Hey, so... This is the 52nd chapter.

TheB, your idea is similar to what I have in mind. I'll probably be using that, but I'm still thinking for any better ideas. Thanks man.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark, thanks, glad you liked that. And well, not exactly like how they did it in canon, but still something to clear things up.

So yeah, here's the chapter.

XXX

That night after Kirito and the girls cleared the 74th floor, a figure stood on the Sandaime Hokage's head, watching over the village. The figure was a man, wearing a weasel Anbu mask with the standard Anbu armor.

The man thought as he looked down at the village, 'Its time.'

With a swirl of leaves, the man vanished from view.

A short while later, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade sighed, "So, you're here, Itachi."

The woman turned and saw the man standing by the window, wearing his weasel mask and the standard Anbu armor.

The clan slayer tilted his head before removing his mask, "Hokage-sama."

Tsunade nodded and activated the seals around her, "I already sent my Anbu guards away, we can talk in private now."

Itachi nodded and walked to stand in front of Tsunade, "I heard Danzo's dead."

The Hokage nodded, "Yes, that old bastard got himself killed in Aincrad."

She frowned, "And he had a lot of Sharingan eyes in his arm, along with one in his eye."

Itachi nodded, "I see. So, where are those eyes now?"

Tsunade nodded, "I stored them in a vault in the hospital."

Itachi nodded, "I see. Did you recover the one in Danzo's eye?"

The Senju nodded, "Yes, of course. Why?"

The Uchiha said, "That's Shisui's eye. It has access to a powerful Genjutsu. I have the other eye with me."

Tsunade nodded, "I see. Do you want it back?"

Itachi shook his head, "Not yet, we'll see how things go. You wanted me to help out with clearing the remaining floors of Aincrad, right?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, the upper floors are, no doubt, gonna be harder than ever. I wish to reduce as many casualties as possible."

Itachi chuckled silently, "Last I checked, Kirito, Sasuke and the others are doing quite well. Even without me, there wouldn't be many casualties."

The Uchiha stared at the Hokage in the eye, "You called me back to heal my disease and bring me back into the village."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "And yet you're here?"

Itachi walked to the window, "Frankly... I'm... tired."

The last Senju nodded, "I see. So, will you return to our ranks?"

Itachi turned away from the window and nodded, "I went through all that trouble to get Kisame off of me, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. But before that, I want to settle things with my brother."

Tsunade nodded before she looked at Itachi, "I understand. But, before that, I want to take a look at your condition, and I won't take a no."

The man stared at the woman for a while before he sighed, "Very well."

Tsunade smirked, "Let's go."

Itachi blinked as Tsunade stood up before she grabbed his shoulder with surprising speed. Then the Senju proceeded to drag the Uchiha out of the office to the hospital.

Itachi, who didn't have his Sharingan active, just sighed and let the woman drag him away as he put on his mask.

(linebreak)

The next morning, as the squads were scrambled to scout the 75th floor, in the Uchiha compound, Sasuke woke up and found a small note on his night stand.

As soon as he read the note, the Uchiha's eyes widened as he quickly went to get his equipment.

As the young Uchiha approached the gates, Izumo greeted, "Yo, Sasuke, where you goin?"

Sasuke stopped in front of the counter, "Aincrad, the 75th floor."

Izumo nodded and noted it down, "Okay, good luck man."

When the man looked up, Sasuke was already gone. Izumo blinked as he scratched the back of his neck, "Hmm... Whatever..."

The guard just sat down and brought out a familiar orange book and giggled as he read on while waiting for his partner to come back from his toilet break.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Tsunade was talking to Kakashi, Kirito and Hikari. The Hokage looked at the three, "Yesterday, I called Itachi to return to our ranks. Contrary to most beliefs, Itachi didn't go rogue and kill his clan."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, "Hmm, so, I guess it was under orders?"

Tsunade nodded, "Yes. The Uchiha clan was planning a coup de tat, so Sarutobi-sensei, along with the elders, ordered him to kill the whole clan."

Hikari frowned, "But, what about Sasuke?"

The Senju nodded, "In exchange for killing his clan, Itachi wanted Sasuke to be left alone. That's also why Danzo left Sasuke alone for as long as he did."

Kakashi's eye widened, "I see. That makes sense now!"

Kakashi knew exactly how Danzo worked. That warhawk would use every asset available to him, and Kakashi wondered why the old man didn't bring Sasuke into his personal forces.

But if Itachi made a deal with Danzo, then it would make sense. Itachi knew too much, and at the same time, too strong for Danzo to take out. So the old man could only abide to Itachi's terms.

Hikari and Kirito, on the other hand, were slightly confused. Kirito asked, "What do you mean?"

Tsunade answered, "Itachi knew too much, and he was too strong, so there were many things Itachi could do to obstruct Danzo's plans."

The Senju sighed and said, "But that's another story for another time. Long story short, Itachi is still a loyal ninja of Konoha. But now, he wants to settle things with Sasuke before coming back."

Kirito said, "I sense a but."

Tsunade nodded, "Itachi is sick, and his treatment would take quite an amount of time. But that idiot wanted to settle things with his brother today."

Hikari nodded before she asked, "So, what do you want us to do?"

Tsunade looked at the three, "Right now, Itachi is waiting for Sasuke on the 75th floor. I want you three to make sure those two brothers don't kill each other, and bring them back safely."

Kakashi, Kirito and Hikari nodded, the cyclops said, "Got it."

Tsunade nodded, "Leave now, I'm sure Sasuke's on his way to Aincrad as we speak."

The three nodded and quickly left the room, heading for the gate to Aincrad.

Meanwhile, on the 75th floor, Sasuke leaped out of the village and kept running. The Uchiha could feel Itachi's chakra clearly now, and he was using it to find the man.

Soon, Sasuke reached a large gate, and he immediately recognised the boss room. Standing in front of the gate, was one Uchiha Itachi, clad in his Akatsuki robes.

Itachi said, "Sasuke."

Sasuke took a breath and calmed himself, "Itachi. Why do you want?"

The elder Uchiha spoke, "I believe its time we settle things. I gave you quite some time, didn't I?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes before he said, "Before that, I have something I want to ask you."

Itachi raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word. Sasuke asked, "Why did you kill our clan?"

The elder Uchiha tilted his head, "Why? I told you, I wanted to test the limits of my power. Nothing more, nothing less."

Sasuke glared at his brother, "Don't give me that shit. I know that's bullshit. No matter how strong you are, you cannot possibly kill our clan in one night. Tell me the truth! "

Itachi stared at his brother blankly, "There is no truth."

He tilted his head and looked at his brother in the eye, "But, I see you have casted aside your hatred."

Sasuke glared at him again, "Don't change the subject!"

Itachi asked, "Then what do you want to know? How I killed our parents?"

Sasuke clenched his fists, "No, I want to know exactly why. You used to say you wanted to stop the fighting between villages. Someone like that will never kill without reason, especially not for something like testing your limits."

Itachi shook his head, "I see you still don't understand."

The younger Uchiha glared at him before he said, "Then I'll just have to beat it out of you."

The elder brother sighed, "I suppose so."

Sasuke immediately drew his chokuto and dashed forward, swinging his blade at Itachi's neck. But the elder Uchiha quickly drew a kunai and blocked the sword easily.

Itachi glanced at the sword, "This is Kirito's work, right?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "How did you know?"

The clan slayer pushed his brother away and flashed through a set of seals, "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

Itachi swiftly shot a horse sized fireball at Sasuke, but the younger Uchiha merely dodged the fireball as Itachi said, "Kirito is a considerably well known blacksmith, of course I'd know one of his swords when I see one."

Itachi glanced behind him before looking at his brother, "Let's take this up a notch, shall we?"

The elder Uchiha activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, and Sasuke followed suit. The both of them then yelled, "AMATERATSU!"

Black flames burst into life between the brothers as their respective flames battled for dominance.

But as soon as they stopped using the Amateratsu, their eyes were forced back to their normal forms by the restrictive seals of Aincrad.

Itachi commented, "Not bad, Sasuke."

The younger brother growled and thrust his hand forward, "Chidori Eiso!"

The Chidori spear shot forward at Itachi, piercing through his chest. But to Sasuke's surprise Itachi merely burst into a dozen crows.

Then, Sasuke was pinned to the ground from behind by Itachi. The younger brother growled, "Chidori Nagashi!"

Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he quickly burst into a dozen crows just as Sasuke unleashed the Chidori from his whole body, reappearing several feet from them.

Sasuke glared at his brother, thinking of ways to defeat him. The Mangekyou was out. He couldn't maintain it for more than several minutes, so the Susano'o was also out.

The only things he could use were Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, and using Genjutsu against his brother was just useless.

Itachi hmph'd, "If you're not going to attack... Susano'o!"

Sasuke was broken out of thoughts as Itachi's eyes turned into the Mangekyou Sharingan, forming the astral form of the Susano'o.

Sasuke stared in shock as the Susano'o towered over him. The younger Uchiha had not expected his brother to be able to use his Mangekyou anymore due to the restriction seals.

Itachi willed his avatar of chakra to raise its sword, staring down at his brother. Then he swung the sword.

Sasuke cursed as he leaped away, dodging the sword barely as he glared at his brother. He quickly flashed through a set of seals and yelled, "Raiton: Raiju Tsuiga!"

The lightning wolf shot towards the flame entity, slamming into it. But the attack didn't even leave a crack on it.

Sasuke tch'd as he jumped up to avoid another slash. He needed an opening, and merely attacking wouldn't work. The younger man thought, 'I need him to let his guard down.'

Sasuke looked at the red Susano'o, 'And the only way to do that...'

The younger Uchiha focused, and managed to pull out the Mangekyou Sharingan. Then he charged, forming a Chidori in his hand.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he saw Sasuke charge in recklessly. The elder Uchiha willed the Susano'o to raise the Totsuka no Tsurugi, and swung down. The man never noticed the purple glow as the sword struck his brother.

To Itachi's surprise, Sasuke didn't dodge. Instead, he took the attack straight on, causing a small explosion as the sword slammed onto Sasuke from above.

Itachi's eyes widened as he stood there. The smoke cleared, revealing Sasuke on the ground, smoking. The elder Uchiha quickly dispelled his Susano'o and went to check on his brother.

Just as Itachi reached Sasuke, the elder Uchiha's eyes widened as Sasuke got up, a Chidori in his hand, and swung the attack at his brother.

It was then Itachi realized what Sasuke had done. The younger Uchiha was far, far inferior when it came to his mastery over the Mangekyou Sharingan.

That was why Sasuke, along with Kakashi, couldn't manifest his Mangekyou Sharingan in Aincrad for more than a few minutes. Itachi didn't have that problem.

So the younger Uchiha had to use another way to attack Itachi. The simplest way was to get him to let his guard down, and the best way was for Sasuke to let himself seemingly get hit.

So right before Itachi's sword struck Sasuke, the younger brother brought out part of his Susano'o, but not too strong to have not taken any damage.

There was also another factor, one Sasuke didn't know of. It was the fact that Itachi was still the caring brother he always was, and that was what made Itachi put his guard down.

Now, Sasuke roared as he thrust the Chidori at Itachi's heart. But right when the Chidori was about to strike him, Sasuke suddenly found himself unable to move as Itachi jumped away.

The two Uchiha's eyes widened as they saw the familiar chains restricting Sasuke's movements before they heard a familiar female voice, "That's enough, don't you think, Itachi?"

The two Uchiha turned to see Hikari, Kakashi and Kirito. Sasuke said in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei, Hikari, Kirito? What are you three doing here?"

Itachi merely stared at them as Kirito said, "To keep you two from killing each other, or rather, to keep you from killing Itachi, Sasuke."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?!"

Kakashi sighed, "You still haven't told him, Itachi?"

Itachi merely stared at him, "It wasn't necessary."

The younger Uchiha glared at them, "What do you mean?!"

Hikari let out a breath as she released her chains, "Itachi killed the Uchiha clan under orders, Sasuke."

The young man's eyes widened in shock as his head snapped over to Itachi, "W-what?!"

The elder Uchiha sighed as Hikari continued, "Your clan was planning to a coup d'état. So the Sandaime and Danzo ordered him to assassinate the Uchiha clan to prevent a civil war."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "How do you know all that?"

The Uzumaki answered, "Tsunade-baachan told us. After killing your clan, Itachi worked as a spy for Konoha, with Jiraiya-sensei. Keeping you alive and safe was one of the terms for him to work for the Hokage."

Kirito nodded, "Everything he did was to protect you, Sasuke. If Itachi hadn't killed your clan, a civil war would have happened, and you would be caught right in the middle of it."

Sasuke turned to his brother, "Is it true?"

Itachi sighed, "I suppose it can't be helped."

The elder Uchiha nodded, "Yes, our father and the elders was planning to overthrow the Hokage. That would have lead to a civil war, and even worse, other villages would invade Konoha. I could not allow that."

Sasuke clenched his fists, "Then... It was necessary to kill all of them?!"

Itachi nodded, "Yes, it was. If I left anyone else alive, they would hate the village. The cycle of hatred would continue."

The younger Uchiha growled, "Then what about me?!"

Itachi closed his eyes, "As Hikari said, it was to protect you. By leaving you alive alone, and killing the clan under the guise of going mad over power, you would have been spared the animosity from the village."

The elder brother opened his eyes and stared at Sasuke, "Then, you would redeem our clan by killing me. And you would rebuild our clan."

The younger brother clenched his fists. Then he gave Itachi a hard punch to the face, sending him to the ground.

Sasuke breathed heavily, trying to control his anger, "So, all this time, you were only acting under orders, and everything you did was for me."

Itachi slowly got up, but he didn't answer. The silence was all the confirmation Sasuke needed.

The younger Uchiha continued as he grabbed Itachi by the collar, "You let yourself be hunted, and you lived as a nuke nin while working as a spy. Most importantly, you made me hate you! Have you ever thought about how I felt?!"

Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he saw tears trailing down Sasuke's cheeks. The elder brother smiled slightly before he poked Sasuke's forehead, "Forgive me... Sasuke."

Sasuke just let go of his brother, "I don't even know what to do now... You killed everyone, but you did it for me..."

Hikari walked over to them and pulled the two brothers to their feet, "Okay, you two can sort things out later. Now we have to get you two back to the village so Tsunade-baachan can take care of Itachi's condition."

Hikari nodded before she glanced at Kirito, "I'll leave Kakashi to you, okay, Kirito-kun."

Kirito blinked, "Wait, wha-"

Without waiting for him to finish, Kirito and Kakashi were blinded by a yellow flash as Hikari, Sasuke and Itachi vanished from sight.

Kirito sighed, "Dammit..."

Kakashi chuckled before he looked at Kirito expectantly, "So, what are you waiting for?"

Kirito sighed and said, "Fine."

The swordsman grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and they vanished in a burst of blue particles.

(linebreak)

A while later, in the Hokage's office, Tsunade stared at the two Uchihas, with Kirito, Hikari and Kakashi standing behind them, "So, have you got things sorted out?"

Itachi and Sasuke nodded, though the latter did it a tad bit slower. Sasuke asked, "So, what now?"

Tsunade nodded, "Hmm, I will be bringing back Itachi into our ranks, either an Anbu, or a Jounin. Of course, if Itachi becomes a Jounin, I will have to reveal everything about the Uchiha clan to the world."

Itachi glanced at Sasuke, "What do you want to do, Sasuke?"

The younger Uchiha closed his eyes. Itachi had given up everything for him. Sasuke knew, if Itachi hadn't killed the Uchiha clan, he knew Itachi would still have a very bright future. Hell, if he wanted to, Itachi could probably become Hokage.

But Itachi had killed every member of the Uchiha clan, aside from him, just to prevent a civil war, just to save him from a war. And for that, Itachi had to live in the shadows.

The younger Uchiha made his choice, and he opened his eyes, "Go ahead. Reveal everything and have Itachi instated as a Jounin."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded, "If they can't accept it, then that's their problem. Itachi's been living in the shadows for far too long."

Itachi blinked slightly, the only sign of his surprise. Tsunade nodded, "True. Very well, I'll have Itachi become a Jounin, and I'll reveal everything tomorrow."

Itachi then said, "I see..."

The Hokage nodded, "Now, you're all dismissed. Itachi, you're coming to the hospital with me."

As Tsunade stood up, Itachi said, "Yeah, before that. We found the boss room for the 75th floor."

Tsunade just sighed and nodded.

(linebreak)

Later that afternoon, several teams gathered in front of the boss room of the 75th floor. As soon as word had gotten to the other four kages, they had agreed to send troops to defeat the boss.

From Konoha, were team Kakashi, team Yugao, Kirito, Nagato, Itachi under the disguise of a solo Anbu and team Kurenai, though Kurenai herself was absent and instead replaced by Fuu.

From Kiri were Zabuza, Choujuro, Ao and three random teams of Jounin.

From Kumogakure, were Killer Bee, C, Darui, Omoi, Karui, Samui, Atsui and several other Jounin.

From Suna, Kankuro and Temari both each lead a squad, along with a third squad of Jounin with them.

From Iwagakure, Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi all each lead a Jounin squad.

Now, all the squads stood in front of the gates. Kankuro glanced at the Konoha ninja with them, and he said to his sister quietly, "Hey, with all those people from Konoha, do you think we are needed here?"

Temari frowned, "Quiet... Yes, they can probably take care of the boss, but we still have to make appearances... Just stay out of their way and stay alive."

Killer Bee, Zabuza and Kakashi stood in front by the door and nodded to each other. Zabuza spoke aloud, "Let's go."

The swordsman pushed open the door, and the squads from all five villages quickly moved in, scanning the area as they waited for the boss' appearance.

As the squads all entered the room, the torches around them all lit up, and everyone became alert, looking everywhere for the boss.

For a minute, nothing happened, until someone yelled, "Up there!"

Everyone looked up and were shocked to see a beast that resembled a skeletal centipede with an elongated skull for a head and red shining eyes.

On the ceiling, were the words 'The Skull Reaper'. Then skeleton dropped.

Kakashi yelled as he turned and dashed away, "Move!"

Everyone quickly ran as the skeletal centipede dropped onto the ground, causing a huge boom and forming a cloud of dust.

Darui yelled, "Stay sharp! Find any weaknesses, and stay alive!"

The shinobi all slowly moved around, away from the cloud of smoke, knowing that the Skull Reaper was within the cloud of dust. Then, all of a sudden, something shot out from the dust.

A jounin from Iwagakure screamed in pain and agony as he was sliced in half by a blade from the dust. The same thing happened to another Kiri Jounin.

Suguha tch'd and nodded to Yugao, and they quickly unleashed a wave of wind from their swords. The act was followed by Temari and her squad with their fans, clearing the dust immediately.

Then they saw it. The Skull Reaper. It was twice the size of a normal boss, and it glowered down at the ninja in front of it.

Sakura said in horror, "How the hell can we beat that?"

Fuu frowned, "We'll just have to try."

Kakashi nodded as he yelled, "Everyone spread out! Search for any weak spots and hit it hard!"

Kirito glanced at Sasuke and the Uchiha nodded. Then to everyone's surprise, the two charged forward, several swords appearing around Kirito.

Hikari frowned as she threw her Hiraishin kunai all over the place," Those idiots!"

Kirito grinned as he threw the Dark Repulsor at the Skull Reaper. The skeletal centipede growled and parried the sword, sending it up.

But that was exactly what Kirito wanted. The swordsman grabbed Sasuke by the shoulder and they vanished in a burst of blue particles.

In an instant, the two appeared right above the Skull Reaper. Kirito grabbed the Dark Repulsor and yelled, "Let's go, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha just smirked as they fell towards the skeletal centipede. Sasuke channeled a Chidori into his chokuto as Kirito spun, channelling a sword skill, "DOUBLE CIRCULAR!"

The two swordsmen slashed at the boss, causing it to growl in pain as it spun in an attempt to counterattack. But Kirito and Sasuke were already gone, reappearing some distance away on the ground, where one of Kirito's copied swords floated.

Zabuza yelled, "Let's go! We can't let those two get all the action!"

Immediately, all of the ninja snapped out of it, and they started to attack from the sides, some of the stronger ones like Kakashi and Zabuza attacking from the front occasionally.

For a while things went well, everyone kept their distance and attacked the Skull Reaper on random intervals, avoiding its attacks. The attacks from the ninjas also started to wear the boss down.

Then, the Skull Reaper roared, and it suddenly swung its scythe arms at several shinobi in front of it. It would have killed them, had Nagato not been in front of it. The Rinnegan user roared, "SHINRA TENSEI!"

The gravitational repulsion blew the scythe arm away, causing the boss to roar before it started stampeding all over the room with impressive speed.

Kurotsuchi yelled as she sped through a set of seals, "Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu!"

The girl spat out quicklime onto the ground, right as the Skull Reaper was stampeded over it, stopping it right in its tracks. That gave Hikari the chance to wrap her chains around the boss.

The Skull Reaper roared as it struggled against the chains and the quicklime, and Hikari winced slightly as she could feel the chains slowly, but surely loosing.

Hikari yelled, "Now! I can't hold it long!"

Everyone went to attack. But Sasuke approached his brother, "Weasel, how long can you use the complete Suasano'o?"

Itachi glanced at his brother, "If its the Perfect Susano'o, I'd say three minutes, maybe more."

Sasuke nodded, "Good, we'll try to keep it occupied, and after that, you kill it."

Itachi nodded behind his mask, "Got it."

As soon as Itachi nodded, the Skull Reaper roared and broke out of the chains. As the centipede flailed around, trying to attack the ninja around it, Sasuke activated the Mangekyou Sharingan and yelled, "AMATERATSU!"

Black flames burst into existence on the Skull Reaper, further damaging the skeletal centipede, along with the attacks from the other ninja.

Then, Itachi spoke as he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, "Susano'o."

The orange ethereal entity appeared, glaring down at the skeleton. Then, Itachi's Susano'o raised the Totsuka no Tsurugi.

The Skull Reaper growled at the sight of the Susano'o, while everyone was surprised, though the ones who knew of this technique were surprised that someone managed to use it.

The boss tried to attack the avatar, but was stopped as Hikari summoned her chains to restrain the beast. Then, Itachi swung his blade.

Luckily, everyone who had been in the line of fire had wisely moved away as soon as Itachi raised his blade, and the Totsuka no Tsurugi cleanly sliced the skeletal centipede in half.

As the skeletal centipede burst into blue particles, Itachi dispelled his Susano'o, landing on the ground softly as the words 'CONGRATULATIONS' appeared in the air.

Itachi glanced around and saw looks/nods of respect from almost everyone. Nagato just gave him a knowing look, but didn't say anything.

Itachi just took it in stride, not really caring. Though it did feel good to get some recognition once in a while.

On the hundredth floor, Kayaba chuckled. Now, Nagato and Itachi had officially joined the battle to clear Aincrad. Well, they were actually ahead of schedule, exceeding his expectations. But then, he should have expected this.

The man then turned and sat down on a chair, looking forward to their final battle on the hundredth floor.

(linebreak)

The next day, Tsunade had revealed the truth about the Uchiha massacre to the village, and by extension, the whole world.

Needless to say, the villagers were rather upset at having the truth hidden from them yet again. While some of them were reluctant to accept Itachi, most of them, after knowing the truth, decided that he should get a second chance.

Of course, some words from Hikari and Sasuke did help. And now, Itachi was officially a Jounin in Konoha again and his name was removed from the Bingo Books as a nuke nin.

Now, team Kakashi, team Yugao, team Kurenai, team Asuma, Kirito, Itachi, Nagato and Konan were in the park, watching Yui play with other kids.

Itachi said, "Who knew we'd all end up in Konoha, right, Nagato, Konan?"

The Rinnegan user chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, well, this isn't so bad after all."

Konan nodded, "And apart from Tobi, the Akatsuki is over."

Hikari blinked as she asked, "Hey, Itachi, what happened to Kisame?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yeah, I'm curious too."

A rare smile appeared on the elder Uchiha's face, "Well..."

(flashback)

Right before Itachi returned to Konoha to meet Tsunade, Itachi and Kisame were resting in an inn in a random village near Konohagakure.

The two had continued wearing the Akatsuki robes even after they heard that Pein was defeated.

Itachi read the note he had gotten from the Hokage via messenger hawk before he slipped it into his cloak.

The Uchiha then turned, seeing that his partner's sword was leaning against the wall, far from the bed Kisame was lying on.

Itachi spoke, "Hey, Kisame, Pein is gone, and the Akatsuki is over. What are you going to do?"

Kisame shrugged, "Who knows... Probably continue as a nuke nin?"

The Uchiha nodded, "I see."

The sharkman asked, "Then, what are you gonna do?"

The Uchiha kept silent, and Kisame asked again, "Itachi?"

The man got off of his bed and walked to his partner. Then Itachi said, "Sorry about this... Tsukuyomi."

Inside the Genjutsu, Kisame blinked as he looked around, "Oi Itachi! What is this?!"

The shark didn't receive any answer, instead, his surroundings changed, showing a rather pink room. Then, the man heard a voice, a male voice, speaking in a rather feminine yet loud manner, "Kisame-kun!"

The door slammed open, and the shark man could only scream in terror, as a naked man walked. And more importantly, that man, was none other than... Might Gai.

Outside the Genjutsu, Itachi winced as he heard Kisame scream in terror. The Uchiha silently made two clones and nodded to them.

The clones immediately moved and picked up the shark man before moving out of the room.

Itachi turned and sealed the Samehada into a scroll before he went to change into his Anbu armor.

(flashback end)

Itachi said, "I'm sure he's in good hands."

Somewhere in a random room, Kisame opened his eyes groggily. The shark man's eyes widened as he took in the sight in front of him.

Beside him, were two naked, hairy men and not to mention muscular, all sweaty and covered in suspicious liquid.

Kisame did what any sane man would do, he screamed in fear as he tried to get out of the room. But that only served to wake up the two men.

One of them said in a husky voice, "Kisame, where are you going?"

The other nodded, "Let's continue from last night."

Kisame yelped as he tried to run, but the two men grabbed the S-ranked nuke nin with iron grips. The shark could only scream in terror as he was traumatised for the rest of his life.

Back in Konoha, Itachi blinked as he remembered. The Uchiha brought out a scroll and tossed it to Kirito, "Here."

The swordsman raised an eyebrow, "What is this?"

Itachi replied, "The Samehada, I believe you would be the best one to know how to handle this."

Kirito grinned and nodded, "Thanks."

Then, they all heard Yui's voice, "Papa!"

Everyone turned as Yui ran over to them. Kirito knelt down to her level, "What's wrong?"

The girl pulled on her 'father's arm, "Come on, I want you to push my swing!"

Kirito stumbled as the girl pulled, "Woah, okay okay, just wait a sec."

The girl let go as Kirito pocketed the scroll and gave the others an apologetic look, "Sorry, I'll talk later."

The man then followed his 'daughter' over to the swings and started to push her on the swing.

Sasuke smirked and said, "Kirito's starting to get good with kids, right?"

Asuna nodded, "Yeah... Well, we have Yui after all, so I guess he would learn how to deal with them."

Ino grinned and said, "Speaking of kids, when are you and Sakura gonna have one, Sasuke?"

Sasuke just spluttered as Sakura merely blushed, both not willing to say anything as they knew it would only serve to make it worse.

Itachi let out a small chuckle as he watched the others bicker around while Kirito played with Yui. While he didn't show it, Itachi was grateful for the turn of events, and he hoped things would only stay the same in the future.

XXX

Okay, done. So Itachi is back in Konoha now. So, the next chapters will be the end of the Aincrad arc, and I'll finish up this arc with the next chapter or two.

Review please. Until then.