Author's Note: Hii everyone.
This chapter is probably one that I've wanted to write for a LONG time and now that it's finally all done, it feels amazing. I'm not gonna tell y'all any details but there's quite a few things happening.
There's angst so heads up for that, I couldn't, for some insane reason, keep the POV uniform, it just keeps changing so sorry for that and I hope it doesn't get too confusing.
Anyway, I think this is enough, so before I bore y'all way too much, read on!
Naruto cursed loudly as Kisame's annoying sword came swinging at his calf with enough force to bring down a tree. He hopped above it, directing his body in a slanting position landing a kick directly on the bastard's face.
He was only paying half his attention to this boring battle. The other half of his brain was occupied in inspecting Tsunade's hunched and resigned posture, seated on the ground. It was evident that the Sannin was in a trance induced by the blood staining the side of her pants.
Naruto knew, even before the fire entered his frame of vision, that Itachi had unleashed yet another scorching jutsu. He had more than enough time to shunshin there and counter the fireball but the rapidly approaching chakra signatures told him that he didn't need to.
In the blink of an eye, the white mane of his master was visible in all its ridiculous glory, Shizune in tow - who was already kneeling beside Tsunade, fussing about the wound on her leg. The messenger toad had done its job right.
Jiraiya's first order of business was stopping Itachi's attack with a little over-the-top water tornado. It was a good thing that there was a stream nearby to summon the water from or the Sannin would've lost most of his chakra already. Huffing, Jiraiya finally turned towards Naruto, who was now twisting himself onto Kisame's back - one of his most unused weapon in hand. Senbon. Just as Jiraiya grinned at him, Naruto plunged the needle into the shark-like human's neck, straight on the medulla oblongata and hopped off.
"Wha da fak di'you–" Kisame cursed, flinging his sword behind him, hoping to get the annoying brat. The insane amount of rage flowing through his veins didn't let him comprehend that his speech was suddenly slurred. Either rage, or well the puncture to his medulla.
The moment he did realise this though, was when his hold on samehada went slack and possibly, for the first time in his life, his sword fell from his grasp mid-battle. Naruto was now a good few steps away from him, smiling wide. Kisame just stood there for a bit, trying to wrap his head around this sudden turn of events (he really believed he was winning their little bout), and understand his circumstances. He could probably pull out the strategically wedged senbon but that could risk more damage to the medulla, and his brain fog was already increasing to the point that he found himself incapable of making too precise a movement.
He gritted his teeth in annoyance, refusing to be bested by a Konoha chunin- jinchuuriki or not. He was a highly feared rogue nin, dammit.
Channeling chakra to his neck to strengthen his organs there, he summoned the water a few metres away used in that old guy's previous attack. He'll show these pesky tree-huggers what an actual water attack looked like. He muttered under his breath, preparing a large scale jutsu effortlessly. All the while, the brat didn't even twitch.
With a mental roar, he directed the attack towards the jinchuuriki–forgetting to scale it down in order to keep his foe alive. A raging gust of wind accompanied the swirl of pointed drops of water, needles in all actuality, as they spun round and round against themselves, creating insurmountable amounts of friction.
The jutsu was a favourite of Kisame's, a torrent of sharp water needles with impeccable speed and range. Vicious and brutal but subtle all the same.
Still not rid of the sluggish feeling in his body, he bent to take a hold of samehada again, while his attack approached the brat. He never got back up, because a kick that tore through his spine met his back and he face-planted onto the ground, inches away from his fallen weapon. He turned just in time to avoid the katana of a masked woman, who along with the other two armoured shinobi exuded absolutely zero chakric presence.
His head throbbed, and the senbon in his neck dug further as he lay on his back to avoid another blow to his face. Absently, he registered the fact that his previous attack to the blond jinchuuriki had been dispelled by the chunin who was currently regarding him and the other nin carefully.
"–atsuki, Kisame, that's Itachi there–"
"Kami, two Sannin fighting together!"
"Rai! Stop fanboying, we're in a fight–"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, don't suck the fun out of everything you mean old grandm–"
"–Don't you dare! Focus, you buffoon!"
To say that Kisame was slightly surprised by the bickering trio of extremely strong shinobi would not do justice to the expression on his face which was downright dumbfounded. The three went back and forth, back and forth all the while trying to get a hit in–which they succeeded in before Kisame blasted a water bomb earning him a few breaths of reprieve. Somehow, the entire battle was growing out of proportion, with the arrival of another Sannin and these elite Konoha nin. With the shallow pools of chakra remaining in his core, Kisame was positive that he would lose if he didn't retreat any soon. He glanced at his partner who seemed to be staring at yet another new arrival –another chunin Kisame couldn't quite identify due to the distance.
A whistle of a needle brought back his attention to the ongoing fight, just as an earth spear barrelled towards him.
So much for some simple information-gathering.
Sakura creased her brow in worry, looking between Sasuke and his brother while avoiding making eye contact with the latter. When they'd reached the field, all six of them had first scouted and analysed the two separate battles ensuing on the grounds. Naruto seemed to be holding his own against Kisame and it had been Genma who'd pointed out the senbon sticking out of the rogue nin's body which explained the ninja's uncoordinated movements. Yugao had then looked at Shizune and deduced that she'd been responsible for that senbon and Sakura hadn't corrected her, neither had Sasuke or Shikamaru.
Somehow, they all knew that Naruto was a lot stronger than he seemed, at least more capable than a chunin ranked ninja but all their attempts to get Naruto talking about it had failed. The Nara was aware though, about something Sasuke and Sakura weren't and he'd told them to be patient and let Naruto confide in them instead of pestering the blond for answers.
After a few minutes, the Squad of ANBU had deemed Kisame a bigger threat with only a chunin to fend him off and had told Team S to approach the other battle, and assist if the Sannins ask them for it. So here they were now, standing just outside an invisible boundary–safe from collateral damage from Itachi's and Jiraiya's attacks.
But Sakura wasn't worried about herself though. The moment Itachi had sensed their presence, he'd completely disregarded his own fight, opting to stare at Sasuke instead.
"Bastard," she heard Sasuke mutter, glaring at his brother who looked just as impassionate and detached as ever.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the Sannin–Naruto's teacher–halt his assault, confused by Itachi's sudden lack of interest.
"Little brother," Itachi's voice had a soft tenure, despite the unfeeling tone it carried.
Sasuke pulled his arm away from Sakura's gentle hold, "Don't call me that, you've no right."
And Sakura thought that was fair. She sure wouldn't want her sibling who'd massacred her family to have any ties with her. Nevertheless, the rising tension was palpable and as the team captain she wouldn't allow Sasuke to fight a ninja he couldn't take on.
Itachi's face hardened even more, "You've grown since we last met each other, Sasuke."
Sasuke didn't reply, clenching his jaw and trying to suppress the hurricane of raw emotions running amok inside him. Sakura wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, or maybe sit him down with her, run her hands through his hair, do something, anything to ease his turmoil but she couldn't. She knew he wouldn't appreciate any support right now, and would only view her as patronising or worse, pitying. And Sakura knew how bad it was to be pitied so she stood firm beside him, hoping that it'd be enough.
"Come now," the infamous Uchiha said, though it sounded terribly half-hearted to Sakura's ears, "don't be so angry, Sasuke. Not unless you're ready to fight me. Tell me, is your hatred strong enough?"
Sakura wanted to snort at the ridiculous question. She didn't know why, but this all felt like an act, like Itachi wasn't really there inside that body. As if someone else was forcing those words out of him. She'd seen the soft gaze that had momentarily lingered on Sasuke when they'd first arrived before it was gone, locked underneath barricades of indifference.
When she'd finished with her internal monologue of berating Itachi Uchiha, she turned towards her friend.
She was on guard then, because Sasuke's entire body was trembling with a fury that would've made her run crying once but now only caused dread to pool in her gut. This wasn't looking too good.
But then, trailing down Sasuke's cheek came a tear and Sakura realised, with a jolt, that Sasuke wasn't angry, no, he was hurt. And anger is just how he'd always covered that hurt. Sakura turned her glare towards Itachi, that son of a bitch that had caused and was still causing his own brother such pain.
When her eyes found Sasuke's again, they weren't black anymore.
No. They were a red so deep, Sakura found herself mesmerised.
Naruto winced internally as Yugoa's katana sliced through Kisame's torso. He was somewhat relieved that backup had arrived, especially such competent backup at that. He had already more or less rendered Kisame defeated, only wearing him out had remained. But now he didn't need to defeat the Akatsuki member–not that it was difficult, but he was weary of taking the credit for it, he couldn't yet afford Hiruzen's attention on him, not without having a proper excuse for his abilities.
He knew he could trust these three ANBU members to not let Kisame escape and after a quick signal to Raidou, he made a dash towards Jiraiya, hoping to de-escalate the situation there. He wasn't exactly on Itachi's side, he just wanted to give the guy a chance to perhaps redeem himself. Or well, mend his relationship with Sasuke, though that was highly unlikely given their history.
He stopped and breathed a bit erratically when he reached Jiraiya's location.
"Oh, you're here," the Sannin said, stating the obvious since he didn't know what else to say. "Um, so what's up with that Uchiha brat, he's your teammate right?"
"Was, but yeah," Naruto nodded, looking at Sasuke who seemed distressed, Sakura and Shikamaru equally so. The next few moments resulted in an exchange of dialogues between the two brothers and then Sakura was staring at Sasuke. Naruto felt an overly familiar disturbance in Sasuke's chakra and he knew, immediately, that Sasuke had finally unlocked his Sharingan.
"Oh," Naruto said, blinking. "Well, that's nice."
Jiraiya squinted at Itachi, noting how the traitor was still staring at Sasuke with an unreadable look on his face.
"This is all very sudden but sensei will be extremely happy when we turn in two Akatsuki members to the T and I Department," Jiraiya said idly, almost as if he hadn't just been in a death match with one of the most powerful shinobi alive.
"Kisame, I understand," Naruto replied. "But how do you plan on restraining Itachi?"
Jiraiya grinned, "Simple, really. Just gotta catch him off-guard while he's having a staring contest with his younger brother. Those three there," he pointed at the ANBU and their opponent, "have already knocked out the blue menace."
Naruto nodded, knowing that Itachi wouldn't probably be killed off the moment he's brought to Konoha, Hiruzen wasn't that off his game yet. Though, he really didn't trust Danzo to do something underhanded.
Well, he'd cross that bridge when he got there.
For now, Naruto and Jiraiya shared a brief strategy. The Sannin was a little skeptical about involving his apprentice, but even he knew that Naruto wasn't to be underestimated. As a failsafe, he instructed Shizune to aim her senbon at Itachi's eyes once Jiraiya had distracted him enough and if Naruto was defeated. The medic nin gave a resolute nod, readying herself.
Everything felt different. Every colour seemed more vibrant, more real, almost alive. The dirt's grainy texture was clearer, like Sasuke could actually feel it just by seeing it. The world shifted into focus, like he'd been wearing blotchy eyeglasses and they'd finally been cleaned to reveal the sharp details of everything around him.
It was slightly dizzying and wholly amazing.
But the giddy happiness at finally unlocking his clan's bloodline faded as soon as it arrived when Sasuke remembered just what had triggered it.
Itachi stood opposite him, nonchalant as ever but the subtle gulping and twitching hands gave away how the Uchiha was truly feeling. If Sasuke didn't know any better, he'd say Itachi was worried for him.
"Remember," he heard Shikamaru say, "we're not to engage."
Sasuke knew he meant well, that his Nara companion didn't mean to sound so stern and inconsiderate but those words only served to sharpen the pain Sasuke felt because he really just wanted to sprint to his–no, this monster residing in his brother's flesh and punch him, his face, his stomach, his chest and pound Itachi to a bloody pulp. He wanted to remove all this anger and aggression building inside of him, Sasuke just wanted to be free of all of it. It was suffocating him.
Just then, a tremor shook the ground beneath his feet and he jumped away, gripping the small sword on his back, Sakura and Shikamaru flanking his left and right, stances ready. But it seemed that they weren't the targets of whatever caused that tremor–Jiraiya did.
The Sannin was onto Itachi, out of absolutely nowhere, with no prior warnings. His earth jutsu almost swallowed Itachi whole but he escaped with a wound to his ankle. The Sannin's hair spun menacingly as they formed spikes and as if they were somehow sentient, the spikes attacked Itachi relentlessly. All the while, Jiraiya was occupied in a taijutsu round with the rogue nin who was trying his best to trap Jiraiya in a genjutsu. Alas, for all people liked to call him dumb, the toad sage was as sharp as they came in ninja fight.
Even from their distance, Sasuke was able to make out their rapid movements. He guessed this was his Sharingan's doing. So he saw just how slow Itachi was getting, Jiraiya too but the sage seemed to be having the upper hand. Then, the blur between who'd win and who'd lose became clear when Naruto popped out of the fucking ground, pouncing onto Itachi with his body encased simmering yellow chakra.
"What the actual hell," Sakura murmured beside him and Sasuke couldn't help but agree. Sometimes, it seemed like Naruto was an ocean of secrets and they'd only just uncovered a cup full of those.
The three chunin continued observing the battle far above any of their levels with concealed awe. Jutsus of each element were thrown about, taijutsu was brutal and quick, genjutsus were repelled before they could ever take effect. It wasn't even a drawn out match -- hardly 10 minutes but by the end of it Itachi was clearly out-matched.
Huh, now that's a sight Sasuke thought he'd never see.
"Give up," Naruto whispered as he dodged a strike and angled himself near Itachi's ears, "I'll get you out, you have my word."
Itachi didn't respond, pondering over Naruto's offer in his head. He was tired. So, so tired.
Tired of running. Tired of pretending. Tire of hating his brother. Tired of embodying this role that went so against his morals, his values. Tired of hiding his true self. Tired of following the whims of Konoha's elders. Tired of just not being there for Sasuke. Tired of being so goddamn indifferent all the time.
He wanted nothing more than to return, not to Konoha but to his brother.
He'd regret it later, maybe. But right then, he chose to put his faith in this blond kid who'd unknowingly chipped away at his resolve to remain a spy, to die by the hands of his brother.
As he shut his eyes, Sharingan dissolving into regular blackness, he welcomed the pain from the impact on his head sending him unconscious.
His last thought, or rather image, was of a fleeting memory of Sasuke–young and cheerful, clinging to his back like a koala and Itachi wondered if he'd ever experience joy, the kind he had in that particular memory.
Author's Note: Done! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did while writing it. :D
Thanks for reading!
Have a great day!
Peace.