Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. If I did then I could easily pay for college.
Cedric: I can't believe you're almost out of high school Frying Pan. Seems like just yesterday you were a starry eyed freshman writing my story.
Maya: But didn't that story suck? Even Wheatley hates it!
Wheatley: Yeah that was really bad.
Greed: Horrible.
L: Worse than me being replaced by Near.
Cedric: Well I wasn't the one wrote it.
Skillet: And who tried to kill me when I cancelled that garbage again Cedric?
Cedric: That was the original story's Cedric. Now I'm the new, M-Rated Cedric who's probably buried people alive for less. Like Calamari.
Ikō: Somebody please get me out of here!
Skillet: Ugh, one of you guys get the new chapter uploaded while I dig up Ikō.
Cedric: I don't understand why you feel the need to dig him back up. Naruto already killed him back in Chapter 5.
Greed: ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN REFERENCES TO THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY ALREADY! LET'S GET THIS CHAPTER UP!
Arc 2: Siege of the Akatsuki
Chapter 35: Four Sharingan
It was a calm winter day in Konohagakure, with windows freezing up and snow falling softly on the ground. That day, the Academy got out early as the term for the students had ended.
Despite Konoha being a predominantly Buddhist village, Christmas was still celebrated in the secular sense, being treated as a time for happiness. However the inner darkness of the village still found a way to seep through the cracks.
This was thanks to the Santatsu Foundation, who were once again meeting to discuss plans for the future "So you and Nitatsu Tobi dealt with the rebellion in Kiri correct Orochimaru?"
"Yes, Danzō-kun, we still have three of the Elemental Villages under control, including this one thanks to your Shinobi Restriction Laws." Orochimaru hissed at his co-conspirator. Unlike 8 years ago when he was still considered loyal to Konoha, Orochimaru now wore the cloak of an Akatsuki chairman.
"Seise your compliments. Just make sure Yahiko is ready to be captured for his Rinnegan at a moment's notice. We don't want another failure like with the Hyuuga-Kumo Incident."
Gatō continued to eat his dinner before asking with a sneer "What did you call us over here for anyway Danzō? I'll have the Land of Waves in my pocket after I take control of more islands, and I don't need unnecessary distractions."
"Simple, you weren't around for this Gatō-san, but there's an old operation that needs revival: Operation Barbarossa."
"That old thing? We've already wiped out all the clans in Kiri, what more need do we have for it now that we have all those Kekkei Genkai?" Orochimaru asked while taking a bite from his own plate.
"How about all the Kekkei Genkai in Konoha? It's practically the Nirvana of Kekkei Genkai and we're just going to leave it untouched. And there's always the possibility we'll find more potential bodies for you Orochimaru-san."
While Orochimaru seemed interested in this statement, Gatō just seemed confused "What are you imbeciles talking about?"
"Simple, back in the early days of this organization we had a plan to wipe out all shinobi clans to make their bloodlines more valuable. We've succeeded with Kiri, and now we'll move onto Konoha."
"You had me at the word valuable. Which clan are we wiping out first?"
"Before he left Yahiko-kun passed on some information to Fugaku Uchiha, and now he and a group of members are planning rebellion against Danzō-kun and Sarutobi-sensei."
"Heh, nice idea passing the buck onto him Danzō!" Gatō praised him for his move of making Hiruzen another target of Yahiko's quest for vengeance.
"Not quite Gatō-kun, because now they're heading after our organization. Not to mention the murder of Shisui Uchiha has gotten his old friend Itachi investigating his old cases, including the existence of our old splinter cell."
"The point is we need them wiped out before they disrupt our plan." Danzō said before sipping tea and pressing a button which summoned Tobi.
"Yes, Shogun-sama."
"Gather all able bodied Nitatsu to form an army of Shotatsu. Tonight, you become the last Uchiha."
"If it's a fight you're looking for, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Let's see which one of our Sharingan is stronger!" Itachi said before allowing his dojutsu to flare to life.
In response Kakashi immediately revealed his own Sharingan eye 'I have to avoid getting caught in his genjutsu, otherwise I'm dead.'
Itachi tried to gain the first move by charging at him with taijutsu, though Kakashi easily blocked it as the battle started with a physical scuffle. Eventually Kakashi got his distance and threw several kunai and shuriken at him, all of which were quickly deflected by Itachi's sword.
The rogue Uchiha was quick to retaliate with his own set of aerial weapons, which Kakashi dodged with ease. However one suddenly released a puff of smoke and sent daggers of sea prism stone raining down onto him. The Copy Ninja barely avoided the attack before he saw a massive ball of fire heading straight for him.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu"
Thanks to the Logia properties of his Devil Fruit power Kakashi managed to escape the blast with no damage. Itachi noticed this and tried to pin him down with a dagger made of sea prism stone. Kakashi avoided that blow as well and swept Itachi's legs out from under him before performing a series of hand seals and firing his own attack.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang"
In response to the beast of lightning tracking his movements, Itachi let himself get hit only to substitute with a nearby stone. After the attack had dispelled Kakashi resorted to using the water in the pool surrounding them.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu"
A large dragon of water formed from the pool and made a charge toward Itachi, who avoided the attack summoning his crows and dissipating into them. Taking the chance while Kakashi was clueless as to his location, Itachi shrouded the monument in mist.
"Hiding in Mist Jutsu"
"Damnit, I better keep my guard up in this mess here." Kakashi immediately armed himself with a kunai and used his limited field of vision to scan the area for any sign of his opponent. Upon seeing him approaching through the thick fog, Kakashi threw the knife, only for him to explode into a cloud of smoke. After seeing more than one Itachi coming near, the Division 1 lieutenant realized he was surrounded by Kage Bushin.
Kakashi flipped another kunai out before continuously fighting and knocking out every clone Itachi sent at him. After a few waves of the horde had passed, Kakashi decided the best course of action would be to use his Devil Fruit and the conductivity of the mist to take them all out once.
"Explosive Charge"
After the red shock had finished surging from his body, Kakashi ran from the mist with intention to defuse the lacrima while Itachi was away from it. However the Akatsuki chairman was back on guard of the explosive device. To make matters worse, Itachi was already copying one of his previous attacks.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu"
Kakashi immediately dug underground to avoid the attack avoid getting drowned by the dragon, while Itachi continued to track his movements with the use of both his Sharingan and Kenbunshoku Haki "You're good Kakashi, but I'm not a little brat anymore."
After he said this, Kakashi's hand popped out of the ground with intent to pull him under, only for Itachi to leap away just in time. In response, Kakashi flew after him with his Devil Fruit while using one of his signature moves.
"Lightning Cutter"
"Amaterasu"
In order to prevent getting skewered by Kakashi's attack, Itachi turned on his Mangekyo Sharingan and lit his hand into black flames, before dissolving into another flock of crows. After sealing of the flame on his hand, Kakashi began looking around in attempt to locate Itachi before he struck again.
"I have to say Itachi you've spent quite a bit of this fight running away from me. Why don't you come out and finish this?"
"I don't need to finish you off Kakashi. My orders are simply to prevent this lacrima from getting defused. I'd actually rather not kill anyone really; I am a natural pacifist after all."
"This coming from the man who killed his whole family for power. Or are you going to say you aren't actually responsible?" Kakashi asked, and received silence as his only answer. Using his sharingan to track the true Itachi he struck the crow with a kunai, causing Itachi to reappear with the kunai jammed in his shoulder.
"I suppose if you can deny it so easily, then they clearly didn't matter all that much to you."
Itachi then angrily glared at the copy ninja as he pulled out the kunai "I could say the same about you Kakashi. How are Obito and Rin doing again?"
Now Kakashi was pissed and moved in front of the Akatsuki chairman with lightning speed "You just crossed the line Uchiha. Sasuke won't have to worry about killing you when he gets back."
"What the hell do you care about my brother? You let the Santatsu Foundation get their grip on him with your foolishness!" Itachi tried to slash Kakashi's throat with his blade only for the Copy Ninja to block it with his own kunai.
"I admit my teaching was far from decent, but you're the one who sent him down that path by murdering everyone."
"Tell me Kakashi, did you even notice who filled out that report?" Itachi yelled in his face before glaring into his eyes and releasing a genjutsu.
"Tsukuyomi"
The next thing Kakashi knew he was in a black void where nothing was occurring at all. The most he knew was that he was at Itachi's full mercy at the moment "This isn't good, who knows what Itachi will do to me in here."
"You brought this on yourself Kakashi! Now I'll destroy your mind with a torrent of genjutsu!" Itachi cried from beyond, while Kakashi remembered a very similar experience.
'This is just like when I fought that Nitatsu at the Chunin Exams. But I can't flip this jutsu around with my sharingan.' Kakashi tried to come up with a plan to escape plan before realizing he was currently in some sort of art gallery. Before he could examine the room any further, a homely man in a blue suit appeared, and began singing in an off key voice
Oh lady!
I know a lady with high heeled shoes!
And socks and pantyhose!
Oh pretty lady!
"Strong Fist"
The Director didn't have time to finish his song before Kakashi punched him out the window; the man quickly became little more than a twinkle in the sky. Kakashi thought the peculiarity of this genjutsu was over, three children that appeared to be some sort of mammal ran by with a fat security guard chasing them.
"This is sadly much better than the last genjutsu I was in." Kakashi lamented his strange situation.
"Oh believe me Kakashi, we're just getting started!" Itachi proclaimed as the illusion deformed into a land that looked like a melting pastel. Before Kakashi could react, Itachi came out of the darkness and slashes him across the chest. The rogue Uchiha tried to make another attack on the jounin with a stab to the chest, but Kakashi made his own move before it was possible.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing"
"What?" Itachi cried before realizing he was suddenly in a very different environment, which appeared to a giant stadium surrounding a small kitchen "I see, since you couldn't flip back my Tsukuyomi, you made your own genjutsu inside it. Very clever."From what Itachi could gather, this was some sort of cooking competition, in which a red haired boy was cooking against a tan blonde girl. He could also see they were preparing Don bowls.
"Interesting Kakashi, but I don't really see how this is hell viewing." Itachi pondered before realizing something. The stadium had several beautiful young women in it "You must have messed up somewhere Kakashi! This is heaven!"
Being a pervert as well, Kakashi materialized himself in the genjutsu and began looking around. The two perverts continued looking around the stadium, only to have a much more noticeable reaction when the blonde tried her opponent's dish. Her reaction gave the genjutsu a much more sensual effect, giving it the appearance she was lying naked in the Don bowl.
This instantly gave both Itachi and Kakashi massive nosebleeds, as the collapsed and the genjutsu faded away as both lost the will to continue them. Panting like an exhausted dog, Kakashi stood up in an attempt to continue the degenerated fight and strike Itachi once again.
However, Kakashi quickly realized that he was still trapped in Itachi's genjutsu. And worse, that Itachi was having it take an extraordinarily different effect than it had before. He was at his mother's funeral.
"Tsukuyomi: Yesteryear Inferno"
The much older Kakashi watched as he saw him and Ichigo bawling their eyes out, while Sakumo comforted them "Don't worry my sons, she'll still be with us even if it's not on this plane of earth." Sakumo said, clearly trying to keep himself from crying his eyes out.
"He's right you know, you're such a big baby Kakashi!" Ichigo said while sniffling.
"YOU'RE CRYING TOO NIISAN!"
"Ichigo was always the last one to admit he was upset." The adult Kakashi reminisced before the scenes started changing at rapid pace. Despite this, every detail burned into Kakashi's brain.
"This is the power of my genjutsu Kakashi. As punishment for your sins against my brother, you'll be forced to relive what you did over and over again, till your heart gives out and crumbles to dust!"
His life quickly flashed before his eyes as the ones he lost came into full view. The suicide of his father, his promotion to jounin, Obito's sacrifice, Rin's death, the Night of Kyuubi, and the all too sudden loss of Ichigo and Minato. It quickly stopped as he realized he was in a familiar environment. It was six years ago.
The day everything changed for the worse. He saw that a much younger and still together Team 7 was waiting in the forest before a younger Kakashi came by "No, not this day. Anything but this!"
"I'm sorry I'm late but I had calm to calm down an angry grizzly bear who was about to eat a hiker" The illusionary Kakashi lied through his masked teeth.
Because of the ridiculous and outlandish excuse, he got the typical response from two of his students.
"YOU LIAR!"
With a quick chuckle of amusement, the Jounin then began briefing his team on their training. "Sakura you need to work on your strength and endurance, Naruto you need to work your chakra control, and Sasuke you're coming with me. I'm going to teach you water walking."
"Wait a minute how come Sasuke gets to learn a new jutsu when all I'm stuck with is chakra control" Naruto quickly objected.
"Because out of all of you Sasuke has made the most progress. He came up with the plan to beat Zabuza while he trapped me, and he was the one who beat Haku. While all you've done is screw things up and goof off. When you're up to his level if that day ever comes, then I'll teach water walking"
"No Naruto, that's not true! You made just as much progress as Sasuke if not more! I was a blind fool to see otherwise!" Kakashi tried take back the words of his past self to no avail.
The team then disbanded with only Naruto frozen in place thinking to himself. He only needed a few moments of internal monologue and thinking of what his tenant said to him last night, before suddenly moving towards his section of the campsite.
"Please don't go Naruto, I didn't mean what I said! Think of Sandaime-sama, think of your father!"
Kakashi's pleading went unheard and within moments of packing his luggage, Naruto had left the campsite and become a missing-nin, running off into the unknown.
The masked jounin collapsed to as he saw his student go rogue as a result of his actions. Before he could ponder what he saw any further, the forest dissolved and rearranged itself into a completely different scene.
He saw himself and the remainder of his dysfunctional squad of genin in the Hokage's office after getting back late that night. Only Iruka and the Sandaime remained, only to receive the mission briefing and finish any last minute filing that needed to be taken care of before the work day's end.
Both Sakura and Sasuke appeared relatively disinterested in what had occurred on the way back, while Kakashi finished his report "Sasuke and Naruto both fought the masked boy, but Sasuke spent to much of his energy and passed out after defeating him. We thought the boy was down after Sasuke beat him, with some minor help from Naruto, but he took a fatal blow that was intended for Zabuza. Then Gatō and his thugs showed up to kill Zabuza due to payment issues, which resulted in a skirmish that killed both of them. After we drove off the rest of Gatō's thugs and finished the bridge we decided to head back. However we ran into a difficulty on the way back."
"And what would that difficulty be?"
"Naruto's gone missing Hokage-sama. The idiot probably got lost while he was training. Seems like something he would do." Sakura told Sarutobi, to the old man's horror.
"What? Why didn't you find him before coming all the way back to the village?!" Iruka immediately jumped from his chair "For all we know he could be dead right now!"
"It's not like that really matters Iruka-sensei. The village would probably be a lot better off is he were gone." Sasuke said aloofly before continuing his regular emo brooding.
"I felt that we had to get back to the village as quickly as possible to pick up some Fire Release scrolls for Sasuke's training." Past Kakashi tried to explain his actions "I thought it would be best to send out a search party upon returning; but needless to say I intend on giving him a sharp reprimand for his mistake."
"Why you fool! Don't you understand what you did-" Kakashi tried to scold his past self, though his words went unheard. However Iruka moved right through him and punched the illusion right in the face.
"Iruka-sensei!" Sakura double took back at the sudden display of violence by her old Academy teacher.
"Iruka, what is the meaning of this! You do know the consequences of assaulting a fellow-"
"Shut up Kakashi!" Iruka growled in the jounin's face before facing his former students with a scowl "Sakura, Sasuke, go home! We've got adult matters to handle here!"
Though she was visibly confused and scared of what was about to occur in the office at the time, Sakura followed the order by running out with only a small glance back. Sasuke followed shortly after with a quick sneer towards the others.
With the two remaining genin of Team 7 out of the equation, Kakashi was left to watch as the past continued to play out before him "Hokage-sama, I think that Iruka needs to be punished for his attack on a comrade of Konoha." The genjutsu Kakashi stood up and said to Sarutobi.
"Quite the contrary Kakashi, Iruka was in line for his actions as you abandoned a member of your squad." Sarutobi said calmly despite outwardly shaking with rage.
"But Hokage-sama, Sasuke needed to be trained in order to kill Itachi before-"
"Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke! Is that the only one of your students you even care about? Naruto could be dead right now and you don't even care about him!" Iruka interrupted him again.
"It's not my fault he ran off Iruka. He was just upset that Sasuke was progressing faster, so I was training him the more advanced techniques quicker." Kakashi continued trying to defend himself.
Sarutobi took another sip of his sake before inquiring further on the situation "And how would you know that Sasuke has been progressing quicker than Naruto."
"Well, as mentioned in my report Sasuke and Naruto were involved in freeing me from one of Zabuza's traps, and Sasuke wore down his minion enough for Naruto to beat him." Kakashi anxiously rubbed the back of his head.
"And how do you know Naruto didn't come up with the plan on his own, or he beat the boy of his own power." Sarutobi continued his line of questioning.
"Because in simple terms Sasuke is better than Naruto. I knew it from the moment I saw their files. There's no way Naruto could be that good without Sasuke's help. Sasuke's a genius…while Naruto is just a lost cause."
While the real Kakashi dropped to his knees in shame for his past words, Iruka stood there in frozen rage before attacking him again and sending the jounin flying across the room.
It was then that Iruka practically screamed at Kakashi with tears in his eyes "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NARUTO, YOU ONE-EYED BASTARD! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TRIED TO TRAIN HIM! IF YOU DID THEN YOU WOULD SEE HOW MUCH A HARD WORKING AND COMPASSIONATE YOUNG MAN HE IS; BUT YOU CAN'T SEE THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE TOO FIXATED ON THE UCHIHA!"
"I'm just trying to fulfill Obito's memory Iruka. I have to make sure Sasuke is strong enough to avenge their memory when the time comes."
"AND DO YOU REALLY THINK OBITO WOULD WANT THIS! LEAVING BEHIND A CHILD WHO'S BEEN TREATED LIKE SHIT ALL HIS LIFE? ABANDONING YOUR COMRADES MAKES YOU WORSE THAN TRASH, AND YOUR WORSE THAN THAT!" Iruka continued his broken hearted rant, while the present Kakashi began to break down nearby "Now Naruto has left our village because of you. And he may never come back! I hope your proud of yourself you bastard!"
"i-Iruka…" The past Kakashi stuttered out, now completely speechless.
"Forgive me for my actions Hokage-sama." Iruka droned as he walked out of the room "If there's one thing you've taught me today Kakashi, is that I shouldn't take my loved ones for granted because I never know when they'll be gone. I need to talk to Anko."
After Iruka was completely out of the room, Sarutobi released his rage by breaking the sake cup he held in his hand and releasing so much killing intent that it made the past Kakashi nearly vomit from the stress.
"Kakashi, you have disgraced the legacy of Minato and shall pay dearly. I hereby decree that your team will not be allowed to participate in the Chunin Exams till Naruto is brought back in safe condition, regardless of whether the age limit of 18 is passed or not." Sarutobi growled with unimaginable malice "Further more you are demoted to Tokubetsu Jounin and shall be sentenced to doing D-Rank missions for one year! Now GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi moved out of the room as fast as he could and only stopped when he made it around the corner, with the Sandaime's words still ringing in his ears "I've disgraced Minato-sensei?"
After thinking for several long moments in dead silence, the genjutsu Kakashi broke down in the same way as the present one when he realized how unfairly he'd treated Naruto "Kaasan, Otousan, Obito, Rin, Niisan, Minato-sensei. What have I done?"
It was then the past Kakashi stood up and stared out at the night sky "I'm going to find you Naruto. Please be safe where ever you are. I'll never forgive myself if you died out there because of me."
The genjutsu quickly changed to about a year and a half later, though Kakashi still lay there in horror at his actions six years ago. He saw that he was kneeling in the middle of a familiar clearing, on an island close to the Calm Belt.
He remembered that he had news of a blonde bounty hunter who used three swords, much like the one who traveled between seas, Roronoa Zoro. However he'd been attacked by more ROOT agents that had constantly been a hinderance to his quest.
Kakashi remembered this as being the end of his final battle, against the Santatsu he later knew as Tobi Uchiha, who was wearing a dark orange mask with black marks covering it, and long black hair as opposed to spiky hair he had in the present.
"You ROOT should stop hounding me if you know what's best for you. I'm going to find my student whether you like it or not."
"I thought Sasuke was your only student? At least you acted it though." Tobi continued to make fun of the jounin like he had throughout their battle.
"I know of my sins, which is why I will atone for them no matter who stands in my way!" Kakashi prepared one of his strongest attacks in preparation to finish the supposed ANBU off, and charged at him as fast as he could run on his legs.
"Chidori"
Strangely Tobi just stood there with little reaction to Kakashi coming at him with a deadly assassination technique, almost as if he was waiting for the impact to come. Things got even stranger when he lunged head first at the attack, letting his mask shatter to pieces.
After his mask broke, Tobi moved back at lightning speed to avoid more lethal side affects before beginning to chuckle "I bet you never suspected you'd see me again, old friend." Tobi then lifted his face up to reveal that of a scarred Obito.
"w-wWhat?"
"Crash Wave"
Before Kakashi could comprehend what was going on, Tobi took the opportunity to attack him from behind while his guard was down. While he lie bleeding on the ground, he saw Tobi approach him with a smile "You shouldn't have fallen for that Kakashi. And for the record, I'm not ROOT. I'm part of something greater; The Santatsu Foundation!"
Now the genjutsu was dissolving itself, and appeared that it was restarting itself over again. However before it could, a voice rang out to Kakashi from deep in the void "Is that it Kakashi? Are you just going to give in to this bastard?!"
Looking around for the source of the void, he saw someone he hadn't truly seen in years "Obito? What are you doing here?" It was indeed Obito inside the world of the genjustu, and it appeared like he hadn't aged a bit since the day he'd died.
"Saving your ass that's what I'm doing! This bastard killed my entire clan, and you're just letting him beat you?" Obito scolded him "That's not the Kakashi I know, and besides you've still got to beat the guy who used my appearance against you back then! Break out of this shitty genjutsu and win!"
"…You're right Obito. I've got to keep fighting against this nightmare, otherwise the Akatsuki will win. And I refuse to let that happen!" Kakashi stood up and gave a defiant cry, before focusing most of his chakra through his Sharingan eye. Eventually this gave him enough power to break through the Tsukuyomi.
This surprised Itachi, who had been standing for only a few moments after starting the mental assault "What? How did you break through the Tsukuyomi! Not even a Jinchuriki could perform such a feat?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets Itachi. I believe I told you that once when I watched over you and Shisui." Kakashi cheekily said while pulling up his Sharingan and getting back into a fighting stance.
"That's in the past Kakashi! Shisui died by my hands with the rest of my clan! As will you!" Itachi pulled out his sword and prepared to end the fight right then and there "Because I'm stronger than you now Kakashi!"
Kakashi gave a small laugh as he reached into his weapon's pouch, looking for a specific item "It may be true that you're stronger than me Itachi, but there's one thing I have that you don't!" Kakashi showed his hand to Itachi to reveal he was holding the yet to be released Icha Icha Journey.
"Is that the new Icha Icha book? But that isn't even going to be released for three more months? How could you have possibly gotten ahold of it?" Itachi asked, taking the situation more seriously than he had before.
"Let's just say I've got people on the inside. But I'm sure you'd like to here all about the ending, like when the protagonist turned out to be-" Kakashi tried to spoil the book for the Akatsuki chairman, who covered his ears almost immediately.
'I can't let this one eyed buffoon spoil the ending for me! Imagine what Pein-sama would say! I can hear his mocking already!' Itachi inwardly panicked as Kakashi charged forward only to realize something worse 'NO! MY SHARINGAN ARE READING HIS LIPS THROUGH THE MASK!'
This move gave Kakashi the opportunity he needed to grab onto his opponent's face. With a smug look in his eyes Kakashi mocked the trapped Uchiha "Looks like I've finished your chapter Itachi."
"Tēzā Chidori"
The current sent a high voltage of electricity coursing through Itachi's body as he screamed with agony, before crashing back into waters of the monument. When he was sure his opponent was down, Kakashi stuck what was left of the chidori into the clock of the lacrima, defusing it.
"Well, that's done. Now to move on to the next chapter of the story. Little did he know I actually hadn't made it to the end yet." Kakashi prepared to leave the area and make his way to the central battlefield.
However before he could Itachi's voice echoed across the monument "I'm not done yet! I refuse to back down until Pein-sama's dream is made a reality! That way the Santatsu Foundation can never hurt anyone ever again like they did to my clan."
"The Santatsu Foundation? What do they have to do wi-" Kakashi found himself interrupted when a familiar opponent of his arrived through a twist in space.
This opponent was Tobi Uchiha, who now spoke in his real voice "So you failed Itachi. I can't say I'm surprised, you always were the weak link in our clan." Tobi approached them before noticing the now blue lacrima nearby, and proceeded to destroy it in a single strike.
"Crash Wave"
The "Tobi? What are you doing here? Your orders were to follow any Jinchuriki who avoided the Central Battlefield!" Itachi pointed out to the masked man, who didn't seem to care in the slightest.
"Those were my order under the Akatsuki, yes. But I'm afraid that I'm resigning from that post." Tobi said as he tossed off his ring and let it sink into the pool of water "I do have to say though, it's funny that neither you nor Pein recognized after everything I've done in my true allegiance."
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked as he got more and more worried as to wear this situation was going.
"Are you that big of a fool Itachi? This man is no Akatsuki chairman! He's a Shogun of the Santatsu Foundation!" Kakashi revealed "He's been manipulating you all the entire time!"
"I see…and here I thought that Jungle Rot was the only traitor in our midst. But looking back at it now, I do know who you are. You were one of their Nitatsu agents! The Eleven Titans! I recognize from the day you're organization massacred my clan!"
In response to Itachi's accusations, Tobi burst out into a wild laughter "My clan? That pack of unenlightened weaklings who bowed to Hashirama Senju was no clan of mine! The last true Uchiha was Madara. Neither you or your half wit brother could ever come close to his greatness!"
"Shut up! You have no right to speak of my brother after what you Santatsu rats did to his mind! DIE!" Itachi once again drew his sword and began making mad slashes at the traitorous chairman who avoided every one.
"You seem to forgetting the fact I'm the strongest living member of the Uchiha clan. A novice like you doesn't stand a chance!" Tobi knocked the blade out of Itachi's hand before implanting him in the wall with a wave of force to the stomach.
"Crash Wave"
The blow left Itachi coughing up several ounces of blood, and he he could only glare as Tobi approached him and pulled him out of the wall by the collar of his cloak "It's adorable really. Your whole organization was based on getting revenge on us. And in the end, it will all go up in flames. Just like your precious Pein-sama"
"You don't know what you're talking about! Me, Pein-sama, and Angel-sama are destined to create a land of peace and freedom without the likes of you, pirates, or the World Government inflicting fear into hearts of the people of this word."
"What a naïve fool you are Itachi. The only way peace can be brought this world is through the Infinite Tsukuyomi." Tobi looked the captured Itachi dead in the eyes "No matter what Danzō or Orochimaru are intending The Power of Asura, I will fulfill this dream. And if you join me, there's a way I can help you get your family back."
Though Itachi looked hesitant for a moment, he proceeded to spit blood in Tobi's masked face "I would rather die then scum like you! It's because of you my otouto is rotting in Neo Impel Down!"
"So be it. The new world I and Madara-sama will create would be far better without trash like you to stink it up. Now you and the rest of Akatsuki shall for the defying the The Shogun of the Moon!"
"Tsukuyomi: Yesteryear Inferno"
Now Itachi's memories began to replay in a manner very similar to what he had done the Kakashi in their previous battle. He saw he and Shisui were currently kneeling in front of the Sandaime Hokage, who held a file in his hands.
"Weasel, Dragon, I assume you know why I've called you I've called you here." Hiruzen said as he stood up from his desk and straightened out the file labeled Splinter Cell.
"I presume you have some sort of mission for us to handle Hokage-sama? Whatever it is we'll gladly take it." Shisui said through his ANBU mask.
Sarutobi nodded in response to this before approaching them with the file and placing it in Itachi's hands "No matter what, you cannot let this file fall into the hands of anyone, not even your own families."
"Why not Hokage-sama?"
"Ever since the Night of Kyuubi eight years ago I've received reports of a Splinter Cell in our ranks being responsible. After having Cat on the case for years, I regret to inform you both that those rumors were true."
"What? So you're saying the Kyuubi attacking our village and all those people dying was on purpose?" Shisui got up from his position and furiously asked.
"Calm down Dragon!" Itachi said to his best friend.
"Since their existence is confirmed I'll need more investigators to locate their members. The two of you are the strongest of the Uchiha clan, and some of the most loyal in Division 13. It only makes sense that I entrust this responsibility to you." Sarutobi further explained his actions to the young ANBU "Are you both willing to put your lives on the line for this mission?
Both locked gazes for a brief moment, before answering the old man "Hai, Hokage-sama."
The genjutsu rearranged itself causing the illusion of reality around Itachi to change to a woodland covered riverside, which the past version of himself and Shisui ran along with the Splinter Cell file in hand. "This feels so strange, we've got this whole mess thrown on us all the sudden. Could it really be that a Splinter Cell is in our village." Shisui continued to ponder as his thoughts got more and more conflicted.
"It almost makes me wish we actually did show up for that stupid assembly Otousan set up." Itachi groaned anxiously before putting on a fake smile "But it's pretty cool that we were invited at all. I mean, only the strongest of our clan were invited."
"Well, even if Hokage-sama didn't summon us, you probably would have just skipped the assembly to read your porn!" Shisui teased his friend for his perverse tastes.
"It's not porn! It's literature!"
"Sure, sure,sure; What ever you say you big closet pervert." Shisui continued his mockery before realizing which river they were running next to "Whoa that's creepy!"
"What, the Naka River? What's so creepy about that?"
"Did you forget what happened a few months ago. Shikataro Nara drowned himself in there a few weeks ago after he lost his heir title to Shikaku." Shisui explained "Apparently he bet the title in a shogi match after he got caught lying on a mission report."
"Not smart, but I can see why that would be considered creepy. Better remember that when Sasuke gets old enough to become a shinobi." Itachi jokingly said, before he heard the rustling of leaves from close behind "Wait a minute, I think we're being followed."
"What do you mean?"
"He means me, Shisui." Shisui turned around immediately to see a man wearing a red-orange spiral mask with long black hair framing his covered face "Am I correct in believing that file information on my organization? If so, I'll have to destroy it."
"So you're a member of the Splinter Cell?" Itachi asked the masked man.
"You're correct in assuming that, but it's not exactly what I'd call a Splinter Cell. We are the Santatsu Foundation, and we exist to bring the Power of Asura back to existence."
"And did you do that by enacting the Night of Kyuubi?" Shisui turned on his sharingan and pulled out a kunai knife from behind.
"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. But I suppose it doesn't really matter all that much to you anymore. Don't look behind you Uchiha." The masked man warned before suddenly vanishing in a small burst of wind. Both Itachi and Shisui looked around their environment to see where their attacker had vanished to, only for him to suddenly appear behind Shisui.
"Crash Wave"
Shisui swung the kunai at the masked man, causing him to scratch his mask. However his assailant proved to be faster, as he hit Shisui with a shockwave-infused backhand across the face, the force of which caused it to snap 180 degrees around "s-sSsantasS-su" Shisui barely had time to croak out through his mangled throat before death took him and his body dropped into the Naka River.
"SHISUI!" Itachi screamed at the top of lungs as he saw his best friend fall off the branch and into the river below. The shock of what had just occurred quickly overtook him as he dropped to his knees and his head began throbbing.
"Amaterasu"
Itachi was momentarily snapped out of his trance when the masked man somehow caused black flames to burst out of nowhere on his ANBU arm bands. After tossing off the burning clothing off Itachi quickly escaped from the area in a gust of leaves with the Splinter Cell file still in hand.
"You can run but you can't Itachi. We know all about who you are under that ANBU mask! Opposing the Santatsu Foundation is the worst mistake you've ever made!"
Luckily for Itachi, his body flicker extended close enough to the Uchiha clan compound that he could enter the gates that he was sure the masked man wouldn't dare follow him through. Upon getting close enough, Itachi looked over his shoulder to check if he was still being followed.
Sure enough the masked man stood silently in the woods, glaring at him intently with his lone eye. Before Itachi could talk to him, the man took a mini-transponder snail from his pocket and began speaking into it "Another one of the Uchiha is getting involved in our plans. Even if he's not with the others, we need to take action in time."
After his message was completed, the man suddenly disappeared into what seemed to be a spiral-like wrinkle in space. With his mysterious new enemy gone, Itachi full on sprinted past the guards and into the compound 'I can't let Shisui have died in vain! I have to keep this file safe at any costs!'
"Hey Itachi where are you going?"
"Your father was looking for you!"
Itachi ignored them both and ran straight for the center of the compound where the Head's Manor lied. When he entered the house and slammed the door shut, he turned around and saw that his mother Mikoto was waiting for him near his bedroom door. Also coming out of his room was a very groggy looking Sasuke.
"Niisan, why are you making so much noise? I was having a really great dream about riding a dragon!" Sasuke yawned, rubbing the crud out of his eyes.
"I heard you and Shisui-kun missed the assembly earlier. Your father certainly wasn't happy about it, especially when he heard Hokage-sama had called you up." Mikoto said in a concerned tone.
"Why doesn't Otousan like Sandaime-sama?"
"I'm not exactly sure about that Sasuke-kun. All I know is that it started a short while after the Night of Kyuubi." Mikoto gave her best possible explanation to her youngest son.
Trying to keep a calm composure despite what occurred not long ago, Itachi walked back to his room while trying to act as tired as possible "I'm a member of Division 13 now. I have to be at the Hokage's beck and call for whatever mission he needs me to do."
"Well, alrightie then. Just don't overwork yourself Itachi-kun; I'd hate to see you get hurt." Mikoto continued to voice her worries in her normal motherly nature. Itachi merely nodded and opened the door to his room, only for Sasuke to notice the file he was holding.
"What does Splinter Cell mean?"
'Shit!' Itachi winced when Sasuke pointed out the folder, and more specifically what it said on the tag "This is a classified file given to me by Hokage-sama. I've been given specific instructions not to let anyone see it."
"That's so lame; you're always keeping stuff secret from me Niisan."
"You'll understand when you've graduated from the Academy Sasuke. See you tomorrow." Itachi said as he entered his room and shut the door, before once against collapsed and began to hyperventilate "Nagato, Yahiko, Shisui; what am I going to do now? That man knows who I am and where I live. I have to report this."
Itachi faced the window of his room and began to approach it, only to notice something peculiar in the mirror from the corner of his eye. Or more specifically, something peculiar with his eye. He noticed he had accidentally turned his sharingan, but it had different properties than just tomoe. It now had the appearance of a shuriken like object.
He was so shocked by what he saw, the Uchiha heir fell back onto the ground and whispered to himself "The Mangekyo Sharingan!" After he managed to recover from the shock, Itachi stood up and bit into his thumb to summon ones of his crows.
As he wrote his detailed report to Sarutobi, Itachi's brain continued to race around for any details that might assist him in his task 'The morning Yahiko and Konan left, they told me too investigate Danzō. Could it be he has something to do with this?'
Upon writing the report on the night's events, Itachi placed the scroll documenting it into the crow's beak "Take this to the Hokage. It's vitally important that he receives this message." Itachi watched his crow fly away and tried to get some sleep, an effort that proved impossible as the image of his best friend being brutally murdered in front of him was one he wouldn't soon forget.
However his crow would never make it to the Hokage, as it was shot down en route by the masked man, who held the scroll in his hands as it burned in black flames "It's a shame our clan had to end this way Madara-sama. But action must be taken. Operation Barbarossa must be resumed."
The genjutsu once again rearranged itself to a snowy December night, though Itachi could barely comprehend what was going on as the genjutsu was affecting both his physical and mental state. He recognized this night vividly, though he wished that didn't. In the past Itachi was currently off duty and casually walking through the village. The young teen had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit due to the events he'd gone through in the past several months. When Shisui's body was pulled from the river, he was suspected of killing him. This further strained the relationship he had with his father, causing Fugaku to focus most of his energy into Sasuke
Not that he really minded this however, as it caused Sasuke to work even harder than he had before, staying out for long periods of time. No doubt he would do this again that night, much to Mikoto's ire. The kunoichi continued to be more and more concerned for her family as the climate between them changed. While Itachi's mind continued to wander as he walked through the brightly flashing Christmas lights strewn about the streets of Konoha, it quickly snapped back to attention upon hearing a conversation between two passerby
"Did you hear those explosions over by the Uchiha clan compound?"
"Yeah, must be some weird festival or something. Christmas Eve is tomorrow after all."
"That doesn't explain those weirdoes in white robes though. What was with that mask he was wearing?"
"Beats me, didn't look like any mask that's being sold in any shop."
That's all Itachi was willing to hear before he darted off in the direction of his clan compound. With the speed and skill he picked up in the ANBU, Itachi was able to arrive at the compound within ten minutes. When he arrived, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary, as the compound was wrapped in a peaceful silence.
The ANBU let go a sigh of relief as he planned on heading back home, only to hear the footsteps of men heading his way. He saw that there were five, all armed with rifles and cutlass wearing white robes.
"That was damn difficult. Who knew one clan would kill off so many of our men?"
"Don't worry about it, less Shotatsu means more pay for us!"
"Now that's an inverse relationship I can get behind!"
They continued their search around the clan compound, before noticing Itachi standing there, confused and worried as to what occurred concerning these men. Upon seeing the Uchiha heir, one of the men spoke up as he loaded his rifle "Looks like we missed another one. Let's take care of this quickly."
Itachi saw the attack coming a mile away and deflected the bullet with a kunai knife which he sent flying into the man's head, along with two others he killed shuriken. Afterwards, one of the remaining Shotatsu charged at Itachi with his cutlass, only to have it deflected by Itachi's own blade. Itachi then proceeded to counter and slit the man's throat, before having to guard an attack from behind. Once he'd knocked the final Shotatsu's weapon from his grip, Itachi finished him off with a slam to the ground.
"Early Sacrifice"
With that problem taken care of, Itachi knew something was very wrong 'Who were these men and why did they attack me? I have to make sure the rest of the clan is safe!' He turned the corner from where he saw the men come from, and nearly vomited at the sight before him. Multiple members of the Uchiha clan had been dragged from their homes and butchered in various ways. Several of them had been simply shot, sliced, or stabbed to death, while others had injuries only a shinobi or a Devil Fruit eater could have done.
"No! No! NOOOOOOOOO!" Itachi collapsed to his knees from the shock, as his Sharingan randomly switched from on to off from the stress of situation, only to hear two blood curdling screams from nearby. He ran to the source and saw his great aunt and uncle dead on the ground with glass embedded in their skulls "The Santatsu must responsible! Did they already wipe out our clan?"
"That sounds about right." A voice came from above, causing Itachi to look up and see the one speaking too him. The man spoke in an icy cold voice, and an icy blue pompadour to match; he also had glowing yellow eyes, one of which was covered by a slightly tinted monocle, and noticeably tanned skin. He wore a high collared white overcoat with blue lightning bolt like stitches, and a surgical mass covering his mouth "The Uchiha clan has faced the wrath of the Nitatsu and will be wiped away."
The mysterious man quickly disappeared in a flash of smoke, leaving Itachi behind to put himself on guard from sneak attacks "Come out and fight me like a man you dirty coward!" Itachi's angry words were halted when he heard the crying of a child nearby.
"Kaasan, Otousan? Where are you?" The little girl cried.
Itachi approached the young girl and tried to quell her to avoid being heard by any Santatsu agents, only to hear their nearby footsteps. Having to think quickly, Itachi grabbed the girl and hid inside the ravaged remains of a nearby home.
"Don't worry small one, I'll try to find your parents soon. Right now there are very bad men hiding out in the compound. You need to escape on my command." Itachi waited for the squad of Shotatsu to exit earshot before ordering the little girl "Now! Run!"
She immediately followed the older boy's command and ran for the compound exit. However she was suddenly struck down by a bolt of lightning and killed before she could even get close.
"Lightning Release: Heavenly Bolt"
Upon seeing the child he had tried to save mercilessly executed before him, Itachi struck the doorway hard enough to put a massive dent in it before seeing a man in a robe with a familiar white and blue pattern, with shoulder length black hair, a trimmed mustache and goatee, and drooping eyebrows laughing at his kill.
Now even more angered than before Itachi there a large set of shuriken at the man "Damn you!" Unfortunately the man had flickered away before the attack could land. To make matters worse, Itachi quickly found himself on the receiving end of a new opponent.
"Reflection Dome Jutsu"
"Chandelier Hell"
Before he could comprehend what was going on, Itachi saw that he'd somehow been sealed inside a mirror ball; to make matters worse, he was at the mercy of a razor sharp ray of light that cut into his flesh several times before he managed to burn a hole through the dome with his powers.
"Amaterasu"
"I'm still not used to those black flames." Itachi panted from exhaustion before realizing that whoever attacked him was likely still in the area. This was proven correct a few moments later when shuriken flew out at him from the shadows.
He managed to avoid them only for the weapons to come back around and come back at him in increased numbers. He used his Haki to detect and avoid them and jump out of the way, only to land on a field of caltrops.
To make matters worse, as a result of the pain he failed to predict the incoming reflected shuriken coming back towards him. Itachi screamed in pain as the weapons jabbed themselves into his back, causing his attacker to laugh at him "I have the ultimate strategic mind Itachi. You should just lay down and die right now, because the worst is yet to come."
"That voice…it's so familiar." Itachi pondered where he heard this voice before "That's not important right now! What is important is getting out here and finding my family."
"Not a good idea. If I recall correctly Cedric and Tobi have been sent to take care of them. You'll just end up dead." The man's warnings went unheeded as Itachi made his way towards the center of the compound.
"Otousan, Kaachan? Are you in there?" Itachi asked before he felt his muscles suddenly tighten up and his chest begin to numb.
"Itachi-kun, don't come in here! Find Sasuke-kun and take him far away from here!" Mikoto yelled to her eldest son from inside the building, which went unheeded as Itachi began to slowly walk in. However this wasn't of his own volition as he found his body was being controlled by an invisible force.
Despite attempts to resist this control, Itachi found that the force was simply to great "What's wrong with my body? I can't control myself!" Itachi growled in frustration I was pulled into the living room where he saw his parents covered in blood with Sharingan turned on and various weapons in their hand.
He also the man who killed Shisui standing from a large hole in the ceiling, along with a different man with blood red eyes, pointed teeth, and bushy, wild brown hair. The man wore a wool collar jacket with a white undershirt and tattered black jeans with gray loafers; the most notable accessory however was the black top hat he wore with a slip of paper stuck in the side, reading 10/6 in blood, and a cane with a small slit cut near the top and a red gem topper.
"Just when you think our extermination job is almost done. Honestly, it's getting rather boring." The man spoke in a cockney accent, before he pulled up his pinky. This somehow caused Fugaku to run towards his wife with a kunai while she blocked with her own.
"No Otousan stop!"
"Aw but he doesn't have a choice Itachi-kun. My soul puppetry simply can't be broken." The man said with a smile before making another movement with his hands causing Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan to flare up "For example!"
"Soul Puppetry: Amaterasu"
Fugaku found that he was quickly obeying his son's request, as black flames consumed his body and dropped the ground. Luckily his suffering was short as Tobi crushed him with a shockwave, killing him almost instantly.
"Crash Wave"
"Fugaku-kun!"
"Otousan!"
"Now why did you have to do that? I wanted to eat his soul!" The top-hat man said with a pout before looking to Itachi and Mikoto with a sadistic smile "Oh well, at least I still have two more victims I get to kill!"
"And by that you mean you'll make them kill each other? You're such a freak Cedric." Toni scolded the demonic Nitatsu, who responded with another evil grin.
"I know! DEMODEMODEMODEMODEMO!" Cedric laughed his ass off as he forced Mikoto and Itachi to fight each other with his powers. Fortunately the two proved to be equally matched in battle, with only Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan setting them apart. Despite this, both mother and son tried to resist the hold Cedric had on their bodies.
"Itachi-kun, I'm sorry about this!" Mikoto cried as she tried to stab her arm with her own kunai, to no avail.
"Please just kill me! It's all my fault the Santatsu are here!" Itachi tried to restrict himself as well, only for Cedric resume control and the forced fight to continue.
This continued until Tobi got bored again and ordered Cedric "This is boring me. End this nonsense already before the Santatsu get here!" The masked man yawned to Cedric's irritation.
"Alright,alright! I suppose I've eaten enough souls today." Cedric submitted himself to Tobi and pulled Mikoto down to her knees. However Itachi was still in the stance of battle as Cedric's powers still forced him to strike.
"Kaasan, get out of the way!" Itachi tried to warn his mother of her incoming death. Though she continued her attempts to break free of the Nitatsu's spell, it became clear to Mikoto that this was impossible. With tears in her eyes she looked up to her son.
"Please take care of your brother Itachi-kun. I love you both."
These were Mikoto's final words before Cedric forced Itachi to stab her through the heart; within moments of the blow, she was dead. Itachi could only cry out in misery as Cedric pointed his hand towards the fallen Uchiha.
"And then there was one." Cedric paused just short of snapping his fingers when a more elderly voice rang out from the distance.
"That's quite enough of that Cedric; we need at least one Uchiha alive for what I have planned." Danzō scolded his subordinate as he nonchalantly walked in "I've searched the compound, and you've all done a magnificent job. There were only a few Uchiha left to kill."
'Of course he's part of them. Yahiko-san did warn me about this. Even so, I never expected he would be one of their leaders.' Itachi thought to himself as Cedric restrained him.
"My apologies Danzō-sama, I could have sworn we exterminated them all."
"It's no problem Tobi-san. We cleaned up after your little screw up just fine. We have to do our jobs as Danzō-sama's bodyguards." The voice of a young boy made itself known. This young boy was Bonsai Kodama, who held half a dozen dead Uchiha on the branch growing from his thumb. Following him inside were Kabuto and Soramaru and another young boy who were covered in enemy blood.
"Aren't you a showoff little brother? Keep that up and you'll never get the girl's to like you." Soramaru teased his younger brother with a small laugh "Oi, Danzō-sama what should I do about this one? We found him entering the compound on our way in."
This one that they caught turned out to be Sasuke, who Soramaru had captured by entrapping him in a Sea Cloud with his Devil Fruit power "Let me out of here you stupid bastard! Niisan, please help me!"
"Oh yes him. Tobi, rebuild his memories with your genjutsu." Danzō ordered his subordinate. In response Soramaru dropped Sasuke and Tobi glared into his eyes with his own Sharingan.
"Itachi what's going on? What happ-" Sasuke tried to ask before Tobi began his genjutsu. It only took a few seconds for Sasuke to scream in agony as Tobi penetrated his mind and showed him a different variation of the night's events.
"Tsukuyomi"
"Sasuke! What have you done to him?"
"We're rewriting his memory of tonight for our later plans. By the time this is all over, he'll believe you killed the Uchiha clan. And he'll always want you dead for it." Tobi mocked him before Danzō had him placed in sea prism stone restraints.
"Itachi Uchiha, by the power invested in me by our wise and powerful Civilian Council, I hereby place you under arrest for the genocide of the Uchiha clan." Danzō said with a smirk before ordering one of the young men nearby "Kendo, freeze him!"
"Hai Danzō-sama." Kendo obeyed the order by placing his hand on the defeated Itachi and freezing his body solid.
The genjutsu rearranged its background to the last thing Itachi remembered. Being defrosted in the middle of the Division 13 prison section, with Kendo sitting nearby with a smug smile on face.
"I've always hated you shinobi clans. Always high and mighty on your towers, never paying attention to the little guys. Makes me happy there's one less of them in the world."
"Shut up you little brat." Itachi droned, barely having enough energy to speak by this point. Wanting to rile him up further, Kendo tossed a newspaper pronouncing his guilt in front of him.
"We were right, Sasuke-kun absolutely hates you. Says he'll be an avenger or something. Who knows, maybe he'll be a Nitatsu like me or Soramaru. Then he can kill more clans with us."
"How, how could a child like you be so evil?"
"I'm not evil, I just do my job ridding the world of evil. Civilians like me are pure, while shinobi are just mongrels to be used by us. If you really want an evil boy, try the Kyuubi, Naruto Uzumaki. He should definitely die." Kendo kept the same childlike smile on his face despite his elitist words "In fact, Danzō-sama will let me execute you with my Water-Water Fruit power."
"What? But a Devil Fruit user's primary weakness is the sea itself? How could there be a power based from it?"
"It's Paramecia actually. Whether you freeze or boil, you're just as dead." Kendo said while creating claws of ice on his hand "Now then, I'll be right back. Gotta check with the boss if I can kill you. Ja ne!" The Nitatsu child ran out the door with childlike fervor, leaving Itachi to wallow in his failure.
"Yahiko…Shisui…I've been defeated by the Santatsu. Please forgive me." Itachi began to weep, only for his tears to halt when Kendo's corpse suddenly fell into the doorway with a large welt on his head.
Itachi wondered what was going on before a great white shark fishman in a black cloak walked in with a bloody, bandaged up sword "I never liked kids. Always remind me of my own."
"Wait a minute, who the hell are you?" Itachi asked as the fishman approached and undid his restraints. His question was answered when a grown up Yahiko came into the room. He now had the Rinnegan eyes of his late twin, and his hitai-te had been scratched out.
"He is Kisame Hoshigaki, codenamed Brother for his fellow fishman lost to injustice." Yahiko said, with the childlike glee that his voice once held now all but rotted away by eight years on the lam.
"Yahiko? What are you doing here?"
"I know of what the Santatsu did, so I came to rescue you from execution." Yahiko explained before making his request "You have seen the injustice of this world, which is what I intend to wipe away. Join us in the Akatsuki, under me, Lord Pein."
"Yes, I shall." Itachi said, before using a piece of scrap metal left behind by his restraints to scratch out the symbol on his hitai-te "From this point onward, I am no longer Itachi Uchiha, shinobi of the leaf. I operate under the codename Genocide, agent of the Akatsuki!"
Back in the real world, Itachi had passed out from the strength of Tobi's Sharingan far surpassing his own and was left embedded in the wall "I'm not done with you yet Itachi. You still have the Sandaime's file on us. I'd recommend you hand it over before things get any worse."
"Not so fast Tobi; you seem to be forgetting that I'm still here. And I know everything about what you've done." Kakashi reminded Tobi of his presence.
"Oh yeah, you're still here. I have to give you credit, not since Minato Namikaze has there been a greater thorn in the side of our organization than you." Tobi as he prepared for to fight "But I have other reasons for wanting you dead."
"Believe me Santatsu, the feeling is mutual. But you do realize the two of us have Devil Fruit powers? If one of runs out of chakra on this water, then it curtains for them isn't it?"
"That's more likely for you than it is for me isn't it. You've probably been drained by facing Itachi." Tobi pointed out to the one-eyed jounin before charging "Whereas I've still got plenty to go!"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
Tobi hardened his right arm with Busoshoku Haki and hit Kakashi square in the gut with a Haki enhanced shockwave that sent him flying through the ceiling of the Stone Monument and into the streets of Iwagakure.
Kakashi had almost no time to catch his breath before he saw Tobi had leapt into the air in order to further pursue him "Die Copy-nin!" The Santatsu landed on the ground and punched another wave of energy which sent Kakashi flying along with several pieces of debris from the evacuated village.
"Hardened Crash Wave"
Kakashi avoided the blow and used his Devil Fruit power warp closer to Tobi before shooting a blast of red lightning out at the Santatsu. He then followed the attack with a Devil Fruit powered Lightning Jutsu.
"Scarecrow's Tempest"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang"
Tobi was forced to avoid the high voltage attacks in order to not get fried by Kakashi's attacks, leaving his opponent to scan the area for his location "I may have to rely on my Devil Fruit for this fight. I already wasted too much of my charka against Itachi." Using his Sharingan, he observed the area for any sudden changes before noticing the edge of a black cloak.
"This may be tougher than expected. That Rumble-Rumble Fruit power of his won't run out very easily. Luckily for me he's an amateur when it comes to this kind of power." Tobi scouted the area for the Copy Ninja before the man once again appeared in front of him in a flash of lightning.
"Screaming Raijin"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
Kakashi pulled down his mask for a split second to release another torrent of lightning from his mouth. Tobi used Kenbunshoku Haki to dodge it, before countering with an attack of his own, which Kakashi jumped into the air to avoid before moving back and through a set of shuriken at his opponent.
The masked man substituted with a nearby post before making his presence known in a different spot "Very clever but you can't hide from me." Kakashi made his way towards his opponent with kunai armed, only for Tobi to block it with a kunai of his own.
"I wasn't planning on running Kakashi. My only plan is to see you dead!" Tobi glared at his nemesis before Kakashi's hitai-te burst into black flames out of nowhere.
"Amaterasu"
Kakashi quickly fell back and removed the burning hitai-te before tossing it to the ground. Now with his Sharingan exposed, the jounin had to rethink his strategy "Great, I can't avoid burning chakra. I might as well give it everything I've got."
"That Sharingan eye of yours can't help you now Kakashi. Today is the day you die." Tobi continued his uncharacteristically furious assault on the Copy Ninja with both hands covered in Busoshoku Haki.
"Hardened Disintegration"
"I'm going to obliterate you!"
'What is his issue with me? One thing's for sure, this man hates me with every fiber of his being.' Kakashi thought as Tobi swinging his fist while Kakashi avoided them using his own Haki, before flickering away to avoid being blown away again.
When Tobi saw Kakashi appear on the roof of a nearby building he continued his assault there with both hands "I learned the power of Haki specifically for this moment! Now you will die by my hands!"
"Hardened Disintegration"
Before Tobi could make impact with his final blow, Kakashi quickly grabbed his arms and pulled them apart, glaring at his one eye through the hole in his mask "I don't know why you hate me so much, but I know the Santatsu Foundation must be stopped. And today I cut off one of it's heads!"
"Ultimate Lightning Cutter"
Channeling the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit throughout his entire body and focusing it all into a more powerful version of his signature attack, Kakashi struck Tobi in the stomach, sending him flying and shattering his mask once again. Kakashi panted from the amount of energy he had spent during the attack before collapsing to one knee "One down, two to go. I hope Danzō and Orochimaru will be a bit easier to kill."
"Not quite Kakashi, you underestimate the power of the Santatsu rank." Tobi said as he calms walked up to Kakashi with no visible pain despite the gaping wound left from the attack. However the most notable feature was the face of the now scarred and one eyed Obito Uchiha "You did good but not quite good enough to best one of us. It's rather pathetic of Fu to be killed by you."
Kakashi angrily glared at the Shogun of the Moon before wielding his kunai again "I'm not going to fall for that little trick again! The only thing pretending to be Obito will do is piss me off!" The masked jounin growled before sharingan eye started to ache with dull pain.
This made Tobi chuckle with faux amusement before revealing to his old teammate "My dear Kakashi. Whoever said I was pretending."
"What? But that…can't"
"Be? Oh believe me, it's very true. And I have proof." Tobi said before pulling out an old picture of Team Minato "Only four of these photos ever existed. And two were destroyed when Rin and Minato-sensei were cremated. And the other was crushed with me."
"No, it can't be? HOW COULD YOU HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE MURDERS OF MY BROTHER AND OUR SENSEI?!" Kakashi screamed in utter anguish and confusion.
"I'll answer your question with a question Kakashi. How could you have killed Rin?" Obito asked with the cold expression never leaving his unmasked face.
"I didn't want to-"
"But you did. For that Mangekyo Sharingan everyone like us covets so much. You loved her, yet you killed her for that very reason. And I will never forgive you that." Obito said before flying into another rampage.
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"All I ever did on Team 7 was to make you acknowledge me Kakashi. The greatest part of being part of the Santatsu Foundation was seeing you notice me for once. Ever since you killed Rin for that stupid Mangekyo Sharingan, I've wanted to make you see me even more than ever! Tell me how proud you are of your old dead last dobe of teammate! Tell me how proud you are Kakashi! Tell me! TELL ME! TELL ME!"
Kakashi had been way too shell shocked by the knowledge of Obito's involvement in the Santatsu Foundation to dodge his attack. By the time Obito had finished Kakashi's flak jacket and mask had been torn to shreds, and he'd been left bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth while Obito gripped him by the neck.
"So that's what you look like without your mask. I'm going to be honest I thought you were hiding a bit more." Obito said as he prepared to kill his former teammate "But I suppose that hardly matters now."
"I didn't…kill…Rin…Not for…the Mangekyo…Sharingan." Kakashi took in deep gasps of air in order to keep himself alive.
Obito simply glared at the defeated Kakashi before readying his killing blow "Liar."
"Hardened Crash Wave"
"Hiraishin"
Before Obito could finish beating Kakashi to death with his bare hands, a flash of yellow light removed the fallen jounin from his grip. Though it seemed familiar to Obito, he chose to ignore it for the time being and look at its source.
A cloaked man in his forties who currently had Kakashi hanging over his shoulder "I'm hesitant to ask, but who the hell are you?"
"You killed my wife." The man angrily scowled as he released killing intent so ripe that it peeled the bark off of nearby trees and shrubbery.
"…Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?"
About half an hour ago, Fuu made her own landing in Kirigakure to search for her own opponent. Landing on a nearby building and retracting her large beetle-like wings, she began to scan the area "Let's see here. If I were a walking, talking sack of assholes called an Akatsuki chairman where would I be hiding?"
"Who cares Fuu-chan? Kirigakure is by a shore right? Then let's go get some yellowtail!"
"Later Chōmei-kun. We need to find the jerk face before their fancy death bomb goes off, beat them, defuse it, and look amazingly attractive while I do it." Fuu said with a large smile on her face, before she heard the sound of paper rustling nearby "Avast, what could this be?"
"I never expected to see a Jinchuriki come to lay their hand in battle against me." Konan glared down at her new opponent "In order for our plan to function I must bring you Pein-sama. I'm sorry, but you must die along with this village."
Akatsuki Chairman Remaining:
Yahiko Kamikaze
Konan Hirato
Cell Frankenstein
Obito Uchiha
(A/N): You know when life seems to want to make it its goal to make you feel old as shit? That's what being a senior in high school is like. Always feels like I've got so much to take care of. Probably because I do. But I digress. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible, especially since we're in the final stretch. Just three more chapters to go people! Please leave a review and wish me luck with my last few weeks of high school and taking care of all the necessary forms for college.
See you next time.
Next Chapter: The Yondaime's Return
. . .