*Hello, I'm back. Enjoy my new chapter and thank-you for all your kind reviews! I would have never updated if it weren't for a some of my recent reviews as of 2/28/18.
*My grammar and spelling are horrid, but maybe you can still enjoy this story :) Also, seemed to be a problem when updating the story. The 25th chapter would not show up! I'm working on this.
In His Own Right:
Chapter 25:
"Sasuke." The man began, approaching the young Uchiha. He could hear the small smirk from the man's voice alone. It boomed lowly and held such a confidence in it, it definitely belonged to an Uchiha.
"I've come to you, but I see you have yet to achieve your task. Why is that?"
He felt a sort of electricity in the air. A sense of willpower, it was almost suffocating. It was this man's willpower alone that caused him to shiver.
"I never agreed to do such a thing." Held himself as if he had no fear, yet he felt his fingers fidget and his legs shiver. Physical attacks did not work on this man, and that was rather disturbing.
"But it is what you want, yes? Power."
What did he want? What was it that Sasuke truly wanted?
Power.
Yes, that was true enough, the boy thirsted for power, the strength to defeat every and any foe. But, this the way he was destined to go about? Was this the route he needed to go down? Would he throw away all his progress for all of this? How would his family feel? This decision wouldn't be taken lightly. His Father would undoubtedly be disappointed, his Mother would cry, his sister would attempt to bring him back. What about his friends? Naruto would chase him relentlessly. Sakura would be heartbroken. Kakashi… his sensei would be in disbelief. What was he doing? How could he be so insensitive? Sure, he was a shinobi and from the moment of their creation, they were destined to be killing machines. But could he truly just kill someone he loved for his own greed?
There was a soft gust of wind, just strong enough to blow a bunch of leaves off into the distance.
Finally, the words rolled off his tongue."Not from you. I'll find my own way." Sasuke instantly withdrew his sword and as if it were deja vu pressed it against the man's neck. He knew it was in vain, but the action was impulsive.
"Now, Sasuke. This is a once in the lifetime chance, do not make the same mistake as your sister."
His sister.
"I want nothing to do with you." Realization struck him like a boulder. "The Akatsuki… your goals are counterproductive towards my own and that of my family. I want nothing to do with you...and actually, it is my duty as a shinobi of the leaf to kill you."
When the words escape Sasuke's mouth, his enemy laughed. He didn't blame him, his words were absurd, he couldn't even physically touch the man.
"Well, shinobi of the leaf… don't say I didn't give you a way out." Sasuke prepared himself for battle, but the man made no moves to fight. Instead, the masked man turned his back to Sasuke and walked towards the dark forest. "It's over for this world, and I can promise you that. There is not a shinobi alive that can stop what is about to unfold, and the Akatsuki will reign supreme."
Tobi's voice traveled with the wind and Sasuke found himself contemplating rushing into the forest and chasing after him. No, that wouldn't end well for the boy. He simply remained as still as a statue his hands at his side and eyes stuck to the floor.
He was dumb.
Why didn't Tobi kill him?
Why was he so stupid?
He left the forest with a headache.
He needed time to process his feelings and think about what he had done. He needed time alone.
It had been some time since the attack on Konoha. And since then Izumi had been patiently awaiting the day of Five Kage summit. Not that her days in the village had not been eventful, they actually had been pretty interesting. The stoic Uchiha could say without a doubt that she was extremely content with her life and looked forward to each day. This, of course, was thanks to a robust blonde. She smiled silently as Kakashi played childishly with the pen, his arms resting on his newly made desk. The masked shinobi held the Hokage hat that had been passed on from predecessor to successor for generations. The man honestly looked miserable as Izumi watched the elders explain what each of the documents laid out before him meant. She watched his eyes become more and more immersed in misery.
Poor Kakashi.
"...the Kazekage has also agreed to give us a significant donation of 4 million Ryo to aid reconstruction efforts, while at the same time sending over some of his own subordinates."
Kakashi only nodded understandingly, but his one eye said it all. He already hated this job. Izumi felt for her former captain. Unfortunately, she had to pass the responsibility onto him. He would do it much better than her regardless.
"The five Kage summit will be held in the land of iron, and the main subject of discussion will be, without a doubt be the current status of Konoha and the current status of project Ending Dawn."
Kakashi stood lazily. "Self-explanatory."
Homura continued. "This is a very dire time, you must show our people and the other villages that even in our darkest hours we are still strong."
The old man paused, giving the young Uchiha a look over.
"Izumi, what do you know about the current membership of the Akatsuki?"
What she knew was merely what she had been told from Jiraiya and the events that had occurred. She answered on queue.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, the masked man Tobi, Konan and the being known as Zetsu are all still alive."
"Our efforts should be to eradicate the rest of them." Homaru declared.
"That won't be so easy."
Kakashi nodded in agreement with Izumi. "They're all extremely powerful shinobi."
"And we still have Danzo's escape to deal with." She added.
Homaru remained quiet the man nodding and giving them acknowledgment.
"I believe our shinobi will not be enough to take on any of these shinobi… not alone." It was true, only a handful of shinobi in the village were top tier and could take these ninja head on. And even then, they would struggle.
"Then we shall send our best. You, Shisui-san, Neji-san, Jiraiya-san, your brother and now our very own village hero Naruto." The elder male was absolute in his words.
"That is one way to go about it. But even then it's still a difficult thing to deal with. We have a limited knowledge of the each member's abilities." The newly appointed Hokage informed.
"We've digressed. This is something that should be discussed at the Kage Summit, not here. What we do, should ultimately be the result of the decision agreed upon at the summit." Izumi finalized, and those words became the law of the land. Because who was going to disagree with Izumi?
"I see, that's right." The old man states, leaving the office with a quick about-face. "I'll speak to you two another time." With that being said he left and closes the door behind him. It was quiet for a period of time, Kakashi tapped his pen to ease the quiet atmosphere.
"This sucks." Kakashi let out lazily.
"I'm sorry."
"I already hate this job."
"I'm sorry."
"I wish someone else had taken it instead." He gave her a one eye glare.
"I apologize, again."
His one eye glare immediately turned into a curl, grinning.
"If I knew that I'd eventually be a Hokage maybe I actually would have taken the time to well… be on time for one."
"Punctuality was never your thing."
"Oh, it used to be, Izumi."
She understood.
"That was a long time ago."
"Hm."
"So you're going to help me, correct?"
She brought up her forehead.
"With your work?"
"Of course!"
She stood a bit dumbfounded. Was he really that lazy? The man was perfectly capable and intelligent enough to do so on his own. "You can't be serious."
"You know my work ethic when it comes to these things." He said, knowingly.
She sighed but gave the man a small smile.
"Fine."
The days later were very productive and eventful. What little free time she could salvage for herself, Izumi was doing research. More specifically reading Jiraiya-sama's novels, she found them very informative on relationships… yet very sexually graphic. Regardless, she saw why Kakashi and Shisui liked them, they were good reads. Construction continued as planned and seemed to even be ahead of schedule. The morale of every man, woman, and child is at an all-time high, and even though people are living in tents —with the exceptions of undamaged areas— people were wholeheartedly happy. The hospital was the main building of focus along with the new Hokage estate, and with new imports and help from Suna, things were moving very well. The Five Kage summit was coming up soon and she spent the time going around the village, aiding in reconstruction, speaking with the next generation of shinobi. This event, in particular, made her laugh, the things these children knew about her were absolutely stunning. Maybe her name was even more famous than it had been previously, she supposed Naruto's had also jumped in popularity.
Her mind circled around Naruto a lot. Since after their dinner she had yet to see him. She assumed he was busy training with KillerBee and Jiraiya, but truth be told she had not the slightest idea what he was doing. It wasn't a problem, they'd see each other when it was time to go.
Kakashi seemed keen on making sure she helped him complete his paperwork. And when she says help, that meant she did the majority of it while the man read his book. Don't get it twisted though, the new Hokage had done some work, so it wasn't that bad. Her parents were very happy with the way things have turned out and Shisui was...of course, Shisui. The only issue was a certain little brother who had distanced himself from what could only amount to everyone close to him. She did question the boy's logical thinking, but she deemed his actions to be emotionally driven. There was no reason to chase after him and they all had agreed to let him be by himself, but that didn't mean she didn't worry about Sasuke.
"Izumi I got the feeling that something big is about to happen." Shisui said one day.
The girl Uchiha continued to stare at the village from on top of the Hokage mountain.
"Maybe the destruction of the Akatsuki?"
"No, it's sort of ominous."
She placed her hands in her pocket. Izumi knew better than to just go off of feelings, especially from Shisui.
"Izumi, we have to end the Akatsuki quickly. What they're doing is no good, not to mention the whole entire invasion from pain was for Naruto. That shows just what they're capable of."
She continued to stare at the village, his words not too much of a surprise. "If necessary I personally will dismantle the Akatsuki and eliminate their members. I won't let their plans go to fruition."
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait, your favorite cousin still has your back! Plus, I can't let them harm Naruto. We will have Akatsuki in the dust before they even have a chance to get anywhere near Naruto."
She smiled.
How they bumped into one another, she would never know.
But, when the two spotted one another they immediately stopped. There was silence, wide eyes and a tad bit of awkwardness. She eyed him with admiration and she could see his pupils dilate. Had she always felt this way when she saw him or was it simply the fact that they had not seen one another in so long? Maybe it was them being separated hat made butterflies dance in her stomach and a more than uncharacteristic smile grow blatantly on her face.
"Hi!"
"Hello." She smiled and instantly took the blonde into a heavy embrace.
"My parents can't stop asking about you, you gave a really good impression." She informed, the two broke the embrace.
"I didn't think I'd see you until we left for the Kage summit."
She agreed. "I've been rather busy. Even right now, I'm running an errand for Kakashi." She held up a vanilla envelope.
"Yeah, I've been training, and helping fetch supplies for reconstruction." He paused, then laughed. "Also, I've been getting stalked."
"Stalked?
"Yeah, like people taking pictures while I sleep and following me when I go about."
Now that she thought about it, people have been following her around, but she didn't exactly consider it stalking.
"Something to do with a club that your mother's in. Remember when she brought it up during dinner?"
The Uchiha Heiress nodded. "Seems odd."
"Yeah it's a fanclub, and I'm willing to bet they've been following you too."
"They have." She admitted.
They both sat silently, a bit confused over the subject. She then stared down at the envelope.
"I'm pressed on time, sorry I'll have to speak to you later."
He smiled. "Definitely!"
With a quick peck on the lips, she left the boy and made her way back to Kakashi, her mood had slightly increased and the rest of the day looked promising.
"Alright, let's go!" Naruto pointed to the sun, his face covered in a grin, and the afternoon sunlight glowing on his features.
Izumi chuckled and she watched Kakashi roll his eye.
"Ah, you're so eager Naruto. Are you really interested in listening to a bunch of old people... and the Kazekage discuss the Akatsuki."
"You could say that. But, it's just a change of pace from being stuck in the village and doing absolutely nothing."
"You sure it's not the prospect of getting away with Izumi for some time." She blushed but hid it very well.
"No! I–just."
"Kidding…" Kakashi confirmed, tilting his Hokage hat.
"Knew that."
Izumi really doubted that.
"We should get moving, get this over with… And be on time?" Kakashi looked at Izumi for confirmation. She tilted her head in agreement.
"You, on time?" The blond laughed.
"Yeah, sometimes I care." Kakashi shrugged.
"We should be leaving." The young woman Uchiha gazed at the horizon beyond the trees, the edge of the village had taken some damage. The trees had taken some hits from Pein's attack and the wall was in tatters. The background was filled with the sound of wall construction and nature itself. She had foregone her Anbu attire and replaced her armor with the typical Jounin vest. Naruto rarely wore his Jounin uniform, just how other shinobi did the same. He instead opted for his black and orange jumpsuit.
"We have two days to reach Iron country. I feel as if we should run the entirety of the way."
Both Kakashi and Naruto groaned at the thought.
She brought up her chin. "If you wish to be there on time."
The two men looked at one another. "Well, Izumi there are a few differences between your on time and our on time. I'm sure."
"Your on time is a day early Izumi-chan."
She shrugged and would have pouted if she had been someone else. "Just a suggestion." She stated softly, looking away with arms crossed.
"So, I'll decide when we take a break. We won't
slack off too much, but I'm definitely not running the whole way there." The masked ninja gave no room for argument. So Izumi simply agreed.
"Alright then, let's get it moving, shall we?" Kakashi then took the lead jumping into the trees.
Izumi gazed at Naruto and he rose his shoulders. The two followed their Hokage and began their journey.
Somehow Naruto had convinced all the Kage including Mifune the Samurai General to try instant ramen before the summit even began. This would have been odd, but he's Naruto so Izumi gave him a pass. Sometimes she wondered if his words themselves were some sort of technique, a jutsu that made people look at things from his point of view. After convincing the four of the Kages including Kakashi and begging the Raikage to try it; Izumi found herself being put to use. And when what was meant by being put to use? Using her fire element to heat the water that the Kages would eat from, as per request by Naruto, to which she happily obliged.
"This is very good Naruto-san, I must say. And the tales of how you defeated the leader of the Akatsuki has brought upon much relief." The Mizukage was delighted, her smile vibrant and filled with youth.
"Yes, and this Ramen is actually pretty good...although it's probably filled with heavy amounts of sodium." The Raikage began slurping down the remnants of his meal.
"I'll only have a little, I have to watch what I eat after all." The Old Tsuchikage analyzed one individual noodle before neatly placing it in his mouth with his chopsticks.
Kakashi sat his hat on the table, his face as bored as usual. He hadn't touched his noodles and probably wouldn't until no one was looking.
"My heart is heavy at the news of the Fifth Hokage's medical condition, may she move to fast recovery." Gaara gave Kakashi a friendly grin, seeing as he sat beside the older man. He too had his own small bowl.
"She's doing much better, she is expected to wake from her comatose state any day now. Her students are watching over her, she's in the best of hands." Izumi agreed with Kakashi's words and the group of Kage seemed to all take this with a pinch of sugar.
Gaara cleared his throat and replied "Good news. I believe congratulations are in order, Kakashi-sama, an excellent shinobi one whose feats are known throughout the shinobi world. I wish you the best of luck and may your feats as Kage exceed that of your former years."
Everyone seemed to agree, the meeting seeming like it'd go without a hitch and it didn't even start. That was good, she didn't need any unfortunate occurrences.
"I believe it's time to start this mission, especially after the invasion of Konoha." said the Tsuchikage.
She nodded, word had spread extremely fast especially, with the increase in technology.
"Who would think that they'd be so bold?" The Mizukage's voice was rather concerned.
"All the more reason to push forward with ending dawn, with that, said we should take a more aggressive stance, and now." The Raikage's brash nature showed.
"I wouldn't be so sure Raikage-sama. The information we have on them is still minuscule at best." Mei the Mizukage didn't seem out for blood as much as her counterpart.
"Are you suggesting we wait?"
"I'm suggesting we determine a strategy to dismantle them."
"I'm saying we do the same thing!"
"Realistically it'll take time."
The Raikage crossed his arms, though he probably understood the logic behind the Mizukage's words. "What say you, Uchiha-san?"
Izumi went on. "We need time to collect more information. What we have is not enough to completely eliminate the Organization. The defeat of pain is a heavy blow however, there are still members that persist. And who knows if they're in the process of recruiting additional members? The possibility. Is. There. We should approach this with caution."
The Raikage grunted, his eyes looking to the other Kages, though he didn't present another argument.
"We should be cautious yes," Kakashi stated, actually paying attention.
"Izumi-san speaks wisely, Raikage." The eldest of the Kage spoke.
"We will move with caution, that is the best choice of action." Gaara agreed with her.
"So, we wait for them to make a move yet again?!"
Izumi began her retort. "No Raikage-sama. We simply wait for the smallest of openings. They have lost an extremely powerful shinobi, one who possessed the power of the Rinnegan. That blow should make them desperate or at the very best cautious of us. We need to know their intentions or at least wait for someone to spot a member."
"That shinobi that Naruto defeated was their leader correct?" Gaara inquired.
Naruto nodded his head, to which Izumi immediately disagreed. "No, this is false."
The pressure in the room shifted.
"False?"
"Yes, Gaara-sama."
"The report says otherwise." Mifune gave his first commentary, opposed to Izumi's words.
"I'm curious too Izumi, Jiraiya-sans information states that the shinobi with the Rinnegan was indeed the Akatsuki leader." The Hokage watched curiously and all eyes went on Izumi.
"I'm stating that Jiraiya-sama's data may be incorrect."
"How have you come by this?" The Mizukage placed her head on her palm.
"I met a man in my past years, a man who claimed to be Madara Uchiha."
The room sounded off with an anonymous gasp.
"The man attempted to recruit me into his organization. He called it Akatsuki, he told me that he'd need a shinobi such as myself. This man wore a mask and his hair was similar to another Akatsuki member."
"The one who goes by Tobi?" The Kazekage answered.
"Precisely. We know little to nothing about this shinobi. His true face, his abilities...nothing! And I with a hundred percent certainty believe he is the true leader. The man who claims to be Madara Uchiha."
Izumi stood next to Kakashi, her hands neatly behind her back and her eyes blank and patient. Everyone was quiet as they attempted to process this information. Naruto gazed at her with concern, but she quickly reassured him with her eyes.
"That is extremely hard to believe." Darui stated beside the Raikage.
The Raikage then ordered. "Speak Darui."
"The man known as Tobi is yet a fool. I'd go as to far as to say that there is something wrong with him."
"It is a ploy." Izumi retorted.
"The only thing suspicious about the man is the mask, I doubt—"
"No, she's correct!"
Izumi paused as a voice called off the walls. She activated her Sharingan and instantly jumped in front of Kakashi, sword coming to hand. A wind pushed through the room knocking up papers and bringing all eyes to the corner of the room. A small vortex formed as a man materialized. Naruto fell beside her and the two glared at the shinobi proudly displaying his Akatsuki cloak.
"That's your queue to say… speak of the devil. There's something I to wish ask you." Came the voice of the intruder.
"What might that be?" The Raikage stated behind his subordinates.
"How do you plan on stopping Madara Uchiha and the Akatsuki?" His Sharingan glowed through his mask.
"Condescending fuck!" With supersonic speed the Raikage charged the masked shinobi, only to find himself going right through the man and hitting the wall. Izumi watched only being able to register his speed due to her Sharingan.
"It's useless. Hear my words, Raikage."
"Nothing you Akatsuki bastards have to say is good."
"You're gonna wanna hear this."
"Why might that be?" Kakashi revealed his Sharingan.
He held his hand up, pointing a finger at the standing shinobi.
"Because otherwise, it's war."
Everyone became quiet.
"What is it that you want?" The Tsuchikage went said.
"For you to listen for one, Raikage."
"Speak."
The Raikage moved from the crater he had left in the wall and joined the group.
"Defeating my dear friend Pain was not something I had anticipated. That was quite a blow, hmmm… no matter bygones are bygones. Now I look towards the future, hear me out, Five Kage. I seek to make the world a better place. I, Madara Uchiha!"
Izumi stepped forward. "Why do you claim to be Madara Uchiha. The man died from his wounds after his battle with the First Hokage. You're simply a poser."
"It doesn't matter what you call me. I am who I am and all I seek is peace."
"You seek nothing but destruction."
"I seek to make sure no one. Absolutely no one has to go through pain ever again."
"How do you propose going about that?" The Mizukage retorted.
"Something I like to call project Tsuki no me!" He took a seat.
"I have a bad feeling about this." She heard Naruto whisper.
"Explain!" The Raikage barked.
"I wish to make us all one."
"How?"
"No." Izumi protested, knowing nothing good could come from his bloodstained lips.
"Have you ever heard about the Sage of Six paths?"
"The man from those chakra origin tales," Naruto answered.
"Oh, it's more than a tale Naruto-san. The man existed, before the age of Bijuu. Hell, he's the one the reason why we have nine Bijuu! I wish to collect all nine Bijuu for a reason."
"We'll never let you have the last two Jinchuriki. There is no reason for you to even waste your breath." Gaara confirmed, and the whole room seemed to agree. Temari and Kankuro standing proudly beside.
"Oh you will...that is unless you want to be completely annihilated. You see, I'm extremely close to reaching my goal, and I cannot reach said goal without the two Jinchuriki. Naruto and B." He pointed at the blond.
The female Uchiha narrowed her eyes, her Sharingan unintentionally becoming Mangekyou.
"What, you dare ask for us to give up my brother B!"
"Agreed, we will not give up Naruto nor Killer Bee." Gaara's arms were crossed.
Tsuchikage began levitating, his eyes on the man. "I have no intentions of cooperating with terrorists."
Kakashi looked him in the eye. "The answer is no."
Izumi eyed him with a deep frown, pointing her katana. "As long as I breathe you'll never see your plan to fruition."
"I agree, I want nothing to do with your fucked up plan." The Mizukage made her point made.
"And I stand with the shinobi." Mifune declared.
Tobi was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke.
"Very well." He jumped from his seat and stood. "I, Madara Uchiha, hereby declare the fourth great shinobi war! May God have mercy on all your souls!"
She knew the implications. But, when he actually said it, it brought her heart to a standstill.
*It's been a long time guys. Apologies for taking so long to update, and I'd also like to apologize for making the chapter shorter than normal. I had the majority of this on my drive for about six months.
*So did you enjoy this chapter? At this point, I'll let you guys decide what happens in the story from here on out. Major/minor details, if I like it I'll take it. Until next time!