The remaining Akatsuki began the sealing in silence.

Itachi felt a little bit tired, which was almost welcome. His fight against Anko, if he could call it that, hadn't tired him out at all. Still, it had confirmed that the curse mark was inactive and Orochimaru remained dead.

Defeating the beast and dragging the carcass back had been surprisingly easy as well. Chakra consuming, the beast had needed to be covered in Amateretsu and hit by a Susanoo before it decided to stay down, but easy.

His chakra was being taxed hard by the sealing. With two less members, one of whom had a lot of chakra, the job was harder.

Still, he was closer to his goal. Now there were four sides in Akatsuki. Himself, Kisame, Tobi and Zetsu, and Pein and Konan.

The four strongest left.

There was the sound of heavy, grinding stone as the dragons receded and the beast faded from view below the statue. Another eternally staring eye opened.

Silence reigned as the Akatsuki caught their breath.

Pein's voice echoed once more through the chamber.

"Only two beasts remain. The two most powerful. We will defeat them and bring peace to this world. Peace for everyone."

Tobi looked excited.

"Yay! Tobi wants this. When does Tobi get to go on an exciting mission with Itachi-senpai? How many beasts has he captured now? He's so awesome."

It was so unsubtle that Itachi found himself questioning whether or not the man was a highly skilled shinobi leading a dangerous double life or just an idiot.

Kisame started laughing and Konan just looked annoyed. She rarely looked anything other than stern or sad, which Itachi found a shame. She clearly didn't desire the path of war that Pein was leading them on, but she was loyal to him to the death.

Laudable, but foolish.

Who did he take out next? He realised he had to take out the man who had been his partner. Kisame would have to be next. He would be tricky to kill easily.

The man would detect his emotions through his sword before he could strike, and was a strong opponent. He would probably need his most deadly techniques to defeat him. That would drain him badly.

He did not wish to fight the man though. He could certainly use an ally in this, or at the very least for Kisame to be convinced away from the Akatsuki path.

The more combat he could avoid the better now.

Pein's voice sounded through the increasing empty feeling chamber.

"Kisame will capture the Eight Tails with you Tobi. Your first real test. Do so immediately."

Tobi ran up to Kisame and tried to hug him. He got within sword range before Samehada was held at arm's length keeping the flailing man at length. He desperately checked his momentum to avoid running into the snarly blade.

"Shut up. Let's go. I already dislike you."

"You're nowhere near as cool as Itachi-senpai!"

Kisame started to walk and Tobi followed, darting about the larger man. Itachi felt a pang of pity for his old partner. That left him alone with Pein, Konan and Zetsu.

"Itachi."

"Yes Pein?"

The man walked down to him, heavily pierced. Itachi couldn't help but see a slight similarity to someone else he'd known. The spiky hair, although orange, looked like someone he'd respected. Minato had been a role model before his death.

"What will you do in the peace I will create?"

Itachi hadn't considered that. He'd always assumed he would find peace in death long before the plan took place.

"I will rebuild my clan, perhaps have children. Certainly there has been little time for love in this life of ours. What of you?"

"I will maintain the peace that we create. There will always be those who desire war."

Itachi kept his gaze on the spiralling eyes.

"Sounds like it will never end Pein. Will you not seek healing or peace with yourself as opposed to threats and violence?"

"You do not yet understand the pain I feel Itachi."

Itachi turned away and walked to his meditation rooms. The man's voice echoed after him.

"You will need to do your part as well Itachi. When it is needed, you will help me Itachi."

He kept his anger in check. He did not understand the pain? He did not? What did Pein know of his life? Did he know what it meant to betray your entire family? Not simply to lose them but to kill them because you had no choice? Did he know what it was like to be a pawn of fate and to play the hand he had been dealt without complaint?

Did he know what it was like to see his greatest plan to help what he had left torn away from him by luck and the will of one person, however unintentional?

He felt like destroying things but contained himself. He was Uchiha Itachi. He was the last of his clan. He would not lose.

When the time came, Pein would know pain like never before.


Tsunade put the pen down as she signed yet another pointless document. She checked the title to see if it was anything important. It wasn't really, not in a military context. Just some shop owner requesting planning permission close to one of the training areas. Apparently that needed her approval.

Perhaps she could pawn all the responsibility onto some sort of lesser council who were focused on the non-military aspects of her rule. Nah. She had a Daimyo for that. Plus if you gave some idiot civilians power no doubt one of them would be a bastard about it.

Still, with several of her Jonin more battle powerful than her she felt happy in her role.

She took a sip from the bottle next to her desk and smiled. It was a good bottle. The sun was gently setting outside and she took a long moment to look over the view.

She heard the sound of someone landing at the open window.

"It's been awhile Jiraiya."

"It has. I haven't liked being in Konoha as of late."

She turned to her old teammate. He looked older somehow. A little haggard, certainly his hair seemed a little less silver and full than before.

"It's Naruto isn't it?"

"Yes. You want the reports?"

He really wasn't himself since his conversation with Naruto those years ago. The rejection had hit him hard.

"Of course, I'll review them before passing them on. See if I remember all the important bits this time. We killed another two of them, well, Naruto did. He only really claims partial credit for both. Hidan and Kakuzu. They'd slaughtered the temple monks on their way for no real reason. Probably the bounty on the head monk."

"How did he kill them?"

Tsunade threw him a book.

"Really? You still make the reports into books?"

"It's meaning the academy can take on more students and train them with better equipment, so I think its a win-win. Plus it improves the vintage of my drinks and means Anko destroys less Dango stalls."

"Heh. Never thought you'd be that pragmatic."

"Helpful side effects. Also it means that the orphanages are now able to provide a variety of healthy meals."

Jiraiya flicked through the small book a little.

"So, decapitated Hidan as expected. Headshot on the other. No wonder he didn't claim all the credit for the second, the ANBU did four times the work on him."

"Sadly there were three of them."

"Oh. Who was the third?"

"Itachi."

The man nodded grimly. Whilst Itachi wasn't entirely against them, he hadn't received any information from the man since Naruto's mission success.

"Any luck with your little counselling gamble?"

She caught the icy and dismissive tone.

"Some. She hasn't yet made him remember but I think they're close."

"Close or close to a breakthrough?"

"Possibly both. He deserves some good in his life after what he's been through. A little like you would if you didn't keep researching at the baths."

The man shrugged. It hurt him every second he was in the village.

"If you want to talk to him you have my permission and always have. I'm sure he wouldn't reject a talk with you."

The man sighed and seemed to sag under the weight of his burdens.

"It's just not how it was meant to be Tsunade. He should be the second coming of Minato. Hell, if he had been trained well he could surpass him. That little bit of Kushina in him would make him that much more dangerous and unpredictable. I should be teaching him, standing with him like Minato should have been. He should wield his father's legacy, not me. He should have the Rasengan and be a light in the darkness, not a passenger in it."

She heard the voice break a little and rose to give him a supporting hug.

"You did all you could. Sensei took a decision without your consultation. You haven't failed Minato. You honour him by protecting Naruto even now with your Akatsuki spying. Do not forget that, even if he rejects you, he is in your debt."

The man straightened a little and rose.

"Well, it's been fun Tsunade-hime. I've got to get going. If they are less two members, then I need to gather more intel. They should be weak enough now that I should be able to infiltrate Ame and maybe get out alive. Find out who the leader is properly."

"That's recklessly dangerous. Almost suicide."

"Then bet I won't come back."

She smiled. That was her teammate as she'd know him.

"Fine! Now get going. I hear one of the fences at the ladies baths got damaged and they haven't patched all the holes yet anyway."

The man gave a lecherous grin and leapt from the window once again.

That was definitely her teammate through and through.

Night had truly set by now, and the moon was shining out from behind the clouds. It was a nice night.

Her thoughts turned to her teammates concern. Naruto was nearly healed, if Hinata's report was to be believed. The seal remained.

She wondered if she had done the right thing. It had been a risk. Kami knew it was probably medically irresponsible. But Hinata was helped by it as well, even if she wasn't aware she was being treated.

If he broke the seal...

She had no idea what it would do to him. Hopefully with her there he would process the memory the second time without the seal. Would it be what he needed? He'd made it through the last mission unscathed.

Although something bothered her about the report. There was only a passing explanation about how Hidan's head had become so burned. Naruto wasn't a fire user. There was also a weird point where the description felt wrong.

She added the thoughts to the package for Hinata's next session. Maybe he could come and clarify his thoughts.

Shizune had probably noticed it as well. The book was still selling well.

She turned back to the paperwork pile and grimaced. Where had that bottle gone?


He felt marginally more comfortable as he walked brazenly down the street. Well, brazenly to his mind at least. He kept his gaze down and his hood as high as he could without actually wearing it.

The fact the cloak still billowed a little behind him gave a very interesting effect of someone ostentatious trying to hide in plain sight.

He ignored the slightly confused looks he was getting from anyone who noticed him.

He sat at the ramen stand and it felt like he was safer for some reason. Maybe it was having his back to the world and something to do in front of him that made him forget he was in the open and oddly exposed.

There was nobody at the counter to serve and he waited quietly, ignoring the other patrons. Then Ayame's head appeared at the doorway, saw him, and rapidly withdrew.

There was some noise from within the shop and her father came out with a wide smile on his face.

"Welcome back Naruto, what can I get you?"

"May I start with a miso ramen?"

"Certainly."

He turned to the open door.

"Ayame, miso ramen for Naruto."

His tone was a loud shout, but he sensed something a little different in the man's tone of voice. It sounded a little like the voice ANBU used for some forms of banter. Did that apply to parents and children as well?

"How have things been since you last visited?"

He considered. What could he tell the man of his missions and being hunted by a group of extremely powerful criminal shinobi? Probably little. Of his therapy sessions? Probably not as well.

"Things have been as usual for a shinobi. My training has gone well in the last weeks."

"Anything interesting?"

"Not really."

The man laughed.

"You wouldn't believe how rare that response is. You would not believe how many chunin here like to brag about their latest fireball jutsu and how huge it is."

He shot a glance to the other patrons who laughed.

"I find such techniques wasteful on chakra."

Teuchi raised his eyebrows as the other shinobi looked at Naruto, whose gaze remained locked on the stall owner.

"Well each to their own. Excuse me a moment."

He wandered over to the other customers and collected their money, then came back to Naruto once they had left.

"I have to go check something in the kitchen, I'll be back."

His smile was far too wide and Naruto found himself wondering why.

Ayame stepped out of the kitchen holding a large bowl and looking at the walls with intent. She looked different to before. Her face seemed paler somehow, and her lips were...differently coloured?

"Hey Naruto. Here'stheramenyouordered."

She turned and moved very quickly back into the kitchen. It was very odd. This was not how she had acted before.

Still the ramen was there.

"Itadakimasu."

He began to eat, aware of some quiet noises coming from the kitchen. Ayame stumbled out very quickly. From the way she regained her balance, he suspected she had been pushed.

What exactly was going on here?

He kept eating as she stood there staring for a moment before rubbing the back of her head.

"Sorry, looks like dad doesn't need any help in the kitchen. So...what do you think of the weather recently?"

He considered the question.

"It has been average, considering the time of year it is. I expect rain soon as it has not substantially rained for some time."

She nodded vigorously. He noticed that she had a faint pinkness to her face she hadn't had there before.

"I know, I like it when it rains. There's something so romantic about walking through the rain with someone."

He had no idea what made it romantic. Or what romantic really was. He needed to answer soon as she was looking at him in a funny way.

"Indeed."

He'd need to thank Shino later; it was a good neutral response to just about anything. She was looking around for things. When she met his gaze, she looked away, a touch more pink around the cheeks.

He was glad of the rapidly dwindling ramen in front of him. The girl seemed to be polishing the counter with her cloth in an idle but vigorous fashion.

"So are you doing anything this evening?"

That was an unexpected question. Her face did some odd things as well. She blinked once or twice and smiled at him whilst questioning.

"No."

That was easy enough. He wondered if there was a deeper meaning to the question. She appeared disappointed that he had only said the one answer.

He drained the last of the ramen broth from the bowl and smiled. He really did like this stuff. He looked up into the face of Ayame who was smiling and doing something with her hair.

It was certainly a nice picture to look at, but there wasn't anything really interesting there. He put the money on the counter and she looked disappointed.

"Do you not want a second bowl?"

"Not today. It was very good."

"Come back soon."

As he rose to leave, he had suspicions about the entire encounter. He'd never had anyone talk to him like that before. He needed to ask someone about it.

Anko would be a good choice for this, she was good with all forms of interaction, unlike Hinata and Shino, who seemed to specialise into other areas of human interaction.

He walked towards the nearest convenient alleyway to get up onto the rooftops but found another figure there first.

He activated his Byakugan on instinct and ducked the blow from behind him that would have left him unconscious. Then he started leaping up the walls.

Being attacked in an alleyway by unmarked shinobi. Either another nation was infiltrating far too well or this was a Root ambush. He suspected the latter.

The figures emerged onto the rooftops and Naruto swung the lead-weighted end of the kursurigama. One of them tumbled backwards to avoid it. He kicked the other one in the face.

They were predictable. These were not high ranking members of the elite. They were hamstrung by their inability to cause a scene in this place. He wouldn't need to kill them. Just get into the open.

He leapt off the other side of the building and headed for the Hokage tower. They wouldn't be able to follow him there.

Sure enough, they didn't. There was no-one following him at all.

He slowed his movement as took a more circuitous route homewards. It was odd. Danzo was not that foolish. He surveyed his home at a distance. There was a figure inside with a familiar signature.

He realised how odd it was that his former master had come to him. It was unexpected.

He would have to be on guard. If it was unexpected then it was likely that he was in danger. He scanned for other shinobi but found none.

He dropped in through the open window and straightened up to his full height.

The man didn't turn from where he was.

"Danzo-sama."

"Naruto."

There was silence.

"You wished to contact me?"

Naruto realised quite how dark it was, and for once did not feel comfortable. He wasn't sure of anything any longer with his former lord.

"For some time. I expected that after your time in Orochimaru's base you would return at some stage. You did not. Now you have twice been recklessly endangered by the Hokage's actions. Twice you could have fallen to the Akatsuki."

The man still wasn't looking at him, instead inspecting the floor. Naruto suspected the man had his eyes closed. It was a statement. Back turned, eyes shut. Naruto could strike at any moment and potentially kill him.

"The Hokage has commanded you poorly. You are a being used as a pawn when you should be being used as a rook when you should be a knight. You are an assassin not a soldier! A force in the dark, not a fist in the light. She knows nothing of you and your skills."

Naruto was unsure. Whilst it was true he had been developing other skills in his time in the light, it was not entirely true. There were emotive statements interwoven into his logic.

"You do not belong in this place Naruto. You never did."

Naruto had to remember to breathe. Something felt wrong in this situation.

"So now I come not to ask, but to demand Naruto."

"Demand?"

This wasn't right. This wasn't how his lord acted. He activated his Byakugan just as he saw the light once more begin to restart in his former master's eye. He saw the invasive stream of chakra begin to wind its way towards his eye like a mist.

His suspicion of the man being a henged foe was dispelled immediately.

"You will rejoin the Root forces. We will take care to hide your disappearance. Let us leave and have you return to where you belong."

The voice was so hypnotic but he was going to fight it. He repelled the chakra but it came at him again and again.

He slung the bow up into a firing position.

"No."

"No?"

There was an inflection he'd never heard from the man before. It was surprise.

"You cannot trick me with your genjutsu twice. You remember our training."

The man gave a dry chuckle and he felt the chakra intensify.

"You will come with me Naruto."

Then he was forced to move. The crossbow bolt stuck in the door and the man spun round to face him. The drop in concentration stopped the jutsu.

"Come!"

"No."

He saw the man's visible eye widen and he put another bolt into the bow and aimed it at him.

"Naruto. Think logically. Do not let the emotional taint you have picked up since you left Root cloud your judgement."

"Taint?"

The man advanced a pace and slowed up as the tip of the bolt followed his jugular.

"Yes. Consider why I keep my Root shinobi from emotion. Why I give some the memory seal to keep them in control. Control Naruto. Control. Your perfect control made you the ultimate assassin. If these years had been spent with Root instead of the rag tag shinobi of this village you would be picking off the Akatsuki at your leisure now."

The man was staring at him, and he could see the man shake with each breath.

"You speak of emotion as a taint, yet you feel anger. I can see it in you. Your body language speaks of it."

"I have to bear the burden of emotion so my shinobi do not have to. You do not yet understand the burdens of leadership."

"I do not need to. I reject your demand."

"You fool."

The blow caught him before he could react. His former master was after all a veteran shinobi and powerful. His face stung with the impact.

"You used the seal at last I see. Even if I cannot use my jutsu to force you, I can see the mark. You truly disappoint me then. I see the shame on your face as I mention it. You wish to break it. Yet you know fear. You disappoint me."

Naruto rolled free and brought the crossbow up and fired.

The shadow clone burst as the bolt struck it and Naruto felt his side burn once again.

He felt like he was shaking and realised he was. He wanted to fire a bolt into the real Danzo now. Once he had been manipulated. Twice was too far.

Yet he didn't want to kill the man without a plan. He felt the pain in his side grow once again and felt a surge of emotion stronger than any he had felt before.

He was not Root anymore. He was not full Konoha shinobi, but he was not of Danzo's ilk. He needed to break free. He needed to break the seal. He gathered himself and tried to walk to the window. His steps felt unsteady and weak but he was going to make it.

The pain in his side burnt fiercely but he would endure it to the end this time.

He had to find Hinata. If anything it was for her mission more than necessity. Actually he needed her there. For some reason she felt connected to it more than anyone else.

He stumbled into the night and started to move for the Hyuuga compound.


AN

Good news everyone! I am going to go back to updates every three days! This is due to the Bad News Everyone! I've finished writing Ghost and now just need to edit, spellcheck and cut it up into chapters. It's been fun to write but every story must end eventually. This one will end in about ten or so chapters.

Another bit of imploring that even though it is finished I still want as much feedback as possible! Liking it is good, suggesting ways I can improve is far more awesome for an author like me! Think something is wrong and want to debate it? I do! Please log in so I can PM. If you review I will respond via PM.

Otherwise enjoy as always.