Keep Your Enemies Close...
Madara Uchiha listened to Kabuto with half-hearted interest. He was draped across a chair, reminding Kabuto more of his alias Tobi. It was obvious Madara's thoughts were occupied.
"Not in Konoha you say?" the elusive nin sighed finally.
Kabuto nodded. "Our spies also say Sasuke is dead." Madara looked up at that bit of news. he was quiet, staring at Kabuto, before he laughed, much to Kabuto's surprise. The sound was short and mocking.
"Ha! That little bastard is as easy to do in as a cockroach. He'll show up," Madara said, unaffected.
"You sound confident," Kabuto replied, not so sure. He was still seething from the news. If Madara was this confident, however, Kabuto dared to hope a little. Perhaps his plans weren't over yet. He probably could have found a way around using Sasuke, but having Sasuke would make things so much easier. He brought his attention back to Madara, who was picking at a loose thread on his sleeve.
"He's an Uchiha." Madara insisted with an odd sort of pride. " If anyone were to succeed in killing him, it would be me or that blond lover of his." His voice grew dark, as if he were considering something. Kabuto noticed the thoughtful lilt. He waited for Madara to speak, wondering if Hashirama was on the Uchiha's mind. But suddenly Madara seemed to snap out of whatever reverie he'd been in. With a youthful spring that defied the body he possessed, Madara leapt off his seat. He locked his eye on Kabuto's form.
"If he's dead, I want his eyes." he ordered suddenly. Kabuto paused, surprised by this. It took him a moment to speak, to think of polite way to explain.
"But we have no real use for them, my Lord. Besides, my sources say he was burned-"
"If he is dead, I want his eyes," Madara commanded once more, each word articulated slowly and thoroughly, as thought Kabuto were deaf or stupid. The medic nin grimaced, fidgeting.
"As you wish," Kabuto said, grudgingly. Madara stared at him for a bit, but then he shook his head, leaning in close to study Kabuto's face.
"Look at you. Carrying out my every will and whim, no matter how irrational, like such a faithful little servant."
Kabuto frowned at this. Was Madara only playing with him? He ground his teeth in anger and humiliation. Madara turned away, seeming to take interest in something else.
"How is my army coming along?" Madara asked. Kabuto paused.
"The corpses are about ready. As for the others, they are wild and hard to contain."
Madara seemed satisfied. "Excellent. I want those animals released on the next raid. They're quite productive when it comes to raids and quick battles. How is the stock?"
"Depleting," Kabuto answered honestly.
Madara sighed. "Pity. Capture more during the next battle. Tell the Akatsuki to take one man or woman for every two they kill."
Kabuto nodded. The "stock" consisted of prisoners of war, experimented upon and made into wild, raging soldiers with curse seals that often gave them an inhuman appearance (and abilities) as the curse spread. This type of army worked quite well with Madara, and he enjoyed the madness and fear his "stock" caused. They continued to fight with vigor until their hearts stopped beating, making them difficult opponents since they didn't tire until they literally keeled over. Madara found a sick satisfaction in sending certain captured experiments upon their own villages, especially when the defending nin recognized faces.
It was priceless to watch.
"Your revenge on the Uchiha is complete with Sasuke's death, isn't it?" Kabuto asked suddenly. Madara paused. When spoke Kabuto noted the hint of rage barely concealed in Madara's tone. He shivered and touched his neck.
"It isn't complete until Konoha has fallen. As for Sasuke…I want him found if he's alive. If it can be helped, he isn't allowed to know the peace of death until I say otherwise. Implant his image into the brain of every experimental soldier you send out. I want the villages scoured, broken, and burned to the ground until he is left out in the open with nowhere to hide." He was quiet a moment, and Kabuto guessed that Hashirama was on his mind again.
"And Naruto-?" Kabuto began, but the Akatsuki leader cut him off.
"Keep an eye on him." Madara interrupted, as if the answer should have been obvious.
"But, if the Leaf-"
"No. We keep an eye out for him, and we'll take our chance once the opportunity arises. We will be the shadows that play against his bedroom walls. He won't evade us."
Kabuto crossed his arms. "So you'd rather not deal with it. I told you, I can be trusted with the task-"
Madara laughed. "I trust you like I trust a leech not to suck my blood. No, you'll stay by my side, Kabuto, so I can watch you. The war is beginning to turn more towards our liking. Let's not ruin it. For now, Naruto will wait. It was Sasuke I wanted so quickly, and he has evaded us. There is no point in me acquiring Naruto, not yet, until I have Sasuke so he can watch." The lethal threat in his voice made Kabuto wince. Still, he tried again.
"You wanted the child. I can give it to you," Kabuto pressed. Madara stared at him.
"Don't press me, Yakushi," he warned. Kabuto frowned, but then his features softened. He chuckled. Madara glared at him. Kabuto chuckled a little louder, much to the Madara's irritation. Kabuto quieted, a cold smirk splitting his features, contorting his placid features into a mask of malicious glee.
"Hashirama controls you still, even from the grave."
Madara froze.
Kabuto hummed a little. "It simply infuriates you, doesn't it? Knowing that Sasuke may have what you never did. I'd say your wish for Sasuke to watch Naruto's death is more personal than you let on-"
"That's enough." Madara's voice was quiet, deadly. Even though he hadnt' been in his own skin for decades, Madara shivered inwardly, as if the ghostly fingertips of Hashirama were brushing against his corrupted soul, tantalizing and mocking. Kabuto's eyes widened slightly. Madara was suddenly at his side before he could waste the time to blink. Kabuto swallowed, awaiting punishment with a grim face. When nothing happened, he pressed further, confident from the lack of reaction.
"It angers you, and so, you want them to die in a particular way."
There was a silence. Madara began to walk away.
"Make sure you know where Naruto is, and keep an eye on him. We must be there when the child is born," Madara said finally, ignoring everything that had just been said."If you are as prepared as you say you are, I doubt there is another like you able to handle it. The boy will give birth, lose control, and lose his life in the process. I will be there to control the Kyuubi so that it does not kill the child. I will covet both."
"Why," Kabuto asked, "When you could simply capture Naruto, and ensure you have both from the start? Isn't that what we've been striving for this whole time?" He felt irritated.
Madara paused in the doorway to the chamber. "The demon will be the breaking point in the war. All hell will break loose once it is free, and I will be the only one able to control it. I might capture Naruto beforehand, but the extraction wouldn't completely release the demon freely, as we both know. The Kyuubi would be sucked into another entrapment and a rather emotionless one at that. It's best to let the seal weaken and have it emerge naturally," Madara explained wickedly. Kabuto's eyes widened. He's been planning this. I've been strung along. He's used me for informatain, and for my research. Once he realized the seal would be weakened during birth, he changed his course of action completely. The demon itself is much more of a temptation than merely possessing its chakra.
"But, at Mount Myoboku-I thought-"
"I wanted Sasuke and Naruto both. Did you not understand me the first time? That day wasn't a victory. You did bring me one of the deserters, however. But that pitiful little thing didn't even last a day. But what good is he to me dead?"
Kabuto grimaced. It was true, he hadn't succeeded in keeping Suigetsu alive. He hadn't been able to understand the poison that was coursing through the boy quickly enough before it killed him. Suigetsu was brain dead from ridiculously high fever before Kabuto could figure out what he needed to do to break it.
Madara's voice jarred him from his thoughts. "I will change this pitiful world, Kabuto. And I will do it with that demon unleashed, and the child. A demon freely at my side…that would cause more harm and fear than the weapon I could make with the combined ones I have worked so hard to extract. But I assure you, they won't go to waste. As for the child…it shall make an exceptional vessel once its body matures."
Yes it will, Kabuto silently agreed. Well, this certainly made his plan more difficult. Getting Sasuke away from Madara, when the older Uchiha wanted to kill him so badly, was going to prove difficult now. The birth of the demon child was also an event Kabuto was counting on to change the course of his and Madara's little game. Orochimaru could not be brought back with Madara so close to Sasuke. It was too risky. Too much could go wrong, and Kabuto wasn't willing to risk it. Madara would have be killed before Kabuto executed the final step of his plan, even if it meant giving up Madara's Tsuki No Me.
No, Orochimaru was a far more winning victory. What fun could he have ruling a world cast under a genjutsu, if his sannin partner was not at his side?
Not nearly as much, let me tell you.
He would have to kill Madara and preserve his Mangekyo, if it was possible. In truth, he still hadn't figured out how to touch Madara's corpse. It was protected by a powerful genjutsu activated upon opening its coffin, making it close to impossible to destroy without the right knowledge. With the technique likely being unique to Madara, it wasn't something Kabuto would find in a book or ancient scroll. He had been planning on using the demon chakra to try to destroy it. If anything, the demon's heat would be able to at least mar the paper thin skin-
"Kabuto," Madara's voice brought him out of his reverie. Kabuto's molten gold eyes slid over to meet Madara's crimson one.
He tried a different angle. It would be a wonderful advantage to have access to the Kyuubi as soon as possible. "You cannot guarantee the death of Naruto if you allow him to birth on his own. Something just may happen to thwart your plans. You shouldn't be so confident."
Madara chuckled at this. "You shouldn't be so skeptical."
Kabuto arched an eyebrow.
"What else are you hiding behind that mask?" the medic nin dared to ask. Madara said nothing, but his eye glittered.