Ryu and Jiraiya

Ryu was sitting on a bench in a park by himself, smoking as he looked up at the sky, muttering "Should be about that time, right?"

Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata went off on a mission to find Sasuke and Itachi a while ago.

Ryu heard from his sources that Jiraiya left the Village just a bit ago and Tsunade was drinking herself to sleep every night.

He got up and exhaled a cloud of smoke, sighing "And I really hate the rain too…" as he disappeared.

Ryu traveled through the sky, his cigarette wafting smoke lightly as he flickered across the Land of Fire, coming to the Rain Village.

A while later

Ryu was crouching on top of a building, looking down at the 6 Paths of Pain.

Jiraiya wrote down a message on one of the frogs' backs before the Frog left in an explosion.

Jiraiya fell into the water with rods stuck all over in his back.

Ryu sighed and disappeared into the water…

He came back out somewhere else, putting a Senzu bean in Jiraiya's mouth and pulling the rods out of his back one by one. Jiraiya snapped his eyes open wide and sucked in a breath of air greedily, looking around with confused eyes.

Ryu sat on a rock next to him, smoking as he said "Catch a glimpse of the Pure Land, garbage sage?" Jiraiya said "Where's Pain?! Why are you here!?" Ryu shushed him and said "Keep your mouth shut, can't you see?"

He pointed to the sky and said "The clouds are crying, Jiraiya has died." Jiraiya froze and looked at the sky in confusion, asking "Then why-" Ryu grabbed his face and grinned "You're MY man now. Come on, it's not time for your resurrection yet." as he grabbed Jiraiya and flashed away, disappearing instantly.

They traveled in the air and Jiraiya asked "What's going on? What about Pain?" Ryu rolled his eyes and said "Pain is Nagato. He controls corpses through those black sticks as he hides somewhere nearby. Unless you kill a certain Pain, they'll just keep resurrecting over and over again."

He turned his head and chuckled, "You have to thank your good friend Danzo. He left a ton of problems for everyone even after he died." Jiraiya frowned, "What do you mean?"

Ryu turned back and explained "Your three little birdies created Akatsuki a long time ago which was a mercenary organization to spread peace their own way. But Danzo didn't like them so he made a deal with Hanzo and they killed Yahiko. Nagato lost his mind and slaughtered Hanzo with the Rinnegan and started talking about making everyone feel pain."

He rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Another 'treasure'... At any rate, I should've tortured Danzo before killing him… Giving me headaches after his death, what a bastard…" Jiraiya froze and asked the crucial question "How do you know?"

Then he paused before changing the question, "Why don't you do anything?!" Ryu smiled and said "Why? Because how will my dream come true if I stop him? The key is not that Nagato must be stopped, he can't destroy Konoha while I'm here. As for outside, who cares? The Akatsuki plan must be seen through to the end!"

Jiraiya shouted angrily "How could you!? Do you know what that means!? There will be war everywhere!"

Ryu shook his head and said "You wouldn't understand. The man behind the scenes only wants one thing. Nagato is just a puppet. He was a puppet before and he'll die as a puppet. The man who unleashed the Kyuubi on Konoha, you know the guy with the mask? That's Obito. He's a puppet too."

Jiraiya was already numb with shock and asked "What?!" Ryu continued "At any rate, their plan must succeed. Or else…" he frowned and Jiraiya asked seriously "What plan and why…"

Ryu furrowed his brows and replied "The resurrection of the real Madara Uchiha." Jiraiya nearly fell out of the sky and shouted "WHAT?!" Ryu glared at him, saying seriously "I will not let anyone stop his resurrection! Not even you!"

Jiraiya shouted "You're crazy! For what purpose!?" Ryu turned back and said softly "Because… It's my dream." Jiraiya roared angrily "Your dream is to have that man come back to life!? Even though there will be countless deaths!? Are you insane?!"

Ryu looked into the distance and replied "Maybe. The other 4 ninja villages are none of my concern, the so-called 'Balance' between villages is just a joke. Why do you think I've been strengthening Konoha Ninja? It's all for their own sake. Not to mention, it's what Minato-senpai wanted…"

Ryu reached out and clenched his fist, saying crazily "My dream is to fight Madara! I want to fight him for as long as I can! Whether I live or die, it doesn't matter! That's my only reason for being! I've trained day and night everyday for years and years just for that moment! How could you possibly understand how I feel?!"

He growled angrily, "Everything else is only in passing for that greater goal!"

Jiraiya fell silent and looked at Ryu for a few moments before asking "What about Anko and Aino?" Ryu stiffened visibly and Jiraiya pressed on, "Are they a passing event? What about Naruto and Sasuke? How about Sakumo and Minato!? What about all the people you saved? Asuma, Me, the countless ninja that have been saved by your techniques and skills? The Senzu Beans that can cure virtually any injury except death!?"

Jiraiya roared "Is it all just a game to you!? One big joke!?" Ryu fell silent and Jiraiya snorted "Don't play around with ME, kid. I was pretending before you were even born!" Ryu retorted "It's not a joke! Of course I love the village!"

Jiraiya snapped at him, "Then why don't you help!?" Ryu turned and roared "Because! What am I?! My existence is nothing! I'm a non-entity! No parents, nothing! The only thing driving me forward is that goal! The light at the end of the tunnel! I'm only a tool for my own ambitions! It was always the plan to fight and die in Madara's hands! Ever since I was a child! Understand?!"

He turned back and continued quietly "Anko and Aino… They were never in the plan in the first place. Of course I love them. I love them with every fiber of my being. They mean everything to me…"

Jiraiya was confused and asked "Then why-" Ryu laughed at himself, "Why? Because when I lose my goal… What will I have left? A soulless shell without any goals… A zombie walking around without any ambition… A nothing person without any motivation to do anything."

He laughed to the sky, "A person rotting away as the time passes, just waiting to die without anything left to do. Do you get it? I have nothing but my goal. I'm a machine working just to accomplish a certain task."

He quieted down and stayed silent as Jiraiya looked at his back before sighing, "Then I truly pity you." Ryu didn't say anything as they shot through the sky, disappearing over the horizon…

Ryu and Jiraya stood in the air watching Sasuke and Itachi fight. Jiraiya muttered "These are the brothers that want to kill each other?" Ryu replied coldly "It's all a play to make Sasuke stronger. Itachi wanted to give Sasuke his eyes after he died and awaken Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyou so that he wouldn't go blind after using it."

He crossed his arms and watched from above as Jiraiya said in shock "He… All for Sasuke?!" he turned to Ryu and closed his mouth, not saying what he wanted to say…

'You and Itachi are almost identical…'

Ryu watched as Sasuke and Itachi fought, although Sasuke was much stronger, he couldn't beat Itachi. He was too scared of him. This was a fear that was ingrained deep in his bones.

From the moment Itachi set Sasuke on this path, Sasuke feared Itachi the most out of anyone.

Finally, the famous scene of Itachi tapping Sasuke's forehead and collapsing appeared…

Ryu's eyes trembled but he stood there watching Sasuke closely.

He slowly fell to the ground and Jiraiya looked at Ryu, who's body shook.

Ryu disappeared and caught Sasuke from falling to the ground, Jiraiya curled his lips and stayed hidden.

Sasuke looked up in a daze and said "R-Ryu…?" Ryu smiled and stroked his head, saying "Sasuke, how have you been?" Sasuke teared up and said with a smile "I feel terrible… dad…"

Ryu trembled and hugged Sasuke tightly, on his knees next to Itachi as he whispered "It's okay… I'm here now…" Sasuke's eyes were currently in his Mangekyou state!

Ryu smiled with tears, saying "You practiced your Blood Surging Art very well, Sasuke… I'm proud of you." Sasuke cried and slipped unconscious as Ryu chopped at his neck.

He laid Sasuke on the ground next to Itachi and wiped his eyes as he turned to Itachi.

He stretched his hand out and dug Itachi's eyes out of his body before transplanting them into Sasuke's own. He slapped Sasuke's chest and fed him a Senzu Bean, forcefully making Sasuke awaken Eternal Mangekyou!

After the transplant was finished, he picked up Itachi's corpse and looked at Sasuke's sleeping face silently.