Life is a waterfall

We're one in the river

And one again after the fall

:

Swimming through the void,

We hear the word

We lose ourselves, but we find it all

:

'Cause we are the ones that wanna play,

Always wanna go but you never wanna stay

And we are the ones that wanna choose,

Always wanna play but you never wanna lose

:

Aerials, in the sky

When you lose small mind

You free your life

Excerpt from "Aerials" by System of a Down

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any System of a Down songs.

Silent Sacrifice Chapter 13: Transient Sempiternity

"We sure got stuck with some lousy weather, huh?" Kakashi's faint remark only added to the deafening roar of rain against earth.

Alongside him stood the group chosen for the mission: Naruto, Sai, Yamato, Hinata, Shino, Kiba (with Akamaru, of course), and Sakura. Even though Sakura should have been kept in the village because of her punishment, Tsunade felt that the pink-haired kunoichi would be a very useful asset to the team, considering the large amount of information about Itachi she held.

Sakura smiled a little to herself as she thought of how much more information she had not shared with the Hokage or her friends: she'd never told them of Itachi's real reason for massacring the entire Uchiha clan, never told them about Uchiha Madara. Desunei had encouraged her not to—the Tigress said everything would come into place in the future, and there was no reason to disturb what fate had planned. Desunei even told Sakura on the way to Tsunade's office that she wasn't going to interfere one bit with anything any of them did on the mission. The Tigress had claimed it wasn't going to be her place to act, and that their team needed to sort things out for themselves.

"All right, let's move out, everybody!" Naruto's expression was stern, his voice determined.

Into the pouring rain they went.

Sakura could not stop the rapid pounding of her heart as she and her two designated ninja dogs (courtesy of Kakashi) walked through the crowded streets of the village. The people were loud, the smell horrid. Adding to that, her ninja dogs had picked up Sasuke's scent a little while back.

'Sakura, keep calm. Focus. Panicking will not help now.'

She clenched her teeth together, and turned to one of the dogs walking beside her. "Anything new?"

"Not exactly," it replied, nose to the ground. "The scent is faint, but now it's coming closer and closer…"

Sakura's head snapped up, and her eyes began to search the area. She swore she was beginning to sense a vaguely familiar chakra signature, one she barely knew…

"Really close," the dog continued, nose working furiously.

A blotch of red passed at Sakura's left. Her eyes widened, and she whirled around.

Karin.

But the redhead was already gone, lost within the crowd.

"Damn, the scent's getting further away now," the ninja hound growled.

"What is it, Sakura-chan?" the other dog questioned, head cocked to the side, staring at her.

The pink-haired kunoichi stood frozen for a moment before she slowly turned back around. "It was nothing," she answered, voice neutral. "Something just caught my eye."

Now far ahead, Karin stopped in her tracks, her gaze focused on a building in front of her sightlessly. Just a second ago, she'd felt a faintly familiar chakra signature, and she tried to place the signature to a name, name to a picture.

But she couldn't recall.

So she shrugged, and continued on. Sasuke was waiting for the medicine she had bought.

Something was following them. Each of them knew it, but none of them made a sound.

Then: "Naruto, Hinata, you know what to do," Yamato said quietly.

"Yeah," Naruto chimed, and Hinata agreed softly.

In a split second, Yamato had whirled around and aimed a set of shuriken at the presence behind them. They embedded themselves in the trunk of a tree just after a blurred figure hopped out of the way.

Now facing the forest, Naruto's eyes widened, and his lips parted in astonishment. "You're…"

From behind his hooded cloak, Kabuto smirked slightly. "Looks like I wasn't hiding well enough. Poor me."

"So, this is the place of Sasuke and Deidara's battle?" The smallest ninja hound looked about, while the other sniffed at the ground. "Seems like a pretty intense fight - there are a lot of remnants of chakra from the jutsu that were used, and they haven't faded away yet…but Sasuke's trail ends here."

"The fight must've ended only recently, just before we got the news of it," Sakura noted, her eyes scouring the scorched, lifeless area.

A part of her wanted to scream, and she didn't know why.

She sighed quietly. "Let's wait here until the others come."

"Pein, he has arrived," Konan called softly.

The Akatsuki leader stood up from his perch looking over the village, and walked over to join her. Before them stood Tobi, his form cloaked in darkness.

"What happened to Sasuke?" Pein questioned, ever emotionless.

Madara's voice answered. "The Sharingan's power was shown well; there is no doubt that his eyes will surpass Itachi's. It won't be long now."

Pein frowned. "What of the Kyuubi?"

Madara chuckled faintly. "It is your job to capture him. Remember, as the Leader, failure is not to be accepted."

Naruto felt sick to his stomach.

Before him, Kabuto was smiling, nearly half his face taken over by Orochimaru's power the medic had implanted within himself. The book that supposedly held information on Akatsuki now rested on the ground next to Naruto.

"Orochimaru-sama's power is constantly trying to take over," Kabuto continued, his voice and expression slightly crazed. "Part of me is doing everything it can to resist!" He grinned. "I can still sense that part of me that strives to surpass Orochimaru-sama."

Finally, Naruto could not take it anymore. His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward. "Then by all means," he said, and rushed toward Kabuto, "keep striving - after we shut you away in Konoha's prison!"

The medic did not move, and so Naruto tackled him, furious. But he found himself holding only Kabuto's cloak in his hands. The medic now stood across from him, that same insane grin ever-present on his face.

Naruto swore.

"After I'm able to completely control Orochimaru-sama's powers, I'll return to fight you, Naruto-kun, don't worry," Kabuto laughed. "See you then!"

And he disappeared in a flurry of smoke.

"The rain hasn't let up one bit," Kisame commented. "It's sort of odd, don't you think? It usually never rains so much here. Well, this time of the year, at least."

In front of him stood Itachi, his face turned toward the sky laden with grey storm clouds. Water poured on his face, slid down his cheeks, caught on his eyelids.

Kisame tilted his head to the side. "I'm not too sure what that mind of yours is thinking about," he began, "and given your personality, I know it's strange to say this…"

Itachi kept his gaze focused on the sky.

"…but from here, it looks like you're crying."

Itachi closed his eyes, and turned away before he opened them once again, revealing the crimson Sharingan. "Is that so?" His voice was soft, quiet, impassive.

Kisame frowned a bit as the Uchiha glanced toward the sky again. Kisame noted that the rain had finally ceased, and the clouds were parting.

"Hm," Itachi said, eyes unblinking. "The storm has passed."

"Damn, what the hell happened here?" Naruto turned in a circle as he took in the remains of Sasuke's battle.

"From what we can tell, many Earth-styled jutsu were used," Sakura replied. "But there are several places where we can see Chidori has been."

Naruto's hard gaze met Sakura's. "Okay then, let's keep going. Sasuke's scent must be here, right?"

Sakura frowned. "Actually -"

"I've got it!" Kiba grinned. "Sasuke's scent is faint, but nowadays, my nose is better than a ninja hound's."

Sakura felt her eyes widen a little. Kiba must have progressed greatly in the time she was gone.

'They're all very strong,' Desunei noted. 'Konoha is lucky to have so many talented young shinobi.'

Sakura nodded just as Naruto yelled, "All right, lead the way, Kiba!"

"Uzumaki Naruto is no longer helpless as he used to be," Madara warned. Pein's blank gaze met his. "Not only has he learned many formidable jutsu, he even ended two of Kakuzu's 'lives' in just one strike." His one Sharingan eye gleamed from the darkness. "And I haven't even added the fact that he has Haruno Sakura, the Fujin na Tora Seishin host, as his ally once again."

Konan's cool, blatant voice answered him. "There is no need to speak of our target with such frightening language. Must I remind you that Pein has never lost a battle?"

"This is true," Madara noted, a slight bit of humor in his tone. "Now, I've said what I came to say. Remember to tell the remaining members to capture their own jinchuriki as quickly as possible."

"I know," Pein replied, voice smooth.

Madara turned and began to walk away. "Soon" - his voice echoed - "soon, all our goals will be achieved. And when they are, everything will be as it should."

When he was gone, Konan glanced at Pein's stoic face, and then gazed out at the village. "The sky cries again," she said softly.

And the roar of rain filled the streets.

Sasuke's scent had scattered, and now Naruto's clones were racing through the forest, searching, searching. All thoughts, everything about him, was focused on finding Sasuke - his brother, his teammate, his friend. There wasn't anything else he wanted as badly as he wanted for Sasuke to come home.

One of the clones clenched his fists as he sensed a presence ahead of him, and came to a sudden halt behind a tree. Slowly, he peeked around the trunk, and saw a pair of Sharingan eyes shrouded in darkness some twenty feet before him. The person was covered in the shadows from the forest.

The clone's mouth gaped. Sasuke! It's Sasuke!

Then the figure stepped out of the shadows, and into the light.

It wasn't Sasuke.

The Naruto clone forced himself not to gasp, and stuck himself to the tree, out of sight. His eyes were wide.

"Show yourself, Uzumaki Naruto," Uchiha Itachi called.

Naruto's clone locked his teeth together, took a deep breath, and moved away from his hiding place. The Uchiha's eyes locked upon him, and he forced his voice not to waver as he answered, "So you're finally gonna try and capture me? It's about time. I mean, you already took Sakura, so isn't it my turn now?" He didn't care whether or not the fact that his pink-haired teammate had left willingly stood out.

"No." Itachi's voice was impassive, but held a new sharp edge at the mention of Sakura. "I merely wish to speak with you."

The blonde glared as two other clones dove in at Itachi from behind. The Uchiha casually produced two kunai and threw them straight at the clones over his shoulders, without even looking. The two clones vanished in a puff of smoke.

The Naruto clone dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands, nearly drawing blood. "Like I'm gonna fall for that crap," he spat. I have to be careful, he thought to himself. When dealing with the Sharingan, if it's one-on-one, you're supposed to run. Two-on-one, you attack from behind. However… Naruto trained his eyes away from the Uchiha's blank gaze. He can cast a genjutsu with just his fingers. This isn't going to be easy.

"You've done your research on the Sharingan, I see," Itachi stated. "You must know what to do when you have no backup. Why aren't you running?"

"I'm not afraid of you!" Naruto roared. "My numbers can be anywhere from one to one-thousand, and besides, I can't afford to run away now. I need you captured so I can find Sasuke!"

Itachi stayed silent for a moment, his crimson eyes analyzing the jinchuriki clone before him. Finally, he said quietly, "Why do you care so much about my little brother? He's a rogue ninja who would kill you if he got the chance. He abandoned you voluntarily."

"Yeah, and so did Sakura," Naruto replied, gaze angered and serious. "But she's a sister to me, just like Sasuke's my brother." His voice rose as he continued, "And I'm a better brother than you ever were!"

Itachi's lips tilted upward just as Naruto rushed at him. But the Uchiha easily caught him in a genjutsu, and he watched as the jinchuriki's eyes widened in response to the crows that suddenly flocked around him.

Naruto took a shaky step back as Itachi's form before him began to disappear in the form of crows.

"I will say it once more." The Uchiha's voice echoed around him. "I only wish to speak with you. Violence is unnecessary, unless you bring it upon yourself."

Just like that, the jutsu ended, and Naruto found himself on the ground, panting. He glared at Itachi. "Why? It's me you're after, right? Then why won't you fight me?"

Itachi merely stared. After a short paused, he said, "There is only one thing I wish to tell you before I must go."

"Yeah?" Naruto growled. "And what is that?"

"Take care of her," Itachi answered softly. "I will not be here to do it myself after this, so I am entrusting her safety to you."

The Naruto clone watched, shocked, as the Uchiha then vanished in a whirl of crows.

Tsunade stared at Jiraiya from across the table they sat at. Her hand tightened around the drink she held, and she quickly threw her head back and downed the rest of it before saying, incredulous, "So, you're meaning to tell me you want to go after Akatsuki's leader on your own?"

Jiraiya grinned crookedly. "You have to remember, Tsunade, I'm one of the Leaf's Legendary Sannin. That title entails a lot."

Tsunade averted her gaze, and was silent for a moment before she whispered, "I'm sorry. I keep putting you in these idiotic situations…"

Jiraiya chuckled. "It's odd to hear you say that. Don't worry about me, Tsunade. I'd gladly put my life on the line, and I'd be smiling the whole time, too." His expression sobered. "It's the only helpful thing old farts like me can do."

"Ah, so you're here."

Sasuke's eyes focused where the voice came from, his stance battle-ready. "Who are you?" he called, wary.

Two pairs of identical crimson eyes met.

"It's me, Sasuke."

Konan glanced up at Pein's suddenly stiff figure. His eyes were trained on the forest beyond them. "What's wrong?" she asked.

His eyes narrowed. "Someone has disturbed my rain's fall. Judging from their chakra, it's someone dangerous."

His cloak billowed out as he whipped around and stepped further into the confines of their Akatsuki hideout before turning to face the blue-haired kunoichi again. "Konan, when I stop the rain, use your jutsu to find the intruder. We must not let them travel further into the village."

She nodded, and his hands began to fly through several complex hand signs. Finished, he stepped into the rain and raised his hands to the sky. Within three seconds, the downpour stopped.

"Now, Konan," he ordered.

She brought her hands up to her face, and, piece by piece, her body became paper. The pieces flew about, and, in the air, folded themselves into origami butterflies. Pein watched with a somber gaze as they flew into the sky.

He had a feeling he knew who the intruder was.

Naruto's clones were still searching, and so far none of them had found anything besides the one's confrontation with Itachi. Naruto, however shocked, decided not to alert anyone of his encounter - especially with Sakura, who seemed to have an odd attachment to the murderer, so close by.

He was nearly vibrating with anticipation otherwise. Beside him sat Sakura, who continued to stare blankly into the forest. The rest of the group was left to wait for any news from the blonde jinchuriki.

Suddenly, Naruto bolted upright, his eyes fierce, his expression hard. "I found him!" he yelled, and was instantly racing through the forest, the rest of the group following behind.

Sakura increased her speed until she was right alongside her teammate. "What happened?" she asked.

His pure blue eyes met hers. "He impaled one of my clones."

She grit her teeth together, and increased her pace even more along with him. "Lead the way, Naruto," she said.

You're not getting away this time, Sasuke, they thought simultaneously.

"Well?" Pein questioned.

Konan had just returned from her scope of the village, now in one piece.

Her eyes narrowed. "It's Jiraiya."

He grew silent. Then: "Tell me where he is."

Konan nodded, and complied. "I'll hold him off until you arrive."

He waved a hand at her, beginning to walk off. "Don't mind me. If you get the chance to kill him, do not hesitate."

"Sasuke, there's an incredible chakra headed our way, and fast!" Karin's voice rose in pitch as they continued along to the place Itachi had told Sasuke to meet him at.

As the chakra's owner became visible, they all slowed to a halt.

Sasuke's brows drew together, and his eyes went from pure obsidian to crimson Sharingan.

Suigetsu's elongated teeth flashed as he began, "You're -"

"Sasuke," Kisame interrupted from his perch on the pole in front of them, "please continue on your own. Itachi would prefer that we all wait here."

"No problem," Sasuke replied, voice smooth. "I only created this team so no one would get in the way of Itachi and I. This works out perfectly."

"What are you saying, Sasuke?" Karin yelled. "We should kick this guy's ass and fight Itachi together!"

Kisame sighed. "I'm really not in the mood for another fight," he drawled, "but I won't go easy on any of you if you insist on moving together."

Sasuke's voice whipped out, harsh and flat. "Don't even think about it, Karin," he said coldly. "This is my revenge."

Karin clenched her teeth and glared at Kisame as Sasuke moved on without them.

"Well, well, well. While we're waiting," Suigetsu began, a smirk on his lips, "why don't we have a little fun, Kisame-senpai? I've been itching to get my hands on Samehada for some while now."

"Is that you, Suigetsu?" Kisame chuckled roughly. "I didn't even recognize you. You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you."

Suigetsu grabbed the hilt of his sword in his hands. "Yeah, enough with the heartfelt reunion." His teeth flashed. "Let's get to the real stuff."

"Wow, I didn't think I'd find a bunch of Leaf Ninja way out here! And that's so not fair - it's eight-on-one!" Tobi swung his legs as he sat on a branch of a tree ahead of the Konoha shinobi.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"He has an Akatsuki cloak on," Yamato commented, "so he must be Akatsuki."

"However," Kakashi added, "he's not in that list of Akatsuki Kabuto left behind."

As they talked, Sakura kept her gaze locked upon Tobi's form. Her pale jade eyes were narrowed, and she found herself dropping into a slight battle stance.

"Oh, you guys might not know me - I'm new to the company," Tobi chimed. "Nice to meet you all!"

Frustrated, Naruto turned to his pink-haired teammate. "Sakura-chan, do you know this g -"

Suddenly, Tobi jumped to his feet. "Is that you, Sakura-chan? It's been so long since I've seen you! I missed you a lot, it's true!"

Sakura found herself in the Akatsuki member's solid embrace for a split second before he pulled back and allowed her a good glance at his one Sharingan eye staring from his orange mask. Then he was once again perched on the branch he had been not five seconds before.

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice steadily rose as he sprinted to her side and began to inspect her for any injuries. "I swear, if that bastard hurt you I'm gonna -"

Sakura gently pushed him away. "I'm fine, Naruto," she said reassuringly.

On his branch, Tobi was singing, "I got another hug from Sakura-chan, I got another hug from Sakura-chan! I'm Sakura-chan's favorite!"

Naruto turned to glare at the Akatsuki member. "What the hell did you do that for, dumbass?" he yelled.

Tobi stopped singing, and cocked his head to the side. "Sakura-chan is my best friend, silly! How could you not know?" He giggled to himself.

As Naruto began to visibly fume, Sakura rested a hand upon his shoulder. "It's okay, Naruto," she said quietly. "I've met him before - he's a little off in the mental department, that's all."

The blonde's clear blue eyes gazed at her. "You told us about him, didn't you? His name's Tobi or something like that."

She nodded. "And Itachi once said he's pretty dangerous, so don't try to attack -"

"He looks like a complete wimp, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, scoffing. "I can take him, just watch."

Completely ignoring her request, he turned and watched as one of his clones came at Tobi from behind with a Rasengan ready in its hand. The Akatsuki member whipped around, exclaiming, "Shadow clone?" just as the clone yelled, "Get out of our freaking way!"

The clone impaled Tobi with its Rasengan, and Naruto's clone passed right through Tobi's body as if he were made of thin air.

Jiraiya was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. His body lay limp on the cold ground, his cheek pressed into it, the breath barely moving in and out of his body.

For a second, it did stop moving. But then his body convulsed, and he coughed out a handful of blood. The summoning toad on his shoulder looked at the sannin with worry.

Across from him, Pein frowned slightly. I was sure his heart had stopped.

Jiraiya's eyes cracked open, and he glared at Pein, even as he lay there, completely helpless with no right to pride. Jiraiya turned and whispered into the toad's ear, and it hopped down with a confirmative "Right!" Then, with the last of his strength, he used his chakra and carved out a message on the toad's back.

Only when he was sure it had escaped to safety - to Konoha - did Jiraiya finally allow himself to succumb to the darkness pressing upon him, and sink into the water.

I did my part. Now the rest is up to you, Naruto.

"Ha, you're too full of yourself!" Tobi laughed. "What's a kid like you gonna do to me?" The Akatsuki member giggled as he sent two of Naruto's clones ramming into each other, and together they sent the real Naruto into a large, deep pond of water.

Hinata stood watching with worry in her pale violet eyes. "Naruto-kun!"

Sakura smiled slightly, her eyes still focused on Tobi before her. She had been watching as Naruto attacked over and over again, leisurely using the chance to analyze Madara's body-vanishing technique without having to fight him herself. She figured she would let Naruto do the physical work while she did the mental. "Relax, Hinata. It'll take much more than that to stop Naruto. Just keep your eyes trained on the enemy."

From behind his mask, Kakashi frowned. "He's evaded every single one of Naruto's jutsu. It's just like he's messing around with us…but why?"

Beside Hinata, Naruto emerged from the water, soaking wet with a livid look in his eyes. "We don't have time to screw around with you!" Naruto yelled at Tobi.

"Damn straight," Sakura growled. The Tigress, in her mind, gave a small snarl of approval.

"Okay, everyone," Yamato began, "get in formation B and move!"

"Yes, sir!" they chimed (they had gone over battle formations before they'd left the village), and attacked.

Somehow, Tsunade knew it was coming. As she sat on the edge of a small hut next to the lake, staring sightlessly at the walls before her, she tried to keep her mind perfectly blank.

But she knew it was coming.

Still, it came as a shock to her when she saw a small frog jump from land to water, and when, a few moments later, the water next to the edge of the lake began to swirl with Jiraiya's form vaguely visible beneath it.

She knew it was coming, but even that couldn't hold back her tears.

"Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, is now dead," Pein said, the rest of his bodies standing alongside him. "If we hadn't kept our secret, we would never have won. That is the highest praise I can give you, sensei."

Pein paused, and shifted his eyes to the right of him. "By the way, you can come out now."

Immediately, Zetsu emerged from a wall, his green plant appendages open like the waiting jaws of a shark. "That took you quite some time," Zetsu's light side commented. "He was fighting Jiraiya, after all," the dark side added.

Pein remained emotionless. "He appeared randomly, right after Madara ordered me to capture the Kyuubi."

"I'd love to see how that one plays out. Mind if I tag along? No way. I'm going to watch another fight. Right now, not too far from here…"

Pein glanced toward the sky.

"…the great Uchiha brothers are facing off."

Itachi sat in the stone chair in the old Uchiha compound, his legs crossed, hands in his lap, expression neutral, revealing nothing.

Sasuke stood across from him, arms limp at his sides, Sharingan bright and feverish, wanting retribution for all the pain he had suffered, all the cold nights he had spent alone. Ever alone.

Itachi was the first to speak. "Before we begin, wouldn't you like to know more about my little adventure with Sakura?" His voice was flat and aloof.

Sasuke's expression didn't change. "I don't have anything to do with Konoha anymore. Whatever you do to them does not effect me."

Itachi blinked. "Is that so?" he questioned softly. "What would you do, then, if I said I had killed her?"

The only physical response Sasuke gave was a slight twitch of his fingers. "I would say, 'Too bad,'" he answered curtly.

At that, Itachi's nails dug into the stone his arms rested upon. His little brother was truly ignorant of everything good that came his way.

But no matter. Soon, it would all be over.

"Then, foolish little brother, let's see how much your eyesight has improved over the years," Itachi began.

And Sasuke lunged.

A/N: Uh, yeah… I'm sorry this chapter was mostly filled with the happenings in the manga/anime, but they were needed. Trust me. This will all build up to the future of the story. And I'm sorry if what you were expecting to happen this chapter didn't happen - there was so much to add, so everything had to be prolonged a bit.

Anyway, please review! I already have the next chapter completed, and I might just update quicker than I plan to…we'll see how it goes.

Please and thank you,

Silver Echo

P.S. MartoqVana, if you're out there, thank you so, so much for such a long and detailed review! I sincerely hope you'll get a real account so I can respond properly, because there is no telling how much I appreciate you saying what you did. Truly, thank you.