Author's Note:
Hello everyone! I am so sorry about making you guys wait this long for an update. Things have been a little hectic from my birthday, to over working, going on vacation, and to finally adopting a new little kitten. But no matter what I still have a duty to you readers. So, to make it up to you guys, I will be posting two chapters at the same time with one of them being my favorite (if you can guess which one). Anyway, I hope you enjoy these next two chapters. If you do, tell me what you think as a review.
…
…
…
Chapter 12: Itachi's Truths
Normal P.O.V.
"You're really not going to let us see Sasuke-kun?" Karin glares angrily at the two men in front of her.
"You're being annoying," an older male feline with long, raven hair says, glaring back at her.
"What he means to say is that, Sasuke is no longer a concern of yours. We'll be watching over him from now on," a younger male feline announces from his seat next to Sasuke's unconscious body.
"Your care? We don't even know who you are. You just showed up, took Sasuke-kun and Itachi's bodies and dragged us here to an unknown cave nearby the Uchiha Hideout,"
"An invitation not extended to the three of you,"
"And to top it all off, you won't even tell us who the hell you are!" Karin finishes, ignoring the older male's statement.
"You do not realize who it is that you are speaking to, fox woman," the older male growls as he glares harder at Karin.
"I just want answers and I don't care who gives them to us,"
"As much as it pains me to do say this, I actually agree with Karin. We don't know anything of what is going on here. Sasuke is "technically" our leader, so we should be entitled to some kind of answers," Suigetsu says from his seat in a nearby corner.
"The white shark man does have a point. And you three will have your answers when Sasuke wakes up. This encounter was more for us to meet Sasuke anyway. You guys are just along for the ride," The younger male informs.
"Did he just call us, lackeys?" Suigetsu hisses.
"When do you believe Sasuke is to awaken?" Jūgo asks while leaning against a nearby wall.
Everyone turns towards where the younger feline male is sitting when they hear Sasuke groaning.
"Looks like you'll be getting your answers now. Sleeping Beauty is finally awake," the younger male states.
Sasuke groans a few more times before his eyes slowly open. In a confused state, Sasuke tries to sit up.
"Sasuke-kun!" Karin shouts happily as she rushes over to his side. "Here, let me help you,"
"Don't sit him up to fast. He still has some healing to do,"
"Where am I?" Sasuke asks.
"You are safe and among your clansman," the younger male chuckles.
"My family? I don't understand. Who are you two? What's going on here? Is Itachi still…"
"Dead? Yes. Congratulations on your victory, Sasuke. Now, you are one of three surviving Uchiha members,"
"There are two other Uchihas left? You're a liar! I was told that only Itachi and I remained!" Sasuke growls in confusion.
"A lie told to protect you. You are now staring at the last two Uchihas left besides you. The long haired man is Madara Uchiha and I am Obito Uchiha. It's nice to finally meet you,"
"Sasuke-kun? You know these two?"
"You said Madara and Obito Uchiha? You're both real? Itachi mentioned both of you during our fight. I thought he was lying,"
"It is quite interesting to see Itachi told you about us. I wonder what he had to say," Madara chuckles.
"He said that you helped him with the Uchiha Massacre… Is that true…?" Sasuke glares in anticipation.
Everyone turns to look at Madara when he speaks, "Itachi spoke the truth. Obito and I played our parts in the slaughter of our clansman,"
"How dare you two come before me after that confession?! You will both pay for your transgression," Sasuke growls as he leans forward with his Sharingan activated.
Feeling Sasuke's aggression, the two males activate their own Sharingan to try and subdue Sasuke. But when the three lock eyes, Sasuke's left eye transforms in Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan before Amaterasu escapes and burns them both. Everyone watches in horror as both Uchiha are burned by the black flames. To escape the Amaterasu's flames, both Uchiha shed their burning clothes and skin to save themselves. After a few moments, the flames begin to die out, leaving the two Uchihas alive.
"Damn Itachi," Madara hisses under his breath while panting.
"Spiteful until the end. Looks like there was still some Uchiha left in him after all,"
"What the hell was that? That looked like it was~"
"Amaterasu? Yes it was. Looks like Itachi had a failsafe put in place for the day we were to ever meet. Impressive, but I expect nothing less from Itachi," Madara says.
"A failsafe? What are you talking about? What is going on?!" Sasuke screams in confusion as he holds his head.
"In order to kill us, Itachi must have sealed his Amaterasu inside of you. The failsafe is that when you come in contact with both Madara and my Sharingan, then his Amaterasu will automatically activate and we would be burned alive. But there are events that not even he could plan for this far into the future,"
"Why… why would he do this?"
"It's because he loves you. Itachi has always loved you. That is why he sacrificed himself to keep you alive,"
"To keep me alive? Has everyone gone insane? You mean to tell me that my older brother: Itachi Uchiha, who has tried to kill me on several occasions, loved me and tried to protect me?"
"You doubt our words even after seeing for yourself what he set his Amaterasu to do to us?" Madara asks.
Sasuke looks down at his hands in his lap. With everything in his life up to this moment running through his head, Sasuke did not know what to think. Was Itachi as truly evil as he had always believed him to be? Or was there another side to his older brother that was still left to be discovered?
"I can see that you are confused Sasuke. Please, allow me to tell you the truth about Itachi Uchiha: The Warrior for Peace," Madara says before clearing his throat. "From what I am guessing, you're most likely under the impression that Itachi murdered our clansman because of hatred, am I correct?" Sasuke nods slowly. "That was never the case. In fact, the true people to blame for the Uchiha Massacre were the leaders of Konoha. They were the ones to order the genocide of our people. You see, dear Sasuke, the true beginning of this tale started 80 years ago. The Leaf Village had several powerful clans and among them were two of the most powerful and feared: the Uchiha and the Forest Senju Clan.
I, of course, was born into the Uchiha Clan. Because I possessed great strength, I desired more if I was going to ever protect our clan from the complete take over by the Forest Senju Clan. In order for me to do this, I had to kill many people, including those closes to me, and take the eyes of my younger brother. He and I agreed that we would not be able to win the war without the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, so I took his and was ready to lead the Uchiha Clan to victory. But one day the Senju Clan called for a truce. From the very beginning, I was against the truce. But, it was the rest of our clan who wanted the truce. I was alone and the only one who could see what the consequences would be if we allowed for them to take over us. But, for the good of the clan, I reluctantly agreed to the truce and soon the Leaf Village was formed. Soon, the other nations followed suit and the war came to an end. My longtime rival: Hashirama Senju became the First Hokage while I remained the head of the Uchiha Clan. The peace only lasted momentarily before I decided that the Uchiha should come to power. None of our clansman supported me. They called me selfish, greedy and even called my brother's sacrifice murder by me. Realizing that I was alone in my dream for peace for the Uchiha, I became an avenger like you and declared war on the Leaf Village; only to lose in the end at the Final Valley. A demise that only resulted in what I knew would happen: The Nine-Tails Attack 16 years ago," Madara finished and allowed Obito to continue the tale.
"After Madara perished, his name was soon forgotten by history. But, there were some of our clansman who saw what Madara was talking about decades later and sought to do what they could to continue where Madara left off. Not to long after word of the Uchiha Rebellion got out that we were placed into the Uchiha Compound in a corner of the Hidden Leaf Village. The Elders placed us there, isolating us from the rest of the village in order to observe us,"
"They observed us? For what reason?" Sasuke asks.
"We have the ability to control the Nine-Tailed Beast once our Sharingan has been activated. I am sure that in all the time you've spent with Naruto Uzumaki, you've had to have met the Nine-Tailed demon itself, no? It is due to this power that the Elders feared and blamed us for the Nine-Tailed attack. Soon afterwards, our clan was never trusted again. Discrimination, fear, and isolation soon set in by the other villagers. We had no one left to trust but ourselves. With this embedded in our minds, your father: Head of the Uchiha Clan at this point began to plot their revenge against the Hidden Leaf,"
"What does Madara's history have to do with my brother being a hero?"
"I was actually just getting to that part," Obito says before continuing onward. "It was Itachi who actually brought peace to the Hidden Leaf, but at the cost of himself. In order to complete his plan, your father choose to use Itachi as a spy in order to gain information on the Elders and Konoha. Little did he know that it was Itachi who was giving the Elders info on the our clan,"
"So Itachi really did betray our clan. How does that make him a hero? Do you just intend to just confuse me? And why wasn't I let in on this?!" Sasuke growls while clenching his fists.
"Don't worry, I'm getting to the part that you're looking for. Yes, Itachi did betray our clan, but you had no idea what it took for him to make that decision. With the Uchiha planning their rebellion against Konoha, the Elders feared the worse of what would happen if they allowed this to continue; Itachi was faced with an important mission: Massacre the Uchiha Clan. You see, at the young age of 4, your brother was one of many who saw firsthand the horrors of war. Death surrounded him as if he was trapped in a terrible genjutsu. But, it was because he experienced this traumatic event, Itachi became an advocate for peace, something Madara and I advocated for too while in the Hidden Leaf. The Elders saw this and planned to exploit it. So, when they caught wind of the Uchiha Rebellion, they assigned Itachi to annihilate our clan. A heavy decision placed upon him. I couldn't even begin to understand how hard that decision must have been for him to decide on, especially if it meant having to kill you. Itachi tried to come up with a plan to at least spare you if he could not his clan of this fate,"
"It was then that Itachi met with me," Madara continues the tale. "If the Uchiha had carried out their plan, then the Fourth Shinobi War would have broken out for sure. Konoha and the Fire Country would have been destroyed and other countries would have taken this time to invade and decimate what would have been left. This was something that the Elders could not afford to have happen, so they entrusted Itachi with this task. Either annihilate his entire clan and bring about peace to the village or allow for the Fourth Shinobi War to decimate an entire country. At the time, I had been reanimated and Itachi caught wind of me. Before the genocide of our clan, Itachi and I met. I had plans on destroying both our clan and the Hidden Leaf for vengeance. Itachi confronted me and set forth some conditions. In exchange for getting my revenge on our Uchiha Clan, I could not seek revenge on the Hidden Leaf. I agreed and an all too familiar night occurred. In the end, there was no other outcome.
The annihilation had to happen in order to prevent another Shinobi War outbreak. Everything up until now, everything that Itachi did was to make you believe that he was truly evil and that there was no other way for things to end the way they did. Itachi had to become a missing-nin and die in front of you in order to complete what was burdened upon him. Itachi was a hero. Everything that has happened up to this point was all done for you Sasuke. In the end, Itachi loved you more than anything, including himself. Now that you know the truth, what do you plan to do with the information?"
Letting all of the information given to him run through his mind, Sasuke becomes enraged and reactivates his Sharingan. "So all of this, what my brother, our clan, the Leaf Village, and myself went through was all because of you?! You're the cause of all this?!" Sasuke yells while pointing at Madara.
"I had to! The Senju was going to decimate our clan if I had done nothing. They never cared about our clan Sasuke. Obito, Itachi and I have been fighting for the sake of our clan. We just wanted to live in peace, but no one was going to let us. They feared us. They mocked us. They killed us. Now that you know this, you have a choice to make: either join us and exact revenge on the people who wanted our clan dead from the beginning, or go on believing that everything your brother did for you was just to make your life a living hell,"
Sasuke thinks it over for a few moments before finally answering. "I want proof. If you can prove to me that what everything you two just told me was true, then I'll join you in getting revenge on the Hidden Leaf. Until then, I have no reason to believe the allies of my brother,"
Madara grins, "If you want proof, then all you have to do is go home…"
…
…
…
To Be Continued…