zero fullbuster: I'm glad that you liked last chapter. I hope that you'll find this one as enjoyable as ones in the past.
PinkiePieParty122894: Happy that you were a fan of the last chapter and I've still got some surprising chapters planned ahead.
Animaman: I can't say too much on Jiraiya other than your opinion of him may change soon because of upcoming revelations. I hope that you like the way I wrote out Itachi and Shisui's fight. I can't say what will happen with Danzo. Yakumo is definitely going to have something to say when she returns to Konoha, and the entire Uzumaki Namikaze family will change because of something to do with Jiraiya soon.
dudu: Okay so let's start off with why Minato and Kushina neglected Naruto. I write it in later in the story. I've said multiple times that I don't love how the beginning of the story was turning out so I have been trying my best to plug up some of the holes I made early on. They didn't notice that Naruto was gone because that was how bad the neglect got. Have a nice day.
Daniel Wray: I'm happy that you have enjoyed it. As for it being rushed, I've kinda been trying to rush and cover plot holes that I made pretty early on. I do plan on introducing some important filler chapters later that are hopefully entertaining as well. Glad you like the story.
jiwilson97: Appreciate the support. I hope you aren't disappointed with this chapter.
Velin63: Sorry it took so long to update. I know it's frustrating and I'll try to get them out more consistently. Hope this chapter makes up for it.
Hultra: The beginning is a bit rough to read. It took a while for me to kind of get the gist of how people are comfortable reading and there's been a learning curve. Personally, I think it gets better along the way, but I'll leave that up to you.
Harrison Aldrich Emrys: The whole forgiveness aspect is pretty complicated and not as straightforward as I wrote it early on.
(Ruins of the Hokage Monument)
Itachi stood in shock as Shisui revealed himself while Danzo simply watched in amusement. The temporary Hokage quickly got over his shock and clenched his fists. "Shisui, what is the meaning of this? Why are you aligning yourself with the likes of Danzo?" Itachi asked.
Shisui was silent for a long moment, examining his Uchiha counterpart before he spoke. "I align myself for whatever is best for the Hidden Leaf Village. What is best for Konoha is the new rule of Lord Danzo" the Uchiha responded in an almost trance like voice. He reached to his side to retrieve his ninjato, immediately causing Itachi to be on guard. "I must do what is best for Konoha, so I will do what I have to. It will be quick" Shisui said activating his Mangekyo Sharingan before he vanished.
Itachi narrowed his eyes and kept his guard up. Shisui was known as "Shisui the Body Flicker" because he had mastered the shunshin to a degree that he could practically teleport. It was said that his teleportation abilities were nearly as dangerous as the Fourth Hokage's Hiraishin. Closing his eyes, Itachi concentrated and tried to sense the chakra around him. Before Itachi could focus however, he had to immediately jump to the side barely avoiding a ninjato slash from behind courtesy of one Shisui Uchiha. Turning around quickly with his sharingan focused on his clan member, Itachi tensed up as Shisui vanished again.
Not a second later, Shisui appeared in front of Itachi landing a heavy punch to his fellow Uchiha's gut, or so he thought. Once Shisui's fist made contact, Itachi vanished and in his place appeared a log with an explosive note attached to it. Without any change in his expression, Shisui vanished immediately and appeared ten feet away dodging the small explosion. As the Body Flicker started to look around, he noticed a small flock of birds overhead. His eyes widened however when he realized that they weren't just any birds, they were crows. Before any action could be taken, the crows dissolved into the form of Itachi.
"Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson" shouted the temporary Hokage throwing a handful of flaming shuriken down at Shisui. Itachi immediately followed up the jutsu with another as he yelled out "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" multiplying the amount of fire shurikens immensely. Shisui watched the rain of shuriken fly towards him without any emotion on his face. Not even blinking an eye, Shisui shunshined ten feet away. Unfortunately for Shisui, the moment he appeared, Itachi appeared not even a second later landing a heavy punch to his fellow Uchiha's face sending him backwards. When Shisui looked up, he was met with a kick to the head. This time instead of flying backwards, he was driven straight into the ground.
While Shisui was down, Itachi quickly took out his ninjato again and slammed it down into the back of his cousin only for his gut to go cold when the body of Shisui went poof into smoke. Feeling a massive amount of chakra, Itachi turned around to see his opponent surrounded by a large green chakra guardian that could only be Shisui's Susanoo. Gritting his teeth, Itachi pushed more chakra into his Mangekyo Sharingan and summoned his own large red Susanoo. Itachi's Susanoo's "Sword of Totsuka" formed in the guardian's right hand while Shisui's Susanoo's drill sword formed in it's right hand. Both Uchiha looked at each other for a long moment before simultaneously dashing at one another.
The two Uchiha reached each other quickly, their swords colliding with one another. Both Susanoo pushed but they were stuck in a standstill. From inside his guardian, Itachi glared at his traitorous family member while Shisui just looked back impassively. Taking a few deep breaths, Itachi opened his mouth and let out a wave of powerful white hot flames that passed through his guardian and made impact with the face of Shisui's Susanoo. The attack was strong enough to force Shisui back just enough for his guardian to gain the upper hand in their sword battle. With a strong effort, the red Susanoo pushed it's green adversary's sword out of the way and slashed downwards across the body of Shisui's Susanoo sending it backwards onto the ground.
Shisui and his Susanoo wasted no time raising themselves off of the ground while Itachi was panting from within his own Susanoo. Once again, the two looked at one another. Shisui's Susanoo had cracks all along it's body, half of it's face was missing, and a large gash of it's chest was gone. Itachi's Susanoo however was growing weaker and weaker by the second. His body was screaming in pain, his eyes were being tortured, and his head had pressure pounding at him. The energy and chakra needed to not only maintain his full body Susanoo but also the Sword of Totsuka and the casting of his fire jutsu was killing him. While Itachi tried to recover from the energy that he had already spent, Shisui took his chance. Launching himself and his Susanoo forward, the green guardian powerfully drove it's drill sword into the head of the red Susanoo before Itachi could react.
Itachi yelled out in pain as the force of Shisui's attack sent him and his Susanoo back onto the ground. Almost immediately, Itachi's red guardian broke apart leaving only him to lie on the ground gasping for air unable to get up. Shisui who remained in his Susanoo looked towards Danzo who was watching on in amusement from a distance. The village elder simply nodded which was all the confirmation he needed to move forward. Taking large steps, Shisui quickly reached his cousin who was still on the ground. Looking down at the exhausted prodigy, Shisui's Susanoo stabbed it's large drill sword into the smaller form of Itachi Uchiha with the intent to kill. Once the sword made contact though, the body of Itachi went up in smoke. Tilting his head in slight confusion from within his injured guardian, he was taken off guard when Itachi appeared behind Shisui's Susanoo, his fist covered in the arm of a Susanoo. "SUSANOO FIST" yelled out Itachi as he slammed his fist so hard into the back of Shisui's Susanoo that the fist broke through and hit Shisui, forcing him forwards and out of his Susanoo.
Now it was Shisui who was lying face down on the ground, but Itachi could see that his fellow Uchiha was still breathing. Walking to his cousin with some effort and reaching him, Itachi turned Shisui around and lifted him. up. The young Uchiha's eyes were bloody, his nose was broken with blood flowing out, and a slight amount of blood coming from his mouth. Pulling Shisui close, Itachi looked into Shisui's eyes and whispered "Tsukuyomi". In an instant, the surroundings that consisted of the former Hokage Monument melted away into red sky wasteland of which Itachi was the creator.
(Tsukuyomi World)
In the red skied world, Shisui was kneeling on the ground with his hands chained to the ground behind his back. It was fairly different than the normal tied to a cross situation within the Tsukuyomi. Shisui looked at the ground until he heard the sound of footsteps. Looking up, he was met with a fist to the face courtesy of his cousin. Itachi glared at Shisui with eyes that promised a slow and painful death. Itachi swung a few more times before he spoke. "Before I have you mutilated and killed very slowly and very very painfully, I want to know why? I want to know why you, the most loyal Uchiha I've ever know would suddenly betray your village?" Itachi asked expecting an emotionless and very ROOT-like answer. He was shocked however when Shisui looked up with sadness in his eyes.
"Itachi, I don't have much time to tell you this. I can already feel Danzo's influence trying to take over. Listen, he has the Sharingan. Not just one or two, he has a lot of them. He came to me telling me that he had to speak about something crucial to the village's security and took me by surprise. I wasn't prepared to defend myself against him when he revealed all of his Sharingan and cast me in a genjutsu. He's dangerous and you have to kill him. You have to protect the village Itachi, do you understand?" Shisui asked in a rushed tone. Itachi could only nod slowly, shocked and trying to absorb all of the info he had just been told in such a short time.
Shisui looked at his cousin and smiled. "Itachi, stop thinking too much. It makes you kinda dull" he said regaining Itachi's attention. "Guess we finally got to see who was stronger. I still say you got lucky" Shisui said chuckling while regret started to pour over Itachi. "One last thing Itachi, tell my mom and Aunt Mikoto that I'm sorry and I love them" Shisui said with a strained smile as his eyes started to slowly close. A few seconds later, Shisui's head dropped forward. Shisui the Body Flicker was dead. Still in shock, Itachi stared at his dead cousin not even noticing his own body shaking and the few tears that escaped his eyes.
After a few minutes of staring at his cousin's lifeless body, Itachi gripped his fists hard enough to draw blood and gritted his teeth with tears still in his eyes. Danzo would pay for this. He would pay dearly.
(Real World)
The Tsukuyomi jutsu ended as soon as it had begun. Itachi came back to the real world, but unfortunately he was the only one who did. He looked at his cousin who he still held in his grasp. Shisui was dead, but on his face was a smile. Kneeling down, Itachi gently placed Shisui on the ground. "Goodbye my friend. I promise that your death will not be in vain" Itachi whispered before standing up with hate in his eyes directed at Danzo who was approaching the two Uchiha. Danzo looked at the fallen Uchiha and shook his head. "What a shame, he was such a useful weapon. He truly could have helped Konoha reach it's fullest potential. But his sacrifice will not be forgotten as he died for his village like a good weapon should" Danzo said with a uncaring tone.
Itachi growled at the man. "You will pay for your actions Danzo. You have betrayed Konoha, you have stolen the eyes of the Uchiha clan, you have incited a civil war, and you have led attacks on multiple clans throughout the village. As the acting Hokage, I Itachi Uchiha, sentence you to death. May the Shinigami give you the punishment you deserve" Itachi said without any emotion and a look that promised death.
Danzo laughed at the Uchiha's words. "I suppose the proverbial cat is out of the bag" the elder said before removing the bandages covering his eye and his arm. It took a moment, but once the bandages were removed, Itachi's anger and killer intent reached a new high. Just as Shisui had said, five sharingan covered his arm and one was implanted in his right eye. "Itachi, everything that I have done has been for the good of the village. While Konoha has enjoyed peace in the light, I have worked tirelessly in the shadows maintaining her safety. I love my village more than anything which is why I should be the one o lead it. As for the sharingan that I have implanted, many Uchiha died in the First Shinobi World War and it would have been a waste to let their eyes die with them. Once again, all for the good of Konoha" the old man said with a twisted smile.
Before Itachi could say anything in response, fifteen figures appeared in a shunshin around him. Each figure wore masks with a headband that said ROOT over their foreheads. Danzo continued to smile while he looked at the Uchiha. "This is the end Itachi. The village is mine now and soon those eyes of yours along with Shisui's will belong to me. That should give me all I need to kill that pathetic Yellow Flash" he said before addressing his ROOT ninja. "Kill him but make sure that his eyes are not damaged" Danzo ordered getting nods all around.
Taking a few breaths, Itachi for the third time took out his tanto and prepared for the battle ahead.
(Streets of Konoha)
Anko was jumping the roofs of the buildings of her village when she saw a disgusting sight. A pink haired kunoitchi was surrounded by ROOT ninja but was being held down by what seemed to be nothing more than common mercenaries. There were four ROOT ninja just standing and watching impassively and three mercenaries who were grabbing the kunoitchi by her hair, arms, and chest. Nine mercenaries were on the ground not moving while the three remaining ones continued to grope, lick, and leer at the now crying pink haired girl. Growling, Anko took action and made her entrance by launching a kunai. The kunai sailed and flew in front of the mercenary holding her hair, slicing his throat in the process.
The group of men looked up immediately in confusion while Sakura looked around in hope. Knowing that her cover was blown, Anko jumped into view with her hands on her hips and a murderous glare plastered on her face. "Alright you sick fucks, I've got news for you. You shit stains have made me angry, and people who make me angry usually die pretty painfully. Now normally, I would ask you to surrender because of my duty to Konoha's merciful shinobi ideals, but I'll make an exception for people who think it's nice to fuck children" she said. Secretly, she had been stalling while two snakes that had slid from behind her coat and slithered quietly to the two remaining mercenaries. The moment Anko stopped talking, the snakes struck each mercenary in their groin causing them both to scream out in pain.
Immediately after her snakes struck the mercenaries, Anko did a series of handsigns before yelling "Striking Shadow Snakes" sending an small army of snakes out of her sleeves which gathered around her. She then took out a kunai as the ROOT ninja started to take action. All four rushed at the kunoitchi who was more than ready for a fight. Her snakes spread out quickly, a large group slithering over to the mercenaries who were on the ground writhing in pain and holding their groins. The snakes quickly covered the men and eventually muffled out and then completely quieted the mercenaries' screaming for good. The rest of her large group quickly swarmed two incoming ROOT ninja killing them quickly while the ROOT made no sound even in their death.
The final two ROOT continued forward with the intent to kill the snake summoner. One came with a tanto unsheathed while another took out a kunai. The one with the kunai reached Anko first, but the kunoitchi used her flexibility to bend backwards under the kunai strike before stabbing hers into the ROOT ninja's heart. The last ROOT member had stayed at a slight distance while his comrade had his brief exchange with the snake kunoitchi. Making a battle decision, the ROOT ninja sheathed his tanto and threw a kunai right behind Anko with an explosive note attached. By the time that Anko heard the sizzling of the explosive note, it was too late to dodge. Just as the explosion went off, her last remaining snakes covered the kunai, absorbing the blast as best they could. Their sacrifice saved Anko from death, but the blast still knocked Anko backwards.
While Anko was on the ground trying to get her senses back, the ROOT ninja walked up and appeared in front of the woman with his tanto drawn. As he was about to land the finishing blow, a fist burst through the man's chest. Looking down, the ROOT ninja took only a moment to observe the wound before the arm pulled out and he fell to the ground dead. Anko who was blinking rapidly from the blast still slowly allowed her vision to focus. What she saw was a scared, traumatized, teary eyed kunoitchi with an arm covered in blood.
Finding the strength to push herself up, Anko stood and walked to the girl who had stated to cry. When she reached the pink haired kunoitchi, Anko pulled the girl into a hug. "Shh, let it out kid. Sometimes it's okay to cry and this is definitely one of those times" Anko said in a comforting tone. Sakura took this moment to let her emotions spill out. She cried for what she had gone through, she cried at how weak she had been, and she cried about what had almost happened to her.
Before the two could get too comfortable, ten ROOT ninja dropped seemingly from nowhere interrupting Sakura's grieving. Sakura began to shake but Anko immediately went on guard. "Listen kid, when I attack them, I need you to run. Try to reach the Forest of Death if you can, you'll be safe there" Anko said quietly. Sakura wanted to argue but before she could, a bright light flashed in the sky and a massive surge of chakra went through the village causing not only her's and Anko's heads to look up, but the ROOT ninjas' as well.
(Uchiha Compound)
Sasuke was still kneeling on the ground next to his dead father. His tears had long since dried up and his eyes had a dead spark in them. He felt so numb to the situation. The Uchiha Clan was practically gone with who knows how many surviving. And what's worse, his father had been a catalyst for not only the Uchiha's destruction, but also what was undoubtedly the largest betrayal in Konoha history.
The Uchiha Clan may be in ashes, but you and only you Sasuke Uchiha can bring upon the rebirth of your clan. I see great things in your future
The same voice that had whispered to him "Mangekyo Sharingan" spoke to him once again. Squinting his eyes in thought, he was taken slightly off guard when ten ROOT ninja appeared around him and his father. Looking around, Sasuke took a heavy breath. Each one of these guys were at least jounin level. Shaking his head, Sasuke stood up. He had no time to worry about the strength of his opponents, he could only focus on his own strength. For he now carried the legacy of the Uchiha Clan on his shoulders.
Standing up straight, Sasuke looked around and strengthened his resolve. He was one of the three Kage Killers, he was the hope of the Uchiha Clan, and he would make not only his ancestors but those he called friends proud. Not to mention a special blonde girl in the Land of Demons who could tell the future. Shion was yet another person that he would fight for. Sasuke chuckled to himself. About a year ago, before he became part of a genin team, he was just an bratty kid filled with angst in the attempts to emulate his brother. He thought that Itachi did things on his own and didn't need help, but becoming a ninja brought clarity to his view on the shinobi world. Sometimes his brother did need help, and it was because of those who helped him and the bonds that they shared that Itachi was so strong. Raising his head high, Sasuke kept in mind all of the bonds that he now shared. He would make them proud.
As the boy started to get into his battle position, a bright light flashed in the sky and a massive wave of chakra was felt by everyone in the compound.
(Ruins of the Hokage Monument)
Danzo stood back with his evil smile as he looked on at the famed Itachi Uchiha. The young man was panting heavily, he had severe bruises forming along his body, and small amounts of blood were leaking from his eyes. As for Itachi, his attention was focused on the fifteen ROOT ninja that had him surrounded. He stood there waiting. Waiting for the first ROOT ninja to make a move. Waiting for the first ROOT ninja to seal their fate. Tanto in hand, Itachi spun around and blocked an incoming sword slash from behind courtesy of Danzo's goons. After the block, Itachi immediately did a high back flip to dodge a volley of shuriken which hit the first ROOT ninja. Unfortunately and irritatingly, the goon replaced himself with a log dashing Itachi's hopes that the ROOT were that unorganized and stupid.
Landing on two feet, Itachi had no time to gather his thoughts as three ROOT ninja appeared around him. Using his long honed battle instincts and tireless training, Itachi dodged every punch and kick that the three threw while waiting for his moment. That moment came when all three threw a punch at the same time which Itachi ducked under. When the Uchiha came back up, he had a kunai in his hand. One quick spin and the three ROOT ninja fell, all three grabbing at their now slit throats. Standing tall now, his shinobi senses screamed at him. Looking around, he immediately saw two ROOT finishing their jutsu. Large fireballs flew from the two goons who had taken off their masks to perform their jutsu.
Taking a quick breath, Itachi closed his eyes and brought his hands together while the fireballs rushed towards him. Just as the jutsu were about to collide with the temporary Hokage, he opened his eyes and shouted "Secret Phoenix Flame Technique". With the jutsu said, a massive yellow and red flame surrounded Itachi causing Danzo to raise an eyebrow and focus all of his sharingan. The elder began to take steps back from the heat despite his already fair distance. As for the two ROOT attacks, upon reaching Itachi, they were simply absorbed by the flame around him increasing the size and intensity.
Itachi took a few deep breaths and examined his surroundings. The ROOT ninja were examining him at the moment, obviously very cautious and searching for more information. Danzo was slightly leaning on his cane but held a look of mild interest. Looking down, Itachi saw that the ground was scorched underneath him. Taking another deep breath, Itachi knew that it was time to finish up this little battle. His breathing became a lot shorter and more rapid before the Uchiha jumped into the air. But instead of falling back down to the ground as gravity dictated, he sailed through the air with a stream of fire hanging on behind him. Once he felt that he had reached a high enough height, Itachi looked at the twelve ROOT ninja left. With his objective in mind, Itachi sped towards them.
Like a flaming bullet which really was the perfect word to describe Itachi, he flew at such a high speed that none of his opponents had any time to react. One by one, Itachi would fly by the ROOT ninja, never touching them but killing them anyway. His mere presence at such a close range turned each goon into a charred corpse just by being at such close vicinity. In the span of five seconds, Itachi had flown through the remaining enemies killing each one without another thought. Unfortunately for Itachi his newly revealed form didn't last long. After flying past the last ROOT ninja, the flame around him vanished and he fell to the ground hard and slid fast through the hard ground.
For a few moments, the Uchiha laid still. His whole body was in pain and his mind refused to tell it to move. The secret move that he had just used was technically a forbidden jutsu created by Izuna Uchiha, the brother of his clan's founder, Madara. In theory, it was a move that not only provided a powerful shield, but a powerful weapon as well. The problem was that it called on amounts of chakra that Itachi would need to meditate for hours to gain in order to reach its full potential. Using it when he had used up so much chakra already including his Mangekyo very well could be fatal. It was a stupid decision and one that was made on impulse alone. Itachi cursed in his mind as he felt the presence of Danzo approaching.
Danzo came to stand over the current Hokage with a frown on his face. Looking down at him, Danzo lifted his cane and shoved it hard into Itachi's shoulder causing him to groan in pain. "You will be such an asset to my ROOT. It will more than make up for the failures that have died today. You will serve me and along with my other forces, you will kill the blonde Hokage and his Uzumaki whore. Then you will make sure that my position as Hokage is secure. You will kill any dissenters, man, woman, or child" the elder said before removing his cane only to flip Itachi over with said item. "I will rule this village with absolute power and bring Konoha the glory she rightfully deserves. The other nations will bow to our every whim and everyone will know that the Hidden Leaf Village is the most powerful shinobi village in the world. This I do for all of Konoha" Danzo said before focusing each of his sharingan on Itachi's eyes who was too tired to resist.
Before Danzo could take any action, something blindingly bright caused the elder to close his eyes. Next, the old man felt a flow of chakra the likes of which he had never felt before.
(Above Konoha)
A bright light shined above the Hidden Leaf Village but it was not the sun. In fact, the source came from quite the opposite. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze shined high in the air radiating chakra throughout his home. He hadn't known what to expect upon coming home, but he never would've expected this. The village was in flames, the dead were everywhere you would look. This was not the Konoha he had left not so long ago. Gritting his teeth in anger and confusion, Naruto narrowed his eyes and came to his own decision. It was time to let the world know that Naruto Namikaze had returned from the dead.
Author's Note: Hey everyone, Happy New Year! I'm sorry that the updates have been so scarce and that I wasn't able to update in December. A lot of things came up but you all deserve better tan that so I am going to try to be more dedicated to updating more this year. Now I've learned my lesson about promising when and how consistently I'll be updating, just know that I am still committed to seeing this entire story through. So don't thing that we're coming to the end because we aren't even close. Anyways, I appreciate all of the support and advice that each and every one of you has given me throughout this story. You all have no idea how constructive it has been for me. Thank you all and I'll see you next time.