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Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto.
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Chapter 62 - The Inconceivable Dream
Early morning sunshine filtered down through the bright green leaves of the alder trees as birds flew back and forth across the clearing chirping and diving for bugs. The tall grass in the overgrown lawn rustled slightly as small rodents ran back and forth looking for food or perhaps just playing.
An abandoned house overlooked the busy scene with no more than a passing glance. It had its own problems and the arbitrary fancies of a spring day were of little importance as it felt its stairs cracking and the roof creaking. And what lay underneath the house was even less important. However, to the living beings who were temporarily residing in the decrepit building the basement was perhaps the most important place in the world.
One teen-ager, dark haired with even darker eyes and olive skin watched intently as a rather oddly shaped boy worked intently and without interruption over several slides, test tubes and formulas. His short red hair seemed real enough as it shifted slightly as his head moved, but his skin and eyes were not real. He was a puppet and far older than the "boy" reflected in his outward appearance.
The hours passed and early morning turned into afternoon, then evening. Three days passed since they had arrived at the old house, but finally the boy set a vial in front of the teen and looked him directly in the eye. "I have an antidote, Itachi. And now it's time for me to collect my fee."
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Itachi took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stared longingly at the pale blue liquid filling the small glass vial. It was hard to believe that the contents of such a delicate piece of glass could save a life. His thoughts turned to Sheeta who was still hospitalized after she and several others had been poisoned during a test. A plain, old-fashioned written examination with paper and pencils. The least dangerous of Shinobi exams had come with deadly consequences.
Turning his gaze back to Sasori he nodded his head once and steeled himself for whatever it was the puppet master was about to say. But the words that came out of his mouth were neither surprising nor unexpected.
"I want an Uchiha corpse to make into a puppet." Sasori spoke calmly and with deliberation, knowing that he would get his way. "And not just any corpse, but that of a powerful Uchiha."
"And who would that be?" Itachi's mind went into overdrive as he compared the powers of Sasori's battle puppets to the real people they had once been. Every single one of them had retained it's chakra and the jutsus that had been learned or inherited during life were Sasori's to command in death.
"I have a list of possible candidates. You bring me one of them, and the debt is paid. Oh, and it doesn't have to be paid right now. There is a war coming, Madara will start it probably right after Danzou's death. Likely, my candidate will die during that war."
"Sounds reasonable." Itachi didn't know what else to say and decided to just play along, "Who is on your list?"
"You, of course. But there is also your father Fugaku, your brother Sasuke, Madara, and Madara's uncle Sora who is also the current head of the Uchiha clan in Mist village. All five of you are at the head of your clan in terms of abilities and would make fine puppets."
"Yes. I'm sure we would." Itachi kept the sarcasm out of his voice, but it was definitely eating away at his heart. He wasn't overly fond of his father, and his fondness for Madara and Sora had dropped substantially over the years, but the thought of their corpses being manipulated in battle by an insane puppeteer wasn't very pleasant. Nor was the thought of having to fight them as puppets.
"Then we have an agreement?" Sasori pressed.
"Yeah." The teen reasoned that if Madara or Sora died it would be because he killed them. The fight would be difficult and it was certainly possible he wouldn't live though it either. If he had to fight them a second time as mindless puppets controlled by Sasori, would he be able to win? And if that puppet was instead his father or little brother, would he have the heart to fight at all?
At one point in his life he had been prepared to strike down his father, and the rest of the clan. His heart had been manipulated by Danzou and his mind twisted up with lies and innuendo. But now that gone. Both his heart and his mind were clear and killing was something he didn't want to do.
"If you should decide not to provide me with the corpse, Itachi, I have included a slight alteration to the antidote." Sasori sounded remarkably like he was gloating and Itachi frowned, his chest clenching tight with foreboding, "Keeping in mind that the poison was created by Hanzou, and that it was designed to 'evolve' somewhat, thus keeping the poison inside the persons body and changing forms to prevent detection, I altered its chemistry and essentially 'reprogrammed' it. Now, the virus will attack itself until there is only one viral cell left. That last cell will remain inert in the body forever. Unless I order otherwise. And Itachi, that order comes from a jutsu so I do not need to approach your beautiful wife or child to order the virus to activate and re-infect. Oh… and when it does re-activate, it will be ten times more deadly than it was originally. Everyone injected with this antidote will die."
"Is it contagious?" Itachi had to work hard to keep his voice level, but his heart was pounding heavily and his limbs felt numb with shock. He had known Sasori was insane. It was quite obvious, after all what sane person would collect corpses of powerful Shinobi and turn them into puppets? But for some reason, the puppet master's idea of what an "antidote" should be was so far beyond "insane" that the teen could literally not think of a word to describe the man.
"Hmmm… good question. It might be. It will certainly be passed down to the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren but as for contagious… I'm not entirely sure about that."
Itachi had a feeling he was lying, that he knew the answer and was now playing with him. "Very funny, Sasori. You are getting your corpse. Don't worry about it."
"Their eyes are included in that. Don't forget."
"I won't." The teen added dryly.
"Well then, it's ready to go. If you need me for anything else, I'll be asking for two corpses so think twice before asking for favors. Every life saved is paid by someone else's death, as the old wives tale goes."
"I never heard that one." Itachi picked up the vial and made sure it was securely closed with a tight seal. "Are you sure you aren't talking about your own superstition?"
Sasori looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, "The flow of souls in and out of this world must be equivalent at all times. Saving one soul from moving on interrupts that flow, meaning that another soul must take its place."
"I don't believe that." Itachi responded belligerently. "It sounds like one of those sayings people use to justify acts of barbarity and cruelty."
"Equivalency in all things, Itachi. Balance and harmony to keep the world in perfect flow with nature. It's not a myth, my young boy, but a truth that has been handed down to us for hundreds of years."
Not wanting to draw the argument out any more, Itachi nodded and quickly left the room. Philosophy was not something he enjoyed thinking about and religion seemed to fall into that realm. It wasn't that it didn't interest him, but perhaps, he thought as he ran full speed through the dark forest, it was frightening.
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"The price for this cure is too high." Tsunade glared at the vial Itachi had set carefully on the wooden lab table in front of her. "We are still working on it. Right now we have something that works, even though it has to be given once a week for life, it will render a one hundred percent cure."
"That's not a cure by any definition I would use!" Itachi countered angrily. "And you already said the baby could be born dead if you use it!"
"But Sheeta would be okay…"
Fugaku interrupted, "That's not good enough!"
"Fugaku, you're letting your personal feelings get involved. This isn't like you." Tsunade smirked.
"This means everything to Itachi, and I'm going to make sure he sees it through."
Itachi blinked once as he looked up at his father. It was not something he would have expected to hear from the man who had, at times, made it seem as if his life's goal was to make as many people miserable as possible.
"Father, you aren't saying what I think you're…"
"Itachi, I am definitely the weakest person on Sasori's shopping list. It makes perfect sense that my corpse should go to him. It will be easier for you to defeat. If he should get Madara you will die trying to stop him. And Sora and Sasuke may be just as hard to defeat. I on the other hand… you have just reason to attack me and you could use that anger… put it to use to stop me."
Itachi silently agreed that it was the best plan, but the thought of loosing his father brought a sudden lump to his throat and he turned his head to stare out of the window instead. It had taken him three days to get home and he had not slept during the journey and had eaten only a minimal amount of sustenance. His head was starting to swim, both from an overdose of soldier pills and from his father's words.
"As logical as that is, Fugaku, you are still the Hokage of this village. You have to think of more than just your family." Tsunade reminded him petulantly.
"Lady Tsunade, we had a discussion about this a couple weeks ago and you asked for time to think it over. I believe now is the time to hear your decision." Fugaku's voice had turned stern and his penetrating gaze was locked firmly on the woman in front of him. "After Danzou is destroyed, will you take over the village as the Sixth Hokage?"
Itachi was so shocked over his father's divulgence that he forgot to breathe for a few seconds and subsequently ended up in a fit of coughing. The older man and woman ignored him as they continued to stare each other down. As his chest cleared and the coughing stopped, Tsunade shook her head and sighed heavily.
"I thought it over. There are many reason why you should resign, Fugaku, and if some of them got out in public you'd probably find your head on a stake at the front gate instead of those traitors you were putting on public display a few years ago. But, believe it or not, that has been true of all the Hokage's. Some of the things my grandfather, the first Hokage, did would definitely tarnish his name if they got out."
"Then what is you decision?" Fugaku pressed.
Tsunade threw up her arms then grabbed the vial, "I'll do it. But there is still the issue of Madara. You will be heading up that battle so don't think you'll be going on any vacations for a while. You aren't retiring, just getting a different job."
"Thank-you." Fugaku added drily as the woman stalked out of the room.
"You're… serious? She's a member of the Senju…"
"As are about half the other villagers. Itachi, the persecution we were put through was all Danzou's doing. With him gone, there should be no reason why we all couldn't live together. And like Tsunade said, we will retain a voice in the village governance, along with the other clans in Konoha. Things are being set up so that the events of the last twenty years will never be repeated. Then, and only then, can the lives we lost during the coup have any meaning. Otherwise, we are nothing more than that man's pawns."
Itachi smiled and stared down at the floor. "The idea that there could be an end to this seems absurd. It's all I've known. My entire life has been consumed by this struggle. But I will look forward to it nonetheless."
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"And this is?" Sasuke gazed warily over the wide valley that had appeared at the end of a badly overgrown mountain road. The steep drop off fell into a flat grassy plain thinly populated with fir trees.
"This is the scene of a travesty the previous Daimyou set into action many years ago. Your brother had the misfortune of stumbling upon the aftereffects mere days after the massacre." Madara leaned back against a tree and crossed him arms across his chest.
Sasuke voice wavered, "Massacre?"
"Come with me." He stepped away from the tree he wrapped one arm around the boy's shoulders and used a jutsu to transport them to the valley below.
"I wish you wouldn't keep doing that." Sasuke stumbled slightly as they landed, his head spinning in five different directions.
"Eh, you get used to it after a while."
"Says you." The boy mumbled obviously annoyed, the looked up at the tall man, "Tell me about the massacre. What does it have to do with my brother?" The pair started walking through the tall grass. The valley seemed very peaceful as the cool spring breeze blew across the plain, whipping their hair across their faces and forcing the young trees to bow slightly as if welcoming the new season.
Large puffy white clouds drifted lazily across the sky casting occasional shadows on the ground. The sounds of hawks flying overhead crying out to each other sent several nearby squirrels scrambling for safety and Sasuke watched curiously as a tan fawn with bright white spots on its back stood up from its hiding place in the tall grass next to a tree to stare at the strange creatures.
"The place is alive again." Madara replied softly, "But back then nothing was alive. This entire valley, from one end to the other was filled with tens of thousands of corpses. Rebels lived here, and the Daimyou sought a solution that was neither noble nor effective. It was cowardly and threw this country into complete and utter chaos."
Sasuke stopped walking when he saw the older man bend down and pick up something long and white from the tangled grass that had hidden it.
"There aren't many bones left. It is surprising this femur exists at all." He placed it carefully back where he had found it before continuing his story, "The Daimyou, through lies and innuendo, lured several rebel groups to the village that lay at the center of this valley. He then hired my village's ninja with a false mission to crush the leadership of the rebels living here. All those groups converged in the valley that day and were quite surprised, sensing treachery almost immediately they should have worked together. Instead they started to argue and fight amongst themselves.
"Meanwhile, the Daimyou's own troops entered the valley from the passes at both ends. Under his orders they began to kill every man, woman and child they came across. While the rebels and ninjas fought each other from the inside, the civilians ran out of the city to what they thought would be safety…"
Sasuke closed his eyes at the imagined sight of soldiers slicing young children in half while their mother's cried out in horror. "I… it's… terrible."
"By the time the people in the village realized what was going on it was too late. They had already cut their numbers down so far that by the time the soldiers reached them there was no chance of survival. We can at least congratulate them for wiping out the Daimyou's troops before succumbing themselves, but really, Sasuke, tell me who you think was the winner here?"
"They… at the Academy… they say the one left standing is the winner. So if the rebels and ninja were the last to die…" Sasuke looked down at the femur, now lying exposed to the empty sky and lifeless plain. A small mouse popped out of the grass and sniffed it once before running away. The plain wasn't completely lifeless after all. "It looks like the animals won, I guess."
"Yeah. I guess that's one way to look at it. But you can see now how the logic we are taught as Shinobi fails…" Madara suddenly turned his head, as something caught his eye. Bending down he picked up another bone, this one much smaller. Holding it up, he walked over to Sasuke and placed it against his upper arm, "This no doubt belonged to a child near your own age, Sasuke."
Repulsed, the boy stepped back and glared at the bone as if it was somehow cursed. However, he recovered quickly and blinked his eyes furiously as tears began to well up unbidden and bitter. They streamed down his cheeks faster than he could raised an arm to wipe them away.
"Why… why did you bring me here?" Sasuke was trying desperately to get a grip on his feelings, but the touch of the dead child's bone against his own arm was more than he could take. The imagined cries of pain, fear and desperation that rang out over the valley as people had been cut down without remorse echoed loudly in his head to the point where he could almost literally feel, hear, taste and touch that child's last day on earth.
"Why?" Madara sighed, "War hurts people, Sasuke. So does hate, fear… well, you get the picture, I think. Anyway, I can stop all of this. I can make it so there will be no more massacres. No more war."
"Impossible." Sasuke sniffed as he fumbled around in his coat for a handkerchief. "It can't be done."
"It can, son." Madara insisted, keeping his voice low. "This world has been marked by war for thousands of years. We see its scars all over. The Uchiha hideout in Fire country is a base used by the old empire. We don't even know how old it is and some of the technology it contains is so foreign to us that some even speculated that aliens left it behind. Yet it is human. We build, fight, tear things down, and build again. Yet each time we build it is either greater or less than what existed before. It is never the same."
"I… don't understand."
Madara moved forward and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, "You have seen Konoha suffer the after effects of a coup. The poverty that some had to endure, the orphans that lived on without parents, and the parents who had to live on without their children."
"Yeah." Sasuke reached up to wipe his eyes again and memories of Sakura pretending to smile as they discussed their families. Even Naruto, who had no memories of his family came to mind. The lonely boy no one would even talk to.
"It will happen again. Over and over and over. Every generation will see war. Every generation will see death."
Sasuke nodded and leaned forward, resting his forehead on the man's chest. He closed his eyes as Madara began to stroke his hair. "Son, you know what will happen if peace isn't brought to this world. I can make that happen, but there are people who are actively working to stop me. They want the world to stay as it is. They call it 'free will' but really, all it is, is the freedom to kill without consequences."
The wind picked up, but Sasuke barely felt it as it blew over the pair and bent the trees over, making them creek as their branches brushed up against each other. He remembered Madara's words spoken in Mist village hours before they had left to go on this journey. He had said that Fugaku was trying to stop him.
"Why... why would he want to stop you?"
Madara instantly knew who the boy was talking about, "Because the peace I will bring will bring an end to the era of the Shinobi. Fugaku and the rest of the Kage's have invested their entire lives on perpetuating the teaching of Ninjutsu and passing them down through the ages. They revel in the destruction. They live for the kill. And they look forward to the day when their own children take over to carry on their beliefs."
"So… that is why… is why… you want me to be able to fight… them…" Sasuke could hardly believe what he was hearing or saying, but somehow, everything was beginning to fall into place.
"Itachi has suffered horribly from the death he saw here. A young boy forced into the role of a ninja at such a young age. Is that any way to raise your children?"
"No." Sasuke agreed. "He… I feel so sorry for him sometimes. Yet there isn't anything… I can't help him. I just create more trouble for him. He keeps having to bail me out of trouble."
"He enjoys that, Sasuke. He's your brother. He would die for you."
Sasuke realized he could hear Madara's heart beating rhythmically against his ear and he yawned widely.
"You may sleep for now, Sasuke. I believe you can finally see the true path." Madara wrapped his arms tightly around the boy and lifted him up. Sasuke's eyes slid shut as the tears he had been trying to hold back escaped, falling slowly down his cheeks. Kneeling down, the man lay the boy on the grass between two trees just as the tip of a large plant rose up out of the ground, forming itself into a man with two halves – one white and one black.
"That was quite a performance." White Zetsu remarked caustically. "You should have been an actor. I bet you could win a lot of awards."
"Shut up." Black Zetsu responded. "He fell for it perfectly. But how will you keep him away from Itachi? As soon as he sees his brother his will to follow you will waver."
"True. But it will take more than just this to get him completely on my side. This is just the beginning, Zetsu. When I am finished, he will be able to walk into Konoha and kill without a second thought."
White Zetsu was still unconvinced, "You sound so sure of that. We need the nine-tails and you are betting everything on this one boy to get him for you."
"Yes. If my plan to seal the fox in Sasuke had worked out to begin with, this would have been much simpler. As it is… my plans are beginning to fall apart. We will have to rely on Sasuke for this."
"We will succeed." Black Zetsu uttered resolutely. "Peace will be ours. Finally."
"Finally." White Zetsu repeated wistfully.
Madara turned his gaze back to the sleeping boy, then looked over at the small bone, now lying discarded in the grass. It had been chance that he had found it. Most of the corpses had disintegrated quickly in the harsh weather, and it had been nearly eight years since the massacre.
"I could never forgive the Daimyou for what happened here. As a warrior and a ninja, I can only see what he did as cowardly and short-sighted." He dropped down onto the grass next to Sasuke as Zetsu disappeared back into the ground, "I'm sorry, son, but at this point, all I can do is hope you will survive. I can no longer guarantee your safety. I had hoped that you would be the child that would live. My one son to grow up and walk this earth as I gazed down from the moon at your new life of peace and hope. But perhaps, it will only be your grave I will see after all."
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Next week: Itachi chooses a team to infiltrate Danzou's nest.
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