Chapter 10 - Massacre.

Pairing: Naruto x Uchiha Mikoto.

THIS WILL NOT BE A HAREM

A/N: I post updates regarding the story on my Twitter. So, if you want to be prepared for when chapters come out, I'm always announcing how far I am with the stories in good time. My Twitter: Skairipa1337.

Damn, chapter 10 already. Time sure does fly by, and I appreciate each and every one of you guys reading this story. Your support is amazing, and I'll try to keep pleasing you guys with this work as much as I can. Even if time is against me with school weighing me down.

Warning: The main character's age has been adjusted.

Naruto's Apartment.

The next time Naruto opened his eyes, you would suspect that he would be met by the bright morning sun and the blue sky. However, it was the complete opposite.

When his eyes flickered open, they were met by a dark night sky and the stars that were filling through his window. Groaning to himself, he rolled into a sitting position with his back slumped over. A loud yawn escaped his lips as he stretched out his sore muscles and body.

As he started to feel more awake, he slowly lifted himself from his sitting position onto the bed and then onto his feet. Walking up to the window, he pulled the curtain away to look out over the village.

'The moon is higher in the sky than last time I woke up. I must have slept for at least an entire day then. Quite surprising, the Hospital hasn't bound me with ropes and dragged me back screaming with them yet.' He chuckled dryly to himself before pulling the curtains shut again.

With a sigh, he slumped down onto a chair. These days had been too much, and he had a feeling in his gut that told him it wasn't going to get better anytime soon. Letting out a heavy breath, he leaned his head against the chair and stared at the top of his dresser. More specifically, the picture frames that were placed there.

There were quite a few of them. All of them being of people that are important to him. His family. His old team. The Uchiha family; specifically Sasuke, Mikoto, and Itachi. And of course, the final picture. Shisui.

With a frown he clenched his left fist, only to grunt in pain as his flesh felt like it was about to fall off.

He was starting to feel empty. He knew he had people in his life, still, but he questioned for how long. Everyone around him died left and right. His family, his squad members, and even Shisui had fallen to the Shinigami.

Rubbing his face, he stood up from the chair and waltzed into the kitchen. Without even bothering to turn on the lights, he started to fill a cup with water to alleviate his dry throat. After finishing a glass, he placed the cup down and stared at his wobbly reflection in the metallic sink.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned his head toward the fridge. All the food in there was probably the same as him; rotten. As he was about to open it, he came to a stop as a note was hanging on the metal door. Raising a brow, he pulled the note down and pulled it up to his eyes to read it.

'I figured you wouldn't stay in the hospital for long. You primarily needed rest, so its probably for the best that you are staying somewhere that makes you feel at ease. Akari and Karin are doing well. Akari has gotten herself a job at a grocery store close to the Yamanaka estate so she could earn some money to get essentials ready for when you came around. I don't know when you'll read this note, but please come around the tower. We have much to discuss. - Jiji.'

P.S: Shisui's funeral was yesterday. You were still at the hospital, and with how long he's been dead, it wouldn't be proper to delay it any longer. Once you are feeling better, you can pay your respects at his grave.

Naruto's entire face became morose as he threw the note into the trash. He had missed the funeral. The funeral of his best friend. As if he wasn't a failure already...

He couldn't stop Shisui from dying. He couldn't even stop himself from going on a major rampage when he found out. And now, he couldn't even be present at his funeral. Perhaps that was this was about. He probably was being punished. Karmic justice, really. He lost control, and his very rampage led to him disrespecting his friend.

Scowling, he looked down at his arm in disdain. His eyes trailed along the bandages that were covering him from beneath his shoulder and all the way down to his fingers. He had an unusual, freakish, healing factor to many, and even to himself. He would heal almost in an instant, with heavy wounds disappearing in only a matter of a couple of hours.

Yet, the damage to his arm wasn't even gone after all this time. Of course, it wasn't hurting as much anymore, and he could somewhat move his hand and arm without a lot of trouble.

His chakra, on the other hand, was a complete and utter mess. It felt like his chakra network was on fire. An extremely mild fire, but a fire nonetheless; regardless, he had a gut feeling that he shouldn't try and channel any chakra unless he wanted to hug the ground for a few, loud, hours.

However, he could only truly blame himself for this. He had lost control and hurt himself in the process. No one to blame but himself, and besides, he deserved this. Better for him to hurt himself, especially after wasting so much time.

Regardless, flesh wounds were one thing as they healed quickly, but damage to the chakra network was slow and arduous. While it would still heal quickly for him, he would need to rest for a few days. And if the damage was as severe as he thought, then he might be incapacitated for a week or two.

Turning his head back toward the dresser, Naruto sighed softly as his eyes rested on the pictures of the Uchiha family. 'I wonder how Itachi is doing…' He thought to himself. Shisui and Naruto had been great friends, but Itachi had also been really close to Shisui. He was without a doubt hurting, maybe even more than him, even if he wouldn't show it to others. Itachi never was one for showcasing his emotions, was he?

Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time this night, Naruto wandered over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of black pants and a matching sleeveless shirt. He took his time getting dressed, finishing his simple outfit with a cloak to shield him from the cold air. The winter months were coming, so the nights were getting especially cold these days. Perhaps there would even be snow this year.

Looking up at his clock, he noticed that it was around seven. If he wanted to visit the graveyard to say his final goodbye, as well as to catch Itachi before the Uchiha went to sleep, he would have to get moving. So, without further delays, Naruto left through the front door and started making his way through the night.

The first place that he found himself in was at the dark graveyard. Standing with a blank face, he read the name on the gravestone over and over. Uchiha Shisui. Like almost everyone else that had gotten too close to him, the older boy had ended up seven feet under.

He couldn't understand it. Nothing made sense. Nothing added up anymore. Shisui had been happy, smiling, and fooling around like no tomorrow. How could he have killed himself? It was beyond Naruto's understanding. Just like what was going on with the Uchiha was also becoming incomprehensible.

Fugaku always hated the sight of him. However, their last two encounters had been almost friendly. Not to mention the behavior of the gate guards. He had always been welcome in the compound. Yet, the last time he came over, he was almost stabbed with a kunai for daring to visit his friends.

It hurt his head to think about it. He couldn't handle all of the confusion in his head. Clapping his hands together in front of his chest, Naruto closed his eyes and stood in silence, taking the time to pay his last respects to his fallen friend.

"May Kami be kind to you and give you peace, and may you have infinite ramen in the afterlife, my friend," Naruto whispered softly as he opened his eyes and let his arms fall to his side. A lone tear falling from both of his eyes as he said his goodbye.

Even after saying goodbye. Naruto stayed put for a while. Almost as if he had to make up for not being at the funeral.

After an hour had passed, Naruto finally felt like he had to get moving. If he wanted to catch Itachi before the Uchiha could go to sleep, he had to move now. With one last bow to the gravestone, Naruto walked out of the graveyard slowly, before leaping across the rooftops again. The wind rushed through his locks as he raced through the streets.

The village was quiet tonight. Normally there would be all kinds of noises from the party districts and bars. However, the nightlife seemed to be a bit... dead tonight. 'What can I say, it's a workday tomorrow.' Naruto mused to himself as he gracefully landed on top of the Uchiha district wall.

This place was even more strange. It was dead quiet. Not a single sound to be heard anywhere. Not a single light in any of the houses. It wasn't that late, and he sincerely doubted the entire compound would decide to sleep that early. Even the guards seemed to be missing...

At the sudden sound of soft running footsteps, Naruto raised a brow as he watched the running form of one Uchiha Sasuke speeding into the Uchiha compound. 'What was he doing out this late? And with his schoolbag of all things.' Naruto thought confused as he leaped off the wall and walked after the young Uchiha, intending to ask him those very questions until his eyes eventually landed on a horrifying sight that he never wished to see again within the walls of Konoha...

He had almost managed to reach the boy before he heard him scream loudly, followed by him suddenly changing directions. Naruto's eyes widened as he ran to follow, turning around a corner at high speeds until his body stopped moving at the sight before him.

There was blood everywhere. The entire compound was unerringly quiet, as the usual life that noisily generated sound was laying about, slaughtered everywhere. Bloody corpses lathered and draped themselves across the ground. Their blood splattered over the walls and ground as their bodies laid motionlessly on the dirt. Each and every corpse had one thing in common. The Uchiha crest was clearly present on their backs.

Naruto had to stop himself from falling on his knees. All of his facial features were trembling as he stood uneasy in place. "W-What the hell is going on here?!" He hissed to himself as he ran over and checked the corpses.

They were all dead, but their bodies weren't entirely cold yet.

Steadying himself on his feet, he looked around him before breaking into a sprint as he rushed around the compound. Every street, house, and corner of the compound was filled with corpses. Blood was staining the ground and houses.

It was a massacre, but whoever had done this had to still be nearby.

Naruto kept running. His feet moving his tired body through the compound only to witness body... after body… lying dead on the ground.

As he got around the corner to get to the Military Police Force station, Naruto stopped running as a person came into view. However, this person wasn't familiar at all. And his appearance was extremely hostile. Laying dead at his feet was the girl that Naruto had come to know as Izumi. And in the stranger's hand, was a bloody rod.

Naruto's face fell into an angry scowl as he grit his teeth, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Just who the hell do you think you are?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, not even startling the stranger that casually turned around to reveal a masked face.

The man didn't say a word whatsoever as a Sharingan eye gazed at him from the lone hole in his mask.

Naruto quickly felt himself getting past his breaking point. This guy dared kill his surrogate family, and then proceeded to stand there like nothing was happening? This was unforgivable… Could this man be responsible for Shisui's death?

"ANSWER ME!" Naruto roared at the top of his lungs as he leaped off the ground, a kunai in his hand that he thrust straight toward the man's heart, but to Naruto's surprise, instead of seeing the man caved open by the sharp knife, or even seeing him avoiding the attack in some manner, he just let it phase right through him.

As if the man was made out of thin air, Naruto also found himself flying through his front and out of his back before he knew out, barely landing in time due to his surprise. The blond's scowling face looked on in surprise as he quickly turned around. Putting his guard up. he glared daggers into the man's skull as he yet again turned to face him.

"It's rather odd to expect an answer, and then try to kill the person you're questioning. Unless you can talk to the dead, or have a passing interest in necrophilia, you seem less intelligent than the average dead last academy student. Uzumaki Naruto." The man's voice was deep and booming, his tone calm and easy. Seemingly not phased at all.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you killing the Uchiha?!" Naruto yelled out as the man finally decided to open his mouth to speak instead of just standing there and ignoring him like yesterday's recluse.

The man hummed to himself as he tilted his head, "You can know me as Tobi if you really need an answer. How are you doing, Naruto? It's been some time since we've met. The last time I saw you, you were quite the golden goose."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he stared with other confusion. "What nonsense are you spouting now?"

"My, my, so rude. Are you still a screamer by the way? Thanks again for being such a helpful ally. I never got the chance to thank you for disposing of the Yondaime, did I... he was an annoyance, so yeah, thanks." Tobi casually chatted as he crossed his arms behind his back in a relaxed manner, the red-eye calmly gazing in amusement at the enraged blond.

"Why you…" Naruto growled as he lept off the ground, dark blue lightning circling around his arm as he slammed it right into Tobi, but to no avail. The ground may have exploded into a huge cloud of dust and debris, but the madman was still standing there unaffected.

"Aren't you tired of this yet? This is starting to get old. But this is interesting. I never knew that you were such a fan of Danzo, to the extent that you'd even go out of your way to dress up as him? The cripple look suits you." Tobi sighed as he kicked Naruto in the chin, sending the blond flying through the air and into the Police Force's building. His back crashed against the wall before he slumped down on one knee, a small droplet of blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

"Shut up! And don't you dare talk about my father!" Naruto hissed through heavy breathing. His body wasn't completely healed, and he was still exhausted from the fight against Hiruzen. Not to mention that he may as well classify his left arm as useless.

"Why not? He died thanks to your wonderful efforts. It was truly pathetic, but you were quite the big brother too, weren't you? At the very least, you kept your family together in the end. Man of the world, in both flesh and blood." Tobi chuckled as he placed his hand on his hip.

Naruto's being started to shake as his eyes darkened. The blue irises turned red with his pupil turning into slits. His facial features grew more and more feral as he flew forward and, as expected, flew right through Tobi again before rolling across the ground.

"Are all Uzumaki this stupid? Your mother at least had more balls than you, to make up for her stupidity, but I guess that only ran in the females. To think that Minato left the village in your hands is beyond my understanding. Here I thought that he was supposed to be a genius or something, but he truly was foolish to the very end. Leaving his precious village, of all things, in the hands of his weak incapable disgrace of a son. Maybe he inherited the stupidity genes from your mother? Or was he always that stupid? " Tobi commented dryly as he turned to watch Naruto shake in place.

Tobi's words sunk deep into Naruto's heart. As if he hadn't thought these things a million times to himself by now. He could insult him all he wanted, but if he dared to mock his parents. His and the village's heroes, then there would be hell to pay.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto roared out as he got onto his feet. Anger and turmoil building within his core. Red chakra coalesced around him, permeating his entire body and forming a cloak as he tried to contain his anger.

Casually looking down at the ticking time-bomb, Tobi gleefully continued, "Ah, but seriously, at the bare minimum, you are great at prioritizing. Instead of caring about your friend, you spent the week chasing a drunkard across the country, then threw a tantrum, wonderful work, really. Are you sure you aren't related to Kakashi? Oh wait, he IS your big brother. That explains everything."

Tobi just chuckled as he looked up at the moon, "And would you look at the time. I'm afraid I can't play with you any longer, I have places to be. I'll leave the rest of the Uchiha and the new Uzumaki in your capable hands. I'm sure that you'll do your big brother justice and cause your other friend's death too, no? Go for the heart this time, Kakashi would appreciate the sentimentality, But anyhow, Tata…" And just as quickly as the words had left his mouth, the man started swirling out of existence. Seemingly warping into the eyehole of his mask. Leaving no trace to be found.

Naruto grit his teeth in anger and slammed his fist into the ground, staring into the dirt. He had let the enemy getaway. He had failed. Again. And worse, he had been unable to refute a single thing the bastard had said.

The cloak began to dissipate as he got back up on his feet; a frown settled onto his face as he stared at the lifeless form of Uchiha Izumi. That girl and Itachi would probably have ended up together one day, but now that was just another dream that would never come true.

He hated this. He didn't understand a thing, everything was just going wrong. Shisui dies, then the Uchiha is massacred. And then this masked man… It reminded him of what his father had said to him before he died.

"Look out for the man with a mask…"

'He's probably the person who Tou-san was talking about...' Naruto thought to himself before his line of thought was interrupted by a loud scream. It sounded familiar.

His eyes widened suddenly as he spun around on his feet and ran toward the Uchiha estate, 'Sasuke! Shit, I got distracted. At least he's still alive if that scream is anything to go by!' He had just seen the boy, and there was no way that masked freak could have gotten to him already.

And he never would. Naruto wouldn't… Couldn't, let that happen.

Closing his eyes for a second, they snapped open a moment later to reveal the very same menacing eyes that he had displayed in his fight against Hiruzen, his legs surrounded themselves with small streaks of black lightning that started to carry him at insane speeds toward the Uchiha family house that was quickly appearing in front of him.

"LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" A feminine voice screamed out. And Naruto knew instantly who it was. It was Mikoto. She and Sasuke were still alive, he still had a job to do! He might have failed the rest of the clan but he would die before he let anything happen to those two.

Speeding through the porch and front door, Naruto's view came in contact with Sasuke's back turned to him. Quickly he landed beside the young Uchiha and pressed a pressure point in his neck to make him pass out. If that masked freak truly was an Uchiha slaughtering his own clan, he wouldn't let him use any Genjutsu to fry Sasuke's brain.

And besides, best try to minimize whatever nightmares he suffers from this night...

Sasuke's body slumped over as his eyes slowly shut and his mind faded into unconsciousness. Naruto quickly grabbed him and laid the young boy down against the floor, his vision instantly snapping up. He was prepared to meet the masked man once again, but when his eyes landed on his teammate, the person who was practically a brother to him, his mind almost shut down.

There was Itachi. His clothes and sword drenched in blood as he stood over his father's body. His Sharingan ablaze as he looked over to his own mother who was sitting down against the wall below the window, recalcitrance, and despair written all over her face as she stared back up at him.

"Itachi!" Naruto roared, getting the dark-haired teen's attention.

The Uchiha prodigy turned his head to face Naruto, his facial expression devoid of any emotion, whatsoever, as he held his sword up. The crimson red Sharingan eyes scanned him briefly, and Itachi calmly spoke, "You would think that, after losing control and almost committing treason, you would stop using this new power of yours. Shisui's death must have been harder on you than I realized."

Naruto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he clenched his fist tightly. "And that would come from you? You have slaughtered your own family, your own flesh and blood! You were ready to kill both of your parents and your brother! What the hell is going on with you? And that masked man…"

"They were holding me back, and you should leave too if you don't want to join them." Itachi's monotone voice was drier than Naruto had ever heard it before.

As Itachi raised his sword above his mother's head, the older woman's eyes widening in surprise, the Uchiha didn't get time to react before Naruto grabbed his ANBU vest and flung them out of the window, the glass shattering with a trail of lightning following them before they crashed and rolled across the grass.

"Cut the crap! What is going on?! Why are you killing the Uchiha?!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, already back on his feet as his body twitched with small jolts of pain rushing through it. This new power of his… it took a lot out of him.

"What is that power of yours? I have never seen anything like it. I can't even properly copy it with my Sharingan." Itachi said as he completely and utterly ignored Naruto's questions.

The blond just narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. He truly didn't know. He had never used this before, nor did he understand how it worked. What he did know was that his body was hurting even days after using it the first time. His muscles and cells sore all the way to his trembling bones as he channeled it through his body.

"Don't ignore me you twisted piece of shit… Answer me!"

Itachi's lips lifted up into a small smirk as he swatted his sword to the side. Droplets of blood flicked onto the grass as his Sharingan spun around, "To test the limits of my abilities." Was his only response as he ran forward, his sword held by his side as he slashed the sharp metal toward the blond's head.

Naruto flipped out of the sword's range and reached for a handful of Shuriken. The metal between his fingers erupting in electricity before they were tossed at lightning speed toward Itachi, who deflected each and every one of them with ease. Yet, surprisingly, the last Shuriken crashed hard with his blade. The black lightning enhanced metal cut into the sword, making its blade snap in half.

Itachi raised a brow with a fascinated look. He hadn't expected that. Tossing the broken blade onto the ground, he dashed forward again and started throwing punches and kicks at the blond, who preceded to block or dodge them all with veritable ease.

The Uchiha grunted briefly as each time he clashed with his blond opponent, strong waves of lightning passed through his body, numbing his muscles as he flipped away.

"Don't give me that, don't you think I've seen how none of this matches up? First Fugaku, and then the gate guards... The Uchiha, overall, have been acting strangely! All of a sudden Shisui dies, do you honestly believe that I believe your little story, whether it be him being suicidal, or about how you want to test your powers?!" Naruto hissed through gritted teeth.

"Shisui and the Uchiha were weak, and so are you." Itachi dryly responded as he started to flip through hand seals, however before he could finish his last seal Naruto appeared as a black lightning bolt before him, grasping him by his wrist as clenched his other hand into a fist, and proceeded to slam it into the raven head's gut, making him spit salvia all over the ground as his ANBU vest was then grabbed.

"YOU ALWAYS WERE A LOUSY LIAR!" Naruto cried in anguish, tossing Itachi at high speeds through the air as the Uchiha's body slammed sideways into a tree, his back arching around the holy log, with the bark and tree splintering from the impact before he slumped sideways onto the ground.

All praise the holy log for its wonderful sacrifice.

Itachi grunted slightly as his Sharingan caught onto the movement of Naruto close to him, he just managed to jump up into the air as the blond slammed an ax kick right into the ground where Itachi had been laying a moment prior. The ground cracked and shattered on impact.

'His powers aren't as strong as before, I suppose he still hasn't recovered yet from his battle.' Itachi mused as he finished the hand seals that Naruto had interrupted earlier. Bringing his fingers up to his mouth as he exhaled a huge blazing fireball down toward Naruto who flashed out of existence to avoid the attack that exploded against the tree.

'He's still fast, though.' Itachi thought to himself, a small inaudible chuckle escaping his lips as he landed on top of a branch, staring down to where Naruto flashed into existence.

The blond was panting slightly as the black lightning disappeared and his eyes returned to normal, his forehead and bangs drenched in sweat as his left hang limply to his side.

Standing up with his guard lowered, Naruto shifted his eyes up to look directly into Itachi's. Red Sharingan eyes locked with blue ones as Itachi's narrowed in surprise at both the actions and the following words.

"I just want the truth, kami damnit…" And there was a moment of silence. No words were said. And Naruto's eyes widened as Itachi's Sharingan spun rapidly, the tomoes morphing into a Shuriken with bent edges before his world went blank.

'It shouldn't have come to this… If maybe I had done something to stop it, then the Uchiha and the village might have been…' Mikoto's trail of thoughts ended abruptly when the lack of sound from outside finally registered in her ears.

She had been taking care of her youngest that Naruto had knocked out, probably to save him from any further mental damage, but she was still worried. Now that everything outside was quiet, she pulled her child into her arms and lifted her upper body to gaze out of the broken window.

The sight before her made her eyes widen dangerously. Itachi, her eldest son, was bleeding from his left eye as he turned around to leave. 'M-Mangekyou?' She thought to herself with a mix of amazement and fear.

She knew that Fugaku had a Mangekyou Sharingan, but she also knew of the damage that it did to you. Both physically and mentally. Lifting Sasuke into her arms, she watched her son leave before she abruptly stormed out of the door and outside to the garden.

She looked around, trying to see if she could spot Itachi hiding somewhere but when she deemed that the coast was clear, she looked back to where the two teens had been fighting. Her eyes widened with worry as she watched what her son had done to his best friend.

Sprawled up against the porch, Naruto laid with his head hanging down with his chin resting against his chest. His eyes shut as a line of dried salvia trailed down from the corner of his mouth. In his shoulder, a kunai was firmly lodged in; warm blood spilled down his ANBU vest from his impaled skin.

"Naruto!" She called out and dropped to her knees beside him, Sasuke firmly placed against her as she used her free hand to check his pulse.

He was still alive. She sighed with relief as he placed a hand on his cheek, looking him over with worry.

'He's out of it, but the only damage he suffered was to his shoulder… Did Itachi use genjutsu on him?' She wondered, her hand roaming into his hair to gently stroke it while waiting for the eventual help to arrive. What she didn't get was why Itachi had left her alive.

I seem to apologize a lot for the wait, but yeah, a lot of stuff is going on. I have school, and I've been a bit sick. Plus, I have had some difficulty with this chapter, so I honestly won't be surprised if you don't find it that good either.

Anyhow, what did you think Itachi did to Naruto? Just what torture did Itachi place him under, I wonder.