... I fear that perhaps Konoha may not be a safe stronghold against our enemies." People began muttering amongst themselves, as he continued. "The invasion by Oto and Suna proved that Konoha is vulnerable. Our only defense against enemy invasions has been our ability to keep them from the walls of Konoha. But once inside, the layout of our village acts as both a help, and a hindrance to us. I believe..... that we must ready a fortress, from which we can make our stand, should we be invaded."
One of the civilians stood up. "And why should we waste resources on such a wild scheme? Konoha is our home, and we must make a stand here! Our walls cannot fall!" A few other civilians nodded in agreement, but the shinobi shook their heads. Naruto looked at the civilian.
"If we had not learned of the invasion by Oto and Suna ahead of times..... Konoha's walls would have fallen. The village may have survived, but at a heavy price. The enemy had plans for Gaara to attack from within, while a giant three headed snake summons attacked from without, and broke through the wall. Our walls are not invincible." He turned back to the other council members. "Times are changing. A great darkness is beginning to grow in the lands of our enemies, and soon, it will spill forth. We must stand strong, and united against whatever is coming." He pulled a scroll out, and opened it, revealing detailed plans of a city.
"This is Minas Tirith, the White City, and the capitol of what was once known as the Kingdom of Gondor. This city is far more ideal to defend against an enemy invasion from, since it contains multiple walls and sections. We can defend the walls, and as need be, retreat to each new set, thus forcing our enemies to fight hard, and take each wall and section of the city in order to defeat us. Not only that, but our enemies will be forced to attack us from head on, as they will be unable to flank the city walls."
Everyone looked over the plans, before Shikaku nodded. "It makes sense. If we use this city, we ca withstand a much larger force then ours. I think it's a sound plan."
Others began to nod, before Tsunade stood up. "All those in favor of sending shinobi and workers to make this city defensible?"
As one, vast majority of the council raised their hands. Tsunade didn't even bother finishing the vote. "Very well. I'll send a small force to begin work immediately. Unless we have other business, this meeting is adjourned."
Oto, Three Days Later
Nine figures stood outside entrance into the base of Orochimaru. All of them wore black coats with red clouds. Six of the figures had piercing's all over their faces, and five of them had orange hair. A seventh figure also had piercing's as well, but had long red hair, and was in a massive walking machine. These seven figures had grey eyes, with black circles running around the pupils.
The figure standing next to the walking machine was a women, with short blue hair, and a paper flower in it. She stood protectively next to the red haired man in the walking machine.
The last figure had short, spiky black hair, and an orange swirl mask, with only one eye hole. He turned to the others.
"So..... we finally deal with the traitor." He said, looking at them.
"Yes Madara-sama. Then those who are willing will join us, and we can use them for the war that will soon come." Said the figure in the walker. Madara nodded.
"Yes....... are you ready, Pein?" Pein nodded, as he ordered his six bodies to attack.
Inside Oto, Orochimaru was beginning to feel the pain of his body rejecting him. It seems that I'll need to posses Sasuke's body soon. Too bad.... I would ahve loved to have seen him fight Itachi, to judge who was stronger.
Danzou entered, along with one of his Root Agents, disguised as a regular ANBU of Konoha. "Orochimaru-sama, we've recently discovered that Itachi Uchiha, and his two associates, have returned to Konoha."
Orochimaru nodded. "How intriguing. Perhaps it's time to rid ourselves of that annoyance once and for all. And perhaps, you could even gain what you've always sought, Danzou-san."
Danzou was about to speak, when an explosion shook the base. Immediately, an Oto shinobi appeared.
"Orochimaru-sama! We are under attack by several unidentified individuals! All we know is that they are wearing black cloaks with red clouds!"
Orochimaru cursed. "Send all shinobi to attack. Drive them out, slaughter, just KEEP THEM FROM GETTING TO ME!"
The shinobi nodded, before disappearing. Kabuto ran into the room, along with Sasuke. "Orochimaru-sama, shall we retreat?" Kabuto asked. The snake-sannin nodded.
"Yes. Gather all the important data, destroy everything else. Danzou, have your Root aid them in this." Danzou nodded, and the four of them were about to leave, when the main doors blew open, with several Oto shinobi bodies flying in. In stepped a masked man, along with two of the men with piercing's, the strange eyes. Both the men had spiky orange hair, but one had a squarish face, while the other's face was narrow. This one spoke up.
"Orochimaru, for betraying Akatsuki, and attempting to de-rail our plans, you are sentenced to be executed." Then his eyes moved to the others in the room, and stopped, when they saw Danzou. The eyes widened momentarily. "You." He whispered in an very quiet, angry voice.
Outside Oto, the blue haired women saw the anger on Pein's face. "What is it?"
Pein growled. "He's here, Konan. The leader of the Konoha ninja, who helped Hanzo capture you..... and killedYahiko." Konan's eyes widened.
In Orochimaru's throne room, Orochimaru growled. "You have no jurisdiction over me! And I will not die here! Kabuto, Danzou! Deal with them!"
Kabuto charged forward, while Danzou merely nodded to his Root agent, who attacked. The Root agent charged at the body of Pein, who had spoken, and drew a ninjato from it's back sheathe. Pein unsheathed a black spike from his sleeve, before raising it, and blocking the sword. A palm strike to the chest drove the Root agent back. He growled, running through hand signs, but Pein merely cocked his head, as he saw the hand signs.
"Fire Style, Fire Ball Jutsu!" The Root agent launched a fairly large fireball at Pein, who simply straightened his head. The fireball was about to hit, when it suddenly deflected, and crashed into the wall. The Pein just stared at the Root agent.
"Shira Tensei." He said, before charging forward, and stabbing the stunned Root ANBU with his chakra blade. He turned to Danzou.
Meanwhile, Kabuto found himself in trouble. He had gone for the chakra scalpels, and attacked the masked figure in taijutsu. The masked figure simply stood there, as the attack hit, before it phased through him. Kabuto stumbled, and fell through the masked figure, before turning around, only to receive a back hand to his face. Madara faced him.
"Is that really al Orochimaru's right hand man can do? Pathetic." Madara said. Kabuto growled, before attacking again. This time, Madara caught his arm, snapped it, and kicked Kabuto into a wall. He slowly approached him. "You're honestly not worth the time I'm wasting on you." Madara said, running through hand signs. "Fire Style, Dark Phoenix Flame Jutsu!"
He lifted his mask enough to launch a stream of dark flames from his mouth, which burned Kabuto alive. He turned back to Orochimaru, and a now scared Sasuke. "Sasuke-san..... I suggest you move. I have no desire to kill you."
Sasuke, despite his fear, growled. "Who are you?!" He yelled, drawing the sword on his back, and preparing to fight. Madara sighed, before he suddenly disappeared, and reappeared in front of Sasuke. He touched a single nerve on Sasuke's neck, the Uchiha fell unconscious.
Danzou jumped away from another Water Dragon, sent by Pein. The other Pein was mostly hanging back, not attacking, but watching impassively. Danzou cursed, as he looked at the body in front of him.
I swore, I saw him kill himself, using the other one's own kunai. Right before he unleashed that power against us. Danzou rolled to one side, before running through several hand signs.
"Wind Style, Slicing Blades!" Several blades of wind launched form him, and attacked Pein. Like the fireball from the Root ANBU, they glanced off before hitting Pein, who shook his head.
"You cannot defeat me, Danzou. I am a God." He said, advancing on him. Danzou growled, pulling the bandages over his right eye up, revealing that he had a Sharingan eye.
"I'm not going to be stopped here! Danzou shouted, running through hand signs. "Fire Style, Grand Dragon Fireball!" He launched a massive fireball from his mouth, which looked like a dragons head, before it impacted against Pein's body. Danzou smirked, as he watched the flame wreathed crater. That smirked failed, when the flames cleared, revealing the other body of Pein. Only it had turned into a giant demonic looking head. It's mouth opened, and the Pein Danzou had been fighting stepped out, unscathed.
"My Hell Realm body has the ability to revive the other bodies. While my Deva realm utilizes my most powerful abilities." The Deva realm said, before he suddenly attacked, piercing Danzou threw the shoulder with a chakra spike, and pinning him to the wall. A second spike went through Danzou's right hand.
Orochimaru found himself fearing for his life. No matter what he struck at Madara with, no matter how fast or cleverly he struck, the attacks passed through Madara, or he dodged them. He swung at Madara with Kusanagi, only for Madara to block easily with a senbon, and deflect it. "Your moves are so obvious, and predictable, snake-sannin." Madara said, as he twisted his head barely to one side, to dodge another attack. He grabbed Orochimaru's arm, and stabbed the senbon at one point, completely immobilizing the arm, and causing maximum pain. Orochimaru screamed, as he backed up, only for three more senbon to impact on his other arm and legs. ORochimaru fell to the ground, screaming in pain, as Madara stood over him.
Deva Realm Pein looked at the pinned Danzou. "You were one of two people who took someone precious away from me. And in doing so..... you created your own downfall. Ironic, isn't it?" Pein said. He slowly reached up, and ripped the Sharingan eyes from Danzou, making him scream, before he slowly stabbed Danzou in the stomach. He did it again, several times, before leaving the leader of Root to bleed to death.
Madara looked at Orochimaru. "It's a shame, really. If you had just stayed in Akatsuki, you could have ben my second in command over Konoha..... or been given your own country to rule. But your ambitions led to your death. It's funny. You sought immortality...... and now, you must face your own mortality." With that, Madara snapped Oroichimaru's neck, before sticking a kunai in his forehead. He turned to Deva realm. "Gather any surviving Oto nins, but the prisoners, and the experiments that are stable. Gather all the data you can, and escort them outside. I have business of my own to take care of. With that, he picked up Sasuke, and turned, heading towards the area of Oto that called to the darkness of his soul.
A few hours later, Sasuke's eyes slowly opened, and he groaned, sitting up.
"Good, you're finally awake." His eyes snapped to the masked figure that had knocked him out.
"What's going on? Who are you?" He said, looking at Madara in suspicion. Madara chuckled.
"Well, Sasuke, I'll answer those in reverse order. I am Madara Uchiha, the founder of our clan." He said, flashing his Sharingan eye. Sasuke looked at him incredulously.
"That's impossible. Madara Uchiha disappeared after fighting the Shodai Hokage, almost two hundred years ago."
Madara nodded. "Indeed. However, I'm sure that you've learned from Orochimaru that there are ways to cheat death. However..... I have one of the most perfect ways to do so. The Perfect, and Immortal Mangekyou Sharingan."
Sasuke looked at him. "So...... there is a way to achieve one." He said. "Itachi told me to read about it, after he slaughtered the clan. I know all about the Mangekyou Sharingan..... but there were only rumors on how to achieve a perfect one."
Madara nodded. "Yes. And I found it. That is why I am still alive. And I have come, to take you as my apprentice."
Sasuke slowly stood up. "You killed Orochimaru, didn't you?" Madara nodded, and Sasuke sighed. "I was hoping to do so myself, when he was weakened, and had nothing left to teach me."
Madara smirked behind his mask. "Spoken like a true shinobi. You'll make a better apprentice then my last one." Sasuke looked at him.
"Who was your last apprentice?"He asked. Tobi smirked even more.
"Itachi Uchiha........ your brother." Sasuke growled in anger, as he glared at Madara.
"Yes. But before you get all angry at me, I think you need to have a little history lesson. You see, your brother had ulterior motives for killing the clan. But we must first begin way back, to when I fought the Shodai. You see, during that battle, the biju known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune interfered in our battle. Never one to pass up an advantage, I used a powerful genjutsu to put the Kyuubi under my control, and have it attack the Shodai, while I fled. Because of this, it was thought that the Sharingan had the abilities to control the Kyuubi. Much later, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. No one truly knows why, though he may have been seeking revenge on me for what I did to him. But after the battle, some people began to suspect that the Uchiha clan had summoned the Kyuubi to attack Konoha, in order to gain power. This of course is not true, but the scared masses will believe what they will believe. This of course put the Uchiha clan in a bad light, and made all of Konoha suspicious of their activities. The Uchiha clan, fearing for it's survival, began plotting to do what the village all ready suspected them of: taking over Konoha."
"YOU LIE! The Uchiha clan was ever faithful to Konoha!" Sasuke yelled. Madara cocked his head.
"Like you were?" Sasuke became quiet after that, and Madara chuckled. "The Uchiha clan is loyal to the Uchiha clan. Or so it was thought. In truth, your brother was the exception to the rule. You see, Itachi was more loyal to Konoha, then he was to the clan. He passed information on to the Hokage, and his advisors, on the Uchiha clans plan's."
Sasuke sat there in silence, and Madara continued. "Eventually, the Uchiha clan was preparing their coup. Itachi, not wanting to see Konoha embroiled in a civil war, informed the Hokage. The Hokage's advisors, including Danzou, decided that the only solution to the problem was to get rid of it. They forced the Hokage into ordering the slaughter of the Uchiha clan."
Sasuke's eyes widened, before they narrowed. "What's your proof in this?"
Madara tilted his head. "My proof is that you were spared. Itachi volunteered for the mission, under the stipulation that you were allowed to survive. By doing this, he was able to protect you, from death, simply because you were Uchiha."
Sasuke's eyes widened at this. "W-what? No, my brother slaughtered the clan in cold blood. He-."
"He gave his soul, in order to ensure peace. He forced you to hate him, in hopes you would grow strong, and be able to defend yourself against those who would come for you. Whether they be foreign nin, or form Konoha itself.."
Sasuke just sat there, unmoving. Finally, he spoke up. "If this was true...... then how do you know? And why didn't he come for me after I left for Oto?"
Madara sighed. "I know, because I trained Itachi in the use of his Mangekyou. I know, because I taught him, and he told me of his mission. I saw this as a chance of revenge against those who had spat in my face, when I tried to lead them."
Madara said all this in anger, but then calmed down. "As for not coming after you....... he couldn't. As I have learned recently, he was spying on Akatsuki for Konoha, reporting our movements and objectives back to Konoha. Once again, the mission, before family." Madara said.
Sasuke sat there. "Where is he now?"
Madara growled. "He has gone to Konoha, along with his partner Kisame, and the nija I assigned as his aide. I'm sure you remember her?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes, I do. So..... he has returned to his masters. He spared me from the fate of the clan..... but is unwillingly to betray a village that had him slaughter his own family....... Apparently, blood doesn't run thicker then water." He growled. "Then I will still avenge my clan....... but it is not just Itachi who must die...... it is all of Konoha. They msut suffer what I hve suffered..... but I will not leave any survivors."
Madara nodded in approval. "Very good, Sasuke. Very good. Are you willing then, to serve Akatsuki..... and me?"
Sasuke nodded. "If it will give me the power I need, to avenge our clan, then yes, I will."
Madara nodded. "Good. But before we leave this place, there is one final thing we must do. I have come here, to call upon those who could perhaps be our greatest servants."
He turned, holding up a lantern, to reveal the room they were in. Originally, all that Sasuke could see was a small area. But as the lantern was raised, the room was revealed to be a massive bone yard. Hundreds of thousands of bones, and decaying corpses lay in the room beyond them. Sasuke recoiled slightly, while Madara chuckled.
"Can you feel it? The dark, tortured souls that still dwell here, unable to escape from their bodies? Orochimaru is still able to serve my purposes, even in death." With that, he began chanting in a dark, guttural language, one Sasuke didn't recognize.
A black aura surrounded Madara, before seeping into the mass of bones and corpses. Sasuke's eyes wideed, as he heard the sounds of several tortured voices echo from within. Suddenly, there were several blasts of dark light, from within the graveyard. The light slowly faded, to reveal several dark figures. These figure advanced from the graveyard, almost floating over the corpses, before landing in front of Madara, and bowing. What Sasuke saw was nine figures in black cloaks. He shivered though, as their cloak hoods were dark, that he couldn't see anything. It almost seemed like they were empty.
"You called, Master." One of the figures said in a dark, hiss like voice. Madara nodded.
"Indeed, my servants. It is time, for the Darkness to rise again. You will be my lieutenants, and serve me, and my apprentice here."
The nine cloaked figures looked at Sasuke, before bowing to him as well. Sasuke bowed, but was still nervous.
"Madara-sama.....what are they?" He asked. Madara chuckled.
"They, Sasuke..... are Wraiths. And they will help us rule this land." With that, he began to laugh, as he led his Wraiths, and Sasuke, from there.
They exited Oto, to find Pein, his bodies, and Konan, waiting with most of the Oto shinobi with them. Lying on the ground, in their own blood, were all of Danzou's Root agents, and a few of the Oto shinobi. Karin ran up to Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, what's going?" She asked in a scared voice. Sasuke shrugged her off.
"We're leaving, Karin. From now on, we serve akatsuki, understand?" Karin nodded, as did their other two teammates, if reluctantly. Madara looked over all the Oto shinobi left.
"Will you all be as sensible as them? Will you serve Akatsuki?! Or will you perish, like your friends here?"
The Oto shinobi looked at each other, before one spoke up. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I only served Orochimaru for protection from the hunter-nin. I think these guys can do it better." There were murmurs of agreement, before the Oto shinobi began kneeling, and bowing in singles and groups. Madara smirked.
"Good. From now on, you are shinobi of Akatsuki! You'll be given your uniforms, and headbands, when we return to base!." He turned to Pein, and nodded towards Oto. "Destroy it."
Pein nodded, and they all retreated a safe distance away, before the rest of Pein's bodies dropped, and the Deva realm rose into the air. He hovered over Oto, raising his hands.
"Shinra Tensei." With that, the entire land above Oto was obliterated, burying Otogakure no Sato, never to be found again.
A ninja wearing a ski like mask with openings over their eyes, turned and ran at the sight of what had happened. I have to warn Jiraiya-sama!
In Konoha
Naruto was looking at Itachi's eyes. He had brought Itachi and Alicia to his Wizard's Tower, in order to see if he could do something about Itachi's slowly growing blindness. "I see what the problem is. The Sharingan was created with a mixture of Sauron's power and spirit, Morgoth's dark power, and the elven blood that lay dormant in the Hyuuga DNA. The combination of all this has led to interesting side effects, such as the need for a near death experience to activate the Sharingan. Now, the Mangekyou Sharingan is interesting. See, by killing the person closest to you, your are given great power. But doing so is an evil ,and unspeakable act, as you are betraying one who trusts you. The elvish blood reacts to that, and causes the degradation of your eyesight. However, this is corrected, by taking the eyes of one who has not done such an act. Unfortunately, said person must also be closely related to you, in order to ensure that the DNA matches up. The elvish magic is stopped by the second set of eyes, and it actually unlocks the dormant elvish blood within the Uchiha DNA."
Itachi nodded. "So, the only way to stop my blindness is by taking my brother's eyes?" Naruto looked at him.
"Oh heavens no. Me and Hinata-chan can heal your eyes up in a minute. All it takes is flushing the corruptive influence out of the eyes, and restoring the eyes." He pulled away, and began writing everything he had learned on a scroll. "It is fascinating though. With the amount of dark, and pretty much evil magic residing in you, one would think you would ahve turned out like every other Uchiha. It's interesting that you are actually quite different."
He turned back to Itachi, as Hinata came over. "Now, this may hurt a lot, just to warn you. But the rewards are well worth it." He says, before holding his staff to Itacih's left temple. Hinata did the same with her hands, on his right. They both began chanting in Sindarin, and magic flowed off of them, and into Itachi's head. He stiffened, then actually screamed in pain, before slumping over, his eyes closed. Naruto and Hinata stepped back, as Alicia, who was standing nearby, moved to Itachi's side.
"Itachi-kun? You okay?" She asked. Itachi, whose eyes were closed, nodded, as he slowly straightened up.
"Yeah..... yeah, I'm okay." He said, opening his eyes, to show his regular black eyes. He slowly blinked, before smiling. ".......I can see...... it's not blurry anymore........ I can see." He whispered, smiling, before kissing Alicia. Alicia smiled into the kiss. A few moments later, they broke apart, and Itachi smiled at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto-sama."
Naruto shook his head. "Call me Naruto. And we're not done yet. Please, activate your Sharingan, and let's make sure everything is working."
Itachi nodded, and did so ,only for everyone to gasp. "What.... what is it?"
Alicia slowly held a mirror up, and Itachi's eyes widened. His Sharingan had changed, from red and black, to blue and white. "How....... how did this happen?" He asked, looking at Naruto.
Naruto looked the eyes over. "It must be a side effect of the purification. Still, I wasn't expecting that. But is everything working?" Itachi began testing his Sharingan, and Mangekyou, Sharingan, before nodding. Naruto smiled.
Suddenly, Elroth entered the room. "Naruto, we just received word that one of the ANBU sent to investigate for signs of Orcs, and such returned..... and he's badly wounded. Tsunade wants you to hear his report.
Naruto nodded, and excused himself, before using the shushin to get to the hospital. He quickly entered, and was escorted by two ANBU to the hospital room, where Tsunade was all ready waiting. She nodded to him, before turning to the ANBU, who was lying in the hospital bed. "Now, tell us what happened. Where's the rest of your squad?"
The ANBU slowly began talking. "We were investigating a plain, in northern Iwa. There had been.....rumors of disappearances in that direction..... we thought it the best place to look. There was..... there was some kind of........ camp..... a village.... something. All these..... buildings, like I had never seen before. And the creatures..... the creatures there. There were hundreds.... thousands of them......" He stopped as he began to shake.
Naruto pulled a scroll out, that he had with him, and unrolled it, revealing several illustrations. "Please.... tell me if any of these things were what you saw."
The ANBU looked, and pointed out a few pictures. "These were them...... I'll never forget them. And these.... they had these as well." Naruto nodded, as he rolled it back up.
"Orcs...... and Uruks. They have trolls to, if our encounter with that one was any indication." He turned to Tsunade. "It's as I feared, and Gandalf-sensei did as well. Morgoth's power is growing. He is building an army."
The AnBU continued. "They had Iwa ninjas with them. We were ambushed. Too many of them. Too many. Tiger.... he ordered me to return, and get the information to you. The others.... they're gone."
Tsunade nodded. "Thank you. You've done your village proud." She turned, and left, with Naruto behind her. Outside his room, she turned to him.
"What ca we expect?" She asked. Naruto closed his eyes.
"It would seem Madara is gathering anyone he can to his banner. Iwa and Ame have joined him......I don't know how many of the smaller nations have too, but it won't be good. When they are ready, they'll sweep across this land, burning, killing, and enslaving all in their path. They will outnumber us probably four to one, at least. Even with Rohan, Suna, and Kumo at our side, the odds aren't good."
Tsunade nodded. "Then we'll need more the shinobi to fight this threat. Naruto, JIraiya wanted to see you, about additional training. He also said something about Hinata as well. He said to meet him at training ground 5, in half an hour. I need to contact our allies, and inform them of the situation."
Naruto nodded, and headed off. Tsunade closed her eyes. And may Kami help us, she thought, as she headed towards her office.
LR: And another one is done. Seems I didn't get it done as fast as I wanted to. A few notes.
The creation of the Wraiths was something I made up. These are not Ring Wraiths, but regular Wraiths. If you have questions about them, let me know, and I'll pass the question on to Dark Nexus, or you can ask him yourselves.
Secondly, Kyuubi16 the Lord of Lemons, asked me to advertise his story Naruto of Genesis: True version of my TCKANA series. The reason why he asked me to, was because it will be featuring one of my Ocs in it. One I haven't listed, because I came up with him, but don't know how to use it. It's M-rated, as is pretty much all his stuff, and will feature massive number of crossovers, godlike Naruto, and a massive harem, involving pretty much most of the females from the crossovers he uses.
RS: Are you done yet? *Adjusts her new glasses*
LR: Oh yeah. My sister got glasses. That makes me the only one in my family without them. Though I may need them too.
Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this one. Please review.