Hello everyone, Shinonigga here again with a new chapter for yah, and sooner then I expected. It's just my mind has been flooded with ideas for this story so it's easy to get it on paper quickly. Well don't expect any laughs in this chapter considering its more serious then the chapters up into this point. Anyway that's enough out of me let's just get on with the chapter!
Chapter 6: Fate of the Uchiha's
"Blood!" Mikoto screeched as her mind began to reel with what that could imply.
Kakashi's face hardened as he continued to look in the direction of the Uchiha compound. "I won't lie to you Mikoto-san, if the amount of blood I can smell is any indication, there's a great chance that…" Kakashi stopped mid sentence as he remembered Sasuke was present. "Forgive me, but perhaps this isn't something that should be discussed in front of one so young."
Mikoto understood what Kakashi had meant as she stared down at her son, whom was holding on to her leg tightly.
"What's going on Kassan?" Sasuke questioned fearfully. "What does he mean he can smell blood, and why aren't we heading into the compound?"
"Because it's not safe at the moment Sasuke-kun." Mikoto explained. "When the Anbu arrive we'll then investigate."
The moment Mikoto had finished with Sasuke ten figures landed quietly next to them. Each member was clad in the standard Anbu attire, with a corresponding animal mask hiding their faces.
"Kakashi-senpai" The lead member spoke, who was sporting a cat mask. "We've got your message, and came right away to assist you."
Kakashi nodded before turning his attention to Mikoto and Sasuke. "Escort these two to safety." Kakashi ordered calmly.
"Of course" The cat masked Anbu stated while turning his attention to one of his subordinates. "Escort the woman and child to safety."
"I don't think so." Mikoto protested. "You can take Sasuke-kun to safety but I'll be staying."
"That's not such a good idea." Kakashi warned.
Mikoto's answer was to activate her Sharingan and stare dangerously at Kakashi. "I'm a Jonin and will not be commanded." Mikoto reasoned heatedly. "That's my family and clan in there, and I will see to it that their safe."
Kakashi sighed before giving the Anbu a nod.
The Anbu without a word picked up Sasuke and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
When Kakashi could sense that Sasuke had been taken a safe distance he gave the signal for them to enter.
The nine Anbu that were present were the first to act and launched themselves from view and over the Uchiha's wall and into their compound.
"Alright let's go Mikoto-san." Kakashi suggested as the two Jonin leapt over the Uchiha's walls as well.
When they landed Mikoto's heart nearly stopped when she took in the devastation. Kakashi had been right there was blood and lots of it. If not for her extensive training the mere sight would have sent Mikoto into a state of comatose, but she was a seasoned ninja and had seen more then her share of death.
"This is horrible." Mikoto muttered as she observed the countless bloody and mangled body's spread out through the Uchiha compound.
The silence spread throughout the compound was the only indication she needed to know that no one had been spared from whatever atrocity that had taken place. She'd been gone for only an hour, so how could something so devastating take place in that amount of time? Mikoto wondered to herself.
Kakashi was in a similar mindset as Mikoto as he observed the carnage. The Uchiha were powerful beyond belief, and the thought of them being taken down in such a short amount of time didn't sit well with the silvered haired ninja. Turning his attention to Mikoto he spoke quietly.
"It's time for you to leave Mikoto-san." Kakashi suggested.
Mikoto turned her head in Kakashi's direction with an unreadable expression displayed on her face. "Not until I find out who's responsible for this." Mikoto countered.
"I know you're upset, but try to listen to reason?" Kakashi pleaded. "Who ever did this is not only abnormally powerful, but obviously has some vendetta against the Uchiha for them to act this way. We can't rule out that their still here waiting to finish both you and Sasuke."
Mikoto's eyes hardened. "They won't lay a finger on my child." Mikoto claimed. "Who's ever responsible for this will be killed by my own hand?"
Kakashi was about to say more on the matter when someone landed directly in front of them.
Mikoto stared in confusion before her expression softened. "Itachi-kun thank goodness you're okay." Mikoto claimed as she ran to embrace her eldest son.
(Elsewhere)
Jiraiya grinned as he pulled another card from Naruto's hand. "So kid what did you think of Sasuke's mother?"
"I think you can answer that." Naruto answered while drawing a card from the deck. "She's hot!"
Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah to bad she's too old for you gaki, tough luck."
"I think you meant to say to bad she's married." Naruto replied with a smirk.
"Touché" Jiraiya agreed. "But I didn't know you had a thing for older woman gaki." Jiraiya pried.
"You know I'm just kidding." Naruto stated. "I think anything above twelve might be a little bit too seasoned for me. Although it doesn't hurt to look at the older honeys."
"Is that a fact huh?" Jiraiya questioned while eyeing his cards carefully. "But do tell me, what's with this Hyuuga girl that you talk so much about, is she you know special?"
"If you mean is she special in all the right places then yeah!" Naruto chorused loudly, but received a bop to the head curtsey of Jiraiya.
"Come on gaki I was being serious for once." Jiraiya scolded.
"Serious? But you're never serious." Naruto reasoned.
"That's why I said for once." Jiraiya grumbled. "But all I'm trying to say is, you may one day meet a girl that catches your eye unlike any girl before her. Sure flirting and sex are fun and what not, but it would be much more pleasurable with the one you truly love."
Naruto quirked his eyebrow for a second before he began sniffing the air. "Alright what's going on, have you been smoking that stuff with Gamabunta again?"
"Would you give it a rest kid? I told you that was just a medical herb to help relax the two of us." Jiraiya stated with a touch of nervousness. "Anyway I'm just saying this Hyuuga girl just maybe special, and I don't want you to go chasing her way by coming on too strong." Jiraiya concluded.
"I hear where you're coming from, but you make it sound like I'm going to marry her or something." Naruto accused.
Jiraiya put his cards down and walked to the nearby window, causing Naruto to stare at him curiously. "Who knows kid, you just may." Jiraiya concluded.
(Meanwhile)
Hinata Hyuuga for the first time in six months was in a good mood. Naruto had finally returned as he promised, and to top it off he hadn't forgotten about her as she expected he would. Sure his behavior was as bad as ever and she couldn't help but think he got a kick out the way he greeted her, but those were small penalties she could deal with.
Hinata's good mood had been suddenly interrupted when the sound of a knock on her door disturbed her. If anyone was coming to see her most likely it wasn't for a friendly chat. The only person that would come to see her for something that wasn't clan business would have been her younger sister Hanabi. Hinata knew that who ever was at her door wasn't her three year old sister considering Hanabi had a tendency to enter her room without knocking beforehand.
Sighing to herself Hinata made her way over to her door and slid it open. Hinata wasn't surprised to find that the person that knocked on her door happened to be her older cousin. It was part of his duties as her guardian to retrieve her when she was summoned.
"Good evening niisan." Hinata greeted him warmly.
The boy slightly narrowed his eyes but as quickly as it had come it was gone. "Please I rather you not refer to me a niisan." The boy suggested. "Neji is just fine."
"S-sorry Neji" Hinata corrected herself. As much as she tried, she couldn't figure out why her cousin despised her so much. "H-have I been summoned?" Hinata asked deciding she should get right to the point.
"Actually that isn't the reason I've come here." Neji stated.
Hinata quirked her eyebrow in confusion. "T-then why have you come?"
"I wish to talk to you about one Naruto Uzumaki." He answered bluntly.
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata muttered.
"Kun?" Neji repeated acknowledging the honorific. "So you're on friendly terms with this boy then?" Neji pressed on.
"W-well" Hinata stuttered with a blush growing on her cheeks. "N-Naruto-kun, did refer to me as his uh favorite honey." Hinata answered bashfully. "But why are you so interested?" Hinata asked carefully.
"Simple I have respect for those that are strong, and he demonstrated enough ability that he has caught my interest, I simply wish to know more about him." Neji asked, although Hinata could see he wasn't giving her the whole truth.
"I uh" Hinata fumbled for something to say. "T-to be honest I really don't know much about him e-either." Hinata confirmed. "A-apart from that he travels with the Sannin Jiraiya-sama, and a man he referred to as Kakashi-niisan at one point." Hinata concluded.
"And his strength?" Neji asked dryly.
"I'm not sure." Hinata answered. "He doesn't really seem to enjoy fighting, but spends most of his time…well."
"Womanizing." Neji finished Hinata's statement.
"W-what gave you that impression?" Hinata asked nervously.
"My eyes aren't as limited as your own." Neji answered with conceit dripping from his tone. "The smallest details do not escape my field of vision. But in his case it's obvious, I happened to witness him and his Inzuka companion using extendable telescopes to spy on the females from my year." Neji explained with a satisfied smirk. "I wouldn't be surprised if he speaks with you simply because he pity's your weakness."
Hinata's eyes slightly widened at the insult curtsey of her cousin. "I-I see" Hinata stated a bit solemnly.
Neji's sour mood seemed to have lifted considering he managed to knock Hinata down a peg. "Well although you didn't tell me anything valuable about his strength, I do appreciate what I've learnt. Good evening Hinata-sama." Neji finished with a slight bow before excusing himself.
Hinata watched Neji go before sliding her door shut. Walking over to her futon she sat down on it and hugged her pillow. "What came over me to think I had a chance with Naruto-kun?" Hinata spoke softly to herself. "I'm so plain, and useless what could I possibly have to offer to him?" Hinata berated herself as she laid down on her futon, her happy mood completely forgotten.
Meanwhile Neji smirked to himself as he made his way back to his own quarters. It didn't take much for him to notice Hinata's little crush on the blond haired traveler. He figured he may as well deny her any chance for future happiness, just as her actions denied him of his.
(Uchiha Compound)
"Itachi-kun!" Mikoto shouted as she tried to race to her son in order to embrace him, but found herself being held by the wrist.
Mikoto stared at Kakashi with a confused expression. "Kakashi-san, let go."
"I knew it was a mistake to allow you to stay." Kakashi commented, while using his free hand to lift up his headband revealing his own Sharingan eye.
"I don't understand." Mikoto stated as she took notice of Kakashi's gesture of removing his headband.
"You allowed your guard to drop because he's your son." Kakashi explained. "You never even noticed the killing intent behind those eyes of his."
"You can't mean?" Mikoto muttered, as she turned her head slowly to face Itachi. "Say it isn't true Itachi-kun, don't tell me you're responsible for this." Mikoto pleaded while her eyes began to water at the mere thought that her own son could be involved in such an act.
"It was a necessary choice." Itachi answered with no emotion in his voice.
"Necessary!" Mikoto shouted in disbelief. "You believe the slaughter of your family and entire clan was necessary!"
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "You know as well as I do, there was no other way." Itachi confirmed.
Mikoto glared at her eldest son as the Sharingan in her eyes began to spin rapidly.
Itachi showed no sign if he was worried by this or not.
A moment later Itachi found himself in an empty playground with no one there apart from Mikoto.
"Genjutsu." Itachi muttered. "I suppose you wish to talk in private then?"
"Don't state the obvious you're too smart for that Itachi." Mikoto spat. "Now tell me, how could you have betrayed the clan, your own flesh and blood!"
Itachi shut his eyes as though he was deep in thought. "The clan betrayed it's self, the moment it betrayed the leaf." Itachi answered as he opened his eyes revealing his own Sharingan.
"I still can't believe my son could be capable of something like this?" Mikoto muttered.
"I'm a ninja of the leaf before an Uchiha, and I acted accordingly to the treachery that was planned." Itachi answered tightly.
Mikoto dropped her head in shame. "I was against the coupe as well, along with a fair share of others." Mikoto acknowledged with sorrow in her voice. "I tired to reason with your father, but he had too much support for what he was planning."
"But even so" Itachi interrupted. "Those that were against the coupe, failed to act and there for are guilty of treason, which you know is punishable by death."
"You were ordered to do this weren't you?" Mikoto accessed. "You had to choose between the village, and your clan I can only imagine the eternal conflict, you must be suffering."
"I do not know what you're talking about." Itachi refuted. "I acted on my own accord and will be marked as a missing ninja after I complete my business here."
"So you even wish to kill your own mother then? How far have you fallen my son?" Mikoto questioned while chains erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves tightly around Itachi.
"You're my son and I will always love you, but what you've done here isn't something that even a mother could forgive." Mikoto explained with tears freely flowing down her face. "I'll end you before you truly become a monster." Mikoto claimed as a sword formed from thin air and she grabbed it by the hilt.
"This maybe your Genjutsu, but I still hold the advantage." Itachi claimed. "Let me show you what I mean." Itachi offered, and Mikoto suddenly found herself ensnared by the chains with Itachi now holding the very sword she had been.
"How did you?" Mikoto questioned as the chains began to squeeze tighter around her causing her to grunt in pain.
"We both know Genjutsu has never been your forte." Itachi answered calmly. "Maybe if this were a battle of Ninjutsu you might have an advantage, but Genjutsu is hardly a competition." Itachi concluded as he slowly approached Mikoto with the newly acquired sword outstretched.
Mikoto's eyes widened as she tried to release the Genjutsu, but found she couldn't accomplish the task.
"Resistance is futile." Itachi confirmed as he closed the distance and prepared to strike his mother down, only for the playground around them to disrupt.
Mikoto landed on her knees back in the real world and panted hard as Kakashi helped her to a standing position.
"Challenging him to a battle in Genjutsu probably wasn't a wise decision." Kakashi stated while eyeing Itachi carefully, who still had an emotionless expression plastered on his face.
"Kakashi-senpai" Itachi began. "This is a matter of the Uchiha, so please leave I don't wish to spill any unnecessary blood."
"Unnecessary?" Kakashi repeated. "And you believe the slaughter of your clan was necessary?" Kakashi challenged.
"You wouldn't understand." Itachi replied calmly, while shifting into a fighting stance. "I'll do what I must." Itachi claimed.
The moment Itachi had staked his claim a sword pierced Mikoto from behind. Kakashi's eyes widened in horror as he watched Mikoto cough up blood.
'How did he…a shadow clone?' Kakashi thought but much to his surprise Mikoto merely smirked.
"You're getting sloppy Itachi." Mikoto claimed as she burst into a flock of crows.
Itachi's eyes narrowed as he dodged to the side in time to avoid a lighting spear that sailed harmlessly by him. Unfortunately his shadow clone didn't have the same luck as it was struck by the lighting spear and popped out of existence.
Kakashi seized that moment to catch Itachi off guard and charged in while flipping through hand seals of his own. "Lighting style: Four Pillar Bind!" Kakashi shouted as four stone pillars erupted from the ground around Itachi.
"You can't beat me with this Jutsu." Itachi stated simply.
"We'll see." Kakashi retorted and the four pillars began to shoot bolts of lighting directly at Itachi.
Itachi was struck dead on by the lighting but he merely popped into a cloud of smoke.
"Damn another shadow clone." Kakashi hissed, just as Itachi appeared and tried to drive his foot into Kakashi's gut only to have it blocked by Mikoto's forearm.
"This isn't good enough Itachi." Mikoto claimed as she struggled against Itachi's foot for dominance. "I know you couldn't have killed the entire clan with this show of strength, now show me the power you've been hiding!" Mikoto demanded.
Itachi's answer was to simply lash out at his mother with a spinning roundhouse kick that she nimbly avoided with the aid of her Sharingan.
"I said show me your true strength!" Mikoto shouted while delivering a brutal elbow to Itachi's gut and following it up with a knee to his jaw that sent him sailing and crashing hard into a nearby wall destroying it on impact.
"Fine" Mikoto stated as she clasped her hands together. "You'll regret that decision." Mikoto assured Itachi while flipping through more hand seals. "Fire style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" Mikoto shouted as a stream of white fire spewed from her mouth. Not stopping there she continued to perform more hand seals. 'Lighting style: Wave of Inspiration!'
A current of lighting flowed from Mikoto's hands and traveled along the stream of fire aiding to its already destructive power.
The resulting attack was an explosion engulfed in lighting that practically illuminated the night sky.
When the smoke cleared Mikoto fell to her knees, panting from exhaustion. 'To use such an attack on my own son…how could I, he maybe…'
Mikoto never got to finish that thought as Itachi appeared directly in front of her completely unscathed by the attack.
"Now who's getting sloppy?" Itachi remarked as his Sharingan transformed into a pinwheel shaped design. "Tsukuyomi" Itachi muttered.
Mikoto's eyes glazed over and she suddenly found herself in a strange world, which vaguely resembled the Uchiha compound, apart from the red sky and black and white shading that made up everything else.
"Where am I?" Mikoto muttered as she watched her clan's men go about their daily routines blissfully unaware of her presence. "What's going on here?"
"Welcome mother to the world of Tsukuyomi." Itachi answered from behind her.
Mikoto swiftly turned around and tired to flip through more hand seals, but found that she had completely lost her ability to move.
"Space and time and the very fabric of reality are at my complete control in this world." Itachi began. "I'll subject you to seventy two hours of torture." Itachi explained much to Mikoto's horror Itachi began to brutally massacre the Uchiha clan in front of her.
Once Itachi had completed his task of killing the clan both Sasuke and Fugaku appeared on their knees in front of Mikoto.
"Don't do this Itachi!" Mikoto shouted, tears staining her face.
"It's too late for that." Itachi answered shortly as he sliced off both Sasuke and Fugaku's heads' in one motion. Mikoto was mortified as she was sprayed with the blood of her youngest son and husband.
Itachi watched casually as Mikoto fell to her knees in despair. Walking up to her he slashed her directly across the gut spilling her entrails.
Mikoto let out a gurgle as she choked on her own blood before collapsing over dead.
A moment later Mikoto's eyes fluttered open and she was once again watching the Uchiha go about their daily routine as though nothing had happened.
"Seventy one hours and fifty nine minutes remain." Itachi spoke up from behind Mikoto once again.
"My god." Mikoto muttered as she realized just what Itachi had meant by those words.
Kakashi didn't know what to make of it when Mikoto suddenly began to scream, and collapsed over unconscious. Itachi had merely looked into her eyes and next second she was screaming as though she'd witnessed the most horrific thing she had ever seen.
"What did you do to her?" Kakashi demanded.
Itachi slowly turned his head in Kakashi's direction, allowing Kakashi to get a glimpse at his eyes.
"What the hell?" Kakashi muttered.
"I would explain my abilities in detail but my time run's short." Itachi stated as he suddenly found himself wrapped in chains.
"As Anbu I would have expected you to arrive sooner." Itachi stated impassively. "Did my Shadow clones prove that difficult for you to dispatch?" Itachi mocked.
"There's no point in trying to rile us up." The Anbu captain claimed.
"I suppose so." Itachi agreed as one of the Anbu that had arrived suddenly found himself in Itachi's place within the chains.
'The speed at which he cast Jutsu is unreal' Kakashi thought frantically.
"Parton my rudeness but I have prior engagements that I must see to." Itachi chorused form a roof top nearby. "Good bye." Itachi finished as he burst into a flock of crows that scattered in every direction.
"Damn." Kakashi grumbled. "Follow him at once, don't lose his trail!" Kakashi ordered.
The Anbu did what they were told and disappeared without a trace.
Kakashi took that moment to cover his Sharingan eye and made his way over towards Mikoto. Lifting her head up he sighed in relief seeing that she was still breathing but sweating heavily. 'I need to get her medical attention immediately.' Kakashi summarized before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
(Later That Night)
Hyuuga Hiashi was not happy in the slightest after being awakened in the middle of the night for an urgent meeting. What the hell could be so important that all the clan heads would be summoned at such an hour? Hiashi wondered to himself as he entered into the council's chambers.
Hiashi was quite surprised at all the chatter that was taking place throughout the council chamber. Most clans knew to hold their tongues but apparently being awakened in the middle of the night didn't sit well with them either.
Making his way to his designated seat Hiashi sat down and glued an expression of indifference on his face. If not for the image Hiashi had to uphold he would have simply demanded then in there as to why they had been called for. But being the man he was, he remained calm and punctual and waited to be informed.
The chatter among the clans had been silenced upon Sarutobi's entrance. He was flanked by his two advisors Koharu and Homura, along with Danzo who hobbled slightly behind them.
Taking their seats in front of the clan heads, Sarutobi eyed them carefully. "First and foremost I'd like to apologize for summoning you with such urgency." Sarutobi began. "But this information isn't something that can simply wait."
If anyone wasn't intrigued before, they certainly were now.
Sarutobi took a heavy sigh before pressing on. "To keep this short, the Uchiha clan in nearly its entirety have been wiped out." Sarutobi spoke bluntly.
Gasps were instantly heard throughout the counsel chambers upon hearing the revelation. Even Hiashi's eyes had widened while the ever calm Shibi Aburame eyebrows shot above the brim of his shades.
Diverting their eyes to were Fugaku Uchiha normally sat, surely enough the Uchiha seat was unoccupied.
"How could this have happened?" A woman from a lesser clan piped in. "The Uchiha were powerful, surely a commotion would have been made had they been fighting for their lives." She reasoned much to the agreement of the remaining clan heads.
"Obviously their attacker or attackers were highly skilled in assassination then." Shikaku Nara summarized. "Or it's possible they even trusted their executioner, and weren't on guard." He concluded.
"Preposterous." Hiashi cut in. "The Uchiha only trusted themselves, and I highly doubt that anyone of them would have been willing to betray their own clan."
"Actually Shikaku is right on both his accusations." Sarutobi piped back in. "Not only was their murderer highly skilled in assassination, but he was also one that the Uchiha trusted."
Hiashi remained quiet as he listened in for the perpetrators name.
Sarutobi took a brief pause before stating shortly. "Itachi Uchiha."
A pin drop could be heard the silence was so deep. There wasn't a single person in the room that didn't know that name. The boy was the pride and joy of the Uchiha clan, extremely talented and one of the strongest if not the strongest of his generation.
"I know it's hard to believe but I can vouch for its authenticity." Kakashi spoke for the first time from his position in the corner of the room.
"Please explain Kakashi-san" Inoichi Yamanaka suggested.
"Well to be short Mikoto Uchiha and myself had the honor of engaging Itachi, before he fled." Kakashi explained. "He was also more then willing to admit to the slaughter of his clan." Kakashi concluded.
"So the traitor escaped!" Tsume Inzuka shouted in rage. Nothing was more important then loyalty to the Inzuka clan and what Itachi had did would have been considered one of the worst offenses that could be committed in her eyes.
Kakashi nodded regretfully. "Itachi proved his skills were far superior then I could have thought." Kakashi acknowledged. "Even with Anbu back up, he managed to escape with little effort."
"I see." Hiashi muttered. He nor his clan had ever been on friendly terms with the Uchiha, but he had no delusions on how valuable their strength was to the village as a whole. Contrary to what many believed Hiashi had always put the village ahead himself and clan, something he was sure the Uchiha weren't on the same page with.
"Hokage-sama if I may?" Hiashi piped in.
"Of course." Sarutobi motioned for Hiashi to ask his question.
"You mentioned the Uchiha were nearly wiped out in its entirety. So I'm to assume that there were survivors then?" Hiashi questioned.
Sarutobi nodded grimly. "Only two souls were spared."
"Two?" Choza Akimichi repeated in shock.
"I'm afraid so." Sarutobi pressed on. "Uchiha Sasuke, and his mother Mikoto Uchiha."
"And their current state of health?" Shibi questioned coolly.
Sarutobi sighed once more. "Sasuke is perfectly fine and is currently being guarded by a squad of Anbu in his mother's hospital room. As for Mikoto Uchiha… her vitals and physical condition seem to be perfectly fine but we have reason to believe she was subjected to mental torture through Genjutsu." Sarutobi summarized. "It remains to be seen what her mental state will be once she wakes up."
More murmurs were heard but Sarutobi raised his hand to silence them.
"We'll discuss this more at a later date, as for now I'm calling an end to this meeting." Sarutobi concluded giving permission for them all to disperse.
(Meanwhile)
Sasuke stared at his mother with tears in his eyes. Mikoto was still unconscious from the mental beating Itachi inflicted on her.
"Kassan wake up." Sasuke whispered while brushing away the tears from his eyes that continued to flow despite his efforts.
He had just heard the most horrid news he could imagine. His clan had been completely exterminated by none other then his own brother. Itachi was his hero the ninja he wanted to be when he grew up, Sasuke just could not understand how he could do what he did to their clan, and most importantly their own mother.
"Please Kassan wake up, I don't want to be alone." Sasuke pleaded while holding onto his mother's hand tightly. 'Wake up!'
'That voice…' Mikoto thought tiredly. 'It's Sasuke-kun, but he's…dead. I saw it, he killed them all, my own son. But that voice it has to be…my baby I have to protect him.' Mikoto thought as her eyes finally fluttered open and met with Sasuke's tear stained ones.
Sasuke paused for a moment when he took notice of the emptiness in his mother's eyes. But as quickly as it had come it was gone and she smiled weakly at him.
"Sasuke-kun, you're okay?" She whispered while touching his face to make sure he was real.
Sasuke smiled back before embracing his mother in a hug. "Thank Kami you're alive."
Mikoto hugged him back. "Of course my son, I could never leave you in this world alone." Mikoto assured Sasuke as the images Itachi showed her replayed in her mind causing her to hug Sasuke even tighter. 'You'll pay Itachi, I'll kill you if it's not the last thing I ever do.' Mikoto thought just as the medics entered into her room to check on her.
(Elsewhere)
Itachi trudged along with a masked man with no particular destination in mind.
"Was it wise to leave not only your brother but your mother alive as well?" The mask man questioned his stoic companion.
"It makes no difference." Itachi answered calmly. "Besides Sasuke just may become strong enough to suit my purposes with the aid of our foolish mother and his hatred he will surely have for me." Itachi claimed before drifting into silence.
Well there you have it folks another chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter although it was a break from the humor, and showed the more serious side of things. But keep in mind this is an action adventure before humor. Anyway not much to report here so as always please review and I'll catch you with the next chapter.
