"Talking"

"Demon Talking"

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 27: No Longer

"Play? Yes, let's have some fun, me and you!" Kisame exclaimed.

Kakashi couldn't help but be a little afraid of what the ANBU meant when he said "play." Afterall, the last time Kakashi heard him say that word, he had tortured a woman until she was but a broken body.

"Kurama, want to have a go at it?" Kodanuki asked to no one in particular. Without warning, a man dressed in very red formal attire appeared next to him. Kakashi had no clue how he had appeared. Was the man also teleported to wherever they were?

"Yes, he looks delicious. Can I eat him?" the redhead asked while licking his lips.

"No! I will not let you satisfy your long pork craving!" Kodanuki snapped back. For some reason, Kakashi suspected this was what a normal conversation was like for these two.

"Technically Kit, that's shark. And I really want seafood," the man whined.

"You are insufferable."

"You know you love me. I'm your best friend. Plus, we are soulmates, literally!" The silver-haired man couldn't help but wonder what the man meant by that. It seemed the two were very close. Aside from the strange argument, though, he could tell that the Akatsuki were becoming impatient.

"Yes, yes I love you Kurama. Now go have your fun." Kodanuki waved him off, and the man and Kisame clashed together both with a rabid smile. If they weren't in such dire conditions, Kakashi might have even sweat-dropped.

Kodanuki then turned to look at him, seemingly ignoring Itachi completely like he wasn't be largest threat here. "Dog! Why did you jump in? I had Anko take you away."

"Taichou, leave him be." Both he and the amber-eyed man turned towards the Uchiha. "I'd really like you surrender peacefully." Why was his face still showing sadness as before?

"No can do Itachi. I have things I want to do." To Kakashi, the raven's body language did not look like he was preparing for a fight. It hadn't seemed that way before either, now that Kakashi thought of it.

"Like leaving Konoha?" the Uchiha asked. The scarecrow had some recollection of Anko having a conversation with this man. Considering that this man was Kodanuki, did that mean that the ANBU intended to betray their village?

"Oh? You heard that huh?" the man replied with a slightly mocking tone. "I didn't take you as a spy Itachi."

"No one does Taichou. But that's what we trained for." That's when it clicked for Kakashi. Itachi had been calling Kodanuki "Taichou" which means that Kodanuki was Itachi's senior. Who exactly was that boy? Did that mean that Kodanuki was a captain of a team before Itachi left? That would put him as an ANBU at seven or younger.

"Oh, another thing Taichou. When are you going to stop pretending to be someone you're not?"

Kodanuki had a smirk on his face. "Oh this? You noticed? It's a great trick I learned from Kurama. Even your Sharingan can't tell." He gestured to himself. "Well, I guess I can stop the act now." With a poof of smoke, the boy was back to the masked figure which Kakashi remembered.

"You've grown Taichou. Shall we test if you've grown in strength as well?" Itachi rushed forward with a kunai drawn.

Drawing his sword, Kodanuki rushed forward as well. "I'd be happy to. I hope your growth hasn't been stunted by your idiocy."

The two shinobi clashed together with a clang of metal. Kakashi hadn't noticed it before, but somehow, there was a barrier surrounding him. When he touched it, he saw that it was keeping him in while seemingly keeping others out. It must have been the brat who had put him in a barrier. Was it to keep him safe or to keep him from interfering?

Rushing forward, the boy tried to strike at the Uchiha's chest, but was met head on with the kunai. Both were shifting back and forth, neither blade giving for the other.

The brunet scoffed. "Seems like you've lost your touch Itachi." The chokuto suddenly switched its aim to the enemy's head. However, it was quickly parried before the blades met once again.

"And it seems that you have some new techniques Taichou," the raven replied. "Did you learn from that fox?"

The cyclops was slightly confused at the question Itachi posed. What fox would teach an ANBU? He must have meant an ANBU with a fox mask rather than an actual fox. Yet, he had said "that fox" rather than "Fox" which could imply that it was not a human who taught Kodanuki.

Itachi pulled out another kunai with his other hand and swiped at the ANBU's mask. The brunet jumped back to avoid the knife and took up a stance. Faster than the eye could see, Kodanuki was standing behind the Uchiha, and a gash appeared in the Uchiha's left shoulder.

Glancing down, the raven finally noticed the wound. He frowned and turned around. "Taichou, are you avoiding killing me?"

Kakashi could have sworn that Kodanuki flinched. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked in a mix of nervousness and sarcasm. "I'm not Sasuke. I'm not going to kill you."

Alarm bells went off in the jounin's mind. The boy knew who Sasuke was and what Sasuke's goal was. Overall, it made sense since the brat was an ANBU, but then again…

"That is what I asked my younger brother to do, but from what I saw, he is still far too weak to kill me." From his position, Kakashi couldn't see the Uchiha's face, but he sounded a bit hurt. "Yet, you are not even taking me seriously Taichou."

Kodanuki's body language changed to that of surprise before he once again took up a stance. "Well then, shall we go all out?" Then, he was gone.

Without activating his Sharingan, Kakashi couldn't keep up. He was low on chakra, but he needed to watch this fight. The wheel appeared from behind his headband and darted back and forth to watch the sparks fly where two blades collided.

"Taichou, let's end this now." Suddenly, black flames spread across the vast whiteness of the world, yet as soon as they appeared, they seemed to be sucked into an invisible abyss until they existed no more. Blood was dripping out of Itachi's closed eye while his other eye stared in surprise. "That was unexpected."

"Did you like it? I prepped this place with seals just for you!" Kakashi's eyes switched over to the speaker before he froze. His eye would have definitely discerned if this was a genjutsu of a sort, but the ANBU's body had not shifted in any significant way. "You did manage to knock my mask off in our little bout. That I applaud you."

The neutral face of Naruto was plastered on the brat's head. Why was Kakashi's cute little blond genin's face on another boy? Wait. What would that ANBU brat even gain from wearing the face of his sensei's son?

A possibility crossed Kakashi's mind, but it was so preposterous that he felt the urge to dismiss it quickly. What if Naruto was an ANBU and everything Kakashi knew about the boy was a lie? It would explain the boy's sudden disappearance and why he wasn't ever found. Was there a chance that the boy had been lying to everyone the entire time about his true identity?

No that just wasn't possible. Naruto was a genuine kid with genuine dreams. He was Minato-sensei's son. He couldn't be the same Kodanuki who tormented Kakashi every time he saw him. There had to be another explanation.

"Now that you've stopped hiding behind your mask Naruto, we can begin."

Itachi's words barely registered in Kakashi's mind. He was too busy thinking of how the Uchiha had addressed Kodanuki as "Naruto." It could only mean one thing, and he wasn't too happy with his deduction. The Naruto he knew wasn't real; this was the real Naruto. The boy behind the mask was the real Naruto. The real Naruto was an ANBU captain… a torturer… a killer. The thought sent shivers down the silver-haired man's spine. The optimistic yet idiotic Naruto he had gotten to know was nothing like the boy's true identity. This wasn't a trick, right? The real Naruto was really standing in front of him in another dimension fighting equally with the clan murderer. Who could have done this to his sensei's son?

"Naruto?" Kakashi called out in a last attempt to prove that he was wrong (or to prove that he was right). The boy in question glanced over and clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Oi Itachi! Look what a mess you got me in now." The jounin blinked. The ANBU hadn't denied his identity. The ANBU hadn't denied his identity, which could only mean that the brat standing before him was in fact Naruto. There was no doubt about it this time. A mutter came next: "I had totally forgotten Dog was here."

"Taichou, who is that man to you?" the raven asked in a voice which sounded much like a curious Uchiha.

"Hm… I guess we were acquainted." was the reply from Naruto.

Acquainted… acquainted! Was that all that their relationship had meant to him?! Of course, Kakashi knew he hadn't been a great sensei in the first couple months, but surely acquainted was too distant to describe their relationship. Naruto never really reached out to him for much, which was explained by the boy probably already being extremely skilled, but surely the missions the team took together meant something to him.

"I see… despite the mask, I believe you may have offended him."

The brunet turned his head and locked eyes with the scarecrow, violet on black, and a small smile appeared on his whiskered face. "Kakashi-sensei, I will no longer be the Naruto you know."

That statement alone was enough to shock Kakashi out of whatever stupor he was in. He knew that voice. This was the same Naruto who was on his team. That was why the boy knew of Sasuke and his ambition. Then, there was the fox. Kakashi's eyes shifted over to the fight taking place much further away and visibly paled. The man in red had said that they were soulmates. The man in red was bound to Naruto. The man in red was the Kyuubi.

Eyes shifting back to the two in front of him, he barely had time to yell Naruto's name when he saw Itachi's eyes shift to the strange pinwheel shape that had trapped him in that torturous world for three days. Finally out of chakra, he collapsed into unconsciousness unknowing that it would be the last time he would see Naruto.

Kurama laughed viciously as his chakra whipped around wildly. The man who declared itself the tail-less tailed beast was getting flung around like a rag doll.

Nothing messed with the Kyuubi no Kitsune, destroyer of mountains and razer of villages, mightiest of the bijuu. The shark had messed with the wrong fox, and Kurama found it suitable to teach it a lesson on not abusing power.

The pathetic fish had attempted to fuse with its sword in a last attempt, but it failed as Kurama had found it important to destroy the sword's sentient powers during his last attack. Seriously, he didn't understand why fish were so weak. The only thing they were good for was eating. The fish didn't even understand that kitsune-bi can literally burn chakra and life. It was a power that was only passed down between kitsune (Kit was an exception).

Flopping to the ground, the fish had lost consciousness. The chakra construct wouldn't have been surprised if it had had a few decades shaved off of its lifeforce too. The meat was so burnt up that even he didn't want to take a bite out of it. Burnt fish was not delectable in the slightest.

Kurama placed his hands back into the sleeves of his haori before walking away from the fish. It had showed him a truly pathetic performance, and now he was bored. Perhaps he would see if Kit needed any assistance with his fight.

A/N

Poor Kakashi... He wasn't paying much attention either if he thought his Sharingan could discern whether Kodanuki was only shifted to look like Naruto.

Updated: 22/6/20