Author Note

Hi there everyone and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes. I apologize everyone for not updating this story as much as I did for the others. It's something I plan to rectify from now on, establishing a regular update calendar for all my stories simultaneously. Perhaps, writing a new chapter every week, or something like that. This way, I could update all four of my in progress stories every month. Now, I am quite eager to start with this chapter, since for me is the culmination of everything that has happened until now.

Itachi's fight against Naruto.

What will happen, you wonder? What exactly are Itachi's reasons for everything he had done until now? I hope you all like this chapter.

On a side note, the reviews from last chapter focused on the Mangenkyou Sharingan and its known abilities. Believe me when I said that I spent many hours researching the topic. I even read the manga once more and couldn't come with a suitable conclusion. Everyone believe that since Itachi had three MS techniques, then these techniques are accessible by the other MS users as well. Take Shisui for instance. There was no record of him ever using any of Itachi's techniques. The same could be said that Itachi could not use Shisui's ability. Even Madara himself had only one MS ability, the Susanoo. That being said, I'm at a lost here…I even tried to find the Data Book, but I found nothing in this regard. With that being said, I have decided that Naruto would possess a new ability that in actuality derived from the Kamui, opening multiple dimensions in the midst of a fight to choose from.

Of course, this ability could - and will be - better explored by Naruto, but the fact remains that it shall be his only MS ability.

Here is the chapter.

Chapter 22 – Redemption or salvation

Beta: Kyuubi123

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

Naruto looked at the man with his completely evolved sharingan eyes, fully analyzing every amount of information presented before him.

"For some reason, I feel inclined towards unfathomable anger and blind hatred just by seeing you. However, I have come to realize that the sharingan is an amazing tool, capable of even storing memory. Ever since the transplant, every night, I became assaulted by images of your actions against your clan. I always thought it was somehow the act of the Kyuubi, playing tricks on me, because the damn furball does enjoy doing that sometimes." Naruto closed his eyes for a while, before opening them once more, as he stared at the target of Uchiha Sasuke's hatred. "I now realize that it was these very eyes that transferred the information to me, hence why I could see the massacre. Hence why I sometimes saw Sasuke's reflection. And I once thought it was all an illusion."

Itachi listened in silence, until Naruto finished.

"Illusion you say…what's the difference between illusion and reality? Is everything you see before you real? Even that in itself could lead to more questions, hence the need for interpretation of what you see. Interpretation leads to doubt and even subjectivity to one's reality. In truth, you can have a definition of reality that is different from the rest. We humans try to define reality based on our own preconceptions. However, there are times when our own preconceptions are twisted in enough ways that the reality becomes questionable. You state that Sasuke's reflection was nothing but an illusion; however to me it's a reality. Who's to say that you are who you say you are? Your name, your clothes, the color of your hair…your eyes even. Who's to say without a doubt that you're Uzumaki Naruto and not Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto looked at the man for a while, with his eyes narrowed.

There were times in the past when Naruto did question the changes to his personality after receiving Sasuke's eyes. Naruto had his sharingan activated as soon as Itachi got up from his chair and vanished in a blur, passing by him and stopping right behind Naruto. Naruto moved instantly to block the incoming punch to the back of his head, but Itachi was already on the move, flipping in mid-air and aiming a roundhouse kick at Naruto's head. Everything happened in less than a second, but Naruto managed to evade the kick and slashed Itachi with one of his swords. Itachi's right hand grabbed Naruto's wrist and lifted him in the air, before slamming his body to the ground. Itachi followed with a kick, but he was surprised when Naruto vanished in a blur and landed a fierce kick on Itachi's chin, sending him upwards when a second Naruto was there waiting for him with the sword in hand.

Itachi flinched as the sword went through him.

They fell to the ground as Naruto stared at the bleeding body of Itachi. The elder Uchiha merely lifted his hand and pointed to the real Itachi.

Naruto looked at his enemy seating on the chair and then to the one lying on the ground. The one on the ground became a bunch of black crows that dispersed as Naruto got up and stared at the real one. Naruto showed a smile just as another sword came from behind Itachi's chair, piercing his stomach. The Naruto in front of Itachi transformed into mud, revealing it to be a Doton Kage bunshin. The real Naruto was kneeling behind the chair as he held the sword that pierced Itachi. The man seemed not to mind the fact that Naruto's sword made a hole in his back.

"I fail to see the point you're making here Itachi. I realized the changes that occurred after receiving Sasuke's eyes a long time ago."

Itachi merely snorted, as he closed his eyes with a smile on his face. There was blood coming out of his mouth, but the man did not seem to mind.

"Yes, your realization based on what you perceive as reality…the point I'm making is that you came here, seeking for more answers that I already gave you, but I wonder…what answers do you seek? Could it be my reasons behind the massacre and the atrocities I performed against the clan? Or could it be my motives for everything I had done to you after the transfer?" Naruto nodded; not at all surprised that Itachi foresaw what Naruto wanted to talk about.

"The latter obviously…if Akatsuki is really after the bijuu, I wonder why you pushed me to become stronger? It would be more effective to simply hinder my growth and facilitate the capture? I don't simply believe that you merely wished to test me and see if I'm worth killing." Itachi said nothing and betrayed nothing. Naruto then turned around with his sharingan and moved through quick hand seals, before expelling five lava bullets at the opposite direction.

Youton Yougantama (Lava Release: Lava Bullets Technique)

None of the projectiles hit Itachi, rather two passed by his right shoulder. The next two passed by his left shoulder and the last one passed mere inches from Itachi's head. The chair that Naruto pierced with his sword vanished, as it was only an illusion in the end. If a third person appeared at the beginning of the fight, all he or she could see was that neither Naruto nor Itachi had moved from their previous position. Itachi was still sitting on the same chair and Naruto was still maintaining the same distance. Naruto did foresee that Itachi would favor genjutsu in this fight. He was not wrong. All in all, the conversation occurred between the two, while Itachi casted one genjutsu after another on Naruto.

"Before I answer your question, how familiar are you with Uchiha Madara?"

Naruto would have laughed at the question if the situation wasn't so dire. He betrayed nothing, however.

"Head of the Uchiha Clan and founder of Konohagakure no Sato together with Hashirama Senju; that's about the extent of my knowledge." Itachi smirked at the answer. The brat was a fast learner, indeed.

Itachi knew the boy had access to enough material about Madara to know a lot more.

"Well, any book could tell you that. However, there is a specific part of Madara's history that I would like to emphasize before explaining my intentions. You see, Uchiha Madara had a little brother Uchiha Izuna. Madara was hailed as the most powerful member of the Uchiha Clan, but his brother came in a close second. They always trained together and got stronger by doing so. Within time, both of them acquired the Mangenkyou Sharingan. However, with time, Madara came to realize the one and only weakness came from using it for longer periods. His vision got worse each time he used it to the point that the man became blind because of it."

Naruto knew enough about it, but waited as Itachi continued. More proof from itachi that Naruto did read Madara's material.

"Aside from blindness, Madara became sick, terribly so. He had a disease that no doctor in the world was able to fix. Over time, the man became desperate. He extended his hand and reached for Izuna's eyes, plucking them away from his brother's sockets." Naruto's eyes widened at this point, as he did not know about this specific part. "It became known that the disease and the blindness had only one cure. Merging Izuna's eyes with his own, Madara was the first Uchiha with the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan." As soon as the history lesson ended, Naruto was truly at a loss for words. Since he had gotten access to Madara's material, he thought he understood who exactly Uchiha Madara was. To believe that he would sacrifice his own brother's eyes just to save his skin was mind-blowing.

"With that explained to you, it's time I explained my motives for everything I've done!" Naruto was surprised once more as Itachi's tone changed dramatically. "I shall take your eyes away and become the next bearer of the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan. NARUTO! That's precisely why I honed your skills…your eyes are now like mine…the Mangenkyou Sharingan…you've grown powerful and now I shall take back my investment!" Naruto saw as the man's face morph from completely stoic to unbelievable madness. It was as if someone had possessed the elder Uchiha. Naruto tensed as Itachi got up from his chair once more and attacked him, with superior speed. Naruto, however, managed to follow the movement and blocked the incoming kick with his arms. He was ill equipped to handle a second Itachi coming from the first's shadow, who kicked Naruto's stomach, sending him towards the wall with great force, drawing blood from the blond.

Before Naruto could recuperate, Itachi appeared by his side holding his wrist in a way that Naruto could not move unless he wanted his wrist to break.

Itachi's only free hand moved to grab Naruto's right sharingan eye. Naruto heard the word 'sorry' coming from Itachi, before unimaginable pain came just as his right eye came out of its socket. Itachi was about to pull the other one out, when Naruto damned his wrist to hell and twisted his body ruthlessly, throwing Itachi off balance. Ignoring the pain in his wrist, Naruto opened his own Mangenkyou Sharingan and forced loads of chakra through it. Once more, everything happened inside the world of illusions as neither Sharingan user ever moved from their spots. Zetsu appeared from the ceiling and watched everything in anticipation. Itachi was a master of genjutsu and no one was ever able to escape upon entering the world of Tsukuyomi. The plant-like shinobi looked as Naruto kneeled on the ground next and came to the apparent conclusion that Itachi had won the fight.

When he saw Itachi coughing up blood and covering his eye in pain, Zetsu looked shocked.

Naruto opened both eyes as he looked at Itachi, breathing hard. Fighting against Itachi in genjutsu left him winded. The last illusion, in particular, was almost impossible to break. Naruto needed his own Mangenkyou to fight Itachi's illusion. His eyes reverted to the regular sharingan as he remembered Madara's journal as well as Itachi's story. Looking at the elder Uchiha, he saw blood on the ground and wondered about it. He could sense Itachi's chakra capacity and it didn't have the potency he was expecting from an S-ranked shinobi. Something was terribly wrong here, he reasoned. Despite it all, Itachi was still considered an S-ranked shinobi and had two times the same experience as Naruto. Even with such chakra irregularity, the man had the task of capturing jinchuuriki.

The young Sharingan user stood ready as Itachi rose from the ground, still holding his left eye.

"You managed to break my Tsukuyomi with your own Mangenkyou…indeed Sasuke's eyes benefitted you greatly. It seems that genjutsu will not work on you." The man once more vanished in thin air and quickly passed by Naruto. Getting used to the speed, Naruto unleashed his sword once more and parried a kunai strike to his back. Naruto followed with a frontal assault kick, but Itachi evaded, following with a great jump backwards while going through hand seals. Naruto's sharingan saw it and already began his own series of hand seals.

Katon Housenka Tsumabeni (Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Nails Technique)

Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)

From Itachi's mouth, hundreds of fire shurikens flew at Naruto, who immediately spat mud on the ground. The wall blocked the fire shurikens, but Itachi was already on the move, throwing a windmill shuriken at Naruto. The boy looked at the projectile for a while and was surprised to see a second shuriken appearing from the first's shadow. Using a fast shunshin, Naruto appeared next to Itachi with his sword about to strike, but Itachi moved faster than Naruto and blocked the sword with a kunai. Itachi also jumped away from a second Naruto that appeared from the ground, before performing a long series of hand seals. He gathered air inside his lungs and exhaled.

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

Naruto saw the deadly ball of fire approaching and quickly sank below ground. He was surprised when a column of fire rose up from Itachi's location and travel towards his location.

Katon Kattahi Ryuuki (Fire Release: Rising Fire Cutter Technique)

The column of fire forced Naruto out of his hiding place. He quickly emerged from below ground and evaded the fire technique. As soon as he landed, he went through a new series of hand seals. Itachi saw dozens of earth spikes emerging around his position, ready to skewer him in multiple places. The spikes, however, moved in slow motion for a sharingan and he jumped with ease. He was ill equipped, however, to handle the next attack.

Katon Shiroi Hidan (Fire Release: White Fire Projectile Technique)

Naruto watched Itachi getting hit by his attack and allowed himself some time to breathe. He turned to his left only to see Itachi's fist meeting his face. Momentarily dizzy, Naruto managed to control his path and flipped in the air, sliding on the ground. He looked at Itachi and saw that his black robe was no more. Also, his arms had a few burn marks as well from Naruto's technique. From what he could perceive, Itachi didn't have time to evade the technique completely. The two observed each other for a while, neither making any more whatsoever. Naruto could see that Itachi's chakra had diminished somewhat, but in no way could he underestimate the S-ranked shinobi. He wondered, however, why Itachi had his right eye closed.

"You've gotten strong, Naruto-kun. Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, kenjutsu…truly, you've become a complete shinobi." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the comment.

"Now, you managed to break my strongest genjutsu. Let us see how you fare against my strongest ninjutsu." Naruto immediately tensed when he saw Itachi forming a hand seal. Seconds before Itachi opened his right eye, Naruto was able to see a great load of chakra being focused on Itachi's right eye. Two seconds later, a torrent of black flames emerged from Itachi's eyes and charged straight at Naruto, who, acting quickly and desperately, went through quick hand seals.

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

Naruto's flames met the black flames of Ametarasu. It managed to hold its ground for a bit more than five seconds; however, it soon proved to be inefficient against it. The room they were in left little choices for escaping the black flames. Seeing only one way of escaping, Naruto redirected his own fireball towards the ceiling. Wasting no time, right after the explosion, he charged towards the hole, just as the flames reached his sandals. As soon as he stepped on the ceiling, Naruto was shocked to see that the flames surrounded the entire castle, burning everything upon mere touch. Itachi followed him and Naruto immediately went on the run, so that Itachi could not hit him. Still, the older Uchiha was relentless in sending new black flames inches from where Naruto once stood. At one point, Naruto was running and looking at the black flames closing in on his position. If he didn't do anything, he would be burned into a crisp, no doubt about it.

Seeing no other alternative, Naruto activated his Mangenkyou Sharingan and instantly used the door directly behind Itachi. The man didn't need to turn to know that Naruto was behind him.

"It's quite the ability you now possess…Naruto-kun. To this day, the only man capable to speed like this was our esteemed Yondaime Hokage."

"If you're really after my eyes, then you have a funny way of showing…if I was caught by those flames, I would be burned and the eyes destroyed." Itachi smirked at the comment, before turning to meet Naruto.

"I have means of controlling the flames; you don't need to worry as I have means of securing my investment." Itachi took a sword out of nowhere and engaged in a kenjutsu battle against Naruto. Soon it became an intricate dance followed by sparks made by swords clashing. Itachi held his own ninjato with two hands and used force in his swing. Naruto parried the strike, but his body could not stand still. Itachi took the opportunity and moved inside Naruto's defense, slashing his stomach. Naruto flinched at the pain, but maintained the assault. Itachi saw the movement and evaded Naruto's swords, which were about to decapitate the older Uchiha. Itachi could see; however, that the wound inflicted on Naruto's stomach was already healing.

"The Kyuubi's power is truly magnificent…healing a wound like this in mere seconds is nothing short of incredible." Naruto narrowed his eyes and initiated the attack once more, using chakra for agility.

Itachi, however, had experience in his favor. His movements were much more coordinated, allowing him to better position himself to parry Naruto's strikes. Naruto had the speed to evade the attacks, but speed alone wouldn't help him. Anyone could move fast…the problem is moving fast without hindering skill with the blade. Itachi was not considered a master in the art of kenjutsu, but he was by no means an amateur. A master would have defeated Naruto much faster.

"It seems you lack the finesse of sword play, Naruto-kun. Still…very impressive for someone your age."

Naruto snarled at the patronizing comment and kept the pressure on.

When it seemed that he would be doing the exact same kata as before, which Itachi parried easily, the older Uchiha was surprised when he felt the beginnings of genjutsu invading his chakra coils. Itachi released the illusion in less than a second. However, that precious second cost him, as Naruto's sword suddenly appeared on the other side, causing the same wound that Itachi caused on him before. The pain, in Itachi's case, however, was much worse, considering that he didn't have a fox inside his gut to heal him. In addition, because of his illness, all wounds caused twice as much damage. Itachi saw that Naruto pressed on the attack and went through hand seals.

Katon Housenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Mythical Fire Phoenix Technique)

Naruto halted his advance, forced to evade the multiple fireballs that Itachi threw at him. Of course, the goal of the technique was not to maim, but to force Naruto away from Itachi. Naruto understood that as he landed on the ground after dodging the last fireballs. Naruto and Itachi looked at each other, breathing hard because of chakra coil overexertion. Naruto had more chakra to use, sure, but Itachi had better chakra control, thus his ninjutsu required less chakra and thus less pressure on the coils. So far, neither side of the battle showed any advantage and, silently so, Itachi could not help but admire Naruto's training. He dared say that Naruto was ready for Akatsuki.

All that remained now was for Naruto to survive Itachi's strongest and most feared attack.

===Naruto's team===

Naruto's old team followed by Kakashi, Kasumi and Itsuko in Anbu gear, left Konoha one hour after Naruto did.

Kakashi needed less than a minute to convince the Hokage into forming this team to help Naruto. Tsunade wouldn't allow Akatsuki to capture him, after all. Even if Naruto was considered an A-ranked shinobi, approaching S-ranked because of the Mangenkyou Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi was still Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi did not believe Itachi would lure Naruto into a trap and even if Itachi acted in favor of Konoha from the shadows, he could not control the entire organization. Who's to say, with all certainty, that Itachi will be alone when facing Naruto? With that in mind, the team marched from Konoha at high speeds, towards the location of the fight. Kakashi, being the senior shinobi, was elected as leader of the mission.

As they moved through the heavy foliage, he took his time to observe his subordinates' reactions. It was clear to him how affected they all were on a personal level with their assignment. That in itself, at least to Jounin/Anbu standards, was frowned upon. Kotetsu and Izumo pushed their speeds to maximum and both of them wished to slaughter Itachi if he harmed Naruto. Genma looked aloof, but Kakashi knew enough about the man to see that he was worried for his subordinate. As for Itsuko and Kasumi, Kakashi didn't need to ponder much. The first was Naruto's girlfriend and the second considered Naruto like her younger brother figure.

Pretty much all of them were connected to Naruto and emotionally attached to the assignment in hand. Not that he himself was the exception to the rule, he mused. Like Kasumi, Kakashi also considered Naruto as a younger brother. Furthermore, he couldn't allow sensei's legacy to be captured by Akatsuki.

"Kakashi, we are approaching the area in ten minutes." Kakashi nodded. His girlfriend had her byakugan activated

"What can you tell us, Kasumi?" The woman in question hesitated a bit. She had hope that everything was going to be alright in the end.

"The castle structure is in complete ruins. The structure seems to be surrounded by a strong flame." Kakashi widened his eyes at the information. Itachi used Ametarasu on Naruto. Naruto was known for his varied set of skills and therefore the boy knew enough ways to avoid dangerous situations. He could feel every member on his team tense up. He was waiting for Kasumi to report about Naruto. It was their mission after all. "There…Itachi and Naruto are on top of the castle, fighting in kenjutsu. Naruto looks unharmed and Itachi isn't wearing the Akatsuki outfit." Itsuko and Kotetsu both smirked at that, knowing how skilled their teammate was.

"Naruto, no doubt, forced Itachi's hand and made him lose the robe." Kakashi nodded at Izumo's comment, though he didn't share his enthusiasm, at least not until they came back to the village with Naruto.

"Kakashi, a powerful presence is approaching our position." Kakashi became alert instantly. He looked in front of them only to see a path of dust coming at them at great speeds. The entire team halted their advance as they spotted what appeared to be a shark's dorsal fin, but wrapped in bandages. The copycat narrowed his eyes as from below the ground, emerged one Hoshigaki Kisame, holding his gigantic sword over his shoulder and showing his sharp teeth smile.

"Oh I do remember Itachi telling Naruto-kun to come alone. I do appreciate you all coming here to entertain me though. It was getting boring here."

All members of Konoha tensed upon seeing Kisame in front of them. Kakashi, in particular, realized that facing an S-ranked opponent such as Kisame was a bad call to make as team member. He didn't need time to analyze the situation and consider his odds. His team didn't have much experience against Akatsuki, aside from Genma who faced Sasori with Naruto. Hardening his resolve, Kakashi returned to where most of the members stood. He was sure no one would question his decisions, seeing as the ultimate objective was to rescue Naruto from Itachi. The others maintained their stare directed at the major threat in a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

"We can't afford to face him in direct combat; at least not all of us…Genma, myself and Kasumi will remain and face him. The rest will proceed and go for Naruto."

The team all nodded as Itsuko, Izumo and Kotetsu charged straight past Kisame.

"Whoever told you that I would allow you to pass…" Kisame was about to perform hand seals, when he had to evade Kakashi's Raikiri from piercing his heart.

"You're fight is with us." Kisame's smile never left his face. Even if the half the party left, it was still a party in his book.

===With Naruto===

Back to Naruto's fight, they were once again staring at each other; Itachi with his Mangenkyou and Naruto with the regular three-tomoe sharingan.

"I feel like I must congratulate you Naruto-kun, it seems you managed to escape two of my most powerful techniques. Tsukuyomi (God of the Moon), a powerful genjutsu generated by my left eye and yet you managed to break every illusion I was able to cast upon you. Ametarasu (Goddess of the Sun), the strongest fire ninjutsu in existence and generated by my right eye. Once more, you managed to deal with it using your own Mangenkyou Sharingan. There is, however, a third ability that I have yet to show you and that it requires both of my eyes. I call it Susanoo (God of the Sea and Storms)." Naruto tensed just as he felt Itachi's chakra coursing through both eyes at the same time.

Subtly asking for some chakra recharging from the fox, Naruto stood by waiting for what's about to happen.

Naruto's eyes widened as around Itachi, a red aura skeleton appeared. It didn't take long for the skeleton to generate muscle and armor, before the creature was formed. It looked menacingly towards Naruto, promising a great deal of pain. Itachi said it himself that this was the ultimate power of his Mangenkyou Sharingan, Susanoo it was called. So far, Itachi had used three techniques, whereas Naruto only had one at his disposal. Naruto opted to remain waiting for the attack, when once more he was surprised. Itachi, from within the menacing creature, gagged and started coughing uncontrollably. In no time, he was kneeling on the ground, in deep pain. Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto went through a series of hand seals.

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique)

Itachi was still on the ground coughing as the fire meteor approached his position. Naruto saw the creature named Susanoo placing a shield of sorts in front of Itachi, completely blocking the attack.

"This is called Yata no Kagami (Eight Span Mirror). It is completely unbreakable, Naruto. You won't be able to harm me anymore." The man had stopped coughing and got up. "You had chosen to initiate the attack and failed. Allow me to reveal how powerful Susanoo truly is." One of the creature's arm had the shield and the other was free to gather a bright red energy. Naruto's sharingan could see the amount of chakra behind that concentrated energy and flinched in worry.

Yasaka no Magatama (Eight Slopes Curved Jewel)

The concentrated energy was released towards Naruto, who cursed and went through hand seals immediately.

Doton Baisuu Hashira (Earth Release: Multiple Earth Pillars Technique)

He even forced more chakra for this technique. Multiple earth pillars rose in front of Naruto, in a vain effort to stop Itachi's attack from reaching him. In the end, the pillars did nothing to slow down the projectile and Naruto was forced to use a shunshin to evade the attack. He flinched in deep pain as he couldn't evade the technique completely. His top clothes were ripped to shreds instantly and his body had an incredible amount of lacerations. Itachi had the same look on his face as the creature prepared the same attack once more. Naruto, still in pain, saw no other alternative other than using his own Mangenkyou Sharingan. Itachi released his attack once more, but this time Naruto evaded it completely using his MS ability. The elder Uchiha then bombarded Naruto with more, forcing the blond to continuously use his ability. This time, he appeared a few meters behind Itachi and concentrated on his right hand, with the help of a shadow clone.

Oodama Rasengan (Big Ball Spiral Sphere)

The shield came to Itachi's aid and blocked the attack. However, Naruto could see that Itachi felt the impact as the elder Uchiha flinched in pain because of it. Despite it all, the shield managed to hold.

"A valid effort, but futile Naruto-kun." Naruto dodged Itachi's attack once more with his own Mangenkyou Sharingan. At this time, however, he flinched at the sudden pain in his eyes from overusing it. He was running out of ideas here and he had only one alternative left. It was impossible for him to dodge Itachi's attack without his Mangenkyou Sharingan. Once more, he would have to resort to his most powerful arsenal, hence Uchiha Madara's personal ninjutsu. Ignoring the pain in his eyes, Naruto did the same strategy, using MS to dodge Itachi's attack, this time appearing a considerable distance behind the creature. He went through a long series of hand seals.

Katon Gouka Mekyyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Majestic Removal Technique)

Soon after Naruto exhaled the thin layer of fire, it soon transformed into a flaming inferno, deeply expanding in size. Itachi's eyes widened at such power and moved the shield to block it. As soon as the impact occurred, he flinched in pain, but managed to hold his own despite it all. Said control, however, lasted as much as the first cracks that appeared on the shield. From that point on, multiple cracks appeared until it became impossible to hold on. Susanoo vanished and Itachi's body became completely burned from Naruto's technique. He was sent flying just as Naruto kneeled on the ground from the amount of chakra he poured through the technique.

Just as Itachi fell on the ground, a heavy rain started bombarding the area.

Whereas before the fight between sharingan users made the earth tremble, now the only noise were the thunders that echoed with all its majesty. Holding his body with his arms on the ground, Uzumaki Naruto's top clothes were ripped to shreds. Having trouble breathing properly, both from exhaustion and from the pain all over his body, he stared at the unmoving body of his enemy. Throughout the fight, Itachi had provided a great number of threats to Naruto's life. Now, as he stared at the man in front of him, Naruto found himself at a loss as to what was going on here. Itachi's chakra was completely depleted. Hell, the blond wondered why Itachi was not dead yet. However, for some reason, as Naruto looked at his face expression, he was surprised to see a relieved expression.

"You are truly remarkable, Naruto-kun…able to defend against everything I could throw at you…in the end I believe my investment paid off." Again with the investment crap, Naruto snarled in his mind.

"What are you talking about? Your chakra is completely depleted…there is no way you could even stand let alone attempt to take my eyes." Surprisingly so, the smile remained.

"My real intention was not to capture your eyes, but rather to test you…for the enemies are still too many and too powerful to face." Naruto looked at the man, blinking twice with pure question marks. Itachi, however, continued, now rather focused on his own personal life than worrying about Naruto's future. "I had made many mistakes in my life…but what I did to Sasuke was by far the worst. It was never my intention and to this day it kills me to look at his eyes. It was my hope that he would come to me one day and avenge our clan by killing me…I would be redeemed finally. I suppose that meeting my end by your hands is equally fitting, after all, part of Sasuke's life is in you, Naruto-kun." It was hard to process it all…to be fed so many lies and realize that everything was not real…was an illusion. Naruto couldn't help but snort at the irony of it all.

"But…why go through all this? If what you're saying is true, then why…."

"The Uchiha Clan's traitorous actions could only be covered by something even worse. Just imagine how Konoha's and the clan's reputation would be tarnished if the clan actually went through with what they were planning. In addition, the village just could not allow the truth to become known. It was easier to place the blame on the man who performed the genocide, calling him an S-ranked criminal. After that, there was no way for me to be redeemed by the village, because that would mean that the Clan would be at fault." In truth, Naruto was speechless. He had no reason to believe that Itachi was lying. Itachi didn't have much time left…his chakra was entirely depleted. Naruto just could not imagine someone that would do what Itachi did and worst of all, he knew the risks…he knew what would happen…he knew what everyone would think of him…and still he accepted it all.

The first tear that fell from his eyes reverberated through the field, despite the heavy rain that bombarded them. Naruto didn't know if the tears were his own or Sasuke's.

"Naruto-kun, I wish to ask one last wish from you. I know that I have asked too much already, but please bear with me." The man was so humble even in death. He could only nod in acceptance. "Ever since Sasuke's death, I longed for the day where we could be together once more. I don't know if I'll ever see him, so all that I ask is for you to accept my eyes…" Without even waiting for Naruto's answer, Itachi plucket out both of his eyes and held it to Naruto, shocking the boy to his very core.

"Wha…your eyes…I"

"By merging my eyes with Sasuke's, you'll possess the Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan. Also, a part of me will always be with my baby brother."

Naruto picked Itachi's bloody eyes with his trembling hands and placed them inside a vial for storage. He didn't even register Itachi's fingers poking his forehead protector nor the sudden appearance of the group that came to rescue him.

"Naruto-kun, forgive me for everything I've done…and thank you."

Those were the last words of the person who Naruto now respected the most!

Author Note

Wow that was intense, please review.