I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Target Located

Ryuu looked up as a mockingbird called out to him. He raised his hand and it landed on his palm, whistling at him. Ryuu smiled. "Thanks. You're a life saver."

The bird whistled again and took off.

"What was it?" Fu asked.

"Sasuke's alive," Ryuu said. "Our bird-loving friend in Sasuke's group said Sasuke used Orochimaru's summoning snake, Manda, to shield himself from the blast, then his team summoned it to get Sasuke away from the explosion."

"He sacrificed a summoning animal?" Fu asked.

"If it's Orochimaru's personal summon, it was probably either an experiment of his, or just as bad as he was," Ryuu said. "Either way, it's better off dead."

Fu was silent for a moment before nodding.

"I'm not being cold, Fu," Ryuu said. "I mean it. Orochimaru's experiments are horrible. So if it was one, death is a mercy. And if it was as bad as Orochimaru, then it needed to be put down."

Fu nodded. "Okay. I believe you. So, what do we do now?"

"Sasuke's resting after his fight," Ryuu said. "While he does, his teammate is having the birds search for Akatsuki hideouts. Once Sasuke's recovered enough, he'll search them until he finds Itachi. In the mean time, you and I are going to go looking as well."

"Where?" Fu asked.

"Tobi," Ryuu said, Tobi growing from the ground. "Take us to the nearest Akatsuki hideout."

Tobi nodded and turned, leaping into the trees, Ryuu and Fu following.

"What about the others?" Fu asked.

"I don't want them involved in this," Ryuu said. "Sasuke and I need to be able to deal with Itachi however we need to without everyone else interfering. He's our family, and he slaughtered our clan. We need to pass judgment ourselves."

"Pass Judgement?" Fu asked.

"Don't worry," Ryuu smiled. "We both want to save him."

Fu smiled, nodding. "How can I help?"

"You're going to be keeping me alive," Ryuu smirked.

Fu laughed and nodded. They followed Tobi in silence for a long while before landing outside of a cave. They walked inside silently, Tobi once again sinking into the ground, and Ryuu narrowed his eyes, right hand twitching, preparing to form a Wind Rapier if necessary. The cave was pitch black, and Ryuu activated his Sharingan to help him see. However, after another moment, they stepped into the main chamber of the cave and stopped. There was a bed off to one side, several Akatsuki robes lining the wall, and a single person standing in the center of the room, looking around in a panic.

"Oh crap!" Madara said, acting like an idiot. "Oh crap! What do I do!?"

"Drop the act!" Ryuu snapped. "We both know you're not the Akatsuki's comedy relief."

Madara stopped, slowly straightening up, his Sharingan glowing from inside his mask as he watched the two of them. "Very well then. If you insist on me taking you seriously, I won't object. I should thank you for bringing me the Seven-tails Jinchuriki, and the Three-tails as well. I must say, when we discovered that the Three-tails we captured was only an empty shell, it perplexed me for a long while. However, now it makes sense. I can sense its soul inside of you. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself to the lovely young lady. I am Madara Uchiha. The true leader of the Akatsuki. After the headaches you and Ryuu have caused us, I will enjoy sealing your Tailed Beast completely this time. Although we got enough chakra from her the first time to move ahead with our plans, as we did with the Three-tails, it's better to be safe than sorry, wouldn't you agree?"

"I have no intention of letting myself or Fu be captured by you, Obito Uchiha," Ryuu snarled.

Obito's eye widened before his hands curled into fists. "So, you got Tobi to talk after all, did you? I'm impressed."

"Don't be," Ryuu said. "He didn't talk because I asked. He talked because he cares about you. He wanted you to know the truth."

"And that is?" Obito asked.

"Madara manipulated you from the start," Ryuu said. "You were never supposed to save Rin. He arranged to have her captured and turned into the Three-tails Jinchuriki, then arranged for her escape. He arranged to have Tobi and Zetsu take you to her just in time to see Kakashi kill her. He manipulated you from the very beginning to force you to lose faith in the world, and to make you to agree to follow in his footsteps, to be his pawn. Everything you've done was based off of a lie created to control you."

"And what of it?" Obito asked.

"Excuse me?" Ryuu growled.

"So what if he manipulated me?" Obito asked. "So what if he is controlling me? That is the way of things. It changes nothing. I don't care that I was manipulated. I don't care that I'm acting according to Madara's plan. I follow the plan willingly for one reason only. Because Rin is dead. I refuse to accept a world in which Rin does not exist. Such a world holds nothing for me. So I will create a new world."

"A new world?" Ryuu asked.

"Project Tsukinome," Tobi said, rising from the floor off to the side. "A plan to create a Genjutsu world in which everyone can live out their deepest wish."

"A Genjutsu world where you have Rin won't satisfy you," Ryuu said. "It will only be an illusion, and the knowledge that it's only an illusion will haunt you, and will deny you the happiness you hope to bring back."

"You believe you are any different?" Obito asked. "Tell me, what would you do if you lost Fu? What if Sasuke was the one who killed her?"

Ryuu was silent for a long moment. "I would find a way to bring her back. And if I couldn't do that, I would join her."

"And that is precisely what I am doing. I am using a Genjutsu to bring her back," Obito said.

"That's not the same thing!" Ryuu snapped.

Just then, an owl hooted, landing on Ryuu's shoulder and hooting again.

"The Uchiha Hideout?" Ryuu asked, then snorted derisively. "Of course he is. Where else would Itachi choose to face us."

"Oh, so you've been working alongside Sasuke all this time?" Obito asked. "Then he never truly deserted the Leaf? He was merely in deep cover. I will admit, you surprise me, Ryuu. I didn't expect that turn of events. I wonder how things will play out."

"Sit back and watch," Ryuu said. "Once we've dealt with Itachi, I'll be back for you."

"Are you going to kill me, or save me?" Obito asked. "You are in a unique position to try, after all. You and I have so much in common."

"Whatever parallels you force me to endure don't mean that we have things in common," Ryuu said. "You tried to force me to experience your tragedies, and your pain. You wanted me to be a second you. But you failed."

"Quite the contrary," Obito said. "It was...shall we say, a moment of curiosity. I wished to see if someone subjected to the same pain as I was would reach the same conclusion. Unfortunately, you proved slightly more resourceful than I had planned, and you corrupted Tobi, then rescued Fu, rather than losing her. I wouldn't say that the experiment was a failure, though. If anything, it is simply unfinished. I merely need to take that which you hold most dear. Then we will see whether or not you agree with me or not."

"Good luck with that," Ryuu said, sending the owl back out of the cave. "I have a much more valuable Uchiha to deal with, so this conversation's over."

"Indeed it is," Obito said. "I'll allow you and Fu to leave today, as I'm interested to see how you resolve things with Itachi. I'll be sure to keep the rest of the Konoha shinobi from interrupting for you."

Ryuu narrowed his eyes before resting a hand on Fu's shoulder, both of them vanishing instantly.

"My he really is faster than Shisui," Obito said. "I believe his may truly live up to the jutsu's other name, the Teleportation Jutsu."

Ryuu set Fu down beside Suigetsu and Karin, glaring at Kisame. "Suigetsu, Karin, I'm leaving Fu with you two, and your friend. Keep her safe."

"We will," the third ninja, a tall, powerfully built man with orange hair swept back, nodded. "I assume you're Ryuu. I'm Jugo, the one who you were passing messages through."

"It's nice to meet someone else who's peaceful enough to make friends with birds," Ryuu smiled.

"Don't let that fool you," Suigetsu said. "You remember hearing about Bipolar Jugo, right?"

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "And I don't consider his out of control state to be who he is. He's a peaceful person, or else the birds wouldn't trust him, anger issues or not. Jugo, I leave her to you."

"Right," Jugo nodded. "Look after Sasuke."

Ryuu nodded and vanished, reappearing beside Sasuke, both of them watching Itachi as he stared at them from the hideout's throne.

"At last, all of the surviving Uchiha have gathered," Itachi said. "Now, let us talk. We have much to discuss."

Leave a review.