Welcome back folks.

Sorry for delaying this update for so long, but it's up now. I hope you guys enjoy it.

Last chapter, Might Guy's team encountered the pirates and Lee suffered at the hands (or feet) of Tetsu Noashi, the Iron Leg. Meanwhile, Sasuke has saved Sakura from Itachi's genjutsu, but now discovered something shocking about his brother upon discovering the previous demon has taken Naruto's liking.

Now let's get back to the action.

"Long time no see, little brother." The crows said in unison.

Sasuke looked at this abnormal murder of crows with widened eyes. "What the hell is that thing?"

"Did you miss me?" the demon asked Jinzoku.

"Miss you? If I recall, the last time we met, you tried to kill me!" Jinzoku charged at his brother, striking as the murder of crows broke apart and slowly began to surround him. "Well, let me return the 'brotherly affection'!"

As the two demon brothers continued with their fight, Sakura broke Sasuke's attention on them. "Now's our chance, let's go." She quickly ran over to Itachi and helped him on his feet. "Come on, you're coming with us."

"What?" Sasuke asked. "But, Sakura..."

"He can explain himself when we can find a place to talk." Sakura interrupted. "But that can wait until later. Let's move."

The two demons had failed to notice that the Konoha shinobi had disappeared from sight as their own sibling dispute was their top priority at the moment. By the time the murder of crows took notice of their absence, they were long gone.

"You fool!" The crows swooped in and surrounded Jinzoku. "You let them escape!" With the crows, Jinzoku was lifted up from the ground and then thrown through the trees, crashing through many of them. "I will find you soon Uchiha, you can't escape me that easily."

Sasuke, Sakura, and Itachi didn't have to move for much longer; they were fortunate enough to find a cave that was out of sight. With Naruto and Kakashi still missing, they needed to find them.

As they found a suitable place within the cave, Sakura gently placed Itachi down on the ground. "You feeling better Itachi?" Sakura asked. "You need anything?"

"No, no. I'll be fine." Itachi answered. "I just need some rest."

Sasuke kept his eyes on Itachi, staring at him cautiously as if Itachi would strike them at any time.

"I'll be back." Sakura said to Sasuke. "I'm going to see if Naruto and Kakashi-sensei are around." Sakura left the cave, leaving the two Uchiha brothers alone in the cave.

The two remained silent for a while, remaining motionless while flashing quick glances at each other. This was the first time in years that they were together without the desire for conflict. For that reason, neither of them knew what to do at this situation.

Itachi briefly looked up to Sasuke. Taking a good look at him, he couldn't help but smile. "You've really grown up Sasuke, You've become a better person."

Sasuke looked up at him, still cautious. "What happened?" He asked. "How is it that you're suddenly acting like the loving brother I once knew? What's going on with you?"

Itachi didn't answer. All he could do was remember the past, the past that was filled with bloodshed. Bloodshed, caused by his own hands. "I guess just telling you won't be enough. Come here, give me your hands."

"Why?" Sasuke asked, still suspicious of his brother.

"Let me show you the truth." Itachi said. When Sasuke walked over to his brother and offered his hands, Itachi brought them to his head. "Ready? Mangekyou Sharingan."

...Flashback...

Itachi was on a stakeout mission with ANBU. His teammates were in their separate locations, hiding from their target.

"This is Shisui, I think I found the target." Shisiu Uchiha's voice came out of Itachi's radio earpiece. "Itachi, they're coming in your direction."

"Alright, you know the plan." Itachi said. "Take out the guards. Leave the target to me."

Behind Itachi, a single crow perched itself on a branch above him, waiting to strike at Itachi at the right moment.

...End...

"Wait... there's more." Itachi said, "You need to see more."

...Flashback...

"Alright, Itachi. What did you bring me here for?" Shisui asked. "You know we're gonna be late for the meeting."

"I know what they asked you to do." Itachi said. "They told you to keep tabs on me, and report anything suspicious, right?"

"Whoa, wait." Shisui backed away slightly. "Itachi, you're talking crazy."

"You want something to tell the clan? Well here it is." Itachi then threw his head up and with a loud scream, crows spewed out of his mouth. "Why not tell them about me?" The crows all hovered above the two, circling them.

Itachi fell on his knees, panting heavily. "Shisui..."

"Itachi!" Shisui ran over to Itachi. "What is this? Is this supposed to explain for all the weird stuff you've been doing?"

"Run...Get out of here..." Itachi panted. "He's dangerous..."

"Not without you. Come on, Itachi. We can explain all this to the clan. I'm gonna..." Suddenly the crows descended down upon Shisui, surrounding him and preventing escape.

"Sorry, but I need his body. I can't let you take him away from me." He then entered Shisui's body, and taking control of his movements, he walked towards the lake. It was only a matter of time before his entire body was submerged in the water and after several minutes, the crows flew out of the water and traveled back to Itachi. "Now that that's done with, there's some other things that need to be done."

...End...

"That's how you made it look like a suicide." Sasuke said. "That explains his death."

"There's still more you need to see." Itachi said, keeping Sasuke's hands on his head. "That was only the beginning of the chaos he created."

...Flashback...

"NO!" In Itachi's mind, his innocent voice was screaming in terror as his physical form was slaughtering his clan, his family. "Stop!"

Itachi's body continued to strike down all the Uchihas; men, women, and even the children. None of them stood a chance against Itachi, none of them were spared. There were only few who chose to fight back.

"Itachi! You traitor!" Three Uchiha who were garbed in ANBU gear charged at Itachi, but with the power of the Mangekyou, Itachi immobilized them and killed them while they were defenseless. "Stop, no more!" Itachi's voice was ignored while his body continued to slaughter the clan, leaving nothing but blood and lifeless bodies as a trail. The bloodshed continued on until it was down to his very parents. "Otou-san, Okaa-san. No, don't do this!" While Itachi's mind was trying to be resistant, his body was not affected. He charged at his parents and with swift movement, they fell to the ground, stabbed in the chest.

"Otou-san, Okaa-san." There was a scream of a little boy behind Itachi.

"Oh no...please no..." The voice in Itachi's head was now brought to complete terror, knowing that it was now down to this. Itachi turned around and found his little brother Sasuke, standing there. Fear was filled in his eyes, but while Itachi was just as scared, his body didn't show it. "No, please. Don't kill him." Itachi then began to torture Sasuke's mind with the power of his Mangekyou. Sasuke screamed in pain as he began to witness Itachi's actions in his mind. "NO! Sasuke! Stop, please stop!" Itachi's body refused to give in to the pleading voice in his mind. "I'm begging you, I'll do anything. Just let him live, please."

...End...

Sasuke returned to reality, falling to the ground from the shock of this revelation. He panted heavily from the gathering of this new information. "You...you never meant to kill them."

"I tried to fight his control, but he only allowed me to spare you." A single tear fell down his cheek. "I was able to fight him off only for brief moments, but he always took me back. Every opportunity I had, I tried to keep you safe. I begged Sandaime to protect you, and when we fought, I held back to keep you alive."

"What is that thing anyways?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi paused for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it all. "He's a demon that's been alive for generations. He's unable to have a body of his own, so he takes control of one until he can find someone more youthful to grow old in. It's how he's lived for centuries."

"But you're free of him now." Sasuke said. "He doesn't have to take you back."

"I wish it were that simple." Itachi said, gloomy over his imminent doom. "This demon has grown attached to me. The chakra he's nourished with from my body is something he's going to want back, like separation anxiety. He won't stop until he finds me. The only way to stop him is to kill him, but killing a demon is impossible."

Sasuke was left clueless with all this. Here he was, alone with Itachi; a supposedly loving brother who suddenly went psychotic and slaughtered their entire clan. Now he's talking with this same person, realizing that his evil intentions weren't even his own. "Then, what can you do?"

"The only way for him to leave me is if..." Itachi paused. "...if I die." He could see the reaction Sasuke had; surprise. Sasuke didn't expect Itachi to suggest death as a option for himself. "You have no idea how many times I've wished for it. I wanted to die for so many years just to escape the pain of what I've done." Itachi looked down to his hands, remembering the deaths of many he caused by it. "But no matter ow many times I want it, I don't have the strength to do it."

By this point, Sasuke had finally shown no more suspicion. He now showed true concern for his brother. "Why?"

Itachi looked back up to Sasuke. "I'm afraid. Despite embracing death as freedom, I'm scared of what it's like."

"Nii-san..." Itachi, scared of death? This wasn't something Sasuke expected from a former Konoha ANBU. This Itachi was indeed different from the Itachi he has had conflict with for so many years.

"AAAAHHHH!"

The two Uchiha brothers turned their gaze to out of the cave. The scream of a woman shook Sasuke's soul, knowing who it was. "Sakura!" Sasuke got up and ran out of the cave. He had almost lost her because of Itachi's genjutsu, he wasn't to lose her again. The scream was fairly loud, so she must have been nearby. "Sakura!" His running finally stopped when he found her. She didn't seem harmed, she was just standing there. "Are you alright?"

"Sasuke, stop!" Itachi called out. "That's not her."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Look." Itachi pointed.

Sasuke looked back to Sakura and then finally noticed the change; a black crow perched itself on Sakura's shoulder. "I knew using this human would help me find you. Although I have to say, this chakra is utterly disgusting compared to yours Uchiha."

"Give her back." Sasuke demanded.

"Or what?" Sakura asked. "Are you willing to harm this body? Are you willing to risk that?"

Sasuke clenched his fists. With no offense to Sakura, Sasuke knew he was much stronger than her, putting her down would be fairly simple, but the risk of hurting her was something he was concerned with.

"No. No one has to fight." Itachi said. He looked over to Sakura, knowing what he had to do. "Let her go, and can take me back. I won't resist."

"Wait, nii-san, you don't have to do this." Sasuke said.

"This is my choice." Itachi said. "This is my battle, I won't have her suffer for it." He slowly approached Sakura, showing that he was not going to fight. "Release her and you can take me back, but you must let them go."

Sakura grinned at Itachi's request. "Fine." Throwing her head back, Sakura screamed out loudly. One by one, crows began to fly out from her mouth, hovering around them all. As they left Sakura's body one by one, so did they enter Itachi the same way; one by one, they all entered Itachi's mouth, taking over his body once more.

"Nii-san!"

"Stay back!" Itachi shouted as the final crow entered his body. "Get out of here now, run!" Finally consumed by the influence of the demon, Itachi glared at Sasuke. "Like hell I'll let you go. Time to die."

Sasuke put up a defensive stance, ready for whatever Itachi was going to throw at him. However, what neither of them expected occurred. A kunai with an explosive tag attached to it landed directly between them, exploding on contact.

"No time to linger." Kakashi jumped in from above. He picked up Sakura's unconscious body and turned to Sasuke. "Let's move now."

When the smoke cleared, Itachi was left standing alone in the forest. Despite losing his chance at killing Sasuke, he simply scoffed. "Doesn't matter, there's always next time."

"Another demon?" Kakashi asked.

Finding a place to stop while Sakura was still unconscious, Sasuke filled Kakashi in on the events that had occurred since their separation. "And apparently the two are brothers as well."

"So we have one demon that's possessed your brother, and now another demon looks like Naruto, but with your abilities."

"He said that he took Naruto down." Sasuke said.

"And you believe him?" Kakashi asked.

"No, Naruto is better than that. If he's alright, he'll know where the village is." Sasuke said. "As much as I hate leaving him, we can't risk having Itachi finding us."

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, regaining consciousness. Sasuke dropped to his knees by her side to help her up. "Sakura, are you alright?" Sasuke asked.

"I think so." She said, slowly sitting up on the ground. "What happened?"

"That demon got to you." Sasuke answered her. "Itachi managed to get it out, but now it got him again. Kakashi-sensei managed to help us escape."

"What? Where is Itachi?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, we had to get away so that the demon couldn't attack us." A quick sound of something snapping caught their attention and Sasuke quickly got up to see what it was.

"We can't stay here long." Kakashi said. "Sakura, if you're able, we need to move now."

"Kakashi-sensei, she just regained consciousness, give her a moment."

"No, it's alright." Sakura said, reassuring Sasuke. "I can move."

Covering their trail, the three resumed their travel to rendezvous with Might Guy and his team. Half an hour into their journey, they had arrived outside the village Yu, but from what they could see, something had occurred; many things were damaged all around the village, people were injured and tended to.

"What happened here?" Sakura asked.

"There must've been a pirate attack." Kakashi assumed. "But where are the others?"

"Kakashi!" Might Guy came running to them. "It's about time you came. You missed everything."

"What happened here?" Kakashi asked.

"Pirates came as soon as we arrived." Might Guy explained. "We fought them back, but..." He looked away, upset about the things that happened during the attack.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"It's Lee, he's injured." Might Guy answered. "Ino took care of his injuries, but he has a broken leg. These pirates are more powerful than we anticipated."

Meanwhile, at another location within the village, a young girl was tending to the damage done to her home. While she was busy with the task, she took notice of something on the shore. Curious, she approached the water and noticed what it was, a body. Cautiously, she picked up a hoe from the ground and slowly approached the body. When she was withing reach, she gently pocked at the body with the farming tool. After several pokes, the body slightly moved. Shocked, she dropped the hoe and ran inside. "Ji-san(uncle)!" Coming back out with her uncle, the two examined the body.

"He doesn't look like a pirate to me." The uncle said. He gently turned the body over to look at his face, noticing distinct whiskers on his face. "He's definitely still alive, let's get him inside." Taking the body into his arms, he lifted the body up from the water and carried it into their home.

Just to clarify something, while Might Guy and his team were dealing with the pirates in the village, Kakashi's team had encountered Itachi and Jinzoku on the same day, roughly at the same moment. So hopefully, that will explain how Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi arrive at the village just moments after the pirate attack.

Anyways, you all know what to do, leave a review and I'll feed on it. Perhaps it'll motivate me to update sooner.