Author's Note: Thankies to those who reviewed, all one of you (Anionbde!), and here's the last chapter of my story. Sit back and enjoy as Naruto demolishes three more ninja five times his age and experience with nothing more than some stolen supplies and little bit of ordinary junk. I firmly maintain that he so could have done this at this age is the anime, I mean there had to be some villagers who took their anger too far, and he must have had to defend himself at least once or twice. Yeah I know I made the little ninja pouches out not to hold as much as they do in the anime, but come on, those things are tiny, there's no way they fit nearly as many things as people pull out of them.

Chapter 5: Endgame

Darkness shrouded the alley and everything in it. That was why Naruto had picked it really, but as he surveyed it he really was quite impressed with how well it hid his trap. The walls were barely discernible, all you could really see standing at the mouth of it was a swath of the ground, littered with junk, and the far wall, where a fire escape led up to the roof of the building that closed off this street, making it a dead end. Going back to the six fallen ANBU, ninja wire had been easy to find, and he already had plenty of kunai and paper bombs. He hadn't had to search long for the alley, and as he stood, halfway between the mouth and the back wall, looking out onto the adjacent street, he had time to stop and consider the ethics of what he was about to do.

He really didn't know who would show up first. He was hoping for the three that had attacked him originally, but if it were Tsubaki or Itachi he had decided his plan wouldn't change. He was still going to go through with this trap, no matter who he would be catching in it. However, that presented a slight problem; a qualm in his conscience. Should he be doing this? Was it right to be luring people, humans reminded himself, into a trap like this? The two traps he had already sprung had been self defense, but this one was planned ahead of time, without the immediate threat of someone chasing him. He knew none of his tormentors would hesitate to do it, but he wasn't them. Besides, there was also the matter of whether or not they really deserved this. He didn't really deserve his current situation either, but that didn't mean that all the ANBU in the area were so at fault that they deserved to die. The original three had attacked him once and threatened to kill him, and Tsubaki was the one that had brought him here, but Itachi had yet to attack or threaten him. True he hadn't seemed overly concerned with the fact that his companions were about to hunt and kill a child, but of all the ANBU Itachi was the only one who had never threatened him. What if he came? Should Naruto really spring a trap that might well kill him? Could he?

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear it of doubts. He needed to do this. If he just walked blindly toward the setting moon he was almost sure to be attacked again, and maybe next time he wouldn't be so lucky. He had to take out as many threats as he could. He couldn't just walk around hoping to stay out of their paths, that plan had almost gotten him killed three times now. He wrapped a paper bomb around the hilt of a kunai, then threw it up into the air. It exploded high above him, forcing his eyes back to the mouth of the alley as he waited for someone to come. Only those interested in killing him would answer a signal like that, he told himself. It was a challenge. The three ninja from before would be the ones to answer it.

"Whatcha lookin' at, little brat," came a voice from behind him. Naruto spun around and swore under his breath. He might have guessed they would come behind him, between him and the trigger for his trap. It was the three from before, the blond and her two friends that looked like Shikamaru and Choji. They stood between him and the fire escape, and his eyes darted about frantically, looking for a way past them.

The blond laughed. "Who would have thought after all this time nobody else has found him!" Her eyes glinted in the dark as she fixed him with a malicious stare. "Hello again demon brat, we've been looking everywhere for you."

Naruto grabbed as many shuriken as he could hold in both his hands, maybe a dozen in all, and hurled them at his opponents. Most of them flew off in random directions, missing their targets entirely, and the rest were blocked by the Shikamaru lookalike's kunai.

"How pathetic," he snickered, "the little brat can't even throw shuriken properly. It's a wonder he's survived this long."

"Shall we put him out of his misery?" the blond simpered, laughing lightly into her hand. Both her companions laughed as well, and Naruto saw dark ponytail's hand coming together, no doubt to form the same hand sign as earlier.

Not about to stay still and be caught again, Naruto took off running, aiming for the space to the left of the ninja who resembled Choji, ignoring the cries of "Get him!" as he made a mad dash for the fire escape. As he ran he pulled out three kunai, leaving only two in the pouch now, and hurled them at his three attackers. Obviously none of them hit their targets, since he didn't see them as he was blocked by an enormous hand and turned to find himself cornered against the left wall of the alley.

"You're quick," joked the blond, looking sour, "but you're getting on my nerves. You've wasted too much of my night already. Cho, crush him!"

The giant hand reached up, looming over Naruto as he stared up at it. He shoved his hand into the pouch and pulled out the rest of the shuriken, hurling them upward. Thankfully this target was too big to miss, and again the hand was pulled back, the injured ANBU growling in pain.

"Weakling!" shrieked the blond, "He's only a child! Get him! Stop him! Crush him!"

Taking advantage of her hysterics Naruto darted again for the fire escape. His feet pounded the packed earth of the street as he heard a kunai whistle by right next to his ear. Suddenly his foot caught a pile of old kitchen appliances and he went sprawling.

"Shika!" the blond cried, "Get him, now! Stop him!"

Naruto leaped to his feet, narrowly avoiding the shadow that was cast his way. He could almost sense it coming along behind him as he ran, but before it could reach him he leaped up onto the ladder to the first landing. He scrambled up and sprang to the next ladder.

"You idiots!" screamed the blond, furious now, stamping her foot, "This is not hard! He's just one little brat now GET HIM!"

"Shut up Ino!" barked the chubby one, still nursing his bleeding hand, "you're not doing a damn thing!"

"Fine!" she snapped, "I'll do it myself!"

She turned, to find Naruto now on the uppermost fire escape landing, looking down on them with a single kunai in one hand. "What do you think you're doing up there, you filthy little insect!"

"Winning," said Naruto simply. Then he reached out and cut the piece of ninja wire strung out over the alley.

Of course, this triggered the fifty-some paper bombs he'd stuck to the walls to all go off at once.

The explosion was deafening. A great boom and roar filled Naruto's ears as the two walls on either side of the dead end street collapsed, filling it with a few feet of debris at the shallowest point. Naruto was thrown clear backwards, a few bits of rubble and stone marring his skin as he landed on the rooftop, rolled a few feet, and then came to a stop, panting, on his stomach.

When the sounds of deconstruction left the air Naruto lifted his head, looking at the edge of the rooftop. Miraculously enough it was still intact, but the two buildings behind it to either side were practically nonexistent. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the thought that he might have used too many paper bombs.

"Do you suppose you overdid it a bit, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto practically flipped over in his haste to look behind himself. What he saw, of all the things he'd seen tonight, made him want to cry the most of all. He was crouching on the ground, his limbs out behind himself supporting him on the cold rooftop. He was bleeding from several cuts, singed from all the explosions, his feet were wet and bare since he hadn't retrieved his shoes, and he was utterly exhausted. He reached into the pouch at his hip, to find a single, solitary kunai, which he none the less held out defensively in front of himself, his eyes wide and watery as he took in the sight before him.

Itachi Uchiha was standing on the rooftop, looking perfectly awake, alert, in perfect health and, if the katana sheathed on his back was any indication, well armed.

He began to walk toward Naruto, his long hair fluttering in the slight wind. Like the pale-eyed ANBU he was unhurried, walking calmly and leisurely forward as though he weren't at all concerned with his destination. Naruto scrambled backwards on his hands, forgetting the kunai for a moment and simply dragging it along the ground as he shuffled backwards, but when he hit the edge of the roof he stopped and put his only weapon out in front of himself again. He pressed his lips together, whimpering softly as he fought the urge to scream out loud. It wasn't fair! He'd come this far, defeated nine ANBU out of eleven, only to be caught, unawares and without weapons or strength left to fight, by the deadliest of them all. Itachi crouched in front of him and he turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut tight so as not to let the tears spill out.

Itachi gripped Naruto's chin, turning his head to the other side. Naruto's eyes sprang open as he realized the tag was now exposed to Itachi. Would he tear it out? Was that why he'd come? Naruto gritted his teeth, waiting for the pain as the tag was torn from his ear. He felt the cold hands on his earlobe, grasping the fishhook. Suddenly there was a small snap, and Naruto saw the point of the hook, with its two sharp points that stuck out in the opposite direction, making an arrow, fly past him and clink against the hard rooftop. It occurred to him that even if he had pulled it out the way it had gone in, he still would have poked himself with the two opposite ends. Now as Itachi worked the hook from his earlobe the only pain he felt was the seal of dried blood being broken, sending fresh drops down onto his shoulder.

Itachi pocketed the tag. "Hold still," he said simply, as he reached behind himself and pulled out, seemingly from nowhere, a first aid kit.

Naruto blinked, confused.

Itachi placed a cotton ball at the mouth of a bottle of rubbing alcohol, then upended it for a second, letting the disinfectant soak the cotton before righting the bottle and bringing the now drenched bit of fluff to Naruto's ear. Naruto didn't dare move as Itachi cleaned off the dried blood, merely wincing at the sting but not letting his head move in the slightest. Before the blood could start flowing again Itachi pulled out two compresses and placed them on either side of Naruto's earlobe.

"Why are you . . . helping me?" Naruto asked tentatively as Itachi fished around in the first aid box again and came up with what looked like a large metal clip.

The ANBU didn't answer for a moment, instead pulling apart the piece of metal and placing it over Naruto's ear, firmly clipping the two bandages in place. Then he stilled, looking down at the boy in front of him.

"I have a younger brother your age," he said at last.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, not sure how to respond, "I've met him."

Itachi looked at Naruto for another long moment, his eyes totally unreadable. "Let's just say he's given me something of a soft spot for little kids," he explained simply. "Besides, you remind me of him, a little. You're a survivor, and I like to think he is too."

A thought struck Naruto. "Have you been . . . have you been watching, this whole time?" he asked.

One corner of Itachi's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "Yes, I've been watching you, Naruto-kun." His smile grew a fraction of an inch when Naruto's eyes widened. "I was surprised," he told the child, "you didn't need my help once."

"You . . . you would've helped me?" asked Naruto, his voice and eyes full of wonder.

Itachi let out a small, sharp exhalation that might, might, have been a slight laugh. "Yes, I would have," he replied, "but you didn't need it. You dealt with your situation admirably. You were able to quickly assess and deal with each new threat as it came. You kept a clear head through situations that would have had most people panicking, and indeed thrived in them. You set sophisticated, well planned traps that caught nine ANBU level ninja, and you were able to tell enemies from allies very well, all while under severe stress. That's jonin level stuff, you know."

He placed his hand atop Naruto's head, threading his fingers through the yellow hair. "I'm impressed."

Naruto looked up at him in complete wonder and amazement. Never in his life had anybody said anything like that to him. He opened his mouth to say thank you, but somehow the words just stuck in his throat.

Suddenly Itachi's ever-so-slight smile vanished as his face twisted into a sour expression. For a moment Naruto's heart leaped into his throat, terrified that he'd offended his savior, but then Itachi spoke, looking at him but not speaking to him, in a hard, cold voice.

"You on the other hand," he hissed, on his feet before Naruto had realized he'd moved, his sword stuck straight through the heart of the woman before him, "I have no sympathy for whatsoever."

Tsubaki, who unbeknownst to Naruto had come up beside them as they spoke, gave Itachi a startled, hurt look as she was leaned backwards over the edge of the rooftop. Itachi spoke again, his sword slowly sliding out of Tsubaki's chest. "It takes 15-20 seconds for a person to die after their heart has been damaged," he recited, "and since that time's almost up, let me take this opportunity to say that I hope you rot in hell."

Tsubaki fell backwards as though in slow motion. Naruto's thoughts raced as he watched her fall, the night's events flashing before his eyes as he looked at her frightened, surprised face.

The blond, like Ino.

The dark ponytail, like Shikamaru.

The chubby one, like Choji.

The dog woman, like Kiba.

Pale-eyes, like Hinata.

And at last he realized it, the final similarity, gazing into her green eyes.

Tsubaki . . . like Sakura-chan.

Once Itachi's sword was freed Tsubaki fell quickly. Naruto heard the whistling of the wind as she fell, and then the sickening crunch of bones cracking as she hit the piles of debris bellow. Naruto bent his head, shuddering.

"This is a truly terrible thing for you to go through," Itachi said, coming to kneel in front of Naruto again, "a truly terrible thing for you to have to witness."

His hand in Naruto's hair pulled Naruto's face up, his eyes meeting Itachi's sharingan red ones. "Which is why you probably shouldn't remember it," he finished, just before Naruto blacked out.

Leaving Tsubaki's body, as well as the rest of the now dead ANBU, in the old abandoned compound, Itachi carried Naruto back to the village. Along the way he met Akamaru, and saw him safely home as well. After locating the boy's apartment he let himself in and placed the sleeping child in bed, then retrieved the money Naruto had taken from the Hyuuga. That went into a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, some fruit, a few vegetables and, after Itachi had inspected Naruto's cupboards to see what kind of food he liked, several cups of instant ramen. Obviously the store had not been open in the middle of the night, so Itachi had quietly broken in and left the correct amount on the counter for the owner to find in the morning. In a village full of ninja, that happened sometimes.

The food went in the kitchen and the remaining money went into Naruto's bedside table, another little surprise for him when he woke up.

Itachi sat on the bed, watching Naruto sleep for a moment. He watched the boy's chest rise and fall, his hands flung out on the pillow, his blue eyes hidden behind his eyelids, his wild yellow hair a mess, yet glowing oddly in the moonlight.

"He really does look like the Fourth Hokage." Itachi mused. And then, with that, he left.

Author's Note: Well this chapter was by far the longest. I hope you all liked, and I hope Itachi didn't turn out too OOC. He's hard to write. This is the most morbid story I've written, its full of pain and misery and almost everyone in it dies. Then again, almost everyone in it is evil, so . . . Anyway, I figured Itachi wouldn't want Naruto to remember a thing like that (and of course tell Sasuke that he's actually a nice guy) so I had him erase Naruto's memory (which we all know the sharingan in all its random unspecified power can do). Now then, I'm done with this piece of random insanity, and I do hope you enjoyed it.