A/N: Apologies for taking longer than usual with this chapter. I really just needed a little break.

Also, I have no idea whether Hokage Rock is actually north or not, but in this universe it is.

Enjoy.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Coming Clouds

Everything had happened so quickly.

It only took Naruto a moment to defeat his opponent; but as he went to catch up to Ino and her mother, a woman's scream pierced the smoky air. Quickly he ran to the street over and a ways down the road saw a mother and her son cowering against the side of a building. An orange cloak stood over them.

It was only a second of hesitation, but to Naruto it felt like a lifetime. From the last time Konoha was attacked and whatever dark recesses of his mind that held memories of Uzushio's downfall, something called out to him. He had seen far too much death in his life to passively allow any more.

His feet carried him down the road as fast as he could, and with a surprise kick to the head, caught the enemy off guard and sent him to the ground in one blow. The mother, crying, grabbed her son and ran as Naruto saw two more cloaks coming from the south. He stopped them to allow the two more time to escape and was consumed in another battle. He soon defeated them, too, but by the time he turned around to run north, it was too late:

The Order had passed him, and he was trapped.

At first it was only a few cloaks, and Naruto really thought that he would just fight through them to get to the bunker. Soon, though, more arrived, and then even more, and more still—and soon a wall of dark orange stood between him and the Hokage Rock.

An anxiety filled his chest. Ino's voice echoed in his ear.

"Promise me you're going to come back."

He was not going to let her go again.

And yet…Naruto recalled what had happened the last time the Order ganged up on him. He and Itachi were defeated in no time at all. Alone they weren't a problem; together? And, on top of that, if they were to capture him again…

Well, he wasn't sure he was going to make it out of that one.

With gritted teeth, Naruto made the decision that it would be better to find Ino after the attack than to be killed, and never find her at all.

And so he ran south towards the centre of the village. The group of cloaks was on his tail, and though not all of them had the same destructive powers, capable of lighting an entire street on fire, it took everything Naruto had to avoid their attacks.

He tried to hide. He tried to duck for cover. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes he could allow one to get close before taking them down.

But the raining kunai were getting more accurate—a couple of them had slashed his cloak, just barely missing his body—and the fire jutsu were getting hotter.

Finally he stopped and turned to face his opponents. A dozen fox masks stared down at him, and through the dark memories of their hideout that filled his mind, of their leaders and the Nine-Tailed Fox and Itachi's arm lying on the ground, Naruto wondered if this was it.

There was no time to figure out the answer as he readied himself to take them all on…

But just as he took the breath to begin his suicide charge, lightning flashed across the sky and took two of the cloaks down. Naruto turned his head upwards to see a group of ANBU flying across the rooftops. A moment later a battle erupted between them and the Order, and Naruto practically dove into an alley to avoid the flying weapons and jutsu.

Slowly he caught his breath. His mind, somehow, went blank. There was simply too much to handle at once, and Naruto turned away from himself, lifting his head to the sky. It began to grey as the clouds rolled in. His earlier thought was correct: it was certainly going to rain again.

All of a sudden, he was reminded of the weight of the pouch he carried beneath his cloak. Those strange kunai called to him from inside, nearly begging him to take them out.

He reached for his sword instead.

Gradually, carefully, he began to take stock of everything. He had seen Ino, and she had seen him. It was so quick, barely even a moment—but it was something. And he had her made a promise.

His mind returned to the kunai and the family picture that also sat in his bag. He had come back to Konoha for a hint, for a clue as to who his parents were. He had found nothing except pain; the pain of wishing he could forget it all and return to the past, return to the time when he knew nothing at all.

At least, that was what he wished for.

"Don't run away from yourself, Naruto."

…

Right.

He was getting out of here.

He steeled himself, his eyes focused intently on the hand signs he wove in front of his chest. As he finished, he felt the chakra pooling in his hand.

The cries of battle and the whirling of weapons neared. Slowly he felt his lungs fill with a deep breath, and he waited.

Closer…

Closer…

Now!

Naruto shot out from the alley, a gust of wind sitting in his hand, ready to explode outward, as he turned to face the orange cloaks.

He saw none of them through the giant fireball that came straight for him.

His arm lashed forward, the wind bursting from his palm and catching the fireball just as it was about to hit the ground before him. The energy from the dueling jutsu was palpable in the air.

But only for a second.

BBBOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The fire and the wind exploded in front of Naruto, the shockwave sending him through the air and landing him a few blocks down the road in one of the village's squares.

His head pounded as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes unable to focus as his ears rang out and deafened him.

"Well, now…this is a surprise."

That slithering, all-too-familiar voice pierced through all of his daze, and Naruto lifted his head to see the man it came from.

His silver hair was unchanged. His purple eyes, wide at the sight of Naruto, were as terrifying as ever. The cloak he wore, still wrapped around his waist, was smeared with blood. His three-pronged scythe hung off his shoulder, a dead body still hanging off the longest blade.

Naruto saw the hooded, turquoise-eyed man beside him, Kakuzu, also looked the same, but at the moment he could hardly pry his eyes off the monk and his bare neck.

The symbol of Jashin was gone.

Hidan's face turned from shock into a wicked snarl.

"It must be my lucky day."

~XXI~

The cave dimmed as the clouds passed by outside. The two pairs of dark eyes, staring at each other through the shadows, hardly moved. The feelings, the emotions from the years gone by began to seep out of the two of them and fill the air. It was only a stare for a while, and still the room nearly shook with rage and regret.

"Why…?" The tension in Sasuke's voice was palpable, made only sharper by the gritted teeth it came through. "Why did you come back here? Why did you show your face to me?"

Itachi let out a breath through his nose as the anger in his brother's eyes called out to him.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Sasuke."

"Liar!" Sasuke reached up a hand to the hilt of his sword. Itachi prepared himself to do the same but held off for a moment as his brother continued. "You said it yourself…you've come back for me. It's my turn, isn't it? You want to do to me what you did to Mother and Father! To the entire clan!"

"No, Sasuke. You're wrong. I'm here to talk."

The younger Uchiha's eyes widened at his brother's words as his hand fell back to his side.

"Impossible…you? Talk? What is there to say, Itachi!? Do you want to tell me about the look on their faces as you slaughtered them!? As you took away my family from me!?"

Itachi felt his chest tighten. He thought of cursing Danzo, of lashing out at the Hokage and the gods that let something like this happen.

But those stoic, unshakeable eyes, darkened by the passage of time, remained steady.

Through the whirling emotions and the distant memories that came back to him as he faced down the only family he had left, Itachi recalled the words he had spoken to Naruto earlier.

"Don't run away from yourself."

It was time…

Time, for once, to take his own advice.

"It wasn't me, Sasuke. Danzo has been lying to you. He's the one who murdered our clan."

Sasuke's face twisted into shock. All he could do for a moment was stare at Itachi in disbelief over his brother's words.

"I see…" Suddenly, Sasuke's face fell into a frown as his eyes softly closed. "So you're not just a murderer…"

When they opened again, the red of the Sharingan began to glow in the cave.

"You're also a coward."

Itachi was silent, his own eyes narrowing slightly as he watched what he knew was coming. Sasuke reached back once again for his sword, this time unsheathing it, and brought it in front of him, holding it towards Itachi.

"All this time…I've been waiting…these eyes that I've filled with hatred…all I wanted was for them to see you dead on the floor. All this time, I've waited for you…for these eyes to see what kind of man kills his own clan and leaves his brother alive to suffer—and now, I finally see…"

The red in his eyes flickered in the shadows.

"You're pathetic, Itachi."

Itachi, in spite of all of the pain that filled his hear, felt the weight on his shoulder wash away.

He smiled.

"You're right. I am."

Slowly, he reached his hand back to his sword and drew it. Like Sasuke, he held it in front of him—but Itachi did not bare his blade towards his brother.

He wielded it for himself.

"But I know…"

Itachi closed his dark eyes and saw his brother's smile from the day before. A moment later they opened, and their red glowed through the darkness.

"I know that there's still love in those eyes…and I will protect that forever."

~XXI~

Naruto had never experienced anything like what his senses were doing to him now.

Hidan stood front and centre, that twisted smile and wild glare as fierce as ever. Naruto was drawn into his purple eyes, as if they were causing his vision to narrow on them. At the same time, he saw the world around him in full detail: the jutsu and the weapons flying above the rooftops; the bodies falling dead to the ground in pools of blood; the grey clouds above that threatened rain at any moment now—yet it wasn't just his sight that was in overdrive. His ears pulled in the sounds of battle: clanging metal, chakra dancing through the air, the cries of the dying and the wounded and the fearful. The smell of smoke and death filled his nose. He tasted the smoke of a village on fire. He felt the ground beneath him, nearly shifting with every explosion around him, and the growing pit in his stomach that told him his promise to Ino was going to have to wait.

And yet all of that was secondary to the dim light that glowed off of the sick purple eyes that stared at him as if he were an ancient treasure.

"You have no idea," Hidan began, "how badly I've been wanting to see you again."

Naruto felt his breath stagger. His voice was low.

"You…" He swallowed. "Why…why are you here…?"

Hidan's face suddenly twisted into one of disappointment, and he exaggerated a frown.

"Well, that's not very nice. I come all this way to see you and that's the reception I get? I'm hurt…"

He spoke calmly, but his voice still carried that undecipherable quality to it, and Naruto knew there was no telling what was coming next. Only one word passed through the blonde's mind:

Insane.

Slowly his hand went to Itachi's sword on his back. Hidan's eyes widened.

"Woah, woah, woah. Take it easy, kid. I don't want to hurt you." He dropped his scythe, letting it clang on the ground. The body that hung off of it fell lifeless, and Naruto looked away for a second. Finally, Hidan shrugged. "Well, at least not yet."

Naruto kept his hand on the hilt of the sword but felt his grip loosen a little, too curious at what Hidan was playing at.

"Then…then what? What are you doing here? Why would you attack this place?"

"Hmm? This village? Well…it's kind of a long story."

Kakuzu spoke for the first time, saying, "Let's just say your Hokage doesn't know the meaning of the word respect."

Naruto allowed a little bit of the breath he was holding in to escape through his nose.

"I know that…" Finally his patience wore out, and he drew the sword, raising it in front of himself.

"And he's not my Hokage."

"Yeah, yeah," Hidan said, waving Naruto's comment and his newly brandished weapon away. "Doesn't matter to me. The point is that this village deserves to burn, and that's exactly what's gonna happen. But enough about that…"

Hidan's eyes suddenly went crazy again.

"You're the one I'm really interested in."

Naruto's heart dropped.

"W-what…? Me…? Why? Why would you care about me?" His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword, and his eyes narrowed in on the monk.

"Because I beat you last time?"

Hidan's face showed surprise before he began to laugh.

"O-ho-ho! Well, now…I didn't know you had that in you, kid. Well done. But no…that's not why…"

All Naruto felt was confusion as Hidan's eyes regained their delirious focus once again, and his wicked voice pierced the smoke-filled air.

"I want you to tell me what you know about Kurama."

Naruto felt himself freeze. His feet, though he thought about moving them, were stuck to the ground, his eyes to Hidan.

"Kurama…?"

"That's right, kid. I don't know what kind of tricks you pulled back then, getting him to follow you, but that's an amazing power you've got…being able to control a monster like that."

"I…I wasn't controlling him…"

Suddenly Hidan's wild eyes stilled and focused even more intently on Naruto.

"'Him?'"

It wasn't hard for Naruto to see the mistake he'd made.

"Him…" Hidan said. "I see…haha! Now it all makes sense!" He reached down and grabbed his scythe, and Naruto, for some reason, felt the weight of his father's kunai once again.

And once again, they begged him to be pulled out.

He stuck with his sword. Soon the two weapons faced each other, their owners glaring daggers across their metal.

"You're a special one, aren't you?" Hidan said. "You can talk to it…"

Naruto swallowed hard.

"O-ho…so I'm right…" the monk broke into a wicked laugh. "Well, then…how about you do me a favour and call your little fox friend over here?"

The inside of Naruto's mouth dried instantly. Kurama was still an enigma to him. A distant memory recalled the fox attacking what must have been Uzushio—and yet the same beast protected Konoha five years ago, and only a couple weeks back saved Naruto and Itachi's lives. None of it made sense, but one thing was certain:

Naruto was not letting anyone touch Kurama until he talked to him again.

"No," he said shakily but defiantly.

"Oh, come on, kid. You know I'm going to find him, anyway. Why not save me a little bit of work?"

"Forget it," said Naruto, grip on his sword tightening once again. If he grew any more aggravated, he may have just crushed the hilt. "What do you want with him, anyway? To come back and lead your stupid cult?"

Kakuzu could not hold back a chuckle, and Hidan turned his purple daggers towards him. The hooded man was unafraid and looked his partner off. Hidan, after a frustrated growl, let it go, and returned his gaze to Naruto. He could not hold back the smirk from his lips.

"Heheh…you're wrong, kid. I'm done with the Order."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"What? Then…then why are you here?"

A small laugh escaped the monk. "Like I said, we have business with Danzo—but that's not why I want the fox."

Naruto wondered whether or not he should probe. A part of him thought it would be better if he didn't know.

And yet…

"So…why…?"

A snarl appeared on Hidan's face.

"Because I'm done with this world, kid. I'm finished with these earthly ambitions. My sights…are set on something more than that."

Suddenly there was something in Hidan's eyes; an intense focus, a look so fierce that it could tear away the entire world from his path.

Naruto felt fear.

"Yes…I followed Jashin, that fake…that pale imitation…I treated the fox as a god for the members of the Order…but that was wrong, too. Now, I finally see the truth: this world has no god. Both of them are false…both of them are weak. But…it's a good thing, really…because that means the throne is vacant…"

Finally Naruto saw the truth of Hidan's eyes. There was greed in them; fear; insanity. Certainly, they were not human—and yet they were certainly not the eyes of a god.

But they could have belonged to the devil.

"And I'm gonna be the one to claim it!"

Naruto didn't understand Hidan's words. They didn't offer him a clue about who or what Kurama was, and they didn't give him some grand message that Hidan needed to be stopped for the sake of the world.

All they did was inject him with fear.

"So if you're not gonna call him for me," Hidan said. He gripped his scythe with two hands and held it tight.

"Then you can die right here."

It was as if Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. Terror gripped him as he recalled the last time the two of them fought; he only escaped by the skin of his teeth last time. And Itachi was there…

And Kurama, too.

But neither of them were coming now, and Naruto had no choice but to steel himself. He had a person to meet; he had the truth to find.

His bright blue eyes met Hidan's firmly.

"Fine, then. Bring it—!"

His words cut off as he noticed the look on Hidan's face change. It had been so fierce, so wicked—and now it was only coloured with surprise.

Slowly, a wide grin crept onto the monk's face, and as it did, Naruto noticed something.

The ground below him began to shake ever so slightly.

"I knew it…"

Hidan's voice came out under his breath, but Naruto heard it well through the calm air. He did not, however understand what the words meant—until a moment later when he heard a thundering sound coming from beyond the wall.

And it came closer and closer…

And became louder, and louder, and louder…

Until finally it stopped, and Hidan looked above. Naruto followed suit.

At first, he saw nothing except a dark cloud that blotted out the grey sky; but he soon realized that it was falling down towards him.

And that clouds weren't orange.

BBBOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

Naruto felt the ground break apart beneath him as the village roads cracked under the weight of the beast that had fallen on them. He fell to his knees and covered his head, and the world went dark for a second in a crash of sounds and flying rock.

A moment later, the air stilled. Naruto lifted his head, Hidan and Kakuzu were gone behind a cloud of dust.

His first thought was, what happened? But it only took one look above him to tell him the answer.

He was met by giant but familiar yellow eyes. They belonged to a certain fox.

"K…Kurama…?"

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I should have come sooner."

At first, Naruto couldn't help but feel relieved; but as the dust settled in front of them, and Hidan appeared, those purple eyes shaking in the presence of his treasure, all he felt was terror.

"No…you shouldn't have come at all."

I originally wanted this chapter to include what happens next, but holy mother the length of the dialogue sneaks up on me so quick. I suppose it's the mysterious nature of the story, and things need to be explained.

Anyway, I promise some hand-to-hand fights next chapter.

Thank you for reading!