Chapter 4 - Auburn
The Land of Sound, formally known as the Land of Rice Fields, was an unsuspicious looking country that harboured nightmares. Its pastured, countryside had been conquered and torn apart by one of the worst ninjas to ever go rogue: Orochimaru of the Sannin, and turned into a place of torture and experiments to satiate the snakes unending need to know all there is to know.
Jiraiya remembered the day Orochimaru had fled his home. The man had been caught red handed with more than sixty of Konoha's own civilians and shinobi underneath the village that had been experimented on to the point of death. Their sensei Hiruzen had been the one to uncover the snakes' evil deeds but had lacked the will to kill his former student and therefore had allowed Orochimaru to escape and create his own hidden village: Otogakure.
The toad sage still couldn't quite believe that his former best friend, who he had been through thick and thin with, had turned into what was undoubtably a monster. The only thing Jiraiya regretted more was the loss of Naruto, his godson.
That was the purpose of this mission.
Tsunade, the third and final Sannin, and now the Fifth Hokage, had finally agreed on a strategy to gain access to Orochimaru's hidden base. Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen had spent months plotting where and when to strike. They needed to make sure the snake didn't slither away without telling them where Naruto was.
After the weeks that Jiraiya spent searching for Tsunade, he had finally found her in a small town to the east where she had been drinking and gambling. Tsunade had, of course, refused the offer of Hokage but when he had spoken to her about Naruto and how the kyuubi had not been seen in years quite possibly because of their former teammate, she had relented and journeyed back with him to Konoha. Hiruzen had quickly stepped down after that and Tsunade had taken the hat and the responsibilities that came with it. They brought her up to speed on Jiraiya's theory about Naruto and she agreed to a mission to find and interrogate Orochimaru.
That was how Jiraiya found himself sat inside his favourite infiltration toad on a branch high up in the tree tops. Gamsuke was a brown, wart covered frog who had the ability to blend into whatever he sat on, and currently he found himself covered in a dark oak bark with flecks of green leaves peppering him. Jiraiya, incredibly, was hidden inside Gamsuke's stomach as all toads had the ability to make their stomach a kind of separate space big enough to house ninja in.
Inside, Jiraiya was waiting impatiently for Gamsuke to complete his surveylance. The toads stomach smelt like dead, burnt flies that made him sick to his own stomach but he persevered. He couldn't afford to be caught so deep into Orochimaru's land.
A low croak echoed down into the depths of the toad and Jiraiya nodded, surging forward as he watched the moonlight penetrate the darkness, and climbed out head first from Gamsuke's mouth.
They were overlooking Jiraiya's best guess at where Orochimaru currently could be residing- if his spies turning up dismembered, dead, or not at all, was any indication. It was dark but the moon sat firmly in the sky watching them, providing the small amount of light that allowed him to view the hideout below them. It was some sort of underground base that was hidden by a gigantic tree root that made up part of its roof; the rest being built from cracked stone and emerald green tiles. Brick slabbed steps descended down into a short open roofed hallway that led the way to an entrance that was too dark to see into.
A high-pitched whistling sound pierced their ears as it had done for the past few hours now; the wind blowing through the trees and grass in such a way it created a tune almost like a genjutsu being weaved through the country.
"Report," Jiraiya whispered, carefully scanning the area.
The frog croaked deeply before responding, "I have surveyed the area a mile in each direction with no sign of any sound shinobi other than the ones we passed on the way into the country. The hideout also has a single seal on the entrance that will need to be disarmed or recreated, Lord Jiraiya."
"Good, though I was expecting more than one seal if I'm being honest," Jiraiya hummed, "Any traps to be aware of?"
"Not that I can tell, however once you get inside, you're on your own," Gamsuke responded.
"I am Jiraiya the Gallant, one of the Legendary Sannin, and I will complete this mission no matter what," he replied puffing out his chest, then remembered he was supposed to be silent. He sighed.
It had been a year since Jiraiya had told Hiruzen of his theory. Naruto would have been eight by now, living a normal life with his godfather, and Jiraiya would make sure that they would get him back whatever it took.
"You should go back now Gamsuke," the sage said, "I'll summon you if I need you."
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya," Gamsuke said flicking out his long tongue in respect before bursting into a silent cloud of smoke.
'Alone in the snake pit,' Jiraiya thought and mentally prepared himself.
Supressing his chakra as best he could, the spiky haired man flickered down to the grass that swayed in the wind and made his way towards the steps of the hideout. His wooden shoes clacked loudly against the stone and he cursed as he removed them, 'barefoot it is,' he murmured to himself.
As he approached the entrance, Jiraiya realised he could still not see through the darkness that shrouded the entrance way and presumed it was something to do with the seal that was plastered onto the wall across from him. Luckily, Jiraiya knew how to deal with seals. Fuinjutsu was a tricky art to get a handle on but everyone started off the same until eventually you would create your own sealing script and formula in order to create new and different seals; it was the mark of seal mastery when you began to invent your own. However, this made it hard for other people to decipher as the script could look vastly different to what you were used too. It was good that Jiraiya had grown up with the snake and had watched the man create his own script. Sure, it had changed and improved slightly over the years, but then Anko- Orochimaru's test subject- bore one of his more recent seals that Jiraiya had studied very closely.
The seal was engraved into the very stone itself, not allowing Jiraiya to just be able to destroy it. It was in the shape of an upside-down equilateral triangle. Jiraiya ran chakra into his thumb and first two fingers and placed them at a point each on the triangle, he then spread them away from each other slowly, watching as the seal glowed green and unravelled, opening up to show the script underneath that had created it.
Grabbing his brush and inkwell from his haori- a sealing master never went anywhere without their brush for times like these- he soaked the paintbrush in the fluid and studied the seal. The seal had inverted and expanded into a much larger triangle which had sealing formula dotted around the edges detailing its purpose. It seemed to be some sort of chakra detector mixed with a privacy seal. The chakra detector would search whoever would enter and check it against a registry that had been permitted to pass, and the privacy seal was what seemingly stopped Jiraiya from seeing into the doorway.
He quickly and expertly painted his own name into the seal, coating it in his own blood as a way for the seal to accept him and watched as the seal collapsed again, spinning around into its original triangle form.
'That wasn't so bad,' he thought, sweating slightly.
Entering the darkness, Jiraiya felt the tell-tale sign of chakra envelop him, like trying to walk through a portal of water. He felt it checking his chakra and for a second his heart rate rose believing the seal hadn't recognised his new scripture, until it subsided like a pin popping a water balloon and left him alone. His chakra now accepted by the seal, the torches lining both walls lit up in a warm orange glow, allowing them to see the base.
Inside was a maze of winding corridors that he knew would takes days to search. He sighed quietly and resigned himself to the finding of his best friend turned enemy. While he wasn't a sensor per se, Jiraiya knew how to lock on to certain chakra signatures. He fanned his senses out like a net trying to catch fish in the ocean, and searched for any sign of Naruto, or the Kyuubi, or Orochimaru... he came up empty.
'Not to worry, they could be hidden by seals or supressing their chakra,' he told himself, picking a random pathway and following it, every so often passing by a locked wooden door. He came across no seals on the doors so continued searching, figuring it to be pointless to check somewhere he would be able to sense the kyuubi.
As he carried on, turning right, he came across a small mural on the wall that stuck out from the uniformity of the hideout. Clearly, it was a painting of a battle- though not one he recognised, or even knew had happened- that depicted a lone warrior atop a mountain gazing over an army of soldiers, while a beam of sunlight seared down the middle.
Suddenly, he heard a clang of metal slightly further on down the hall and he raced towards the sound, his feet pattering against the stone floor. He came across a door, this time being iron, with another seal placed on the turning knob. A circle this time, Jiraiya passed his chakra into the seal and undid it. It was a simple locking seal to keep people from entering or exiting. Swiftly altering it he swung the door open to a horror show.
Thick vats of blue liquid, three in total, lined the far wall. They were connected to the ceiling by large pipes and underneath them sat three identical seals on the ground facing up into the vats. Inside the vats sat body parts that even Jiraiya hadn't seen before in all his years of fighting. Hearts, lungs, livers, brains, kidneys, intestines...
He fought the urge to throw up on the floor as he turned to his right to hold onto the metal desk that stood at the side of the room. Various devices such as pliers and syringes were covered in blood showing their recent usage.
How had Orochimaru gotten so sick?
The man needed to be k-
"Welcome Jiraiya," a sultry voice behind him whispered. Jiraiya whipped around flaring his chakra, ready to battle, but instead of his former friend there was instead a young man. 'How did I miss him?'
The boy had silvery, grey hair, similar to Kakashi's, in a short pony tail with two bangs framing his face. He wore thick black glasses along with a purple shirt and matching trousers. He smelt of snakes.
"And you are?" Jiraiya asked, slipping into a stance.
"My name is Kabuto," the bespectacled boy replied, pushing his glasses up his nose with two fingers, "I am Lord Orochimaru's right hand man."
"I see. I presume my presence is known?"
"Obviously. No one enters this place without Lord Orochimaru's permission," Kabuto said, "If you wanted an audience, you only had to ask?"
The silver haired boy smirked at him, relishing that they had caught him in the act. This was bad. Jiraiya knew he was strong but to fight Orochimaru on his home turf surrounded by potentially hundreds of shinobi loyal to him was tantamount to suicide. He couldn't die without saving Naruto, not after coming this far. His best bet was so go with it and try to talk his way out of it. Worst comes to worse he could always reverse summon to Mount Myoboku.
"I need to speak with him," he ordered, only making the boys smile widen.
"Of course, Jiraiya," Kabuto said and pointed behind him, "Right this way."
Jiraiya kept a safe distance behind the boy, after all he had no idea of the ninja's abilities, but to be Orochimaru's right hand was sure to mean he was powerful and that meant he had to be wary. Minutes later they rounded the last corner and came upon a large cavern that sat a throne.
And sat atop the throne was his old teammate and Sannin, Orochimaru.
The snake had hardly changed since he had been forced to desert the Leaf. That superior smile was still plastered on his face and his body showed raw power and a keen intellect. His skin was pale white as if he was a canvas to be painted upon, and his hair was inky black, falling past his shoulders, seemingly covered in a thin sheen of slime that kept it straight. He wore a plain tanned apron over black a black shirt and had a purple rope tied around his waist. His eyes- which had once creeped Jiraiya out- were completely snake like.
The slender man's tongue flicked out like a snake tasting the air, and chuckled quietly, "Jiraiya, my old friend, what brings you to my humble abode?"
Jiraiya's eyes flicked around the room looking for any escapes. He supressed a shiver at the man's voice, remembering the organs floating in the blue vats.
"What you're doing here is a crime against human nature!"
"But this is my country? I cannot be prosecuted for such a thing. You people look down on me and push me away but in doing so I have gained strength and abilities you wouldn't believe. After all, you know my reasoning for doing all of this, don't you?" Orochimaru replied, faking being scorned, "So I ask you again, why are you here?"
'The quest to know every single jutsu, including immortality to defeat death itself,' he thought. When Tsunade's brother had died, Orochimaru had changed completely.
"I'm here on behalf of the Hokage to ask you a question," he responded. He counted no exits apart from the doorway behind him he had entered through. If he ran back the way he came there was no way he'd remember the exit.
"Oh?" Orochimaru laughed, "It's been a long time since I've seen Tsunade, what does our dear teammate want to ask little old me hmm?"
"Do you have... Naruto?" he asked sternly.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" Orochimaru looked confused, "Why would I want an orphan boy? I must admit the Uzumaki chakra reserves are interesting, but you see I already have one of my own."
"Naruto is my godson, and the son of the Fourth Hokage, this information is top secret," Jiraiya informed him. It was a gamble but there was no way around it.
"Really now? Interesting," he hissed, "Minato had a son then? Naruto Uzumaki? He took Kushina's name?"
"Minato believed that Naruto using the Namikaze name would put him on the radar of other villages- and for people like you, Orochimaru."
"That's true I suppose, however I fail to see why I would want the boy, after all Minato's techniques would not have passed down through the blood," Orochimaru asked.
"The- the day Minato died he sealed the nine tails into Naruto," he revealed.
Orochimaru's eyes widened with greed and Jiraiya knew he had been wrong, "Did he now? I assume this Naruto has gone missing else why else would you come to me for answers. You want to know if I took the boy?"
"And?" Jiraiya said weakly, already knowing the answer.
"It seems you already know the answer to your question, Jiraiya," he chuckled, "I'm afraid I do not have the boy."
The old sage nodded, looking down at the cracked stone floor, "However, I may have some information you would like," the snake smirked at him.
"I suppose you want something in return?"
"Naturally."
"What do you want?"
"Leave this place and never come back. Forget about what you saw and allow me to continue with my research. The Leaf will never get involved," Orochimaru ordered, his smile never leaving his face.
He had him. He couldn't turn down any information about Naruto now that he had no leads at all. Orochimaru was one of the most knowledgeable shinobi in the world, if anyone knew anything, it was him, "I will talk to Tsunade, we will not attack your land."
A dark chuckle pierced the dimly lit cavern, "Gooood."
"The information?"
"You know of the Akatsuki, yes?" the man asked. Jiraiya's eyes widened and he nodded, "They are an organisation of S-classed criminals."
"You know their purpose?" he questioned.
"Indeed," Orochimaru said, "Their goal is the capture and sealing of every Bijuu including those sealed inside jinchuriki's. I'd hate to think that they had gotten their hands on dear Naruto."
Internally, Jiraiya was seething and terrified. If this group had managed to steal Naruto, it was unlikely he would ever be recovered- especially if they had removed and sealed the kyuubi. Naruto could very well be dead already. 'Damn it, how could this happen!'
"How trustworthy is your information?" he asked, grasping at straws.
"Oh, very trustworthy my old friend," he got back, "I had been looking into them when they managed to find me and asked me to join their Akatsuki. This was the mission they highlighted to be of upmost importance."
"If this is true, then I need to return to Konoha and inform the Hokage," Jiraiya said, narrowing hus features.
"You don't want to stay for dinner?" Orochimaru hissed, chuckling.
Jiraiya growled and bit his thumb roughly, drawing blood, before slamming his palm onto the ground.
"Farewell, Jiraiya."
"Reverse summoning jutsu!"
His head echoed, filling him with shame, 'I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Naruto.'
Present Day...
Within the ruined and industrial setting of Amegakure stood a tower, taller than any other building to have ever been constructed. The tower supposedly housed a God, but that was merely a rumour preached about by the common folk. None had ever entered the tower besides his Angel after all. Occasionally, these common folk brought tributes- in the form of dead bodies- but even then, they never entered the tower.
It was a lonely and dismal place, adorned with steel statues across the village's skyline, even on the shard that touched the heavens, where God himself resided. Today, however, even amidst the usual, endless downpour, upon the highest of the statues, sat a figure, staring down upon the ravaged city below.
This figure was that of a boy, one that had seen death itself, with blonde hair that sulked in the rain and Golden eyes that reflected years of hardship and trauma.
Naruto Uzumaki had, against all odds, reached the age of sixteen. Today was his birthday, marking just over five years since he had entered the village. His mother was dead, his father hadn't visited in months. He felt alone. Sure, he had Nagato and Konan to keep him occupied, but they didn't quite fill that hole. It was war that had destroyed his family, along with countless others, and Naruto still wanted to create justice in this world and bring about peace. It was why he had taken the moniker of 'Justice' just like Nagato had named himself and his six paths 'Pain'. Naruto would deliver his justice to all those unworthy until the world was finally just.
He had decided upon the name not long after he had arrived at this place. His father had visited- like he had said- and told him that if he was to join the Akatsuki, he would need to hide his identity just as Nagato did. His former village would stop at nothing to re capture him and Naruto couldn't imagine what they would do if he got back without the kyuubi he had left with. Besides, he wanted to work from the shadows, just as justice took its time, so would he, and eventually he would come for the Leaf and they would remember him as the one that got away.
"Naruto?" an angelic voice called behind him, causing him to look up from the city.
It was Konan.
Konan was, admittedly, a very beautiful woman. Her cropped blue hair was strikingly unique and was adorned with an origami paper flower signifying her brilliance in the manipulation of paper. She wore the standard Akatsuki cloak that clashed heavily with her hair, and Naruto knew she wore a tight black top underneath. Eyes of amber pierced his own.
"Hmm?" he murmured in question.
"You'll turn into Nagato if you keep sitting in the rain like that watching over the city," she commented jokingly. Naruto knew that Konan was the one person in the Akatsuki that didn't care much for the plan, but her loyalty showed her deep friendship with Nagato.
"I suppose you're right; it just gets a little dull sat in there all day," he replied with a smile. Getting up, he looked down upon the city one last time before stepping back inside the tower. Instantly the cold hit him and he shivered slightly.
"Cold?" she asked.
"This village is the epitome of coldness," he joked, flaring his chakra within his body to warm himself up slightly.
The bluenette smiled and said, "Pain wishes to speak to you, he sent me to get you."
"Finally finished with his meeting, has he?" he questioned.
"Yes," she said, leading him down the stairs towards the basement, "Madara has been discussing things with him."
'Father is here?' he thought, surprised. He hadn't spoken to his father in months and to think he had come here without speaking with Naruto first was mildly annoying to say the least. Nagato and Konan did not know that he and Madara were related; only believing that Madara had found him and trained him personally.
'Perhaps he wishes to see how I've improved since I last saw him?'
Naruto had only gotten stronger since his arrival at Amegakure. For starters, with his age, his chakra reserves had grown even larger now on par with tailed beasts, though still slightly lower than Nagato's own due to him being older. And secondly, his mastery of the Rinnegan had put him leaps and bounds above even the strongest shinobi alive.
On his first night in the Rain, Nagato had explained and shown Naruto how to use each ability of their shared eyes. As far as they knew, the Rinnegan held six core powers- which Nagato called paths- and three extra abilities on top of that. Naruto had also realised that his Rinnegan allowed him two more strengths that Nagato seemed to not be able to use; whether that was because of differencing Rinnegan or whether it was because Nagato was technically not the owner of his eyes, Naruto did not know. The first of his unique ones was the power to send back ninjutsu at twice the power, 'Toko' which he had used before.
The six paths had been the hardest abilities to master due to the concentration and chakra needed to pull of such feats, but with Nagato's guidance he had eventually gotten them down. Nagato utilised these 'paths' through his six paths of pain bodies so that he could overwhelm and confuse his enemies due to his inability to walk.
The first and probably most useful path was the Deva path. It granted Naruto the ability to manipulate gravity within a certain area around a chosen epicentre. This allowed him to push or pull people, objects or ninjutsu whenever he wished with a minor cooldown period depending on the chakra fused into the path. This path was especially useful due to being able to create or close the distance on an enemy to surprise them.
The second path was the Animal path. This one allowed Naruto to essentially wrench control over any summoning animal- including the Gedo statue-, be it dogs, chameleons, birds, insects, without any contract or blood, simultaneously. This granted him extra fighting power and distractions on a battlefield and it allowed him to view through the summoned creature's eyes to cover his blond spots. The summoning of the Gedo statue also allowed him to move the giant creature closer to a bijuu in order to seal them.
The third path was the creepiest path that Naruto could use. Creepy in that it could change blood and bone into wires and metal, changing his very body into a weapon that he could use to sprout extra arms or even fire exploding projectiles that could topple buildings. The Asura path was yet another combat ability.
The path that he had basic knowledge over beforehand was the Preta path. With it came the instant absorption of any ninjutsu that was fired at his person, excellent for defence. It was this path that allowed him to send ninutsu back in conjuction with his unique Rinnegan ability.
The Human path was very interesting in that it ripped the targets soul from their body immediately killing them. It was, however, relatively slow to perform as Naruto had to sift through the target's memories- essentially allowing him to read their mind- before he could remove their soul. He remembered the time Nagato had brought him a sacrifice to the tower and told him to remove the man's soul. He had placed his shaking hand onto the ninja's head and was flooded with memories- such as his childhood and his ninja career- before he wrenched his hand skyward pulling out a ghostly apparition of the man before him. The sacrifice had dropped dead soon after that.
The sixth and final path was the Naraka path. Naruto had only ever used this path once due to it not being very useful in a combat situation. It allowed the Rinnegan user to summon the king of hell- seriously, Naruto had lost his mind when Nagato had told him this- and use it to search for information or fix a body of any injury or illness. Nagato used this ability to fix up his Pain bodies so that he didn't have to keep replacing them after a battle, however the king of hell couldn't be used to heal one's own body unfortunately.
Each of these 'paths' granted Naruto power likened to a God. With the Rinnegan, Nagato was deemed undefeatable by everyone he had spoken to- barring his father- due to his mastery over each ability. Even though Naruto was relatively new to the paths, he was still very well versed in each one and knew when and where to employ each one to give himself an advantage over an opponent.
The two Rinnegan bearers had spent years flattening the surrounding land outside of Amegakure in their training; not that any normal shinobi would call it training.
However, there were three more abilities the Rinnegan granted the two of them. These three abilities all came under what Nagato called the 'Outer path'. One was the black chakra rods that Naruto had already figured out how to create and use, though he had learned that if implanted into a body he could wrench control from weak willed people with them too. The second was to manifest chakra chains from his palm like the chakra rods, but this time with the power to bind anything they touched, though this came with huge chakra drainage. And finally, the third was the power over life and death itself.
The outer path granted the user the choice to bring people back from the dead in exchange for one's own life. Naruto obviously refused to ever give up his own life, but the temptation to undo certain events in history, such as his mother's death, was extremely tantalising. He could see why Nagato believed himself to be a God. What was a God if not someone who controlled life and death?
"Naruto!" a voice shouted beside him- Konan.
He snapped out of his thoughts and realised he had been standing still for several minutes mulling over his training.
"Sorry, Konan, I was lost in my head," he apologised.
"It's fine," she replied, "Here, they're just down the hall. I'll see you later."
"Thank you," he said, and watched her turn and walk away. During his time here, he had gotten quite close with Konan. She had been a good friend and someone to talk to who wasn't constantly trying to discuss eyes with him. She was a breath of fresh air- something that he needed.
He watched as a faint trickle of rain ran down the uneven floor as if trying to race him to the door.
Inside he could sense massive quantities of chakra being exuded. Naruto pushed the door open and stepped inside the room, coming face to face with Madara and Nagato's main Pain body he channelled the Deva path into. Naruto knew from his father that this body was special due to it being the body of Nagato's dead childhood friend. Naruto thought that was truly sad indeed.
He regarded each man with a stern eye and greeted them, "Pain. Madara."
"It's been a while, Naruto," the masked man spoke without apology. Naruto hummed. "Pain tells me that you have mastered the use of your Rinnegan?"
"I've still yet to use my eyes in a real combat scenario, but yes, I have learned what I can," he responded. It was true that he had occasionally left the village on small missions but never something that pushed him.
"That was to be expected," his father said, "Your existence is a secret and we gain more from you being an unknown member than someone who was already known to the world."
"Member?"
"Of the Akatsuki of course," the man's Sharingan spun slowly.
"You want me to join the Akatsuki?" he asked.
This time it was Pain who spoke up, "We believe the Akatsuki could use your skills in the capture of the bijuu, Naruto. You possess the same eyes as I, which makes you incredibly strong, as well as wood style which naturally supresses tailed beast. These strengths are invaluable and would be wasted without a cause."
"I have a cause," he said.
"Yes, and your cause lines up perfectly with the Akatsuki's. You want to help end the cycle of hatred and free the world of tailed beasts? There is no better place for you to be than at our side," the orange haired man countered.
"You also wish to spread 'Justice' across the world," his father mentioned.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. So, this was what they were talking about behind closed doors, "This world is full of predators who prey on the weak, it's how the hidden villages survive, you know this Madara. Justice catches up with everyone in the end, I will just help it along."
"Oh?" his father said, intrigued, "Even so; these hidden villages won't take kindly to you bringing their shinobi 'justice' which is where the protection of the Akatsuki comes in."
"So, what's your answer, Naruto?" Pain asked, the man's purple Rinnegan observed him closely.
It wasn't until after a full minute that he replied, "What is the end goal for the Akatsuki? I mean why gather the tailed beasts in the first place?"
His father visibly shifted uncomfortably. In finality he said, "The bijuu will be permanently sealed away inside the Gedo statue."
"For what purpose? Taking them away from the hidden villages who believe they own them would only incite more war," Naruto questioned. He knew his father was trying to keep something from him. He looked to Pain for an answer.
"The nine bijuu would synchronise within the statue and form a single entity known as the Juubi- or Ten Tails- and with it under the Akatsuki's control we can use it as a deterrent for war if it were to ever break out. After all, no village would be able to combat something that was said to have created the very planet we reside on," Pain explained, and Naruto scoffed.
"So, essentially, you want to blackmail the entire continent so that they won't try to ever start a war against us or any else? Who's to say that something of that power could even be controlled?" he asked. Even though he hated war, he knew that peace from fear wouldn't last long before people rebelled. It had been seen throughout history.
"It is the only way to feasibly achieve peace, Naruto," Pain responded, "The Juubi was said to have been tamed by the Sage of Six Path's Rinnegan, something that we have two sets off. If anyone can keep such a beast in check it's us."
"Peace through violence won't end the cycle of hatred, Nagato, it would only postpone and stoke the flames of rebellion and anger," he countered. Pain seemed stumped for a second before steeling his resolve.
"Have you a better idea, Naruto?" his father chimed in, his voice raised slightly.
That was the question, wasn't it? Did he have a better idea?
He racked his brain but nothing came to mind. The five great nations would never agree to work together unless something brought them together naturally. Forcing such a beast on them would perhaps be enough to get them to cooperate, but would it be enough to keep them together?
He didn't know.
"I didn't think so."
"I may not have one now, but I will find something," he said, "Something that will truly end the cycle of hatred."
His father's Sharingan flashed towards him and Naruto remembered what he had said to him almost ten years ago: Project Tsuki no Me. Madara's real plan in stopping the cycle of hatred. His father would seal this 'Juubi' into himself to use the infinite tsukyomi. So he was using the Akatsuki?
'He must not have shared it with the Akatsuki if he wants it kept a secret,' he thought to himself, subtly nodding to his father.
The plan involved putting everyone within an endless dream state where they could live out their desires. It was a better plan than most. It by-passed the need for fear and war and granted instant peace, however, again, to Naruto it was still a false peace. He felt people would still rebel if they knew that their fate was to be in a fake reality for eternity. Naruto certainly would, though he didn't voice such thoughts out loud knowing him father would most likely become enraged- his life's work rejected by his own son.
"Regardless," Pain interjected, "It will take a few years to gather all the remaining eight tailed beasts. Plenty of time for you to put forward your own ideas if they happen to prove more useful."
"That's true," Naruto admitted, nodding.
"Then I ask again," the Deva path said, "Will you join our ranks?"
He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, "I will join the Akatsuki," he replied, before locking his Rinnegan onto his fathers Sharingan, "So long as I get to bring Justice to Konoha."
In the distant Land of Rivers that bordered both Fire and Wind, the Akatsuki each perched atop a finger belonging to the Gedo statue. The husk of the Juubi stared at the small assembled group of S ranked shinobi; including that of a blonde-haired boy who seemed far too young to bear the weight of the crimson cloud covered robes he wore, signifying his allegiance to the organisation.
A voice in the back of his mind niggled at him asking him if this really was the best idea- he shoved it away.
Naruto, Pain, Konan, and Zetsu all stood in their respective spot while they waited for their leader to initiate contact with the others.
Naruto could feel the unfamiliar tugging of chakra that flowed towards his left ring finger that was adorned by a ring he had been given.
'Each member of the Akatsuki wears a ring to help provide a means of communication and sealing,' Nagato had told him earlier, as he handed Naruto an almost glowing yellow ring that bore the kanji for 'South' on the face of it.
It was far too late to back out now, so he steeled himself and waited.
"The message has been sent," Pain said simply and Naruto felt his ring vibrate, "Prepare."
Naruto had not met any of the other Akatsuki members apart from his father of course- though the man had cited that he had more important things to attend to than join the meeting- but he had reasonable knowledge on the other six. This would be an interesting first introduction.
A sharp buzzing sound filled the room as a man with a pair of piercing Sharingan zapped into reality like a light struggling to turn on. 'So that would be Itachi? The man who killed the Uchiha clan with father,' he studied. Unfortunately, he couldn't see what the silhouette exactly looked like due to the connection being from so far away. All he could view was a vague black shadow in the shape of a body. Even his Rinnegan didn't provide any help in clearing up the image.
Soon after Itachi, the other members started to phase into the hideout, each one atop their own finger of the Gedo Statue. Each one seemed to send a confused glance towards the giant head with one eye open, but none mentioned it aloud.
The next person, or two people to show, were an argumentative duo who immediately locked eyes with each other and barked something about art until Pain silenced them. One had long hair with something attached to his eye, while the other was a small rotund man that barely made it to Naruto's waist.
In contrast the next member was a very tall man who had short spiky hair with a permanent grin and wielded a ginormous looking sword that was seemingly wrapped in bandages. After that came a reasonably normal looking man who wore a mask covering his lower face but leaving his bright green eyes to stare out of.
Lastly, a man that Naruto knew was the newest addition to the organisation- besides him- popped into existence.
'Orochimaru. I heard from father that he gave Pain a run for his money,' he thought, looking at the man in question. He had long inky hair and snake like eyes that hungrily devoured every morsel of information they could see.
"The Akatsuki has now gathered," Pain said, breaking the silence and looking at each and every one of them, "All nine of you have earned your place among us and from tomorrow we begin our true objective."
"Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Kakazu, Orochimaru, Zetsu, Kisame, Konan, and our newest member Justice," Pain introduced, his eyes flicking from one hologram to the next before finally landing on him. The Akatsuki collectively looked over towards him; his name and eyes catching them by surprise.
"Just what is this 'true objective'?" the man with green eyes- Kakazu- asked their leader.
"I formed the Akatsuki for one purpose and one purpose only," Pain began, "The achievement of peace by finding and sealing away every tailed beast."
"The bijuu?" the younger man with something over his eye- Deidara- asked incredulously.
"Yes," Pein responded, "From here on you will be placed into teams of two and given a tailed beast to hunt and capture. I expect and know everyone one of you will not fail me in this task."
A chorus of "Yes, Leader," chanted around the room as they resigned themselves to their fate. Some looked nervous at such a task while other were positively beaming with joy at the prospect of such a battle.
"Justice," Nagato called to him through his puppet, "You are the last to join us and as such will need to prove yourself. You will meet up with Deidara on the eastern border of the Land of Wind and proceed to infiltrate the Village Hidden in the Sand, defeating the Kazekage and finding and retrieving the One Tail Jinchuriki."
"Yes, leader," Naruto said, expecting such a task. He had asked for it after all. Supposedly, the Sand's jinchuriki was borderline insane due to housing the One Tail and Naruto desperately wanted to save the jinchuriki from such evil chakra.
"Our own Orochimaru has information of the jinchuriki. Orochimaru?" Pain asked the legendary turned rogue Sannin.
"Yess, leader," the snake man hissed, "I plotted with Sunagakure myself, their Jinchuriki is just a boy who has no control over the beast whatsoever. They keep him locked up underneath the desert."
Naruto nodded, angered at the treatment of the jinchuriki, "I will write you if I need any further information, however that should be enough," he said.
"Good," Pain said pointing towards the Gedo statue, "The sealing of a Bijuu requires a lot of focus and a seal strong enough to hold such chakra. That issue is resolved with the use of this statue- the Gedo Mazo- which can hold all nine tailed beasts, however to seal them into the statue all of us must be present to perform such a technique."
"Meaning we can't take down multiple Bijuu at a time," Itachi offered.
"Correct," Pain nodded, "Due to the need for all of us, we must always be ready and waiting to seal the next tailed beast. Because of this, Justice and Deidara will take down the first and once they have made it back to this base, I will call upon you with the rings and you will answer."
Another round of 'Yes, leader,' filled the room.
"With that, this meeting is adjourned," Pain finished, "I will notify you soon."
With that they were dismissed, and one by one, the holograms flickered and died like a fuse that had blown inside a light.
Deidara remained as the last light to fade and called out to him, "Hey you! Justice or whatever you're called, I'll be waiting for you to show up on the border," and with that rude proclamation he zapped out of existence too.
"I wish you luck Naruto," Nagato called to him after the room had emptied, "I know you have the power to change this world for the better, perhaps even more so than I."
"Don't worry," he responded, "I will bring back the one tail. What will you do?"
"I will return to Ame and have Zetsu track down the remainder of the Bijuu so I can start formulating plans," The Deva Path said.
Naruto nodded slightly and jumped down to the ground, his Akatsuki cloak billowing around him like a small parachute being carried by the wind. " I will contact you when it's done."
Without turning around, he called upon his Rinnegan and willed the outskirts of the Land of Wind to fill his mind.
The final ability of his Rinnegan. A space/time jutsu on par with that of his father's Kamui, allowed him to travel the Elemental Nations at will faster than any normal shinobi could.
He smiled and snapped his fingers once, "Yomotsu Hirasaka," he toned.
Before him the air rippled and distorted until it ripped itself apart like a pair of hands ripping through the fabric of space itself.
A window of darkness appeared out of thin air and Naruto stepped through it, once step closer to achieving his goal.
Thanks for reading, a few things to note. Some may wonder why Gaara is still insane and that would be because of the fact that Naruto wouldn't be there during the chunin exams to calm him and put him on a better path which is why we'll get a Gaara that isn't the kazekage i'm afraid. Also Naruto's use of the 'Justice' name. I know its a bit batman-y but I quite like it. I reminds me of Pain and gives him something to strive for in a world where there has been no justice for him. Lastly, Naruto's Rinnegan ability to create portals, you'll know of this one as its the same style as Kaguya's black portals. This just allows for quicker travel so I don't have to write endless journeys, I'll rarely use that ability during a fight unless it calls for it. Obviously, naruto is pretty strong right now but he hasn't tested out the extent of his abilities yet so the next chapter will be the first proper fight with a bijuu where we can see his abilities on display. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by the same time next week.
