Chapter 2
The Truth Revealed: Naruto Uzumaki's Swift Return
I own Nothing
Naruto tossed and turned in his bed, his sheets wrapping around his body in the night as his nightmares haunted him. The vision of cloaked figures hunting him mercilessly, wounding him greatly, only before he is saved by one man, who, unfortunately, took his place, in the sights of his hunters. Screams ripped through the visions before him, hoping - no, praying - for them to end as the visage of his savior giving his last breath to protect him.
In this jumbled mess of images and terror, a young girl has made her way into her father's bedroom - draped in nothing but a blue t-shirt and matching shorts as she watches her Tou-san toss and turn viciously. A scene the young girl was far too familiar with.
No matter how many times her father's assures her that his past was just that, his past, nights like these reminded young Fuyuko all too well that her 'untouchable' father is far from that, he's human. "Tou-san," she called to her father but nothing seemed to change. "Tou-san!" she voiced much louder, this time awakening her father with a start.
"What?!" He yelled, scanning the room frantically to find the source of the sound that just shocked him awake, only for his eyes to fall on the small frame of his young little snowflake, a bit unnerved by his scream. "...Oh, Fuyuko-chan, what are you doing in here?"
She fumbled with the hem of her shirt before answering, "...I-I was worried about you, Tou-san. Were you having that dream again?" She murmured, passing her gaze towards her father's missing limb which was in plain view thanks to his sleep attire. "When you lost your arm."
Naruto sighed as he wiped his brow, "yeah sweetie, I did." He hated when his daughter saw him like this, nothing hurts him more than knowing his daughter knows about how the loss of his arm still effects him to this day.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, saddened by her father's statement only to feel his hand comb through her hair softly.
"Hey, what's there to be sorry for? You've done nothing wrong here," he cooed sweetly, but Fuyuko's eyes still held sympathy and worry for her father's well being. "Hey, I know that face - don't worry about it, sweetheart, all of that is in the past."
Fuyuko looked to her father, a small smile graced her features once more only for her eyes to be drawn to something outside Naruto's bedside window. "Hey, Tou-san."
"Yeah?" He asked,
"There's a bird outside your window. It's got a letter in it's beak," she answered, pointing towards her father's window.
"A Bird?..." Naruto turned to find just that peering at him through his window, now lightly tapping it's long black beak against the glass "The black crow, this can't be good." He murmured, raising the window and snatching the letter from the bird's beak just before it vanishes into a black mist almost as if it was merely an allusion. Once retrieved, he opens said letter and begins to read, his eyes growing wider the more he went down it.
"Tou-san, is everything alright?" Fuyuko asked, seeing the surprise in her father's face.
Naruto looks from the letter to his daughter, his distraught features quickly taking the form of a smile to hide his true feelings, "yes sweetheart, everything's alright….Do you know if Baa-chan is still here this morning?" He quickly changed the subject as he hopped out of his bed, walking straight for his closet to retrieve some appropriate attire.
"Morning? Tou-san, it's 12 o'clock in the afternoon. She said she had a busy day dealing with….ummm, I-I think she said somethin' about a meeting with councillors or something, I don't know...I-I kinda wasn't paying attention. I was eating my breakfast." It's uncanny how similar these two are to one another; just like her father she's more focused on her food than anything happening around her. "But I do remember her saying she might be back by 6 p.m. and for you not to get into any trouble."
"It's 12?" He asked, only to look back outside to notice something that didn't really didn't ring any bells a few moments ago, the beams of sunlight bleeding through the shades. "Damn," He murmured, stumbling out of his closet, now fully dressed, fumbling with his shoes as he plops back down on the edge of his bed.
"Tou-san, what's damn?" Fuyuko asked, halting Naruto's progress with her sudden curse.
He racked his brain a bit to explain this to his still impressionable daughter and came up with something - "...Uuum, it's the grown up version of darn," it wasn't brilliant but it would have to do for now.
"Well...can I say it?" Fuyuko pondered,
Naruto fired back with, "are you a grown up?"
"Yes!" Her father shot her a look only a parent could make, offering her the chance to repeat herself. "N-No," she answered, earning a chuckle from her father.
"Then no, no you can't." Naruto answered with a smile, only to hear his little girl suddenly whisper "darn" under her breath. His smile, however, soon disappeared, leaving nothing more than a saddened yet warm tone to his voice. He knelt before his little girl, resting his hand on her shoulder, "look, sweetie, it seems like daddy's gotta go to work. Something bad has happened and I gotta fix it before it's too late."
"Oh, okay, I'll go pack my toys real quick and we can-" She began but Naruto's grip on her shoulder stopped her from doing so.
"No sweetheart, this one is a solo mission. You stay here, it's safer." He answered, only to see her eyes widen and her lip began to quiver. She never liked be left behind, especially in a unknown place but it comes with the territory of Naruto's profession. "Oh, don't give me that look, you know I would love for you to come with me, you always brighten up those stake outs and long nights of spying, but this one….this one isn't a spy mission, it's a shinobi mission and it's a big one."
"H-How big?" She asked, still trying to play off those crocodile tears of her.
"Real big, it has something to do with Tou-san's friend. He needs me now, but don't worry I won't leave you by yourself. How would you like Grandtoad shima and Fukasaku to stay with you until Tsunade comes back from her meeting?"
"I guess," she sighed, peering up at her father with one final request. "Promise me you'll come back, alright?"
Naruto smiled, no matter how many solo missions he goes on she never lets him leave without swearing that he'll come back. As a father, this shows a sweet while also tragic side of Fuyuko's past before him; she fears that she'll be left alone once again in unfamiliar territory while also wanting her father to promise her that he will be safe on this mission and come back home to her. "Sweetie, you know I will-"
"Pinky promise?" She asked, sticking out her pink which her father quickly looped his own pinky around.
"Pinky promise," She goes in for a hug, snuggling deep into her father's chest in fear that this could possibly be the last time she saw him, an act she's come accustomed in doing each time he leaves for one of his missions. "I love you, Fuyuko-chan." He whispered, kissing her on the top of her head as she deeps the hug, almost fearful to release him.
"I love you too, Tou-san." And with a quick bite of his thumb and a few hand signs, Naruto was off, leaving behind his loving daughter in the capable hands of her green faced guardians. He blitzed through the village by rooftops, giving people below him little to see before he made it to his destination but before he passed the archway leading out of Konoha, Naruto stops and creates a clone - he hands said clone the note he was given and sends his doppleganger off towards the Hokage tower to await Tsunade once she has returned from her meeting.
- Konoha Market District -
Within the hussle and bussle of noon track in Konoha was a young girl that went by the name of Sakura Haruno. As she ducked and weaved through the marketplace, her grocery list gripped in her left hand, she definitely stood out amongst the crowd, whether it be her striking hair color or her bright attire. Draped in a simple sleeveless red qipao dress with white trimmings and such tied back with a black obi that matches her black shorts that hid underneath her dress.
As she continued down the market place she let out a sigh, "why am I always the one who has to do the shopping? Tou-san and Kaa-san should do just a little once in awhile," she mumbled dryly as she reads over the list once more. "okay, what's on the list today? Hmmm, Hakusai, Daikon, and some-" The pink haired teen's musing was cut short however when she spotted a shadow pass over top of her. She looked to the rooftops and noticed a retreating tuft of blonde hair as it swiftly disappears behind a chimney. Her eyes widened, "W-What in the-?" Her thoughts were cut short as she bumped into a familiar face. "Oh, Hinata-chan I am so sorry, I-I wasn't-"
Her apology was soon silenced by the woman she accidently collided with, Hinata Hyuuga. "I-It's not a problem, not at all. I should have watched where I was going," she spoke, her soft spoken voice putting Sakura at ease for the most part. Taking in her friend's visage, she could tell she had just gotten off a recent mission, seeing as her usual mission garb was still on. A light lavender, sleeveless kimono-style blouse with flattering vertical lines gripped her body like a glove, wrapped with a dark purple obi around her waist. Below said waist she wore a pair of short, dark navy shorts with thigh-high stockings. Over the years Hinata's has taken on a rather different approach to fashion - no longer did she hide herself behind a thick, heavy coat - she was no longer afraid of what people might think of her. This transformation was spurred on by the helpful prodding of her sensei Kurenai and the...passing of Naruto Uzumaki. A lot of things changed once such a tragic death was announced, no one knew of these changes were for the better or worse.
"Here, let me help you with…." Sakura began but noticed what Hinata had actually dropped, a bundle of roses neatly tied together. "You're going to see him today, aren't you?" Sakura was all too familiar with Hinata's typical tradition.
Hinata nodded somberly, scooping up the flowers and dusting off the specks of dirt that clung to them. "...Y-Yes, I haven't been in about a week and...and I just thought he would like some flowers,"
"Well, would you mind if I come? I haven't been in a while either and I'd like to pay my respects." Sakura asked,
"O-Of course, I'd like that." With a somber smile placed on both of their features they were off headed towards their new destination, making small talk along the way, almost trying to keep the idea of where they were going out of their head for as long as they could. The arrived in record time, each growing physically unnerved the closer they came to the hard visage of the memorial stone, the names of all the fallen and forsaken shinobi and kunoichi that have risked their very lives for this village. However, they were surprised to see another likely soul staring over the stone, his masked face hiding the pain that rested within him.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura addressed her long standing sensei, catching him a bit off guard as he stared at the memorial stone fixated on two names in particular. "I haven't seen you around in a long time,"
"Yes well, I thought it would be best to get some air today." Kakashi answered in his usual tired tone but something about it seemed a bit more...sad.
"H-How long have you been here, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked, taking up a spot closer to the memorial stone.
"...That's a good question, sometimes when I'm here I just...lose track of time." Hinata places her flowers on the marble memorial stone, a single tear threatening to break out. She's been so strong for so long, she's tried to find a way to numb the pain of this massive loss but something kept her fragile when it comes to the death of her crush.
The group stood their in respective silence, each looking at the last name etched into the stone, Naruto Uzumaki. Minutes turned into hours as each individual had there own reason for staying - Hinata's unspoken love, Sakura's attachment too the blonde baka, and Kakashi's guilt of losing another student - but their attention was taken when an ANBU appeared before them.
"Lady Hokage has requested your attendance immediately," and like that, the ANBU disappeared in a vial of wind and leaves.
"W-Why does Lady Hokage need us?" She wondered aloud,
"It must be important." Kakashi stated firmly, as he and the rest headed towards the Hokage's tower, unaware of what was to come.
- Hokage Tower -
With a shove of the door Tsunade stormed into her office, the Hokage advisers tailing not too far behind. "Damn it, what is with this week? So many stressful things are happening, I'm ready to rip my freaking hair out."
"I know this is rough, Lady Hokage, but we cannot let it derail our meeting." One spoke aloud, trying to keep her Hokage on track.
"Meeting? If you'd forgotten the last five minutes, I was just given a report from a very reliable source that our ally, Sunagakure, was attacked and it's Kazekage has been taken, so I think our annual council meeting can wait until I've sent as much help as we can to our allies, councillor." Tsunade fired back rather heatedly, but seemed to not care so much at what tone she took at the moment. Once that Naruto clone came to her office she knew nothing good would come of it and lo and behold, the whole village of Sunagakure was nearly blown to pieces by two cloaked figures and yet these two pions think a meeting over trivial things is more important than helping an ally in need.
"So, Suna's been attacked? I suppose they now know how it feels to be blindsided by something so devastating." One muttered abruptly, still showing that even after 6 years have passed some Konoha residence have not forgiven Sunagakure for their actions against their village.
Her partner chimed in to, saying "I don't know why we should even be sending help to them in the first place, we should let them stew in their destruction. I don't recall them lifting a finger to help us."
"That's quite enough, you two!" Tsunade huffed in frustration, unwilling to listen to two of her people belittle a village who was just attacked. "Over the past 6 years Sunagakure have undoubtedly paid us back for their crimes they committed against us, we have buried our feud against one another the second we realized they were being played by one of our very own. So, I don't want to hear another word from you two about this matter, am I understood?"
"H-Hai," the bowed,
"Good, now leave me, I'm expecting company and I don't need your negative attitude during this meeting." She commanded, watching the two swiftly leave with their tails between their legs. Once gone, Tsunade slipped out the letter given to her boy the doppelganger Naruto and read it over once more before letting a sigh leave her lips. "Naruto-kun, you couldn't have just waited for me to come up with our plan of attack, could you? No, you had to run off half cocked with no backup. Well...I guess I can't blame him, it is his friend after all."
As Tsunade continued to muse over Naruto's decision, the three she summoned appeared, each wearing a look of worry and urgency, something Tsunade liked to see. "Lady Hokage, you summoned us?"
"Kakashi, Hinata, Sakura - good, I'm glad you three could make it here so quickly, what I'm about to tell you is quite time sensitive." She began, taking her seat behind her desk. "Right now, Sunagakure is reeling from a surprise attack from the group known as the Akatsuki and to make matters even worse, they've kidnapped the Kazekage, Suna no Gaara."
Sakura was the first to speak up, "the Akatsuki? They're really that bold to attack an entire village?"
"All that and more, they've taken the liberty to light up almost half of the village of Sunagakure." Tsunade answered, "it was strange, from the intel we were given, it seemed like the explosives were placed before they went to capture Gaara as an easy diversion to cover their tracks. Meaning this was a planned attack,"
"With all do respect, Lady Tsunade, but why did you just pick us three? If we are going into a battle against the Akatsuki, shouldn't we have more than one response group?" Sakura wondered, noticing a distinct lack of extra hands for such a mission. If they play their cards right they could take out the entire Akatsuki group if they had enough manpower and found their secret hideout in time.
"Well, at this point you three are the only ones that I can scramble together in such a short amount of time." Sadly, Tsunade knew where Sakura was coming from. If she could, she'd have a three man team hunt down these Akatsuki members and hope that those who attacked Sunagakure to lead them to their base of operations but, there was a problem in that plan. "Many of your colleagues are already out on other long standing missions such as Sai, Shino, and Kiba; while Kakashi here has been asking for missions left and right now adays - so, with all of that in mind, I chose you three to be my first responders."
Kakashi perked up at the sound of his name, "w-well, actually, I've mostly been signing up for solo mission. It might be easier if I did this mission on my ow-"
"That's not an option, Kakashi. This is a very dangerous mission, and no matter how skilled you are you'll need some backup. We have no idea how many Akatsuki members will be involved around this kidnapping, so the more people we send the stronger our chances of survival will be." Lady Tsunade answered sternly, unwilling to think that Kakashi could weasel his way into making this a solo mission. "You three will be heading out shortly, I'll give you 30 minutes to get prepared for this mission. Reinforcements will be sent the moment another group becomes available, are there any questions?"
"Is there anything else we need to be aware of before we leave?" Hinata asked, unaware of the implications such a question had.
"..." She grew very silent, wondering if she should tell them of the blonde they'll be meeting in the field, but she thought against it. "No, there's nothing else I am aware of. Your first stop on your mission should be Sunagakure, there, Temari and Kankuro should be able to give you as much information as they can on who captured Gaara and where they might have headed."
"Hai," and with that, the group of three left to get ready, leaving Tsunade and Shizune to discuss.
Not even waiting a minute after they left, Shizune was the first to let her opinion known. "Lady Tsunade, you didn't tell them about-"
"I know, Shizune, I know, but right now they need to focus on the mission….learning that Naruto is alive would only cloud their judgement." Tsunade said, accurately guessing what her assistant was about to say.
"But Naruto's also heading for Sunagakure, don't you think that his appearance would also cause some shock?" Shizune voiced, worried about how hectic something like that could be on the battlefield. "It could derail the whole mission if they just stumble upon an alive Naruto fighting against an Akatsuki member,"
"Why do you think I asked Kakashi to lead this mission?" Tsunade asked, catching Shizune a bit by surprise. "He may have changed over the past few years but he is still a well trained shinobi, he will keep this team focused enough to complete this mission."
"..." Shizune thought on this only to consided to her point, "I hope you're right, Lady Tsunade,"
"So do I," she said, a single thought still running through her mind. "This is going to be one hell of a rescue mission,"
-2 Hours Later-
"Of course they'd leave me with little to go on." Naruto huffed as he came to a jog around the area outside of the now devastated Sunagakure. A part of him wished to stay and help them in any way he could but he knew that finding the culprits and bringing back their leader would help just the same. Besides, if Tsunade had gotten his letter, she's already sent out as many trained shinobi and kunoichis to help protect Sunagakure and to offer some backup as he jumps into the lion's den.
"No trace of chakra, no footprints, it's almost like they….vanished out of thin air. Even if they had taken to the sky I still would have sensed something," A shadow soon casted itself on the vast stretch of sand as if flew from on high, passing by the sun that's high in the sky. Naruto looked up to find something quite familiar, a black crow now circling around him with ease, a piercing squawk leaving it's beak.
"You again, huh?" Once the bird noticed it had Naruto's attention, it flew south from Sunagakure, hopping the young father would follow in tow. "Well, I guess I should count myself lucky I have someone like you on my side." And without much prodding, Naruto was once off again, following the crow through the golden terrain, his footprints quite pronounced through the flowing sand.
As the Konoha reinforcements arrive on the scene in Sunagakure they had to give a moment to stare in shock at the devastation that has befallen this village. Buildings that once stood as tower pillars of strength were now demolished and burnt to a crisp - the overall landscape of this once great village was now charred and destroyed by the hands of these bastards. "Oh my, I knew they were attacked but….I didn't think the damage would be this severe." Sakura muttered as she and her team walked through the threshold of this village, taking in the sights of this now charred village.
"I've never seen Sunagakure this damaged before," Kakashi chimed in,
"And only two Akatsuki members did this? unbelievable," Hinata spoke up, eyeing the place with a sympathetic expression. She felt truly mournful for these people, not only have they losted their leader but they've also taken a massive hit to their village in the process.
"Even I have a hard time believing it sometimes, and I saw it with my own eye." Baki said, stepping out from inside a tent that held many wounded Suna civilians.
Kakashi went to greet the Suna born shinobi, "Baki-san, I'm glad to see you are unharmed."
"I wouldn't say that, my pride as a shinobi and a man is pretty damn wounded." Baki answered with a grizzled chuckle. "But, that's not why I'm here. Tsunade had sent word of your arrival, I've come to take you to Temari and Kankuro,"
"I'm surprised they didn't come with you, time is really not on our side, every seconds counts." Sakura stated.
"Trust me, they know. But right now, they have no choice but to stay where they are." Baki murmured, "Kankuro was severely injured while Temari is suffering from some 2nd degree burns on her arms and a few broken ribs."
"No way, both of them are down and out right now?!" Sakura asked, bewildered that this group has taken out all three Suna siblings without much of a threat.
Baki nodded, "hai, they put up a great fight, but in the end, they just couldn't take him."
"Wait, they were beaten by one of the Akatsuki members?" Kakashi asked,
"Yes, the other was facing off against Gaara-san." Baki informed, "the one Kankuro and Temari were facing had a very destructive ability, he could use C4 to manifest these disturbing creatures that imploded on either contact or on his command. Kankuro's puppets couldn't even get near him without being blown into a thousand pieces and while Temari was holding her own against by keeping her distance, the explosions just grew to be too much for her." As he recapped the events of his student's battle you could tell he was growing more and more tense, infuriated that he couldn't have held his team defeat this menace. "I wish I could have been there to help them, but I was too preoccupied trying to protect Gaara-san from our other intruder."
"What happened in your fight with him?" Hinata asked,
"I could barely lay a finger on him," Baki muttered, his fist clenched in frustration.
Sakura interjected, "he was that fast?"
"You misunderstand me, I literally couldn't lay a finger on him. Every attack I used passed straight through him like he wasn't even there, like he was a mirage. Even my sound based attacks didn't faze him; and just like that, he cut me down within an instant, leaving only Gaara-san to defend Sunagakure all by himself...I failed my Kazekage." In that moment the true rage and disappointment Baki had for these people were physically visible in his face. His teeth now gritted, he stood their reliving his failings over and over again, making his blood boil at what these bastards did to him and his village.
Baki was snapped out of his self-loathing by a hand placed on his shoulder. Hinata now stood before him, a stern yet reassuring look was apparent on her features. "Baki-san, don't be too hard on yourself. With a skill set like that, I bet he'd be a tough opponent to pin down."
"What worries me the most is that when I awoke I found no sign of a confrontation in the Kazekage chambers," Baki said, though a bit calmer thanks to Hinata's surprisingly bold choice to comfort him. "I don't know what happened, but that masked bastard must have done something to Gaara-san to make him unable to fight back. He stole the Kazekage and laid waste to Sunagakure, that is unacceptable!"
"Don't worry, Baki-san, we'll stop at nothing to bring back your Kazekage and to bring those who did this to justice," Hinata stated firmly, her conviction as plain as day in her eyes.
Baki was taken a bit aback by the Hyuuga's strong claim, a small grin soon graced his lips - something a strongly willed man like Baki would normally never let cross his features. "...Thank you, Hyuuga-san." He said kindly, "you know, Sunagakure and Konoha might not have seen eye to eye in the past, but knowing that we can count on another village in our time of need is very much appreciated."
Hinata smiled back, "of course, if we wish to bring peace to these Elemental Nations, we must be prepared to do whatever it takes for our sister villages."
Sakura, silently watching this exchange from the two, couldn't help but think about how Hinata has shifted so drastically over the years. "Hinata-chan, you've grown so much over the years, it's quite amazing to see….but I'm saddened that his death was the only thing that could bring this out of you. You've even adopted his cause, to hopefully bring peace to the world at all cost."
"That's a very nice sentiment, I wish I could believe it. But with people like the Akatsuki running around I don't think the world could truly find peace." Baki said somberly as if he was speaking from experience. "They would rather uproot thousands of lives just to fulfill their own selfish desires. If I could, I would come with you three and take back our Kazekage by force, but unfortunately, someone needs to lead this village in Gaara's absence."
"We understand, that's why we're here." Sakura interjected, "we'll deal with them, you make sure your village can recover from this." With all said and done, Baki takes the three to their destination, the heavily trafficked medical ward where 2/3rds of the Sand siblings reside.
"Kankuro, Temari!" Sakura gasped, seeing their battered and bruised bodies strewn across their medical beds.
Sakura's gasp caught their attention, kankuro being the first to speak, "S-Sakura? You must be the….c-calvary, huh?" He tried to chuckle only to cough harshly into the back of his hand.
"Easy there Kankuro, don't talk." Sakura uttered, taking a spot next to Kankuro's bed - prepared to do what she could to heal him. "Here, let me-"
"N-No!" Kankuro hissed, gripping Sakura's wrist tightly, keeping it's healing touch at bay. "There's no time, we have plenty of Medical-nins here to patch us up, you three need to head out and get my brother, fast!"
"We came here to see if any of you have any clues as to where exactly they could have taken Gaara." Kakashi informed the two,
This time Temari was the one to speak, pulling herself into a semi-upright position. "No, none of them spoke of where they were going, who they work for, hell, we didn't even get their names. Unfortunately, we're no help to you three." She sighed, "All we know is their looks. One had blonde hair and a robotic type eye, the other wore an orange mask that looked to have like a swirl like design. I know that's not much to go on but-"
"Don't worry about it, you two have done plenty. We'll take it from here," Kakashi stated before Team Konoha decided that they needed to start on the culprits trail before it gets cold. So, exiting the medical ward of Suna hospital, the team made their way to the outskirts of Suna where they hope they can find some form of clue to guide them. "Hinata, use your Byakugan - they might have left us a trail for us to follow."
"Hai, Byakugan!" She scans the sand, picking through every last gram with her special eyes until she lands on a footprint laced with what seemed to be very potent chakra. This set of chakra heavy footprints continued deeper into the desert. "I-I found something,"
"What is it?" Kakashi asked
"A trail, follow me!" Hinata ran from the border of Sunagakure, dictated only by the trail set before her. "This chakra, i-it looks….familiar."
As both Naruto and the Konoha reinforcements begin to converge towards one specific point their targets were growing wise to the upcoming threat. "Oh, so it does seem like they've sent someone to try and retrieve their fallen Kazekage." A masked shinobi hummed as he peered behind him, looking beyond the trees and foliage in his way. "I was wondering when they would do something, I would have been disappointed if they didn't."
His partner sneered at his lack of motivation and rightfully bashed him for it. "Quit being so laid back about this, Tobi. The preparations for the ceremony still need to be put into place, if anyone disrupts it this whole mission was for nothing."
"Is that so? Well then, if that's the case, then how about you pay our little friend a visit. Dance with him, keeping him busy while the final preparations are set in place." Tobi stated as he took the unconscious body of the Fifth Kazekage from his disgruntled partner who didn't look that happy with his demands.
"I don't take orders from you, fool! Humph, if you desire a distraction, why don't you do it?" Deidara inquired rather curtly, glaring down his masked acquaintance with steely determination.
"Because I'm not the one with such explosive potential." Tobi hummed, peeking Deidara's attention for just a moment. "Besides, aren't you the one who's been complaining about not being able to show off your new artistic powers to the world yet? This could be your chance to shine,"
This caused Deidara to stop and ponder, maybe this was his time to shine, "...Humph, I suppose you do have a point." He smirked, turning towards his object with a chuckle. "The world has gone on for far too long without witnessing the new destructive power of my art, now, I'll prove to the world that nothing could ever stop my art from consuming everything!"
As Deidara took off towards his first opponent all Tobi could do was smirk at how simple his partner was to fool. "I've never met a man so egotistical; I guess I should be glad I have him as my partner, he's so easy to manipulate."
Now with a solid trail, Naruto was treading through the thick forest set before him, hot on the heels of the men who kidnapped one of his closest friends. Jumping from limb to limb as fast as his legs could carry him, Naruto was unprepared for what was to come. Without warning, the limb beneath him gave way in a small yet heated explosion, burning his left foot and sandal while also sending him to the harsh ground. Rolling to his feet as quickly as he could, Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai, scanning the darkest corners of the forest surrounding him, hoping to catch the individual who set that trap.
However, Naruto didn't have to wait very long as a white clay snake sprung from the forest floor towards him, giving him only moments to dodge before it also exploded, knocking him back a bit. "Your tricks are starting to get old, Deidara."
"Humph, art never gets old, it only matures." Deidara cooed, stepping out from his hiding spot, a smug grin still etched into his face just like the last time they clashed. "So, we meet again to finish our final confrontation once and for all."
"I knew the moment they mentioned a massive explosion you would have had something to do with it." Naruto mumbled, taking to his feet as he prepared for a battle.
Deidara merely shrugged before continuing his little speak. "Well, guilty as charged. My art has grown since we've last fought, Naruto, I hope you'll appreciate it."
"I've never been much of a fan of art, so I think I'll skip your demonstration and get to the part where I finally end you." Naruto's eyes locked onto his opponent watching his every move just to make sure he isn't hit with another sneak attack.
"You weren't able to end me before what makes you think you can do it now?" He asked, something moving under his baggy, dangling sleeves.
"Because this time you don't have your teammate to hide behind,"
Deidara merely chuckled, "an artist needs to live on to expand his art; so please, let me show you how far I've grown since our last battle." Once said, Deidara lifts his sleeves up, reveal what was hidden within them, clay like replicas of his original arms. From the tip of his fake hands all the way to the base of his elbow were fabricated arms that were made out of nothing but his famous art supply.
"What the? C4 arms?! H-He replaced his original arms with C4?!" Naruto thought, surprised yet also sickened by the lengths this man was willing to go to keep wreaking havoc in this world. "You're a maniac,"
"No, I'm an artist prepared to do whatever is necessary for my muse! Now, enough talk, time to give you a taste of my genius!" And without warning, Deidara's form begins to glow a hellish white before exploding into massive plume of smoke and flames, almost taking Naruto out in his first attack.
Ducking into the forest surrounding them, Naruto couldn't' believe the amount of damage his first attack could do. "He's lost it! He's prepared to blow up this entire forest to end me right here." Once he found a spot that he could take a moment. "You think your new arms are going to change anything? I took your arms before I can do it again,"
"Oh, but that's where you're wrong." Deidara's voice cooed from behind Naruto, sending a chill down his spin. Naruto goes on the offensive only to realize Deidara had already gained the upper hand. Now inches from Naruto's position, Deidara spoke, "no matter what you do to these arms, they'll always come back. C4 Detonation Punch!" And with a single punch, Deidara along with his arms exploded in a hellish blaze that elongated beyond the forest's canopy, alerting the Konoha back-up force to their location.
Sakura was the first to spot the plume of smoke bellowing from the forest. "What in the world was that?" She asked,
"I don't know, but whatever it was it can't be good," Kakashi said, focusing in on where exactly the explosion could have emanated from. "Hinata, what do you see?" He commanded only to hear silence. "H-Hinata?" He asked once more, looking to Hinata only to see her frozen in place; her Byakugan still active now pointing towards the recent explosion.
"N-No, this can't be….I-I've seen this chakra signature before...it can't be!" and with that, Hinata took off without a word, quickly followed by Kakashi and Sakura, both of which were yelling for her attention and yet got nothing in return. The world around her fell apart, she couldn't hear nor could she see anything else except for this singular chakra signature, the one she's missed for 6 long years and now, somehow, it's shown up in an unexpected fashion. Hinata was prepared to get to the bottom of this no matter the cost.
-5 Minutes Later-
A symphony of explosions and fireworks rattled the very ground the opponents stood on as Deidara began to unleash his pent up aggression on a surprisingly defensive Naruto. Explosion after explosion nearly cooked the young blonde alive and yet he always seemed reactionary than anything else, but simple things such as that were lost on Deidara's spree of destruction and mayhem. All he could see was red and he wasn't going to stop until the man who took his arms away was nothing but a stain on the forest floor. "Hmm, I might have overdid it just a tad there," Deidara chuckled as he looked upon another one of his many craters he created during this battle. However, before he could get comfortable a kunai whizzed through the air, narrowly avoiding slashing Deidara in the cheek. "Heh, I'm surprised that explosion didn't liquify your insides."
Dropping down from his hidden perch, Naruto makes his way towards his enemy, his face now more serious than ever before. "It'll take a lot more than a weak pyro display like that to keep me down,"
"You talk a big game for someone who's delivered zero offense in this battle," Deidara snickered, turning to his prey before "What's wrong, terrified of my retribution?"
"No, merely sizing you up," he sighed, popping a few kinks that have lodged themselves in his neck during this battle.
Deidara cocked a brow at this statement, "oh," he said, "and what have you learned so far?"
"You're still far too predictable," and just like that, a clone popped out from the vegetation behind Deidara, a fully formed Rasengan hovering over his palm as he descends upon his prey, hand extended. Deidara with little time to react, thrusted his own fist towards the descending Rasengan only for it to rip through the clay like digits as if it were nothing. Panicked by the utter decimation of his C4 appendage, Deidara could do nothing else but detonate what remained and hopefully escape scott free.
The appendage trigger at the exact moment Naruto's Rasengan had reached his elbow, covering the battle zone in a thick, black smog - giving Deidara the upper hand against his foe, or at least that's what he believed.
As he hunkered down in his makeshift mist Deidara went to work on creating another arm only to come face to face with another Naruto, this one brandishing a kunai. Without so much as a warning, Deidara was blindsided by a single swipe, slashing his cheek clean open. Prepared to use another detonating punch against his blonde aggressor, he was taken by surprise once again as he found another Naruto right behind him, already inches from digging his kunai into Deidara's last remaining C4 limb.
"Bastard, I see your game," Deidara thought bitterly, narrowly dodging his attacker's slash towards his last remaining arms, "you're pressuring me, trying to keep me on my toes so I can't reform my arms - well, let's see how you handle when I push back!" With a flex of his fingers, clay like snakes began to form and drop to the ground, slithering towards his opponent with vicious intent. "That should hold him off for a bi-" however, his thought was interrupted by the one man he hated the most, Naruto Uzumaki, who, instead of wielding a kunai, had a swirling ball of chakra hovering in his palm. "Damn it!" Deidara yelled before feeling the Rasengan connect with his back, shredding through his clothing and, eventually, his flesh.
"Rasengan!" And with one hefty shove the orb took off with Deidara along for the ride, spinning his frame in a devastating manner. The Rasengan orb carved through the forest with Deidara's body taking the brunt of the assault; only stopping when the Rasengan was low on chakra, dumping the C4 expert's body a yard away from Naruto, his only remaining C4 arm now gone because of the torce of the attack.
"D-Damnit, I can't believe I was...s-so careless," Deidara wheezed, a simple moment of hesitation caused him this battle, but he refused to win this war. He went to stand, cursing the blonde boy who put him such a position. "E-Enjoy your victory...w-while you can, I'll be b-back," However, Deidara's escape was short lived as his opponent now stood before him, seemingly unfazed by this battle, which couldn't infuriate Deidara anymore than it has already.
"Predictable," he repeated, boiling Deidara's blood.
"I-I'll show you predictabl-" A harsh stomp to the face silenced Deidara,
"You've fallen on your laurels, Deidara. Still using your same old tricks; I thought you said you were an artist, not a sellout," Naruto began, watching as the form artist is now barely able to function let alone stand up. "I remembered our last battle, when you and Sasori nearly killed me with your strength in numbers and yet, even after all these years of preparation and planning you still refused to change."
"You...how dare you preach to me! You do not change perfection, and that is what my art is, it is perfection, my art is pure - you know nothing!" Deidara yelled defiantly, refusing to heed his opponent's words - he'd rather die a proud fool than to admit his art was flawed.
"Stubborn to the very end, Deidara." Naruto said, tired of this useless back and forth. Producing his left hand, his trademarked Rasengan sprung to life in an instant and he made his way toward his enemy. "This is the end of our little saga, Deidara-san. I wish this could have ended another wa-"
"NARUTO-KUN/SAN?!"
Naruto paused, his final blow against his opponent now a distant memory as the voices who called him rang within his mind making his heart skip a single beat. Looking towards the source of the voice he spots visions, almost seemed like phantoms of what his friends once were before it all gave way to who the truly were now. "K-Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan...H-Hinata-chan?! What are you three doing here?"
The group stood their, in blatant shock at the scene before them - there stood a man the thought they buried years ago now prepared to finish off one of the few remaining Akatsuki members...it was beyond surreal for each of them. "T-This is impossible, we thought you were dead! We saw what was left of you," Kakashi uttered, taken aback by Naruto's visage standing before him. For so long he blamed himself for losing another student - for failing not just Naruto during their early years as a team but also Sasuke but now, standing right infront of him was a ghost, a spectre he never thought he'd ever see again.
Sakura gasped, her hands hovering over her lips as her eyes begin to water, staring at Naruto for what felt like hours before uttering a single word. "This can't be real, I-I thought you were gone forever! I thought I'd lost another teammate!"
Hinata, her lips now quivering and her mind racing with thoughts merely couldn't help but do nothing but gawk at the blonde as everything she thought she knew bombarded her again and again. For years now, she cried herself to sleep knowing that the only person that she's ever loved was gone - for years now she's tried her damndest to be strong and move forward as he'd want her to….for years now she's wondered what would have happened if she wasn't such a coward and spoke to him like a normal human being...and yet, here he stood, alive and breathing.
It was almost to good to be true. A whole host of emotions fled through the group but the one immediate feeling that came to all of them was confusion and joy, non felt joy more so than our lavender haired beauty who could only mutter a single word, "...N-Naruto-kun…."
He wanted to say something, he needed to say something….but now was not the time. A 6 year absence could not be cleared up properly in a few minutes and right now he had to deal with both Deidara and Gaara's impending fate - so, with a heavy heart, Naruto know what he must do. "...I'll explain everything later, right now we need to save Gaar-" however, Naruto's statement was soon cut short as Deidara used this opportunity to spring into action.
"Feel the pain of my art!" With a hellish swing, Deidara detonated his newly reformed fists against Naruto's chest, shaking the very earth with his last resort. The group of three look on in horror as they might have just watched the demise of their friend once more and it was all their fault for distracting him. "Humph, h-how predictable was that, you bastard!" The blond artist smirked, his body now limp after exerting such effort.
As the smoke began to settle and the forest grew quiet Deidara turned towards his next victims, the still shell shocked comrades of the recently deceased Naruto Uzumaki. "Y-You...you bastard!" Surprisingly Hinata was the one who yelled such a guttural word before charging the individual with her Byakugan blazing to life.
"Come then, let's so how you fair against m-" His words were silence as something rather unexpected happened. Without warning a large red translucent fist exploded from the smoke and latched onto Deidara's torso before dragging him back into the smog. Once engulfed in the smoke a chorus of pained wails and screams soon followed as Deidara was being mercilessly beaten by this unknown force only to be thrown out with ballistic speeds a few moments later.
The smoke finally cleared to reveal none other than Naruto Uzumaki, now covered in the red cloak of bubbling chakra gifted to him by his tenant, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. "How about you finish your fight with me before picking one with my friends,"
"N-Naruto-kun, you're alive!" Hinata practically weeped, rushing to his side with reckless abandoned.
"Hinata-chan," Naruto said kindly, gifting the young Hyuuga heiress a tender smile. Merely seeing a friendly face once again brought a joy to his heart that couldn't be fully describe with words...and yet he knew that he couldn't dwell on such a feeling right now. "Now's not the time, right now you three need to focus on saving Gaara. Every second we waste talking the more danger he's in." He said, pushing his feelings back within himself.
Hinata was taken aback by this, "But Naruto-kun…"
But, Hinata's more calmly approach was silenced in favor of a more vicious and loud approach given out by non other than the hot headed Haruno herself. Stomping up beside Hinata, Sakura had her fist clenched yet tears still streaming from her eyes, a true show of who she truly was at this very moment, an emotional mess. "Hey! Don't you dare give us any lip, you ass! How lon-" she began only to get so far into her rage induced rant before a hand grabbed her by her shoulder.
"Sakura, he's right." Kakashi said calmly, his eyes now locked with his recently discovered student as the share a single nod for confirmation. "Though I have thousands of questions I want answered, our mission comes first, we need to get moving,"
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, "after all of this is over I'll be more than happy to tell you everything,"
"You better!" Sakura yelled, trying to keep her composter with….mixed results.
"Right," Kakashi nodded,
Locking eyes with Naruto one last time, Hinata agreed, "a-alright,"
The rage filled cries of one Deidara caught the four man team's attention as he summoned his clay dragon for battle, "I will not be made a fool of by the likes of you! I'll destroy you with every ounce of clay in my body!"
Naruto took his stance, prepared to continue this battle years in the making. "Get moving, now."
As Sakura and Kakashi headed off towards their destination, Hinata held back - worried for Naruto's well being. "A-Are you sure you can handle him by yourself?" She asked,
"Trust me, Hinata-chan, I'm not alone. Now get going," Naruto said, placing his hand firmly on his stomach as Hinata followed suit behind her friends - peering over her shoulder one last time. "Come at me, Deidara! Let's see what you can do!"
While the battle still raged between the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and the belligerent artist, Tobi has finished his task to deliver young Gaara to his rightful place, before the members of the Akatsuki that stand above both he and Tobi, all of them but smoke and mirrors. "Tobi, where is Deidara?" Their leader spoke, his piercing eyes one of the most menacing thing about him.
The masked individual he was addressing answered simply, "he's...busy dealing with an old friend, he's left me to deal with the final preparation for the Bijuu extraction."
"Will this 'old friend' delay our plans?" Another chimed in, this one taking up refuge on the pillar beside their leader, her voice harsh and coarse.
"That all depends on the skill level of my teammate," he answered rather curtly, though accurately. "Now, everything is prepared Lord Pein, shall we commence extraction?"
"Hai," Pein announced, preparing to extract the very essence of the Bijuu from within Gaara's being...however, such a plan was stopped when the base around them began to shake - a small yet noticeable crack began to form up the boulder blocking their entrance. "Tobi,"
"Hm, Deidara must have failed in his efforts." He said, deciding it'd be best if he took this matter into his own hands. "I'll keep them distracted, Lord Pein, you finish what must be done." With that, the Akatsuki commenced with their ritual while Tobi took off to finish the deed Deidara couldn't.
"Sakura, are you sure you can bust through this?" Hinata questioned as she watched Sakura land another earth shaking strike against the hefty outer exterior of this boulder, lengthening the crack going along side the gigantic rock.
With another punch delivered to the boulder, Sakura turns to her partner and merely chuckled at such a question. "Of course I can, I've punched through rocks 10 times larger than this one,"
"Fascinating," a chilling voice muttered from out of view, sending a shiver down Sakura's spine. "But can you punch through something that cannot be touched?" With little warning, the visage of a masked man stepped out from the boulder, seemingly fazing through it with ease as he now stood before them. "More reinforcements I presume?"
"You!" Sakura hissed, taking a few steps back as she prepared for a fight - her friends following suit. "You're the one who helped decimate Sunagakure, aren't you? The one who can phase through any attack?"
"My fame precedes me," The masked individual said coyly. "My name is Tobi and I'll be your opponent today, show me what you've got."
"Oh I'll show you! You'll pay for everything you've done," Sakura went for a super charged hail mary but found herself phasing through his masked face like it was nothing. Once through, Sakura whipped back around for another, hopefully surprising, fist to his gut only to find herself once again flying through his torso.
Tobi looked towards Sakura, his voice seemed rather unamused by her feats of strength. "Are you done?"
"Damn, Baki wasn't lying when he said he couldn't touch him. Not even my strongest punch could touch him," she thought as she turned to face Tobi once more. "We're far from done,"
As if on cue, each member of team Konoha took off towards him, prepared to give him everything they had. "Good, I'd hate for this fight to be as one sided as it was with my last opponent. I hope you three put up more of a fight than he did," he retorted. "Well then, let's begin."
As the three manned team makes their first encounter with their opponent, Naruto is still dealing with his own who, at this moment, was on high throwing down devastating C4 bombs, scorching the earth below him, hoping to take out Naruto in the process. "Yes, that's right, run! Run like the coward you are, it's only a matter of time before my art blows you into oblivion!" As the demented artist monologues, Naruto is blitzing through the trees and bushes below, dodging the hellish explosions that drop from on high, hoping to find a way to take this bastard down.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In an instant, 12 Naruto's appeared, each wearing a similar red aura around their frames and without a single word uttered the group dispersed, spreading themselves out throughout the canopy. Once in position each clone raised their arm to the sky, extending their claw like cloak towards the heavens or, more specifically, a clay dragon that deserves to be grounded.
Seeing the claws rush towards his potion Deidara dived just as the claws close in on his past position and quickly headed off towards another area, the arms quickly following behind. Each twist or harsh turn Deidara took with his mighty dragon was quickly followed by the growing number of chakra hands, leaving him with little room to maneuver. Before he could make another evasive maneuver, another hand bursted from the canopy, but this one held a nasty surprise for the flying bomb expert, a monstrously sized Rasengan that dwarfed the last one Deidara encountered. With little options to go with, either being snagged by the many chakra hands snapping at the bit to rip him to shreds or be pulverized by the massive Rasengan growing closer every second, he dismounts his flying beast and did the only sensible thing he could think about, detonate it!
A massive, white hot explosion clashed with a spiralling sphere of chakra in a mesmerizing display of power and pure, destructive force, it could almost bring a tear to a man's eye - but the beauty of this explosion was lost on Naruto as he lined up for the final blow. Rushing into position, the real Naruto made his way to an opening below the canopy, lining up his shot against the now falling Deidara who was trying frantically to create another mount. Once he felt ready for the next attack Naruto pushed himself off the ground with his extending arm and launched himself towards the descending Deidara at blinding speeds, taking his opponent by surprise. Naruto cocked back his fist and collided it with Deidara's unprotected face, sending him flying backwards only to be grabbed again by Naruto's outstretched chakra arm. With a mighty yell, Naruto twisted his body and spiked Deidara into the ground below like a football, leaving a sizeable crater for Deidara to wallow in. Pulling himself to the ground with his extending chakra claw, Naruto landed mere inches from the crater, releasing his Kyuubi cloak for the time being.
"Thank you, Kurami-chan, but I think I'll take the rest from here," Naruto thanked as he dispelled his cloak along with his last remaining clones as he walked closer to Deidara's entry point. "That's enough Deidara, I think this battle is over,"
"Y-You're wrong, this battle will never be over...s-so long as I can draw breath!" He stumbles to his feet, taking one last, pitiful swing at Naruto with his last remaining C4 hand only to miss by a mile. Fatigue began to set in as Deidara fell from the momentum of his swing, landing him on a single knee, his breath now ragged and uneven.
"End this now, Deidara. I don't wish to kill you, but I will if you pose a threat to my village." Naruto said, his good natured side still very apparent even after all these years.
"Y-You'd like that, wouldn't you?" He wheezed, raising once again to face his final foe. Even Deidara knew that this was going to be his final performance; his body was in shambles after that last attack, his mind blurred and his vision nearly non existent. Even a fool could tell that Deidara was licked, but that didn't mean he wished to die on a whimper, he wanted to go out with a bang! "A-A broken artist...admitting defeat. B-But I refuse, I'd rather t-take you and everyone...else with me in my final display t-than….t-to give up and s-spare this world one final look a-at perfection." As Deidara began to rant and rave, a odd vein like texture began to expand across his body, originating from over his heart.
Noticing this, Naruto began to speak, "Deidara, what are you-"
"I'm giving you one final gift, Naruto. For pushing me past my limits I'll show you my final masterpiece!" Naruto went to run but was stopped by the final words uttered by Deidara, "Try and run, it won't make a difference! This explosion could wipe out an entire village! No matter how fast you run you can never outrun this!"
"With that type of range...the others will be caught up in the blast as well, I can't let this happen!" Naruto seethed as he racked his brain for any way that he could stop Deidara's plan.
"Humph, what are you doing, scheming? Trying to think of a way to defeat me? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret, regardless of what you do the bomb will still go off!" He raved, a sick, joyous smile growing across his lips at the idea of finally ending this brat once and for all. "Attack me, boom! Run away, boom! Do nothing, BOOM! You have no escape,"
"I guess I have no choice then," Naruto sighed, taking steps towards the unprotected time bomb. "This hasn't been fully tested yet, might as well use it now."
"Oh, a new move?! Well, come on, try it out! Might as well get one use out of it before I blow you to kingdom come!" Taking what Deidara said to heart, Naruto tightened his fist and charged forward, his eyes locked onto his given foe. With one last swing, Naruto dug deep and planted his fist deep into Deidara's gut - causing the artist to gag viciously. "I-Is that all y-you've got?" he winced, Naruto's fist still twisting in the grove it created. "W-Well, I'll give you this...t-that was a strong punc-"
"Uzu Rasengan (Vortex Spiraling sphere)," his words caused Deidara's blood to run cold as he felt a small tug at the the point of contact. As Naruto opens his palm it is revealed that a small inverse Rasengan resided there, now pulling at Deidara's very being with growing force. At first it merely pulled his loose clothing towards it but quickly it began to pull harshly against Deidara's body, slowly sucking him in like a vicious vortex.
"W-What the hell is that thing!?" Deidara yelled, trying to pull back but only to find himself being pulled back with far more force than he could muster.
"I've spent years trying to master all of the secrets of the Rasengan, so far I've made 3 different variants, this one is kinda like a reverse Rasengan." Naruto stated firmly, bearing the rotating orb closer to his body. "Instead of spinning outwards towards my opponent, it spins inward, absorbing the target like a whirlpool sucks in a ship."
"Y-You bastard! Y-You think this is over, you think that this technique will save you?! My bomb will still set, I'll still take you with me!" Deidara spat, belligerent and defiant to the very end.
"This technique shreds your body like a blinder, I don't think your bomb will be setting off anytime soon." Naruto informed his combatant, a mix of triumph yet sadness in his tone of voice. "This technique wasn't meant to be used yet, it's still too slow for a quick death. I never wanted my opponents to suffer...but you gave me no choice in this matter, Deidara. So this death is your own fault," with his final words given out, Naruto adds a bit more chakra into his ability and pushes forward, sending a larger vortex orb forward, dragging Deidara along with it. Now, in the middle of their battle field the darker Rasengan floats, sucking in Deidara's body one piece at a time, filling the forest with the pained screams of the once cocky artist and for just a moment, Naruto felt sorry for the poor bastard.
He wasn't lying when he said he didn't want this for him, the technique was still months away from completion and watching another human being, being sucked up and shredded in slow, agonising detail wasn't something Naruto wanted for his foes - but how could he not use it knowing that without it he along with his friends would have been nothing more than ash if Deidara had his way.
Soon, the orb died down, leaving no trace of Deidara behind. The deide had been done, there was nothing else he could do but go give his friends the support they need to retrieve the Fourth Kazekage; so Naruto pushed off, prepared to take on whatever opponent he must face only to hear a shuffling in the bushes.
He looks back, hoping to find his new assailant there but was surprised to only find a squirrel hopping out of the bushes with a nut firmly gripped in his little paws. With a sigh, Naruto turned to continue on his journey, coming into eye contact with two red orbs, decorated with three black tomoes - the Sharingan.
"Tsukuyomi," A voice droned, sealing Naruto's fate the moment he locked eyes with an Uchiha.
A landscape of red met Naruto's eyes as he awakens within the perfect genjutsu, Tsukuyomi. This vast empty space held only to people, the newly tapped individual known as Naruto and his trapper, one Itachi Uchiha, who, as we spoke was being formed within this genjutsu by a flock of crows.
With a sigh, Naruto turned to his now formed host - his expression anything but pleased. "You know, you could have just asked if we could talk, Itachi-san. You know how much of a headache I get after this Tsukuyomi crap,"
"My apologies, but this is the only way to keep our conversations truly private." The man stated, a light smirk playing on his features at his friend's playful banter.
"Humph, why is it everytime I hear you apologize for something it sounds fake and forced, Itachi?" Naruto chuckled as the visage of one of his closest informants came into view. Itachi Uchiha, one of the best shinobi Konoha has had in a long time, one who is selfless and willing to do anything for his village has been helping Naruto gain the intel he needed against the Akatsuki, without him he'd never have known how to take down both Kakuzu and Hidan. Naruto and Itachi have grown close over the years, nothing too deep but each have found a mutually healthy respect for each other's willingness to do whatever it took to protect what's precious to them. "Well, I don't think you would have trapped me in this red and black hell scape without a reason to so what would you like to tell me?"
"A few things actually," Itachi informed, "The Akatsuki have started back their hunt for Jinchuuriki's, their first target was Gaara and it seems their next target is the Three tailed Bijuu whose whereabouts are still a mystery to us. Though their have been sightings of it across the land of waves."
Damn, does that mean that they have enough manpower to do that?" Naruto inquired, recalling the main reason the held off of hunting down the Jinchuuriki's was because of their lack of manpower and thanks to Naruto just killing another member, they're down 4 of their original 9 members.
Itachi nods, "they seem to be gathering more forces by an unforeseen ally, one in which Pein has yet told any of the Akatsuki members."
"Must be a strong one if he's so confident that they can move forward with their plans in such a short amount of time," Naruto inferred before peering towards his partner in crime with a simple question. "Do you have any ideas on who it could be?"
"No," Itachi answered in his usual stoic tone.
Soon, an idea came to Naruto's mind - one that he knew Itachi wouldn't be fond of. "...Could it be Sasuke?"
"...A possibility I hope is simply that, a possibility." Itachi answered truthfully, though a piece of him wished it wasn't true. Nothing hurts him more knowing that his brother now walks a dark path that he himself put him on, but he couldn't deny that their is a possibility Sasuke has aligned himself with the Akatsuki. "The last piece of information I've received on my brother was that he was building a small team named Taka to come and end my life...that was 3 years ago. Now, I've heard nothing - not a single mention of the name Sasuke Uchiha in the last 3 years of searching. I worry what's happened to him," Itachi said, his brotherly worry still very much apparent in his words. "...Do you still search for him?"
"Of course, he's a rouge shinobi from Konoha - I keep my pulse on all of them," Naruto answered without much thought,
"I'm not asking the leader of Konoha's spy web, I'm asking Sasuke's friend," Itachi retorted, catching Naruto a bit off guard.
Naruto hasn't really thought about Sasuke as a friend for quite some time now. He was nearly killed by him 6 years ago and all Sasuke has done is spiral out of control ever sense; a part of him felt like he should continue to chase him as he planned to all those years ago but….what would it accomplish? "...It was 6 years ago, I have a lot of things that are more important to me than someone who's unwilling to look past their rage and lust for vengeance,"
"His vengeance is not misplaced though, weather it was for a proper cause or not I did take away his clan and his family. He has every right to hate me," Itachi spoke rather numbly about his actions all those years ago, the images of his freshly slain family and friends still burned into his memories.
Trying to keep things on track, Naruto decides to bring up something that he's been thinking about for quite some time. "Speaking of your sacrifice, I've been meaning to speak to you about your time with the Akatsuki. I believe it's time for you to return to Konoha,"
"...W-What," shockingly, Naruto was actually able to get a modicum of emotion out of this typically dry human being, that being shock.
"I spoke with Lady Tsunade about this all through the night last night, I believe you deserve to come back home," he repeated.
"I don't...understand, the whole reason I did what I did was to be seen as a deserter, a traitor to my village to save our clan's name - for the Uchiha clan to be seen as a clan slaughtered by a madman and not the traitors they were prepared to be. I was my clan's martyr and me coming back undones all of this." Itachi questioned, racking his mind as to why the Hokage would agree to such a thing.
"We touched on that as well and we came up with an answer for that," Naruto began. "Your job was to save Konoha from your clan's revolt and also help us spy on the Akatsuki - and you did what you were asked to the letter, I think that gives you the right to come home." He said, nodding in affirmation of his own statement. "Sarutobi and Danzo might have thought that this charade should have lasted till the end of your life but...I'll be damned if I see a hero die a villain,"
"...Well, that might not be up to you. I am dying," Itachi muttered critically, placing his hand over his chest. "I'd hoped that this illness I've contracted was something minor, but now I've been taking medication for a year now merely to keep the side effects at bay."
Naruto grew quiet at this news, "is it terminal?" He asked,
"I'm not sure. One of the drawbacks of being a missing - nin is not being allowed proper medical treatment by competent doctors." He said in a rather morbidly humorous tone. "Along with my deteriorating health, my eyes - the cornerstone of my clan - are failing me."
"Well then, I guess we should get you back to Konoha pronto then." Naruto answered with missing a single beat. Though this news was tragic, Naruto wasn't willing to lose hope for a comrade in need just yet. "I was suggesting we wean you out of the Akatsuki slowly but if you're falling apart we need to bring you back to where we can put you back together again."
Itachi looked to him, his stern eyes fixated on his intently, "do you really think something like this can be fixed?"
"The illness is something Tsunade and Shizune could sure as hell fix with enough time and effort while the eyes thing, well….I'm not 100% on Uchiha anatomy, do you know anything about fixing your Sharingan?" Naruto asked, tapping his chin.
"Yes, but I'm unwilling to do what must be done to heal my fading sight." he answered emphatically. "To truly reverse the effects of the Mangekyo Sharingan you must transplant another's Mangekyo with your own, problem being they must have strong blood ties to one another,"
Piecing two and two together, Naruto finished itachi's sentence. "You'd have to take Sasuke's eyes to do it,"
"I'd rather die blind and suffering than steal my brother's eyes from him,"
"Very well, fixing your eyes is off the table I suppose but fixing your body shouldn't be." He said with a sigh. "You've sacrificed enough for your village, you deserve to live a life without persecution, without hatred and without recognition of your accomplishments."
"I didn't do this for recognition,"
"You did it to save the village you loved and you did that, now it's time to return to that village." Naruto walked closer to his long standing informant, offering a hand to his black haired partner with a warming smile, "come on, let's both go home."
Thank you all so much for reading my story, I hope you all enjoyed it and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this one, I've been bouncing back and forth between so much stuff that I can barely keep track of what I've updated and what I haven't updated. Also, full disclouser I'll be messing around with the canon, as you can tell by the 6 years into the future, Deidara's C4 arms and me bringing Itachi back to Konoha. This stories gonna be a bit different, I'm going to try and write out of my own comfort zone and produce something a bit different, I hope you all enjoy different.
Anyway, please review and PM me if you have any questions, Alucard1959 out! Peace!