My longest chapter yet! Reviews are obviously appreciated! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: The Unbelievable Truth

Hinata and Guy could easily see the huge tower in the middle of the village, as it stood several hundred feet higher than any other building.

"Let's head over there." Hinata said as she pointed in the direction of the tall building.

"Alright." Guy replied. "But we need to make sure we're back with Kakashi and Naruto in a few hours."

With that being said they started walking in the direction of the tower.

'I wonder what he meant when he said "Lady Angel"...' Hinata thought to herself. 'Who is she?'

...

Meanwhile, Kakashi and Naruto were still looking for any clues they could find about a possible Akatsuki hideout, or any information on any members.

They were walking down the rainy wet streets of the Rain village, looking at small shops on either sides of them.

"Kakashi sensei..what's that?" Naruto pointed over to an Angel made of paper sheets hanging in a shop window.

"I don't know, it's seems pretty cool." Kakashi whispered back to Naruto.

"Are boys wondering about the Angel in the window?" An old lady spoke up.

"Umm yes ma'am." Naruto said as politely as he could.

"Well come over hear and listen." The old lady gestured for them to stand in front of her.

"You aren't from around here are you?" The lady asked.

"No we're not." Kakashi responded.

"Well listen up, it's time for a story." The old lady continued. "In this village, there is a tall tower in the centre. There are many rumours that one we call Lady Angel watches over our village from up there. She is rumoured to keep us safe from intruders and others who may harm the village. Nobody knows if this is true, since no one has ever gone near the tower or inside of it."

"Wow that's a really interesting rumour." Naruto replied.

"Everyone in the village knows that hanging up a paper angel in the window of your house or shop will bring you good fortune and protection. We do it to show Lady Angel we are grateful." The lady said.

"Thank you for explaining." Kakashi bowed. "Naruto, I think we know where we should check out now." He whispered to Naruto.

"We need to get going." Naruto waved at the lady as he started walking away slowly. "Goodbye!"

"Goodbye boys!" The old lady smiled and waved back.

"Naruto, duck in this alley for a second." Kakashi motioned to the left and they turned into a small dark alley.

"Summoning jutsu!" Kakashi summoned Pakun, the ninja dog.

"Hey Kakashi. Wait, where are we?" Pakun looked confused.

"We're in the Rain Village. Listen, all I need you to do is track down Guy and Hinata and bring them a message. Tell them to meet us in front of the tall tower in the centre of the village. Be careful, this is uncharted territory." Kakashi explained.

"You got it. I'm off." Pakun took off carefully as not to be seen.

"Alright Naruto, let's head to that tower." Kakashi said.

They both headed off towards the centre of the village.

...

Guy and Hinata were now standing in front of the tower in the middle of town.

"Hinata, use your Byakugan and see if there is anyone inside." Guy whispered to Hinata.

"Hai." Hinata responded. She activated her Byakugan and stared up at the tower.

"There's..there's lots of people inside...all of them with huge amounts of chakra..." Hinata was amazed by the amount that was in the building.

"This must be the Akatsuki hideout then." Guy said.

"Guy, Hinata." A voice called to them from behind. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's Pakun!" Guy said. "My rival Kakashi must've found some useful information right?"

"He said to meet in front of this tower. I see you've already found out some information yourselves. They'll be here soon." Pakun explained.

"Thanks Pakun." Guy gave him a thumbs up. Pakun simply walked off back into the darkness of the streets.

"Alright Hinata, can you tell me if anyone specific is in there?" Guy went back to their Intel gathering.

"I can make out a few..there's Itachi, Kisame and a masked man. I don't know anyone else in there." Hinata replied with. "The masked man...he has the Sharingan too..." Hinata's voice trailed off.

"He has the Sharingan? How could that be?" Guy looked baffled.

A few moments later, Hinata and Guy were met by Naruto and Kakashi.

"Hey Kakashi. Found the same Intel didn't you?" Guy spoke in his usual competitive voice with Kakashi.

"Yes we did. Have you guys seen any unusual activity?" Kakashi replied monotone as usual.

"I saw Itachi, Kisame, and a masked man in there. There were also many other people, I'm assuming Akatsuki members, that are in there." Hinata said to Kakashi. "But the masked man had the Sharingan...only in one eye."

"How can that be? The Uchiha are all dead except for Sasuke and Itachi..." Kakashi looked confused as well. "Let's get a bit further away and spy on them from afar." Kakashi replied.

The four went not too far away from the outset part of town, high up in a few trees near a small forest.

"Hinata use your Byakugan, tell me if you can see anyone." Kakashi said.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. "I can see two people...one is a woman with purple hair, and another a man with an orange mask, he's the one with the Sharingan." Hinata replied.

Kakashi took out a pair of binoculars. He stared through them towards the tower to see a purple haired woman, what looks like to be made of paper.

"That woman...is she made of paper?" Kakashi was confused.

"Lady Angel?" Naruto spoke out loud.

"You guys know about that too?" Guy responded.

"Yeah, this old lady told us that Lady Angel looks over the Rain Village." Kakashi responded, still looking through the binoculars.

"Is there anyone else there, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked.

"There seems to be another person... Half black and half white... He doesn't look human either." Kakashi stated quietly.

"We need to report what we found to the Hokage!" Naruto replied.

"Alright, wait a bit more and we'll head back to the Leaf. We should have a better equipped team to take on any Akatsuki members or take any more risks." Kakashi said.

They waited for ten more minutes, but no one seemed to show themselves any longer. The four ninja jumped back through the trees to the outskirts of the village.

"It'll take a few days to get back, so the same shifts as last time will take place." Kakashi said. "Let's get going."

The four of them traveled a long distance before stopping at nightfall in a small clearing. They set up tents, gathered their things and went to sleep. Naruto however, was the one staying up to keep guard. He was sitting underneath a tree gazing up at the stars again.

"H-hi Naruto.." Hinata's faint voice came from beside him.

"Hinata.. You should be sleeping." Naruto whispered.

"I-I can't fall asleep." Hinata managed to say.

"Come sit next to me then." Naruto motioned to Hinata and tapped the ground beside him.

Hinata blushed as she sat down right beside Naruto, both of them gazing up at the dark night sky.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata faintly whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever get the feeling that...um...that even if you try really hard...that you still do terrible..?" Hinata's question kept Naruto silent for a few moments.

"Why do you ask Hinata?" Naruto continued staring up at the stars.

"N-no matter how hard I try...I keep thinking that people are so much better than me and so much stronger..." Hinata looked down at the ground near her legs.

"There will always be people stronger than you Hinata... But if you train hard enough and you believe you can get stronger, you will. Never giving up is how you should think." Naruto glanced over at Hinata, tears were coming to her eyes.

"I just think...t-that my father won't f-forgive me..." Hinata had a few tears rolling down her face.

Naruto put an arm around Hinata's shoulders and pulled her close to him, putting Hinata's head against his shoulder.

"You just need to prove to him your strong...I know you are Hinata, your one of the strongest ninja I know. Not just in strength, but in will. You want to be strong, and you want to prove it to everyone! I admire that, you're just like me."

Naruto squeezed his grip around Hinata's shoulders and pulled her in closer, their bodies touching each other.

Hinata wrapped an arm around Naruto and buried her head into his neck and hugged him.

"T-thank you Naruto...you always know how to cheer me up..." Hinata couldn't believe she was sitting there with her crush, hugging him.

The two just sat there for 10 minutes, enjoying how close they were to each other. They both were gazing up at the stars, not paying attention to what was going on around them except for each other.

"You should get some rest Hinata, I'll let you sleep again tonight." Naruto whispered.

"O-okay.. Goodnight Naruto-kun... And thank you." Hinata blushed and stood up.

"No problem Hinata. I'll see you in the morning." Naruto gave her a friendly smile as she walked off to her tent. Naruto could still feel her sitting right beside him.

...

Hours went by as Naruto was still up, in case any danger approached the small clearing.

"Naruto..." A quiet, calm voice called to him from up in the tree next to him.

Naruto looked up to see a pair of red eyes staring back at him.

"Itachi!" Naruto yelled, but everyone was sound asleep, unable to hear him.

"Quiet Naruto, I'm not here to fight." Itachi had an expressionless face.

"Like hell you are!" Naruto got into fighting stance and prepared two more shadow clones.

They all attacked Itachi head on. Itachi split into a flock of crows and teleported up on the tree next to him.

"Calm down, Naruto. Fighting is pointless, I'm here to talk." Itachi just stared down at the yellow haired boy.

Naruto calmed down and lightened his grip clenching his fists.

"I have no weapons, no secrets, nothing to hide." Itachi jumped down from the tree, landing in front of Naruto. "Let's take a walk, shall we?"

Naruto could sense her. Hinata was awake, using her Byakugan to spy on him and Itachi. If he went with him and something happened, she would get his back.

"Okay. Fine, I'll go with you." Naruto responded coldly.

The two walked not far from the camp sight. They walked in silence for a few minutes until Itachi spoke.

"Naruto, although everyone was unaware, I saw you at the Rain village along with your team members." Itachi said expressionlessly.

Naruto just kept silent, he knew he shouldn't tell anyone especially the people he was spying on, what he was doing there.

"Do you know why I left the village, Naruto?" Itachi asked him.

"Because you killed your whole clan and abandoned your only brother. You were a rogue ninja and you couldn't stay in the Leaf village so you fled to the Akatsuki." Naruto simply stated as he looked down at the ground.

"It was for the safety of the Leaf village." Itachi ignored Naruto's comment and continued. "In order to keep peace in the village I killed my clan. They were a threat and had to be dealt with, I was only following orders from the Leaf." Itachi glanced over at Naruto, an then quickly diverted his eyes to look at the sky.

Itachi stopped and stared up at the stars.

"In life Naruto, you may have to choose between the people you love, and peace among many." Itachi was staring at the stars. "Only then, will you know what it's like to experience pain. Killing the ones you love for the good of the village." Itachi continued walking.

"It's hard to believe." Naruto replied. "The Leaf wouldn't ask you to do something like that would they?"

"I didn't expect you to believe me, and I'm afraid even Sasuke won't believe it either." Itachi said calmly.

Itachi turned to Naruto, staring him in the eyes.

"Take care of the Leaf, Naruto. Hopefully you won't have to make that sacrifice." Itachi turned into a flock of crows and flew off into the dark night. Naruto stood there for a few moments, absorbing what Itachi had said to him.

'Did the Leaf really tell him to kill his own clan for the sake of the village?' Naruto could only think of the scenarios in his head.

He walked back to the camp sight, acting as if nothing had happened. He checked Hinata's tent to see if she was awake. When he looked inside she was fast asleep.

Should he tell Kakashi, Guy and Hinata what had happened?