AN: Some of you may have noticed I've changed quite a bit about this story. I've been working hard on edits, and I'm happy to say I only have three more chapters to revise, 2, 3, and 4. I'm planning on redoing certain scenes – like the discovering the Sharingan and Orochimaru extraction – all scenes I've had trouble writing in the past. I'll let you know when I do that. I've posted the quotes that I've wanted to at the beginning of each chapter, and I've also renamed the chapters based off of these quotes like I've wanted to. Thank you to those who have read this story from the beginning and haven't given up on it after reading that horrid first chapter. The new first chapter is a little more detailed, and has been edited. I'm hoping to get the second chapter edited and posted by tomorrow. Really guys, thank you so much for sticking with me. I know it's been a bit of a roller coaster through this story.

Please review and I hope you like this chapter!

Nothing but the Truth

Chapter 18: Bent and Broken

"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape."

― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her leg jittered nervously, impatiently, as she observed the scene before her. It was a bad, annoying habit she had picked up from Shizune while working with her in the hospital. The habit drove people around her completely insane. At least, it drove Sasuke insane. He was the only one who was almost constantly around her recently anyway – like a guard dog set to attack. If it wasn't so damn annoying, it would be endearing. Memories of her youth filled her impatient brain while she waited for Gaara to finish his task.

Now that she reflected on Sasuke's overprotective attitude, she remembered a time when she would have swooned at the Uchiha's care for her person. That was when she was week though. Now she was perfectly capable of taking care of her damn self. But Sasuke had a personal mission he now had to complete. Honor and protect that which his dear aniki finds precious – first and foremost on the list, her. So the Uchiha had been a bit of a constant presence in her life since the day that Sasuke had learned the truth about the death of his clan. While he still could not find it within himself to completely forgive his brother, and Sakura knew it would be a long time before he could, Sasuke did his best to honor his brother's sacrifices since most of the losses were for him.

Her foot went to hit the ground once again when a small swirl of sand clamped her defenseless foot down to the ground forcefully. Eyelids narrowing at the challenge, she sent a withering stare in the direction of the Kazekage who didn't even bother to turn to look at her. She was sure he could feel her burning countenance towards him at the moment anyway. Humph. It wasn't her fault it was taking him so long to finish up. For such an impatient man, he sure did take his time with things. Shaking her head, she shoved out such traitorous thoughts. Gaara was working very hard on an incredibly important task.

Perhaps it was because she was so close. Everything she had been working on the past six months was coming to fruition. Soon, everything would fall into place. At least, theoretically it would. However, her treacherous mind was once again forming thoughts of a different nature. When had anything really gone her way? A firm, unyielding part of her stated that she would have to work much harder to get peace and balance restored to her life. Nothing went easy for her, and it was a fool's hope to think that everything would be peachy the second her fist connected with the behemoth of a statue in front of her.

The large statue that stood in front of them, several meters tall, was smothering and intimidating. She had heard stories of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the statue used to seal the bijuu, but she had never seen it up close. The large brown, decaying statue was bound in the feet, holding the humanoid form as it had once held the ten tails. When Sakura had first caught a glimpse of the monstrous statue, she had lost all ability to breathe. Even Gaara glared at it with contempt. Of course, he had seen the statue once before – the day that he died.

Gaara's face remained impassive as he held out another container as he forced another bijuu out of the statue and into a very powerful sealing scroll. Sakura smirked. Pein would have a conniption fit when he found out that a few Leaf and Sand nin had found their precious statue and stole the all the bijuu the Akatsuki had managed to capture. It had only taken them a matter of months to formulate the plan and execute it when it had taken years for the Akatsuki to get this far. That's what he gets for offering a Leaf kunoichi passage into their precious organization. Nobody bothered her when she stalked around the bases at night when she had claimed to be looking for food. Although many times this was true, she was just hungry, other times she stole her way into rooms she ought not to be in. But damn, it had paid off big time.

"Taichou," a voice said suddenly from next to her. Sakura could hear the small, sarcastic sneer that came from that word. The person behind the mask next to her clearly didn't like calling her captain, but protocol required it. Really, she wouldn't have made him call her that, but discomfiting one of her closest friends was now a favorite past time. Her focus had been so contemplative on their situation that she hadn't heard or felt Sasuke fall down in place next to her. Her head tilted in a nod from behind her ANBU mask. "The Sand siblings, along with Team Hyuuga, have secured the perimeter. We merely need to wait for the extraction to complete and then you may finish your part of the mission."

"He only has one left," Sakura replied evenly. It was her first mission as a captain. Of course, she was only captain by proxy since Kakashi-sensei was otherwise indisposed. She would have much rather been with him, giving Itachi his little surprise, but she was needed here. Sakura had a series of gifts that were passed down from her shishou that would help them in this situation, and Tsunade was much too busy with the chaos in Konoha to be here herself.

"Which one?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the brilliant wave of energy as it seeped from the statue and into another scroll.

"Shukaku," Sakura answered certainly. The energy that was writhing in an undulating wave towards the scroll was unmistakable. It was familiar – familiar as the day it attacked and tried to kill her when she was merely twelve years old. Even though it was nearly eight years in the past, Sakura would always remember those days with a sweet bitterness. It had been the first time she had proven her worth, but it had also been the first time she realized how utterly weak she truly was. But it was for the best. Her first chunin exams had made her stronger, and now she was thankful for those days that had caused so many heartaches in her life.

"Any word on Danzou?" Sasuke asked gruffly from behind his hawk-shaped ANBU mask, the same shape as Itachi's when he had been part of Konoha's elite.

Sakura 'harrumphed' and crossed her arms over her chest. "No," she finally admitted. "I want to know how that bastard found out about everything and managed to get out of Konoha before we could strike. We got the other two, no problem. But stupid Danzou catches wind and runs like the stupid coward he is."

"Hn." Sasuke had already heard this rant a hundred times from several different people – namely the Godaime Hokage and her over-zealous apprentice who had concocted this entire plan and ordeal.

"I knew you were going to say that."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did. You're predictable. Borrrrring."

"Sakura," his voice was laced with warning.

"Sasu-cakes," she chirped happily. Sasuke growled at her and looked as if he were about to tackle her like he would Naruto in this situation.

A small cough from the other side of the room interrupted their verbal spar. Sakura's face jolted up to face Gaara, who had several scrolls in his hands, each one containing a bijuu to be distributed throughout their allies. "I'm finished," he announced. Nodding to Sakura, he continued, "You may finish with your mission, Sakura."

A wild grin covered her face as she confidently approached the statue before her. Black leather gloves slid onto her hands with such familiarity that she couldn't help but pet the soft leather a bit. They crinkled happily beneath her fingertips in anticipation as she clenched her fingers into her fists. Oh, she would enjoy this.

This was the statue that they used to kill Gaara, now one of her closest and most precious people – even if he was a big, impatient, contradictory asshole most of the time. The demonic statue could have also claimed Naruto's life one day, and that simply wouldn't do. Nobody, not the Akatsuki, Uchiha Madara, or Kami himself would hurt Naruto while Haruno Sakura still lived and breathed on this planet.

Her steps and resolve began to waver a bit when she ended her journey to the statue. It was even larger when you were standing at the base of it, and the dark aura that surrounded it was suffocating and oppressive. As her gaze turned analytical, trying to ignore the nervous fluttering of her gut, she jumped around the statue, examining its physical strengths and weaknesses. This would certainly be no simple feat.

Gaara's and Sasuke's eyes were on her, she knew, and she had to prove her strength. Both of them had protested her coming on this mission, but she and Tsunade had been persistent. It was too dangerous, they said. Gaara made a comment about her lack of self-control, to which she snorted most ungraciously, almost proving his point for him, but that was neither here nor there. Sasuke said Itachi would kill him if he found out that Sasuke had allowed her to attempt something so dangerous. But Tsunade had insisted that Sakura get to do this since Godaime Hokage couldn't attend herself. They were the only two people with the strength to accomplish this, and she would not let her shishou down. She would not let herself down.

Finally, she decided, after thoroughly examining the statue several times, she found a place that would break nicely beneath her fist. Just in case, she went over the statue once more. A sigh of exasperation sounded from across the room, but she wasn't sure if it was from Gaara or Sasuke. Stupid, impatient men. They both wanted to do their own activities in their own time, never hurrying for anyone else's account, but couldn't wait a few damn minutes for her to finish the most important task of the day. To be honest, she didn't care if they were going to be babies about this. If she was going to do this, she was going to do this right, no matter what her impatient friends thought about it. Standing by the right knee of the large humanoid, she began to channel chakra into her fist. Her precise control told her when it would be enough to break the stone into a thousand bits, and for good measure, she pushed in a little more.

Her hand reared back, and with a loud battle shout, it flew right at the statue in front of her. There were no bijuu in it now. It was merely an empty vessel, but the Akatsuki wouldn't be able to use it to take the jinchuriki anymore. The spider-webs of cracks that erupted on the stone as her fist made contact spread out, making their way up the body of the monster. From the tip of its toes, to its tails, to the end of its head, the cracks resonated throughout the entire statue, down to its very core. Once it was done, and Sakura was satisfied, she smiled. Her middle finger connected with her thumb, and with a small flick of her digit, the entire body of the demonic statue crumbled to the ground in a pile of dust and stone.

It was done.

Sakura grinned wildly as she jumped from the rubble to rejoin Gaara and Sasuke. Both stoic individuals were smirking at her, obviously proud with her displays of power. Sakura just grinned back. Something about destroying that statue was cathartic and emotionally liberating. After everything she had been doing in the past six months to bring down the Akatsuki and bring Itachi home, this was just the cherry on top of a very delicious ice cream sundae.

Now, if Kakashi completed his task without screwing it up or getting himself killed, everything just may fall into place. Then again, they still had Danzou and Root to worry about. The man had up and disappeared without a trace, along with nearly four hundred of his trusted Root operatives. Sakura wasn't sure if she should be happy or afraid that Sai had stayed behind. It certainly meant that Danzou no longer trusted him. And he shouldn't. Sai was now completely loyal to Konoha and the Hokage.

"Well, this was fun, ne?" Sakura asked. Sasuke merely tilted his mask to cover his face once again and Gaara smirked at her.

"Your definition of fun is rather odd," the Godaime Kazekage commented quietly.

"At least I have fun. Really, both of you are so borrrrrring," she purred. She jumped out of the cave where the statue had been held before Gaara's sand could wrap around her in a deadly grip.

X

A small white handkerchief was being waved from the hands of the jounin who stood at the door, the three Akatsuki completely speechless inside. The Leaf-nin repeated, "I come in peace. I come in peace," several times while flinging the article around.

"Hatake," Itachi greeted uncertainly. "How'd you get in here – past our traps…?"

"A little birdy with pink feathers walked me through it. Plus, you forget that I've been here before." That was true. This was their base in Tea Country, meaning that it was the first base that they brought the two ninja to when they originally captured Sakura and Kakashi. He continued to explain, "May I come in? I have some matters to discuss with you. Don't worry, we're not here to arrest or kill or harm you in anyway. I just have some things to give you."

Itachi sent a glance behind him. Kisame and Deidara were staring at him with questioning looks, both seemingly unsure of what to do or how to react. To be honest, nothing like this had every happened before. Akatsuki bases were chosen for their anonymity. They were laced with traps, genjutsu, and other means of protection to keep anyone who happens to walk by out. Who just came and knocked on the door to the Akatsuki base? No one in their right mind would do something so foolish. Then again, Itachi was beginning to doubt whether or not Kakashi was within his right mind.

"You along with two ANBU may enter, but the rest must wait outside of the barrier that surrounds this property. If we feel them enter it again, we will have no choice but to exterminate you," Itachi finally decided. Of course, it shouldn't come to that. They would not attack the Leaf-nin unless provoked, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Kakashi nodded his acceptance of the terms and then gestured for the group behind him to thin. Three men stayed behind. When Itachi narrowed his eyes, he realized that the man behind the toad-shaped mask was a kage bunshin. "Naruto-kun," he greeted quietly.

The Naruto clone pulled his mask off with a beaming smile. "I wanted to know what was going on, but we thought it be best that I didn't show up in person. You never know what kind of sick freaks are trying to get their hands on my body, you know!" he explained.

The other two ANBU in the room seemed to relax a bit. Itachi noted by their chakra signatures that one was Shiranui Genma and the other was the man that Sakura had referred to as Sai, the former ANBU Root member. As he sidestepped, he allowed the three and a half members to enter the living room. Deidara and Kisame returned to the coach, but they kept their favorite weapons precariously close to their persons. They were missing-nin, and no one ever knew exactly when or how their nations would come after them. Although, Itachi seemed to trust the men that had come unannounced to their temporary home. That was enough for Kisame, at least, but Deidara remained wary and allowed his kekkai genkai to chew happily on clay, preparing to attack if need be.

Kakashi and the two ANBU followed Itachi into the kitchen, while Naruto contented himself to stay in the living room by Kisame and Deidara. The blonde kyuubi seemed more than willing to try to befriend the other two Akatsuki. If Sakura-chan said they were good people, then they must be, and Naruto never turned down the opportunity to make new friends – especially since Sakura said that both Kisame and Deidara enjoyed their sake. Naruto didn't have many good drinking partners back in Konoha.

Itachi motioned for Kakashi to sit down, the other two flanking his sides, choosing to remain standing. "Please, Hatake," Itachi prompted, "Explain."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his hand over his face as if he were suddenly very wary and burdened. Clearly steeling himself for the upcoming conversation, he took in a large, reassuring breath before blurting in a rushed, yet somehow dignified statement, "I was sent here as an ambassador to officially apologize on behalf of Konoha for their crimes and wrongdoing against you and your clan."

He opened up a manila envelope that he had been holding in his hands since his arrival, pulling out documents quickly. Itachi sat in a sort of stunned, contemplative silence. All he could do was watch the copy-nin's methodical movements, seemingly at a loss for words. "This," Kakashi stated evenly as he rifled through papers and pulled several out of the pile, "Is a formal letter of apology from the Hokage. It is sort of the official political bullshit – her words, not mine – that she has to write. This is another, more personal letter from her explaining a few things and offering you clemency back in Konoha. And this is a check."

Itachi took each paper, barely glancing over the contents of each before receiving another paper to look through. Kisame and Deidara were eerily quiet in the living room as they listened to the absolutely baffling news that was being discussed in the kitchen. Itachi continued to look over the papers in his hands, while Kakashi watched him with barely veiled pleasure. The official apology was only one page long and seemed to be brief. The personal letter was a little longer. Itachi could clearly make out several expletives used on the paper. The words 'Danzou' and 'power hungry, egotistical asshole' appeared together several times on the page. Finally, Itachi looked at the check in his hands. The signature on the bottom, to his utter shock, was Uchiha Sasuke. The other anomaly was the large amount of money that was on the check. Kakashi seemed to understand his bewilderment without the emotion ever flitting across Itachi's onyx eyes.

"Sasuke and Sakura went through and completely cleaned out the Uchiha grounds, taking any personal heirlooms and items with them. Then, Sasuke used his inheritance money to completely demolish the entire compound and rebuild several houses and training grounds on it, along with many other luxuries he said he would never need. Really, Sakura had been the primary planner in the entire thing, and Sasuke, being as impassive as ever, let her have her fun. He sold off a good portion of the land that they didn't use. Whatever was left from the Uchiha funds was cut in half. Sasuke kept half for himself and sent half to you," Kakashi explained evenly. His lone black eye was twinkling with amusement at the stunned look on Itachi's face. Even though to an untrained eye, the Uchiha's face was as blank as ever, Kakashi could see the news had surprised Itachi beyond belief.

Kakashi took a small parcel out of his pocket then, which was delicately wrapped in tissue paper, and placed it on the table. "Before I give you this, there are more personal matters to discuss," he stated evenly, but the deadly tenor that resonated throughout Kakashi's voice made Itachi look at him tensely. Tension was suddenly think and tangible, Kakashi's eye narrowing carefully. "Tell me, Uchiha. Exactly how long have you been dating my favorite student?"

The dead silence that followed was perhaps the tensest few seconds of Itachi's life. Even the two ANBU who were stationed behind Kakashi loyally seemed to take a step back to distance themselves from the copy-nin, clearly anticipating a fight to break out, or at the very least, Kakashi to attack the ill-fortuned Uchiha. However, Itachi merely quirked a brow in response, as if to ask Kakashi exactly what he was talking about.

Before anyone could speak, a loud grumbling could be heard from the other room – namely, Naruto's stomach.

"Anyone have ramen?"

"…"

"You're a clone, Dickless, you can't be hungry."

"Yeah, yeah, I know Asshole. But I'm just trying to make things less tense," Naruto explained haphazardly. To his credit, the air did seem to lighten a bit as the tension began to seep from the room slowly. Kakashi was still glaring at Itachi, but the other two ANBU seemed to relax a bit. Naruto, from his place on the couch, continued his small speech, "Ne, ne, Kakashi-sensei, just leave the man alone. If Sakura-chan's happy, then we should be too. Let's face it; he's better for her than the teme or that stupid Hyuuga."

Kakashi's eye crinkled at the corners, indicating he was smiling, but Itachi could see the strain behind the forced gesture. Rubbing the back of his head rather guiltily, Kakashi conceded, "Yeah, I guess you're right Naruto. I suppose I was just surprised to see that necklace around her neck that day."

"And what were you doing so you could see the necklace? It hangs rather low," Itachi asked placidly. He wasn't really jealous or implying anything because he was very familiar with the type of bond Sakura and her sensei possessed, but he wanted to further ease contentious situation; his overly logical mind telling him that some humor may make Kakashi slightly less likely to try to kill him. Sakura and Kakashi held a special bond that went beyond the normal student-teacher dynamic because of everything their particular squad had gone through together. The kunoichi had spent many evenings recounting tales of her beloved sensei even though Itachi felt as if the copy-nin had done her a great disservice by favoring Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura had conceded as much once, when he had expressed his opinion, but she seemed to have gotten over any major ill-will felt towards the jounin.

"Well then," Kakashi replied, a embarrassed look crossing over his face that Itachi could see was placed for show, "I suppose we shall get down to the last bit of business, and then we will be on our way home."

Before Kakashi could finish a small explosion reverberated throughout the room. Samehada was poised in the air in the kitchen, Itachi had grabbed several kunai, and small clay birds flew into the kitchen quickly. However, the only result of the small explosion was a brown pug sitting in the center of the table, a bored look on his face as he watched his owner. Kakashi let out a nervous chuckle as the Akatsuki members began to remove their weapons from the vicinity.

"Pakkun," Kakashi greeted.

"Kakashi. Sakura-chan has asked me to inform you that she has completed her mission successfully and her team is now returning to Konoha," Pakkun muttered quickly, his senses on high alert as his eyes scanned the enemies closely. He didn't care what his master said – the Akatsuki smelled of death, and he was going to trust them as far as he could throw them. Since he was a dog and had no hands, he couldn't throw them anywhere.

"Very good," Kakashi cheered. "In that case, I will leave this…present…with you. The explanation is in the letter Tsunade sent. Our stay here is coming to an end."

"What are you talking about, Hatake?" Itachi questioned. There was an edge to Kakashi's voice that told him he was suddenly nervous about something – something to do with Sakura's mission. Eyes narrowing, he continued, "What'd she do?"

Kakashi merely chuckled as he gathered his companions. Naruto suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke, seemingly aware that their meeting was now finished. Kakashi pushed the small parcel towards Itachi. "You know Sakura," Kakashi said vaguely. "She likes to cause trouble. Read the letters carefully and make your decision. My comrades and I are no longer safe here…if we were ever."

Three mini-explosions later, Kakashi and his comrades were gone in individual puffs of smoke.

X

"THAT LITTLE BITCH," Madara screamed, throwing another large rock in his furious tirade that had begun the moment they entered the cavern. Pein stood nearby, his impassive façade plastered on his face. If one looked closely, they could see the silent fury brewing beneath his dead eyes. Konan looked on rather sheepishly, surveying the damage.

"Every bijuu is gone," Konan finally stated, defeated. All of their hard work and planning had been unraveled in one day. Not that she liked Madara very much; in fact, she hated the man who seemed to love chaos so much, but she was still fairly angry to see her hard work destroyed so easily. "And the statue has been completely destroyed. How…ingenious."

Suddenly, Madara went eerily calm. His mind began to concoct their new plans to destroy Konoha. "I have an errand to run…" he muttered before disappearing in a small cloud of smoke.

Now that their infuriated leader was gone, Pein allowed himself to sigh. "We should contact the others," he stated as he pressed his chakra into his ring. It glowed lightly as his astro-form projected into a room.

Konan allowed herself to chuckle a bit as she replied, "If there are still others."

Konan joined him next. Zetsu appeared rather suddenly, not that was surprising. Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara appeared next. All of them looked rather befuddled and pale, as if something had happened recently. Pein raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha, who merely shook his head.

"One of Deidara's clay birds nearly blew up the base in Tea Country," he explained nonchalantly. That was true. The moment the Konoha ANBU had vanished, one of the clay birds had exploded due to the smoke from the transportation jutsu. Pein just sighed.

"Anyway," Pein began, "We have some…troubling news. It seems that shinobi from the Suna and Konoha have found the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, captured the bijuu within it, and destroyed the vessel."

"We don't know exactly who or how they did it," Pein continued. "Madara-sama, Konan, and I will continue with the investigation. When we find out what happened, we will contact you. Until then, stay put and lie low. This could be the first of several attacks on the Akatsuki. In the meantime, Zetsu, I want your report on the recruitment of those former Sound nin."

"Yes, Leader-sama," they echoed understanding and then released the astro-projection.

X

Dear Uchiha Itachi,

I suppose I could just rewrite all that political bullshit in the 'official' letter, but I'm not going to. I suppose I should start by saying this, you have one hell of a pink-haired-kick-ass cheerleader on your side, and you should count your blessings for her. I do, every day. So, now that's settled, I should tell you that what happened back then would have never happened under my leadership. I'm sorry that the council and Danzou chose to take that course of action. I could babble apologies to do all day, but I'm not going to do that either. You want to know why? Because it won't change anything, and I don't like to apologize, especially when it wasn't my damn fault.

So, I'm going to explain what's going to happen now. I am reinstating you as a ninja to Konoha. Whether you come back and are active or not is up to you. I could understand if you never wanted to set foot inside this village again, but I know a certain girl that would be fairly disappointed if that's your choice. However, it is your choice. If you choose not to come back, that's fine as well. You are no longer a traitor in our books.

The village is in an uproar over the recently-made-public news over the massacre. They don't hate you. Alright, some may still hate you, but all of your former comrades seem to understand. Many of them would have done the same thing had they been in your position. The two council members who authorized your clan's massacre, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, are dead. By official documentation, they committed suicide the night after the plans behind the massacre became public. That power hungry, egotistical asshole Shimura Danzou escaped punishment for his crimes along with all of ANBU Root. We are currently trying to track him, so he may be tried in a court of law since his actions were definitely illegal. I suppose the one good thing that comes of his defection is the fact that I don't have to listen to his damned, power hungry, egotistical asshole voice anymore. I can now elect my own council, and I don't have to deal with those old, set-in-their-ways bats.

So, how does this affect you other than the obvious? I guess it doesn't. Whether or not you return home is up to you. I guess. However, if you choose to remain loyal to the Akatsuki and harm comes to our village because of it, purposefully or inadvertently, you will be right back where you started – a defector, missing-nin, and S-class criminal for our bingo book. Sakura mentioned your friends, the fish and the bomb. They can come too. If they swear blood oaths not to harm Konoha and dissolve their ties with the Akatsuki, then they will be granted clemency in Fire Country – but only Fire Country. Both Kages of their respective villages want them to stay far, far away. They are only allowing us to house them without repercussions in order to keep them away from their villages. But that is up to them.

I'll stop wasting your time. I hope you make the right decision, for you and for her.

Sincerely,

Senju Tsunade

Godaime Hokage

Itachi read the letter through twice, carefully. He then read it once more for good measure. Looking down at the papers in his hands, he simply couldn't believe she had done all this for him. No, that wasn't the complete truth either. She had done this for them. For himself, for her, for Sasuke, and for the village; how could the village truly heal from that massacre without knowing the truth? He had never wanted them to know. It was to protect them, but perhaps he had it wrong all along. Perhaps he should have gone public with the order, but what would that have brought? More death and more destruction.

Shaking his head, he thought, no, that wouldn't have worked either, and it didn't matter now anyway. What happened back then was in the past. What happened recently was in the past. Now, they only had the future, and Sakura had made it so they could be together. When he had challenged her to accomplish this task, he had not expected this. Then again, Sakura never did things in halves.

His hand made its way to the check. This was a lot of money. He could easily buy himself some land just outside of Konoha, build a few houses, and live peacefully with Sakura, Kisame, and Deidara – if they wanted it – by his side. Even then, he could never work another day in his life and still live more than comfortably. Somehow, the thought seemed rather nice, delightful in fact. No more stress, no more missions, no more Akatsuki.

But he knew that wouldn't work either. There was one person who would crush that plan before it even came to be. Uchiha Madara. He would have to die before Itachi could ever settle down – Sasuke too for that matter.

"Whoa, kid, you're rich!" Kisame called loudly, looking over Itachi's shoulder at the check on the table. His two companions had joined him in the kitchen after their meeting with Pein. Kisame had laughed heartily when they had returned, speaking of Sakura as if she was some sort of messiah. Even Deidara was joining in, agreeing with Kisame for perhaps the first time. But the other two were now looking through the things that Kakashi had brought. They finally turned their attention back to the tissue-wrapped gift that the copy-nin had dropped before vanishing.

"What's that, yeah?" Deidara asked easily.

Itachi picked up the parcel and quickly unwrapped it. The new, sleek, unmarked metal of the Konoha symbol shone proudly on the back of a black cloth. It was unscarred, unscratched through the middle. A new start. This would certainly be his new beginning if he chose to take it. But he had to find out something else, first. He handed the letter to Kisame, who read it through. Once he reached the bottom, he reread the passage about being granted pardon to live in Fire Country. After reading it several times, he handed the letter to Deidara…

…who whooped.

"Finally, a chance to get away from this shit hole of an organization. We have to go!" he exclaimed. It was not a secret that Deidara was in the Akatsuki by force, not by choice. If he had been prepared to face the Sharingan, this never would have happened, and he would be living the happy life of a rogue ninja, on his own, with nobody to stifle his art.

"Itachi?" Kisame prompted. The Uchiha looked up from the hitai-ate in his hands for the first time. "What are you going to do?"

Itachi was silent for a moment, so Kisame continued, "I think we should do it. Damn, kid, nobody gets second chances like this. This kind of shit just doesn't happen in our world. That little girl of yours obviously did this for you, and she did it for us to. She's giving us the chance to get the hell out of here. I was always here because you were here – my loyalty was never really with the Akatsuki even though world domination sounded fun and all, and Deidara was shoved into the organization by you of all people. Eh, I may be getting old, but I'm ready to be done with this. You heard Pein. The bijuu are gone. Everything we've worked on for ten years, gone, down the drain. What's the point of staying?"

Kisame's speech was met with silence as Itachi looked down at the smooth metal once again. His comrade's opinion surprised him, but it didn't at the same time. Recently, Itachi could tell that Kisame had been going through the motions. The Mist-nin wasn't getting as much action as he liked, and he was no longer appeased by the pace of how things were going. Deidara's opinion was no surprise at all, having been the one to force the nukenin into the Akatsuki himself. Then again, there was still Madara to consider. The best chance to take him out would be to stay close to him and wait for the opportune moment.

As he thought about it, he remembered a conversation he had with Sakura during her stay. It had been during their first healing session for his eyes after he revealed the truth of the massacre to him. She had told him that he couldn't do everything himself. His plan to die by Sasuke's hand had become clearer to her, and she was already working to break down his resolve on the issue.

He couldn't do it by himself.

Itachi wasn't arrogant, but he knew he was powerful, being ever aware of his capabilities. But he wasn't Madara – he wasn't even close to being as powerful as the oldest of the Uchiha. If he wanted him dead, he would need help.

Sasuke.

It would be perfect. Sasuke would get his revenge because the entire massacre was Madara's fault in the first place – having planted the seeds of suspicion in the council after the kyuubi attack. He was also present on the night of the attack. They would kill him, and everything would fall into place.

Right, the rather sarcastic part of his mind doubted. Of course, nothing was ever that easy. But it would be a step in the right direction.

Finally, Itachi had made his decision.

"Pack your things," he stated, "we are heading for Konoha."

X

Madara's steps were fast and furious through the halls. Someone would be aware of his presence by now, but he didn't care. It's not like any of these weaklings could kill him anyway. But he needed them – pawns in his game. He arrived at the door he was looking for and stepped through without knocking.

The old, bandaged man before him glanced his way with a stern glare from behind the dilapidated desk he was sitting at.

"Uchiha Madara."

"Shimura Danzou, I have a proposition for you…"

AN: So kudos to BallerinasAreBabyNinjas for coming up with the idea to have Naruto present when Kakashi met with Itachi. I really liked the idea and it sounded fun, but I had to come up with a way to do it without handing Naruto to the Akatsuki on a silver platter. I hope it was a little entertaining, at least.

Anyway, I'm heading on vacation for the next few weeks, so I'm not sure if I'll be updating soon.

Thanks for reading, guys. You're the best, and please review!