Chapter 50: Two Minutes
Kaiya jumped back in horror. Naruto grasped at the kunai in his abdomen, his expression dazed. He started to pull it out.
"NO! Don't-" Kaiya tried to stop him from taking the knife out - it would only lead to more blood loss - but she couldn't move, and he'd already removed it. Blood gushed from the open wound, soaking his orange-and-black jacket and running down his leg. She could only watch, paralyzed, as her little brother sank to his knees, the light leaving his eyes.
"S-Sakura," she called, her voice shaking and weak. She forced it louder. "Sakura! Hurry!" At last, her limbs began to obey her again and she rushed forward to catch Naruto before he fell forward completely.
"No, no, no - Naruto, come one, hold on," Kaiya commanded. "Stay with me here, okay?"
He blinked up at her. "K-Kaiya…nee-chan…"
"Right here," she said, trying desperately to hide the panic from her voice. "I'm right here, you're gonna be all right - Sakura, where are you?!" She looked around to see what was taking the pinkette so long, only to have her terror intensified.
Not just Sakura, but Kakashi and Chiyo as well - all were lying on the ground, not moving.
Kaiya felt like she couldn't breathe, or at least, that the air she took in with every gasping breath made no difference to her lungs. She looked back down at Naruto. His eyes closed.
Kaiya-nee-chan…
Wait.
The last time Naruto had called her "Kaiya-nee-chan" was almost four days ago, just before this mission started. He'd only called her "Nee-chan" since then. Kaiya took a good look around her again.
"Genjutsu," she whispered in realization. Relief, then confusion, flooded her system. "But how…"
In her arms, 'Naruto' burst into a flock of crows, as did the other three. The birds swarmed around her, circling and cawing, but not attacking.
Now fully aware of what was happening, Kaiya felt considerably calmer - well, except for the cold fury at being made to experience the death of her brother by her own hands. She tried to shove the rage aside; it would only cloud her judgment, and she needed to be completely alert now.
"That was cruel, even for you," she said to the crows. "And how did you manage that? I know there was no eye contact."
Itachi's voice came to her from the flock. "It was your own fear - I simply gave it form. But tell me: what gave the illusion away?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kaiya muttered, eyeing the swirling black birds.
"You don't seem afraid anymore."
Kaiya stood. "No need to be afraid of something that isn't real." Shuriken came at her; she deflected them reflexively.
"If this isn't real, why bother to block?" Itachi's disembodied voice asked coolly.
She nearly rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm still not great with genjutsu, but I'm not an idiot. I know how it works. Injuries sustained in an illusion cause psychic trauma, which affects the real body."
"Very good," commended Itachi, like a teacher praising a student. The tone just annoyed her. "You understand the concept. But have you learned how to break a genjutsu yet?"
"Would it work on you?" she retorted to the flock.
She could swear the crows were laughing as they converged and Itachi's form materialized in front of her. "It wouldn't. Smart to conserve your chakra rather than attempt the release, then. Naruto hasn't figured that out yet, it seems…" He looked to the side.
Kaiya followed his gaze. Naruto - whether the real one or another illusion, she wasn't certain - was also trapped in a genjutsu. She couldn't see what he saw, but somehow, she could feel his distress and desperation.
She turned her narrowed eyes back on Itachi. "Let him go," she warned in a low voice.
"Or you will do what?" he hissed, suddenly next to her. "You're as trapped as he is. There is nothing you can do."
She shook her head. "How do I know that's not also an illusion? Maybe I don't have to do anything." She started to turn around.
Itachi held her in place, keeping her from facing him. Instead, she watched a strange cloud of pure chakra engulf Naruto, his body going limp at first. Then he contorted in agony, lava-like chakra trickling in a painfully slow stream from his eyes and mouth. Even though she knew it was an illusion, Kaiya's first instinct was to fight against Itachi's hold and go to her brother, to try and stop whatever was happening to him.
His voice was in her ear, sending low vibrations down her spine. "This is what will happen to him, if you do nothing," he muttered, his breath warm against her skin. "So what will you do?"
Kakashi's fist was blocked by Itachi's hand. He leaped back and checked on the siblings, wondering why neither of them had made their moves yet. It took a split second to understand: they were both far too still. Genjutsu! But how?! He didn't have time to wonder further, as Itachi had come at him with a strong kick to his head. He blocked, engaging the prodigy in taijutsu.
Sakura darted forward to Naruto and started channeling chakra into him. She noticed immediately that the blond's chakra current was unbelievably strong, to the point that she couldn't redirect it alone. "Chiyo-baa-sama!" she called. "I need some help - his chakra is too strong for me!"
The old woman joined her, and after a couple of seconds, Naruto snapped out of his daze. "W-what…?" He looked around, still confused from being jolted back into reality.
"Genjutsu," Sakura explained. "But you're out of it now." She moved to join Chiyo in releasing Kaiya as well. They each took a side and laid their hands on the redhead's shoulders and back. Their chakra bursts had no effect. They tried again.
"Why isn't it working?!" Sakura cried out in frustration.
"Perhaps it is that genjutsu she spoke of before," Chiyo suggested, sending another burst. "The unbreakable one!"
Naruto recovered, rage replacing the distress from his own illusion. He has Nee-chan trapped too?! He launched toward Itachi, forming shadow clones along the way. His eyes turned red and feral. "You BASTARD! I know it's me you want - let her GO!"
Kakashi jumped out of the way in time to avoid Naruto's Rasengan. The ball of swirling chakra made contact - but only with a log. Naruto growled, looking for the real person. Kakashi looked back in alarm, seeing Sakura and Chiyo struggling to channel chakra into Kaiya. How is she still - no…please don't tell me it's Tsukuyomi…
Kakashi's mind raced, trying to think of any viable options. If it was the Nightmare Realm, then no one could break Kaiya out of it. And it had already been almost a full minute…it had only taken a couple of seconds to render Kakashi himself comatose for a week. A full minute could stress the nervous system beyond repair.
I have to find the real Itachi. I have to force him to release it, but how…An idea formed in his head, crazy enough to just maybe work.
"So what will you do?"
The image of Naruto in that strange cloud distorted and changed. The scene became Kaiya's memory of the night before, when she'd applied the locking seal to Naruto. Kaiya's eyes widened. No - he can't know this! She immediately tried to change it, tried to turn to any other memory. The scene blurred and flickered like a staticky video.
Itachi realized what she was trying to do. "Too late," he hissed. "Now I know it was your seal we found on the Taki Jinchuriki."
"Fuu," she corrected in spite of herself. "Use her name!"
"So her name is Fuu?" he mused. She could actually hear him smirking. "I suppose they never thought to ask."
Kakashi found Itachi when the latter sent a barrage of fire-enhanced kunai his way. He dodged the flaming projectiles, and the Great Fireball that came after. Using the cover of the Fireball, Kakashi burrowed underground, coming up fist-first at the prodigy's feet.
He should still be partially focused on the genjutsu. Need to make eye contact…
It worked. Itachi dodged his fist but grabbed him, pulling him back down. Kakashi blocked the prodigy's own punch; Itachi took hold of his head, forcing their eyes to meet.
Itachi was fully aware of everything happening both in the genjutsu and in reality. He had a hunch of what Kakashi was attempting, though he was certain it wouldn't work. Anyway, there wasn't much time left; it was taking a lot of chakra to keep her friends from breaking her out while fighting Kakashi in the real world at the same time. He let Kaiya break from his hold and face him.
Kaiya appeared enraged at his nonchalance over the Taki girl, Fuu. "That's all they are to you , aren't they? Vessels, containers holding something you want, to be tossed out once you have what's inside!"
Good - keep up that rage at me…He regarded her coldly. "Did you think it was any other way?"
Kaiya noticed her teammates' attempts to give her chakra then - the strange landscape flickered. Almost - but not yet…There was one last thing he had to do, one way he could still protect her from an impending battle against Sasori and Deidara.
"It's no use," he said, reaching out to her. "You can't leave until I release you. Now go to sleep, Kaiya…"
Another hand clamped over Itachi's arm before he could touch her. Kakashi's eyes pierced into his own, crackling with the same barely-tamed fury as a Chidori.
"Let her go, Itachi," Kakashi commanded, his voice a low rumble.
Itachi was shocked. He broke into the genjutsu - this shouldn't be possible…He recovered quickly, returning the Copy-Nin's glare. He'd already given Kaiya as many hints about Akatsuki's plans as he dared; perhaps he could leave one with his former senpai, just to be safe…
"You should take more care, Kakashi-san," he muttered, "with Konoha's most precious assets in this war."
The genjutsu shattered.
Sakura and Chiyo steadied Kaiya when she finally came out of the genjutsu. She was panting hard, gulping air like a person who'd nearly drowned. As the world came back into focus, her mind had a hard time catching up. What the hell just happened?
"Kaiya!" Sakura shook her. "Are you okay? You were in there for two minutes - we couldn't get you out, we thought it was the jutsu you and Kakashi mentioned before -"
Kaiya shook her head as the world came back into focus. "It wasn't," she whispered. "It really was just a few minutes…"
"You got yourself out, then," Chiyo said, backing away when she saw the redhead was alert and stable.
Again, Kaiya shook her head. "But I didn't. It was-" Her eyes widened, and she snapped back into alertness. Kakashi!
She saw him on the other side of the field, locked in eye contact with Itachi. Naruto saw that she was back with them and formed a shadow clone, using it to spin a giant ball of chakra. His feral eyes were locked on the two nin.
"Naruto, wait!" she cried. "That isn't a clone - that's Kakashi!"
Through his haze of fury, Naruto heard her and stopped spinning the chakra. Kaiya felt her kunai still in her hands - the illusion must have started before she ever created the barrier. Now she let them loose. One landed a few meters behind Itachi. The other forced the Uchiha to look away from Kakashi, made him let go to deflect the blade aimed for his throat. She knew he would have to do that, and now Kakashi was free to jump away.
In the same instant, Kaiya disappeared in a flash, reappearing at the kunai behind Itachi. Chains erupted from her body, wrapping tightly around the prodigy, keeping him from escaping.
Kakashi joined her. "You're okay?" he asked, his hand covering his now-burning Sharingan eye.
"Fine," she answered quickly. "Naruto - now!"
"Got him!" Naruto and his clone resumed spinning the chakra ball and rushed toward Itachi.
Odama Rasengan!
Kaiya recalled her chains barely a split-second before the chakra ball hit Itachi, using them to form a shield around her and Kakashi. The ball exploded on impact, the shockwaves forcing Sakura and Chiyo to take cover behind the tree line.
When the final wave had passed and the air had cleared, the quintet hesitantly convened around the fallen body in the Akatsuki cloak. None of them could believe their eyes.
Kisame glanced back when Itachi opened his eyes. "Ah - you're done too?"
He nodded. "Out of chakra. Still, it should have been enough to buy us some time."
It hadn't gone as he'd planned, though. He'd hoped to turn the team back completely by rendering Kaiya or Naruto unconscious. They would have been unable to save the Kazekage, but they'd be kept out of harm's way for a little longer. Once regrouped, he was confident Kaiya would put together the clues he'd slipped in to their conversation. Depending on how far she read into those clues, Konoha could wind up with enough intel to start planning a viable counter-initiative against Akatsuki.
There was a small risk that Kaiya would realize he'd said all of those things on purpose, but that's why he used such a horrendous illusion on her. He figured her worst fears would center around Naruto getting hurt; it was difficult to watch, to say the least. It had to be done, though - the illusion caused her to use up much of her own chakra out of psychological distress, which would make it easier to push the "sleep" command.
Kakashi had legitimately surprised him by breaking into the genjutsu. It was theoretically possible for a Sharingan user to do so, but it was unprecedented for it to work with only one eye. Even someone as skilled and talented as Kakashi the Copy-Nin shouldn't have been able to accomplish it. Unless…
He cares for her - more than as a comrade.
It was the only explanation that made sense. Emotions were closely linked with Sharingan abilities; a strong enough desire to protect a loved one could not only awaken the eyes but its affiliated jutsu as well.
Itachi shut down any further thoughts on this realization. Akatsuki was entering the final stages of the extraction jutsu, and the Leader would be on high alert for signs of distraction. Thinking of someone else sharing such a strong emotional bond with Kaiya…that was definitely a distraction.
"I know him," Chiyo whispered in astonishment as they stared down at the body that was clearly not Itachi. "Yura…he's a Sand Shinobi, a leader in the council…"
Kakashi was the first to recover. "I thought something was off," he muttered. "He didn't use Tsukuyomi - and those fire techniques weren't as strong as they should have been…but they were definitely his. This was no normal transformation jutsu."
Sakura was having a hard time wrapping her head around the person they'd fought - whether it was the real one or not. Naruto - I had no idea you were dealing with people like that… She looked from the blond to the redhead. Even before any of them knew this wasn't the real person, Kaiya had been prepared to kill Itachi - or at least allow someone else to do so. If it had been Sakura, and the opponent was Sasuke…What is she thinking right now?
Kaiya wasn't sure what she thought. This battle was over, and the adrenaline was wearing off. Everything said in the genjutsu tumbled back into her mind. She focused on that conversation, picking it apart for any useful information. The analytical act was calming, compared to the emotional whirlpool that was any encounter with Itachi. She could deal with information. She couldn't deal with the horrifying illusion of killing Naruto, or the implications of almost seeing Itachi die…not yet.
This is what will happen…
Extraction. Well, that she already knew: Akatsuki was extracting the Tailed Beasts. But that image he'd used was very detailed, and nothing like any method she'd researched. It wasn't made from her memories or imagination, so it had to have been from Itachi's…which meant…
"The extraction is already underway," she whispered. The others snapped their attention to her. "They've definitely started - this was just a diversion to buy time!"
"Then there's no time to lose," Kakashi said, covering his Sharingan with his hitai-ate. "We have to find them before they can finish!"
The team hurried away, back on their original path. Unbeknownst to them, the entire battle had been witnessed and recorded by a strange plant-like creature, who now melted into the surroundings to report what he'd seen.
The Leader's ringed eyes glanced toward Itachi when the latter's Sharingan reappeared with the group. "Thank you, Itachi, Kisame. You have bought us enough time to finish."
"You say that so simply," Sasori growled. "The two who had to give up their bodies for that jutsu were my subordinates…"
A couple fingers away, Deidara grunted. "And they're all still alive - which means we've gotta finish the job! Hm!"
"Then, Itachi," the Leader said, taking no notice of the other two's indignation. "Tell us about the enemy: their numbers, their features."
Itachi answered quickly; he'd already weighed in his mind how little he could get away with revealing. "From Konoha: Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Fuumaki Kaiya, and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. With Chiyo, advisor to Sunagakure, they make a five-person squad."
"'Fuumaki,' eh?" came Kakuzu's gravely voice. "Your intel's outdated…I hear she goes by 'Uzumaki' now."
Itachi was outwardly nonplussed by the jab, and by the Leader's inquiring glance. "That would make sense. It was always likely she was an Uzumaki, given her hair color and chakra."
"Hm…Doesn't that make her related to that Jinchuriki, then?" Deidara asked.
"Perhaps," Itachi answered coolly. "The Uzumaki were a clan of Uzushiogakure, scattered when their village fell. Clans are related by blood, but not always closely."
"I guess you would know plenty about clans, hm," Deidara said with a smirk.
"Enough," stressed the Leader. "Itachi - were you able to confirm whether she was the creator of that lock seal?"
Itachi paused before answering. "I was unable to confirm."
The Leader considered him for a moment. "That's a shame. Still - Sasori, Deidara: if the opportunity presents itself, take the Jinchuriki and the specialist alive. We can find out for ourselves, then."
So! Yeah, Kaiya kind of had to be 'rescued' this time, but genjutsu IS a big weakness for her. She'll get her chance to shine soon though ;)
1. HOLY CRAP that was an intense genjutsu! But will it do what Itachi hoped and really make Kaiya hate him? Or will she see through the illusion of the cold killer in spite of it?
2. Itachi has left some clues for Kaiya regarding Akatsuki's plans! Did you pick them all out? :P And he's still trying to protect her, albeit in kind of misguided ways…
3. Kakashi managed to break through a Sharingan genjutsu to get Kaiya out! And Itachi realizes that the only way that should be possible is if there are strong emotions involved…which means that Kakashi has strong emotions for Kaiya...and now Itachi knows this...yup.
Next Time: Of Beasts and Barriers! Kaiya starts to find those 'little hints' Itachi left her, drawing out the information he was hoping she'd find…as well as giving her questions he was hoping she wouldn't ask. Chiyo reveals interesting information about Kaiya and Naruto's maternal clan…Plus, the rescue squad meets up with Team Guy, Kaiya gets to show off some old Team Recon skills at the barrier, and a certain masked man takes a special interest in who this "seal specialist" is…
