In the manga: We're not getting a back story on Kisame? That can't be right. There has to be more to that fight. I refuse to believe its over (stamps feet and pouts).

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Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by some guy in Japan named Kishimoto.

Chapter 43 – Itachi versus Tsunade

The bright sun beamed down on the freighter as it entered the wide bay leading into the Fire country port. A strong wind blew out over the water, forming white-caps over the waves that slapped roughly against the ship. Heavy black steam bellowed from the smoke-stack as the captain pushed his way through the heavy seas, thankful that he would be in port when the storm following on the tracks of the wind showed itself in a few hours.

On the deck, Itachi was resting on a lounge chair with his face to the sun and his eyes shut tightly against the bright light. As he meditated, red was the only color that existed as he stared through his eyelids and the only thing he could feel was the cold wind that chilled his body and froze his soul. It wasn't comforting, and after about five minutes he had to stop and return to his cabin to warm up.

Just as he was situating himself on his bed so he could read, Sasuke wandered in and dropped down onto a chair, "The captain is telling everyone to get ready to leave in the hour."

"Okay." Itachi didn't even bother looking up from his book.

"I was at the front of the ship with the boatswain looking at the dock we're heading toward and guess who I saw?" Sasuke gave his brother a big grin.

"Who?" He didn't like guessing games.

Sasuke sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you then. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi. Oh, and Sai is with them too."

Itachi felt a cold chill run down his spin and he carefully laid the book down on the bed next to him as he sat up. "Why are they here?"

"You're not happy to see them?" This was rather confusing. Sasuke was thrilled to see his friends and sensei after being gone for what seemed like a year, and expected his brother to be as well.

"Think about it, Sasuke. Why are they here? Father is already in Konoha. Should have gotten there yesterday or even the day before. He could have sent them here."

"How? You can't get from Konoha to here that quickly. There's no way Team 7 could have gotten here that quick. They must be returning from a mission or something and heard that we… were… coming in…" His face dropped, "He could have sent one of his cats to give them a message. Why is that bad?"

"Our plan. We have to get you to Konoha. If father gave them a mission and they're here to collect you it would throw things off."

"Just for a week or two."

Itachi stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets, "I'm tired of waiting. This whole thing has been going on for years. This is our chance to stop it, and we are going to act now instead of later."

Sasuke was silent for a couple minutes, then got up to begin packing his few belongings. Neither brother was very messy so the activity was quickly over and the boy was forced to face the one fact that was squeezing at his heart, "Now that we're really here and our mission is about to start… I'm scared, Itachi. But… I guess… the sooner we do this, the sooner it will be over."

"That's the only way to look at it…" Itachi was interrupted.

"Because, I promised to look after you and Sheeta and the baby, and if Orochimaru and Danzou are still around… what if he goes after the baby? If he can't get at you or me, well…"

Itachi took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "That… I hadn't considered that… he might try… in fact I'm sure he would try to kidnap my son."

"Daughter." Sasuke added with a lopsided grin.

Shaking his head, Itachi sat gave his brother a small grin, "We'll see."

"You know something?"

"Maybe."

"What?"

"None of your business." Itachi laughed and reached over to grab his book with the intention of packing his own stuff when the world suddenly went black and he fell forward and onto his knees. There was a strange tingling sensation in his brain as his vision returned and he found he could hear his brother calling out to him, but he couldn't move. After a couple minutes things returned to normal and he laid back down on the floor and closed his eyes as an overwhelming urge to sleep overtook him.

"I'll get Nui!" Sasuke ran out of the room as Itachi drifted off to sleep.

"What's wrong with big brother?" Naruto's excitement at seeing his foster brothers faded quickly when he saw Itachi being carried off the ship on the back of a tall sailor. The teen was extremely pale and obviously unconscious. Sheeta as walking behind him, wiping her eyes and trying, unsuccessfully, not to cry.

"He blacked out. Nui isn't all that sure why it happened." Sasuke explained worriedly. "He was just talking like normal and then he was on the floor."

Kakashi stepped forward and offered to carry Itachi, "We were supposed to be here to collect Sasuke for a mission, but it looks like that will have to be postponed. There is no way Fugaku would let Sheeta returned unescorted. If we took Sasuke now, and with Itachi like this… it would leave poor Nui to look after three kids and a pregnant woman."

"I'm glad you see it that way." Nui wasn't sure whether she should be insulted at being accused of not being able to protect her family and friends, or happy that he had offered to help without being asked. Because that was exactly what she was planning on doing – asking for help. Well, if meant keeping everyone safe, she wasn't going to hide behind her pride and gave him a heart-warming smile.

Sakura stepped forward and grabbed each of the twins' hands, "We got a wagon for you, and two horses to pull it. We had to buy it though. No one would rent to a Shinobi."

"Of course. Thanks for getting the wagon. Let's hurry up and get out of here. The captain said there's a storm coming and if we get inland a few miles it might not be so bad."

"But there aren't any clouds in the sky!" Naruto complained.

"What are those?" Sasuke pointed to the horizon where dark clouds were gathering, "And this wind is awful!"

"Oh. Didn't see those." Everyone rolled their eyes and smiled.

Itachi opened his eyes a few hours later, surprised to find himself in a wagon with Sheeta asleep at his side. It was dark out and the heavy rain was pounding fiercely against the heavy canvas above him. Sending out his chakra he quickly verified that the children, his brother and Nui were also nearby. Of course, the presences of the other four chakra sources was less than comforting as he remembered the conversation he was having with brother.

"Sasuke." His voice was a little hoarse, but the boy must have been close by because he quickly climbed into the wagon, begin careful to remove his rain-soaked jacket before it dripped on the toddlers or Sheeta.

"How are you feeling?" Sasuke reached forward and placed a hand on his brother's forehead.

"Okay." Itachi brushed the hand away and tried to sit up.

"You're not fine, big brother. Nui said you have pneumonia again."

"What? How? That's impossible!" He fell back down as another wave of dizziness took over, "I was feeling fine!"

"She said it's sometimes called 'walking pneumonia' and the person thinks they just have a cold or flu or something. But it can get worse before you know it."

"Sounds fishy."

"You have a fever and you've been sleeping for almost two days. What's so fishy about that?"

"Sheeta! She shouldn't be next me if I'm sick!" Itachi tried to move again but his arms didn't want to hold his weight and he dropped back down.

"You're not contagious."

"Pneumonia is contagious, Sasuke, it's caused by a virus. If I'm not contagious then I don't have pneumonia."

Nui climbed into the wagon just as Sheeta was waking up and crawled over to Itachi, "You have pneumonia because of fluid build-up in your lungs. That type of pneumonia isn't contagious. It's… more like an infection. However, you should have noticed the symptoms before-hand and told me you weren't feeling well. You know, like being tired all the time, running a fever, loss of stamina, coughing, etcetera."

"I'm sick of this. I'm not an invalid."

A rain soaked and obviously miserable Kakashi poked his head through the driver's flap and snapped at the teen, "Itachi, drop the attitude. It's cold, it's wet, and we're doing our best to get you to Konoha before you get worse."

"So we're returning to Konoha. Why are you here?"

Naruto, who was sitting next to Kakashi stuck his head in as well, "We were supposed to be picking up Sasuke for a mission in Tea country, but getting you home is more important than some stupid mission to guard a warehouse."

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes. His suppositions had been correct, however everything had, somehow, worked out. They were returning to Konoha and Sasuke would be leaving again a few hours later. But not with Team 7.

"Granny Tsunade is back, she'll patch you up!" Naruto volunteered.

"Granny?" Itachi had wondered a couple times over the years if Minato, Naruto's father, was Tsunade's son – the blond hair and outgoing, yet calculating personalities were similar. However, he had never been interested enough to actually find out the answer and his suspicions were probably incorrect anyway. After all, he had never met the healer – only seen her picture. Assuming relationships from only a picture was tricky, at best.

"He's being disrespectful." Sasuke said quietly.

That didn't surprise the teen and he nodded once to acknowledge the comment.

Sheeta brushed her boyfriend's hair from his face and continued to stoke his cheek. "We'll be home tomorrow. Why don't you try to get some more sleep?"

Again Itachi nodded, but another concern crossed his mind, "Who is keeping watch?"

"Sakura and Sai are running a perimeter. They are quite good when they work together like that. No one will get through without them knowing about it." He smiled under his mask, causing the one eye not hidden by his forehead protector to wrinkle shut, "We got it covered, Itachi. Now, quit making your pregnant girlfriend worry. Go to sleep."

After drinking some water and swallowing some overly-bitter medication from Nui, Itachi found he was very exhausted, but definitely not sleepy. After a lifetime of dealing with insomnia it was a sensation that was very familiar to him.

Closing his eyes he concentrated on his body, trying to gauge how it was feeling and how accurate the diagnosis was. He had been coughing a little after they boarded the freighter, but it wasn't harsh like it had been a few weeks earlier when he had collapsed in Madara's meeting room. He also had been running a low fever, but that hadn't concerned him at the time either since there was no nausea. Other than being tired and weak he didn't feel ill at all.

However, Nui and Sheeta had dealt with their older brother's illness for years so discounting their observations would no doubt be a mistake. They knew better than most exactly how the disease he had been cursed with would progress over time. It was disturbing, knowing that they were waiting, day by day, to see how bad he was and then comparing his condition to a man who had already died.

"It was only days after Shisui…" Itachi spoke out loud without thinking. "Your brother…"

"The news that Shisui had… killed himself… really upset him." Sheeta whispered. "He died a few days later. But you aren't as bad as he is and we have Tsunade waiting for you back home." Her voice had risen slightly as she spoke, but it dropped again, and was nearly silent when she uttered her final words, "So don't give up on us and die."

'Because if I die,' Itachi said to himself, 'our children will be unprotected. Even if Sasuke uses Mangekyou Sharingan, it will eat away at his eyes and his body until he, too, dies. He will be able to protect at first, but eventually, even he will fail.'

Glancing over at Sasuke, he made a decision, "Don't act on your own, little brother. If I can't be there you will die."

"But I…" Sasuke stopped talking when he saw his brother's stern face. The others looked back and forth between the two, trying to guess what was going on, but knowing better than to ask.

Itachi couldn't speak freely, but he hoped his brother got the message, "Don't do anything without me." If Sasuke left while he was sick, he would be unable to protect him. The idea was that Sasuke would tell Itachi where Orochimaru was. However, he couldn't do that if he was too sick to respond. If this plan resulted in the boy's death, he knew he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Okay." The words were spoken quietly, and Itachi definitely detected an undertone of frustration.

The next time he awoke he was staring at a white ceiling and something warm was holding his hand. Having expected to wake up in the wagon only a couple hours after he had fallen asleep this was turn of events was rather disorienting. He realized he still wasn't feeling nauseas, but his chest and throat were sore – as if he had been coughing for a long time.

"Itachi, are you awake?" It was his mother's voice and as he turned his head he could see her sitting next to the bed. Worry lines were carved into her brow as she gazed with concern at his confused expression.

Nodding, he turned his head to look at the rest of the room. It was a private suite, of course, so there were no other patients. Nor were there any other visitors.

"Please drink some water." Mikoto made her way to the sink and returned with a class of the clear liquid. Placing it on the nightstand she pushed a button next to the bed and the back slowly rose until Itachi was reclining. Passing the glass to her son she held on to it, even after his own hands closed over hers. With her other hand she stroked his hair lovingly.

"Thank-you." Itachi mumbled. He was still feeling rather weak. "What's wrong with me?"

"Tsunade has been here and she said you have an infection and a mild case of pneumonia. I'll call the nurse and have her bring you some soup. You must be very hungry."

"I don't feel sick."

"That's good, at least. But you are very tired. You're fever is finally gone. It was quite high by the time they got you here. Tsunade worked her magic and it was back to normal an hour later. Nui was a little jealous of course." Mikoto gave a small laugh, "But everyone was so relieved."

A soup spoon was easier to hold than the water glass and Itachi felt a little stronger after he ate the simple miso and the bowl of rice that came with it. He was even feeling a little hungry.

"Where is Sasuke?" Itachi finally asked as he finished his meal.

"Well, you see…" Mikoto's good mood suddenly disappeared and she averted her eyes from his to stare at a spot on the floor.

Itachi felt his chest tighten and his entire body grow cold, "What did my little brother do?"

"He… it wasn't his fault. Fugaku… he… he should have stopped them…"

"Mother!" Itachi said angrily, "Tell me what happened!"

"He was called in front of the council to give an accounting of your journey back and explain your illness. I was there. They verbally attacked him, accusing him of getting in your way, and of not taking care of you properly to keep you from getting ill."

"That ridiculous! How can one possibly 'keep away' and 'stay close' at the same time!" Itachi had a feeling he knew what was coming next.

"He completely lost it. He became very angry and when Toshiro put a hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down, Sasuke grabbed him by the arm and broke it. He then stood up to leave, but the elders got mad and one even threatened to stick him in jail if he didn't amend his ways. Fugaku did tell them to back off, but it wasn't enough. It was too little, too late, and, well, Sasuke was still so made at his father from what happened in Mist that it also served to add fuel to the fire. He started yelling at everyone and said some things that hurt a lot of feelings. He then… he used a jutsu to disappear… we didn't even know he could do that yet… and when he got back to the house…"

Itachi reached over and gripped his mother's hand as the tears started to drip from her eyes, "Go on, it's okay. I'm not mad at you."

"Thank-you, Itachi. But I'm mad at myself. Anyway, Naruto burst into the meeting a few minutes later and said that Sasuke had come home and had told him that he was running away to live with Orochimaru because Fugaku was a jerk and he didn't want anything more to do with the clan. Of course your father sent about twenty people after him, but no one could find him. He must have used Tama to escape. I knew I shouldn't have let him keep that cat. He looked like trouble, and I was right." The woman was openly weeping at this point and she pulled her hand out of her sons so she could grab a tissue and wipe them.

'Idiot brother.' Itachi cursed silently, 'I told you not do anything while I was sick.'

"Fugaku is so worried. I've never seen him so upset. And Kakashi has been gone for three days, searching with his dogs."

"Three days!" Itachi sat straight up, "How long have I been here!" When he had woken up he had been certain he had only been asleep for one day at the most.

"Um…" Mikoto was surprised at her son's outburst, "three days. This happened a few hours after you were admitted to the hospital."

"Damn it!" Itachi pushed his blankets back and started to get out of bed. However, he discovered he was attacked to a couple IV's and a heart monitor. Pulling the needles and sensors off his body he quickly made his way to closet and began scrounging for some clothes.

"Itachi, please, get back to bed. You aren't going to be able to help in your current condition!"

As if on cue, Itachi's legs gave out and he fell against the wall, trying valiantly to keep his body from falling on the floor.

The door slid open at that point and a blonde woman, about Mikoto's height, with a blue diamond on her forehead and an ample bust-line strode in confidently and stopped a couple feet from the teen and gave him an evil smile as she folded her arms across her chest.

"And why, exactly, is my star patient no longer in bed?"

It was rather emasculating, Itachi decided bitterly, when the woman grabbed him by front of his hospital gown and slammed him down onto his bed. It was worse when his mother smiled and thanked the blonde demon for her assistance. He lay where he had landed, without moving or making any attempt to acknowledge that his circumstances had, in any way, changed from a few minutes earlier. Maybe if he pretended she wasn't there…

But he didn't have time for that. Sitting up he threw his legs back over the edge of the bed and started to stand up. He needed to get in touch with his brother.

"Where are you going?" The room, quite literally, dropped several degrees when Tsunade's cold voice stopped his in his tracks.

"Sasuke…"

"Kakashi and Jiraiya are out looking for him now, as well as a large number of your clansmen. Don't worry, they'll find him."

'That's exactly what I am worried about.' Itachi said to himself. He began to regret his plan. He was use to dealing with shinobi who were professional and followed orders. Not his over-emotional little brother who pretty much did whatever he wanted. The boy was going to get himself killed. Or worse. Orochimaru needed a new body after his defeat with Sarutobi and Sasuke had just placed himself directly in the line of fire.

There was a chance to save the mission, but it couldn't be done if he remained stuck in a hospital bed. He wasn't very confident in his brother's mastery of the Mangekyou Sharingan – the boy hadn't had it long enough, after all. He needed more practice and that was one thing Itachi didn't want Sasuke to do. The more he used the advanced Sharingan, the more damage his body would sustain.

Then there was the problem of Kakashi and Jiraiya. If they caught up to Sasuke there would be no chance at all to continue the mission. Now or in the future. The boy would probably be placed under house arrest or even stuck in one of the secret jail cells to keep his eyes (and body) away from Orochimaru. What that would do to him, psychologically, was not something Itachi wanted to consider.

Hopefully Tama was able to teleport Sasuke far enough away that it would be impossible to follow him. He had a brief regret that he hadn't tested the cat's range before this. It was an oversight he would not have made if this had been an actual village or Akatsuki mission.

Sitting back down on the bed, Itachi realized he would have to get the two women out of the room before he could make his escape.

"That's better." Tsunade's tone turned pleasant and she sat down on the chair that Mikoto had vacated.

Mikoto laid a hand on her son's head, "I'll be going home now, Itachi. We moved Sheeta into the house yesterday and she's a little nervous about the whole thing, and Emi is fussing over her, trying to make sure she has everything she needs."

Itachi nodded as his mother picked up her jacket and left the room. He was now alone with the demon. The atmosphere turned cold again.

"I know what you're thinking, young man. And you are not going to be leaving this hospital for another two days. I can tie you down with chakra restraints if necessary."

Even though his anger was raising, Itachi was careful to remain to maintain a calm demeanor, "Why should I stay?"

"Let me tell you what is going on with your body." Tsunade changed the subject. "The short story is that you were poisoned. I haven't revealed that to your parents, or anyone else for that matter. There are still a few other factors I need to check out."

"Poisoned? How? When?" It made no sense at all and Itachi began to wonder if the woman was off her rocker. As a matter of fact, she looked awfully young to be Jiraiya's contemporary. Was this really Tsunade? On the other hand, his mother wouldn't have been fooled by any Genjutsu this woman could create so she had to be the real thing.

"A few years ago. It's a very advanced poison, very sophisticated in its execution. It basically has placed a series of time-bombs within your body that release poison in minute quantities, enough to cause fevers and pneumonia-like symptoms. As for how or when you were infected, my guess would be while you were working for Danzou. He ordered you to kill your clan and promised to let you leave the village unmolested. However, do you really think he would have let you go that easily?"

"I…" Itachi had to admit that at the time he hadn't thought too closely about the whole thing. He had just assumed that the old man was too afraid of him to do anything. Apparently he had been wrong. "We were given several injections during missions to protect us from poisons or viruses. If those are your suspicions, then it would have been easy for him to poison me at that time. And strategically it would have been a smart move. I never suspected such a thing. Although I was suspicious this time around, why I became ill when I had no symptoms before-hand."

"I removed all the poison, but it was taxing on your body and took a lot of my chakra. That is why you have been unconscious for three days. It took seven sessions to completely find all the little 'time-bombs' and each time you became weaker. You need to rest to build up your chakra and stamina again."

"So my illness… the one I was born with… is that…"

"That is real enough and part of the reason the poison was so effective. If it had been used in a healthy person it would have been found easily. But you… because of your illness he knew that the symptoms were close enough to the poison's side effects that there would be practically no chance of discovery. The danger, here, Itachi, is in the severity of the symptoms. The poison made them several times worse than they should have been in your state. Frankly, you aren't nearly as sick as you have been led to believe you are."

His eyes shot open and his heart leapt at the thought that hew might not die after all.

"I can guarantee, Itachi, that unless you do something stupid, you will probably live a very long time. And by stupid…" She paused and moved her head closer to look him in the eyes, "I mean using that Mangekyou Sharingan of yours. I know a lot about those eyes. I had to study Kekkei Genkai in order to become a healer in this village, so I know how destructive it is to your body. That can kill you, Itachi."

That was an acceptable risk, as far as Itachi was concerned and he nodded his understanding, "I have two people to kill, Tsunade. And after that, possibley two more. It is unavoidable."

"I realize that." Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "And while I would be selfish and wish that you would not use it, I am also selfish enough to wish that you would. I know there are people out there that only you can save us from. I don't believe in sacrificing one person to save a dozen. Never have, never will. I'm not like Danzou, or Sarutobi for that matter, when it comes to that."

"I learned that the hard way. And I'm not planning on sacrificing myself… at least not on purpose. But I can't promise how the fights will go or what will happen afterward."

"That is going to have to suffice." Tsunade stood up and gave him a bittersweet smile, "Now please rest for a couple days and let Jiraiya and…"

"Jiraiya!" Itachi had an idea, "Please, call Jiraiya here and let me talk to him. Right now. It has to do with Sasuke and it is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. But… it has to be done in secret. No one at all must know about the meeting or what we discuss." He was sure he could trust the Sannin. The man had a mind of his own and would probably support Itachi's plans without causing him more grief. Hopefully, he could even help.

"If it'll keep you in bed, I'll get in touch with him."

It was two hours later when the white-haired Sannin shook Itachi awake. "So what's so important that I had to rush back here in the belly of a frog?"

That sounded rather unpleasant and the still-groggy Itachi tried to dispel the image of a chibi-sized Jiraiya floating around with bits of undigested flies and worms. It was rather disturbing and he felt his stomach churn.

"You look a little green today." Jiraiya bent forward for a closer look.

"Umm… yeah… anyway…" Itachi got right to the point, explaining what happened in Mist, Sasuke's new Sharingan, and his plan to kill Orochimaru and Danzou.

"That's…" Jiraiya was speechless when the teen had finished speaking.

"I would be eternally grateful if you would get in touch with Sasuke. He took off against my orders and I'm afraid he might have tried to contact me already without me knowing."

"Of course. I will help. Although… Orochimaru… he's my old teammate and while I can't say we are friends anymore, I will not look forward to him dying."

"I understand." Itachi was beginning the feel the same way about Kabuto. There were a lot of regrets and he kept hoping that somehow, someway, the teen would turn up and the whole defection would be nothing more than a misunderstanding.

"Then I'll take off again. I'll let you know as soon as I find out something. I just hope he doesn't mind talking to me. He might not understand what's going here."

"I'll be out of here in two days. Just tell him that and it should be okay. I'll contact him then. I'm worried… I heard Orochimaru needed a new body…"

"He did. But he couldn't wait and already moved. Sasuke is safe for a while."

"Who did he use?"

"Some prisoner. He did have another boy, a Kekkei Genkai holder who can regrow bones somehow, but he has the same illness you do and couldn't be used. Or so I heard. My spy is a little stingy with his information."

"Thank-you, Jiraiya." Itachi gave the man a warm smile, then closed his eyes as a sigh escaped his lips.

"Don't mention it, kid." Jiraiya patted the teen on the shoulder as he stood up. Smiling he turned to look at the large three foot frog.

"The kid's already asleep." The frog's deep voice echoed in the small room.

"Tsunade told me what was wrong with him. That Danzou is despicable."

"I hope his plan works."

Jiraiya stretched his arms over his head, and yawned, "It will. I'll see to that."

Next week, Itachi is out and about again, and feeling better than he has in a long time, but will Sasuke still be willing to help after what happened?

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Updates on Fridays.