Thanks for all the reviews and favs!
Wow, what Sasuke did to Karin in manga was seriously badass. I should be horrified or mad or whatever, because I like Karin, but I'm actually impressed with Kishimoto's writing. I mean, Hollywood doesn't even have the guts to do that. Also, I refuse to believe Sasuke would do that if he didn't already have faith in Karin's healing abilities. Well, it actually doesn't matter what I think to tell the truth, we'll find out next week what really happened, lol.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Chapter 52 - The Snake Who Wanted to Fly
A cold breeze blew against the mountain as the sun began its descent in the sky. Long shadows spread out across the clearing, turning bright snow into a bluish-white frost somehow reminiscent of sapphires. It was a beautiful winters' day that should have been spent drinking hot chocolate, making snowmen and having snow-ball fights.
Itachi's thoughts strayed for a moment as he considered what he would be doing if he was at home instead of chasing after his brother and Orochimaru. Or how things would have been if Orochimaru had never fallen into darkness in the first place.
But such thoughts were pointless. The reality was that he was standing near the top of a mountain in Lightning country, a few miles from the village hidden in the Clouds, facing off against Orochimaru. And Sasuke was there as well. It was certainly not the most ideal way to spend an afternoon.
"Sasori." Orochimaru turned to glance in the direction of the road where his ex-Akatsuki partner was holed up inside of a large beetle-shaped puppet. "I can't thank you enough for you gift."
"Gift?" The puppet-man's raspy voice held quite a lot of impatience and a hint of anger.
"Kabuto. You sent him to spy on me. He's been invaluable for my research. It can take hundreds of bodies to work out a new jutsu, but with Kabuto helping me, I can use the same body over and over. His Kekkei Genkai is quite magnificent."
Sasori growled menacingly before addressing his former subordinate, "So you fell for Orochimaru's Jutsu, huh?"
"No, master Sasori." Kabuto replied calmly as he adjusted his glasses, "Lord Orochimaru removed your jutsu, but did not place a new one over me. I am a free man, free to live my life. The only thing I fell for was Orochimaru's wonderful ideals."
Itachi caught then satisfaction in Kabuto's words. It had been his dream to be free of Sasori, and it wasn't particularly surprising that he would follow the man who freed him. Once again Itachi felt a pang of guilt over his silence. If he had just told his father or the Hokage what was wrong with the boy, they could probably have freed him and he would still be in Konoha. It was a hard lesson, but one he learned very well. A promise is pointless if it causes harm.
Orochimaru spoke up again, "Kabuto, everyone else, stand back and don't get involved. You'll just get in the way and you might be killed. I'll deal with Itachi on my own." His subordinates acknowledged his words and fell back to the side of the cliff, underneath where Madara was still perched.
Behind the snake-man, Sasuke's laughs echoed out across the clearing, "That's pretty arrogant. No one can beat Itachi. He's the best."
Orochimaru drew his sword Kusanagi and pointed it at Itachi, "The fight begins now." He stared at his adversary for a moment, then smiled as ten snakes sprouted from his neck, each with an "Orochimaru" head on it. They grew larger and larger, stretching up a good couple-hundred feet into the sky. Twisting and twirling around each the effect was certainly intimidating, but had few offensive or defensive benefits. Since his body was still on the ground, and exposed, splitting ones attention between the heads and the body should have made fighting more difficult.
"Hydra technique." Sasori replied gruffly.
Itachi stared up at the heads, wondering exactly what benefit such an attack had, other than intimidation, when he felt a strong chakra source from his little brother. He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled as a blade of chakra extended from Sasuke's hand and pierced through Orochimaru's chest. Leaving his body on the ground while his heads dangled two-hundred feet above ground had a definite disadvantage that even a twelve-year-old boy could see through.
However, Itachi's smile faded as he watched the cursed seal take over Sasuke's body. His skin grew darker, a black cross formed over his nose, his hair grew longer and more wild, and a bizarre set of wings sprouted from his back. They looked remarkably like a pair of grossly exaggerated leathery hands.
"You've been a very good pupil while you were here, weren't you little brother?" Itachi muttered. He was momentarily distracted by the sound of cheering. Looking back he saw Naruto jumping up and down, urging his foster-brother on. And, of course, Tobi was being just as noisy.
Orochimaru wasn't as amused as Sasuke's fans and one of the large heads dived down towards the boy.
"Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled as he shot a giant fireball out of his mouth. It caught the head, frying it almost instantly. The neck it had been attached to fell onto the ground in front of him, still twitching. He quickly activated his Mangekyou Sharingan as two more heads dived down and shot out an Amaterasu flame that caught them instantly. Using his chakra blade he stretched it up about fifty feet and cut the burning heads off of the distended snake-like neck and watched as they fell to ground. Since the fire would burn until the item it was attached to ceased to exist there was no need to pay the heads any more attention.
"Too bad father isn't here to see this." Itachi whispered. He was happy to sit back and let his brother play around for a while. However, he was also watching the fight very closely. There was no way Sasuke could actually kill the Sannin – he would have to do that himself – however, getting a few good hits in should prove to Fugaku how wrong he had been to underestimate his youngest son.
Sasuke turned off his Mangekyou Sharingan and bent over, resting his hands on his knees as he panted, catching his breath. A moment later he stood up again and wiped his face with his hands, then stared at his palm with a shocked look on his face. Itachi used his Sharingan to look closer. One of his brother's eyes was bleeding. It wasn't surprising… that was the price the jutsu required one to pay for using it. However, his heart clenched a little bit, knowing how painful it was.
The snake Sannin turned his attention back to Itachi and as he dove toward the teen, he sensed a tremendous amount of chakra and backed off. The snakes coiled around each other as they gazed back down to the earth. Itachi was standing inside of an ephemeral skeletal form that resembled an enormous, stooped over giant. It was completely shielding him.
Orochimaru sent one of the snakes toward the barrier, only to have it bounce off. The barrier didn't even register any sign of having been attacked. Staring down at the odd jutsu he quickly turned when he felt a second surge of chakra, similar to Itachi's.
"No way… how…" Orochimaru's eyes opened wide as stared at the exact same jutsu surrounding Sasuke.
"You fool." Itachi cursed his brother under his breath. "I ordered you specifically to never use Susanoo."
The snake Sannin laughed gleefully, "Oh, how I look forward to taking your body, Sasuke. They used to call me a genius, yet at your age I was nothing compared to you. And having Itachi here… To be able to beat him into the ground as well will be simply delightful."
Sasuke looked straight up at Orochimaru and snorted with derision, "The only reason you want me is because you couldn't have Itachi. A snake cannot catch a hawk in mid-air, so you slithered up the tree and raided the nest of its chick instead. Unfortunately, the hawk has caught you and you are now the target. You sicken me, Orochimaru." Sasuke's voice became bitter with anger, "You couldn't surpass the Uchiha name, or even come close. Now matter how hard you or anyone else tries, surpassing us is impossible. In front of us, all others are ordinary. You want to be like us so badly that you stuff yourself full of potions and stolen jutsus and take over bodies. To me who was born an Uchiha you look ridiculous.
"Also, I hate the way you do things. Why do you do it? To understand all the jutsus of the world? You play with us, with people, like they are toys and when you are finished you throw them away like a selfish kid. You make me want to throw up."
Silence fell over the clearing as Sasuke finished his speech. Itachi stole a glance at the people around them and saw various looks of pride, derision, and confusion. He himself was confused. Did his brother really think that way? It was like listening to the clan elders, or even Madara.
How many times had he heard it, "Uchiha are better than everyone else. Don't ever forget that."
Once again, Sasuke's voice broke the silence, "For a snake that crawls on the ground to dream of flying is absurd. It can't happen. But you are luckier than most snakes, Orochimaru, because today you will fly, in the talons of a hawk."
Glancing up at Madara, who had already removed his mask, Itachi saw what could only be described as fatherly pride radiating from his face. Rolling his eyes, he sighed with exasperation. Apparently Sasuke had inherited his birth-father's flair for the dramatic. And what a time for it to show up, too. However, it had the desired effect. Instead of gloating, Orochimaru was now quite angry.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Anger was a deadly emotion for a Shinobi. As were all the other emotions, including love. That was what Itachi had been taught at the ninja Academy and later as member of Root. Feelings were to be repressed. The mission was everything. Nothing existed before the mission, and nothing existed afterward.
Yet many of the older Shinobi did not follow that line of reasoning. And neither did most of the people who taught it. Including Orochimaru. Yet it could not be denied that when one used emotion as the driving force in a fight one always made mistakes. If you were lucky your opponent would fail to see them and you could still win. Yet Itachi had fought innumerable battles against those who failed to hide their emotions and had come out the victor.
Orochimaru's current state was very familiar. The teen had seen the look in his eyes dozens of times, in innumerable battles. The Sannin was now so angry he was becoming rash and careless.
As he lifted his arm, the sword of Totsuka appeared in Susanoo's hand. A long blade, perhaps twenty feet from hilt to tip, it was just as ethereal as the summoned monster and glowed bright white as it illuminated the shadows cast by the mountain.
The Sannin's eyes opened wide at the sight, "So you had it all along? The sword of Totsuka? I have searched high and low for that sword for decades. I can't believe you had it."
Madara spoke up, his deep voice resonating over the clearing, "A blade that seals those pierced with it in a blissful dreamlike Genjutsu for eternity. A demon sword with no real physical form it is imbued with an incredible sealing technique. It is the ultimate counter to the sword of Kusanagi. To have the power to enable Susanoo to pull that sword… Itachi is truly one in a million. And for Sasuke to have summoned a second Sasanoo... Orochimaru, if I were you I would be writing my will right now."
'He's right.' Itachi thought to himself, 'A second Susanoo shouldn't exist. There is only one. However…' He pondered the various jutsus the Sharingan used in its advanced states. Space-time manipulations were its specialty. What if Sasuke had had somehow unknowingly summoned a version of Susanoo that existed in a different dimension, or a different time? Perhaps from the future or past? And how exactly had he been able to summon a fully formed Susanoo? It had taken Itachi several tries to get it right when he had started training.
Clearing his throat, Itachi felt congestion building up in his lungs. The price for using Susanoo was the degradation of the body. It would eat away at the tissues and organs, eventually ravaging them to such an extent as to kill the user. He had to finish this, and he had to finish it fast.
Sasuke also raised his hand, just as he had seen his older brother do a minute earlier, but instead of a sword, a bow and arrow appeared, pointed straight at the hydra heads still waving around in the sky above them.
"Shall we?" Itachi called out to Sasuke. The boy smiled and nodded his head. A moment later Orochimaru was pierced with both a Genjutsu sword and a fiery arrow. The scream that escaped his lips echoed over the clearing, bouncing off the mountains and disappearing into the heavens. His body warped and distended as the Genjutsu pulled him into the sword, swirling as if caught in a black hole his body stretched and grew smaller until it disappeared.
The deadly silence that settled over the assembled people was somehow more deafening than the snake Sannin's dying screams had been. But Itachi didn't have time to think about it as both he and his brother dispelled their jutsus and fell forward onto their knees. Itachi reached up to wipe his eyes, only to have his arm come back covered in blood. Of course his eyes were bleeding. He had known that would happen.
A sudden surge of chakra made him look up as a large blade blocked a pure white sword that looked surprisingly like bone. Wiping his eyes again to clear his vision he saw Kisame standing in front of him.
"Humph. I am Kisame Hishigaki, and it's my turn to fight." The blue man snarled.
"Gladly. My name is Kimimaru and I will avenge my master's death!"
"Itachi, let's get out of here." Jiraiya threw him over his shoulder and ran to the cave's entrance. As Itachi looked back he could see the large boy who had come out of the cave earlier with Kimimaru carrying Sasuke in his arms with Karin trotting alongside him.
"This way." Suigetsu had gotten up off the ground and was holding his hand out, directing them toward the cave, "Karin, you know where Sasuke's room is, take them there."
"Of course." The girl's voice seemed far away to Itachi and he realized his vision was tunneling.
"We aren't friends with Orochimaru so you don't have to worry." Suigetsu continued.
"Thank-you." Jiraiya readjusted Itachi, pulling him off his shoulder so he could carry him in his arms. "He's bleeding way too much."
Itachi could no longer see or feel anything, and the voices seemed to be getting further and further away.
"It's okay, I can heal him." Karin said.
"Sasuke! He's shivering!" Naruto was nearby too, apparently. Itachi tried to gather enough strength to look at his brother, but it wouldn't come.
"He's got hypothermia." The tall boy answered. "It can set in fast when you loose blood."
"Juugo, let me throw my coat over him." It was Karin again. "That's better, but we need to run. Itachi looks…"
He never found out what she was going to say, as his mind shut down and he lost consciousness.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Kisame's sharp teeth were bared in an intimidating grimace that usually scared off most of his opponents. However, Kimimaru was not that easily intimidated. The two fought, their respective weapons taking both defensive and offensive hits as the moved around the clearing.
"That's quite a jutsu you got." Kisame had noticed bone growing from his body, at which point the teen would pull on it to disengage it. The weapons he created were as strong, if not stronger, than steel.
"Unfortunately for you, it is unbeatable. This will be your last battle."
"Hah! That's what you think." Kisame pulled all the wrappings off of Samehada and aimed it at the teen. "You need chakra for your jutsu, and Samehada will now relieve you of that resource."
Kimimaru's eyes opened wide as the sword connected with his bone-blade and he felt a large quantity of his chakra being sucked out. Jumping back he started coughing and panting, unable to catch his breath.
"Well, it shouldn't have worked that fast." Kisame observed.
The white-haired teen decided a long-range attack was the best option and lifted his hands, palms up. Small bones, the size of a child's marble, shot out at the blue man. Kisame raised his sword to block the attack, then glanced back at the cave as several people ran out. Jiraiya, Naruto, Juugo and Suigetsu had returned.
Kimimaru had also been sidetracked and Kisame took the opportunity to jump forward, bringing Samehada down hard on the teen's left arm. He heard the rip of flesh as the fish-scale blades ate through the skin and began sucking out more chakra.
Falling forward, Kimimaru grabbed at his bleeding and broken limb. He started to stand up again, but fell forward as wracking coughs shook his thin body. Blood leaked from his mouth and he began shivering uncontrollably. Kisame raised his sword again to make one last, life-ending stroke when he suddenly found it blocked on the way down.
"Who are you?" Kisame growled angrily. He didn't like to be deprived of his prey.
"Juugo. And Kimimaru is my friend. You will not harm him."
Kisame chuckled evily, "Already did."
"I see that." Juugo began to change, an odd pattern covered his exposed flesh and his eyes grew wild. Kisame drew back, watching cautiously. He knew what Orochimaru's cursed seal did to people, and it was obvious Juugo had been subject to that mad-man's experiments. A loud yell echoed over the clearing as Juugo launched himself wildly at Kisame.
A battle of Tai Jutsu and blade attacks followed. Kisame using his blade, and Juugo leaping and hitting with his arms and legs. It was a wild battle, unlike anything the swordsman had experienced in years. He found himself enjoying it, and he noticed that Samehada was also enjoying it.
"You like this boy's chakra, huh?" He spoke to the sword. "Does it taste good?"
As if in answer, the sword began to hum and the fish-scale blades began to vibrate as they pulled out more and more of Juugo's chakra.
"He has a lot of chakra, doesn't he?" Kisame added. Juugo was beginning to wear down. While it was true that he had a lot of chakra, it certainly wasn't limitless. After several minutes the boy fell to his knees and the cursed seal disappeared. Breathing heavily, his red hair falling over his eyes and his ripped and torn clothing exposing several cuts and bruises he fell forward onto the blood-soaked compacted snow.
Kisame sighed and leaned on his sword. "I guess I better finish them off."
"No don't!"
"And who are you?" Kisame was beginning to get annoyed and glared at the boy who had been sitting on the ground during the battle earlier. "You look kind of familiar."
"You remember me? I'm Mangetsu Hoozuki's little brother, Suigetsu."
"Ah yes!" Kisame gave him a big grin, "The boy known as the 'second coming of Zabuza'! I remember when you were this high" Kisame held his hand two feet off the ground, in an obvious exaggeration of Suigetsu as a small child, "and cutting the legs off of prisoners to keep them from running away. You were quite ruthless back then, boy."
"Yep! That's me!" Suigetsu flashed the man a big smile of his, that faded just as quickly, "Or, at least it was."
"So what's so great about these two?" Kisame got back on the subject.
"Oh. Um… Kimimaru is dying anyway and Juugo is a great guy and his best friend. And Sasuke promised to help Juugo so I know he wouldn't like it you killed him."
Kisame blinked once, "Okay… that's not something Mangetsu would have ever done…"
"No. He wouldn't. He also wouldn't have gotten caught by Orochimaru. What can I say?"
"Not much that I would want to listen to at this point." The big man sighed, "Take them away, then. I had my fun and Samehada had a good meal. It looks like the others are about done as well."
Looking over the field he saw that the four Shinobi who had followed Orochimaru out of the cave were now all lying on the ground, wounded and apparently unconscious. Naruto was sitting on ground breathing heavily, Deidara was standing nearby gloating over two of the ninjas, Jiraiya was checking an injured kunoichi with a frown on his face and Sasori was packing up his puppets. Glancing up at the cliff he saw that Madara was no where to be seen.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Warmth was the first thing Itachi felt as he slowly regained consciousness. The next thing he felt was a sore chest, sore muscles and, he realized quickly, there actually wasn't any part of his body that didn't hurt. Opening his eyes he was further pained when the first image he saw was of Madara, sitting on a chair next to his bed, smiling.
"So you finally woke up." The elder Uchiha stated simply. "Sasuke's been awake for a couple hours now."
"They won't let me get out of bed, though." The boy replied grumpily. He was propped up in his bed with some pillows and had been reading a book.
Itachi pushed himself up, but the room began spinning as soon as he sat up and he ended up flat on his back when his arms gave out. He took a couple deep breaths to dispel the sudden wave of nausea that had accompanied the dizziness, "How is Sasuke?"
"I hurt all over, but I'll probably live. I guess I understand now why you said to not use that jutsu. I'd been practicing it in secret and it was never as bad as actually using it in a battle. I really hope I never have to do that again. And I hope you don't have to do it again either." Sasuke looked over at his brother, "Madara said that each time you use it, the damage grows and grows and can even kill you."
"Yes." Itachi knew there was nothing more he could say. He looked around the room and saw that it was small, with stone walls and lit rather dimly with a single kerosene lamp. The room consisted of two beds, placed next to each other with a three foot gap between them. A desk, chair and small wardrobe made of the rest of the furniture.
"You're in my room." Sasuke offered, seeing his brother's wandering gaze. "They brought in another bed for you."
"Oh." Itachi's gaze returned to the ceiling, "What happened after I passed out?"
Madara spoke up, "Jiraiya was carrying you into the cave when you suddenly started having trouble breathing. That Karin girl made you bite her arm and her chakra somehow started to heal you. It's an amazingly useful ability that girl has. Anyway, she ordered the others to place you and Sasuke in here. Orochimaru isn't around to evict us so it's safe enough."
"We need to leave soon."
Madara changed the subject, "That was an amazing use of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi. I had no idea you were powerful enough to summon the sword of Totsuka. And Sasuke, bringing forth a second Susanoo… that shouldn't have happened. My brother Izuna and I could do that, but only when we were together. If either of us tried it with anyone else it would always fail. It has to be something about the bond between brothers that gives it power and allows it to appear like that."
"Where is his head?"
"Orochimaru's head is waiting all sealed up and ready for you to take home. Ha ha! Deidara was pretty upset about not getting to fight him. Took out his frustration on some upstarts calling themselves the 'Sound Four'. Sounds more like a rock band than a group of ninjas, if you ask me. Anyway, he and Sasori played around with them for a while. Kisame fought Kimimaru and Juugo, who are still alive thanks to the intervention of Suigetsu, and Naruto got to fight as well, but no one's allowed to tell you two about the fight because he want to brag about it himself." Madara laughed, "He was pretty banged up, but thanks to the Kyuubi chakra he heals faster than you two."
Itachi yawned broadly, "I hope Jiraiya was nearby."
"Ready and waiting to pull him out of danger, so I understand. I didn't stick around to watch."
"And Kabuto?" Itachi wondered where Madara had taken off to, he was usually happiest when he got to watch a fight, and from the way it sounded, there were quite a few high-level brawls to keep any ninja spectator happy.
"Gone. Took off as soon as Orochimaru disappeared into your jutsu. His room was emptied of a few key items, as well as his lab. I followed him for a ways down the mountain, only got back a few hours ago, and he's definitely on the run. You won't catch him any time soon."
"Shame." Itachi sighed, "I wanted to talk to him." He changed the subject, "We got nothing on Danzou."
"You did." Madara corrected him, "Sasuke told me, Orochimaru admitted to implanting Uchiha eyes in the man. And now that Orochimaru is dead…"
"Danzou's personal physician is gone. Leaving Kabuto." Itachi finished. "We can't let Danzou get to Kabuto first." He wished Madara had grabbed the teen instead of letting him run away, but that was too much to ask. The elder Uchiha no doubt had his reason, but whatever they were, they made absolutely no sense to Itachi.
Madara frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, "Do you think he'll help him?"
"No. I actually don't think that. At least not of his own free will. Kabuto has been a slave before, when Sasori had him under his control. If he falls to another jutsu like that, it'll…" Itachi couldn't finish. He knew what it would do to the teen. How difficult it would be to live like that.
"He killed the Third Hokage. Who cares what happens to him?" Sasuke offered.
"I do." Itachi answered. "And Orochimaru was the one who killed him, and he's dead now. Or as good as dead, anyway."
"Same difference. He was an accomplice. It's the same…"
Itachi became stern, "It's not the same. And there are a lot of things about Kabuto that you don't understand, so let's just leave it at that and talk about something else."
"Fine." Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then glanced up at Madara.
Itachi got the message, but he was still very sleepy and without warning, his body slipped back into a deep slumber.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Two days later Itachi was up and feeling back to normal. The long rest, followed by a good meal and more rest was exactly what he needed to recharge his chakra and rid his body of the soreness and the congestion in his lungs. Although he suspected that whatever jutsu it was that Karin used when she made him bite her did more to help than everything else combined.
He heard voices, familiar voices, coming down the hall and found himself in what appeared to be a break room. A simple table with five chairs, small food cabinet and a tea pot were the only items in the ten foot square room.
"Sasuke, we'll be leaving for Konoha in the morning."
Sasuke corrected him, "No, Itachi. You'll be leaving for Konoha in the morning. I'm going to Mist with Madara."
"Don't be ridiculous." Itachi stuck his hands in his pockets. He was wearing his Akatsuki cloak, the underground tunnels were cold and the simple garment was very warm.
"What's ridiculous is you expected me to go back and put up with that council and father." Sasuke was getting mad.
"Father dismissed the council and I chose the new members. They won't give you a hard time anymore. I promise."
"Humph. Too little, too late." That was not the answer Itachi expected. In fact, he had fully expected his brother to be pleased by the news. "No one ever stood up to them, so why should their replacements be any different."
He had to admit his little brother had a good point and he closed his eyes as he leaned against the open door. "Nevertheless, I can't let Madara have you?"
"Have me? What am I? Your personal possession? I'm not a toy to be passed around between a bunch of little kids!" Sasuke was getting angry, and he clenched his fists tightly as he stared down his brother.
"No, that's now what I…"
"I'm tired of everyone else always making decisions for me! Telling me what to do, or where to go or who to be! And then dad even made me fight that kid! He keeps calling out to me to help him, he's in my head, he's scared and it all dad's fault!" Sasuke was yelling now, in a full rage. Tears streamed down his face, unchecked.
"Wait, what?" Madara stepped closer, "He's doing what?"
Sasuke turned to face him, "He's in my head! I go to sleep and he's there! He doesn't know where he is and he wants to go home!"
Madara placed a hand on Sasuke's back, "How often?"
"Almost every night."
"That's… I've never heard of contact being that frequent with just the Mangekyou Sharingan." Madara looked at Itachi, "Contact comes maybe once every few months, or even years with some people. But several times a week… You aren't getting much sleep, Sasuke, are you?"
"I…" Sasuke dropped his gaze to the floor, "No, not really. Itachi said he could ask Shisui to help. But nothing came of that."
"I haven't heard from him." Itachi's words came out a little more defensive than he had intended. "But we're getting off the subject."
"I'm not going back." Sasuke reiterated. "If you want to fight it out, then we'll go back outside and have at it."
Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. He could easily defeat his brother and bring him home, in bandages if necessary. But given the fact that Sasuke had very little restraint when it came to his temper, the boy could end up seriously injured. And if they did fight, the bad feelings that would follow would take a long time to go away.
There was really only one logical solution. But, at the same time, it was also illogical and quite dangerous. Sasuke didn't wait to hear any more and stomped out of the room, leaving Itachi and Madara alone.
"So what's next?" Madara asked rather ominously.
Itachi waited a couple minutes before answering. The kerosene lamp on the table flickered wildly as the fuel flared, probably because it was running low. "Why do you need Sasuke so badly?"
"Why? Itachi, all I want is peace. For that to happen, I need the tailed beasts. If you are unwilling to bring me Naruto I must find an alternate way to get him. Perhaps that person is Sasuke."
Itachi was horrified, "Are you making Sasuke a part of Akatsuki?"
"I find myself loosing trust in Pein. He is easily swayed and prone to the whims of his fickle conscious. Sasuke is nothing more than a contingency plan that may or may not be used. But Itachi, I can tell you one thing, one way or another, I will have my son at my side, and I will collect all the tailed beasts, and in the end, this world will find the peace it has yearned for, for so long." As soon as he finished speaking, Madara also left the room, leaving Itachi alone to consider his words.
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Itachi's next stop was the kitchen. He needed to speak with Jiraiya and since there weren't any women's baths in Orochimaru's underground realm, it seemed like the next best place to look for him. And he was right. The Sannin was sitting at a small table across from Naruto, who was eating some instant ramen. After relating the conversation he had with Madara, Jiraiya became rather upset.
"We need to get Sasuke back home, even if we have to stick him in a bag and carry him back."
"I'm not so sure." Itachi sighed as he sat down on one of the mismatched wooden chairs. "He… feels used. And he's right to feel that way. We've treated him like a possession instead of a human being. And if I bring him back that way he'll never recover. No one would."
"He would never come after me." Naruto stated firmly, "We're brothers. And brothers never hurt each other. But I don't want him to leave again."
"Time and distance have a way of changing people, Naruto." Jiraiya said quietly. "Today he won't hurt you, but what will he be like after a year in Mist? You heard what Madara said yesterday."
"What?" Itachi's ears perked up.
Naruto answered, "Well, you know how he fought the First and lost? Well, he wants to recreate the battle, only with me and Sasuke."
"Why you?" Once again, Itachi wondered if the Fourth was Tsunade's son, making the First Naruto's great-grandfather.
"Who knows? It's his logic, not mine." Naruto drained his bowl of the last of the broth and stared at the empty bowl despondently.
"I know how you feel, Itachi." Jiraiya said cautiously, "But I would rather see Sasuke in a prison cell in Konoha, pissed off and mad at the world, than teamed up with that man."
Itachi was silent for a few minutes, "I agree, I guess. But Madara is here to collect him. If I refuse to allow Sasuke to leave, Madara will fight me. I am a match for him now, of that I am positive. However, that doesn't guarantee a win. If I were to die…"
Jiraiya finished the statement, "Konoha would loose one of its best Shinobi. And since the only person who can take down a Sharingan is another Sharingan, we can't afford to loose you."
Itachi shook his head, not sure about the logic behind the Sannin's statement, "I will have to let him leave. I will face consequences when I return to Konoha, but it is the only way to avoid bloodshed. However, I will work tirelessly to make sure he comes back home. He's a smart boy, it shouldn't take him too long to figure out what Madara is and that he wants to use him worse than anything Fugaku ever and the Uchiha council ever did."
"I don't like it!" Naruto yelled and banged his hand on the table.
"Then what should I do?" Itachi uncharacteristically lost his temper and yelled, "What's the right thing to do here, Naruto? Tell me?"
Naruto opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if considering options, but in the end he just remained silent and went back to staring at his empty bowl.
Jiraiya closed his eyes and shook his head, "Your strategy has always been flawless, Itachi. I will trust you one more time. But if this ends badly…"
"Jiraiya, if this ends badly, I will be dead before you can get your hands on me, so don't even bother to threaten me. It would be meaningless." Itachi turned around and left the room. He got a few feet down the corridor before stopping and leaning his forehead against the cold stone wall. Voices drifted from the kitchen, and he listened carefully, in spite of himself.
"What… did that mean?" Naruto asked, obviously confused.
"It means that Itachi would rather die to save the village, you and Sasuke than allow Madara to succeed in his plans. And he's right, if he fails in this, there would be no point in me looking him up. No point whatsoever."
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Next week, Itachi meets again with the Cloud Kage and then returns home to break the bad news to his parents. And Naruto tells Itachi the story of his epic battle.
Please review.
Updates on Fridays.