Tale of the Setting Sun
Chapter 43: "A World that was Transparent"
Blood red Sharingan eyes peered out from the holes of the ANBU mask. Dead leaves blew in the unnatural wind sweeping through the deserted Uchiha complex.
"I witnessed everything. And I will continue to watch. If you so much as lay a hand on Sasuke, I will pass on classified village intel to every enemy nation."
Leaving those last words, the man's cloaked frame suddenly swelled up and burst into ravens that flew away. An eerie, echoing caw filled the void.
"Damn you…"
Far from the scene that had once left Danzō in the humiliating position of being berated like an unruly Academy child, he regarded the bound figure before him with burgeoning relief. On the tail end of disaster, one of the biggest threats to the Hidden Leaf had at last been neutralized.
"This is what has become of the great Uchiha Itachi?" Danzō said, not bothering to disguise his distaste.
At the sound of his voice, his prisoner raised his head. Despite the fact that he was blindfolded, the Root agents at Danzō's back immediately drew their weapons. It was a pointless endeavor; the prison was virtually impossible to escape. Still—when nothing appeared to be separating Danzō and his agents from the infamous Uchiha, he would not blame them for being on edge.
However…the Uchiha Itachi who had once left Danzō with a threat was no more. The man before him, shackled and bound, was a mere shadow of his previous self. Disease-ridden, from the looks of it; doubtless, a final hereditary gift from his inbreeding ancestors.
At last, Danzō addressed him. "My agents tell me you have something to say to me?"
"...My words are for the Hokage's ears only," responded Itachi, his voice hoarse and weak.
"The Lord Third is busy enough as it is," Danzō lied smoothly. "Whatever you tell me will be conveyed to him."
A beat passed. "So the Hokage has passed, as I feared."
Danzō felt his eyebrows rise. "What leads you to that conclusion?"
The barriers imprisoning Itachi had sealed off all sound as well, effectively leaving him in isolation. Uchiha Itachi had always been famed for his genius, and the less information that reached the man, the better.
"I made enough of a public ruckus to ensure that news of my return would reach his ears… The fact that he isn't here can only mean he is either incapacitated, or dead. Given the circumstances surrounding this village, I would assume the latter."
Danzō scoffed; it seemed his efforts had been in vain. "You Uchiha were always too clever for your own good." He spread his hands open. "It is of little matter. Speak now, or take your secrets to the grave."
Beneath the blindfold, Itachi's lips quirked back in what could have been mistaken for a smile in the dim light. "Yes... I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. I came here to deliver information regarding Akatsuki, and its leader. Its true leader."
Shouts sounded and the torch lights on the walls flickered. Naruto could sense several bodies rapidly descending upon them—with only one viable exit, they made no effort to hide their approach.
Turning his gaze back to Karin, Naruto stepped back, drew his tantō and cut through the bars of the cell. Though he wasn't familiar with the necessary fūinjutsu to free Karin of her sealed restraints without hurting her, she would at least be able to move around, letting him concentrate on the coming battle.
"Naruto - "
"Karin, you search for Gaara," he said. "I'll take care of this."
The words had just barely left his mouth when metal glinted, followed by swift movement—his pursuers were upon them already.
As they came into view, the white animal masks of the ANBU hid their faces. Naruto remembered years ago, when they had last come for him. They had scooped him up, struggling, and dumped him unceremoniously in the Hokage's office, where he had learned he would become a ninja. Though he had feared them at first, they had been his allies.
Lightning crackled.
Naruto dispatched the first two who reached him with two swings of his tantō. The third met a similar fate—but just as the metal plunged into his chest, the man squeezed his muscles, trapping the blade. Without pause, Naruto released the hilt, and pierced through the fourth ANBU's chest with a chakra-reinforced hand. As he ripped his bloodied hand out, the fifth brushed him—and a current of lightning chakra surged through Naruto, passing to the man and frying him on the spot.
The stink of singed flesh fouled the air, and the last ANBU's mask slipped off with a clatter, revealing a middle-aged man with nondescript features. For some reason, the ANBU always seemed strangely vulnerable once unmasked.
Something metallic on his forehead gleamed in the torchlight. Despite himself, Naruto stared, struck by the realization that it was his first time killing a ninja that wore the same hitai-ate as himself.
There had been too many of them, and too little time, to have mercy, and his old self would have done it without a second thought. But suddenly, the face of the nameless Leaf agent he'd discovered dead in the safehouse with Hinata flashed through his mind, and Naruto wondered if they had ever crossed paths before—if they had ever sat in his usual stool at Ichiraku for a bowl of miso ramen.
"I've found Gaara," Karin announced, her nose wrinkling at the smell.
Naruto straightened up, his gaze lingering on the face of the ANBU.
"Naruto?"
Tearing his eyes away, he motioned for her to lead. "Let's go."
There really was no turning back now. But he had already known this when he had made his decision.
The way ahead was clear; his heart was steady.
Gaara couldn't sleep. At least, not for long. Mother lurking just beyond the horizon of unconsciousness ensured that. And now, he couldn't even close his eyes. Not without seeing a sandy-haired figure staring back at him accusingly.
"Gaara! Stop!"
Not without hearing her last words ringing in his head.
Something in his chest throbbed. Why had he lashed out then? Gaara couldn't stop replaying the scene in his head. Over the years, as freely as he'd killed, he'd always made sure to not lay a hand on his siblings.
...But why? What made them so special?
There was a voice whispering in Gaara's head. It wasn't Mother's voice—it was something much quieter. It sounded like his own voice, and he didn't know what to make of it.
"Gaara!"
Metal clinked as his hands jerked up against his chains to try and block his ears. But he couldn't bring them close enough, and the chain groaned against his pulling.
"Stop that immediately!" demanded his guard, banging on the bars of his cell with a baton.
"Gaara! Stop!"
His chains clinked—once again, to no avail.
"Gaara."
"You stop," he replied hoarsely.
"We're here to get you out of here."
Startled, Gaara looked up.
The guard's face was frozen, and behind the man, Gaara saw two faces staring back at him: One was a girl with bright red hair, and the other was the Leaf-nin who had managed to defeat him. Unlike the girl who eyed Gaara with a familiar expression of revulsion and fear, the latter wore an oddly inquisitive look on his face.
As Gaara watched, the guard crumpled to the ground, and an oppressive feeling lifted from his shoulders. The barrier that had been containing his cell faded away; it seemed the rest had been similarly dispatched.
Gaara focused on the Leaf-nin. "Why are you helping me?"
The Leaf-nin stepped closer, wrapping a hand around the bars. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a jinchūriki, just like you."
A jinchūriki… While the word was new to Gaara's tongue, he was no stranger to its meaning. He had known for a long time now that there were others like him, though this was his first time coming face to face with one.
However, the Leaf-nin was wrong in saying that he was just like Gaara. One look at the girl besides him, and he could tell.
"You're nothing like me," he said.
They'd taken his gourd of sand, but far beneath them, Gaara could feel the bedrock trembling.
The Leaf-nin raised his brows, and the girl besides him frowned. "We don't need him, Naruto. He's unstable...he'll only slow you down."
She was the one who had used those chains on him before, Gaara realized with a body-wracking shudder.
The red from the pool of blood around the fallen guard was seeping into his vision, and the voices in his head were growing louder.
...Blood...
"Gaara!"
Crack. The ground at his feet began to splinter.
The Leaf-nin stepped away from the bars. "I'm not here to fight you, or to win your trust."
...Kill them both...
"Gaara! Stop!"
"If you're going to escape, go now, before backup arrives."
Before they can kill us, kill them both...
"Stop! Stop!"
The whole world was almost covered in the red haze now, and Gaara felt something in his chest coiling so tightly, it burned him from the inside out. The voices in his head, the aching in his heart —
It was too much.
He just wanted to be alone.
But it was too late. Gaara could feel the beast inside of him surging up again. His head felt like it was splitting. "Get away from me," he managed to grit out, "before I kill you, too - "
Suddenly, something hard hit the back of his neck, and he felt his eyes roll back from the impact. The world quickly turned black.
The last thing he realized before he lost consciousness was the face of the Leaf-nin looming over him—and the sound of chains clinking in the darkness.
"Uchiha Madara?" Danzō echoed in disbelief. "Impossible."
"That is the name the man goes by," said Itachi. "I have never seen his face. But I have witnessed his power, and he is a real threat to the Hidden Leaf...as well as to the rest of the world."
Danzō's sharp gaze raked over his prisoner. "You have gone mad."
"Mad?" Itachi began to cough, spraying the ground with dark specks of blood. Once he had finished, his lips pushed up into a thin smile. "...Perhaps. But you and I both know that I speak the truth. After all, you have your own network of spies. Through their eyes, you have seen how quickly Akatsuki's influence has spread."
"Uchiha Madara was known for many things, but immortality was not one of them," Danzō stated evenly. He steepled his fingers together. "Still...I will play your game for now. Let us say that Uchiha Madara somehow fooled the First Hokage and escaped death. What is his plan for the jinchūriki?"
"Most of the other members of Akatsuki are following the man calling himself Pain; they are not even aware of Madara's role as puppet master. They believe they will use the jinchūriki to threaten the world into a time of peace. However, I believe Madara's true plan to be much more sinister than Pain's." A shadow came over Itachi's expression. "That man...does not have nearly as much faith in mankind."
Danzō opened his mouth to respond—when a flurry of motion interrupted him. One of his subordinates suddenly appeared, his head bowed in deference.
"I gave orders to be left alone," he said coldly.
"My apologies, Hokage-sama," said his agent. "But both of the jinchūriki have escaped."
The hospital had run out of space and they had hastily set up two medical tents in its periphery. The sound of groans was deafening; the smell of infection thickened the air.
Hinata had been awake for the last forty-three—no, forty-nine hours now, and her chakra levels had never been so low. She'd long since passed the maximum advised dosage of chakra pills.
Somehow, they were still finding wounded throughout the village, though the surging flow had finally slowed down to a steady trickle over the past day. Except for the short break of the funeral, Hinata had worked non-stop since the end of the invasion. She had been able to save many, though a handful had been beyond any help.
"They're bringing in another one!" cried a voice.
The medic working in the bay besides Hinata grumbled, "Great. Another half-dead chūnin."
Hinata returned her focus to her current patient. Or trying to—the floor was starting to sway beneath her feet, like a fishing boat at sea.
Soon, her team leader's voice came floating from somewhere nearby. "Hinata, can you take the next patient? My bays are all full. After that one, you can take a break."
"Yes, of course, I'm almost done," Hinata replied automatically. The needle she was pulling through the patient's scalp shook in her hand.
"This man needs to be seen immediately," said a new male voice. "He's lost too much blood."
Holding back a sigh, Hinata looked up—and froze.
Dark hair, pale skin… For a moment, she thought she was once again looking into the face of Uchiha Itachi, no doubt back for vengeance. But then the floor steadied and the moment passed, and she realized the young man standing before her was a little too young and much too healthy for that to be the case.
"Sasuke…" she started, before stopping herself.
At the sound of his name, his dark eyes shot up to her in belated recognition. "Hi...nata. I didn't realize that was you."
As tired as she was, Hinata didn't miss the way he'd stumbled over her name, nor did it surprise her. She'd always been a wallflower in the Academy, after all.
The bigger issue was, that when Hinata had turned over Uchiha Itachi to the ANBU at the hospital, they had warned her not to inform anyone of the fugitive's presence. Now, she had to wonder:
Did that warning extend to the only other living Uchiha in the village?
A blood red Sharingan eye peered out alone from under a Leaf hitai-ate; dark blood streamed down the other side of the man's face. "I tried using Kotoamatsukami to stop the coup d'etat, but Danzō stole my right eye. He doesn't trust me… He intends to protect the village on his own, by any and all means. Before that happens, let me give it to you."
"Shisui…"
Without any hesitation, the man's fingers plunged into his eye socket. "You, my best friend, are the only one I can count on. Protect this village...and the Uchiha name."
The urgent news brought to Danzō, and his resultant shock, was the disruption Itachi had been waiting for. He had returned to the village fully expecting to be imprisoned—now, with the barriers lowered and Danzō distracted, it was time for him to make his last move.
Danzō had been wasting his time sealing Itachi's eyes, when he was already well and truly blind. It was the price he had willingly paid to use his Mangekyō over the years. That, and the sickness that had ravaged his body, was his punishment for his sins—a punishment far lighter than the one he deserved.
Itachi felt his throat swell up, and something soft brushed his palate—and then it was gone, expelled into the open air. He could see it in his mind's eye:
A crow, with Shisui's last legacy glistening in its black feathers.
"What - " Danzō's voice began in alarm.
"You will love and serve not only the Hidden Leaf village but all of its people as well," Itachi commanded. "To your dying breath, you will live by the will of fire."
The crow squawked, and as the room fell silent, Itachi knew it had worked.
At last, he thought. Shisui's sacrifice hadn't all been for naught.
Through the intense relief, the clock that had temporarily been frozen began to tick once more. His lungs burning up, Itachi began to cough, and the dark world around him started to spin. With another stab of pain, he felt the last of his muscles give way, and he collapsed onto the cold floor.
The village was bathed in red and orange from the sun when Kakashi first heard the news. His time in the ANBU had left him with a pair of eyes and ears in every sector of the village, and it had paid off time and time again. This time was no different; the shrill cries of cicadas surged in the hot temperature as a voice whispered in his ear. His mouth turned dry.
With the Third gone, Kakashi had expected changes. When Danzō was announced as the successor, he'd braced himself for changes. But this—this was too sudden, too drastic.
Naruto had broken out two prisoners? And killed over a dozen Leaf agents in the process?
Kakashi shook his head. "There has to be an explanation… This makes no sense. He wouldn't do that without good reason."
"Tell that to the bodies I saw left behind," said the agent darkly. "No word from the Hokage yet...though with this, I reckon it's going to be a kill on sight."
In the distance, a loud siren began to sound. A flock of birds burst out of the nearby trees.
With a salute, the agent left, leaving Kakashi alone with his increasingly frantic thoughts. Pacing back and forth, he raised a hand to his chin, and then lowered it. He looked up at the sky, and then back down at the ground. He stopped. He exhaled.
Then, he bit into his thumb. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"
In a cloud of smoke, several ninken dogs appeared. At its head, a disgruntled-looking pug looked up at him in alarm. "What's the matter, Kakashi?"
"I need you all to find Naruto," he said. "Now!"
For once, Pakkun didn't protest at Kakashi's tone of voice, leaping immediately to action. The ninken began to sniff the ground, and Kakashi was suddenly struck with the realization that he had no idea what to say if he were to confront his student.
"He's using clones to throw off his scent," said Pakkun grimly. "It'll take some time to narrow down the real one."
Kakashi stopped his pacing. Of course Naruto would have had the foresight to confuse the ninken. He wouldn't have expected any less of his student.
Suddenly, Kakashi knew exactly where Naruto wanted him to be.
"Change of plans. Update the rest of my team on the situation," he instructed Pakkun. "Tell them they are not, in any circumstance, to try and chase down Naruto."
"Roger that."
As Pakkun began to swiftly race towards the village walls, Kakashi headed the other way.
The majority of the villagers appeared to have no idea what was going on. Even with the village in near ruin, it seemed daily life had to press onwards.
"Hey, Kakashi - " Guy just barely managed to get out, before Kakashi passed him.
The training grounds soon came into view, before passing. Another field came into view—this time, filled with rows of white tombstones.
In the distance, a lone red-headed figure waited for him. As Kakashi drew closer, the figure turned around.
"Sensei. You came." Naruto seemed calmer than he would have expected of a newly-minted fugitive on the run—but then again, it was Naruto.
"You're a clone, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"And you're leaving?"
"Yes."
"...Is it true that you killed multiple Leaf agents?"
Naruto inclined his head. "They were coming after me under Danzō's orders."
Kakashi sighed, his body suddenly heavy. "What a mess."
Even though he had always known that the Third Hokage had been the benefactor of Naruto's freedom, he hadn't expected his successor to spearhead the very opposite philosophy. It wasn't that he couldn't understand Danzō's fears, however—the thought of a jinchūriki as powerful as Naruto running around freely would surely have made anyone break out into a sweat.
His face as unreadable as ever, Naruto rested his hand on a tombstone. The light illuminated the characters carved into the smooth stoneface—Hagane Rai—and for a moment, the two of them silently regarded each other.
Then, Naruto spoke. "Sensei, you told me once that as ninja, we have to endure. What did you mean by that?"
In an instant, Kakashi remembered exactly what he was referring to: When his teammates had died and Naruto had lost control over the Nine-tails, Kakashi had been frantic at the time. It seemed Naruto had taken his words to heart.
"We're often not as alone as we think we are, Naruto."
Naruto slowly nodded. "So come with me, sensei. With Danzō as Hokage, this isn't the same Hidden Leaf anymore. I know you must be as tired of this system, of this world, as I am. Together, we can do something about it."
The cicadas' cries were louder than usual that day, or perhaps Kakashi just hadn't been listening before. Though the trees that they usually clung to were on the far end of the cemetery, their cries seemed about to swallow them.
A memory, a shade flickered before Kakashi:
A young boy, sitting apart from his two teammates, spoke up out of the blue. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I plan on becoming the next Hokage."
"Did you know, Naruto?" he began. "I was assigned to Kushina-san's guard when she was pregnant with you. The last time I ever saw her or Minato-sensei again was the day before the Nine-tails attacked."
Watching the two squabble back and forth, Kakashi chortled. "You all rather remind me of my own team back in the day."
Curiosity filling his expression, Naruto looked up at him. "What was your team like, sensei?"
"My teammate, Obito, died saving me. My other teammate, Rin, died at my hands."
His face pinched with dismay, Naruto spread his arms wide open. "Even Mayu and Rai would turn their backs on me if they knew, and you know it."
Kakashi paused. "I haven't turned my back on you."
"...You're different, sensei."
"When I was young, my father returned from a mission in disgrace. It was too much for him to bear...and soon afterwards, he took his own life."
His face contorted, Naruto clutched his chest. "How do you deal with it, sensei?"
Kakashi inclined his head. "We endure."
"What I'm trying to say is...what you say is true," Kakashi admitted. "Through this terrible world, I've lost almost everyone I love."
"Then you'll come with me?"
Kakashi stopped. And for a long moment, he considered it.
But he already knew the answer in his heart.
How had they come to this moment? When had their paths first began to diverge?
Those years ago, during the chūnin exams in Wind country, when Naruto had been reeling from the side effects of the Taboo Seal—had Kakashi been wrong to tell him the truth?
His heart heavy with regret, Kakashi shook his head. "The Hidden Leaf needs me, now more than ever."
As expected, Naruto didn't respond. The setting sun cast his shadow, dark and jagged, across the face of another tombstone—Kamizuki Mayu.
While Kakashi didn't know what Naruto's plans were, from the look of newfound conviction in his eyes, it had to be something beyond anything he could think of. And it would be dangerous.
Kakashi thought of how Naruto had appeared, panicked, on the battlefield to save them, and he felt a pang. As much faith as Kakashi had in his student's capabilities, as much as Naruto was a jinchūriki...he was not indestructible.
Nobody was.
"A word of advice for you, Naruto. Your mother and her jinchūriki predecessor were both Uzumaki and they both used chains to control the Nine-tails…not unlike that Karin girl."
That drew a look of faint surprise from Naruto. "Karin…?"
"After the Hidden Whirlpool was destroyed, most of the survivors moved to the Hidden Leaf...most, but not all. I wouldn't be surprised if Karin is one of their descendants."
"...I'll keep that in mind." Straightening, Naruto looked at Kakashi squarely. "I'm glad we were able to visit their graves together."
It struck Kakashi that they were now the exact same height.
"We'll meet again," he said. "After all, I owe you a rematch."
"I hope so," came the response. "Goodbye, sensei."
There was a note of finality to Naruto's tone, as though he had looked into the future and predetermined their fates.
Their divergent paths...where would they lead?
"Take care, Naruto," said Kakashi.
With one last lingering look down at the graves, Naruto's clone disappeared in a gust of wind, and Kakashi suddenly found himself alone.
The sirens from the village were growing louder; as the sound mixed with the shrill screams of cicadas in his ears, he realized something—that not even for a moment had he considered stopping Naruto.
He didn't know how much time had passed, when the bindings that had weighed heavily on his limbs seemed to fade away. As if doused in water, his burning body grew cold—and then all of a sudden, he found himself floating in a pitch black world.
All the pain was gone. For the first time in a long time, it no longer hurt.
Was this death?
If so, he welcomed it. He had long since prepared himself for this moment. He had passed on all the information he had. He had completed his duty, heedless of the sacrifices laid in its wake.
That had always been his greatest flaw, he thought. He could only ever see the forest and not the trees, and maybe in that aspect, he wasn't as different from his enemies as he would have liked.
He did have just the one regret. Time. If only he had had just a little more of it; if only he had spent just a little less time training, and a little more with his family...
But there was nothing he could do about it now.
Sorry, Sasuke... Maybe next time.
A/N: Oh boy. Do I need to brace myself? I feel that given the circumstances and Itachi's limited time, he did what he could for the village.
Thanks for your reviews, and to my beta blueandgold.