Chapter 38: Growing Pains
…
"Onii-chan!" I shouted, leaping into his arms when he appeared in a swirl of air. It was difficult to track time within the Kamui dimension, but it must have been months since I'd seen him last, and that had been in the aftermath of his fight with Sasuke. "Are you okay?"
Not waiting for an answer, I ran a diagnostic jutsu on him. He wasn't outwardly wounded, which was a relief. But I frowned at the feel of his chakra. It was…pained. Not as bad as if he'd endured a mental attack like Tsukuyomi…but he was still hurting. I projected Positive Intent to sooth him. It seemed to work, at least a little.
"Kiyo-chan," Itachi murmured, holding me close. "I am sorry. I should have come to see you sooner."
I just shook my head.
"It's alright," I said, smiling. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."
There was a sudden spike of pain in Itachi's chakra. Okay, wrong thing to say. I held him tighter and increased my Positive Intent. His chakra rippled, wavering.
"I am glad that you are still here," he said. "I was not certain that you would be."
Huh?
I didn't understand what he was suggesting.
"...I can't leave the Kamui dimension without Obito," I told him. He already knew that.
Itachi pulled back a bit, and I looked up at him, at his mismatched eyes, one dark and focused, the other cloudy and white.
"I was not certain that you would be alive," he clarified.
I didn't understand.
"...Obito can't hurt me," I said. He knew that too.
A shadow crossed Itachi's face.
"Obito is not the one I feared would hurt you," he said quietly.
I didn't want to understand.
I looked away.
Itachi stroked my hair, but I kept my gaze turned downward.
"Kiyo-chan," he said softly. "Kiyo-chan, please look at me."
I didn't.
I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to face what I'd been so steadfastly ignoring for all of these years. I didn't want to admit it, not even to myself.
Itachi sighed.
"I once thought…that my death would cleanse me of my sins," he said. "That everything would be made right as long as my death could turn Sasuke into a hero and send you home safely. But I see now that what I held was a naïve and imperfect dream. Because I did not truly consider the life and the world that I would be leaving for you…and whether or not you would want it."
There was a long moment of silence, and I finally looked up at him. It was his turn to look away.
"When I saw you for the first time after returning to Konoha, I was…happy," he said. "I'd feared that you would grow up during our time apart and that I wouldn't even recognize you. I told myself that it did not matter. As long as you and Sasuke were alive, I needed nothing else. But instead you were just the same as you were when we'd parted, not only in body, but in your heart and mind too. It was as if I'd never left at all. When we spoke in Tsukuyomi, it felt like coming home."
Itachi looked off into the distance of the Kamui dimension, his expression hollow and sad.
"And so you stayed," he continued. "I never spoke to you about it, never objected, not even after you remained a child when you no longer required constant healing. And that was for my own selfish reasons. I had cast aside everything else in this world. Everything but Sasuke's life and…you. I did not want you to grow up. And that was my mistake. My failure. I only ever thought of what I wanted, and I always lied to you, never even asking for forgiveness. And I never asked…."
He trailed off.
"...Do you want to grow up?"
It was a simple question.
One that should have had a simple answer.
"...I don't know," I said, speaking at last. I should have wanted to grow up. I'd been grown up for my entire life here. I just… "I just never thought I would."
There was another long silence. Itachi simply held me, waiting for me to be ready.
"...When I was little, I was always sick, and I thought that I would die young," I said. Technically true, though those facts were unrelated. "Then that night happened…You put me under Tsukuyomi, and I spent eighty years living in a dream world. So, you see, I-I've actually been a little old lady this whole time." I tried to give a smile, like it was a joke, but it felt weak. Wrong. I let it fall. "...I died in that dream world. And then I…woke up."
Itachi was only 13 at the time.
He hadn't understood the cruelty of his mercy.
"I was a child again, sick and weak," I said. "I wished that things would go back to the way they were. Back before everything went wrong. I just wanted things to stay the same. I just wanted to–"
…to what?
To wake up again?
To have everything erased and brought back to the way it once was?
But this wasn't Tsukuyomi. It wasn't a nightmare to be undone with the coming of daylight. This was reality. Cold, brutal, unrelenting reality. And yet here I was…waiting for it all to end. Like I was still standing at the door to the dojo with Itachi facing me in the moonlight.
I'd only offered the smallest of objections when he'd given me a perfect world of dreams.
I hadn't understood the cruelty of his mercy either.
"I…wasn't supposed to survive," I whispered. "I was supposed to die that night. But I didn't. Then the world just moved on, and I was left behind."
Until that night, every moment of my life was in preparation for my death. It was supposed to be a story told and ended. But it didn't end. It just kept going, and I remained a small frightened child waiting for a death that never came.
And so…I'd tried to give myself the death that I'd been denied.
I'd offered Itachi my life when we met after the Invasion. I'd offered it so that Sasuke could gain his Mangekyo Sharingan. But Itachi had refused.
I'd tried again with the Hashirama cells after I'd realized that my existence had caused Gaara's death. I'd thought that if I died in pursuit of a cure for Itachi and others, that it would be worth it. But Obito was there to save me.
I'd tried again with Jiraiya, throwing myself in front of Pein's attack. I'd thought that Nagato would surely kill me for my betrayal…but I hadn't expected him to grant me mercy.
I'd actually succeeded with Sasuke. When I'd seen Mikoto, the overwhelming emotion that I'd been too afraid to name had been…relief. Relief that finally, after everything, at long last, it was finally over. All of my pain. All of my fear. All of my doubt. Everything could be washed away. I'd never once asked for paradise. All I wanted was for everything to stop.
But then Itachi pulled me back.
And the weight of the world was returned to my shoulders once more. But even then, even after Itachi gave his eye to save me, I still couldn't stop.
When I faced Obito, I could have escaped with my brothers using the Hiraishin, but I hadn't because I hadn't wanted to. I'd put barriers and protections around my brothers but not myself because I hadn't wanted to. I'd realized that Obito was stalling for time but I didn't finish him off because I hadn't wanted to. What I'd wanted…was for him to kill me. It would be fine as long as I died while protecting my brothers. The way I hadn't protected Shisui and the rest of my family.
And when, against all odds, it seemed that I would win anyway, I'd even revealed that I knew his true identity, a sure way to guarantee that he would have to kill me. But then he didn't…because of the command Itachi had placed into Shisui's eye.
By then Obito had realized what I was trying to do, so he'd placed the seal on my heart to prevent me from ending my own life. Itachi must have realized it too. Of course he would. I'd asked him to return my body to the clan grounds in Konoha. So that I could finally be in the only place I felt that I truly belonged.
"Sometimes it is not for us to decide what was 'supposed' to happen," said Itachi gently. "Perhaps you were never supposed to live. But you did. And I am glad for it, whether it was supposed to happen or not."
Hot tears fell down my face as my body shook.
"I'm just so scared…all the time," I mumbled.
First Zabuza, then Gaara, Pein, and now Obito. One after another. I'd been swept up and carried off to places and battles far beyond me. I'd lived by chance and the mercy of those who took my fate into their hands.
"What do you need to no longer be afraid?" Itachi asked.
Good question.
I'd never really thought about it, never even considered it a possibility. How could I when I knew exactly what was coming? Although that wasn't entirely true, was it? After my initial panic on realizing what world I'd been reborn into, I hadn't been particularly afraid of dying in the massacre. Sure, when the night had finally arrived, I'd considered running away. But I hadn't. I'd gone to meet Itachi and my death willingly.
But afterwards I'd been cast out into a sea of uncertainty, populated only by the monsters that I knew were coming for me and my brothers.
No, I wasn't afraid because I knew the future.
I was afraid because I didn't know my future.
And how could I when it was never for me to decide? Every time I'd tried to choose my own path, someone else had swooped in to change my course. I was left constantly fumbling, trying to maintain some semblance of control over my own life when in reality, I had no control at all.
And so I was afraid.
And I clung to the last moment of my life when I felt like I truly knew what would become of me.
"...I-I…" I trailed off.
The silence was filled with agony, like an old wound reopened. All of my pain and my regret. It hurt so much…
I looked down, clenching my skirt in my small fists. Obito had been kind enough to bring me a fresh, un-bloodied outfit shortly after Sasuke's visit. But the pristine white felt wrong, somehow. Like a lie.
"All this time I kept you safe under my wing but I never allowed you to stand by my side," said Itachi. "I didn't want to involve you and drag you into my darkness. And now I think that I should have trusted you and Sasuke. Instead I acted alone, and this is where my decisions have brought us."
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, the right one was the red and black of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"So now I will face you fully," he said. "I will speak only the truth and not the pretty lies meant to keep you safe. This world we live in has brought you nothing but pain, and so I will not stand beside it while you suffer. If you want revenge against the world and Konoha as Sasuke does, then I will burn this world to ash. And if you want to leave it all behind, to leave this life of fear and anguish, then I will…lay you to rest. Whatever it is you want, whatever you decide…I will make it so."
It should have been an easy choice. After all, I'd been trying so hard to end my pain for all these years. And with Obito keeping me captive, my death would set my brothers free. And yet…
"...I need…" I began. What did I need? It was simple really. What I needed was… "...to borrow your cloak."
Itachi's expression, once deathly serious, fell into a look of utter confusion.
The shift was comical enough to make me smile.
"Because I still want to save this world," I said. "And to do that, I'll need to grow up. And to grow up, I'll need an outfit that fits…"
…
Even after three years of separation, when they arrived, I knew them right away. Haku's frame was still light and his features were still delicate. He wore an elaborately embroidered white kimono with voluminous sleeves as well as pale-blue hakama pants. The overall look made him seem even more feminine than ever, like a yuki-onna from fairy tales brought to life.
Karin, too, had grown. Her hair was longer and she wore a long-sleeved purple shirt with shorts and stockings. Her expression was locked into a scowl as she surveyed the Kamui dimension. When her eyes landed on me, she had a look of surprise and…anger?
Haku knelt immediately and bowed his head.
"Kiyo-sama," he said, the word an almost reverent prayer.
Karin remained standing, her head bowed and her hands balled into fists.
"It's…it's not fair," she said, her shoulders shaking.
I thought of what they'd been through…because of me. I should have been there. I should have protected them. I'd brought them to Konoha with the promise of safety and a better life, but instead they'd been dragged into darkness and left to the whims of Orochimaru.
I wasn't sure what I could say to undo everything they'd endured. They must have suffered so much while I was gone.
I opened my mouth, but Karin spoke first.
"How is everyone in your family so gorgeous?!" Karin shouted, lifting her head to glare at me. "It's not fair!"
Of course she was angry. She'd obviously…
Wait.
"What?" I asked dumbly, but Karin continued on, heedless of my interruption.
"I thought Sasuke-sama was good-looking, but Itachi-sama is on a whole other level!" she ranted, her expression shifting into one of dreamy ideation. A tinge of pink dusted her cheeks as she went on. "His face. I thought it was so cold at first, but his smile…Ah, I could look at that all day. And he's so kind. That bastard Obito wanted to get rid of us, but Itachi-sama talked him out of it. And you!" She rounded on me, jabbing an accusatory finger in my direction, her expression snapping back into a scowl. "You're so beautiful it's almost annoying. That face! That hair! And where exactly did those come from?!"
I looked down, following the direction of her pointed finger straight toward my chest.
Oh...
After my discussion with Itachi, I'd used my transformation technique to develop my body to its proper age. As a result, I'd grown noticeably taller with longer hair that now reached almost to my knees, and my face had shed the soft roundness of childhood to reveal the delicate aristocratic features common among the Uchiha. I was also now rather, uh, 'top heavy' which I suspected was due to the Hashirama cells, at least if Tsunade's reputation was anything to go by.
I was currently wearing Itachi's Akatsuki cloak and was holding the front closed because I didn't trust the button to handle the task. Itachi had promised to return with something that fit properly, but until then, I had to make do with this.
I looked at Karin, back at my chest, and finally at her once more.
"...They…just grew?" I said uncertainly, not quite sure how we were having this conversation.
"You have a full-body transformation technique!" said Karin, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "And you expect me to believe that those are a gift from heaven?! Don't be selfish! Teach me your jutsu!"
Before I could protest my innocence, Haku was suddenly there.
"Karin, release Kiyo-sama," he said, his voice soft but firm as he placed a hand on Karin's shoulder. There was a hint of Intent behind his words, which made me pause.
Karin scoffed, but she stopped shaking me and let me go.
"Sorry?" I muttered, whatever scraps of apology I'd scraped together fleeing under the weight of my distilled bewilderment.
"There is no need to apologize," said Haku smoothly. "We are simply glad that you are unharmed."
…Right.
"And what about you?" I asked.
"We are well, Kiyo-sama," said Haku with a smile.
I wasn't quite sure I believed that. Now that I had a moment to examine them, Haku's chakra felt…off. Cold and dark. Not unlike Sasuke's. And his smile felt so…icy.
It was all wrong.
I tentatively reached up to take his hand and ran a diagnostic jutsu. He was indeed unhurt. There was no sign of a curse mark, past or present, though the sheer frostiness of his chakra made me shiver.
But…what was I expecting? For them to be the same people I'd left behind three years ago? A gentle boy trying to find his way in the world and a shy girl hoping for a better life? Of course they wouldn't be. Even if Orochimaru hadn't gotten to them, people changed. They grew up.
It was only me who lingered in the past, my every step forward halting and labored.
I released Haku without a word and moved on to Karin. She looked away when I took her hand. I understood why immediately. Karin had gained some rather familiar scar-patterns. I touched her long sleeves meant to conceal the bite-marks.
"May I?" I asked. Karin nodded, still not looking at me.
I healed the scars. It only took a moment, though there were many…
"I'm sorry," I said. "Because of me you were–"
"Oh, don't give me that," Karin snapped, snatching back her hand. "You're not responsible for everything that happens in the world, you know. Tch. You're almost as arrogant as–"
There was a sudden burst of unnatural icy wind.
"You will show Kiyo-sama proper respect, Karin," said Haku, his soft words once again laced with Intent. No, not just Intent. Killing Intent. "Or do you want me to kill you that badly?"
What?!
"It's alright, Haku," I said hurriedly. "I don't mind. We're all friends here, right?"
Neither one acknowledged me at all, instead staring at each other for a long moment before Karin looked away.
"Forgive me, Kiyo-sama," she muttered.
"...Yes, of course," I said, looking between them.
Was this really Karin and Haku? Karin I could sort-of understand. Despite her brief detour to Konoha, she wasn't actually that different from the person she was supposed to become, except that she'd apparently latched onto Itachi rather than Sasuke. But Haku? I had nothing to compare him against. Sure, he'd been raised by Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, but he'd been such a kind boy, unwilling to kill Naruto and Sasuke even when his own life depended on it. How had he become a man who could casually threaten to murder a friend over a few curt words?
…Or was I the only person who ever thought of us as friends?
"Kiyo-sama," said Haku, interrupting my thoughts. "We are here for a purpose. Itachi-sama has requested that we deliver these items to you."
Haku produced a bundle of cloth and laid it out onto the ground, pulling out several articles of clothing for my consideration. They included a pale blue shirt, a set of loose black pants, and a pair of knee-high black sandals. There was also a dark blue cloak with long sleeves, a raised collar, and the Uchiha crest sewn on the back.
"Thank you, these are perfect," I said, pushing aside my misgivings. I hadn't been sure how much of my request Itachi would be able to accommodate, but he'd gotten everything exactly as I'd asked. "Let me try these on."
I changed quickly in the bower while Haku and Karin waited outside. I could hear Karin whispering something to Haku but I did my best not to listen. When she fell silent, I stepped out of the bower fully dressed. The cloak I now wore was an open-fronted version of the traditional Uchiha-style robe commonly used by my clan before joining Konoha. Add in a bit of armor, and I'd be dressed for battle.
"Is there anything else you require, Kiyo-sama?" Haku asked.
I shook my head.
"No…but I really am sorry for everything that happened," I said. "Please forgive me. If I had only–"
"Ugh, I already told you!" interrupted Karin. "Stop blaming yourself for everything! None of us knew what was going to happen."
That made me pause because…well, it wasn't quite true, was it? I might not have known about my abduction, but I had known that Orochimaru would make his offer to Sasuke. It wasn't impossible to guess what might happen if Sasuke chose to accept.
"If you've got the time and energy to mope around, then think of a way to get out of here!" Karin added, watching me closely and seeming to read my mind. Or more likely my chakra since she was a sensor too…And with a jolt, I realized that Karin's apparent annoyance didn't actually match her chakra at all. Instead she felt…concerned? For me?
Oh!
So that was it…After spending most of her life in Hidden Grass and Hidden Sound, Karin obviously wouldn't be the type of person to state things plainly or to offer soft words of comfort. Her bluster and annoyance were all an act meant to startle me out of my guilt and to keep me too unbalanced to wallow in misery. Now that I understood, her meaning became clear.
I'm glad you're okay.
Don't worry. Itachi is protecting us.
It's not your fault.
Let's get you out of here.
Underneath the underneath. Karin really was a kunoichi.
As was I...
Itachi's words from earlier still echoed in my head. I, too, always lied to everyone. I acted alone, and this is where my secrets had brought us. But not anymore. Itachi had chosen to face me fully and speak only the truth. It was time for me to do the same.
"Thank you, Karin," I said, truly grateful. "I think I needed to hear that. And…I think I might actually have a way out of here. But first, there's something I need you to do for me…"
…
The return of my brothers to the Kamui dimension didn't take nearly as long as I'd feared it might, but I was still alarmed when Sasuke proceeded to faceplant in front of me immediately after his arrival.
"Nii-chan!" I shouted, rushing to his side.
A quick diagnostic jutsu was enough to reveal that he was mostly fine, and cycling healing chakra through his body took care of the minor injuries he'd sustained. The only worrying thing was the fact that his eyes had deteriorated significantly, a clear indication that he'd been overusing his Mangekyo Sharingan. I couldn't say that I was surprised though. Karin had mentioned that my brothers were going after Danzo at the Five Kage summit, so this much was expected.
I finished up just in time for Itachi's arrival, which, thankfully, did not result in a faceplant.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, pushing himself up from the ground and shrugging me off. He gave my new appearance a quick glance but made no comment. I scooted over to Itachi, who kindly knelt and allowed me to heal him as well. "What did you want to talk about?"
Oh good. They'd gotten my message. I'd asked Haku and Karin to subtly let my brothers know that I had something important to tell them, and it needed to be done as soon as possible.
I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves.
"There's something I need to tell you that I should have told you a long time ago," I said. "I'm not sure how much time we have, and this is going to sound impossible, but please listen..." I hesitated, but only for a moment. "I was born into our family as Uchiha Kiyo, but before I was Kiyo…I was someone else. I'm a…reincarnation, and in my previous life there was a story. It was a story called 'Naruto'."
Manga and anime didn't really exist in this world, at least not to the same extent as in my previous life, but I was able to get the gist across. I told them the whole story, absolutely everything I could remember from Kaguya's past all the way through the war arc and Sasuke's fight with Naruto. I couldn't meet their gazes, instead staring hard at the ground. I didn't want to see their expressions. I could imagine their looks of disbelief or pity at my obvious insanity. Because who would ever believe something as impossible as my existence?
Sasuke and Itachi didn't interrupt me even once during my recitation of the story, a fact that increased my anxiety immensely as my retelling wound down and finally reached its conclusion.
"I don't know how useful this knowledge is now," I said. "People are gone who should still be alive." Gaara. Kankuro. Killer Bee. "And people are here who should be gone." Haku. Jiraiya. Nagato. Konan. Itachi. "The fate of the world is going to be decided with this war. I thought I was protecting it by trying to keep most things the same. But now so much has changed. It's okay if you don't believe me, but–"
"You knew," said Sasuke. I glanced up, surprised by the unmistakable rage in his voice. When I met his eyes, I saw that they were the red and black of his Mangekyo Sharingan. "All this time…you always knew."
There was no disbelief in his gaze.
"...Yes," I said. "...I always knew."
"And you didn't do anything?" Sasuke snapped, suddenly on his feet. "Our clan. Our family! And you–"
"Sasuke," said Itachi, also standing and placing his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.
Sasuke swatted his hand away before rounding on Itachi.
"She knew!" he shouted. "If she'd done something, Shisui would still be alive! Our clan might have survived! Doesn't that mean anything to you!?"
I flinched at that, but Itachi seemed unfazed.
"Shisui and I both knew the risks," said Itachi. "And we knew what the clan was planning. How could I expect Kiyo-chan to save the clan and village when Shisui and I could not?"
Sasuke's fists clenched and unclenched as sparks of lightning danced between his fingers. With every muscle in his body tense, he turned and stalked to the edge of the platform.
I glanced at Itachi, who remained by my side.
"...Onii-chan…" I began, not quite sure what I wanted to say.
I wanted to ask for forgiveness, but somehow it didn't feel appropriate. 'Sorry' didn't mean much after everything I'd failed to do. Sasuke was right. But they didn't have to forgive me. As long as they knew the truth and could prepare for what was coming, that would be enough.
Even if it meant that they would hate me forever…
"It must have been difficult for you," Itachi said softly. "You have carried this burden alone for a very long time. I'm sorry that I did not notice it sooner."
I shook my head. How could he possibly look at this situation and think that any of it was his fault?
"It was because of me," I said. "If I'd done something…if I'd told you sooner…"
Maybe things would have been different.
"There is little point in wondering what might have been," said Itachi. "'If' is a treacherous word for those with as many regrets as you and I."
"But…because of me, everyone was…" I trailed off. "You have every right to hate me."
Itachi let out a slow breath.
"...There was a time when I wanted you to hate me for everything that I had done," he said. "I thought that it would ease the burden of my guilt. But when I demanded your hatred, you simply scolded me and told me that it was not for me to decide how you should feel. I was your big brother. You still loved me. And that would not change. So now it is my turn to tell you…that you are still my little sister. I still love you. And that will not change."
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"You…don't seem very surprised," I said. I'd expected nothing but disbelief, but both he and Sasuke had accepted my wild, impossible story without a moment of hesitation or doubt.
"I'm not," said Itachi. "You have always known things that you should not have known, and though the source of your knowledge is indeed…difficult to accept, it does explain many things. You never acted entirely like a child. Even Sasuke noticed. And Shisui always joked that you were like a little princess reborn into the body of a toddler. I could not disagree with him, though I did not expect his assessment to be quite so accurate."
Kiyo-hime…That was what he had called me.
"So, what now?" I asked, glancing over at where Sasuke still stood.
"I'll talk to him," said Itachi, straightening. "Would you give us a moment?"
There wasn't much privacy in the Kamui dimension, so I retreated to the bower as Itachi made his way over to Sasuke. I tried not to pay attention, but I could still feel the rise and fall of their chakras as they spoke. After some time, Sasuke's chakra calmed, and they made their way back.
"Is there anything else we need to know about?" Sasuke asked when he entered, his tone indicating that the answer had better be 'no'. So he was still angry but at least he was no longer enraged.
I shook my head.
"That's everything," I said. "The only thing left to decide is what to do."
"Isn't it obvious?" Sasuke asked. "We can use Kakashi's Sharingan to free you from the Kamui dimension and then deal with Obito together. Kabuto has already been killed by Haku. That will prevent Madara's revival. Killing Zetsu should prevent everything else."
"...That might not be the best idea," I said slowly. I'd been thinking about possible options and likely futures. "If we stop Black Zetsu, the other Otsutsuki will still arrive in the future, and their first goal will be to revive Kaguya. Then we'll have to deal with all of them working together. It would be better to defeat Kaguya now when she's the only one we have to worry about."
As if that was some small thing and not a potentially world-ending disaster.
"...If that is the case, we will need to facilitate her revival," said Itachi. "We'll need Madara as the vessel, the Fourth Hokage for his half of the Kyuubi, and the Rinnegan to control the Juubi."
Wow...he wasn't going to object? Then again, Itachi had already made it clear that he planned on helping me with whatever decision I made, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. As for Sasuke...his expression was blank and his eyes were dark, and his chakra felt...I wasn't quite sure. But Sasuke wasn't objecting either.
"And we'll need to do it in a way that doesn't result in tens of thousands of deaths," I said, watching Sasuke closely.
His eyes narrowed.
"If the Sage of Six Paths grants me his power to fight Kaguya, then there won't need to be any unnecessary killing," he said blandly.
'Unnecessary'? Whose killing did Sasuke consider 'necessary'?
I had a feeling that I already knew. That also explained why he wasn't objecting. He wanted power he could only get from Kaguya's revival.
"I think Kakashi-sensei and Naruto can be convinced to help us," I said, pushing aside my concerns for the moment. "But things might be difficult with the Raikage commanding the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"I've already killed the Raikage," said Sasuke.
What?
No. That did make sense. Sasuke's fight with A was supposed to be interrupted by Gaara. But Gaara was dead, and although Temari was strong, she wasn't really Kage-level. Without Gaara there to save him, A would be burned alive by Ameterasu.
Had been.
A had been burned alive by Ameterasu.
That thought didn't fill me with the same wave of horror and guilt that I'd felt for Gaara, Kankuro, and Killer Bee. A's death felt dull and distant, like a wound on scar tissue rather than unmarred skin.
"…Oh," I said, clearing my throat. "I've already studied Orochimaru's notes on Edo Tensei, but I don't know where to find the genetic material for Madara. Or the Shinigami Mask that can be used to free the Hokage."
"Karin will know where to find any DNA samples Kabuto had access to," said Sasuke. "She worked with him extensively on all of his projects."
"And I'm familiar with the Uzumaki clan's mask storage temple," said Itachi thoughtfully. At my puzzled expression, he added, "The seals contained within the Uzumaki masks were sometimes used by ANBU for special operations."
Well, that would certainly explain why the shrine hadn't been looted despite the absence of an Uzumaki clan to protect it.
"That just leaves the Rinnegan," I said.
"Obito intends to retrieve the Rinnegan personally and will do so once we've dealt with Danzo," said Itachi.
Yeah, but that wasn't going to end well for Nagato.
"If Nagato is working with Konoha, he might be willing to help us," I offered.
Both of my brothers just looked at me.
Okay. Fine. Yeah, convincing Nagato to sacrifice his eyes so that a reincarnated Madara could revive a rabbit goddess trapped in the moon was going to be…difficult. And Nagato had just, technically, committed mass genocide against Konoha even if he had resurrected everyone immediately afterwards.
"Hn," grunted Sasuke, which was about as much acknowledgement as my statement deserved.
"If we can retrieve the Rinnegan without killing Nagato, we will do so," said Itachi tactfully. And that was really all I could ask of them.
Actually, speaking of unrealistic requests…
"When you fight Danzo, there's something I'd like you to do…"
…
AN: Ah, it's finally happened. Kiyo has grown up. I've been waiting for this moment since I began the continuation, and I'm so glad it's finally here.
