Grim Reaper of Iwa

Chapter 6

Zabuza rushed to Naruto's side despite the fuming Sennin a few feet away. Haku and Guren rushed over as well. "You fool! Why did you do that?" Guren shouted. She really didn't care that some angry woman was bitching at all of them.

Despite his recent fog from the Tsukuyomi that Itachi forced on him, he weakly smiled at his teammates. "That's what teammates do."

"Idiot." Haku replied while trying not cry. He then used a ripped piece of clothing to cut off the blood flow to Naruto's severed arm. That made the blond cry out in pain, catching Tsunade's attention.

"What the hell? What is going-" She stopped dead in her tracks. Before she was angry that she was being ignored by these people, but she soon found out why. The blond kid, who looked familiar to her, was badly injured. However, when she saw the extent of the boy's injuries, she stopped, frozen, in her tracks. Her fear of blood over powering her.

Shizune saw this and inwardly scowled. However, she went to the young boy and helped him herself. To her surprise, the wound was closing, albeit slowly, itself. Shaking the strange thoughts away in her head, she looked at the blond and smile. "Hello, my name is Shizune. What's yours?"

Naruto knew what she was doing. She was trying to keep his mind off the pain and the eventual grief of losing a limb. So, he smiled weakly and said, "Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

Shizune froze at that. She knew that name! That was the name of the Jinchuriki of Konoha. Now that explained why the wound was closing up on its own. It also confirmed the rumors that were flying around that she heard. The boy left Konoha and was the cause of unrest in her old home. Now, she did not hate him for that. As far as she was concerned, the civil war surrounding him was a long time coming.

Sure, she heard about the rumors and took them to heart, but when she tried to tell Tsunade about the boy and Konoha in general, the woman just waved it off, saying she did not care. How could she not care about someone that was related to her!?

"Nice to meet you Naruto. Now I am going to do my best to help you out here." She then turned to the feminine looking boy and smiled. "It would seem that you have some medical skills. I want you watch what I do and help me." Haku just nodded dumbly as he watched her work.

While that was going on, Naruto was looking at the woman that was traveling with Shizune. He absently knew who she was. How could he not? After the display of power he saw in the last few seconds that Itachi attacked him, he saw her punch Zabuza and his opponent into a few buildings.

This woman was Tsunade of the Sannin. Someone he actually learned about in the academy when he paid attention. She was the Granddaughter of the First Hokage. If that was true, then she was also the Granddaughter of the Mito Uzumaki, the first Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. Also, she was part of his family, a fellow clansmen.

And with her not being there for his family or even stepping in to help him, that just pissed him off. So….he exploded.

"The hell are you just standing there Granny?" Naruto growled, rolling through the sudden jerk of pain. Zabuza listened in on this with shock. He didn't know the kid had the balls to yell at a ninja far stronger than him. Yeah, he was just going to sit there and listen. No way was he getting in on this.

Shizune froze in shock when she heard Naruto, but this speech that she felt was coming, was a long time coming. So she calmly did her work while rooting for Naruto.

Despite her fear of blood, Tsunade sent a menacing glare Naruto's way, to which he just ignored. "What did you call me, brat?"

"You heard me!" Naruto shouted in rage. "I heard about you from the academy lessons back in Konoha. You were a great ninja, one of the Sannin! The frickin' Princess of Konoha! And you left, never to return! They never really mentioned why, so I asked the Old Man. He said, you lost people close to your heart, like your brother and lover."

"Shut up." Tsunade snapped, not wanting to hear this.

"No! So you closed your heart partially, and left Konoha with this nice lady" Naruto continued, gesturing to Shizune, who was smiling softly. "You may have lost some of your family to wars and fighting in general, but to blame Konoha for you misery, that is just stupid." He paused there, he might be a hypocrite for doing the same, but he had a good reason…right?

"You had people there willing to help you get through your pain. You had the old man, who looked at you like a daughter and other friends. Your teammates, Jiriaya and Orochimaru, the latter of whom went nuts and is now dead, but you still had them. Then there is you family, you may have lost a lot of them I understand that, but you still had them. Your grandmother was Mito Uzumaki, the Wife of the First Hokage and the First Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. So that means you are an Uzumaki, like my mother. Kushina Uzumaki, the Second Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi."

By this point, Tsunade could not take it. She was on her hands and knees, silently crying as she listened to his sharp and truthful words. She knew he was right. She had been a fool. This boy, who reminded her of her little brother, was right. She had been selfish.

"Then there is me, Naruto Uzumaki, the Third Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. The Pariah of Konoha. The demon spawn. I was and probably still am hated by most of that village. I was alone, wondering if I even had any family. If anyone even cared for me. The Old Man would not tell who my parents were, probably to protect me from their enemies.

"Only recently did I figure out who they were. My Father, the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash and Hero of Konoha. Minato Namikaze. My Mother, the Hot Blooded Habanero, Kushina Uzuamki. It was then I knew why Konoha hated me more than I thought. I not only have the beast that killed thousands inside me, but I also look like my father. I am nothing but I reminder to their pain."

There was silence for a few seconds. Guren didn't know what to think. Sure, she was hated for being different in her village, much like Haku, but it seemed that Naruto had it worse. She was just glad that she and Haku were there for him.

"However, I only had Old Man Hokage and the Ichiraku's to keep me from darkness. I had no family." Naruto said. "If you had gotten over the past, which I admit is hard, then I might have had some family. I am sure there were others like me out there. If I find them, I will make sure their pain is gone."

Tsunade, having heard enough, calmly walked over to the blond, Shizune quickly getting out of the way. She hands glowed as he touched the spot where his arm used to be. She knew that the burnt arm was not going to be reattached anytime soon. When she was done with what she wanted, she stopped and gently kissed his forehead. "I am sorry and you are right." She paused for a moment and then said, "I made it so that if you want, you can use a prosthetic arm."

Zabuza, by now having gotten over his shock, said with a thoughtful look. "That won't be necessary."

"What do you mean sensei?" Haku asked, a bit angry that Zabuza was just going to abandon Naruto.

"I have an old friend in Iron Country that owes me a favor and with their technology, I am sure we can give Naruto something better than a plastic arm." Zabuza replied.

"Oh." Haku said with a blink, making Guren chuckle.

"So, on to Iron Country then?" She asked.

"On to Iron Country." Zabuza confirmed.

"Wait." Tsunade ordered.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"I am coming with you. I want to get to know a part of my family before I set out again and I want to help them with your am." The legendary medic replied. "So, I won't always be there, so I might help Haku with his medical training."

Haku's eyes widened by that. He was going to get medical training from a legend? Badass!

"Very well." Zabuza said as he took Naruto on his back and they set off.

However, what he and his students really wanted to know, was what happened with in the Tsukuyomi.

XXX

"Ugh, it will be a while before we reach Iron Country." Zabuza stated as they took a rest in a clearing near Earth Country. They actually had to go through Earth Country to get to Iron Country. That was either going to be a good trip, or a horrible one.

Tsunade, while setting Naruto down by a rock, saw Zabuza's apprehension. "You need not worry of Iwagakure."

"What do you mean?" Haku asked. He knew that the Hidden Village of Stone probably still hated the Fourth Hokage and most likely Naruto as well.

"I was there a few years ago." Tsunade replied, shocking the group. "They had a small plague and I had to get rid of it. There I learned that most of the Fourth Hokage haters were either dead or have become missing ninja. Onoki and most of the village don't care anymore. They knew war was going to take a lot of lives and those who died have paid that price. Now, Onoki does respect power and he knew that if the 4th ever had a kid, they would be powerful and he would not be against having a ninja like that."

"Wow." Naruto said weakly. He had lost a lot of blood due to having lost an arm and was weak.

Zabuza stared at Naruto with a serious look. Now was the time to ask Naruto about what Itachi did to him. Even though the boy was in a weakened state, he had to know.

"Naruto, what did Itachi do to you in the Tsukuyomi?" he said out right, alerting both Tsunade and Shizune.

"Oh right. After Itachi cut off your arm, he called out a strange attack. The Tsukuyomi or whatever." Guren said.

Naruto sighed. He knew they were going to ask sometime. Looks like that time was now. "Nothing harmful. He just told me the truth."

"The truth?" The group asked all at once.

"Can explain what you mean?" Shizune asked in concern and Naruto nodded.

Flashback!

"What the…." Naruto asked aloud as he looked around. After Itachi had uttered that single word, everything had gone dark, only to be replaced with the seal room. Only…it was not complete. The caged area was there and so was Kyuubi, but the sewer was long gone. In its place was the creepy landscape of the Tsukuyomi.

"Now we have time to truly talk, and I am sorry for over reacting and slicing off your arm." Itachi said as he appeared with in the ultimate genjutsu.

Naruto gave the older Uchiha a deadpanned look. "What do you really want Itachi?"

"To tell you the truth."

"The truth?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, about a great many things." Itachi stated before he looked at the Kyuubi. "Did you tell him about what prompted you to attack Konoha?"

If it could, the Kyuubi would have sweat dropped. "Eh…not really. It must have slipped my mind."

"I see."

"You know, I have wanted to know that." Naruto replied.

"Very well, I shall tell you." Itachi replied. "On the night of your birth, a man claiming to be Madara Uchiha, a man who is supposed to be dead, attacked. Through subterfuge, he managed to release Kyuubi from your mother and take control of him. You know the end result of that."

Naruto nodded to that as he glanced at the Kyuubi. It would seem that the Kyuubi was not good with mind control….or whatever that this Madara did to it.

"Now on to other happenings with in the village years later. Jiriaya of the Sannin contacted the Third Hokage about a group called the Akatsuki that are hunting the Jinchuriki…you. At that time, I was reporting about a possible coup from my own clan. They wanted to take over the village because they thought they were the rightful leaders of Konoha."

Naruto nodded to the man, telling him that he was still listening.

"I was a Konoha shinobi first and I did not like where this was going. Neither did the Elders and the Hokage. So, the four of them came up with a plan. The Uchiha needed to be put down. I was tasked with eliminating them all. However, during that night, I was confronted by the man claiming to be Madara. He took glee in the fact that the ones who betrayed him where dying, so he killed off most of the clan for me. However, while I was able to kill my parents, who understood why I was doing this, I could not kill my little brother. I loved him too much."

"So, I begged the Hokage to leave him be. He promised he would, but I felt that Danzo wanted Sasuke for his own means, that is where you came in to help him. However, there was still the matter of the Akatsuki, who only took in S-class criminals. So, while I kept Sasuke alive, I was branded a traitor and sent out on one last mission as the Spy within Akatsuki. I am doing this more for you than the Hokage. I also see you as my brother."

"Thanks?" Naruto asked…not really sure how to take that. Still this Madara was someone to look out for.

Itachi just smiled before it turned into a frown. "Now that you know that, I need to tell you who the members of Akatsuki are and the true leader. Now, I know you will not remember them very well, that is why I am implanting this info in your head as well as telling you. There is me, and my partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. As you have seen, we work in pairs."

"Alright," Naruto said, understand the importance of this conversation.

"Then there is the Zombie Brothers as most like to call them. Kakuzu and Hidan. They are very dangerous and can only be kills in certain ways." Itachi stated and Naruto got the feeling that he would not enjoy a battle with them. "Next we have Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara the Mad Bomber. Zetsu is an odd one and he works by himself. He has a strange bloodline that makes him look like a ventus fly trap and he is our spy master. Next we have Konan, an old student of Jiriaya, who was thought to be dead."

Jiriaya of the Sannin had more students other than his father? Well, that was news to him.

"Our 'Leader' calls himself Pain. However, that is not his true name. It is Nagato Uzumaki, another student of Jiriaya's thought to be dead. However, while powerful, he is left in a weakened state due to his power, which is the legendary Rinnegan. With that power, he has taken hold of his old friend's body, the only dead student of Jiriaya."

"Dang talk about messed up." Naruto grumbled.

"True." Itachi replied with a nod. "However, the true leader of Akatsuki is someone you already know of….the man who claims that he is Madara Uchiha."

"So that is the reason they want the Jinchuriki….ergo, us Tailed Beasts. Great….Madara and his insanity again." Kyuubi grumbled aloud.

"So how do we defend against this?" Naruto asked, not liking the odds. He knew he was not strong enough to fight these people. He could not even beat Itachi, his missing arm a testament to that.

"Gain alliances." Itachi replied. "Me and Kisame are your secret allies and from what I have heard, you have the backing of Suna."

"Oh right!" Naruto said with glee. "And the scroll from the Kazekage mentioned that he would help find the old bases of Orochimaru's Sound Village and then tell me when asked. If I could get them on my side that would be great."

"True, but that is a on the fence deal. I am truly not sure how the people there will take that." Itachi replied honestly. "So, do more good things while on the road and you will have your defense."

Naruto nodded then said, "What about Nagato. He is family, I think I should try and get him onto our side before it is too late."

Itachi shook his head. "The man has a serious god complex thanks to his power. If you try that…you would have to nearly kill him to wake him up."

"I see." Naruto replied before he waved it off. "We'll burn that bridge when we get there."

"Very well." Itachi stated as he walked up to the blond. "Now, I wish to discuss what you did when you took part of my soul."

Naruto looked sheepish at that. "Yeah…sorry about that. I honestly didn't know the Claws of Hades would do that. Kyuubi didn't mention that little tidbit." He glared at the fox.

The giant fox shrugged in a non-caring way. "Sue me."

Itachi chose to ignore the small fight. "It matters not, however, you now possess a part of my soul and in doing so, I think my powers as well."

The blond gave an intelligent answer. "Huh?"

"The Sharingan. Add chakra to your eyes. I want to confirm." Itachi ordered and Nauto did so.

The blond felt an itching in his eyes as the doujutsu activated, making Itachi nod. "It seems that I am correct." The Uchiha stated. He was troubled. If Naruto had the Sharingan, he would also have the Mangekyo Sharingan as well. He could go blind. He did not want that. He had already crippled the boy.

Thinking on it, an idea struck him. "I was going to give this to you later on in life, to protect you from Madara and if Sasuke gave into the darkness. Now I give it to you for protection against the harmful effects of my power." Itachi stated as he walked closer to the boy, both hands glowing with small orbs.

"With the Mangekyo, you will lose sight a little bit each time it is used. However, there is a way past that. It is called the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Yours will be different however. I will give you the Sharingan of my friend, Shisui and the Sharingan of a long dead Uchiha. Obito's Sharingan was nurtured by my clan after it was partially crushed. I am not sure how they got it to Mangekyo form, but all I know is that they were planning on using it for something bad during the failed coup." Itachi said as the eyes shifted into two crows and flew into Naruto's mouth, shocking the poor boy. For a moment, Itachi was able to see the eye's future form. An impressive seven sided shuriken with Kakashi's pinwheel interlocking with it.

"Ugh! That was nasty!" Naruto shouted, not really understanding as he tried to get the taste of feathers out of his mouth "Wait, how is this going to work in an illusion?"

Itachi smirked. "You are more perceptive than I thought. Let's just say this battle has been a cover for this." He paused and then said. "You will not be able to activate the final stage of the Sharingan for quite some time."

"What? WHY?" Naruto whined.

"Because I have locked it. This process is a dangerous one for a non-Uchiha, but since you are an Uzumaki and therefore a branch of the Senju, this will work. Know this, only when you see a precious person die and feel great sorrow and grief, will this power activate and I honestly hope that day never comes. So for now, I would get used to your new sharingan."

"Right." Naruto replied.

"Now, we must get back to the real world, where I have slipped a scroll in your pocket for if you ever do get that power." Itachi stated, making Naruto nodded and this disappear. While the Kyuubi and it's seal was disappearing, the fox swore he heard, "Protect Naruto, Kyuubi, not just from his enemies, but from the power of the Sharingan. You should know what I am talking about."

"Very well." The fox replied, it didn't like it, but having a Sharingan on it's side for once might do some good.

Itachi stayed there a minute long and sigh. "I may have created something powerful. Uzumaki/Senju and Uchiha….what can come from that."

End Flashback….which was very long.

The group just stared at the blond in shock. While Zabuza was inwardly freaking out about the mentioned Akatsuki members, Guren was staring at Naruto in disbelief. "Bullshit, you don't have the Sharingan!"

"Well…it is possible since we do not know the power of the Claws of Hades. There is only one way to tell. Naruto, if you would."

The blond boy shrugged, not really caring if he had them or not. It was not like he was going to rely on a bloodline…right? Nah, he had jutsu and he was going to make some badass ones….just as soon as he got a new arm and got back into elemental training of course. "Alright then." Naruto said as he closed his eyes and channeled charka to them and felt the familiar itching. When he opened them, the group gasped. Itachi's Sharingan was now his.

Tsunade's hand glowed the medic green as she put her hand over Naruto's eyes and gasped. They were real! "Incredible! And you have retained you natural eye color. This is just amazing.

Naruto cut the flow and looked at them all in a deadpanned expression. "Great…now that that is over with…I am going to sleep for the night." The blond said as he drifted off on the rock he was on.

Tsunade and Zabuza looked at each other and nodded before walking a little ways off, ordering Shizune to keep an eye on things.

XXX

Ok, hope you liked that little filler. Next chapter should be the last one for this arc. And in case you are wondering, because someone did ask this, so yes, eventually Naruto will be part of Iwa.

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