Disclaimer: I have been gone for a month, and I have no excuse really.
Arc 2:
Chapter 20: Answers
Guy and Lee were running ahead, as usual, doing crazy maneuvers and barely slowing down, much to Neji and Tenten's dismay.
"Hey!" Tenten yelled at them. "Slow down a little! We've been going at full speed since we started. Would it kill us to take a little rest?"
Secretly, Neji agreed with her. Those two spandex-wearing buffoons he called teammates were not human in his opinion. They were beasts.
"Tenten," Lee laughed. "You are really not training hard enough."
"Lee!" Neji sensed something. "Up ahead!"
They all stopped and landed on a branch, waiting to see who'd be coming out of the other side. A rustle in the leaves indicated the person was close.
Suddenly, two figures landed in front of them. A dog wearing the Konoha headband and… "Himawari?" He stared at his niece as she stood there in full mission gear.
"Hey Guy, wait," the ninja hound called Neji's former sensei.
"Pakkun!" Guy called in surprise.
Himawari scanned their faces until her eyes landed on Neji and her face brightened. "Neji-niisan!" She called happily and jumped from her branch to his, enveloping him in a hug. Neji could feel the shocked looks he was receiving from his teammates but tried to ignore them. "Hello, Himawari," he gently patted her back. "I didn't expect to see you here."
She pulled away a bit and grinned, showing him the headband tied loosely around her neck proudly. "Look, look!" She said excitedly. "I'm a shinobi like you now!"
"So it appears," Neji nodded with a small smile. "Is Boruto here too?"
She shook her head. "Onii-chan went with Sarada and the others to find the Kazekage."
"You know this girl, Neji?" Tenten asked him, examining Himawari closely. Neji sighed and nodded. He knew his teammates, and they were no doubt going to bombard him with questions.
"Yes, this is Himawari," he introduced her to the others. "Himawari, these are my teammates; Lee," he gestured to the thick-browed teen, "Tenten," the weapons expert nodded, "and Guy-sensei." Himawari smiled at them, bowing her head slightly. "It's nice to meet you," she said, though Neji knew it wasn't her first time meeting any of them, after all, she came from the future.
His teammates' gazes went back and forth between Neji and Himawari, clearly surprised by the familiarity between them.
"And…?" Tenten raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Mind telling us how the two of you know each other?" Her tone suggested she was already formulating some theories on the matter, none of them something Neji would like to hear of, knowing her. He feared those theories of hers were going in the completely wrong direction.
"Not particularly," He dismissed her, faking ignorance and hoping she'd drop it for now. "Nevermind this," he turned to Himawari. "You said Team Kakashi had gone after the Kazekage?"
Himawari nodded. "Me and Pakkun were on our way to find you all and tell you to go there instead."
"Go where?" Guy asked Pakkun.
"Right," Pakkun cleared his throat. "Kakashi sent eight of us ninja hounds and Himawariout to scour the countryside and try to pick up the Akatsuki Organization's scent," he explained. "Well, we soon discovered they were headed for the Land of Rivers, bordering Konoha and Suna."
"Land of Rivers?" Neji asked in confusion.
"That's right," Pakkun nodded. "And since your team is on it's way from Konoha to Suna, I guess this is your lucky day. You're the closest, if you can call it lucky."
"Alright then," they all were ready to move.
"We'll show you the way," Himawari smiled at them and jumped to Pakkun's branch. "Follow us."
"Right!" Guy said enthusiastically. "You heard her everybody, let's move out!"
"What?" Tenten asked, tired. "Already?"
Even though she said that she moved after Himawari and the dog like the rest of them, jumping through the trees at almost twice the speed as before.
None of them noticed the figure hiding in the tree behind them, a man trapped within a plant, who watched and heard everything.
Naruto lead the others through the forest as they jumped from branches on their way to their destination. "Naruto," Sakura moved to jump next to Naruto. "Can I ask you a question?"
Naruto stared at her, waiting for her to ask.
"How long do you think the Akatsuki have been after you?" She asked, surprising him.
"I don't know," he said, not wanting to talk about it.
"Two members of the Akatsuki came to Konoha, looking for Naruto once," Kakashi recalled. "But it's been three years since then, and no sign of them. And now they're back."
"But why do you think they waited so long to make another move?" Sakura inquired.
"It could be they wanted to act before this, but for some reason they couldn't," Kakashi offered a reason. "Maybe because Jiraiya-sama was around and they didn't want to face him."
"That's not it," Chiyo said from behind them, jumping together with Boruto and Sarada who hadn't spoken since they started moving. "From what I've learned, there was an entirely different reason they had to wait this long."
"What reason?" Naruto tensed.
"If you're going to try and draw out the Bijū that dwells within, a great deal of preparation is involved. They just needed some more time." Was Chiyo's gloomy answer.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked her. "What Bijū?"
"My, my. You're a student of that old Slug Queen Tsunade and you don't even know that?" Chiyo sounded bemused. "When Konoha itself is host to the Kyūbi?"
Naruto's eyes widened slightly and he tensed. Next to him, he could feel Sakura do the same.
"The Kyūbi is not something we talk about," Kakashi answered in Sakura's stead. "It's considered top secret."
"Really?" The single word packed a thousand eye rolls within it. "Well not surprising, I guess." She then went on to explain. "The Bijū are demon spirits with one or more tails. Suna has had a single Bijū since long ago. That's the Shukaku, sealed within Gaara."
"So then," Sakura gulped. "There's more… of these demon spirits?"
"There are nine Bijū in total," surprisingly, it was Boruto who had answered. "Each one of them has a different number of tails."
They all turned to look at him in surprise, but he just had an unreadable expression on his face.
Chiyo nodded and continued. "The Bijū are huge concentrations of chakra, and during the great war every nation competed for control of them for military purposes."
"They fought non-stop over them, but the Bijū were too strong," Boruto completed the tale. "No one could control them."
Everybody again looked at him, and Naruto frowned. Isn't Boruto new in their village?
"How do you know that?" Chiyo asked him, suspicious.
"My dad," he explained without looking up. "He knew a lot about the Jinchūriki."
Jinchūriki? Naruto wondered what that meant.
Neji and Himawari ran in the back of the group as they crossed the mountain on their way to the location of the Akatsuki hideout.
Neji noticed that Himawari yawned every couple of minutes. "Are you tired?" He asked her worryingly.
"A bit," she shook her head. "I was out all night looking for the hideout."
"You should've stayed in Suna," Neji scolded her. "You're in no shape to be taking on an enemy."
"It's okay, Neji-niisan," Himawari assured him. "I'm fine."
"What is it, Pakkun?" Guy asked the hound up ahead of them.
"Someone's coming!" The pug warned them.
Neji and Himawari nodded at each other. "Byakūgan!" He yelled, activating his dōjutsu.
"Neji-niisan!" Himawari called warningly.
"Yes," Neji turned around. "It's behind us!"
They all glanced backward, looking for the danger. For a moment, nothing happened, and then…
Boom!
The ground ten meters away from them broke in half, a large white thing making its way to them at an alarming speed and splitting the ground while doing so. Neji stepped in front of Himawari and spread his arms protectively before her. The thing hit the rock they stood before, exploding it just as they all scattered, jumping a safe distance away.
The large pieces of debris and the dust cloud rising from the explosion scattered quickly, revealing a man with blue skin wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it and holding a sword almost bigger than himself.
"Huh?" Guy looked closely at the man. "Wait a minute…"
Lee looked at the cloaked person in confusion. "You know this person, Guy-sensei?"
"Who are you?" Gai asked the person, lowering the tension filling the air to zero percent.
This is going to be a long fight, Neji got into position.
Sarada landed on the ground simultaneously with the others and they started running, being so close to the hideout.
"Everybody, stop!" Kakashi suddenly yelled, sounding panicked. Everybody came to a halt, standing behind him. Sarada looked over him to the person who stood in their path and gasped. It can't be…
"Who's that?" Sakura asked, body tensed. Sarada was trembling. Not from fear, but anger. She knew what was going to happen, yet wished with every fiber of her being that she could have avoided it.
Next to her, Naruto growled. "I know you…"
Neji felt Himawari silently activate her Byakūgan behind him, also moving into a combat position. He just hoped that if his teammates caught sight of that, he could explain it in a way that made sense to them without revealing the truth.
He scanned the man in front of them. "Unreal," he felt shocked. "His chakra level is off the charts!"
Himawari leaned forward. "I've never seen anyone but Papa with this much chakra," she whispered to him and he nodded.
"Your memory is about as bad as your haircut," the man with the blue skin told Guy.
"Hm?" Guy's eyes widened. "Can it be that you're-"
"You finally remembered, have you?" The man smirked.
"You've met me somewhere before?" Guy asked him, continuing to break the tension.
"It's no wonder you're called a beast," the man leaned forward. "Your intelligence is certainly sub-human." His smirk got wider. "Well, don't worry. I'll refresh your memory soon enough."
"Itachi... Uchiha," Naruto growled, and Sarada tensed. This can't be happening right now, she thought miserably.
On her other side, Sakura gasped.
"So, that's the one," Chiyo stepped forward. "The child who wiped out his entire clan."
The world had stopped for Sarada. Wiped...out?
Her eyes flew to Itachi's who had been looking at them with an almost bored expression.
"Are we really going to be enemies?"
"Only when we're in front of my partner or the shinobi of the village."
"Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun," Itachi spoke. "It's been a while."
The coldness of his voice gave Sarada shivers. This man couldn't be her uncle. The person she met was kind and quiet, calm, and pleasant. Not this person, who radiated danger.
"I wasn't enough for you, huh?" Naruto stepped forward. "You had to go after Gaara as well!"
No, stop it, Sarada didn't want to hear all of this. Stop talking.
Next to her, Boruto noticed her trembling. "Sarada?"
All of her clan, the reason she felt so alone all those years with the surname she didn't understand. He was responsible for that. But why? Why did he do that? Why did he kill their family?
Naruto pointed at Itachi. "I'll destroy every last one of you!"
Itachi didn't respond, instead, he raised his hand slowly. Kakashi gasped. "Everyone, whatever you do, don't look him in the eyes!
"Itachi's genjutsu is a visual jutsu," the jōnin explained hurriedly. "Which means, avoid eye contact with him and his jutsu can't take effect."
"Yeah, that I know," Naruto told him.
But Sarada, on the other hand, stared right back at Itachi, glaring. Try me if you want.
"Okay," Sakura said. "But then, how are we supposed to fight him?"
"That's the tricky part," Kakashi said, making Sarada huff, unimpressed. She had sparred with her father more than once with their Sharingan blazing. He didn't go easy on her at all. "You have to anticipate his moves, by watching his feet. His body."
"But that's like fighting with one arm tied behind your back," Sakura said through gritted teeth.
I know, Sarada felt the urge to say. It's frustrating, but you get used to it.
"The Uchiha Clan, eh?" Chiyo spoke. "It's been a long time since I've gone up against the Sharingan."
They all looked at her. "Don't look so surprised. I've been around. And I know there's more than one way to fight a visual jutsu like that."
"Yeah?" Naruto asked. "Like what then?"
"If one against one, abandon the field, if two against one, take the rear and he'll yield." Chiyo recited.
"What's that mean?"
"The first part of it is pretty self-explanatory, isn't it?" Chiyo sounded like she wanted to roll her eyes. "The Sharingan can never be beaten in single combat. But, if you outnumber the Sharingan user, if there's two against one, even if one of you is caught in his genjutsu, the other is free to strike from the rear and get the genjutsu dispelled." Sarada glanced at Itachi, a plan starting to form in her mind. "Even if your attack from the rear should fail somehow, you'll still be able to strike your comrade yourself, and break the genjutsu that way." Chiyo prepared her stance. "So while one of us fights him face to face as a distraction, the rest of us will mount a series of attacks from the rear, where his Sharingan can't reach."
"Good plan," Sakura nodded.
"I guess you learn a lot of stuff if you leave long enough," Naruto smiled before turning serious again. "Let's go, I'll take the rear-"
"Wait," Sarada spoke up. "I have a better plan," she said, causing them all to look at her. "I'll fight him, while the rest of you go on to save the Kazekage."
"I'm afraid I can't let you take him on by yourself, Sarada," Kakashi told her. "He's too dangerous."
"She won't be alone," Boruto dropped his back to the ground. "I'll help her out."
"No way," Naruto looked at both of them angrily. "This is my fight. I'm gonna beat that bastard to the ground."
"You need to go save the Kazekage," Sarada told him, her eyes not leaving Itachi for a second. "Boruto and I will be fine. We'll buy you time."
"Naruto's right," Sakura intervened. "We have to stop him right now."
"I'm sorry, Sakura-san, but this is not up to debate," Sarada looked at Boruto. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"You're my teammate," Boruto loosened his shoulders. "If you want to fight an Akatsuki member who's an S-rank criminal, I'll help you out."
Kakashi's eyes darted between them and Itachi. "I'm still not convinced I can leave you two to take care of him easily." He told them. "Itachi uses an advanced version of the Sharingan called Mangekyō Sharingan. It's far more powerful than any other visual jutsu. It only takes a second, but if he hits you with that jutsu, it'll be the longest second you've ever lived. Time itself gets warped, what seems like a second in the real world can be hours or days to some trapped in his jutsu. I once wandered around it for three days." His eye moved to Itachi. "It's not a genjutsu that can be broken just like that."
"Very good, Kakashi-san," Itachi sounded impressed. "I see your time in my Tsukuyomi wasn't wasted."
"Oh, believe me, I learned something else as well," Kakashi spoke back to him. "There's a price to pay for that Sharingan. It exhausted you, didn't it? You had to quit before the battle was over."
What is he talking about? Sarada didn't understand.
"So in addition to losing a lot of chakra, you risk permanent damage to your eyes every time you use that jutsu. Don't you, Itachi?"
Permanent damage? Sarada looked at Itachi's eyes. Papa never suffered from that. So why…?
Now with even more questions, Sarada knew she had to get the rest of them far from here.
"Kakashi-sensei, please," she tried to convey her urgency through her voice. "We can handle this. Just leave him to us."
"I understand you believe so, Sarada, but the Mangekyō Sharingan is not to be taken lightly."
"I know all about the Mangekyō," Sarada pulled the ends of her headband and tightened it. "It's not the first time I took it on," She knew she shouldn't be telling him that, but it was the quickest way to make him understand. She took out the pair of black arm warmers she packed and wore them. "We're taking him on. And we'll beat him."
"You've dealt with the Sharingan before?" Kakashi asked her, his voice suspicious. "I've never seen you before this mission, so how did you manage to encounter it?"
"I can explain it all later, but right now you need to focus on the Kazekage!" Sarada tried to urge them. She needs them away to speak with Itachi. "We'll be fine here. Just go!"
"Are you absolutely certain you can handle this?" Kakashi stared at her with his only visible eye. She straightened her back and nodded. "Yes, sir!"
"Kakashi-sensei, you can't be serious!" Sakura protested. "This is the person who tormented Sasuke-kun! We have to stop him!"
"I know how you feel, Sakura, but Sarada and Boruto are right," Kakashi sounded reluctant but nodded at the two. "Rescuing the Kazekage is our first priority. The mission comes first."
"But-" Naruto opened his mouth to argue but was stopped by Boruto. "Naruto," he called the blonde. "When you get there, please make sure Himawari is safe."
Naruto stared at him for a moment, before moving to look at Itachi. Sarada could almost hear the war going on in the Uzumaki's mind. "Fine," Naruto hissed through gritted teeth.
"Good," Kakashi turned to Sarada. "We leave him to you."
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei," Sarada clenched her fists. "I won't let him get away so easily."
"Let's go, you two," Kakashi ordered Naruto and Sakura. "The hideout isn't too far from here."
Naruto and Sakura gave one last death glare in Itachi's direction before nodding. "Won't he follow us?" Chiyo asked.
"You don't have to worry about that, Chiyo-sama," Sarada smirked. "I have a feeling he's going to be a bit too preoccupied to stop you."
She turned to Itachi, all the anger and confusion in her turning into something else. A feeling that could only be resolved by punching something. "Ready, Boruto?"
"You bet!"
Sarada walked towards Itachi, her fist at ready. Now knowing only her back was visible to her teammates, she allowed her eyes to turn red, activating her Sharingan. "Go, all of you!" She yelled at them.
"I'll make sure Himawari will be fine," Naruto promised Boruto before jumping away, the others following. "Be careful," Kakashi warned them both, leaving the clearing.
"Itachi-niisan," she called him once she was sure they were alone and ran to him, her fist ready. "You and I need to talk."
It's time she got some answers.
"So, he's an Akatsuki," Neji understood, his need to protect Himawari growing bigger.
The man with the sword laughed and threw his weapon in the air. "Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!"
"Get ready!" Guy yelled to his team.
The Akatsuki bent down and a wave of water came pouring out of his mouth, endless. So much water came it was like he released an entire lake at them, leaving only the two small boulders they stood on above surface.
The man laughed sadistically. "Ready or not, here I come!"
He glided down the water as if they were nothing more than a small hill of sand, coming down on them from above on the wave. They all jumped up before the water could wash them away, landing on the boulders again once the wave was over, leaving the land so flooded with water they couldn't see the ground.
Behind them, another wave raised, this one taller than the last. It washed over Tenten and Guy, who jumped again.
"You guys!" Tenten called from above. "Look out!"
"Remember me now?" The man asked Guy, washing him over and over with tall waves.
"Where in the world is all this water coming from?" Tenten asked in shock.
"This technique of his requires a huge amount of chakra," Neji watched the chakra the Akatsuki man wasted barely make any lasting effect on his chakra reserves. "An incredible amount!"
The man disappeared underwater, leaving them to stay on guard.
Lee leaned forward and looked around. "Where do you think he is?"
Another wave broke the surface, about to wash over them. "Guy-sensei, Tenten!" Lee yelled to them, as they were the closest.
Neji and Himawari jumped high, barely two meters above the wave. The Akatsuki member stood on the wave, making his way to the nonchalantly on the water current. He prepared his sword and swang it at Guy, who evaded mid-air and aimed a kick right into the man's face, sending him flying backwards. Unfortunately, the man only splashed and disappeared, revealing to be a water clone. The real one appeared behind Guy, who turned barely in time to avoid another swing of the sword.
"Guy-sensei!" Lee called out worryingly.
Guy appeared behind the man, distracting him. "Lee!"
"Leaf Rising Wind!" Lee appeared under the man's sword and kicked upwards, causing the sword to fly out of the man's hand.
"What?!" The blue-skinned Akatsuki stared in shock at his flying sword.
Underneath them, the water calmed enough so Neji and Himawari landed on the surface, sending chakra to their feet to stand on the water.
"Himawari!" Neji called.
"Right!"
They both took their stand. "Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" They yelled, sending a gust of wind so powerful it sent the man backwards. However, the sword had miraculously landed back in the man's hand as a result, and he used it to stop his movement. But he didn't notice that Tenten had also tied a sharp metal ball with an explosive tag on it to the sword, exploding just as it got to him.
The smoke dispersed, revealing the man had gotten away.
"Where's he hiding this time?" Guy looked out to the seemingly calm water.
"Neji, any sign of him?" Tenten asked.
"In front of us, and coming closer." Neji didn't move his eyes from the moving target.
"I have found him!" Lee declared.
The man slowly resurfaced, barely any of him above water. "I'll grant you brats this much, you're more trouble than I thought you'd be." He told them. "In fact, you're incredibly annoying."
"Wait a minute, the water jutsu and the mass of swords…" Guy spoke like he finally recognized the man. "Are you…?"
"Don't tell me your memory is finally stirring in that tiny little brain of yours?" The man asked him.
"I feel certain we've met before…" Guy mumbled.
Tenten groaned. "Ugh, I think this guy would be pretty memorable."
"Listen to that, even your own followers are beginning to wonder if you can remember anything." The man smirked and lifted his sword. "Well, let's see what we can do. Enough pain and maybe then you'll remember."
"Sarada," Itachi looked at his niece as he evaded her attack. "You know we cannot speak right now."
"I don't care," Sarada swung her chakra-enhanced fist at him, anger in her eyes. "Is it true? Did you kill our clan?"
Itachi evaded her again, his eyes moving to the young man behind her. He stayed fairly hidden in the shadows of the trees, but Itachi could tell if he made any sudden movements, the teen would attack.
"Don't worry about him," Sarada noticed where his eyes were, aiming a kick at him. "Boruto's with me."
Itachi's eyes flicked to her, catching her foot and pushing her away, making her lose her balance. "Is he a time traveler as well?"
"Yes, that's right," Sarada nodded, throwing another fist at him, her eyes the color of the Sharingan. "But this is not important right now! Itachi-niisan," the honorific she used made him blink in surprise once again. "Did you kill our clan?"
Itachi closed his eyes, sighing. "Yes, I did."
"Why?" Sarada's voice trembled, she stood still her body shaking. "Why would you do that?"
"It is complicated, and the answer might leave you wishing you never knew," Itachi wanted to apologize. She looked so hurt, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. Then she looked up at him with anger and engaged in a barrage of fists and punches she threw at him, all of which he either evaded or blocked. She then jumped in the air, aiming a kick at his head. He caught her leg again and swung her away, only for her to hit the ground and dispel, the real her appearing behind him and pressing a kunai to his throat.
"Even so, I deserve to know!" She yelled, and he used that to throw her from her arm over his shoulder to the ground. She got up, her exposed shoulders dirty and bruised, though she didn't seem to care. "I'm an Uchiha, just like you and Papa. I deserve to know what happened to my family. Don't keep me in the dark!"
She ran to him again, her fist ready. He knew that so far she had been going easy on him, not using any lethal force. But this time she was mad. "SHANNARŌ!" she yelled, hitting the ground where he stood a second ago and splitting it in half, the crack going all the way back to where her friend stood.
"Are you sure you want to hear?" Itachi asked her, landing a few feet away from the destruction and wishing she'd say no. He wanted to protect her from that knowledge at any cost.
"I do!" she looked at him with such a serious expression, it reminded Itachi of the last time he saw Sasuke. She pushed her glasses up her nose, her cheeks stained with tears of frustration and eyes blazing red. "I want to know what happened to my family!"
"Very well," Itachi closed his eyes and opened them. "I'll show you." She understood what he was about to do and released her fist, staring him in the eye.
"Tsukuyomi."
Sarada's shoulders went limp, and she stopped moving, her gaze empty.
"Sarada!" The teen in the shadows moved to them, revealing to look almost exactly like Naruto Uzumaki. He reached Sarada and checked on her. "What did you do to her?" He asked Itachi hostilely.
"I put her under a genjutsu to show her why I had to kill the Uchiha Clan," Itachi explained, not missing the protective tone in Boruto's voice. "Are you Naruto Uzumaki's son?"
Boruto blinked, but nodded, still suspicious of him. "Yeah, I am," he said. "So you're Sasuke-san's brother."
"You know Sasuke?" Itachi asked him, interested.
"Of course I do, he was my master." Boruto sounded proud. "He was the best shinobi I have ever met."
"I see," Itachi nodded a bit. "That's good to know."
"He mentioned you a couple of times, now that I think about it," Boruto placed his hand on Sarada's shoulder pulling her closer to him. "Always talked about you being a hero."
"It wasn't how it was supposed to be," Itachi revealed sadly. "He was supposed to be the hero. Not me."
"Sasuke-san is a hero, if it makes you feel any better," Boruto told him. "He saved our village… well, more times than I can count, and that's just from when I was born."
"Really?" Itachi's eyes widened slightly. "Sarada didn't mention that."
"Yeah, well, because Sarada thinks my dad is better," Boruto rolled his eye. "Don't know how she got to that. The old man was useless most of the time."
"She preferred Naruto?" Itachi frowned a bit. "Why?"
"Because she wanted to be the Hokage," Boruto smiled at the still-under genjutsu form of his teammate. "And my old man was the best Hokage the village had ever seen. At least, in the people's eyes." He added quickly.
Itachi detected a bit of bitterness behind that last comment. "And you don't see him like that?"
"I won't deny he was strong, and cared a lot about the village," Boruto shrugged. "But that also meant he neglected his family a lot since he was busy all the time. I already forgave him for that, but it's not like it doesn't sting, -ttebasa."
"I see," Itachi understood now. So Naruto Uzumaki had become Hokage, and Sasuke had become a splendid shinobi who fought for Konoha. He was glad to know Konoha was left in their trusted hands.
Sarada stirred in Boruto's arms, her eyes fluttering. "Sarada, are you okay?" Boruto asked her worryingly.
"No," she said, standing up shakingly. She looked at Itachi, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm not okay."
"Sarada-" Itachi began.
"You had to endure all of that, to carry all of that pain, by yourself?" Sarada's tears were again flowing freely down her cheeks, but this time not because of frustration. Itachi closed his mouth, surprised. He didn't expect her to see it from that point of view. "Are you not mad at me?" He asked her, confused. "Do you not hate me now that you know the truth?"
Sarada shook her head, taking a wobbly step closer to him. Boruto flinched like he had to stop himself from running to her. She took another step, and then another until she finally stood barely half a meter from him. "I don't hate you, Itachi-niisan," she whispered. "And I know that Papa wouldn't hate you if he knew the truth."
"It's not as simple as you make it out to be," Itachi tried to explain. "I told Sasuke-"
"I saw," Sarada cut him off. "And I know Papa. He'll never hate his older brother."
The next thing Itachi knew was that she was hugging him, burying her face in his cloak. He blinked, surprised. Boruto looked amused at his struggle and gestured for him to hug Sarada back. Itachi did so, patting her back awkwardly.
He didn't know that being forgiven would feel so nice, after all, he had resigned himself for the dark path a long time ago. And yet, with a few words from this girl, everything became better.
"Sarada, as much as I hate to interrupt this, we need to get going soon," Boruto said, looking at the sky. "I don't want the others to worry and go back to check on us."
"You're right," Sarada slowly detached herself from Itachi, wiping her tears. "We should get moving." She sent a worried glance at Itachi.
"Before that though, you need to punch me," Boruto told Sarada. "And throw me around a couple of times, if you can."
Sarada blinked at him. "Huh?"
"You look like you at least tried to fight someone. I don't. We need to make it look like we actually fought Itachi-san."
"Oh," Sarada nodded. "That makes sense."
She prepared her fist and looked at him. "Ready?"
He nodded. "Do it."
She punched him in the gut, sending him flying a couple of feet away and into a tree. Jumping to him, she grabbed him by the shirt and flung him into the ground, dirtying his clothes with the dust rising for the hit.
"Good enough?" She asked him, concerned.
"Yup," Boruto groaned in pain and pushed himself up. "This is great."
"Sorry," Sarada offered him a hand.
"Thanks," he grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, dusting his clothes. "Good job."
Sarada turned to Itachi, who watched the two in wonder. It seemed like Boruto had such a trust in Sarada he managed to fight off the primal instinct of protecting himself and allowed her to attack him. Interesting, he thought.
"We need to go," Sarada told Itachi, looking a little sad.
He nodded, giving her a small, encouraging smile. "Go, and be careful."
"I will," Sarada smiled at him, looking confident and strong. Like an Uchiha. "I'll see you soon, Itachi-niisan."
"Goodbye, Sarada." Itachi poked her headband, and she smiled happily. Boruto handed her her bag, and they both got ready to move. Boruto nodded at Itachi, looking ready to storm into battle. For the first time, Itachi wondered how that boy got his scar.
They both moved out, jumping away into the forest, after their comrades.
Thank you, Sarada. Itachi looked at his niece's moving figure. I'm sure Sasuke is very proud of you.
He then made a hand sign, dispelling himself and returning his memories to his original self.
Neji stood ready, Himawari next to him. Luckily, her long hair was enough to hide the Byakugan from anyone who wasn't looking at her directly.
"Alright, time to launch a counterattack," Guy declared. "Let me go against him first. As soon as his guard is down, you move in."
"Yes, sir."
"Got it!"
"Yes, Sensei!"
"Right!"
"Are you fool enough to think you can get me to lower my guard that easily?" The Akatsuki man's permanent smirk grew even wider. "I won't try to talk you out of it, I'll let you learn the hard way." He ran towards Guy the same moment Guy jumped to him. Neji used that to appear in front of him. "Gentle Fist!" He struck, but the Akatsuki blocked him with his sword.
Lee came from above with his weapons, but the Akatsuki just moved his sword up and broke them, sending Lee away. The man cackled, not noticing Himawari sneaking behind him. "HA!" She struck his back with her palm, but before she could hit him he swung his sword backwards and hit her, sending her flying a couple of meters away.
"Himawari!" Neji called out in concern. Luckily, she landed on her feet quickly, looking more angry than hurt.
"He has a point," Lee said. "He swings that huge sword with such ease, that getting through his guard is impossible."
"If close-ranged combat won't work…" Tenten opened her scroll with a pull, releasing kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the Akatsuki member.
He just raised his sword calmly, letting the explosives detonated. The cloud of black smoke appeared around them, dispersing to reveal that he had not moved an inch away.
"Of course!" Guy called out. "That sword of his…"
"Ah, do you remember at last?" The man turned to him.
"That weapon, it's yours, isn't it?" Guy pointed at the sword.
"Who else's would it be?" Neji asked.
"Ah, but there's a difference between knowing, and being absolutely certain," Guy answered.
"Wise words, Guy-sensei," Lee praised him. "So simple yet so full of profound meaning."
"I said you had the intelligence of a sub-human beast, but a beast could run circles around your brain." The man with the sword seemed bored.
"Let's go!" Guy jumped in the air. "Dynamic Action!"
They started to spar, Guy, attacking with his taijutsu, and the Akatsuki member blocking it with his sword and water jutsu. Himawari crept around the fight on her way back to Neji, but he signaled her to stop. He couldn't risk the man seeing her and attacking.
Suddenly, Guy had the sword in his legs. "Attack!"
Neji, Tenten, and Lee jumped on the Akatsuki member. He did a hand seal. "Water Clone Jutsu!" He yelled, creating three more of himself made out of water.
"Watch out!" Neji called to his comrades. The clones grabbed them all, and before they could move the original did a quick series of hand seal. "Water Prison Jutsu!" He yelled, engulfing them all in water bubbles.
"Leave them alone, you swine!" Guy yelled at him, running on the water with the man's sword in his hand, and swinging it at him. The sword suddenly fell from his hands, revealing to have spikes in the handle that stabbed him.
The water bubbles that engulfed them filled with water, preventing them from breathing.
"Neji-niisan!" Himawari's distressed cry echoed throughout the plains as she moved closer to him. He tried to tell her to stay back, but couldn't talk due to the water filling his lungs.
"Lee! Neji! Tenten!" Guy yelled.
Suddenly, a large spike in killing intent drew Neji's attention to the sidelines, where Himawari stood.
She looked at Neji with tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but had a blank expression. The killing intent was so intense it made him want to move back on instinct. Veins popped on both sides of her face, her eyes going clear white. The Byakugan, powered by sheer anger.
She turned to look at the Akatsuki member, who was watching her too, curious. She struck a pose Neji recognized very well.
Her mouth moved, but he couldn't hear what she had said. He didn't need to though, because he already knew.
"Lock On."
Author's note: I'm kinda scared of Himawari. Don't judge. This chapter was a delight to write.
JUST A HEADS UP, IN THE SUMMARY I HAVE CHANGED THE 18 YEARS TO 21 BECAUSE I ONLY REALIZED MY MATH WAS WRONG AFTER ARC 2 STARTED. NOTHING ELSE HAS CHANGED, JUST ME BEING DUMB.
Now then, about Itachi; hear me out.
To those of you confused seeing as in the original version, it wasn't really Itachi. But they only found that out because they fought him, which didn't happen here so… I had to come up with another way for him to be there and not be there. I know it could have probably be written better, but I am still learning. I'm still a writing noob, as the kids say(cringes) sorry.
About Sarada and the genjutsu thing:
First off, I don't know how to write fighting scenes. I'm working on it. I tried to describe it like Sarada wasn't really trying to hurt Itachi, but more like she was just looking for an outlet for her emotions, which were all over the place.
The thing about the genjutsu is, I try to minimize when writing things you either already know or have read so many times in other fanfics it's already boring. That's why instead of showing Sarada seeing what made Itachi kill his clan (I hate Danzō), I gave you a BoruSara moment plus Boruto and Itachi talking, which is so much better in my opinion. (Burn Danzō to the ground please :) )
The Himawari thing had been planned from the start of the arc. Remember when she went looking for the Akatsuki hideout with Pakkun? That was when I decided that. I love how she blacks out, kicks ass, and then go back to normal and being confused. So sue me. (but don't really cuz I have no money).
Thank you for reading!
Beta Reader: AgresteBug, Supporting me for 20 chapters.