Once again, super sorry for the wait. I really wanted to update this story, but I got distracted by others. Then, when I was finally getting ready to update this story, I heard that the anime was going to go through the two novels detailing Itachi's past and I held out, in the hopes that they would be useful (boy were they ever). My only problem with the episodes, was that they changed the way Izumi died, which really cheapened Itachi's sacrifice in the anime and took away a lot from his character… but if there is one thing Itachi doesn't really need, it is more character. I'm probably a little biased, being very close to being considered an Itachi fanboy (since I have two friends who are hard-core Uchiha fanboys, one for Itachi and the other for Sasuke), but I can still see some flaws in what Itachi did and note them.
In any case, I will try to not let things go this long without an update again.
Additionally, I've set up a pat reon account since my last update and already have some rather generous patrons. If you would like to help out, I would really appreciate it and it would help me a lot. More details about it can be found on my profile page, or you can alternatively just google SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan pat reon.
Lastly, I have started another Naruto fanfic, along with half a dozen Fairy Tail fanfics, two Bleach fanfics and two more Highschool DxD fanfics, so if any of those interest you, check them out.
Well, that's all for now, enjoy the chapter.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Heavily demonic voice'
'Fox or Death talking'
"Fox or Death thinking"
*expression*
Jutsu
Flashback
Chapter 6 – Do you see what I see
Mikoto Uchiha was terribly confused right now. It had all started earlier today. She had woken up as usual, preparing breakfast for her family. After that, she had headed to the market within the Uchiha Clan district, to pick up supplies for dinner. As she prepared dinner, she had a small chat with her youngest son, Sasuke Uchiha, who was quite sad about his failure in mastering the signature jutsu of the Uchiha Clan, the Fireball Jutsu. Sighing inwardly at how cold Fugaku could be on the surface, she successfully reassured Sasuke, that his father, was in fact proud of him, at least for the moment. Afterwards, she had finished dinner and set it at the table, before her husband, Fugaku Uchiha, arrived. It seemed that today would be the day the coup d'état would go ahead. Before anything could get underway though, various Uchiha had started vanishing. Mikoto sighed, knowing exactly who was responsible for this and knew her time was coming. As Fugaku and Mikoto knelt submissively, Itachi Uchiha, their own flesh and blood, with trembling hands and tears in his eyes, had pierced their hearts and ended their lives. So why was Mikoto currently existing in some capacity? Existing, she thought, because she didn't truly feel alive.
'Hello Mikoto.' Said a voice, causing her to turn.
How did she just turn? Mikoto had no idea, she only focused on the voice.
'I can understand you must be quite confused currently, but I'm afraid I have some urgent business I must attend to, before your body starts to deteriorate. While that happens though, your memories should be coming back to you.' Said the voice.
"Memories?" Mikoto thought in confusion, before remembering a conversation she had not too long ago, with the village's Jinchuuriki.
"Naruto?" Thought Mikoto.
Mikoto remained quizzical for a minute, or was it an hour? Mikoto couldn't tell.
'There we go. Now, allow me to help you out here Mikoto. You cannot speak currently but you can hear. You can see, but only chakra. I'm afraid the jutsu I created isn't perfect and you have lost some of your senses, such as touch, taste and smell, however, you can still hear perfectly well, see, very roughly and can interact with matter, although I wouldn't recommend it, as it may destabilise your soul.' Said the voice, Mikoto had now placed, as belonging to Naruto.
Mikoto focused on the voice once again and was able to pick up a faint blue hue in front of her.
'Now, I can understand your confusion. How are you alive when your son killed you? Truthfully, you are not alive. Your organic body has just decayed rapidly and become nothing but dust. Luckily I was able to harvest the important things from your body before it perished. Your organs for instance and most importantly in the future, your eyes. After all, we can't have an Uchiha without a Sharingan now can we?' Said the mass of blue in front of her rhetorically, before it seemed to turn.
'Of course, it will take some time for your sight in this form to develop, so please be patient and wait a few days. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is one other person I must get to before Danzo, it will be the only way for me to hold any sway over Itachi, after this day after all.' Said the mass of blue, before it suddenly flared and disappeared.
Mikoto waited for a few minutes, or was it a few hours? Mikoto still couldn't tell after all. She tried to reach out her senses, only to find that she didn't even know if her senses existed. She could see, hear and smell nothing at all. She couldn't feel anything and couldn't tell if she was standing or sitting. Suddenly, a mass of blue appeared in front of her once again. She could see. A smaller mass of blue was currently held with the arms of the larger mass of blue.
'Well this is quite troubling. Seems Itachi did quite a number on this girl. Really, if I hadn't gotten to her in time she'd be permanently brain dead and it is going to exhaust all the resources I have currently to revive her. *sigh* I suppose what I can get in return, will be worth it in the future.' Spoke the larger mass of blue.
"Naruto." Thought Mikoto. She could hear again.
'Ah, sorry about that Mikoto, I was talking to myself. Now then, as for what your fate will be, I just need you to be patient. Just give it a few days. Then you'll be able to control your thoughts and… well, spiritual essence, since it isn't really a body.' Said Naruto sheepishly.
-line break-
Naruto studied the ball of energy in front of him. As far as he knew, Mikoto had heard every word he had said, but with that being said, he had never tried this technique before on a human. His calculations were impeccable and should be correct, but he wouldn't know for certain, for a few more days. Glancing at the body held within his arms, Naruto quickly took her over to a bed. He noticed with some interest, that Mikoto had followed him, whether consciously or instinctively, Naruto didn't know. The body in front of Naruto was completely untouched. If not for the massive damage the mind of this particular body had taken, Naruto would have thought them to be asleep.
'Just who are you that Itachi could kill his entire clan, including his parents, borderline torture his brother and accept being hunted for his whole life, yet still be unable to physically harm you.' Muttered Naruto thoughtfully.
'Ita… chi…' Spoke the woman.
Naruto blinked, having not seen the woman's lips move. Channelling chakra to his finger tips and transforming it into that of a lightning nature, Naruto pressed his fingers against the temples of the person in front of him. A quick discharge of energy and Naruto felt the body breathe.
Naruto looked at the body in shock. This defied all known knowledge Naruto had of the mind. When Naruto had found the body, the person was completely brain dead. No breathing. No pulse. No reflexes remained and the person was unmoving and unresponsive. Yet, despite this, the simple mention of the Itachi's name, had roused her from the world of the dead.
-line break-
Itachi had finally done it. His mission to protect his brother had been commenced. Following Tobi to meet with the leader of Akatsuki, Itachi's face was a cool mask of impassive calm. Someone who saw him now, would have no idea he had just come from killing every single member of his clan, including his mother and father, barring only his little brother. His mother though, was apparently still alive, according to the Village's Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. What to make of this, Itachi didn't know, he only hoped that the blond would honour their agreement, as he would.
Cutting a line though his headband, as the leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, had instructed, Itachi stared at this headband for a moment, before donning it once again.
'Welcome to the Akatsuki, Itachi Uchiha.' Said Pein, a man with orange hair, purple eyes, with three concentric rings in them and numerous piercings all over his body.
'We will gather the others now, to introduce you to the rest and your new partner.' Said Pein, before leaving with his blue haired attendant, Konan.
Tobi looked at Itachi for a moment, before disappearing into his mask with a swirl, leaving Itachi behind and all alone.
Alone. Itachi Uchiha was completely alone now. Among the den of wolves, he had no friends or family. As the events of the day came back to Itachi, he slumped down to his knees, exhausted. Just a few days ago, he had told Sasuke he couldn't train with him because he had been exhausted with his most recent mission. Sasuke had refuted that, saying Itachi was never exhausted, but now, the newly dubbed clan slayer felt truly exhausted. The amount of blood that had bathed his face today, could never be truly washed away. The blood of his kinsmen, that of the Uchiha. That of his mother and father. In fact, aside from that of his brother, there had only been one other Uchiha whose blood had not been spilled today. Itachi clutched his eyes, feeling the strain from the absurd amount of chakra he had focused into them, to end the life of that one person.
'Thank you.'
Itachi remembered the last words she said to him as he brought her life to an end. She had thanked him, even as he ended her life. Itachi felt moisture gather towards the edge of his eyes once again. As he raised his hand to wipe away his tears, Itachi noticed something. His right hand was trembling. The hands of the man, which had been stained with the blood of countless people, in a single night, were trembling. Itachi's stoic mask gave way to a slight frown, his lips ever so slightly turning downwards.
"To protect Sasuke, I made this choice… so why do I feel this regret now? I hardened my heart at the time. I was sure I had done what needed to be done, to ensure Sasuke's future… so why… why am I crying? Why are my hands trembling? Why… why do I wish things could have gone differently?" Thought Itachi.
Itachi sat there, his shoulders hunched and his back bent.
"Why does my heart hurt this much, even though I know Sasuke will now be safe?" Questioned Itachi.
As Itachi contemplated what he had done, he sat there in silence. The clan-slayer of the Uchiha wept, not tears of salt and water, but rather, tears of blood, reflecting the damage his soul had taken today.
'Ita… chi...'
Itachi flinched, raising his head quickly, Mangekyo activated. Even as the last evidence of his bloody tears disappeared, Itachi's eyes were frantically scanning the area around him. He had heard something. He was sure of it.
"No… I must still be wracked with grief. She died by my own hands. I saw the life leave her eyes." Thought Itachi, hardening his gaze once more.
"There is no happy ending for me. As of today, my fate was sealed. I will die a disgraced traitor, so that Sasuke can live, there is no other path I can take." Thought Itachi.
-line break-
Naruto observed the body for a few minutes, from a short distance, waiting to see if the person would awaken. After ten minutes, with no change in breathing or pulse, Naruto walked back to the body.
A milky green glow surrounded Naruto's two hands and he slowly waved it over the body, starting from the feet up.
'Vitals all normal. Nerves responsive as are muscles. Brain capacity is at sixty percent, slightly elevated. Pupils not responsive to light… hmm.' Said Naruto to himself, even as Mikoto floated beside him.
Letting the chakra from his hands dissipate, Naruto gently raised the eyelids of the person he was examining, only for his eyes to widen slightly.
'Wow, Itachi really did a number on you. You're blind. The irony of an Uchiha going blind… however, for you to be useful, you will need visual prowess… hmm.' Muttered Naruto, before letting the eyelids he had been holding open shut.
As the green glow surrounded his hands again, Naruto placed his right hand over the Uchiha's eyes while placing his left over her forehead.
'Well, at least that explains why you're not waking up, your retinohypothalamic tract has been destroyed and your occipital lobe has been damaged severely. Really, just what did Itachi do to you, to cause this much damage? This is far too delicate for me to rush, I need time to go over things.' Said Naruto, preparing to take his hands off the girl, only to pause, as he noticed something strange.
'Hmm, this cluster of neurons… Mikoto had it too… I wonder if this is what enables the Sharingan to awaken. I think I need to test this theory out first before I take things a step further… well, it has been awhile since I went out at night, let's see how the village is doing.' Said Naruto, letting the chakra around his hands finally dissipate.
'Mikoto, you stay here and watch over her. Who knows, you may even come to recognise her chakra signature and it may speed up your tentative awareness.' Said Naruto to Mikoto, before leaving the two Uchiha behind.
-line break-
Stepping out into the dimly lit village, Naruto smiled slightly as he expanded his senses.
"Too slow, Danzo. I already got the real prize." Thought Naruto, before heading towards the market district.
The village had not changed much in his absence. Stalls littered the street at every turn and people were out and about, even at this time. The smell of good food and liquor pervaded Naruto's senses, the latter causing him to wrinkle his sensitive nose slightly in distaste.
"Honestly, getting intoxicated every night is completely stupid. They're just pushing their livers closer to failure and eventual death. I suppose the idiots of this village feel safe in their superiority, to be able to act like this. If someone were to invade now, only the ANBU would be able to put up a decent fight." Thought Naruto distastefully.
As Naruto stepped into the market district, he could feel the glares being sent his way, along with the cold shoulders he got from the others. Making his way through the crowds, which easily parted for him, he headed towards the restaurants, more known for their rowdy clientele.
"After all, why should I look for a villager, when with enough alcohol in their systems, they'll come for me." Thought Naruto cheerfully.
Stopping outside the establishment in question, Naruto waited for a few minutes, aimlessly milling around, waiting for some fool brave enough to confront him. It took much longer than Naruto expected. Perhaps the villagers were finally starting to use their brains, but eventually, Naruto felt a burst of killing intent sent his way. Smiling obliviously, Naruto walked into an alley behind the establishment waiting for his soon to be victim. Making sure the ANBU presence was off him momentarily, Naruto quickly jumped up to the side of one of the buildings making up the alley, waiting for the civilian to enter the lion's den. He was balding and slightly overweight. He wore expensive clothes and gold jewellery. Naruto didn't care for that though and quickly pulled out a kitchen knife he had pilfered. Not a kunai, as that would make it obvious a ninja had attacked the man, nor his scythe, which was quite an odd weapon to begin with. No, a simple kitchen knife, to the heart of the man below him. Enough to kill him, but not enough to kill him instantly. Naruto wanted a bit of fun first. Dropping down in front of the man, Naruto quickly struck, causing the man to let out a strangled cry of pain, before Naruto pulled the knife out. The man dropped to his knees, pressing his hands over his wound.
'Looks like I messed up that expensive fabric, sorry. Not like you'll be needing it anymore anyway.' Said Naruto, with a sad expression, which was obviously fake.
'You *cough* demon.' Spluttered the man.
'That's right, but I'm not the Kyuubi.' Said Naruto, causing the man's eyes to widen.
'Oh, you didn't know that I figured things out, did you? Well, if you idiots hadn't been so antagonistic to me, you might have seen the truth. For instance, did you know that I'm the son of your precious Fourth Hokage?' Questioned Naruto.
'Lies, the Fourth was a great man, he wouldn't *cough* have fathered a demon spawn.' Growled the slowly dying man.
'But he did. Well, it's about time you die now, since I've grown bored of seeing your fat face.' Said Naruto cheerfully, before slitting the man's throat.
'Now, to make sure this doesn't look too suspicious.' Muttered Naruto, before tearing the gold necklace off the fat man's neck and taking some of his remaining jewellery, before tearing the man's clothing more.
'There, that should be enough fake evidence, now in you go.' Said Naruto, before sealing the man's body away.
Naruto quickly checked his surroundings, making sure no trace of him was left at the scene.
"Just to be sure though." Thought Naruto, before pulling a match out of his pocket and lighting it, before throwing it towards a carton of sake.
Leaping away, Naruto quickly dashed back to the nearest manhole he could find, only to hear the sound of an explosion.
"There we go, now no one will know mister fat man didn't perish in the flames. Sake really does have too much alcohol concentrated into it, but it makes for an excellent accelerant." Thought Naruto, before dropping underneath the village once again.
-line break-
Mikoto was beginning to regain some sense of awareness. She could hear the shallow breaths of the person in front of her, but couldn't make out much else. What sounded like a door opening caused her to turn and she noticed the mass of blue that she identified as Naruto.
'I'm back, hope you didn't get bored, Mikoto.' Said Naruto, with a hint of amusement in his tone.
Mikoto watched as a burst of blue energy broke off from Naruto and caused a mass to appear. She thought of it as a mass, as she still couldn't make out what it was, only a hint of chakra in the centre remained. An animal perhaps.
'Now, let's see here.' Said Naruto, placing his two hands over the creature he had summoned.
Mikoto watched on as Naruto seemed to hum to himself and inject bursts of chakra into the creature in front of him.
'So, civilians don't have the same tract going to their eyes as the Uchiha… is that from a lack of chakra utilisation, or are the Uchiha unique in having an extra set of nerves going to their eyes?' Pondered Naruto, before examining himself.
'What does it mean that I have the same tract though? I know I'm not an Uchiha… mother was a full blooded Uzumaki, I know that much.' Muttered Naruto.
"Kushina." Thought Mikoto, thinking on what Naruto had just said.
'Well, I don't know, nor do I care too much about Minato's lineage… but perhaps I should look into it. It seems there is something there, if my hunch is right.' Muttered Naruto, before a green glow encased his hands and he raised it to his eyes.
Naruto focused for a minute, tracing the nerves from his eyes to the regions in his brain they stimulated.
'Why on earth would there be a nerve tract from the eyes, to the multitude of neural tissue, which make up the limbic system?' Muttered Naruto in confusion, before a jolt went through his body.
Mikoto heard a sound that sounded like coughing. Did Naruto get something stuck in his throat? The sounded started to intensify in volume. Mikoto was able to pick up that it wasn't a cough, but rather, chuckling. That chuckling soon turned to quiet laughter. A few seconds later, Naruto was laughing uproariously. Mikoto had no idea what was happening and focused on the mass of blue in front of her. Naruto's chakra seemed to be moving rapidly, spreading to his head from the looks of things. Mikoto had no idea what was going. As Mikoto continued to study the mass of blue in front of her, she couldn't understand why Naruto was laughing. If only she had her vision though, she would see Naruto looking up to the roof, a pair of red eyes, with a single comma like marking in them, rotating slowly, as Naruto cackled in elation.