A/N: Sorry I'm late, school. Anyhow, here we are! The early Kage summit! What will happen here?
.o.o.o.
Chapter 43: Itachi and the Kage Summit
.o.o.o.
"You!"
"You, hm!"
"I think our bodyguards know each other," Sarutobi said as Deidara and Itachi sized each other up.
"Deidara, down," Onoki said. "Sarutobi…isn't that other one a bit young for a jonin?"
"Naruto is a chunin, and my current most-likely successor," Sarutobi said.
Naruto smiled and waved.
Onoki sighed, "All right then. Wait—Kazekage, why do you have three guards? We specified two!"
Baki shrugged, "Well, I'm just acting Kazekage right now…and honestly we had trouble deciding which two of three should come."
"If it makes you feel better, we're two genin and a chunin," Kankuro said. "And personally I think one of my siblings will be Kazekage eventually, anyway, so it's good practice."
Onoki sighed, "What is this world coming to?"
"Chaos," Itachi said. "But I hope it will be the fun sort."
Onoki looked at Sarutobi, "Keep that one away from me."
"So, we just wait for the others to show up, hm? So boring…" Deidara sighed.
"I have cards," Naruto said.
"Do not play him. His luck is incredible," Itachi warned.
Akatsuchi sighed. He hoped the Raikage and Mizukage hurried up…
.o.o.o.
Itachi sighed. Blah-blah-blah politics, blah-blah-blah grievances, blah-bah-blah war crimes… Man this was boring. Naruto was interested, but that was probably due to all the Kage around and him trying to take notes for getting the job later in life. Deidara was counting the tiles on the floor, apparently wanting to memorize the pattern for something. Gaara was meditating.
Kankuro, Temari, one of the Raikage's guards, and one of the Mizukage's guards had taken Naruto's cards and were playing Hearts on the floor. Mifune almost seemed more interested in them than the Kage…
"B! What are you doing?" the Raikage asked.
"Shooting the moon for the second time, aw yeah!" the bodyguard laughed.
"Okay, his luck may just be better than yours," Kankuro told Naruto. "…Get down here."
"Back to the matter at hand," Sarutobi said calmly. "And Naruto, stay put. Now then: Akatsuki wishes to capture all of the hosts of the tailed beasts. Seeing as how all our nations have those, this affects us all."
"They also want to poach promising ninja," Onoki huffed.
"Indeed. The reports I've managed to get are disturbing," Sarutobi said. "From what Yamanaka Inoichi retrieved from Hidan's mind—along with several disturbing things that have no bearing here—we found that Akatsuki is based in Rain, and any attempt to enter, even by one of us, would be suicide due to the power of the leader."
"Who's the leader?" the Mizukage asked.
"A man with the Rinnegan," Sarutobi replied. "In Rain, he is known as God."
"Damn, a strong villain with a god-mindset. This is so the craziest thing I've heard yet," Killerbee muttered.
"Nice rhyme," Gaara complimented.
"Thanks, kid," Killerbee replied.
"Order," Mifune said as the Raikage looked ready to yell at Killerbee again.
Itachi sighed as it went back to politics. You should do this…but then how do we know you won't do this…blah-blah-blah…how do we know that's true…blah-blah-blah…
"Don't call the old man a liar!" Naruto snapped at the Raikage.
"Well, make your old man leave off my old man!" Deidara told Naruto.
"My old man wasn't doing anything to your old—ow, ow," Naruto said as Sarutobi grabbed his ear and hauled him back into his seat and Onoki did the same to Deidara.
"Personally," Gaara said. "I think everyone's being too dismissive of Mizukage-san. You're setting off my sister's 'sexist sense' you know."
"Do you all want to run this meeting?" Baki asked dryly.
"…May we?" Gaara asked with a small smirk. "I'm sure Temari, Naruto, and Killerbee-san have some interesting ideas."
"No," Baki said. "Now, then, I think for now we shouldn't make this a war just yet, but we should increase lines of communication, as Mizukage-san suggested, and-"
"Oh, one of your kids says something and you suck up?" said the non-card-playing Mizukage guard.
"…No, I agree with her on communications issues," Baki said. "However, I think Tsuchikage-san was more on the mark with confidentiality agreements."
"Which I also agree with," Sarutobi said. "But not quite to the extent Tsuchikage-san does."
"There are extents?" Naruto asked, back to taking notes.
"He's really your chosen successor?" the Raikage asked.
"Got a problem with it?" Sarutobi asked coolly.
The Raikage looked at Naruto, "…Ninjas probably shouldn't wear that much orange, kid. Friendly advice."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "Raikage-san, friendly advice: ninjas should wear shirts."
"He's got you there, bro, you do need a shirt, yo," Killerbee said.
"I'm not sure it should count if you use 'yo' Kankuro said.
"Matter at hand, boys," the Mizukage said dryly.
"Yes ma'am," Naruto, Killerbee, and Kankuro sighed.
.o.o.o.
"Great, we almost have an agreement, and a crazy guy shows up!" Naruto pouted. "So not fair. I was actually learning some stuff!"
Ao rolled his eyes. The three jinchurikki had been told to plant themselves inside his barrier, since they were a main target of Akatsuki. Deidara had almost been forced in as well, but then he'd used a clay clone to slip away before he was inside and join the chaos. "All right, what do any of you know about this guy?"
"Never seen him before," Gaara said. "He clearly knows a space-time technique—it is similar to the one my friend Lee's sensei mentioned another jonin could use."
"And it's a powerful one," Killerbee added as Temari and Deidara briefly trapped the man in a whirlwind of explosives and he escaped unscathed. "Almost like he can turn into a ghost or something…"
"K-kun said it's the same masked guy who caused the Kyuubi attack!" Naruto said, snapping out of a mental discussion. "Um…he has a Sharingan…probably not Madara, wrong sort of feel to his chakra, not as 'totally evil' or something…well, yeah he seems familiar, idiot, he's the one who released you! Oh, oh, he felt familiar then…"
"So it is someone a former Kyuubi jinchurikki may have known?" Ao asked.
"H-man said no dice, because Kyuubi'd just tell us the name, unless he's just not playing nice," Killerbee said.
"No, no, he thinks it's familiar to someone, he doesn't know just who it is—like someone he ran into once or twice," Naruto said. "You've got to admit 'black haired Uchiha' isn't exactly a minority in Konoha."
"Fair point," Ao said. "Gaara. Does Shukaku sense anything useful?"
"Other than that he senses a lack of available sake, no," Gaara said. "He's not exactly the most useful, especially compared to K-kun and…the Hachibi?"
"Right on the dot, so it's Shukakku that you've got?" Killerbee asked.
"Yes. Now he's whining about…what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Gaara asked sharply. "Baki-sensei and my siblings are trying to keep us alive and non-captured! Stop laughing when someone gets hurt!"
"He thought Kankuro hitting the wall like that was funny?" Naruto guessed.
"Yes."
.o.o.o.
"Anyone else think this guy might actually be Madara?" the Raikage growled.
"He's not using nearly enough fire," Sarutobi said. "Trust me on that."
"Seconded," Onoki agreed.
"Well, we're trying to fucking kill him and it's not working, hm!" Deidara yelled as Itachi backed up his explosions with a fire technique followed by more of Temari's wind and Darui's lightning.
"If he is Madara then he has the Mangekyo. None of my genjutsu will be strong enough," Itachi said. "And even if he's not, that's definitely a Sharingan…"
"Try anyway!" the Mizukage said. "I'll give you an opening! Hokage, Tsuchikage, follow my lead!" She spewed lava at the masked man.
Itachi went to sprint only for the Raikage to grab him and all-but teleport him closer. Itachi's left hand flashed through signs as his right drew his sword. "Here goes nothing…"
"Sensei, he's not Madara!" Naruto yelled right as Itachi's gaze locked with the man's visible eye.
For a second, just a second, the masked man paused. The Raikage struck instantly, with Baki's wind blade backed him him up.
In the next second the Raikage's hand was engulfed in black fire, the wind sliced into the fast-moving opponent's left arm, and the second after that Itachi hit the floor, his sword clattering aside uselessly. In the next the man had leaped back as the Raikage quickly cut off his Amaratsu-infected hand and Kankuro used chakra strings to pull Itachi into a safer position.
"As you can see, my Tsukyomi is unparalleled," the masked man said. "None of you can stop the Moon's Eye."
He vanished.
"Ao, keep the barrier up!" the Mizukage ordered. "Does anyone sense him?"
"Gone," Sarutobi said after a quick check.
"That sure as hell wasn't the Flying Thundergod, though," the Raikage added.
"Somebody check on sensei!" Naruto yelled.
"Already doing it," Kankuro said. "He's out cold; I can't wake him up. He's alive, at least…"
"If an associate of Akatsuki, who isn't Madara according to the blonde kid and our observations, can drop the infamous Uchiha Itachi like that…" Onoki said.
"It's settled," the Raikage agreed. "Alliance. For all our sakes." He glanced at Killerbee.
Ao dropped the barrier. Gaara was instantly rushed by his siblings as Naruto joined Sarutobi at Itachi's side.
"Is…he going to be okay?" Naruto asked.
"We'll get him to Tsunade," Sarutobi said. "I promise we will."
The final negotiations were rushed, with agreements of messengers and meetings at outposts planned. The Mizukage offered her younger bodyguard to help get Itachi back to the Leaf, but Sarutobi declined and summoned Enma to carry the unconscious jonin.
"This is going to look really bad," Naruto muttered.
"One second of Tsukiyomi is a day in the mind and their eyes locked for about two," Sarutobi said. "And for all we know a stronger Mangekyo could do longer."
"What do you think happened in there?" Naruto asked as they started down the mountain.
"I don't know. And we won't until he wakes up," Sarutobi said. "Though I'm afraid I have a good guess…"
.o.o.o.
The clan was planning a coup. And you'd kill them all to keep the peace. Be a villain, to save one little kid. Hurt Sasuke to save Sasuke.
Be what you hate. Let there be blood. Take Shisui's life and let your eyes bring blood.
Itachi screamed at the scenarios flying through his head.
You've considered killing your own father. How can you call yourself a good person? How do you convince yourself that you are right?
"Stop it…stop it," Itachi growled, his fingers digging into his scalp.
I see you've trained some very good little killers, Itachi-kun. Little Sasuke murdered four men at the age of twelve. Weren't you proud?
How can you stand to be called his hero? How can you stand to be thought of like that?
The images flew faster, offshoots that Itachi tried in vain to convince his mind weren't real.
Sasuke smirking over a dead body. His father ordering a coup for no reason. Naruto losing control. Orochimaru murdering the Third. Sasuke stabbing through a teammate to get at an enemy. Sasuke hating him.
How can anyone consider you a hero?
"It's not real…I just have to wake up," Itachi ground out. "It's not…it's not…"
It overwhelmed him again.
.o.o.o.
A/N: This could also be called "The chapter where Itachi finally has a serious disadvantage due to lacking a Mangekyo".
Next time: Unrest Among the Uchiha! What will be the consequences of Itachi's injuries? Why did Tobi attack the Kage summit just to say his plan? What will Tsunade be able to do? All of these will be answered/guessed about next time!
