===Author Note===

Hi there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes.

I was glad that everyone enjoyed how Naruto got the Mangenkyou Sharingan. The idea came to me while I was writing the chapter actually and it worked in the end. Kishimoto used the same method on Sasuke, after all. When Tobi told him about Itachi's real history, Sasuke went to enough emotional pain that he had awakened the MS. Now, let us proceed with this new chapter. Before that, however, I wish to provide some answers to the reviews from last chapter.

Jose19 – He will remain loyal to the village. The sharingan alone does not mean that every Uchiha is driven by power alone. Itachi and Shisui, for example and I am sure that Mikoto was not focused on power. In addition, when you say 'mentally unbalanced' you mean only Sasuke, right? In addition, he was so because Itachi and everyone decided to play with his mind.

Please read my stuff – I will cover this subject later, so I do not want to ruin the surprise.

Plums – I believe I managed to explain how Naruto arrived to that conclusion. Considering that it was Minato's will that Naruto was made aware by the time he became jounin, Naruto thought about the normal requirements of the promotion, the minimal age and experience for that manner. With that said, Minato had no way of knowing if his son would actually receive the promotion, since there are many different circumstances that could happen.

Shadragon – He will have a special ability, but he will not be able to use the regular three MS techniques as you called them. As I believe, only Itachi and Sasuke managed to use all three. Tobi had the Kamui and Madara only used Susanoo. About the blind part, I will cover it later.

Battle Neurosis – Nope.

Alec McDowell – Yeah, I was not focused on relationship background here. The story is more action oriented.

Darkness Shadow – Thank you for the question. When I said that he would not use the three MS techniques from the beginning, I was under the impression that every MS was able to perform them. However, to this date, only Sasuke and Itachi managed to use Ametarasu and Tsukuyomi. Madara showed only Susanoo and Tobi only used Kamui. That being said, I decided that Naruto will have one new ability.

Ok now here is the chapter.

Just so you know, I did some changing with the events in canon. Certainly, you'll notice when as you read it, so I won' bother to explain. Also, as far as MS techniques are concerned, when I said that Naruto would not use the three MS techniques from the beginning, I was under the impression that every MS was able to perform them. However, to this date, only Sasuke and Itachi managed to use Ametarasu and Tsukuyomi. Madara showed only Susanoo and Tobi only used Kamui. That being said, I decided that Naruto will have one new ability. I agree with everyone that Kishimoto simply forgot to bring out weaknesses in the sharingan, focusing only on strengths. That being said, Naruto will only have one new skill with his MS.

Chapter 21 – Fateful encounter

Beta: Kyuubi123

As soon as Naruto opened the door to his house, he had to clean a few spider webs that accumulated over the years.

It has been a long time since anyone saw to the house's maintenance and cleaning. The furniture was covered by white sheets, though as he walked throughout the dark hallways of the house. It has been seventeen years since Naruto's parents inhabited it, so obviously there was no power available. Quickly grabbing a flashlight, Naruto navigated throughout the house, in search mainly for photos of his parents. The rest was irrelevant as far as he was concerned. Eventually, he found one picture that happened to be inside of a nice looking frame, standing on the living room's center table. Naruto saw the Yondaime Hokage fussing over a pregnant woman with long red hair. The woman was smiling fondly at the seemingly playful acts of the Yondaime Hokage and Naruto could not help but admire her beauty. A quick sharingan activation and Naruto memorized the picture.

Aside from that one, he found another one with the Yondaime Hokage posing with three teenagers. Naruto recognized Kakashi from the picture and smiled at his brother's bored visage. He looked the exact same nowadays. Kakashi did say that he was a part of the Yondaime's genin team, so this must be it. Moving on, the jounin found the stairs to the upper level. The second level was slightly brighter, because of a large window. More spider webs appeared as he walked through the hallway, until he reached the first bedroom. His heart stopped when he saw what appeared to be a crib made of wood. In all four walls of the room, ocean blue wallpaper was applied, providing a nice comfortable atmosphere for the baby born seventeen years ago. Sadly, so, said baby did not get to experience any of this. The same night of his birth was the night his parents were killed.

He turned quickly and moved to the other room that belonged to his parents. He could see the Yondaime's clothes inside the open closet.

The entire house was devoid of life, as Naruto expected it to be. Naruto attempted to picture how his life would have been if nothing happened that day. He imagined both his parents fawning over his sleeping form inside the crib. He imagined himself barging inside his parent's room door, after a nightmare. Above all else, he imagined himself seating on the table with his parents having dinner in celebration for his graduation at the academy. It was not meant to be in the end, he reasoned. He left his parent's room and ventured throughout the house, wondering if he could find another door or even another section he had yet to find. The second level had another door on the opposite side from the bedrooms. Inside, Naruto saw a desk right below a nice looking window. The walls contained shelves of scrolls and books. This must have been his father's study where he created all the techniques that made him a legend.

Everything appeared to be neatly organized, but Naruto knew better. The contents of the scrolls would not be so easy to look at or else this place would have been ransacked by now. Activating his sharingan, Naruto smiled upon seeing an invisible wall of energy keeping the scrolls and books from prying eyes. His father and mother were fuuinjutsu experts, so Naruto was not surprised. The jounin always said he would attempt to learn the art of seals, but he never did make the first move.

"In there, you have enough material to start…" Naruto was surprised at the voice inside his head.

"I was wondering when you would say anything…even if it's true what you said, I can't reach the scrolls. There is a fuuinjutsu barrier prohibiting me."

"You need only to spot the Yondaime's personal mark with your sharingan and release the barrier. The mark is easy to find if you focus hard enough." Naruto had no clue about what the fox was saying, nor did he know what the Yondaime's personal mark looked like. The wall was filled with different set of kanji that did not follow a pattern for the untrained eye to follow. He looked at the shelves for ten minutes and began to lose his patience. He was about to call it quits when he turned his head abruptly to the right. At the wall's bottom right corner, he could see a set of smaller kanji in a descending pattern. Combining said drawing to the rest, Naruto could not see another similar one. "Good, you found it. Now you can deactivate it and learn all the knowledge your parents acquired throughout the years in the art of sealing."

Once Naruto touched the seal, the wall of chakra flickered once, as if it began losing energy. It took ten seconds for it to vanish entirely and Naruto touched the scrolls.

===Unknown Location===

The area was filled with water and magma as Itachi waited for his partner Kisame to deal with the Yonbi Jinchuuriki. The former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist member asked to deal with the seasoned jinchuuriki on his own and as such Itachi obliged to it, knowing that Kisame was perhaps the best suited to fight against the Yoton user. The wave of magma looked menacing enough, but then Kisame's mastery over suiton ninjutsu emerged victorious. The Uchiha looked to his right and saw the monster of Kirigakure carrying the unconscious jinchuuriki with his sword. Roushi was the jinchuuriki's name and from Itachi's perspective, the man's appearance was quite frail.

"He look weak…you need to treat the elderly with more care." Kisame smirked as he looked at his former opponent.

"You say that because you don't know him. The Jinchuuriki who uses the yoton style ninjutsu is not what you think. You didn't fight him yourself, so you wouldn't understand what I went through."

Itachi kept looking at his partner with a subtle glance at the jinchuuriki.

"Leader asked to be notified immediately after the capture. Apparently, the sealing of the Sanbi and the Yonbi is to occur simultaneously."

"Let him wait a while…when the sealing starts, we will be working quite a while." They were right now walking towards a forest with big enough trees to protect them from the heavy rain. "I wish we could catch all the tailed beasts already." Itachi could tell that despite not looking it, Kisame was indeed quite tired. His chakra capacity was too limited right now to initiate the sealing sequence. With Orochimaru's betrayal as well as Sasori's death, the organization relied on Kisame's large chakra supply to cover for them. They would need to wait for the blue shark to recharge a bit, before beginning the procedure.

"Don't be so impatient…it's going to take some time for us to capture all of the tailed beasts." Itachi said earning a nod from Kisame.

"I wonder about that…there's just a few more right? Moreover, it has been decided that the Nine Tails will be sealed last, otherwise the balance will be disrupted and the sealing statue will be pulverized. At least that is what leader said anyway. Therefore, it will indeed take a while. In my opinion, we should capture all of the jinchuuriki and tie them up." Itachi took a seat by a thick tree as he thought about Kisame's proposal with an apparently amused smile on his face. You just never know what the man was actually thinking or feeling.

"Hmmm, fine with me, but remember that both Sasori and Deidara failed. You do remember that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki defeated Sasori. He won't be so easy to capture Kisame." Kisame snorted at the comment, but Itachi could tell that said behavior was more in tune with a new challenge rather than pure derision. In addition, Akatsuki is being too conspicuous lately. If we manage to capture the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki too soon, the Hidden Leaf will become even more of a nuisance."

"Heh, you think so?"

"The Hidden Leaf has very strong links with other villages. If they begin to collaborate, it will be difficult for us to act. It will be wiser to collect up to the eight-tails with as little commotion as possible."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…as always." Kisame said, before frowning for some reason…just like Itachi.

"There is the summons." Itachi commented.

"We were caught dawdling."

===Inside a cave===

Itachi and Kisame's projections appeared, joining the rest of the organization.

"You're late…" Leader pointed out.

"We had just captured the jinchuuriki when you called us…it took some time, because we needed to tie him up. So what's up?"

Pein closed his eyes for a couple seconds, before addressing everyone.

"I called all of you here in order to relay the decision of performing the sealing ritual with both the Sanbi and the Yonbi. Because of Sasori's defeat, we lack the necessary chakra to complete the ritual. As such, we will reconvene tomorrow here at the same time." Everyone nodded. Kisame looked relieved, to which Itachi did not comment. The monster of Kiri wanted to go alone, but he was not really accounting for the leader to postpone the sealing like this. Pein, then, spoke once more. "Hidan and Kakuzu…how close are you two from capturing the Nibi Jinchuuriki?" the statue had one eye open, meaning that they managed to capture the Ichibi fully, despite not killing the jinchuuriki. The Nibi would be next, but it was not necessary to follow any order, aside from the Kyuubi that needed to be sealed last.

"We have discovered her whereabouts and shall move for the capture in about two days. We also bribed her jounin escort so as not to warn Kumo of our presence." Pein nodded, before dismissing everyone.

"Itachi, Kisame…bring in the Yonbi Jinchuuriki's body here." The astral projections nodded before vanishing from the cave.

===Back at their location===

Itachi got up from the ground, before wiping some dirt off his robe.

"Cripes and I thought we'd get to rest a bit." Kisame complained as he once more collected Roshi's body from the ground with his sword.

"We have no choice, let's hurry." The two began walking when Itachi stopped as a crow landed on his shoulder. A mere look at the crow's sharingan eyes made Itachi's eyebrows rise in sudden surprise. He immediately schooled his features or else Kisame would notice the difference. The swordsman did not seem to notice, though, as they walked towards the location where the organization would be sealing the tailed beasts. His brain worked a mile a minute, attempting to come up with a cause for Sasuke's sharingan to evolve so fast. In fact, 'fast' was a loose term. By all intents and purposes, Itachi was the same age as Naruto when he obtained the Mangenkyou Sharingan. 'Unexpected' would be the best term to describe it, actually. The last living Uchiha did not account for Sasuke's sharingan to evolve until Itachi made his appearance once more.

Now that Naruto had the same eyes as him, Itachi wondered if Naruto would be able to use all three of the MS techniques. If he did then, Itachi would be sure that Naruto would be ready to face the organization.

"Problems Itachi? What's on your mind?" Itachi stopped immediately and once more schooled his features. Kisame's perceptiveness surprised him at times.

"Just thinking about the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and wondering how he was able to beat Sasori." Anbu Black Ops 101…half-truths were always better than an outright lie. Kisame snorted with a predatory smile.

"Huh…beats me. Perhaps, Sasori's poisons do not affect a jinchuuriki, perhaps he capitalized on that." Itachi did humor the idea, even if he only used to take away Kisame's focus from the truth.

"Unlikely…sure it would be less potent, but no less lethal. From what I heard, Sasori's poisons worked by targeting the human organs directly. The Kyuubi's energy would protect him against brutal attacks, but it would not be as effective if the attack came from the inside. Still, we both know that poison was not Sasori's only method of killing. The Jinchuuriki still had to work through the unstoppable puppet army of his." It may have started out by driving Kisame's focus away from the truth, but now Itachi was truly curious about how the fight went. If Itachi was honest with himself, he doubted if he could have defeated Sasori. Trapping him in a genjutsu would be next to impossible. Sasori covered said weakness by hiding inside a puppet. His fire techniques also would not be effective against Sasori's puppets. The puppet master was indeed a fearful individual, but still Naruto was able to defeat him.

"You did fight him before, did you not?" Itachi looked at Kisame and wondered about that day.

That day, Itachi battled against Naruto, however his strength was limited. The boy surprised him though when he used yoton just like the Yonbi Jinchuuriki did. Now that he reached the Mangenkyou Sharingan, no doubt his overall skills had improved. Itachi had decided then that the time has finally come. Looking at his partner in crime, who by the way never stopped smiling, Itachi released a sigh and started talking.

"Kisame, after the sealing is complete, I wish for you to aid me in something important and it involves the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki." Kisame's smile vanished as he looked at his partner with a confused expression.

"Why do I have the feeling that whatever this is has nothing to do with Akatsuki?" Itachi showed a smile at the question. It was a rare sight these days.

"I will explain everything to you as we walk."

===With Naruto===

As soon as he woke up the next day, Naruto Uzumaki marched straight towards the Uchiha Clan Library.

His goal was to make sense of the new set of eyes that appeared suddenly. The shape itself was irrelevant compared to his new perception of the environment. The three-tome sharingan allowed him to copy taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu. In addition, with it, Naruto's movements became faster as he was able to anticipate the enemy's movements and be one-step ahead the entire time. With his new eyes, it was as if everything started moving in slow motion. The newly promoted jounin tested his newfound eyes by watching a local civilian pass by. He was surprised at the results. When he did the same with the current sharingan level, the movements were already slow, but this time it was much slower if that's possible.

He figured that if the library material required the sharingan, then this next version would show other scrolls that could provide more answers.

As he stepped inside, he activated the regular sharingan, thus seeing the usual scrolls available to him. When he turned on the newly acquired design, Naruto was surprised upon seeing one scroll glowing. The usual scrolls showed a lighter shade of red; however, this one showed a much darker shade like blood. After taking it out of the shelf, Naruto took a seat and opened it, with cautious anticipation. Something about the dark red color just seemed strange to him, kind of an ominous feeling to it. He read the first lines aloud only to confirm his suspicions.

For those Uchiha who managed to awaken the Mangenkyou Sharingan, 'congratulations' would not be the proper adjective. To this date, only two Uchiha, including myself, reached this level, so I know what it took to reach this stage of evolution. The Mangenkyou Sharingan grants you an improved perception of the world around you, but that is not all it gives you. The amount of sacrifice to acquire them would not have been fulfilling if all you gained were improvement in your movement. Each set of eyes is unique in terms of new abilities. A bit of warning, however. Over usage of the Mangenkyou Sharingan will in time permanently damage your eyes.

Uchiha Madara

Pretty much everything there was written in the scroll scared him. The evolution, according to Madara, was not considered a good thing and it worried the jounin. Reading it once more, Naruto memorized the contents before closing the scroll and placing it back where he found it. Despite all its benefits, Naruto was not comfortable with the trade-off, according to Madara's scroll. Using the MS at the cost of his sight was simply not worth it. For now, it would serve as a last resort, in case of life or death situations. Naruto had plenty of other abilities he could use after all. As soon as he stepped outside the library, his eyes landed on a leafy tree directly in front of the abandoned compound. He released a sigh in dismay at the discussion he was about to get into.

A subtle nod was all it took, before he vanished in a shunshin towards a secluded alley just as Itsuko appeared, without her anbu mask.

"I'm sor…" Naruto was about to start when she placed two fingers over his lips. Her face expression did not appear angry.

"You do not need to apologize, Naruto-kun. You needed time to think about what the Hokage told you. It's okay." The promoted jounin nodded with a relieved smile. If he talked to anyone after learning the truth, Naruto doubted if he would be able to control his mouth or even his actions. The couple hugged each other for a while, both transfixed in the moment, simply enjoying the other's company. Naruto realized that he needed to talk to the others as well.

"How are you feeling now?" Itsuko asked as they stopped hugging.

"A lot better than yesterday. I visited visit my parents' house after leaving the Hokage's office and saw a couple of pictures of them." Itsuko nodded with a smile on her face. She was eager to look at those pictures to meet her boyfriend's parents, perhaps her parents-in-law. "Although, I am still in doubt about what happened. Perhaps you could help me figure out." The woman looked at Naruto in wonder for a while, before nodding at him. "According to the Hokage, my father ordered the truth to be revealed to me only when I became a jounin. What reason could he have for such a decision? Certainly, he was not concerned about maturity; otherwise, he would have chosen age instead." Itsuko pondered on that for a moment and realized the validity of her boyfriend's thinking.

"The Yondaime did have many enemies. Perhaps he believed that as a jounin, you'd be able to defend yourself should this information reach his enemies." Naruto blinked once and nodded.

"Could it be? I guess you are right. If I do remember correctly, both Iwa and Kumo had their grievances with my father, especially Iwa because of the last war."

"Now that you managed to come to terms with the truth, Kakashi and Kasumi-chan invited us for some lunch. My duty is almost done here, so what you say?" The blond simply nodded, before Itsuko vanished, but not before smiling at him. Naruto needed to talk to them as well. Right now, however, he needed to test his Mangenkyou Sharingan. Madara said that each set of eyes carries different abilities. Naruto already established that he would only use it as last resort because of the strain in his eyes, but he at least needed to know which new ability he now possessed. It would not bode well for him to fail a mission because he didn't know how to use his last resort.

Naruto left the alleyway towards a training ground he always used. When he arrived however, he saw that Kakashi was already there waiting for him, reading his favorite book like usual.

"The last time Kasumi-neechan saw you reading that, she closed all your tenketsu." The scarecrow jounin showed a smile at the comment, before tucking the book inside his kunai holster.

"I do thank you in advance for not telling her, then." Naruto laughed slightly with a nod. "You seem more at ease now, I take it?" Naruto shrugged it off.

"I had some time to think it over…though I'm still upset you kept it from me all this time." Kakashi merely nodded, already expecting this conversation.

"I figured you would…but then your body does not reflect your supposed feeling. I trust that you don't seek an explanation for why I kept the info from you all this time?" Despite the fact that Kakashi wanted to tell Naruto about his father, he was prohibited from doing so by decree of the Hokage.

"I don't….it was an S-ranked secret after all." Kakashi nodded as Naruto continued. "Seeing that you're here then, perhaps you could aid me with something important?"

"Is this about you awakening the Mangenkyou Sharingan?" Naruto looked at him in surprise, before Kakashi explained. "Jiraiya explained it to me what happened yesterday. Can I take a look at it?" The recently promoted jounin nodded, doing as requested. Kakashi could not help but take a step back at the sight. The design alone, while peculiar, was not the reason for the shock. The white part of Naruto's eyes showed many red veins bulging. "How do you feel with it?"

Naruto looked at his brother figure and old sensei with the Mangenkyou Sharingan. He then looked at his own hands for a while.

"Aside from the increase in sight, nothing much." Kakashi frowned at the thought, before activating his own sharingan. Based on the knowledge he had on the Mangenkyou Sharingan, even to Uchiha, it was increditably taxing as far as chakras was concerned. Naruto's chakra however has not shown any decrease. Naruto had a large chakra capacity, sure, but he also had something no other Uchiha had. Kyuubi's large chakra supply. At least he thought it was because of that, so Kakashi now focused on another subject.

"Okay…what else happens when you activated them? Any new abilities?"

"None so far…though I did not focus chakra through it like we do with the regular sharingan." Kakashi nodded and awaited for Naruto to try it.

The second he did so, Naruto was perturbed at what appeared in front of him. Everywhere he laid his eyes, he could see cracks in the air, like shattered glass in appearance. The blond quickly chose the one that appeared behind Kakashi and once more focused chakra through his eyes. Once he did so, it didn't take one second for him to stare at Kakashi's back. Kakashi turned his head so abruptly that Naruto thought the man's neck would break and his eyes would jump out of their sockets. Now that Naruto processed the ramifications of his new ability, he reasoned that Kakashi's outburst had its merit. Apparently, so, his ability consisted of instant teleportation.

"How!?" Naruto attempted not to be amused at the lack of control in that question.

"I don't know…the second I focused chakra, these cracks started appearing….like shattered glass all over the place. I just focused on the one that appeared behind you and the next second, I was facing your back." Kakashi's entire focus was on Naruto. The recently promoted jounin simply vanished. There was nothing indicating that he moved at all. No leaf surrounding his previous locations…no sound of movement…not even a yellow flash like Naruto's father. He simply vanished, reappearing behind Kakashi. The scarecrow jounin saw similarities with his own Mangenkyou, but his own (and Obito's) consisted of creating an alternate dimension. Naruto's allowed himself to apparently move through them instantly, just like Namikaze Minato's technique.

"Can you think of any weakness?"

Naruto's question awakened Kakashi from his thoughts. Kakashi always taught each technique's weaknesses to Naruto.

Normally, Kakashi would answer yes right away, but…

"I've been watching you perform it with my sharingan and I could not see anything. I don't know if the byakugan could prove more helpful, but I have doubts. While a Hyuuga could adapt faster because of their almost 360 degrees vision, I doubt that they could see you moving through these dimensions, as you saw them. The only question would be the caster instead. We would have to test this new skill to see how many times you can perform it during a fight. For example, my Raikiri can only be used four to five times a day. If I attempt a sixth time, then my chakra is depleted." Naruto nodded and was about to try it once more, only to see Kakashi's hand urging him to stop what he was about to do.

"Not now Naruto, I don't want to have my tenketsus closed because I was late to our lunch together." The thought itself was amusing, until Naruto remembered that his Anbu girlfriend would be angry as well.

"Okay, let's go then."

===Five hours later===

It was already nighttime when the so-called lunch ended. It turned out that all four of them were free for the day, so what started as lunch, ended up being a small gathering with lots of food and even some sake. Asuma and Kurenai showed up as well as Izumo, Kotetsu and Genma. Naruto's team members took that opportunity to celebrate Naruto's jounin promotion and ordered even more sake. In the end, Naruto had to take all of them home, much to the others' amusement. Itsuko followed the real Naruto who carried the unconscious Genma, while his bunshins carried Izumo and Kotetsu. After that, he and Itsuko returned to Naruto's apartment, both tired. His father and mother's house forgotten, Naruto slid the key inside the door and opened the door. Itsuko entered immediately and marched straight towards the bedroom, before passing out on his bed, earning a smile from the recently promoted jounin.

Naruto was about to follow her, when his senses alerted him of another presence. He turned abruptly towards the living room window, only to see a black crow looking at him. The jounin narrowed his eyes upon seeing that the crow had the sharingan. Human and animal looked at each other for a second. It was all it took for Naruto to be caught in the illusion. Naruto looked around the strange room he now found himself in. It appeared to be his apartment, though it was much darker. Outside the window, Naruto could see that the moon was red in color.

"Greetings Naruto-kun." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the sudden voice as Uchiha Itachi materialized in front of him. "The last time we met, you were in such a hurry that we didn't get to chat."

"You refer to the fact that my team fought Akatsuki in order to free Gaara. Hardly the ideal time for a chat." Itachi nodded. Naruto did not show signs of being threatened, an impressive feat.

"Well, I was under orders to stall you…now, however, is another manner. I now wish to talk to you about something important…"

===Kakashi's apartment===

"Kakashi, please open up…it's important" Naruto knocked on Kakashi's door repeatedly, before the scarecrow opened the door. The perverted jounin opened the door slowly, while rubbing his only seen eye.

"Please remind me to get you a watch for your next birthday…"

Naruto frowned at the joke and got inside. Kakashi sighed in dismay at the situation, before closing the door.

"Itachi contacted me…" Kakashi's hang over was immediately replaced by surprise as he listened to Naruto's description of his conversation with the last surviving Uchiha. Kakashi let Naruto inside just as Kasumi appeared by the living room. Naruto's presence was no surprise considering the bulging veins around her eyes.

"I'm sorry for coming up this late, but it's important. Like I said, Itachi managed to get in contact with me." Naruto could see worry evident in his sister figure's expression.

"I'll grab some tea while we talk." Naruto nodded in appreciation just as Kakashi came in the living room.

"What did he say?" Naruto released a sigh at the question. His conversation with Itachi was not long…actually, Naruto had little knowledge if it was longer than a minute.

"A lot…how he was the one who placed me in the bingo books three years ago…it was all a test he said, to see if I'm worth killing in his eyes. That he has been somehow keeping tabs on me all throughout my ninja career, hence why he knew about the Mangenkyou Sharingan evolution. The last part, however, was the most frightening…" Naruto smiled in appreciation at Kasumi who offered him some tea, before she sat next to her boyfriend. "He started talking about Sasuke and how his sharingan influenced my personality. He said that that just by looking at my eyes, he could see his annoying little brother pestering him for training. Surprisingly so, he was the one doing all the talking and I listened. And then, just before he vanished, he told me that he would be waiting at a place where the Uchiha Clan used to meet before the village founded."

Kasumi stayed silent, listening to her baby brother, before Kakashi broke in the silence.

"You're thinking about going, aren't you?" Naruto's hands tightened as he looked at his teacup.

"For some reason, I'm divided. Ever since I had the sharingan transplanted, I have had dreams about the Uchiha massacre. It was always the same. I found myself walking towards the compound and stood there while Itachi slaughtered everyone like they were flies. At first, I thought that it was I, Uzumaki Naruto, entering the compound that night. One time, though, I looked at the reflection in the water and saw Uchiha Sasuke's face instead. The nightmares lessened in time, but they still happen sometimes." Kakashi nodded in recognition. He used to experience the same thing when he got Obito's eye. "Right now, all I can think about is the massacre and the thought of killing Itachi is…I don't know."

"But you can't go…it's a trap certainly." Kasumi joined in the conversation, earning a nod from Naruto and Kakashi.

"That may be true, which is why I figured that I could…" Naruto sounded hesitant, but Kakashi only smiled at his little brother. Sasuke's memories may be influencing Naruto, but not completely so.

"You can count on me for help….and your team as well. I'm sure Hokage-sama won't object." Naruto looked up and nodded in appreciation.

"If you two believe I will just stay here while my baby brother is in danger, you can think again. I'll go as well. I'll bet that Itsuko-chan will go as well." Naruto could not help but smile at Kasumi's outburst.

"Thank you…" Naruto embraced them both, apologizing once more for the lateness of the hour. He left their house, ready to tell his own girlfriend about the entire ordeal. He needed to face Itachi alone, but in case Akatsuki used this opportunity to capture him, Konoha would be prepared. As he walked towards his own apartment, he began to wonder whether Itachi was right about Sasuke influencing his behavior. It has been so long since the transplant was complete, that he even forgot what his life was like before the Uchiha Massacre. He remembered the photos he saw inside his parents' house and realized that although his hair looked like his father and his face resembled his mother's, his behavior was entirely different from both. Releasing a sigh, as this thought would not amount to anything; Naruto reached his apartment in order to prepare himself for tomorrow.

Facing an Akatsuki member is bad enough when Naruto was together with Genma. Now he would be facing another but this time he would be alone.

Itachi's skills relied within kage level genjutsu above all else, however the man was skilled in other ninja arts, even better than most elite jounin.

===Next day===

It did not take more than two hours of travel from Konohagakure to the place that Itachi instructed.

The sky was clear and the sun decided to grace everyone with its bright light. Naruto took one-step leaving the heavy forest he had just crossed, before flinching as one person stood in front of him wearing black robes with red clouds. Actually, Naruto felt his presence a few miles back. The man in front of him had a large chakra capacity, probably rivalling his own without the fox's chakra at least. The picture of the bingo book did the man its justice. Hoshigaki Kisame was smiling just like his photo. Kisame's posture indicated no danger however, which surprised Naruto slightly. The Hokage had authorized him leaving, but by all indications, the possibility of a trap was high.

The man in front of him was simply standing on top of an old electric tower, carrying his gigantic sword over his shoulders. Nevertheless, Naruto could not allow himself to drop his guard even for a second.

"Hard to imagine old Sasori was beaten by a kid like you." Naruto blinked once with a narrowed expression. Kisame's behavior and now this.

"You don't seem intent on capturing me. Why is that?" Kisame once more showed his playful smirk. The kid had balls, simply ignoring his taunt.

"Oh I would love nothing more than to shred your legs, but Itachi dearly asked me to let you pass." Naruto narrowed his eyes and activated his sharingan. If the man moved one finger, he would retaliate. The jounin dashed forward, passing straight by Kisame who in part did not even look back. With that out of the way, Naruto continued his trajectory while observing the surroundings. Itachi said that this place was used by the Uchiha Clan as a hideout. However, it could very well be described as a small village rather than a simple hideout. He could see many old buildings popping from within the heavy foliage. As soon as he passed the last house, Naruto saw a strange looking construction ahead of him. It was just like Itachi's description.

It was built into a terraced mountain with vast forestry growing on each level. He could see two towers on either side of the mountain, connecting directly to the hideout.

Not wasting any time, Naruto entered inside the strange looking tower and started navigating through the dark and clearly abandoned hallways. He could see plants already growing near the walls. In time, the heavy foliage that already surrounds the castle will swallow it whole. He kept walking until he reached a vast meeting hall, which had the symbol of the Uchiha framing the doorway on either side. At the front of the room, elevated above the rest of the room by a platform, was a throne of sorts. This throne had the Uchiha crest on both sides of it and two tomoe-like shapes below those as well. Naruto could see Uchiha Itachi sitting on the throne as the older sharingan user looked at him.

"Glad you could come Naruto-kun…tell me what does Sasuke's sharingan show you?"

Naruto stopped walking and stood there staring at his opponent with a fierce determination.

Author Note

Ok, the fight will be next chapter. Now…now, do not kill me…do not send murder threats by PM.

Everyone who read my stories know that I tend to describe fight scenes as thorough as possible. This fight will no doubt require close to 4k words and I am not exaggerating.

Please review and once more….have some mercy.

On a side note, I do not know if it is true or not, but I read something about the manga publishing its last edition in November. Ok, I know that Kishimoto's creation is already fifteen years old, but I figured that the man would at least cover the main character's adult life. The first one showed a child graduating at the academy and becoming a genin. The Shippuden part showed a teenager, still a genin, gaining incredible skills (even I so believe he deserved more). Kishimoto should at least show how everyone grew up to become jounin, Anbu and even Kage if the man decides to give Naruto the position. All I read, however, was that a new movie would be made, showing said time-skip. Well, if Kishi does end it all, it will suck a bit for us fanfiction authors. I do plan to continue the stories up until the end, but I do think that a few authors will either give up or discontinue their stories, which is a shame because I have noticed many excellent stories discontinued for unknown reasons.

Shame really…