Naruto Uzumaki and the Legendary Sannin

by kvsyaoran

Book 4: Our favorite blonde wizard must set out on a dangerous mission that will take him far from Konoha with the aid of Jiraiya the Toad Sage, to find the healer that will save the life of the Sandaime. Along the way, Naruto and Harry will discover dark forces hot on their trail; from the likes of Orochimaru to the threat of new enemies and strange creatures on the horizon

9. Itachi Uchiha

"Blah": Talking

'Blah': Demon speaking/Inner Sakura

'Blah': Naruto's thoughts/other people's thoughts

'Blah': Harry talking to Naruto

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And we're back with a new chapter! It took a little while, but don't expect me to publish more than one chapter each month. It takes time to write this and Azeroth44 is here with me! Isn't that right, Azeroth?

Azeroth44: No.

Kvsyaoran: Yes.

AZ44: No.

K: Yes!

AZ44: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

K: … Yes.

AZ44: Ok.

K: YAY! I win!

AZ44: Whatever. So what do we have here this time? We've reached Itachi's involvement in the plot now, but I've noticed you made a few changes from the original manga/anime.

K: Well, when I re-introduced the Akatsuki members, I decided to draw some inspiration from the Harry Potter films when it came to designing the Akatsuki uniforms. All Naruto fans recognize the iconic black robes with the red and white cloud design. But while it does give the Akatsuki a distinct look, I thought it was… kinda bullshit. Those robes stand out like a sore thumb. Sure, the Death Eaters in the Harry Potter films had a distinct design in the later films, but without their metal masks you could mistaken their uniforms for normal wizard robes. So I decided to change the look of the Akatsuki, by removing the red cloud design and making the clouds black to match the background of their robes. Though upon closer inspection, the cloud design is still "stitched" into their outer wear. Does that make sense?

AZ44: Sure.

K: Are you saying that to make me feel satisfied after my rambling or are you genuinely agreeing with me?

AZ44: Sure.

K: *Cries like Vash the Stampede* WHY DON'T WE EVER COMMUNICATE, AZEROTH?!

AZ44: Muwahahaha!

K: You're so evil!

AZ44: You're shocked about this?

K: Oh yeah... What the hell was I thinking?

AZ44: Exactly!

K: So, wanna grab some pizza, wings, kick back and watch some Eureka Seven while we wait for the reviews to come in?

AZ44: F$%& YEAH, FRANK!

K: I'm not Frank.

AZ44: WHATEVER!

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So here we have it. Sorry that it took time for me to get this out. I'm not sure how long it will be until I'm done with the next chapter, but Jiraiya will make his return to the plot! This chapter, however, is chapter of Kakashi's redemption! :D But with that said, the Tsukuyomi scene that follows Kakashi and Itachi's brief fight maybe be a tiny bit disturbing. I had to cut out a few details because I felt the original scene was a tiny bit too graphic and decided to edit it some.

But I hope you guys enjoy what I have here anyway, so go ahead and read away!

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Reviews are welcome and wanted!

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto

Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling

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Chapter 9: Itachi Uchiha

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It had been several days since Naruto's departure from Konoha. And in that time, his sudden disappearance had earned more attention than anyone from the village would have expected. The villagers began to notice that Naruto was never seen on the street or seated at Ichiraku Ramen with his former Academy teacher. As to be expected, some folks in the village couldn't care less, but this time there were a lot more positive voices, sharing genuine concern for his whereabouts or at least curious about him in light of the Chunin Exams. Though no one was truly aware that he had gone missing, apart from two individuals.

Anko and Iruka had reported his absence to the elders. At first, the Konoha Council were certain that the blonde rookie had departed on his mission to Jiraiya, but there was no record of his departure on the books from Izumo and Kotetsu. Learning of this, the Konoha Council were alarmed and took immediate action to find him. Iruka heard one of them mumble about Jiraiya's idiotic and reckless ideas before the two elders focused on the matter at hand.

At first, the chunin and his girlfriend were a bit surprised at their concern, but soon realized their concern was not so much for Naruto's well being as much as it was for the beast inside of him. Koharu and Homura feared the risk of the demon falling into enemy hands if he wasn't confined to the village and took immediate action. The elders made the order to locate and recover Naruto Uzumaki at once.

But before the elders could have the order carried out, Danzo interrupted the conference. With his current level of power as the Hokage Candidate, he could have cancelled the order to search for Naruto without hesitation and threatened to do so. But the old man authorized the search, under the condition that the search team would take extra special care to ensure the truth about Naruto's absence never left the walls of the village. Iruka and Anko agreed to the conditions and enlisted the help of the available Tokubetsu and a few chunin: Ibiki, Aoba, Genma, Raido, Izumo and Kotetsu were all concerned for the rookie and became involved in the search.

Other shinobi from the jounin rank caught word of the blonde teen's disappearance and became involved as well. Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai took time out of their schedules to assist in a series of rotations with the other volunteers. None of them had seen Kakashi in a while, but assumed he was already looking for him.

Each selection would set out in and around the village for signs of the rookie, though tracking Naruto down via his scent was almost impossible without Kakashi, due to the fact that no one from the Inuzuka clan was available. But even so, that didn't stop the teams from searching and did their best to help, while Iruka's house served as a headquarters of sorts.

But the unfortunate chunin did not handle the stress of the situation well.

In the time since his little brother went missing, Iruka lost his appetite and hadn't been able to sleep well. He stopped going to the Academy, he looked sick from the stress and malnutrition, as his face started losing color. It didn't take much time after that before the stress of the mission got to him and he was forced to take a break before he had an emotional breakdown. Anko did her best to comfort Iruka and figured she'd start by feeding him a whole bunch of dango.

---

Asuma and Kurenai took a break from the search as well, while some of the chunin and Tokubetsu took their turn to search the forests around the village before checking the territories outside the village walls.

The two of them were seen walking close beside each other outside the Amaguriama. Asuma and Kurenai dwelled over the situation, genuinely worried about the blonde rookie, but also for Iruka when they saw him. The bearded shinobi used to be irritated with the chunin when he had intervened in their decisions with their students once before the Chunin Exams. But now Asuma felt bad for him when he realized how much Iruka truly valued Naruto. His friend Kurenai would have agreed if she could read his mind. Though given their current errand, the master kunoichi had another matter in mind as she walked beside Asuma.

The bearded man looked on ahead and spied a familiar silver-haired figure leaning back against the front of the Amaguriama with a new volume of Icha-Icha Violence in his hand.

Kakashi noticed the couple approaching him and tucked his book into his weapons pouch, greeting and then teasing his old friends, "Hello there, guys! You two seem to be getting along… Are you out on a date?"

Kurenai and Asuma both blinked as a little more color rushed to their faces.

"Idiot," the kunoichi blushed with embarrassment while the tall bearded man beside her tried to pretend Kakashi didn't say anything, "Anko asked me to pick up some dango for her and Iruka."

The masked shinobi seemed to frown as he murmured in distaste at the mention of his least favorite Konoha shinobi, "So that idiot chunin wants to sit on a couch and eat sweets instead of going out on a mission, like the rest of us have?"

Kurenai and Asuma heard what he said and so she responded with a little less embarrassment, "Given the circumstances, it's not a bad idea for him."

"Whatever," countered Kakashi, "He wants to sit on his fat ass and be a slob, it's his choice."

Asuma and his female companion looked a little bit at a loss with their friend's undeniable disdain towards Iruka Umino. It almost seemed like he didn't even care that the chunin was close to an emotional breakdown. The two of them would have thought their masked friend would at least be less hostile towards the man and show some heart. But then Kurenai and Asuma observed how calm and collected Kakashi was and how relaxed he was as he waited outside the store with his new Icha-Icha Violence in hand. The two of them wondered, at least for one moment, if their masked friend was even aware of the recent events that unfolded in the last couple of days.

Kurenai then stated in the chunin's defense, "That's harsh, Kakashi. Iruka has been stressed out to no end."

"So what?" the masked shinobi dared, "Was he forced to work after hours at the Academy with all the other teachers? Tell him to go cry me a river."

Asuma became cross with his masked comrade and asked, "What the hell is your problem, Kakashi? He's been searching for him for over three days. If he needs to sit down and eat some sweets to calm down, then he has the right."

"Searching for what?" the masked shinobi asked, as if he couldn't care less.

The bearded man answered, "What else could he be searching for?! The kid vanished a week ago! I'm shocked that you seem so relaxed about it right now, catching up on your reading and all! I thought you, of all people, would at least be worried about him!"

"Why?" he asked back as he took on a more interested look, "Who went missing?"

Asuma and Kurenai were shocked as the two of them realized the true reason their comrade was so calm and relaxed. He had no idea about Naruto at all. After Asuma told Kurenai about how Kakashi had been neglecting Naruto in favor of Sasuke, she want to smack him. But now, she had a whole lot more in mind as she sneered at him. Asuma also resisted the urge to approach his comrade and teach him a lesson with his fists, but it wasn't the time or place to do so. Instead, he chose to be an adult and frowned at Kakashi while bit into the bud of his cigarette and forced the next several sentences through his teeth.

"You haven't even heard about him?!" he almost shouted.

Kakashi started to look a little concerned and asked, "Heard what? About who?"

"Naruto Uzumaki," stated the kunoichi as she watched the silver-haired man stare at him with a face full of slow shock and realization, "One of your students. He's gone missing. He disappeared and no one in the village can find him. There's no record of him leaving the village and we've been searching everywhere for him for days. Half of the Tokubetsu are taking over the search for us so we can take a break."

The masked shinobi stared at his friends while he felt as if all the blood inside him drained down to his feet as he stammered, "What?!"

"No one has seen or heard from him in days," the kunoichi informed, "Anko is at Iruka's house now to calm him down about it. Iruka has been so frantic he hasn't been able to eat or sleep for days."

Kakashi had the same frozen look of shock hidden under his mask when he asked, "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"You're the kid's teacher, remember?!" stated the bearded shinobi as he finished his cigarette, "We assumed you would have noticed or were already out there looking for him this whole time. But it looks like you had better things to do aside from catching up on your reading…"

The kunoichi next to him muttered, "I can't help but suspect having lunch with the last of the Uchiha was more important to him than his other students…"

While Kurenai and Asuma discussed their comrade's reasons for his arrival at the store, Kakashi remained frozen and stared down at the street while it felt like a watermelon had been smashed on his head. He had dismissed Naruto for some time now, distanced himself from him and focused almost all of his time on Sasuke. The masked teacher had been so harsh and dismissive towards Naruto, but he had done so with the best intentions in mind. Though now it seems that he had become so accustomed to his recent changed behavior, he remained oblivious to Naruto's disappearance. Kakashi was worried now. There was one other person he could think of that Naruto could be with now, but if that were the case, he would have been informed of their departure from the village.

Kakashi's mind went on a ramble as he tried to rationalize the situation, 'Jiraiya wouldn't have taken Naruto out of the village and not tell me about it first… But it's been so chaotic around here ever since the Sandaime collapsed, so that's understandable… But Jiraiya still would have found enough time to tell me if he was going to leave the village with Naruto or not. He would have told me… But if he didn't, then what does that mean? Did something really happen to Naruto? What if someone abducted him?! What if he was kidnapped and Jiraiya went after them?! What if it was the Akat-'

Kakashi felt like something cold had slithered in his stomach when he suspected who could have been responsible for Naruto's disappearance. What little of his skin wasn't covered in cloth turned as white as marble, before he sensed an uncomfortable presence from inside the Amaguriama distract him. Color returned to Kakashi's face when he side-glanced and noticed two strangers inside the restaurant, seated at the table closest to him. Kakashi could recognize an outsider in an instant and saw two suspicious characters he had never seen before. There were two men dressed in dark cloaks with hoods, decorated with the stitching patterns of what appeared to be clouds; one of them was tall and towered over the table, but the other was of average height, like a teenager or a young man.

Asuma and Kurenai took notice of the unfamiliar presence when the two of them noticed how stern and motionless their masked friend looked. The two suspicious strangers drank hot tea and snacked on some fresh dango while their faces remained hidden from the oblivious customers around them.

These men were outsiders, illegal immigrants or dangerous spies, as Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai stared them down.

Based on their sizes and the fact that none of the civilians in the restaurant took notice of them made it clear the two men seated were shinobi. Kakashi and his friends didn't move an inch until a familiar dark-haired rookie arrived on the scene.

"Kakashi?" asked a slightly amused and confused Sasuke as he walked over to his teacher in a casual stride, "This is weird. You never arrive on time."

The three teachers were distracted for a moment when Sasuke arrived.

The masked teacher took one second to look at his student and said, "Well, sometimes I do…"

But when he, Asuma, and Kurenai looked back inside the Amaguriama, the strangers had vanished. No trace of them was left behind, aside from the unfinished food on the table and their drinks, still warm and fresh.

Sasuke, oblivious to what attracted the jounin's attention, looked inside the restaurant and noticed the unfinished dango, frowning with disgust.

"Let's eat somewhere else," he insisted, "I hate sweets."

Kakashi paid Sasuke's comment little to no attention as he looked over at his two friends, "You do?"

The masked man shared a look with his friends before the two of them nodded and vanished. Sasuke seemed confused at the sudden disappearance of the other teachers, not that he cared as he had another matter on his mind.

Sasuke closed his eyes in a conceited manner while he started to talk about his training, "I don't want to waste too much time, so let's start out with-"

"We're going to have to cancel on training, Sasuke," Kakashi stated out of nowhere.

The Uchiha blinked and stared at his teacher with shock and anger, "What?!"

"You heard me. We're going to have to cancel this time. Something important popped up," said Kakashi as his voice made it clear that he was troubled before he vanished soon after.

Sasuke was left behind at the Amaguriama, confused before he seethed in frustration and said out loud, "Who the hell does he think he is?!"

---

Several blocks far from the Amaguriama, the two figures from the restaurant were seen taking a stroll alongside one of the rivers connected to the reservoir. The two, cloaked men seemed to float above the concrete as the two of them walked far from the restaurant, where no one seemed to be around. But neither of them ventured much further when Asuma and Kurenai stood in their path. The two hooded figures stopped without hesitation as the two of them seemed to stare back at them, though their faces remained well hidden under their hoods.

"You're not from this village," stated Asuma as he frowned at the two strangers, his voice low and threatening, "What's your business here?"

The shorter of the two gentlemen raised his head and said, "Asuma… Kurenai… It's been a while, hasn't it?"

The bearded shinobi blinked as Kurenai seemed more intense and tight-lipped.

"You know our names?" asked Asuma, "You're a former shinobi from this village, then?"

The short man decided to cut the act and removed his hood. A wave of wind hit the area hard as dark black hair flowed out from the man's cloak and into the air. Asuma and Kurenai were shocked down to their core when the two of them recognized his face in an instant.

Kurenai stammered, "You're… You're-"

"There's no doubt about it," reassured the bearded man, "Itachi Uchiha has returned!"

Once revered as one of the finest shinobi of his generation, Itachi was infamous as the shinobi who massacred the entire Uchiha clan in a single night and set his little brother Sasuke on the quest for revenge. Itachi hadn't been seen since the night of the massacre but in the time since then, he sure had matured into a handsome but dark, cold, and emotionless young man. He had the distinct dark eyes of a true Uchiha but blazed scarlet from his Sharingan. His slick black hair was tied back in ponytail while his face was framed with center-parted bangs that reached down to his chin. His resemblance to Sasuke was remarkable, aside from the unique structure of his face, as Itachi had more pronounced tear-troughs. Itachi still wore his original Konoha headband, but the metal had been slashed across the leaf symbol by some kind of blade. As the wind blew, it became clear he wore mesh armor beneath the black cloak with navy accents, t-shirt, white belt, and matching navy pants. Itachi didn't seem to mind the wind as he stared at Asuma and Kurenai with little to no emotion whatsoever.

The tall man beside Itachi started to chuckle as he also removed his hood, "Are these two former acquaintances of yours, Itachi? If so, I suppose I ought to introduce myself as well…"

Asuma and Kurenai shivered at the tall man's face. It was clear to them now how someone like him would have worn his hood, no matter how conspicuous he looked with it on. The man's face was like a monster out of some twisted nightmare; he had a distinctive shark-like appearance, with pale bluish-grey scaled skin. He also had small, round white eyes with gill-like facial markings beneath them. The tall man smiled and revealed a set of sharp, triangular teeth, strikingly similar to Zabuza Momochi. He also had dark blue hair that had been cut to resemble a shark's fin. He wore a Kirigakure headband that had also been slashed across the symbol of his native village, the same village Zabuza heralded from as well. The man also wore similar clothes as Itachi but fashioned a brown sash over his shoulder that he used to carry his enormous sword with. When he removed the hood of his cloak, Asuma noticed a yellow ring on his left finger but couldn't make out what was written on it.

"I am Kisame Hoshigaki," he announced as his smile stretched wide and showed off his shark-like teeth, before he taunted the Konoha shinobi, "Pleased to meet you… I do hope we can get to know each other better next time we run into each other."

"There won't be a next time," Asuma stated with a somewhat fervent smirk on his face as he shivered in anticipation for one hell of a fight, "Why bother when I can wipe the floor with you both right now?!"

Kisame let out an amused whistle, "Well, well, Itachi, it looks like they hate you in this village as much as they do in mine!"

"We know who you are, Kisame," said Kurenai, "We heard all about you; you're from Kirigakure, suspected of espionage and the murder of a feudal lord. You're a missing-nin from the Land of Water and wanted in every nation."

Asuma continued with, "You're an S-Rank criminal listed prominently in the bingo book…"

The tall shark-like man smiled as if he were proud of his criminal past. But his partner still remained emotionless as ever. Asuma took notice of the silent Uchiha and glared at him with an intense hatred.

The bearded shinobi would have loved to spit in the criminal's face while he chewed out through his cigarette, "Itachi, I gotta hand it to you, the fact that you'd even show your damn face in this village after what you've done, must have taken a lot of guts."

"Asuma and Kurenai," the emotionless Uchiha seemed to sound polite, despite his lack of emotion, "Please do not interfere… I don't want to have to kill you."

The bearded shinobi scoffed, "That's kinda funny coming from the rat that murdered his own clan. Besides, no one in their right mind would ever come crawling back here wearing threads like that for no reason. So what's your business here?"

Kisame reached for his sword and in one smooth movement slammed it down on the concrete between the four of them, cracking the floor, "This son of a bitch is getting on my nerves. Can I kill him?"

"It doesn't look like we're going to leave without a fight," the calm, emotionless shinobi complied, "Go ahead, but don't overdo it. Your methods tend to attract too much attention."

The shark-like man raised his sword back and held it over his shoulder, his small eyes then adopted a crazed, ravenous look of blood-thirst before he said in a cold, twisted voice, "Understood."

Kisame made the first move. He took his sword and with one effortless move of his arm, tried to crush Kurenai flat. But Asuma moved fast; he withdrew his twin trench knives and blocked the attack from overhead. Thankful for Asuma's defense, Kurenai moved fast to return the favor; she slid off to the side and weaved several fast and complicated handsigns before she vanished like a whisk of smoke. Itachi blinked when he noticed Kurenai's movements while Asuma struggled to hold up the weight of Kisame's immense sword. The bearded shinobi was shocked as he noticed it was only the tip of the blade he held back as Kisame's smirk widened. The blade rested down on one of his arms when the shark-like man made another sudden movement; Kisame drew the blade back as the end of the club-like sword exploded. Asuma let out a shout of pain as the cloth of his arm was shredded off. Blood burst from his arm while Kisame took the second he had to gloat.

"My sword is called Samehada," he said with a crazed, excited look, "It's means 'sharkskin'! But unlike most swords, it doesn't slice, it cuts flesh into ribbons!"

Kisame swung his blade, about to move in with another attack, but then he looked down and realized his feet were buried in the concrete. He blinked in shock as a column of concrete arose from behind Itachi and formed what appeared to be a tree. The branches grew in an instant and swathed around Itachi in a fraction of a second. It was an illusion, but Kisame was unable to break free from it.

Itachi remained calm while Asuma smirked and said, "What took you so long, Kurenai?"

The kunoichi emerged from the tree, above Itachi with a kunai in hand. She didn't hesitate and moved in for the kill. But in the blink of an eye, Itachi was in front of her and she was bound to the tree. Kurenai held her breath in shock, as Itachi somehow broke free from her illusion and switched himself out with her.

Itachi drew out a kunai of his own and was about to stab Kurenai in the lower abdomen, "Genjutsu like that has no effect on me…"

Kurenai couldn't reverse the illusion or cancel it as her hands were bound to the tree. So she bit her lip so hard until blood leaked out of the corner of her mouth. She blinked and the illusion was broken. Itachi made a move after the kunoichi and kicked her hard, too late to avoid the blow as she raised her arms in defense. The kick was so immense that Kurenai flew out into the river and crashed with a loud shout.

"KURENAI!" shouted an alarmed Asuma.

Kisame was freed and took his chance to attack the bearded shinobi, "You better watch out!"

The kunoichi used her chakra to walk on the surface of the river. But as she was about to stand, Itachi was behind her and looked down at the kunoichi with kunai in hand.

"Impressive, Kurenai," the criminal commended, "But-"

"-It all ends here, I'm afraid," said another familiar voice as Kurenai blinked with mixture of shock and relief.

Asuma continued to duke it out with Kisame but neither one of them took or received a single blow. That is until Asuma moved in and tried to decapitate Kisame. But the shark-like man swerved to the side and missed. Asuma still smirked and Kisame blinked and winced when he felt an invisible force cut his cheek. He then noticed Asuma's trench knives seemed to release a waver, like an intense heat. He sense those blades were filled with chakra and extended the range of the twin blades.

An infuriated Kisame weaved complicated handsigns as the water from the river reacted on his command. The whole river went into chaos as two masses of water that resembled sharks erupted from the surface and crashed into each other with the force of a bomb between a dumbfounded Kisame, Asuma, and now a shadow clone of Kakashi Hatake.

"Thanks for the save, Kakashi," frowned the bearded shinobi as he realized his friend had used his Sharingan to mirror Kisame's exact moments to counter his attack, "But what are you doing here?"

The shadow clone in front of Asuma said, "I know I told you guys to handle these bozos-"

"But I guess I got a little worried," finished the real Kakashi that stood behind Itachi, kunai drawn to slice his neck.

"Kakashi…" uttered the emotionless criminal.

Itachi turned his head to look at the masked man, his Sharingan still ablaze as Kakashi had uncovered his own. The two of them stared each other down and said nothing to each for a while. Kakashi showed signs of poorly concealed rage as he glared at the man that murdered the entire Uchiha clan. He noticed the number of tomoe in each Sharingan eye as his muscles tensed and clenched his kunai.

'Those eyes haven't changed at all,' he thought, 'He's a true heir of the Sharingan… I better expect the worst from him.'

For a moment, no one said a word or made a move to attack. But the silence was broken when Kisame noticed Kakashi's Sharingan.

"You're quite a surprise," he commended, "It's no wonder you were able to stop me. With that Sharingan… You must be Copy Cat Kakashi…"

The masked shinobi's shadow clone didn't look remotely amused as he glared at Kisame while the real Kakashi continued to stare at the Uchiha, "I'm the one who's more surprised. I thought I caught an unfamiliar scent while I took a stroll this morning, led me back to the teahouse, and what do I find? I never expected Itachi Uchiha and the scourge of Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki, to come sneaking around our village."

"You know who I am," the shark-like man cracked a smile to show off his teeth and mocked, "What an honor."

The Kakashi shadow clone noticed the unique weapon and felt a little bit nostalgic, "So that giant sword there… You're one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, aren't you?"

"Heh," chuckled Kisame, "I heard you had a little skirmish with that punk Zabuza, isn't that right?"

"Yes," nodded the masked man.

Kisame then asked, "How's he been?"

"He's dead," he stated back.

The tall, cloaked man's smile faded somewhat, though he didn't seem too distraught about the confirmed demise of his former comrade and fellow swordsman. Based on his reaction, Kisame didn't seem to care much about Zabuza at all, or had much respect for him for that matter. But the tall man seemed more curious about Kakashi's strength as his hand clenched his sword tightly.

"If that's the case, allow me the honor," the tall blue-skinned man then roared with an intense desire to shave Kakashi down to the bone, "OF CUTTING YOU INTO RIBBONS!"

But before Kisame could dash after the shadow clone, his emotionless colleague commanded firmly, "Don't, Kisame. Forget about it."

This surprised all of the shinobi on the scene. Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai were suspicious, while Kisame seemed frustrated.

"If you fight him now you won't get away unscathed," he said, "And if you take too much time, you'll give reinforcements a chance to arrive."

Kisame tried to protest, "But-"

"Do not forget our purpose here," the dark-haired man stated in a clear, audible voice, "You did not come here to sustain further injuries!"

Kisame seemed to calm down somewhat while Kakashi's shadow clone burst and he asked in a curious tone, "I don't mean to be to prudent, but what might that purpose be?"

Itachi turned his head to look at Kakashi and said, "We know what we're looking for is here in this village…"

"What is it?" he demanded.

The dark-haired man seemed to relax and all he said was, "Unlike Kisame, I won't take too much time."

Kakashi blinked and went on the move in half a second flat. Itachi withdrew a handful of shuriken in one swift movement of his hand but Kakashi weaved through over a dozen handsigns. Kurenai missed it, but the withdrawal of the shuriken was a distraction. Kakashi noticed it in time with the aid of his Sharingan and used a technique that caused a dense wall of water to rise around him like a shield. At the exact same time, solid drills of water erupted from the river like a series of violent spears that would have torn Kakashi's flesh into shreds. The drills collided with the wall and blocked Itachi's true attack. Kakashi lowered the wall as soon as he sensed the drills of water cancel out.

"You're good," said Itachi, as Kakashi waited for the next attack, "You almost anticipated my movements-"

The masked man froze when he felt a kunai stab him in the back, he froze, unable to move as he sensed a second Itachi had stabbed him and said, "Almost."

Kurenai stammered and stared in horror, "A shadow clone! His speed is inhuman!"

"Heh!" the tall shark-like man smiled from afar while Asuma looked on.

But then the immobilized Kakashi disintegrated into a mass of water. Itachi sensed his mistake while Kisame recognized his clever use of the Water Clone Jutsu. The tall man smirked as he couldn't help but feel impressed at how Kakashi master his former village's ninjutsu so well. Below the surface of the river, the real Kakashi swam beneath with an extra kunai in hand. Kurenai smirked and took the weapon from him, prepared to move in on Itachi.

"Nice," she breathed, "Thanks, Kakashi!"

But then the masked shinobi erupted from the water and tackled the kunoichi from the Uchiha and roared, "GET BACK, KURENAI! That's the shadow clone!"

Out of nowhere, seconds after Kakashi made contact with Kurenai the shadow clone of Itachi blew with the force of ten underwater bombs. Water and mist shot out and blew all around them; boats were rocked and crashed into the sides of the river as tall waves surged out opposite directions of the river.

Asuma roared for his friends, "KAKASHI! KURENAI!" before he dove into the blast.

'What the hell was that?!' he thought, 'His shadow clone exploded!'

Once the blast cleared and water rained down on them, Kakashi and Kurenai stood on the water's surface with the back of Kakashi's uniform a bit worse for wear as he moaned under his breath. Kurenai recovered from the blast faster but seemed worried about Kakashi as she sensed Asuma arrive next to her.

"Kakashi?" she asked to check if he was hurt.

But the masked shinobi brushed it off and turned to face Itachi once more, "Don't let your guard down for one second… This is the man that became an ANBU captain when he was thirteen."

"I can't believe he's this good…" said Asuma.

"No," said the masked shinobi as he saw Kisame arrive beside his ever-emotionless partner in crime, "He's better than that… He hasn't even begun to show us his true strength."

Itachi then said as soon as it stopped raining, "You mastered the Sharingan so well, even though you are not of Uchiha blood… But your body, not being genetically adapted is no match for that eye. It tires you out after an extended use of it."

'He's right,' thought the silver-haired man, 'The aftermath of that first battle with Zabuza is a testament to that.'

Then Itachi asked, "Do you know why the Uchiha clan is so well-known and feared as the most powerful shinobi clan?"

The trio flinched at Itachi's words and noticed him close his eyes for a while before he spoke again.

He said in a dark tone of voice, "Allow me show you the true strength of the Uchiha clan…"

Itachi slowly opened his eyes and Kakashi noticed something very different about his Sharingan after the weight of Itachi's words sunk in.

He flinched and then his masked face froze with an intense look of horror, 'IT CAN'T BE! NO WAY!'

As Itachi was about to reveal his Sharingan again, Kakashi screamed at his two comrades, "YOU TWO! CLOSE YOUR EYES! DON'T LOOK AT HIS EYES!"

Asuma and Kurenai flinched but did as instructed while Kakashi closed his normal eye shut.

"Listen to me, Asuma, Kurenai. Do not open your eyes, no matter what," he warned his friends, his voice horse with an intensity neither of them had heard from him in a long time, "If you meet his gaze right now, you're finished. Only another Sharingan user can handle him now."

But then Itachi corrected him, "If someone possesses the Sharingan, one can resist the Mangekyo Sharingan to some extent… But someone not of Uchiha blood cannot break free from this unique Sharingan ninjutsu… Only someone with the kekki genkai and Sharingan can ever hope to oppose me."

"Sasuke," the masked shinobi realized.

Kakashi was fixed on Itachi's now altered Sharingan eyes. The Sharingan had twisted to resemble three spiraling curves around each of his pupils. The masked shinobi stared the man down as he tried to anticipate his next move. But then Kakashi's muscles went rigid and he realized he couldn't move. He then felt cold, as if his insides were flooded with cold water. The world around him seemed to turn dark before the light returned, but the entire world around him was red. The sun had vanished and instead a black moon took its place and Kakashi noticed the river and the village had all disappeared. The masked shinobi blinked and then he shouted in pain as he felt the cold iron of kunai stab his hands and feet to a stone cross. Kakashi tried to focus and recognize his surrounding, only to hold his breath when he saw a million clones of Itachi around him. All of them wield a short katana and stared at Kakashi with little to no emotion visible on his face.

"Where," the masked man muttered, "Where am I?"

"This is the Tsukuyomi," the Uchiha answered, "A world I can create with ease that allows me the freedom the real world can never offer… I wonder… how much someone without the Uchiha clan's kekki genkai can endure this genjutsu?"

Itachi and a dozen of his clones then stabbed Kakashi in the abdomen in a succession of slow inflictions.

"ARGH! RAHHH! ARRRGH! NAHHH!"

This dwindled on for hours on end as Kakashi shouted and screamed in pain, feeling his skin and clothes become drenched in his own blood. The color of his blood looked like milk from what he could see, as the colors of the world of Tsukuyomi were dark and switched like a negative photograph.

Kakashi suffered for over seventeen hours while Itachi taunted and tortured him, "In the world of Tsukuyomi, I can control time, space, and matter… But as entertaining as this can be, I can do so much more… I can inflict so much more pain with a little more imagination than I could with a sword for the next forty-eight hours we have left here… I can do so much more."

"You…" the masked man lacked so much strength, lost so much blood, but he still had a rage inside of him that allowed him to at least speak his mind, "You scum… murderer… I… I… can endure this… You can't… trap me in here forever… Genjutsu… cannot last… forever… You… You'll run out of chakra… sooner or later."

Itachi moved in close to Kakashi's face while the rest of the clones withdrew their blades from his stomach.

"You think you can endure this? If that's the case, then how about we see what else I can do, then?" he asked with a subtle sense of amusement in his voice, "Allow me…"

Itachi clenched Kakashi head and forced him to look at his Sharingan. The Uchiha's Sharingan turned black and Kakashi felt the entire world around him turn dark as the stone cross, the kunai, the clones, and his wounds all vanished in an instant. Blind, he stumbled in the dark and felt his bare feet touch a smooth wooden floor. It felt familiar and then Kakashi noticed his feet felt a lot softer and squishier. As he stumbled in the dark, he heard the sound of rain and heard the subtle, distant booms of thunder.

A flash of thunder burst into the room and Kakashi was not a man anymore, but a child. The small silver-haired Kakashi Hatake looked down at the floor when he sensed a presence before him but then he held his breath in untold horror. The child shivered and stammered as he stumbled upon a man collapsed in his father's office. A man with the same hair and height as his father, curled on the floor, drenched in a river of blood, and a sword through his stomach. The hot, thick stench of iron was strong, so strong that the little Kakashi collapsed and shivered on the floor in horror and anguish. He felt sick and slammed his hands down hard on the wooden floor. But he almost broke his hands when he felt solid rock beneath him.

Little Kakashi blinked and now he was much older, almost a teenager now, dressed in one of his earlier shinobi outfits. As soon as he raised his head, the silver-haired teen flinched again when someone else replaced his late father. It was another shinobi; a chunin with dark hair, orange goggles, a blue outfit, with Sharingan ablaze, but half of his body was crushed underneath a boulder. Kakashi heard the voice of a heartbroken kunoichi sobbing beside him while he himself shivered, unable to break free or convince himself it was all an illusion.

"This isn't real… This isn't real… This isn't real," he said over and over.

But Kakashi knew this was real, or at least it had been at one point in time, as was the case with his father's demise.

The masked teen didn't think he would ever re-witness these most horrific moments from his childhood. He thought the memories, while he would never forget those experiences, would at least never be as clear to him as it was when they happened.

The rookie crushed under the boulder twitched as blood flowed from underneath the boulder like a stream of crimson; out of his mouth, nostrils, and ears as the red iron river stained Kakashi's clothes. That familiar, foul odor filled his nostrils in a heartbeat and made him so sick that he couldn't hold back as the trauma overwhelmed him. The dark-haired rookie used whatever strength he had to move his fingers and at least look at Kakashi with a sad smile. No words came out of his mouth as Kakashi turned bloodless and vomited into his own hands on the cavern floor.

Kakashi took a breath but then he smelled fresh linen, mixed with the subtle smell of a doctor's office. Instead of a mass of vomit and the floor of a cold, wet cavern, Kakashi was in the hospital. He was in a patient's bedroom and then he saw her; the kunoichi he had sworn to protect, so beautiful but now so weak and so sick. The doctors couldn't save her now and all she could do was suffer to her last breath. Kakashi knew what she wanted, what she begged him to do, but he couldn't do it: it would ruin him. The masked teen was forced to remember how she begged him to be her angel and set her free. And so with a reluctant hand, covered in the blood of his loved ones and his own vomit, a teenaged Kakashi removed the cord and set her free.

"NOOOOO! STOP IT! STOP IT!" he roared, and Kakashi was an adult once again, tied to the stone cross, bloodied and wounded once more, with Itachi below him, emotionless as ever, "NO MORE! NO MORE!"

"But we still have so much time left," he said back, "It would be a shame to waste such skill, wouldn't it?"

Kakashi shook his head and begged, "No… No more…"

"One more time," he answered.

The silver-haired man then roared, "NO! DON'T DO THIS! DON'T DO THIS TO ME!"

"But this time," said Itachi, "I think I could be a little more creative."

The Uchiha moved in once more, clenched Kakashi's skull and the world went dark for the second time. The masked shinobi held his breath and tried to brave those most sorrowful memories.

But what he saw next was much worse than before: Kakashi, as a small child flinched when the lightning fill his father's office. But then he flinched and stared on in horror as his father's neck twisted. His father's neck cracked several times until he could see his face, and Kakashi's father was like a zombie. Fleshed burned, rotten, as his teeth chattered like the mechanical insides of a puppet. The little Kakashi fell over backwards and scrambled as far as he could from his zombified father.

Then his mutilated father spoke to him and mocked his terrified child, with Itachi's voice, "Not a pleasant sight to behold, isn't it, son?"

The silver-haired child screamed as he tried to scramble back. But soon the back of his head slammed into solid rock and he blinked, back in the cavern. Kakashi expected the worst from the dreaded cavern of his worst nightmares but instead saw the hospital bed. His heart ached as he saw the deceased, withered like an old woman before she vanished into dust and saw her tombstone. Kakashi tried to rub the image out of his eyes, tried to break free from the illusion but Itachi would not relent.

Before he knew it, he was back in the cave, on his knees. Kakashi could smell the blood, feel the cold rocks of the dreadful cavern, but what he saw next he did not see coming. He recognized the familiar blue outfit and orange goggles, but the rookie that wore them, crushed underneath the immense rock was not Obito Uchiha.

It was Naruto Uzumaki.

Kakashi stammered in terror as the blonde rookie bled out and looked up at him. Tears ran down his face, mixed with his blood as the blonde-haired teen stared at his mentor with a mixture of hurt and sadness.

"S-S-Sensei," he stammered in a voice so weak and vulnerable, "K-Kakashi-sensei…"

The masked shinobi shook his head and refused to touch the rookie, aware it wasn't one of his beloved students, "This isn't real… Genjutsu… that's all it is, it's an illusion, it's fake!"

Naruto cried and murmured incomprehensible noises of anguish and pain as his crushed torso let out a stream of blood.

Itachi's voice echoed in cavern, "You still don't understand… Chanting over and over again that it isn't real isn't going to work."

The blonde-haired rookie whimpered one more time, "K-Kakashi-sensei…"

The silver-haired man tried to tell himself that it wasn't the real Naruto, that he was trapped in an illusion. But the sound of Naruto's voice was too realistic, the stress of his worst memories broke down his defenses and Kakashi was a slave to his emotions. He couldn't hold back as he surrendered to the illusion and tried to comfort Naruto. He tried to run his hand through his smooth blonde hair, but the moment he touched his student his flesh was on fire. Kakashi backed off and watched Naruto burn in the flames. The silver-haired man shivered in terror as his student's skin, blood, and muscle all burned in the flames until Naruto was a skeleton, dressed in the clothes of the late Obito Uchiha.

"You left me behind," he uttered after his teeth chattered and he cried, "You abandoned me! I NEEDED YOU! YOU PROMISED ME YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME BEHIND! YOU PROMISED, SENSEI! YOU PROMISED!"

Kakashi scrambled back in fear as his heart raced and his chest throbbed.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real," he chanted, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

The darkness consumed the phantom of Naruto Uzumaki and Obito Uchiha, as well as the boulder, and the cavern as well. Itachi emerged from the darkness and faced Kakashi as the world around them swirled into a chaotic world of sorrow and devastation, "Out of all those students, Naruto Uzumaki seems to be the most innocent of the bunch… And if that's the case, he will suffer the most… over and over and over again… Each devastation, every death more horrific and horrendous than the last… Over and over for the rest of the time we have left here together… Sit back and relax, Kakashi Hatake."

---

Asuma and Kurenai stood in terror on the river's surface, blind. The two of them tried to focus on their other senses to detect Itachi and Kisame's movements while Kakashi would duke it out with the Uchiha. The bearded shinobi was about to suggest his friend use shadow clones to defend them or at least watch out for them, but then he heard his masked friend let out a terrible scream.

"AARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH! GOD, NOOOOOO!"

The masked shinobi held his head in his hands, as if it were about to burst as he fell to his knees onto the surface of the river. His closed fists and broke the surface of the river, while Asuma and Kurenai both flinched.

"Kakashi?" asked Kurenai, "What's the matter?!"

Asuma shouted, "What the hell was that outburst all about?! What's the deal?! What's happening?!"

Itachi had tortured Kakashi for three days in the Tsukuyomi, but it had been no more than a few seconds in the real world. Asuma and Kurenai remained oblivious to what had occurred, but it seemed Kisame knew what had happened when he smiled at Kakashi's reaction. The bearded shinobi and kunoichi were scared when the two of them heard Kakashi mutter and whimper to himself as he choked back what sounded like sobs of devastation.

"Stop it… Stop it," he muttered, "He's a kid… Don't do it… Punish me instead… I did bad… I did bad, not him… Please don't hurt him… Hurt me… hurt me instead… Please…"

Kisame commented, "Itachi… that was a dangerous move there. You shouldn't overuse that Sharingan so much."

That was evident as Itachi's face twitched and he seemed slightly out of breath.

Kakashi looked down at the river and felt the familiar sensations of the real world; the cold water, the smell of Asuma's cigarettes, and the scent of Kurenai's exotic perfume. He wobbled from side to side, foot to foot, as he tried to stand on the river's surface. He started to lose focus on his chakra control as his knees sank into the river. Kakashi twitched and shivered as he found the strength to look up and face the former heir of the Uchiha clan.

"You…" the silver-haired man muttered, but then he raised his voice more and more as an uncontrollable rage bubbled inside him, "I'll… I'LL KILL YOU FOR MAKING ME SEE THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"I doubt that," he said back as he found breath again, "Besides, there is but one other shinobi that can be allowed to kill me."

Asuma then shouted, "Itachi! What is it that you're after?! Is it Sasuke?!"

The wind blew across the area once again and caused Itachi's hair to flow in the air. He raised his hand in a slothful manner to hold his hair out of his face and continued to stare at the three shinobi in front of him.

"No…" he answered, "We seek the inheritance of the Yondaime Hokage… The fruit of Minato Namikaze's greatest achievement to date."

Asuma and Kurenai were confused at the answer the traitor provided.

"What the hell does that mean?" asked Kurenai.

But Kakashi knew what he meant and he stuttered in despair, "N-Naruto… Itachi is after Naruto…"

---

Kakashi had a flashback to several months ago, a little bit before the Chunin Selection Exams started. He met with an old friend he hadn't seen in over a decade. An older shinobi he knew well through his late sensei and the last connection he had to his late mentor.

"It's been a while, Jiraiya," he said as he leaned back against the rail on the veranda where the Sannin asked to talk with him, "How long has it been since you were last here in the village? At least since after Minato-sensei's funeral?"

The tall, white-haired man frowned in remembrance of the Yondaime's demise before he looked at the masked shinobi with a softer smile, "You have a new team now, huh, Kakashi?"

"You bet," he answered with a subtle hint of pride in his voice, "The Sandaime entrusted me with an excellent bunch of students."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled as he listened to Kakashi talk about his students.

"Impressive," the Sannin commented, "The last of the Uchiha, the best kunoichi of the class, and this… Naruto Uzumaki, huh?"

The older shinobi hesitated when he mentioned Naruto, and Kakashi caught it as he waited and prepared to tolerate Jiraiya if he made a negative comment about the blonde-haired rookie. He knew the Sannin had lost his most precious student when the demon fox attacked, and hoped the old man didn't hold a grudge against the rookie for it.

"That's right," said Kakashi.

Jiraiya then sounded more curious when he started, "This is the same kid who has the-"

"Yes," the masked shinobi interrupted before the Sannin could finish, "But I don't blame him for what happened in light of sensei's demise and the near-total destruction of the village."

Jiraiya nodded and smiled, "That's a relief! You had me worried there for a second!"

Kakashi felt like an idiot when he assumed the Sannin hated Naruto and relaxed as well. The masked shinobi then went into further detail about the blonde student.

He sounded a little more heartfelt than the Sannin had ever heard from Kakashi as the teacher thought about their first C-Ranked mission, "In fact, ever since this new team was formed, I took the time to get to know him better. On our most recent mission to the Land of Waves, he… Naruto brought out a side of me no one has been able to draw out in a long time."

Jiraiya would have seemed delighted as Kakashi recalled the mission. But the Sannin frowned while he listened to him, as if he seemed to be a little bit envious.

"He's a really good kid," said Kakashi.

The white-haired Sannin soon beamed and asked him, "Really? So what's he like?"

"Naruto? He sure is eccentric," the masked teacher went into further detail about the blonde rookie, though he did talk about Sasuke and Sakura once in a while, he went back to Naruto soon after, "He can be stubborn, a little bit foolish, and slow when it comes to traditional lessons and schoolwork. But he can be clever, a lot of fun to have an adventure with, and he's a hard worker."

"Sounds a lot like Obito…" said a more solemn Jiraiya.

"You got that right," Kakashi nodded as he was reminded of his dear teammate, "It's no wonder the Sandaime assigned him to me."

Jiraiya frowned once again as his mind wandered to another matter that involved Kakashi's student. He decided to quit beating around the bush and went ahead and dropped the bomb on his old friend.

"Kakashi," he said with a more serious and stern tone, "I will train Naruto from now on."

The masked shinobi turned to look at the Sannin with a wide eye, "What?!"

"The Sandaime was wise to place him under your supervision. He's been well looked after," the older man frowned, "But I'm afraid someone of even your remarkable skill won't be enough to prepare him for what's coming."

Kakashi sounded a lot more cautious as he asked, "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya leaned over the rail and stared out at the village below him and Kakashi. As he prepared to inform his friend about what he had uncovered in his travels.

"I've been tracking down Orochimaru ever since he defected from Konoha. For a while, he stuck to his own schemes and underground operations," he lectured, "That is, until he met a special group of individuals."

Kakashi tried to deduce what it was when he asked, "What kind of group are we talking about? Like a triad or something?

"Not like that," answered the Sannin before he took a moment to sigh.

The masked shinobi couldn't help but sense a great deal of dread at the Sannin's hesitation, but insisted he tell him, "What is it?"

"I don't have a lot of details, but it seems to be a small syndicate of about nine shinobi, called the Akatsuki," he answered, "At first, this organization stuck to small-scale cloak and dagger operations, nothing special. But something was amiss; they had something big planned. I could feel it. Especially considering who these people are."

Kakashi looked down at the floor as he asked, "Big time criminals, I take it?"

"The biggest of them all. Almost all of the known members are listed as S-Ranked criminals in the bingo book," the Sannin paused for effect and then he added, "And our old friend Itachi Uchiha is one of them."

The masked shinobi flinched at the mention of Itachi. He couldn't help it when he clenched the rail behind him and wished the murderer of the entire Uchiha clan had died in a ditch in the middle of nowhere instead.

"When shinobi like that are gathered together in one group, you can bet they're not up to doing charity work," the Sannin looked at Kakashi and asked him, "You see where this is going?"

Kakashi stared at the Sannin and offered him a small nod before he let him continue.

"Recently, the group split up and Orochimaru defected from that organization to operate on his own, while the others paired up and scattered all across the other nations in search of rare ninjutsu… among other things."

The masked shinobi started to realize how his blonde student was connected to these people when he asked, "Is one of these things they're interested in the Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"It's a strong possibility," the Sannin confirmed as he offered Kakashi a dark look, "And it makes sense, as the demon fox has an incalculable amount of chakra. The Akatsuki could make significant use of it, if the beast were to ever fall in their hands."

The Sannin held the iron rail with both hands as he stared out at the mountains on the horizon.

"With that said, if the Akatsuki are after the Kyuubi, then Naruto is going to have to deal with that; living his life each day, looking over his shoulder, waiting for someone to come after him," he paused, "That's the boy's destiny…"

Kakashi looked back down at the floor and thought about his most unfortunate student, after that mission to the Land of Waves, he felt a strong desire to do whatever he could to help him and asked, "What can I do? There must be something I can do to help him, Jiraiya. Anything, is there anything I can do, at all?"

The Sannin seemed a bit more bemused when Kakashi asked him that, while he seemed to have a plan of his own in mind.

"You seem to have a strong connection with this kid, huh, Kakashi?" he asked.

The masked shinobi nodded, "Yes."

"If that's the case, then we're going to have to do a little bit more than separate the students. From now on, focus more on Sasuke and train him how to master that Sharingan of his. Itachi is a member of that group, so it makes sense to train him as much as possible in order to prepare him for a future confrontation with these bozos."

"And Naruto?" he asked.

Jiraiya told him, "I'll take care of him. The Chunin Selection Exams are coming up soon. It seems like the perfect opportunity we need to get things started. But as soon as the third phase of the exams begins… I need you to start to distance yourself from Naruto as much as you can and I'll take care of the rest."

"Why in the world would I want to do that?" asked the masked teacher.

The tall, white-haired man explained, "Naruto seems to trust you a lot and looks up to you. So there's a strong chance he's not going to warm up to someone like me. If we want this transition from old teacher to new teacher to run smoothly, then we're going to have to make a few tough choices, at least until this whole Akatsuki ordeal is over with."

"What are you suggesting?"

Jiraiya then ordered him, "I want you to really start giving Naruto the cold shoulder in favor of Sasuke."

"What?" the masked teacher was surprised at the request.

The older shinobi then said, "Based on what you've told me about him so far, Kakashi, Naruto is not the kind of kid that's accustom to change. But if he has less of a reason to want to return to his team's sensei, he could transition better to a new teacher, such as me. We don't want him to keep looking back, waiting for trusted Kakashi-sensei to come around and start training him again. I need you to motivate him to want to come to me for his training, even if it breaks his heart a little bit.

"I," the silver-haired shinobi hesitated before he answered firmly, "I can't do that, Jiraiya… Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than that."

The Sannin frowned and then said with more insistence, "I understand that, Kakashi, but this needs to be done. Naruto needs to be trained by me and he needs to be prepared to take on the Akatsuki. But he can't do that if he has a stronger desire to stick around with his team, as opposed to being prepared to combat the Akatsuki."

The older shinobi had a solid point: Naruto needed a stronger teacher if he wanted to stand a chance against even one of these S-Ranked criminals. Kakashi couldn't teach him the techniques he needed to deal with shinobi as dangerous as Itachi Uchiha, if he still planned to teach Sasuke and Sakura as well. Jiraiya was one of the most powerful shinobi in the entire world, one of the legendary Sannin; it made sense for Kakashi to hand Naruto over to Jiraiya, as he would be safe and taught incredible ninjutsu.

But at the same time, Kakashi hesitated, for his own reasons: he liked Naruto a lot, he had formed a strong connection with him in the time since their team was formed. After their talk on the shore of the Land of Waves, the last thing he wanted to do was leave him behind. Naruto was an emotional child and the rookie trusted him. Kakashi feared if he ever turned his back on him so soon after the promise he made Naruto would never trust him again.

Jiraiya then frowned in sadness as he said, "I know it seems harsh… but it's for his own good."

"I'll," the masked man hesitated before he shook his head and said with some regret, "Fine, I'll do it…"

"Good," the white-haired Sannin smiled, "Just focus on Sasuke from now on. But do whatever it takes to motivate him to want to come to me for his training."

---

Asuma frowned, "Naruto? What does he want him for?"

"These two…" the masked man chewed through his teeth as he struggled to not to lose consciousness, "are from the Akatsuki… Itachi and Kisame… You're after the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox… sealed within Naruto… But… You'll never find him… I will never let you take him!"

"Doubtful in a state like that… You'll fall into a coma in a matter of minutes," stated Itachi, and then he muttered to Kisame, "To be honest, it's a miracle he hasn't fallen into madness after what he saw."

Kisame reminded him, "He knows about us… How does Kakashi know about the Akatsuki?!"

"That isn't good," the former Uchiha heir commented and then he ordered his partner, "We'll have to take him with us for interrogation. Kisame, eliminate the others."

Kisame was about to move in and attack Asuma and Kurenai while the pair were still blind. But then an unexpected force of natural rolled in at the last second.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

The blue-skinned shark man was kicked in the chest with the force of a hurricane, as a blur of green sped towards the river and spun like a human shuriken. Kisame crashed and tumbled backwards across the river until he almost hit the wall behind him. He recovered fast and stared in surprise to see Might Gai had arrived on the scene. One hand behind his back, the other out in front of him as he stood tall and welcome Kisame to come back after him for round two.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" demanded the former Kiri assassin.

"Konoha's most fearsome beast of battle," the green-clad warrior beamed with a boisterous boom, "The name's Might Gai!"

"You're name's Might Gai, huh?" the shark-like man smirked, "Sounds like a joke to me!"

"Don't underestimate him," warned Itachi as he remembered Gai well enough to know that.

Gai heard his voice and recognized Itachi in a heartbeat. The taijutsu master frowned in resentment towards the former Konoha shinobi and ANBU captain and made sure he looked down at his feet.

Asuma shouted, "Close your eyes, Gai! Don't look at Itachi! You'll be caught in his jutsu, like Kakashi was!"

Gai looked down as Kakashi lost consciousness and fell into the river. The masked shinobi sank into the water, but his rival was there to draw him out of the water with ease and carried him over his shoulder.

"Relax," boomed the taijutsu master, "I know what I'm doing… After spending so much time training to fight Kakashi, I know all about Sharingan. Go ahead and open your eyes, both of you!"

The bearded shinobi and his kunoichi companion refused to do so, out of fear. But when Gai sensed their reluctance, he called out to the two of them.

"Just don't look at his eyes," he advised, "That's the secret to fighting someone with the Sharingan. Focus on his feet. You can still sense and detect his movements with how he moves."

Kurenai blinked and looked down as instructed but said, "That's makes sense, but-"

"You're probably the only one of us who can do it," her bearded friend finished for her as he blinked as well.

Gai nodded, "I suppose so… It takes true skill to anticipate an opponent's moves and we don't have time to work on it. You'll have to learn on the fly."

"So what do we do?" asked Asuma.

Gai took control of the situation like a true leader as he handed his unconscious friend over to the kunoichi, "Kurenai, take Kakashi back home and wait until he wakes up! Asuma! You and me against them! All we need to do is hold them off until the ANBU reinforcements I sent for arrive!"

Asuma clenched his trench knives and took on a more confident stance. Kurenai took the unconscious Kakashi, but the extra weight of the water absorbed in his clothes made it difficult for her. On the other side of the river, Kisame smirked and clenched the handle of Samehada while Itachi remained still and calm, like he did throughout most of the battle.

"This'll be fun," the blue-skinned man smiled, "You bunch sure have a lot of GUTS!"

But then Itachi said, "No, Kisame. We must retreat."

Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai blinked in response to Itachi's statement, surprised he would retreat when he had the advantage with his Mangekyo Sharingan. The tall shark-like man didn't like the idea one bit as it seemed clear how eager he was for battle. But Kisame offered little protest after he heard his partner out.

The Uchiha explained, "We didn't come here to start a war. Tempting as it is, this not the way to go about it. Let's go."

"That's too bad," the former warrior from Kiri lowered his sword and said with crazed intensity, "These fools don't realize how lucky they are."

And then without another word, the two criminals vanished. Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai were left behind on the river, an unconscious Kakashi in their arms as the ANBU forces arrived too late.

---

Itachi and Kisame soared across the forests miles outside of Konoha. The two shinobi did not waste one second to move far and fast before the ANBU were hot on their trail. About an hour later, Kisame decided to break the silence between them, frustrated to no end that their mission was a failure, but he was also robbed the chance to fight some of the best shinobi Konoha had to offer.

"Well, as much fun as that was and all, but we didn't even find the jinchuuriki… I don't want to admit it, but this mission turned out to be a complete failure."

The duo decided to take a break and rested on a massive rock. Itachi did not look even a little bit winded, while his taller and much more muscular partner had to sit down and use his massive sword to rest with. A few beads of sweat ran down Itachi's head but continued to look on while Kisame took a drink of water.

Itachi then corrected his comrade's earlier statement, "No. We haven't failed, Kisame… Our target was not in Konoha. He's somewhere else. Kakashi didn't even know where he was."

"Then where the hell is he?!" asked the blue-skinned man.

The dark-haired man answered, "It seems Naruto Uzumaki disappeared earlier this week when Danzo took control of Konoha. And I have an idea where he could be… Kakashi made contact with Jiraiya of the Sannin concerning Naruto Uzumaki's training before the Chunin Exams… So if the Sannin has taken him from the village in secret to train him, then I know where that man would be first… But we must move fast, Kisame."

"You said the jinchuuriki is with the Sannin," the shark-like man said, "Then what do we do if we have to face him? We wouldn't stand a chance against him in battle unless we had the boss or at least Deidara to serve as a distraction."

"I know his weakness," said a more confident Itachi, "If he is there with the jinchuuriki, then we will lure him out and wait until the target is alone and defenseless. Then we'll move in and take him."

"Excellent," this seemed to make Kisame feel a lot better as he started smirking again, "Still, we have no idea what's in store for us with this jinchuuriki. I mean; to be able to leave Konoha undetected, this little brat must be some sort of mastermind…"

---

At the same exact time the blue-skinned man said that, about five-hundred miles from Itachi and Kisame's current location, Naruto Uzumaki listened to his new MP3 Player and danced as he walked down a mountain trail and mimicked a track he listened to as he continued to be a loud and obvious target while he marched and stomped down the mountain.

"But I would walk five-hundred miles, and I would walk five-hundred more! Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles, to fall down at your door!"

Naruto smiled as he slid down the smoothest hill ahead of him and took a break to take in the sights. He had traversed across the mountains and further down the mountain there was a massive lake that stretched on for over two miles. Clear water and small islands scattered across with swarms of fish below the surface. He looked to the west and saw more dense forest, unable to see even the smallest trace of civilization in the distance. The blonde rookie smiled as the wind blew into his face and his hair waved in the air and he took a nice clean breath. Naruto then moved on to hike down the mountain trail; all the while he increased the volume on his iMP3.

Back in the mindscape, Harry listened to the music as well and smiled while he took in the atmosphere through Naruto's senses. When Naruto reached the bottom of the mountain, he followed the trail towards the massive lake in search for a rock for rest. After the incident with the Oto-nin, Naruto had Apparated from summit to summit until he reached the tall mountain behind him now. It took him fifteen minutes to cross the fields until he reached the shore and rested on smooth dark stones that reminded him of the same smooth rocks he saw on the beach of the Land of Waves. It wasn't comfortable to sit down, but it was better than a seat on the mountains.

As Naruto sat down, he heard his older brother let out a breath in his ear, as he must have sat back in a chair in the mindscape and relaxed. Naruto removed his MP3 and sat back on the smooth black rocks.

'This is the life, innit? We're on the road, the weather's nice, the music is cool, no obnoxious kunoichi wannabe around to shout and whine about missions or some Uchiha to darken the mood. I could get used to this.'

Naruto set his MP3 aside and searched his rucksack for water and sustenance.

'Hold on. I need some water…'

'Don't forget some food. There are some nutritional bars hidden in there.'

'I think I'll be fine.'

'Tuck in, Naruto. You haven't eaten since before the night with the thestrals.'

The teen stared down at the bars beside the other water bottles and then his stomach churned and demanded for food. With no other choice, he took a nutrition bar. But as he bit into chocolate-flavored bar, he felt his skin crawl and a sudden wave of dread overwhelm him as he felt his blood drain down from his head. He looked over both his shoulders, afraid that someone stalked him or was about to attack, but no one was there. With no one around to harm him for miles, he wondered what had caused that strange sensation, as if something terrible had happened. He went back to his nutritional bar but his older brother detected his distress.

'What's the matter, Naruto? You seem a little bit worried… I mean, more so than as of late. What is it?'

The teen shook his head and started to look back towards the mountains he crossed, aware that Konoha was over five hundred miles behind them as he thought about home and those he left behind.

'I dunno… I… I kinda felt this weird chill all of a sudden… I don't know if someone's watching us or if something bad happened, like I'm some kinda psychic or something… You don't think something bad happened back in Konoha?'

'I don't think so… Does your scar hurt?'

'Not even a headache.'

'Then I'm sure it's the nerves. Not to mention all that Apparating must have taken a lot out of you, so it could've been that.'

'Just to make sure is there anyone around here I can't see?'

'There's no one around here, except for some deer and an elk in the mountains we climbed down.'

'So no missing-nin, then?'

'Not a soul… But there's a wild armadillo-bear out in the forest south from here. We should move soon and outrun it. We don't want to deal with some wild beasts of that size.'

'Just a few more minutes rest.'

'Ok, but while we're here, we should look at that map.'

Naruto had a little more water for his sore throat and looked inside his rucksack for the instructions Jiraiya had left him. He unfolded the documents and checked for the location of the lake besides the mountains that ran from north to south. It took him some time, but soon he found his current location near the lake on the southern shore. He then searched for the original trail he had to follow before he was ambushed. His older brother pondered over the instructions and determined a new trail the two of them could follow in order to reach their destination. He then made it clear in Naruto's vision as if he were there in the real world to show him the trails he discovered that were hidden in the shadows of the forest west of their current location at the lake.

'Right… Once we cross this lake-area here, we'll have to follow this old trail in these woods to the west. To be on the safe side, we should hide in the shadows as we move and use the invisibility cloak whenever we can and cover ourselves if there are more shinobi in the area. Those forests will be dark and we should be cautious. Darkness is the shinobi's best asset, isn't it?'

'Ok, then once we're out of there, we'll head for this small town. We could rent a motel room and find some real food… Man, what I would do have some ramen… or even a cheeseburger…'

'We could do that. But we'll have to maintain a low profile and make sure no one looks at us more than once.'

'What should we do then?'

'You'll need some more clothes that aren't orange and blue. Use the invisibility cloak to infiltrate the town, find an area where we can change. We don't want another Oto-nin to find us.'

'That's not a bad idea, Nii-san. We should move then,' the blonde-haired rookie heard a low noise in the distance and looked over to the western woods, 'I think I can hear that armadillo-bear from here.'

'Right! Let's head north! Allons-y!'

Naruto collected his trinkets and found his new trusted cloak while he smirked, "Oui! Nous devrions avancer aussi vite que nous le pouvons!"

'Heh! We were made for each other!'

Naruto marched onwards towards the western woods, into the dark forests that shined like a sea of emeralds as the sun reflected from the mountain behind him. But soon, the trail went dark and led the rookie into a wilderness covered in moss and toadstools.

---

The two brothers traveled through the woods with Naruto hidden under the invisibility, armed with his wand this time. Harry tried his best to comfort Naruto as he sensed his fear. Though Naruto still braved through the darkness like a true Gryffindor, the strange sounds around him were all so alien to him. He never heard such noises as a soft breeze rolled in and caused the taller trees to creek and moan. The started a domino effect that caused all the wildlife around him to react. Insects clicked, birds cried, and a few elk from the mountains dashed across the trail and almost ran him over.

"WHOA!" he shouted, and the elk ran faster, terrified.

Naruto recovered and calmed down, before he noticed he lost direction. He removed the cloak from his head and looked down either direction of the trail. Unable to discern which direction he came from, decided to check his wand and resolve the issue.

Naruto rested his wand flat over his hand and murmured, "Point me!"

The wand swirled around until it settled down and aimed north. Naruto nodded and threw the cloak back over his head. He continued on west, though he failed to notice the immense, dome-like webs over his head while he took his time to use his wand like a compass.

---

Later that afternoon, Naruto stood over a cliff and saw the town he hoped to reach before sunset. It was a sizable hamlet consisted of hotels, motels, and stores. Not much of a town as much as it was a pit stop for travels or shinobi on mission.

'This is it,' he said.

The older wizard checked their map and said, 'This place is called Lavender Town. All I can see are motels and a few souvenir stores. Not sure where the Lavender comes to mind…'

'There are motels as far as I can see. And a few restaurants here and there…'

'Remember the plan. Use the cloak to sneak into town and take it off once we have a new set of clothes to avoid being noticed.'

'Right then, Nii-san.'

Naruto threw the cloak back over his head and traveled down the cliffside. The blonde-haired wizard was still armed with his wand as he walked through the streets as the invisible man. He made sure he wasn't too loud and maintained his distance from the other citizens. While Naruto was at work to avoid detection from the populace, Harry was observing everyone around them to see if he can spot Oto-nin under disguise, but had little success.

'You're fine so far. No one here looks that bad. But for all we know, all these civilians here could be under disguise. So don't take that cloak off, Ignotus.'

'Wow. It took you seven years to finally crack a joke about my middle name.' thought with a sarcastic tone and applauded, 'Bravo, Harry Pothead.'

'Oh, Shove it, blondie.'

---

Naruto snuck into one of the souvenir stores about town and decided to take a few new threads; the common clothes he knew civilians wore, hoodies, basic trousers, and t-shirts. He made sure not to take blue or orange, though there were a few decent orange shirts, but instead chose to stuff a few new red shirts into his rucksack.

The invisible blonde-haired rookie walked out of the store but made sure he left behind an appropriate amount of money on the counter while the cashier was asleep.

As he walked down the street to find a decent place to sleep, Naruto giggled from the thrill of "stealing" those clothes as it reminded him of the times when he and Harry snuck into the Academy library to borrow those valuable textbooks.

'Is it bad to say that I really missed this?'

'Not at all…' the older wizard smiled as he too felt that same thrill, 'An old top-secret adventure with Naruto Uzumaki, just like old times. Someone must have looked at my Christmas list.'

---

As soon as Naruto changed his clothes and removed the tags, he took off the cloak and entered one of the best motels in town.

He approached the receptionist and said, "Hello, I would like a room for the night."

"That'll be five hundred credits," he said as he signed the blonde teen in and asked, "Your name?"

Naruto took a few seconds to think about what name he could use and then he said with some pride, "Neville Longbottom."

---

Once settled in on the second floor, in one of the best rooms in the motel, Naruto crashed onto the mattress in sweet relief. The room itself was decent enough and seemed clean, considering it was in a motel room. The blonde wizard had collected a few meatbuns from a local store and heated them with his magic before he snacked away and suckled down two water bottles.

He lay on his bed and sighed as he stared at the ceiling, "Well, it looks like we made it in unnoticed. We have a nice bed and some decent food. Not the best stuff, I have to admit. But we are on the run, Nii-san."

'Yeah, this makes me think back to when I used to steal from market towns… Not the finest hour for me and the rest of the old trio.'

"You had to do it in order to survive. But I doubt a bunch of Muggles would miss one or two cans of fruit, Bolognese, and a case of dried noodles," he teased.

The older wizard chuckled, 'Heh! I remember that meal… It was right around winter… a little bit before Godric's Hollow… It was the best meal Hermione and I had in months.'

"I think it's in our blood to find ourselves in situations like this. But at least we're alive."

'One of us, at least… But the sooner we find that perverted old bastard, the better…'

Naruto laid down on the bed and looked over at the digital clock on the table. It was about a half hour until sunset as the orange light from outside beamed through the window. But as the beam faded more and more and the darkness of the night settled in, he thought about home. Naruto thought about that weird feeling he had at the lake and worried about Iruka. He tried not to think about how worried his adoptive older brother was, but started to imagine how he would react if the roles were reversed, how Harry would react if he was in Iruka's position; memories wiped and little brother missing, it made Naruto feel sick with woe and Harry could sense it.

'Something on your mind?'

"Yeah," he admitted, "I'm worried about aniki…"

Naruto looked across the room and noticed there was a telephone next to the television. He remembered Iruka had one at home too, but he almost never used it unless he was sick and needed to call off work. Naruto felt like he had been struck with lightning and dashed across the room to the telephone.

"I think I should call Iruka and let him know we're-"

'Hold on there,' boomed the older wizard as he smacked his little brother's hand.

Naruto shouted, "What's the deal?!"

'That doesn't sound like the best idea in the world right now.'

"How come?! He must be worried sick about me! I at least want him to know that I'm alive!" he protested.

'Wait! Listen to me for a second! I don't know too much about Muggle technology anymore, but I remember this movie I listened to back when I lived with the Dursleys that involved telephone-bugging.'

"What's that?" he asked.

'It's an old Muggle technology that helped them record phone messages and listen in on conversations. Spies used to use them all the time. If we call Iruka from here, then we cannot reveal our current location to him. Otherwise, whoever listens in on us will know where we are and find us. And for that matter, assuming Konoha has similar technology, the call could be traced to our current location and we don't want Danzo to know where we are. Besides, Konoha is strict when it comes to outside messages. Phone calls taken from outside the village walls are so rare and there's a chance that Danzo has the lines monitored and that could lead him and those ANBU over here even if we don't mention where we are. It's one of the reasons the shinobi tend to use hawks instead and use phones to communicate outside the walls.'

Harry's reasoning was sound. It would be a mistake to call home if there was a chance his call could be traced and alert Danzo of his location. After that run-in with the Oto-nin, the last thing Naruto wanted was for Danzo's ANBU to come in and kill him.

But even so, Naruto's concern for his adoptive older brother overwhelmed his concern for himself.

He said with a sad and serious voice and used the card he knew would win him over, "You wouldn't rest for one minute if the roles were reversed, Nii-san… I understand the risk, but I have to call him… I cannot let Iruka-aniki suffer, not for one more minute… Please tell me the code I need to dial to reach Konoha…"

The older wizard frowned and stared at Naruto for a solid minute, before he signed and nodded.

---

Iruka was in his home with Anko at the time with Ibiki, Aoba, Kotetsu, and Izumo. The two latter shinobi were in the kitchen and hovered over a hundred various posters on the table with Naruto's cheerful face on all of them. All the notices stated where and when the teen was last seen and mentioned a cash reward to whoever returned him home safe and sound. The two shinobi mulled over them and tried to think about where the child would be, but were clueless. Ibiki and Aoba discussed what the latest news in concern about the teen and shook their heads at their lack of success. Back in the entertainment room, Iruka sat on his favorite couch and mulled over the useless posters and banners he had made while Anko sat beside him and tried to convince him to take a break and eat. But even she had to admit that not even sweets would ease their collected worries over the lost blonde-haired teen. It was like the two of them were Naruto's mother and father; worried sick about their child. When Anko had learned from Iruka that Naruto never returned home, she became more and more worried and searched all of Konoha over two dozen times.

Iruka breathed and leaned towards his lover while she rested on his firm, muscular shoulder. For a while, no one made a noise or even sneezed as an hour of awkward silence commenced. But then the silence was ended when a loud noise caused all the shinobi and one kunoichi in the house to jump and then look towards the source in the kitchen. It was a loud buzz that went on and off for about twelve seconds. Iruka looked over towards his kitchen and realized it was his telephone. He tilted his head for a second, as he almost never used his phone unless he had to call the school and let the main offices know that he was sick or that he would be late. Other than that, he almost forgot he even had one.

The chunin soon walked over to the device and answered it with some reluctance, "Hello? Who is this?"

"HELLO?! IRUKA?! IS THAT YOU?!" he asked and then he said, "Oh, too loud, Nii-san? Gomenasai! Iruka-aniki, it's me, Naruto!"

The chunin shouted from the volume, but then when Iruka recognized the voice, he felt his back hit the wall. He smiled as he almost could've cried when he heard his little brother's voice, "Naruto?! Oh, thank heaven! You're alive!"

Iruka covered the receiver with his hand and shouted to the others, "IT'S HIM! HE'S ALIVE!"

"Of course I'm alive. I'm fine. It's ok, I'm safe," replied Naruto.

"Oh, Naruto," the chunin breathed as he heard the others in the room chattered and cheer before all of them were silence at Iruka's unexpected wrath when he roared, "YOU LITTLE SHIT! You know how to freak me out!"

Naruto had flinched in terror at his former teacher's infamous rage before he blushed and apologized, "I'm so sorry I didn't have time to call or leave a note before I left. I'm with Ero-Sennin right now. He came round the apartment earlier and said we had to leave at once. I called as soon as I found a telephone. I'm so sorry that it took so long. You must have been worried sick."

"It's ok, Naruto," the tan-skinned chunin sighed as he let his temper simmer down and smiled as tears reached his eyes, "It's… It's ok... You're alive and that's what matters."

Anko had covered her mouth and tried to hide her own tearful relief from the others before she calmed down and took the phone from her boyfriend and she sounded so relieved and tearful, "Naruto? It's me, Anko! Where are you?!"

"I'm not sure," he lied, careful in case the conversation were tapped, "We stopped at this hotel for tonight. I don't even know where we are. Ero-Sennin and I camped out ever since we left until now."

"Ok," the kunoichi couldn't hold back a few tears before she nodded and then asked in a sweet, uncharacteristic voice, "That's fine. But I have to ask; where's Jiraiya?"

"He's in bed," he lied again, and asked, "You need to talk to him?"

"Yes. I want him to know," she then screamed into the phone and threw the chunin beside her off his feet, "I'LL KILL HIM THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!"

"Heh," the blonde-haired wizard laughed so much as he let out a single tear in relief that his loved ones were safe, "I think I'll take care of that for you myself tomorrow!"

---

Naruto's conversation went on for about an hour while some of the people in Iruka's apartment left to send word to the elders and the jonin unaware that the search for Naruto was over. The blonde-haired rookie made sure his older brother would be able to rest easier and apologized to him and the other shinobi that had been looking for him. Though he still pinned the blame on Jiraiya.

The tan-skinned chunin eventually said goodnight to Naruto before their conversation ended, as did Anko. The blonde rookie smiled in sadness and warmth while he promised he would call them again whenever he had the chance.

"Goodnight, otōto," he heard Iruka's warm voice before he heard the kunoichi, "Sleep well."

Naruto nodded before we cut them, "I will."

And the line went dead on Iruka's end. The chunin embraced Anko and she returned the favor, while hundreds of miles to the west Naruto stared out ahead of him with a more serious, determined look.

"How much time do we have before they're here?" he asked.

'Not a lot of time. Pack up everything. We might have to leave soon.'

And Naruto stood from the bed and collected all of his clothes, trinkets, and food. He didn't know if Danzo had traced the call but if he did, he didn't expect the old man's ANBU forces to knock on the door.

---

Outside the motel, two men had arrived and walked inside to talk to the receptionist. The two men looked had bruised, somewhat swollen faces, looking dead serious as the two of them frowned and approached the front desk.

"Excuse us," the taller of the two of them spoke, "We need to find someone."

The receptionist was intimidated as he assumed the two were shinobi, "Um, who is it, sir?"

"It's our little cousin," the shorter of the two said, "We lost him in town and we need to find him at once. We think he must have returned to this motel if he were ever lost."

"What does he look like?" asked the receptionist.

"He's short, like a hobbit, blonde hair, and has some scars on his face," the taller man described.

The receptionist thought about his recent tenants and answered, "Well, we did have a short blonde kid check in earlier. I'm not sure that he had scars, other than this one he had on his forehead."

"What did it look like?"

"Hmmm," the man behind the desk had to think hard but did remember the mark well enough, "Well, it was kinda cool. It looked like a lightning bolt on his forehead, I think…"

"That's him," the taller man smiled.

The shorter man then asked, "Which room is he in?"

---

Naruto closed his beaded rucksack and threw it aside. He held the invisibility cloak in one hand, and his wand in the other. The blonde-haired rookie watched the window from where he stood, before he gasped and felt a brief but hot blast of intense pain strike his forehead.

"Ouch," he cursed as his hand shot to his scar and froze still, "It's time!"

Naruto moved to the side of the window with a little boost of chakra. Silent and slow, he used his drawn wand to pull the end of the curtain back and saw two gentlemen marched down the scaffold towards his room. Neither of them looked like ANBU and breathed a little heavier as he couldn't determine if the men were Oto-nin or Danzo's ANBU enforcements. But then the older wizard recognized their swollen, bruised faces as the result of some intense curses.

'Those are Oto-nin soldiers. Those two were the ones that chased us from the farmhouse.'

'So what do I do?'

'Hide. Move it.'

The blonde-haired wizard threw the cloak over his head and vanished. A few seconds later, the doorknob clicked and ticked until the door opened and the two men entered the room. Silent at first, the two of them searched under the bed with knives drawn, checked the bathroom, and returned to the bedroom. The two of them looked around and observed the lamps, tables, chairs, and pillows to check for flaws or perfections.

"Naruto?" one of them asked, "Naruto Uzumaki? You in here?"

The other called out, "Listen, we wanna talk. We're friends from Konoha. You went missing and we're here to return you home. Come on out and let's talk."

"We know that you're in here. So come on out. Your sensei is worried sick," the first one boomed.

The shorter of the two men checked the window and looked down at the floor, when he noticed a pair of feet backed against the curtains, "What the hell is that-"

"STUPEFY!"

The shorter of the two Oto-nin was struck in the chest and blasted across the bedroom, crashing into a fake painted portrait above the bed. The other Oto-nin heard the commotion and saw Naruto emerge from under the cloak, surprised, he threw his shuriken to kill but missed as the man's partner collapsed on the bed, covered in broken glass.

'DUCK!'

"TAKE THIS, YOU BRAT!" he roared.

Across the bed, close to the door, Naruto stood and ducked as the shinobi launched a dozen shuriken that whizzed above the blonde-haired wizard. Naruto recovered and aimed his wand at the Oto-nin and shouted.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

The curse hit the man in the stomach and he doubled over before he collapsed and the sonic boom of the crack the window and television. The Oto-nin was frozen like a statue on the floor as Naruto breathed and closed the door with a little wave of his wand.

'Lock the door. Close the windows. Get the lights.'

Naruto moved fast as his heart raced in his chest and still breathed hard. He waved his wand back at the window as the curtains were brushed to the side in the skirmish. With one more wave of his wand, the lamps went out and Naruto stumbled in the darkness until he found the unconscious shinobi on his bed, bloodied from the broken glass. He looked over at the other man he struck with a Full Body-Bind.

Naruto then looked towards the door, 'We have to leave now. If we hide under the cloak and we head north until sunrise, we could lose them. I could send a shadow clone or two down south to throw them off course. But we have to leave right now.'

'Hold on for a second there, Naruto. I agree, but we should erase their memories before we leave. If we do that and leave some bottles around the room and dowse them with alcohol, then we should be fine.'

'You're the boss.'

Naruto approached the man he froze as his face was stuck in pain and shock. He aimed his wand at the man but did not utter or even think about the incantation.

He listened to his older brother's directions first, 'Just relax for me and aim at them.'

The blonde-haired wizard nodded and then he enunciated, "Obliviate!"

The end of the wand started to radiate as the charm wavered over the two enemies. Naruto noticed at once as the first man's face turned unfocused and dreamy while his older brothers delved into their minds and modified their memories. He then felt another rush of warmth become forced into his arm and saw another wave of magic radiate and waver over the Oto-nin. The first man's face continued to look unfocused but soon lost consciousness and the deed was done.

---

About an hour later, the two wizards were about a mile outside the town. Naruto looked back one last time and threw on the cloak before he vanished into the darkness. The blonde-haired teen shivered under his trusted cloak and moved on in his new dark clothes as he held his wand tight in his hand.

He asked him out loud, "So how did those two know we were there?"

'I dunno. I expected Danzo's ANBU to arrive on the scene first, not Orochimaru's lackeys.'

'You don't think… Are Danzo and Orochimaru, like, secret allies?!'

'I'm not sure. Those two idiots in the motel were under orders to find us. I recall one of them received a message that you were in this area, but no mention of a motel or what our room number was.'

'But that means Danzo could have traced us through the phone call and tipped Orochimaru off to where I was! He could have hired Orochimaru to kill me in the first place!'

'Calm down. We don't know that. You could have been seen when you didn't have the cloak on earlier after we changed clothes. For all we know, Orochimaru could have had a low-level mole, like a civilian, spot us and called him then. I know I said we didn't have a lot of time, but it would have taken the ANBU at least two days to get to that motel if we were traced.'

'Ok… So what will those two idiot Oto-nin remember?'

'Not much. I modified their memories so those two will search in the town south from here, then return to their base of operations.'

'Well, at least we'll have a little head start then.'

'I also searched their memories while I was in their heads. There wasn't much. Those two were foot soldiers. None of them knew Orochimaru that well. But I did find some useful information.'

'What is it?'

'Orochimaru is indeed after us. I don't know what it is that he wants. But it doesn't look like he was pleased about that curse.'

'So he wants to kill us?'

'He could… Or hewants us to fix whatever he thinks we did to him. That's all I was able to translate from both of their memories.'

'Then we have to find Ero-Sennin and fast. We have to tell him about this. Otherwise, that snake-bastard will hunt us down and distract us from our mission. Or worse, he could kill us.'

'I'm sure Jiraiya'll take that well. And I bet he'll love to hear all about me once we sit down here in the mindscape and have some tea and biscuits.'

'Ok, sarcasm aside, we don't have to tell him about our secret. All he needs to know is that Orochimaru is after us. I could tell him he wants to kill me because I foiled him when he tried to kill Sasuke in the Forest of Death. We need Jiraiya on our side and we won't last out here on our own without him.'

'Agreed… And we should head out now… I'm not sure if Orochimaru sent more soldiers out to this area. For all we know, he could have minions like those two out all over the Land of Fire.'

'I cannot tell you how happy I am that we made this cloak.'

'Ditto, mate.'

Naruto soon started to walk faster until he ran into the forest; careful to make sure to check his wand to see which direction was north once about every five minutes. While he continued into the untold darkness, he remained invisible and checked over his shoulder almost all the time as he was certain he heard a noise behind him. He was scared, cold, and covered with sweat as he moved onwards and waited to see the dawn he was sure would come and make his world warm and safe once more.

But while it was still dark and the noises all around him he feared were other men hot on his trail, he soon reached into his subconscious so that he could hear the warm and humorous voice he listened to ever since he was a little toddler.

'Nii-san. Let us also be thankful that no one else is out here to hunt us down. Orochimaru is bad enough.'

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To Be Continued…

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And there's the new chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll be working on the next chapter soon, but I don't know when it will be done. But I look forward to reading what you thought about this chapter :D

And speaking of reviews, I have a little bit here that I want to get off my chest really quick:

This is actually a personal message to the anonymous reviewer known as Animals Rule: Please stop demanding me to update or post a new chapter every week. I don't know if you understand or not, but it takes time for me to write a chapter and demanding me to post a new chapter in your reviews is not helpful. If you do post a review, then by all means, comment on what you liked about the chapter that I already posted recently and be patient. That's all I ask.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and you can expect to see Jiraiya next time :D