A/N: As expected, no real buzz for last chapter, which is totally fine. All that one was for was to set up this one and the next few.
The shift will be sudden, but I think that's a fair way to write this next part. Besides, I've been building up to this for a minute now.
Time for Chapter 61
Enjoy!
Three decades on earth had taught Kakashi Hatake a number of things. Some mundane, others not. Bills could realistically be paid any time within their scheduled week. Collecting companies were made of people, after all. They hated the process just as much as any other person. Groceries were best bought in bulk. Attempting to buy when immediately needed almost always cost more in the long run. Much more than such trivial, day-to-day maxims, a single lesson had drilled itself into his skull permanently.
If something felt amiss, chances were, it was.
With experience on his side, he knew better than to write off the unsettled murmurs of the crowd as he and Guy made their way through the busy midday streets of Konoha's central sector. Passing a short look to his equally-seasoned comrade, the men exchanged a curt nod and began to follow the buzz. Tracking sound was a tricky procedure. It varied from place to place, and determining an epicenter was a pain. In large part, it was trial and error. Or at least, it would have been. Luckily, ominously, for the Jonin pair, the source of the widespread commotion was making no attempt to hide its presence from those with the sensory capabilities to detect them.
There was a set of massive outliers among the unthreatening auras of the civilian populace. Two enormous sources of chakra. They stood out so starkly from the crowd that they may as well have been glowing. As both he and Guy picked up their pace and pushed through the swathes of people, Kakashi felt a bead of nervous sweat trickle down his forehead. Bystanders all around were milling about with a strained shuffle.
'They can feel it too. Something's wrong. They just don't know what they're afraid of, or why.' he thought to himself. In fairness, neither he nor Guy knew exactly what had so disturbed the peace. In some ways, they were just as blind. The only difference was that they were worn enough to know what such an intense shift likely proceeded. Soon taking to the rooftops to cover ground more quickly, the men bounded across several buildings. Moments later, they were staring out over the town square.
In the center of the slowly-draining area stood two figures reading a directional map posted on a bulletin. Their postures were not hostile outwardly, but the taller of the two was absolutely oozing bloodlust. Both appeared to be male, donned in black robes stylized with red clouds. The more belligerently-tempered man had an oversized sword wrapped in bandages strapped to his back, and what little Kakashi could see of his skin almost looked blue in color. After another few moments of silent observation, both Jonin leapt down from their high ground.
By the time they touched down seconds later, the majority of those once permeating the square had scuttled out into adjacent streets. The sound of the two Shinobi's feet making contact with the ground prompted the two cloaked men to turn around. In addition to their robes, they were both wearing wide-brimmed hats with small strips of white cloth hanging from the sides. With their postures now open, and their fronts facing toward the Jonin, Kakashi was given a solid look at their faces.
Though slightly obstructed by the strips of cloth, he was able to form a concrete guess as to the identity of the shorter man, and a less confident, but still well-founded assumption for the taller. For a time, neither party moved. The tension in the air was palpable. The deadlock was broken when two puffs of smoke appeared on either side of Guy and Kakashi, with Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi each being revealed within them respectively. Though the two new arrivals both took initial steps forward, Kakashi halted them with a raised hand.
"I've felt something coming for the better part of a week, but I still didn't expect it to be you of all people." the Copy Ninja said to the shorter of the two men. With slow, deliberate smoothness, the man removed his hat and tossed it aside. With his features fully revealed, a hushed collective gasp could be heard from Kakashi's three comrades.
"For a man who's known as a bit of a no-show, you're certainly out early for this, Kakashi-san." said Itachi Uchiha. The elder brother of Satsuki had certainly grown up a bit since the last time Kakashi had seen him, seven years prior. He was several inches taller, his voice was deeper, and his face was more mature. He had always had stress lines on his face, but they had deepened. He was now a man, if quite a sullen-looking one. One thing had not changed in the slightest, however. His eyes were as piercing and analytical as they had always been.
"I might've been late, but your friend made a show of it. Even for me, that was hard to miss." Kakashi shot back. Itachi's freshly-activated sharingan shifted over to his partner, who had also removed his hat to reveal an almost shark-like face.
"If I'd had it my way, this conversation never would have happened. We don't mean you any harm as of now." the Uchiha said. Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector to reveal his own dojutsu, his eyes narrowing.
"I find that hard to believe. What are you here for? Out with it." he asked. The sword-wielding man, whom Kakashi rightly recognized to be Kisame Hoshigaki of the Hidden Mist, then made his voice heard.
"We're here on business. Nothing that concerns you. Now, if you're all eager to contest us, I'm more than willing to let this get messy." he said, brandishing his sword from his back and pointing it toward the quartet of Jonin. At the unsubtle threat, Guy and Asuma each drew kunai. Much to the group's surprise, Itachi shook his head.
"We've already drawn more attention to ourselves than I would have liked. Kakashi-san in particular won't fall easily. Your methods are too grandiose." he chided Kisame. The swordsman scowled, but lowered his weapon. Itachi then turned his attention back to Kakashi.
"He's correct. What we're here for is no concern of yours. I'd suggest stepping aside." he said calmly. As unprovoking as his tone was, there was a threatening underbelly to his words that did not go unnoticed by Kakashi. There had always been a hidden edge to Itachi, and his multi-year absence as a rogue had only sharpened it.
"As far as I'm concerned, you being here at all is grounds to toss you in a jail cell or kill you. You're practically on the cover of the bingo book." the silver-haired ninja said, holding his ground unflinchingly. Itachi sighed and unbuttoned the top three clasps of his rob.
"Is that so? Well, in that case…" he said, vanishing into thin air before his sentence could conclude. Kakashi then felt breath on the back of his neck.
"...I'll make this as clean as I can." the Uchiha finished. Whirling around reflexively, Kakashi barely managed to catch Itachi's wrist before he could drive a kunai straight into his abdomen. They matched strength for a tense few instances, and the resulting stalemate was telling. For all that neither man budged, a vein popped on Kakashi's forehead, and Itachi's expression remained unchanged. Their struggle was interrupted briskly, as Kurenai and Asuma both came charging in from both sides.
Reacting with more immediacy than Kakashi could muster, Itachi kicked the Copy Ninja square in the chest and sent him flying back into the bulletin board. As he crashed down onto his back, Kakashi caught sight of the short exchange that took place between his fellow Jonin and the rogue Uchiha. In a space of time insufficient for Kakashi to even complete his fall, Itachi froze Asuma in place with a mere glance, and doubled him over with a harsh knee to the gut.
With only Kurenai remaining, he sidestepped her linear blitz and knocked her out cold with a chop to the back of her neck. Each movement was completely lacking in fat, and he had performed them all effortlessly. In one exchange, he had completely incapacitated Kurenai, and by the time Kakashi regained his bearings, Asuma had yet to rise from his knees even though the blow to his gut not having been particularly devastating. Rushing to his feet, Kakashi stole a look to his right, where Guy was fiercely engaged with Kisame.
Things had spiraled out of control, and quickly at that. Worse yet, they were down two combatants right from the start. Numbers were the same on both sides, and if Itachi's ease of dominance was any indication, they were in no way evenly matched despite that fact. Ignoring the ache in his sternum, Kakashi drew a pair of kunai and ran in to engage once more. Itachi produced his own blade and met his aggression with patience. For nearly a minute, they dueled in close-quarters. In that time, Kakashi was unable to strike the Uchiha even a single time.
At numerous points, time would seem to skip forward ever so slightly. One moment, he would be facing square with Itachi, and the next, without any movement or use of a substitution, the rogue Uchiha would be right behind him. As a result, he was countered at every turn, and his nose was soon made to bleed. Finally, after a dozen or so confusing exchanges, Kakashi was knocked backward for a second time. He managed to keep his footing, but was forced down to a knee by the ringing in his ears. He was being comprehensively battered.
"You can't look him in the eyes, Kakashi!"
The Copy Ninja jerked his head left, where Asuma had regained his autonomy at long last. The advice was obvious, and Kakashi had done his best to avoid direct eye contact with Itachi throughout their scuffle. Unfortunately, it was far easier said than done. Their eyes had met in passing multiple times amid the chaotic dust-up, and Kakashi had paid the price. The genjutsu had been subtle, but it had robbed him of his effectiveness. Spitting blood out of his mouth, Kakashi readied himself for another round.
"You were a good kid, Itachi. It's a real shame you became such a rotten man." he said. The rogue Uchiha responded by vanishing once again. When he appeared, he was within inches of Itachi, with his eyes boring into Kakashi's. The ability to recognize a problem and the capability to solve it were two very different things, and for all his awareness, the gap in speed and strength was simply too much for Kakashi to parse.
In a fragment of time too small to be perceived, the world around the Jonin completely melted away into a jumbled stew of colors. His body numbed, his hearing muffled, and his sight blurred. Even his sense of smell was suppressed. When his bearings were returned to him, he was no longer in the town square, and he was no longer a free man.
He was strung up on a wooden cross, with his arms and legs tied in place by thick leather cords. The cross was standing in an endless shallow pool of water reflecting a deep red light from the featureless sky. He was in another reality entirely. Almost certainly a genjutsu, but one completely unlike anything he had ever experienced. He was not alone, either. Standing before him with a sword in hand was Itachi.
"It wouldn't have come to this if you had simply stood down like I asked." the Uchiha said, almost sounding disappointed. Kakashi struggled against his bindings, but they held painfully firm.
"I have a job to do. Besides, you wouldn't even give me a real explanation for why you're here at all." he said. Itachi stepped forward, testing the distance between them with his blade.
"There are things you don't understand, Kakashi-san. Plots in motion you aren't even aware of." he said, stabbing the sword into the Jonin's side. The anguish and sensation felt all too real. He felt his skin rip, his blood flow, and his organs puncture. To make matters worse, a crowd composed of clones of Itachi soon appeared, and its scope may as well have been infinite.
"Don't bother straining. This is my world, and you're my subject." Itachi said, his voice echoing a thousand times over in the swarm of copies. Kakashi was unable to respond, as he was stabbed by two clones before he could do so. For what he felt to be three entire days, the Jonin was repeatedly skewered all over his body. Every time it seemed as though Itachi had run out of places to stab, his wounds healed just enough to be usable.
After seventy-two hours of torture, the dark red world of anguish cracked and broke. Suddenly back in the town square, Kakashi found that he was down on his knees at Itachi's feet. From what he could tell, despite the horrific length of the cruel illusion, practically no time at all had passed in reality. Guy and Kisame were still battling several meters away, Kurenai was still unconscious, and Asuma was still looking badly crippled by what Kakashi could only assume was a similar experience.
Glaring up at Itachi, Kakashi saw something strange. The rogue was staring straight ahead, his eyes transfixed on something. Mustering what little strength he could, Kakashi managed to turn around enough to look behind him. What he saw froze the blood in his veins.
The worst case scenario had reared its ugly head.
Naruto's day had started excellently.
Having been whisked back to the Uchiha sector the previous night by Satsuki, he had been awoken in his teammate's bed. A positive thing. He had been awoken with the raven-haired girl latched onto his back tightly. Another positive, rather humorous thing. They had eaten a cheap breakfast of cereal. Once again, a positive thing. His morning had been relaxed and comfortable. As such, when they had left the neighborhood with the intention of rounding up the rest of their cell, both Naruto and Satsuki had been in good spirits. In turn, as they stepped into the town square after having heard a commotion from across the village, Naruto was reminded of an old saying he had once been told.
The higher the peak, the harsher the fall.
Truth be told, he had not expected to ever meet Itachi Uchiha. A small part of him had even wondered if the man was still alive at all. Seven years as a rogue shinobi was a perilous stretch of time, even for those of great strength. Bounty hunters, unpredictable weather, and international authorities were all threats. For Satsuki's elder brother to have survived such a climate for the majority of a decade had almost sounded foolhardy to the blonde. Now, standing less than one hundred feet from him, he understood why Satsuki had been so adamant that he had survived.
The scene was grim, and they had clearly missed plenty. Kakashi was down on his knees, Kurenai was limp on the ground, and Asuma looked completely stuck on his own knees. The only ally of Konoha in the premises who was not down for the count was Might Guy, who himself was visibly damaged from what appeared to be a long-running duel with a large man wielding a wrapped sword. Most striking of all was Itachi himself, and where he was standing.
He was bearing down over Kakashi like a father would a disobedient child, and the other two defeated Jonin were down on his right and left. If the positioning of all those present was any indication, Itachi had beaten them all at once. No time was afforded to either the blonde or his teammate, as the elder Uchiha's eyes dragged up from Kakashi and rested on them. His pupils were red, with three distinct tomoe encircling them. A set of fully-matured sharingan.
In the face, while they were not identical, Naruto could clearly see the family resemblance between the brother and sister. Their eyes were similarly shaped, their cheekbones were identical, and their mouths rested in the same position. The differences were predictable. Itachi's jaw was sharper, his face longer, and he was much taller than his sister. From a distance, he appeared to stand nearly six feet in height.
Pushing the comparisons aside, Naruto nervously glanced at Satsuki, whose eyes were wide as saucers. Her hand, which had been clasping his, slowly slipped from his grasp. With a shaky step forward, the girl's entire body began to tremble. Naruto reached out and gripped her shoulder, but he was shaken off.
"Look at you. All grown up." Itachi projected, his voice surprisingly soft and reserved. For what felt like an eternity, the siblings stared at one another without a single word more. Then, when the pressure felt as though it might crush them all, Satsuki bared her teeth.
"I've been counting down the days." she croaked, her voice hoarse and brittle. A step forward followed. She was emanating a haze of raw contempt that caused Naruto to shudder down to his bones.
"I've broken my back over and over again, all for this. To find you again one day." she continued, her tone regaining its life as audible anger poured into it. She then began to weave hand signs.
"And I swore to myself that when I found you…" she hissed as electricity began to crackle in her right palm. Naruto backed up a step as her chakra sparked and flared in all directions.
"...I'd rip your heart out of your chest!" she screamed in a frenzied rage. She then blasted across the town square, her right arm completely encased in volatile electrical chakra. Naruto felt a panic rise in the pit of his stomach as his teammate streaked in toward her brother. No matter how enraged she was, the chances of her being able to overcome somebody who had bested Kakashi in combat were utterly nonexistent.
Predictably, his fears were realized, but the damage that followed would cut far beneath the skin.
Satsuki saw nothing but red as she tore across the asphalt toward her brother. There was not a thought in her brain currently that didn't involve the brutal murder of Itachi Uchiha. Recent months had mellowed her, and brought her joy. At times, she had even managed to forget about her conviction of revenge for short stints. It never lasted. Left to herself, her brother still dominated her subconscious. It was an accomplishment, in some small way, that she had managed to relegate his influence over her to a corner of her mind that she was capable of ignoring, but the anger had never left her.
Mother. Dead.
Father. Dead.
Shisui. Dead
Dozens of uncles and aunts. Dead.
They had all been taken from her by one man, and at long last, he stood before her. Her own flesh and blood, at one point her favorite person. Itachi was within spitting distance, and she would not allow the opportunity to slip through her fingers. The closer she drew to him, the angrier she became. He was the same. Small details had changed, he had certainly grown, but his facial expression mirrored the same cold apathy he had displayed all those years ago.
As she came barreling in, Itachi kicked Kakashi aside. He was clearing the path for her. An open challenge to do her worst. A beat later, the collision came. Satsuki had not known what exactly to expect. She hadn't thought far enough ahead to consider the possible outcomes of such a direct assault on her brother. One thing was for certain, though. No amount of self-awareness could have prepared her for the ease with which Itachi stopped her dead in her tracks.
Without even bothering to adjust his feet or back up a step, her brother caught her wrist a few inches from his chest. The interception halted her completely. She could not push through his grip. As the dust cloud she had kicked up faded away, Satsuki clenched her jaw as Itachi glowered down at her. So close to him, with their eyes locked, the younger of the two siblings saw the truth. There was a massive, insurmountable chasm between them. Even while clearly not trying particularly hard, Itachi was beyond her by orders of magnitude.
"Have you already forgotten what I told you, Satsuki?" her brother asked, pulling her wrist out to her side despite her efforts to stop him. The girl was unable to speak. Too many emotions were running wild within her. Sensing this, Itachi seized her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
"You don't have the same eyes. Growth or no growth, you don't have a prayer without them." he said, applying more pressure to Satsuki's windpipe. Choking and struggling, the genin was completely trapped. Even while floundering, she could still see his eyes. They had changed. No longer were they a set of mature sharingan. The tomoe had fused and twisted into a pinwheel-esque design. She had seen them only two other times.
"I almost believed for a moment that you'd done it. That scream was convincing. You certainly do hate me." Itachi said, reeling her in toward him with her arm.
"But not enough. You're still too weak." he sneered. Satsuki's stomach and chest burned with hot fury, but she could do nothing. Her jutsu had fizzled out some time ago, and his grip was iron. She was utterly helpless. Itachi then brought his forehead to hers.
"And at the rate you're going…" he began, clamping down on her wrist and breaking the bone in two.
"...you always will be." he concluded as his sister screamed out in pain. As her arm seared with pain, and her world grew fuzzy from the choking, she met Itachi's eyes one last time. It proved to be a mistake, as when she did so, she was completely swallowed by an illusion of her brother's creation. The genjutsu rendered her completely unconscious in an instant.
With Satsuki dealt with in short order, Itachi tossed his sister's limp body back toward Naruto, who was looking on in petrified horror. The blonde was at her side in no time at all. A quick check of her vitals revealed that she was thankfully still breathing, though her heartbeat was erratic and she was sweating profusely. Standing up and stepping in front of her, Naruto swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and assumed a shaky stance. Itachi gave him a bored look.
"Come on, you're smarter than that." he said. It was a pointless fight to pursue, and Naruto knew it. Every fiber of his body screamed for him to run. He was hopelessly outmatched, and he was already hesitant and afraid. Even at his most violently angry, he would be crushed like an insect. He simply saw no other viable options. Retreat was unrealistic. Diversion even more so. In Naruto's first and so far only stroke of luck that day, he was not forced down the road of confrontation.
Just as he took his first ill-advised step toward the rogue Uchiha, the roofs of the buildings rimming the town square all went up in smoke, and when the clouds cleared away, a dozen or so Jonin were revealed. Reinforcements had arrived, if a bit late. Itachi frowned and took a cursory look around. He then cleared his throat.
"That's our cue to leave, Kisame-san." he called out to the swordsman. Kisame, who was still fiercely battling Guy, grumbled something under his breath and knocked the flamboyant Jonin away with the flat of his blade. He then rejoined Itachi in the center of the town square. Before Naruto or any of the other Shinobi present could act, the pair vanished in a flurry of illusory crows. When it all faded away, there was an empty space where the two rogues had once stood.
They had escaped unscathed, and they had left several broken bodies in their wake. Kakashi was still laying on the ground despite clearly being conscious, as was Asuma. Kurenai was still knocked out entirely. Guy was the only remaining member of what Naruto could assume was the original group that had been resisting Itachi and Kisame, and even he looked worse for wear. Shaking himself from his dazed stupor, Naruto turned around, knelt, and cradled Satsuki's head. She had yet to stir.
Naruto did not register much of what occurred around him over the following several minutes. Orders were barked in all directions, civilians in nearby buildings were escorted out of the area, and medical staff began to arrive. Broad outline notwithstanding, Naruto's entire focus was on his fallen teammate. She was physically fine. Her injuries were minor. What worried him far more, and presciently so, was the inevitable impact the day would have on her mind.
To encounter the object of her morbid obsession so suddenly and without warning would have been traumatic on its own, but to have been so badly beaten in short order on top of it was bound to increase the damage exponentially. His silent concern was interrupted when several medical Ninja descended down from the roof to tend to her. Though he disliked it, Naruto preemptively stepped back and allowed them to do their job.
"She's in shock. From what, I'm not sure, but she needs to be stabilized." one of the medics said, to which the others concurred. Naruto looked on, sick with worry. Before his feelings could overcome his logic, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw that Kakashi had recovered enough to stand and walk.
"She'll be fine." he assured him. Saying nothing, Naruto merely nodded. Though it took longer than the Jinchuuriki's nerves would have preferred, Satsuki finally began to shift and move just under five minutes later. Just as relief began to set in for both Naruto and Kakashi, any peace of mind they had managed to dredge up was shattered.
As she awoke, Satsuki's eyes snapped open with a bloody scream.
Hiruzen stared at the wooden surface of his desk as he contemplated the chaotic fruit the day had borne. The damage was insignificant on a general scale. Nobody had been killed, and the injuries sustained by Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma had been perfectly treatable. Even Satsuki, who had far and away come out the most badly hurt of the group, was almost fully healthy. Physically, that was.
It had taken four Jonin to restrain the poor girl upon her awakening, and three more to escort her to the hospital for further treatment and rest. She had been dragged off kicking and screaming. Whatever Itachi had put her through, it had badly splintered her young mind. Reports had come back several hours ago that she had calmed somewhat, but had become unresponsive to staff. In other words, she had swung from one end of the spectrum to the other. Both extremes were less than ideal.
Naruto had been another issue. Keeping him out of her hospital wing had been difficult, and it wasn't until Kakashi had come to retrieve him personally that he had conceded to leave at all.
'"Siamese twins, the pair of them." he muttered, sifting through the contents of a document he had been working his way through for several minutes. The paperwork never ended, not even in the midst of a miniature crisis. It was aggravating in the extreme. Petty complaints, insignificant budgetary requests, and field reports of no importance. It was all so trivial, and yet it had to be done. Caving to his frustration for the first time in many months, Hiruzen crumpled up the document and tossed it aside.
"Even the most patient of men have a limit, I suppose."
Hiruzen's eyes drifted over to the leftmost corner of his office, which was partially illuminated by the moonlight streaming through his open window. He had very much expected company, and he now had it. Standing in the shadow of a filing cabinet with eyes glowing red was Itachi. His arrival in Konoha several hours prior had been an eventuality, and logic had dictated that he was there for more than commotion.
"You haven't exactly made my day easy, boy." he said sternly, adjusting his robes and sitting up straight.
"Now, I'd like to know why you're here. And while you're at it, step out into the light." he ordered. Itachi made no move to comply, remaining motionless against the wall.
"You know why." he said. Hiruzen's mood was already foul to begin with, and Itachi's insistence on enforcing an air of ambiguity was pushing his limit. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the Hokage relaxed. Indeed, the Uchiha's priorities had never been a mystery to those who truly knew him, and they had become even narrower since his exile.
"She's safe and protected. Nothing has changed." he said firmly. Itachi shifted in place, but remained within the darkness of the shadow.
"But for how much longer? I did everything I could to make my visit as predictable as possible, and you still didn't catch on until I was knocking at the border. You're slowing down." he replied. Hiruzen disliked being pressured. He viewed it as a sign of utmost disrespect. No matter how it needled him, he could not deny how true the Uchiha's were.
"If you're questioning my ability to keep Danzo in check, you needn't worry. I have him under constant surveillance." he said. Itachi folded his arms across the front of his black and red cloak.
"You know as well as I do that keeping an eye on him isn't enough. You have to cut him off at the pass. He'll always have another scheme." he insisted. Hiruzen pursed his lips.
"I'm aware of that. I've taken precautions to limit his choices. I've done everything possible to keep him as far away from Satsuki as can be done." he assured the Uchiha. If any of what he said quelled Itachi, the rogue did not show it on his face.
"The last time you assumed he was all tied up, he built his own personal army under your nose. You're complacent." he said. Hiruzen scowled, but contained himself.
"What exactly do you expect me to do? I'm not blind to my age. I've been feeling my body fall apart for years now. But the fact remains that I can't simply appoint somebody without an emergency calling for it. There would need to be an election, and Danzo has a devoted following." he argued. Itachi then finally stepped out of the shadow, allowing the moon to reveal him in full.
"You aren't dying yet. You still have the time to build up somebody new to take your place. You're a skilled communicator. Your people love you. Even I still respect you. Election or not, you can stack the deck. Don't act like you haven't played a bit dirty before." he countered smoothly. Though his pride urged him to argue, the old man relented with a sigh.
"I've already picked someone out, actually. I haven't done much in the way of advertising, because I'm not convinced he actually wants the position, but I'm not without foresight." he admitted. Itachi remained silent for a moment.
"I'd appreciate it if you picked up the pace. Ample time or not, there's plenty that could go wrong." he said a touch less bluntly. The Hokage folded his hands.
"I'll do my best. But do stay away during that time. You caused quite the uproar today." he said. The rogue Uchiha stepped toward the desk.
"You should know, even when I'm a thousand miles away, I'm never in the dark." Itachi said. The sound of rustling then caused Hiruzen to flinch. Turning his head slowly, he saw that a crow had landed on his vacant windowsill. Its eyes bore a red tint and tomoe.
"Take too long, or grow too lenient, and I'll solve this problem my way."
Hiruzen returned his attention to where Itachi had been standing, but found that he was gone. Shaking his head, Hiruzen reached into the pocket of his robe and produced his pipe. He then lit it.
'Not even eighty, and people are already writing my obituary.'
A/N: Sooo yeah, this chapter moved very quickly, and a bunch of shit happened. I felt like trying to spread this event out over multiple updates would be really clunky, so I decided to just hit all the important bits.
So, if it was unclear, the perspective switches from Satsuki back to Naruto mid-scene after Satsuki gets knocked out. Splitting the scene up would have just jumbled things, so I hope the transition was easy to follow.
And yes, Itachi *basically* just told Hiruzen to hurry up and step down as Hokage.
Last chapter got basically nothing in the way of feedback, so I'd appreciate it if you'd all let me know if you're still into this. One arc left, but I'm hoping I've still got my audience.
Either way, tell me what you thought in a review. Lots to digest in this one. I really hope this one was coherent
(ALSO, THIS WAS *MEANT* TO COME OUT YESTERDAY, BUT MY INTERNET DIED)
I love you all
Read and Review!
