Disclaimers: I do not own Naruto.
Author's notes: (eyes falling out of the sockets) Oh my gosh… I got 210 reviews?! I mean… it has only been ten chapters! My Ninjas of the Night did not even reach 200 even with its eighteen chapters! I can't believe that a lot of people actually liked this fic! I mean, I know they like it… but to the extent that it reached over 200 reviews!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERYONE!
Warning #1: VERY OOC Itachi ahead! (As always)
Warning #2: OOC Naruto ahead!
Warning #3: Still no Sakura bashing. Sorry.
Warning #4: OOC-ness ahead! (To shortcut the past two rules)
Warning #5: Crazy authoress ahead!
Well… let the chapter start!
Chapter 10:
Naruto turned to him. "What is it?"
"We need to talk."
Naruto sighed. "Again?!"
NOWNaruto's eyes narrowed as he prepared his hands to perform a series of seals immediately in case he must engage Kakashi in a battle while he mentally called himself an idiot for not realizing that he actually made himself known to someone.
'I can't afford myself to be known. I must crush this bump on the road in any way possible. If I can't use that jutsu on him, then I have no choice but to dispose of him now.' He sighed in annoyance inwardly. 'Where's Itachi-niisan when you need him?'
Kakashi sighed mentally. 'Wait a minute. I can't talk to him here. If my suspicion is true, then Naruto will surely fight me. The way I see it, it seems that he doesn't want anyone to know about who he really is. I guess out talk must wait for later.'
"Well… Naiki, you didn't let me finish my sentence." Kakashi said, making up an excuse.
Naruto didn't bulge a bit, still prepared for the worst. "What is your complete sentence then Kakashi?" He asked.
Kakashi grinned from behind his mask. "We need to talk… later when we reach Konoha." He said.
Naruto didn't seem to buy the excuse. 'I'm not going to let this pass. If he indeed knows about who I really am, then I would have to correct it immediately even before we reach Konoha.'
"No Kakashi. I want to know what you want to say."
Kakashi sighed once again. 'Guess I have no choice.' He nodded. "Alright. Come with me to the forest."
Naruto nodded and followed Kakashi who had just exited the house and dashed directly to the forest. The blonde plunged his index finger on the hole of his kunai for further preparations.
For the blonde Akatsuki, Kakashi must not be able to know about him. He remembered cursing under his breath when he heard that the genius copy ninja Kakashi was the one who would handle the team.
Having his niisan's younger brother was already a problem, but having the Hatake Kakashi as a jounin instructor was no joke. He knew that he was stronger than some of the jounins around and he can manage to at least cover his tracks from them. But Hatake Kakashi is different.
He was the only jounin that he could really feel the need to eliminate. Since he arrived Konoha and had the copy ninja as a jounin instructor, he also realized that Kakashi was a liability and could be one of the major causes of the mission's failure.
He was actually nervous when it comes to the thought of actually fighting against the said jounin. For once, he knew and accepted the fact that he was just as strong as Kakashi, if not a bit weaker. And second, he still considers Kakashi as a guardian for he cared for him when he was young before the people attempted to kill him when he was eight.
Naruto's body was tense as he felt every fibber in his body going up to their highest alert level. His blue eyes were having a pinkish tinge on the iris already, making his chakra increase for a little bit.
'He can't know about it. He must not know about it.'
Naruto didn't care now about what he was supposed to do. He obviously doesn't want to face the jounin. His eyes widened as he cursed himself. His eyes narrowed as he remembered the words that his Itachi-niisan had told his right before he killed Gatoh.
You may be strong, but your heart still holds the softness and vulnerability of a child.
Itachi was right. He may be strong, but he can't help but feel guilt in what he was doing. He cursed himself for accepting this mission. He was starting to get soft again. After he had just killed Gatoh and managed to harden his heart, it only needs the words 'we need to talk' to soften it and make him feel nervous.
'Kuso,' The blonde thought to himself. 'I can't afford to be soft… but still…'
FLASHBACK
"'Niisan! Itachi-niisan!" Ten-year-old Naruto said, running up to the sharingan wielder, his Akatsuki cape flowing behind him in waves. "Niisan! They gave me my very own Akatsuki cape now!" He squealed happily.
Itachi smiled gently at the blonde, former orphan but now an Akatsuki, and patted his head in a Kakashi like way. "Yes Naruto. You are now a true Akatsuki member." He said as he took the boy's hand and glanced at it.
"So I see that they gave you the ring 'Hi' (fire)." He said. The younger boy nodded. Itachi kneeled down so that he was at eye level with the boy.
"Naruto, now that you are an Akatsuki member, you need to harden your heart and prepare yourself for more bloodshed. You shouldn't cry and keep your emotions hidden." He said.
Naruto tilted his head. "Nande? Is there a rule saying that Akatsuki members shouldn't cry?" He asked.
Itachi nodded. "Yes. The rule does not only apply to Akatsuki members, but to all shinobis as well. Rule number twenty-five: A shinobi must always keep their emotions hidden at all costs. They must make their mission their top priority."
Naruto nodded.
"Now… I want you to apply that rule to yourself, alright?"
The boy nodded again. "Good." Itachi then stood up. "The Akatsuki have given me a mission. I will return within two days at most. I want you to stay strong for me alright?"
The blonde boy gave the older shinobi a blank nod, applying the rule at once.
But two days later, Itachi found him crying under a tree, trembling in fear. "Naruto?"
Naruto, startled, immediately wiped away his tears and looked down on his feet. "I'm sorry Itachi-niisan."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I cried."
Itachi sighed and patted the younger boy's head. "You may be strong, but your heart still holds the softness and vulnerability of a child."
END FLAHSBACK:
Naruto shook his head, doing his best to get rid of the thoughts A.K.A flashbacks from his head. He must concentrate on the situation. He doesn't need to think of flashbacks. 'Concentrate Naruto. Concentrate. The mission is in line here.' He thought to himself.
He glanced around as his eyes widened, seeing where they are now. He mentally cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings?
Where were they?
They were right in the place in where Naruto had done his 'art' a few moments ago. He suspects that one third of the forest was already destroyed because of his and Kyuubi's 'party' a while back.
Kakashi halted to a stop, making the blonde stop behind him.
They had stopped in the middle of a clearing, in where burned trees surrounded them. Kakashi turned around to face the boy with a serious look on his face, miraculously regaining his normal energy.
Naruto locked on his mask of indifference that he had acquired from Itachi securely. He certainly did not want to break his mask now that he was in a very tensed situation.
"Naruto…"
The fact that Kakashi had called him with his real name had now proven the fact that Hatake Kakashi had already knew who he really was. Naruto flinched slightly, the movement almost invisible.
However, Kakashi caught that movement and narrowed his eyes slightly. "So you are. Tell me. Are you really Uzumaki Naruto?" He asked.
Naruto's head leaned forwards a bit, making his hood's shadow cover his eyes, completely covering his whole face (a/n: Remember that he still has his mask on.). He sighed.
"There is no point in answering a question that you already know the answer to." The blonde answered, his cold, dead voice sending shivers up to Kakashi's spine.
"Naruto," Kakashi called out once again. "What happened to you? Why don't you want us to know that you are alive? You could have just told us that you were alive. It's like… you don't want us to know that you are alive." He said.
Naruto merely chuckled at the statement. "You have already answered your own question… Kakashi." He answered, the sentence full of coldness… emotionless.
Kakashi's eyes widened at what Naruto meant. "So you mean…"
The blonde chuckled again. "Exactly, Kakashi. I did not tell you that I am alive because I don't want you… anyone… to know that I am alive." He answered.
"But then… what happened to you? How did you survive? Why did you return to Konoha?" He asked.
Naruto raised his palm (a/n: That doesn't make sense) in an amused manner. "Patience. I would answer your questions one by one." He said.
/Kit, are you sure you would answer his questions?/ Kyuubi asked.
::Yes. I will.::
/Is it alright for him to know about the Akatsuki?/
Naruto chuckled inwardly. ::It would be no harm… for I would make sure that he doesn't remember anything that I will tell him.::
/You won't kill him?/
::Heh. Not yet, Kyuubi. Not yet. His blood is one of the exotic ones, and I certainly don't want it yet. Remember, that like wine, it becomes tastier and more delicious by the passage of time.::
Kyuubi sighed and used his paw to scratch his head. /I really have rubbed off on you./
Naruto chuckled. ::Yes you did.::
/However, I believe that you also need a release. Not the kind of release that you did to this forest, but a release that I am sure would at least ease your thoughts and mind./
Naruto nodded. ::I guess so.::
Naruto then returned his attention to Kakashi. Naruto took off his hood, letting his blonde hair show, and took his mask off, showing fully his face. Kakashi was shocked. He indeed was Naruto.
"For question number one," Naruto's voice snapped Kakashi out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to him. "I survived because someone saved me." He answered. He looked down at his feet, his face being filled by hatred, his mask slightly slipping as he remembered that incident.
"I was ready to die by that time." He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. "I had accepted my fate. I was prepared. Anger and betrayal consumed me so greatly that it really hurt to live much longer. Then again, when have you hidden leaf residents not betray me? You have all betrayed me ever since Kyuubi was sealed within me!" He exclaimed.
He took deep breaths to calm himself first before speaking again. "After I was saved, I was trained by the person who saved me and became strong. That person and I both traveled since we were both outcasts of the hidden leaf."
"An outcast pf the hidden leaf saved you? Who is it?" Kakashi asked.
Naruto's eyes narrowed at him. "That, Kakashi, I will not allow you to know. But I would give you a little hint. You knew that person before, and that's as far as I will go with my description of the person who saved me."
'Don't even expect that I would tell you that it was Itachi-niisan who saved me. Don't even count on it.'
Naruto's eyes bore with Kakashi's to show that he really is not going to reveal who saved him. Kakashi sighed in defeat. "Fine. You won't tell. But… what happened to the two of you?"
Naruto sighed. Kakashi really wants a lot of answers from him. He chuckled inwardly. Oh he will get his answers, but he will not be able to remember any of the words that he would tell him.
"Well…" Naruto closed his eyes. "That person and I settled down."
"At what village?" Kakashi asked.
"Correction. At what organization." He said.
'Organization? What organization? Well… yeah. Naruto can't be this strong if he just stayed in a peaceful country. Think Kakashi. Think. What organization have strong members that could make Naruto this powerful…?' Kakashi thought.
His visible eye widened as he thought of the only organization that could have changed the boy so much.
'Masaka…'Naruto chuckled. "Yes. It's that organization that you are thinking about."
"Why are you a member of the Akatsuki organization?!" Kakashi exclaimed in both alertness and shock. "The Akatsuki is an organization which strives for power. They kill, they steal without any hesitations. Why did you join such a group?! Don't you know that by joining that organization you are turning your back from Konoha and become a missing-nin and a S-class criminal?" He asked, trying to do his best in being calm.
"I know that." He started. "And I do know that I have turned by back from Konoha and that is exactly what I did. I don't care if I'm now a S-class missing-nin. And as how did I join the Akatsuki... it's very simple, Kakashi." The blonde said, his voice was starting to acquire a slight tone of hatred. "It's because I want to be strong to get what I desire." He answered.
Kakashi was now on high alert and Naruto could sense it. He sighed in realization that he will not be able to perform that jutsu on him that easily without a fight.
Well… it was too late to turn back now. Naruto just decided to finish their little talk, have a battle with Kakashi, use that jutsu, and everything will be back to normal for he was sure to change whatever happened in this area.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes on him. "And what is it that you desire? I suspect that your answer is involved with what you are doing here if you are a member of the Akatsuki." He said.
Boy was he smart!
"Well… I will first tell you my mission then."
The tension in the air was so thick that ordinary people may die in the lack of air and scaring chakra.
Naruto closed his eyes and opened them to look directly at Kakashi. "That is… to cause the destruction of Konoha."
Now that was really shocking. If Kakashi didn't have self-control, he would have attacked the blonde right here right now. "The destruction of Konoha?!"
Naruto nodded. "It is what you heard, is it not?"
Kakashi was at lost for words. Only one word crossed his mind that time.
"Why…?"
That made Naruto smirk. "Why, why, why, oh why? That question really bugs me you know. The question 'why' was written all over Gatoh's face before he died." He said.
"Y-You killed Gatoh? What about Zabuza and that masked boy?"
"Heh. I'm sure they're alive. I never sensed that Zabuza and Haku was killed when Kyuubi fought them for me." He said.
"Kyuubi fought for you?"
"As I have said: yes. I won't go into the details and on how can Kyuubi fight for me. But you could say that Kyuubi did a good masterpiece." He said.
That line made Kakashi feel a little nervous. 'Naruto can let the Kyuubi fight for him without the seal being destroyed?' "But why Naruto? Why must you cause the destruction of Konoha?"
Naruto suddenly laughed out loud, sending unwanted shivers up and down on Kakashi's spine. For Kakashi, he felt extreme evil within that laugh. Naruto faced him, his eyes, though still blue, had turned into slits, and his eyes had formed claws.
"Why? What an idiotic question, Kakashi! I will cause the destruction of Konoha for two reasons. One is because the Akatsuki sees Hidden Leaf as a threat for their other plans. What their plans are I do not know. And secondly… is because I want to destroy Konoha by my own very hands!" And with that said, Naruto dashed towards Kakashi, using an open palm to attack Kakashi that sent him a few yards away.
Kakashi wiped a trail of blood from his lips and raised his band to reveal his sharingan eye and proceeded in crouching to be prepared for battle. 'A surprise attack. I was caught off guard.'
"Why do you want to destroy Konoha, Naruto?!" Kakashi demanded.
Naruto then dashed towards him and threw ten kunais at the same time. "Because I want to take revenge for what they did to me and my most precious person!" He exclaimed.
Kakashi managed to evade all ten kunais by jumping up, ignoring the most precious person part for now. "Naruto, you wouldn't be able to defeat me by kunais." He said, ignoring what Naruto had said. He was confused when he saw the blonde suddenly smirk.
"By the normal way, no." He said.
Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized what Naruto meant. Naruto separated his hands and pulled ten blue strings. Kakashi was shocked. 'Chakra strings!'
"Too late. You won't be able to defend yourself on air." With a tug, all ten kunais changed direction towards Kakashi, every single one managing to hit him on his back. Naruto smirked. "Gotcha."
Kakashi fell down on the ground with a thud. His eyes squinted in pain. 'My body hasn't fully recovered. I would not be able to fight him with my full potential.'
Naruto smirked as he took a senbon needle and twirled it in between his fingers. He walked near Kakashi and was about to plunge it in him when Kakashi suddenly poofed into smoke.
"Kage bunshin, eh?" He asked in quite a semi-bored tone.
Naruto suddenly jumped away to the right continuously to evade a rain of kunais and shurikens. "Is that all you can do, Kakashi?"
/Kit!/
Kyuubi's voice made Naruto look behind him. He gasped at the numerous exploding notes all over the trees. When he looked back in front, he jumped away in time as a kunai passed by him, hitting one of the exploding notes, making all others explode as well.
'So I was talking to a kage bunshin all of that time while the real Kakashi hid. He heard my whole speech while preparing traps and giving mental orders to his clone. Heh. Nice one for hidden leaf's genius copy ninja. This will be fun.'
Naruto then closed his eyes as he suddenly performed numerous handseals. "Don't hide from me Kakashi." Just then, he bit his thumb and brushed him in a tattoo on his arm swiftly.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Fen!"
'Kuchiyose?' Kakashi thought while hiding in the bushes. His eyes widened when he saw a huge falcon appear from a huge cloud of smoke. Naruto jumped on top of its head and scanned the area.
-Naruto-sama, what shall I do?- It cooed.
Naruto chuckled as he gave the order to fly high. Once Naruto decided that they were high enough, he nodded at the falcon, signaling it to do its attack.
"Fen! Falcon's Feather! Aim for the whole clearing and about fifty feet surrounding it!" He commanded. Fen did as it was told without hesitation.
Just then, the falcon spread its wings and its wing feathers swooped down and started a raining of large bird feathers, destroying everything in its path.
Unfortunately, Kakashi was within that range of fifty feet.
Luckily, he managed to evade the menacing feathers. However, he was forced to show himself to the blonde Akatsuki. 'If only I were in full health, I would be able to battle him more easily. But in this condition, I don't think I will be able to defeat him.' Kakashi thought as he evaded another swarm of feathers.
Naruto raised his hands, signaling the falcon to stop its assault. Naruto jumped down and landed a few feet away from the jounin, panting slightly due to the use of chakra into the continues assault of his summon.
Falcon's Feather needed the chakra of both the user and the summon, and since it was a huge attack, it takes up quite an amount of chakra.
Naruto closed his eyes in concentration. 'I guess it's time to perform that jutsu. I don't want to kill Kakashi yet. He is still needed for the mission.' After performing the set of seals, both of Naruto's hands glowed in blue chakra as he quickly dashed towards Kakashi who was still weak and unable to fight much.
The blonde jumped up and landed behind Kakashi, immediately placing his hands on top of Kakashi's head firmly while changing all off Kakashi's memory of their meeting.
A while later, Naruto took his hands off the now unconscious Kakashi. The boy was currently panting from the usage of his chakra. Summoning Fen and using his chakra to make her (a/n: yes. Fen's a she.) larger, using his chakra to activate Falcon's Feather, and using the Memory Change (1) really used up a lot of his chakra.
Naruto plopped down on the grass as Fen disappeared in a puff of smoke. He glanced at the unconscious Kakashi and sighed.
"Now how am I going to explain this to the team?" He sighed. "This is so troublesome." (2)
(1) Memory Change – it is the jutsu that Naruto used on Kakashi when his hands glowed in blue chakra. Once the users hand/s made contact with the person's head, the memory of that person will be changed into whatever the user likes.
(2) Yeah I know that's Shikamaru's line. Oh well.
Author's notes: There! How is it for a mini action? I hope that I did well. I had my vacant time this day so here. I typed up another chapter. Is this good? Is it nice? I hope that I don't offend anyone in anyway. Oh. Anyway… Naruto just seemed so strong against Kakashi that time because Kakashi still hasn't recovered his strength and he doesn't really want to fight with Naruto. There. I don't like to get reviews saying that Naruto's too strong, alright?
About Sasuke developing the sharingan: He will develop it soon. By the next chapter maybe.
I'm sorry if there's only Kakashi and Naruto here. Well… did you guys like it? Review!