22nd Legacy: Sharingan's Secret

"Senju and Uzumaki call us cursed,
but we're all the same in the end because blood that binds us together is...
just a frail shackle we will break to achieve our goal."
Tobi to Uzumaki Nagato

'So, this is the guy that spooked Naruto badly.' Shisui couldn't blame Naruto, the guy did look a bit spooky. No wonder the Jinchuuriki was so restless.

'Why now?' Itachi trembled slightly, he couldn't believe he almost forgot but this man… he was the one who killed his first teammate. Judging from Naruto's reaction, it was clear, that this was also the same man behind the night of the tragedy nine years ago.

Naruto cursed in his mind, 'Damn! Damn! Damn it! He never left after all!' After the memory transfer, he held a faint hope that this guy just left. But it seems that it won't be so easy, obviously.

'We have to flee, no need for questions.' Usually Kurama was not one to suggest running away but he also knew that this is a battle they can't win. Also, because his paranoid jinchuuriki had asked about this scenario, and called him an idiot if he thought going on a rampage was a solution. 'For all he cared, he could have killed you when you had your guard down, or severely injured you who has the slowest reaction time. So most likely…'

'How is it reassuring to know that he didn't kill me the first time so he won't try to do that the next?' Naruto protested, and he decided to test his luck and Kurama's theory. He loosened the seal on his Satori, lamenting about how the headache would kill him afterwards, but he would rather stay alive to feel the pain later.

"Uchiha Madara?" He started cautiously.

The one eyed Uchiha inclined his head slightly, "What a strange view… a team consisting of Uzumaki and Uchiha. Also… strangely nostalgic, it's like seeing that idealistic fool Hashirama and I again."

Naruto shuddered, his deep voice matched his ghost like aura, it was haunting. He frowned when he felt no spike of emotion from the Uchiha, while the Satori could only see through thoughts on the surface, Madara shouldn't feel this… indifferent where his rival was concerned. Or perhaps Madara's mental barrier was so strong that Satori didn't get anything from him?

"Madara…" Shisui snarled, "Why did you appear before us now? Did you come for Naruto?"

His lone eye glanced at Naruto and the Uchiha cousins quickly stepped forward as if to shield Naruto from his eye. "Tempting, but the Kyuubi belongs to me so it doesn't really matter when I take back what's rightfully mine."

Naruto snapped, "Kurama is not yours! He is not an object!"

Madara snorted, "You named the Kyuubi? What a surprise, you're fully aware and in contact with that beast, and even going as far as naming it like it's your pet. How laughable."

'Oi Naruto, don't argue with the bastard about bijuu's rights! Seriously, I thought you're a firm believer of not picking a fight you can't win and fight for another day?!' He was a little touched that Naruto would stupidly argue for him against Madara – a maybe Madara - but for their sakes, the smarter option was to get the hell out of there with his Uchiha friends.

Naruto growled, he had to admit Kurama was right, convincing the Uchiha otherwise was a lost cause. "If you're not here for me, then why have you killed our target?"

"A whim, I felt like it."

'A lie'

'Obviously.' Kurama scoffed imperiously.

Itachi frowned, Naruto didn't seem to buy Madara's excuse. He didn't believe Mukai was killed because Madara felt like it either, but… he couldn't think of any logical reason of how the death of one of Kiri's spies could benefit Madara in any way. Mukai was dead, and in this situation, his death didn't matter at all. What mattered was, Madara -or not- had appeared and he was a dangerous threat to them.

"I am curious." He said suddenly, and it took a while for them to compute the masked man was still answering their query. "I would have left you kids alone after I got rid of these men."

So, staying to talk with them was a whim while killing Mukai was a necessity, they concluded. "Is that so, honorable ancestor?" Shisui spat sarcastically.

Naruto hissed, 'Shisui! Don't provoke him!'

"It's so…" The oldest Uchiha present indulged his younger clansman, "I have been watching, I always do… since the day our clan exiled me…"

Now, Naruto was very confused, because he still couldn't feel any significant emotions from this man. He couldn't even tell if this man felt anything at all even when talking about how his clan abandoned him. 'It's like… he is talking about someone else's life.' He couldn't help but think, 'Is he really Uchiha Madara?'

'Funny now I am the one thinking, who cares if he is Madara or not.' Kurama grunted.

'He seems interested in talking to us so we let him, and trying to escape from him recklessly would be suicidal.' And he was not going to bet on fighting this man head on with his team, Naruto knew it was likely they had to unless this man had a whim to leave them be after he was finished with his story.

"You three have been pretty busy wandering all over the continent to search for our legacy. What are you guys looking for?"

Shisui was about to retort but Naruto covered his mouth before he could, "We're interested in our clan's legacy of course, especially… since we found a number of discrepancies in the recorded history."

"Hoo… impressive, child. You're not so naive to let Konoha spoon feed you their foolish ideology." He sounded genuinely impressed. "But you have not answered my question, the legacy of our clans can be anything." At their narrowed eyes he added, "So how about a deal? You tell me what you're looking for and I will tell you about it."

Naruto, Itachi and Shisui clamped their mouth shut, thinking. 'Suspicious!'

'Is this a trick to make us let our guard down?'

'What the heck is this mad ancestor of ours up to?'

'He can't be serious offering us the answer just because we asked him.'

The blonde swallowed and tested their luck. "I want to know why the Nidaime was wary of the Uchiha clan to the point he-"

"Isolated the Uchiha to one place?" The Uchiha finished. "It's pretty simple really…"

'Is he really answering us?!' Naruto thought in disbelief.

"It's because Tobirama never trusted the Uchiha clan."

Shisui snarled, "He trusted my father, Uchiha Kagami."

"Perhaps he did trust your father… Uchiha Shisui, but he never trusted the Uchiha clan as a whole. After all… we're a cursed clan."

A chill ran down his spine at the word cursed, as for the first time since the masked man's second appearance, Naruto felt a strong emotion from the man. It was sadness, regret, anger and hate… so much hate he almost choked on it.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean cursed?"

He inclined his neck, lone red eye narrowed, "We Uchiha… are people that are greatly devoted to love and friendship, though we tend to conceal and suppress such emotions. Contrary to what people believe… power comes after. We don't follow Indra, our ancestor at all…"

Shisui was stunned, while he knew his clan was not full of heartless bastards, it was hard to compute that apparently, they were all romantics at heart and tend to hide their affectionate nature. He could relate that to Itachi and to an extent his uncle, but not to his more stuck up clansmen like Tekka or Inabi.

"And? Which part of that is a curse?" Naruto asked. "Irony of valuing the Senju's ancestor's choice aside."

The Uchiha snorted, "The curse starts when we lose the people most important to us…" Naruto was surprised at the strong emotion that hit him all of a sudden to the point he began to sway on his feet. "When we lose our loved ones, our love can instantaneously turn into hatred, and we lose sight of everything else…. No matter how deep our love, our hatred and despair will run deeper."

Naruto stared wide-eyed at the Uchiha before him, as if it was the first time he saw the man. 'Deep darkness… sadness and anger so deep that I feel suffocated.'

"And that emotion is what awakens our Sharingan…. the mirror that reflects our feelings for our loved ones."

That explained the mystery of the Sharingan's awakening, but Naruto was more concerned of his own condition. He tried to focus his chakra to close his seal on the Satori, but for some reason, it couldn't block the intense emotions coming from Madara.

'Oi, Naruto!'

'I feel sick…' He coughed, his head throbbing painfully.

Itachi grasped Naruto's shoulder, wondering what came over the Uzumaki. 'He looks sick, what's wrong with Naruto?'

Shisui snarled, "Oh yeah? I still don't see the cursed part?"

The older Uchiha let out an amused chuckle, "You can't see it yet, can you? Uchiha Shisui…. Uchiha Itachi… of course you don't, after all, you don't have the heavenly eyes that see the truth of all of creation without obstruction yet…"

Suddenly it dawned on Itachi and Shisui what the other Uchiha was implying, he was talking about the legendary next step in the evolution of their dōjutsu.

The Mangekyō Sharingan

"I suppose I should help my descendants develop their eyes. Then you can see the truth and experience our curse yourself." He cocked his eyes slightly, "Now the question is… what does it take for us to awaken our Mangekyō Sharingan? How much pain does it take for us to achieve that power..."

Itachi's eyes narrowed, before his Sharingan went wide in shock. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the next step of their dōjutsu requires an even stronger emotion, and to experience that…

"NO!"

He reacted, drawing Tenrō and attempting to cut Madara in two. Shisui followed closely with Shibien, but their blades went through the black clad Shinobi. With growing horror, the Uchiha cousins couldn't react fast enough when Madara grabbed Naruto by his neck and slammed the Jinchuuriki against a tree with a sickening crack, Hokuto noisily falling to the ground.

"Gah!" Naruto choked out.

"Let him go, Madara!" Shisui growled but neither he nor Itachi dared to make a move when Naruto was still in Madara's grasp.

'This is the worst possible situation I could have gotten myself into.' He thought to himself.

'Naruto, you idiot!'

The Uchiha hummed, "Namikaze's Satori bloodline hmm?" That made them pause. "No wonder you look unwell… boy, an Uchiha's emotion is too much for you. How ironic for a Senju descendant to fall victim to their own bloodline limit."

"Go to hell…" He hissed, provoking the Uchiha was unwise but he was too irritated to think clearly. "Akh!" With his windpipe pressed, Naruto couldn't breathe.

"Curious… how curious, I don't know much about the Satori. After all, the Namikaze is an almost extinct clan, a shame to kill you but-"

Kongō Fūsa materialized and the Uchiha was forced to let Naruto go before the chain ripped him to pieces. 'He… dodged my Kongō Fūsa instead of letting it pass through him? Why?'

"Naruto!" Itachi and Shisui shunshined to his side in an instance. "Go, he is after you!"

"What?! I am not leaving you guys with him!" Naruto snarled.

"That mad man wants to kill you to get us to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan!" Shisui snarled back, "Go!"

"Listen to us! He is not going to kill us! You're the only one in danger here, Naruto!" Itachi hissed.

"But-" Naruto stopped, whirling around and threw a punch to his side.

Itachi's and Shisui's eyes widened when they saw Madara was behind them in a flash and he caught Naruto's fist in his grasp. "Allow me to help you to choose."

Whoosh!

Then the world started to spin and Naruto disappeared from their eyes. Itachi eyed his outstretched hand in shock, where all his hand reached was air. His friend was gone…

Tenrou was drawn in a flash and he swung the blade over the older Uchiha. The blade phased through and Madara side-stepped them with ease when Shisui followed, attacking with his Shibien. "Where did you take Naruto?! Return him to us!" Shisui demanded.

Madara chuckled, "Return him? A shame that I can't return him… he is gone."

"We don't believe you!" Itachi hissed. "You want the bijuu the Yondaime sealed in Naruto! You want him alive!" The Uchiha heir launched his blade of fire, "Jaen - Fire Snake!"

The masked Shinobi didn't move as he let Itachi's serpent of fire harmlessly go through his body. "It's pointless… you will not be able to touch me. Not without the same eyes as mine..."

Shisui growled, "Don't take us for a fool! Bastard!" He howled, raising his blade. "Koubono Ikazuchi - Grain of Lightning!"

Torrents of lightning shot up to the sky before it fell down upon the older Uchiha, who deftly dodged the rain of lightning with ease. He disappeared and the lightning hit empty ground before it reappeared a few meters away from his original spot. "Had enough, boys?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Shisui… he dodged your lightning but not my fire, why was that?"

Shisui nodded, he noticed that as well. "Yeah… he even teleported, what's the difference between our attacks? He can't be weak to lightning, could he?" Then he tested his theory, unleashing another torrent of lightning that sped up like a bullet towards the masked man.

This time he didn't dodge, and let the lightning bolt pass through.

The Uchiha cousin concluded the element of their attack was not the problem, but the form and range of it was the likeliest factor. But why would those matter?

CLANK!

Their blade met his scythe, and Shisui cursed under his breath. 'Strong! If my blade wasn't the Muramasa sword, he would have cut through me!'

Itachi panted slightly, he was getting tired as this was already his second fight, not to mention at Mukai's insistence, they had not rested at all on the way to Kawa no Kuni. Although this fight was going pretty well considering who they were up against.

Still…

He knew his clan had a flair for drama, but he was sure that considering his general opinion on Madara, the man's taste for techniques with a large scale of destruction was not an exaggeration. However, this man, while powerful and undoubtedly a Kage class Shinobi, didn't fight as flashily as Madara did. While he had an upper-hand in this battle, the man was mostly on the defensive instead of on the offensive.

Madara was never ever described as a defense oriented fighter, but a God like entity who summons calamity scaled destruction like the Kyuubi no Youko upon his enemies. So, what's with this efficient, swift and defensive fighting style? He couldn't even call this Madara a shadow of his former self, it was like he was a completely different Shinobi from what was told in historical records.

Itachi didn't think he could subscribe the change of fighting style to age… Age wise, if this man was over a hundred years old, he shouldn't be standing now, let alone fight with a completely different style. Age gives edge and refinement to a fighting style, not a one-eighty-degree turn. Still, he didn't put it pass Madara to change his eyes with another Uchiha that was buried by war and fashion a new fighting style to suit the eyes.

'This is really strange… I wish I could talk to Kurama.' Or better, ask Naruto to ask Kurama to confirm the man's identity. For now, however…

Itachi let himself open slightly so his opponent's fist could connect to his side, while Shisui attacked. His eyes narrowed when Shisui's blade and Madara's fist didn't connect. The masked man simply ran through them like a ghost.

Shisui smirked at him, panting. "You saw that, Itachi?"

He nodded, "It seems that he can't attack and defend at the same time with the technique that allows him to be intangible… so we have to attack him simultaneously." This was not an enemy they could face alone.

Still, it was going to be hard to fight that way without Naruto, neither he nor Shisui was good at relentless offensive moves. They neither had the chakra nor stamina to pull it off.

"Wonderful… you figured out something about me I suppose?" He didn't sound worried, "But it seems you're running out of gas, a pity really that our clan was never a stamina powerhouse like the Uzumaki and Senju. Then again, we did get our fair share of Rikudo Sennin's legacy…"

"Funny how you of all people bring that up." Shisui muttered sarcastically, "As an Uchiha, you should also know that we're all as stubborn as a mule underneath our stoic mask, and we will stop at nothing until you give Naruto back to us!"

"Exactly what he said… you're wrong if you think we will give up, not until we get him back." Itachi vowed.

The masked Uchiha became very still and even though he seemed wide open for some reason, the Uchiha cousins felt more threatened by this suffocating silence. "I see…" His voice became deeper, ominously that made them shudder with dread. "So, he is your sun ne… Uzumaki Naruto is a very precious existence for you two, I can see it… the same love and devotion I once had for my brother and Hashirama…"

Shisui swallowed, 'And just now I doubted if he really is Madara, but even though I am not Naruto, I can tell that…'

'Whether or not he was telling us the truth, this emotion… in his oppressing chakra is real.'

This despair and grief were a requirement that awoke their legendary bloodline limit, and Madara was the result. Itachi and Shisui learned that as Shinobi of Konoha, their power was to protect their loved ones. So, when Madara told them their power was gained through the loss of their loved one… it was right for him to call their clan cursed.

'I don't want that power…' For once, in the privacy of their minds, Itachi felt like a child. 'I don't… want to be like this man before me, no power is worth the pain…'

The man smirked, even with his mask covered face, his body language seemed to express a smirk. "You have not given up yet on your jinchuuriki friend… you still have hope that he is alive, he will be back and you will be a team once again."

Shisui and Itachi narrowed their eyes, 'He stopped fighting us… and it seems like he is more interested in taunting us.'

'Listening to a manipulative bastard like Madara is not a good idea."

'Why is he talking like he knows how it feels to be separated from a teammate, anyways?'

"The world is not that kind to us… not to us Uchiha, or to any Shinobi…." He finished.

Shisui snarled, "What the heck are you talking about?!"

"Oh, I am sure you understand… after all, this is not the first time you've lost your teammate… right? Itachi… Shisui."

As one the two Uchiha froze, "How do you-" Shisui began.

"You're the one who killed Tenma!" Itachi hissed.

He shook his head and sighed, "Although… you still don't understand, but of course, compared to Uzumaki Naruto... Your deceased teammates weren't as important. You feel nothing from their death…"

"How dare you accuse us for feeling nothing!" Shisui had to admit he didn't like his previous teammates that much, but it would be a lie to say he didn't feel anything.

The man laughed, "Of course you wouldn't know the difference… the feeling that the world has ended when your precious friend slips away from your grasp and then, nothing-"

WHAM!

As something yellow flashed in the corner of their eyes, and followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground interrupted their argument, two pairs and one lone Sharingan turned to the source of the noise. Two pairs of red eyes widened in shock when they spotted the battered body of a familiar Shinobi.

"Naru… to…" Itachi mouthed in disbelief.

There was so much blood and his body looked broken, he didn't move and was very still.

Lone sharingan eye narrowed at the body of the Jinchuuriki and then turned towards the two Uchiha who were looking with growing despair. What a familiar sight, it was like looking into a mirror.

"And so, the light of the sun is snuffed out and you will be drowned in despair, like I said… Itachi, Shisui… the world is cruel."

Itachi and Shisui couldn't hear the smug voice of the masked Uchiha, eyes glued to the broken body of their friend, they could feel their hearts shattering to pieces. Their eyes burned as if they were on fire and the tomoe spun, transforming into pitch black pinwheels. The color of despair dyed their sharingan, black and red rippled like a kaleidoscope.

"How dare…"

"You…"

He smirked when he saw three black tomoe swimming in the red eyes of Uchiha heir start to morph, melding together, and he could tell so did Shisui's sharingan. They were reaching out for that dark power all those with Uchiha blood innately sought…

Then, faster than he could react, a familiar golden chain shot up from the ground, whipping around his leg before travelling up to wrap around his neck. He was almost choked before his power saved him from the close call, teleporting him away from his original spot.

"Naruto!" Itachi and Shisui cried.

The Uzumaki was on his knees, panting as he retracted his chakra chain back. "Don't decide I am dead, bastard! I just had a little accident on my way here." But by all rights, if not for who he was, he would be dead by now.

Itachi and Shisui were by his side in a flash, their sharingan eyes back to their normal shape. "You're alive..."

Naruto shot them an annoyed glare and, before they could react, he flicked them both on the forehead. "Of course I am, idiots! I can't believe you ate up the bluff he fed you! I may be low on chakra and look as good as dead, but I am sure as hell not dead!"

Shisui and Itachi paused and realized Naruto was right, he was almost out of chakra but he still had chakra unlike a dead body. They believed he was still alive but they had their doubt, and their traitorous relative didn't help with how convincing he sounded. Then his body fell out of nowhere in such a state.

"Besides! I promised you both a lot of things!" Naruto told them, "I promised you I will help you to make our village and clan to become one! I will make Itachi our Hokage! I promised we will have true peace!"

They were stunned.

"I am not going to die before I fulfill those promises." He scoffed, blue eyes glinting mischievously. "And I don't break my promise."

A smile slowly formed on their lips, 'This is our Naruto, alright.'

"Hokage… you believe, Itachi… an Uchiha could become a Hokage?"

It took a while for Naruto to compute that Madara-maybe Madara- was the one who asked him. He couldn't help but feel offended on Itachi's behalf. "Yeah, I do! Do you have a problem?"

"You have a better chance to be a Hokage than he does, after all you're from the Senju line…" The man chuckled, "Surely you're not so naive to think that the Hokage's selection is purely on credential alone?"

What the heck?! Why did he even bother to ask a such thing?

Naruto scowled, "Of course I know! I haven't see the next candidate names but I am sure aside from remaining loyal Sannin, the name next to theirs is undoubtedly Hatake Kakashi." He said blithely.

"Your name must be up on the list too, don't you think so? Uzumaki?"

He recalled how Sandaime expertly and subtly made him believe being a Hokage was a noble dream. Of course he knew what Sandaime wanted from him. Sandaime liked Itachi but between him and Itachi, Naruto knew who he was going to choose.

"So?" Like he cared who had a better chance to make it to that seat? Long standing tradition of nepotism be damned. "I have faith that Itachi will make it! He will be our Hokage one day!"

"So do I." Shisui added, his eyes never leaving the stray Uchiha.

Itachi stayed quiet, while he was touched by their support he was at a lost as to why his chances of becoming a Hokage suddenly became a matter of importance to Madara of all people. Maybe it was because of his rivalry with Hashirama, but Itachi wondered why this man suddenly lost all his intent to fight. At some point his weapon was nowhere in sight and his stance relaxed, as if he never intended to attack them.

"Faith, huh…" The man mused. "How alike… you and her."

"Huh?"

A vortex started to form from his right eye as his body was being sucked in a spiraling fashion. "Interesting… Uzumaki Naruto, very interesting." The red eye turned to the two Uchiha, "As for you two, don't think it's over yet. Our curse is always with us, don't think you can escape it…"

"You're not the one who decides that." Itachi vowed. "We will overcome it."

A scoff was heard from the remaining body, "Futile struggle… but let's see where it takes you, hm? Uchiha Itachi… Shisui…"

And then he was gone.

Few Hours Later…

"I wish we have B blood type." Shisui drawled on as he helped Naruto to wipe the blood.

The Uzumaki wanted to roll his eyes but it would make his headache worse, "Are you dumb? Even if you do, it's not like we have tools to transfer blood." He had taken pills for his blood loss but it was a slow process of recovery and he felt lightheaded, especially as the adrenaline was steadily dropping sincethe threat was gone.

"I thought you do, or perhaps you have invented a seal to transfer blood." Shisui told him honestly.

Naruto wondered if Shisui thought he used seals to solve every problem coming his way, most likely he did. "I don't and I am too tired to explain why it's not a good idea."

"Hn." Shisui grunted. "At any rate… what happened to you? What did he do to you?" The Uchiha asked almost impatiently.

His eyes shifted a little, "Well… it's like this."

Flashback

The world was spinning and the last he heard was Shisui and Itachi shouting his name, and suddenly the world become so dark. It was so quick when the world stopped spinning but what he saw was endless darkness and then gravity pulled him down, "Huh?" Below was a hard solid ground that looked to be made of concrete.

Damn, it would hurt.

And it did hurt a lot when he landed on his back, he must had broken a couple of bones too. "It's a lie if people say Shinobi always land on their feet." Naruto spat to an endless void above. "I am so fortunate I am an Uzumaki." He had a tougher body than most Shinobi. "Hm…"

"Where are we?" Kurama asked the important question, "What the heck just happened to us?"

Naruto looked to the side as he slowly rose, there were countless randomly arranged and differently sized rectangular prisms in the dark and seemingly endless void. It eerily reminded Naruto of an abstract painting that a noble showed him proudly before, but that painting had colors while this place was monochrome.

He rapped his knuckle on the grayish ground, frowning. "Hm… it's not made of unknown material at least, but…" Where the heck had that bastard transported him to?

'A ruin?' Kurama guessed.

'Erm… maybe but." He made his way to the edge of column he was standing on and looked down at bottomless void below. "I don't think so, arguably Uzushio and Ame are villages with best architectural techniques to build high buildings but… I don't think technology to build anything high enough to the point you can't see the bottom exists. So, this is another dimension…"

'Another dimension? So we got trapped by some sort of space time technique?'

"I think so… this doesn't seem to be some place that belongs in our original dimension, the most glaring thing is… there is no natural chakra at all here, it's like the whole place is dead."

Not to mention there was no light source here and yet he could see just fine, so there must be some different rule of physics applied in this dimension. The place was fascinating and everything but how the heck does he get back to Itachi and Shisui now?

"This is why I want to finish my very own transportation seal as soon as I can!" He yelled in frustration. "Why am I always stuck in a situation where I wish I have Hiraishin?!" He moaned.

"You're still stuck at that one huh… seriously Naruto, I can't believe what you get yourself into." Kurama shook his head exasperatedly. "And it's not even my fault since, my poor living arrangement aside… back when Mito and Kushina were my vessels I don't recall they ever got into this much trouble. So I can confidently say… it's all on you."

"Kurama, shut up! Don't remind me of my pathetic luck and help me think! How to get out of here?!" Naruto snarled, "In case it didn't dawn on you yet, this place is very likely a personal dimension! I barely can survive that bastard in real world, and as sure as hell don't want to in here!" They're literally in that bastard's pocket!

Kurama sighed loudly, "If that's the case… Hiraishin won't help ya, you know?"

"Huh?"

"Didn't Hakurei tell you that the theory behind Hiraishin is like… two dots on a paper and Yondaime's technique basically bends the paper so the two separate dots connected?"

In short Hiraishin could teleport you anywhere as long as it's in the same dimension, and in this case Naruto was not even on the same paper as his desired location. "Ah… that's right, which means to get out of here I need a technique that crosses dimensions and not just space…"

Then, in a sense he needs something superior to Hiraishin? Wait, didn't that mean whatever technique the masked man used was superior to Hiraishin?

"I don't even have any anchor to mark where my friends are now!" He moaned before his hand reached down for his brush set then realized something was missing. "I dropped Hokuto when he attacked me…" Didn't matter really since Hokuto was anchored to his chakra, so the sword, unless sealed, would put a fight if it was stolen.

Maybe he could use Hokuto as some sort of anchor?

Then he paled when he noticed something else was also missing from the unsealed sealing set he had. "My chakra ink…" The impact from just now broke it and there was barely any ink left.

"Of all times you forgot…"

"I still have blood! I can make it work!"

"If you say so… doesn't that make the seal more volatile or something?"

"Other than for hacking an existing seal yes." Because when hacking an active seal and modify it, blood was more effective to override the existing formula because blood was more chakra conductive than chakra ink. "I don't have a lot of time, and where to start…" He trailed off unsurely, his head went through countless of experiment he had done and he decided.

"Oh, no no no no NO! Don't use that one! Didn't that formula when tested tear the dummy to shreds?!" Kurama had bare basic knowledge in sealing so he didn't get complicated seals Naruto experimented on lately but he knew failed ones that would kill the user.

Naruto bit his thumb and started to smear the blood on the surface, "It did succeed to teleport it! And it's not using the same principle as Hiraishin, it can cross dimensions albeit… it will be a rough ride."

"You're going to bet on ME and your natural Uzumaki's healing to get you back alive! That's idiotic! This seal you're drawing can't even transport inanimate objects intact!" Kurama ranted on. "This is idiotic! Suicidal! Baka baka baka!"

As he drew the seal on thankfully flat and large surface, Naruto agreed wholeheartedly with Kurama, he could die on the way back. "Does waiting for that masked bastard to get us out sound better to you, Kurama?"

"No, but…"

"Then don't complain, I know this is not the smartest idea I ever have but we don't have a lot of choices. I believe in you and myself that we will get out of here alive."

"Ugh… when you say it like that, I guess we can try. But I warn you, the one who will be in pain is you."

"I know… and that's why I said YOU can't complain."

"Of course I can! In this pathetic state I deserve to complain! I can only complain!"

"Oh, damn it Kurama! Be quiet, I am drawing our lifeline here!"

End of Flashback

"And that's why I showed up bloody and low on chakra." Naruto finished his misadventure in an unknown dimension, with Kurama as his only company.

Itachi and Shisui gave him an odd look and Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I am really worried that Kurama of all… uhm intelligent creatures," Shisui decided since it was odd to call Kurama a person. "Is the one trying to stop you from trying something stupid."

"Then what does that say for you who have me telling you not to do stupid things?" He shot back.

"Touche." Shisui admitted.

"Whatever… I am just glad we survived him." Or he just lost interest in them, "However, whatever he said about your curse…"

Shisui frowned, "Kurama called us cursed too."

"In Kurama's case , it's a biased opinion… whether or not what he said is true you shouldn't let it get to you." Itachi and Shisui tensed slightly when Naruto grabbed their hands, "Curse be damned, you're my friends… I wouldn't care."

Itachi looked shaken, it seemed only after Naruto was safe what the masked man said was dawning on him. "I don't want power… I don't want anything at the cost of your life."

Shisui was also shaken but Naruto could tell he was faring better than Itachi somehow, both of them had lost their teammates before and it was still weighing heavily to their memory.

"That man…" Itachi said, his voice was even but those sharingan eyes were brimming with tears. "He had killed Tenma-san, I was powerless to stop him and just now… you were taken away and I still…"

Still couldn't do anything about it.

"I know it was a close call and I almost got myself killed but I am here now." Why had that bastard whisked him away like that? And now that the fight was over, the fact they lost and almost got killed was crashing down on both Itachi and Shisui. "I am fine."

He knew he was not convincing enough because he almost got himself killed trying to escape. Not to mention that he was injured, he was not sure whether he would be this lucky next time, if that bastard decided to transport him to that dimension, again.

Itachi bit his lower lip, his sharingan eyes were throbbing. Back then when Tenma was killed he learned what it meant to lose your bond, and he only realized that for all the unfriendliness Tenma showed, his teammate was precious to him.

"Itachi?"

Naruto was his friend, closest friend of his and Shisui's. No, they were brothers in everything but blood. The sadness when he lost Tenma was intense enough to shed his tears, making a crack in his stoic mask. If he had lost Naruto just now… Itachi didn't know how broken he would have become.

It was just so easy to lose him, and Itachi felt powerless. For all achievement and power he had, hailed as the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, he was always struggling to accomplish what mattered the most. Shisui and Naruto were always by his side, helping and guiding him to accomplish what he couldn't do alone. He was fine not being able to do everything alone, yet why he couldn't protect Naruto?

Flick!

"Eh?"

Naruto gave him an exasperated look, "Itachi, you're always like this… you're not the only one frustrated with how things turned out. I am not doing so good myself, getting myself kidnapped like a damsel in distress…" The Uzumaki looked ill at the parable he used for himself.

"You always get away on your own though."

"Eeh, you guys helped me the first time around with Aizen and in case you missed it my attempt at saving myself more often than not is lesser than stellar." He was almost on his last leg by the end of it.

Shisui nodded enthusiastically, "Just look at him now, he looks like a mummy." Indeed Naruto had bandage all over his body, revealing only some part of his face.

"You're the one who got overboard with the bandage!" Naruto pointed out. "My injury is not that bad, you made me look like a half-dead patient!"

"You got cuts all over from that reckless dimension hopping, you lost a lot of blood, and you got burns from Kurama's chakra!" Shisui listed on. "Of course you will looks like a mummy!"

"Don't worry though, perhaps by the time we're back to Konoha tomorrow we can get rid of the one covering your face." Itachi assured him.

Just like that Itachi momentarily forgot all his worry as he and his friends made their way back to Konoha. Naruto complained about getting a piggy back home, and Shisui didn't let him do otherwise because somehow Naruto managed to sprain his ankle from one of his free falls. Kurama still refused to heal Naruto fully, claiming his vessel gave him enough work and heart attack for one day. Which made Naruto loudly complain that Kurama was made of pure chakra, he didn't have a literal heart.

The joke aside, the team had to report their mission back to Hokage and they were not looking forward to explain to Sandaime as to why his surrogate grandson looked like a mummy. Kurama thought that it was a fitting punishment for them, since none of this would have happened if they had just gotten rid of that bastard Mukai as soon as they could.

The problem was… how much they could tell their leader?

Amegakure

"What are you up to lately? Madara…"

Asked the God of Amegakure, standing on the highest building of the ever raining hidden village. His ringed eyes gazed at the masked Uchiha napping leisurely on the edge of the roof, uncaring of his soaked clothes. The man didn't answer, and after a moment of silence the owner of Rinnegan spoke again.

"You've been away without telling us a thing, frankly it makes us doubt whether you being devoted to Akatsuki's cause is true." Not even a facial muscle of Nagato's favored path twitched, but they could hear the frustration dripping down his voice over the roar of rain.

The Uchiha sank into the roof like a ghost before reappearing beside Nagato's path. "I have been visiting your little cousin, Nagato."

"...I have no family left in this world." Konan was the only one left.

Madara chuckled softly, "You can deny it all you want, but… the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi still shares the same blood of the Uzumaki clan as you do."

In the depths of Amegakure, Nagato's real body clenched its teeth. "Perhaps, but does it matter after our clan was torn apart in war?" Where were their relatives from Konoha when his parents got killed? Or when he struggled to live on amidst the war with his friends?

"And… for our cause, you will kill him with your own hands." Madara continued, "The sole heir of the main family of your clan." He chuckled softly. "Senju and Uzumaki call us cursed, but we're all the same in the end because blood that binds us together is just a frail shackle we will break to achieve our goal." The Uchiha chuckled softly as he vanished in a vortex of time and space, out of Nagato's reach as soon as the Uzumaki turned Yahiko's body around.

Nagato narrowed his eyes at the emptiness left behind by the Uchiha, his body and Yahiko's trembled with rage at the last words Madara uttered to him. It would be a lie to say that he didn't care even one bit when he found out that Konoha's jinchuuriki was his clansman. He couldn't be so unfeeling to think that their shared blood meant nothing, that Kyuubi jinchuuriki was just another sacrifice.

Especially after he found out that unlike the two previous jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto didn't live in peace in Konoha. A boy who was not even given a choice, cursed at the day of his birth for the sake of Konoha and scorned for his sacrifice. He was… another Pain in Konoha, a reminder of pain, sadness, and hate to Konoha.

For the last few years the boy was getting better along with the Shiomitsu clan, their vassals taking him in. However from political standpoint, Konoha was extremely reluctant to let the boy take shelter under any faction that could threaten to take claim over him. It won't surprise Nagato at all if Uzumaki Naruto lost the protection he had now to political struggle in Konoha. There were signs of that.

If there's any comfort in the inevitable fate that would befall his cousin once the jinchuuriki fell to their hands, it was how his pain would end in death.

Hokage Office

"Naruto-kun, go to the hospital." Was what the Hokage said after he took one look at the jinchuuriki.

Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Don't worry Hokage-sama… I know it looks bad but my teammates went a little overboard with it."

He cringed when Sandaime shot the two Uchiha a suspicious look, which Naruto couldn't blame him for because save for a number minor superficial wounds, Itachi and Shisui looked nowhere as bad as he did.

Then Itachi and Shisui opened their mouth, "We're so sorry Hokage-sama… we let our guard down and- ugh!"

Naruto elbowed both of them, shooting them a glare. "Shut it." He hissed, before he unwound the bandage on his arm showing Sandaime the multiple shallow cuts that mostly healed, leaving multiple reddish pink lines on his tanned skin. "See, Sandaime-sama? It's not anything life threatening." Thank God, Kurama was merciful to heal the burn at least.

Sandaime narrowed his eyes, if it was any other Shinobi he would ask for a report first and send them the to nearest medic but since it was Naruto… "How did you get those cuts?"

The Uzumaki was so glad he had prepared an excuse, because if he answered hesitantly it would give away his game. "I did this to myself actually, a space and time seal I used hadn't worked as well as I wished."

"Naruto!"

He flinched. 'I wish I could lie… but we have bigger and more important things to hide.'

"Space-time seal is one of most difficult branch of Fuuinjutsu! You're a prodigy, but you shouldn't overestimate yourself! You could have died!"

He nodded, biting his lower lip nervously before his eyes shone with determination as he replied. "I understand Sandaime-sama… I know I have done something extremely foolish. But… I just want to protect my teammates, so I risk it."

Of course, Sandaime sighed wearily. Naruto was reckless and lately he was getting rebellious which was why Sandaime relented making Naruto a honorary member of his ANBU. However, Naruto respected the art of his clan, he would never be careless with Fuuinjutsu if he could help it.

Unless Itachi and Shisui were involved that is…

"I guess it can't be helped." It would be unfair to get angry for Naruto if the Uzumaki was protecting his teammates. "If you don't need medical help." Most likely not, since he was an Uzumaki and the Kyuubi's vessel. "You can start with your report."

"Hai." Itachi as the team leader stepped forward, "As ordered we investigated Jounin Mukai Kohinata's suspected allegiance to Kiri with using A rank mission to investigate Suna-Kiri meeting in Kawa no Kuni…"

Itachi then began to narrate how Mukai Kohinata lead their mission, his unprofessionalism and suspicious behavior that cost them their covert mission.

"On my own discretion… I sent a clone under henge to investigate our target, he was drinking and smoking the night before his mission. He is a regular customer of that establishment and…"

Sandaime had to say he was impressed Naruto went out his way to investigate Mukai first, though it disturbed him a that little young Naruto went to a bar to get his information. Though considering his escapade as a child, which was pranking their village and running his ANBU ragged, Sandaime was not surprised that Naruto was very talented in stealth and espionage mission.

"Mukai Kohinata, unlike what was informed in his file possesses Byakugan in his left eye, which he claims is a genetic throwback since he is distantly related to Hyuuga clan."

That was disturbing information, a Shinobi of Mukai's caliber who had served them for years and turned traitor had uninformed ability, and a bloodline at that.

"He defeated over twenty Suna-nin on his own."

It was a good thing, or pretty disturbing knowing how good these three young Shinobi were at cleaning up the mess. He didn't want to imagine the mess he had to deal with if they were bad at it though, their relation with Suna was tense enough nowadays. His relief didn't last long, not when the three young Shinobi reached the most disturbing part of their mission. In which the three requested him to put his privacy seal on max.

"A masked man?"

Itachi nodded, "He claims to be Uchiha Madara."

His eyes went wide at that, "Impossible, he would be too old by now." Not even Mito-sama lived that long.

The Uchiha heir nodded again, "Hai… he was mostly on defensive when he went up against us, his fighting style was nothing like what we knew from historical records. He is powerful yes… but I am not sure if we could describe him as a shadow of himself. His fighting style revolves around a space-time technique that allows him to teleport and become intangible…" Then Itachi went at length of what they had discovered from their fight.

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, he would have chided them for fighting a man that was obviously beyond their caliber but it was also obvious it was not for their lack of escape. "Hm… from what you describe of his fighting style, indeed… I who had seen the man in his prime doubt he is the same man. It's too early to draw a conclusion."

The three exchanged glance, glad they confirmed that even Sandaime who knew Madara doubted the identity of the masked man they encountered. "Still… we have to be in full alert Hokage-sama, he was just toying with us… I am not sure of the reason. Perhaps it's because we're Uchiha and Uzumaki, I believe we survived the encounter simply because he had no intention of killing us in the first place."

Hiruzen frowned, for the masked man to toy with these three… While officially they were ranked Chuunin, as Hokage, he knew better that Itachi and Shisui were easily above average Jounin and while Naruto was the weakest, his expertise in tactic and Fuuinjutsu could have easily earned him Tokubetsu Jounin rank by now. They possessed three of Muramasa's legendary swords, blades equal to Mist's famed seven swords. They were also a team with the best teamwork he had ever seen in years, perhaps even better than his own team.

They might not be legendary yet like his old team, but they were strong enough to put up a fight against top Shinobi of their village. They were not a team that could be toyed with, defeated perhaps, but how this masked man curb-stomped them was entirely a different matter. For them to admit they survived because their opponent was just playing with them was disconcerting.

Still if this was the same culprit of Kyuubi's escape nine years ago, he had to protect Naruto.

Suddenly Naruto coughed once and then said, "If you allow me, Hokage-sama… since we finished our oral report. May I speak with you privately?"

Sandaime eyed the two Uchiha who were exchanging glances with Naruto, they looked worried about him. "You may… Itachi-kun, Shisui-kun… do you mind to wait outside?"

"Of course not, Sandaime-sama." Itachi murmured before he and Shisui exited his office as ordered.

At last they were alone and as if the jinchuuriki could read his mind, Naruto shook his head. "You can't hide me away to protect me, Hokage-sama." He told Sandaime with a sad smile.

It took him a while to digest what Naruto just implied, it felt like he just had a bucket of ice water poured over his head. "Naruto… you…"

His surrogate grandson continued to smile sadly, "I thought you would be happier if you thought I was still clueless about my status as jinchuuriki."

It was an irony, all this time he had deceived himself that Naruto was still clueless of his status. Naruto was a seal master, there was no way he didn't realize. "Since when?"

"Since I started to learn Fuuinjutsu." Naruto answered vaguely.

Sandaime gritted his teeth, he couldn't believe how foolish he had been. "Do you hate Konoha, Naruto?" He asked the dreaded question.

The jinchuuriki sighed wearily, "In spite of everything… Konoha is my home, and in my whole life I already belonged to this village before I knew it."

So it was out of duty, and as a seal master Naruto knew very well he didn't have much of a choice. That choice had been taken away from him at the night of his birth. "Then do you hate our people? Those who scorn you for your status?"

Naruto paused at that before shaking his head. "I don't… I can't hate them back, sure I don't like how they treat me but it's not like they would change if I complained."

Who said mental abuse couldn't be worse than physical abuse? Naruto couldn't even recall how he got through that still sane, oh yes… overloading his mind with positive thinking to the point of being delusional.

"That's beside the point though..." He swiftly changed the topic at the dark look on the Sandaime's face. "Itachi once asked me the same question." That earned him a surprised look from Sandaime. "I would be lying if I said I am not tempted, since… well… I haven't done anything to deserve their hatred. However… I also realize hating them back will just make me more miserable. I want to be happy so I turn my attention to something else."

Fuuinjutsu.

"So you're saying while you don't hate them, you don't love them either?"

"I will not lie. It's hard to love people who don't even see you as a person." He didn't ask them to like him, his standard was set as low as treating him as a person. "However as a Shinobi of Konoha I will protect them with my life, regardless of my personal feelings."

It pained Sarutobi's heart to hear that but he couldn't blame Naruto for feeling that way, by right Naruto could hate them and it was justified. "So do you still desire them to acknowledge you?"

His smile turned sad at that, "I am not so sure myself either Hokage-sama… since I found out about my status I told myself that I didn't need them acknowledging me. I would be happier if I focused on my career, my life and forget they even exist."

"I see…"

"However…" The Hokage straightened, "Lately I began to wonder if it's the right thing, deep down perhaps I still wish to prove I am not a monster. I still want them to see me as Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha…"

"Naruto-kun, you…" He sighed wearily, "I am so sorry… I wish I could do more for you."

The Uzumaki laughed softly, "Don't apologize for this Hokage-sama… it's not like I am not happy with myself now. I have friends… people who acknowledge me as Uzumaki Naruto."

"You deserve better." He admitted with a heavy heart.

"I admit I am pretty greedy, Hokage-sama… I don't know about deserving better. But I desire a lot of things including world peace." He said in wistful voice.

Sandaime broke to a smile at that, he sounded like Jiraiya. "Oh… you dream big, my boy."

"We do." He was referring to himself and his team. "We're getting off track however, Hokage-sama…"

The Sandaime became still at that. "Konoha can't afford to lose you."

"I understand Hokage-sama… but considering the masked man's ability to cross dimensions, I doubt hiding in a safe house would do me any good. Also, I have always been in danger; yet, we just became aware of him now." Sandaime flinched but he couldn't deny Naruto's statement. "Besides… from what we saw in our previous mission, I think he is not interested in me or the bijuu sealed in me, not now at least."

"Speculation and assumption aren't enough to convince me, Naruto-kun." The Hokage pointed out.

He shrugged, "A sound one in my opinion considering I am alive and made it to Konoha, if he really wants me he could have taken me away before I could defend myself. He certainly had me in his mercy." The Hokage felt his heart almost stop at the certainty in Naruto's voice, that the boy would have been truly dead if this masked man wanted him to die.

"He just did it to taunt Itachi and Shisui."

The Hokage swallowed, "I don't like the sound of that but I admit you have a point, Naruto-kun."

"I know, it's my life at stake here but… I don't see the point in hiding. Especially since I am not sure we know any way to hide a jinchuuriki like me, unless of course you know how Sandaime-sama…" He leaned in curiously.

He hated to admit it, but hiding a jinchuuriki for a long period was impossible. Which was why their intelligence department worked overtime to hide Naruto's status from the world. Not to mention this masked man interrupted an ANBU mission, that was a serious breach in their secrecy.

"We still have to protect you."

He sighed, "If it's any comfort for you Hokage-sama, I have proven myself capable of escaping from him. Granted… I can't get away unscathed but better than nothing." On the other hand, what could Hokage's ANBU do in that situation? Nothing.

Sandaime eyed his mummy like state with worry. He knew it would be cruel to ignore Naruto's feelings considering what the boy had been through but… he vowed to his successor that he would protect Naruto at all costs. Still… Naruto's points were sound, they can't protect him forever and they don't know how to hide Naruto at this point.

"Fine… I will send my ANBU to investigate about this mysterious man." Though he doubted they would get anywhere in finding this not-Madara. At least now he was sure the culprit of Kyuubi's attack was not any Uchiha from Konoha, so he could trust the clan, it was innocent. That was a load of burden gone off of his shoulders.

"As for you Naruto-kun, you will be excused from your duty in regular force." In which those missions left him in the open, "And your visit to Capitol unfortunately will be on halt for a while…"

Naruto shrugged, "I suppose I can talk with Ieyasu-dono to arrange something."

Sandaime sighed, "I am sure you can arrange something that works for you, Naruto-kun." Rubbing his temples tiredly, he added. "Considering my experience with your misadventure…" The Jinchuuriki had the decency to look sheepish at least. "Completely confining you in our village is pointless, so I will still let you to take high ranked mission with Team Ro."

Kakashi didn't know who Sekirei was but Sandaime trusted Kakashi would protect his teacher's legacy.

"Really?!"

"Which wouldn't be any for a long while, especially since your division is planning to redesign the seal of our defense mechanism." Sandaime pointed out.

Naruto sighed at that, "I understand…"

"You may go now… Naruto-kun."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama." He bowed.

"Wait."

One hand on the doorknob, Naruto glanced back at his Kage. "Yes?"

"Why… did you stop calling me your grandfather?" He asked, his expression was pained. "No, will you ever call me grandfather ever again?"

Naruto inhaled softly, "I want you take me seriously as your Shinobi, for you to acknowledge me more than just a weak child you have to protect. As for will I ever call you my grandfather again…" He turned the doorknob and said. "I hope someday I will… Hokage-sama." He murmured softly, his cerulean eyes gazed back to the old kage before hiding beneath the mask of Sekirei.

Click.

Outside of Hokage's Office

Naruto didn't even twitch when Itachi and Shisui appeared by his side in their ANBU gear. "How was it?"

"Better than I hope, I suppose…" He said in a low voice. "I will tell you the details later…"

Itachi nodded, "Can you still go on missions?"

Naruto looked down, "No low rank missions, considering the secrecy… I am allowed to join team Ro whenever I am needed. I am mostly confined in Konoha but it's not so bad considering I'm better off in Konoha to handle our current situation…"

"I see…"

Shisui hummed, "I suppose we-." He stopped, "Ah, Ryouken-taichou!" He waved his hand to the ANBU captain who was walking in their direction, it seemed it was his turn to guard Hokage-sama.

Hatake Kakashi in his ANBU gear inclined his head to them in greeting. "Ah, back from your mission I see. How was it?" He was trying to be natural with Sekirei and his team after their previous meeting.

Their mission was classified but as their captain, he had enough clearance to know the outline. "We accomplished our mission's objective at least, but not as well as we hoped." Shisui reported with a shrug.

He chuckled softly. "Rough mission?"

Shisui nodded, "An understatement, but we covered up properly so Hokage-sama doesn't have to deal with any leftover problem at least…"

The Hatake frowned at that, "I see…" Hatake eyed Sekirei warily, the seal master looked tense and he seemed to struggle holding the tsurugi on his waist. "Sekirei, are you alright?"

"I am fine… my teammates just went overboard with wrapping me up like this." He showed his exposed hand, "See? Nothing to worry about."

Kakashi was sure it was only because Sekirei was an Uzumaki that there was nothing to worry about. "Yes, I see…"

Tenzou chuckled, "You look like Danzou-sama."

"Hush, Toraneko." Kakashi admonished his second-in-command lightly.

Sekirei snorted, "Ha ha ha… very funny Toraneko-fukutaichou."

Kakashi's eyes softened beneath his mask, the way Sekirei responded to Tenzou's teasing reminded him a little of Obito. Though their personality was nothing alike, he felt Sekirei had a similar air with his old friend. Obito would get along with Sekirei if-

"Ugh." Why is his sharingan suddenly…

"Taichou?" Itachi began, eyeing the hand that was covering the left eyehole of his mask. "Is there something wrong with your…" The prodigy trailed off.

Sekirei moved quickly, "Can you take your mask off for a moment? It won't do if you're unwell before your shift, Taichou."

For some reason the tone in Sekirei's voice made him unable to refuse so he lowered his mask to allow Sekirei to view his eyes. "Good?"

"Hm? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong but… are you not sleeping well lately, Taichou?"

Kakashi tensed, he had been having nightmares about Obito and Rin again lately for some reason. "I suppose… I still get enough sleep to function though."

"Hm… you may not notice, but the Sharingan is a doujutsu that is heavily affected by your mentality." Sekirei said in serious tone.

"Eh?"

Itachi and Shisui nodded at that, "I am not surprised you didn't know Taichou… just a suggestion, try to use the Sharingan to record relaxing memory… meditating and so on."

"Ah… I see, I will take care of Obito's sharingan. Thank you for telling me." He gave them an eye smile. Then he noticed Sekirei was staring long and hard at him. "Uhm Sekirei?"

The pseudo ANBU jolted, "Ah, I am just thinking why you can't deactivate your sharingan…"

Kakashi laughed softly at that, "It's not originally mine, so I can't."

"That must be hard." Sekirei nodded sagely, "Especially since Taichou has neither the stamina nor a large chakra reserve."

Kakashi sweat-dropped at his blunt assessment while Tenzou gaped in shock. "Very observant of you Sekirei." Kakashi was sure Sekirei got an eyeful of him panting like his hound after running from Senju's old fort to their rendezvous point on the previous mission, which was how the younger Shinobi found out. "But you sure didn't hold back at all."

Kakashi himself didn't know why but since he received Obito's gift, his stamina and chakra reserves were growing at a snail's pace. Then again even when closed, his Sharingan still consumes a small amount of chakra.

"Hm…" Sekirei was still looking at him oddly. "Ryouken-taichou, where were you yesterday?"

"Eh? I was on patrol duty with the rest of our squad on the North." Kakashi answered promptly, as fellow ANBU this kind of information wasn't classified.

Sekirei glanced at Tenzo. "I was there, is something wrong?"

The Uzumaki seemed flustered beneath his mask before answering, "Ah, no no no! Forget I asked, it's nothing."

That aside, why was Sekirei so interested in his Sharingan tonight? He had two Uchiha in his team, surely Sharingan was nothing novel to the seal master. He had a job to do so the strange questioning quickly escaped Kakashi's mind.

On the other hand, Naruto kept glancing back at Kakashi who was on standby beside Hokage's door. His heart thumping wildly as he recalled the brief moment Kakashi's sharingan morphed to a kaleidoscope pattern. It might be his fear and paranoia talking but…

For a moment a flicker of chakra coming from Hatake Kakashi's eyes….
It felt as foul as that man's tainted one.
How could it be possible that Hatake Kakashi had any connection with the Uchiha from nine years ago?

Credit to my beta for editing this...
Phew... at last the secret of Sharingan and Naruto's knowledge of his jinchuuriki status is revealed. Sadly, Naruto's relationship with Sandaime is already in a very shaky ground. And we have Nagato/Pain's debut in this chapter *clap-clap*