Disclaimers: Naruto is someone else's, this is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.
Warnings: This story includes strong language, graphic adult themes, violence, angst, a good friend, and eventually yaoi love.
Hard to Read:
Chapter 37
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"What are you talking about?" Naruto breathed, staring up at the masked Akatsuki leader.
"If I discard of Itachi, for good this time, then I will need the other Uchiha to be his replacement." Obito explained. "Convince Sasuke to join the Akatsuki, and you will be free of Itachi."
Naruto's face grew pale. "I- I can't.."
Obito tilted his head. "Is that so.." He turned away and stepped towards the door. "Well, then I suppose I'll have to see if Itachi can help you change your mind.."
Cerulean eyes widened with sheer panic. "NO! Wa-wait!!" Naruto shrieked. "Please- there has to be something else!"
"There is nothing. I will take the nine tails from you, jinchuriki- that you can count on. It is up to you how you plan on spending the remainder of your time." Obito turned to look at the blonde once more.
"So what will it be, Naruto. Which Uchiha am I sending back in here?"
Naruto stared at him, his mouth open, but his voice remained trapped in the back of his throat. Though, it wasn't like had the words even if he could speak.
What am I supposed to do..?
Sai knelt down in front of his scroll as his mice returned to communicate their findings. There was someone in the hideout, and multiple bodies. No clear identification was given on either. There also seemed to be some sort of underground bunker inside of the building, but they were not able to gain access to it.
Not a lot of information to go on, but it was something.
First he would have to incapacitate the man surrounded by corpses. Then he would need to briefly interrogate him for information about what lay beneath the surface of the hideaway before venturing down into the unknown himself.
He would also need to send another message to the Hokage once he got any useful information. Reinforcements were probably not too far behind him. He would need to make sure they were following the right trail, and that they weren't coming in blind.
Sai nodded to himself, then quickly collected his supplies and moved stealthily through the shadows up to the small cabin. He kept his body flat against the exterior as he moved around to the door. He carefully picked the lock, and quietly slipped into the building, closing the door behind him. So far, his presence seemed to go undetected- though he couldn't be sure yet.
For all he knew he was falling into a well-laid trap.
He moved through the dusty cabin slowly, room by room, until finally he found one at the far end that seemed promising. As he drew closer, he could definitely hear noises coming from within. He lowered himself and brought his eye right up against the doorjamb, opening it the least amount possible before peering in.
This was the room his mice had found. There was a man with his back to him, leaning over what was clearly a human corpse. A limp grey hand hung off of the metal slab, gently swaying as the man worked diligently on the rest of the body.
"Ahh.. we have company."
His cover blown, Sai straightened and stepped into the room, just as the man turned to face him.
Sai's dark, hollow eyes took in the man before him- from the silver hair tied back in a messy ponytail, most likely to keep it from obstructing his view as he worked on his grotesque experiments, to the golden reptilian eyes flashing from behind his rounded spectacles. He noted the man's unusually pale skin, and the predatory smile that stretched across it.
He had seen this snake before.
"Kabuto."
The smile widened. "Hello, Sai. It's been a while."
Sai glanced down at the scalpel in Kabuto's hand, then quickly scanned his surroundings. There were bodies everywhere. All dead, and all clearly here for Kabuto's benefit.
There's so many.. What kind of experiments could he be doing with all of them?
Sai turned his attention back to the horrid man before him. Kabuto's grin was still locked in place, his terrible eyes gleaming with excitement.
"What.. is all of this?"
Sasuke inched the door open, just enough to peek into the corridor. The lights out here were harsh, especially in comparison to the minimal lighting in the room.
It'll be harder to sneak around like this.
He needed to get rid of some of these damn lights if he was going to move through the halls and look for Naruto without alerting others of his escape. Sasuke gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the unbearable brightness, and then pulled his body up the doorframe. His feet felt like pins and needles, but he found, much to his relief, that he could walk on them again. Before leaving, Sasuke scanned the room over his shoulder for a weapon of any kind, but it was completely bare.
He sighed. Fantastic.
So, completely unarmed, wearing only what he had gone to bed in- a dark t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants- Sasuke closed the door behind him, took a direction at random, and raced through the corridor.
He came across a few doors along the way and opened them as quietly as he could, but each one was just as barren as the last. Dark cells, empty save for the grime streaked across the cold stone floor and the everlasting scent of fear and decay that permeated the room- the only thing left of its last unlucky occupants.
Empty cell after fucking empty cell..
He growled with each failure, and continued his search.
Sasuke noticed that the lights lining the hall were surrounded in glass, so breaking through them would make too much noise. A thick cord traveled from light to light, sending electricity to each one. He had already tried to fuck with one of them, but it wasn't something he could destroy without a sharp weapon. And his chakra-block was still on, so his options were already quite limited.
Despair loomed over him, but desperation kept him going. I have to find him. I have to get Naruto out of here.
Before it's too late.
He ran through the halls, pausing at every corner to ensure that no one barred his way. So far, he was alone.
It didn't last long.
Think Naruto. Come on, think! What the hell am I supposed to do?!
.. What would Sasuke do?
He looked back up at Obito, who still stood several paces away from the bed, patiently waiting for his answer.
Stall..
Sasuke would stall him. For as long as he could.
"I-" Naruto hardened his eyes, forcing whatever semblance of strength he had left to gather behind them. "I need to know how Itachi came back before I agree to this."
"Hmmmm.." Obito turned around to face him. He studied the blonde for a moment, then walked over to the bed.
Naruto held his breath, pushing down the fear that crawled across his skin at the sight of someone, anyone, moving towards him while he was tied down like this.
Don't fucking touch me, his mind screamed with every step.
Don't fucking touch me,
DO NOT fucking touch me!!
Obito sat down on the edge of the bed, but he kept his body to himself. Naruto could see his one sharingan eye studying him, but not in the same way that Itachi's did. Obito wasn't lying- he wanted Kyuubi's chakra, and he wanted Sasuke to join the Akatsuki.
Whatever other perversions existed here, it wasn't with him.
"And why should I explain Itachi's reappearance at all?" Obito asked, his head tilted as he regarded the bound blonde next to him.
"How- how do I know he even has a sustainable body! " Naruto shouted, completely winging it and hoping that whatever flew out of his mouth would work in his favor. "For all I know he'll be dead again in a few minutes! I- I deserve to know what I'm going up against here!"
"A fair point, jinchuriki" Obito said, sounding amused. "I suppose it couldn't hurt, especially with your time as a vessel ticking away."
Naruto kept his eyes narrowed on the man, refusing to let his fear and weakness shine through for him. Even tied down to a bed, wrapped in chakra-blocking rope, he could still show these assholes the real Naruto Uzumaki.
He isn't some broken toy, some complacent victim. He is a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, jinchuriki to the Nine Tails Fox Demon, a fucking Sage- a person who has fought to gain the respect of so many, the friendship of his precious comrades, and the love of the infamous Sasuke Uchiha.
He wasn't going to go down without a fight- of wits, of cunning, of strength, of love- he had plenty of ways of defeating the Akatsuki.
"Really, I am not the mastermind behind Itachi's return." Obito started. "I did come up with the plan to bring the family back together again", he said- his voice filled with cruelty and humor, "but Kabuto was the one who made that dream a reality."
"Kabuto..? What does he have to do with-"
"Yes, who would have thought that silver snake would make himself useful to the Akatsuki again.." Obito continued, his eye shining. "He had played Orochimaru's little puppet for so long, I almost forgot how truly capable he was."
Naruto stared at him, completely bewildered. Kabuto never came to mind. He seemed so insignificant now that Orochimaru was dead. Apparently, he shouldn't have underestimated him.
"What did Kabuto do..?"
"Have you ever heard of-
"- the summoning jutsu known as Impure World Reincarnation?"
Sai stared at Kabuto, truly seeing the insanity in his eyes. He finally understood how someone could refer to a human-being as inhuman. This was one of them.
"That's a forbidden jutsu," Sai responded, "and it's forbidden for a reason."
"The original jutsu was flawed," Kabuto's eyes shone with excitement, "I remedied that."
Sai looked around at the collection of corpses again, seeing them for what they were to Kabuto- vessels, lifeless toys for his amusement. "What have you done?" he asked quietly, something close to horror rising in his throat.
"What others could not." Kabuto pushed up his glasses, the lamplight flashing off of them, giving him a villainous look. A fitting look.
"I have found a way to bring back the dead. By linking their souls to corpses, my jutsu- a perfected reincarnation jutsu- can restore anyone to their original self."
Sai's eyes widened. "The Akatsuki at the Uchiha manor.."
"Yes," Kabuto said, his demeanor one of pride, "They were my creations. A pity that Naruto blew them to shreds. As it turns out, the dead can die again." His eyes gleamed with determination. "Another problem I will resolve."
"Kabuto.. this isn't right. You have to stop this."
"Would you be saying that if I brought back someone you care about?" Kabuto asked. "A family member? A comrade? What about.. Naruto?"
Sai's eyes darkened. "What have you done to him?"
Kabuto grinned. "Nothing yet. But when the Akatsuki are through with him, he will be one of my many corpses." His devilish eyes locked onto Sai, madness flickering through them. "But I can bring him back to you. He doesn't have to stay dead."
Sai clenched his jaw. "Who else have you brought back, Kabuto?"
The man's amusement was palpable- you could almost see it crawling across his flesh. It sickened Sai.
"Someone that Naruto won't be too keen on meeting again. In fact, he's probably with him right now."
The brunette's eyes widened.
Itachi.
He didn't know what the Uchiha did to Naruto, but he knew it was something horrible. Something that broke his spirit, that extinguished the light in his eyes. He couldn't let that happen to him again.
"Where are they?" he grated out.
"I'm afraid it's too late to play hero. But if you play nice, I'll make sure they send Naruto up to my lab right away.." he smirked, "when Itachi's done with him."
Rage coursed through Sai's veins and he could feel his composure slip. "You bastard!!" He lunged for the snake, throwing kunai fast, and immediately pulling out more to swipe at him with.
Everything that was stable and emotionless about Sai suddenly crumbled at the thought of Naruto, his only friend, being hurt, being destroyed.. disappearing.
He would not allow that to happen.
Kabuto pulled out a kunai of his own, and the two weapons clashed together, as the two struggled for dominance.
"I will kill you if you get in my way, Kabuto." Sai spat out.
Kabuto studied Sai, weighing out the risks, and decided that he was better off having the Akatsuki deal with this one for him. He would stick with his experiments, and once Sai was dead, he would simply add him to his collection of new toys.
"So be it" he replied. "You want to die at the hands of the Akatsuki", he pulled his weapon away and took a step back, "be my guest".
Kabuto pointed at the trapdoor that led underground, straight to the Akatsuki's hideaway, and to the prisoners that were not likely to escape, no matter how hard Sai tried to save them.
Sai stared at Kabuto, wary of this sudden change, but he could detect no deceit from the other man- he was truly prepared to let Sai pass and enter the hideout.
Most likely because he assumes I won't survive it.
I suppose I will just have to prove him wrong.
Sai stepped over to the door and pulled it open, peering down into the dusty gloom below. He knew it wasn't the best idea to go down there alone, but he also knew he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. He didn't have a choice- he had to act now.
Sai lifted his head to look at Kabuto, once more finding his gleaming eyes and his venomous smile. His jaw tightened as he glared back at the snake. "I will stop you, Kabuto."
"I'm sure you'll try" he replied.
Swallowing back his disgust, the brunette turned away from the horror show behind him, and stepped down into the darkness, ready to face anything that stood in his way.
Kabuto watched him descend before closing the door behind him. His grin widened.
"See you soon, Sai."
