Still don't own Naruto
Chapter 53: Who Are You
(Unknown Location)
Sasuke lay on a large square pillar in a room that looked completely black. "Where am I... Did I die" Sasuke said to himself as he began to stand.
"Hello" came the childish voice of Tobi to the left of the Uchiha.
Turning around Sasuke saw Tobi sitting on another large square pillar waving at Sasuke in a friendly manner.
"Oh please tell me I don't have to spend eternity talking to you" Sasuke moaned still thinking he was dead.
"That's not very nice, Tobi saved you because your were impressive to Tobi. And then you go and be mean" Tobi said.
"What I'm alive? Then where is this place, it's like nothing I have ever seen before" Sasuke said obviously confused.
"Oh this is my pocket world I control Tobi likes to spend time here. So now that your saved where do you want to go?" asked Tobi.
"Where's Itachi" Sasuke ordered. Once the brooding Uchiha discovered he was still alive.
Sasuke then collapsed in pain. It appeared he didn't get out of the explosion entirely cleanly but he was at least in one piece.
"Tobi doesn't know where Itachi sempai is. Last time I checked he was in the land of waterfalls but Tobi doesn't think Itachi and Kisame sempai will have stayed there. Maybe they decided to head for Konoha where Itachi sempai's main target is. But Tobi doesn't know, Itachi sempai fears the blond nine tales host he doesn't say it or show it but Tobi can tell" Tobi said.
'That damn dobe always beating me, he will see I will be seen as the greatest hero that Konoha has ever seen and he will be nothing compared to me' Sasuke fumed quite obviously.
'So much hate. He will be so easy to turn against Konoha when the time comes it is funny' Tobi thought seriously from where he was sitting.
"I need to get to my team. Drop me off close to them and I can make my way from there" Sasuke said once his anger had subsided.
"Ok Tobi will help this time, but be warned Itachi and Kisame sempai are a lot stronger than Deidara sempai. Although Tobi still thinks not many people would be able to escape his C5 blast" Tobi said and slowly the world around Sasuke disappeared in a vortex leaving Sasuke on the edge of a river bank.
"Your friends are just up the river around five hundred meters. So it's time for Tobi to say goodbye" the masked man said before he disappeared in a swirl.
(With Naruto)
Naruto Yugito and Kakashi arrived at the spot where Deidara used the C5 to end his life and began looking for signs of life.
"Nothing could survive a blast this big we need to get Kiba here and see he can smell anything" Kakashi said as they walked towards the center of the newly formed crater.
"It's getting late anyway we should make camp here for the night and continue our search tomorrow" Naruto said.
"I agree, it's getting dark and we don't want to miss anything. And we will need to give the others some time to return and tell us what they have found" Yugito said getting a nod of agreement from Kakashi.
"Alright ill send word to the others through my ninja hounds while you two begin setting up camp" Kakashi said.
Naruto and Yugito set up a camp and gathered wood. Meanwhile team Hebi had to carry Sasuke to a hotel in a nearby town in order to recover from his battle with Deidara he had severe burns over a large section of his body but they did not want to go to a hospital as taking a missing ninja to a hospital in fire country would be as good as walking into Konoha with a giant banner that said 'Hi I'm a missing ninja wanted for desertion please kill or capture me'.
Later that night Naruto was sitting alone during his turn on watch when a large black crow landed in front of him. 'Itachi!' Naruto thought to himself and stood up and walked over to the crow which hopped away towards the tree line. "You want me to follow you right" Naruto asked the bird which nodded in reply. "I have to stay and keep watch is a clone alright" he asked and once again the crow gave a nod.
Naruto's clone followed the bird into the forest surrounding there camp and when the bird stopped its flight and landed on a branch Itachi Uchiha walked out of the bush before Naruto.
"Hello Naruto-kun I am glad you could make it, I have something I would like your help with" Itachi said blankly.
"Heh sure what is it" Naruto's clone said taking a seat on a log that was lying on the ground. 'Funny there are always so many Log's lying around but this is the fist one that I have seen that hasn't been used for a Kawarimi' he thought as he took his seat.
"I need to tell you where I will be fighting Sasuke but you cant show up until after I am dead" Itachi said expressionlessly.
"So it's time is it. You know our team is out here hunting for you or Sasuke right now" Naruto informed the stoic Uchiha.
"I figured as much. I ask you to stall for a few more hour's tomorrow then find this" Itachi said handing Naruto a piece of his robe with part of a red cloud just visible in the side.
"It's a good thing that I am a clone I can go hide this further north and then find it tomorrow in the late morning" Naruto said.
"Good thinking you wouldn't want your Inuzuka companion to get my scent off of you. I have located Sasuke in a village to the north your team will most likely get his scent early tomorrow. But his team is skilled and they have a sensor who is even better than you, so they will know you are coming long before you get there. That is a good thing however as it will give you some time to find my robe" Itachi said.
"So your going to confront Sasuke with a clone and tell him where to meet you" Naruto deduced.
"That is correct, once I get in contact with him they should arrive at the old Uchiha stronghold. Here I will show you where it is on this map" Itachi said removing a ancient looking scroll from his bag and unrolling it.
"What is this I have never seen a map with so many locations marked on it" Naruto said in awe of the highly detailed map.
"It is an old map of the hideout's and bases the Uchiha and rival clans had before the formation of the great ninja village's. See these are the Uchiha controlled area's and these were known Senju and over here on this island was the Uzumaki clan. Even Madara was weary about challenging either of them so he made sure to mark where they were and only attack if they had an advantage. Anyway the place I will be leading Sasuke too is here just off of the coast of fire country an old Uchiha stronghold used to watch for the Uzumaki clan in case they decided to attack. It once was under the control of the Senju's as a trading village with the Uzumaki's but once the Uchiha took over they turned it into a fortress in an attempt to isolate the Uzumaki clan and prevent aid from coming to the Senju" Itachi explained.
"That's amazing, I had no idea that the Uzumaki clan was involved that heavily in the clan wars" Naruto said.
"In truth they weren't. The Uzumaki clan never moved far from there island and desired peace not war, the Senju agreed with them and started making treaties with several smaller clans. But the Uchiha saw this as a threat and began using there military might to defeat smaller clans adding there strength to the Uchiha's" Itachi said.
"I see. Anyway the place you will be fighting Sasuke is here just off the coast between the Land of Fire and Uzu" Naruto said pointing to a spot on the map with an Uchiha fan marked.
"Yes it is. Now the reason I am telling you this is because there is someone who will try and take both Sasuke and my body once the fight is over. I don't know if you will be able to stop him from this as he is highly skilled but I need you to at least try" Itachi said sadly.
"Who is it... I'm sure I can at least stop him from taking your body if I get there in time" Naruto said.
"No if he take's Sasuke then he wont need my eye's and would be better if he just got them both" Itachi said.
"Alright but you still haven't told me who it is that want's them" Naruto said slightly confused.
"He has had quite a few name's. I believe you know him as Tobi. But I wonder how long that will last" Itachi said contemplatively.
"You mean that childish idiot that was partnered with Deidara when they captured the Rokubi" Naruto said incredulously.
"He is not all he seems while he has no real physical strength he is not to be taken lightly. I have to go now before Kisame begins to suspect something is wrong and comes looking for me farewell Naruto-kun this will most likely be the last time we meet" Itachi said and turned around to walk away, leaving Naruto's clone staring at where he just left from before creating another clone to dispel and tell Naruto about what happened while he went off to hide Itachi's ripped robe.
(Unknown Location)
Pein was sitting in the rain when the blue haired kunoichi walked over. "It would appear that Deidara is dead Pein-sama" she said with no sign of emotion as the rain fell.
"I see and what of the boy" Pein said.
"He's alive I saved him" came a new voice as Tobi appeared.
"Why did you do that, isn't he trying to kill Itachi" the kunoichi asked.
"Oh there is no reason to worry, soon Itachi will be dead and we can have Sasuke join us. He is so full of hatred and anger turning him against Konoha and putting him to work for us will be easy" Tobi said with a laugh that sounded nothing like his usual childish one.
"So with Itachi out of way how do you plan on capturing the Kyuubi and Nibi" the kunoichi asked.
"Pein I want you to prepare to attack Konoha. Let's wait and see how this turns out should Itachi survive we will have to rethink our strategy. He will not allow us to harm Konoha while he is alive" Tobi said.
"Sound's like an acceptable plan but we should also wait to see if your new toy can be controlled the last thing we need is another strong enemy" Pein said.
"It will not be a problem I understand how Sasuke thinks, he is an avenger he will be easy to manipulate the darker emotions of him" Tobi said.
"Well you better hope that the Konoha ninja don't get to him first, they have sent a team out to hunt for Sasuke or Itachi comprising of both the jinchuuriki Kakashi Hatake a medic and a team of tracker's" The blue haired kunoichi said.
"Then I guess I will have to stall them before they can reach the battle field. I cant have them interfering with the fight or stopping me from taking Sasuke afterwords. Tobi said and with that he disappeared with the world spiraling around him.
(The Next Day With Naruto)
Naruto woke up to find the rest of the group already packing under the supervision of a overly eager Sakura who was busy assuring them that they would finally be able to rescue Sasuke today.
"Are you two up yet" Sakura said when she heard movement from within Naruto and Yugito's tent.
"No" Yugito called out.
"Oh, ok then...Hey wait a minute! You are awake. Come on we have to get to work finding Sasuke-kun once we find him we can go back to Konoha" Sakura said.
After much complaining Yugito and Naruto made there way out of there tent and began packing up. "So Kiba any sign of who or what caused this explosion" Naruto said while sealing there tent into a scroll.
"Nah cant smell anything the explosion must have covered up any tracks" the Inuzuka said as he and Akamaru finished sniffing around.
"Oh well, I say we head north to the next town and see if we can find anything there" Naruto said.
"That's a good idea. And if we cant find anything we will split up from there" Kakashi said.
After they had finished packing up there camp they began heading off towards the nearest town. Half way there however Kiba stopped. "I have Sasuke's scent" it just seems to appear over there by the river" Kiba said.
"Can you find him from here" Kakashi asked.
"He went to the closest town and I cant tell from there I would have to follow it I cant tell if he is still there or he has moved on" Kiba said.
"Then what are we waiting for we will have Sasuke-kun back by the end of the day" Sakura said happily while everyone else just seemed to nod and agree not wanting to point out how much of a fan girl she was towards someone who was always about emotionally open as wood.
(With Sasuke)
Sasuke's group had left the small town the next morning having used Karin to heal Sasuke by having him bite her arm. From there hotel they continued to head north but when they stopped to take a rest in a nearby cave trouble set in when Itachi appeared.
After a small skirmish between Sasuke and Itachi it became clear that Itachi was nothing but a crow clone but Sasuke was given the spot where they would finally settle everything.
"We need to head east. He's in a old Uchiha base. I will soon have my revenge and he will be dead" Sasuke said victoriously and set off with the rest of team Hebi following close behind.
After about an hour of running however Karin spoke up. "We are being followed, a large group of Konoha ninja and...oh we are in trouble it's that Naruto guy, if they catch us were not going anywhere"
"Who is that" Jugo asked curiously.
"He's a freak, defeated all of us with ease during the jonnin exams" Suigetsu said.
Sasuke meanwhile was just getting angrier at this 'Dobe you dare try and interfere with my revenge again' he thought as he slowed down slightly.
"We need to loose them tear small pieces off your robes and Jugo we need some animals to carry them in different directions for us" Sasuke said.
Once a small group of birds and other small woodland creatures appeared while the members of team Hebi tied parts of there robes to them and sent them off in different directions.
"Good now lets go we are only a few hours away" Sasuke said before kicking off again in the direction of Itachi.
(With Naruto)
"They know where onto them but how we are well outside of sensor range, I cant follow there scent they somehow split up into ten groups of themselves and are moving in all different directions" Kiba said.
"They must have a really good sensor ninja that I guess I will just have to do this the old fashioned way" Naruto said and created a large group of clones. And sent them off to chase after the different tracks. 'Now's my chance to find Itachi's robe scrap and use that to lead us to the hideout' he thought to himself while his clone's went off.
Ten minutes later Naruto thought it was about time to find the robe. "Hey one of my clones found something but it isn't Sasuke but it could be even better" Naruto said.
"What do you mean better, how could anything be better than finding Sasuke-kun he's the reason we are out here" Sakura said.
"Look if I am right we can find Itachi my clone found a torn off part of Akatsuki robe. We can at least go and check it out while my clones find out which is the real trail" Naruto said deciding to forgo telling them that his ability to sense life signs and not just chakra could do that if they just moved a little closer.
"I agree if we can find Itachi we will be able to capture both of them not just one and it will bring Sasuke to us instead of the other way around" Kakashi said and as top ranked ninja in the group he was in charge "Naruto lead us too your discovery" he ordered and the group set off toward where Naruto hid the torn robe.
"Here it is" said Naruto once they arrived
"Kiba your up, see if you can find out who's it is and if you can locate them" Kakashi said.
"Yeah it's Itachi's alright, it smells like Sasuke but less snake like, it has to be him. I have found him hes east about two hours away one of the groups that Sasuke could be in will be there in a little over an hour and a half now we need to hurry" Kiba said.
'There you go Itachi I brought you about half an hour, that better be enough for you' Naruto thought as they started heading east in the direction of the Uchiha hideout.
(With Sasuke's group)
They had been running and had arrived at a large open area where they found Kisame standing there waiting for them.
"Well look what we have here, if it isn't little Suigetsu. And you have Zabuza's Kubikiribocho, I doubt he would have approved" Kisame said showing off his sharpened teeth.
"Like I care about you where is Itachi" Sasuke ordered.
"My you are impatient, he is in there it shouldn't take you much longer to get there. As for your team they are staying here" Kisame said.
Sasuke didn't answer he just ran past the monster of the hidden mist and made his way towards Itachi.
Eventually he came to a building and inside there sat Itachi looking at Sasuke calmly. "Hello sasuke-kun" the elder Uchiha said.
His reply could be the heard as the sound of chirping bird's as Sasuke charged.
(With Naruto)
Naruto knew they were only around half an hour away and they would soon be able to see the hidden compound when the air in front of there group rippled.
"Hello Konoha ninja, Tobi is pleased to meet you" Tobi said as he appeared out of nowhere.
'Fuck not this guy, who is he. But if I can kill him now I don't have to worry about arriving to late but first to find out what he want's' Naruto thought but he wasn't given the chance to ask the questing when Kiba charged forward with Akamaru.
Quickly performing a Gatsuga, Naruto's eyes bulged when Kiba and Akamaru passed right through the childish Akatsuki member.
"That wasn't very nice, Tobi just wanted to talk" Tobi said.
The response Tobi got was Kiba attempting to kick him to the side but the kick just passed through him before Tobi swept Kiba's other leg out from under him.
'So he is not completely intangible, he has to be solid to be able to attack' both Naruto and Kakashi thought while examining the masked man before them.
"What do you want then" Naruto finally said. Despite his calm attitude he was getting ready to attack and had began subtly releasing his restriction seals.
"Oh it's you the Nine tail's hello again, sorry Tobi couldn't stay and play with you last time. Unfortunately Deidara sempai was killed the other day" Tobi said with a happy voice.
Kiba's eyes went wide from his place on the ground when Tobi called Naruto Nine tail's but he was the only one. Shino had deduced it in the academy when he sent his bugs to check him out and Hinata could see both his and Yugito's chakra coils and being such good friends with Yugito she knew what she was.
"Like I care about that fool now tell me what do you want" Naruto said. 'That must have been what caused the massive explosion. I always figured he would go off in a bang' Naruto thought.
"Oh Tobi would like for you Konoha ninja to leave. Tobi doesn't want you interfering in Itachi sempai's fight with Sasuke" Tobi said.
"Too bad"said Sakura and she sent a kunai flying at Tobi.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh" Tobi screamed when the kunai hit and passed through him before his scream turned into a laugh. "Tobi got you, that was fun" he said then the tree he was standing in was turned into splinters when Naruto seemed to have had enough.
Tobi jumped back into another tree before turning to face Naruto. "That's not the power of the Kyuubi but you are strong. Tobi is curious" Tobi said.
"Guys we cant hang around dealing with this loony you all go on ahead I will deal with him" Naruto said completely serious.
"Are you sure Naruto he is a member of the Akatsuki he could try and capture you" Kakashi said.
"He doesn't want me right now. He want's who ever wins the fight between Sasuke and Itachi" Naruto said.
"Wow your smart, Tobi is impressed" the masked man said.
"Now go we don't have any time to waste" Naruto said.
The others nodded and left in the direction of the Uchiha compound while Naruto stared down Tobi.
"Who are you really" Naruto said.
"Tobi is Tobi" he said while scratching the back of his head.
"Don't give me that bull shit I know your not who you say you are, Time space ninjutsu like the ones you use are not easily controlled I know that for a fact so there is no way a idiot like you make yourself out to be can use them" Naruto spat.
"But Tobi is just Tobi" Tobi said again.
"Fine you want to play it that way that's ok" Naruto said and blurred out of existence only to find himself flying right through Tobi. 'His reaction time is brilliant, fuck I am going to need to use counter attacks' Naruto thought as he spun in mid air to kick of a tree branch to land next to Tobi and begin some obviously sloppy taijutsu. 'Come on take the bait you son of a bitch' he thought as yet another punch flew through Tobi.
After awhile Tobi began some light counter attacks that with Naruto in sage mode could barely feel but would normally have been strong enough.
"Your tough Tobi's attack's are not effecting you at all.. Why" Tobi asked.
"Why should I tell you when you wont even tell me who you really are" Naruto said as he began focusing on if he could tell when a counter attack would come.
"Aw your no fun Tobi was just curious" Tobi said with a pout mocking Naruto.
"Heh well your not taking me seriously" Naruto said and then it clicked. 'Now! I've got him ' Naruto thought as at the same moment Tobi punched Naruto sent a senjutsu charged kick into Tobi's, ribs which sent him flying through several trees back first.
As Naruto arrived Tobi began to stand although it was shakily. "You little brat it looks like I might actually have to take you seriously" Tobi said his voice changing from the higher child like to a much deeper serious tone.
"Looks like your ready to drop the act now how about you tell me who you really are" Naruto said.
"Why would I want to do that, that would defy the purpose of Tobi" he said saying Tobi's name in his childish manner. "So this is the power of a sage it is quite impressive Sasuke has a lot of work ahead of him if he want's to catch up" the man formally known as Tobi said.
"What do you want with Sasuke anyway, surely Itachi is the superior brother" Naruto said.
"True but I don't care I really just want who ever win's. And I am quietly confident that Itachi will die today one way or the other" Tobi said.
"How can you be so sure about that" Naruto asked curiously.
"It's quite simple. Itachi is already dieing, if he uses those eye's of his much more he wont last and his illness will claim him" Tobi said as if he was almost gloating.
"We will loose Itachi but it wont be that hard to get Sasuke to join us" Tobi said.
"Why would Sasuke want to join the same organization that his brother was in if he hated him so much" Naruto said.
"Oh that's another one of my little secrets, don't feel to bad though I have a lot of them" Tobi said.
"Then its time to finish this" Naruto said determinedly and created four clones and began gathering Fuuton chakra in each hand while spinning it.
'What is this... such amazing power from a single justu and he is making two of them, I need to be careful here I cant afford to use Izanagi. I still have too much to do before the day end's' Tobi thought as he looked at Naruto.
Naruto stood with his hands extended out from his body a Rasenshuriken in each hand just narrowly missing the ground with there blades. "Fuuton Rasenshuriken Barrage" Naruto yelled and tossed the first one in his right hand followed shortly after by the left before jumping back as far as he could.
The two spinning disks almost seemed to combine in mid air doubling there size while Naruto continued to run back away from the blast zone.
When they struck the explosion was enormous vaporizing close to one hundred yards in any direction from the center and it extended up the gale force winds coming from the justu forced Naruto to cling onto the ground with chakra while the trees around him were being uprooted around him.
(With Kakashi)
Kakashi felt a massive chakra spike and stopped mid step and turned as a large dome of Fuuton chakra extended out of the forest. Uncovering his sharingan he recognized the familiar trademarks of the Rasenshuriken but this was on a whole new scale then he felt the gust of wind which caught everyone else in the groups attention even Sakura was temporarily removed from her obsession with saving Sasuke and stared at the power behind the justu.
(With Kisame)
Kisame was currently giving Suigetsu a lesson in Kenjutsu when everyone in there clearing stopped and turned as in the distance a huge explosion was going off.
"What Incredible power, Samehada is hungry just thinking about it" Kisame said.
"It's It's that blond Naruto" Karin said slightly scared but also interested in how much chakra Naruto could throw around like it was nothing.
"The Nine Tail's huh, no wonder" Kisame said to himself as a lager gust of wind struck them.
(With Sasuke)
Sasuke was terrified as Itachi slowly approached he was out of chakra and out of idea's Itachi even removed his curse mark so he could not use that anymore.
Itachi's hand began to stretch out towards Sasuke's face in order to take his eye's when they both felt the Jutsu. 'Naruto-kun, amazing truly amazing... but it will not be enough to defeat Madara' Itachi thought and his hand reached out and they came within centimeters of Sasuke's eye's.
Sasuke was staring in fear of his brother to busy to contemplate the huge jutsu he just felt when he noticed something Itachi was crying. Then he saw Itachi mouth his last words. "I love you my foolish little brother" before collapsing on top of him.
Sasuke didn't have time to react when the large gust of wind knocked both Uchiha to the ground. Sasuke managed to stand before he collapsed.
(On the Wall)
Zetsu came out of the ground to observe the final result. "So Itachi won the fight but his body gave out before he could take Sasuke's eye's, oh well" the black half said.
"We should go tell Madara what happened, but that last jutsu was powerful I wonder if he is injured at all" the white half said.
(With Naruto)
Naruto picked himself up off the ground the power of the shock wave had been far too powerful to stand against and as he looked around him tree's had been uprooted and thrown away like twig's and there was a huge crater where the jutsu had erupted. But Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief when there was a black robed man struggling to his feat in the center of the blast. 'No way, how is that possible, that is my longest jutsu. At least he is hurt slightly' Naruto thought noticing that Tobi was missing an arm and his cloak was ripped to shreds. His mask was still in place but had been cracked badly.
"How, if there was even a single particle of you it should have been erased from existence when that jutsu went off" Naruto said in disbelief as he arrived at the edge of the crater.
"Well seeing as you were so entertaining I will tell you. My transparency jutsu allows me to avoid all damage as long as I can hold it and I must say that your Rasenshuriken is truly a devastatingly powerful jutsu" Tobi said but then from the ground the form of Zetsu rose.
"My my It looks like you have seen better day's. The battle is over Itachi won but his body gave out on him before he could kill Sasuke. Sasuke collapsed right after" Zetsu said.
"Perfect. Well I would love to stay and chat but it would appear I need a new arm, also I have business to attend to" Tobi said before disappearing in a swirl.
'No I failed, damn and with that Time space jutsu of his he could already be there taking Sasuke and Itachi's Body... Fuck' Naruto though but not one to give up he took off at his top speed towards the Uchiha clan hideout.
Naruto arrived to find his group had stopped as the black flame's of Amaterasu burned a large section of forest.
"Were not getting through that" Kakashi said looking over the huge area of black flame's.
"It's over that Tobi guy survived my jutsu and his gone to retrieve the body's of Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi won but died afterwords from an illness while Sasuke as far as I know is still alive" Naruto informed the group realizing he was unable to stop Tobi from taking the two brothers and it hurt.
"So now what, we just go home mission over" Sakura asked.
"Yes, well you guys will. I want to go check out the ruin's of Uzu while I am here. And I would like to do it alone, sorry guys" Naruto said deciding he wanted to know about the area his ancestors lived.
"Do you really think that's wise Naru-kun, I mean the Akatsuki could come for you" Yugito said.
"Ill be fine I just need to do this, I will be back in Konoha soon" Naruto said and began to walk off towards the ocean.
"Are we just going to let him go like that" Kiba asked.
"Not much we can do he has, an open passport our mission was over the second we couldn't get into this base" Kakashi said.
"Well then we should return to Konoha and at least inform Tsunade-sama of where Naruto has gone" Shino said, and the others nodded in agreement before turning in the opposite direction and began there trek home.
End Chapter!
Ok annoying Arc basically over now to get onto Jiraiya's infiltration of Ame which I plan to run along with Naruto's exploration of Uzu and team Taki vs Bee.