Welcome to the WIP I've been poking at for some time and I wanted to share chapter one. I am not sure who fans will feel about this type of genre, but I thought, why not...
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"Fugaku!"
Sasuke heard his mother's voice call down the long corridor, the sound of her feet shuffling quickly but not running. He turned his head towards the closed door, wondering if he actually did hear his mother call out, his pencil stopped moving and his body remained still.
"Fugaku! Where are you!"
Sasuke got up quickly, there was no doubt that was his mother's call, and she sounded worried, and her hurried footsteps meant that something must have happened as his mother was never one to be panicked or in a hurry. The Uchiha Queen was nothing but grace, beauty and angelic as she seemed to float through the halls of the castle. Sasuke quickly ran to his chamber door to investigate, his lessons could wait.
Opening the door and looking down the hallway, he saw the back of his mother's gown fluttering around her legs and black silky hair flowing smoothly trailing behind her as she hurriedly made her way down the long corridor. Without a second thought he made his way after her.
Mikoto pushed open two large oak doors and looked about the room. "Fugaku, are you in here?" she called out through the large library. Walls of shelves that housed several hundreds of books surrounded her, arm chairs and tables in various areas and Mikoto waltzed around them as she had a hundred or so times before this with great ease. She rounded a corner of book shelves towards a large fireplace that was a blaze, holding back the sting of the early spring air. "Fugaku, darling," Mikoto breathed out, sounding relieved but her stride did not stop as she made her way towards the Uchiha king.
"Mikoto? What is it dear?" The broad intimidating figure of a man with short thick black hair, streaks of gray around his ears gave him a look of sophistication and power. He put down a book that he had in his hand and walked towards his queen, the look of concern on his face was clearly evident.
Mikoto had graciously stopped before her husband and held up an elegant paper letter, the edges feathered into a design that was common with royal families. She flicked the letter slightly, encouraging the king to take it and read it. "It's from our long time friends and allies," she breathed out, her voice still thick with fear. "It's horrible Fugaku, just horrible!" Her voice cracked and her one hand covered her mouth, stifling a sob.
Fugaku laced his one arm around Mikoto's slender shoulders and pulled her into his broad chest, kissing the crown of her head. "There, there dear, we will figure it out." He flipped open the letter with his other hand while he held his distraught wife close and reviewed the words quickly. His eyes widened in surprise as he continued to read down to the bottom of the note. When he was finished he dropped the letter and wrapped his other arm around his wife to hug her tightly. "Fear not my queen, we will go to their aid immediately!" He kissed her crown again before pulling her back. Mikoto's eyes were red and swollen from the silent tears she had shed, her nose was red at the end from her sniffles and Fugaku cupped his darling wife's face and as he ran his thumb under her eyes, wiping away her tears. "Fear not love, we will help Minato and Kushina. We will make haste." Fugaku dipped his crown down to kiss his wife's soft pink lips gently and lovingly before turning her to walk with him out of the library.
The ten-year old Sasuke had quietly peeked around the corner of the one set of library shelves, having tucked himself out of sight while he listened to what his mother was upset about. He knew King Minato and Queen Kushina, they were friends with his parents for as long as he could remember. And they had a son too, about his age, the yellow haired loudmouth Naruto. Many summers they had spent together either here or at the Uzumaki kingdom. Their parents were such close friends, that either the Uchiha's would spend a summer at the Uzumaki kingdom, or the Uzumaki's would come to the Uchiha's. Sasuke would watch as his father would get loud, laugh and be silly at times when he would spend nights drinking ale with King Minato. His mother was always smiling and giggling with Queen Kushina, who was loud just like Naruto. Their summers were precious and Sasuke always looked forward to it.
Sasuke frowned though, as he didn't understand what had happened that his father would say King Minato and Queen Kushina would need help. He saw the crinkled letter on the floor still, the one that his mother was carrying and that his father had obviously read. He scurried over to the fallen paper, scooped it up quickly and ran back into his hiding spot in case anyone came back into the library. He saw the broken wax royal emblem seal from the Uzumaki Kingdom on the backside, confirming that it did come from the King and Queen. His dark eyes quickly scanned the first few lines and his mouth fell open in shock when he got through the rest of the letter.
Your Uchiha Majesties,
We beg for your assistance as quickly as possible. Our greatest fear has come to pass. Naruto has gone missing. We find ourselves upon the third day of his absence: the Queen and I are coming to fear the worst. Our searches have come up empty and we beg that you may send your soldiers to reinforce Naruto's continued search. As you know well my friend, he is our only heir, alas his safety is of our utmost concern. We are sincerely requesting your kingdom's strength, Fugaku, so that our family may be whole again.
Your friends and allies,
The Uzumaki Majesties
The letter was written formally and simply, and Sasuke crumpled the letter up quickly. His anger flared at the thought of his friend and ally having gone missing or worse, stolen away by rival kingdoms, bandits, witches, warlocks, or demons. Sasuke shook his head, his mind thinking of the worst possible scenarios that a ten year old mind would think of. He shoved the letter in his pocket and went to go find his aniki to let him know what was going on.
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It took three days for the Uchiha family to gather their forces and attend the Uzumaki kingdom by horse and carriage. Fugaku and Mikoto quickly went through the large palace doors, and Mikoto embraced Kushina quickly. Kushina's eyes were red from crying and her face pale from worry. Minato shook Fugaku's hand firmly before pulling him into a one armed hug. Minato didn't look much better from his queen, his hair was flat, lifeless, large bags under his eyes and his skin was pale.
"Thank you for coming Fugaku," Minato whispered in his ear during their brief hug.
"Let us go talk about what happened and where you have searched already," Fugaku nodded as he walked beside Minato.
Kushina and Mikoto hugged each other while following their husbands, Mikoto whispering words of encouragement to her long time friend.
Itachi and Sasuke came in afterwards, Itachi nodded for Sasuke to come when he stepped behind the queens to follow. Being the age he was, fifteen years, Itachi was next in line to the Uchiha kingdom and was at the age to be involved in all these matters. But he knew that Sasuke considered Naruto his closest friend and wouldn't think of leaving Sasuke out of this. The two princes followed their parents to a large meeting room, where several generals and soldiers were standing around a large table, strewn with maps.
The generals and guards stood at attention when the pair of kings and queens entered, showing their respect, until Minato and Fugaku came to stand at the edge of the table, Kushina and Mikoto off to the right of them. Itachi stood to the left of the kings, Sasuke to his left. All eyes were on the table, reviewing the maps and areas that had already been searched.
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Discussions, meetings, searches with both the Uzumaki and Uchiha guards traveling all across the land went on for weeks. Guards brought in known bandits, witches, thieves, warlocks, villagers, traders, to name a few just to question them on what they may have known about Naruto's last wearabouts. Kushina and Minato were beginning to lose hope. Everyday they struggled to keep their gallant strong attitudes, filled with hope and success, but inside they were slowly dying. Mikoto supported her best friend as much as she could, but everyday it became a struggle. Fugaku was beginning to take command of the searches more and more while Minato fell more into despair. He often would pat and squeeze Minato's shoulders, giving him a supportive smile, but even those small gestures didn't appear to be working anymore.
Itachi was part of several meetings, giving suggestions and ideas of where to look for clues and which persons to talk to. He brought Sasuke along to observe and Itachi would answer Sasuke's questions or listen to his ideas in the privacy of their chambers in the evening. Sasuke was still considered too young to participate during the meetings between Kings but he was old enough to learn about being a ruler. Observing at his age was key to his success as a potential future ruler of a kingdom. But as the days turned into weeks, Itachi was beginning to lose faith in ever finding Naruto.
One evening Sasuke was unraveling an old scroll across a table in his chambers, "nii-san, I have an idea. I want to look over this -"
"Otouto…" Itachi breathed out, cutting off Sasuke. Itachi sat in an armchair that was settled close to the fireplace, resting his chin on his palm before releasing a long sorrowful sounding breath.
Sasuke's head turned to look at Itachi who sat only a few feet away from the table that Sasuke stood at. "Did you want me to bring this over there? Understandable you are tired, but I can show you-"
"Sasuke," Itachi said more firmly and cut off Sasuke once again.
Sasuke stopped rolling up the scroll, surprised at his brother's sudden biting attitude.
"It's time to talk about the unsuccessful situations that can happen in life." Itachi's eyes watched the flames dance in the fireplace, his lips pinched together in a frown and his other hand was tracing the edge of the arm rest of the chair.
"Nii-san? What do you mean?" Sasuke left the scroll and came to stand by the fireplace, his eyes watching his older brother closely. Itachi's eyes flickered over to Sasuke and he could see the shadows under his eyes and pinched lips. Sasuke had never seen his brother look this way before and he worried on his bottom lip.
"The search for Naruto-kun has been coming up empty. It's been weeks...our people, their people, have looked at every inch of this land for miles." Itachi's voice was steady and low, trying to break it to his otouto the easiest way possible.
"So! Come nii-san! I have a plan!" Sasuke pointed to the scroll left on the table, turning back towards it.
"Sasuke!" Itachi snapped out quickly. Sasuke stopped in his tracks, slowly turning his eyes towards Itachi. Guilt struck Itachi instantly when he saw the wide surprised eyes of his otouto from his outburst. "Otouto, listen," Itachi whispered, his voice smooth. Itachi rose from the chair and knelt to the floor on one knee so he could be eye to eye with Sasuke. Sasuke was biting his bottom lip but was trying to not show any emotion on his face. Itachi could see unshed tears in those young eyes.
Suddenly bells rang and screams began to pierce through the night. Itachi and Sasuke looked at each other with confusion before Itachi got up and ran to the window, Sasuke on his heels. The brothers peered into the night, the window overlooking the village below and they could see people running through the streets with torches, with children, fleeing like scared rodents. There was no moon tonight, therefore the world was shrouded in darkness but the jet of flames, the size of a geyser, cut through the darkness from the sky and lit up the rooftops of the small homes. Itachi's eyes widened at the sight, and Sasuke gasped when the flames smashed through the small homes, blowing them into splinters and leaving nothing but flames that licked up the remaining wood. But nothing prepared the two princes for the deafening roar that echoed through the night air. It was so loud Sasuke gasped and covered his ears but Itachi squinted his eyes, trying to see through the darkness to determine what made such a thunderous sound. The screams of the villagers continued to resonate through the air up to the castle walls.
"Sasuke! Quickly!" Itachi grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him away from the window.
"Aniki! What was that!? What's happening!?" Sasuke yelled out when he was dragged by Itachi away from the window. His brother said nothing while he pulled them to the large bed.
"Quickly, hide under here!" Itachi pulled Sasuke to the floor, pushing at him to get under the bed.
"Aniki! No! I want to stay with you!" His eyes glistened with unshed tears, were wide with panic as the roar continued to vibrate through the window and the screams of the villagers followed.
Itachi pulled Sasuke to the floor beside the bed and hugged him tight. "Otouto, just stay there until I find out what's going on! I need you safe!"
"But nii-san, I-I don't-"
"Please Sasuke," Itachi murmured softly into Sasuke's hair. "I need you to stay safe. I promise I'll come back as soon as possible." He pet Sasuke's hair before giving his otouto another squeeze.
Sasuke felt Itachi trembling slightly and his eyes watered at the sensation. His aniki was never afraid, never scared and it scared him to hear Itachi's voice tremble. Itachi never did that. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, causing tears to escape and hugged Itachi back. "O-okay nii-san," he whispered and he could feel Itachi shudder out a breath of relief. Sasuke slowly moved his body under the large bed, his eyes never leaving Itachi's who's eyes never left his own until Sasuke saw nothing but his brother's knees. The screams continued to echo throughout the room, explosions and the intense roars of an unknown creature shattered through Sasuke's ears that he quickly covered them. He squeezed his eyes shut while watching Itachi's feet leave the room.
Itachi hurried down the corridor, dodging guards who were running about, barking out orders at each other and ignoring the prince rushing through. The sounds of the people screaming still rang through his ears as he found his way to the war room, where he figured the kings would be meeting. Pushing his way through, he found his father and king Minato giving direction to the captains and generals and his mother and queen Kushina giving orders to the various castle help, sending them in different directions.
"Kachan! What's happening!" Itachi quickly ran up to Mitoko, embracing her quickly.
"Oh Itachi," she breathed out, sounding relieved. "Where is Sasuke?" She pulled back and looked at him with worried eyes.
"He's safe, and promised to stay safe until I go back to get him." Itachi nodded out. "What's happening and where do you need me to be?"
Mikoto smiled sadly. "The village is under attack. Your father and king Minato are working with the soldiers to hopefully deter the beast," she quickly explained. "You can help with the wounded, the women, the children, and lead them to the caves." She began to pull him towards Kushina who was talking to a castle kitchen staff. "The caves are deep, it will be-"
"No wait," Itachi stopped, causing his mother to look at him in surprise. "What do you mean beast?" As if called, a resounding roar pushed through the room so loud Itachi gasped out and covered his ears, squinting his eyes in pain. But the noise pierced his eardrums so hard he clenched his teeth and cried out while buckling down to the floor trying to block out the sound. He didn't feel the hands on his shoulders shaking him and his mother calling out to him while the ringing continued to pulsate through his head.
"-achi! Itachi! Come on!" Mikoto called out to him while shaking at him. Itachi finally opened his eyes to see his mother's concerned face calling out to him. He could see her lips mouthing the words and barely hearing her frantic voice. His legs shaking as he struggled to stand, he tripped about as his mother pulled him towards queen Kushina who was calling out loudly to the staff, trying to keep them calm. The majority of them were holding their ears and looking about frantically. The noise had caused several pieces of the stone walls within the castle to crack, dust sprinkled to the floor with chips of stone. It was apparent that the stone walls were losing the battle to stand against the beast's roar.
"Kachan, wait!" Itachi stumbled as he pulled away from his mother and stood tall. "I'm going to help fight the beast! I'm going back to tochan!" he called out with his deepest and authoritative voice as well as a 15 year old could do, before turning on his heel to where his father and king Minato were still barking out plans and orders to the captains. Mikoto could only nod her head as she watched her eldest son desperately try to be a man in this crisis.
The generals barked out orders throughout the darkness while the soldiers readied their catapults and arrows. Homes continued to blow into huge tendrils of fire bombs in various areas while streams of fire continued to zip across the night sky. The screams and cries of the villagers continued to wash through the night, it was worse when the deafening sound of a beast caused everyone to cry out and cover their ears from the vibration of the sound.
Itachi scanned his eyes through the black night when the ear splitting roar cut through his ears but he saw nothing but streams of fire. Only a massive creature, as large as a mountain most likely, could create such a sound. Itachi helped push a catapult into position near the walls of the castle, grunting harshly while his arms and leg muscles screamed at him for pushing them too hard. The men all around were yelling at the top of their lungs over the sounds of fire explosion, peoples cries and the beast's roar, to position and grab the stones. Itachi quickly stumbled back when a soldier lit one of the boulders on fire. He gasped to see the giant stone was wrapped with rope, soaked in oil most likely for the stone to carry a flame.
"Wait for it!" a general yelled and many of the catapults now were lit, Itachi could see them in a row, lined up, and the soldiers steadied themselves at the ready to launch an attack under command.
"WAIT!" Itachi screamed and ran towards a general. "What about the people!?" Itachi pulled on the general's arm, his eyes frantic. All the catapults were lined over the village, and many of the stones would for sure land and destroy the villagers! The general sneered at Itachi. "You're going to kill the people! There has to be another-"
"Shut it boy! We need to stop the beast or there will be NO villagers to save!" The general turned his head to the sky, his eyes scanning through the darkness. "Ready! Wait for my signal!"
Itachi pulled at the general's arm again, hard. "You can't do this! There has to be another way!" Itachi barked out in his most authoritative voice yet. The general turned swiftly and shoved Itachi away, causing the young prince to stumble to the ground.
"BOY! The people will be honoured to die for their king if it means killing the beast!" The general spat out at Itachi in a growl.
Itachi threw a glare up at the older general, hissing out an annoyance sound. A sudden whistling of noise broke through the darkness, like the sound of something colossal splitting through the air and Itachi looked about trying to see what was causing that noise. It was a noise that was like when the huge boulders were being thrust through the air by the catapults, breaking through the wind barrier and creating whistle type noise, and usually that is all that was heard before the boulder would smash down on a target. Whatever it was slicing through the air, it was enormous and Itachi scanned the sky, his mind fearing that something was coming and he would be in the path of it.
"FIRE!" the general barked out suddenly, pointing his arm up.
Itachi saw a glimmer in the night sky, as if something was going by at a speed that he feared if he blinked he would miss it. The night sky was suddenly lit with the fire covered boulders when they were propelled into the sky moments after the general gave the command. Itachi watched in horror as the majority of the boulders flew through the air, giving a slight whooshing noise before landing into the village, destroying everything in their path. All the boulders fell, except one.
The fire encased boulder smashed into something in the night sky, causing it to explode into a variety of sparks and explosions, and there was a deafening wailing roar that caused the walls of the castle began to vibrate and crack. Itachi could not take his eyes off the sparks and lights that struck the monstrous beast. Flaming blows that continued to fly through the night sky. The sparks bounced off the body, showing how it sparkled and reflected the light. The wings were outlined with the sparks of light, stretching and fanned out over the body and Itachi could see the veins within the taunt skin on those wings. The cry of the beast continued as it flailed in the sky, obviously hurt by the fire covered boulder and it appeared to try and keep to the sky, but was failing quickly and starting to fall.
"DRAGON!" A soldier yelled and all the guards began to yell and hoot, as they grabbed their swords and arrows, running towards the creature that was struggling to stay in flight. "SLAY THE DRAGON!" The cries continued as the men ran into the darkness where the creature was most likely to fall.
Itachi covered his mouth suddenly, his eyes still couldn't leave the scene in the night sky, even when the flames and sparks of the boulder died out, he could see the outline of the dragon, now struggling to stay in the air. It wasn't possible! Dragon's have been extinct for at least a couple centuries! At least that is what he had been reading in the Uchiha clan's history lessons.
The spell was broken when the massive dragon fell to the ground, causing the earth beneath him to quake. He scrambled up to his feet, holding his arms out as he tripped about trying to get his balance and race towards the now fallen beast, where several soldiers were running towards.
The dragon howled out and breathed fire as it thrashed about on the ground. Guards were thrusting spears at the huge body, only for them to bounce off like rubber. Itachi scrambled towards it, grabbing a spear that was on the ground and tossing it with all his might. He watched as the spear flew straight and through the air only to watch it bounce off the dragon's body like nothing. Soldiers were trying to get close and slash their swords, only to be pushed away by the air that blew from the wings flapping about. It's scaly tail, long, thick and donned spikes at the end bounced and swished about, knocking men about like toys. The dragon's head was the size of a horse, with a long snout and long horns coming out from around its head and down it's neck. It's nostrils flared, signaling the beast's distress. Itachi's breath hitched as he watched the nostrils flare up as it took a breath in. Fire exploded from it's smoking jaw. It's massive head tossed around while the flames spouted all about, causing the soldiers to scream in pain or fear.
The dragon continued to flop about, trying to get up on it's legs while the soldiers continued to try and thrust their swords, spears and arrows into the body that was encased in its strong natural armor. It flipped its large body about, rolling around while it desperately tried to find its footing around the men. Itachi continued to try and throw spears at the massive beast, but was met every time with disappointment when the weapons continued to bounce off.
"Watch out!" Itachi screamed when the dragon rolled once again, its winds flapping about and hitting the ground, the tail thumped the ground causing men to stumble from the quake. Itachi leaped out of the way barely, when the heavy spiked tail slammed into the ground beside him and the body flipped once again. Itachi tripped over the bodies of several fallen men, slamming his body into the ground with a grunt and found himself face to face with what was left of one of his father's men who remained charred and smoking. The sight had him scrambling backwards quickly, his eyes wide in shock at the gruesome sight. The deafening wail of the dragon brought him back to his senses quickly and he turned around to see the dragon was still tossing his body about and it's tail slammed into the side of the castle wall.
Itachi watched in horror as the tall structure of the stone castle began to shake vicariously about. The dragon continued to release howls and wails, while fire shot through its muzzle, its tail and wings swishing at the soldiers that were still trying to attack.
"WAIT!" Itachi screamed as he tripped through the debris of weapons and bodies, towards the fight of soldiers and the dragon, "stop! You're too close!" Itachi jumped over bodies, his body screaming at him for air but he pushed himself through. The dragon's tail once again slammed into one of the walls of the castle, spewing fire and wailing its roar and Itachi slid to a halt and looked up.
The vibrations were too much for the giant castle, the top peaks began to shake and wobble, pieces of stone began to break off and fall to the ground below, missing the men that were scattering all around the dragon.
'SASUKE!' Itachi screamed in his head. His otouto was still in the castle, hiding and waiting for him. Itachi dug his heels into the ground and sprinted towards the door of the castle, which was several meters from him and the dragon. He ignored the howling calls of the men that continued to fight against the dragon, he did not even look to see the dragon flipping itself about, waving its tail and flapping its giant wings that continued to strike the castle stone walls. The soldiers figured they had the creature cornered, it wasn't flying and there was a stone wall behind it, they were feeling victorious and Itachi didn't hear their cries of war. He screamed at his legs to move faster when stones began to fall around him the closer he got to the castle. He glanced up as the walls cracked and began to give way to the nonstop battering from the dragon's body.
"NO! SASUKE!" Itachi flew his arms up over his head and hit the ground before the castle walls came crumbling down around him.
.
.
.
Pain.
Itachi whimpered slightly, feeling pain throughout his body as his mind was waking, and he winced when he tried to move his body. The shooting pain brought his mind to full alert and he opened his eyes quickly to be met with a cloud of fog. 'Wha-' he blinked heavily, his mind screeching at him, telling him of the pain that shot through his body like fire. He clenched his teeth, willed his mind to calm down and mentally guided his mind to focus on what and where the pain was. His legs, his legs were in pain. He needed to see. He flickered his eyes about, trying to focus but was still seeing fog. Finding his arms, he brought up his hands to see them littered with cuts, bleeding out but not serious, mud and bruising. He tested his fingers, they were all still there and moving. He rubbed at his eyes and then forced his arms to hoist up his body.
Pain.
Itachi screamed through his clenched teeth, his eyes squinted shut, when pain shot through his legs and up to his head. He almost blacked out because of it but he held on. Sasuke! He opened his eyes again and leaned on his elbows enough so he could see down his body. Large grey blocks of stone were piled near him and his legs seemed to disappear beneath them. "AAHHHhh!" he cried out in agony as he tested his ability to pull at his legs and the pain intensified. Itachi fell back on the earth, tears leaking from his eyes as he bit through the fiery pain that was in his legs. His heart hammered so fast he was having trouble catching his breath.
"Young prince! Hold on!" a voice called out through the fog.
Itachi breathed heavily through his clenched teeth, whimpers of pain escaping his throat without his consent.
"I'm here! I'll get you out!" the voice called out again.
Itachi forced his eyes to open and he could make out a figure, a soldier, or a general, he couldn't be sure, but the man was covered in filth, his face covered with black soot and mud. His hair was gray and full of dust. "Sas-keh, find Sas-"
"Shh, don't talk, I'll get you out," the man's voice was barely a whisper and sounded hoarse and he grunted out as he started moving the large stones away.
Itachi's head fell back, crying out as the pain littered through his body with each stone being moved. His mentality was overrun with the searing pain of each small movement and he shook his head to try and fight it. The pain wouldn't lesson, nor would it stop, and he never heard the words the man spoke when he slipped into unconsciousness.
When he awoke again, the pain was still there but it was manageable. Taking several breaths before opening his eyes, he looked about to find himself staring up at the sky that was streaked in orange, yellow and pink. 'Dawn? Or sunset?' Itachi didn't know but his mind suddenly flashed to what happened and he jerked so suddenly, pain tore through his legs, reminding him the reality of what he remembered. "Nnnggghhh!" He clenched his teeth shut, biting through the pain and slammed his fists into the ground below him.
"Easy! Easy young prince!"
A deep voice resonated through his ears and he felt a pressure on his chest. He could feel the tears escaping his eyes again as he focused on a man that hovered above him.
"Don't move young prince, you are badly hurt."
The man's voice was calm but laced with concern.
"W-where-" Itachi hissed out through his teeth, unable to move due to the man holding him still and the pain still searing through him.
"You're safe," the man responded and tapped his chest gently with his fingers. "You're legs are hurt, so it's best you stay still until the healer can get them-"
Itachi slapped at the man's hand and struggled to lift his body onto his arms. "Sas'k, where is my brother!" he spat out.
The man looked at Itachi, shock apparent in his eyes as he fell back slightly.
Itachi snarled out as he managed to move his upper body in a position to lean on his elbow. "T-tell me! Where is he!?"
The man shook his head sadly and ran a filthy hand through his dust covered hair. The dirt was smudged all over his face but his lips frowned when he licked his lips. "We are still looking, your highness."
Itachi's breath hitched and he finally looked around him. There was a haze of dust or smoke hovering above the land, small fires were still going in various areas as far as he could see, men were carrying other men or helping them to various areas where several other people were laying on the ground. Many blankets were covering obvious silhouettes of people, either partially or fully and Itachi bit his bottom lip as it quivered. The sky was starting to get brighter, the sun peeking over the horizon, showing the aftermath of the battle that happened the night before. Tears leaked down his cheeks when his eyes took in the sight of a small mountain, but except it wasn't a mountain, but a pile of rubble, where the great Uzumaki castle once stood.