I had a hard time focusing on this chapter because of the Vic Mignogna scandal, and it is getting uglier and uglier. The Anime community is lashing out to the point where its become utter chaos. The only thing I'm hoping for right now, is that the investigation into the allegations against him gets resolved, hopefully peacefully. Anyway, already writing the next chapter to this.
Having recovered from the aftermath of the failed invasion, Naruto is requested by Jiraiya to accompany him on a secret mission, but he's bringing along a companion with him as well. While traveling, a looming darkness moves within the mist
It seems like the Invasion happened forever ago, but in reality it wasn't forever ago.
There was a lot of damage that needed to be repaired of course. The good things that came out of the failed invasion was that no one from Konoha was killed. Known casualties were the Sound and Sand shinobi. The Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen was sent to the hospital, despite receiving minor injuries, but they wanted to admitted because of his age. Hokage or not, the man was still old and he needed check-ups to see he was feeling. While he was in the hospital though, the Raikage—A decided to form an alliance having fought together with the old man. Hiruzen didn't complain and agreed to the alliance and Jiraiya was present to witness the exchange.
Having gotten out of the hospital, he gathered the Shinobi council to asses the damage to the village and wasn't surprised the Sunagakure no Sato decided to send them a letter of alliance after having discovered their Kazekage was murdered by none other than Orochimaru. They also gave their unconditional surrender and offered to help pay for the damages done to the village without complaint.
Another thing Hiruzen had to do deal with was the Tsuchikage. They were still in custody, with their chakra sealed and ready to be processed back to their village. All things considered, it was a good thing he didn't just outright execute them for not only attempting to assassinate a Konoha Shinobi, but revealing an S-Class secret, too.
And of course, the key person who prevented casualties to Konoha, as well as stopped Sunagakure's berserk Jinchūriki was Naruto Uzumaki. With his multi-shadow clones aiding and sheltering civilians and helping Konoha ninjas defeating as many Sound and Sand shinobi as they could, it was a blessing. The original had been fighting Gaara Sabaku—son of the deceased Third Kazekage, and defeated him alongside Yugito Nii, a Kumogakure Shinobi. When the red haired boy had been defeated and Orochimaru fled, Naruto was brought to the Hyūga Manor to rest, using as much chakra as he did, Uzumaki be damned can really tire someone like Naruto out. Hinata was by his side the whole time as he was recovering, while Neji volunteered to guard the room in case assassins might try to get in. Just because things were quieting down doesn't mean some assassins won't try to take advantage of that and sneak in the village. Especially since Naruto's heritage was revealed by an Iwa Shinobi of all people.
Speaking of the reveal, it was a rather hard pill to swallow for some of those who hated the boy for so many years, and took vindictive pleasure in his blindness. Not only was he a member of the thought to be extinct Uzumaki clan (seriously, his last name is Uzumaki, how in the hell did none of you idiots link two and two together?), but also of Senju blood. Oh, and it gets worse, he's also the son of Minato Namikaze, their Fourth Hokage. He also had complete control of his Bijū, which had the three elders worried as they believed Naruto would be vindictive enough to destroy the village, but he wouldn't do that. He could, but he won't. The younger generation were furious at not only the elder generation for lying to them about Naruto, but also at themselves for how they treated him. The Rookie 12 were thinking about all the times Naruto would be glared at and spat at with nasty words, but made no reaction, preferring to ignore the people of the village. The signs were there, right in front of their faces, and they didn't see it.
No...
They chose not to see it.
The revelation made them feel worse.
As they were helping in the repairs of the village they would go and visit Naruto while he was still recovering at the Hyūga Manor. He was still sleeping of course but the next time they visited him, which was three days ago he was wide awake.
"Yo, Naruto! Finally up?" Kiba greeted with a grin.
"Arf!" Akamaru also greeted.
Naruto had just finished the meal Hinata made for him when he heard the Rookies, minus Sasuke and Sakura come visit him. When he woke up and Hinata told him about how the Rookie 12 came to see him since they found out he was resting here everyday. At first it felt...strange to have them all visit him, but at the same time thoughtful. Naruto already knew why he was staying here, though, because the Sandaime wanted him to be in a safe environment, and this place counts. He did want to get back to his apartment though, because of all of the plants he has there.
Ino gave Kiba and annoyed look, Could you be any louder? He just woke up not too long ago, so keep it down."
"What? I wasn't even that loud!" Kiba complained.
"Arf!" Akamaru barked.
"You agree with her?! Traitor!" Kiba exclaimed.
Naruto let out a soft sigh, "So noisy."
Hinata giggled, "Everyone's just glad you finally woke up. I know I am."
Naruto gave her an apologetic look, "Sorry. I wasn't exactly planning on sleeping for so long, guess I was more tired than I thought."
"Not just a "little" tired, you were completely drained," Kurama voiced, "That Sarutobi-brat was right to bring you here after you passed out."
"Morning, Kurama." Naruto greeted inwardly.
Kurama yawned, "Yo."
"You looked like you were sleeping pretty good, kinda sad you had to wake up." Gyūki said, entering the conversation.
"Good morning, Naruto." Matatabi greeted politely.
"I'm glad you're well rested, Naruto." Asura spoke.
Naruto smiled inwardly. Looks like they were all here to greet him when he woke up. But there was one thing he was wondering about though.
"You thinking about that Gaara guy?" Shikimaru spoke.
Naruto huffed an amused snort, "That obvious?"
Shikamaru sat down, "I've been watching your facial expressions for years. To me you're an open book."
"As expected of a Nara." Naruto commented.
Shikamru smirked then got serious, "I only know this cause my old man told me about it. Apparently Gaara's...seal was unstable, very unstable. So Jiraya-sama fixed it were asleep, but used the seal design he said you made. The guy should be less homicidal. He and his siblings were kept in a secure location for the seal fixing before they were quietly escorted out of the village, but Gaara left a message for you before he left."
"Message?" Naruto said curiously.
Shino nodded, "He only told Jiraiya-sama, so you'll have to ask him."
"Figures." The blonde muttered.
At least Gaara's seal was fixed up, and hopefully he and Shukaku could come to an understanding, but right now that was just wishful thinking. For now.
"I know this is random, but how's Lee doing?" He asked.
At that question, everyone went quiet. That wasn't a good sign.
"Naruto...there's a chance Lee might never be able to continue his career as a Shinobi." Ino said carefully.
Naruto closed his eyes at that. There's no telling how Lee is feeling right now. Naruto suspected that the reason for Lee's possible career as a Shinobi ending was because he went all out when fighting Gaara. It also didn't help that Gaara possibly might have contributed to nearly almost crippling Lee.
"He'll bound back." He said with so much confidence that it was hard for anyone in the room to argue.
"Enough about that, how are you guys after the invasion?" Truth be told he was a little worried about everyone's mental state after the invasion.
"We're okay, but its still surprising we were invaded like that." Choji said.
"Yamato-sensei told me that invasions are rare, but it does happen. I'm just glad you guys weren't seriously hurt." Naruto said honestly.
"We were a little surprised by everything that was going on, but we're good." Tenten assured him.
Naruto nodded with a smile before getting up.
"Huh? You plan on leaving?" Inko questioned.
"Of course I am," Naruto said, confirming his intentions, "My body's all healed up, I'm well rested, so its okay for me to take my leave. Besides, I wanna go and check on my plants I keep in my apartment. I haven't watered them since I've been recovering."
"Don't worry, I've been taking care of them since you've been asleep." Hinata assured him with a smile.
He smiled, "Thank you, Hinata."
She then frowned, "But...are you sure you want to go back to your apartment?"
"Yeah, I appreciate your clan allowing me to rest up here, but I think its time for me to get going." He was adamant about going back home.
Hinata stood up, "Then, I'm going with you, and don't tell me not to."
"I wasn't planning on it."
Shikamaru also stood up, "We'll go with."
Now that took Naruto by surprise, "Aren't you guys busy with other stuff? I'm pretty sure the village still needs help with reconstruction."
"Actually we're on break, besides we can afford to let some of the adults handle everything." Kiba said with a wave of his hand.
"Arf!" Akamaru agreed.
Naruto gave a grateful smile, "Thanks. I need to go outside and stretch my legs anyway."
As the Genin left the compound, there was something that had been on Naruto's mind since he woke up. What was going to happen now? The invasion was over, sure, Orochimaru fled by the skin of his teeth, but there was this sense of foreboding in the air that made him feel uneasy.
'Why do I feel like this? What's going to happen now?'
RING! RING! RING!
He stopped in his tracks as he turned his body in the direction he heard the sound come from. It sounded really close, but now he doesn't hear anything. His grip tightened in his grasp as he sensed for any potential danger that might be around them, but sensed nothing. But that sound...
"Bells...?" He muttered.
"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked as she noticed he stopped walking. Everyone else also stared at him.
He shook his head, "Its nothing, just my imagination." He resumed his destination, but in the back of his mind he refused to simply forget about hearing the sound of bells.
'I don't like this.'
Elsewhere, Sasuke was once again practicing his Chidori on a poor tree. Panting he stopped and rested for a bit.
"I wasn't..." he panted.
'I wasn't able to do anything!' He thought bitterly as he remembered being incapacitated while Naruto fought off Gaara and managed to win against an opponent he couldn't.
'Naruto just keeps getting stronger...while I...' he thought about his brother's eyes and did some hand signs, making Chidori come forth once more.
"AAAHHH!"
Sakura had just been walking around for hours. She had originally helped repair the Academy before Iruka-sensei told her to take a break. Not wanting to argue against him, she did just that and decided to take a walk around the village while deep in thought.
She was thinking about her teammate Naruto, and how horrible she treated him when they were little and still treated him horribly, even now. All the times he saved her and Sasuke without complaint, and never once said a mean thing to her.
While she...
A bitter chuckle escaped her, 'I'm no better than Ami and her crew when they bullied me before getting to know me.' It was ironic. She had gone from being a victim of bullying before becoming the bully herself, and yet...Naruto didn't hold any ill-will against her. Sure, he didn't really care for her, but he didn't hate her. And at times treated her like a teammate. Something she didn't do even once.
Not even Sasuke...
She had to force down a wince when she remembered the look Sasuke showed when he told her that it was Naruto who saved her and defeated Gaara. People had been talking about that nonstop when they started reconstruction, saying how they couldn't believe just how strong Naruto was, and he truly was the Yondaime's son.
There were times when they themselves would look at him with such nasty eyes and now here they are talking about him as though he were the next Hokage. If she suddenly started acting like them then she would be nothing but a hypocrite, and Naruto deserved so much better than that and then some. Clenching her fists she made a decision to change from now on. She also needed to apologize, too.
'Naruto, I promise I'll become a better person!'
Kakashi was standing outside a tea house, reading his trademark Icha Icha book, but put it away when he spotted Kurenai and Asuma walking towards him.
"Hey, guys. You two seem to be getting along." He said in good nature.
Kurenai blushed, turning her eyes sideways, "Idiot. Anko just asked me to pick up some rice dumplings for her."
"What are you doing here, aside from catching up on your reading?" Asuma inquired curiously.
"Ah, I need to buy something to put on a grave," Kakashi explained before eyeing some suspicious individuals inside the teahouse, "Plus I'm meeting somebody here. I'm just waiting on Sasuke."
Inside the tea house where two cloaked individuals with red clouds on them, wearing straw hats that overheard the conversation. One of the individuals finger twitched at the mention of Sasuke.
Asuma got the message and went along with him, "Hah, its not like you to be waiting on somebody."
Kurenai also got the message and eyed the two cloaked individuals.
"Is it for...Obito?" Asuma asked.
"Obito?" Kurenai questioned.
"Uh, yeah, kind of." Kakashi said.
Sasuke was waking towards the Jounin, having seen the messenger hawk Kakashi sent for him.
"Kakashi, it's not like you to show up early, what gives?" Sasuke questioned.
"Well...sometimes I do." Kakashi replied.
Seeing the silver haired Jounin was looking inside the teahouse, he looked in the same direction and frowned, "Let's eat somewhere else, I don't have much of a sweet tooth."
"Hmmm, is that so?" Kakashi gave Kurenai and Asuma a signal and they followed it, going after the two mysterious cloaked figures, while leaving a confused Sasuke behind.
With Asuma and Kurenai
The cloaked figures were walking near a river when they suddenly stopped as Asuma and Kurenai blocked their path.
Asuma spoke first, "You guys aren't from around here are you? What are you doing in this village?"
The figure, who was about the same height as Kakashi spoke, "Its been a long time...Asuma, Kurenai." His voice sounded young.
"The fact that you know our names must mean you're a Shinobi formerly of this village." Asuma said.
As Asuma said that, the figure grabbed his straw hat and slowly lifted his head, revealing red eyes with black tomoe.
It was the Sharingan!
Both Asuma and Kurenai's eyes widened as they knew who he was.
"Y...You're..." Asuma gasped.
Removing the hat so they could fully see his face, he dropped it on the ground and button opened his cloak.
"Heh, well what'd ya know..." Asuma said nervously, "Itachi...Itachi Uchiha."
Itachi stood there with his Sharingan active, eyeing them. On his forehead was a forehead protector that had the Konoha symbol on it, with a carved, long horizontal scratch across the symbol.
"Are these friends of yours, Itachi?" The tall male next to him questioned as he finally spoke, "Well then...I suppose I should introduce myself." He also removed his hat, revealing blue skin with eyes like a shark, even had what appeared to be gills, "Hope we can get acquainted later. The names Kisame Hoshigaki." Like Itachi, he was also wearing a forehead protector that showed the symbol for Kirigakure, which also had a carved long horizontal scratch across the symbol.
Asuma's eyes were shaking as he tried to stay calm, despite knowing that these two are dangerous, "Why should we wait till later? When I can just wipe the floor with ya both right now?"
"Boy Itachi, it looks like they hate you as much in this village as they do in mine." Kisame commented.
"We know who you are Kisame," Kurenai spoke, "We've heard all about you. You hail from Kirigakure no Sato, suspected of espionage and the murder of a feudal lord. You're a rogue ninja in Mizu no Kuni wanted in every nation."
"You're a high level S-Rank criminal, listed prominently in the Bingo Book." Asuma finished.
Kisame grinned.
Asuma gave Itachi a look of disdain, "Itachi...I've gotta hand it to you, the fact that you would even show your face in this village after what you did, it takes some guts."
"I'm warning you two, you don't want to interfere with me. It isn't my desire to kill you." Itachi told them.
"You know that's pretty hilarious coming from a guy who murdered his own people." Asuma sneered, "Now, come on, out with it. I know you didn't come skulking in here dressed like that for no good reason. What are you after?"
Itachi didn't answer him. Kisame reached behind his back and slammed his sword on the ground, creating a crack in the ground.
"This guys getting on my nerves, can I kill him?" Kisame asked.
"Well I guess we're not going anywhere without a fight," Itachi conceded to the fight that was about to happen, "Just try not to overdue it. Your moves tend to stand out."
"They're as good as dead." Kisame vowed as he brought his sword back up to hang over his shoulder.
Both parties stared at each other, neither making a move just yet, but that didn't last long as Kisame moved to attack first as he swun his blade down on Asuma, who blocked it with his Chakra Blades.
Kurenai moved behind Asuma before performing hand signs: Dog → Snake → Monkey → Ox → Tiger. Her whole body then disappeared as she finished casting the Genjutsu.
Itachi stared at her, 'I see...Genjutsu.'
Meanwhile, Asuma was still struggling with Kisame, 'He's baring down with just the edge of his sword! His strength is unreal!' The clothed blade touched the man's arm, making Kisame grin.
'My massive blade, Samehada.' Kisame wasted no time in pulling the blade back, revealing what looked to be a very sharp blade that cut Asuma's arm, as it was revealed.
Asuma grunted as he moved back.
"It doesn't slice, it cuts you to ribbons!" Kisame revealed.
Asuma held his arm in discomfort.
There was a shift in the air as Asuma smirked, knowing it was kurenai.
"Its about time...Kurenai." He smirked.
Kisame gave a surprised gasp as he found his feet be swallowed by what appeared to be mud. Meanwhile Itachi was being held by branches as a large tree appeared behind him. With a calm look, he looked up and spotted Kurenai coming out of the tree, kunai in hand. This was her signature technique.
Magen: Jubaku Satsu (Demon Illusion: Tree Binding Death).
"All right..." she raised the kunai before bringing it down on Itachi, "Let's end this!"
Itachi smirked as Kurenai found herself being completely robbed of mobility, much to her shock.
'What? But, how?!'
"Genjutsu of that level doesn't work on me," He stated calmly, "And since you seem confused as to how you ended up this way, I'll tell you. While true, your Genjutsu allows you to immobilize your enemy and is quite effective...my reflection is much better."
'He used a Genjutsu reflection?!'
"Magen: Kyō Tenchi-ten (Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change)." He announced its name, "That is the name of the counter."
Her eyes were shaking as she stared at him, 'Incredible...I always heard his Genjutsu was above Jounin level, but this...'
Itachi brought out a kunai, while Kurenai closed her eyes and bit her lip, drawing blood. Doing this freed her from the Genjutsu reflection Itachi used on her and she quickly ducked, the kunai barely missing her as it got some of her hair. While she was fast enough to dodge that, she wasn't fast enough to avoid Itachi's kick. Seeing no other choice, she brought up both arms as the blow sent her flying and out into the river.
"Argh!" She said as she hit the water.
"Kurenai!" Asuma cried.
"I wouldn't be looking over there if I were you." Kisame said, drawing Asuma's attention back onto him.
Kurenai was kneeling on one leg on the water.
"You live up to your reputation," Itachi said from behind her, "However..."
Frozen in place, all she could do was turn and face him.
"However, this is the end of the line...for you anyway." A new and familiar voice entered the scene.
Kisame was trying to get Asuma again with his blade, but this time Asuma decided to retaliate with his Chakra Blades and strikes himself, aiming for the cheek Kisame dodged it...or so he thought as blood appeared.
"What?" Kisame said, confused.
Asuma gave him a smirk, showing his Charka Blades infused with his chakra that allowed him to cut Kisame, even if the blade didn't make contact.
Kisame started making hand signs: Tiger → Ox → Dragon → Hare → Dog → Bird → Rat → Clone seal → Dragon → Ram. Unknown to him Kakashi was following his hand sign movements. As water was gathering in the river both Kisame and Kakashi announced the jutsu at the same time.
"Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique)!" They both called out.
As the water was shaped into a large shark, Kisame thrusts his hand forward as did Kakashi, who appeared before Asuma to counter the jutsu with the same jutsu. Both water style jutsu's collided until they dispersed.
Kisame was taken back by this, "He took up the same jutsu as I did!" There was something else Kisame noticed, or rather...someone.
Zabuza Momochi stood before the blue giant with a serious look, with his sword casually over his shoulder.
Kisame grinned, "Well, look who it is..."
Asuma eyed Kakashi and Zabuza, "Not that I'm unhappy to see you guys, but what're you two doing here?"
"Well, you know. I asked you to take care of those two earlier," Kakashi answered Asuma.
"But I guess I got a little worried." The other Kakashi that was standing behind Itachi with a kunai at the man's throat finished.
"A Kage Bunshin." Kurenai said.
"Kakashi, its you." Itachi said, looking behind him to stare at the silver haired shinobi.
Kakashi stared right back.
The battle was just getting started.
"Whew." Naruto sighed as he watered all of his plants, which according to Ino where all in top form. She was also gushing over the different kinds of flowers he had. Kiba and Choji had decided to stay out in the hall for some reason, but didn't question it. With that out of the way he decided to head outside and just walk around the village for a bit.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming all this way, I appreciate it." He said sincerely.
Tenten gave him a grin, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you keep your place nice and clean...unlike Lee's place..."
Neji grimaced, not wanting to think about how Lee keeps the inside of his apartment.
"Haaa...there's a story behind that, but I won't pry." Naruto said with a smile as he sensed their emotions.
"We appreciate it." They said.
"By the way, Kiba, Choji, why did you decide to stay out in the hallway?" He said he wouldn't question it, but he was still curious.
Kiba patted his shoulder, "Its nothing, we just make sure that the hallway was clean, that's all."
"Yeah, my mom said a clean house needs a clean hallway." Choji said.
Naruto blinked, 'Okay...' he then smelled something on Kiba, who was the closest to him, 'That smell...soap?' Was he and Choji cleaning out here?
Hinata grabbed his hand, "Let's go to Ichiraku, Naruto-kun. I'm sure Teuchi-san would want to see you."
"I bet." Naruto smiled, leaving his apartment as he and Hinata were headed off towards Ichiraku.
Kiba frowned as he watched them leave out of sight. Shikamaru stood next to him as he watched the two get far enough where they couldn't be heard.
"You managed to get it all off?" The shadow user questioned.
"Barely," Kiba grunted, "Some of the writing was probably a few years old, so it was a lot harder to scrub it off."
"But we managed to finally get it." Choji said with a solemn tone.
When they all arrived at Naruto's apartment, it was hard for them not to make sounds that expressed their anger when they saw what was written on the walls.
MONSTER
FREAK
DIE
All the words were written in red. Shikamaru theorized that these words had been here for a long time. Possibly even after Naruto had been blinded. And despite Naruto not being able to see, they still painted these horrible words, but that was probably when he was a kid. And since Naruto was blind, he wouldn't be able to notice.
Ino looked disgusted, "How could they...!"
"This is another lesson we need to learn," Neji spoke seriously, "That even a village like ours holds a darkness that even we cannot see."
"Very mature words of you, Neji." Yamato walked up to them as he reached the top of the stairs.
"Yamato-sensei!" Ino exclaimed.
Yamato looked at the now cleaned wall, "First time I saw it, I didn't even bother to hide how I felt. You guys may not know this, but Jinchūriki are never treated kindly by their villages, especially if their village was attacked by one of the Bijū."
"Like the Kyūbi attacking Konoha right after Naruto was born." Shikamaru said.
Yamato didn't even look surprised, "Leave it to a Nara to put two and two together. As you already know, you can't kill a Bijū. To stop the Kyūbi's rampage, the Yondaim-sama had to seal it."
"Yeah, but..." Kiba couldn't even finish.
"Sealing it inside his own son?" Choji finished for him.
Yamato placed his hands on their shoulders, "I get that it gives you a bad taste in your mouth, but Yondaime-sama did it because he believed in Naruto. Now let me ask you this, despite all the hatred he received and unfair treatment, do you think Yondaime-sama made a mistake?"
Neji shook his head, "I admit that I don't know Naruto very well, but I believe Yondaime-sama didn't make a mistake."
"Naruto was able to put up with the villagers crap for so long, and didn't let it get to him," Kiba grinned, "Yondaime-sama was right to put his trust in Naruto."
"Arf!" Akamaru agreed.
"I also agree. Naruto is far stronger than we give him credit for." Shino spoke.
"Shino's right." Ino said.
"Naruto is a lot like Lee. Both of them are strong in their own way, so I think Naruto's the only one that can handle the Kyūbi." Tenten said.
Yamato smiled, "With all of you supporting him, I think Naruto will be just fine." He left the Genin's to meet up with Gai to see how his student was doing, but something made him stop on his way to the hospital.
'Something's not right.'
He wasn't the only one to think that apparently.
Back with Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, the silver haired ninja was still having a stare down with Itachi.
'Those eyes haven't changed. This one's a true heir of the Sharingan. That means I've gotta be ready for the worst.' Kakashi thought.
Kisame grinned at Kakashi, "Well, well, what a surprise. So that's how you copied my jutsu, so there really is someone besides Itachi with those crazy eyes. You're Kakashi aren't you? The Copy Ninja. Also, I'm surprised to see you here of all places, Zabuza."
Zabuza just scoffed at him, "Took the words right out of my mouth, Kisame."
Kakashi addressed Kisame this time, "You can also imagine my surprise. I go to check out a couple of vagabonds at the tea house...and find I find none other than Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, the scourge of Kirigakure no Sato."
"How about that, you know my name, I'm honored." Kisame said gleefully.
Kakashi eyed the sword Kisame was carrying, "That sword..."
"Samehada, that sword originally belonged to Fuguki Suikazan, a former member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist)." Zabuza confirmed the swords identity.
"Fuguki Suikazan..." Kakashi knew that name.
"So what happened to the guy?" Asuma asked.
Zabuza slammed his sword into the ground, "He got himself killed by his own subordinate." He didn't need to explain who that was since Kisame had the sword, that meant he was the one who killed him.
Kisame chuckled, "By the way Zabuza, I heard you and this guy had it out awhile back."
"Yes...we did." Kakashi answered for Zabuza, reaching for a kunai.
Kisame raised his blade in the air and pointed it right at Kakashi, "Go ahead, I'd love to cut you to ribbons."
"Kisame...stop it." Itachi said sternly.
This took everyone by surprise as Itachi was stopping his partner from attacking Kakashi.
"If you take this man on, it won't be without cost. Furthermore, it will take time, and the commotion is likely to bring more Shinobi running. Your way is inefficient and unnecessarily risky, don't lose sight of our goal." Itachi explained as though he were scolding a child.
"Let's hear it, what is your goal exactly?" Kakashi questioned as the shadow clone standing before Asuma dispelled.
Itachi did say anything for a few minutes but soon spoke up again as he faced Kakashi, "We're looking for something and we know its here." Was all he said.
"And what would that be?" Kakashi questioned further.
Itachi didn't answer him as he just stared at the Jounin.
Kakashi, getting impatient brought out a kunai, "What is this thing you're looking for?" He demanded.
Itachi still didn't answer, "My way is more...efficient than Kisame's."
Kakashi's eyes narrowed while Itachi looked down, bringing out some shuriken. Kakashi jumped back, Tiger → Snake → Rat → Snake → Tiger: "Ninpō: Suiton: Suijinheki (Ninja Art: Water Release: Water Formation Wall)!" As soon as he made the water wall, four water drills emerge attack the water wall, but couldn't penetrate it.
As the water wall went down Kakashi was back on his guard, 'The speed of his jutsu is incredible. I didn't even see a hand sign. The shuriken in his hand was just a ruse, to distract me from his water style attack.'
"As what I expect from you Kakashi," Itachi complimented, "You almost anticipated my moves."
As he said that, another Itachi stabbed Kakashi with a kunai from behind, "Almost."
Kurenai's eyes widened, "A Kage Bunshin! His speed is too great!"
Kakashi stood there motionless for what felt like hours before he dissolved into water.
Kisame wasn't expecting that, 'A Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone)?!' A smirk appeared on his lips, 'I guess my village should be honored he's copied our jutsu so well.' He then had to jump back from Zabuza's blade.
"Eyes over here, you damn shark." Zabuza grunted.
Kisame grinned, "I've always wanted to see which one of us was the better swordsman. Let's find out!" He said, coming at Zabuza, who responded in kind.
Asuma decided to stay out of the way, knowing that he would only be a burden to Zabuza.
'These guys are both Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist. I don't even come close to their level.' He thought.
Itachi noticed Kakashi was below him, holding a kunai in hand but didn't panic.
Kurenai took the kunai from the underwater Kakashi with a smirk, "Nice job, Kakashi!" She was then grabbed and pulled away from the two Itachi's
"Get back, Kurenai! That one's the Kage Bunshin!" Kakashi was referring to the one in front of her. The clone soon exploded, causing a lot of water to rise.
"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma cried as he jumped into the huge water wall to check on his comrades, 'He just blew up his own Kage Bunshin?!'
Naruto and Hinata were waiting by the Konoha gate because Jiraiya said to meet him there. Why you ask?
Well...
As Naruto and Hinata were on their way to Ichiraku they bumped into Jiraiya, or rather...he appeared before them with a grin.
"Yo, nice to see you up and walking, kid." Jiraiya grinned.
Naruto huffed, "Yeah, I'm up. We went by my apartment earlier to check on my plants."
"We?" Jiraiya inquired.
Hinata smiled, "The rookies, except for Sakura and Sasuke."
Jiraiya wasn't surprised that Sasuke kid wasn't present. Talk about a hothead. And as for Naruto's female teammate, well...she probably needs some more personal time to herself.
"Anyway Naruto, you and me are going on a secret mission that's been given to us by the Hokage." Jiraiya said suddenly.
Naruto raised a brow, "Secret mission? Just the two of us?"
"Yep!"
Naruto sighed.
"What's with the sigh?" Jiraiya questioned.
"I'm going to have to be stuck with you all by myself on a secret mission?" He sighed again, "What was Jiji thinking?"
"Hey!" Jiraiya protested.
"Since its from Jiji, I'll go. But, only if I get to take someone with me." Naruto explained his condition.
Jiraiya grinned, "Its already decided who will go with us?"
"Oh, really?" Naruto questioned.
"That's right, and the lucky candidate is none other than Hinata Hyūga!" Jiraiya announced.
Hinata blinked before smiling and grabbing Naruto's hand, "I'll go!"
Naruto didn't complain, since he was planning on bringing her along in the first place.
"Then its settled! The location of the secret mission is in Tanzaku Town! Grab your gear, meet me by the gate, and lets head out!"
So now here they are, waiting for Jiraiya to show up so they could get going.
"He tells us to meet him by the gate and isn't even here." Naruto frowned, a little irritated.
Hinata smiled, "I'm sure he's coming."
Just as she said that, Jiraiya appeared in a puff of smoke, "You two all set?"
"We've been ready, all he had to do was wait on you." Naruto stated.
Hinata giggled.
"Yeah, yeah, anyway, lets go." Jiraiya said.
As they walked further away from the village, Jiraiya frowned, his facial features serious as he felt an ominous presence in the air and felt this was a good time to have Naruto out of the village. It wasn't safe for him to be in the village right now, what with those in the shadows just waiting to pounce on him.
'I'll leave the rest to you, old man.' Jiraiya thought.
Back with the battle, all three Jounin were soaked but alive. Kurenai noticed the state Kakashi was in and grew worried.
"Are you alright?" She asked and froze as she linked eyes with Itachi.
Kakashi looked behind him, looking a little tired, "Stay on your guard. This guy was made chief of ANBU Black Ops when he was just thirteen."
"Okay, he's tough, we get it." Asuma grunted as he got into a stance along with Kurenai.
Kakashi scoffed, "Tough? You haven't seen half of what he can do."
And that's what made him uneasy.
"For someone who is not of the Uchiha clan, you have mastered the Sharingan well," Itachi gave credit where credit is due, "However, not being one of us you lack our physical strength, and that's something you can't copy."
Kakashi didn't try to deny the claim because he knew it was true, 'He's right, my body doesn't have the stamina.'
Itachi closed his eyes, "Why is it that the Uchiha clan is known by all...and feared by all?" The wind picked up suddenly, "I'll show what the Sharingan can do when its wielded by a 'true heir' of the bloodline." Slowly, he opened his eyes as Kakashi's widened in horror.
'It can't be...oh, no!'
"Close your eyes! Don't look at his eyes!" Kakashi told Asuma and Kurenai.
They closed their eyes, while Kakashi closed his non Sharingan eye.
"Listen, both you. Whatever happens, don't look. It's all over when you make eye contact with his gaze right now." Kakashi warned them, "I'm gonna have to do this alone, my Sharingan against his."
"Indeed your abilities are impressive," Itachi admitted, "They might even be enough to resist the Mangekyō Sharingan. However...there is something they can't defend against, this special Sharingan Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader). Only someone with the Sharingan and Kekkei Genkai...can defeat me."
Kakashi knew who the male was referring to...
'Sasuke!'
He felt his heart beating in his chest as the Genjutsu took hold over him. Before he knew it, the sky became red and he was strapped to a cross. Itachi was facing Itachi who was wielding a blade.
"I wonder how much of this someone without the Kekkei Genkai can take?" Inner Itachi wondered as he stabbed Kakashi who grunted in pain. Kakashi had closed his eyes briefly, but opened them again as he noticed his sword wound was gone.
'So it was only...a Genjutsu?' He noticed there were now two Itachi's instead of one.
"In this Tsukuyomi..." One of the Itachi's stabbed him, making Kakashi grunt in pain again, "Time and space..." the second Itachi stabbed Kakashi, sending new waves of pain, "Even physical mass...I control them all." Itachi said, stabbing Kakashi again. Kakashi meanwhile, was grunting in pain, trying not to scream, "The next 72 hours will be nothing but this...over and over." Itachi said as he continued to stab Kakashi over and over again. Unable to take it, Kakashi had passed out, but woke right back up when he noticed another Kakashi in the same predicament as him with two other Itachi's.
'That's...' His eyes widened.
"In this Tsukuyomi..." Itachi's words from earlier repeated themselves as he stabbed Kakashi again, "Time and space..." Another stab, "Even physical mass...I control them all."
Kakashi was panting from the repeated stabs, 'Keep calm...its only Genjutsu.'
"Telling yourself its only an illusion will do you little good." Itachi said, as if hearing what Kakashi was thinking and proceeded to stab him again, "Pain is pain, call it what you will. Do you feel it any less deeply by thinking its not real?" Itachi asked, stabbing him some more, "How long will it be I wonder? Before your spirit is broken?" He wondered as he stabbed Kakashi again.
This continued on for what felt like 72 hours like Itachi said it would as Kakashi was repeatedly stabbed over and over again. It was agonizing, and felt as though he would go completely insane. As more Itachi's gathered around him, one of them spoke.
"Only 71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds to go."
Shocked that only that amount of time has gone by, Kakashi's eyes widened, 'What?! Only a single second has passed?!' He didn't dwell on that for long as all of the Itachi's swarmed and stabbed him all at once. Kakashi felt the pain, and still managed not to scream. Soon the red sky had dissappeared and Kakashi's heartbeat was beating rapidly as his Sharingan eye was wide open as felt himself be released by the Genjutsu.
Kakashi panted as he was standing upright. Itachi was still standing there, watching him like prey. Soon the silver haired Shinobi fell, landing on his hands and knees.
Kurenai heard the noise, "Kakashi, what is it?! Can we open our eyes now?!"
"...No." Kakashi forced out as he was still panting, "Not yet..."
"What just happened?!" Asuma demanded, "One second the guys talking and the next second you hit the ground!"
Kakashi got up on one knee as he stared back at Itachi, 'Three days in that world, and less than a moment passed in this one. Why not just kill me? If he wanted to...he could.'
Kisame appeared next to Itachi while Zabuza appeared next to Kakashi, "Whatever he did to you in that moment must've really messed you up." Zabuza said as he kept his focus on Kisame instead of Itachi.
Kisame was observing Kakashi, "Hmmm...after all of that the fools spirit is still intact," he then turned his attention to Itachi, "Meanwhile, you risked overusing those eyes of yours, you know that's dangerous."
Itachi didn't comment as he was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"This...thing you've come for...is it Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned.
Still struggling to keep his eyes open, Itachi responded, "No...the legacy of the Yondaime."
Asuma, Kurenai, and Zabuza's eyes widened.
"He can't mean..." Kurenai said.
Zabuza got ready to use his blade, 'I heard rumors about these guys, but didn't think they'd show themselves out in the open.'
'Naruto...' Kakashi thought back to a conversation he had with Jiraiya.
"Its good to see you again, Jiraiya-sama. How long has it been since you've even the village?" Kakashi asked.
Jiraiya had a serious look on his face, "Kakashi...I'll take over Naruto's training from now on."
Kakashi wasn't expecting that.
"The old man was right to assign you as his Sensei. The kid's got a good head on his shoulders." Jiraiya said.
Kakashi looked at him, "That's not me. That was all Tenzo. He's been with Naruto since he was young, if anything you should be giving him the credit."
"That's true, but Naruto's learned all he can from Tenzo and now has you to rely on. You two may not be close, but Naruto has come to respect you." Jiraiya said.
Kakashi smiled at that.
"Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because while Naruto has managed to fully master the Kyūbi's chakra, it still won't be enough to up against them." Jiraiya said grimly.
"Them? Who is "them?" Kakashi asked.
"I've been keeping tabs on Orochimaru since the day he left the village, and while I keeping close tabs on his movements I noticed he joined a certain organization." Jiraiya explained.
"Organization? What organization? What's its purpose?" Kakashi questioned.
"No really knows exactly, but its a gang of nine Shinobi who call themselves the "Akatsuki." At first, they were just a small rag town group that stuck to wearing black robes with red clouds on them, but as the years went by they started gathering more members. They're not small timers either, almost everyone in the organization is listed in the Bingo Book as an S-Rank criminal. For instance...Itachi Uchiha is one of them." Jiraiya explained.
Kakashi's eyes narrowed at this.
"When nine Shinobi like that get together, its not because they feel like doing charity work all of a sudden. I'm pretty sure you know where I'm headed with this." Jiraiya said.
"The group started to split up recently and Orochimaru left the Organization," Jiraiya explained further, "The others paired up and dispersed through different areas, searching for jutsu to master, among other things as well."
Kakashi looked serious, "And one of these things...is the Kyūbi?"
"That's right, Naruto now has a target on his back because he has the Kyūbi sealed within him. Sooner or later, the boy will have to go through the rest of his life watching his back." Jiraiya said, "Focus on Sasuke for now, meanwhile I'll keep watch over Naruto."
Kakashi said nothing, but understood.
Kakashi kept his gaze on the two rogue ninja's, "The Kyūbi sealed inside Naruto...that's what you're here for. You're not the only ones are you? There are seven more of you out there...searching, hunting...I know all about you, you call yourselves the Akatsuki, right?"
Itachi blinked.
Kisame frowned.
Asuma and Kurenai turned to him with their eyes still closed, "Akatsuki?" Asuma said.
Itachi looked serious as he eyed Kakashi, "Kisame, we'll take Kakashi with us, but we don't need the others...get rid of them."
Kisame charged at them, expecting this, Zabuza stood before Kakashi and got ready to swing his blade at Kisame when all of a sudden, Kisame was forced backwards by a strong kick.
"Konoha Gōriki Senpū (Leaf Strong Whirlwind)!" Gai then entered the scene with a kick, literally. And he wasn't alone either.
"You look a mess, Kakashi-senpai." Yamato stated the obvious.
Zabuza relaxed again, "Feh, somehow I knew you two would should up."
Yamato smirked but didn't turn around, "I kept getting a bad feeling so I sought out your chakra signatures. I ran into Gai on the way. Something about sensing unyouthful activity."
Zabuza gave Gai a dry look, 'This guy...he might really be a beast.'
Kisame eyed the newcomers, but his focus was more on Gai, "Well, who have we here?"
"Konoha's fiercest beast of battle...I'm Maito Gai." Gai gave his trademark grin.
"Maito Gai, huh? Mighty stupid looking guy." Kisame scoffed.
"Don't underestimate him." Itachi warned.
Gai frowned, 'Its him...Itachi!'
Yamato was ready to use his Wood Release, 'Never thought I'd see him in this village again.'
Kakashi then slumped forward and fell face first into the water, almost sinking if Zabuza hadn't grabbed him in time and hefted the man over his other shoulder.
"There's no telling what they must've put him through." Gai said as he looked over at Kakashi's state.
"Both of you, close your eyes! Don't look at Itachi! If you do, you'll be caught in his jutsu!" Asuma warned.
"Relax, I know what I'm doing! After spending this much time training to fight Kakashi, I know all about Sharingan." Gai said.
Yamato was also relaxed, "There's a trick to not getting caught."
"That's right, you two open your eyes, now!" Gai ordered.
"But...if we..." Kurenai hesitated.
"Don't worry, just don't look at his eyes. That's the key to fighting an opponent who uses Sharingan. Focus on his feet, you can read what he's going to do from his feet." Gai explained.
Kurenai reluctantly opened her eyes, "Alright, but that trick sounds a lot more easier said than done."
Asuma also opened his eyes, "We haven't had all your training. We're not you, Gai, or you Yamato." He reminded.
"True, it takes skill to anticipate an opponents moves merely from watching his feet, but I don't have time to teach you now. You'll just have to do your best." Gai said.
"So what do we do?" Asuma questioned.
"Zabuza, give Kakashi to Kurenai so she can get him to the medical team. Asuma, Zabuza, and Yamato, you three will back me up." Gai said to the three of them.
"Gotcha." Asuma nodded.
"I'm ready, Gai."
Zabuza grinned, "As long as I get to spill that Kisame bastards blood, I don't really give a damn."
Gai faced the two again, "I've already sent word to the ANBU Balck Ops, but until they get here, we hold them off."
"Interesting, you got guts I'll give you credit for that." Kisame smirked.
"No, Kisame...we're pulling out." Itachi halted Kisame.
"Huh?"
"We're not here to fight a full scale battle," Itachi reminded, "Tempting as it may be, its not the way to do this. Let's go."
Kisame backed off, "That's too bad...it was just getting fun. They don't know how lucky they are." The two left the area quickly, leaving the Jounin there in bewilderment.
Asuma clicked his teeth.
Gai said nothing as he got out of his trademark stance.
Yamato relaxed, too.
They needed to report this to the Hokage.
"How are you feeling?" Hinata asked.
Naruto smiled, "I'm fine. Don't worry so much, Hinata."
"I know..." she still couldn't help but worry though.
The two Genin, being followed by Jiraiya from behind were on their way to some place called Tanzaku Town. The white haired male still hadn't told them everything about the secret mission, but if it got Naruto out of the village for a little while then Hinata wouldn't question the man.
"By the way, I heard that Gaara left a message for me?" Naruto asked.
Jiraiya smiled, "He did. The sand kid said, "The next time we meet...I'll be someone who is worthy to be called your friend."
Naruto's eyes widened before huge blushed spread all over his face suddenly and had to turn away out of embarrassment, "...I'd like that."
Hinata and Jiraiya chuckled at his embarrassed face.
Wanting to change the subject, he addressed Jiraiya again, "Ero-sennin, are you going to tell us the real reason for this sudden mission or keep us in the dark about it?" Naruto questioned finally.
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched, "And since when have you decided to call me that?"
"Since just now." Naruto said unapologetic.
Hinata was confused, "Ero-sennin?"
Naruto whispered in her ear, "He likes to peak in on women while they're in the bath house. Not only that, but he's the author of that orange book Kakashi-sensei is always reading."
Hinata blushed and edged away from Jiraiya and towards Naruto out of fear.
Jiraiya squaked at the reaction, "Hey, don't give me that look! I'm harmless!"
"Define harmless?" Naruto countered.
"Grrr, listen you...!" Jiraiya ran over towards a bridge that was in front of them and did a stupid pose, "The Toad Sage is only my cover! Allow me to reveal my true identity! From the north, to the south, to the east to the west, not even the spirits can defeat this Sannin!" He was now standing on top of an orange toad, "The white haired toad charmer! Or red hot ninja who strikes fear into the hearts of men...Master Jiraiya!" He finished with a kabuki pose that made Naruto and Hinata give him dry looks.
Hinata promptly grabbed Naruto's hand and moved forward, "Naruto-kun...I fear that he will corrupt you if you stay anywhere near him for too long."
"I agree." Naruto said dryly as they left Jiraiya at the small bridge looking like an idiot. In the distance a crow flew overhead saying, "Idiot...Idiot..." over and over again.
The two Genin stopped as Hinata looked up at a sign, "O'tafuku town, and its 10 kilometers from here."
"That's right, we'll stop by there to rest up for a bit before we move on again." Jiraiya said to them.
"That doesn't so bad, we could probably pick up some snacks on the way." Naruto said.
"We should bring some back for the others." Hinata suggested.
"They'd like that." Naruto agreed.
Jiraiya watched the two interact for a little bit more before getting that uneasy feeling again.
Were they being watched perhaps?
Unknown to Jiraiya he wasn't wrong in suspecting of them being watched because they were. Itachi and Kisame had managed to track them down and were now observing them.
"Hard to believe the kid is actually blind." Kisame commented.
"Yes, it is. But the fact remains that Naruto Uzumaki is in fact blind." Itachi said.
"And yet, he was able to defeat the container of the Ichibi." Kisame pointed.
"Yes...he was."
When their leader had found out that not only did Naruto Uzumaki have completely control over the Kyūbi's chakra, but even managed to defeat another Jinchūriki. Naturally the news did not sit well with the leader and ordered Itachi and Kisame to go after the boy.
"In any case, I'm pretty sure you could go toe-to-toe with him...though I don't think I can. He's on a whole different level." Kisame admitted. There were only a handful of people Kisame could go up against and win easily. A Sannin was not one of them.
"Yeah...if we face each other, both of us will be killed. Not a very appealing outcome. Even if there were more of us, the result would remain the same." Itachi said.
"Never thought I'd have to go up against one of the Densetsu no Sannin. If we fight him...then both the Uchiha clan and the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist will have their names dragged through the mud." Kisame didn't like the sound of it, but that will most likely happen.
"True, but still..." Itachi stood up calmly, "Even the strongest of opponents...always has a weakness."
Back in Konoha, the rest of the Jounin had gathered in Kakashi's apartment, looking over his sleeping form.
"Those two are trouble, but from the look of things it does appear that they haven't found Naruto yet." Gai said.
Zabuza had his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, "Didn't think they'd be making a move out in the open like this."
"So you know about them?" Kurenai questioned.
"When I was still a rogue ninja I'd heard some rumors about those guys. Heard Kisame had joined up, too. Didn't think Itachi Uchiha had joined up himself, though." Zabuza said.
"I don't think any of us was expecting it." Kurenai never thought Itachi would show his face here or anywhere after slaughtering his whole clan, save for Sasuke, "But what's really bothering me is the fact that they retreated."
Asuma sat down on the desk, "And that's the crazy part. It doesn't add up, I mean they'd already infiltrated the village. It should be easy for them to find Naruto around here. Not to mention, Itachi's seen Naruto's face before."
"Shhh." Gai shushed him, hearing someone come up the stairs.
The door opened to reveal Sasuke, "Kakashi..." he stopped whatever he was about to say when he noticed Kakashi was passed out and the room was full of Jounin, "Why is he asleep? And why is this room full of Jounin?" He questioned walking inside the room, but when no one answered him, he got angry, "What are you doing? What in the hell is going on here?"
Gai looked in the other direction, "Uh...not much really..."
A Chunin can running in, "Hey, is it true that Itachi has returned?!"
Gai gave him a look that said, 'Shut up, idiot!'
"And that he's come here to get Naruto?!" The Chunin didn't get the message and kept on talking. It only then he finally read the atmosphere and noticed Sasuke was standing there with Gai face palming.
Slowly, Sasuke turned to face the Chunin, who stood there and realized he had screwed up big time.
"Oh..."
Kurenai sighed, "Idiot." She hissed.
Sasuke's calm expression displayed pure rage at the mention of Itachi and ran out of the room.
Gai stood up quickly, "Why does this always have to happen?!"
Sasuke was jumping through rooftops before running down the street.
'So he's come back to the village, huh? And he's after Naruto? What does this mean?' He thought as he spotted Sakura, "Sakura!"
Startled, Sakura turned and saw it was Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun!"
"Have you seen Naruto?!" Sasuke asked.
"Huh, oh, no I haven't..." Sakura started to explain, "I was just looking for him myself..." she finished as Sasuke ran off in another direction.
'If Naruto get's caught...he's dead!' Sasuke came to a stop in front of Ichiraku, 'I won't let that happen!'
He went in the eating establishment, "Old man, did Naruto stop in here today?!"
Teuchi was surprised to see Sasuke but answered his question, "Naruto? Well, I did see him along with Hinata. They were walking towards me, but stopped when Jiraiya-sama was talking with them. Said they were heading off somewhere."
"Where to?!" Sasuke demanded.
Teuchi thought about what he'd overheard, "Let's see now...they were talking about a secret mission, and said they would head to Tanzaku Town, but they'll probably stop at O'tafuku town before heading off there."
"Wait, did you say Jiraiya?" Sasuke wondered if he heard right.
Teuchi held up three fingers, "That's right, Jiraiya-sama. One of the Densetsu no Sannin. Now if you wanna find Naruto, your best bet is to find Jiraiya first, he's a big old man with long white hair. You can't miss him."
"A big guy with white hair..." Sasuke committed those features to memory as he took off again.
"Ah, hey!" Teuchi said before rubbing the back of his head, "Talk about in a hurry. Must be nice to be young."
Jiraiya, Hinata, and Naruto has stopped at O'tafuku town to relax and take a breather. It wouldn't hurt to just rest up and relax before going on the road again.
"Hey, you two! We're gonna crash here tonight!" Jiraiya said to them. They were currently at an Inn and Jiraiya had just checked them in.
"No complaints here." Naruto said.
"We wouldn't want to tire ourselves just yet." Hinata said.
Something behind them caught Jiraiya's eye. It was a beautiful woman who looked over at Jiraiya, giving him a wink.
Jiraiya's nostrils flared as he got excited, "OH, YEAH!"
Naruto gave Hinata a dry look, "A woman?"
"A woman." Hinata sighed.
Jiraiya gave Hinata the key to their room, "Here's the room key, I want you two to go right up to the room, work on your chakra, then get to bed okay?"
Naruto's eyebrow twitched, "Let's go, Hinata." He grabbed her hand as she led him to the room.
'Can't even control himself.' Naruto thought.
Sasuke meanwhile was still running towards the outpost town Teuchi told him about.
"Its not that far off!"
Naruto sat on the bed as Hinata sat down next to him.
"Should have known he'd ditch us and go after a woman," Naruto sighed out in annoyance, "Show some restraint."
"I'm sure, Jiraiya-sama is capable of showing restraint...sometimes." She said unsurely.
"Doubt it." Naruto deadpanned. So far this 'secret mission' given to them by the Hokage was starting to sound like a chore.
"Naruto, leave that room immediately!" Kurama told him, sounding urgent.
"Kurama? What's wrong?"
"I sense the presence of two individuals, S-ranked! One of them is an Uchiha!" Kurama growled.
'An Uchiha?' Sasuke? No, wait. Kurama said the Uchiha was S-class...his eyes widened. Sasuke's not the only Uchiha! He stood up quickly, 'It can't be—!'
"Naruto-kun?"
"We need to go. There are two dangerous people on their way here and we need to go now!" He urged her to get up.
Not questioning him, she stood up quickly and grabbed his hand as she opened the window. Seeing no one suspicious below them they both left the room and took to the roof tops.
"Who were the dangerous people, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
Naruto's browsed furrowed, "I think one of them might be...Itachi Uchiha."
Her eyes widened, "Sasuke's older brother...?"
"Yeah, we need to get as far away from there as possible and find Jiraiya!" It didn't make sense though. Why the hell would Itachi just show up out of the blue? Whatever the reason, he didn't have time to dwell on it and focused on getting as far away from their previous location as possible. His senses went haywire as he sensed danger and pulled Hinata down in an alley. Good thing he did, too because they just barely escaped a water dragon. They then ran out in the open streets.
'Dammit! Where the hell is Jiraiya?!' He thought angrily, only to come to a stop when he sensed someone was in front of him. Just as he was thinking of turning around, the other dangerous presence Kurama told him about showed up.
'They've got us on both sides! And this chakra does feel familiar...it really is Itachi!' Naruto angeled himself before Itachi, while Hinata faced Kisame at his back.
Naruto created a shadow clone and had it hold his blade while he made the snake hand sign. He didn't use the Mokuton however...not just yet. This is not good. First he runs into the S-Ranked Rogue Ninja Orochimaru, now Itachi Uchiha?! And who is this other guy?! His chakra was also massive, almost like him.
"Impressive. You were able to sense we were coming and fled quickly." Itachi's voice rang in his ears. The same voice he'd met when he was a child. It still had that pleasant tone to it, sounding just like an older brother. Itachi's an S-ranked criminal, so why does Naruto not feel like he's in danger with Itachi standing before him? If anything, he's more afraid of his partner.
Sweat poured down the side of his face as he forced out a grin, "Not fast enough, apparently."
Hinata already had her Byakugan active and almost gasped when she saw Kisame's chakra.
'This man...is chakra is enormous!' She got in a stance.
Kisame chuckled, "This kid's pretty interesting, almost ashamed I have to cut off his legs."
"There's no need for that Kisame." Itachi said, sounding exasperated.
Naruto's blood went cold, "Kisame...as in Kisame Hoshigaki...another one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist...?! Also known as Kirigakure no Kaijin (Monster of the Hidden Mist)?!"
Kisame had a gleeful smile on his face, "Well, well...you know my name and one of my titles! You're starting to grow on me, kid!"
'Great, another one of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist has taken a liking to me, only this time its the worst one of the bunch!' Naruto thought nervously. Zabuza may have been the demon of the mist, but Kisame's a monster! And for good reason!
"Hinata, don't let his sword touch you. Its not an ordinary sword." He warned.
"I can already tell." She said in a grave tone.
Kisame was outright laughing now, "Now I'm really impressed! Knows my name, title, and Samehada! Don't see many Genin like you nowadays!"
"I'm sure..." Naruto said.
Itachi spoke up again, "Naruto...we would like you to come with us."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. Go with them? Not likely.
"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to decline." He responded.
"Naruto-kun's not going anywhere." Hinata glared at Kisame.
Kisame slammed down Samehada, "Looks like we're doing this the hard way. Do keep me entertained though, kid."
Hinata got ready, she didn't stand a chance, but at least she could prevent him from attacking Naruto.
Naruto also got ready. This was Itachi, so he had to be on his guard.
As the four of them had a stare down, Naruto's senses went off again, his eyes widened in horror, "No..."
Itachi closed his eyes as he sensed who was behind him, "Its been a long time..."
Kisame and Hinata looked at Itachi and saw Sasuke was standing right behind the man with a hateful glare.
"Well...the Sharingan, and he looks an awful lot like you," Kisame observed Sasuke's facial features, "Itachi, who is this kid?"
"He's my younger brother."
Naruto didn't like this. The situation just got even worse, 'Why is Sasuke here now of all times?!'
"That's strange, cause the way I heard it the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out...by you." Kisame said.
Sasuke, with his Sharingan activated kept giving Itachi a hateful glare, "Itachi Uchiha...I will kill you!"
Hinata felt uneasy seeing Sasuke's Sharingan, 'His eyes...so much hatred...'
"Its just as you said brother," Sasuke said, "I've fostered my hatred for you all this time!" Familiar cackling of lightning was heard, "I've lived my life...for one single purpose! TO SEE YOU DIE! IT ENDS HERE!"
"Don't!" Naruto tried to get through to him.
Sasuke's skin started peeling off as Chidori was still active, recognizing it, Itachi's eyes narrowed.
'Chidori...'
"ENOUGH! YOU'RE DEAD!" Sasuke roared as he charged at Itachi in utter rage, "DIE!" As he thrust his arm forward Itachi merely lifted his hand, an explosion was sounded as the impact destroyed a nearby wall of a store. The occupants evacuating immediately. When the smoke cleared Sasuke's wrist was being held by Itachi, who didn't even have a scratch on him.
Hinata's eyes widened, 'I-Incredible...! He stopped the jutsu by simply grabbing onto Sasuke's wrist!'
Naruto tensed.
Itachi gripped Sasuke's wrist hard enough for the boy to give a small grunt of pain.
Hinata was about to intervene when Naruto gave her a look. Understanding, she stood still as she noticed Kisame was waiting for either one of them to move. Naruto was waiting for the right moment to make his move.
Sasuke was about to hit Itachi, but that didn't happen.
"Enough." Itachi broke his brother's wrist, making Sasuke cry out in pain.
Ox → Snake → Ram: "Ninpō: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu)!" Naruto called out. Mist began to gather around them quickly taking both Itachi and Kisame by surprise.
Kisame grinned, 'Well I'll be. Even the kid knows a jutsu from my old village.'
Itachi had a hidden smirk on his face, 'Quite impressive. You've grown...Naruto.'
Naruto grabbed Sasuke and heads off, followed by Hinata and his Shadow clone. The two rogue ninja jumped out of the mist and took to the roof tops to find the kids.
Kisame chuckled, "That was interesting. I didn't know the kid could do that. I'm starting to like him more and more now."
Itachi said nothing, but hidden underneath his collar was a smile.
Naruto landed near a building he didn't know, along with his clone. Hinata told him they were near a building that looked like another Inn. Placing Sasuke down on the ground slowly he looked over at Hinata.
"This isn't good. We're up against two S-ranked ninja who can take us out just like that." Naruto said.
"I've heard many things about..." she hesitated as she looked over at Sasuke's down form, "Itachi...just being in his mere presence..."
"Yeah, but its his partner that has me really terrified." Naruto shuddered at the killing intent Kisame gave off, it was worse that Zabuza's.
"Kisame Hoshigaki...he's like Zabuza, a Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist." Hinata gripped the front of her chest tightly.
"Zabuza warned me that if I have the unfortunate circumstances of running into Kisame, I run." Naruto remembered how serious Zabuza looked when he told him this.
"What do we do now?" Hinata asked.
The one who answered her wasn't Naruto, but Sasuke.
"You two...stay out of this..." Sasuke forced out.
Naruto frowned, "Don't even think about it. Those two are S-ranked just like Orochimaru. We're only Genin, we stand no chance."
"Naruto-kun's right. We need to find Jiraiya-sama!" Hinata said.
"I don't care about that!" Sasuke yelled.
Naruto was not in the mood for this. Just as he was about to knock Sasuke out, the very two they were running away from found their location.
Naruto got in front of Hinata and Sasuke, 'I'll have to use Kurama's chakra to give us a slight advantage!'
Kisame grinned as he charged forward about to bring his sword down on Naruto when an orange toad with guards on its arms appeared and blocked it.
"A toad?" Kisame questioned.
In a puff of smoke, Jiraiya appeared with the very same woman that lured him off hung over his shoulder. He snapped his eyes opened and did a pose.
"As you can see you've failed! Jiraiya, the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm, rare beauties fall for me! When you've reached the stature I have, the ladies worship at your awesomeness!" Jiraiya declared.
...
...
...
...
...
...Aho...Aho...
Jiraiya laughed awkwardly.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, "You...!"
Hinata gave the man a dry look, "Jiraiya-sama, I'm sorry, but I no longer respect you."
An arrow hit the man in the chest.
"What do you mean, "You failed!" They didn't fail because you fell for it because you were thinking with your libido rather than your brain! I should cut it off without the use of anesthesia!" Naruto threatened as he was getting angrier and angrier.
"Whoa! Whoa! There's no need for that!" Jiraiya waved a hand in front of him.
"Shut up, Ero-Sannin." Naruto said in a flippant tone.
Jiraiya faltered before bellowing, "DIDN'T I JUST TELL YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT?!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Naruto bellowed back.
Itachi was watching the exchange with hidden amusement.
Kisame chuckled, "Whatever name you go by Jiraiya-sama, I must say you're somewhat of a disappointment. A lecherous old man with the disposition of a child, its almost impossible to believe that you are one of the Densetsu no Sannin."
"They don't even know you and they've already figured out your true nature," Naruto said, calming down as he dispelled the shadow clone and took his sword back, "How sad."
Jiraiya made a noise but said nothing.
"So, you somehow managed to release the Genjutsu we put on her, huh?" Kisame said.
Jiraiya placed the woman against the wall of a building, "What kind of cowards would put an innocent woman under a Genjutsu, all to separate Naruto from me."
'Separate us? It makes sense actually, Jiraiya S-ranked like them, but just as powerful. Meanwhile, me and Hinata are mere Genin and easy prey.' Naruto thought.
Jiraiya stood up from his crouch, "I know that he's the one you're really after."
Hinata gasped, Sasuke grunted, while Naruto suspected it had something to do with him.
"Now I see, that explains how Kakashi knew," Itachi figured, "He learned it...from you."
'Kakashi-sensei? Did Itachi do something to him?' Naruto wondered.
"You're correct, our orders from the organization are to secure Naruto Uzumaki, and we will have him." Itachi confirmed.
'Organization? Just what has Jiraiya been hiding from me?'
The orange toad poofed out of existence as Jiraiya leveled the two a glare, "I won't let you have Naruto."
"I wonder about that." Itachi challenged.
"Actually, this is pretty convenient...I can eliminate you both at the same time." Jiraiya said.
"...Stay out of this..." Sasuke said to Jiraiya from his position on the floor.
Naruto and Hinata didn't make a sound as Sasuke slowly got up.
"The only one...that's going to eliminate him...is me!" Sasuke declared.
'This is bad! Sasuke won't listen to reason! He's still hell bent on trying to attack Itachi!' Naruto thought with a frown.
Hinata stood by Naruto as she watched the encounter uncomfortably.
Jiraiya stared at the boy, 'Of course, revenge...'
Itachi only gave Sasuke a bored expression, "Go away, you don't interest me at the moment..."
Sasuke clenched his fist, charging at Itachi, "Well, get interested!"
Itachi merely kicked Sasuke away as he slammed into the wall of another building.
"Sasuke, that's enough!" Naruto told him.
"Mind your own business, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled.
Naruto had the urge to yell something back at him, but didn't.
Sasuke stood up once more, "I've lived my whole life for this day...this moment...this fight is mine!" His Sharingan activated as he said those words. Before coming at Itachi again and sending another punch, but like before it didn't even faze Itachi, who simply blocked it before backhanding Sasuke and sending him flying into the same wall.
Hinata had both hands covering her mouth at the display, 'This is...the result of pure hatred.'
Sasuke sat up, his hand twitching, "Not finished..."
Itachi noticed this, 'He can't even managed to make the hand sign...'
"This fight...is mine!"
Itachi's eyes narrowed at Sasuke's form, "So be it."
Jiraiya was about to intervene when Kisame stopped him, "You heard him old man, this fight is none of our business. Let's let the two of them sort it out."
Naruto didn't like the idea of that at all, but...
Itachi slowly approached Sasuke's downed form, standing before him with a calm expression.
"Fine then!" Sasuke got up to try and attack Itachi again, only to be kicked in the gut and hack up some blood.
'How...?'
Itachi hit him in the back of the neck before kicking him in the chest.
Hinata couldn't bear to watch as she leaned in Naruto's shoulder and covered her eyes. Naruto may not be able to see the beat down...but could hear it. Every painful cry Sasuke gave when Itachi hit him, it wasn't exactly a nice sound to hear.
'All these years and nothing has changed...' he thought, falling forward, 'How can it be...?'
Kisame smiled, "You show him no mercy."
Naruto said nothing and all Jiraiya could do was watch. He could intervene at any time, but didn't.
Sasuke fell to the ground with a hard thump.
'What have I been doing all these years? Was it...was it all for this...?' He closed his eyes pitifully as Itachi grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"You're still too weak," Itachi told him, "You don't have enough hate, and you know something?" He leaned in close and whispered, "You never will." He looked at Sasuke and activated Tsukuyomi just like he did with Kakashi.
Naruto winced as he heard Sasuke scream in utter agony, while Hinata was forced to cover her ears.
"Isn't that heartwarming? Using Tsukuyomi on his own brother." Kisame smiled.
Jiraiya then made a move when he saw Sasuke go limp, Snake → Boar → Rat → Dragon → Boar → Dragon → Tiger → Both palms on ground: "Kuchiyose: Gamaguchi Shibari (Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind)!" An oesophagus is summoned around them. Sasuke was sucked into the oesophagus wall,prompting Itachi to let him go.
Hinata removed herself from Naruto's shoulder and looked around, "What is this...?"
Naruto felt the ground with his foot, "Flesh...?"
Kisame noticed his feet were being swallowed.
Jiraiya smirked, "You both have just been swallowed by the Mountain Toad. Welcome my friends to the belly of the beast. He has a very sensitive digestive track, be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it? It must be humbling to know that you've been reduced to toad bait."
"What?!" Kisame growled.
'A stomach?! He actually summoned a stomach?!' Naruto didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted.
Itachi decided now was the time to retreat, "Kisame, come!"
Kisame managed to get himself free and ran after Itachi.
"It's useless! There hasn't been a ninja born that could survive this powerful stomach!" Jiraiya said to the fleeing men.
Jiraiya made the flesh chase after them as they ran. When a wall of flesh was about to attack them, Kisame used Samehada to cut them before running off again.
They were almost to the border of town when the wall of flesh was about to close in on them.
"Its too fast, we won't make it! Its no use!" Kisame said.
Itachi closed his eyes before snapping them back open, "Amaterasu (Heavenly Illumination)!"
Jiraiya looked up as he heard an explosion in the direction the men were running from.
"An explosion?" Naruto said.
"Does that mean they've escaped?" Hinata questioned.
Jiraiya didn't answer them as he ran in the direction Itachi and Kisame were running to, leaving Naruto and Hinata to themselves.
Naruto gave a heavy sigh, "Hinata...take me to Sasuke."
"Yes."
Hinata guided him to where Sasuke was and lifted his hand up so he could touch him. Giving his sword over to her, he carefully peeled Sasuke out of the flesh wall and placed him down carefully.
"How is he?" Naruto asked.
Hinata activated her Byakugan, checking on Sasuke's condition, "The Genjutsu has left him in a catatonic state. I'm not sure there's anything we can do for him."
"I see..." Naruto sighed.
"To think he would do such a thing to his own brother..." Asura said sadly.
"I don't know much about the Uchiha, but that Itachi had me on edge." Gyūki commented.
"Yes, and that Kisame fellow is also a dangerous individual." Matatabi agreed.
"Damn, Uchiha's...!" Kurama growled.
Naruto let them talk while he was thinking about Itachi's words and actions.
'On the outside, he acts like any other S-rank criminal, but when I sensed his emotions...' It was almost like Itachi was acting and not really serious, but had to make it look like he was.
Something didn't feel right about that.
Jiraiya walked over to them before slamming his foot on the ground, making the flesh around them disappear. He then looked over at Sasuke and saw the state he was in.
'He's in rough shape. I'm not sure any medic in Konoha could fix this.' He thought grimly.
A kunai embedded itself in the wall between Naruto, Hinata, and Jiraiya. This caught them off guard, especially Naruto since he didn't sense anyone approaching.
'Who—?!' Naruto questioned.
Jiraiya turned around quickly seeing a familiar face, "Dainamikku Entorī (Dynamic Entry)!" That familiar face turned out to be none other than Maito Gai as he jump kicked Jiraiya right in the face.
Gai panicked once he realized who he just kicked.
Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched in anger as a tissue was stuck inside his nose to stop the bleeding.
Gai gave him a nervous chuckle, "Well...uh...I guess I was a little over enthusiastic. You see, I was trying to hurry and I couldn't see very clearly..." he laughed, "Using my headband, all I could see was two sinister figures so..."
"Do you know what?" Jiraiya finally spoke, "If this is your way of saying your sorry it stinks!"
"I'm sorry! But, it was just a simple misunderstanding!" Gai said, hoping that would calm him down.
"Simple-minded is more like it. But never mind that now, we need to get Sasuke to the Medical Team at once!" Jiraiya changed the subject.
"Right!"
"He's badly beaten up, his arm is broken and he's been knocked out by whatever jutsu that was Itachi used on him." Jiraiya explained the damage.
'Could it be the same jutsu he used on Itachi?' Gai wondered.
Naruto stood up, "Sasuke's physical wounds will heal, but his mental ones..."
"Yeah..." Jiraiya didn't even need to say it.
"Jiraiya, those two said they were part of an organization that was sent to capture me, you didn't think to explain that to me at some point?" Naruto was angry that Jiraiya knew about this and didn't say a word.
"And what good would that do? Would you have tried to fight them? You may have control over the Kyūbi's chakra, but that doesn't mean you can challenge any S-rank ninja!" Jiraiya lectured.
Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I wasn't planning on confronting them, more like try to cause a distraction before running away with Hinata and Sasuke. I'm not that damn arrogant. And if by some chance I had to fight to them, even with the Kyūbi's chakra then I would have."
"That would have been stupidest thing you've ever done. Think about it, it took everything I had just to get them away from you!" Jiraiya yelled.
"And whose fault is it that they managed to get close to me in the first place? That's right yours!" Naruto growled.
Hinata didn't like where this was going so she decided to intervene, "N-Naruto-kun, please calm down!" She pleaded, grabbing his hand.
Just by her simple touch, he calmed down but refused to say another word to Jiraiya.
Jiraiya addressed Gai, "I'm sorry, Gai. I wanted to let Sasuke fight his own fight...I see now I should have intervened sooner."
"This is obviously the same sort of jutsu that Kakashi was hit with," Gai said as his eyes narrowed, "We don't know when he'll grow out of it."
'So Kakashi-sensei did fight Itachi, and from the sounds of it lost badly.' Naruto thought.
"What we need is a supreme medical specialist, a master of healing in medical arts, and soon." Gai frowned.
Naruto thought about any good medical ninja and thought of only one person...only she wasn't in the village anymore. Tsunade Senju was her name, and from what Yamato-sensei told him, she was a prodigy in the medical field. But now, no one knows where she is.
"You're right. And the woman you're talking about is the one we've come to find." Jiraiya revealed.
Naruto's eyes widened, "Then..."
"Who are you talking about?" Hinata asked.
"Tsunade Senju." Naruto told her.
She gasped, 'Naruto's distant relative...?'
Gai's eyes widened, "Then...you really mean..."
Jiraiya grinned, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Another one of the Densetsu no Sannin, Konoha no Namekuji Tsunade-hime (Konoha's Slug Princess Tsunade), and master of elixirs. The Densetsu no Kamo (The Legendary Sitting Duck), and Mistress of the Healing Arts...Tsunade Senju!"
Said Tsunade Senju sneezed before proceeding to her location, which was to lose more money on gambling.
Next Time: Sannin Showdown.