PinkiePieParty122894: Always reliable. Thanks for the continued support, it's definitely helped my confidence as a writer and I hope that you like this chapter.
Animaman: For the fight between the twins and Jiraiya, I plan to kind of build it up later on because I've wanted last chapter, this chapter, and the next chapter to focus on Yakumo, Sasuke, and Naruto's individual time. I'm still thinking about how to write it in so still a work in progress. You will see some of Naruto's memories next chapter though. Kushina and Minato will have some inner reflection when Naruto returns home, I can't say anything about Kakashi other than I have plans for him later on that I'm trying to decide how to write. I do like the idea of the twins telling their story and I am seriously considering something along those lines.
ncpfan: I'm glad that you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one. I am going to try and get the other genin more involved in the story and in Team 11's lives.
1995hzq: Thanks for wishing me well on my exams. As for Yakumo, I think it kind of turned out for the best since I plan on having Hinata become a lot stronger with the help of Kurenai while Yakumo showed Kurenai that she didn't really need her.
Guest: It's been a common complaint about Naruto forgiving his parents too fast and hardly any bashing towards them. I kind of rushed this story early on but I plan to try and rectify the early forgiveness issue soon.
experimenter19: I'm glad that you liked the end for what I assume was Chapter 8. I tried to explain that Naruto forgiving his parents had to do with the situation at the time but I plan to clarify soon.
KingRyu: Well, sorry that you did't like the story.
boobsareawesomeO.o: I explain later on why the weapon is stronger than a biju and I plan on going further into it later on. Sorry to disappoint.
(Uchiha Estate)
Sasuke was in his backyard doing push-ups. He had started exercising at dawn and it was nearly noon now. Sasuke had been training for hours without the smallest break, he had to if he hoped to catch up to Naruto. This is the sight Itachi was met with as he walked towards Sasuke. Ever since Naruto had left, Sasuke had been torturing himself and increasing the intensity of his training everyday. It was a bit concerning but Itachi could understand where his brother was coming from. Many would take his obsession with getting stronger as pure greed for power, but Itachi saw through it. Sasuke wanted to be prepared for the day that Naruto couldn't handle a enemy alone. He wanted to be not only a good teammate, but a good friend as well even if he wouldn't admit it. Stopping in front of his brother, Itachi placed his foot on Sasuke's back forcing his brother to the ground. "You're exhausted Sasuke. Come inside and take a break" Itachi said removing his foot. Sasuke slowly stood up and faced his brother before shaking his head. "No time, I have to get stronger" Sasuke responded. Itachi looked at his brother for a long moment. The boy was a mess. He was drenched in sweat, his breathing was heavy, and he looked ready to collapse at any moment. "I wasn't asking Sasuke. As your sensei I am ordering you to take a break" Itachi said expecting an argument from his little brother. It was a pleasant surprise when instead of arguing, Sasuke just nodded and started walking towards the house. Itachi smiled before following quickly.
When the two entered the house, Sasuke immediately found the couch and flopped onto it much to the amusement of Itachi who looked at him from the kitchen. "You know Sasuke, there's no point in trying to reach Naruto's level of strength if you kill yourself in the process" Itachi said getting an ice pack out of the freezer and bringing it to his brother. The tired Uchiha slowly took it and nodded at Itachi's words. "I know but I have to get stronger. Yakumo is getting powerful and I don't want to even think about how strong Naruto is now" Sasuke said shaking his head. "I don't want to be the weak link of the group" Sasuke said with an almost defeated look. Itachi sighed. "Sasuke, not every team has a weak link. Each of you are incredibly strong in your own rights, but you each contribute equally to the team" Itachi said to which Sasuke just looked away. "You don't believe me?" asked Itachi. Sasuke looked back at his brother with a scowl. "You may think that we do things as a team, but I know the truth of it all. When we fought Yagura, we did it as a team, but I knew that Naruto could have taken him on by himself if he chose to" Sasuke said clenching his fists.
Itachi was silent for a long moment before responding "So?" which caused Sasuke to look at him in surprise. "Maybe he could have taken Yagura on his own, but he asked for your help. And there will be times when he needs your help again" Itachi said, silently reminding Sasuke of the Shinigami's Blade and how they had made quick work of his friend which made Sasuke grip his fists even harder. "You want to be able to help your friend by shouldering the burden he has on his shoulders which is to be expected, but you have to know your limits. This nonstop training is tearing your body apart, not making it grow. So as your sensei, I am ordering you to take a week off from training" Itachi stated which caused Sasuke's eyes to widen. Before he could get up to argue, Itachi disappeared in a whirl of crow feathers. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke laid back on the couch as his muscles tried to relax. Maybe his brother had a point. Slowly but surely, Sasuke fell asleep.
(Sasuke's Dream)
Sasuke opened his eyes and realized he was lying on a wooden floor. Standing up, he began rubbing his back which was sore from the hard surface. As Sasuke looked around, all he could infer was that he was in a large wooden dimly lit room. "I've waited some time for this opportunity" spoke a deep voice nearly causing the young Uchiha. Looking around quickly, Sasuke reached for his kunai only to realize that his ninja pouch was gone from his body. Still looking around, Sasuke growled and shouted "Show yourself!" For a long moment, nothing happened. Not a sound was made, not a single thing moved. Then out of nowhere the voice spoke again in a deep voice as it said "Very well". Sasuke continued to look around until a swirl of smoke seemed to appear out of thin air right in front of him. The rise of the smoke didn't last long and when it cleared, Sasuke was met with the sight of a grown man. The man had long black hair, wore a familiar type of armor, and had a gunbai strapped to his back. The black haired chunin examined the man feeling as if he should know who was standing in front of him.
A minute went by and still no words were spoken. Sasuke, who was getting impatient, broke the silence. "Who are you?" the Uchiha asked. The man in front of him chuckled at the question and folded his arms. "I am Madara Uchiha, former leader of the Uchiha and the co-founder of Konoha" the man now known as Madara said with a smirk. Sasuke's jaw dropped at the introduction before shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. "Bullshit. Madara Uchiha has been dead for years. Also, I'm pretty sure that nothing here is real right now" Sasuke said looking around but keeping one eye on the man in front. Madara chuckled at Sasuke's suspicion as the boy was starting to remind him of his younger self. "You are correct in that we are no longer in the physical world. You are also correct that I am dead. But I assure you that everything you are experiencing and everything that I have to tell you is very real" Madara said in a serious tone causing Sasuke's attention to return back to him. "What are you playing at?" Sasuke asked with an expression that clearly showed that his patience was running out.
Once again, Madara chuckled at Sasuke's attitude. "Well young Uchiha, what I want is for you to sit and listen to what I have to say" Madara said. Sasuke kept his eyes narrowed. "And why would I do that?" asked the younger Uchiha to which Madara smiled. "Because I have the experience to tell you of the mistakes to avoid if you want your loved ones to live on" the elder Uchiha answered as he sat on the floor and motioned for Sasuke to do the same. Though he was hesitant, Sasuke slowly sat down next to Madara. Smiling at Sasuke's willingness to listen to what he had to say, Madara took a small breath before speaking. "You remind me of myself young one. I once wanted to protect those close to me at all costs. I trained and trained until I became the strongest of the Uchiha. I believed myself to be the most powerful human on Earth when I used my Mangekyo Sharingan and I had the victories to back me up. That's when I met a man named Hashirama Senju, the man who would later become the First Hokage of Konoha" Madara said with a warm smile.
"Like me, he fought for those close to him. Many including him believed us to be of equal power, but I knew the truth. He was stronger than I. Throughout my life, I was obsessed with becoming so strong that no one would hurt my loved ones. I refused help and instead chose to walk a lonely path that made me powerful but changed me in ways that I didn't realize until it was too late. I became cold and impatient, I pushed the ones I swore to protect away from me in hopes that I would be able to protect them better. My thoughts and assumptions caused me to become distracted. That's why my brother died. My brother, Izuna, died at the hands of Hashirama's brother, Tobirama Senju, because I was not there to protect him. The revelation that after everything I did, after all I had given up, I still couldn't protect my loved ones, was devastating. I had pushed those close to me away to the point that my own clansmen were considering joining with the Senju Clan. Deep down, I couldn't blame them. Izuna was the light of the Uchiha Clan so the idea of only having me wasn't the most appealing thought" Madara said with a short laugh.
Sasuke looked at Madara. "But you did go and you formed Konoha when you did. So in the end, you listened to your Clan like any respectable leader" Sasuke said before Madara let out a louder laugh than before. "No my boy, that is not the story. As a matter of fact, my thoughts were to kill anyone who muttered anything positive about the Senju Clan because that is what I had become" Madara said frowning. Sasuke tilted his head in confusion. "Well then how did Konoha get founded?" Sasuke asked as he had started to become very interested in the story he was being told. Madara's frown slowly turned into a smile at Sasuke's question. "One night in the pouring rain, I heard a knock at my door. When I answered, Hashirama Senju was on the other side. He was alone without any of his clansmen so I allowed him to speak. He gave his condolences about Izuna and told me that he only wished for peace. He wanted a world where no more brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, were killed in pointless conflict. He was so determined for peace that he told me he would kill himself right in front of me if it would end the conflict. In that instant, I saw a man who genuinely wanted peace. A man unlike any other. So we talked and eventually I agreed on his ambition of peace. The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan came together to create Konoha and the rest I'm sure that you have learned throughout history books. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything" Madara said with a sigh.
Sasuke, who was now intent on hearing the entirety of the story asked "What do you mean?" Madara looked at Sasuke with a sad look on his face. "I believed that I needed to be stronger to protect my precious people and that only I could do it. For you see boy, that is the reason why Hashirama was always stronger than me. He accepted and embraced others and their help while I just pushed it all away. I suppose it was destiny that the two of us would and our ways would clash. I considered Hashirama's continued belief in the good of everyone as foolish and naive. He believed in world peace through unity and I believed in world peace through control. So we met for the final time in a valley outside of Konoha where we fought in a battle for supremacy. I lost the battle, but not my life. Through a series of events that you are not yet ready to understand, I lived even though Hashirama believed that I was dead. From the darkness, I made preparations to attain my idea of peace, little did I know that the idea of peace through control was not believed in solely by me. Time passed and all the pieces of my plan for peace were falling into place, but it was not to be" Madara said clenching his fists.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked noticing the change in Madara. Madara was silent for a long moment before answering. "A group of five found were my pieces were based. Five came, but only one acted. One man killed the entirety of the ninja I had gathered to enact my plan except for one, ruining my hopes of being brought back into the world. This one man held power not meant for normal human beings" Madara said as Sasuke's eyes started to widen from the information he had just been told.
"I often wondered what Hashirama and I could have accomplished had I not become the cruel man that I did." Madara said before facing Sasuke and looking directly into his eyes. "You train in hopes of protecting those close to you just as I did. I am here to tell you to slow down. Calm your desires of growing stronger for it will only lead you down a dark road like mine. Your friend will not be able to overcome the danger that is coming without help. He knows this well, just as Hashirama did. You must be ready when it is time to help your friend, unlike me. I was unable to be there for my precious people because of who I had become, do not make my mistake. End the cycle of hatred and redeem my mistakes for it will ultimately be up to you Sasuke Uchiha. Do you understand?" Madara asked solemnly to which Sasuke just nodded in response. "Good. Now, I will give you a gift that is of the most precious quality. It is your choice on whether you use it or not, but if you do, only use it in the most dire need. It is time for you to go now young Uchiha. Remember what I have told you" Madara said with a smile.
(Uchiha Estate)
Sasuke woke up abruptly, looking around and breathing heavy. As his breathing slowed and he started to calm down, a sharp pain flared in his eyes. Yelling out, he rushed to the bathroom to see what was wrong in the mirror. Once he reached the mirror, the pain had ended but Sasuke stood shocked at the sight of himself or to be specific his eyes. His sharingan was activated but it was very different than his normal three tomoed eyes. His eyes now featured a six sided red star with a black pupil in the middle of his black eyes. Before he could start to think of what had happened, a voice whispered in his head "Mangekyo".
(Yakiniku Q)
Itachi and Konan sat waiting for their lunch. Konan examined her boyfriend who was concentrating on the table and not saying a word. The blue haired kunoitchi sighed before grabbing Itachi's hand to get his attention. "Okay, what's up Itachi?" Konan asked. Itachi looked up at his girlfriend. "Sasuke has been training a lot lately. He's pushing himself too hard and I'm just worried about him" Itachi said before returning his gaze to the table. "Well maybe he just needs to get out more. He seems to enjoy the weekly spars against the other teams, so maybe push him to start hanging out from some of the members of the other teams. And if he's still so "focused", get him a girlfriend" she said making Itachi's eyes widen a little. "I don't think my mother would be very appreciative about the last part, but you may be right about the making friends aspect" Itachi said. Konan smirked. "I'm always right, I thought you'd have learned that already Itachi" the blue haired woman said causing Itachi to chuckle and nod. Their conversation was interrupted as the server arrived with the meat for them to cook and a large order of pocky that Itachi had ordered for himself.
A few minutes passed and the two were now in the middle of eating their meal. Itachi looked up from his food and asked his girlfriend, "How's Yakumo doing?" Konan swallowed the food in her mouth before answering. "She's doing really well. Her taijutsu is getting better and better and her paper ninjutsu is getting really good as well. Yakumo is also working on a way to integrate her ninjutsu into her genjutsu so that the effects are stronger when the damage of her genjutsu is done. But we've come up with something that I think will make her the most powerful kunoitchi in Konoha but you have to keep this a secret" she said seriously which got a nod from the Uchiha. "We've come up with a way to make her nearly if not as fast as Minato" she said making Itachi's jaw drop. "H-H-H-How is that possible?" Itachi stuttered out. Konan chuckled at her boyfriend's reaction. "That my dear Itachi is a secret. Just know that your student is making you proud" she said with a smile. Itachi let out a small laugh. "Konan, I've been proud of them since their teamwork test. I've never had a doubt that the three of them will be the most powerful ninja in Konoha someday. Still, it's nice to hear she is doing well" Itachi said with a smile that slowly fell. "I wonder how Naruto's doing. It's been months since I've seen the kid. I know that he's out there getting stronger but I miss him and I know Sasuke does as well" Itachi said getting a nod from Konan. "Yeah, Yakumo has been going crazy about it as well. But what he's doing is very serious and it's something that he has to do" she said looking down as she reminisced about her own sister. Itachi's eyebrow rose at her comment. "Do you know what he's doing?" Itachi asked. "He's finishing his training, I just hope he comes back the same. If what Sera went through is any indication, the kid is going through hell" she said clenching her fist lightly before a hand was placed on it.
Itachi looked his girlfriend in the eyes. "Hey, Naruto will be okay. He's strong and he's only going to get stronger" the Uchiha said with a smile. Konan smiled back at her boyfriend and the two continued their date.
(Uchiha Estate One Week Later)
Sasuke sat in meditation outside thinking about the "gift" he had been given from Madara. He had learned about the Mangekyo Sharingan, all Uchiha had to know each level of the sharingan before they entered the academy. According to what he had learned, once it was activated he could activate it separate from his normal three tomoed sharingan by adding more chakra to his eyes. Each Mangekyo gave the user different but sometimes similar abilities such as the similarities between his brother's Mangekyo and his cousin Shisui's. The consequences of using the Mangekyo was loss of vision with abundant use of the eyes. For that reason, Sasuke had not activated it since he discovered that he had it. He knew that he would have to train with it eventually, but he also knew that it had to be kept a secret.
"How's it going?" asked the familiar voice of his brother interrupting his meditation and causing his eyebrow to begin twitching. "I was trying to meditate, but since you are here I guess that's not gonna happen" Sasuke said standing up and facing his brother who had an amused smile on his face. "You up for a spar? I know that you've been restless for the week so I thought maybe I could make it up to you" Itachi said with his arms crossed. Sasuke smirked at his brother. "Are you sure you can take me. I think you may be rusty. I know you haven't trained as much since you started dating Konan" Sasuke said making Itachi raise an eyebrow. "Well let's find out shall we" Itachi said getting into his Interceptor stance and activating his sharingan. Sasuke did the same. A long moment passed as the two did noting before dashing at one another. Sasuke threw the first punch which was dodged by Itachi. Itachi countered which was dodged by Sasuke. The two kept trying to break each other's defenses using taijutsu and both were starting to land hits when Sasuke jumped back and shouted "Solar Destruction". The golden ball of fire flew at Itachi who quickly dodged but not before throwing three kunai at his brother. Sasuke dodged each of the kunai and barely dodged a followup punch from Itachi.
Sasuke separated from Itachi and the two stared at each other. Itachi smirked and Sasuke clenched his jaw. Biting his thumb, Sasuke rubbed his blood across his seal and summoned his spear. Itachi pulled out his ninjato in response. The two quickly rushed at one another and became locked in a battle of kenjutsu. Strike after strike was blocked by each of the Uchiha until the two were holding their weapons against each other struggling for dominance. "What's the matter Sasuke, feeling tired?" Itachi asked trying to rile his little brother up. Sasuke instead smirked and looked at his brother. "Itachi I'm disappointed" Sasuke said making Itachi frown. Before Itachi could ask why, a surge of electricity flowed from Sasuke's spear, into Itachi's ninjato, and struck him sending him flying backwards. Sasuke let a little smile form on his face before going through a very quick series of handsigns. When he finished, Sasuke shouted the name of his brand new creation. "Emperor's Tempest" Sasuke shouted as a giant vortex of fire and lightning surrounded Itachi and rose up. When Sasuke was satisfied with the attack, he ended the jutsu and the vortex decreased in size until eventually dissolving. The Uchiha was ready to go check and see if his brother was dead or not but a kunai to his neck stopped him. "Still so arrogant little Sasuke" said Itachi from behind him who was breathing a little heavily.
The younger Uchiha's eyes widened. How did his brother get away? Itachi removed his kunai from his brother's neck and came to stand in front of him. "How did you get out?" asked Sasuke as he wiped the little bit of blood from where Itachi's kunai had been. "Simple, I was never in" Itachi said getting a confused look from Sasuke. "When we were locked in our kenjutsu battle, you committed the ultimate sin anyone can make when facing an Uchiha. You looked into my eyes" Itachi said causing his brother's eyes to widen. "You've grown very powerful and if it were anyone but an Uchiha in this fight, they would be seriously injured. But you have to use the knowledge that you have on your opponent. For the most part, you did well. I was impressed with your new technique" Itachi said. "As was I" announced the voice of Fugaku who had come to stand and watch his sons battling it out. "You've grown worthy of the Uchiha name Sasuke" Fugaku said. Itachi looked at his father. "Would you like to train with us father?" Itachi asked to which Fugaku shook his head. "No, I have somewhere that I must be. Carry on" the man said before leaving.
(Thirty minutes later)
Sasuke and Itachi walked into the house, both sweaty and tired. Mikoto was coming out of her room when she saw her sons and smiled at the sight. She remembered her ninja days and the nonstop training with Kushina. "I see you two are done training for the day?" Mikoto asked alerting her sons to her presence. "Yes mother, I think we are. Sasuke did very well in our spar today and I think he has earned a rest" Itachi said with a smirk as Sasuke fell onto the couch. Mikoto giggled at the sight of her youngest son who had obviously overdone it just as she used to. "Hehehe, you know this kind of reminds me of my ninja days. Kushina and I would train all day, me pushing her and her doing the same, but I wasn't really able to keep up with that famous Uzumaki stamina. There were a couple of times that I did beat her though" Mikoto said with a proud smile getting a raised eyebrow from both of her sons. Their mother didn't really speak a whole lot about her ninja days but they were aware that she was on the same team as Kushina Uzumaki along with Tsume Inuzaka. "How did you beat her?" Sasuke asked. Mikoto giggled at the question. "Well in terms of power, I knew that Kushina had the massive advantage, but little things like getting her off balance by calling her "tomato head" or sexual comments about Minato usually threw her off enough for me to win a few of our spars" she said with a grin while Sasuke and Itachi both sweatdropped.
"I see, and how would that relate to our spars when I'm both stronger and smarter than little Sasuke here?" Itachi asked. Sasuke disregarded the jab at him as he looked to his mother for her answer. A full minute passed as Mikoto concentrated and tried to come up with an answer before she just shrugged in response to her oldest son's question. Both Sasuke and Itachi fell to the ground at their mother's response to which Mikoto simply giggled.
(Underground Konoha)
Danzo watched as a large amount of people left his base and let a small smile show on his face as a man approached him from the shadows. "Danzo" the man in the shadows said. "I'm glad that you could make it, I take it you have an answer for me then, Fugaku?" Danzo asked. Fugaku Uchiha stepped out of the shadows and nodded. "When the time comes, the Uchiha Clan will fight for your cause, but only if our demands are met" Fugaku said. Danzo nodded with a slightly larger smile. "Yes, you will be next in line for Hokage after I take the title and increase the power of the Hokage. After I am no longer Hokage, the title will belong to the Uchiha Clan as long as you wish" Fugaku said sticking his hand out. Fugaku looked at his hand for a while before reaching with his own and shaking the old man's hand.
(Later That Night)
Sasuke sat outside staring at the moon, something he knew that his sword wielding teammate did regularly. It was a very strange day for him and he had hoped that the quiet of the night would bring him some sort of clarity like it did Naruto. There were so many questions in his mind that needed to be answered. Was it really Madara Uchiha who appeared to him? Why would Madara appear to him? How did Madara give him the Mangekyo? It made Sasuke's head spin. It had to have been Madara Uchiha, who else would know the things that he knew? Sasuke sighed. Looking up at the moon, Sasuke smiled. "Naruto, you have a great burden on your shoulders but when the time comes, I'll be there to lighten the load. I will also make sure that the Uchiha Clan will survive and work together for the good of Konoha, that I promise you Madara. The cycle of hatred will end and we will become a clan to be proud of not just in terms of strength, but in integrity and honor as well" Sasuke said still looking at the moon.
Just as Sasuke was going back inside, a voice whispered in his mind, "I leave the Uchiha Clan to you Sasuke."
Author's Note: I know that a lot of you might be disappointed with how short the chapter was but I hope that there were enough twists to keep it enjoyable for you all. I'm also sorry it took so long. Classes coupled with writer's block usually spells one thing, disaster. I plan to have the next chapter out much quicker though. Anyway, thanks for the support, I hope that you enjoyed it, and REVIEW!