Absolution

Chapter 1

13 Years Later…

Descending the stairs, Itachi saw a glimmer of dancing candlelight, and heard the repetitive thunks of weapons hitting targets. He let a small smile creep onto his lips.

The boy came into Itachi's sight, and he watched as the figure moved into the center of the room, and jump up, throwing weapons from each hand. His black, spiked hair bounced as he completed the motion.

There was a solid thunk as the five kunai hit their targets with an indisputable accuracy. Itachi gave him a slow round of applause.

Naruto jumped - Itachi knew as well as Naruto did the boy had heard him coming - gave Itachi a single wink, before sending a kunai over his shoulder and straight into the target at Itachi's side. The Uchiha didn't flinch.

"We all know you're far past basics like that."

He raised an eyebrow at Itachi, approaching the targets to pluck out each weapon, every one firmly planted dead-center.

"A solid foundation leads to excellence," said Naruto.

Itachi moved towards him, plucking the kunai from the target at his side.

"On your last day?"

Naruto shrugged, stretching, and wiping his brow. "Well. You know me. And I know you'd do the same if it came to it."

Itachi let a smile curl at the edge of his lips, and Naruto smiled back, his wide white grin revealing long canines and a sparkle in his eye.

"But for all that training," Itachi said coolly, "do you have anything to show?"

Naruto knew when Itachi was itching for a fight, and he let loose a confident laugh before he surged forward.

Itachi watched with a degree of fascination as Naruto's eyes bled into a sparkling amber, the whites of both turned black as tar. The Hoshokugan, a special bloodline that had been created only with a spark of the Great Tree's power, contained within the Kyuubi and passed down to Naruto. It was a doujutsu above all others, with the power to imitate even the Rinnegan.

Truly, it was a sight to behold.

"So you're using that?" Itachi smirked, pulling a kunai from his pouch and launching forward. "Then, I shall use mine."

Though, Itachi knew what a move like that would cost him. The moment his eyes bled into the Mangekyo, Naruto's too had shimmered away, gold coalescing into a deep red. The black came through just as fast, and Itachi found himself staring straight into a Mangekyo - the exact same pair that shone in his own eyes, only surrounded by black instead of white.

Naruto's expression was nothing less than triumphant.

Itachi knew a weapons fight was useless at this point. He launched forward his kunai, and Naruto threw one forward to meet and nullify the blade with a coarse clang.

The boy's gaze locked with his, and he cast a quick genjutsu, making it so Itachi was just a bit further to the left. Just as he cast it, he felt the air vibrate with the resonation of chakra as Naruto cast it aside easily. The boy rushed him, cutting underneath with a kick that Itachi saw easily and dodged. Itachi dived backwards, launching a flurry of shuriken at unparalleled speed.

At least, unparalleled by anyone but this boy. Naruto saw it, smirked, and countered them with his own, the clang like the chime of a bell as they both diverted to the sides and embedded themselves in the wooden walls. Naruto and Itachi stood on either side of the room.

"When are you going to get serious, Itachi?" Naruto said, spinning a kunai and leaning on his left leg. Itachi was unphased.

"Your weapons skills are as good as you say," he conceded. He reached into his cloak, and Naruto tensed, watching carefully as Itachi slowly brought out a sheathed blade, and uncovered the steel surface with a flick that sent the scabbard flying in a spin.

"But are they complete?"

"Heh. We'll see!"

Itachi rushed him, and Naruto quickly activated a shunshin, flickering to the weapons rack and pulling a tanto blade out just in time to block Itachi's incoming strike. His strength barely matched the man's, and their blades scraped against one another for one warring moment before Itachi jumped back and swiped at Naruto's side. The boy parried the hit easily, grinning and stepping forward.

The movement in space allowed Naruto to dominate the attacks, putting Itachi on the defensive as he sliced towards Itachi's left - a hit easily countered by the man, but twisted by Naruto in a movement that allowed him to cut and fray the material of Itachi's cloak on his shoulder, sword sliding over sword in an ear-splitting scream of metal.

Itachi jumped back, but tactically took the opening and slashed at Naruto's gut, leaving a gushing wound -

'No,' he thought. 'Genjutsu?'

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Over here," Naruto added helpfully, and Itachi whirled around, bringing down his tanto in a perfectly positioned arc-

"Sorry, Naruto-kun."

Itachi's body exploded.

The Uchiha came at him from behind, but Naruto landed from the explosion with the cushion of a quickly made shadow clone. His sword had flown to the other side of the room, but he met Itachi's jab at his chest with a strike of his palm to the flat edge of the blade that sent it rushing past. Itachi was sent unbalanced, forward, at Naruto's side.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

'There.'

He struck at the base of the blade with his kunai and Itachi's sword was sent spinning from his grip and skidding across the stone. He landed on the ground with a grace only he could have retained, and eyed Naruto with a small smile.

The boy lifted Itachi's tanto and pointed its tip at Itachi's sternum. His grin was devious.

"I win, Itachi-senpai!"

Itachi closed his eyes, conceding the victory to Naruto, and Naruto lowered the sword, dropped it, and smirked.

"Impressive," Itachi said. "Consider this little spar my farewell gift, then, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, and offered Itachi his hand. The man took it, stood up, and took his tanto from the floor.

'What an exceptional child,' Itachi thought absent-mindedly, ascending the stairs with his eyes locked on Naruto's back. 'With power like that… I can only hope he truly understands the risks and consequences of walking the path of shadows.'

"Naruto-kohaaaaai!"

"Deidara-senpaaaai!"

Itachi frowned.

'And that is something I very much doubt.'

Deidara sprinted forward to the boy and clutched him to his chest, the pair of them crying steady streams of tears.

"Oh, my Naruto-kohai," Deidara lamented, holding him to his chest. "There is no other loser in this entire organization that truly understands my art! Will you write me?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Yes! And remember…" Deidara took a deep breath, tears rolling down his cheeks and in perfect unison with Naruto, pointed his index finger and cried out passionately:

"Art is an explosion!"

Hidan sighed, holding his head in his hands. Deidara stepped back, holding Naruto by both shoulders, and wiped his tears.

"Don't forget to practice your sculptures."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically, revealing a sly grin.

"And I have one last thing for you, my faithful student," Deidara continued, reaching inside of his cloak and pulling out a scroll.

Naruto went to unwind it when Deidara grabbed his hand and shook his head.

"Don't open it here," he said. "It's an industrial size load of clay. Open it when you get to Konoha."

Naruto nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "T-Thank you, Deidara-senpai."

"Oi, twerp," Hidan called out. "I got something for you."

As Naruto came over, pulling himself carefully from Deidara's desperate grip, Hidan pulled out a knife from his cloak. It was strangely bent, and Naruto took it carefully, turning it side to side to examine it.

"A sacrificial knife," Hidan said, grinning. "If you don't find a use for it, I will, so make sure you send some bodies over of something. Some Konoha idiots you don't like. I'm sure you'll find someone."

Naruto smiled, and looked at Hidan gratefully. "Thanks."

"Don't go expecting this all the time. It's just because you're leaving, kid."

He smirked.

"Got it."

"Here."

Naruto turned around quickly to see Sasori with a hand outstretched. In his palm was a small vial.

"Poison," he said. "There is no antidote. So don't go spilling it."

Naruto took it with a nod, tucking it into his belt.

"If our contact should fail," Sasori said, "Reach to me through the night-shift bartender at the Servant's Cloth."

Naruto nodded again.

"My resources are at your disposal. I'm sure you understand how it works, so don't fuck things up, or I'll have your other arm. Got it?"

Naruto grinned. "Understood, Master Sasori."

The exchange was interrupted by Kisame smacking into Naruto's back with the force of a freight train. Naruto coughed at the impact, and the man laughed. "Break a leg, kid."

Naruto rubbed his chest, catching his breath after choking at the impact.

"I'll make sure to."

"Gaki," Kakuzu said gruffly. He was hardly the most cuddly of the Akatsuki, but Naruto felt a certain softness in the way he spoke to him.

"Kakuzu," Naruto greeted. The man reached in his coat and drew out a blank sheet of paper.

"I've got something for you too," he admitted. "But not here. Give this to a guy on 23 Yomiyama street. He'll be waiting for you."

Naruto nodded. "Thanks."

Kakuzu grunted in affirmation.

Pein and Konan entered from a side entrance, and the room quietened at their presence.

"Leader," Naruto said, bowing slightly in respect.

The man approached, each footstep echoing loudly, and he motioned to Zetsu, in the corner, with a come hither motion.

"Since you will be remaining in Akatsuki," he said, "we have a gift."

Naruto waited patiently, as Pein turned to Zetsu and nodded. The monochrome man's white half melted away, gloopily forming into what appeared to be an arm. Getting the message, Naruto detached the puppet arm in place of his missing one on his left, and allowed the white clay-like substance to attach itself.

Naruto frowned.

"Zetsu, you've given me two right hands."

A giggle sounded, before Naruto watched as the hand reformed. He quickly looked back up to meet Pein's gaze.

"Zetsu will be your communication with Akatsuki," he said. "He can relay information to Black Zetsu telepathically."

Naruto looked down at his new arm, twisting it experimentally.

"Pain is a powerful thing, Naruto," said the leader of Akatsuki. "It provokes fear and even understanding. It can be a tool for great change, or great destruction. Both are necessary to bring peace to this world. I trust you understand this."

Naruto nodded, his grin dropped in favor of a more solemn expression.

"I do, leader."

"Good. Based on your attire, I infer you are ready to make the journey?"

"Ready as can be." Naruto said confidently. He allowed his Hoshokugan to blossom again, the amber irises glowing ominously as the whites of his eyes bled to a black dark as tar. Then, there was a sound like shattering glass, and they twisted, the gold turning to red, and his eyes forming a perfect mirror of Obito's Sharingan.

Before him, the world twisted as a rend in space blossomed. Through it, he could see blue skies, and through a narrow alleyway into a street of Konoha.

He looked back once at his family, sending them all a smile, before he confidently took a step through the portal, and allowed it to close neatly behind him.

With a grin, the boy stepped into the crowd, and was lost among a sea of people.

Untraceable, undetectable, unpredictable.

Konoha wouldn't know what hit it.

The day began uneventfully for a certain Uchiha Sasuke. Not as in nothing happened, but simply nothing of note.

His fangirls pestered him on the way in, which for the most part just involved him pretending he didn't have eardrums and walking with his eyes facing directly forward. Making eye contact just gave them false hope.

He was relatively early too, so he sat in his usual spot near the window without too much of an issue, and proceeded to analyse the surroundings quietly over the bridge of his fingers.

Nothing of note, as mentioned.

Until he walked in.

'He' was a kid with dark hair, an infuriating smirk, and an aura of strength about him. His clothes were dark, with a utility belt lined with a couple scrolls, a vial, and a pouch. It was all accentuated by dark pants with a black vest top. He wore black leather gloves a fair way up his forearms, lined with buckles and fastenings, and around his neck hung a black and red necklace.

And although the kid was weird looking - really, he was - the weirdest part about whole affair was when the kid sat down a row in front of him, and despite all the other students filtering in, and surely seeing this bizarre new kid, nobody seemed to notice.

That could have been coincidence, Sasuke reasoned, but as the lessons began and Iruka came in, the boy didn't just sit in his seat; he reclined, looking relaxed and completely uninterested. The boy stared out the window half the time, too, and more and more as time went on he wondered just who the hell this person was and why was no-one else even slightly concerned?

Things came to a boil when Iruka spoke midway through third lesson.

"This is the final shuriken exam we will have before graduation," he said. "Make your best efforts, everyone."

Sasuke grinned. 'My specialty.'

As they went outside, in an orderly fashion, that boy walked with his hands in his pockets and a slouch in his stride. He didn't keep up with the group entirely, and no-one mentioned anything when he rejoined. Sasuke frowned.

The orderly queue worked alphabetically, so naturally Sasuke was at the back. He was behind him, and if it were not for pride, he would have turned around and grabbed the kid and asked him just who the hell he was.

Instead, Sasuke maintained pride and he remained silent.

When it got to his turn, Sasuke allowed a small smirk, and put on a grand show.

Every shuriken thrown directly hit the targets in the dead-on center; he even bounced a couple off each other to hit the targets he couldn't see, but those hit slightly off-center. That said, Sasuke knew it was no small feat, and predictably everyone cheered. His fangirls screeched, and even Iruka gave him a congratulations and a few encouraging words.

Sasuke allowed himself a small smile.

Then, it melted away.

The kid approached the center, several shuriken in each hand, and jumped. Sasuke watched in shock. This technique... an Uchiha shuriken technique - he'd only ever seen performed by his older brother. Even he had failed to master it.

But that was impossible. No, this had to be some sort of trick. There was just no way-

The shuriken bounced off each other with a synchronized clang, and fired towards the targets, each one embedding itself dead center.

Sasuke stared at them in shock.

Not a single other student reacted in the least. No student clapped or congratulated him, or even seemed mildly interested; they all merely continued talking amongst themselves, and Iruka recorded the perfect score without a moment's thought before they went back in.

Sasuke stood alone, still not comprehending what had just happened.

He ended up late for class, and vowed to confront this person - whoever the fuck he was - straight afterwards.

In his seat, Naruto smiled slyly. It had all gone, rather perfectly, according to plan. With a quick application of his genjutsu - Itachi's, actually, and he supposed he should thank him - he had been completely and utterly ignored by everyone. It functioned as an invisibility cloak, but simply by allowing him to blend in. It made him insignificant.

He'd maintained it perfectly on all the people in the classroom but one: Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto could feel the young Uchiha fuming behind him, his anger stewing quietly. It was a wrath that Naruto looked forward to encountering, if simply to humiliate the boy through his arrogance.

He couldn't stand those types. The arrogant, expectant ones who thought power would just be given to them on a silver platter. They made him sick. He thanked Kami that Itachi wasn't here to see what a disgrace his brother had become.

No matter. It was time to prove who truly deserved to carry on the Uchiha name.

The final lesson ended, and Naruto heard the screech of Sasuke's chair as he pushed it back. Naruto grinned, directing a quick genjutsu to the cloud of fangirls on the other side of the room to divert them from their 'discussion'.

Sasuke came up on Naruto's left with an attitude and a scowl.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke hissed, "and what are you doing in this class? I've never seen you before in my life."

'Oh, because it's really to do with that, Uchiha?' Naruto thought, sneering internally.

Naruto shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I was exchanged from Classroom 2B just today. The teachers have more details if you're really that interested."

With that, Naruto stood up, turning his jaw from Sasuke to signal to him that the discussion was over, and he could almost feel Sasuke's fists clenching as he raced to Naruto's back.

He pulled on Naruto's hand aggressively by the wrist, yanking the boy forward. Naruto turned towards him, feigning shock and indignance.

"Who taught you to throw shuriken like that?" Sasuke demanded, tightening his grip. "Those are Uchiha techniques."

Naruto suppressed a laugh and gave him an amiable smile.

"Really?" he said innocently. "What a coincidence. I taught myself them from some old scrolls. If you're interested, I could lend you them-"

He was quite abruptly grabbed by the collar and slammed against the window, and he had to resist the urge to kill Sasuke there and then.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Iruka, appearing abruptly, pulled Naruto from Sasuke's grip, separating them and giving Sasuke a sharp look. "Sasuke, you know better than to go around bullying other students," he reprimanded. "That's disappointing. Especially after you did so well today in the shuriken test."

"He did better than me," Sasuke bit out, "And I don't even know who he is!"

Iruka rolled his eyes. "Nonsense, Sasuke. Now please apologize."

Sasuke glowered at the man and Naruto. The other boy kept a perfectly calm expression, whereas Iruka raised an eyebrow, folded his arms and waited.

The Uchiha looked at the ground and forced the words out.

"I'm sorry," he bit out.

Naruto smiled kindly. "It's fine, Sasuke," he said gently. "I hope I didn't say anything to upset you."

Sasuke couldn't even bring himself to respond.

With Iruka pacified, Naruto walked away, and Sasuke watched with a barely-controlled degree of anger and shock as he blended into the crowd and disappeared.

Walking casually through the crowds, Naruto stepped into an alleyway and allowed himself an unrestrained bout of laughter. Oh, how embarrassing. It almost made him feel a bit sorry for the poor sod.

With a quick casting of genjutsu, Naruto undid his glove and brought the Zetsu arm to his face.

"Zetsu," he said, and the arm stirred, revealing a pair of eyes. "Let me speak to Pein."

An eye appeared on the back of the hand and blinked, before the arm spoke in a voice alien to the being; the smooth tenor of the Leader.

"How is the infiltration proceeding, Uzumaki?"

Naruto snorted. "Piece of cake. Konoha nin are either brain-dead or just don't care; no-one's noticed. Or," he grinned, "I could just be that good."

"Don't get complacent," Pein warned. "That aside, contact us if the situation changes."

"Got it."

The contact ended, and Naruto yawned, stretched, and decided, reaching for the white piece of paper in his pocket, to go have a look for 23 Yomiyama Street.

23 Yomiyama Street had been a far, far more exciting endeavour than Naruto could have guessed.

Waiting for him there, in the crook of a concealed alleyway, was a casual looking man, who - upon being handed the paper - nodded, and motioned for Naruto to follow him.

He was lead further down the street, until he reached the corner. Adjacent, Naruto noticed a large block of homes, and the walls surrounding them emblazoned with the Uchiha crest. And then, he was met with a very, very large home, just opposite.

For a moment, he stared, looking at the house and then back to the man.

"This is mine?" he asked again, and the man rolled his eyes.

"Yes. Now, is that all?"

Naruto nodded absent-mindedly, still entirely absorbed by the mansion, and the man sidled off in his peripheral vision.

"Opposite the Uchiha complex, huh?" Naruto whispered, a grin encroaching onto his features. He laughed.

"Kakuzu, you rat bastard!"

The house was spacious, to say the least, but one of the first - and best - things Naruto encountered was in the basement. Upon attempting to get into the basement, he found himself subject to an odd corridor of seals, and after a moment of them glowing ominously, the door opened. But pinned onto it, in Kakuzu's scrawl, was a note that read:

"Byakugan, Sharingan, and sensor proof. Along with sound, obviously. The place has basically got a fucking forcefield so you don't destroy the house with some stupid jutsu you're trying to invent. You're fucking welcome."

The bedroom was nice, and sparse, which made Naruto think Kakuzu had actually paid attention to Naruto's taste. The walls were lined with shelves, some filled with scrolls that looked interesting.

Naruto took off his belt, stretched, and left it on the double bed.

There were three bathrooms, one in the servant's quarters, another downstairs, and one upstairs. That and there was actually a servant's quarters, and several extra bedrooms varying in size and decor.

"I could house an entire clan in here." Naruto found himself muttering, as he took in the building.

There was also a nice garden, which Naruto had no idea how to maintain, but he supposed he could learn. The kitchen was lavish, with a ton of equipment Naruto had never seen - let alone knew how to use. He hoped that would come with time, and hopefully not fiery accidents.

Naruto had encountered last, a walk in closet relatively filled with boxes. He rolled his eyes, wondering whether they were just left by the previous tenants, when he opened them up and-

"Holy shit," he whispered, gaping shamelessly. "Money. It's all fucking money."

Naruto praised God, Kakuzu, and everything in between.

After taking in the home with a fair degree of awe and gratefulness, Naruto laid down on his bed, and wondered, somewhat devilishly, just how many sweaty nights he would spend on this bed.

Sleep came.

A/N: Be sure to leave a review. Don't forget, this will be a Konoha bashing story, so Naruto will be 'taking care' of some problems, and some certain people, in the future. ;) How he does though, you'll have to wait and see. As always, flamers will be ignored.

Lord Electric signing off. Ciao!