Sorry that its been so long guys! I haven't had as much time as I would like. Any ways, let me know if you like the chapter. I don't mind constructive criticism but try not to hate too much. Just remember that i'm human just like you!

Chapter 24

Akari strolled through the forest, her hands behind her head. She let out a yawn as she glanced around her surroundings. Her eyes hooded and bored. Sasuke's orders were to find his brother and report back to him. Akari was choosing to ignore said orders. As if she would tell him where Itachi was. So he could start a fight and probably get himself killed? Yeah right. No, Akari wasn't planning on finding Itachi any time soon. She had decided to take a quiet walk through the trees instead.

"No Itachi to my left. No Itachi to my right. No Itachi to be found." She muttered to herself.

Akari would go back to Sasuke in a few hours and tell him that there was no sign of his older brother. She wasn't ready for them to meet just yet. Maybe she would sit Sasuke down and try to convince him to train a bit more. Or she would ask Itachi to tell his younger brother the truth. Maybe she could reason with them and they would agree to sit down for a nice cup of tea. Talk out their problems. Akari stopped and glared up at the clouds. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah. When pigs fly!" She grumbled.

Akari's stomach was running on empty. She decided that she needed a break from "Itachi Hunting" and made her way out from under the trees. There was a small village nearby and the prospect of finding food had her mouth watering. She came up on a small hill and could see the buildings down below. Akari dropped down and landed on a roof. The street was crowded by villagers coming and going. She smiled when she saw a ramen shop just a few feet away.

"Time to take a much needed break. Sasuke will never kn…wait. Is that…damn it! It is!"

Akari crouched down and glared at the woman walking up the street. Her bright red hair causing her to stand out among the villagers. Karin was scanning the area, her eyes focused underneath her glasses.

"Shit. If she sees me, she's bound to go blabbing to Sasuke." Akari pouted.

She lowered herself on to her stomach and peeked over the roofs edge. Akari focused her chakra and tried to keep it concealed. She didn't want Karin recognizing it. She held her breath as the red head grew near. Then she noticed a familiar shade of pink out of the corner of her eye. Akari froze and tried no to curse her bad luck. Sakura Haruno was approaching from the other direction. Two of Kakashi's ninja dogs were trailing beside her. They had their noses to the ground.

Akari couldn't believe it. What the hell was Sakura doing here? And did she know about Karin? Because they were moments away from crossing paths. Akari bit her lip as the two women passed each other. Neither of them realizing who the other was. She watched as Sakura kept going and disappeared in the crowd. Akari then turned to Karin who had stopped. She watched as the red head glanced back, a little worried that she had noticed Sakura. Akari let out a sigh of relief as Karin took of her glasses with a blush to her cheeks. Karin smiled to herself before turning and continuing on her way.

"No doubt thinking about Sasuke, that sneaky tomato head." Akari grumbled to herself.

Akari waiting a few minutes before jumping down off the roof. She glanced at the Ramen shop with a look of longing. Damn, she really was hungry. But, she wanted to know what Sakura was doing out here. And with two of Kakshi's ninja hounds. Grumbling to herself, she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and started to trail after Sakura. As she went, she began to wonder where Naruto was. And if Kakashi was currently using his other hounds. He had seven of them and she found it odd that only two were accompanying Sakura. Usually they all worked as a team unless Kakashi had them split up. If that was the case, then where did he send the others. The ones with Sakura looked to have been searching for something.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" A voice barked at her.

Akari had been lost in thought and didn't noticed the dog standing in front of her. She stopped dead in her tracks and stared down at it nervously. He was tan colored with brown highlights on his ears and legs. There was a kanji symbol on his forehead and dark circular markings around his eyes. The dog was wearing a blue vest and a Konoha forehead protector around his neck.

"Hey there Bisuke...it's been a while." She chuckled nervously.

Akari glanced around and was relieved to find that he was alone. Sakura must still be further ahead with Shiba the grey hound with a funny looking Mohawk on his head. She was a bit glad that it was Bisuke who had found her. Shiba was bit more by the book. And less likely to let her go without sounding the alarm.

"Why are you following Sakura, Akari?" Bisuke asked.

Akari crouched down in front of the dog and removed her hood.

"I should've known you'd sniff me out." She frowned.

"Shiba and I both. You're lucky he sent me back to talk to you without letting Sakura know."

"Thanks for that. I don't think she'd be happy to see me. I take it you know I left the village?"

"Pakun told us. Which is why we decided to see why you were following us first. Didn't want to give you away in case it was something important."

"I wanted to know what you were doing out here. Mind telling me?"

"We're looking for Sasuke. We caught his scent earlier but we lost it. Actually, I can smell him on you now. Was it you?"

"Ugh…probably." She muttered thinking of Karin.

"Is he with you?" Bisuke wondered.

"Nope. Split up a while back. How many of you are looking?"

"Kakashi has the whole team split up among some of your friends."

"Naruto?"

"He's with Yamato and the Hyuuga girl. Bull was assigned to them." Bisuke scratched his ear.

"So everyone is looking to find Sasuke, huh? That's not surprising."

"Well, Itachi actually. They know Sasuke killed Orochimaru which means he'll be going after his brother next."

"I see. You're looking for the older brother and hope to find Sasuke nearby."

"That's the plan yeah. So why aren't you with Sasuke? And could you tell me where he is?"

"You guys were right. He's looking for Itachi. We split up to cover more ground but I'm not really doing much searching. Not looking forward to the family reunion." She told him.

"Right. So you don't know where he is?"

"Not at the moment." She shook her head.

"Are you supposed to meet him somewhere later?"

"Yep. Can't tell you where though. I don't think it would be best for the others to find him just yet."

"Why not?"

"I'm trying to find a way to bring him home. Can't really do that if Naruto and the others get in the way. They'll just try to force him and that won't go over very well. Speaking of Naruto, which way did he go?"

"South. They shouldn't have gone far yet. So, what am I supposed to tell Shiba? Our orders are to find Sasuke and you are our best lead so far."

"You forget that you saw me and continue your search. If you happen to find Sasuke than kudos to you. But, you won't be using me to do so. I have my own agenda Bisuke. I'm sure Kakashi will understand."

"Fine. I'll be going then. Have to get back to the others." Bisuke sighed.

"Don't follow me Bisuke. I'm not going back to Sasuke anytime soon. In fact, I'll be going to find Naruto. So following me won't do any good. And I can always use my Sharingan to confuse you if I find out you're tailing me." Akari warned.

"Okay. Okay! I promise not to follow." The dog rolled his eyes.

Akari stood and watched as Bisuke ran off to catch up to Sakura. She then pulled her hood over her head and began walking south in search of Naruto. She wasn't planning on talking to him. She just wanted to make sure he hadn't found Sasuke yet.

Akari's Akatsuki clone ran alongside Tobi forcing herself not to look back. She could feel the vibrations as the giant clay Deidara stomped through the trees behind them. Tobi didn't look as if he was stopping anytime soon. She wasn't sure what the range was on this bomb but it must be pretty far.

Giving in to her curiosity she stole a quick glance behind her. The giant replica was expanding and looked ready to blow. Only it merely popped like a giant balloon releasing only air.

"Hurry up Hisako-chan! The blast spreads pretty damn far!" Tobi shouted over his shoulder.

She didn't need to be told twice. She had activated her Sharingan to get a closer look. This wasn't a normal type of explosion. It was silent. Invisible. It was a fog of chakra and it was spreading. The blast radius was fairly huge. As she watched, a flock of birds that had flown into the fog instantly disintegrated. Luckily, she was able to see where the fog ended. They were already out of range, so she stopped.

Tobi glanced back at her before stopping as well. He watched her for a moment before perching himself on the branch beside her. She had already turned off her sharingan and was now staring up at the sky. They could just make out Deidara standing atop his clay bird.

"Super-tiny, nano sized bombs, the C4 Karura. By blowing up the giant Deidara, small bombs that cannot be seen by the ordinary eye are dispersed into the air. The bombs are set off inside every passageway of any living creature that inhales them. The explosions will destroy the body form the inside. A truly frightening jutsu." Tobi explained.

"Do you think Sasuke got caught up in it?" She asked. Though she knew he hadn't.

"Doesn't look like it." Tobi pointed towards Deidara.

Akari smirked underneath her mask as Sasuke appeared in his cursed form behind the blonde Akatuski member. He landed on top of the clay bird, his chidori piercing Deidara from behind. A few moments later, an arm shot out from inside the bird and latched on to Sasukes leg. He was now piercing a clay clone, the real Deidara having hid inside his bird. The blonde then spat out another C4 bomb and Akari watched as it expanded between them. Sasuke was engulfed within it along with the clay bird while Deidara leaped to safety.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to pierce his way out using his chidori. He spread his large wings and hovered in the sky. Deidara was still falling.

"Oh no. Looks like Deidara Senpai is low on chakra." Tobi commented.

The two of them watched as Sasuke charged towards Deidara, lighting chirping loudly around his arm. Deidara disappeared underneath the trees and fell into the forest. Sasuke flew after him and they soon lost sight of him as well.

"So…should we go find them?" Akari wondered.

"That Sasuke. He really is something isn't he." Tobi muttered.

Akari felt a cold chill travel up her spine. His voice. It had changed again. His carefree demeanor was gone, replaced by a darker, more sinister tone.

"Um. Yeah, I guess so." She tried to keep her voice steady. What was with him?

"All this time. He's been using that sharingan of his to analyze all of Deidara's moves. While that idiot bragged about his so called art, Sasuke was already planning his next move. Deidara didn't realize that the battle was lost from the start."

"Wh…what are you saying? You knew he would lose from the very beginning?" Akari took a step back.

"An Earth user of his quality could never win against a Lighting user as powerful as Sasuke Uchiha." Tobi scoffed.

"Oh. Then…why didn't you stop him." She wondered.

Akari's body was in full flight mode. She didn't know what was going on with Tobi, but she knew she had to get away. This man wasn't what he had made them to believe. He was beyond dangerous. Akari knew better than to linger any longer. But where should she go? Should she go to Sasuke or disappear completely? She was just a clone after all. But, she needed to make sure Sasuke was alright. She had to at least check before she went poof.

"You're probably wondering how the fight is going. Go ahead and take a look. Its shouldn't be too hard with that sharingan of yours." Tobi turned to her.

She froze. Her body broke out in a nervous sweat and she stared wide eyed at the masked man before her. She saw nothing behind the twisted orange mask.

"Ho…how…" She stuttered.

"How did I know? Well I had my suspicions when Itachi suggested we let you join us. What interest did he have in a young girl like you? Then the demise of Hidan and Kakuzu. Kakuzu was practically immortal, Hidan actually was. Yet the Hidden Leaf was able to get rid of them. That Nara brat seemed have inside information on those two. I wondered where he got it from. Next you became a full-fledged member, yet neither you or Itachi looked too happy about it. A little odd don't you think? But, it wasn't until a few moments ago that I was knew for sure."

"What do you mean?" Akari was beginning to get over her initial shock.

"The nano sized bombs. Like I said, the ordinary human eye can't see them. I knew the bombs range and was leading you to a safe distance, yet you stopped before I even said anything. You knew the moment you were out of range. You could see the fog of chakra and could tell where it stopped."

Damn it! How could she be so careless. This wasn't good. Who the hell was this guy and why is he so relaxed about all this. Shouldn't he be furious? Shouldn't he have attacked her by now?

"So what do you plan to do now." She asked him.

"Hmmm. Oh, well seeing as how you're just a clone it doesn't really matter. It's the real one that has my interest. Its not every day that you run into another Uchiha. And here I thought we were all gone."

"We?" Akari arched a brow.

"That's right. We. There are a total of four Uchiha's left, including me." He told her.

"Who…who are you?"

"My name is Madara Uchiha." He took advanced towards her.

"No…that's…that's impossible!" She stepped back.

He didn't stop his approach. Akari found herself stumbling back until her back hit the trunk of the tree they stood on. Tobi…or Madara didn't stop until he a mere few inches away from her. She stared up at him, knowing that he could see the fear in her eyes.

"Nothing is truly impossible. Tell me, what is your real name."

Akari didn't want to say it. She wanted to disappear but her legs betrayed her. They were frozen to the spot. There was no getting away from this man. Against Madara, she was nothing but a child playing at ninja. In that moment she felt all her strength drain out of her. Only to be replaced by fear. A fear so suffocating that she was drowning it. She suddenly found herself forming her name on her lips.

"Its…it's Akari. Akari Yoshida." She whispered.

"Akari. First Sasuke and now you. I've never felt so lucky. Listen closely girl, Sasuke is going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about. I will get to him soon enough. Once I have him, you will come find us and you will join us. Us Uchiha's, we have to stick together."

"What…what about Itachi?" She managed to ask.

"In order for Sasuke to get to where I need him to be, Itachi must die. Now then, go back and relay everything I have told you to the original."

Madara reached out and gripped her chin with his left hand. Her fingers twitched to slap his hand away but she restrained herself. He stared at her behind his mask for a brief moment. Then she felt a searing pain in her chest. Like molten lava coursing through her veins. The taste of blood filled her mouth and she glanced down. There was a hole above her heart. Madara released his hold on her chin and stepped back. In his right hand he held a katana. Akari watched as her blood dripped down its steel blade. Oh. So that's what happened. Then the pain was gone. She was gone.

The original Akari was currently digging through her pack hoping to find a snack or two as she went. Her stomach was grumbling louder by the second. She should've picked up some food before she left the village. Well, too late now. It had been at least an hour since she had left it behind. She was already too far to go back. Sighing to herself, she jumped up onto the branches picked up the pace. The sooner she checked on Naruto the sooner she could search for food. She slowed down when she sensed four people up ahead. Keeping herself hidden in the branches, she peeked through the leaves. It was Naruto. He had Hinata, Yamato, and Bull with him. In front of them stood Kabuto.

"What the hell…" Akari muttered.

"I just wanted to have a little chat with Naruto." Kabuto was saying.

"We won't let you get away this time. We're bringing you in." Yamato said.

"Hey Kabuto! I'm sure you know, so where's Sasuke." Naruto asked.

Akari wondered what Kabuto had been up to lately. Sasuke hadn't even bothered to kill him after getting rid of the snake. And they hadn't seen him since. Kabuto didn't go after Sasuke probably too afraid to even try. She figured that he had just accepted his loss and crawled in a hole somewhere.

"Is it true that Sasuke killed Orochimaru?" Naruto was asking.

"Yes. It's true. By the way, I've brought you a little present Naruto." Kabuto said.

Kabuto held out a black book. Akari stared at it curiously.

"What is it?" Naruto wondered.

"Information collected by our organization about the Akatsuki. I'm giving it to you."

Akari was surprised. Why was Kabuto giving them such valuable information? What was he planning to get out of it? And more importantly, was it the same information she had gathered or was it more? If Kabuto had information that even she hadn't acquired than that book was worth a look. Shikamaru could gain a lot from it.

"You think you can negotiate with us?" Yamato asked him.

"No. I wouldn't be able to negotiate with this alone. Especially not with Konoha."

"Then what is it? Unlike Orochimaru, you're not targeted by the Akatsuki are you?"

"It's my token of gratitude towards Naruto. It's merely a present."

Akari let out a scoff. Kabuto tossed the book at Naruto's feet.

"After Orochimaru died, I had no idea who I was. Who am I? The suffering of having no identity is something you know, huh Naruto."

"Am I supposed to understand what you're saying?" Naruto glared.

"I wonder. Are you Naruto Uzumaki, or are you the Kyuubi. You were despised and discriminated against. Along the way, you must've started wondering who you were. But you believed in your own strength and told yourself that you were Naruto Uzumaki. Thus you surpassed the views of the Kyuubi."

"What does this guy want with Naruto?" Hinata wondered.

"I have yet to figure out his intentions." Yamato told her.

"This is why your well aware of your own identity. You were able to make friends who acknowledge you. But, instead of surpassing him, I desperately clung to Orochimaru's power." Kabuto continued.

Akari was growing tired of his rambling. Couldn't the guy just get to the point? Kabuto pulled down his hood and removed his glassed. Akari leaned forward for a closer look. Something was different.

"Now I'm really able to understand how you feel. You made me realize, that I wanted to become like you. And now that's why…I'm gonna overcome Orochimaru with this new body that I've obtained and find a new stronger self!"

Kabuto turned to them and everyone froze. Nearly half of his face was covered in while scales identical to Orochimaru. His left eye was identical to that of a snakes. He had a mad grin on his face.

"Oh. Now that's fucked up." Akari nearly gagged.

"Find a new self. That's the hint you gave me. That's why I'm grateful to you Naruto. Orochimaru is the symbol of reincarnation. He keeps on living through my body as something that I have to surpass." Kabuto said.

"You took him into your body?" Naruto asked.

"It's just a small part of his corpse that I transplanted into myself after Sasuke killed him." Kabuto told him.

He showed them his arm which was also covered in scales. Akari was disturbed by how calm Kabuto was being. As if it was completely normal to play with corpses and transplanting pieces of them to your body.

"But his vitality is amazing. Even now, this thing's constantly trying to take over my body. I've been forcefully trying to resist this take over. Now I feel like I can really surpass Orochimaru!"

"Is that really all you have to say? If you want to keep resisting, that fine by me. But it will be inside a Konoha prison cell!"

Naruto rushed at Kabuto and the two began to exchange blows. Then Yamato came up from behind and used his wood style jutsu to trap Kabuto. But he managed to get away causing Hinata to shout a warning. The three of them stared at Kabuto as he backed away.

"Once I've gained control of Orochimaru's power, we will fight again Naruto. But you come later. First I'll take care of Sasuke for killing Orochimaru."

"What are you going to do to Sasuke?" Naruto questioned.

"Let's meet again."

And then, Kabuto was gone. Naruto and the others stared at the spot he once stood. Akari didn't like that Kabuto was after Sasuke now. It seemed like everyone was after him. Keeping him out of trouble was becoming quiet the hassle. Akari stared down at her friends and froze when she noticed Hinata staring up at her with her byakugan. The Hyuuga's eyes were wide in surprise, her mouth gaping.

Akari shook her head and pleaded with her silently. If Naruto knew she was there, he would never let her go. Hinata glanced at the boy beside her but he wasn't paying attention. Then she looked back up at Akari, her face torn with indecision. Akari could tell that she was contemplating what to do. Hinata's eyes's darted to Naruto then back to Akari hesitantly. Then, the girl came to a decision. Akari held her breath as Hinata turned her back. She let out sigh of relief and quickly disappeared before her friend changed her mind.

Akari ran until there was a considerable distance between her and her friends. She then created a few hand signs a clone appeared beside her. Her replica gave her a brief nod and then ran off in the direction Sasuke had gone. Akari stood there for a moment chewing on her lip. That was now two clones she had out and about. The one with Tobi and Deidara, and now the one she just sent after Sasuke. Hopefully he wouldn't notice it wasn't really her.

Alright. Now that her clone was gone, it was time to get a move on. She decided that maybe it was time to find Itachi. He probably already knew what was going on but she would feel better if she had the chance to talk to him about it. Not only was she stressing about Sasuke finding Itachi, but she had to worry about the search party and Kabuto as well. Not to mention that she had to make sure her identity wasn't revealed to the Akatsuki.

"Shit. I really am spreading myself out too thin." Akari muttered.

With a sigh, she activated her sharingan. She was about to go further and use her Mangekyo to find Itachi when she suddenly fell to her knees. Beads of sweat poured down her forehead and her fingers dug deep into the soft earth beneath her. Her hands clenched tightly, pulling clumps of dirt and grass from the ground. Her eyes were wide in shock and she broke out into violent sobs. Her clone, the one she had left with Deidara and…Tobi. It was gone. Her replicas experience was relayed to her in seconds. Akari hadn't been expecting it, the barrage of memories and emotions. Everything her clone went through. Madara Uchiha. Could it really be him?

After what seemed like hours, she was able to compose herself and took a shaky breath. Akari forced herself to her feet and walked further into the forest. Tears stained her cheeks and an occasional whimper escaped her lips but she didn't let that stop her. The news didn't change anything. No matter how frightening Madara was, she had to finish what she started. And there was no way in hell she was going to let him have Sasuke. Akari activated her Mangekyo like she had planned and scanned the forest.

There had to be one close by…yes! There it was, a black crow. Itachi had told her that he had dozens of them spread out around the Land of Fire. If she ever needed to find him, all she had to do was follow one. Akari approached it and waited. The crow stared down at her from where it was perched. It cocked its head, studying he with its beady eyes. Then it let out a loud cry and took to the sky. It circled above her waiting for her to follow.

Akari bit her thumb and summoned Shun. Only, she didn't get what she asked for. In front of her stood one of the cubs.

"Ugh…where's your dad?" She wondered.

"Busy. So he sent me!" The cub purred.

"Fine. You'll do."

Akari climbed onto the cubs back, grateful that it was the size of a horse. He had grown since she last saw them. She glanced up at the Raven and gave it a small nod. The bird took off and Akari urged the cub to follow. They hadn't been moving long when she was hit with a warm blast of air from behind. The crow and cub came to a stop. Akari's cloak and hair billowed around her as she glanced back. Miles away she could just make out a bright dome that extended into the sky. It had two spikes on each side like a pair of arms. Above it, ripples of light illuminated the sky. It pulsated power and she had no doubt as to who was the cause. Deidara had created a massive explosion. She prayed that her clone had made it to Sasuke in time.

"What was that?" The cub asked.

"Nothing good." She muttered.

Above her, the crow cried out impatiently. Turning her back on the explosion, Akari and the cub chased after the black bird in search of Itachi Uchiha.