Chapter 56
Toleration at Absolute Zero: A Secret Truth Revealed!
Sasuke and Sakura skidded to a halt at the top of the concrete staircase that led down into the outpost. The street was overflowing with people; they entered and exited stores with shopping bags in their hands; street act performers worked in the afternoon sun for money. Some were in pairs as they traveled into restaurants to sate their hunger, others were alone.
The outpost was loud too, blanketed in a cacophony of random conversations and shops seeking to gather the attention of new customers. The situation couldn't be worse. They were looking for a loud needle in an even louder haystack.
Sasuke scanned the sea of people in search of blond hair on top of a bright orange outfit or a broad older man with long spiky white hair. He didn't see them anywhere.
Damn it, where the hell are you Naruto? The two members of Team Seven were panting lightly, the beginnings of warm sweat beaded on their foreheads; neither paused for the briefest of seconds since they sprinted out the gates of the Leaf.
He still couldn't believe Itachi was back. Or he didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe any of what he learned. Yet he knew it to be true, and it pumped him full of desperation and anger.
Shaking it off, he refocused on the task at hand: Find Naruto. Sasuke couldn't afford to lose focus now when seconds and minutes would determine the fate of his other two teammates.
There was no way Naruto and Jiraiya—the man Teuchi said was with Naruto—had gotten farther than the outpost.
Those two didn't have a clue that Itachi Uchiha recently infiltrated the Leaf or what his goal was. They couldn't know, which only meant they spent this entire time walking the distance instead of running, unaware of the murderous shadow haunting their every footstep.
Sasuke clenched his hands into fists as he scanned the crowd for any sight of his brother. You're not going to get Naruto, Itachi and I won't let you take Amari either.
First step was finding Naruto. From there they could warn him and the Sannin of the danger and, hopefully, recruit the legendary shinobi's aid to save Amari. Otherwise it would be the three members of Team Seven hunting down their fourth member.
No one would stop them from chasing after their missing teammate. Not Jiraiya and definitely not Itachi.
"I don't see Naruto anywhere," Sakura said worriedly.
"Neither do I."
Time was running out. Every moment they wasted standing here presented his older brother more time to find the loser and execute Amari, if not both of them.
But Itachi was one man and they were two. In this large outpost packed with people, even someone of his talents would have trouble finding Naruto among the sea of people. But there was only one way the two of them could clear enough ground to find their teammate before their enemy.
"Sakura." The pair met eyes. "We're going to have to split up."
Sasuke didn't like the idea at all. It put Sakura at a greater risk of running into his older brother alone, and that was a situation he didn't want to find himself in either. He had seen what his brother had done to Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma; he witnessed him kill the entire Uchiha Clan through his Tsukuyomi.
Alone they stood no chance. Together they probably didn't stand a chance either. The power of his eyes…
Sasuke fought back a shudder.
If he hit us with that genjutsu, we're dead.
"Whether or not we find Naruto, we meet up here in ten minutes."
The kunoichi nodded. "Right."
She went to take off but was stopped when he grabbed her by her bicep. "Sasuke?" Concern and confusion took over her voice and expression.
He kept his features steely. "If you see my brother, do not engage. Understood? Just get as far away as you can."
He needed her to understand his wish. She had to understand.
If Kakashi wasn't able to keep up with Itachi even with his Sharingan, we won't stand a chance in a frontal assault.
Sasuke stared into the emerald eyes of his teammate and felt his resolve strengthen.
I won't let him harm anyone else.
"He'll look like…" The Uchiha stopped himself. He was going to say his father but Sakura hadn't known him. "Like…an older me. He'll have tear troughs, black hair. He might have his Sharingan activated at all times, so be careful."
His teammate nodded. "I will. Don't worry. You be safe too, Sasuke."
He gave a nod and released her bicep to let her begin her search.
Let's just hope we aren't too late.
Sasuke took off down the stairs.
If those two stopped here, they would have stopped at a hotel for rest. This outpost is a place for adults to cut loose, not kids.
Sasuke stopped at an intersection, looking around for the nearest hotel. There were more than he expected. It annoyed him immensely.
"I'll just have to go door to door."
He bolted off, Sharingan eyes activated to spot every individual sign of every hotel in this outpost, hopeful he may catch the sight of Naruto's chakra somewhere in this tumultuous sea of people.
Back and forth. Back and forth he traveled at a ninja dash between the two sides of the street he was on, entering each hotel to ask the same hurried question.
"Have you seen a dopey looking blond-haired boy, about my age traveling with an older guy with white hair?"
No. No. No. Every time he asked he received that same answer. No one had seen either of them and no one had checked them into their hotels either.
Did Itachi already find them?
Sasuke couldn't be sure and he didn't want to think he was already too late to do anything. He had to believe there was still a chance to save his team. Thinking anything less would only result in failure.
So he continued to dash through the outpost as fast as he could. His heart was racing. Sweat dampened his hair and began to slide down the side of his face, tickling the sensory nerves in their wake. Fear filled adrenaline pumped through his body, driving him forward, pushing him to not feel any of his stamina depleting.
Where the hell are you, Naruto?
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
No.
No.
No.
Sasuke exited his recent hotel with heavier breathing and stared across the street at another hotel he had yet to enter.
I hope you're having better luck than me, Sakura, he thought in his brief moment of pause.
He took in a deep inhale and ran into the hotel, slamming his hand on the receptionist desk as soon as he entered. "Have you seen a dopey looking blond kid, about my age? He's traveling through the outpost with an old man with long white hair?"
"White hair, you say?"
Hope blossomed in Sasuke's being. "Are they here?!"
The man hummed and brought his hand to his chin. "Did I see someone like that when we changed shifts?"
Sasuke growled impatiently at the clerk. He needed an answer now! Couldn't he see how important this was?
"Oh yeah! A blond kid and a white-haired old man!" the clerk suddenly remembered.
Yes! There was still a chance to stop all of this before things spiraled further out of control.
"So they're here! What room number?!" Sasuke tried to peek at the book with his Sharingan ablaze. His eyes darted across the pages searching for the name Jiraiya or Naruto or both listed as the clerk drew his finger down the page.
"Let's see now…" The clerk trailed off as he searched the book. "That would be room number one on the second flo— hey!"
Sasuke didn't care to listen to the rest. He deactivated his Sharingan and sprinted past the desk, up the stairs and towards the room with extreme haste.
Once he arrived at the door he tried to turn the knob but it wouldn't budge.
Locked, of course it's locked at a time like this. Another thing to annoy him.
Hesitant to outright kick it down, though the thought screamed to be heard, Sasuke rapped his knuckles urgently on the door.
Come on, loser. Answer the damn door!
At the sound of the lock being turned he ripped the door open.
"Naruto!"
In the doorway stood a blond boy, paralyzed with fear at the jarring movement and raised voice. It was not Naruto.
"You're not…" Shock took over the Uchiha at coming up short when he had felt so close.
He growled in overwhelming annoyance and bolted back down the hall, down the stairs and out of the hotel to continue his search. He should have just kicked the damn door down.
Hotel by hotel he searched, his mind tugging him back to a time when his brother had been someone he looked up to explicitly.
Itachi was one of the best of the Clan even at a young age. He was a prodigy and a genius, graduating from the Academy at the top of his class at the age of seven. He made Chūnin at ten, and to top it off he had unlocked the Sharingan at a young age and mastered it by the time he was eight.
For a long time Sasuke aspired to be just as good as him. He had loved his older brother, believing him to be the greatest person and shinobi to ever live. All he wanted was for Itachi to take the time to teach him, to share more time with him instead of always pushing him away. But he usually didn't.
His brother would only poke him in the forehead and say something along the lines of, "Sorry. Maybe next time, Sasuke."
Even then though, Sasuke never stopped trying to be closer to his brother.
As time passed, though, his brother's prodigious shadow began to loom over him, filling him with envy of his skills and insecurity over their clear difference of talent.
It frustrated Sasuke. It frustrated him his brother didn't seem to ever want anything to do with him. It frustrated him that he couldn't match his brother's talents. It frustrated him that his father only ever seemed to care about Itachi's accomplishments and never any of his own.
Living in the shadow of his older brother's achievements had spurred him to want to be greater than Itachi so he could be seen as more than just the little brother. It became a challenge to him; one he had taken gladly.
Then his life was turned upside down by Itachi. His older brother, the one he loved, the one he envied, killed their entire Clan then used his Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu to make him watch the murder of their Clan and family over and over again.
Ever since that day Sasuke's goal had changed. He no longer sought to overcome the shadow, but to destroy the man who casted it to avenge those he had slain.
Now here they were, two brothers bound by their bond of hatred, set on a path where only one would survive. Worst of all, his clan-sister, the person who had given him hope, who had burned the shadows away and grabbed his hand, was captured by the man who murdered their families.
Sasuke snarled. You won't get away with this Itachi.
His Sharingan activated in his anger.
I will stop you and rescue my clan-sister!
Meanwhile
Itachi's gaze lingered on the doe-eyed container of the Nine-Tailed Fox, who stood frozen in rightful fear, cerulean eyes darting between the three elite shinobi looming ominously over him and their hostage.
So, he thought, this is the legacy of the Fourth Hokage.
He was remarkably short for a boy of his age; shorter than Haya, which was almost humorous. And he bore an almost laughable resemblance to the Fourth Hokage.
Itachi did not laugh or smile, however. He was no longer in the mood for it.
Hardly a word had been spoken between them since the jinchūriki opened his door without a care in the world to who might be waiting on the other side—a rookie mistake made by a child oblivious to reality. Clearly Master Jiraiya didn't bother to tell him of the Akatsuki; yet another irrational mistake, likely made in the hopes to protect the boy's innocence a bit longer.
Atsuko had chosen far more wisely in informing Haya of the Akatsuki, if not a bit untimely.
Yet, despite Naruto reading the situation he was in perfectly, defiance flickered in those cerulean eyes.
Another reckless child who intended to defy his elders. Or so the child believed. Unfortunately for him, this was reality, and in this reality of shinobi life heroes didn't always get to save the day as shining white knights. They didn't get to save their friends from death, defeat evil through sheer willpower alone and earn the adulation of their Village.
No. The reality of the shinobi world was far harsher than that; a lesson Itachi intended to teach this child in the coming moments.
Cerulean eyes flicked over to Haya's seated frame adjacent to them, back braced against the hallway wall across from his room, chin tucked into her chest and hands bound by ninja wire. Dry blood stained her fair-skinned cheeks, her right arm and the lower back of her tank top.
"An unsightly mess, wouldn't you agree, Naruto Uzumaki?" Itachi asked, his stoic voice penetrating the silence like the sudden crash of a gong.
His question earned an aggravated growl and sharpened glare, but no words. No biting retorts or foolish attacks.
No matter how angry he was, no matter how much he wished to make them regret hurting his friend, Naruto Uzumaki was sufficiently afraid of them. Afraid a single act could end their lives before he could even blink.
In a small moment of boldness he began to reach for his ninja pouch. Small droplets of blood splashed onto the wall as a kunai—thrown by Aimi with the slightest of movements—cut the boy's cheek and embedded itself into the floor behind him.
Naruto's eyes widened and, for the slightest moments, his breathing halted.
Aimi strutted forward, attractively confident and even a little playful. As she passed the child, her fingers lightly glided over his wounded cheek, healing the cut as she went.
"Noble as your intentions might have been," she spoke with lightness, "in your hopeless situation, any rash act may get one of you killed. And think of the poor hotel workers who would have to clean up all that blood."
She bent over to pick her kunai knife up then strutted back, lightly gliding the cold hilt along the nape of the boy's neck as she passed. "But you did intend to attack us to save Haya, even at the risk of your own life. You must care a great deal for her."
Naruto did not utter a single syllable. He stood paralyzed in place, gulping noticeably once, utterly terrified of the kunoichi member of the Akatsuki who clearly had every opportunity to kill him in their small interaction.
He finally comprehended how the fate of his life and that of Haya's did not rest in his own hands, or that of luck or fate. They lived or died by the whims of the Akatsuki—a petrifying reality he could not escape now.
"Consider your situation carefully, Naruto Uzumaki," Itachi said. "You are not an unstoppable hero capable of defeating overwhelming odds all because you believe in yourself. That is only an illusion. You are still only a child—a Genin. In your short life you've witnessed but one glimpse of war and death, while our eyes and our hands have been submerged in it since we were children.
"War, death, sacrifice; this is our reality as shinobi. A reality you and your peers have been sheltered from all this time, until now." Itachi glanced to Haya. "For all of her foolishness, Haya understands this reality far better than you do. She understood from the moment she stepped between us and our goal that saving those she considered precious required her to sacrifice herself in their stead."
"You've both called her Haya, and you both have Sharingan, but neither of you cover them up like Kakashi-sensei does. That has to mean that the two of you are members of the Uchiha Clan," Naruto interrupted, finally finding his voice and reaching the obvious conclusion.
Itachi's eyes lingered on Haya and her pendent. Regrets. Wishes. Memories of a life out of his reach.
So much could have been different…
"As far as I've known, Sasuke and Amari were the only ones to survive the massacre, which can only mean you two were the ones responsible for it."
"You're just now figuring that out? Not the sharpest kid, are you?" Kisame chortled.
Naruto ignored him. His intense, and still frightened, eyes lingered on the two Uchiha. "You can talk down to me all you like, but that doesn't change the fact you're traitors and murderers. You betrayed the Leaf. You betrayed your Clan and your family's when you slaughtered them without mercy."
He pointed at Haya. "It's because of both of you that Amari and Sasuke have had to suffer! So don't talk to me about this 'reality' crap when you're the ones responsible for it! Besides, when I'm Hokage, I'll work hard to change this reality so kids won't have to know the pain they have."
Itachi snorted. He slowly drew his eyes from Haya back to the child. "Your foolish bravado only proves you're still an ignorant child. Do you truly believe you alone can change the world? That you can change the hearts of shinobi just by seeking the title of Hokage? Don't be ridiculous."
"I won't have to do it alone, because I'll have my friends backing me up. And that includes Amari!"
Aimi hummed a laugh. "He's certainly has a charm to him. I don't think he's going to take our offer, 'Tachi."
"No, I don't think he will either."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What offer?"
"As I said previously, Haya understands the reality of shinobi far better than you do. She was willing to sacrifice herself so the people she held precious wouldn't die. So what about you, Naruto Uzumaki? Given the choice to either exchange your life for hers, or for both of you to be disposed of, what do you choose?"
"I'm not letting you take Amari," Naruto growled.
"And yet you still look ready to fight." Itachi leveled him with a pointed look. "You have much to learn if you plan to be Hokage."
Naruto glared at them in defiant but frozen silence.
"Well, you had your shot, kid." Kisame gripped Samehada and stepped forward. "You should have taken Itachi's offer while you could. I think I'll take a leg off you. That should keep you from causing us problems on the way."
Itachi did not speak. He watched with a disinterested stare as Kisame made his approach. Every heavy step forward steadily broke the tough exterior of the jinchūriki; his own fault, considering he chose to ignore the wise course of action when given the opportunity.
Yes, he would need to learn more if he had any hope of becoming Hokage.
Before Kisame could swing his sword, Itachi spoke up.
"It has been a long time."
Kisame paused. He turned his head to look back in confusion, only to then notice their newest arrival standing at the other end of the hall.
"Sasuke," Itachi spoke the name once spoken with fondness in an emotionless voice.
"Itachi Uchiha." His brother's voice was full of resentment and hatred.
Fighting his brother now of all times was of no interest to Itachi. They'd been delayed enough today as it was, and his younger brother lacked the necessary strength for him to fight seriously.
Next to him, he sensed Aimi's lips twitch upwards in the smallest of smirks. "It's one reunion after another, huh, 'Tachi? Today has certainly been eventful."
"Well, well, another little brat with Sharingan," Kisame grinned. "And he looks like you, Itachi. Care to tell me who this one is?"
"He's my younger brother."
Kisame half turned to meet his eyes fully. "Honestly you two, how many did you spare?"
"He is the last," he answered honestly.
"Hm," Kisame hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it's not my business to ask after your reasons. You two aren't the type to do something without cause." He smirked at the pair. "Just don't make another repeat incident of last time, all right? You already almost lost one arm."
Itachi gave the smallest dips of his head in agreement.
"What did you do to her, Itachi?!" Sasuke yelled in fury.
"Haya's current state is her own doing," he glanced over his shoulder to his brother, "and not of your concern."
Sasuke grit his teeth and growled in anger. "That's where you're wrong. It became my concern when you targeted my team!"
"Is that what you think I was doing? Attacking your team? Going after the people you bonded with to incite your hatred for me?" Itachi snorted. "Foolish little brother, it's time for you to grow up. Not everything in this world is about you."
Sasuke inhaled a sharp breath full of rage.
"Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma discovered our presence while we were searching for our true target, and so we had no choice but to battle them to ensure our escape." He looked away from his brother back to Haya. "And when Haya learned of our presence, she came rushing to their aid, intent to sacrifice herself so they would survive."
"So, what? You're telling me that this is all some coincidence that everyone you've targeted has been close to me?"
"Again you assume I've given any thought to who and what you care about," Itachi scolded. "Let me guess, you still believe you're the only one capable of avenging the Clan. That you're somehow special because I left you alive on a whim."
He returned his gaze to his brother's furious and hurt eyes. "That night I lied to you and made you believe you and I were the only Uchiha's left. And yet, after learning Haya is alive, you still hang onto every lie I fed you as if it were truth. Even when standing in the same presence as Aimi you don't recognize her because you still believe she is dead."
His brother's eyes widened and snapped to the Akatsuki kunoichi. Finally he recognized her. "Aimi… You…You're…"
"Alive?" she offered in amusement. "Haya could hardly believe it too, and yet here we are."
Sasuke snarled and locked gazes with Itachi. "Everything you told me that night, it's all been a lie?"
"Hmph. Did you truly believe I would give you the keys on how to defeat me?" Itachi questioned in return. "Fester your hatred? Kill your best friend to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan? My foolish little brother, why would I tell you the truth? Because we're brothers? Because we're blood? I had just finished killing our parents, and yet you think I couldn't lie to you?
"I misled you for my own purposes, but seeing you now in this weak state is just unsightly for one of Uchiha blood."
Kisame chuckled sadistically. "That's cold, Itachi."
"Mangekyō…Sharingan?" Naruto questioned.
Turning back to the jinchūriki, Itachi decided to give the boy the knowledge he sought. "It is an evolution of the Sharingan, Naruto Uzumaki. It holds incredible power, far beyond Kakashi's, and yours Sasuke. There is a catch however."
"A catch? What kind of catch?"
"For one to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan, they must first witness the death of someone they hold dear." He glanced over his shoulder at his brother again with a disappointed look. "A half-breed unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan before you. How pitiful."
His brother's eyes would have bulged out of his eye sockets through shock alone if it were possible.
"She unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Sasuke's eyes met Itachi's in rage. "What the hell did you make her do, Itachi?! Who did you force her to kill?!"
He smirked vindictively. "You're still hanging onto my lies. Weren't you listening? Haya didn't have to kill anyone. Instead I unlocked the memories of her dearest cousin, and made her watch his death.
"Her power was most impressive; it's responsible for my injuries. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't able to finish the job. What little chakra she has left is all that is keeping her alive. But she's beginning to outlive her usefulness. Perhaps I'll eliminate her now."
The hall went dead silent.
Itachi caught the eyes of Kisame and Aimi, silently signaling them to be prepared to strike. The former Mist ninja grinned in response; he was ready to finally cut loose, even if it was only on children. The Akatsuki kunoichi nodded once and stepped closer to Haya.
With his partners in position, Itachi turned around completely to face his brother, trusting in Kisame to handle the angered jinchūriki accordingly and Aimi to keep any attempt to rescue Haya from happening.
Lightning began to build up around Sasuke's left hand, casting a threatening blue over his body; what sounded like a thousand birds chirping at once followed. The power of the technique made his brother's hair and clothes begin to shift on their own, as if caught in a breeze.
Chidori. Impressive.
"You won't lay another finger on Amari, and if you do—" the lightning grew in intensity, "I will make you suffer!"
"You three won't get away with what you've done!" Naruto followed his teammate.
A surge of strong, ominous chakra began to form behind Itachi, making him glance back in curiosity. The orange cloak of the Nine-Tails chakra formed around Naruto. "I don't care what you call your Sharingan." His determined filled eyes met Itachi's. "We'll take you down and save Amari together!"
"Die, Itachi!"
The elder Uchiha turned his head back to face his charging brother. The Chidori tore a crater through the wall, backed up by furious Sharingan eyes full of hatred. Sasuke's speed was impressive for his age, as was his ability to use Kakashi's signature jutsu. However, while the technique was undoubtedly powerful, it was ultimately a foolish plan of attack.
The ridiculous level of foolishness actually irritated Itachi.
Did his younger brother honestly think he would just stand here and let him strike him down? Did he really believe anyone of his skill level would be unable to dodge such a technique while he was in complete control of his body?
What was his brother thinking?
"The air is ripe with chakra, but you are too slow, kid," Kisame taunted as he swiped his blade into the orange chakra.
His brother neared and threw the lightning filled jab, intent to kill Itachi in a single blow. At the last second Itachi moved his right hand.
An explosion ripped through the hallway. Creaks and groans could be heard if one listened closely, the shockwave of the explosion shuddering through the walls and beams holding this building together. Drywall dust covered everyone.
When the dust finally settled, all were able to see the hole in the wall opposite of Haya and Aimi, leading into the nearby bedroom Naruto once sat peacefully within.
Peace. What a fragile state of existence.
Itachi's eyes stared through his brother as if he were made of glass. His right hand gripped Sasuke's forearm tightly, aiming the palm of his hand towards the giant circular hole next to them.
The attack failed.
"Wha- I can't feel my charka," Naruto panicked.
"My sword, Samehada, cuts through chakra, and devours it," Kisame taunted the jinchūriki. "Your chakra was quite the treat for Samehada. I wonder if your little friend's demonic chakra would have been any better."
Itachi glanced to his partner. "Don't lose focus."
Believing that he had lost his focus by speaking to the former Mist shinobi, Sasuke went to strike him with his free hand.
Itachi didn't bother to glance back. "That's enough, Sasuke," he said before breaking his wrist.
His brother let out a wordless scream of pain before collapsing face first to the floor.
"All right. Don't want this kid whipping out anymore jutsu. Forget the legs; I think I'll take his hands instead!"
His partner lifted his blade up and moved to cut the blonde's hands off, but a sudden plume of smoke formed around the boy. The sound of his blade hitting metal echoed in the hall.
"What the?"
"Careful, Kisame, it's one of the Sannin's toads," Aimi warned.
The smoke cleared to reveal a short but large toad wearing metal vambracers and a chest plate; its arms were held up in a guard, using the vambracers to block Kisame's sword.
A second smoke cloud appeared behind Naruto and was followed by a new voice.
"You three don't know me at all, do you?"
Right on time to interrupt. Whether or not they succeeded in capturing the jinchūriki now didn't matter. So long as they lived they could try again later.
"You three should have done your homework. Jiraiya the Toad Sage falls victim to no ladies charm. Rare beauties fall for me! It isn't in my nature to fall to the wiles of women. When you reach the stature I have, the ladies kneel and worship at your awesomeness!"
The smoke cleared. Master Jiraiya stood behind his new student with an unconscious woman slung over his shoulder, a ridiculous grin on his face and his palm facing the trio in an even more ridiculous pose.
Such a fool.
Legends rarely lived up to expectations, he supposed.
Sakura exited yet another hotel with sweat on her brow and labored breathing. Almost all ten minutes had been used up, and still she hadn't found anyone who had seen the pair.
Where are you Naruto? She was worried. Sasuke didn't show fear often, but the look in his eyes when he spoke of his brother…
I just have to hope he already has Naruto and Master Jiraiya waiting for me at our meeting point. Then they could begin their rescue mission to save Amari.
We'll save you, Amari. I promise.
As she made to start the run back to their meeting point, a loud explosion echoed over the outpost, silencing the loud population in one fell swoop. Sakura snapped her head in the direction of the noise. That came from the other side of the outpost.
Jumping up onto a building, Sakura brought her hand above her brow to block the sun from her eyes as she searched the horizon. She couldn't see any smoke anywhere, but she could see a building people were scattering away from as if a war was taking place within.
Worry gripped her heart. Did he find Naruto and then run into his brother?
Sakura took a breath and steeled herself. She had to be strong. If her two boy teammates were in trouble, then she needed to be there with them.
With one last breath to calm her nerves she began the trek back through the outpost towards the building.
Please be okay Sasuke, you too Naruto.
Jiraiya set the civilian woman he carried down on the floor, out of the way of what could very well be one of the most intense battles in his recent recollection.
"What kind of coward uses his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on an innocent woman?" he asked rhetorically.
He had seen through it right from the start. So he played his part as the fool and enjoyed himself with the pretty woman to make the trio believe he was duped. It had worked quite well, and during the wait he had had a good time around the outpost.
In a way it ended up being a win-win.
"All of this in an effort to separate me from Naruto. I must say it could have been a good plan if it wasn't so rushed."
The Sannin examined the three Akatsuki members. The only one with visible injuries is Itachi, but it's clear these three have recently been in battle. The tears in their cloaks and Itachi's burned arm showed whoever they battled against gave it their all. His wounds aren't fatal, but they are severe. They must have him acting quicker than he wants to, or something else has him acting too hastily.
He glanced to Amaririsu's seated body behind the trio of shinobi now facing him; the dried blood on her cheeks and current state of capture painted an unsettling tale. How did you get caught up in all of this, kid?
A lot had happened since he left the Leaf with Naruto, clearly. And none of it good.
"I know Naruto is the one you're really after," he said, eyes returning to Itachi. "And I assume by her presence here you planned to use Amaririsu as bait or a bargaining chip to get him to come quietly while I was away. Your injuries show you met resistance back in the Leaf when you tried to kidnap her, but whoever tried to stop you ultimately failed."
"Quite the assumption," Itachi replied flatly. Jiraiya chose silence, for now. "You are right. Naruto is the prize the Akatsuki seeks, and we will have him."
Naruto took an involuntary and fearful step back, farther away from the Akatsuki and closer to Jiraiya.
"However, you are only partially correct about Haya. We held no intention of kidnapping her when we infiltrated the Leaf; neither she nor my foolish brother interests me at this moment. It was Haya who learned of our presence and jumped thoughtlessly into our battle.
"When it became clear she knew where our target was, and that she planned to unveil some of the Akatsuki's secrets to the world, she became too valuable to ignore. However her eyes have made her of even greater value to me."
"What would the great Itachi Uchiha want with a Byakugan eye and a three tomoe Sharingan?" asked Jiraiya in a serious tone.
Don't tell me she's unlocked that ability already.
Itachi's blank face was broken by the slightest upward quirk of his lips. "An interesting question indeed, Master Jiraiya. But you and I already know the answer to that question."
The Sannin frowned. "So, you used that genjutsu on her mind to show her something painful enough to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan, probably in hopes she would unlock the power her father wielded so you could take it for yourself."
He wasn't surprised, not when the Uchiha once practiced killing their best friends to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Half right again, Master Jiraiya. I used the genjutsu to render her unconscious; however the pain she experienced kept her awake, and in turn unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan, prolonging our battle." He made a motion to his injured arm. "The power she gained did this to me."
"You can't be serious."
A Genin doing that to an Akatsuki member had to be some form of a bad joke.
The rogue Uchiha's face returned to one of impassive blankness. "I am. She unlocked her father's power and almost killed us both with it."
Jiraiya didn't like it, not one bit. That kind of power in the hands of a kid was asking for trouble, especially when she had a genjutsu obscuring her mind by the man in front of him.
"Heh, why am I not surprised someone of the Uchiha Clan is planning on stealing the eyes of someone they once called friend," he mused. Jiraiya dispelled his toad and stood up to his full height. "You're not getting Naruto," his voice was deadly serious, "and you will not be taking Amaririsu or her eyes."
"We'll see about that," Itachi responded just as serious.
The Sannin couldn't help but smirk. "Actually this is all very convenient. I can eliminate you three at the same time."
Before Jiraiya could act, movement caught his eye. He struggled not to look at it, in fear of drawing attention to Amaririsu as her trembling hands began to lift towards her forehead. Kid, stop moving, he mentally urged. Don't draw their attention.
Their backs were turned to her. They had no idea she was moving yet, but if she kept at it she would become a target again.
She pulled the bandana up off her right eye, revealing an onyx orb still intact and very much in her eye socket. Any relief that provided evaporated when she began spreading her hands, tightening the ninja wire holding them together to cut deep into her flesh. She grimaced but kept at it until she had just enough of a gap to grab a kunai.
Reaching into her leg holster, she procured a blade and cut the wire, freeing her hands.
The snap of the wire made Itachi's eyes squint. "Haya, you're becoming a nuisance," he said. He actually sounded annoyed.
"…Good," she replied in a quiet, shaky voice.
Amaririsu stabbed the blade into the wall and used it to pull her quaking and trembling body up off the floor. The added support wasn't enough at first. Her legs gave way almost immediately, crashing her knees first back onto the wooden floor. The energy she expended to get up left her out of breath. But she tried again to a successful end.
"Just stay down, kid," Jiraiya tried to coax the stubborn kid down. "I'll handle this. You've done enough already."
"Master…Jiraiya…get ready…to…attack."
Fresh blood plopped onto the wood floor from her fingertips; her chest heaved with heavy breaths as her legs trembled, but somehow she found the energy to reach into her back pouch to pull a second kunai from it, this one with a sealing tag tied to its hilt.
Before Jiraiya could utter a word, a kunai he didn't even see pierced through the tag and into the wall. He blinked and Itachi suddenly had the child pinned to the wall with his cloaked forearm as he used his injured hand to immobilize her weapon hand.
"You should listen to your elders, Haya."
Itachi's tolerance for the foolishness had finally hit absolute zero.
Glaring into the exhausted and watery onyx eye of Haya, he watched it shift ever so slightly. Left. Right. Closer to him and then further away.
Unbelievable. She couldn't even see him clearly and yet she still tried to attack. He glanced down to the sealing tag, examining it in expectation to find yet another sign of her irrational behavior.
A Concussion Seal? Hm, so she hadn't intended to use a paper bomb. Her intelligence hadn't been entirely impaired, it seemed. Still, he wouldn't let her interruption go without punishment.
Itachi released his hold and let her body begin to cave on its own. Before she could collapse, he slammed his uninjured fist into her stomach, knocking her back into the wall behind her and the air from her lungs.
She lacked the energy to cry out in pain. Her eye visibly dulled in a daze; it seemed that single punched finished off what little fight she had left in her.
As she bounced back towards him, Itachi backhanded her with his fist. Her body flew down the hall to the T-intersection at the end, where her back made a sickening crack upon impact with the wall. Haya slumped down into a seated position.
"You have no strength left, Haya. You cannot see straight out of your right eye and you are blind in your left. That is why you have not activated the Byakugan."
He sent her lifeless body a flat look. "I am finished tolerating your interference."
Itachi turned and stepped towards the downed kunoichi. As he passed his prone brother, Sasuke grabbed his ankle with his unbroken hand in yet another futile attempt to stop him.
"Stay away from her, Itachi!"
The older Uchiha ripped his ankle from his younger brother's grasp then stamped on his broken wrist. Sasuke's painful scream reverberated through the walls.
When his cries became grunts and whimpers of agony, Itachi spoke again. "And what are you going to do about it? Your head-on attack failed, Sasuke. Did you really think that I would just stand here and let you kill me?"
Itachi was done with foolishness.
"Chidori is a powerful tool, but it is one you used carelessly. Now look at you. You cannot even form the handseals to use it."
Suddenly his body seized up. Itachi shut his eyes and exhaled an annoyed sigh through his nose. "You are testing my patience, Haya. What point is there in using a jutsu you lack both the strength and chakra to use properly?"
"…It's…my eyes…you want, right? Well…come and take them…if you can."
"As you wish." He broke free of her Shadow Possession and looked at his brother one last time. "You and Naruto have much to learn about the world. Watch carefully, Sasuke, as Haya teaches you the reality of shinobi."
And with those final words, he vanished from sight, reappearing before the downed kunoichi panting in exertion. "Is this going how you imagined it?" he asked.
"Perfectly. I…won't…let you…hurt them."
"I see." He reached down and picked up the defeated kunoichi by her throat until her small legs dangled helplessly in the air. "Then it is only fitting that I use the jutsu you interfered with against Kakashi against you."
She didn't flinch or tremble in terror. She merely waited for her fate to come, no longer able to fight.
"You have proven yourself worthy of Shisui's warning. I must commend your efforts, even if they are futile." He shut his eyes and began to pool chakra into them. "But this is the end for you."
Full pinwheels bored into Haya's onyx eye.
Tsukuyomi.
The hallway collapsed away, replaced by the red sky world of the Tsukuyomi. The exhaustion once sapping Haya's limbs of all strength vanished, and with it the aches and pains that made every little movement hurt disappeared too.
She felt fully recovered. She could even see out of her left eye again, as if the Mangekyō jutsu had never strained the Byakugan eye into temporary blindness. Haya knew better than to believe it, though.
Her current state of apparent full recovery, the lack of physical aches, it was all just another part of this remarkable illusion casted by Itachi; he controlled everything here, and soon she would meet whatever horrific fate he planned to unleash on her.
Casting her eyes around, a tight pinch formed in her heart as she noticed her whereabouts. She was standing on the hill overlooking Nakano River. The hill her cousin threw himself off.
"Why here?" she asked in heartbreak. "Wasn't it enough the first time?"
"You are mistaken if you think I meant for you to see that moment the first time." Paralysis halted Haya's attempt to swing around and punch him. Itachi strolled past her, closer to the place he once stood in when he watched Shisui die.
"However, do not blame me for your being here now. Your consistent interference is what brought you to this moment."
Haya growled. "Did you expect me to just stand by and let you kill my mom, Asuma-sensei and Kakashi-sensei or whisk Naruto away?! They're my family!"
She struggled to break free of the paralysis to no avail.
"Or did you think I'd just accept choosing the path where nothing is left or where nothing is right without trying to make a new path? No. I refuse the paths Aimi tried to make me choose from. I'll follow my own path, just like Shisui asked me to! And that path means standing between you and—"
"Enough, Haya."
Itachi's voice gave her pause. He sounded utterly exhausted, and annoyed. After a pregnant pause, he turned to face her with unguarded eyes and features, no longer hiding behind the disconnected indifference he wore so well, revealing but a glimpse of the boy she once knew.
"You acted exactly how I expected you to."
"I…what?"
"You may think what you will about our decisions, but do not doubt our ability to comprehend the reasons for your actions today. Aimi and I understand them better than you will ever realize."
The scolding made her inwardly shrink. Sheesh, she forgot how it felt to be reprimanded by him.
"But just because I understand your reasons doesn't mean you are without fault. How many times do you intend to recklessly risk your life against a superior opponent? Master Jiraiya told you to stay down, and yet you continued to persist with your reckless behavior, placing yourself in a position where you must unnecessarily sacrifice yourself for your comrades.
"Master Jiraiya could have saved all three of you without your help, but you placed yourself in harm's way, for what? To distract one of us for the briefest of moments? To render us incapable with your Concussion Seal without considering the possibility your savior could be caught in the blast?"
He glared. "If I was anyone else you'd already be dead, and the sacrifices made by your family would be wasted!"
Haya winced. Ouch. That stung.
Itachi didn't necessarily raise his voice. He didn't need to. The passionate emotions he kept restrained filtered into his voice, the heat and rawness of them doing more than enough to keep her in shamed silence.
Itachi exhaled a deep sigh. "But you're stubborn. It isn't in your nature to sit still when there's even a slight chance you can help—a trait you inherited from Shisui and your parents. You used whatever little information you gained from Atsuko about the Akatsuki to paint yourself as a target for us, fully resolved to sacrifice yourself so we would leave Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma alone. In that you succeeded."
"How did you—"
He cut her off with a single look. "Truly, Haya, where else would you have gained such information? You are no spy of the Leaf. And you certainly haven't made the connections necessary to learn what the Akatsuki's plan or targets are. No," he shook his head, "it could only be the Crows of the Leaf to give you such information."
Haya frowned. "Troublesome boy."
Why did he have to be so intelligent?
"You are not the only one to blame for this current situation, however. I hold my share of the blame in what has happened to you today." Itachi looked off at the horizon. "While revealing your memories of Shisui would have granted you the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan regardless, I did not know you would see his death. I suppose there was no reason for me to know you were given his memories; none of us expected the worst possible scenario to become reality."
Haya furrowed her brow. "You say that like you were working to stop it all the way up until the final day."
"We were." Itachi looked back to her stunned expression. "Shisui entrusted you with many truths I did not plan to tell you or Sasuke. Perhaps that is where I have made my greatest mistake as a brother, and where Shisui has accomplished what I was incapable of."
"…Itachi…"
She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. Part of her wanted to yell and scream at him, but the more she looked at him, the more she realized how…sad and defeated he looked.
"Shisui realized his mistake. His attempt to take the burden of the Clan's fate alone cost him his life. But given the chance to continue to hide truths from you, he chose the opposite. He placed his trust and his Will in you; he brought you in instead of pushing you away."
Itachi's eyes lowered. "I've only ever pushed Sasuke away, out of hope I could protect him from darkness through lies and half-truths. But if I had been honest with him from the start, if I only brought him in instead of pushing him away, I wonder what could have been different."
"…Then why admit this to me and not him?"
"Because I'm choosing to place my trust in you as well," Itachi answered. "Do you know why I spent so much time lecturing Naruto and Sasuke? I know you were awake to hear it all."
Haya felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment.
"While you still have much to learn, you have a firmer grasp on who you are and who you are not. For one moment you lost that today. For one moment you embraced the Curse of Hatred."
Haya's eyebrows rose. "You were trying to teach them?"
"Precisely," Itachi nodded. "Naruto must mature if he has any hope of defending himself from the Akatsuki. And Sasuke must abandon his hatred. If someone as pure as you can become corrupted and blinded by the Curse of Hatred, I fear my attempt to focus Sasuke's hatred on me will inevitably turn him into someone our parents would not want him to become."
This was all making her head spin, but she was beginning to see the bigger picture previously hidden from her sight.
"You and Aimi…" She shut her eyes and scrunched her brow in heartache. "Now I get it. The paths she tried to make me choose from…she was giving me the slightest hint at what you two went through. You had to choose a path where either nothing you did was right or nothing you loved was left. So you…you're both still…"
"This is the burden we must carry," Itachi stated plainly.
"And that's why Shisui let you guys stay to hear everything he had to say instead of kicking you out like Kisame. The fūinjutsu, it essentially let him see beyond the illusions you two casted around yourselves to the real Itachi and Aimi. That's why he said he'd still be waiting for you both when you two…"
Pieces were beginning to fall into place.
"Which means either this masked man or the Foundation forced you to choose from those paths."
"Yes."
"Aimi wasn't searching for Naruto, was she?"
"No, she was not. Aimi reminded the Foundation they are not untouchable, and should they cross a line, we will act."
An ominous threat.
"Why? Why are you telling me all of this?" Haya asked, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. "Why tell me and not Master Jiraiya? Or Kakashi-sensei?"
"Master Jiraiya will learn the truths Shisui entrusted to you through Kakashi, Kurenai or Shikaku. That will be enough for him to protect the Leaf and Naruto. I'm giving you this information because you have the power to keep Sasuke on the right path."
Haya's heart tightened. "And I'm just supposed to…lie to him? Pretend I don't know you and Aimi had no other choice? That this Foundation thing doesn't exist or this masked man didn't have a hand in killing the Uchiha?"
"You must do what you believe is right. But do you believe Sasuke is currently in a place where he'll listen? Do you think he'll actually believe you?"
Her silence was answer enough.
"Sasuke has lived in the shadow of my lies. Even if you were to tell him the truth, he would accuse you of being manipulated by me; now his precious clan-sister is his enemy, and so he would descend into darkness to do whatever irrational action he believed necessary, wouldn't you agree?"
Haya nodded solemnly.
"Sasuke is not you, Haya. He doesn't hold your convictions or your individuality," Itachi said. "It is up to you to open his mind after he has closed it for so long. It is up to you to guide him out of the darkness back into the light."
"Itachi…"
"I'm entrusting Sasuke's future to you. All I ask is that you keep him on the right path. Keep him from the darkness by whatever means you must. Do not let Orochimaru mold him into a disposable tool." She gawked at him, earning the smallest of smirks. "I saw his Curse Mark. When the time comes, I will ensure it is removed. Until then, do not let it become his crutch of power."
"…I'll try."
"Thank you." He met her eyes with an earnest stare. "Know this Haya: neither Aimi nor I want you to save us from ourselves. We are on our path for a reason just as you and Sasuke have paths of your own to walk. This isn't just about you or Sasuke or even us. The Akatsuki, the masked man and the Foundation all pose a threat to the shinobi world.
"You and Mimi Inuzuka have already positioned yourselves as the next generation's guardians. You two must continue to inspire your peers to become greater than they are. It is the only way they will survive what is to come, should the worst happen."
"I'm…I'm not even sure how to do that," she admitted quietly.
Itachi hummed amusedly. "Yes you do. Walk the path you've chosen, continue to reach out to others as Shisui did before you, and your parents did before him, and you will inspire your peers to follow the trail you have illuminated."
He glanced back at the edge of the hill. "Until then, I will reveal one final truth to you. Shisui wanted you to see his fate in its entirety."
Haya squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden ache of pain in her heart. "Please…please don't. I don't know how much more I can bear today."
Itachi turned to face her again. "You must face this truth now, Haya. We do not have the luxury of time, and I must ensure no one suspects Aimi or I of going easy on you."
Haya gulped but nodded. She was the one who made this happen. She had to accept the consequences.
"Upon this genjutsu ending, your body will sleep, but you will be taken into the safety of your mindscape where more lessons await you."
"That's not foreboding at all…" she muttered.
Without a word, Itachi faded away.
The scene she had seen before took center stage in front of her; a young Itachi in Anbu gear stood across from Shisui, the former being joined by Atsuko on his shoulder and Aimi standing next to him in her mantle.
Just the sight of Shisui brought on the desire to run over and hug him. To hear him call her name in excitement. To be teased about her affectionate thoughts. To hold him so tight and for him to actually see her here, but he couldn't see her, and she couldn't move.
His right eye was gone already. Blood flowed down his cheek from it, like her bloodstained cheeks in the real world.
"He didn't trust what I was going to do," he spoke, bringing his left hand up to his left eye. "They'll probably come after my left eye, too. Before that happens I want you to have it, Itachi."
Haya flinched in pain and shut her eyes, but even then she could see the scene playing out on the back of her eyelids, forcing her to witness her cousin pull his own eye out.
Aimi shut her eyes while Itachi merely flinched slightly and continued to watch. "You're the only friends I can trust to keep it safe. Protect the Village and the Uchiha name."
He put his hand out for Itachi to take the eye. Reluctantly he took it.
"But…" The younger Uchiha stopped himself as he stared down at his closed hand.
"When the time is right, I would like for you to pass it on to Haya," Shisui continued. "The path ahead of her will be tougher than I ever wanted it to be…but it and my eye will keep her safe."
"When will the time be right?" Aimi asked.
"Atsuko will let you know when Haya is ready to embark on the path I've left her."
"I will guide Young Haya as best as I can until then, Shisui. I promise," Atsuko promised.
"Thank you, Atsuko. Pops and Mama Nara will have her sign the contract when she makes Genin. But there is something else I must give you."
He reached into his ninja pouch and pulled out a storage scroll.
Shisui took his tantō and scabbard out of his harness and sealed it away into the scroll. He handed it over to Aimi. "This storage scroll contains the things I wish Haya to inherit in the future. Please keep them safe."
"I will."
Haya wanted to stop watching. She could see the pain in Shisui's face, not from his missing eyes but from the knowledge he was leaving her, their family and the others. Itachi and Aimi seemed unaware that this was really a goodbye.
"Finally, I'm going to give you two a new power too." Shisui's face was one of intense seriousness. "The Mangekyō Sharingan."
Aimi and Itachi's eyes visibly bulged, although Atsuko did not seem surprised. Deeply saddened, but unsurprised. Shisui must have already spent his final moments with her and their parents before this, which meant Atsuko had been filled in too.
"Shisui, you can't!" Itachi protested with unadulterated shock in his voice.
"Wait, jus- just give me more time to find an antidote, Shisui," Aimi tried to argue.
"I'm not going to last much longer anyways. Take it as a gift…my dying wish."
"Wha- what about Haya? You can't just leave her. She needs and loves you, Shisui," Aimi was fighting against tears as she continued to argue against the body flicker master's decision.
Shisui released an unsteady breath. "I know…I…know. I made her a promise…a promise I never wanted to break." A tear made its way down his cheek with the blood. "I love Haya more than anything else in this life. She shouldn't have to shoulder the burden I've placed on her, but it's the only way I know she will be safe and alive.
"As long as she lives, the will of the pure hearted Uchiha will never die." He paused and took a breath. "Please…look after her in the coming years."
"…We will, Shisui. I promise," Itachi said, but both he and his female counterpart's eyes fell in sadness.
Shisui laughed lightly as his smile returned. "What's with those looks on your faces? Aimi, don't tell me you're going to get all serious and broody like Itachi."
He placed one hand on each of their shoulders. "A worried expression just doesn't look good on you two. You two must always stick together and remain calm, my friends. That's who Itachi and Aimi Uchiha are. I'm positive you two can do this." Shisui gave them both a confident smile. "So don't worry, everything will be fine."
Both lowered their heads and closed their eyes. "I will carry on your will for the Uchiha…" Itachi spoke lowly.
"As will I. We will watch over Haya as you would, Shisui, guiding her to follow in your footsteps."
"Thank you both. But don't worry too much about her. I know Haya will succeed without me, no matter what. You'll see. She's my cousin after all and I believe in her."
Two warm streams of sorrow spilled down Haya's cheeks. "Please Itachi, I don't want to see anymore," she begged.
She couldn't stand it anymore. Watching her cousin say his goodbyes and being unable to move her body to embrace him as if it could stop him from dying, it was slowly killing her inside. She didn't want to watch him die again. She didn't want to hear the pain in his voice at being unable to keep his promise.
She received no verbal answer from Itachi, only the scene continuing to unfold before her.
"From now on, you two may be forced to walk down a long, dark path. One that's filled with pain and suffering. I have to apologize…" Shisui's hand gripped their shoulders tighter as he held back his own emotions. "That I can't be with you two through it all. Still, I hope you two don't falter from your path and keep moving forward as Konoha shinobi. I believe in you both."
Both Itachi and Aimi grit their teeth as they too began the struggle to keep their emotions at bay. The kunoichi of the group was the first to let tears fall. "That is why I'm able to ask you both to carry my will," he turned so his back was facing them with the Uchiha crest on his shirt staring right back at the two Uchiha's, "and the Mangekyō."
The pair opened their eyes to stare with sorrowful eyes at their friend. Shisui lifted his head to the sky and let out a breath. "Thank you both…for everything."
The trio remained silent for a few moments before Shisui spoke up again. "Well, I guess this is the end of the road for me. But this will pave a new way for you both, and Haya. It'll also give you two new power."
"Itachi…please stop. I…I don't want to see this again."
There was no reply.
Shisui let out a sigh. "Well, Itachi, Aimi… Now the time has come. Make a new way for yourselves with your own hands. You two can do it…I know you can." Pure sadness pulled onto both of their faces as tears continued to stream down Aimi's face.
He turned around and aimed his back at the edge of the cliff. "See you friends. I leave the rest…to you both."
Shisui tossed himself off the cliff but both Itachi and Aimi tried to lunge forward at the last second to grab his hands. Both missed and could only watch and shout his name helplessly as he fell to his death with a smile on his face, tears of blood and the normal kind streaming down his face
Sobs shook Haya's body as she stood between Itachi and Aimi. "Shisui…Shisui!" she cried his name before yelling it in the open air of the Tsukuyomi. Her knees collapsed under her as the sobs of a broken child filled the silence.
The world of the Tsukuyomi faded, and with it reality came flushing back like a tsunami wave. Amari's bleary, tear filled vision met Itachi's Sharingan eyes as they slowly began to close. Tears rolled down her cheeks without restraint.
Two fingers suddenly prodded her forehead.
As all life was fading to black she was able to see a genuine smile on Itachi's face. "Itachi…don't…do…this. Please…come back," she whispered.
He leaned in close so his mouth was next to her ear. "This is our path. For Shisui, for you, for Sasuke, we must keep walking it." Itachi leaned back to his previous position. "Goodbye, Haya," he spoke at a normal volume, in his disconnected voice.
In a futile attempt to stop him from leaving she grabbed his cloaked arm with her hand, eyes pleading him in silence to abandon the path he had been forced onto so he could come back home.
Deep in her heart she knew he couldn't and wouldn't.
"You're dead, Itachi!" Sasuke's voice sounded off in the distance.
"Don't you dare touch her anymore!" Naruto's came next.
It was too late. Darkness consumed her vision and silence overcame her senses.
Itachi…Aimi…
Shisui…
Review Response to ChillinInKonoha: Hehe, sorry about making you think there would be a double update. I just meant her fate was coming up soon in the next chapter. Yep, Kisame and Zabuza could definitely be a battle in the future, although whether it happens or not we'll have to wait and see. We're right at the end of the Uchiha Reunion arc, and the next is the retrieval of Tsunade, with a little few extra things going on during it.
I have to apologize again for accidentally misleading you. I forgot to count Susanoo as a Mangekyo ability when I said she won't have any canon Mangekyo abilities; I just meant she wouldn't have Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu. As for Kotamatsukami, well there was a slight mention of it in this last chapter, so we'll have to wait for that to come to fruition.
Oh, she will definitely not end up with two Rinnegan. I actually haven't fully decided if she'll get a single one or not; I'm still deliberating on what to do with that stuff.
Doesn't have one of the divines powers? Hmm. Are we sure about that? Or am I just misleading you again?
Dun dun dun!
She didn't have much time to tell Kisame about Zabuza this time, but who's to say she won't in the future? Or that she won't tell Zabuza? Well, I could say it I guess, but where's the suspense in that?
Yep, I write Mass Effect fanfiction as well. It's actually what started me writing in the first place, and for that reason, as well as many other personal reasons, the Mass Effect series as a whole will always have a special place in my heart. And Kasumi Goto is absolutely a favorite of mine as well, if the three stories I wrote with her as a main pairing doesn't make that obvious enough. She was a bright and witty light among the Normandy crew, or at least that's how I see her.
Thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy the newest update!