A/N: Thank you to all my loyal readers, the first chapter alone has crossed 1k hits! Also, prolly should have done it this way from the beginning, but to respond to my reviewers:
Serenity Maxwell: (Love the name by the way) thanks twice over, as for being harsh on poor Jiraya, don't worry too much, even if he does become a missing-Nin, as a senin he's got enough respect he won't have too much trouble getting by.Kaiya Reimiya: Oh don't you think Kakashi's already got a headache from being decked?MysteryLady-Tx: Well, poor Kakashi got decked for something he never even saw coming, I think he would like to have at least seen what he was getting decked for, heh ;Akizakura: I update when I get the chapters ready- which can vary from a day to a month- to longer- though I've got so much of the story planned out at the moment hopefully the worst it'll be is a couple weeks per… unless I get the end all plotted out- that never bodes well for finishing a story xDShutoko Kosoukou Dreamer: heh, getting long enough now?
A/N2: o.O; wow? I made it into a c2, thanks to the people of 'the best of the best of Naurto' for thinking my lil' ole fic fits there- I ain't even got to the good stuff yet- the story doesn't end when Naruto's secret comes out, only begins.
A/N 3: okay, tell me I'm evil, "meanwhile back at the ranch":
itITitITit
Itachi waited after he left Kakashi, keeping hidden in the forest he spotted Kakashi returning with Tsunade and heading straight for Jiraya's. Itachi fiddled with the seal in his hands, but watching the frogs flee from the pond he knew several were looking for Naruto and the others. Itachi smirked and pushed off from his hiding spot. Looking to the moonlight he estimated the time, 'Good, that took about as long as I expected, I should be able to get back to camp a whole hour before Kisame awakens.'
Times like this Itachi was glad his lumbering partner was such a deep sleeper, it made things easier than having to come up with a believable yet re-usable alibi. Zetsu was the only real trouble, finding and evading Zetsu before Zetsu spotted him would be impossible if not for his Sharingan. Itachi spotted Zetsu prowling the edges of the camp, out in the open. Itachi frowned, evading all of the traps intended to stop intruders was easy, those that he couldn't simply see beforehand, he had been sure to help install, so he would remember where they were. But Zetsu was unnatural, somehow able to smell Chakara almost as easily as he could see it. Especially chakara that reeked of death, as each of them did- as most powerful Shinobi did, and as all dying Shinobi will. He had tried to get Zetsu to explain it to him one evening, hoping to uncover a secret around it, but all it did was creep him out more. All things alive are dying, he had told him, and it was that trace of death he followed. No wonder Zetsu and Hidan got along so well.
Itachi stood intently for a moment, letting an aura of death roll off of him like a plague, announcing his presence to Zetsu. He watched Zetsu jerk towards his direction as Itachi walked towards him. "You're slow tonight, I might have simply walked past if I were so inclined, might have to tell The Leader, about this."
Zetsu looked back at Itachi with murderous intent, white side speaking first, "We are well aware of your stealth Sharingan boy, we would feast on your flesh before we let you truly sneak past us."
"Rather though we would ask where you've been so late," the black side asked, suspicion entering his expression.
Itachi made sure his face was just shy of neutral with a hint of 'hidden' insult. "No concern of yours, yet if it bothers you so, ask with graciousness and I might oblige you."
"You would ask us to say 'please'?"
"Good night Zetsu," Itachi sneered as he walked past, ignoring him. He sat against a pillar not far from Kisame. About the time he closed his eyes, Kisame opened his. Waking without any alerting sounds, he simply woke up like he always did, fully refreshed and oblivious to his near comatose state moments before. Sitting up Kisame turned to Itachi. Itachi kept his eyes shut and let himself meditate, in a few moments he too would be just as rested. But obviously his distraction over Jiraya's trouble had shaved off more time than he'd expected. Kisame awoke exactly when he always did, but Itachi was only now entering his meditative state, usually he could finish around the same time. But Itachi could ignore him for a little while longer before he would have to respond.
Finnally Kisame grew impatient as Itachi knew he would…
"Hey, Itachi, rise and shine, the early bird slays the worm."
Itachi pressed it a little further, but when Kisame spoke again he would have to respond.
"More than 8 hours is just as bad as less, so dammit Itachi get up!" Kisame stood up, looming over Itachi and preparing a water jutsu to splash him awake.
"You forget, I don' fall asleep in an instant as you, as such I also do not awaken so instantly as you do," Itachi responded at last, breaking his meditation and opening his eyes, staring back with a cold indifference. A blank mask, his mask, the world was a masquerade. But he had an advantage, his eyes would penetrate all but the thickest masks, peering through the eyes and into a person, almost seeming to read their very thoughts at times. The eyes were the window to the soul, the Sharingan was his crowbar. Itachi had momentarily forgotten he was staring back at Kisame, he finally blinked and rose to his feet.
"You know Itachi, sometimes- you're scary," Kisame said, only half joking.
"Kisame, Itachi," Deidara came over, glaring at Itachi venomously, then more politely to Kisame, "Congratulate me, I convinced the leader it was time to make our move before Oorachimaru re-surfaces. Sasori and I will be heading to capture Gaara the day after tomorrow; Sasori is making preparations as we speak."
"Shouldn't you be," Kisame asked spitefully.
Deidara smiled in response, "who says I haven't already, Sasori is making ready his spies, and I-" he stopped to look directly at Itachi, "Have been spending the last hour preparing my arts."
"Good luck with that," Itachi said without any concern. "The One-Tail vessel manipulates earth as well, perhaps better than you do."
Deidara seethed for a moment, but before Deidara could press another verbal assault, Itachi turned his back on him, "Come Kisame, let's leave Deidara to his chicken counting."
Kisame quirked an eyebrow before he got the reference, then smirked with a half chuckle as he moved up beside Itachi. Deidara was livid, spouting incomplete words trying to find obscenities vulgar enough to iceberg the tip of his rage.
"You should be more careful Itachi, the way you rile people, first Oorachimaru, and now Deidara, before that Kakuzu, and I heard about you're little spat with Hidan before I joined."
"Don't forget my frequent bouts with Zetsu," Itachi finished for him. "But it's simply my way Kisame, people become too accustomed to niceties. I simply speak my mind regardless of how the other person will react, it's fortunate you were well aware of your faults long before we met, or I might have distanced you as well by now."
"Hmfph, and what of your faults, who's going to keep you constantly down a peg."
"Why that's exactly why I keep you around, you are my faults," Itachi smirked, his one vice, he loved keeping people on their toes, and Kisame was bright enough to figure him out, but slow enough to take his sweet time doing it, 'oh well, slow and steady as they say, and Kisame may win this race one day after all.'
After a moment Kisame worked out his retort, "Well then in that case your faults are perfect."
Itachi let it end at that, and lead the two of them slowly out the front gate, returning his thoughts to Deidara he churned on that for a moment, the day after tomorrow wasn't long…
Itachi stopped once they were a good distance from the main Akatsuki base, "Kisame, The Leader has told you why we're doing this hasn't he?"
Kisame looked over at Itachi, "Yeah, and?"
"What if I told you I doubt The Leaders capacity to succeed?"
"I'd ask why, in fact I do."
"The world is vast Kisame, even if he succeeded in taking the five major lands, there's a lot of world out there to hide in, forever facing guerilla forces. What kind of peace is that?"
"The Leader wiped out all resistance here, he can do it elsewhere too."
"How, by killing every Shinobi, because every shinobi from every village will oppose us, and their families, and their friends, and everyone they've saved before. It just keeps going, like placing two mirrors in front of each other at an angle."
"This world isn't that big, is it?"
"Not on the scale of communication, but on the scale of control. Reach out your arms Kisame, what you can hold in your hands, that is the limit of absolute control. Or your sword, can you wield any other weapons, or perform more than the most basic jutsu while wielding your sword."
"I usually don't need to."
"But can you?"
"Well, not without slipping it back onto my back, no."
"Every Shinobi is a weapon, some like your sword, some small like needles. One man cannot wield every sword in the world."
"But that's why he has us, one man can't, but a small army can-" and with a suddenness of a light bulb it struck Kisame, "You're leaving Akatsuki?"
"I haven't decided yet Kisame."
Kisame took a moment, Itachi could see Kisame forming the words he was about to speak, "You have, and you want me to come with you."
Itachi didn't respond, he just stood there and waited for Kisame's decision. It was a long, and tense filled moment, but when he saw Kisame start to reach for his sword, he spoke at last, "Don't fight me on this Kisame, you know what I'm capable of, you can either come with me, or you can leave me be, those are your only survivable options."
He took a single step as if to leave, once more giving Kisame a chance to change his mind. Instead Kisame unstrapped his sword, "I may not be good enough to beat you, but we're not that far from base, and if I start dying this close to the base, you know Zetsu will sense it."
Kisame brought his sword into a devastating swing which Itachi sidestepped with the least movement possible, "In that case you leave me no choice."
Itachi reached into his cloak and pulled out the scroll Naruto had given him, he quickly slit his thumb and ran his blood along the scroll as he opened it. With a dramatic poof of smoke a toad about half the size of a human appeared, with only a nod of Itachi's head, the toad acknowledged in kind and took off at top pace.
Kisame only barely moved to go after the frog as Itachi interposed himself and did the seals for his grand fireball, which Kisame evaded by pushing off the ground with his sword and then pulling the sword in front of himself as a shield at the outermost edge of the attack, "So now what Itachi, you keep fighting me and stalling until whoever you sent for comes to help you take on the rest of Akatsuki, if you've not so good, oh I know you can beat me, but you can't drag it out without overtaxing yourself."
"I probably can't," Itachi admitted, but as he finished, he began doing another series of seals, "But you seem to have not noticed… There isn't any water around here, Kage Bushin No Jutsu!"
Three shadow clones each took to one of Kisame's sides and behind him, with Itachi in front of him. All four of them took in a deep breath and began spewing out fire at Kisame…