Felicity Dream: The fact that you're taking time out of your day to respond is more than enough. Thanks for reviewing.
Erydanes: I didn't want to give anything away with the chapter title, heh. Kamui? Not sure where that came from. If you're talking about the mystery Akatsuki member they were an astral projection like the others. I also added your vote for Karin.
serialkeller: It's not Kabuto. He's dead and gone. I know someone mentioned Edo Tensei in a review awhile back but I decided against it. Kabuto is the annoying prick in canon, so we'll leave him there. Edo Tensei in general is just all kinds of bullshit, imo.
Chapter 21
(Konoha)
The village was gathering. Men, women, children, everyone that was within the city was gathering in one spot. Rumors had flown around as to the purpose of this meeting.
Two days ago Uchiha Sasuke had returned with Shimura Danzō restrained and thrown over a shoulder. There had been rumors of what the man had done. Murder. Treason. There had been whispers of a trial being held. There was a dull rumble in the crowd as they speculated while waiting.
Eventually Tsunade appeared and waited for the crowd to quiet down. "One hour ago one of Konoha's greatest traitors was found guilty after a trial. Shimura Danzō was executed for crimes against Konoha and her people not ten minutes ago. It is time you all know the truth of what happened."
Tsunade paused and looked out across the people assembled. "Shimura Danzō desired to be Hokage. His desire was so great that he orchestrated some of the greatest tragedies and crimes our village has seen in recent years."
The ground murmured a bit at this. "While it has been kept a secret for many years Konoha has, in fact, had three jinchūriki. The first, was Uzumaki Mito, wife of Hashirama Senju. The second, was Uzumaki Kushina, wife of Namikazi Minato. The third, you all know as Menma."
This threw the crowd for a loop. They've had two previous containers and never had problems? "Shimura Danzō was the one who is responsible for the Kyūbi attack on Konoha. Not only that, but he was the one that spread rumors of the beast being controlled by the Sharingan. I'm sure you're all curious as to why. Danzō was planning a coup and he needed an army. What better way than to trick the village into alienating and despising one of their largest clans? He waited years for the bitterness and resentment to build in the Uchiha clan and approached them with plans to overthrow the Hokage." Tsunade paused. "The Uchiha refused."
"This led him to carry out the Uchiha Massacre." Tsunade waited as the crowd roared in anger. After they had settled down she continued. "Uchiha Itachi did indeed kill his clan. However, he believed he was acting under the Hokage's orders to prevent a coup. Danzō had used his own plans and altered them before presenting them to the Hokage. When he tried to pursue a diplomatic means to resolve the issue, Danzō forged orders for Itachi to kill his clan. The Uchiha were destroyed for denying him, and their greatest prodigy took the fall. Itachi sacrificed everything for what he thought was Konoha's will. He sacrificed his family and his own life for Danzō's ambitions."
"Skip forward several years and we reach the point where rumors were spreading about Menma being adopted into the Uchiha clan and having control over Kyūbi. You all remember how there were rumors of them attempting to get revenge for their clan. Those were also Danzō's doing. Do you all remember what you demanded?" Most of the assembled people looked shocked and horrified. "That's right. You demanded that we give both Sasuke and Menma to Danzō. He would have gotten the Sharingan and Kyūbi."
Tsunade let that sink in for a bit. "Jiraiya and I had found a way to keep the greater of two dangers out of Danzō's hands, but that left Sasuke to suffer. What many of you don't know is that Sasuke's fear drove him to seek Orochimaru. Orochimaru didn't get his hands on him because the boy he was trying to adopt into his clan, his brother, took his place. Menma followed after Sasuke and knocked him out to take his place in Orochimaru's camp. Menma... no... Uchiha Menma sacrificed his new family and his life in Konoha to protect his brother."
She could heard the crowd talking. People saying how sad it was that he saved his brother only to lose his life to Orochimaru. "You're all thinking about what you've heard happened in Sound. I will tell you now that it's a lie. Orochimaru did not win. Menma killed him and has been running Sound ever since." Some of them tried to deny it but were silenced by her next question. "If Orochimaru won, why did he not attack Konoha upon gaining the Sharingan and Kyūbi?"
She waited as they thought over it. "There is a group of people hunting down jinchūriki, by the name of Akatsuki. Menma knew of this group because Orochimaru had been a member previously. Menma had the chance to return to Konoha after killing Orochimaru, but he knew that would put all of you in danger. Once again he sacrificed himself for others."
Tsunade paused. "How much more do the Uchiha have to sacrifice? How much more until we give back?! I say they've already done enough. As of this moment, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Menma are no longer missing-nin. They are to be welcomed into Konoha as the heroes they are! It's time to bring our two missing Uchiha home!" The crowd roared in approval and began to disperse.
Shizune, who had been standing near Tsunade the entire time, leaned in as Tsunade grinned. "That wasn't entirely true, was it?"
"No, but it doesn't matter. The only parts that were really changed only put more blame on Danzō." Tsunade turned to return to her office. "Time to send the brat another letter."
The rookies from the academy had hunted down Sasuke and dragged him to a training ground to get some answers.
"How much of that was true?!" Ino demanded.
"Enough to get the Hokage the result she wanted," Shikamaru answered. When Ino glared at him he muttered something about troublesome women and flopped on his back.
"Most of it was. As far as I know," Sasuke said.
"What about that Danzō guy? Did you really drag him back to the village tied up?" Ino asked.
"Yeah. Why do you think I went to Sound?"
"So, it's really true? Menma really is alive?" Sakura cut in.
Sasuke nodded and smiled. "He said he has some things to take care of first, but he'll be coming back."
"I'm gonna kick his ass once he gets back! That'll teach him for making us worry!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru just gave him the dog equivalent look of "You're crazy."
"Kiba, he defeated Orochimaru by himself," Hinata said.
"She's right, you wouldn't stand a chance," Sasuke said with a smirk.
"Raaaagh! Damn it, let's go train Akamaru!"
The two quickly ran off. Hinata gave the group an awkward smile and a wave before following after Kiba to make sure he didn't strain himself.
The others slowly left after that until only Sakura and Sasuke were left.
"I've got a shift at the hospital soon, so I'll see you later, Sasuke." Sakura walked off with a wave.
Sasuke moved to a private training ground in the Uchiha section of town. He had to be ready. After all, what better way was there to welcome his brothers home than to beat the hell out of them?
(Hidden Sound Base)
Menma wasn't sure if it was one last surprise left by Danzō or if word from Konoha had gotten around faster than he had expected. Sound ninja were crawling out of the woodwork after his fight with Danzō, all of them determined to kill him and take Sound for themselves.
He was just glad none of them were very smart. They all rushed straight back to attack the moment they heard, which meant they all rushed back in waves rather than one cohesive army.
He still had his bodyguards, and a portion of the Sound ninja remained loyal, so it wasn't all bad.
"We have a couple of hours before the next group arrives," Karin panted out.
Menma nodded. "Alright, get some rest, I'll get back to destroying files." The reason they hadn't just abandoned Sound was because of Orochimaru's research. Menma had decided it was far too dangerous to leave in the hands of some of the worst people alive, so they were destroying everything before they left.
He had dispatched the rest of the Sound Four to other hideouts of Orochimaru's to destroy the research there and release and leftover prisoners and test subjects.
He paused in his work to examine his clothes. He was still wearing Orochimaru's outfit but the thing was riddled with holes and slashes. It was hard fighting off an army by himself. He suffered countless small injuries each time a new wave arrived.
"Maybe I should wear some armor so I take fewer injuries and lose less blood..." He briefly played with the idea of searching the base for some but decided the odds of finding any were fairly low. Instead he went back to his chambers and ditched the Orochimaru outfit for plain black shinobi clothing.
As he looked at himself in a mirror he again wondered how he had managed to convince them he was Orochimaru for so long. Orochimaru loved his hair, long and straight. His was long too, waist-length at that, but it was shaggy. His shoulder length bangs framed his face while covering his left eye, leaving only his onyx eye exposed. He shook his head and went back to work.
How many days had it been now? Three? Four? They had managed to burn roughly a quarter of the stuff they needed to. The other hideouts were smaller and would have less to burn so the others should finish first. He just hoped they were left alone to do their work.
(Near the border of Lightning Country)
Itachi wasn't anywhere near as close to Kumo as he wanted to be by the time he received word that the Nibi jinchūriki was ready for the ritual. With a frown, he found a secure place and sat, forming a hand sign.
Itachi looked around at the other members and noticed two missing. "Where is Leader-sama?"
"Sealing the Sanbi. He will be finished soon."
Itachi blinked. 'The Sanbi? Already? But that means...' He turned to Zetsu. "We have only the eight and nine tails remaining?"
"After we seal the Nibi, yes," their Leader said as he appeared. He turned to Kakuzu. "The sooner you capture the Hachibi the sooner you can spend all your time bounty hunting."
Kakuzu nodded as Pein turned back to the prone Nibi jinchūriki. "Let us begin." His separate paths filled in for any missing members.
Itachi followed along stoically although his mind was racing. 'I was too slow to help her, and I'm still several days away from Kumo...' He snuck a glance at the immortals that had captured the girl. 'They did better than expected. I can't let them get the Hachibi as well, but how do I beat them to Kumo?"
It was roughly a day later when he allowed his projection to flicker. With a simple "Hunter-nin." he allowed it to drop altogether and raced towards Kumo.
Pein waited a few moments after Itachi faded away before another path took Itachi's place. "Kakuzu, Hidan, go collect the Hachibi. I would rather have him in our possession and delay this sealing than lose him."
The two left and shortly after the last path appeared, bringing them to nine bodies sealing the Nibi.
(Road outside of Kumo)
Itachi was still several hours away from Kumo when he had stopped for a moment to catch his breath. He had been rushing for Kumo for days straight trying to get there in time to warn them.
He knew it was a huge risk. Kumo would love to get their hands on his Sharingan and Konoha wouldn't do much to get him free from Kumo if they hadn't cleared his missing-nin status like Menma said they would. Still, he had to try. He had even abandoned his Akatsuki cloak to give him a better chance at gaining entry.
If Kakuzu and Hidan had been present for the whole sealing it gave him a two day head start.
When he arrived at Kumo's gates hours later the city was in an uproar. Ninja were running around everywhere.
Itachi approached one of the gate guards and tried to calm his breathing before speaking. "What's... happening?"
"Yeah, right, like we'd tell an outsider-" The other guard let out a cry of surprise interrupting him.
"You! You're the Konoha spy who infiltrated Akatsuki! Tell us where Bee-sama is!"
The guard he had originally talked too gave him a closer look before gasping. He then grabbed his arm and shoved him in front of him. "We're taking you to the Raikage."
"They... got the Hachibi? How? I was supposed to be ahead of them." Itachi's breathing was slowly coming under control.
The guard simply shook his head and continued to escort him to the Raikage. Eventually Itachi found himself in an office before the man. "Where is he?!" He shouted, smashing the desk.
"If you get me a map I can point out the locations of nearby hideouts where they may have taken him," Itachi responded stoically. It only took a minute for an assistant to bring in a map. Itachi then proceeded to mark the nearest locations on the map.
A scrawny looking ninja burst into the office with a report before ducking back out quickly.
"That one," the Raikage jammed a finger at the map. "The report says they found a trail heading in that direction."
Itachi explained what they should expect and where exactly to find the hideout. After the Raikage had finished giving orders out he turned to Itachi. "You're lucky you're being cooperative and that Konoha wants you back."
Itachi blinked. "They want me back?"
"Yeah, apparently the whole village thinks you and that other Uchiha brat are heroes."
"Sasuke?" He asked.
"No, the ramen brat."
"Menma..." Itachi breathed out. 'So he was telling the truth.'
The same scrawny ninja from before burst in again. "Raikage-sama! Jiraiya is here to deliver a warning about Akatsuki!"
The Raikage threw what remained of his desk through the wall narrowly avoiding Jiraiya who had been standing on the other side. "You're too damn late! We're going to go crush them right now!" He turned to the scrawny ninja. "Gather the forces, we're going to go crush Akatsuki and rescue Bee!"
"Itachi?" Jiraiya asked, surprised.
Itachi turned and bowed his head slightly to the man. "Jiraiya. I arrived too late to warn them, I'm sorry."
He waved it off. "It happens. Man, Tsunade is going to be happy we know where you are. You're a hero now, you know?"
Itachi glanced at the Raikage who looked ready to smash something else while waiting for his ninja to assemble. "So I've heard. Perhaps we should continue our conversation somewhere else?"
As the two exited the building Jiraiya turned to Itachi. "Listen, I need to return to Konoha. If they've already captured the Hachibi it means they're getting closer to Nar- Menma."
"He's the last," Itachi said. "If they have the Hachibi they have all but the Kyūbi."
Jiraiya frowned. "I need to warn the brat too then..."
"You warn Konoha. I'll warn Menma. I know where Orochimaru's base is," Itachi replied.
Jiraiya nodded. "Alright. Just make sure you two return home to Konoha safely." With a wave, the two split up and headed for their destinations.
End Chapter 21
A/N:
Not a very interesting chapter. I watched the fight between Sasuke and Danzō before typing up the last chapter and I've been thinking over it. Why the hell are Danzō's arm Sharingan solid red? Normally it's just the iris that's red. Also, doesn't Izanagi strike you as more of a Mangekyō technique? Why the fuck can normal Sharingan use it? That's stupidly OP.
Votes are as follows:
Karin - 4
Tayuya - 2
Ino - 1
Anko - 1
Isaribi - 1
Once again, anonymous voters won't be counted because I have no way of knowing how many actual votes there are. If you guys want it to count, go register. It's quick and painless. Voting will end after the next chapter since it seems like Karin is going to win anyways.