Thanks for all the reviews and favs!
This chapter is transitional and begins to set up the last part of the story. Itachi has a small roll, because of that, but next week he'll have more action.
No manga this week... I'm getting impatient to see more Kisame xD
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto.
Chapter 73 – That Desperate Man's Plan
The small mist-enshrouded village nestled at the bottom of the thousand foot high cliff seemed peaceful enough. A forest of mixed deciduous and evergreens spread out to the horizon, and the distant villages that lay beyond were nothing more than small holes in a canopy of green.
It was this view that Madara contemplated as he sat on that high cliff in the mid-morning hours of July. His son was now twelve, an age that once brought great honor to young boys in the Uchiha clan; especially in the main branch.
His thoughts drifted further and further into the past and he remembered stories of his owns father's exploits as a twelve-year-old captain of his own squad. His missions always ended with success, and four years later when Madara was born his winning streak was still in force. Six years after that, at the age of twenty-two the young man had become the chief when his grandfather died of old age.
That was the life of an Uchiha ninja. That was how Madara had always seen his own life playing out. That was how it was supposed to be.
But his father had died. Killed in battle a few short years after becoming chief he left behind his clan, his wife and his children to fend for themselves. Young Izuna was placed in command, but he was still a child and an advisor was assigned to assist him.
The boy, while a good match for Madara on the training field, was born with none of his elder half-brother's charisma. As the years passed Izuna began relying more and more on Madara's guidance and eventually when the time came for the advisor to step aside and give full reign to the now-fifteen-year-old heir, no one was surprised when his first announcement was a resignation speech.
Izuna stepped aside and gave the position to his elder, illegitimate, charismatic and highly skilled brother. Madara remembered how honored he had been at the time. While he had been running a lot of the functions of clan governance already, he had never imagined the clan elders would allow someone of his birth rank to lead the clan.
Such was the reputation of the eighteen-year-old teenager. They no longer saw him as his parent's little mistake but as a powerful ninja that always led them to victory.
Madara lay back in the green mist laden grass and sighed loudly. After becoming chief he had discovered his great-grandfathers writings and learned of the possible existence of the Rinnegan. He had also run into a rival in the form of the Senju.
The Senju clan had never been a concern to the Uchiha until Hashirama became its leader. The day he faced him in battle for the first time he somehow knew that their fates would be intertwined until the day they died.
And that feeling had never gone away.
"You seem pensive today. " Sora limped into view, finding his nephew's favorite perch easily.
"Just rehashing the past. Sasuke's life - well all of the kids lives- are so different from ours. Sometimes it feels like I've stepped into a different world."
"You sound like an old man."
"I am an old man, Sora." Madara sat up and watched the mists swirl around the lonely village as if trying to find a way in - or out.
Sora couldn't think of anything to say and changed the subject, "What's on your mind?"
"Hmmm... a lot. For one, I've decided to give up on killing Fugaku. His days are numbered as it is."
"You know something we don't?"
"Sasori wants an Uchiha body, I'm sure he'll get Fugaku's, unless Itachi gets Sasori first. Either way, I just flat out can't see him surviving this."
"You've been wrong before."
"And I'll be wrong again. It goes without saying. But I understand your position; he is your grandson, after all." Madara stood up and faced Sora, a serious look on his face, "But enough of that. Our plans will fall apart completely if we wait any longer. All the Jinchuuriki must be captured and their demons sealed in the statue by January. No matter what, that must happen."
Sora grinned happily, "The Eye of the Moon plan will finally come to pass."
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"Twelve" didn't seem that different from "eleven" and Sasuke really didn't see what the big deal was. Aya had insisted on having a large cake decorated with clan symbols, shuriken and candles and she had invited about twenty other kids over to celebrate.
He did have good time, though. It was a break from training and he was determined to make the most of it. He even let his three "girlfriends" kiss him on the cheek after a dare from an older teenage boy.
But that was yesterday. Today, at seven A.M. he was back on the training ground and facing off with his instructor who had decided to work some more on perfecting the boys Chidori jutsu.
The heavy mist hid the edges of the field from view, something the instructor had done on purpose to keep the jutsu a secret. However it had the unintended affect of weighing heavily on Sasuke's mind. Just minutes earlier he had been informed that he would be training for fifteen hours a day until further notice and that there would be no more days off. That meant he would no longer see his friends, or goof off in the garden or spend a lazy afternoon playing soccer. He was being pushed hard and he didn't like it.
"Why has the schedule changed?" Sasuke asked.
"That information will be made known to you in due time." The answer wasn't unexpected and Sasuke dropped it. Things were changing in the village and anyone who complained was quickly silenced by his or her companions.
"Grin and bear it young Sasuke." Sora had told him a week earlier. "Time is not on our side and some things in life we just have to accept."
"Easy for him to say." Sasuke thought to himself as he launched a lightly bolt at a training dummy and watched it burn, "He knows what's going on."
The other concern he had of late was Madara. While he had been fairly easy going and approachable at first, he was now focused, close lipped and serious.
The previous day he had congratulated Sasuke on turning twelve with an air that bordered on the solemn. It reminded him a little of how some of the people in the clan would speak to Itachi after his illness became public. Reserved, respectful, and a little bit sad.
'Does he think I'm going to die?' Sasuke asked himself. 'Am I being trained for a mission that will kill me?'
Madara's hints that he could bring peace to the world through a final battle had drawn the boy in easily. He wanted peace. A world where his brother would no longer have to fight and could live out his shortened life in comfort with his wife and kids.
That was Sasuke's dream. Everything was for Itachi. Surely Madara's plan would see to that, but if he died how would he know for sure that Itachi was alive and happy? What was once clear and defined was now murky and vague.
Several days of long hours spent traiing left Sasuke feeling like he was missing out on something. While he was allowed to get enough sleep (his trainers would even suggest the occasional nap) his mind began to feel dull and the days were washing together. Progress was measured by some invisible and unknown standard that he was not privy to. And he had stopped inquiring into his own progress in order to avoid the disappointment of not getting any real answers.
It was with all these thoughts and hesitations and hours of mindless repetition that Sasuke finally allowed himself to doubt Madara's methods. Helped in no small way by an overheard conversation on his way home one evening.
A father was standing in a nearby training field with his son. A boy Sasuke recognized immediately as being a year younger than himself.
"Son, you are just a kid. Kids are not used for important S-class missions because, while they may have skill, they lack experience that one only gets through the passage of time."
"But I want to help the clan!" The boy's young voice sounded much more mature than it really was, thus demonstrating the hard life of a child in a Shinobi clan.
"Yes, I know." The father sighed, "But first, I want you to grow up some more.
What kind of father would I be if I threw my own son into a loosing battle? Now let's go home, and no more late night training sessions, okay?"
As Sasuke passed he caught the boy's eye for a second before forcing himself to look away. The kid was grinning happily, reassured by the words of a loving parent.
However, the blatant hypocrisy of the man's words made Sasuke's blood boil. He knew that boy was at the age for the "ceremony" and would be facing off against another child his own age in a battle to the death. It would be soon, too.
Madara's peaceful world would end all wars, but would it end the decades old rite of passage that killed half their children? Would people really stop that easily? And how exactly could you convince people to stop fighting anyway?
Before he knew it he was back in his room, but he didn't stay their long. With a determined step he turned right around and entered the two neighboring rooms, waking up Juugo and Karin.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
"I've decided to return to Konoha. Do you guys want to come with me?"
"I was wondering when you would say that." Juugo shook his head and leaned back on wood floor, holding himself up with his arms. "Madara seems different lately. And you train for so long. It can't be good."
"I'm really worried about you." Karin added softly. "Of course I'll go."
"And so will I." Juugo added, "Of course you do realize that saying you want to leave and actually doing it are two different things. At this point they aren't going to let you walk out of here just because you want to."
"I know. It's a problem." Sasuke suddenly stopped talking as a particular person crossed his mind. "I want to take Aya with us."
"What? Are you crazy?" Karin cried out in shock, "Assuming she would even agree to go, loosing both you and Aya might put Madara over the edge."
"But she's pregnant with my little brother or sister. I can't leave them behind. We don't know what's going to happen here. If they die I could never forgive myself."
"Well," Juugo contemplated, "let's just work out a plan and then deal with Aya. The less she knows the better."
Sasuke yawned, now that he had someone to talk to his anxiety had lessened somewhat and he was getting sleepy.
"Maybe you could send Tama to Itachi and tell him what you want to do. If we have backup we can get out of here easier. Water country is an island you know." Karin yawned as well and stretched her arms high over her head.
"Good idea."
x x x x xx x x x x x x x x x x
Drifting awake the first thing that crossed Itachi's mind was how soft and warm his blanket was.
The next thought was how hot he was.
And upon fully awakening...
"Tama what are you doing in my bed?" Pulling back the blanket, he found the large marmalade cat curled up comfortably against his side, purring loudly and contentedly. Opening one eye he stretched his neck in the direction of his back to draw attention to the scroll secured via two leather straps around his midsection.
"I hope Sasuke's okay." Itachi fully expected to see a standard "I'm fine how are you?" type of message, like the ones he gotten three or four times before from his brother, so when he actually saw what was written on the paper he jumped out of bed and turned to Sheeta - who wasn't there.
"Where'd she go?" He said impatiently before turning his eyes in the direction of the baby monitor.
"Yes, Shisui likes that, doesn't he? Nice clean diapers and a new shirt you're all ready to play today, aren't you? Oh Rumiko you're so cute! You want a hug don't you?" Sheeta's voice was loud and clear above the gurgling and laughing of the two happy infants, and she was certainly happy.
Staring at the message again he wondered what had brought about Sasuke's change of heart. It occurred to him that getting his brother away from Madara would likely be a monumental effort. And he might fail.
"Everyone will be broken hearted if I return empty handed." He decided to keep the whole thing a secret and deal with it himself. Well, he would ask Kisame for help.
Ever since the news that the hit on Sheeta was dropped everyone had breathed a sigh of relief and the girl was feeling less like a prisoner and had even gone to the park with the babies a few times. Her new found freedom had worked wonders on her attitude and her smile and cheerful attitude reminded Itachi of how she was years ago when he had first met her. If he failed to bring back Sasuke, that smile might disappear again.
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The light brown sandy coast of Tea Country was warm, crowded, and delightfully relaxing. A small country on the south-eat coast of Fire count it was a well known summer vacation spot that hosted thousands of people from all over the continent who flocked their for sun and surf.
Hotels, hostels and vacation rentals dotted the long narrow isthmus and over the years, tourism had grown to become almost as profitable as tea and fishing. With the nations small population many people moved from job to job as the seasons dictated.
It was on this sun-kissed golden beach, surrounded by tourists that Kisame had decided to relax. Dressed in a pair of black swim trunks, and nothing else he lay flat on his back right at the tide line and meditated on the feel of the cool water on his warm skin. It was nearly ninety degrees after all, and he had spent the entire morning swimming and fending off questions about his odd colored skin from curious kids.
He was feeling rather pensive lately and had hoped that being in a large crowd would force his thoughts to stray over the meaning of half-heard conversations and delightfully skimpy bikinis.
It wasn't working though. Too many things had gone wrong in the preceding years. Too much sorrow, too much pain. And the solution that Madara had proposed, the one Kisame had whole-heartedly supported...
His finger grew unnaturally warm and he lifted his hand to gaze at the glowing ring. It was Madara calling. Sitting up he used a jutsu to disappear and reappear in the nearby forest. Broadcasting his chakra he verified that he was alone before sitting down to meditate.
Madara's voice was, as always, loud and clear and Kisame found it grated on his already frazzled nerves.
"Kisame, let me get right down to the point." Gone was good humor and laid back personality the man usually exhibited. This Madara was all business.
"Please do." Kisame responded equally serious.
"I am requesting, strongly, that you no longer have any contact with Itachi or Konoha."
Kisame was silent for a moment as he thought that through. It was expected that the request would come forward eventually, but instead of answering Madara, his thoughts strayed over the many years he had spent with Itachi.
Itachi had been a small child when they had first met, but his skill as a ninja rivaled that of many of his elders. As the years passed he got to know him better and his respect grew exponentially. As well as something else.
Somewhere along the line Kisame had started to look out for the young Itachi. Making sure he ate enough, reminding him to take better care of himself, and lecturing him when he did something wrong or questionable. And Itachi had never complained.
Somewhere along the line Itachi had ceased to be a partner and was now a sort of little brother, or perhaps... even a friend.
The "Eye of the moon" plan crossed his mind and Kisame had to shake his head with disgust. He knew what he had to do, and he knew it was possible he might not survive.
"Madara, your plan has no chance of succeeding. Konoha, Itachi, are too powerful. If you back off now you loose nothing."
"I would loose everything!" Madara countered angrily. "Years of planning, the peace of the world, the hope for tomorrow."
"Itachi would give his life to stop you. That has to be why you made that request of me. Yet you must realize that when all is said and done, it is you and Itachi that will face off. Whatever I do between now and then is of little to no consequence."
"Yes, I realize Itachi is no longer an ally. Nor are you. It pains me to see you leave, just as it did all those years ago when I asked you to leave Mist and join Akatsuki. Your strength will be missed, but you are correct to say that your absence, at this point is of little concern"
Kisame sighed, "Point taken."
The conversation ended and Kisame stood up and walked the half-mile back to the beach. He had only been in the water a few minutes when a medium-sized black cat with a white patch on his left eye ran across the beach and stopped two feet from the edge of the water.
Standing up in the water, Kisame sighed. He knew who had sent the cat.
The cat called out, "You get me wet and I'll make you regret it."
For some reason that made Kisame laugh. Some teenagers who were sunbathing nearby sat up and pointed at the animal in curiosity. Animal summons weren't exactly common outside of the few ninja villages and it was drawing a lot of attention.
Feeling slightly devilish, Kisame picked the small animal up in his wet hands and draped it over his wet shoulder before disappearing back into the forest. The cat jumped down and shook his damp fur.
Feeling a sting, Kisame turned his head and saw several thin streams of dark red blood running down his shoulder. "Is that the best you can do?" He grinned, showing his pointed teeth.
"Humph. That was salt water, too. Tastes terrible." The cat was trying to lick his fur clean and shaking his head in disgust.
Dropping down onto the grassy ground Kisame pulled out a back pack he had hidden before leaning against a tree and smirking, "So what's young Itachi up to this week?"
"Rescuing his brother from Madara. Apparently Sasuke wants to come home and Itachi doesn't want to use Konoha to do it."
"He'd be stupid if he did ask them for help. The only one who can take down an Uchiha is another Uchiha."
"Are you available to help?" The cat began to roll around in the grass trying to get the "salt water" smell out of his fur.
"Sure. Nothing else to do. Tell Itachi to meet me at the fire-country port, pier Thirty-two. I'm assuming this means we're going to Mist."
"Correct." The cat disappeared in a cloud of smoke just as Kisame winced in pain. Apparently that little twelve-pound monster's scratch was a little bit more harmful than he first thought.
Laughing, he pulled a first aid kit out of his pack and dumped some ointment over the cuts then wrapped a bandage around it before pulling on his clothes. "Someday I'll learn to stop teasing cats. They may not have a sense of humor, but they are masters of irony."
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The toads seemed adamant about the basics and Naruto felt like he was relearning everything he had ever been taught. It was grueling, tiresome, and above all boring.
More than anything the young boy had looked forward to learning a new jutsu, something to rival anything he had ever seen before. But the small amphibians had just laughed when he voiced his disappointment, telling him that in due time he would learn more than he ever wanted to know.
Jiraiya, of course, who had shown up a couple days after Naruto, sat around gossiping and teasing. For the most part, anyway. But he would also regale the boy with stories of his exploits - some of which actually involved dangerous missions instead of peeping.
It was almost three weeks before the sage training began and by then Naruto was very frustrated with the basics. The toads found his level of progress up to then to be above average and complimented Itachi and Jiraiya on their hard work, recognizing that despite Naruto's eagerness to learn his attention span was quite limited.
However, five days into the training Naruto had made no progress. He kept transforming into a toad when he used toad oil and he couldn't focus well enough to meditate on a board placed over a pointed spire-shaped rock without falling. It was as if everything he had learned up to that point was useless, and the boy was very frustrated. Jiraiya tried to make him feel better by telling him that it was years before he could master the sage skills, but Naruto wasn't that patient.
"And the food is awful!" Naruto whispered to his godfather so he wouldn't be overheard. "I don't know how long I'll be able to put up with it."
"Ha!" Jiriaya jumped down from his perch on top of a six foot tall toadstool and motioned for Naruto to follow. The pair walked through the small village, followed by the sounds of soft croaking carried on the summer wind and bright stars twinkling brightly overhead.
It was idyllic, really, and more than just a little surreal with small houses shaped out of mounds of earth, toadstools rising two to twenty feet off the ground and small rivers and waterfalls interspersed with ponds dotted in amongst the jumble.
In a way it reminded Naruto of home as he gazed at the yellow light emanating from the homes and listened to the muffled voices of those inside. He even heard TV's and radio's.
"This, my boy, is my house. Given to me by the head toad." Jiraiya bent over and crawled inside a small house. It spread out over three rooms, consisting of a combined kitchen/living area, a bedroom, and a bathroom designed for human use. In spite of the fact that one had to crawl in through the round door front door, the inside was designed for a human to stand up in.
"Please tell me you have a stash of ramen in here." Naruto was grinning ear to ear at the possibilities of eating a real meal consisting of human food.
"That there is, my boy!" Jiraiya laughed, "But first, I got a letter from Kakashi Why don't you read it while I boil some water. I think you'll find it quite fascinating. That man is quite a genius, you know."
Naruto picked up the scroll as he dropped down onto a cushion at the small kotetsu table. His sensei's handwriting was very bad, but as it turned out he had injured his right hand during a mission and was writing with his left.
"…which brings me to my revelation. While imprisoned in the hospital for two days (which was completely unnecessary given that it was just my hand that was broken and the bump on my head was absolutely not nearly as dangerous as the medics made it our to be)…"
"Is Kakashi okay?" Naruto interrupted his reading to ask, growing worried.
"He is. He got hit on the head pretty bad and needed surgery but he was being stubborn about it so Shizune secured him to the bed to keep him from leaving. Kakashi has always been a stubborn one. Don't let his easy going manner fool you!" Jiraiya was laughing as he poured water into two prepackaged cups of pork ramen.
Naruto continued to read, "I believe that if you create multiple clones of yourself and each clone trains for five hours, then when they disappear and meld back with you, you will absorb all their experience. Try it out."
"I don't get it." Naruto admitted as he began to shovel ramen into his mouth.
"You see, ten clones training for ten hours each equates to one hundred hours of training. That's Twelve-and-half days of training you get when they disappear."
"Oh!" It was like a light bulb lit up and the boy beamed with delight. "I can make a hundred clones! I'll learn this sage jutsu in no time!"
"That's my boy!" Jiraiya laughed, but his face turned to one of worry as he watched his godson scarf down his ramen and then help himself to seconds. The upcoming battle would likely be unlike anything the world had ever seen and he couldn't help but wonder who amongst his friends would still be alive when it ended.
"I'm getting too old for this." Jiraiya mumbled helplessly to himself.
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Next week, Itachi and Kisame head out to Mist, but Madara has a little surprise planned for them.
I hope I explained Sasuke's change of heart okay. Remember, Madara was using powerful Genjutsu ont he boy to get him to support his plan, but being an Uchiha with Mangekyou Sharingan it would wear off eventually, no matter how powerful Madara was. And Sasuke is very much his own person, with his own ideas and certainly not hesitant about acting on them. Someone like that is going to be difficult to control.
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