Chapter 6

Tsuki No Me

She had often wondered what she would do when she finally told Sasuke who she was, making up several, childish, fantasies over the years. There was one, she had imagined, when he was still in the village, where she would walk into the village and stand in front of him, grinning, and he would look at her, dumbstruck. He would run up to her and embrace her, like he did when they were kids.

In others, she would be smashing through Orochimaru's base, and drag him back to the village. She would explain to him the truth about Itachi and together they would bring him back from the Akatsuki, kill the elders, and live happily ever after.

This wasn't quite like any of them.

Rieka's legs felt numb, in fact, her whole body did. She tried to step forward, only to feel something hard beneath her. The world seemed to spin as her eyes were unable to comprehend anything. She patted what was beneath her, and realized that it was the ground. Had she fallen? Is this the price you using the demon's power? She wondered. She had never used it to this extent, so she had never known.

|Rieka| she heard Narume's voice in her head. |Get a hold of yourself, something's coming! And it's powerful|

It was no use though, she couldn't move. She saw blurs of black, blonde and pink in front of her. They were moving close to her at a rapid speed. Running, they were running. She couldn't seem to understand why.

The Uchiha felt a presence behind her. She tilted her head back, allowing her to look up. There was an orange swirl above her, and a hand was reaching to her. |Rieka| Akara yelled. |Move! You must move!|

But it was too late.

A single red eye glared at her as the hand lifted her.

Sasuke could only stare. He remembered now. Why she had looked so familiar to him. Why he had thought he had felt her chakra before. It all made sense now. His chest felt tight as emotions flooded him. First came anger; for those who had done this to her, to them. Anger towards those who had taken his sister from him and put her through such pain.

Next came frustration; for being so weak. He had been powerless against the jutsu they had used on him and his family. He had let them use him to hurt her. He clenched his fist as he remembered the look on her face all those years ago.

"Sasuke!" she called to him, tears streaming down her face. She ran to him and hugged him, wrapping her small arms around his neck. "Mom and dad … they–"

She stopped, unable to continue as she was crying too hard. Sasuke tried to move her away, but she wouldn't budge. Who was this girl? He wondered. "Who are you?" he asked.

She stopped sobbing, raising her head to look at him. "N-not you too …"

She stepped back. All light seemed to have disappeared from her eyes as she stared at him, broken.

Did she hate him?

He dared to hope that she didn't. That she still thought of him as her brother and, that after years of solitude, he might not have to be alone anymore. There might be someone beside him that he would be able to call family.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Sakura, who gasped loudly. Sasuke turned his head to look at her and followed her line of sight.

Why is he here? Sasuke thought.

An orange swirl had appeared above Rieka, and from it emerged a man. He wore a dark, high collared cloak with red clouds on it, boldly stating his status as a member of the Akatsuki. The orange swirl had become a mask, the swirl focusing around his red Sharingan eye.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he reached a hand towards Rieka. Sasuke's legs seemed to have a mind of their own as he found himself running towards her, Sakura and Naruto in tow. They were too late; however, as the Akatsuki leader grabbed hold of the girl. He stood her up, and wrapped his arm around her throat, holding her in place. She didn't seem to have the energy to struggle.

"Well, well," Madara called, his tone amused. "Who would have thought that Danzo would fall?"

Sasuke could see the Kage moving towards the man, the Raikage leading. He rushed forward, body cloaked in lightning natured chakra. He moved at incredibly fast speeds, but his target was un-phased. Sasuke understood why when he saw the Raikage pass straight through his side.

They all stopped, shocked.

"I am Uchiha Madara," he said. "I have something I want to explain to you all, and once you comprehend it, I want to pose a question."

The Raikage glared at him from behind, "What is it?"

"It is about my plan," Madara's eye glowed a brilliant red as he spoke. "Tsuki No Me."

The Raikage lunged forward, fist raised. It was futile, though, as he passed through him again. Rieka hung limp in his arms, like a doll. "Anything planned by the Akatsuki is going to be good. Who knows what you're up to?!"

Sasuke didn't give Madara time to reply as he brought out his Katana and ran at him. He brought it down, about to slice through him, when he turned. Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned slightly, missing and going past Madara.

The Kage seemed surprised by his movements. He was with the Akatsuki, so why was he attacking his leader.

"Now now, Sasuke," he taunted. "You wouldn't want to hurt your dear sister now would you?"

"Let her go!" the sixteen year old spat.

"Then listen to my explanation," was all he got I reply.

Sasuke glared at him, but put away his Katana. The Kages' eyes widened at the revelation, and he saw Naruto and Sakura with the same expression. But theirs wasn't because they found out she was his sister, it was because he seemed to already know she was his sister.

The Tsuchikage moved next to A, "Calm down Raikage. Let's hear him out and take it from there."

The man grunted to show his agreement.

Madara was silent for a minute, and then spoke. "Now then, are you all ready to listen?"

"It is quite shocking to learn that Madara Uchiha is still alive, but why would a man of your skill resort to such a roundabout method as gathering the tailed beasts?" the Tsuchikage asked. "Surely you have the strength to bring any plan to fruition."

"The injuries I sustained during the battle with the First Hokage Hashirama were too severe," Madara replied. "I have no strength in me now. You could say I am merely a shell of my old self."

"Is this a plan to restore yourself, then?" Gaara asked.

"Hmm, you could say that, but that's not all."

"What are you scheming?" the Mizukage narrowed her eyes. "Just what is this Project Tsuki no Me?!"

"I want to take me time talking to you," he said. "Perhaps we should talk inside."

"We're asking you what kind of a plan it is!" Kankuro growled.

Madara held up a single finger, "All shall become one with me, and result in a complete possession form that unites all."

Their eyes widened, shocked. The Tsuchikage and Raikage appeared to be the only calm ones. "Become one? Unite all? What do you mean?!"

Madara's eyes turned to them, narrowing as he continued speaking. "The Uchiha have an ancient stone tablet that has been passed down through generation. It still exists underground in the Hidden Leaf Village. Upon it are written secrets engraved by the Sage of Six Paths himself. It cannot be read unless you possess ocular powers. With the Sharingan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, and the Rinnegan. In that order, the contents become increasingly visible."

The Tsuchikage seemed un-phased by this revelation. "Your story is unlikely; the Sage of Six Paths doesn't–"

"It is the truth," he was interrupted by Madara. "He did exist and he left the stone tablet."

"Don't change the subject!" the Raikage yelled, leaping over him to stand with the other Kage. "What does your plan have to do with the Sage of Six Paths?!"

Do you know why he became a legendary figure and a godlike figure that is revered as a god of ninja?" his voice was calm. "There lies the link between my plan and this man."

The Mizukage stared at him, "Madara Uchiha, you possess the Mangekyo Sharingan and among the Akatsuki, there was one who possessed the Rinnegan. You know everything don't you?"

The Tsuchikage floated past Madara, standing with his Fellow Kage. "We're listening."

Madara watched them for a minute, smirking beneath his mask. "He once saved the world from a certain monster."

"Monster?" Gaara asked.

The man's eyes turned to the young Kazekage. "Gaara, you also had part of that monster sealed inside of you. That monster was the combination of every Tailed Beast in existence. Something that possessed the most powerful chakra. The Ten Tails."

'Wake up, girl' a voice spoke. She could feel the hatred hidden in her words, and she shivered. She looked around for the source of the voice, taking in her surroundings as she did. She was inside a large plain. Water was at her feet, seemingly endless as the walls of the room were nowhere in sight, neither was the ceiling. The walls were pitch black, the sealing a blinding white. In the center of the room, was a large bird. Its violet feathers glowed as it stared down at her.

'My name is Rieka' she said, meeting the eyes of the bird. One was black, the other white. When she was a child, she used to cower in fear under the demon's gaze. Now though, she was used to them. 'Not girl.'

The demon said nothing only glaring at the girl.

'What do you want?' Rieka asked impatiently. The two did not speak aloud, instead with their minds.

'If you keep going as you do, you will die' the demon's voice held a threat within it. One that Rieka had heard many times since she had arrived back in this dimension. 'Our power is not something that should be used so frequently. You will die if you don't watch yourself.'

Rieka raised an eyebrow, 'Is that all you summoned me here for?'

The demon made a noise, one familiar to a growl. 'Your body is currently in the hands of the enemy, the leader of the Akatsuki.'

Rieka already knew this, so she stated so. The demon ignored her, continuing in her melodic voice. 'Our lives are tied to your body, if you are killed, we will die too.'

'I know.' Rieka narrowed her eyes at the demons. 'That hasn't stopped you from trying to kill me many times before, has it?'

'I cannot kill you,' her voice was full of anger, feeling weak as she could not kill a single human girl. 'You know that. An outside source can, though. So beware.'

Rieka didn't understand what the demon was getting at, before she could ask though, the demon spread its wings, and flapped, causing a large gust of wind to hit Rieka. She didn't stumble, though, only watched as the demon flew upwards, her voice echoing.

'We are back within this world, so know, Rieka Uchiha, that I will find a way to break free of your body. And then, I will take my revenge on man.'

The Kage stared at Madara, their faces intense. Naruto and Sakura, who stood opposite Sasuke, were wide eyed, unbelieving of what they had heard.

"Aren't there only nine-tailed beasts?!" Temari yelled.

"I just told you," Madara replied. "It was the combination of all the tailed-beasts. Shukaku, Gaara's tailed beast, knows as the one tails. The fiery Monster Cat of the Hidden Cloud's Ni'i Yugito, the two tails. The former Mizukage's three tails. Roshi of the Lava Style's four tails. Han of the Hidden Stone's five tails. The Rogue Ninja Utakata's six tails. Fuu of the Hidden Waterfalls' seven tails. Raikage's younger brother Killer Bee's eight tails. And the fox spirit of the Hidden Leaf, the nine tails!"

He glanced at Naruto once, before turning back to the Kage. "The Ten-tails' chakra was simply divided up into the nine Tailed Beats by the Sage of Six Paths."

"I don't like where this story is headed," Kankuro mumbled from behind Garra. He spoke up, questioning Madara. "Is that why the Akatsuki are gathering the Tailed Beasts?"

"The Sage of Six Paths developed a certain ninjutsu in order to protect the world from the Ten-Tails. Even today, that ninjutsu is still being secretly passed down. It is the Sealing Justu process of Jinchuriki. Yes, the Sage of Six Paths was the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki. In order to suppress it, he sealed it within his body. The Sage, who saved the world terrorized by the Ten-Tails, became a savior and won praise as a god. But is the Sage died, the powerful and demonic chakra of the Ten-Tails would once again be released unto the world. Fearing this, at the time of his death, the Sage of Six Paths summoned every ounce of his power to partition the Ten-Tails' chakra into nine parts and scattered them across the world. The he sealed the Ten-Tails' body, now devoid of chakra, and hurled it into the sky. And it became the moon."

Darui stared at him, "What a tall tale! As if a human could do such a thing."

Madara ignored him, continuing. "When he became the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, he Sage of Six Paths went beyond the realm of humans."

"I understand know that you seek that power," came Mifune's voice. They turned to see him Shee and Akatsuchi walking towards them. "By gathering the chakra of the nine, namely all, of the Tailed Beasts. But what will you do with all that power?"

"Revive the Ten-Tailed, and I will become its Jinchuriki. I will use its power to strengthen my ocular powers, and activate a certain jutsu."

Everyone was tense as they listened to him. His story sounded mad, but it was quite possible, after all, they had believed him to be dead for many decades, yet he was still alive, looking quite young.

"A certain jutsu?!" the Tsuchikage was on edge. "What is it? What do you intend to do."

"A Super Genjutsu, where I will project my eye of the moon. Infinite Tsukuyomi. I will cast a genjutsu on every human that walks on this earth. And in that genjutsu, I will control all humans and unify the world."

His eyes shined as he addressed them, "A world without hatred or war. Everything will become one with me, everything will be united. That is my Project Tsuki No Me."

The Raikage glared at him, snapping, "Stop joking around! I'm not handing the world over to you!"

"Peace that exists only as an illusion is deception," Gaara joined him. "Peace is only meaningful when it is genuinely achieved in the real world."

"So what exists inside such a world," the Mizukage spoke. "There is no hope, no dreams! It's just an escape."

Their tones were strong, unrelenting and angry. The Tsuchikage however, was another matter. "Unite the world, huh?" he spoke as if he was considering Madara's plan. "Danzo mentioned something similar."

Then his tone changed, "But instead of uniting the world, it sounds like you want to make the world yours!"

Madara laughed, "All this talk and yet, what have you Five Kage accomplished? You of all people should know by now …"

The Kage tensed. "There is no such thing as hope! To hope is equivalent to give up; it is the biggest deception of all–"

Anything else he might have said was interrupted by a laugh. Surprised, Madara looked down at the girl. It seemed she was awake.

"That is where you are wrong, Madara," she said, a smirk on her face. "How dare you insult our hope, when you have given it up? How can you understand something you no longer have? You are the one deceiving yourself, you think you know hope, but you do not."

Crystals shot out from her body, and they would have hit Madara if not for his jutsu. They passed through him, but his grip on her loosened and she was able to get away. She leapt up, away from him and landed beside Sasuke. "You and I are alike in a way. We have both lost things, our home, our power, our siblings, our will. We have both been at point where we have wanted to give up, and have. But, while you chose to give up on hope, I took it. And did my hope not prevail in the end? For I stand here, returning to the place I once lost."

Madara said nothing, and the Kage were silent. Sasuke looked at Rieka, surprise and bewilderment in his eyes. Had she really just said that to Madara? He turned his eyes back to the masked man, and saw him staring at his sister. He chuckled, and Sasuke could tell he was smirking beneath his mask. "What a foolish child you are," was all he said.

Rieka narrowed his eyes at him, stepping forward. Before she had the chance to speak, Madara turned back to the Kage. "Turn over the remaining eight-tails and nine-tail, and cooperate with my plan. Or there will be war!"

"War you say?" Gaara asked.

At the same time as this, the Raikage said. "The eight-tails? What are you talking about? Didn't you get Bee?"

"The attempt to capture the eight-tails failed and he escaped. He is a ninja who is a perfect Jinchuriki. Only your younger brother has what it takes," Madara was calm, almost nonchalant.

"Huh?!" the Raikage stepped back, dumbstruck.

Darui sighed behind him, "Yeah, I sort of had a feeling about that."

Shee just shook his head, grunting.

The Raikage looked pissed, to say the least. "That idiot! He used this chance to slip away and now he's having the time of his life! Unforgiveable! He's going to get my Iron Claw!"

Gaara turned his eyes away from the ragging man and back to Madara. Rieka raised a hand up, and crystals came to surround Naruto and Sakura. "You really expect us to let you just take Naruto?" she spat. Temari and Kankuro, seeing that the girl was not with the Akatsuki, stepped in front of the crystal formation.

"We will not let you have Naruto Uzumaki," Gaara said.

"I agree with him," the Mizukage nodded.

"What about you Raikage," the Tsuchikage asked.

"There is no way I'll let him have my younger brother!" the man roared.

Madara watched them carefully, "I do not have the strength, but the Tailed Beasts we've gathered, do. You people have no chance of winning."

"We haven't given up hope," Gaara glared.

Madara was silent, watching the Kage. They seemed firm in their decision, not that he had expected them to just give him the two tailed beats. He turned to look at Rieka and Sasuke. The girl's arrival was unexpected, and with her power, the opposing side might just win. However, he had gathered new allies. He was sure that he would be very useful. With the power of that man, him and the tailed beasts, they're powers might just be equal. Unless she had fully mastered the greater beasts' chakra.

"And where do you stand in this, girl?" he asked, smirking beneath his mask.

"I'm sure you already know that," the raven haired girl glared. "I side with the leaf, and with my brother."

As expected.

"And you Sasuke?" Madara turned to the boy. "Will you side with Konoha or with the Akatsuki? Do you no longer want revenge for what they did to Itachi?"

Sasuke's face was as emotionless as ever, "I will do what I please, Madara. I never joined the Akatsuki, nor did I ask for your help in anything."

Madara sighed.

"Very well," he activated his Sharingan and felt the eye begin to pull him into it. "I will give you three months. If you have not handed over the beasts by then, there will be war."

He turned to Rieka as half his body was sucked into the spiral. "And do not think that they can win if you side with them. I have gained allies of my own, perhaps you remember his name. Zenaku."

His voice faded away, echoing in Rieka's ears. Sasuke turned to see her face, and saw that it was one of pure anger.