Why is it I can never keep the words "steal" and "steel" straight? I should have made Kisame's ship wood instead. I can spell "wood." xD
Wow, I got a long review about Madara. That was pretty cool. But I have to agree that seriously, how is Madara planning on controlling the demons long enough to form the ten tails and then control that? It's… unbelievable. I mean, it took me forever to figure out a way for Madara to stand up against Itachi (you'll see it next week) but the only way I can think of him controlling the 10 tails is plot-no-jutsu. Kishimoto probably has something in store though. I'm pretty sure it will take both Naruto and Sasuke working together to take down Madara (that's probably how he'll have them renew their friendship too. After all, Shonen manga always have friends re-uniting and I hope this one is no different.)
This chapter starts out a little slow, but I think the end is pretty good. More Kisame xD
Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto
Chapter 78 – Waves of Time
Shadows danced across the stone wall of the cave as the single solitary flame of an old brass kerosene lamp fought a loosing battle against the breezes that blew steadily through the mazelike corridors of the cave. Cold, dark and alone the cave had lain empty and forgotten for millions of years, letting nature take its course whether it be carving new tunnels or collapsing old ones.
But that was all in the past.
The present was filled with men and women who dug new tunnels in days and collapsed old ones in minutes. They also heated the chilly pathways and brought light to dispel the darkness. And in places where once the only sound consisted of the occasional falling rock or drip of water from the limestone roof were now voices of those invaders. Confident, worried, spiteful and full of regret.
Surely, if the cave had any kind of consciousness it would have wondered greatly over the motives of its new tenants. Certainly it would have considered one man in particular to be the most curious of all and perhaps even considered him a threat.
Of course, caves do not have consciousness, so it lay where it had always lain and let the ages pass without care or worry. Unlike that one person.
Madara Uchiha sat in a small room carved out of the limestone cave staring at the brass lantern, his breaths mixing with the faint cave wind that blew against the flame. The events of the last few hours had been unexpected and he knew he had made a mistake, and, unfortunately for him, it was not one he could take back.
"I should have waited to take Naruto. I should have waited until Itachi died of his disease. I should have kidnapped Itachi as a child and raised him myself." Madara kept going over the different paths he could have taken in his life and contemplating their resolutions and comparing them to his current predicament.
Outside the hideout several thousand ninjas were waiting to pounce on him, but that did not concern him because nearby was perhaps the only man who could best him in a fight. And even if he did win, there were two others… no three others… who would be able to jump in to fight the weakened Madara and win.
"Itachi… even now I can't quite bring myself to hate you. Even though you may have completely done in everything I have worked for. Why is that?" There was no answer forthcoming and he yawned broadly before shaking his head to clear it. "I'm not the type to back down, though. There is still a possibility I will win. Itachi has never seen my true power. He has no idea what he's up against. Yet I know everything about him. I have the advantage, as little as it is. And as for Pein… I mean Nagato… and Fugaku… when I take down Itachi I'll have to make sure I retreat before they can engage me in battle."
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"Father." Itachi stated simply as he approached the clan lord. He noticed his father looked older than he had only two weeks earlier. The lines on his face were deeper, his shoulders slightly slumped and in his right hand he was nervously twirling a shuriken. Yet, despite this, the expression on his face was stone cold and his eyes full of fire. The teen knew that he himself mirrored the countenance of his father exactly as he stood before him and looked up to meet those blazing eyes.
"Have you grown, Itachi?" Fugaku queried absent-mindedly.
"Perhaps." The man who had once seemed like a tall, solid, immovable pillar was now only four inches taller than him and probably only thirty pounds heavier.
"You almost made it to an adult. I guess… that's…" Fugaku's voice drifted off and his face broke for a few seconds revealing something close to sorrow, or perhaps regret.
Itachi spoke up, "That's yet to be seen."
"No one came here expecting to die," Pein sighed from his perch on a nearby stump, "yet we are all ready to give up our lives nevertheless."
"Yeah." Itachi grinned, "I've still got that police chief job waiting for me, father. I'm even looking forward to it now." He was telling the truth. Staying home with his family, leaving the village only occasionally… that was certainly a dream worth fighting for. Even if the dream had a snowball's chance in hell of coming true.
Digging into his pocket Itachi pulled out a letter and looked around, "I need a cat to deliver a message."
"Here I am, kitten." The teen's old nemesis, a black and white cat with an attitude stepped out from behind the tree he had been dozing next to.
He couldn't bring himself to complain and bent down to strap the parchment to the small animal's back. "This is for Sheeta. Tell her to do exactly what it says."
"Expecting problems?" Fugaku asked.
Itachi stood up and stretched as he yawned, "Yeah. If I'm killed, Sheeta and the kids could be seen as a liability. I've found a way to keep them safe. I won't say any more than that except… if I do die you'll never see them again."
Fugaku was silent for a moment, not sure of what to think of his son's announcement. In then end though, he decided to trust him, "Then I will honor that and make no attempt to contact them."
It had been only an hour since he had left Kisame's ship. Having learned that Fugaku and Pein had arrived brought to painful focus the events that would fill the next few days. Staring up at the midmorning sky he saw the deep blue that promised another warm, sunny day. The kind of day one should spend laughing and having fun. Not planning a war. Or dying.
Pein broke into his thoughts, "That's one big fleet Kisame has there. I knew he was doing a bit of pirating on the side, but not to that extent."
"So I take it Kisame is staying behind to guard the beach?" Konan spoke up in her calm, measured voice.
"Humph. Yes, he said he would keep anyone from escaping or coming in by sea. I think he's expecting something to happen."
Konan nodded, "Probably expecting something to come from the beach more than from the ocean. I'd offer to help him, but my jutsu are useless in water."
Itachi smiled, "He'd just accuse you of stealing his fun. He's looking forward to this, you know."
Konan also smiled, "That's true. He and Samehada are definitely joined at the hip."
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"Ah-choo!" Kisame grimaced as he sniffed and rubbed his nose.
"Someone's talking about you." Suigetsu muttered from his sick bed. He had regained consciousness a few minutes earlier and while he was no longer in pain he was definitely still exhausted and sore.
Kisame grinned broadly, "Of course they are! I'm the greatest!"
The healer shook her head and rolled her eyes, "It couldn't possibly be you catching a cold after being on deck in the night air or getting sneezed on by your crew or catching a rare, untreatable and deadly disease."
That brought a smile to Suigetsu's lips, but it disappeared quickly as the memory of Naruto's capture returned to him. "He stabbed me…"
"Yeah. You were dumped on the beach for us to find." The big man grumbled angrily. "Itachi has left already. He's planning on fighting Madara tomorrow."
The ship rocked slightly as a group of high waves rolled under it. "We're on a ship? Where is Naruto?"
"This is my ship and Naruto is with Madara." Kisame sat down on a chair near the bed.
"Not good…" Suigetsu's voice was nothing more than a whisper as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.
"Awe… he looks like such an angel when he sleeps." The healer gave her captain a sarcastic smile and laughed heartily at the look of shocked disgust he gave her.
"I think you've been taking too many of your own drugs, woman." Kisame mumbled as he slung Samehada over his shoulder and quickly exited the room. Once out in the hall he chuckled as he stared at the metal door of the sick room. He was looking forward to tomorrow.
'It's been a long time coming.' He thought to himself. 'That kid and Madara were bound to come to blows sooner or later. Too bad… I would have loved to have seen those demons rampaging.' He reached up over his shoulder and wrapped his hand around Samehada's hilt. 'And so would my friend here.'
"Captain! Captain!" A middle-aged man in black pants and no shirt came running down the hall, his bare feet silent in the long narrow hall that ran the length of the steel ship. He skidded to a halt just as the ship rocked again as more high waves rolled across the surface of the ocean and under the ship.
"What's going on Fuuto?" Kisame stared at the man's scar ridden chest and wondered, for the hundredth time, how anyone who had suffered that many wounds could still be alive. Of course, Fuuto was an ex-ninja if that was any clue.
"I was trying to sleep and something kept bugging me so I went out on the deck to look at the ocean and sure enough, there's a ship a league out just sitting there. Whoever it is, they're masking their chakra, but I can still sense about seventeen of them."
"Humph." Luckily Fuuto was a sensor type ninja and his abilities were certainly one of the reasons they were so successful in their raids. Kisame nodded once. "I wonder if it's one of Madara's people or some idiot we've pissed off out for revenge?"
"Don't take them lightly, I get the feeling they are quite powerful."
"You're awfully cautious for a pirate, Fuuto." Kisame laughed.
"And you're too careless for a ninja." Fuuto replied seriously as he turned around and walked back down the hall.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Kisame smirked, "But I can honestly say if I die today I've had a lot of fun."
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Strong waves were making their way across the ocean and the ships were rocking with them, as if taking adversity in stride. Tall, billowy clouds on the horizon promised stormy weather, but as long as the wind kept to the north it would bypass the pirate fleet. However the waves, formed far out at sea, were another matter.
"Kisame, if the wind changes direction some of the smaller ships will have to retreat." A man called out from an open window in the control room as Kisame made his way on deck.
"That's fine. There's a lot of backup out there in the woods so don't worry about it." Kisame called back. Making his way to the back of the ship he squinted his eyes against the bright reflection cast upon the waves and looked off in the direction of the ninja ship. He could barely see it, one mile off-shore, rocking up and down with the waves. It was a small ship and would likely have to head toward shore if the sea got any worse. Samehada was so intent on the chakra coming from the nearby Jinchuuriki that it showed no interest in anyone or anything else.
"The current is pushing them out to sea." Fuuto, fully dressed and pushing a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes walked up behind Kisame. "Might be a red herring trying to lure you away from the fleet."
"I'm no match for Madara." Kisame shook his head, "Luring me away would be of no benefit. He more than likely knows that Itachi has left the ship. If he wants me or anyone else here dead there's nothing any of us could do to stop him. It's a hard pill to swallow but that's the way it is."
"So let them go?"
Kisame laughed and shook his head in resignation, "Yeah. Let them go. If it were any other situation I wouldn't say that but let's just see what they do next…" He grabbed for the rail as the ship was tossed up twenty feet by a particularly large wave.
"That came from their ship! Those are water ninja and that storm…" Fuuto was interrupted by an angry Kisame.
"Is a Genjutsu. There is no storm! They're trying to capsize us!" Cursing, Kisame jumped over the rail, landing deftly on choppy water. Running forward he couldn't believe the strength behind the jutsu. And it was being cast by seventeen ninjas who were masking their chakra. It was a jutsu Kisame's own crew used countless times, and he was very familiar with it, but it used a lot of chakra and therefore good for only short periods of time. As in - less than ten minutes. And it took five people casting the same jutsu for it to work.
The problem as Kisame saw it was that the waves had been growing for the last hour and the ninjas were using chakra to also hide their presence. Seventeen ninjas divided into groups of five would be roughly three groups. Given that they were masking their chakra they would only be able to form the waves for five minutes at a time, for a total of fifteen minutes. After that, it would then take several hours to restore their chakra levels.
"There's either more than seventeen guys out there or this is some jutsu I'm not familiar with." Kisame muttered out loud. He turned his head slightly and saw four others had followed him and Fuuto was standing next to the rail barking orders. Looking around he saw that two ships had decided to back off and were moving away from the high waves. The other ship he had been concerned about had moved closer to shore and was probably planning on beaching itself temporarily. They were nothing more than small fishing trawlers that capsized easily in high waves. In battle they were highly maneuverable and perfect for sneaking up on large ships – as long as the weather was good.
As they approached the enemy ship the Genjutsu faded and the horizon became peaceful and calm. On the deck of the medium-sized yacht were seventeen men and women dressed completely in black and wearing facemasks. They dropped their chakra masking jutsu and crouched down, preparing for battle. The sea beneath them settled down and Kisame made a rather important deduction.
"You were using an earth jutsu to do that." He called up to the nearest ninja, a woman if the curve of the uniform was any indication.
"That's right." She replied without emotion. "We lifted the floor of the ocean up repeatedly, displacing the water and thus raising the tide."
That was definitely not a jutsu Kisame had ever heard of, although he knew of instances where earthquakes had done the same thing with disastrous results. Absentmindedly he wondered if Deidara had ever heard of that jutsu and made a mental note to ask him later. It was definitely easier than manipulating the waves themselves although he suspected controlling it so it wouldn't lift up too much earth might make it more difficult. Then of course, there was the weight of the water on top of the sea bed…
Kisame scowled with frustration as he unsheathed Samehada and crashed it down on top of the water, "Who are you working for?"
"Oh… let's see…" a man scratched his mask covered chin as if thinking hard, "Who signed our paycheck this week?"
"Who cares?" Another man answered, "Let's just get these guys and collect our money. The blue one there is our target."
"And he walked right into our trap." The first woman laughed.
"You think so, huh?" Kisame grinned evily. Lifting up Samehada he rushed the ship and easily sliced a forty-foot hole in her side. Jumping into the air he swiveled so that he faced the ship and landed twenty feet away, just in time to avoid a strike from a man about five inches taller than him. Beside him he could hear his crew rush to attack the other ninjas. "You could have run away, but now you're not going anywhere."
"You got a huge price on your head Kisame. And we're going to collect it. My name is Heiji, by the way. Remember it, because it will be the last name you ever hear." He rushed forward, pulling a large five-foot long mace from a shoulder strap. Swinging it in an upward motion a "clang" sounded loudly over the roaring ocean when it connected with Samehada.
The teeth of the sharkskin sword were mashing about, eager to get a hold of the Jinchuuriki's and very frustrated at the measly meal his master was trying to feed it. Angry, he refused to suck the chakra and instead radiated a strong, menacing chakra that shocked Kisame enough that he almost dropped the sword.
"Having problems with your weapon?" Heiji goaded as he swung again and connected with the sword.
"Samehada?" Kisame had never seen this happen before. He had, of course, heard stories of swords rejecting their owners, which was one of the reasons every swordsman had an apprentice. It was not an uncommon occurrence. The demon swordsmen of the Mist were gifted with swords of magnificent chakra and fighting characteristics that at times seemed almost sentient.
The swords attraction to the Jinchuuriki's chakra had seemed straight-forward earlier. After all, the sword "lived" by consuming chakra and the Jinchuuriki held immensely powerful chakra inside of them. However, as Kisame guarded against blow after blow from the oversized mace he wondered if perhaps the swords had been created with leftover chakra from the demons before they were sealed away. It was possible, of course, to seal a demon inside an object. After all, Gaara's demon, the one-tail, had been sealed in an old tea-pot for decades before it was moved.
Perhaps the chakra in the sword was trying to rejoin the demon it came from.
Kisame growled angrily under his breath. There was no way he was going to let Samehada leave him that easily. Jumping forward he pushed against the mace with everything he had, sending Heiji flying back against the yacht. He passed through the hull and landed up against a wall near a bed, then quickly jumped out as water began to flood in through the newly made hole.
Looking around he saw that his crew had already dispatched seven of the remaining ninja. Obviously the strongest one had been left for him.
"Samehada, get a hold of yourself." Kisame yelled as he brought the giant sword down on top of the mace, just as Heiji was pushing up. Improbable as it was, Samehada bounced off the metal handle of the opposing weapon and gnashed its teeth.
"Ha! I was told this would happen. You can't fight with all those demons so close. He told us that." Heiji laughed and he continued to advance on his adversary. Blood was dripping from a wound in his lower back where he had hit the wooden hull and his pants were hanging off one dark leg where more blood was dripping copiously into the blue water.
Kisame grinned as he watched the red liquid staining the waves and float downward, forming diaphanous patterns that, with the enhanced sense of smell that came with the shark-like appearance he had assume via a forbidden jutsu, smelled delicious.
Samehada was quickly placed back in its holder as Kisame released his water-walking jutsu and dropped down into the water. Raising his hands he formed several signs and within seconds the area was littered with sharks. Big, bluish-grey monsters that lived for no other reason than to consume those weaker than themselves. It was not only the symbol of the Hoshigake clan, but Kisame's alter ego.
Kicking his feet, Kisame called upon his own shark jutsu and his upper body morphed, taking on the appearance of a humanized shark. The smell of blood grew stronger and the need to drink… to devour… became almost irresistible.
Through the roof of water he could see the shimmering silver sunlight reflecting off the waves as well as the shadow cast by Heiji as he danced about, trying to avoid the tell-tale fins that circled him.
'There's no escape now.' Kisame thought to himself. With one last kick he pushed himself forward, out of the water and over the top of Heiji, who was now very close to panic. The other ninja's from the yacht were floating dead in the water and the pirate crew had vanished. Once the sharks were called, they knew better than to stick around.
Heiji fell to his knees as Kisame connected with his shoulder, ripping a gash in it with his teeth. One of the sharks bumped up against him with its fin and the man jumped away quickly, only to land on top of another shark. He was dancing back and forth, trying to avoid injury as bright red blood dripped from his numerous wounds.
At this point, Kisame was just playing and he knew it. But he also knew that if he didn't give his summoned friends a meal they would probably eat him instead. Jumping back up onto the top of the water he transformed back into a man and smirked, "Goodbye Heiji. When you meet Madara on the other side, remind him that sharks have more than one set of teeth." He reached up and caressed Samehada's handle as Heiji screeched out his final breath. Drawn into the dark depths of the sea by the sharks, Kisame watched through the swirling waves as his prey was dismembered and eaten.
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"If… if you leave now and go back to Mist I'll go with you and never try to leave." Sasuke felt like a weak child as he stood next to his birth father on a cliff overlooking the pirate fleet. The sun was getting ready to set and the beautiful yellows and reds that decorated the wispy clouds on the horizon were nearly picture perfect.
Madara ran a hand through the boys shoulder length hair and sighed, "I have found a way to give myself the ultimate power and bring peace to this world. Yet everyone fights it. Is peace really that unpleasant?"
"No… I… I thought it was a good idea… but…" Sasuke's voice faded, "But I'm going to die, aren't I? You need me to die."
"I'm sorry, son. You… I wish you could understand how much that pains me. Perhaps Aya's baby was a way to console myself over loosing you."
"But no one's been hurt yet! You could go back!"
"Go back to what? We've been working toward this goal for twenty years. How can we just back away from it?"
"By letting the Jinchuuriki go and leaving!" Sasuke cried desperately.
Madara laughed bitterly, "Is everything that simple when viewed through the eyes of a child? If so, then maybe I am overreacting. Unfortunately, Sasuke, through my eyes… the eyes of an adult, that would cause more problems than you could obviously understand. They will come after me. Water country would be embroiled in war. Even if I gave myself up and committed ritual suicide, they would blame Water country and hold it accountable. Mist village would cease to exist, as would the Uchiha clan.
"Think about it, young Sasuke, how will the Uchiha in Mist and Konoha live when the world discovers their relationship to me? They will be hunted down… killed. And any ninja connected to Mist will also die."
Sasuke wiped a stray tear from his cheek and tried very hard to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. That things had gone this far was too much to contemplate. Closing his eyes he pressed on his temples in a monumentous effort to keep from crying.
"It's too late, Sasuke. I have to see this through." He turned away from the sunset and bent down to look his son in the eye as he caressed the boy's cheek with the back of his hand. "In this way, your family can continue to live. My baby… your little sister… will never know war. Itachi's children will grow and get stronger and they will see your sacrifice and my peace as something to be grateful for."
Placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder he guided him back toward the hideout. After the battle with Itachi tomorrow, the number of days they would have together would be numbered. While the guilt was almost overwhelming, so was the satisfaction that he would soon obtain the ultimate jutsu and become even more powerful than any ninja who had come before.
But there was still one problem and he stopped on the narrow trail that lead down to the beach to look closely at the forest beyond. There, next to one of the many cook fires burning over the landscape was Itachi Uchiha. And by noon tomorrow, he would be dead. Because… if he lived…
Sasuke watched Madara with a great deal of trepidation, fear and hate, but when he saw the look of sorrow that passed over his birth-father's face he also felt a pang of pity. And for the first time he wondered what exactly had happened to him that would send him on such a path. And he also realized that he had seen the same expression on Zabuza's face in the Land of Waves and even his own father's face after he had killed that boy in the Uchiha right of passage ceremony.
He remembered Madara's words, spoken only moments before, "Is everything that simple when viewed through the eyes of a child?"
'Maybe growing up isn't such a great thing after all.' Sasuke thought to himself. 'But still… I want to grow up. I… don't want to die.'
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That night two brothers slept a mere mile from each other and both had similar dreams. Dreams of war, destruction and the death of friends and family. Both present and past. And in there dreams, there was no future.
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Next week, Itachi and Madara face each other. It will also be the last week to vote on Madara's fate, so hurry up and get to my profile page! There are still a few more chapters to go and Konoha and the rookies will get a chance to fight as well in a future chapter.
Please review!
Updates on Fridays!