Recap: After the death of the Third Hokage, Sasuke makes his move on Konoha by burning down the abandoned Uchiha town.

Next, Jiraiya and Naruto set off to find the Fifth Hokage, they stop in a strange town where Naruto meets Itachi's evil older brother; Sasuke. Sasuke and Kisame take Itachi captive and its up to Sai to rescue him.

Chapter 16: (For you)

'With the tracking device I put on Itachi when I grabbed him earlier, I thought it would be easy to find him, but...at this rate...I highly doubt I'll ever find him...'

Sai's bird flew silently in the dead, blank night. After tireless hours of scouring the town and even beyond that, there was yet to be any sign of Itachi.

'Just my luck, a teashop, perhaps I can ask the shop owner if he's seen Itachi.'

OoO

*ring*

The shopowner looked up, she could hear the violent moans of the floorboards as a strange boy walked towards the counter. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Have you seen someone about my age around here? He's an Anbu with this weird, black cone shirt thing and there's also these unexplainable lines on his face." Sai explained.

"You know what? I have." The shopowner bent behind the counter and pulled out a photograph. "He told me he was going to the next town."

Sai blankly stared at the given photograph, sure he had lines on his face and a black, high-collar shirt, but he was in no way resemblance of Itachi whatsoever.

"Is this who you're looking for?"

Without uttering a single word, Sai turned around and made his way back to the door.

"Wait up! If that's not him, can you at least buy some tea, it's a cold night!"

Sai's hand rested on the aluminum doorknob, it was pretty chilly after all. "If I get tea from you, my drink will only be spoiled from looking at your ugly looking face."

"What the, DAMN BRAT! DON'T EVER COMEBACK!"

Sai gave her a rather plastic looking smile, and slowly shut the door. "Gladly."

OoO

"Super beast imitating drawing technique!"

Rain drops bounced off of Sai's ink umbrella and shielded him from the heavy downpour. 'I can't see anything with all this rain and I'm not sure when it'll let up.'

"...!" Sai's bird fluttered down then landed near a lifeless body and examined the soaked body. "I can definitely feel a trace of your chakra, Itachi, the problem is," Sai heaved Itachi's body onto the bird. "We have no shelter."

Just as Sai's bird was about to take off, a certain someone approached them.

"Hey kid!"

Sai slightly turned around. "...It's you, again."

"The person who you described earlier, he's Itachi Uchiha, am I correct?"

"I don't recall ever telling you his name."

"Just come follow me back to my shop," She offered. "I'll tell you everything there."

"...you said I couldn't come back."

"I change my mind."

Sai picked up Itachi and followed the shopowner back to her tea shop, once they got inside, the shopowner hurried to get some towels while Sai set Itachi down in a chair.

After a while, the shopowner came back and approached their table with a steaming kettle of tea in hand and a dry towel in the other.

"Tell me your relationship with Itachi." Sai suddenly said.

"His older brother, Sasuke, used to come over here all the time when he was young. Oh, I remember those lovely days, all the time he'd tell me about his fascinating stories and about his younger brother. Sasuke was always such a sweet boy back then."

"Well, I don't know very much about Sasuke, but I don't think he would come to a tea shop just for storytelling." 'And I also don't imagine Sasuke ever being a sweet boy.'

"But that's not the only reason he came here, I also used to serve his favorite food; nattō. In fact, I still do today. Would you like a plate?"

'Why is she being so nice to me all of a sudden?' "If you insist."

The shopowner nodded and left.

"...I have a feeling she likes children a bit too much," Sai gazed at Itachi, he was still knocked out. "It's best to watch what I'm eating before and make sure she didn't drug the food so I lose something important."

"..."

"Itachi?"

Itachi suddenly woke up, he struggled getting out of his chair and was forced to use the table to support himself from falling.

"Itachi, you're awake?"

"We have to...leave, now."

"You're to weak to go anywhere, we can't-"

"We have to. My brother...hates...nattō."

Before they could take any action, a long neck shot out from behind the counter and lunged for Itachi. Quickly, Sai grabbed Itachi letting the neck crash through the wall.

Despite being dangerously near one of the most dangerous shinobi of the leaf, Sai kept a calm, blankless face and spoke as if it was nothing. "Who is that?"

"It's Orochimaru."

"That's unfortunate."

The wrinkly, saggy pieces of the old shop keeper's skin came flying all over the place as the neck began reeling back from the wall. "That plan failed miserably." Ororchimaru inquired. "But I won't let them escape!"

Sai sprinted as fast as possible with Itachi on his back. 'There it is!' Once he finally reached his newly-made bird, he set Itachi in the back and the bird took off.

"I think we're safe from-"

Orochimaru's neck sliced straight through the middle of the bird and it fell apart. With Itachi falling defenselessly, he lunged for Itachi's neck and sunk his fangs into his soft flesh just slowly enough to savor every morsel of flesh.

Seconds after he clamped on, Itachi turned into a block of wood. 'Substitution technique...Wait, there's a paper bomb attached to it!'

*BOOM*

The real Sai and Itachi took off from the surrounding forest. "That should keep him busy."

OoO

It took a while, but finally they reached a safe enough disgrace from the tea shop. As they headed back to the hotel, Sai scribbled something down onto his scroll. 'Mission to find Orochimaru and capture Itachi is all the more a complete success. Although Itachi did however come into contact with Sasuke Uchiha, to my knowledge, he hasn't obtained the curse mark.' "Super beast imitating drawing!" The characters on Sai's scroll formed into a small black bird and flew off.

XxxxxXxxx

Blinding sun rays passed through the musty window, filling up the hotel room and giving it a new, soft, white glow. For the past two days, Itachi was in bed, recovering from his latest encounter with Sasuke.

Itachi peered at the door as it suddenly creaked open, as he expected, Sai walked inside their hotel room holding a platter of piping hot green tea. "Are you thirsty?"

"..."

"Guess not." Sai set the platter down on a nightstand by Itachi. "Well, I'll leave it here for when you are."

Sai took a seat in one of the chairs by the murky window, he got out a scroll and unraveled it. "Now that you're awake, can you tell me why you were left on the ground? Did your brother just drop you or did you escape?"

'Even distancing myself, I still can't help it to protect them. All of this...just having myself inserted into their lives, my mere existence is hurting them and even if I leave the village, he'll still chase after me...' "It must of been apart if they're plan, my brother must have planned every step since the beginning. Let's leave now, my body's healed itself already."

"You're rushing your recovery just so you can check up on your friend?"

"I have no interest in him whatsoever."

"Now you're in denial."

"Hm?"

"I see, that must be the type of man you are. I won't judge you if come out of your closet, it's perfectly normal to feel attracted to the same gender, at least, that's what I read."

"That isn't how I feel about our relationship, but I'm not surprised you came to that conclusion, however," Itachi got out of bed. "That's not of importance. Let us take our leaving."

'He played that off well.' "If you insist, after I pay for the room, we'll leave immediately."

'Somehow...I have to make you hate me, Naruto.'

Itachi quietly stood on the roof of his apartment, seconds after, he sensed an overwhelming amount of chakra before him. "..." 'Who are these people?' "Have you come to assassinate me?"

"Not quite."

Four shady figures lurked behind him, three men and one woman. Instinctively, he held out his sword. "Who are you?"

"The four sounds." The guy with six arms answered. "East gate's Kidomaru."

A rather thick person with a fearsome posture followed up. "The same. South gate's Jiroubou."

An equally odd person who had somewhat of a sickly complexion and what looked like another head behind him answered next. "The same. West gate's Sakon."

Lastly, the female piped up. "The same. North gate's Tayuya."

As silently as they came, they once again disappeared promoting Itachi to challenge them. 'I hadn't planned to engage in conflict, but it seems I have no choice.'

OoO

Sakura stared at the dull night, for some reason, she couldn't sleep. "...I wonder...do you think about me all the time like I do?"

('"Because, the last thing I care about is Team seven."')

"Heh, probably not. That just sounds crazy, doesn't it?"

OoO

It happened too quick for them, almost instantly every single one of them was lying helpless on the roof. Even with their secret technique, Itachi beat them all nearly effortlessly.

"Are you finished yet, or should death be the end?"

Sakon struggled to even speak. "...We'll never be done, brat. Besides, do you...really want to stay here with all these...fodder weighing you down...or do you want to have power?"

"I haven't the slightest desire for Orochimaru's power."

"Then tell me, what is your purpose?" Tayuya asked. "Why do you live, is it to kill the one known as Sasuke Uchiha?"

"The survival of this village is my only purpose."

"But you understand, don't you? Orochimaru-sama will keep on coming back and he'll keep on sending sound-nin until you're in his grasp. And I think...you've already come to those conclusions, you already know that your existence alone in this village will only hurt them."

"I know."

"Yet you chose to stay? If you want to give this village true peace, you'll leave and never come back."

XxxxxXxxx

Itachi left the sound four how they were and entered his apartment.

"I guess...it's my only choice after all." Itachi buried through his closet and got out an old old backpack from the Hidden mist village. Before leaving the door after he finished packing, something caught his attention.

Itachi walked over by his bed and picked up Team seven's portrait. He held the picture dearly in his hands. "I apologize, I should've just become an Anbu agent in the first place." He slid the photo out of the frame and stuffed it inside his backpack. With everything packed, he left his apartment, leaving everything.

OoO

Itachi walked out to the only road leading out of the village, he suddenly stopped.

"...Sakura...please come out."

Sakura appeared from behind one of the walls. "You're as observant as always."

"Do you remember this bench, when we talked, you said I was just as bad as Naruto."

"Why do you care enough to follow me?"

"Because I couldn't just leave you alone. I never really understood why you liked to distance yourself from us, you always acted like you despised us, but I know, even though you won't admit it...you've always enjoyed our company. No one likes being lonely...not even...you."

"I said I hated both of you, didn't I, I called you pieces of trash. I thought that would make you hate me."

"Mean words will never sever our friendship! Don't you remember, way back then when the four of us would go on missions together...sometimes it was painful, but, from the day we were assigned teams to now, I've always enjoyed every single second of it."

"And..." Sakura's voice grew more and more tender. "I know about your...past..., but revenge, nothing like that will ever bring you or anyone else happiness. And I think that's all you ever wanted, Itachi. You've always wanted to be truly happy."

"Whatever 'happiness' I've had has never been spent with Team seven and especially not with you."

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes, seeing him so unhappy and vengeful hurt her more than she could take it. "Then was being alone making you...happy? I know how you feel...I know the pain of being alone! Even though I have friends and a family...if you left me...It would-"

"That's just how it has to be. I have no other choice but to take this path, maybe while I'm gone, you two can grow strong without my support and can forget all about me."

"NO! I...I..."

"I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING! And...more than anything, I want to be with you so you'll never, ever have to be alone."

"How could you even begin to love me..." Itachi looked back at her and for the first time, she saw the emotion, she saw every bit of torment he was going through. "...I've hurt you so much yet, you won't stop..."

"PLEASE DON'T GO, I'LL YELL, I'LL-"

Sakura felt a light poke, her eyes wandered up to see Itachi's fingers resting on her forehead, he dropped his arm and smiled. "A day hasn't gone by when I haven't thought about you. Thank you for everything, Sakura-san, I'll never forget you."

"Itachi...kun..." Itachi watched Sakura collapsed on that nearby bench.

'My life has never been happier when I'm with Team seven, it gave to me what my brother never did and I am truly grateful for that. Why I am leaving, why I live, has always been to protect-'

"At long last, I've finally found you Uchiha Itachi."

The masked man once again encountered Itachi. "...Madara? Why're you here?"

"I want you to come with me and join the Akatsuki."

'I know I've heard about them...it must be the same group Sasuke is in.'

"Orochimaru couldn't possibly teach you how to fully use the sharigan, beisides, we also happen to have a spot open."

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother, Sasuke, is dead."

OoO

"Then, I no longer want you to be my brother." Sasuke picked up Itachi and threw him across the floor like a doll. "One day, when you have enough hate, then and only then can you become my brother once again, but for now, you're just a piece of worthless trash."

OoO

Hearing the news of his brother's death gave him nothing but a brief feeling of devastation. The only thing he could regret was not putting an end to his life himself. "If my brother is truly dead, then that will change absolutely nothing. My only concern is to kill Orochimaru and the only way I can do that is to go to him, not to join some silly organization."

"I had a feeling you would say that, so then I ask this," His voice echoed through the empty night.

"What will be your purpose in life after you kill Orochimaru?"

"After the action I committed, the village will never accept me back and I'll become a missing-nin as planned, after that, my only goal will be to destroy Otogakure." He gave Madara a cold glare. "I couldn't care less about the Akatsuki." Itachi's words were stiff and clear.

"My apologies, I forgot to mention something. Boy, you don't have a choice whether or not you want to join the Akatsuki organization, because you've already been chosen and if you decline, well, I'll personally bring an end to this rubble you call a village."

"..."

Madara continued. "For around two years I'll prepare and train you to become the rightful owner of the Mangeykō sharigan, but don't worry, you can still fulfill your dream, in due time you'll be able to kill Orochimaru and his country."

'Then my new objective will have to change. Madara is my new target.' "I accept your proposal."

"Good, good. I want you to meet up someone at the Valley of End. There you will become the new member."

XxxxxXxxx

After the passing of the Third Hokage, Tsunade, through Naruto and Jiraiya's help, had become the new Fifth Hokage along with Shizune filling in as her assistant.

Shizune walked into the Hoakge office with a small stack of new shinobi profiles held tightly to her chest. "Lady Tsuna-"

The stack papers flew all over the place as she ran up to Tsunade. Everything behind the Hokage's desk was cloaked in thick, crimson red blood including Tsunade herself.

"Lady hokage are you okay?!" Shizune bent over and hurriedly began healing her wounds.

"..."

"Who did this?!"

OoO

"My name is Uchiha Itachi and I am the one who shed your blood."

OoO

"Itachi Uchiha!" Tsunade began standing up.

"Wait, m'lady, I'm not completely finished with your-"

"I can't let people see their Hokage like this, I'm fine."

Tsunade reached for the file of current shinobi in the village. "I want Itachi-"

Cutting her off, Kotetsu and Izumo walked into the office with a gigantic stack of papers. "Fifth Hokage-sama, we have something important to tell you." Izumo along with Kotetsu set the stack of papers on the desk.

"Whatever it is, it'll have to wait. I want Itachi found and in prison immediately."

"What?"

"According to Lady Tsunade, he...viciously attacked her." Shizune explained.

"That's...strange." Kotetsu muttered.

"What're you going on about?"

"Itachi is the nicest person I've ever met in my life. For him to do this is unbelievable." Izumo explained. "Speaking of Itachi, we have some news to tell you."

OoO

Naruto listened in to what was going on right outside of the Hokage's office. "...!" 'I can't believe this.' He jumped off the window ledge and ran towards the gates of Konoha.

OoO

"If that's the case, then we absolutely can't let him go, dispatch a team immediately."

"Since we're low on forces, we'll have to resort to a team of chūnin, or probably even lower than that, which I'm sure you already know." Izumo said.

OoO

Naruto finally reached Konoha's gate entrance, beyond would be a treacherous route he was willing to take for his friend. "Here I go..."

"Naruto! Hold up!"

Sakura ran up to him as he turned around. "What's up, Sakura-chan?"

"Hokage-sama told me about what happened to her and..." She clenched her fist in complete frustration. "You can't go after him alone! Take me with you!"

"No...It's too dangerous."

"But I know how to fight, Naruto. I can finally be...useful...please!"

"Listen, Sakura. I don't doubt your fighting ability, but do you think you can fight Itachi if he comes at you, because he'll definitely try to attack us? Are you willing to fight...Itachi?"

"...then it's up to you...you're the only one now..." Sakura's voice began to quaver when she thought about what happened last night. "I couldn't stop Itachi...last night, I was too weak."

Tears flowed down her cheeks, drenching her face with sadness. "So please...PLEASE SAVE ITACHI, BRING HIM BACK TO ME!" Sakura began trembling. "...I couldn't save him, but maybe you can..."

('"A day hasn't gone by when I haven't thought about you. Thank you for everything, Sakura-san."')

"...Bring Itachi back."

"You care a lot about him, huh?" Naruto gave her a slight smile. "I know how much pain you're in because of him. I understand."

Sakura clenched herself to stop the trembling. "Thank you...Naruto..."

His smile widened. "Hey, don't worry, Itachi will be back here before you know it," He made a thumbs up.

"I promise."

A/N: Throughout writing this story everything's been a gamble, I'm always afraid I'm putting in too much personality and too much dialogue. I hate the thought of it ever being OOC. (Thank god Itachi's a pacifist, so I can leave out certain fights)

I hate myself for writing such a linear story to the manga, and I've always pushed myself to make it different. Sometimes I'll even ask myself, he is Itachi after all, why is he doing the same thing as Sasuke? This chapter, honestly, is the turning point and the build up to Shippuden where who knows what'll happen.

Also, If I decide for Itachi to die from a terminal illness like from the original series, then it'll most certainly be during the fourth war/infinite tsukuyomi arc and once he dies...that's the end.