Hey, I'm back! Took me long enough (between my mother having serious health problems, work, real life...), but here is the second half of Atlas, bloodier, crazier, funnier!
Also, I added a popularity poll on my profile. You get to vote for the characters you love the most. The five most popular characters will get to be the stars of a special chapter after the poll is closed.
Previously, on Atlas: the invasion of Konoha fails, but Akatsuki gets away with all Jinchuuriki. While Naruto, Sasuke, Yugao, Fuu and Han are prisoners in Amegakure, Jiraiya and Team Gai plans to free them, with a little help from Kirigakure. Itachi, having enough of Akatsuki, is also plotting.
Meanwhile, Pain is every day closer to his goal of world domination... and Tobi awaits, sealed, biding his time...
Part II:
Chapter 14: True Pain
Amegakure, six months after the Invasion of Konoha:
The downpour in the Land of Rain only stopped during winter.
Well, that wasn't exactly true. The downpour often ceased during the other seasons, either naturally or thanks to one of Pain's insane jutsu. Naruto still had little idea how a ninja could control weather itself. He guessed this ability was one of the many superpowers the Rinnegan had in store.
And he thought the Sharingan was overpowered.
But even Pain couldn't do anything when winter came. The downpour above Ame stopped during this season because it was replaced with snow. Lots and lots of snow. The only reason Pain tolerated this weather was simply because the self-proclaimed god had yet to find a jutsu to control it. Naruto guessed it had something to do with chakra affinities, although he couldn't confirm his hypothesis.
Winter had come early, and from what he had gathered, it would be a very cold one. The radio implied Iwa had suffered a snowstorm and that the entire continent would be covered with snow. Such a harsh winter happened roughly once every two decades.
Standing still in the middle of a street, Naruto kept staring at the skies above him. The snow was falling slowly, the prelude to tonight's announced snowstorm. It was a peaceful view. Dull, but still far preferred to the constant rain he had been experiencing until recently.
He heard his friend laugh. "This is the first time you've seen snow?" Fuu asked. She had been forced to trade her usual clothes for an elegant fur-trimmed green coat and a fur cap of the same color. Naruto thought she was very cute in the outfit, but he hadn't dared tease the tomboy over it yet.
"The third time," the blonde admitted. He himself was wearing an orange cloak, a red scarf, and a black cap. "The first time I was young enough to think ninja never killed, and the second time I was eleven. Both times it had barely snowed. Now's the first time I've seen more than half an inch of the stuff."
The streets themselves were covered with snow. Most of the D-rank missions assigned these days were about getting rid of it so people could walk inside the city without any trouble.
Naruto had suggested getting his flamethrower back would be faster, praising the value of powerful, wild, beautiful fire. Konan had, in her great curiosity, asked if he was a pyromaniac.
It's not my fault if I'm fond of starting fires…
Naruto inwardly felt slightly bad about messing with Konan's mind. The woman was very kind, for the right hand woman of a megalomaniac dictator, if you ignored her creepy extreme stoicism. She reminded him of Neji: a cold face hiding a heart of gold.
Or at least bronze.
The blonde found himself thinking about his friend. It had been so long, what could have happened-
"Stop being nostalgic, Naruto."
"Can you read my mind?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
"No, but you tend to make that face when thinking about the past." Fuu rolled her eyes. "I can read you like an open book."
"Ah yeah? At least I make a face besides sulking." Fuu sulked in reaction. "Told you."
The girl made an even worse face, before laughing lightly with Naruto. The young ninja was thankful for this small instance where he could simply forget his captivity.
It was hard to laugh when the guards watching on you from the city's roofs didn't even bother to hide their presence.
Of course, Naruto's situation had improved slightly over the months. He could see Fuu twice per week now, and the guards had the decency not to listen to their conversations.
No such luck with Han, Yugao and Sasuke.
He wasn't sure what happened exactly, but these three had angered Pain enough to be put in a jail somewhere in the city. Which naturally complicated Itachi's escape plan.
In fact, Naruto wondered if this was truly an escape plan or a trap.
He had at first thought it was a sick test elaborated by Pain to see whether or not Naruto would truly be loyal to Akatsuki, and the demon vessel was still uncertain if that wasn't the case. There was a small chance it was a trick, yet the blonde had to take the risk.
Akatsuki made it clear that they would extract the Bijuu of disobedient Jinchuuriki, and none in their custody were especially loyal. Han would rather die than work for the people who killed his friend Roshi, Fuu had issues with authority, and while Naruto had to admit Pain had valid points about how the world was run, he wasn't especially looking forward to the megalomaniac's victory.
Akatsuki could kill any of them at anytime, and Naruto was racing against the clock. He had attempted to make an escape plan on his own, but he simply couldn't overcome all of Pain's precautions without the help of an external agent.
He would play by Itachi's rules.
He simply had no other choice.
While Naruto had been informed of the plan's details, he couldn't inform the rest of his group and couldn't know when Itachi would start it. There were eyes everywhere in the city, he had said, and the fewer people informed, the lesser the risk of discovery.
All Naruto could do, was to be patient.
As they kept walking through the street, the duo stopped briefly to see people waiting before a soup kitchen stand, in hope of getting some food. It was one of Konan's initiatives, and considering the poverty in Ame, the most popular.
Naruto had learned many things about Ame during his imprisonment there. The Land of Rain specialized in Water techniques, Genjutsu, and poisons. While most ninjas could be hired for jobs as varied as guard duty and helping civilians, Ame-nins were almost always hired for assassinations, thefts or corporate espionage.
That is, if they were hired. With Hanzo's isolationist policies, contacts with the outside world had been nearly nonexistent until Pain took over.
Unfortunately, Ame had yet to recover from Hanzo's disastrous leadership. The man had attempted to make the Rain live in autonomy, isolated from the rest of the world, forbidding trade and destroying the economy. The Land of Rain's main resources were minerals and industries producing goods such as radios, and unfortunately, mostly weapons. Hanzo was a paranoid war hawk and most of the industry had been focused on bolstering Ame's military strength at the expense of the population's welfare. Agriculture had been ignored, resulting in regular food shortages. Even now Ame had started to progressively open to foreign lands, the standard of living was one of the lowest on the continent. Sasuke had once mentioned it reminded him of the Land of Wave.
All in all, the country was a hellhole. The change in management had improved the situation a little, but there was still a lot of work to be done.
Naruto suddenly realized Fuu had stopped walking. Instead, she was observing a mother and a young girl, probably her daughter, entering the soup kitchen. The female Jinchuuriki was trapped in her thoughts. "Fuu?" the blonde asked. "Are you alright?"
"Ah," Fuu snapped out of her trance, "Yeah, I'm alright." When Naruto frowned, she sighed. "I'm a bad liar, right?"
"It has something to do with your past, correct?" Fuu glanced away and Naruto instantly blamed himself. "Look, let's go somewhere else if you want," he suggested, changing the subject, "I know a shop where you can find wonderful scarves."
The girl kept a serious face. "Naruto…"
The blonde locked eyes with his friend. "Fuu, if you do not wish to talk about it, I understand. You don't have to do it."
"Yeah, but… you already told me so much about you, it's only fair if I'm honest." Fuu inhaled sharply. "Do you have an opinion on Takigakure?"
"A Hidden Village full of moronic jerks who thought antagonizing, and then exiling, their only Jinchuuriki was a good idea."
"It's… pretty accurate. How did you guess?" She chuckled slightly at his deadpan expression. "Alright… the truth is, we're a bit atypical. For example, our leadership is hereditary. Our current leader is the eldest child of the former leader. Still with me?"
"No," Naruto admitted, "I mean, what do you do if the heir is underage, crazy, or incompetent? There's a reason why it's the Kages and not the Daimyos who lead the strongest military in the world."
"You're right. The system is stupid, and the current chief Shibuki is a spineless coward. His dad was apparently very courageous, but I never met him in person." Fuu shrugged, returning to the original subject. "Anyway, since we can't always trust our chief, Taki is mostly administrated by a council of elders. They're pretty much the real power behind the chief."
"You are related to one of them?" Naruto guessed, remembering their previous conversation on how Jinchuuriki were often selected among the family of the Village Heads. "To ensure your loyalty?"
"Yes." Fuu seemed slightly angry he interrupted her story in the middle of it. "Taki's military is one of the weakest on the continent. The Village once had a powerful kinjutsu, but Kakuzu stole it after the first war, and our other ace, the Hero's Water, is pretty risky to use and in limited supply. Taki, however, is atypical in that it was always a strong ally of Konoha's Senju clan... although said trust was almost shattered when traitors sent Kakuzu to eliminate Hashirama Senju. As a reward for their loyalty, the Shodai helped us seal the Nanabi in a special chest. Taki, like all countries with a Bijuu, attempted to exploit it.
"Taki's first Jinchuuriki was a man called Rovagug. The name is weird and Nana itself never knew the guy's history, yet he's one of the people who gave Jinchuuriki a bad rep in the first place. We had little skill with seals at the time, and too much of Nana's chakra caused Rovagug incredible pain, driving him insane. Fortunately for Taki, he single-handedly secured Taki's independence by wiping out entire armies during the First Shinobi War. Unfortunately, when the war was over, he started massacring civilian settlements, killing everything in sight."
The guy sounded like a proto-Gaara. "I suppose after a time he was too dangerous to be left alive?"
"Taki managed to trap him and extracted Nana from him. While Rovagug caused a lot of damage, the fact he assured the Waterfall's survival and intimidated the foreign nations impressed our elders. Three times after that Nanabi was sealed into a human, and each time it ended with the Jinchuuriki loosing control of the Bijuu. None did as much damage as Rovagug, but Taki grew disillusioned with the idea of having a competent Jinchuuriki like Kumo's."
And the souvenir of Rovagug and his successors lingered, causing the population to despise Jinchuuriki, Naruto guessed. "You are the fifth?"
"Yes. My mom, as an elder, said it would be a great honor for her daughter to bear the burden of being her nation's champion, and oversaw the sealing ritual. I was seven at the time."
Naruto fell silent an instant. Her own mother decided to turn her into a weapon? "Fuu-"
"What is done is done," Fuu cut in quickly, not wanting to be pitied, "As you can guess, I too lost control of the Bijuu and… Nana destroyed a tenth of the Village as a 'screw you' to Takigakure. After this fifth failure, Taki… gave up. My mom cast me aside, the city rejected me, and after a few years, I too gave up and left. Nobody missed me. Then I found Han and you know the rest."
Naruto hesitated an instant, before gently hugging the girl. She coughed briefly in surprise, until he released her. "Why did you do that?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"I thought you needed one."
"Thanks," Fuu said with an embarrassed grin, before switching subjects, "Hey, where is your scarf shop by the way?"
Standing atop a roof, ignoring the snow, Dosu focused on the door his targets vanished behind. Naruto and Fuu seemed perfectly normal, but he could see past appearances. "They're preparing something," he hissed.
"That's the seventh time you said it this week," Zaku pointed out with a shrug. "Get over it man."
"Push this fucker off the roof and watch him crawl in his own blood," the voice in Dosu's head advised. "We'll see if he's still mouthing at us after that."
"The higher-ups would ask questions and Kin would see it," Dosu replied, both his teammates staring at him strangely. The ninja cursed his mouth and ground his teeth. "Do they look like prisoners to you? No, they're too calm. They're waiting for something."
"They've been here for sixth months," said Kin. "They got used to their new life. To be honest, I find them cute together."
"Idiotic worm. You should have her mouth stitched up so she can no longer speak!"
For once, Dosu was forced to agree with the voice. He should have asked Kabuto to be the one helping him instead of these two morons. The scientist may have completely lost it ever since Orochimaru kicked the bucket, but at least he had common sense.
Pain had asked Dosu to observe Naruto, since he had already showed his abilities and had a former history with the blonde. Dosu had accepted the task dutifully and spied on the teen with diligence. He had grown convinced they were planning to escape, even though he had no proof.
True, on the outside, Naruto didn't appear to be the scheming mastermind, yet Dosu had a gut feeling. The Jinchuuriki was smarter than he looked and too damn rebellious to ever work for Akatsuki. Hence, the only way to survive was escaping before Pain decided to extract the Kyuubi.
"We should get rid of him now. Let's murder him and his girlfriend. Pile body upon body, then kill the witnesses. No one will ever know."
"Shut up, you're not real," Dosu cursed. "You're just in my head."
"Then why do you answer me?"
Zaku glanced at him strangely. "Dosu, are you okay?"
"Dosu, look…" Kin coughed. "Maybe you should take a rest…"
"I'm not mad you idiotic kid!"
Yet, he was only half-convinced. Kabuto did warn him the Samsara may cause its user to experience some… side effects… but assured they would vanish after his body got used to the drug. Dosu didn't trust the mad scientist, of course, but what else could he do? Stop using the serum? He had never felt better, and he was an amazing ninja with it!
No way would he become weak again. So he would just ignore the voice and the headaches until they stopped tormenting him.
Ignoring the frowns of his companions, Dosu noticed a strange girl in the street below. She wasn't especially remarkable, simply a cute brunette with long hair, yet he had the distinct impression she had been following Naruto and Fuu for quite a time. She was waiting for them to come out of the shop.
"This one," Dosu whispered, drawing his fellows' attention, "Look at her." They obeyed and both exchanged a glance. "She has been trailing them."
"Maybe she's one of Konan-sama's agents?" Zaku suggested.
"Or maybe she just finds the blonde cute?" Kin added. "I mean, she looks like a civilian enamored with ninjas of her age. We've seen many girls like that."
"Her way of walking is too precise, she's too careful, too controlled," Dosu hissed. "She's a kunoichi."
"I thought we were supposed to oversee Uzumaki, not some random Kunoichi," Zaku snorted, "Man, there are, like, a thousand kunoichi in Ame!"
Dosu grudgingly admitted he had a point and focused back on Naruto.
He made a mental note to investigate on the girl later, however.
Being Hokage was, in Tsunade's humble opinion, the worst job in the world. For three reasons.
The first was the paperwork. In stark opposition with the common portrayal of the Hokage as a dashing warrior, a Village Leader spent most of his time behind a desk, overseeing the day to day life of the city, reports, and assigning missions. It needed an incredible attention for detail, and much to Tsunade's chagrin, a great resistance to boredom.
The second were the people the Hokage had to deal with constantly. Between Clan heads, merchant representatives, or the elders, it was pretty hard to satisfy everyone, to convince them this tax raise or this change in teams was for the greater good. Tsunade knew she should have taken more classes in psychology. The few that she had taken that were needed to diagnose mental based injuries were nowhere near enough to deal with the headaches that came into her office day in and day out.
The third reason, and the most difficult to deal with, was that the Hokage had to face threats to national security on a near constant basis. Doubly so in troubled times like these ones.
"Tsunade-sama, Tsume-san's reports confirm the increase in Kumo-nins at the frontier of the Land of Hot Water," Shizune stated, "Since the latter is a vassal state, they have justified it as a preemptive protection. While it could simply be a provocation, Tsume-san fears Kumo's troops might cross the frontier, and try seizing the northern part of our territory."
Without Shizune's help, Tsunade doubted she would have lasted a week as Hokage. Her loyal assistant's eye for detail and calming influence had truly been a lifesaver. "Dispatch Aburame scouts in the area," the Senju ordered, "I wish to know the Kumo-nins' numbers and their every move."
Inwardly, she was very much worried. The Fourth Raikage A was renowned for his impulsive behavior and aggressive policies, the Hyuuga affair being one of the best examples of his attitude. It wouldn't surprise Tsunade if he wanted to take over the Land of Fire, especially since Konoha was weakened.
Considering Iwa had invaded the Land of Wind last month, Tsunade hoped she was wrong.
The new Kazekage, Chiyo, had done her best to halt the ruthless advance of Onoki's forces, with some success. The desert was great, and while Suna was weakened, its ninjas were skilled at guerrilla warfare and small unit tactics, striking once and vanishing in the sand the next second. With luck, they might push back Iwa within a few years, or at least stop them from reaching Suna.
But the Land of Fire was no desert, and Konoha had to face remnants of Orochimaru's followers spreading mayhem in the north of the country and the Land of Rice. Tsunade was certain the one reason A had yet to find an excuse to attack was that fighting during a cold winter, with the probable food shortages it would cause, was too stupid even for him.
Tsunade took her breath. The Raikage wouldn't have considered a war if Konoha still had the Kyuubi at its disposal. "Any news from Jiraiya?"
"His last message indicated he had infiltrated Amegakure and was looking for Naruto there," Shizune said. "Mei Terumi suggested a point of rendezvous near the border, where a Kiri-Konoha team could help escort the Jinchuuriki outside the Land of Rain."
As much as Tsunade distrusted the new Mizukage, she found the suggestion sensible. She had however the feeling Mei would probably try to recruit or abduct one of the Jinchuuriki for Kiri's profit during the operation.
Beggars can't be choosers, Tsunade thought grimly, before massaging her temples. She needed to take a break. Maybe could she smuggle in a bottle of sake and drink it when no one was looking? With luck, Shizune wouldn't confiscate it.
The last Senju's reveries ended when a strange animal crawled on her lap. Sarutobi's platypus had grown extremely fat, to the point the Godaime wondered how it could move at all. I guess after staying around ninjas so long ninjas it picked up a few skills.
The creature was heavy, and Tsunade glared at it. "No, Perry, you can't stay on my lap. Sensei may have been too lax with you, but I sure shall teach you manners."
The eyes of the platypus suddenly turned into those of a lost puppy.
"Alright, alright, you can stay. Just stop doing that." Tsunade petted the animal. "Seriously, what did you eat this morning? A dog?"
"By the way, Tsunade-sama, did you see Tonton?" Shizune asked. "She has been missing for hours."
Tsunade glanced at the platypus, who did its best to look innocent.
When Konan arrived to oversee Han, Yugao, and Sasuke's captivity, she stopped in front of their cells, closed her eyes, inhaled sharply, and shrugged.
"You must be in tune with your inner Han," Han told the two guards keeping his cell. Both had traded their old outfit for a copy of the prisoner's red armor. Where they got the odd pieces of armor, Konan did not want to know. "Do you feel your inner redness shining past your mortal flesh?"
"The words of the Han are the light in the darkness of my life!" one of the guards said, meditating. "I can feel it!"
"When you will embrace the Han's divinity, the secrets of the cosmos shall unravel," the Gobi's Jinchuuriki explained, "Your body will shine with pure undiluted awesomeness!"
"You're all insane," Sasuke stated calmly, sulking in his cell. Yugao was meditating in another, in a lotus position, doing her best to ignore Han's antics.
"May the great Han bless us!" the second guard prayed. "May our prayers make the world cool! AMEN!"
"In the Han we trust!" Han added.
Konan coughed, and the guards suddenly noticed her. "K-Konan-sama!" One of the guards gulped. "This is not what it looks like!"
"This is exactly what it looks like," Konan replied unimpressed, before glaring at the prisoners. "I will have to replace them. Can't you stop corrupting minds with your nonsense?"
"Now you can feel my pain," Sasuke deadpanned.
"This is not the Han's fault if people can feel the call of his divinity," the Jinchuuriki shot back, "The Han, in his great modesty, will be happy to welcome you in the ranks of the Church of Hanhood. You shall become a saint if you start wearing red. A cult needs martyrs!"
Konan rolled her eyes in genuine annoyance. It was the third set of guards Han managed to indoctrinate into his pseudo-cult since he began this charade. She briefly thought about how it all started: in the most ridiculous way possible.
"I know we meet under difficult circumstances," Pain started, as Han was brought before the Deva Path, "But I truly hope we can work together. If you cooperated-"
"The Han won't work with Roshi's murderers," the giant replied calmly, "Go fuck yourself."
The Deva Path's emotionless face twisted into small, controlled anger. "You should be more polite. Patience never was the mark of a god."
Han glanced at Pain, raising an eyebrow. "You can't be a god," he said. "Because the Han is a god. The Han says you're just a ripoff."
Pain, for an instant, seemed paralyzed in genuine surprise. He hadn't expected that answer. "Would you care to... explain?"
"Is it not obvious? A god is, by definition, awesome. The Han is awesome. Therefore, the Han is a god. Entirely logical. Now, on your knees mongrels!"
"I am not certain you understood-"
"KNEEL BEFORE THE HAN!"
Konan wasn't certain if the giant truly believed in his divinity or if this was simply a farce to mess with Akatsuki. The latter option was more probable, considering just how ungodly annoying the man was.
After sending the guards away and calling another set to watch over the Gobi, Konan turned into paper and flew to the roof of Ame's highest tower. The Deva Path was meditating there, watching the skies. "He's here," the god wannabe started, "He's in the city."
Konan frowned, slightly disturbed. Seeing the body of her past lover walking and speaking had always put her on edge, even if she understood the sentimental value in him becoming the public face of Amegakure. "Who?"
"Sensei."
Konan blanched. "Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Yes." The walking corpse of Yahiko frowned. "I thought I detected his chakra signature in the past weeks with my rain control, but I lost track of his movements when it began snowing. Now, I am certain it was Jiraiya, and he is still inside our walls."
"This is bad…" If their old teacher was in the city, who knew what could happen? "How can you be certain?"
"My agents informed me Jiraiya has been investigating on the disappearance of both Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto," Pain explained. "Recently, some of my men reported the disappearance of few of our agents. Call it instinct if you wish, but I believe both events are linked. I wouldn't be surprised if sensei managed to track us down."
"Do you want me to tighten the security?" Konan asked. "Increase the length of the curfew perhaps?" Amegakure was already one of the, if not the, most policed city on earth. Little there escaped Pain's notice.
"No." Yahiko's ghost crossed his arms, Nagato lost in his thoughts. "This might be a golden opportunity to confront sensei."
Konan immediately understood. "Since he's after the Jinchuuriki…"
"We can catch him while he tries smuggling them out," Pain confirmed. "However, it also means we are running out of time. If he transfers his discoveries back to Tsunade or foreign nations, we might face hardships. The ultimate Kinjutsu needs to be completed as soon as possible."
Konan had trouble believing that. While Naruto and Fuu both appeared docile, the paper woman justifiably thought they would refuse to play along with Pain's plan. Han had loudly proclaimed his defiance already.
The alternative, extraction, wasn't exactly workable either. Due to the loss of a few rings, the lack of replacements, and the fact the remaining Akatsuki members couldn't afford staying immobile for entire days, as they had operations to run, the extraction ritual took weeks to be finished under ideal circumstances. Akatsuki members had to take turns at powering it. It had taken months to extract the Ichibi and the Nibi already.
"I believe it is time for our prisoners to make a choice," Pain whispered, "Bring me Naruto. Immediately."
In a shady bar in Amegakure, two mass-murdering criminals were drinking some of the worst tasting beers in the entire world.
"This is disgusting," Itachi pointed out. Despite his declaration, the Uchiha's face remained almost as impassive as ever save for the slight scowl he now had.
"Well, remember the time you told me Iwa's beer was the worst in the world?" Kisame grinned. "I decided to give you the worst beer in the world and watch your reaction."
"Jerk." Itachi muttered under his breath. "But you are right."
"Ah, you know what I love about you Itachi? Your incredibly wide range of facial expression. Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm talking to an iceberg." As the Uchiha failed to answer, Kisame cracked his neck. "You're not listening right?"
"I am, it's just…" Itachi locked eyes with his partner. "Why are you in Akatsuki to begin with?"
The man shrugged his shoulders, not at all bothered with the odd change in topic. "Samehada and I want to fight," he replied, petting his creature. The shark-like beast licked his hand, much to the Uchiha's amusement. "Working with Pain leads to interesting fights."
"You could have stayed with the Mist."
"I could." Kisame chuckled lightly. "But… let's be honest, I was born in the wrong century. I would have felt at home on some ancient battlefield, where the summit of subtlety was the battle between two armies. The ninja world is built on trickery, assassinations, all the stuff I'm not especially fond of. I joined Madara purely because I was fed up with doing Kiri's dirty work."
"You wanted an alternative," Itachi said, "Yet Madara and Pain disappointed you."
"Akatsuki, for all its talk about changing the world, is not that different from the Hidden Villages. We follow Pain, not his ideals, and when he inevitably dies whatever peace he created will crumble." Kisame spat. "I'm simply here because I hope to die in an epic battle and find glory in it. It's only when you fight for your life, that countries, politics, ideals and values don't matter anymore, that you live in a world of truth."
The swordsman finished his beer. "Why such a question?"
Itachi intertwined his fingers, glanced around to see if someone was listening, and spoke. "I'm fed up with Akatsuki."
Kisame stared at him in silence. "You intend to free your brother." It wasn't a question.
"Him and the rest of the Jinchuuriki," Itachi said, "If Pain completes his technique, he will be unstoppable. He is insane, and I have little doubt he would end up destroying the world with it."
"Pain is going to hunt you down and kill you if you foil his master plan. It shall be messy."
"I don't care. As long as Sasuke is safe and Akatsuki's plans fail, I will feel at peace." Itachi took his breath. "Pain will kill me for this, but at least I can make up a bit for my past actions."
"And Konoha?"
Itachi cracked a sad smile. "I served the Leaf all my life," he admitted, "I killed my family for it. I'm… tired. If I could rewind my life, I would do many things differently, but what I've done is set in stone. I want to be free of it all at last."
Kisame stayed silent. "Why are you telling me this? Especially considering I could easily tell Pain everything."
Itachi glanced at the bad beer, seeing his troubled reflection in the liquid. "We've traveled together for five years," the genius stated, "I like to think… that we are friends. I thought you deserved the truth, and a good farewell."
A brief silence followed the declaration, finally broken by the monster of the Hidden Mist.
"You know… I think you have been the first person in the entire world who has been honest with me since day one." Kisame crossed his arms. "Alright, I'm in."
Itachi briefly wondered if he had misheard. "Kisame, what did you say?"
"I'm gonna help you break out your brother and his friends out of jail," the swordsman said with a casual finality, "Then we leave Akatsuki and all that take over the world bullshit behind us. We find some cold corner of the earth where we won't be bothered again and we start over. Sounds like a nice plan, doesn't it?"
Itachi was briefly at loss of words, before finding two. "Thank you."
When Dosu worried about the girl following Naruto, it wasn't paranoia. It was precognition.
The girl discreetly spied on both Jinchuuriki until they separated. She had already followed both of them for days and knew where they stayed, yet she wanted to confirm they hadn't moved elsewhere.
She had to stop advancing after a point. The perimeter around Naruto's "home" was heavily guarded, and being seen for too long near it would draw suspicion. The girl had no intention of being detained and interrogated.
After checking out she wasn't being followed, the girl entered a house located where pretty much everyone else in the city lived a good distance away. Closing the door behind her, she was quickly welcomed by one of her comrades. "So?" Neji asked. "Did they move elsewhere?"
"No," Tenten answered truthfully, before moving to the bathroom. Removing the makeup and color lens would take a little time, and to put it bluntly, she hated this disguise. Since every ninja could dispel a henge with a push, the group had turned to more mundane tactics to infiltrate Amegakure. How could Naruto do it repeatedly? the kunoichi pondered. It's so uncomfortable.
"Then Jiraiya's plan should go unhindered," Neji whispered. "Gai-sensei finished forging the false passports. We should be able to pass the frontier… if we are quick enough."
"Naruto and Fuu are both heavily watched," Tenten warned, remembering the trio of ninjas having watched them for hours. "And that's without counting the Akatsuki members in town."
"Hopefully, we won't have to fight them directly." Neji raised an eyebrow. "Is something on your mind?"
"What makes you think that?" Tenten replied.
"Deciphering your body language with my Byakugan is child's play," Neji replied with a little know it all smirk. "I can already tell you're experiencing… jealousy…"
The kunoichi glared at him. Ever since Jiraiya had taken him under his wing, Neji had become more and more adept at reading girls like open books. It had helped them during the mission, yet his teammate would rather keep some privacy.
In truth, Tenten was indeed jealous. Oh, she was pretty sure Naruto and Fuu were simply like brothers and sisters, and had grown closer due to their mutual imprisonment… but she was slightly afraid she had missed her chance to date the blonde.
Tenten shrugged. She would have all the time in the world to deal with that once they had returned to Konoha. "When do we start the rescue attempt?"
"Tomorrow." Neji rolled his eyes at Tenten's astonished face. "The longer we wait, the more probable it is Pain will kill his prisoners. We have to act, and we have to act fast."
"It's too soon," Tenten replied. "Itachi and Kisame are still inside the city. If we move-"
"I am aware of the risk," Jiraiya's voice interrupted the argument. "But you know what they say: luck smiles to the audacious!"
The two teens exchanged glances. "Who said that?" they asked in unison.
"Me." They heard Jiraiya chuckled. "Believe me, Pain will never see it coming."
Nagato was a dangerous man.
In Naruto's opinion, unlimited power should never be placed in the hands of an unstable individual. Hell, no one should ever wield the power of the Rinnegan period. If the blonde had learned something, it was that people with power had the nasty tendency of abusing it or gain a false sense of self-importance.
Pissing off the god wannabe was a big no-no in Naruto's book. So when he presented himself in front of Ame's dictator, the Uzumaki attempted to stay polite and cordial.
"Naruto," the man said softly. He had been reading old scrolls when Naruto had interrupted him. "How have you been?"
"Fine, Nagato. I am sure your spies told you the same thing."
"They did, but politeness never killed anybody." Nagato shrugged. His relationship with his distant relative was still extremely cold, and not only because of the weather. "I had thought I could give a gift."
Naruto glanced at the scrolls. A familiar symbol was written on them. "Wait, they're-"
"Uzumaki Scrolls, which Sasori inherited from his grandfather. I believe it is time for you to learn a little more about your origins." He handed the Jinchuuriki the documents. "You have the right to. After all, they started our shared story."
Naruto took them, and blinked upon opening them. "Is it some kind of joke? They're completely blank!"
"If anyone could read a clan's lore, then a clan's secrets wouldn't be secrets," Nagato elaborated. "Your grandfather encoded seals on the paper… seals which can only be activated by the blood of the Uzumaki. My Rinnegan allows me to bypass this limitation, but you will need to cut yourself, I am afraid."
Naruto briefly wondered if it was a trap, before realizing Pain had probably extracted a few blood samples from him already. Biting his finger, the blonde spread his blood over the paper, deeply curious.
His vision blurred, and he was surrounded with a thick fog.
"Is this… an hallucination?" he wondered.
"An astute comparison." Nagato's voice resonated around Naruto. "The information inside the scrolls are a set of sensations sent to your brain by the seals, by using your blood as a medium. Another of the wonders Uzumaki could accomplish with Fuuinjutsu."
Naruto blinked, as the fog took a vague, humanoid form. It appeared to be the silhouette of a grown, but aged man, clad in robes and whose eyes were full of sadness and despair.
"My name is Uzumaki Kiryu, last of the seven lords of Uzushiogakure, scion of the House of the Six Paths, and the former archivist of the Uzumaki Clan." The voice resonated like a distant echo. "If you are hearing my words, it means two things: that the blood of the Uzumaki runs into your veins, and that I lost against a foe all my knowledge could not overcome, death itself. I sacrificed most of my chakra and lifeforce so these words could reach future generations. Do not waste them."
"Naruto," Nagato whispered, "Let me present you your grandfather."
"These scrolls contain my memories, given life through blood and seals. In them, I stored what I could salvage of our culture. Our arts, our traditions, our history, our music, our architecture… and our knowledge of sealing, of warfare, of ninjutsu. But the legacy I leave you shall be more grandiose in scale and purpose."
Shades began to take shape in the fog, that of two individuals fighting to the death.
"Contrary to popular belief, the Uzumaki are not a splinter faction of the Senju. No… the first Uzumaki were the result of forbidden unions between the Senju and their hated foes, the Uchiha. While Uchiha and Senju are each halves of a greater whole, we Uzumaki alone have the potential to one day equal the Sage of the Six Paths. It is my firm belief one day, the fabled Rinnegan shall be reborn through our bloodline."
"Wait," Naruto blinked, "Does it means Sasuke and I are related?"
"The distance is extreme, but yes. In fact, we are also related to people as renowned as Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara." Nagato chuckled. "A great pedigree, you will agree. In fact, the union of these bloods is probably the reason why I was born with the Rinnegan."
The ghost continued his explanation, as new warring shades took form in the mist. "Our clan has been graced with great lifespan. My father lived for a century and a half, as did his father before him. While many consider this life a blessing, it is also a curse. My kind has been doomed to see the new generations repeat the mistakes of the old, time and time again. My family has lived through eras, seeing Samurais, Ninja Clans and Hidden Villages succeeding to one another. But war… war never changes."
The shades were replaced with what appeared to be a beautiful city.
"To bring order to the world, the Uzumaki have sought a way to end all wars," the ghost explained. "Many shared the way of the Senju, of peace through love and wisdom. Others followed the will of the Uchiha, of peace through might and strength. My mother, Uzumaki Himiko, rejected both ways, having experienced both and deemed them flawed. Instead, she believed in peace through inspiration. If a paradise could be created on earth, then it would inspire men to search for a better fate than endless warfare. As such, Himiko founded Uzushiogakure, the Village Hidden in Whirlpools, the first and only utopia. But in her great wisdom, she knew a paradise could be defiled, and so, she took measures to protect it."
Red smoke appeared out of nowhere, representing a complex array of seals, contained inside a giant circle.
"As the architect of Uzushiogakure, she created a powerful jutsu, by shaping seals underneath our home. These seals would slowly absorb the chakra of our clan through centuries, until one day, Hinokagatsuchi, the ultimate Kinjutsu, is finally completed. A power able to wipe out entire countries in the blink of an eye. My mother believed it would allow Uzumaki to protect our paradise, and one day teach mankind the value of peace. The Uzumaki, whose lifespan gave them perspective and wisdom, would slowly lead the world toward a new golden age."
Then, suddenly, all shades vanished, leaving only a shapeless fog behind.
"But these dreams lie drowned under the sea. Afraid of our might, the Hidden Villages plotted our demise. Kiri flooded my home, while Konoha took my precious Kushina away from me, so that treacherous Mito could curse her and my future grandchildren to carry the burden of the Nine Tailed Fox. I could only cry as the Uzumaki Clan was scattered around the world, and I could only lament, as I saw my world, my future and my past, vanish underneath the waves, never to return."
Naruto could almost feel the man's despair. Maybe it was genuine empathy or a side-effect of the living memory, but he could experience the ghost's anguish.
Then the despair turned into bitter hate. "Yet, as they drowned my home in the sea, I will drown their hopes and their dreams. I have remarried, and sired a new bloodline in Sunagakure. For years, I prepared a plan that would allow the Uzumaki to reclaim their birthright, and to avenge the destruction of our civilization. I have found the location of Uzushiogakure, slumbering under the waves. The seals of my mother survived the devastation, and can survive for millenniums. I have marked their location in these scrolls, alongside the information needed to activate the ultimate Kinjutsu."
A primal, outdated map appeared before Naruto's eyes, clearly indicating a red spot somewhere between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
"After long hours of search and multiple studies on the Shukaku, I have discovered gathering the nine Tailed Beasts would produce enough chakra to awaken the Hinokagatsuchi. In these scrolls you will find the seals needed to capture these creatures, to extract them from their containers and drain their power. I urge you, whoever you are… find them. Awake our legacy, and torch this world back to dust. Only when all of mankind has felt our pain, our loss, and our despair, that the spirits of the Uzumaki will finally rest."
He's crazy, Naruto realized. Completely crazy.
"I collected all available information on survivors from Uzushiogakure. They're are dispersed, and most are dead, but not even destiny can stop the bloodline. Our clan shall rule the world. I have seen it in my dreams. This is the legacy I left you… the power to end all things mortal."
The ghost sighed one last time, his voice weakening.
"Farewell, my successors. Finish what we started… let the world burn… for it won't be missed…"
The return to reality was very abrupt, causing Naruto to blink in surprise.
"It was a strange experience for Sasori too, the first time he looked into these documents," Nagato whispered. "You will adjust after you reach the third or fourth memory, I believe."
"This… this is crazy… an ultimate Kinjutsu?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "My grandfather was insane…"
"Yes. After all he went through, it does not surprise me." Nagato shrugged. "No matter his state of mind, the data he gathered within these scrolls was correct. Sasori went on to search for his distant cousins, and he found me. We also found a girl called Karin but our genes were dormant in her. Kusa and later, Orochimaru, sought to awaken them through experiments, which gave her a volatile personality and mental instability. She is unfit to lead this world to its golden age."
"Golden age… you can't mean…" The blonde paled, as he suddenly understood everything. "You're gathering the Bijuu to awaken this ultimate Kinjutsu? And destroy the world with it?
"Yes and no. I have already started salvaging our legacy and I fully intend to use it. But to bring everlasting peace to the world, not to destroy it, as your grandfather wished. I have grown beyond the sentiment of revenge."
Nagato intertwined his fingers. "With it, I will end the Hidden Village system, enforcing order through fear. I will have to destroy a Hidden Village or two, however, before they finally accept a new status quo, but the sacrifice of thousands is a small price to pay for a golden future."
Naruto ground his teeth. "Beside the fact you're going to kill a lot of people, it's only a short-term solution. When you die, you'll leave behind a weapon of mass destruction for anyone well versed in sealing to use. Unless you intend to live forever?"
"Death will claim me sooner than you think," the god wannabe replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "I am aware when I die, the ultimate Kinjutsu will fall into the wrong hands. In fact, I am counting on it."
"You're what?"
"When I die, it is only a matter of time before someone else finds this jutsu, but it will only lead to destruction. People will hold to the souvenir of the peace I brought, and it will inspire others to follow in my footsteps. Through the pain this weapon will bring, mankind will grow wiser. As I grew up and understood the value of peace, when people will wake up in the ruins of their world, they will understand the value of the peace I brought them and seek it again. A new mankind will be born Naruto, enlightened, inspired."
The god wannabe locked eyes with the horrified Naruto. "You may judge me insane, but think about it. War never changes, because man never changes. In old eras, before the arrival of chakra, people fought with sticks. Then samurai fought with blades. Then ninjas fought with ninjutsu. The world never changes, Naruto. The world we struggle to live in is the exact same one Hashirama Senju tried to end. History was simply a change in the weapons we use to slaughter each other. The wars only grow more violent with each generation as the newest weapon is created. Something drastic must be done if we wish to escape this spiral of death. The only solution I have found, is to change man's very nature."
"Nagato… if you give free access to a weapon of mass destruction, then it's only a matter of time before some nihilistic psycho uses it to blow up the world," Naruto stated bluntly, "Power-hungry people will seek it and misuse it. It won't inspire peace, but more war and destruction. It won't enlighten humanity, it will corrupt it. Your legacy will be the death of mankind!"
"If mankind can't learn from its mistakes, then it does not deserve to live," Nagato replied softly. "This is the only solution I have found to end mankind's self-destructive tendencies. If you have another one, I am all ears."
Naruto opened his mouth, before realizing he hadn't thought about it.
"You have seen by yourself that the Will of Fire is not the solution," Pain said. "Konoha is a bigoted place, where half of the Hyuuga are slaves to the other half, and who rejected you from birth because you were different. So what is left? The Uchiha's philosophy? Madara proved it only brought chaos and mayhem. So I await your solution, Naruto."
The Jinchuuriki struggled to find an answer, before finally giving up. "I admit it, I have none… but the fact I haven't found it yet does not mean your solution is necessarily the right one," he argued calmly.
Pain inhaled sharply. "Naruto, I am offering you the possibility of being part of something greater than you and I, or any man. I am offering you a chance to save this world. To build the foundation of a future golden age. So I ask you, will you join me willingly or not? Do not lie, or I will know it."
Naruto hesitated an instant. The answer was clear in his mind, but it would be his doom. Whether I lie or say the truth, I'm doomed anyway, he thought. At least he was honest with me… time to return the favor.
"Nagato, I… I think you're misguided. Your solution is too costly, and there is no guarantee mankind won't blow itself up when you're gone. And… and I think all of us should control our own life. A forced peace is worthless if it is involuntary, if people aren't free to accept it or not. I may be wrong, but this is what I believe in." He took his breath. "I can't join you."
There was a heavy silence. Pain seemed genuinely disappointed for the briefest instant, until his expression turned cold and lifeless.
"I hoped it wouldn't come to this," he admitted. "I told you I would have to teach you a sharp lesson. Maybe when those you love are gone, will you understand my vision. It worked with me after all."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You can't mean-"
"Tomorrow, Akatsuki will start extracting the Seven Tails from your friend Fuu," Pain explained softly, never once raising his voice, "And you shall learn true pain."
Omake:
Danzo's (black) humor
Tobi was incredibly bored.
The inside of the seal was, to put it bluntly, an endless white landscape. A white floor, a blue sky… and that was all. Tobi had kept walking for hours with no end in sight.
Then he had found it.
A stone monument with words written on it. Tobi glanced at it, hoping it detailed an escape route.
Instead, he found his eulogy.
"Dear friend, today we mourn the loss of 'insert your name here'. He died like he lived: defeated by the great, magnificent Danzo.
"We will miss 'insert your name here', not for his abilities, which may or may not have enabled him to momentarily surpass the greatness that is Danzo Shimura, but because of his stupidity. It is rare these days to find someone idiotic enough to defy the most paranoid and prepared ninja in existence, and not expect for a deadman trap to trigger should he be somehow fortunate enough to kill said magnificently prepared ninja. And as a result of 'Insert your name here''s incompetence, he is now caught inside such a perfect seal.
"'Insert your name here' starved to death inside an inescapable prison, with no way out and no means to kill time. Picture yourself the great Danzo raising a glass of fine wine, and whispering 'Sucker', in paradise."
"Remember, 'insert your name here'… it's a small world after all."
"Danzo, you magnificent bastard!"
A/N: thanks Third Fang and ABitterPill for betaing, doubly so since the latter suggested the omake.
You know, I'm pretty surprised a few elements of Atlas' backstory turned out to be canon (the fact there was an age when mankind had no chakra and that the Ten Tails is the indirect source of human chakra), although the 'world tree' aspect doesn't mesh well with the rest of Atlas' background. I'll keep the Ten Tails as a vague Lovecraftian cosmic abomination in the story. Although I do wonder where this world tree comes from... space?
Again, I expanded on the Uzumaki's background slightly without making it too non-canon. I think the fact they're descended from both Uchiha and Senju fits with the fact the Rinnegan needs Senju and Uchiha cells to work/awaken. The name of the ultimate Kinjutsu comes from Hino-Kagutsuchi, the fire god of Shinto mythology, and the first murderer (having killed his mother upon being born). I thought the symbolism was fitting.
Writing Nagato was slightly difficult, since, well, at core he's an anti-villain. He thinks he's doing right, but he has a very warped philosophy and ultimately thinks pain leads to enlightenment. It makes him an interesting character.
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PS: if you want to join the Cult of Hanhood, you just need to wear red and use third person pronouns. Just saying.
