Chapter 55
I felt the acidic mist biting into my skin, followed up by a stinging pain that aimed to overload my sensory system.
However, the Mangekyou pattern behind me shone brightly.
A circle of flame erupted from where I was standing, spreading outward, warding the acidic mist away. In less than a few seconds, the firestorm engulfed the entire battlefield, cleansing away the mist. Everything burned away, but not the still water covering up to my ankle, or the red Torii gates that stuck out from the ground.
The firestorm stopped when it reached Saiken, extinguished as quickly as it appeared. In the span of a few seconds, there was no mist, no fire, as if everything happened was just a dream.
I supposed it was similar, in some aspects.
"I apologize for my method," I said. No matter what my goal was, dragging the tailed-beast into here using the Mangekyou was rude behaviour.
Saiken waved his tails as he looked at me - not necessarily using his eyes, but more so with his presence - examining me, peeling me open.
It was uncomfortable. This space was built to suppress whomever I had dragged in. The Mangekyou pattern was the overseer; the still water dragged one down, glueing them onto the ground; the red Torii gates, those were the shackles, supposed to be used to pin down the giant beast that was ten times, hundred times bigger than me.
See, the Mangekyou had given me the tools, telling me to use them.
However, I hadn't moved the Torii gates yet, only letting them littered around Saiken. Whenever Saiken's tail waved close to one of the gates, the red structure seemed to vibrate in warning. With a grunt, the giant slug kept his tails high so that they steer clear of touching anything.
"Can we talk?" I asked, a little naive, now that I thought about it. Saiken must have thought so too since all he returned was a high-pitched roar.
Viscous liquid erupted from the slug's body, pouring down at me, covering the layer of still water as it raced towards me.
Fine, I get it. Negotiation couldn't occur when there was a great power disparity. Nobody would listen to your words when you hadn't given them a reason to.
However, I still thought that maybe, just maybe, we could talk.
After all, he was the one who spoke first.
I placed my hand into the static water and immediately, a web of lightning expanded from where I stood. The flashes of electricity raced and jumped, blasting the corrosive liquid into nothingness, preventing them from touching my skin.
Still, the acidic vapours sizzled on my skin and immediately, I felt the pain as if the tips of my nerves were being peeled off.
This world was neither real nor fake, but at the same time, it was both a reality and an illusion. I was well aware of the fact that Saiken's attacks weren't doing anything to my real body, but if the stimulation was overwhelming enough - the pain, the fear, the desperation - sometimes, feeling was believing.
Soon, I tasted acid. Before I could release another wave of fire, acidic vapours already filled my respiratory system, burning my throat and my lung.
It was hard to describe that feeling. If I had to say something, I'd say that I was being melted from the inside.
Strangely, my eyes could see everything crystal clear. It wasn't logical, but then again, everything that happened here was deadly, but it wasn't real.
I narrowed my eyes at the giant white slug and immediately, the Torii gates started moving.
One by one, the wooden Torii flew into the sky and stabbed down, pinning one of his tails, followed by another and another. The creature tried to move its giant body away, shaking his body to avoid the Torii gates. However, the layer of still water was like concrete, dragging him down with heaviness.
Six Torii gates, for each of his tails, and one more, that was supposed to stab down his neck, pinning him into the dead water with the wooden posts through his body.
Do you really not want to speak with me?
The seventh Torii dropped down from the sky, but it didn't stab through his body. Instead, I let it drop in front of me, separating the Tailed Beast and myself.
The burning sensation in my throat was still as real as ever. I had to disconnect the pain I felt from the concept of bodily harm. Repeating to myself, I am hurting, but I'm not damaged.
"Can we talk now?" The moment I pushed the words out, the pain was gone, as if the acids, the burns, and the pain were just my imagination.
Saiken raised his head a little, looking at me with silence. I'll that as a yes,
"How much do you know about the outside world?" I asked, standing in the water, patiently waiting for his answer.
"I can see everything Utakata sees," Saiken answered me, although he did make a motion that looked like he was rolling his eyes at me - slug equivalent. Right, he probably thinks I'm stupid.
"Then, would you believe me if I said that those Kiri Anbu wouldn't hurt Utakata as long as he is back in control? His life is not in danger." Maybe I needed some time to figure out where I was going with this because clearly, Saiken thought that my words were once again very stupid.
"It mattered not what I believed. Would you fight against your instinct?" Saiken asked instead and suddenly, I got it.
Even if Utakata could convince himself that if he had fallen unconscious due to the Kiri-nin's attacks, his life wouldn't be in danger, the Six-Tail inside of him would still react to danger instinctively.
The rampage was the result of natural instinct. Like all creatures under the sun, the tailed-beast too had the will to survive programmed into them. They couldn't and were not willing to give up the right to survive. Therefore, a third-party intervention was a necessity.
"Thank you, Saiken," I said to the white slug. To think that I had to ask the tailed-beast itself how I should suppress them, how embarrassing.
"You're welcome," Saiken waved his antennae and for a second, I actually thought it was kind of cute. However, that thought only lasted for a second. After all, not long ago, I was drowning in his acid.
"Do you know what happened between Utakata and his shishou?" I asked again, hoping that it wasn't a topic that was too triggering. The last time I checked, Utakata's shishou did try to extract the beast and paid in full with death.
Saiken didn't look too offended. He answered, "As I said, I see what Utakata sees. What you see is just the reaction, nothing more, nothing less."
Once again, he reminded me of the irresistible natural instinct. Utakata's shishou did endanger Utakata's life, that was the trigger for the reaction. However, whether or not his shishou knew that he was killing his student, Saiken didn't know and he didn't care.
"You're running out of time." Suddenly, the slug reminded me. I turned around and he was right, a drop of red was dripping down the rim of the Mangekyou pattern. My eyes were bleeding.
If I squinted a little more, I could see that the Torii gates that were pinning down Saiken's tails were losing their red glow little by little. Saiken was right, I was running out of power to suppress him. By then, he would not hesitate to attack me, killing me in my own mind.
It was the rule of nature. I couldn't blame him for that.
"You're willing to help Utakata, why?" That was the last question I wanted to ask him. Even now, he was giving me a chance to suppress him, so long as I showed him that I had the power to do so. That was not the tailed beast in my imagination, or rather, that was not the rampaging Nine-Tail that I was warned against.
"Freedom would be nice, but Utakata's not a bad host for the time being." The slug said in his high-pitched voice, "But rest assured, not all of my kin is like this. If one day the seal on Utakata was broken, I would also get out without a second thought."
I couldn't help but blink a little in surprise. "You have quite … a practical outlook on life." I didn't know how else I could put it. Once again, Saiken waved his antenna at me as an agreement. There was a hint of impatience there as if he couldn't wait for this to be over.
As long as the seal on Utakata remained, even if he had transformed into the Six-Tail unconsciously, Saiken couldn't be released. He must have tried before and failed. So, Saiken decided that living with Utakata was bearable and he'd rather not expend too much energy constantly fighting to keep his host alive.
"Sorry, this will hurt," I said to Saiken as a final word. I had extended our meeting long enough, any longer, I wouldn't be able to suppress him with the Mangekyou.
Saiken waved his antennae at me, whether that was a 'goodbye' or an 'I understand, I wasn't sure. In front of me, the last Torii gate finally pierced through the white slug's body, pinning down the giant creature fully.
Saiken let out another high-pitched roar - this I recognized, it was a cry of pain - as the layer of water travelled up his body, gluing him to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the world around me shifted. I felt the thick liquid running down my cheek. I swiped it with my fingers, it was blood.
Soon, the scene in front of me focused. Under layers of seals, the once-raging Jinchuuriki halted in his transformation, showing a silhouette of the man with Saiken's tails behind him. It was kind of creepy, seeing my Mangekyou pattern being engraved in his eye, but nevertheless, I told the tailed-beast, go back to your slumber.
In the corner of my eyes, Tsurugi took a step forward, sucking back a breath of astonishment when the sinister chakra started to fade.
I felt my mind shaking. It was Saiken, fighting back against my control just like his instinct told him to. Nevertheless, I hardened the prison in my mind, pushing the Torii gates further down.
"Can you please release the seal?" Suddenly, I told Tsurugi without letting my eyes leave Utakata.
"Are you crazy?" Tsurugi said, no surprise there.
"I can calm him down, but the seals are hurting him, it's making him feel threatened," I told him. Right now, my Mangekyou was forcing the tailed beast to back down against his natural instincts. That was like telling a rabbit to run towards its predator, not enough conditioning in the world could do that.
"Release the seal, or I'm going to have a hard time making Six-Tail recede," I repeated again. I didn't have time to wonder if I had just threatened the Head of the Anbu from another village, he could either take it or leave it.
Tsurugi glanced at the injured Anbu on the ground - some of them already dead from the injury - and the Anbu agents currently holding onto the seal.
"Release the seal. All Anbu, stand by and be ready to contain the beast again," Tsurugi ordered. Now, this was a leader who was decisive.
The black seals restraining Utakata were gone in a second. At the same time, Saiken seemed to surge up in my mindscape. I kept my mangekyou steady on the half-transformed man in front of me, and the pressure I had on Saiken had increased again.
Once again, I told him, go back to your slumber, there's nothing to fight here. This time, the Saiken in front of me, this corporeal body, agreed.
It was the longest ten seconds of my life as I watched the silhouette of the tailed-beast rescind into that of the man in yukata. Blood dripped from my eyes and pooled around my feet, stinging pain assaulted my eyes, I could barely keep them open.
Tsurugi didn't need to be reminded twice when Utakata fully appeared. Immediately, he told his Anbu to slap a chakra-restraining seal on his neck, made especially for Jinchuuriki. Then, he ordered his Medic-nin in Anbu to treat his fallen soldiers as well as the Jinchuuriki.
Now that Utakata was back in control, Tsurugi was going to make sure he stayed.
As for me, I felt like the world was spinning. I might need to sit down.
"Captain!" That was Falcon, who decided to ignore my order and came back here. Well, it was probably Owl who told them that the tailed-beast Chakra was gone.
"Rabbit." Someone called me, it was Tsurugi. "As much as your help was appreciated. I think both me and Mizukage-sama would like a word with you, about why you're here in Kirigakure at such a time."
That was an invitation to Kirigakure, a mandatory one, by the looks of it. However, I turned to Tsurugi and said, "I'd have to respectfully decline. I have a Hokage to report to."
Tsurugi, of course, wasn't going to take a no for an answer. But before he could speak up again, a puff of smoke appeared in front of me. Instinctively, I held out my hand and caught the little Katsuyu that appeared in the air.
"Tsunade-sama wants you to leave the Jinchuuriki. Do not engage with Kiri Anbu, she said." Little Katsuyu said with her gentle voice. Now, this was a slug that could be called cute. Saiken was … something else.
I looked at my teammates on the left and then at Tsurugi on my right. "It's a little late for that, Hokage-sama. I, uh, aided Kiri-Anbu in preventing their Jinchuuriki from undergoing a full transformation, so we're a little caught up."
That was all Katsuyu caught before disappearing in a puff again. I waited for a whole minute before the little Katsuyu appeared again. "Deal with it yourself, Tsunade-sama said."
The tiny slug looked at me with pity when she relayed the message. Yeah, Tsunade-sama definitely wasn't very impressed at the turn of the event.
"Konoha Anbu, please, we insist," Tsurugi said again, putting a hand in front of me to show that no, these Kiri Anbu around us wouldn't just let us leave that easily.
Feeling my headache getting worse, I let out a sigh.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
We had to take a few stops on our way to Kirigakure.
There were quite a few Kiri Anbu that had been injured, as well as their prized Jinchuuriki. All of them needed plenty of rest between long travels and Tsurugi wasn't about to kill his subordinates just so that we could get back a day faster.
Utakata, as expected by his Jinchuuriki healing, was already in a much better shape than his pursuers.
Needless to say, the man wasn't happy about being back in captivity again, but he also didn't look like he wanted to try his chances at breaking the chakra seal by letting Saiken take over either. Not now, anyway.
"I heard you saw Saiken," Utakata asked me at the campsite under the watchful eyes of Tsurugi and his Anbu agents.
"I did," I answered and before he could ask again, I said, "He didn't know anything you don't know. You're his prison, Utakata, but you're also his window."
'Che' once again, Utakata made a sound of annoyance. "But my shishou did try to kill me. Those were the only times Saiken would take over."
"For Saiken, he would fight back on instinct when your life is endangered, no matter what is the reason. But are you just going to accept that as well, no matter the reason?" I asked. The answer would be no, otherwise, Utakata wouldn't be obsessed with it for so long.
"Harusame never wanted to kill you." It was Tsurugi who spoke up, drawing both of our attention. "He wanted to take the tailed-beast out of your body because he thinks it's an uncontrollable danger to you. Of course, his attempt was unsuccessful."
Utakata looked like he wanted to laugh. The answer he had been seeking for - whether he realized it or not - and the answer he was haunted by, it was told so easily by Tsurugi.
"You think I would believe anything you said, to try to get me back to the village?" Utakata told Tsurugi.
The Anbu agent wasn't mad, he said, "Harusame's file is in the Kirigakure Anbu Archive. His research on tailed-beast Extraction was also detailed. Whether or not I'm telling the truth, you can make your decision after getting all the facts."
For a few minutes, Utakata said nothing and Tsurugi didn't push. I glanced between them, eventually shaking my head.
All of this crap between Utakata and Kirigakure could have been solved with some therapy and five minutes of peaceful communication. I could be back in my village, spending time with my family.
Instead, I was here, on a trip to Kirigakure coerced by their equivalent of Anbu Commander, with a splitting headache due to Mangekyou overuse.
Of course, the reality was never that simple. So many factors interfered between Utakata and Kiri, preventing them from reaching peace, driving them further and further onto the opposite sides. It sounded stupid from an outsider - it always did - but that was exactly how a tragedy happened.
Still, I didn't get paid enough for this.
"What does Kiri even hope for me now, after I killed plenty of your shinobi?" Utakata just had to ask that. Tsurugi stared at the man with hardened eyes, devoid of many emotions.
At one point, someone like Utakata might have been a talented shinobi of Kirigakure and a soldier under Tsurugi's command. At some later time, Utakata became a missing-nin. More recently, he had killed more than a dozen Kiri-nin that were sent to retrieve him. Those were lives that couldn't be passed by a few simple words such as misunderstanding and miscommunication.
"I'm sure Rabbit filled you in. With Akatsuki, Kirigakure needs you alive. That didn't mean your debt would be waived. You'd do well to think about how you can live the rest of your life so that those lives of the loyal shinobi of Kiri wouldn't be sacrificed in vain."
Those were harsh words, pinning down the guilt, blame, and responsibility all onto Utakata. But the younger men didn't lash out in rage or anger. It seemed, Utakata would accept what he had done and the consequences of his actions.
Now, whether he planned to do so inside the village or after making his escape, that was debatable.
"When are we moving again?" I asked, breaking this weird silence in front of me.
"In an hour. This will be the last stop we make before arriving at Kirigakure." Tsurugi informed me before I went back to my team.
My team members didn't need a reminder of how to behave in front of Kirigakure. Even Moth - our newest addition - had plenty of practices in the last few months. So that only left the wandering boy we picked up a few days ago.
"I'm not going to be able to get out again, am I?" Haku raised his head and looked at me with his eyes as clear as winter snow. It was clear that he had realized that in his pursuit of Kubikiribōchō, he had stumbled upon something too big for him to know.
"Why do you sound like you're about to get killed?" I asked, feeling the boy gave me a confused look, questioning 'I'm not?'
"Well, I suppose that's also an option. But no, you're not going to be a wandering shinobi again. You either swear your allegiance to Konoha or Kiri, or you choose death. Neither of our villages would let someone like you walk freely again, that's just how it is," I told the boy, watching him lowering his head, trying to process everything I said.
"Do you regret it? If you hadn't come looking for Kubikiribōchō, you won't be caught in this," I asked. If he had decided to go anywhere else, we might never need to meet again and he would still have the chance to wander freely.
"To be honest, I don't quite see the difference between walking away freely and joining a shinobi village. Although, I do feel a little … angry at being told that I can't leave," Haku answered and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
"It's called the pursuit of freedom, Haku," I told him. "You're still young, take some time in your life and look around. You can do that even in a village."
"You might not believe me now, but the world is so much more vast than just Zabuza. Just like the time you decided to fight the missing-nin in that village, you'll find something that's worth spending your life on." With Konoha, I wouldn't worry about Haku's acceptance. Even with Kiri, given Haku's Kekkei Genkai and tragic background, Mei would not turn him away.
Sure, he would be closely observed to ensure his loyalty, but with his talent and training, his acceptance wouldn't be far in the future. As a shinobi, he was bound to the village, but the village would also give him enough freedom to explore life.
"Either way, you have until we get to Kiri to tell me whether you want to come with us to Konoha. As for this," I shook the storage scroll on my waist, "we can do it now if you want." After all, by the time I walked into Mei's office, this scroll would not belong to me anymore.
Haku looked at the scroll in my hand and then at me. Finally, he shook his head. "You're giving it to Kirigakure, right? I'm well aware of the fact that I stood no chance against you. But perhaps when I could match up to Kubikiribōchō, I would have a chance."
With that, Haku had made his decision. He would stay in the new Kirigakure and become one of its shinobi. In Kiri, those who were strong enough could obtain the candidacy to inherit one of the Seven Swords.
"Good luck, I'll be waiting."
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
"It's good to see you again, Maiko," Mei said with a smile as she sat behind her office table.
"I'm honoured, Mizukage-dono," but I can't really say the same. I omitted the last few words and returned her greetings with my own brand of a diplomatic smile.
"I heard that you've provided us quite the help in recovering the Six-Tail Jinchuuriki." Mei eyed Tsurugi standing on the side, with a Utakata sitting beside me, kept in check by the chakra seals all over his body.
By the pissed-off look on Utakata's face, he didn't appreciate having his failed escape being brought up again and again. However, the fact that his seals stayed on nice and proper meant that he had decided that staying in Kiri was tolerable, at least for now.
"How does it feel, taming a tailed beast," Mei sounded like she was just asking me to share what I had for dinner. What she really wanted to know was how easy it was for the Mangekyou to control the tailed beast. I wouldn't tell her anything, but it didn't hurt to ask.
"I'm having a headache, kind of like a concussion," I answered, the underlying words being that I didn't want to stay in your village for too long.
"We have medic-nin ready if you require assistance," Mei responded.
"I'll just rest on my own, thanks," I had to respectfully decline her intervention.
Mei wasn't offended by that. Rather than getting hung up with the details, she moved on to business without any delay. "What are you doing here near Kirigakure? I wasn't aware of any diplomatic visit coming from Konoha."
"We weren't wandering near Kirigakure. Our mission had always been in the border region between our two countries," I corrected Mei, who nodded in acceptance and waited for me to continue.
"We were hunting a missing-nin from your village, Zabuza. He was sighted near our Southwestern border. He came too close, you know our job." I answered without batting an eye. Zabuza wasn't the first Kiri missing-nin we had hunted and he wouldn't be the last. Kirigakure couldn't stop Konoha from eliminating their perceived threat. If they wanted to retrieve the bodies themselves, then they just had to catch the missing-nin faster than we did.
"What about his body and Kubikiribōchō?" Mei asked, narrowing her eyes at the mention of one of the Seven Legendary Swords.
"I erased his body, as for Kubikiribōchō, here." I placed the sealing scroll in front of Mei without another word. Mei raised an eyebrow as she picked up the scroll as if asking, was Konoha just going to hand it over that easily?
"Hokage-sama wants me to hand it over as a sign of our friendship," I said, giving her a smile. To be honest, the moment I was forced to step into Mei's office by Tsurugi, I wasn't going to walk out with the sword. Therefore, I might as well make it sound like we were the ones taking the initiative.
"Well, Kirigakure appreciates the thought. Next time, we'll be sure not to trouble Konoha again." Mei didn't bother to examine the scroll before handing it to Tsurugi. It wasn't good etiquette to question your guests from another village; it made it seem like Kirigakure didn't have the confidence in themselves.
"Now, would you mind telling me how you came across our Six-Tail Jinchuuriki?" Mei moved on from Zabuza quickly. If it was only about one Kiri missing-nin, we wouldn't be having this meeting.
"That is an accident. We were simply on our way back to Konoha where we stumbled upon Utakata," I described in a calm voice.
Utakata gave me a look that said, 'let's see how far you can run with this,' knowing full well that we came looking for his trail because I admitted to him. He wasn't going to rat me out on Kirigakure right here. He didn't like Kirigakure enough for that.
I supposed that even if he did, it wouldn't matter in the long run. Mei already had her suspicions and nothing I said could dispel that. What we were doing here was just for appearance.
"I'm curious, what made you decide to take a missing-nin in instead of killing him? After all, isn't that your job?" Mei asked, laying traps for me in her honey-smooth words.
"Well, with his incredible life force, his massive chakra signature, and the fact that Kiri Anbu was hunting him to take him back, not kill him - his words, not mine - It's logical to deduce that he might be the famed Six-Tail Jinchuuriki. I can't very well leave him by the roadside near a village full of missing-nin, can I?" One by one, I tried to fill the holes Mei had found in my argument. "As for why your Jinchuuriki is that area, that's not something I can predict, is it?"
Utakata stretched his mouth as if he was trying to contain a burst of laughter, having just heard me trying to make a bunch of rubbish sound logical.
Mei looked at me and I met her gaze head-on. Like Sandaime Hokage had once told me: there were some things that everyone knew underneath, but it was an implicit understanding that it should never be said out loud to maintain an amicable relationship where both parties kept their dignity. Then, it was a rather quick decision, for Mei to decide that she was going to let it go.
After all, everything seemed to end up well. Six-Tail was within the village again, receptive to the threat known as Akatsuki. Because of my Mangekyou, Kirigakure had much fewer casualties than they had expected. Mei had other problems to deal with than a bunch of nosy Konoha Anbu, for example, explaining to their Six-Tail Jinchuuriki why Akatsuki was truly dangerous.
"A Mangekyou user controlling Yondaime? That's ridiculous," Utakata exclaimed.
"But it is what we had seen during Yondaime's death. Otherwise, just a band of S-rank missing-nin doesn't scare Kiri. Knowing that someone who had already infiltrated our highest power and stirred Kiri into a decade-long civil war is likely to be in that organization, that's enough for Kiri to treat them as the highest security threat." Mei laid it out for Utakata as straightforward as she could, not toning down her words for euphemism.
"Mizukage-dono is right. That individual had also played a part in Konoha's Nine-Tail rampage a decade ago. He is calculated, ambitious, and patient. That means Akatsuki's plan of gathering the tailed beast is not by whim but rather a goal that is carefully planned out." I told Utakata, who furrowed his brow, having just heard the reason why two of the major shinobi villages were on high alert when the era of peace was prosperous.
At the end of it, she told Utakata before sending him away, "This is bigger than just you, Utakata. It wasn't because Kiri needed your Jinchuuriki power - I'm proud to say that our shinobi are rebuilding the village fine - but because you're one part of a sinister plan that could destroy our village."
Mei was good at giving speeches, that was how she could rally up her village so fast. With a few sentences, she made it seem like Kiri was only doing this because they were fighting evil, not at all because they couldn't afford to lose another great power.
But whatever, at least there was some truth in her words. Every village needed to look out for themselves, whether it be Kiri or Konoha. As long as we all played our part, no one would complain.
Meanwhile, I kept on wondering when I could leave. I wasn't lying when I said I was having a headache. Talking with Mei always required much more brainpower than usual, which only made it worse.
"One last thing. Are you really not going to tell me how Konoha got the information about Akatsuki? It's not possible without a spy." Mei said, tapping her fingers on the table. I narrowed my eyes, not liking where this was going.
"I told you, we have our information network," I repeated the words I had told her countless times. However, Mei simply continued with her train of thought.
"To be a spy in such an elusive organization, I can't imagine anyone other than an S-rank missing-nin to fill that role. When I think about it, Konoha only has so many S-rank missing-nin." Mei placed a hand below her cheek and tilted her head as if she was just trying to satisfy her curiosity. "Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi, which one of them is it?"
Ah, we were wondering when this conversation would come back. Itachi warned us that the connection between him and Akatsuki was too obvious. Anyone with a brain could figure out where Konoha's information came from as long as they took some time to think.
Still, all I could do was give her a smile, telling her to guess it herself. That was enough of a confirmation for her.
Mei made a hand motion across her lips, telling me that her lips are sealed. "It's good to know we have such a trustworthy source of information." There was some degree of sarcasm in there that pissed me off. Just wait until you know who's really providing us with Akatsuki updates.
"Rest easy, I asked because it's important to make sure we are on the same page before we enter into an alliance on this Akatsuki matter." Finally, she was saying something of interest to me.
"Mizukage-dono, can I assume that you're giving Konoha your decision then?" I asked.
For once, Mei wasn't stretching out her words to increase my headache. "Yes, Kiri will enter into the alliance with Konoha in facing the threat against Akatsuki. I don't doubt that Konoha is keeping their Nine-Tail in good shape. Six-Tail, you've just seen him. As for Three-Tail, we are keeping taps on his rebirth and we will share the information with Konoha periodically, is that acceptable?"
I nodded, "That's more than enough, Mizukage-dono." Mei still wanted to keep the initiative of recovering the tailed beast within Kiri, which was reasonable. However, she understood that Three-Tail was likely our best chance of assessing the power of Akatsuki directly. She was willing to share with us any findings Kiri made and potentially collaborate with Konoha if the need arose.
"I will draft up an Alliance Proposal for your Hokage if you can wait for an hour. It is my hope that we can work out the details as soon as possible." With that, she kicked me out of her office.
An hour later, I got the sealed scroll from Mei, along with a very expensive communication orb to take to Tsunade-sama. Thank god, this meant that I didn't have to rush back and forth between Kiri and Konoha to be the messenger. Although, Mei was adamant that I return the communication device after the Kage were done negotiating.
When I left the Mizukage's office, however, it seemed that Utakata was waiting for me, along with a team of Anbu, looking like they were permanently attached to him.
"He wanted to see you before you leave," Tsurugi told me, before stepping back into the silent background.
"Did you have a chance to take a look at the Kiri Archive?" I asked, vaguely remembering something about it before we made it to Kirigakure.
"I did," Utakata answered.
"It seems that you found an answer you believe in then." I could see the layer of irritation being peeled off of the man standing in front of me. The weight of haunting memories seemed to be lighter now. "What happened to 'you think I'll believe what Kiri says'?" I asked, watching Utakata rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Some snippets of memory from when I transformed to Saiken seemed to return. So I decided to go with my guts," Utakata explained. I understood that - the nagging feeling you had when you tried to shove the 'truth' down your throat even if it didn't quite make sense. So sometimes, when your guts pointed you in a direction, you just had to take it.
"Congrats, you got the prerequisite for personal peace." Finding the truth was the prerequisite. The next step was living with it.
"He told me your name is Uchiha Maiko," Utakata pointed to Tsurugi and once again, my Anbu identity meant nothing. "Goodbye, for real this time."
"Goodbye. Hopefully, you'll be out of that seal the next time I get coerced to come here," Utakata laughed as Anbu escorted him away. However, Tsurugi's mouth twitched at my word choices.
Still, he brought words from Haku, who was being vetted in the Shinobi Headquarter. The boy left me a "thank you" and a "goodbye", according to Tsurugi.
"Kirigakure is looking good," I told Tsurugi when he escorted us out of the village. As Mei said, her shinobi were rebuilding their home just fine.
"It is, and it will look even better the next time you visit," Tsurugi replied, emphasizing the word 'visit'.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
"I miss Zebra," I muttered when we returned to the Anbu Locker room. My team was dismissed for now, but I had to go make my report to the Hokage considering how much had happened. With Zebra, at least his healing chakra might alleviate my headache.
"Who doesn't?" Falcon said, throwing his mask into his locker. "I can write up a report to Hokage-sama first if you need some time to treat your headache."
It was nice of him to suggest, but I shook my head. Events that had happened on this mission should be reported as soon as possible. My head's been hurting for a few days already, it could wait a few hours more.
When I entered the Hokage's office, Tsunade-sama and Kakashi were already waiting for me.
"Hokage-sama," I greeted Tsunade-sama with a bow. Then I gave Kakashi a nod of acknowledgement. "Commander." He was right, the only times I called him that was when I was mocking him or during formal occasions.
"I heard from Katsuyu that you've had quite an adventure," Tsunade-sama emphasized the word adventure and I felt a cold shiver down my spine. I felt the need to explain, but with a glare from the Hokage, I closed my mouth.
"Kakashi filled me in on Zabuza already, so start from after that. I want to know how my scouting mission turned into tailed-beast suppression."
I didn't need another cue to start my report.
I described the events leading up to our meeting with an injured Utakata, followed by my decision to take him in and my attempts to warn him about Akatsuki. Then, I told them about the raid planned by Kiri Anbu and my decision to try to suppress the Six-Tail transformation using the Mangekyou. Finally, I repeated my conversation with Mei on Akatsuki, Itachi, and the Konoha-Kiri Alliance.
"This is Mizukage's draft of the alliance proposal and a communication orb for further negotiation." I took out the items from my storage seal and placed them on the table. Tsunade stared at the scroll and the orb, looking speechless.
After a good minute had passed, she said, "Somehow, I felt like I've given you four missions in one."
" … It just happened," I muttered. I couldn't find another way to explain the progression of events.
"Let's go back to the part where you suppressed the Six-Tail. How do you even know that?" Tsunade gave me a look that said if my answer was 'I just winged it', she would throw me down her tower.
"Itachi and I were … discussing the possibility," I answered.
"Of course you discussed it with Itachi," Tsunade said as she rubbed her temple. "So, how was your attempt at suppressing the tailed-beast with Mangekyou?"
For a second, my mind flashed back to the crimson domain filled with desolation. I felt the stinging pain engulfing my skin again, but the Mangekyou didn't respond. Instead, the giant Mangekyou burned bright in front of me, drawing me closer and closer ...
"Maiko!" A shout that brought me back to reality. It was Kakashi. There was a hint of worry in his eyes as He waved his hand in front of me to get my attention.
"Sorry, I've been having a headache from the Mangekyou overuse," I said and as if answering my call, the splitting headache acted up again.
Tsunade didn't say a word as she stood up from her chair and walked towards me. With little regard to formality, she sat on the table and hovered her hand above my head, glowing in the green chakra for healing. I could feel the warm chakra filling my body, easing the pain and washing over the fatigue.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I managed to say after Tsunade retracted her hands. She made no attempt to move from the table, instead, she gave me a nod, signalling me to continue.
"Using the Mangekyou to suppress the tailed-beast largely relies on our ability to capture a projection of the tailed-beast and tame it in our mindscape. I was lucky this time since the Six-Tail seems to be one of the less aggressive tailed-beasts. He didn't resist past what was demanded of him by his natural instinct," I explained.
"But … tailed beasts are not human, their moral standards and world views are fundamentally different from what we considered to be the norm. Even a tailed beast as tamed as the Six-Tail, he wouldn't feel bad for killing me in my own mind if I couldn't defend myself, because it was the law of nature for him."
It was simple. I threatened him with the Mangekyou, and he would attack back. So unless I could survive his attacks and restrain him, it was only natural for me to die.
"So, what I understand from your words is that using the Mangekyou to force the tailed-beast to rescind back is not something that can be replicated easily." Tsunade was quick to pick out the implications.
"No, Hokage-sama, not at my current level." I shook my head. Even if Tobi was an enemy, the fact that he could tame and control the Nine-Tail was astonishing, considering the amount of hate and aggression the fox had towards shinobi.
Tsunade simply stared at me for a moment, or maybe I should say, my eyes, to be more exact. Letting out a mocking laugh, she said to me, "I want to reprimand you, for trying something so daring despite not knowing if it would work. But I can't, because we are dealing with something much more novel and dangerous that there is no precedent to follow. That pisses me off."
Before I could speak up, Tsunade continued. "Either way, I do agree that preventing the Six-Tail from fully transforming is the best option in that situation if it can be done. It prevented the crack between Kiri and their Six-Tail Jinchuuriki from becoming unamendable and it also reduced the chance of Akatsuki finding out the Six-Tail's current situation."
She walked back to her chair and sat down. Rubbing her temple, she picked up the scroll from the table and said, "It looks like Kirigakure is stable in terms of their Jinchuuriki status and that makes our alliance stable. So, that's one good news."
"Now, it's time for us to fill you in on some bad news," Tsunade said as she leaned backward. I did not like the sound of that at all. But my opinion didn't matter, as she nodded to Kakashi, telling him to take over.
"As you know, we sent a team to track the Four-Tail from Iwagakure, for a purpose similar to your mission - the original one, not whatever you made it become. " I didn't find any humour in his words, but then again, the real point lay in the next sentence. "We lost contact with them yesterday and their Anbu tattoo had been disconnected since then."
I had a loss of words when the implication hit me.
"Their last known location was at the outskirts of Earth Country, and they made no mention that they would dive deeper into the country." While the seals in the tattoo did have a range limit, it wasn't until the depth of Earth Country that it would lose its connection, which meant …
"They were likely already dead. How? We don't know. But given the fact that all of their tattoos disconnected within minutes of each other, the enemy must have overpowered them dramatically." The implication of Kakashi's words was obvious. "In the worst-case scenario, it was likely Akatsuki or the Jinchuuriki that had killed them."
I sucked in a cold breath before asking, "Are you sending more Anbu to investigate their deaths?" One team meant five or six highly trained shinobi. For all that lives sacrificed and no information had been gained. It was a big deal.
"I already did. It was my hope that more information would be returned soon. I want to find out the reason for their deaths as soon as possible, but I also want to make sure I'm not just sending another team of Anbu to their death," Tsunade answered with furrowed eyebrows. If we wanted more information, then the sooner we sent out another team, the better. However, if more information could be obtained - like a message sent by Anbu right before their deaths - it would help us tremendously in determining what sort of action we should take.
"Itachi had not come to us about another tailed-beast being captured, nor had he received any more news on Akatsuki," Kakashi said, answering my next questions before I could even ask.
Tsunade, for the first time during our meeting, let out a sigh of frustration. "As you can see, everything except for Kirigakure is at an impasse right now."
She let out a laugh as if remembering something funny. "Your brother had the guts to tell me to move with the pace and not to rush it. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. Lives have to move on even with Akatsuki dangling over our heads."
That was a sharp transition, telling me that we were moving on from global matters to issues closer to home.
"After Naruto's accidental release of the Nine-Tail Chakra in the Land of Waves, Kakashi and I believe it's time for him to know about his history and Jinchuuriki status."
I had to blink to make sure I was hearing it right. I looked to Kakashi - who used to be so reluctant in telling Naruto the truth and saw him giving me a nod of confirmation.
Tsunade continued, "I want you to be there to support him when we reveal the truths. After all, you're one of the few people in this village that treat him well and have a clearance high enough to deal with all the bad news related to Jinchuuriki life."
"What about his genin training then?" I asked, considering the main reason why we waited this long was that the Sandaime insisted Naruto have a normal genin experience - it was the more relaxed life period of a shinobi, after all.
"Kakashi will continue to teach him as part of team 7 - I'm not mean enough to rid him of that. However, I'll make Jiraiya train him on the Jinchuuriki part of the equation. I don't expect him to suddenly be up to par on Kumogakure's spartan Jinchuuriki, but at the very least, he needs to understand the power within him." I nodded, agreeing with Tsuande's words.
"When do you need me?"
Tsunade-sama eyed me critically, before replying, "Ideally, I'd want it as soon as possible, but looking at you, girl, you need some rest. Go home, when you've refreshed again, we'll talk. This meeting is dismissed."
Then, she turned to Kakashi and said, "You too, Kakashi. By the way, I want the proposal for the Chunin Exam, fast. If it's not here on my desk by the end of today, huh." I could visibly feel the dense amount of chakra gathering at Tsunade's fists.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied immediately, but the pain in his eyes was evident. I had to resist laughing at his expense. He had come to realize that procrastination as an Anbu Captain under Sandaime didn't work anymore now that he was working for Tsunade.
As soon as we left the Hokage's office, I pulled him to a corner. Without giving him a chance to say anything, I slammed my fist into his shoulder, making him stagger back.
That was for being stubborn and making his genin team stay despite knowing Zabuza was still around.
"Sorry, you can hit me back," I apologized afterward. That was because I also shared the responsibility of agreeing to his decision and falling into Zabuza's traps.
Kakashi rubbed his shoulder and said, "That won't be necessary, I deserved that." A moment later, he added, "Your brother sustained some injuries and blood loss, but he's all healed up now. Nothing a shinobi couldn't handle."
I nodded. I knew that Sasuke's injuries weren't too serious when I examined him on the bridge. Haku's senbon skill was precise and practiced and he made sure to avoid all vitals even for the trick he used to incapacitate him. Otherwise, that icy boy would be in ashes now instead of being in Kirigakure.
"Are you sure about this?" Suddenly, I asked. Even without mentioning Naruto's name, he knew immediately what I was talking about.
"Ignorance is not the best protection, you taught me that," Kakashi answered after leaning back onto the wall. "It seems that you and I suffer from the same fate."
"No, we don't. At least, I don't have to put my life on the line to submit the Chunin Exam proposal," I said, watching Kakashi shake his head, lamenting what his life had become.
"Right, I should get on with that. There are five departments I need to talk to and none of them agree with each other."
I went straight back to the Uchiha Compound afterwards.
"How's your mission?" Itachi asked. At this point, he had become a constant feature of our back porch.
"So much had happened," I answered, feeling my eyes struggling to open, due to both fatigue and strain. "But let me sleep first. Wake me up for dinner, then I'll fill you in."
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
What was Sharingan to an Uchiha? What was it to me?
It was an identity. It was power. It was pride. Moreover, it was a recorder of all that we had been through.
Physical experiences, emotional traumas … Sharingan transcribed all that had happened and all that had been lost.
The tri-petaled Mangekyou pattern reflected in my pupil, layering with the same pattern in my irides, truly forming a kaleidoscope.
"Let me out," I whispered to anyone that might hear this, be it the Mangekyou pattern in front of me, or perhaps some advisory that had kept me here, or even just myself.
The water stirred around my ankle, drawing my attention to the rippling wave from afar.
"Saiken?" I asked with uncertainty. Honestly, even the company of that giant slug was appreciated at this point, so long as I understood what the hell was going on here. Slowly, I moved my feet, but they seemed to weigh so much that I was having a hard time pulling them out of the water.
Time seemed to stretch forever as I moved across the plane of desolation. Torii gates littered in my view, but their wooden posts were worn and the bright red colour had faded, reminding me of the battle that had happened not long before.
At some point, I started running, forcing my legs to move, to reach to the other side. Acidic vapours seemed to linger in the air, filling my lungs, torturing my senses. But it had to be my imagination, a memory of the past because Saiken was no longer here.
With horror, I turned back, and Mangekyou stared back at me, the distance didn't lengthen a single bit.
"Let me out!" I yelled, hearing my own shaky voice. I raised my arm and saw the acid burns all over my skin, expanding, sending shivers of pain down my body.
Biting my lips, I shut my eyes tightly. When I opened them again, the burn marks were gone, as if it was just a nightmare.
"What do you want from me," I whispered, forcing myself to calm down against the waves of panic rushing through my body. Perhaps this was a side effect of using the Mangekyou on something as destructive as the tailed beast, or maybe a flashback of traumatic memory, or even a mix of the two.
The tri-petaled pattern stayed silent in front of me, pressuring me to look up, to face my Mangekyou Sharingan in a way that was usually reserved for the enemy.
Without another word, I turned around and started to walk again. Water dragged me down, filling my shoes with the weight of steel. Torii gates cracked and collapsed whenever I passed them. Acidic clouds became thicker and thicker as I ran further and further. However, the plane was endless.
I gasped for air, but all it did was set my lung on fire. I coughed violently, trying to ease the pain that was pushing me towards the edge of my sanity.
It's not real. It's just a relic of the past. A past that I had beaten. I articulated the words in my head, trying to pick out the rhythm of my heartbeat and use it to ground me.
I shut my eyes tight and opened them again, feeling my vision clearer than ever - the only aspects of my body that seemed to be working. The giant Mangekyou pattern seemed to pulse over me.
The burning sensation finally ceased and my skin, my throat, my lung, they were still as good as new.
I couldn't remember how many times the cycle had continued until exhaustion seemed to crack me down and I knelt down in the water.
I turned my head and raised it a little, seeing the giant Mangekyou pattern shining over me, following me no matter where I went and how far I had run.
Suddenly, I let out a laugh. I should have realized this a long time ago.
"Of course, you wouldn't betray me." It was always the Mangekyou that had protected me during my endless journey here. "But even you can't help me more than this, can you?"
It tried to protect me, but it couldn't get me out of this prison made up of my own shattered mind.
After a moment of rest, I stood up again, letting the water drip down from my knees. The journey had to continue.
" … ko …" I heard a distant voice, barely the sound of a whisper.
" … Maiko …" It was my name.
"Maiko!" It was Itachi's voice, loud and clear in the direction in front of me.
Without any hesitation, I ran forward, forcing my body to forget the exhaustion, the pain, and the panic.
I saw his hand - barely a cloud that was trying to form a shape - and I grabbed it.
A force yanked me forward and I took a deep breath. What greeted my vision was the wooden ceiling at the Uchiha Compound.
Without thinking, I propped myself up, hearing something snap in the process. However, it wasn't until I sat up that nausea and dizziness hit me like a truck.
I hissed, but then, I felt a hand on my forehead, placating my senses.
"Itachi …" I recognized the person in front of me, with worry leaving his eyes and relief settling in. "What happened?"
Seeing my confusion, Itachi let out a sigh. "I can't wake you up, Maiko. It's been two days since you came back."
"Two days?" I widened my eyes in disbelief.
"Yes, you're unconscious for two days. I don't think a headache involves this." I turned to the voice at the corner of the room and saw Tsunade standing by the shogi door, arms across in front of her chest. She pointed to a space behind, where a bag of nutrient solution stood, and said, "We've been keeping you fed and hydrated using nutrient solutions."
"It doesn't feel that long," I muttered, pressing a palm into my face. But then again, time seemed to lose its meaning in my 'dream'.
Suddenly, I smell the faint scent of blood. Turning my head a little, I noticed the droplet of blood that was about to fall from Itachi's eyes. "You used the Mangekyou," I stated.
"That seems to be the only way I can bring you out. Then again, I'm also just guessing. I'm glad it worked," Itachi explained.
"I couldn't find anything wrong with your body when you're unconscious. After I explained what you did in Kiri, he suspected that it might have been a side effect of your Mangekyou usage." Tsunade explained as she sat by my bedside. "So, what happened?"
"I'm not sure either. My memories of that battle with Six-Tail and my mindscape, they seemed to mingle and twist, and I can't find a way to get out." I tried to make sense of what had happened, but the truth was, I couldn't quite understand it too.
Itachi stayed quiet for a moment after hearing my words. Then, he spoke up, "The Sharingan records and enhances everything we see and experience. That traumatic experience fighting against the mind of a tailed-beast, along with the fact that your mindscape is battered and weakened after being used as a battlefield, might have pushed you into a loop in your unconsciousness."
"Will she fall into the loop again?" Tsunade asked, furrowing her brows as she examined my body with medical chakra.
"I'm not sure, but hopefully, her mindscape will heal itself slowly and this won't happen again," Itachi said, for once, looking uncertain just as I was. Nevertheless, Tsunade seemed to understand. The mindscape overseen by the Mangekyou had cracked after the battle, leaking out the worst of the worst that had happened when I tamed Saiken. However, if the mindscape had healed the cracks, then I shouldn't be affected anymore.
"Keep watch over her, Itachi. Inform me if something happens again, preferably by normal means, not a genjutsu-enhanced crow that appeared out of nowhere. Thanks to that, I almost cracked my desk." Tsunade said to Itachi, eyes twitching at the mention of his favourite communication method.
"Of course, Tsunade-sama, thank you for coming so fast." Itachi bowed his head slightly at the Hokage and I did the same.
Tsunade just waved her hands and said, "Before I am the Hokage, I'm also the most qualified medic-nin in the village. You're correct to come to me for something so serious."
She turned to me next and warned, "Maiko, you're forbidden from using the Mangekyou to tame the beast until it is safer. We have a sealing corps, for god's sake, let them work for their pay."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," I promised under her watchful eyes before she left the room.
The moment the shōgi door opened, Sasuke dashed to me in a blur and crushed me with a hug. Ryuu also stood by the shōgi door, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, Sasuke, I had you worried." I patted his head gently, feeling his tight grips on my shirt loosen.
"Why are you apologizing?" Sasuke yelled, giving Itachi a rageful look as if it was all his fault that I caught his way of talking.
"I'm okay now," I told Sasuke, drawing his attention back to me. "I was careless about using something I didn't fully understand. I'll be more careful in the future."
Sasuke stared at me for a moment and nodded. I couldn't promise him that it wouldn't happen again, because as shinobi, fighting for our lives meant risking our lives.
"It's dinner time soon. Sasuke, can you go heat up the leftovers with Ryuu? I'll be there with Maiko in a minute." Itachi wasn't being very subtle in saying that he wanted to talk to me alone. Any other day, Sasuke might have argued back. But not today, not with the graveness in Itachi's demeanour.
"So, are you going to reprimand me for being reckless too?" I asked as soon as there were only the two of us that remained.
Itachi shook his head as he returned to my bedside. "I'm not going to teach you how to be a shinobi, Mai, We're way past that stage now."
"Then what is it that you want to say?" I asked again, more confused than before.
"I can stay with you until your mind regains the strength, pull you out if you fall back in again. Still, there is much we don't know about the Mangekyou. However, there is one way that will for sure make the situation better," Itachi answered in a calm voice. "A pair of Mangekyou that is stronger and creates less strain will protect your mindscape better, even in the face of a tailed-beast."
"Don't say it, Itachi." I tried to stop him, but Itachi continued without a pause, "Take my eyes and gain the Eternal Mangekyou."
"We've talked about this. I don't want to take your eyes, not now, not ever. I can handle myself without it." I replied, trying to keep my voice calm so we wouldn't get into an argument like the countless times before this.
Perhaps 'argument' was not the right word for it, considering it was mostly just Itachi bringing it up and me refusing. He would let it go, smiling at me and saying that it was fine until he brought it up again sometimes later.
"Hear me out, Maiko. I never doubted that you are strong even without the Mangekyou power, but you should know from taming the Six-Tail that there are some things only the Mangekyou could do." Itachi locked eyes with me and I came face to face with his dark pupils. "You don't need the Mangekyou, but the Mangekyou will be needed."
"This time, it was the Six-Tail. Next time, there will be others. As of now, your Mangekyou is the most convenient way to tame a tailed beast. Compared to seals, you don't need prior preparation and you don't need to coordinate with others. You're the one-step-fix solution, Maiko." With each of his words, my blood ran colder.
"What are you suggesting, Itachi?" I knew what he was suggesting, I just didn't believe it would be a reality.
"Ah, I don't mean that Tsunade-sama and Kakashi will abuse your Mangekyou power," Itachi paused a bit, letting out a bitter laugh, "They don't need to because you're already doing it yourself."
"You don't even know the Six-Tail Jinchuuriki before meeting him, but when you believe that you can reach the best outcome, Maiko, you will do whatever it takes to get there," Itachi continued before I could interrupt him. "Now that you've done it once, you will do it a second time, a third … as many times as you need to change the tragedy that seemed inevitable."
In the end, he gave me a smile with a rare hint of sadness. "That's just how you are, Maiko. You will exhaust your Mangekyou, not because you need it, but because you're unable to let go. After all, Mangekyou, in its essence, stemmed from obsessions we couldn't let go of.
"Even then, I will not take your eyes," I answered. This was the line that I was not willing to cross. "You think it hurts you to see me going blind little by little, well, it's unbearable for me to see you lose your eyes as well."
With a sigh, I lowered my eyes. "Don't do that to me, please. Don't make me live the rest of my life knowing that I've taken everything from you."
Itachi stayed silent after hearing my words. This … this had always been a tangled mess we couldn't resolve. It seemed impossible for us to reach an understanding, where something always had to be lost, something too great for one of us to bear.
The silence made seconds stretch into minutes, but eventually, Itachi spoke up again. "There may be one more option that doesn't involve using my eyes."
"Then whose?" I asked, sounding skeptical. Mangekyou didn't grow on trees, for one pair of eternal Mangekyou to appear, another pair of Mangekyou must be lost. That was the fair cost of power. As far as I knew, we were lacking in terms of fully functional Mangekyou pairs, let alone a pair from close kin.
"Remember, our father also had the Mangekyou." Now, this was an answer that surprised me.
"But our father's body has been cremated. There's nothing left." It wasn't like Father's Mangekyou hadn't come up in our conversation, but it had been too long since his death that it seemed pointless to reopen the old wound.
"During the night of the massacre, I didn't have time to secure Father's Mangekyou. I was afraid that Danzō might have pillaged it, but it seemed that it wasn't the case."
"No, we found nothing in Root or his private possessions." I did suspect that Danzō might have taken my father's eyes as well - it would be too good to pass for his greed - considering I woke up after the cremation of my Clansmen had already begun, so I wasn't able to examine and say goodbye to my parent's bodies.
However, we found no other Sharingan in his possession except the ones on his body. Unless he used my father's eyes as simple Izanagi fodder, he didn't have other Mangekyou other than Shisui's.
"Danzō wouldn't use Father's Mangekyou for something as generic as Izanagi - he feared and craved Mangekyou power too much for that. But he had no reason not to take the eyes if he could, which probably means that he had never gotten it," Itachi analyzed. "There was one more person though, who was interested in the Sharingan and had access to the bodies of Uchiha simply because Danzō needed his skill."
"Orochimaru." The answer spoke for itself before I could react. Someone must have helped Danzō transplant the Sharingan and graft Shodaime's cells. No one had that expertise and boldness except for Orochimaru.
"What's the catch, Itachi?" I asked. The fact that he had never suggested this before meant that compared to using his own eyes, this was a compromise. When there was a compromise, there was always a catch.
"You mean other than the fact that I have no idea if Orochimaru actually has Father's eyes or if his Mangekyou still exists in this world," Itachi said, letting out a chuckle. For him, his eyes were concrete, safe, and immediate. It would always be the better option, the most certain option, as long he didn't care about himself.
"For a starter, none of us even know where Orochimaru is."
A/N: I have decided that Saiken is really cute. But you know, Tailed Beast have their dignity as a force of mass destruction, at least Saiken tried to maintain that before deciding it was too much effort.
As for why I think swapping eyes doesn't just magically fix everything, please see the A/N I made at the end of Chapter 53. But then again, that's just my understanding and much of it is creative interpretation.