{May 18th, 070}
"What the fuck do you mean missing?" Naruto demanded, slamming his hands on his desk.
"Calm down, Naruto," Sarutobi ordered. "I'm just as surprised as you are."
"I'm going to find her," the redhead spun on his heel and turned to leave.
"No, you aren't, Naruto."
"Yes, I-"
"Naruto! I am your Hokage and I am ordering you to not leave in search of Anko Mitarashi!" Lord Third declared sternly. "I understand the two of you have a close relationship, but there's nothing you can do about it now. Even if you could find her, there's no evidence that she's both alive and an unwilling participant. For all we know, she left with him willingly."
"Anko would never betray the village," Naruto said softly, a single tear falling down his face, but still not turning back to the Hokage. "No matter what happened. And I believe she's still alive."
The elderly Hokage sighed. He knew this would happen. Soon after Naruto had left with Jiraiya on their training journey, Anko Mitarashi was taken under the wing of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. She was, of course, beyond thrilled, and quickly took to the training like a fish to water, according to all reports. She'd even been allowed to take the Chunin exams, joining a Genin squad that was a man down, and passed it! Unfortunately, the week after the exams ended, Orochimaru made plans to take nine Genin and his apprentice on a training journey and sent them on their way. Unfortunately, it was just before Orochimaru left that Hiruzen discovered what he was really up to.
As it turned out, the snake was conducting sickening, vile experiments on people; villagers, bandits, ninja, both friend and foe, the elderly, and children. It seemed that there was no limit to his perversion of the very nature of humanity. Confronting his one-time student, Sarutobi ordered the snake to surrender, though, somewhat unsurprisingly, he did not. In fact, the old Hokage practically allowed him to escape...he simply did not have it in his heart to take the life of his one-time student.
Following their encounter, it was discovered that all ten ninja were still missing and hadn't been heard from since.
"I hope you're right, Naruto, but I can't allow you to mindlessly search for her," the old Hokage sighed. He really wished Minato were still here. The Namikaze would have stopped his wayward student long beforehand. "You're needed back on Team Ro. Dog, Weasel, and Cat have been handling it, but your expertise has been notably missing. And I've heard from Jiraiya that you now have a new summoning contract and can perform the Rasengan?"
"Yeah," Naruto replied sadly. "And I'm up to intermediate level on seals...Jiraiya says that I should be a master by the time I turn eighteen if I keep my same progress."
"That's wonderful, Naruto."
"Yeah…" Naruto couldn't help the tears that dropped from his eyes. 'But...what's the point of learning if I can't protect anyone...Anko...please be ok...please…'
{July 4th, 070}
Kakashi was giving a series of silent signals to his team. They were on a simple, straightforward assassination mission; an important political figure in the Land of Lightning was currently in the Land of Hot Water. Apparently, they were attempting to give funding to the Hidden Hot Springs Village so that they could take over the Land of Frosts, thus securing a single border country as both a powerful informational ally and a powerful military ally.
Of course, this would put pressure on the Land of Fire, as the Hidden Cloud could station troops on their border with no prior notification.
So, they were to assassinate the heavily guarded dignitary in order to secure the failure of an alliance, however, it was crucial that the mission not be traced back to the leaf.
"Four-man squad. Two Jonin, two Chunin. Formation A-17. Point Fox, perimeter Cat, backup Weasel, target Dog. Engage in 30," Kakashi signed to them. Receiving the affirmative, the group quickly got in their formation.
20…
Naruto could hear their breathing as the four ninja and one politician continued down the road, unknowing to the fate that would befall them.
15…
Killing was becoming so easy...so second nature. He could still remember his first kill. A simple bandit raid back what seemed like a lifetime ago. How ignorance to the world's bloodshed was truly bliss.
10…
So many missions...countless missions... He was nearing Kakashi's record for his age, taking every mission possible, and scouring every information source, all for one simple goal. Anko…
5…
He couldn't think about her now...he had targets to kill.
"Wind-Style…" Naruto spoke softly, quickly flipping through hand seals. "Xing Tian's Decapitation!"
'He always did inherit his father's naming style…' Dog sweatdropped, but he was impressed.
A sharp line of wind even with the neck and the width of the entire path was sent rocketing towards the group, who barely had time to react. The two Jonin ducked, one Chunin had his head cut clean off, and the other was cut deeply while tackling the dignitary to safety on the ground.
"We're under attack!" one of the Jonin announced.
"Quickly, protect the dignitary!" the other ordered.
"Captain, I'm hit!" the still-living Chunin groaned.
"Earth-Style, Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu!" Three seperate Narutos emerged from the ground, one grabbing the Chunin, one grabbing a Jonin, and the third missing as the second Jonin leaped away.
"Dammit, it's the leaf! ANBU!" the escaping Jonin shouted, making a break for it.
"Wind-Style, Gale Palm!" Naruto shouted, rocketing off a powerful wind technique at the Jonin who managed to evade and begin his escape, only to reach a second ANBU, this one with a weasel mask.
"Another one!" he roared, quickly throwing a kunai into the chest of the enemy ANBU. "Ha! One down! That was almost-what? A Genjutsu?"
Sure enough, where he once thought was a dead or dying enemy ninja, turned into a simple murder of crows, cawing loudly as they flew off.
"You are caught in my Genjutsu," Itachi explained calmly, emerging from a tree.
"Release!" the ninja shouted, before charging again, successfully slicing open the Uchiha. "Gotcha-WHAT?"
"I told you before," Itachi repeated, as, once again, he exploded into a murder of cawing crows. "You are stuck in my Genjutsu."
"Fucking leaf ninja!" the cloud Jonin ground out.
"Goodbye, cloud Jonin." Before he had a chance to respond, the Genjutsu broke, as he looked down to see a tanto stabbed clean through his heart.
Allowing the body to slide off his sword dead, Itachi walked over to the rest of his team to find Naruto finishing the job. He'd been doing it the same way since he found out Anko was missing, and, even for an ANBU, it was a bit...sickening.
Naruto would disable the enemy, either wounding their legs or using a technique such as Double Suicide Decapitation, and then grind a Rasengan into the tops of their skulls. It was lethal one-hundred percent of the time, without fail. It was, however, revolting.
"Fox, couldn't you dispose of our opponents in a less...gruesome manner?"
"My methods are absolute, Weasel. It is impossible to survive, therefore, the most effective."
"Alright, you two, mission accomplished," Dog announced, carrying the decapitated head of their target. "We're heading back."
"Yes, Captain," both nodded, following the Dog-masked ANBU back towards the village.
{September 12th, 070}
Today was a rather boring day. Team Ro was on mandatory leave from out-of-village missions after the Hokage claimed they were working too hard and it was becoming a possible hazard to their health.
Cat, also known as Yugao Uzuki, decided to spend some time off with her boyfriend, Hayate Gekko, whom she had recently begun dating. Their captain, Dog, or Kakashi Hatake, spent some shifts as the Hokage's personal guard, spent some time training, and the rest of the time relaxing with his little book. There was a new one out called Icha Icha Anbu... Weasel, Itachi Uchiha, split his month between spending time with his five-year-old brother, who would start the academy in 072, and taking shifts as the Hokage's personal guard.
Fox, Naruto Uzumaki, was to spend the entire month...as the personal guard for Konohamaru Sarutobi, Lord Third's 'honorable' grandson, who would be turning one in three months. It wasn't like Naruto hated the infant, not by a long shot, but as a trained killer and elite ANBU...babysitting was just demeaning. But more so than even that, being restricted to the village meant he couldn't look for Anko... She'd been missing for almost a year and he still had no idea of her whereabouts. Nothing had been the same since she left. Maybe the saying 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' as he found it hard to concentrate on anything other than where she was now that he wasn't on a strenuous, high-stakes mission.
So, he resigned himself to guard duty, counting the days til it would finally end.
{Naruto's Mindscape}
"You ever thought about destroying a different village, Kyuubi?" Naruto asked. "I mean, it's been the same for years."
"I suppose, but you aren't nearly as attached to those villages," the fox said. "Once you get used to me destroying this one, you'll hardly flinch when I destroy the real one."
"Sure," he rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty damn near positive that even if I let you out tomorrow, all you'd do is walk away from the village. At most you'd kill that masked asshole for daring to control you."
"Tch. Cheeky kit."
"Say, I haven't asked you in a while. Think you could tell me about where you came from?"
"Why do you wish to know so badly?"
"Didn't I tell you? Friends are supposed to understand one another. I don't know your life, you won't tell me. You just keep saying you're the 'embodiment of hatred,' which is bullshit, by the way."
"Tch."
"Don't 'tch' me, stupid fox."
"Fine, kit. You may listen to my story," the fox gained a wistful look. "It was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…"
"The real story."
"This is the real story!" the fox huffed indignantly. "Anyway, from somewhere in space, a large rock collided with your earth. From that rock grew a large tree. From that large tree grew a fruit. That fruit was eaten by a woman, who was said to have come to earth in search of the meteor, and was so beautiful, none could deny her anything she desired."
"Fancy."
"The fruit gave her unimaginable power, which she used to enslave the world to her will, creating complete and perfect peace throughout the world."
"That's not peace, that's cruelty," Naruto shook his head angrily.
"That's what her two sons believed. The two grew powerful, stronger than even their mother, and sealed her away in what is now your moon."
"This story is either really insane or you are a gifted fantasy storyteller," the redhead chuckled.
"You dare doubt my origin story, kit?"
"No, no! Keep going! The space alien girl was just defeated."
"As I was saying, her two sons sealed her away inside the moon. Unfortunately, her disappearance led to the creation of the progenitor of my existence; the Ten-Tails."
"The Ten-Tails?"
"Yes, the Ten-Tails. One of the only beings to ever exceed my strength. The two brothers battled the Ten-Tails, the eldest sealing it away inside himself, becoming the first of what you humans call jinchuriki. Come to think of it, I don't know what happened to his brother. He never said…"
"So, where do you come in?"
"The Creation of All Things; a technique used and known only by the eldest brother. He separated the near infinite chakra of the Ten-Tails into nine different Tailed Beasts, our power scaling alongside our tails. This was done in the waning period of his life. I believe we had a year with him, before he passed on. This was but a human, but he was far more powerful than even I. I believe you humans know him as the Sage of Six Paths."
"THE SAGE OF SIX PATHS?!" Naruto shouted. "You're telling me that the Sage of Six Paths is not only real, but that he created the Tailed Beasts?!"
"I fail to see how you find that surprising."
"Are you crazy? That's awesome! You gotta tell me about this guy? What was his name? What was he like? How strong was he?"
"Perhaps another time, kit. I've said more than I likely should. Perhaps you remind me of something he told us before he died," the fox mumbled wistfully. "Now, reform my playpen and be on your way."
"Alright. Thanks, Kyuubi. I feel like I'm starting to understand you better every time we chat," Naruto grinned.
"Tch."
{October 1st, 070}
"Things are really tense, huh? Are you sure you're ok with this, Weasel?" Fox asked.
"I am an ANBU under the service of the leaf. I shall complete my assigned tasks," he replied simply.
"I'm serious, Itachi. I'm not asking as Fox, I'm asking as your friend. I mean, come on!" Today's assignment was one the Hokage had trouble giving them. They were to spy on the Uchiha district and keep tabs on them.
The clan was growing restless. There had always been slight mistrust between the general population of the leaf and the Uchiha clan, ever since Madara Uchiha, but it had grown worse for two prominent reasons; one was the Nine Tails incident, where the Uchiha were largely blamed, as it was said that Madara had the power to control the fox at the time of the founding of the village, and the other was the demands of Fugaku, who believed that the Uchiha's greatness was being overshadowed by the village. He wanted more power, more presence, and more rights than the other clans, and that was further separating them.
If that wasn't enough, during the reconstruction from after the fox attack, the Uchiha were placed farther away in the outskirts of the village. That's where they currently were being observed from the ANBU.
"I must admit it is...troubling, but I am a shinobi first. My allegiance is to the leaf."
"Alright, if you say so, Itachi," Naruto gave his longtime friend a comforting hand on his shoulder before donning his mask and entering the room.
{February 9th, 071}
"FOX! A SURVIVOR!" shouted Cat.
Quickly and soundlessly, the ANBU agent shot over to where his teammate was. Naruto, alongside Cat, Falcon, and Boar, were on a mission in the Land of the Sea to infiltrate one of Orochimaru's hidden bases. If possible, they were to capture anyone inside for information, and, if not, destroy the base after taking anything of interest.
Naruto took every mission relating even slightly to the snake Sannin. Anything to do with suspicious experiments, snakes, suspicious kidnappings, or deformed corpses located; Naruto took them all, desperately hoping to find Anko.
"Where?" he demanded.
"Inside," Cat gestured to the room. "She's alive, but unconscious."
Naruto entered the room and his heart stopped. There, lying on the ground like yesterday's garbage, was Anko Mitarashi. She was dressed casually, not in shinobi attire at all, with the same dark-red shirt she loved so much. It was too much... He knelt down next to her, put a hand on her shoulder, and cried.
"Anko…" he whispered, tears welling up and falling behind his mask. "I really found you...Anko…"
"Don't take too long, Fox," Cat said softly. "We're leaving soon."
"Right," he sniffed, trying to recompose himself as he gently picked up the unconscious young kunoichi. "Anko...please...please come back to me…"
{February 12th, 071}
A slight groan and a twitch of a hand is all that preceded her return to the land of the living. She slowly tried to open her eyes, wincing at the light. The room was a bright white for the most part and she was lying in a bed of some sort.
'A hospital…' Anko mused. 'But where am I…? And Orochimaru-sensei…'
Memories flashed back. Her early apprenticeship. The Chunin exam. The first few months of a training trip. Strange experiments that he would only vaguely explain. A horrifying pain after he'd bitten her. And then? Nothing. She couldn't remember how long ago it was. It could have been years. It could have been days. It could have been-
"Anko? Anko, are you awake? Please, tell me you can hear me," a voice pleaded.
She felt something firmly holding her hand. A voice speaking to her.
"Come on, Anko. Give me something. Please, come back to me…"
"What…" she groaned out. "Where am I?"
"Anko...thank Kami...you're still ok…" the weight on her hand seemed to collapse on her arm and something found itself wrapped around her waist.
"Who are you?" she grumbled, still wincing at the light.
"Anko…? Please, don't tell me you forgot me. Look over here. Come on, Anko," the voice coaxed.
"You do sound familiar," she mused, still completely out of it, turning and trying to make out the face. It had red hair and whiskers. "You're cute, too."
He blushed. "Anko, come on, you remember me, right? I'm Naruto. Remember? Your friend from the academy? You live with me."
"Naruto? Na-ru-to. Nahhh ruuu tooo," she experimented, trying to blink away the fuzz. That's right, this was Naruto! "Naruto? Naruto!"
"That's right, Anko, it's me," Naruto smiled, a single tear falling from his eye. "And you're finally back."
"Naruto," she said quietly, returning the warm hug he gave her, lifting her slowly into a sitting position just so he could hug her again.
"I was so worried about you, Anko. You have no idea," he told her softly.
"Naruto…" she still was having trouble believing it. She had been abandoned. Left for dead by her sensei. Someone she looked up to and respected, almost like a new father for her. But now she was back with him. Her closest friend for all those years.
"I spent months searching for you," Naruto explained, still just hugging her with his chin on her shoulder. "I took every mission I could and searched the whole elemental nations. I always knew you were alive. Never once gave up hope on you."
Anko smiled. This was him alright, for sure. The person who got her started on becoming a kunoichi. The person who let her move in so she wouldn't be alone. The person who made her feel welcome and happy.
A knock sounded at the door. "Fox? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, Old Man," Naruto sniffed. "Come in."
"She's awake I see," Hiruzen smiled a genuine smile. "Wonderful."
"How much longer until I can bring her home?"
"That...could be a while, Naruto," the old man sighed. "She still needs to go through interrogation and potentially a trial-"
"I'll be her personal guard," Naruto immediately volunteered. "I'll stay with her during the interrogation and afterwards."
"Naruto, she'll be in a cell until-"
"I don't care," Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I just got Anko back. I'm staying by her side until she's ready to come back home."
"Very well, Naruto," he sighed once more. "You're on temporary leave from ANBU to guard Anko Mitarashi."
"Naruto…? Where are we?" Anko asked, sleepily.
"We're home, Anko...we're back home…"
{February 24th, 071}
Naruto was disgusted, furious, pissed off, angered...every word possible combined.
Anko had been interrogated, fortunately, no torture was involved, Naruto saw to that personally, but she had been interrogated for two weeks, kept locked away in a prison cell. Now, she was released, but under a three-month probation to be watched under constant ANBU guard. Apparently, Naruto was a 'conflict of interest,' so she was being monitored by other agents from the Black Ops.
But that wasn't what pissed him off, not by a long shot. It was those damned villagers! They still called him demon, monster, murderer, and all those other names, but now? While their hatred remained with him, Anko became a new target of abuse. She was the 'Snake Whore' of Konoha. The traitor. A spy for the enemy. Someone to be scorned. Less than human.
She would never admit it, but he could see. It was slowly breaking her. Not her confidence, no, she had that to spare, but her trust and faith in others. That trust was already damn near shattered by Orochimaru, but with the villagers declaring her as no better than the Snake Sannin, it finished. She just couldn't trust anymore and Naruto was afraid for her.
"Naruto, come on! I want some dango!" Anko declared, knocking loudly on his door. "You're paying, so let's get a move on!"
"If it's alright with you, Anko, I'd like to stay home today," Naruto admitted, opening his door and smiling sadly.
"What's got you in a mood? You back to red and broody already?" she teased.
"I just...I hate this. I hate what they're doing you, Anko! I hate it so much!" he ground out, punching the door frame. "I want to just kill them for doing that to you, you don't deserve it!"
"I don't need your pity, Naruto. What they think doesn't bother me," she huffed. "I'm not some fragile piece of glass, you know. Besides, haven't they been doing that to you your whole life?"
"You noticed?"
"No shit, dumbass!" she hit him upside the head. "How could I not?"
"Wishful thinking," he chuckled. "Come in and sit down. I want to tell you something."
"Hmm...a bit young, but if you wanna be a bit frisky~."
"I'm being serious, Anko! What the hell!" Naruto blushed fiercely as Anko laughed at him.
"You should see yourself! Your face is even darker than your hair!"
"Just…" Naruto sighed in frustration. "Just sit down!"
"So~, what's red and broody got to say to me today?"
"I just think it's about time you know everything about me," he admitted quietly. "You already know my father was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage."
"Er…"
"You didn't know that?"
"Must have slipped my mind," Anko chuckled sheepishly, sticking her tongue out slightly.
"Right...well, yeah. He was my dad. On the day- actually, come over here. I have a better room for this."
"Stand up, sit down, stand up," Anko groaned, following the redhead towards the only room she'd never been in. "Make up your mind."
"This," Naruto said, opening the door to a nursery, which was, other than the layer of dust that coated the room, in a rather pristine condition. A small crib, a dresser, photos of the family, and other baby supplies. "Was my sister's room."
"You have a-"
"Would have been. On the day of her birth, my sister was murdered."
"Oh…" Anko didn't really know how to respond; comforting others had never really been her strong point.
"That day, coincidentally enough, was my sixth birthday, the same day the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked the village."
"..." Anko said nothing, just continued to listen.
"You see," Naruto explained, walking around the room in a sad reminiscence. "The Nine-Tails is one of the Nine Tailed Beasts in the world. The Tailed Beasts are constructs of chakra given a consciousness, therefore, they can't actually die. So, what we decided to do, is to seal them within humans. My mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous jinchuriki of the fox. While giving birth, the seal on a female jinchuriki's seal weakens immensely, which is why my sister was murdered. She was used to kidnap my mother and rip the fox from her stomach, who was then put under a powerful Genjutsu to attack the village."
"How do you-"
"My father and mother restrained the fox and attempted to reseal him into a new vessel," he interrupted, continuing the story. "They were successful, but in his panic to avoid being resealed, the fox skewered them both on his claw, mortally wounding them both."
"You're-"
"I am the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Anko," he looked at her seriously. "And that same fox just so happens to be a friend of mine."
"WHAT?!" she shouted. "So, hold on, not only are you holding A GOD DAMN GIANT FOX MONSTER IN YOUR GUT, you're FRIENDS with it?!"
"Yes, though he won't admit it."
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"
"I need an honest answer from you, Anko. Does this change anything between us? We both have our burdens; you with that mark on your neck," Anko immediately grabbed the mark. "And me with my...associate."
"Wha-I-Huh?"
"I need to know, Anko. We've been friends for over five years and I haven't told you before this. There is more that I can't tell you because of the limited trust I have from the fox, of course, but if you want to avoid me for fear that the fox will take over, you can move out whenever you want. But it's time you knew."
"Dumbass!" she yelled, hitting him over the head. "If anything I'm pissed that you didn't tell me day one! How cool is it that my best friend has a giant monster stuck in his gut? That's fucking awesome!"
"...huh…?"
"Now if that's all you wanted to share with me, you owe me twice the dango for lying to me. Now, come on! March!" Anko declared, leading the redhead out of the nursery.
"..." Naruto said nothing for a moment before openly laughing. "Thanks, Anko. I don't know why I put up with you, but I'm glad I do."
"Damn right!" she grinned at him, before turning back around. "And...you know...sorry about your sister...and parents...and stuff…"
"Never thought I'd see the day where Apricot tries to comfort me," Naruto teased, ruffling her hair, not noticing the furious twitch of her eye. "That's so cute."
"Naruto?"
"Yes, Apricot?"
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Wait! ANKO! THAT HURTS! AHHHHH~!"
{April 8th, 071}
"Damn, Itachi...he's gonna be late," Fox grumbled as he shot through the forest late into the night. He'd been searching for the Uchiha for the last half hour, but he had finally found him. Though the circumstances were more than confusing. Itachi was standing behind Shisui, who was staring out over a cliff face overlooking a waterfall and a rather rough river. A fall from that height and into those waters would kill just about anyone.
"It's too late to stop it now, Itachi," Shisui said, still facing towards the water. "If civil war breaks out in the village, we're as good as finished. Our enemies will take advantage of our weakness and raize the village."
"There is always a way to stop these things, Shisui," Itachi spoke.
"Itachi, what's going on?" Naruto asked, landing next to his friend.
"Naruto? Even better, you're both here," Shisui chuckled mirthlessly. "The Uchiha's coup; it's going to happen. There's nothing we can do to stop it now."
"What? A coup? I thought those were just ANBU rumors!" Naruto spoke in a panic.
"You should know better than that, Naruto," Itachi told him flatly as the redhead removed his mask. "Where there's smoke, there's fire."
"I did what I could to stop it. I was going to use my Kotoamatsukami, but I couldn't…" Shisui turned around. "Lord Danzo took my right eye. He doesn't trust me."
"Danzo…" Naruto growled. "That's grounds for treason."
"He'll come for my left soon, you know," the one-eyed Uchiha said. "And there's nothing I'll be able to do about it."
"I'll kill him," the Uzumaki glared.
"You can't do that, Naruto. You don't have the power or the standing in the village," Itachi shook his head. "And the coup d'etat will still occur."
"Well then what are we supposed to do? We can't just sit here and let this happen!"
"I want you two to take my other eye, before he gets it," Shisui requested, reaching toward his eye, and, with a gut wrenching squelch, he pulled it out and held it to them. Even Naruto had to repress a gag at that. "Protect my eye from Danzo."
"You can't be serious! That's-"
"I accept," Itachi volunteered, stepping forward.
"No! Hold on. Just...Itachi, if you're willing to do it, let me," Naruto grabbed his friend's shoulder. "You're already being doubted for your loyalties to the leaf because you're an Uchiha, even I can tell that much. Let me take it."
"That would fall harder on your shoulders, my friend."
"I don't care, I'll take it." Naruto quickly ran through a series of hand seals and slammed his palm to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"
"Greetings, my lord," the fox spoke in a subservient tone, doing the fox equivalent of a bow. She was no bigger than a cat with massive ears and a bushy tail, her fur a dusty brown on the back and a whiter color on the stomach. She also had a small red sack on her back. "How may I serve you today?"
"Aiko, I need you to take this with you to the Kitsune Temple and keep it protected and preserved. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, my lord," the fox replied, removing a small scroll from the sack and unrolling it. "Please seal it in here."
Naruto did so and dismissed the summon once the scroll was once again secured and returned to facing Shisui. "So, what now? You can't continue in the ANBU missing one eye, let alone both."
"I think it's rather simple, don't you?" Shisui said, taking a few steps back towards the edge of the cliff face, small pebbles falling into the raging rapids below.
"You can't be serious, Shisui! Are you out of your mind?!" Naruto demanded, stepping forward to stop him, but was prevented by Itachi. "Itachi! What are you-"
"If you're really my friend, Naruto, you'll let me go," Shisui smiled sadly. "With my death, the circumstances will change. Itachi will have a chance to protect both the village and the honor of the Uchiha."
"SHISUI! YOU CAN'T!" Naruto shouted, struggling in Itachi's grip.
"I've left a note behind already. My closest friends, please. Protect the village in my place," Shisui smiled, before falling backwards to his own self-imposed demise.
"SHISUI~!" Naruto roared, grasping at nothing but air in his failed attempt to catch his hand.
"He did what he felt was right, Naruto," Itachi said, placing a hand and feeling a warm stream of tears fall from his eyes. "There's nothing to be done now."
"I...I know…" Naruto whispered before turning to face Itachi, shocked at what he saw. "Itachi! Your...your eyes!"
"I see…" Itachi felt the tears with his fingers and looked at them, only to show that they weren't tears at all, but blood. Unsheathing his tanto he looked at his own eyes. They were no longer the three-tomoe pattern or the onyx black orbs they used to be; now there was a red eye with a black three-pronged shuriken-shape in the center. The center of the shuriken-shape was a large open circle and a ring passed through the center of the shuriken's blades. "So it seems that this was his plan."
"What was? Itachi, you're not making any sense. What happened to your eyes?" Naruto demanded.
"The Mangekyou Sharingan. The final evolutionary form of the Sharingan," Itachi said. "The Sharingan awakens under intense feelings of pressure or loss and evolves alongside those feelings. It is said that under the extreme emotional distress of losing one of the people closest to your heart, the Mangekyou will awaken."
"So...he died to give you more power? To protect the leaf?"
"It seems as if that is the case. Come, Naruto. Speak nothing of what you've heard or seen here to anyone, no matter the circumstances."
"Right…"
{That Evening - Naruto's Mindscape}
"Kit...I don't think you understand what you just did," the fox growled.
"What do you mean?"
"YOU TOOK A SHARINGAN! ONE OF THOSE BASTARDIZED EYES OF MADARA UCHIHA!" the fox roared. "You're lucky I put up with you speaking to those wretched creatures. Damn those Uchiha!"
"You're demonizing a clan for the actions of a few, Kyuubi," Naruto shook his head. "I cannot agree with you. Itachi is my best friend and Shisui was very close to me as well…"
"Those wretched eyes...the eyes of the vile offspring of the Sage…"
"You're not making any sense, Nine. Care to tell me the story?"
"Tch. Fine, kit, but only to show you that the Uchiha are the true monsters of the world, not us Tailed Beasts." The fox prepared to tell his tale. "The Sage of Six Paths, my creator, had two children. Those children were given the names Asura and Indra; Indra the eldest and Asura the younger, though they were twins. Indra was said to be incredibly skilled in the art of Ninshu, the Ninja Creed that the Sage developed. It wasn't your foolish human Ninjutsu, it was Ninshu."
"I see. Ninshu wasn't a tool of war, was it?"
"You can be too smart for your own good, kit. Yes, Ninshu was a way of life and peace. It was Indra who developed your human hand seals and Ninjutsu, though at the time they were used to help the quality of life. Starting fires, watering fields, and anything to help the people survive. When it came time to pass the mantle on to his children, the Sage had to choose between his two sons. His eldest, the strongest and the one who desired to be named the Sage's successor, and the youngest, one who was far weaker and had no desire to do anything aside from assist his brother. The Sage chose the youngest, as he was known to work alongside others, while the eldest did everything alone."
"A wise, yet dangerous decision."
"Yes. You see, the eldest brother Indra had witnessed the death of his pet years prior and developed the very first Sharingan. With it comes greed and evil. With his brother the successor, the eldest brother left only to return many years later to attack and attempt to murder his brother and all of his followers. It is said that their descendants continue to battle for supremacy to this very day, their reincarnations destined to be enemies from their birth."
"I don't particularly believe in destiny, but I do understand that conflict. So, if I were to guess, the Uchiha were direct descendants of the elder brother?"
"Yes. I believe the damned First Hokage was a descendant of the youngest."
"The Senju clan?" Naruto looked surprised. "That means...it's possible that I'm actually a descendant of the Sage!"
"Don't compare yourself to him! You may be tolerable for a human kit, but you are nowhere near his legacy."
"Of course, I know that, but it's still neat to think about. Unfortunately, that doesn't change my opinion on the Sharingan. Whether it's a gift or a curse is for the user to decide. Just as I'm not evil for being your jailer, the Uchiha are not evil for holding the Sharingan."
"I will not support this decision, kit, but I am powerless to stop it. You will regret holding that eye in time."
"Thank you for your concern, Kyuubi. It means a lot to me."
"I'm not concerned, foolish kit, I just wish for the destruction of that thrice-damned clan. It was an Uchiha who possessed me to attack your village and kill your sister, you know."
"I cannot demonize a clan for the actions of one," Naruto shook his head. "But, should the opportunity come, I will kill that man for what he's done to my village, myself, and to you."
"Tch."
{April 17th, 071}
"I trust you know what you're doing, Naruto," Hiruzen warned. "So I will drop the matter."
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Naruto and Itachi had been under heavy suspicion by the military police, run by the Uchiha clan, for the murder of Shisui, but there was no evidence that they committed the murder. They were watched, interrogated, and heavily suspected, but never proved anything.
"And take the mask off. You're Naruto right now, not Fox."
"Sure thing, Old Man," he replied, removing the mask.
"Now, Naruto, your twelfth birthday is coming in six months time. I think it's time you begin to try and harness the fox's power."
"I see," Naruto nodded. "And I assume Jiraiya has informed you of my...arrangements with him?"
"Yes. I cannot agree with your decision to trust the fox, Naruto, but I believe you are doing what you believe to be best. However, you must know that I will always protect the village first, no matter how highly I think of you."
"Same goes for me. Even though most people hate me for what I hold, I don't care. My father wished to protect them, but he died to protect me. I will do as he wished in his steed."
'So much like Minato...if only he were a bit older I could finally retire…' the Third sighed. "Well, in order for you to accomplish this, I requested-"
"Hey, kid! Didja miss me?" a new voice said, hopping in through the window.
"-Jiraiya to train you," he finished, giving the sage a withering look. "Must you refuse to use the door?"
"Come on, Sarutobi-sensei! Windows are so much more freeing! I heard the Raikage does the same."
"Hey, Pervy Sage, how's it goin'?"
"I told you not to call me that, kid!"
"I told you not to write a porn novel about me and Anko, but did you listen? No~. You're just lucky that Anko hasn't realized it yet or she'd hang you from the Hokage monument by your boxers." Before Jiraiya could continue, Naruto finished what he was saying. "And for the last time; we are not dating! I'm eleven!"
"What's your point, kid? Your parents got together at thirteen and had you at nineteen. Pretty sure my old man was seventeen and it's not uncommon for clan heirs to have kids at fifteen or sixteen!"
"Well I think I should be a bit older before doing any of that perverted crap you write about!"
"So, a fan of my work, are we?" Jiraiya gave a perverse giggle.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I knew it!"
"SHUT UP!"
"Anyway," the Third sighed. He really needed to retire... "I'd like the two of you to go on another training trip. I don't care how long it takes, just be back by the end of February. I can't have Naruto on leave for that long, he's important to the ANBU."
"Righto! You up for another trip, kid?"
"Anko is gonna kill me…" Naruto groaned, dreading having to tell her that he'd be missing another birthday and she'd be by herself for almost a year.
"And you say you aren't dating. You're practically married!"
"Shut up, you old pervert!"
{February 8th, 072}
"You gonna go see the wife?" Jiraiya giggled.
"Oh, shut up, you perv! No, I need to talk to Itachi about...certain things."
"Do whatever you want, kid. I'm heading to a hotel for the night. We only got in because I'm the Legendary Jiraiya! They don't just let anyone in after the gates close, ya' know."
"I really can't stand you sometimes…"
"Nice talkin' to ya, kid! See you around!" With that, the white-haired sannin bounded off, while Naruto headed towards the Hokage's office to get a report.
{Timeskip}
'Something is wrong…' Naruto thought to himself, racing towards the Uchiha district. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he just had this feeling. The Hokage tower was totally empty. It was never totally empty. The ANBU guard was heavier than usual, but only on one side of town...that side of town was opposite to where the Uchiha district was. 'Whatever happens, I pray I'm not too late…'
Unfortunately, he would be too late. He arrived just in time to see Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother, collapse in the street. There were corpses lining the walls, blood coating windows, and the stench of death was near visible.
"ITACHI!" Naruto roared, glaring at his best friend, whose face and sword were coated in blood, but a single tear ran down his eye.
"Naruto. You're back. Have you come here to test my limits as well?" he asked, preparing for combat with his long-time best friend.
"What did you do? You slaughtered your own clan!" he yelled again, preparing himself for his own battle. "What about Shisui? Did you forget what we promised him! To restore honor to the Uchiha and protect the village?! How does this bring honor to the clan!"
"There is honor in death. They were used to test my abilities. They were so absorbed in their own worth and in the prowess of their own eyes, that they lost track of my own. You were perhaps the only one who knew the full extent of my power."
"Everyone knows you're a prodigy, Itachi! A once-in-a-lifetime goddamn powerhouse! But that doesn't give you the right to slaughter your people!"
"I'm afraid we've spoken long enough," Itachi closed his left eye briefly and a streak of blood dripped down. "Tsukuyomi!"
Time seemed to freeze for Naruto; the sky turned blood red, his surroundings blackened. The only sound he could make out was the cawing of crows, before he heard Itachi once more.
"Welcome to the world of Tsukuyomi," Itachi spoke, his voice echoing around the world in a disembodied way. "Here, I am God. I control time, space, and everything in between. What you see, what you hear, and what you feel are crafted by me."
"Is this what happened to you? Did the power of those damned eyes corrupt you, Itachi?" Naruto demanded.
"You seem to be short-sighted today, Naruto. Perhaps I should remind you of your own pain so you may see clearly once more," Itachi declared. The scenery quickly changed. He was now kneeling in a sealing circle, the same circle that was there on his sixth birthday. He was watching the giant fox kill his parents in front of his very eyes. "For the next seventy-two hours, you will watch as the fox murders everyone you've ever felt close to over and over again. You can tell yourself it's not real, that it's all an illusion, but that won't stop the anguish you'll feel."
"ITACHI!" Naruto roared, trying to move as the fox shook his parents off his mighty claws and reached for him again, this time Anko taking the claw for him.
It felt like days passed as he watched over and over again... His parents, Anko, Jiraiya, the Old Man, Teuchi, Ayame, Shisui, everyone he'd ever gotten to know. Skewered, shaken off, and another took their place.
"My illusion may become your reality, Naruto," Itachi said. "Your short-sightedness blinds you."
"I'M NOT BLIND TO YOUR INSANITY!" Naruto roared. "STOP THIS!"
"This will only stop when you begin to see red," Itachi said coldly. "Only seventy-one hours and fifty-nine minutes to go."
"ITACHI!" Sure enough, the time passed. Three days of agony, before it ended. Naruto returned to the real world and collapsed on his knees panting.
"Now that you are ready to see red, perhaps your short-sightedness will end."
"It...ach...i…" Naruto panted out, unable to move and barely able to stay conscious.
"Remember, Naruto, my illusion is and will be your reality," the Uchiha told him darkly, approaching him, and stabbing a kunai directly into his left eye. "Goodbye, Naruto."