Author Note

Hey there and welcome to another chapter of Cursed Eyes. I'd like to apologize for the late update. Life and all that crap that I do not feel like bothering you with.

Here is the chapter.

Chapter 23 – Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan

Beta: Kyuubi123

The heavy rain bombarded the hidden village in the leaves at night, no doubt reflecting the somber mood of everyone now residing inside the Hokage's Office.

Senju Tsunade simply stood quiet as she heard everyone reporting on the events that occurred. Considering the mission's importance, it was essential that she fully understood the situation. She never would have imagined how far ahead Uchiha Itachi thought, since the Uchiha genocide. It was still hard to believe that the man did everything with this specific goal in mind. After all, Akatsuki had only S-ranked criminals as associates. To believe that Itachi, as skilled as he was, managed to fool the entire organization into believing that he was one of them was nothing short of amazing. When everyone finished reporting, Tsunade furiously rubbed her temples for a while, trying in vain to rid herself of the terrible headache.

"I see…everyone is dismissed and don't worry about Naruto. The operation proceeded without any issue. Right now, Shizune is personally overseeing his recovery." As soon as the group returned to Konoha, Naruto began to feel his sight become somewhat blurry. Naruto remembered about Itachi's explanation regarding the Mangenkyou Sharingan's curse. In the end, the boy had to resort to implanting Itachi's set of eyes, in order to restore his sight. The surgery began as soon as they arrived at the hospital, overseen by Shizune.

The group nodded, leaving only Kakashi and Kasumi inside. Itsuko had to return to her Anbu duties.

"What is it Kakashi?" It was Kasumi instead who started talking.

"Tsunade-sama, if possible, I would like to remain by Naruto-kun's side while he recovers." Before Tsunade could retort, the woman explained her reasoning. "I know that there must be an Anbu unit responsible for his protection alongside Shizune, but I personally believe that my byakugan can better aid in his protection." Tsunade pondered on the woman's comment. She no doubt knew that Kasumi thought of Naruto as her younger brother, but the Anbu unit she had chosen would no doubt protect him.

"Kasumi, I understand your concern, but I hand picked the Anbu unit myself." The Hyuuga member, however, would not hear it.

"I mean no disrespect Tsunade-sama, but Itachi appeared in Naruto's apartment quite easily, without anyone being aware. If Itachi's intentions were any different, Naruto-kun would have been captured instead. We don't know if Itachi shared his secrets with the organization, so we don't know if the other members will come to capture him. " Tsunade frowned at the response. She was quite adamant in being by Naruto's side and her argument had merit. Of course, Itachi had ample knowledge of Konoha's hidden tunnels. He was an Anbu captain and a member of the Uchiha Clan. Said clan, she later learned, had built many tunnels from below their compound, in the case of invasion. She had ordered Anbu to change the tunnel's locations, but it would take time to do that. Itachi breaching her village security once was bad enough. She could not risk it once more.

"Alright Kasumi, I'll allow it. Though you'll have to defer to the Anbu in charge of his protection. Though, considering how close you two are, I'm guessing you had already contacted her." The Hyuuga member nodded, blushing slightly at being caught. Kakashi did attempt a snicker, but stopped once he saw his girlfriend's byakugan fully activated. Kasumi was quite miffed that Itsuko managed to pull her own strings inside Anbu. As soon as the mission detail came, she had already called in some favors from her peers.

===Naruto's recovery room===

The chosen venue for Uzumaki Naruto's recovery room was none other than the Senju Compound, Tsunade's house as per her insistence. The moment that Hyuuga Kasumi stepped inside the compound, all Anbu hidden became alerted immediately. In no time, Itsuko appeared in front of her friend and quickly escorted her to Naruto's room. Her byakugan would certainly be fundamental in assuring that no one appeared without Konoha's knowledge. That aside, Naruto's room was actually located below ground. Senju Tobirama requested his brother to construct a bunker for them, just in case. Only someone with Senju blood can access the bunker. Such level of security was unheard of in Konoha's history.

The entire room only consisted of a bed where one Uzumaki Naruto happened to be sleeping in. He was heavily sedated, because of the eye fusion and the amount of strain he placed on his chakra coils. Tsunade estimated that it would take close to a week for Naruto's eyes to adjust. In the mean time, she decided to let him rest for the entire week by an induced coma procedure. It was necessary, considering the damage to Naruto's optical nerves due to the Mangenkyou Sharingan. Tsunade had no doubt that the Kyuubi's energy would greatly help in his recovery.

Inside his head, however, it was a different history.

The scenery before him was no different from the last thousand times. It was nighttime in Konoha and the chilling wind, which usually brought on a smoothing feeling, carried a terrible omen. The moon like before was red instead of white. However, Naruto soon realized that something was different. In his usual dreams, he was seen running back to the Uchiha Compound from a late night shuriken training. Now, though, he is staring at the ground from a high place. He was now seeing a little kid running home carrying his white bag over his shoulder. The wind picked up once and then Naruto vanished from his usual spot, appearing right in the middle of the Uchiha Clan Compound. It was relatively late at night and only a few of the clansmen were seen roaming around the streets of the compound, none of them the wiser of what was about to happen to them. They all looked at Naruto and greeted the Anbu, knowing about his identity.

Grabbing the hilt of his ninjato, Naruto slashed twice, immediately slicing two chunnin's torsos. Their blood splashed on Naruto's Anbu mask, shocking everyone into silence.

Naruto didn't wait for questions and simply used his agility and skill in kenjutsu to reach his next target, more clansmen. By the time, everyone realized his intentions; Naruto had already killed at least half of the clansmen that were roaming the streets. The others screamed his name in pure hatred and charged at him with every intention of ridding the clan of a traitor. Naruto stood resolute, however, somehow knowing fully that he would be labeled as such, a traitor. Using his grace and finesse earned through hard training in Anbu, he managed to kill everyone that were on the streets. It all happened in less than a minute and the streets were now filled with dead bodies and blood. Normally, one would not be able to take the gravity of his actions and freeze, but not him. His orders were clear. Once the streets were cleared, Naruto moved inside the many houses of the compound, striking everyone he could find, that possessed Uchiha blood running through their veins. Men, women, child, genin, chunnin, jounin…it didn't matter. He did not allow time for talk; probably because he would hesitate otherwise.

By this time, his once white mask now turned to a dark red, courtesy of his kills. It was all so easy and that slightly scared him. By the time, he reached the clan head's house; he found both his parents kneeling side by side, just waiting for their punishment after what they did or at least tried to do against the village the clan founded. By this time, Naruto had to remove the blood-dripping mask and stood resolute behind his parents, with ninjato in hand.

"So you've chosen their side…" His father's words had broken his concentration immediately.

"Tou-san…Kaa-san…I'm…"

"We know Itachi." His mother cut him off, as she could feel his pain without him needing to say anything. His hands trembled as tears threatened to fall.

"Do not fear my son…this is the path you have chosen…and despite our difference of ideologies, I'm greatly proud of you." It only served for his hands to tremble even more, however his father was not done.

"Promise me one thing; though…always look out for Sasuke." This time, Itachi could not control his tears as he fulfilled the end of his mission. His parents fell on top of each other, killed from a clean and deadly attack. Wiping his tears away and fully knowing about the consequences of his decisions, Naruto looked up just as a small Uchiha Sasuke opened the door to their parent's room. As soon as that happened, Naruto now found himself looking down upon the scene before him as if he was just a spectator. The scene changed into a dark cave where Naruto now stood face to face with the man whose memories he saw and witnessed first-hand just now. Only instead of the Akatsuki robes Naruto remembered, Itachi wore the traditional Anbu clothing.

"Itachi…"

"I envisioned a time in the future when Sasuke would confront me, so that I could tell him the real truth of what happened that day, the real truth behind the Uchiha Massacre. In truth, I was offered a choice in the matter by the man named Shimura Danzou. Either join the Uchiha Clan, launch the coup and be killed together with the clan or kill the Uchiha Clan and save the village as well as my baby brother." Naruto looked at the man in front of him and wondered how someone could possibly be able to make that choice. He deeply respected the man already without knowing about this.

"Sadly so, when I went through the attack on the Uchiha, I failed to realize the damage my Tsukuyomi could cause on a nine-year old boy's brain." That was in fact the entire reason Naruto had the sharingan. "I kept thinking about how I could have done things differently. Perhaps I could have spared Sasuke altogether after the attack on the clan, but I figured that it was important that Sasuke viewed me as nothing more than a murderer and avenge the clan. If I did leave him be that day, surely we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. I have no doubt; however, that Konoha would spoil my baby brother, considering he would be the last loyal Uchiha Clan member. Also, no doubt, Danzou would use all his leverage into corrupting Sasuke for his own goals."

"Are you saying that it was better that Sasuke suffered his fate? How can…"

"My love for him is absolute Naruto-kun, make no mistake about that. However, I do know that everything I fear would happen to Sasuke would in fact happen had he lived. The Uchiha Clan had a rotten past and said past only managed to corrupt the future generations further. By doing what I did and becoming a murderer in the eyes of the world, Sasuke would kill me and then rid the Uchiha Clan of its dark past. Now, the mission I tried passing to him was passed on to you and you managed to perform to its utmost perfection, Naruto-kun."

"What are you talking about?" Even in death, Itachi somehow appears in his mind and he is being secretive as usual.

"You managed to avenge the Uchiha Clan, thus cleaning its history. Now the Uchiha Clan lives solely inside of you. It's quite ironic, considering your lineage. The Uzumaki Clan is related to the Senju. Come to think about it, it is quite fitting that a Senju managed to quell the flames of the Uchiha. History, after all, tends to repeat itself. You Naruto-kun are now the living embodiment of the union between Konoha's two founding clans." Naruto heard it all, trying to process the information. He understood what Itachi was saying. Perhaps a parallel to what happened before the village's founding. After a gruesome battle between the Uchiha and Senju, the two leaders Madara and Hashirama decided to join forces into creating the first hidden village. Naruto did allow a smile as he looked at Itachi. One thing did bother him, however…

"Itachi, just how are we having this conversation? I don't remember having the same with Sasuke."

"The sharingan is indeed a powerful and highly capable weapon. Aside from being able to copy techniques and anticipate the opponent's movements, it is also able to store the user's DNA, hence how after receiving Sasuke's eyes, you in essence became an Uchiha. My eyes are more evolved than Sasuke's. As such, I was able to transfer selected memories onto my eyes for when you received them." In other words, the damn bastard was counting on Konoha to implant Itachi's eyes in him. "The procedure is similar to how I would trap you in a genjutsu. Of course, the focus is to send the opponent into a false reality, but the opposite is also doable. I deliberately chose certain information that will be relevant to you in the future. The truth about the Uchiha Clan was one of them, including the real events that led to my best friend Uchiha Shisui's demise."

"…Uchiha Shisui?" He didn't know said name. He looked around in alarm as the scenery changed around him, courtesy of Itachi's recollections.

"Also known as Shunshin no Shisui, he was perhaps one of the most gifted Uchiha in history. I dare say that he was more capable than I was, though he was a few years older than me. He became a competent jounin prior to the time when I moved against the Uchiha. In addition, aside from me, he attempted to stop the Uchiha Clan from turning on Konoha. Like me, Shisui also had developed his sharingan into the Mangenkyou Sharingan, gaining a powerful ability of directly influencing people's thoughts with his Mangenkyou. His mistake, however, was that he revealed said ability to the Hokage and the members of the council. His plan was to use his ability towards the Uchiha clan head, my father, and dissuade him of the coup idea."

"Why do you say it was a mistake to reveal his plan to the council?"

"It is said that no other person loved Konoha more than Danzou. As such, there was no limits to his actions just as long as Konoha became victorious in the end. After Shisui revealed his plan to the council, Danzou met with Shisui, under the premise of further understanding Shisui's plan. However his intentions were quite different…". Naruto paled as he saw Danzou plucking one of Shisui's eyes from its socket, before the Uchiha member vanished. "Danzou didn't like the idea of someone using this ability other than him. Therefore, he took measures into stealing Shisui's ability, all for the greater good of Konoha in his opinion." The scene changed and Naruto now saw Itachi talking with Shisui about what happened after the meeting Shisui had with Danzou.

Naruto listened to the conversation between Itachi and Shisui that ended with Shisui giving his remaining Sharingan to Itachi, before committing suicide by jumping off a cliff into the Naka River. Naruto also saw Itachi's eyes morphing into his Mangenkyou Sharingan as soon as Shisui jumped to his death. The scenery returned to the same dark cave as Naruto could see Itachi's look of sorrow and resignation. All of this was quite overwhelming and Naruto observed it all as a spectator. Itachi was the one caught up in the middle of it all.

"So what happened to Shisui's eye?"

"I already explained to you about the method I used to observe you from afar, correct?" Naruto nodded.

"The black crow…"

"Indeed…that black crow carries Shisui's sharingan eye." As soon as Itachi said so, the crow landed on Naruto's shoulder. The blond looked at the animal and saw a different sharingan staring at him. "With you having my eyes, you inherit my skills…and the crow summoning contract. The crows are not fighters, as you are aware so your own summoning contract will not raise much of an objection, I assume. I chose them, so that Danzou could not get his hands on Shisui's left eye. However, that does not mean that Danzou cannot use the same power, even if limited. I assume that Danzou chose to implant Shisui's eye in his own sockets to use as advantage in his dealings." At this time, Itachi recanted everything he could at Naruto, who was busy processing it all.

"Could you stop vomiting information for a while, I'm getting dizzy already." A smile was Itachi's answer, though Naruto did not know if he was hallucinating or not. Itachi never smiled.

"It's already assimilated into your brain as we speak, Naruto-kun. Also, as I explained about Danzou, I think it's prudent to tell you about Uchiha Madara as well…"

===Scene change===

Naruto was now in a completely different scenario.

He was inside the Uchiha Compound as he recognized the clan symbol on the compound's walls. Whereas before he would see nothing but death and decay, now he saw the complete opposite. He felt completely calm as if nothing could disturb him as he listened to the soothing sound of the small stream inside the compound. He could also hear people laughing and talking throughout the compound. His precise location was the clan-head's house as he was standing at the door that led to the house garden, which happened to be filled with green and life. He was facing the back of two individuals, both sitting by the porch. The first one was Itachi, though this time he was wearing a different set of clothing. Instead of the Anbu set, he now wore a simple blue high collar shirt and Anbu style pants. The other person was much smaller than Itachi, though it looked similar like him.

It was Sasuke.

They seemed to be talking with one another and feeling at ease sharing each other's company.

"I suppose that I have memorized this scene, hence why you're seeing it now." Naruto looked to his right and saw another Itachi approaching with his arms crossed. Naruto could see that Itachi's eyes fixed on the scene before him. Everything Itachi had done was for Sasuke and in the end, it was all for naught. Naruto could see both joy and sadness coming from Itachi's look. Joy at reliving the image of his interaction with his brother and sadness over being the one responsible for Sasuke no longer being amongst the living anymore.

"It could be that by mixing my eyes with Sasuke's, I get to in a way spend time with him." Naruto nodded.

"You did say that to me when we fought…"

"That I did, though I could not be certain that it would happen at the time."

"That would be a first coming from you…everything you did thus far was with a select purpose…it's kind of a relief that even the great Uchiha Itachi at least once acted on a whim." A simple snort was all Naruto heard from Itachi following the slight jab. The elder Uchiha much preferred to stand there and watch the scenery before him in vivid detail. It was one thing to remember and another to see it playing in front of your eyes and he thanked Kami for this small blessing. Both sharingan wielders stood there not talking for a while, before Itachi turned to Naruto.

"I believe it's imperative that you know some facts about Akatsuki. With my eyes alone, you will be more powerful than ever. However, that alone won't help you against them. After all, information is always the key to winning a battle." Naruto nodded as Itachi began talking.

===Real world===

It had been three days since Naruto's surgery and so far, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

Itsuko considered it a blessing thus far, considering her boyfriend's last mission and how close he came to being killed by Itachi. As an Anbu, she learned how to control her emotions, or better yet, direct it towards the benefit of the mission. It was the only reason that she was allowed to go alongside Kakashi. Normally so, it went against protocol to send someone emotionally invested in the mission outcome. Of course, emotions were impossible to extinguish, no matter what method she heard people would perform in the past, so after tough assignments, Anbu resorted to stress-relieving activities to help them cope with what happened. When she joined the program, as a tough kunoichi she was proud to be, Itsuko did not believe it. As time progressed and as her missions' specs worsened, stress and anxiety began to take hold on her, little by little. One of the seasoned kunoichi Anbu saw this and managed to get through to her in time, helping Itsuko to search for something that would take her mind away.

The noise of the teapot boiling made her smile as she reduced the flame of the oven and poured some herbal tea for both her and Kasumi.

Itsuko was no fan of tea ceremonies, but rather the effects of the warm drink on her nerves. Starting with the soothing smell and finishing with a relaxed sip that would wash away all negative memories that sill lingered. Leaving the rather spacious kitchen of the Senju Compound's main house, she then walked through the silent halls towards the living room where her older sister figure was there waiting for her own herbal tea.

"Here is your tea." Kasumi nodded in gratitude as Itsuko knelled on the opposite side of the table. Itsuko waited until Kasumi had her first sip before asking about Naruto's status.

"So far, nothing out of ordinary…despite being below ground, my byakugan can see him like he was right next to us. Pretty much his entire chakra is being directed to his eyes, to better adjust his condition. Not only his chakra, but also I could detect the fox's doing the same thing. Tsunade-sama came by to check on him this morning and found no ill-effects to worry about." Itsuko nodded, before returning to her mind, silently praying for his well-being.

"You should rest a bit, Kasumi. I have seen you drift off from time to time. I and my team are here to protect him." Kasumi smiled, but denied the proposal.

"I will have plenty of time to rest after he wakes up." Itsuko knew better than to expect that Kasumi would say yes to her advice. She remembered the time when Kasumi joined Kakashi in training Naruto after he received Uchiha Sasuke's eyes. The Hyuuga still blamed herself for not protecting Naruto back then. If the boy did not act back then by protecting himself, he would be dead and she would not be able to live with herself. After that, Kasumi's affection for her little brother figure increased exponentially to the point of being over-protective at times.

"Itsuko…" The Anbu in question stopped wondering as the Hyuuga spoke. "I never understood why anyone would risk their lives so readily without question. I remember when Kakashi-kun first joined Anbu. Everyone considered him a prodigy and thus everyone placed a huge burden on him at the time, saying that he had to fulfil his duty to the village, to Konoha. He was thirteen years old for cry out loud. I know that my boyfriend carried out his duties like no other in the Anbu, but he should not have to. I know that we were in tough relations with everyone, but it was not fair to place such burden on a thirteen year-old kid, no matter how talented he already was at the time. Then Uchiha Itachi came into the picture, following in the same footsteps as Kakashi, receiving perhaps a much heavier burden because of his Clan. We all know what happened afterward. I…thought that Konoha was done with placing such burdens on young shinobi. Now…"

"You think that Naruto-kun will suffer the same fate." Kasumi nodded with a solemn expression.

"Skill-wise, Naruto-kun has the potential of surpassing both Kakashi and Itachi. However, I fear that the burdens that he is facing will be too much for him to bear. Aside from his responsibilities in Konoha, he also has to deal with the threat of the Akatsuki, which happens to be composed of shinobi that I do not believe even Tsunade-sama can face alone. In addition, I fear that Itachi and Sasori were only the tip of the iceberg. Whoever the leader of the organization is, he would have to be stronger by definition." Itsuko released a sigh in dismay, as she saw a lot of merit in Kasumi's words. Indeed, her boyfriend's life hanged by the balance, considering the immense threat out there.

"Everything you said is true, I'm afraid. Naruto-kun is strong and skillful, but a shinobi is only as powerful as his mind allows him to be. In this regard, I believe that Tsunade-sama made a wise decision in placing him in a coma for the week. Technically speaking, it was not a necessary step to take, as his eyes would adjust on their own in time. Aside from that, though, I have faith that he will overcome his obstacles just as he has been doing all this time. He has us after all to watch out for him, right?" Kasumi nodded with a smile as she looked at her friend. She did not have many friends outside the Hyuuga Clan with whom to talk these days and Itsuko was a great company.

"You're right; he has us to help him. Thanks for listening Itsuko." The Anbu member smiled and got up to return to her shift.

===With Tsunade===

The female Hokage was busy enjoying a nice warm cup of sake after finishing her workload for the day. A couple mission reports came in today, but nothing bad happened in them to warrant her attention, to which she appreciated immensely. After what almost happened to the village jinchuuriki, she was afraid that Akatsuki would make another move. Every time that happened, trouble arose. She was not fooled about the easy atmosphere outside her window. Tsunade's experience told her that at any moment, something would happen that would ignite the small flame and cause chaos all over again. Thanks to Naruto's team, Akatsuki is short two powerful allies, but she had yet to identify the other members and more importantly, the organization's leader.

"Oh too bad you already started drinking, I was about to invite you for some sake, hime." Tsunade barely glanced at her teammate through her window.

"Jiraiya, I'm the Hokage of this village…I can't go out to drink just like that." Jiraiya only smirked at that comment.

"Oh I doubt that very seriously, considering that I've seen you two nights ago, doing exactly the opposite. Come on, it's been ages since we went out like the good old days."

"Damn it, Jiraiya…alright let's go, but you're buying."

===At the nearest pub===

No sooner had the two sannin entered the pub, Tsunade demanded a sake bottle just for her. After the waiter served the bottle, Tsunade simply used her strength to open the bottle with one hand and drank it all in one go, without needing a saucer. Witnessing the scene first hand, Jiraiya could not help but remember that he had to convince the woman to go have a drink with him. Well, she did not look that worried in leaving the office to drink.

"Ahhh….that was good sake. Now spill…what is it you want to talk to me?"

"What makes you think I have something to talk about, besides hanging out with my sexy teammate?" Tsunade did ignore the man's pitiful attempt of lighting up the mood.

"Let's just say I know you and let's leave it at that. The last time you invited me out for a drink, you asked me to convince Orochimaru into going to a brothel with you." Jiraiya permitted a small feeling of nostalgia despite Tsunade figuring him out. At the time, he and Orochimaru were the best of friends, though the snake sannin was too prudish for Jiraiya's taste and just would not budge. It was the only way for Orochimaru to lose his virginity, considering that said man never bothered to ask anyone out, much less look at the opposite sex differently. Jiraiya firmly believed that Orochimaru had never lost his virginity. In addition, with everything that happened after his betrayal, Jiraiya doubted that Orochimaru would worry about it.

"Well, you caught me." Jiraiya released a long laugh, before finishing his own sake. "My intentions were indeed to have this drink with you, considering what my spy network managed to discover."

"Don't beat around the bush, damn it, spill it already." Jiraiya had to hold Tsunade's hand while the woman was threatening to bonk him with the sake bottle.

"Alright…alright…easy there…I have found the location of the leader of the Akatsuki." Tsunade's eyes widened at the revelation. "My sources told me that the leader is somewhere around Amegakure."

"Ame...?" Immediately, the image of Salamander Hanzou came to mind. However, it would not make sense. Hanzou never displayed any interest in the bijuu in the past.

"I plan to infiltrate Ame and search for the man myself." Tsunade became alarmed instantly by the revelation.

"If what you say is true, then I cannot allow you to go. If the leader is in fact in Amegakure, then you'll be in danger."

"I'm both touched and insulted hime. Touched to see you do care about me and insulted that you would immediately think so little of my power. I'm a sannin you know." Jiraiya's tone was playful, but it was perceived as an insult to Tsunade and the level of experience both of them have. The man attempted to ease the situation, but Tsunade would not have any of it. She did not need for her teammate to sugarcoat anything. Jiraiya did know how Tsunade thought, though he always tried putting a smile on her face.

"Sorry about that hime…but I still need to go."

"Why…? I can send another shinobi for reconnaissance."

"No one you think of is better than me in infiltration and you know that."

The conversation stopped soon after as Tsunade began to worry even more. It was a similar feeling to when she lost her brother and her lover. Obviously, the situation was dire these days and Tsunade could not afford to lose him. However, at the same time, this would be their only chance of finding out more about the organization and there is no better than Jiraiya to infiltrate the village. She released a sigh in dismay, finishing the last zip of sake.

"You're right…no one is better than you in infiltration. However, I'm not comfortable in sending you there alone without at least some sort of back up."

The pervert grunted but realized that she would not budge anymore.

"Ok hime, what do you have in mind?"

"I know for a fact that you will use the toads to assist you in infiltrate Amegakure. I wish for you to leave one messenger toad with me, one that will warn me the minute that something happens to you. Your mission is to obtain information Jiraiya and nothing more. Should you come into contact with any member of the organization or even the leader, send in the signal and I will arrange for a team to pick you up to safety." Once more, Jiraiya frowned at the notion of needing it all, but Tsunade would not have any of it. In addition, he knew that Tsunade would send the only team thus far who's specialized in rescue missions. He could not help but smile in recognition and pride.

"How is the kid hanging by the way?"

"The operation was successful and now he's resting for the week. He should be waking up in about two or three days give or take. His team will be ready for the distress signal."

"Okay hime, we shall do it your way then. Although it fills me heart with joy seeing how much you care about little old me." A vein appeared on her forehead at the comment, earning a snicker from Jiraiya. "I know that dark days are up ahead, so I won't do anything stupid Tsunade-hime, you have my word." The Hokage nodded before they asked for another bottle of sake. The night was young and Tsunade had left her clone doing her work. She knew that it wouldn't fool Shizune, but at least the job would be done.

===With Naruto===

The day soon came when Naruto woke up. As he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness around him. A small panic attack overcame him, until he remembered that because of the procedure, he needed to remain blindfolded. He could feel the difference in his power now that he had Itachi's eyes as well. Memories of the elder Uchiha resurfaced and Naruto stopped daydreaming about his newfound powers. He still couldn't believe that Itachi would do the things he did for Naruto. However, it didn't change the fact that he did and Naruto just couldn't allow said sacrifice to be in vain. Itachi was right. He was the second byproduct of the union between Senju and Uchiha with Konoha being the first.

Inside his veins, run both powerful bloods and he will use it to protect the village at all costs. Naruto became alarmed when he sensed six presences around his location.

He relaxed upon recognizing that two of them belonged to Itsuko and Kasumi. He could see the Hokage and Shizune as well. When the door opened and Tsunade entered along with the others, he wasn't alarmed.

"You're awake finally brat…how are your eyes?" A smile was seen on his face.

"It still hurts a little bit." Naruto responded as he felt Shizune approaching him with her medical chakra running diagnostics.

"Since there is no light down here, it's already safe to remove the binds. However, you are to remain here one more night. By tomorrow, your eyes will have adjusted properly." Naruto nodded as Shizune released the binds. Naruto's eyes were closed during the removal. As soon as the fabric was gone, he opened them slowly, so as not to sting. The women inside the room saw the different set of eyes and gasped in slight fear at the look. It was indeed menacing. The design was similar to his old Mangenkyou Sharingan, except that now it had a small black shuriken inside. Kasumi activated her byakugan and gasped at the immensity of her little brother's chakra.

Itsuko came forward and caressed her lover's face kindly.

"I'm glad you're okay Naruto-kun. You gave us quite a scare." At this point, Naruto deactivated his Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan and smiled at his girlfriend, before sharing a hug with her, saying it was alright now.

"Try to relax and eat something Naruto. Tomorrow, Shizune will come and take you out of here." Naruto nodded at Tsunade's words, before being alone in the room with Itsuko and Kasumi, chatting.

Author Note

Okay, I will stop here for the moment. Next chapter I will focus on Jiraiya's infiltration inside Amegakure. Oh and in case anyone wonders, the Akatsuki's movements are the same as canon. Therefore, they had captured all of the bijuu except Gaara, Naruto and Killer Bee. I plan to recap their moves next chapter.

Please review.