A/n: I want to say thank you to all my reviewers and subscribers. Also, be sure to read "Illusions of Serenity" by .Rose. Thanks again!

Vigil of Sorrows

Chapter 2

"Deflections of Intrigue"

…..

"Itachi…" Naruto gritted his teeth as he said the man's name.

Elder Chiyo stepped forward and Naruto turned his head to her. "This is him? The kid who wiped out his entire clan?" the older woman mused.

'Yes, this is that murderous bastard,' Sakura answered in her head.

The Leaf ninja glared at the traitor. The air was heavy with disdain, silence and the enormous chakra emitting from the member of Akatsuki. Sakura knew he was a skilled opponent, but she didn't care. Her hatred for Uchiha Itachi would be enough and she knew Naruto felt the same way.

Finally, the Uchiha spoke, "It's been some time Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun."

It took most of Sakura's willpower to not rush forward and attack the criminal; she still needed to be smart. He wielded the powerful Sharingan and could easily deflect her blows.

Sakura's glare intensified. 'The same Sharingan as Sasuke-kun's! This is the man who's made Naruto and Sasuke-kun suffer all this time!'

The silence was, once again, broken by Naruto. "Bastard! Not just me, but Gaara, too?!

The wind continued to blow ceaselessly around the shinobi, carrying the questions away with it, unanswered.

Naruto pointed angrily at their enemy, "I'm gonna kick all your asses!"

Sakura inwardly nodded, tightening her grip on her fist, prepared for an attack.

The Uchiha said nothing and his gaze on them never faltered. He slowly raised his hands into the start of a seal.

Kakashi-sensei gasped. "Everyone! Don't look directly into his eyes, or you're finished!"

Sakura immediately responded and dropped her jade eyes from those haunting scarlet orbs to the swaying grass at his feet.

"Itachi's genjutsu are eye techniques. In other words, they take effect through your vision. You're okay as long as your eyes don't meet his," Kakashi explained.

'I know his techniques, Kakashi-sensei. I researched this heartless bastard!'

Naruto shifted his eyes to his teacher. "I know that."

"But then, how are we supposed to fight him?" It was true she had studied the Uchiha's techniques, but she never thought about what to do when faced with it. 'Damn! I still haven't changed after all this time? Why do I only ever focus on book smarts?'

"Well, you…you focus on his feet and body, and attack based on how he moves."

'So, if I can stay out of contact with his eyes, then I won't have to worry about the Sharingan.' Sakura slowly, and hesitantly, lifted her gaze from the ground up the Uchiha's torso to his face, but quickly stopped herself before she saw his eyes. "That's easier said than done."

"The Uchiha clan? Been a long time since I've fought a Sharingan user," Elder Chiyo informed them.

'That's because he nearly drove them into extinction!'

"They're nothing special, though. There are plenty of ways to fight eye techniques."

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"When it's one-on-one, run away. When it's two-on-one, get him from behind," Elder Chiyo responded.

Naruto was obviously confused and lifted a hand to his face. "What do you mean?"

"When it's one-on-one, run away is obvious, right? In that situation, you can't win. But if it's two-on-one, if one person gets caught in a genjutsu, the other can attack the guy from behind. And if you attack the user, the genjutsu vanishes. Or if an attack isn't possible, you can dispel the genjutsu by hitting your ally. In other words, since there are several of us, one person will be the diversion, and the rest will attack the Sharingan's blind spot from behind," the Suna woman explained.

'She is very knowledgeable. What she said made perfect sense,' Sakura thought and said, "I see."

"I guess old people have their uses!" Naruto told Elder Chiyo.

'If we weren't facing our enemy and about to fight, I would punch you for your lack of respect, Naruto!'

They assumed their fighting stances and waited.

Always the impatient one, Naruto stood in front of the rest of the group. "Okay, I'll attack him-"

"Wait," Kakashi-sensei cut him off.

Naruto shifted his stance. "Kakashi-sensei! What do you mean wait?"

"Are you saying my tactics for facing the Sharingan are wrong?" Elder Chiyo questioned, clearly offended.

"Well, if were talking about regular genjutsu, your strategy would be fine. But in this case, things are a bit more complicated," Kakashi-sensei answered.

'Because Uchiha Itachi is the prodigy of his clan. He's not just another Sharingan user.'

"What?"

"He uses the Mangekyou Sharingan, an eye technique far more powerful than a normal Sharingan. You suffer the full effect of his genjutsu the instant you're caught. In other words, while it only seems to be a second to everyone else, it can feel like hours, or days, for the one trapped in the illusion. I was lost in his phantom world for three days and ended up unconscious for a week. Dispelling the technique isn't possible."

'He did that to Kakashi-sensei?! That Uchiha bastard! Was that when he was in Konoha three years ago? He attempted to kidnap Naruto and attacked Sasuke-kun, leaving him in a coma until Tsunade-sama healed him, and now I find out he also attacked my teacher, leaving him unconscious!' Sakura gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes into a deadly glare. There was no way he was walking away from this fight.

"He's a dangerous opponent. Just who is he?" Elder Chiyo asked.

"Impressive as always, Kakashi-san. You learned much from just one encounter with my Tsukuyomi." Itachi spoke again.

"I'm not done yet. After using that technique, you were very fatigued and retreated immediately. Besides using a large amount of chakra, using that technique poses a huge risk to your eyes. Right, Itachi?" Kakashi asked.

'His eyes? Does using the Sharingan do something to affect them negatively? Is this the weakness I've been searching for ever since I heard the name Uchiha Itachi?'

"An impressive analysis, for having only seen it once."

"Itachi," Kakashi-sensei started, lifting a hand to his forehead protector and pulling it back, revealing his own Sharingan eye, "how bad has your eyesight become?"

Sakura was barely able to hear the Uchiha gasp, but it was enough to confirm her suspicions. 'So, his eyesight is depleting. I suppose having such powerful eyes comes at a great cost. Could Sasuke-kun be losing his vision, too?'

"Kakashi-san, you couldn't have…" The man whose eyes Sakura couldn't see didn't finish his question.

'What is he talking about? What did Kakashi-sensei do? Wait, why am I listening to that traitor and doubting my teacher? Get a grip, Sakura!' she inwardly scolded herself.

No one responded to the Uchiha and Kakashi-sensei simply stared back at him. The rest of his team followed suit, avoiding the Sharingan.

After a few moments, Kakashi-sensei casually placed one hand on his hip and the other in his silver hair. "Well, I may have let my guard down last time, but I'm no slouch, you know."

Sakura and Naruto turned to their teacher in surprise.

"Things will be different this time."

Naruto smiled determinedly, "That goes for me, too! You're making a big mistake if you think I'm the same as last time!"

Sakura leaned forward so she could see Naruto. He had gotten stronger in the three years since Akatsuki last showed their faces; much stronger than expected in such a short amount of time.

"Naruto, I'll take him," Kakashi-sensei ordered.

'What?! He can't be serious?! Our enemy is too powerful for even Kakashi-sensei to handle alone! Our only chance is to defeat him together!' Sakura glanced at Naruto and, by the expression on his face, she could tell he was thinking something similar.

"Don't tell me you mean not fighting is our teamwork again?!" Naruto asked desperately.

Sakura's eyes widened. 'That's what he did on our escort mission to the Land of Waves, but he would've died if Sasuke-kun and Naruto hadn't saved him. Didn't he learn anything from that?!'

"No, this time I need you to back me up. While I'd like to act cool and say, 'You go on ahead', I won't be able to hold him off by myself," Kakashi-sensei replied.

Sakura and Naruto nodded to each other and turned back to their opponent.

He hadn't moved during their entire conversation. The Uchiha just let them talk and never took advantage of that to attack them. 'What is he planning?'

Slowly, the Sharingan user started lifting his right hand, index finger extended.

'What seal is that? Uchiha's have a natural fire affinity and their precious prodigy has a second for water. Neither of those elements have any seals that start with that form; no elements do, in fact. And why is his left hand still dropped by his side like he's not going to use it at all? It almost looks like…' Sakura's eyes widened as realization hit her. Uchiha Itachi was a master at genjutsu and if you're that advanced, you don't even have to form seals to cast an illusion.

"It's time for you to come with me…"

'He's going to trap Naruto!'

The Uchiha's finger was pointing at Naruto, "Naruto-kun."

"Naruto!" Sakura pushed past Kakashi-sensei and held her arms out defensively in front of her friend. She's wasn't going to let this murderer take him.

In an instant, she knew she was caught in the genjutsu. Sakura could feel her mind slipping away from her consciousness and into an illusion, when there was a sudden, heavy throbbing in her head. Her inner self always came out when she was in danger of having her mind invaded.

Sakura felt two forces clash before she felt her consciousness spinning. The green of the trees was blurring into the blue of the sky and many other, unnamable colors joined with this mixture. She felt dizzy from the sudden contrast of stillness to the turning and the blurs passing by in flashes. Was her inner unable to block the Uchiha's genjutsu effectively? This didn't feel like any genjutsu she'd heard of, though. Perhaps it was a side effect of the clash and it wasn't only in her mind that she was spinning?

White flashed in her eyes and she instinctively shaded them with her hand, but the action knocked her out of her awareness and she could feel herself blacking out. She closed her eyes and all she saw as she slipped into unconsciousness was the dark shade of black. A young boy with onyx black eyes and hair came into her memory and a small smile appeared on her lips.

'Sasuke…' was the last thing she thought before she completely lost consciousness.