Chapter 871: 48
Chapter 47: No Reset Button
(Amegakure no Sato – Pein's Tower)
The body of Pein's arguably most powerful path, the body that had once been his childhood friend Yahiko, stood on a balcony high up in his own personal tower and looked out over the steady strewn rubble that a good portion of his village still lay in. The cleanup of the village had been slow as Pein had directed village resources towards one thing.
Trying to unearth the corpses that he had kept preserved for… certain purposes. And it had been a waste of time in the end.
By an act of God-. No not God. He was God.
By an act of pure, dumb luck in its purest and most genuine form, Danzo's Root force had decided to attempt to sack the village during Naruto and Jiraiya's battle against Konan and himself, scattering much of his force and destroying much of the village in what seemed to be mostly diversionary and stalling tactics that allowed Naruto and Jiraiya to somehow escape. One of these tactics wound up being demolishing the building that Pein kept to have his extra bodies preserved and stored for potential usage in case of one's outright destruction or loss, like that of his Anima Path that had been captured by Jiraiya before his and Naruto's eventual defeat.
It was pure coincidence as they had no way of knowing what they had done, as it was a well kept secret. The only thing anyone in Ame knew about his use for certain bodies was that they would take them to his tower where they would never be seen again until reanimation, and that would be where they remained until they needed to be used by him. His bodies that had been kept were buried under the rubble of the felled building. He couldn't use just any regular body for his Anima Path. Not only did the bodies need to be specially prepared, they needed to be in general powerful bodies under their own right. The ones that had been found had suffered from the runoff generated by the constant rain in Ame and had become bloated and grotesque. Unusable for what he needed them for.
The battle in Ame had produced no such casualties that Pein could use. There were mostly cannon fodder genin that were cut down in the streets by Naruto trying to keep him in place for Konan and by the Root that had gotten into the village. The few higher level shinobi that had engaged Naruto directly had been lost when Naruto cornered himself inside of an apartment skyscraper only to demolish it from the inside and escape by jumping out. Those bodies were utterly obliterated and unfit for any kind of usage… the ones that were still in one piece anyway.
This was only the first of the headaches that the Akatsuki leader had been facing. His control over his own organization was steadily fading. Most of his forces were dead or out of commission for good; Sasori, Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and now Itachi had wound up being defeated as well. The rest of his comrades he couldn't trust with the exception of perhaps Kisame. It was clear that Zetsu took orders all the way from the top so to speak, from Madara Uchiha who had been under the guise of Tobi to keep a firsthand eye on the organization he had 'masterminded'.
Things had been unraveling around him as far back as several years ago when Orochimaru betrayed the group, trying to take Itachi's body for himself and failing, but as more and more time dragged on the back-schemes grew and grew. Kakuzu had killed several of his own partners in the past out of greed and anger, depleting the potential replacements for the group before the time for the plans to be carried out ever even took place. Itachi had planned for all of this to happen with Sasuke, directly going against their group for his own objectives. Having seen the battle play out he had many things to think about in the future.
The most unsettling thing that was grating on Pein's nerves was Madara. Instead of simply letting things go as they had been, the mysterious Uchiha had been asserting his place as the mastermind to try and force Pein into certain actions. He not too long ago during the strife of battle between the brothers Uchiha and Naruto had come and ordered Pein to attack Naruto and even Konoha if he had to. There were at least two reasons as to why that would be frowned upon.
First of all Jiraiya survived and learned the secret of his technique. There was no doubt in his mind that there were countermeasures set up to prepare for him if it came down to it now. Handicapped or not, Jiraiya was a dangerous man, and there was an entire village to contend with as well.
Attacking Naruto would do no good either at the moment. Despite his defeat earlier, Naruto had already been fatigued from fighting Konan and the entire damned village. His skeletal frame had also been destroyed by whatever that technique was that manipulated his entire physical composition. After seeing Naruto's last battle Pein knew, Naruto would be dangerous to fight at full power, and that was the thing about it. Pein wasn't at full power. With a lack of Animal Path he was missing a significant sliver of his combat prowess, and Naruto would have backup from the looks of things to even his odds if he were to attack now.
He needed a body for his new Animal Path. Only then would he plan an attack against Naruto. Underestimating Naruto and going in half-cocked would get him killed since he had to take Naruto alive and Naruto had no such qualms about taking him out.
And he had a deep seated desire to eradicate any and all aspects of Konoha Root, in particular, the mastermind Danzo Shimura. The man had been moving about in the shade since before Pein's time and was as cunning as he was seemingly mysteriously powerful, with no fear of any shinobi of any caliber despite his outward appearance making him out to be injured and frail. He had caused Pein more harm and had been a thorn in his side for decades. His perpetual use of shadowed military force to move things to his choosing left Pein weary. He had his troops positioned close enough to Ame out of his range of perception to be able to head right in when there was a window of opportunity, taking advantage of the calamity provided by Naruto and Jiraiya.
Pein looked out over the village and narrowed his Rinnegan eyes. He would take no order from Madara that he didn't see as viable. No one would tell God how to enforce his will, and he would handle his own affairs first. No one else's would be prioritized. Madara had no control over him, "I need a new body for the Animal Path… Then I will make Naruto Uzumaki and Danzo Shimura feel the pain of my people for their treachery."
XxX
Konan sat on the very edge of the top of Pein's tower with an origami figure in her hand. A sudden breeze shifted and blew the paper figurine away from her hands as she ignored the rain that had become as natural in Ame as sunlight was in other places.
The suffering of those that had been rendered homeless in the battle that had taken place not too long before this had been propagated by Pein directing all forces to search the ruins of the city. Not for their loved ones lost, not for anything they felt necessary to find and recover, but for any sign of an intact body that had belonged to Pein for future use as one of his paths.
'He's starting to become no more different than Hanzo was…' She thought to herself rather bitterly. What had changed since Hanzo's death? Nothing had changed at all. If anything, the only thing that had occurred was even more death in Ame than before. Pein had killed anyone with any sort of attachment to Hanzo at all. Any relations to the man, even anyone walking down the street that muttered anything positive about the last leader of the village and was overheard found themselves quite dead.
On the same outlook, Ame was still isolationist and didn't seem to be making any signs of changing that anytime soon. With the battles that had been fought during the coup the nation's overall military might was weaker than ever, the failed attempt to corner and capture Naruto Uzumaki when he infiltrated the village led to a wide-scale pitched battle that left a segment of the village in ruins with even more collateral damage throughout, and in the aftermath even now efforts of relief were just now being initiated as Pein had instead used the citizens of the village who believed in him… or his might… to attempt to exhume the bodies of his potential future paths.
This was clearly no longer about Ame the way things were supposed to be, the way Yahiko would have wanted it to be. It wasn't about making the world better at this point. It simply seemed like Pein wanted everyone to suffer like Ame had. That was all that his major plan would have entailed. Yahiko would never have wanted that. All these years and with all of Pein's power nothing had changed at all.
Madara Uchiha was trying to strong-arm his way back into Akatsuki as if he had been running things all along. He left them alone for years to do their own thing, to set up their own operations and fund things on their own dollar after setting the base groundwork. They had amassed all of the recruits with the exception of Itachi and the principles that the group operated under were supposed to be their own brainchild.
Something was wrong with all of this and she could feel it. Things were being shifted and positioned about around them and they were being directed by Madara Uchiha. She and Pein were the equivalent of chess pieces in a major game, and she was certain that they weren't intended to be anything much more significant than pawns or at the best, knights.
Akatsuki was on the verge of splitting altogether. The plans and original intentions that had started the group so many years ago seemed to have run into a brick wall fortified by iron due to the will of a man that should have died decades ago.
And their country was still crying… literally and figuratively… because Pein literally would not allow it to stop.
XxX
(A Hidden Location)
Inside of a dark cave, a pair of eyes opened and saw nothing but dark. The man sat up and felt that there were bandages on his copious amount of wounds, including bandages over his eyes.
"Danzo's pet fox sure did a number on you and your brother." The voice said again, "You did know that's how he was so strong during your first encounter didn't you? Danzo trained him personally." The man that had just awakened barely registered what he was hearing. Danzo? No, Danzo swore… he made Danzo swear to leave Sasuke alone. What was this? "You didn't believe that steps wouldn't be taken to ensure that he never had to keep your promise?"
'No. Naruto knew nothing of the situation. If he had, he would have left. He wouldn't have fought, would he have?'
"I gave you first aid." Turning towards the sound of the voice the man saw nothing but heard footsteps moving through the dark towards him, "It looks like you achieved your goal after all… right?" The voice sounded completely amused.
The bandages over his eyes, 'No… It couldn't be… Madara you had better not mean-.' The person thought with increasing trepidation in his heart.
"I mean… just in the nick of time too. You were as blind as a bat." Madara stood and crouched directly in front of the person and reached for the bandages around their eyes to touch at them "I took the liberty of implanting them already Itachi. You're welcome. You should keep them on for a while though, to let them heal and settle."
Itachi reached up and touched his bandages, voice quivering with shock and horror, "No… no. What? Why? What do you-? What do you mean?" He asked in disbelief.
Madara stood up and walked away from Itachi, "What? You mean how did Sasuke die and you didn't? You thought you protected him from Naruto's final attack didn't you?" He let off a short laugh that lacked any humor, "The first time Naruto used that new jutsu of his on Orochimaru's Yamata no Jutsu form did you think that the hydra was the only thing that took damage? Sasuke took every single hit, Orochimaru just regenerated his wounds for him so that he could finish using his jutsu before taking his body for himself in the end. That attack hit everything that it touched. Sasuke was already beaten before you ever sealed Orochimaru's spirit, before you ever jumped in front of him to shield him from Naruto. He drove the nail in his own coffin when he activated his Sharingan for the last time. And you're not dead because Naruto took the brunt of Sasuke's attacks and Orochimaru's hydra."
"How?" Itachi roared. It hurt to move and he couldn't even stand. He fumbled around trying to stand up, to grab anything to help him, but to no avail, "How did he die? How could he have died? He was alive, I saw it! I saw him!"
Madara shook his head, "You couldn't see your own hand in front of your face. Sasuke was going to die no matter what after taking that attack. Whatever Naruto did it affected him on a cellular level. He severed so many nerve channels that the only thing keeping Sasuke moving until the end was his own body's futile attempt at using adrenaline to run temporary damage control. His chakra circulatory system was torn asunder as well. The second he activated his Sharingan out of anger he basically set off a timebomb near his heart where the chakra centralized from."
Itachi began silently crying. His bandages stained with tears as he let his body collapse on the ground. He didn't try to get back up, he just lay there, crying over his loss.
Madara just stayed there, staring at Itachi for a moment before turning to let him alone, "You very well may possibly go on to be even stronger than me now Itachi. Whether you wanted it or not, it is what it is. When you take those bandages off you will never see the world the same way again. I expect you to carry out your duties per usual after you heal. I will send Kisame to you." He said as he seemed to fade into nothing, "And don't you ever try to plot against me again Itachi… you've obviously seen where that got you in the end."
Itachi let out a haunting wail of futility, "Damn you Naruto, it wasn't supposed to be him! You killed him! You ruined everything!" He broke down into weeping even more, slamming his fist onto the stone floor desperately, "It was supposed to be me…"
XxX
(Mizu no Kuni – Hospital)
Naruto sat alone in his hospital bed with a hospital gown on, bandages on his body and around his head covering his right eye, and his right arm in a brace. He had been brought there after being picked up by his team and had been treated for his wounds quickly. After sleeping for an entire day he finally awoke to find himself in Kiri with Maki and Sai in his room at his side.
He poked at the brace and flexed his fist. This would heal soon. Yep, and Temari never had to find out that he had used Rasenshuriken, and he wouldn't get a beatdown from her fan for doing it. Rasenriseki was a safer bet long term to use, but if he missed then he wasted the use of an arm for the duration of the battle. He could use Rasenshuriken twice due to being more in-tuned with that element before he took any damage, but Itachi… Itachi simply would not let him get through. He couldn't cut all the way through Susanoo, he was inches away and he just couldn't do it.
Naruto played back the battle in his head and groaned to himself softly. What was wrong with him? In the back of his mind, he believed he could have had the happy ending. He believed that he could have gotten Sasuke to help him fight Itachi and then surrender. He didn't know that Sasuke wouldn't allow anyone else to kill Itachi but him, and wouldn't accept anyone trying to do so.
He held back on Sasuke early, but the more Naruto tried to bypass him and attack the brother that seemed to be the stronger of the two, Sasuke became more enraged. He attacked with more and more malice and Naruto responded with force in kind. After Sasuke had called down Kirin, Naruto had had enough, and when he actually called on Orochimaru's power to possess his body it was time for Sasuke to go. If nothing else, Sasuke had to die that day.
But he had waited too long, had focused on Itachi. He gave Sasuke too many chances to escape, to try again, to find another way because in his head he remembered Team 7. He remembered Sakura, and despite her faults he didn't want to kill the only thing that had driven her to grow. For the bulk of the fight he had given Sasuke a pass when he focused on Itachi instead, much like Orochimaru had been given by Jiraiya years ago, and just like Jiraiya he paid for it. After he sealed away Amaterasu it was too late for focusing on Sasuke alone.
He missed his shot at killing Sasuke when he realized that bringing Sasuke back alive still left him as a dangerous loose end. The man almost brought Orochimaru back and gave him the Sharingan he desired so intensely, and by the time Naruto was committed to the kill it was too late. Damn 'Will of Fire'… Sometimes it was a bad thing to hold back and to try and understand your enemy's point of view. Naruto recognized that some people needed to be finished off while he had the chance. For the sake of the ninja world some people had to die, whether Naruto knew them personally or not. Sasuke had lost his opportunity for redemption that day.
Neither brother died that day. He hadn't been able to finish off Sasuke or Itachi because he had skirted around picking off the weakest link while he could. He fucked up… or he would have if Sai and Maki hadn't gotten Kubikiribouchou away from Sasuke's ally.
His decision was flawed, he let his social morals interfere with his morals in battle when he walked into that room without letting Itachi and Sasuke tear each other apart until he was revealed. And in the end he was unable to finish either man. He only wondered what had become of them after his team had evacuated him from the area. Neither of them looked like they would be going anywhere. But this would come back on him somehow, he knew it would. Next time there wouldn't be a chance for any enemy of his to wiggle out and survive. If you were an enemy of Konoha or the alliance Naruto was setting up, you were an enemy of his, and he would destroy you.
His time in the light taught him how to protect, but now it was time for him to remember how to kill again. Madara Uchiha would not give him any chances, he would rip the Kyuubi from his body gleefully, just like he would do to Gaara, Yugito, and Kirabi. Not if he had anything to say about it.
The door opened to his room and the sounds of a cane tapping against the ground alerted him to the familiar bandaged appearance of Danzo walking in. The man raised his only visible eyebrow as he looked at the bandages around Naruto's head, "So you seem to be modeling yourself after me now."
"Not by choice Danzo-jiji." Naruto said with a shrug, "Why am I not surprised you're here?"
"I am an important figure in Konoha Naruto-kun." The old man said, "I'm as much a representative as Koharu and Homura. I am allowed to go on diplomatic excursions as well and Tsunade allowed me to be the one to come here to confirm the message you sent." He reached into his robe and pulled something out. A small box that he threw over to Naruto, "By the way, your lover, the one that trained you in sealing, she gave this to Tsunade to give to me to give to you."
'Hamako-chan?' Naruto wondered as he looked at the box. He touched the tip of his communication tattoo to contact his white-haired teacher/lover, "Hamako-chan, you sent something to me?"
"Yes." The response came quickly, "After you told me of your injury and intention to fight the Uchiha I worked on something for you. I didn't know when you would be able to receive it so I worked quickly. I hope you like it."
Naruto looked at the box and tried to open it, only to realize she had placed a seal on it to keep someone else from getting it. Danzo had no way to see what it was before delivering it, so Naruto saw that he was still standing there, looking at him blankly, waiting for him to open it.
Naruto frowned before deciding to open the box. He bit his thumb and dragged it across the box to force it to click open where he saw a neat row of several small concave, clear little circles. He questioningly activated his tattoo again, "Contact lenses?"
"Special contact lenses Naruto-sama. Put one on and find out what I mean."
Naruto shrugged and pulled away his bandages from his eye, keeping it shut until right when he had the lens prepared to place into his eye. He heard Danzo gasp, but ignored it as he pushed the lens against his eye and blinked. Upon blinking he found his Sharingan turned off, 'What the hell?' "What the hell did they do Hamako-chan?"
"Consider it your eyepatch like Kakashi-san uses to keep his covered. I outfitted several of them with a design of your eye pattern and color, to cover the eye when you don't need it. I also put in seals that would make the design transparent when you channeled chakra to your eye, so that you could get to it without having to take the lens out. "
Naruto got up and walked into his bathroom where he looked into the mirror and saw two blue eyes staring back at him, "Holy shit. Hamako-chan I swear I love you." And he proceeded to send that message out to her.
"Anything for Naruto-sama. I'll see you soon?"
"I don't know. I'll tell you when I'm certain." He sent back as he walked into the room with Danzo who was staring at him. Naruto was not in the mood to beat around the bush at the moment, "Yes that is what you thought it was. No I don't want to hear anything from you about why I have it. It was either use it or go in fighting with only one eye. And I don't need you to tell me a damn thing about the decision I made, or should we talk about yours?" He said, keeping any of the questions he thought Danzo would ask out of the conversation.
Danzo walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, "Why did Sai nor Maki inform me of your new addition, so to speak, when I spoke with them before?"
Naruto shrugged, "Because they knew better than to go around telling my business before it needed to be known I guess. No one knows how badly I was hurt during the mission except for them, Hamako, and now you. And I only told you so you could tell me Danzo-jiji…" He said before shutting his eyes to find what he wanted to say, "You worked with Orochimaru years ago. Gave him something in exchange for having your own Sharingan implanted, or so I've heard. Apparently mine is a leftover. You probably sent me into the base to either find it or destroy it all those years ago as a double cross."
"It couldn't be allowed to be studied and analyzed any further than I had allowed. Who knows what might have been done to it to strengthen it past what it already was." Danzo simply crossed his hands over his cane, "And how did you come across this information, or that eye? It is… very familiar in its feel of chakra to say the least."
Naruto immediately answered, "Kabuto Yakushi told me and gave it to me in exchange for attempting to take Sasuke down for him. Now I don't even need to know how you got the eye in the first place because I already know where it came from, there's only one place and time possible. But something's eating at me about all of this. If you were able to get to the eye in the first place and get away with it you needed to be aware of the massacre in the first place, and Itachi, after we got out of his genjutsu, didn't fight like a man that wanted to kill the rest of his clan."
Danzo narrowed his single eye at what Naruto was beginning to imply, "What are you saying boy?"
"You already know what I'm going to say." Naruto replied without trepidation for who he was talking to, "Itachi went out of his way, out of his way, to make sure I didn't kill Sasuke. He went out of his way to protect Sasuke from my last attack. When he thought I had killed Sasuke earlier in the battle he completely lost it and attacked me recklessly. Why?" He asked as Danzo seemed to just stare at him, 'What am I doing? I don't need to know this? I'd better drop the whole-.' Naruto stopped his train of thought, 'Wait a minute, why the fuck would I think that?' He immediately channeled chakra to his eye and saw the chakra focusing on him from Danzo's eye, "Don't fuck with me Danzo-jiji!" He yelled with his Sharingan active once more, "I swear if you don't stop using whatever it is you just tried I'm going to rip that goddamn thing out and turn it into a pendant!"
Danzo didn't seem to be shaken by this, "What are you talking about?"
Naruto wanted to stomp over and rip the Sharingan out of his head just out of principle, "Whatever it was you just tried to do with your special little implant. I just saw you use it! Don't dodge the fucking question. I just got through fighting the two bastard, I've got a lot of things to mull around in my head while I'm sitting here. So why don't you tell me a story before do all of that, and maybe I'll tell you one as well." Naruto said rather snappishly.
Danzo let out a great sigh before pointing to his throat and shaking his head. Naruto understood that meant not to talk, but communication still needed to occur somehow. At that moment, Danzo lifted up the bandages over his eye and looked right into Naruto's for just a moment. Naruto didn't even bother trying to block it as he realized that's how they were going to be able to talk.
The two just stared at each other, with one Sharingan active for each, for about thirty seconds in real time. Over the course of thirty seconds, Naruto's faced twisted further and further in distaste and shock before the genjutsu he was under to speak had ended and he quietly hissed an exclamation, "What the fuck? You fucking told him to do what? Kill them all?" Danzo nodded and Naruto's jaw dropped. Danzo, Homura, Koharu, and Hiruzen Sarutobi had convinced Itachi to kill every member of the Uchiha Clan except Sasuke, "H-H-He's a hero…" Naruto said falling back onto his bed in shock, "All of these years he lived with that… he's a goddamn hero. A better man than me." He looked down at his hands, "He wanted Sasuke to kill him. To end it all right there."
Naruto wasn't sure he could ever pull the same thing off if he had been forced to. He had no family, thus everyone that he wound up getting particularly close to he loved them all. They were his family. To kill any of them; Hamako, Temari, Gaara, Kankurou, Yugito, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Tayuya, all of his friends he had been genin with, hell even Maki and Sai. He would have trouble pulling the trigger with even one, he just a few days ago remembered hesitating to put Sasuke down early in their battle because he had been on Naruto's squad for most of a year and had bled alongside him as a comrade. Itachi did all of that and more to stop warfare. He killed his actual family.
"Kill hundreds… save thousands." Naruto said to himself as if he were trying to put himself in Itachi's shoes before finally shaking his head, "No, Danzo-jiji, you've got the wrong man to be Hokage…" He said, "I understand… I understand everything you've ever told me. Why you've done it… hell even keeping the Sharingan from me I can see why you did that. I can't… I would never be able to…" He composed himself, "I don't think I would have ever been able to order that to be done."
"Then what would you have done?" Danzo asked in return. He legitimately wanted to know.
"I don't know!" Naruto replied. He was being put on the spot here, how was he going to answer that in three seconds, "But I would have come up with something! How long had you known it was going to happen? What did you do to keep them quelled? Damn it, you could have done something else!" He said as he punched a wall nearby, cracking it, "An entire clan… and you guys killed them just like that. There was no bringing this issue to them? You couldn't spare a word."
"It was to protect Konoha Naruto-kun." Danzo said, not put off by Naruto's show of emotion, "We believed that the Uchiha Clan were responsible for the Kyuubi's attack and the coup they were planning couldn't be ignored.
"I know that!" He said, "I told you I understood why you did it, but there was a better way to handle it!" Naruto calmed himself down. Danzo didn't know. Nobody but him knew. No one else had the pieces of the puzzle that fit together like he had, but if it came to that he wouldn't have ordered Itachi to kill his own family. That was simply sick, "For fuck's sake you couldn't have sent anyone else? It had to be him that did it? You and fucking Homura and that old bat Koharu couldn't get anyone else to do it?" Naruto thumped his chest with his fist, "We would have done it! I would have done it for him! That's what Root was for wasn't it? Protecting Konoha from the shadows?"
Danzo frowned at Naruto's overestimation of Root, "How difficult was it for you, after all of these years of training and with a Sharingan of your own, to fight and walk away from your battle with just two Uchiha? Itachi was the very best. Do you really think that anything short of all of our force would have managed to even cripple theirs?"
Naruto growled, "Itachi was the best just like you said, and I doubt that many of them were as good as Sasuke was. Win or lose though, we would have fought them to the last man. We would have fucked them up in advance and they never would have known it was us. Unless you actually give certain members like Maki or Sai backgrounds or aliases in public, or somebody was already well-known like me, nobody would know that they existed. Then if they were still stupid enough to try and fight the main force of Konoha's shinobi could end things quickly from there." He sighed, shaking his head and looking down, "If we had been there, even as backup being led by Itachi…"
Danzo cut him off, "We would have lost nearly everything. All of my best that would have stood a chance would have been destroyed and Root would have been crippled. Everything would have ended there."
"Self-sacrifice is a ninja's duty. You forgot that, or ignored that, when you made Itachi kill them all." Naruto said earnestly before he looked up at Danzo, "This is why we couldn't operate as effectively as we needed to. If you could have just come to an understanding with the Sandaime all those years ago we could have been more useful than we were. All we did was run black-ops. We could have been running black-ops that better supported Konoha's daytime dealings, and we could have gotten recruits easier, you wouldn't have to worry about losing just a dozen of us like you do now. There are always tons of orphans like me and Maki out there that would have joined just for the purpose it gave, or people like Fuu and Torune that would have come to you to just disappear from the pressure of their clans. All being regulated by the Hokage in secret would have meant was that you could have better done the things we did."
"Then change that when you become Hokage." Danzo said with finality, "If you believe that you could have handled the situation better then prove it. Take the seat one day and you will have Sai as your Root commander. Then you may do as you like, the way you believe things should be run."
"Fine." Naruto said, "I will, that's a promise."
"Good." Danzo said with a victorious smirk, "But didn't you just a moment ago say that you were the wrong man to be Hokage I trained you to be?" Danzo stood up and began to walk away, wrapping his bandages back around his Sharingan eye, "When you desire to learn how to use your new tool have your seal-master servant contact me. I feel you won't be going back to Konoha after this anyway." Danzo reached the door and opened it to reveal two figures in black cloaks and masks that bowed to him and followed him away from the room. Sai and Maki walked back in to find Naruto sitting in his bed with a puzzled look on his face.
"Wait a minute, what the hell just happened?" Naruto asked no one in particular before scowling, "Damn Danzo-jiji… making me contradict myself." He said before his eyes widened, "Wait, tell Danzo-jiji something that I never got to tell him." His face hardened, "Tell him that Madara is running the show, that he helped Itachi during the massacre and runs Akatsuki, and that I don't know any more than that."
"Madara who Naruto-senpai?" Sai asked as Maki went to remove Naruto's arm brace so that he could leave the hospital.
Naruto looked at his pale teenage partner and turned his Sharingan eye off, "Madara Uchiha."
XxX
(Konohagakure no Sato – Hokage Tower)
Tsunade sat at her desk as the team led by Kakashi dispatched to assist Naruto returned. It had been a successful mission, all things considered, only Naruto had expressly directed through his teammates that Danzo had told her of that he wasn't coming home yet. This left her kind of perturbed and it only got worse when she heard of Sakura's 'contribution' to the mission.
She looked at her apprentice in a stern and disappointed manner, "You allowed a hostile missing-ninja to injure your comrade while you held back and tried to reason with him?" Sakura looked away from her teacher, "What if Naruto's Kage Bunshin hadn't shown up? She would have died out there."
Sakura couldn't manage to bring her eyes up from the floor, "I'm sorry Tsunade-shishou… I'm sorry Tayuya. I thought I could do it, but when I got out there I just froze. It was really him, but those powers he used were so dark." For a while on the way back home she almost tried to tell herself that it wasn't Sasuke, but then she remembered the promises she made to stop making excuses and get stronger. Even after all this time she was dead weight on this mission.
Tsunade shook her head, "Sakura what's wrong with you? You fell to pieces over this mission, you were doing so well before this. I can't send you back out as you are. You'd be a liability in the future if your fortitude in situations like that would be weak enough for you to freeze up like that. Next time you won't be so lucky. Now all of you are dismissed except Kakashi, I still need to speak with him."
The others all nodded and filed out of the room until Kakashi was there alone with Tsunade and Shizune, "So…" Kakashi started, "You don't seem to be that surprised about Naruto's team. IS there anything you can tell me about them?"
Shizune placed a pair of files onto the desk, and opened one to reveal it to be Sai, "The boy's name as you know is Sai, no surname. He graduated the Academy at the age of nine under Danzo's sponsorship and became a chunin at 10, since then he has mostly worked with Danzo and having his missions that we provide for him filtered through the man first. He was regularly placed on Naruto's teams regularly at Danzo's request months ago. Since then the two have shown incredible teamwork and a good rapport with one another so we left them together."
Tsunade began to speak when Shizune stopped, "When Naruto actually goes out of his way to request his own team he always seems to select Sai to be on them. He seems to have a great amount of trust in him and faith in his abilities."
Shizune then opened up the second file to reveal it to be Maki, "The girl's name as you also know is Maki, no surname either. She's had a rather normal and steady climb through the rankings and is currently a chunin at the age of 15, one year younger than Naruto, two years younger than Sai. She was sponsored by Danzo until she graduated the Academy at the age of 11, the same year Naruto did, but the two have never interacted to our knowledge until now. Never been placed on the same team, never run across the other in passing, nothing." She explained, sounding rather confused as to why Maki was on the team, "Two years ago at the chunin exams held here she advanced in rank and left her team behind. From there she basically all but disappeared from our mission rosters until now."
Tsunade already knew of this as after being given the identities of the two she began looking into them as much as she could, "They're both orphans, no known parentage or relatives. All signs point to them being trained from young ages by Danzo like Naruto was."
"Can we trust them?" Kakashi asked. That was what he really wanted to know.
Tsunade shrugged, "From what you told me they seem to look to Naruto as their unquestioned leader. No alternative missions from Danzo, they just seem to follow the orders of Naruto, so I think a better question is; do you trust Naruto?" Kakashi nodded without hesitation, "Then you can trust them. Sai didn't disable you or leave you behind before they left to finish their own mission, they made sure you had gotten away as well. They see you as allies because you are Naruto's friends, and you are his genin sensei."
Kakashi eye-smiled at her, "I also helped him perfect his training with his secondary lightning element." Kakashi let out a sigh of what seemed to be longing, "That finished lightning Rasengan is amazing. I wish I was able to perform it, but again, Naruto does the impossible. Those Kage Bunshin are killers."
Tsunade rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I believe we should wait on word from Naruto about certain matters before we plan another move. Things are going too well for us right now. I have Danzo in Kiri to see if he can finalize the treaty with the Mizukage that Naruto's completed mission brought. I might as well get some sort of use out of him, right? Then we'll find out where Naruto is heading next and go from there."
"No need Tsunade-hime." Jiraiya said, appearing at the window, "He already contacted us and told us where he's headed after he leaves Kiri."
"Us?" The female Hokage counted, getting a grin out of Jiraiya who raised his single remaining arm and slowly ticked his fingers down to zero on his hand when a knock came at the office door.
It opened to reveal Hamako with a rather displeased look on her face directed at Jiraiya, "I can't jump that high Jiraiya-sama, you could have at least escorted me to the Hokage's office. How rude." She said, walking in and shutting the door behind her, "And after I let you stay at Naruto-sama's home per your request."
Jiraiya just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before Tsunade spoke up, "You were saying that you know where Naruto plans to head to next?"
Jiraiya nodded and Hamako bowed to Tsunade before she began to explain, "Naruto-sama is recovered enough from his last series of battles to head towards Kumogakure as his original trail dictated he would. I apologize for not telling you his set series of destinations sooner, but he requested that I didn't. My loyalty to my master comes first Hokage-sama."
Jiraiya sat on the windowsill with a notepad in his lap as he wrote away furiously, "…My loyalty to my master comes first…" He had a perverse smile on his face, "Man this girl is gold for submissive dialogue. My next book is going to have talking scenes that make people want to-."
"Jiraiya!" Tsunade snapped, getting him to recoil like a scolded puppy and slowly put his notepad away. The good thing about losing his arm was that Tsunade hit him way less these days for being stupid. At least she gave him warnings now. She hadn't given him warnings before hitting him in over fifteen years. With Jiraiya properly scared into temporary obedience she turned back to Hamako, "It's alright. You aren't a shinobi therefore loyalty to Naruto first and foremost is alright. Now please continue."
Hamako smiled at the busty Hokage and did just that, "As I was saying he will be heading to Kumogakure to get advice on training with his biju from one final source that may know how to best gain control; Kirabi, the younger brother of the Raikage and the Hachibi jinchuuriki."
Jiraiya pointed his thumb at himself, "Then that's where I'll be going to meet him next. It's about time for me to begin what I had planned for him. I'll leave as soon as I can get things ready Tsunade-hime."
"And I will be coming with you." Hamako interjected brightly, getting a stunned look out of Jiraiya, "What? Naruto-sama is going to be doing a lot of work with his biju very soon and he may need me there in case of any irregularities going on with his seal. I would feel better if I were there while he was carrying out his work. He also said something about the Kyuubi refraining from interacting with him and keeping him out of his mindscape. There may already be a problem." She then turned and began to leave the room, "Besides, it's not like you can order me to stay here or anything. Can you?"
"But-." Jiraiya tried to say, but was cut off when Hamako reached the door.
"It's either let me go with you to Kumo Jiraiya-sama, or leave without me and I'll still go by myself." She said at the door with a sweet tone of voice, "If you do that though then master will be angry, and he might kill you if I'm injured on the way. And even if he's angry at me for doing such a thing in the first place he will forgive me, because master loves me." She finished, shutting the door behind herself.
Jiraiya groaned and palmed his face, "And the thing about it is, she's completely fucking right. Kami, that kid is so whipped and he has no idea." He sadly started to slink back towards the window and climb out, heaving a sigh, "I guess there will be no pleasurable detours on this trip to Kumo… if I did then Hamako might invent a seal to sterilize me or something." He shook his head before jumping away, leaving an amused Shizune and Tsunade in the office.
XxX
(Mizu no Kuni – Near Kirigakure no Sato)
Maki was glaring at Naruto who wouldn't meet her eyes with his own, "Naruto-senpai whatever you did to your arm you did to yourself."
"Maybe…" Naruto said tentatively. He didn't want to hear this, he thought he had dodged this since Temari was going to find out, but now he was going to hear it from his cute little support member of his squad, "Why?"
While Maki was normally very docile it was quite clear by now that when it came to Naruto's overall health in the long term she didn't fuck around. The only reason she didn't wrap his head in enough bandages to stop a kunai when he got his Sharingan was because he needed that eye… and because after everything else she was far too tired to waste the energy, "Because you did cellular damage to your arm, that's why. Don't do that again. If you're going to use one of those attacks of yours use Rasenriseki, it's way safer."
He let off a sigh, "Yes Maki-chan…" He said in a dull tone of voice before mumbling to himself, "…I'm still going to find some way to use it though."
"What was that?" Maki hissed dangerously at him, her grey eyes piercing into his blue ones. Yes, she did take her role as the de facto medic-ninja of the squad very seriously, and getting blown off like that would make even the kindest doctor upset. Maki was nice, but she also killed people for a living. Having Naruto be hard-headed about the advice that several other medics besides her gave him and the ignoring her himself was not very smart, "No Rasen-whatever-you-call-it."
"Rasenshuriken." Sai interjected helpfully with his smile on his face.
"Right." Maki said before turning back to Naruto and pointing at him intently, "No Rasenshuriken. Repeat after me Naruto-senpai; no Rasenshuriken…"
Too many of the cute girls around him could do terrible things to him, and Naruto expected Maki to be no different from any of them in that respect, "No Rasenshuriken." He said, conceding this point to her.
"…Only Rasenriseki." Maki continued, expecting him to repeat after her, "And only use that if you're sure it will hit."
Naruto rolled his eyes, but acquiesced to her request/demand… it would make things easier going forward, "Only Rasenriseki… and I'll only use it if I'm sure it will hit." He noticed Sai still smiling and wheeled around to him, "And get that fucking smile off of your face Sai, that's the equivalent of anyone else laughing their ass off at me and I don't want to hear it from you!"
Maki, satisfied with Naruto actually heeding medical advice, calmed down to normal by the time Naruto began laying in on Sai, "Sai-senpai didn't make a sound Naruto-senpai."
Naruto turned and glared at her only to realize that she was glaring right back. She'd been dealing with his pissed off attitude since she was a little girl, he wasn't going to be able to punk her like that, "What happened to the respect? What, we're not having people after our necks and you both smart off to me again?" He said, rather put off by this idea.
"We call you –senpai." They both said simultaneously to dispute his point, getting Naruto to facepalm.
"You call me –senpai more out of irony now when we're not in a fight…" Naruto said with a deadpan face before a small smile peeked through, "I knew I'd get you guys to loosen up sooner or later. Maki you were way faster to do so though. Sai took two years... Actually now that I think about it, it technically took you three years if we're counting overall time." He chuckled before sobering and looking at them all, "I never got to say this before, but seriously you guys, good job. I couldn't imagine pulling off something like that with another team."
Maki looked down with a small blush on her face, "It was no big issue… you gave us a mission and we accomplished it." Sai nodded in agreement.
"No." Naruto said, with a serious look on his face, "Not only did you do everything exactly the way we needed it to happen, you both went above and beyond what I'd asked you to do. You got the sword and got away cleanly, you even made sure we didn't leave our comrades in the crossfire when you broke out. And you made sure they didn't find me and take me back to Konoha, which is what they would have made us do once they followed you to me." He shook his head fondly remembering how they explained how they had gotten away, "It was flawless you guys, really. I wish I'd actually pulled something like that off for my part of the mission.
Sai turned to Naruto and looked at him questioningly, "What do you mean? You kept both of them busy. It was a battle against two powerful opponents at once Naruto-senpai.
Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I was too soft and I didn't let them just kill each other before trying to finish the winner. I thought if we had both just killed Itachi that Sasuke would have come back to Konoha without much issue, his job would have been done. I didn't think he would react so violently like that though. And I doubt that the Sharingan helped." He bit back a grunt of anger at himself, "By the time I realized that I was a third wheel and they both just wanted me dead and out of the way, I had gotten Amaterasu shot at me, then I started fighting Sasuke to kill. But with what I know now… and after all of that I didn't get either one of them."
"They looked dead to me Naruto-senpai." Sai said, "I flew over after you passed out. Neither of them looked like they were getting back up, and then that man in the mask came and took their bodies away." He narrowed his eyes remembering that the masked man had taken them away before he could destroy their bodies. That was a kekkei genkai that was still out there and dangerous if someone managed to implant them the way Naruto had done out of necessity.
"Madara Uchiha." Naruto said, speaking of the man in the orange mask, "You can say his name Sai. Just because you won't say him name out loud because you don't believe he's alive doesn't make any difference at all. He's out there, he's running the show in Akatsuki, he wants my head, and now I've got to find some way to beat him too since you say he can teleport. I can't do that crap. I don't even know how I'd begin to learn that."
Sai frowned visibly as he recalled his first run-in with the masked man, or 'Madara'. He still was in shock that he had been trying to fight what for all intents and purposes should have been a ghost. In hindsight it made sense that he was though, he couldn't lay a finger on the guy, his tanto passed right through him and even an assault from suicide ink birds didn't do a thing, "I still can't believe that I was fighting Madara Uchiha… He fought nothing like what I assumed the man would have done in his time. But then again, how much information is on Madara in Konoha? Even in the village any info on him would probably be only known to the Uchiha Clan."
Naruto and Maki nodded in agreement as they walked along until Naruto stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide in realization. Maki stopped and looked at him strangely, "Naruto-senpai what's wrong, are you okay?"
Naruto didn't even address the question, instead looking to Sai, "Sai could you repeat that last part again?"
Sai blinked but did as ordered, "Even in Konoha, any information on Madara Uchiha would only be known to the Uchiha Clan. I don't see why that's important Naruto-senpai."
Naruto walked over to Sai and grabbed him by the shoulders, "You wouldn't would you?" He said before turning his Sharingan on and grinning madly, "Why do you think no one knows that much? Because they can't find anything or they can't decipher any of it. The Uchiha Clan was good and would know how to hide their secrets only for them alone... them and their Sharingan. And I know where it is. Itachi more or less showed me when we fought, though I think that was more for Sasuke to see."
Before anyone could ask what he was doing, Naruto created a single Kage Bunshin that had its Sharingan on. Naruto wordlessly threw a punch at the clone who caught it before grinning, "Saw it coming all the way boss."
Naruto's grin grew more than before, "Can you turn it off to save chakra?" The clone did just that and Naruto pumped his fist victoriously before talking to the others, "We need to get to the mainland now. Once we do I'm making a clone to go back to Konoha and Naka Shrine. There it's going to read everything that it can with its Sharingan and dispel. Maybe it'll find something we can use. It'll have half of my chakra and orders to quickly do what I made it for and to dispel. If it makes it that far it should last until I get what I need."
"What if it gets injured and dispels?" Maki asked in concern. Splitting off Naruto's chakra wasn't the issue for her. Even with half of his chakra he still had more than generally any ninja alive. No the issue was, if the clone made it most of the way there but didn't get to Konoha and get what Naruto needed that would be a lot of mental backlash and fatigue to Naruto for no reason.
"That's a chance I have to take." Naruto replied, "Besides, if I wind up going down for the count for a while I trust you two to get me to Kumo until I wake up. Hopefully it won't come to that, or we'll get there before my clone dispels. I can't take the time to make a decision on either Kumo or Konoha, this way I can do both. I'm not letting Madara Uchiha get the drop on me if there's anything I can do about it." He started walking forward again with purpose, "So, to Kumo? Because we've still got work to do. This isn't over yet. Not even close."
Sai and Maki looked at each other before following behind him as Sai spoke up, "You already know our answer Naruto-senpai."
"Then let's go." Naruto said with a smile on his face.
XxX
(A Hidden Location)
Itachi had left. He had gotten up and gotten away as soon as he was able to. Kisame had come and taken him away per his instructions from Madara, but had never said a word when Itachi simply silently walked with him, tears silently streaming down his face nonstop.
They had left, but there were three people that were still there. Sasuke's team that he had amassed.
Suigetsu was pissed. He had Kubikiribouchou in his possession. It was in his hands, he was finally starting to achieve his dream of getting all of the swords. He didn't even know where the others were at the moment. No one did. He had a piece of his dream in his hands and then had it snatched away by a team of shinobi that had been lead by Naruto Uzumaki as they were told by Madara Uchiha, and now he would be farther away from defeating Kisame and claiming his sword, the only one he knew the location of, than ever before. Suigetsu would never forgive them or him. The cowards.
Juugo was beside himself. First Naruto Uzumaki killed his only closest friend years ago in Kimimaro Kaguya, and now Naruto had taken away the only person left for Juugo to put his faith in, the man that Kimimaro's spirit was to live on in. Sasuke Uchiha. Now there was no one to keep him in check, and he wasn't sure how long his self-control would hold out. If he was to lose control he could only hold solace in the fact that he would try… try his absolute hardest to hold it back the way Sasuke had done for him.
He would hold out, just long enough for them to find Naruto… and then he would unleash every ounce of the indiscriminate killer that he hated with every fiber of his being. If anyone deserved such a fate it was Naruto Uzumaki, and he would make sure that it came to pass.
Karin had been inconsolable. She had cried over Sasuke's corpse ever since she had been informed of his fate by Madara. He claimed that she wouldn't want to see his body after what Naruto had done to it, though this was just to keep her from finding that Itachi now had his eyes, lest the girl try to go to him and attempt to rip them out of his head. He swore he would give her ample opportunity to avenge Sasuke's death firsthand very soon.
To her, Naruto had to die. Everyone around Naruto had to die. That bitch Tayuya, that had chased her and fought her Sasuke for Naruto had to die, and that pink-haired slut that tried to lure Sasuke away… probably so that Naruto could kill him easier… had to die as well. They all did. And when she finally got to Naruto she would cut his eyes out the way she believed he had done to Sasuke from Madara's explanation.
It was the least she could do for her fallen love.
So now they stood before the man himself, Madara Uchiha. All of them wearing the new cloaks, black with red clouds, given to them by the Akatsuki mastermind, "You will all have your chance to make Naruto suffer… but you're all not ready yet." He saw them all bristle angrily and turned his single visible Sharingan to Juugo to hypnotize him into a calm state before he snapped, "But you will be. In the meantime I have a mission for all of you. How would you like to find the location of the man that gave Naruto the power to match Sasuke's doujutsu and overwhelm him with his own power?"
"Who was it?" Karin growled, "I'll rip his fucking heart out, just like my own was."
Madara felt rather pleased at the way things were turning out despite how Sasuke was killed. Oh well, Itachi was more useful in that instance than his brother, his spirit was broken, there would be no more acts of rebellion from his once apprentice again. And now he had three people to bolster the ranks that had fallen to Naruto already, "Locate Kabuto Yakushi. You all should be familiar enough with this person, right?" He saw Suigetsu's face twist in anger just as Karin's did as they turned and left with Juugo.
Yes, he had three new pawns to use for his own affairs.
He would have to find some way to thank Naruto once they met again… right before he ripped the Kyuubi from his body. It was courtesy after all, to thank someone who had done something wonderful for you after all.
XxX
(Elsewhere)
Itachi's eyes were still bandaged, and he hadn't stopped crying since he had learned of Sasuke's death. He was nowhere near 100%, not even close, but his body moved as if he was. Kisame decided not to pry, until Itachi spoke to him of course while they were on the road together, "Kisame." He said suddenly, getting the man's attention, "Will you still stay loyal to me, even knowing what you've learned of my intentions for my life?"
Kisame smirked, not that Itachi could see it, "The way I see it you've always been straight with me Itachi-san. You've always been the kind of man that was able to see through all of the lies. Maybe because those eyes of yours are so good."
Itachi simply kept walking in silence, 'You're wrong Kisame, I was only ever able to see what I was allowed to see. It just so happened that was more than most. The only thing I had ever been able to see was my single solitary light. Sasuke was my light. And now my light has been snuffed out.' He felt around the material covering his eyes tightly, 'And I am deep within the darkness of my creation, being led by the sleeve by the master of it.'
He knew Madara had him trapped. There was nowhere left to go. There would be no way to make good on his threat to reveal Konoha's secrets to all of the hidden villages with the alliances being enacted through solid and strong bonds and means orchestrated by events spearheaded by Naruto over the last three years.
So he would let the man do as he wished. There was nothing left for Itachi but to exist for one reason, and he would do whatever he had to in order to achieve his final goal. He cared not for Konoha, nothing was their fault in the grand scheme of things. There was one man that needed to die, 'Danzo Shimura will fall by my hands to avenge my clan…' He thought before switching to another man that had to leave this world in order for him to be able to rest, 'And Naruto Uzumaki will suffer. Now I will forever have to live with the curse of killing my own clan, the curse of not being able to protect my brother and having him die right at my side. I will make you suffer for what will seem like an eternity Naruto Uzumaki, but for an immortal as I will be it will never be long enough.'
'You said that your eyes were wide open… that you could see everything. I can see everything Naruto… but the only thing I want to see. The only reality or illusion I want to gaze upon is your suffering and torment. And until I see that with my own eyes I will allow Madara to lead me through the darkness… because the darkness is the best place to flush out a shadow.'
"Kisame." Itachi said to his partner, "Let's make our way to Suna. It's time to begin."
A shark-like grin came from his sword-wielding partner, "You've got it Itachi-san… I'll follow your lead."
Itachi nodded and continued to let Kisame lead him in the right path, 'I'll drag you into the dark with me Naruto Uzumaki.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone