-4-

The Uchiha Collusion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its affiliates. This is a fan made work.

Enjoy!

"Something's wrong, Lord Third."

Hiruzen took a puff out of his brown pipe and let the smoke drift lazily out of his window. The birds were chirping softly outside of the window, and the cloudless sky seemed peaceful. It reminded him of watching the clouds with Asuma many suns ago.

"Explain, Kakashi."

The jounin in reference seemed at ease, but Hiruzen picked up on the subtle annoyance in his voice, but they both knew the Third was his immediate commander; any disrespect was forbidden.

The birds continued to chirp.

He knew it all the same, how Kakashi was fed up with how little he could check in on Naruto before being assigned to his team. How the man hated watching his sensei's only living child attempt to socialize, only to fall short. It was a pity, really, and Hiruzen knew the man in front of him blamed the two of them and nobody else.

"Naruto, he's- I think something is different about him."

Hiruzen took another drag.

"This has been well documented."

"No," Kakashi interrupted, and this warranted a raised eyebrow. He never was impatient enough to interrupt. "this is different, he shies away at any physical contact that isn't sparring related and he knows techniques he shouldn't, such as walking on water."

Hiruzen merely glanced out of his window again. "We have known for a while that Naruto owned immense potential, especially given his lineage. The physical contact thing is odd, I agree, but he has always been a rather… quirky, kid."

It was a casual dismissal, and Kakashi knew he couldn't fight it.

"Do keep an eye on him, however. I'll make sure to pay him more visits and see for myself how he's doing."

It was better than nothing.

Jumping out into the open air, their taijutsu match was blistering, the impact of each hit being felt by both sides. Ducking under a snarling kick, a strand of his hair whip-lashed, causing Naruto to raise his eyes in alarm. This was it; this is how he dies.

Falling back safely onto the ground, Naruto delivered a well-timed shot to Sasuke's open chest, his guard having dropped momentarily. Following up with a kick to the solar plexus, he continued his rush towards the lone Uchiha, and attempted a fierce ax kick.

Sasuke slid hastily out of the way. He gripped Naruto's wrist and smirked, exuding a cocky aura that seemed almost natural for the Uchiha. "Gotcha."

Naruto returned an equally coy attempt at a smile. "Not quite." Using Sasuke's grip and balance, the ghostly Uzumaki vaulted over Sasuke and put him into a headlock, causing the boy to start losing air. "Forfeit."

Choking a bit of his breath out, Sasuke frowned. "T-this isn't over yet." The lack of air flowing was starting to cause vision loss.

"I said forfeit, Sauske."

Sasuke, the fighter he was, refused to go out like that. Twisting his body slightly, he slammed his elbow into Naruto's stomach, causing the blond to drop him and take a hop back.

"Fireball Jutsu!" Naruto didn't have time to react before the jutsu collided with him, forcing him backwards into a tree, his back no doubt bruised. "Son of a- how dare he use jutsu." Naruto ground out to himself, pulling himself up.

"This was taijutsu only." Naruto lamely said, twisting his clothes back into place, and Sasuke smirked, a devilish gleam entering his eye, casually tossing a shuriken up and down.

"I guess you can't keep up."

Naruto's eyes had a dangerous glint in them. "I won't sink to your level, but be prepared." Brushing the rubble off of himself, Naruto let out a growl. He peered into Sasuke's eyes. The Uchiha channeled chakra into his eyes.

Sasuke's Sharingan, with two tomoe in his right eye and one in his left, leered at him with a haughty confidence, a stone cold, steely resolve reflecting outwards.

Ever since he had awoken his Sharingan, Sasuke had been improving leaps and bounds. His skill had improved immensely. He was still playing catch up to Naruto. However, he had been improving. It wasn't enough most of the time.

They stared at each other passively. Not a word was being shared, but the message being communicated by both was painfully clear, extremely obvious to the other.

"I see that you resort to the Sharingan more, Sasuke." He frowned in response.

"Is it 'resorting' when it is naturally at my disposal? Just because you have no kekkei genkai doesn't mean I should limit myself, Naruto."

If he was annoyed at the direct advantage that his rival had on him, he didn't show it, instead opting to resume his fighting stance, prompting Sasuke to do the same.

Reaching into his ninja pouch, Sasuke drew two shuriken. His eyes shone with an unrivaled parallel, a burning passion that could have struck the entire planet in two. A swift silence appeared. A lone bead of sweat slowly cast down his face.

Neither said a word. Just waiting, salivating for the other to strike first. Sasuke, mainly because he could see when Naruto was ready to move, with the only downside being that Naruto's sheer speed would often crack through his Sharingan defense.

Naruto, mainly because he had lightning reflexes and an incredible strain of concentration to match. It was hell for Sasuke whenever they sparred.

Suddenly, they both rushed at the other, intent on winning their little game this time around.

A bird chirping in the dense foliage above him was what woke him up from his usual post sparring match relaxation. He rubbed his eyes. Glancing over at the commotion coming from his peripheral vision, he saw the young Uchiha hopping around and throwing shuriken at targets. A look of determination was present.

Naruto got up slowly and hopped over. "Did you master it?" Sasuke gave a small grunt and flashed through a few hand signals.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Ball Jutsu!" A concentrated wave of pure destruction erupted from the boy's mouth, incinerating a helpless target that had been unfortunate enough to stand in the way.

"No, not that one, the other one." Naruto hopped away slightly and silently activated his Sharingan. He was focused on the manipulation of chakra that Sasuke would use to form the fireball.

Obito was calm in his approach. He had told Naruto that in order to maximize the output of his Sharingan, he would need to practice with it, and take jutsu in order to widen his arsenal. He wasn't sure about stealing jutsu, but it worked.

He watched the chakra circulate inside of Sasuke's lungs, how it shaped itself and seemed to heat up considerably. It was a beautiful creation. It had the power to destroy anything it touched, and it was frightening how amazing that power was.

Sasuke spit the fire. This time around, however, it wasn't a condensed ball of heat. It wasn't even something Naruto thought of. This time around, it was a heavenly, spread out field of annihilation, of pure and unadulterated chaos and calamity. It was destruction incarnate.

The fire destroyed the grass it was aimed at, the foliage not standing a chance. A simple, charred section of earth was the only thing that remained after the jutsu collided. Nothing remained except dust.

Quickly limiting the chakra flow to his eyes, Naruto peered at Sasuke. He awaited a response. "I still have practice to do," he finally said, resting his eyes for a moment. "but by and large, my Fire Style is coming along rather well."

Naruto grinned – and thought of a silly joke. "Perhaps you can teach me this technique?"

Sasuke grunted in annoyance and walked to pick up his ninja tool pack. "Not a chance, idiot."

The blonde frowned. Perhaps that wasn't as clear of a joke as he thought.

"I'm sorry, I was trying to make a-" before he could finish his retort, an ANBU agent, clad in their pristine gray and black uniform, dropped in front of Sasuke. Naruto remained impassive, while Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Lord Hokage requests your presence immediately."

Sasuke nodded, a tad bit confused. In a metaphorically flash, the two of them had disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind Naruto. He blinked curiously at what had happened.

"Okay then."

Flaring his chakra to make sure nobody was around, he set himself into a solid base stance. He flashed through the same signs Sasuke did.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Ball Jutsu!"

Instead of the glorious field of inferno that consumed the area around them, a small, measly sputtering of flames came out. The flames quickly died out.

"Unfortunate."

Sasuke, surprised enough, walked through the hospital hallways. A distinct smell of… something was omnipresent, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to vomit or cry or do both all at once. A headache was his reward.

Two ANBU, one behind him and the other in front of him, guided him through the hallway until they reached a dead end. However, Sasuke could very slightly feel the chakra covering the wall. It was a fake.

The ANBU in front simply walked through the wall, and seeing no alternative, Sasuke followed. Moving past the fake genjutsu wall, Sasuke noticed that not a single nurse was behind the wall, and every room was empty.

A single room was illuminated. It was at the end of the hallway, with the window giving away its secrets. If given a thousand years, he would have never been able to guess what awaited him.

The ANBU gave a very specific, rapid assortment of knocks onto the door, with no real discernible pattern to his method. Suddenly, the door swung open. The Hokage himself was peering down curiously at Sasuke.

The old man looked grim, far too grim for someone his age, his facial features scrunched and furled into a rather hopeless-looking vision. Hiruzen glanced down at the boy in front of him.

"Before you enter this room, Uchiha Sasuke, I must warn you. Whatever conversations happen in this room, whatever you see or hear, must stay in this room. Failure to do so will be met with immeasurable and immediate punishment, with no hesitation. Do you understand?"

This wasn't the warm, stoic old man that headed the village. This was the God of Shinobi himself, a legendary warrior and an even more terrifying Hokage. Sasuke could only nod his head.

Hiruzen moved out of the way. "Enter, Uchiha."

Moving past the door frame, the only noise from Sasuke was an audible gasp. No, this was impossible! He had been proven dead long ago, there isn't a chance that he could be alive!

"Hello, Sasuke."

He didn't reply.

"Yeah, I'd reply about the same in your situation. Lord Hokage, can you please leave me and Sasuke alone? There are a few things we need to talk about." The Hokage nodded, his eyes dropping.

They were alone at once. Sasuke, by this point, had pulled up a chair and was sitting, his body never fully relaxing, a sharpness in his muscles. Shisui ran a cold hand through his naturally messy hair.

"Me and you are the only survivors from the Massacre. I am not sure how or why I am alive, but I am. I have my suspicions, but ultimately nothing to claim confidently. Yet, here we are."

Sasuke gulped and narrowed his eyes. "Itachi tried to kill you." It wasn't a question.

"He may have tried, but he didn't succeed. I had always been stronger than him, but I guess he caught me at a bad time, and I guess he couldn't bear to actually kill me, so he induced a forced coma. At least, that is what Lord Hokage told me."

It wasn't necessarily the truth, but Shisui wasn't allowed to tell Sasuke. Not yet, anyways.

"I heard that you, his little brother, had survived," Shisui continued. "but I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Your brother was a good man-"

"Bullshit!" Sasuke hissed, a dangerous gleam entering his eyes. "In no world is that- that monster a good man! He slaughtered our whole clan, both of our families! Gone, like they never existed; essentially just- just… just data in history books!"

A few guards outside were tempted to inspect what was occurring inside, but otherwise decided that it was best to let the two survivors have their heart to heart talk.

Shisui raised his hands in surrendering. "I understand your frustration, Sasuke. My family as I know it is forever gone, never to return, but things are not as they seem."

Shisui coughed slightly. "I'm still trying to fully piece together my memories from that night, but I feel as if something isn't exactly right. I am not able to reveal anything that happened, it is an S-rank secret, but I can tell you that vengeance for that night is a goal of mine as well."

Shisui knew it wasn't exactly truthful. He presumed that Sasuke wanted revenge against his older brother, and with the knowledge that he had, he didn't quite blame him. Shisui, however, was looking for revenge against someone else.

Someone much more involved with the Leaf.

Unfortunately, since they had a lack of concrete evidence and only theories and circumstance, nothing could be done.

Not yet.

Sasuke grunted in response.

"However, Sasuke Uchiha, I give you this warning. Do not follow the path of hatred that many Uchiha fall into. Nothing but destruction follows. I'll guide you along the way, but I can only do so much."

Shisui's Sharingan spiraled into a life of their own, a melancholic smile on his face. The silence of the room was deafening, but only a moment so.

"The pain you are feeling is probably feeling insurmountable, I'd imagine. My only advice is trust in your teammates, confide in them, don't shelter yourself from their attempts, and believe in the will of fire."

Sasuke gave an incredulous frown. "The 'will of fire' is what led Itachi to slaughtering the whole clan." The hidden message was clear. Shisui wasn't sure what to make of it, however.

"And the will of fire is what has led Konohagakure to remain the strongest ninja village out of them all. I'd be surprised if anyone could take us down."

"Lord Hokage has been revived from retirement, the Uchiha are no more besides me and you, and our strongest ninja in recent history died tragically a little over a decade ago. We are long past the 'strongest' ninja village. The will of fire has led to all of these."

The only response he got was a narrowing of the eyes from Shisui. "Konoha is recovering, but we are still a force to be wary of. I'm sure you can lead Konoha back to its glory days, Mr. Last Uchiha. Are you not the top prospect from the academy?"

Apparently, if Sasuke's grinding teeth were any sign, he had hit a sore spot. He wasn't sure if it was about the 'last Uchiha' comment or the top prospect comment. Either way, he was amused.

"I am one of the top prospects from the academy."

Shisui raised an eyebrow. "And, pray tell, who rivals you?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, my, ahem, teammate and rival, according to him."

The opposite Uchiha smirked. "And is he your rival?"

"If you call me losing a majority of the sparring matches a rivalry, then I suppose." If there was one minor thing that Sasuke hated with a passion, it was admitting weakness.

Of course, most Uchiha hated admitting weakness too, but it was a rather sore spot for Sasuke.

"I think that the first step to becoming better than him," Shisui said, gaining Sasuke's attention. "is to reflect on your attitude. I can tell by how you carry yourself that you have abundant strength but lack the confidence to back it up. You have to believe that you can beat him. It's the mindset of winning, and not the mindset of 'not losing', if you understand me."

Shisui shifted his body to a more comfortable position. A silence settled itself.

Sasuke was mentally reviewing everything that he had learned over the past half an hour. Shisui Uchiha, former S-rank threat of the Hidden Leaf, was alive and kicking, despite an attempted murder by Itachi Uchiha.

Judging from what Shisui said, there was more to the massacre than he knew. He wasn't sure how much he didn't know, but he was aware of, or at least aware of the implication, that Itachi wasn't the sole factor to blame in the slaughter.

It was probably a farce anyways. Perhaps he was rationalizing the massacre in an attempt to somehow forgive his brother, and maybe, just maybe, bring back the old Itachi. His mind was far too gone for any more heartbreak.

"Well Sasuke, I think it is time for me to get some more rest. The doctors are coming soon for another scheduled round of muscle recovery, and I think you should get some rest."

Sasuke nodded carefully, a glazed look adorning his normally alert eyes. His body appeared to be moving on its own, with Sasuke being the passenger. He said nothing.

"Remember, Sasuke, don't let hate guide you."

Obnoxious slurping filled his ear drum. A look of pure disgust was on his face. Some birds chirped.

"So, what did Lord Third want?"

Sasuke shrugged, and seeing it, Naruto shrugged too. He would have to do that more.

The Uchiha next to him was quiet for a moment, pondering how to respond. He was legally forbidden from revealing the nature of the talk, and he was made well aware of the consequences.

"He told me some interesting things."

His rival shot him a curious look, but gave no other answer. They continued to sit at the bar, Naruto occasionally pausing to ask a question. While he would never allow himself to smile, Sasuke wasn't complaining about the partnership he gained from sitting beside his partner orphan.

"I like hanging out with you, Sasuke. We should do it again sometime. If you want, of course." Naruto added on with a little pause, not totally meeting Sasuke's gaze.

Sasuke could only look on with slightly wider eyes than usual, and he couldn't trust himself to speak without a quiver entering his voice. An emerald green, healthy leaf blew by Sasuke. He quickly schooled his features, and fortunately for him, Naruto didn't catch his momentary surprise.

"I suppose training with you again would be beneficial, as long as we keep Sakura out of it."

Naruto frowned slightly.

"I mean she isn't our level, but it would be beneficial if she improved."

"I'd rather just train with Kakashi and Sakura at once and not deal with her… fanaticism, unless I need to."

Naruto slurped his final cup of ramen. "If you say so, I can't argue against you. Just give it some thought. She respects you a lot."

Sasuke gave a content hum in response, and cracked his neck. Maybe he wasn't that foolish after all?

The walls, cracked with filth and dust alike, seemed to stretch for miles upon miles, with no source of light or an end to the long walk in sight. A slight ache bore into the soles of his feet. A bead of sweat dropped.

Continuing his semi-fast pace, the man continued to traverse the darkness. The end goal he had envisioned in his broken mind was not coming to fruition as fast or as clearly as he hoped, but he presumed that's how life was, in the end.

He wasn't sure where he hoped to end at, but his life up to this point was hopeless. The walls seemed to be circling around him, drawing smaller as he continued across the halls. His feet stuttered. He felt extremely dizzy, with a knot of unforeseen sickness building up inside of his stomach, but no escape was found.

His pace increased. More sweat dripped from his face. The walls seemed to be trapping him, a feral glint in his eyes. Why did it seem this hallway was so much smaller?

Finally, a ray of faint light reached his eyes, and breaking out into a full sprint, he reached his destination.

It was a well-lit room, and a small bookcase was sitting gently in the corner. There was a slight waft of dust, but other than that it was very generic. A black and red rug, smeared slightly from seemingly decades of use, laid flat. A fireplace that had seen better days stared at him. A very homey feel.

"I hope you didn't drag me down here for a tea date, Tobi." The man said casually, a hint of hard steel entering his voice. The other occupant of the room, now identified as Tobi, shook his head.

"You'd do well to drop the attitude, boy. Might I remind you about your current predicament?" Tobi took a book he had been reading and threw it at him. "Read it."

He opened the book with a hint of trepidation, slight confusion setting in. Suddenly, he began to flip through the pages, not caring at all about any sort of paper cut. His eyes widened slightly, an increasing heat flowing through him. He felt like vomiting.

"Explain this, Tobi. What is this?"

Despite his face being hidden by his mask, Tobi merely smirked. "That would be Pain's plans for Naruto Namikaze, and every other jinchuriki out in the world. I know Sarutobi sent you as a spy, but did you really believe that the Akatsuki weren't pure evil? You must know that Pain has plans for both Naruto and Sasuke, yes?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes dangerously, but remained silent. Obito took that at his chance to continue. "Pain is going to use Naruto and kill him in the process, and we both know that Sasuke's one true connection to Konoha is Naruto."

Obito cracked his neck. "I have a proposition for you, Itachi Uchiha, one that I think you'd do best if you accepted."

This was a tricky situation for the Uchiha Slaughterer. He could either risk everything and accept this deal, or he could risk everything anyways and maybe potentially be able to fix it manually. It was tearing his mind apart.

"I'm listening."

Shorter chapter, not much needed to be said or shown.