61 Requiem
This marks the end of the invasion arc. It was a long arc, but I wanted it to be chaotic ever since I decided to write this fic. Naruto finally reaches the others and Itachi and Kisame have another hurdle in the form of two brothers that don't take kindly to having their home attacked.
And a couple of things that were never clarified in Canon were why I had Ashina be a massive Fuinjutsu pioneer and inventor similar to Tobirama. The spying ball thing Hiruzen had, the motivation behind Tobirama's Edo Tensei, and the origins of the Hyuga Seal. This 'verse is AU in how connected and dangerous the Uzumaki clan was, mainly because of Ashina. It's not like the Uzumaki were seen as boogeymen in Canon like they are here.
Anyway, here's the next chapter.
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After Ashina's clones dispersed, I tested out my sensing again, trying to find where Rin and the others were.
'Hopefully they haven't moved from the forest.' I thought, wincing as a lance of pain went through my head as I tried to feel anything.
I managed to get a fragment of a feel around me, a familiar signature coming towards me.
Kakashi.
I saw his hair glinting on the horizon and I let out a sigh of relief. He blurred in right front me and rushed forward.
"Naruto!' He practically shouted, his eyes wide in horror at the state I was in. Kakashi grabbed ahold of me tightly, not caring about the obscene levels of blood covering me. "How are you standing?! We need to get you to an Iryo-nin!"
He was looking me up and down and looked ready to grab ahold of me and run.
"Kakashi," I managed to get out, pushing his hands away, "I'm okay. This isn't my blood." I turned towards Kimimaro's corpse. "He was a Kaguya that was working with Orochimaru."
Kakashi turned towards the corpse and gazed around at the battlefield, noticing the bones sticking out of the ground and the missing head.
"What happened?" He asked quietly, sounding unsettled.
I explained how the fight went, not leaving anything out. I included me grabbing ahold of Kurama's chakra when I had two Gates open, which caused Kakashi to grimace, judging by the tightening of his eyes.
"Gai told you to not do that." Kakashi reminded me, shaking his head slightly.
"I would have died if I didn't, Kakashi." I replied honestly, "And where's Rin? Where's everyone?" I couldn't help but be worried.
Kakashi didn't notice me wince when my still extremely low chakra shifted a bit and made my gut hurt. Ashina took the suppressant seal off, but it still made the tenketsu attached to the seal ache and I'm pretty sure it was stimulating a nausea response from being near my stomach.
Kakashi held up his hands to try and calm me down, his voice soft.
"They're alright. They got ambushed in the forest on the east side, but I got there in time."
That was a weight off my shoulders.
"How did you know where I was?" I asked confusedly, realizing that it was a little strange. "You said you were helping the Hokage."
Kakashi explained all that had happened, including Jiraiya commanding him to leave and protect Rin and me.
"My grandfather sent a bunshin," I said quietly, still thinking about the conversation, "He said Orochimaru is dead."
I heard Kakashi exhale in relief, his hand placed on my shoulder.
"I feared that Jiraiya-sama might have been killed. I wanted to stay and help him, but you two matter as well."
I nodded and looked towards the east, then back to Kakashi.
"Gaara was taken by Itachi." I said, not beating around the bush.
The slight narrowing of Kakashi's eyes clued me in to what he was thinking.
"The Akatsuki are interested in capturing Jinchuriki." He eventually said, mostly to himself.
I'd told him and the Hokage about Orochimaru's mention of the Akatsuki to me, so I had my tracks covered.
Kakashi stepped back and made a cross seal, forming several Kage bunshin.
"The ones with the most chakra, pop." He instructed, the first few popped and the chakra went back to him.
The one with the lowest grabbed ahold of me.
"Take him to the others." Kakashi said, opening his left eye lid again, "I'll try and get to Gaara."
"I'm going to puke on the way." I said simply, the bunshin making a hand seal to Shunshin towards Rin and the others, everything a blur.
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The clone let go of me as we got to the treeline a few minutes later. I promptly fell down and started dry heaving, the jarring triggering my already bad nausea. With nothing in my stomach after already vomiting earlier, I moaned for about a minute till it went away.
"Where are they?" I managed to grit out, looking around as the god-awful feeling subsided.
I caught a flash of golden yellow and I saw a small puff of smoke, causing me to smile.
Rin.
All my friends came out of the clearing and Rin was at the front, barreling right into me.
My beautiful baby sister wrapped her arms around me and bodily lifted me up, holding me tight.
"Hi, Rin." I whispered, holding her tight to not fall.
"Don't ever leave again." She let go and scolded me, her eyes narrowed, "Everytime you go do something, you come back covered in blood."
"It's not mine." I promised, spotting everyone else get closer.
"I can tell," Rin muttered, "It smells different."
I took in the sight of everyone else and grimaced.
Ino was holding up an extremely pale Shikamaru, the blonde herself looking ragged and having several visible bruises and small cuts. Hinata was missing one of her jacket sleeves and was favouring her left leg.
Temari and Kankuro kept their distance somewhat, looking at me with a mix of disgust and horror, likely from all the blood.
Aside from Rin, Sasuke and Neji looked the least hurt, but Rin might have had serious injuries that healed.
"What happened?" I asked them, already knowing it was the Sound Four that attacked.
Sasuke stepped forward and had a venomous expression on his face.
"Orochimaru's band of idiots tried to kidnap me," Sasuke gritted out, his Sharingan flashing in anger, "And we fought them off."
I reached out and put my hand on Sasuke's shoulder, a smirk on my face.
"He's dead."
That got the attention of all of them. Orochimaru, the guy that beat me into the ground and left me a bloody wreck, was dead.
"How?" Sasuke eventually asked.
I grimaced for a moment, but decided to answer mostly truthful.
"You know that guy that stormed the Hyuga compound?" I looked at them, waiting for them to nod, "He was resurrected by Orochimaru using a Jutsu made by the Nidaime. He somehow broke out of the control and is helping Konoha right now."
I then turned to Rin, her eyes on me.
"He's our grandfather."
Rin's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly, blinking in shock.
"Uzukage grandfather?" Rin asked for clarification, "The scary one?"
"Yeah." I nodded, my lips pursed.
Sasuke was the only one to understand the importance of that.
"You're saying that somebody who killed a Kage and more than one S-rank is here killing people?" Sasuke asked, his face paling.
"Yep," I said, "And he's pissed at you."
Sasuke choked on an intake of breath, before narrowing his eyes at me.
"Don't do that." He hissed.
'I'm being serious. He doesn't like you, dude.'
"Okay," I waved my hand dismissively, turning to Rin, "He evidently killed Orochimaru and he talked with me for a bit. The Shodai and Nidaime were also resurrected, according to him."
Shikamaru groaned as I said that.
"I can't catch a break," He mumbled, "Why's my life so troublesome?"
"Naruto," Rin asked quietly, her voice weak, "Who's going to fight them?"
My eyes widened when I realized how bad it sounded.
"They were freed," I said hastily, assuring her an apocalypse wasn't coming down on our heads, "They're helping Konoha. We're all gonna be fine."
"What about my brother?" Temari demanded, walking up to me, "Why don't you have him?!"
"Do you really expect me to fight off an ambush and get to your brother?" I bit back, stepping towards her, "Kakashi is searching for him and he's about as good as we've got."
I then explained what went down when I told her to leave concerning Kimimaro and how he was harder to kill than her Jinchuriki brother.
"But Itachi is here." Sasuke said icily, causing me to glance between him and Temari.
"You told him?" I asked unnecessarily, expecting it.
Temari nodded.
"Sasuke." I turned towards him, but he held up a hand.
"I don't want to talk about it," He shook his head, "I'm sore and hurting. We need to stick together or we're dead."
At about that point, Hinata limped towards me and looked closely at me.
"You need the blood cleaned off, Naruto." She told me, her eyes active.
I noticed they flicked towards my stomach and she stared for a moment, eventually grabbing at my shirt.
"No," I shook my head, gently pushing her hands away, "I don't want to freeze."
Of course, Rin decides to betray me and grabs me from behind, forcefully tearing my already shredded shirt and jacket off, the broken armour plate falling away as well.
"Rin!" I said irritably, glaring at her. "Really?"
Hinata walked towards Ino and whispered something in her ear. Ino nodded and let go of Shikamaru's arm and let Hinata help hold him, the blonde stepping forward and going through hand seals.
I was confused by what was going on, but Rin stepped to the side and made two Kage bunshin, the copies of my twin rushing forward and holding me in place.
"No. No.," I glared at Rin, then Ino, "You're not hitting me with water."
Ino smiled, before opening her mouth and hitting me with a small jet of water.
I let out a yelp as I got soaked in water and Rin opened up a storage scroll, pulling out some wash cloths. One got tossed to Ino and the two troublesome blondes washed the blood off me as best they could, all while Rin's clones were holding me in place.
"Neji," Rin said, "Make sure your Byakagun is active. We don't want any surprises." She then made several more Kage bunshin to patrol the area.
Neji nodded and walked briskly towards a tree, climbing up towards a branch and narrowing his eyes, the veins around his eye sockets bulging.
My focus went back to the two blondes who were hell-bent on harassing me into taking a 'bath'.
"Sit." Ino instructed, pointing towards the ground as I kept fidgeting from how cold the stupid water was.
"I'm not a dog." I grumbled, feeling like I was being treated like a child. If I wanted to be covered in the blood of my enemies, by God I was going to.
Rin jabbed me in the side and I twisted and jabbed her in turn...right on the forehead.
Rin scowled and walked away from us, tossing the already blood covered rag to Hinata.
"You do it. He'll respond better to you poking him." She said, grabbing Shikamaru's arm so Hinata would let go.
"Please just set me down." Shikamaru grumbled, "I feel like I'm being tossed around like trash."
Rin scoffed pushed him towards Temari, who let him fall on the ground. Shikamaru made a soft thump as he hit the ground and I could almost hear him roll his eyes.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru didn't bother getting up, "Blondes. All of you."
As Shikamaru was left to lie on the ground, Hinata walked towards me and knelt behind me, tapping the back of my head.
"Do I need to paralyze you temporarily, Naruto?" She asked, her fingers glowing slightly from chakra. And the worst part is, I couldn't tell if she were serious or not.
I shivered, and not from how freaking cold the water Ino spat out was.
"No." I said quietly, resigned to being scrubbed raw.
"Good." Hinata and Ino said at the same time, continuing to wash me, while I was under duress, might I add.
They eventually finished and Rin tossed me a clean shirt.
An orange one.
I glared at her for tossing me one of her shirts, Ino and Hinata having mercifully finished treating me like a stinking dog.
I shook my head and put it on, grumbling under my breath about how snug the shirt was and that it was orange.
"I'm not having you be covered in blood, Naruto." Rin said irritably, sticking close to Sasuke now, "You're my brother, not an animal."
I decided to drop it. The lack of shirt, jacket, and armour made me feel exposed, like a raw nerve. I hated it.
Stooping down to grab at my sheath, I swung it over my shoulder and eyed Sasuke.
A few steps towards him and I spoke quietly.
"We need to talk when this ordeal is over." I looked directly into his coal black eyes, knowing he deserved to know.
I'm not letting anyone manipulate him into being consumed by hatred. He needs to know about his eyes and Itachi. I can't keep it secret like the other things.
Sasuke looked concerned, but he nodded.
"Alright." He said, his eyes flicking towards my hair. "Your hair looks worse than mine."
'Of course he says that.' My hair is a rat's nest after Ino kept trying to wash the red out.
I'm a redhead! It's not coming out!
"Uke." I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes.
Now, it was a waiting game. We just needed to hunker down until the last remaining enemies were killed.
How long could it be?
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Itachi and Kisame split up in a desperate attempt to not get cornered and killed, the nightmare that was this mission finally being too much.
He had forwent using Amaterasu and instead had formed his Susanoo. The shock of what he did had given Kisame the opportunity to grab Samehada by shooting under the water and grabbed it, letting him use his more destructive jutsu.
Ay had been forced to protect a nearly unconscious Yugito from attacks while B had to face the two of them.
They were going to overpower them and get away. But then, just like when Roshi was cornered, the Kumo trio were assisted.
The assistance being a reanimated Senju Tobirama sending a water dragon directly at his Susanoo's back.
The fight became more evened after that, and Itachi was disturbed at how well Tobirama was dancing around and avoiding the attacks from his Susanoo, especially the Totsuka blade.
But now, he knew the fight was a loss completely.
The Shodai and Jiraiya showed up, a corridor of trees and wood forming on a collision course with him.
Itachi abruptly dropped the Susanoo and Shunshined towards Kisame, who had an advantage over B at this point.
"Split and regroup at the chosen location." He said, the two already having a backup plan for if things went terribly.
"Don't get killed." Was all Kisame said, Samehada at the ready.
Tobirama was stalking towards Itachi much more so than his brother or Jiraiya.
"I thought Madara would be the last Uchiha with the Mangekyo Sharingan I'd ever be cursed to fight," Tobirama said coldly, "But it seems that I can't be free of you lot even after death."
"Kisame." Itachi said simply, activating a partial Susanoo. He hid the wince of pain as he felt like his eyes were being constricted.
His partner went through hand seals and much of the standing water formed into wave underneath him, which the former Kiri nin used to propel away from their enemies.
Hashirama pursued Kisame, while Tobirama and Jiraiya were staying to combat him.
Itachi zeroed in on them, sparing a glance towards the Kumo nin.
'Ay will be out of this. He will be protecting the two. Yugito is barely conscious and B is significantly slower after Kisame stole much of his chakra.'
Itachi resigned himself to fighting the two to escape, up until the bunshin he had guarding Gaara popped and gave him its memories.
His eyes widened and he felt something he hadn't in a long time.
Fear.
'No. No. NO!' He shouted internally, his heart racing. 'Sasuke!'
Itachi threw all caution to the wind and pulsed chakra into his right eye, looking directly at Tobirama.
Tobirama evidently tried to flash away, expecting some type of attack that was extremely dangerous.
Nothing happened and the reanimation's head tilted for a moment, looking confused, before the man was consumed by black flames, staggering and grasping at his body, a stream of profanity coming from his mouth.
Jiraiya shot a fire jutsu at Itachi, but the Uchiha Shunshined out of the way, moving as fast as he could.
Itachi turned back around and created more of the black flames of Amaterasu to cover his back from being attacked, his right eye feeling like a kunai was being repeatedly driven into it.
A massive wave of flames now separated him from his opponents and he kept running, his breath ragged from the pain and chakra he used.
'East side. East side.' He kept repeating in his mind, praying he could get there in time.
Jiraiya looked to be staying back to seal the black flames and get them off Tobirama, giving Itachi the chance to run without interference.
'Hit me with your Mangekyo, or I'll kill Sasuke." The old man had said. "He is with the other Genin on the east side in the forest, isn't he?'
Itachi felt blood flow from his eyes even more so and everything was a red tinted blur as he raced to get to Sasuke.
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Kakashi gritted his teeth as he fought of the burning in his left eye socket, a chunk of earth missing from where he used Kamui.
Gaara was still passed out on the ground, Itachi's bunshin having popped to probably give the real one the memories.
'I need to get to Sasuke and the others.' He walked towards Gaara, checking his pulse.
The boy was pale from blood loss, the Chidori Naruto hit him with being the cause. But Kakashi needed to keep him alive to ward off Suna from trying anything.
Kakashi made a single Kage bunshin and bit back a groan, his reserves lower than what he felt comfortable with due to him hitting a certain person with his Mangekyo.
The bunshin grabbed ahold of Gaara and he ran back to meet up with the Genin.
Sparing a glance at the village, Kakashi saw that the mist was gone and no explosions were coming from the Konoha.
'We did it. We fought them off.' Kakashi thought tiredly, continuing on to his destination. 'But why did he want to be killed by me? After all the aid he gave the village?'
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"Why are two tenketsu in your head inflamed, Naruto?" Hinata asked me with concern.
Hinata had been spending the last 10 or 15 minutes systematically going over the different parts of my chakra network and bones to make sure I actually healed properly and didn't need help later on.
Bijuu chakra enhanced healing does wonders when you're an Uzumaki.
"I opened two Gates." I answered truthfully, giving her a soft smile to assure her I was fine, "I didn't do it the way I should have because I had already been hurt."
Hinata sighed and kept her Byakagun active as she was right next to me, still looking at my head.
"They look like they hurt." She said, concern still in her voice.
I glanced around and saw how we were all clustered in the forest, waiting for any of the Jonin to show up.
"My head still hurts," I admitted, knowing she could tell if I was lying, "But it's better than what it was."
Hinata still grimaced and leaned towards me.
"Please tell the truth, Naruto," She whispered, her Byakagun deactivated and her eyes meeting mine, "How bad was it? I know you want to protect Rin and me, but shouldn't we know?"
Hinata was right. I owed it to them to not be secretive about how terrifying it was to to fight Kimimaro on my own. If I didn't know about the things he could do with his Kekkai genkai, I would have been killed.
"I," I tried to say, my throat feeling tight, "It was bad, Hinata. I could have died."
The day was a constant roller coaster of emotions and I just wanted to sleep.
"I see." Hinata replied, seeming to notice that I was thinking deeply about something. She reached out and hugged me, "You're not alone, Naruto. We'll always be here for you."
I returned the hug and I looked over her head, spotting Rin who was standing next to a very tense Sasuke.
'Itachi being here must be eating him up.' I thought to myself sadly.
Rin suddenly tensed and shouted towards everyone.
"Kakashi is back!"
Moments later, Kakashi, with Gaara being carried by what I assumed to be a shadow clone, arrived in sight and looked at us with a relieved expression on the uncovered portion of his face.
The clone carried Gaara towards us and Kakashi walked towards me and Team 7.
"We have to move," He said quickly, "Itachi knows you're here." His eyes were on Sasuke.
Sasuke clenched his fists and stood straighter.
"I'm not running." He said tightly, a kunai in his hand, "I'm not going to run like a coward."
Before Kakashi could say anything, Rin flinched again like a clone popped.
"Behind you!" Rin shouted to Kakashi, trying to make hand seals.
I saw a blur of black crash into Kakashi as he turned and was sent several feet back, flipping himself up as fast as he could.
Itachi lashed out with a kick and sent Rin flying, bouncing off the ground.
Without any care for my safety, I pulled my broken blade out of my sheath and rushed towards him alongside Kakashi, letting out a shout.
With so little chakra and my head still pounding, Itachi intercepted my attack with a kunai, shifting to avoid the flying kick from Kakashi hitting his face.
In the split second where I could see his face, I realized how bad he looked.
His clothes clung to him like he had been soaked by water, his hair was disheveled, and there was a decent amount of blood coming from both his eyes, the right even more so.
His fist struck me so hard that my vision swam and I fell down, clutching my head.
I thought I heard Sasuke yell and everything was blurring, Jutsu flying and the clang of metal being the only thing I could make out.
After managing to stand back up, I saw Sasuke get gut checked by a kick and he struck a tree right next to me, a groan escaping him.
The thing that had me freezing was hearing Rin scream.
All the Genin had been kicked aside or knocked to the ground by Itachi like they were dust on his shoes, all of them in varying states of confusion at the speed. Kakashi's movements had been slower and he looked fatigued, like his chakra was low.
Kakashi was was within striking distance of Itachi, but the bastard Uchiha had Rin held tightly against him, a kunai at her throat.
My mind blanked.
My little sister was being held by an Akatsuki member, even if he weren't a loyal one.
'You will not take her from me!'
Sasuke tried to stand up, but I held him.
"Let me go." He growled at me, his eyes on Rin and Itachi.
"Trust me for the next minute." I said, standing up with my broken blade still gripped in my hand.
I saw the fear in Rin's eyes as she was being held, her breathing shallow.
"It seems I was correct that my foolish little brother would cling to a stronger Shinobi like a child clings to its mother." Itachi said emotionlessly, glancing between the two of us.
I gripped Sasuke's shoulder harder as he tensed, but Kakashi spoke then.
"I'm surprised you can even see them at this point," Kakashi commented with a icy tone, "I know why your eyes are bleeding, Itachi. I know what the Mangekyo costs."
Sasuke's breathing quickened even more and his eyes went to Kakashi, a whispered 'He knows?' being audible.
"Of course you would know," Itachi replied, his eyes flicking towards everyone present, "The old man who requested you kill him said as much."
'So the plan worked.' I thought, hiding the smirk that wanted to break out on my face. 'Merry Christmas, Obito. I hope you like the present.'
I held the broken blade in my hand and made a decision, one that would have people questioning my sanity.
"Please, trust me." I whispered to Sasuke, grabbing ahold of him and holding the jagged edge of my sword against his throat.
"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted, his head turning to look at me and Itachi, "What are you doing?"
Everyone's eyes were on me and Sasuke was shaking.
"Naruto?" He asked shakily, his voice faint.
"You have my younger sibling," I snarled at Itachi, my eyes flicking to Rin's, "And I have yours."
Itachi had a damn good poker face, judging by his lack of reaction. But I knew his thoughts were going at a mile a minute.
"You lack the same leverage, Uzumaki Naruto." Itachi said, pulling Rin more tightly against him, causing her to gasp and start shaking, "Unlike me, you love your younger sister."
I pulled Sasuke closer to me in response and looked straight at Itachi's eyes, daring him to try something.
"Don't lie to me, Itachi," I growled, standing behind Sasuke, "I know everything. I know why you did it."
I was too tired to beat around the bush and act all sneaky peaky about it.
Again, Itachi looked unimpressed.
"Does the name Tobi mean anything to you?" I asked, grinning viciously.
Itachi visibly stiffened at the name, his attention fully on me.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"Has an orange cinnamon roll mask and one eye?" I asked, noticing his breathing fluctuate as he held Rin tightly, "That the same guy?"
I then looked at Rin for a moment and said one sentence in English.
"Stomp on his foot when I tell you."
Sometimes, I took too many things for granted, especially when I was tired. Normally, a guy as intelligent as Itachi would be very careful about things. He'd try and get hints of information out of me while trying to make and think of a plan for his escape. He'd threaten Rin again if I spoke in words he didn't understand.
So it surprised me, when I looked at his eyes, that they shifted into their Mangekyo form and I pitched forward, everything fading to black as I felt my grip on Sasuke loosen.
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I felt myself falling for several seconds, before I seemed to be dropped somewhere I didn't recognize.
The colour of everything was off and the moon was blood red. The area was an empty plain with grass on the ground.
'I'm dead.'
Itachi materialized in front of me seconds later and he had an emotionless mask as his face.
Trying to calm my racing heart from the terror of what may happen, I decided to play it off a bit.
"I always wondered what you did to Sasuke," I muttered, looking around at the environment induced by a Genjutsu, "He said it felt like an eternity where no matter how much he screamed for mercy, you didn't give any."
I felt a kunai bury itself in my leg and I bit down to not let out a scream.
"I will not waste time," Itachi stated, the kunai vanishing from my leg with a thought from him, "Tell me how you know that name."
I gritted my teeth and glared at him from the ground.
"Ask Jiraiya." I said flatly, but I saw no outward acknowledgement.
"You didn't tell Jiraiya?" I asked sarcastically, pissed that he actually stabbed me, "I thought you were supposed to be loyal to Konoha. Sounds like you're a shittier spy than you are a brother."
Another kunai was stabbed into me, my other leg this time.
I let out a groan of pain, glaring at Itachi with as much hatred as I could muster.
"How do you know of these things?" He asked again, a sharpness to his voice underlying his usually cold one.
'Focus on the plan, idiot. You can be a bastard later.' I told myself, remembering what my grandfather said to do.
"A certain Uzumaki told me," I answered, blaming my knowledge of everything on Ashina learning it from Orochimaru, "He learned it from Orochimaru and the snake learned it from Tobi."
I couldn't read Itachi's expression at all.
"I find it doubtful that a member of the Akatsuki would betray Kisame and me." Itachi said, not believing me. "I will ask again," He stepped towards me and grabbed ahold of my shirt, pulling my face towards his own, "How do you know the things you do?"
I tried to spit in his face, but my entire body was frozen. I couldn't move. My mouth was freed after a few seconds and I answered.
"My grandfather's blood was given to Orochimaru by the cyclops. He Henged as Tobi, based on Orochimaru's description, and he sent a bunshin to speak with me after you took Gaara. And you're an asshole in more way than one for that." I added the last part because I was really pissed at the guy in front of me for hurting his brother the way he did. The first time could be rationalized; the second makes him a suicidal bastard who wanted his brother to kill him.
Itachi seemed to think for several seconds, but it could have been longer. He let me go and I fell to the ground, his back turned to me.
He turned around and I could see a flash of cold anger on his face.
"Why did you threaten to kill my brother?" Itachi asked, his tone dangerously flat.
I really hoped that Itachi wouldn't melt my brain for this.
"Because my grandfather told me how Madara got his light back." I said coldly. "About Izuna getting his eyes removed."
I was totally lying. Not a single part of that was true. The only thing said between my grandfather and I after his grand explanation of things was that I told him to Henge into his older self, with some variation up to him, and give a song and dance BS story to Kakashi about being 'Hurin' and to try and kill Obito when he got Kamui'd by Kakashi.
The silence was almost deafening, the two of us just looking at each other.
Eventually, Itachi spoke.
"Tell me why you bring that up."
He seemed to be smart enough to not give any rope to hang himself with on possible knowledge, wanting me to spell it out to him.
"Assuming you're like me," I said coldly, "as in someone who would be stacking bodies to protect our respective younger siblings, you see the coming storm that is the Akatsuki and you want Sasuke to be prepared for it."
"Elaborate." Itachi instructed simply.
"You're not Fugaku and I'm not you." I said coldly in response to his command. "Treat me like a dog, and I might bite back like you did."
The next thing I knew, I was on my back with a kunai in my chest, my body feeling cold as I was choking on blood.
'Not yet. Not yet. Not. Ready.'
I could feel an echo of what I thought was the memory of Kakashi shocking me awake. I could almost taste the chakra signature with a lightning affinity above me.
'My sword. My sword.'
I started flailing as I suffocated and tried to pull the kunai out, but I wasn't in command.
"Sasuke would have told you of the nature of this Genjutsu, The Tsukuyomi," Itachi walked up to me, his face shimmering into the masked one of the Shinobi that attacked me, "Do you really think it wise to test my patience?"
The pressure on my limbs lifted and I could breath again. I took in lungfuls of air and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to assure myself it was an illusion. That I wasn't dying.
"I sometimes wonder if you almost wanted to do it," I breathed out, finally no longer choking, "Why else would you go along with it?"
"You do not understand." Itachi shook his head, turning away, "You may have been told the blunt truth of what I did to protect Konoha, but you were not there. You did not see it or feel it."
"Must I have been there to know that it wasn't worth it?" I demanded, standing up from where I had pulled myself into a sitting position after I'd been 'stabbed', "I was the one that saw what you turned Sasuke into. I was the one that had to help put him back together after you tortured him. It was my sister that was put in danger because you selfishly told Sasuke he would have to kill his closest friend to have your cursed eyes!" I shouted the last part.
"A child's reasoning," Itachi seemed to scold me, "My clan planned a coup attempt because it was believed that an Uchiha had released the Kyuubi. They felt isolated from the village and would tolerate it no longer"
"Well, one did." I replied flatly.
Itachi ignored me and continued. "My father planned to potentially kill you or your sister by releasing the Kyuubi and controlling it."
"It would have been to simply hold us hostage and threaten the village," I countered, "Your father wasn't an idiot. He would have probably known how close Jiraiya was with my father, given that my mother and your's were close friends. He wouldn't have killed us. Jinchuriki are too valuable as hostages."
If Itachi was surprised that I knew that, he didn't show it.
"And don't call me a child because I said it wasn't worth it," I couldn't help but be a little petty about being called a child, "Your clan and the village were played for fools by Tobi. He unleashes the Kyuubi and kills my parents, knowing it would cause blame to be aimed at the Uchiha, then you are forced to kill your clan to prevent a fourth war due to the power vacuum."
"So you understand why I had little choice." Itachi said, tilting his head slightly, "You and your sister are alive because I killed my own family. And that night haunts me to this day. What part was it that you take offense?"
"Simple," I said coldly, fixing him with a look of hatred I reserved for only a few, "You broke the rule of being an older brother. You were supposed to protect him."
"I gave him the drive to be strong." Itachi said flatly, "I will not have my brother die because he didn't have the strength to survive."
"Bullshit," I pointed a finger at him, "You could have taken him with you. You could've trained him and told the village to go to hell while you prepared him for the conflict on the horizon."
"I was needed as a spy." Itachi began to say, but I didn't care about his excuses.
"For the village that took so much from you?" I demanded, my breathing deepening, "You tortured an 8 year old child. What if he decided to take a dip in the Naka, facedown?" I asked viciously, grinning when I finally got a twitch out of him.
"Would it have been worth it then, 'Tachi?" I spat, "If you drove your baby brother to flee from the reality you put him in? A hellscape?"
For once, Itachi didn't have an answer.
"Let's play a game, shall we?" I asked rhetorically, "I'll give a hypothetical, and you can try to find fault in my reasoning."
I didn't wait for Itachi to nod his approval.
"You tell Sasuke that he needs to kill a close friend to get the same pretty little eyes that you have," I looked at the familiar crimson eyes that Kurama detested, "Which I find very unlikely, judging by the medical report of Uchiha Shisui, who logic dictates you might not have killed."
Itachi's posture changed slightly when I mentioned Shisui.
"What logic?"
This was something I was going to risk. 'Hurin' didn't exist. I, with some regret, told Ashina to pose as the mysterious letter sender and to get hit by Kamui from Kakashi. I could lie to Kakashi and the Hokage about how I'd either received letters or had been spoken to by this guy. It could explain a thing or two that I was going to say to Itachi.
"The logic being Shimura Danzo having one of his eyes," I said, again noticing him react slightly to it, "While the other went suspiciously missing."
I let Itachi stew on it for a moment, waiting for him to ask me how I knew. When he didn't, I spoke again.
"I know you don't have to actually kill someone close to you, Itachi," I said, "You either killed Shisui, at his behest, and forged a suicide note by likely copying his handwriting with a Sharingan, or he did it himself and he killed himself in front of you. How close am I to what happened?"
Itachi's chest expanded in an inhale slightly more, but there was no other reaction.
"Continue."
"During the bell test traditionally done for Team 7," I explained, my hands clenched, "I decided to test how obsessed with progressing and killing you your precious little brother was." My teeth were bared at this point, "I offered him a bell if he attacked a teammate, and he hesitated. See the problem?"
Itachi didn't move.
"Be a soulless tree then," I remarked, "You turned your brother into a flight risk and a possible risk to my friends and my sister. So let's play it out."
"You torture Sasuke, he becomes obsessed with killing you, Orochimaru tries to mark him, like what happened in the Forest of Death where I got to protect your brother at the cost of me getting fucking beheaded by Orochimaru," I kept glaring at him, "Which I got better by the way, thanks for asking, and now this happens. But assume I didn't protect him. Or assume I died.
Assume the mark, which rots your brain if you use it, is placed on a kid with an obsession with killing his kinslaying brother. Lowered impulse control and the means to get your mind breaker eyes don't go well."
"If you are insinuating that Sasuke would have killed your sist-" Itachi's voice was chilly, but I interrupted him by stepping forward.
"I do not insinuate!" I growled, looking up at him from just a foot away, "His mind would hardly have been his own and he would have taken everything from me because of you!"
"In. Conclusion." I growled as I stared into his eyes, "I lose Rin, and I drive a Chidori elbow deep into your brother's heart. We're both left with nothing that keeps our sanity."
I could see the environment swirl around me through my peripheral.
"You would have killed my brother?"
It could have been mistaken for a polite request for clarification, but this was the same person who murdered his entire clan to protect his little brother.
"I would have enjoyed every second as I carved him apart, piece by bloody piece," I snarled, "I would have told him why you really killed his family, and I would have torn his eyes from his head and mailed them to you in a box!"
I was angry. That vision had haunted me for so long. A flash of blonde and orange, the crackling of lightning, and the wet sound of a Chidori striking flesh.
"Then I will ensure that it will not be Rin's death that matures his eyes." Itachi said coldly, the most emotion I'd seen from him yet.
"He already has them."
Those words stopped Itachi in his tracks.
"What?"
"He was a couple feet in front of me when Orochimaru cut my head off. I actually bled all over him as my head slid off my neck."
Itachi rapidly connected the dots.
"He blamed himself." He murmured, stepping back from me.
This was the moment.
'Give me strength.' I prayed.
"You don't have to break him again to mature his eyes, Itachi," I practically pleaded with him, "You can come back. You can help Konoha and Sasuke be prepared for when hell shows up at our doorstep."
"It is too late." Itachi said, his voice wavering for a moment.
"It's never too late." I said to him, refusing to give up, "I was haunted by the fear that I'd be forced to kill my friend because you hurt him. You can fix this, Itachi. What was your dream as a Shinobi before this all happened?"
Itachi sighed and shifted his stance.
"I wished to bring peace to the world. To end war."
"And you can, Itachi," I said softly, "You can stop a war, just come back."
"I can't." He said, averting his eyes.
'I can't do this.' I thought to myself. The game changes completely if Itachi is onside and Roshi is dead.
"I can't do this alone, Itachi!" I practically shouted, finally losing my composure completely, " Konoha needs you against the Akatsuki. The Sandaime can vouch for you. You can finally be the brother you truly are if you just let go."
"I cannot let go," Itachi returned his gaze to mine, his eyes flashing, "I remember every moment of that night. I murdered my clan and I did it well. My father couldn't even muster up the will to protect his wife, the mother of his children, from the monster he created. His own son that was prided as the greatest Uchiha since the Warring States."
Itachi was frantically pacing and his eyes were wild.
"You may be a prodigy like I am, but you still know nothing. I can never forget what I have done. Sasuke will be free of what happened. He won't know. I will still be the monster the world thinks I am."
"Then I will do what I must," I replied sadly, "I will tell him myself."
"I have destroyed people's minds in the Tsukuyomi, Naruto," Itachi remarked guardedly, "You wouldn't be the first."
"But are you really going to?" I asked, knowing he didn't believe it, "Sasuke won't be able to take the Akatsuki on their own. There's a reason I'm being favoured by the Sandaime, and it's not simply because of my parents."
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, slowly exhaling and opening them.
"I plan on being either the Sandaime's successor, or the one after. I can change the world for the better."
"Is it just a naive dream to be recognized by the village that has scorned you?" Itachi asked, his previous emotional turmoil was muted now. "Being a Kage is more than simple popularity and respect."
"I'm fairly certain you understand that popularity means nothing on changing the world," I fought the urge to roll my eyes, "Even if you hate every waking moment that you think of it, you saved thousands of lives by preventing a war."
"And how does you wanting or having the capacity to become a future Hokage play into me not tearing your mind to shreds?"
"My grandfather was in his nineties and was still dangerous," I replied, "How much change could I bring with over half a century at the helm from being an Uzumaki? I can ensure that the actions you took are never needed again to protect the innocent."
Itachi looked unsure, seeming to think to himself.
"Sasuke loved you," I told him, "And you love him. Sasuke wants to love you. When he passed out from exhaustion after seeing me get beheaded, you know what happened?" I asked, needing Itachi to know this.
"What?" The Uchiha asked.
"I tried to wake him up and he said, 'No, 'Tachi, let me sleep.'
That was why I called him 'Tachi beforehand. I knew Sasuke called him that based on hearing Sasuke murmuring it as he slept.
"Even after you hurt him, after you took everything from him, he still wants to love the brother that would poke his forehead and loved him more than life itself."
The look on Itachi's face made me think of someone who was at a crossroads, a path that he was unsure about.
"I don't deserve forgiveness." He said hoarsely, looking down.
"You were a kid faced with a terrible choice," I said, "And it isn't about you, it's about Sasuke. What does he deserve? What does the little boy you destroyed yourself for deserve?"
The next several seconds felt like an eternity, the silence almost deafening. Itachi could break the Genjutsu and try to run. He could definitely escape if he wanted. Kakashi wasn't in top form to exploit Itachi's fatigue from using his eyes.
With a sigh that carried the weight of a mountain, Itachi looked back at me.
"He deserves to know." He said quietly, "He deserves to know."
Itachi looked around at the environment and furrowed his brow, the ground shaking beneath our feet.
The world seemed to crack and I was pulled from the Genjutsu from hell.
/////////////////
Sasuke saw the flashing of Itachi's eyes and he almost cried out in terror, knowing he was going to be condemned to the personal hell that had haunted him for years.
But it didn't happen. He heard Naruto, who he had opted to trust, gasp and fall forward, his breathing ragged.
'ITACHI!' Sasuke screamed internally, realizing what had happened.
Itachi staggered from the use of his Sharingan and Rin stomped on his foot, managing to break free.
Sasuke Shunshined forward and reached Itachi before Kakashi did, the silver haired man hesitating for a fraction of a second on whether to attack Itachi or help Naruto.
Sasuke's left fist crashed into Itachi's face, then his right, then his left again. Sasuke was screaming as he kept punching his brother as hard as he could, the one responsible for his nightmares not fighting back as he fell to the ground.
Sasuke stopped after he felt two of his fingers break and he pulled a kunai, pointing it at his brother's bloody face.
"You have taken everything from me!" Sasuke was screaming, tears coming down his face.
"The reason I did it," Itachi coughed, trying to spit out blood from his mouth, "Is not real."
"It is real to me!" Sasuke couldn't keep his voice steady.
"Wait." Sasuke heard the pained voice of Naruto behind him.
The red haired boy was clutching his head and was breathing heavily, staggering towards him.
Kakashi and Rin rushed to him, but he waved his left arm at them and moaned out a 'No' towards them. Once he reached the two Uchiha, Sasuke looked back at the broken and bloody face of Itachi.
"You want him dead almost as much as I do."
"Yes," Naruto groaned out, still clutching his head, "But not yet. Not until he tells us the secrets he has."
Sasuke gasped at what Naruto said.
"You," Sasuke pulled away from Itachi slightly, seeing Rin and Kakashi right next to Naruto, "You want take him prisoner?" He asked desperately.
"To TI so we can interrogate him." Naruto stressed the word, a whimper escaping his lips as he shut his eyes, "Put him on trial for crimes against Konoha and your family."
Sasuke's dream was in front of him. He could feel the chains that held him weaken. He could break them.
"And then we'll execute him." Naruto put a hand on his shoulder, "To show the world that we don't need to fear him any longer."
Sasuke was breathing heavily as he felt the chance slip through his fingers, his brother gazing silently up at him, his face stained red with his own blood.
"If I let him live," Sasuke choked out, his eyes burning with hatred as he looked at Itachi, "He'll haunt me forever."
"He is the only one who can say why he killed your clan," Naruto's eyes were going in and out of focus, "He can't tell you if he's dead."
Sasuke didn't feel Naruto's hand come off his shoulder, and he didn't see Kakashi grab ahold of Naruto as he staggered back. His eyes were on Itachi.
"If you wish to be strong enough to kill me, you must kill your best friend." He could hear Itachi's words from years ago haunt him, even if he wasn't speaking now. They were so clear.
"Killing him won't bring them back." A faint voice that sounded like Rin's echoed in his head.
"Nii-san, why!"
"Tsukuyomi"
'Kill me, Sasuke. Prove you are not weak.'
'Think of the village, Sasuke. Think of me.'
Sasuke was shaking violently as the kunai in his hand was clenched in his shaking hand as it was pointed at Itachi's face. He thought he might have seen a tear come from Itachi's eye as his own seemed to burn more.
With a willpower he didn't know he had, Sasuke lowered his arm, turning his back on his greatest desire.
He would have collapsed to the ground, but Rin caught him.
"Sasuke." She whispered to him, trying to talk to him.
"I can't." He choked out, not even knowing in relation to what. "I can't."
Naruto had been placed gently on the ground, his eyes still going in and out of focus, while Kakashi was standing over Itachi.
A few minutes later, Jiraiya and what looked like pictures of the Nidaime Hokage in the history books showed up, the two approaching Itachi.
"Where is Ashina?" Tobirama demanded coldly, his Killing Intent directed at Itachi, "What happened to the marker I put on him?"
Sasuke shivered at the Killing Intent, as well as all the other Genin.
"Nidaime-sama," Jiraiya said, looking at the armoured man, "You are causing an issue." He glanced towards all of them.
Tobirama realized that and reigned it in, simply giving Itachi a cold look.
"I need something to hold him." Kakashi said, still looking at Itachi, "Try anything and I'll do the same thing as before." he gestured towards his left eye.
Jiraiya stepped forward and pulled out some type of tag, planting it at the center of Itachi's brow.
"Try activating your Sharingan and it will explode." Jiraiya said, pulling Itachi up, and proceeded to plant another tag on his back.
Tobirama furrowed his brow and turned towards Konoha, before nodding.
"It seems the fighting has ended, Jiraiya," Tobirama said, "I will assist my brother in killing the other one." Tobirama then disappeared, no trace of him left.
Sasuke looked at Naruto and prayed that he'd be okay.
The other Konoha genin went towards Naruto while Jiraiya led Itachi away, Kakashi kneeling down to look at Naruto.
"Naruto," Rin whispered, running a hand through her brother's hair, "What happened?"
Naruto kept his eyes shut and groaned out a reply.
"G-genjutsu." He managed to say, his hand going up to his head.
Sasuke knew what happened to Naruto. If he was conscious, then it wasn't as bad when he was put in a coma.
Thank Kami for small miracles.
The next hour or so was a blur. Several Jonin eventually showed up and they were led back to Konoha, the streets soaked and several corpses of Suna and Oto nin had wounds in their backs and looks of shock on their faces.
Even if Sasuke had never seen war, it seemed strange that there weren't as many bodies of Konoha Shinobi, although there were still a great deal.
Naruto had finally fallen asleep and was carried to one of the rooms to be monitored, one of Jiraiya's clones present in the event that 'something' occurred that Sasuke didn't know, but suspected.
The two Hokages had come back with disappointed looks on their faces, meaning the one had got away. The immediately made a beeline to where the Sandaime had been taken and refused to leave the room.
The different medical centers were crowded with the wounded and anybody cleared as stable was ordered to leave. Hinata's father, being more disheveled than Sasuke had ever seen and covered in a mixture of sweat, dust, and blood, had pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the head, showing an almost foreign amount of affection to her publicly.
The two had left and he and Rin were told to leave, Kakashi leading them to Rin and Naruto's apartment, the area being naturally more secure from the seals.
With a promise to give them updates, Kakashi left, shutting the door behind him.
Sasuke looked at Rin, the loud and assertive blonde that was his closest female friend, and saw how concerned she was for him, even though her twin had been hit with a Genjutsu from his brother.
"Rin." He said weakly, not knowing what to say after the nightmare that was this day.
Rin didn't need any prompting and hugged him, her entire body shaking as she clung to him like a lifeline.
Sasuke felt his legs collapse as everything hit him all over again.
Itachi was a prisoner now. He was free.
"It's over," Sasuke cried into Rin's shoulder, "The nightmares. They're finally over."
The two reincarnations, destined to fight one another, clung to each other as the only light the two currently had in the trying day.
////////////////////
"So this is what the Kamui dimension
actually looks like?" Ashina mused to himself, gazing around at the area.
A desolate and greyish rock, for a spiritual desolate and grey person.
"Well, no time like the present." Ashina pulsed a chakra blade, cutting into the ground.
After a few minutes, Ashina finished his artwork, hoping it didn't automatically repair itself.
"One small step," He recited, making a hand seal to make a shadow clone.
A copy of him appeared and looked at him skeptically.
"Was it really wise to be teleported somewhere that technically isn't even on the same planet?" The clone asked, "No kind of reverse summon gets you out of this."
"I don't plan on it," Ashina reminded the clone, having an exact copy of his memories, "I can deactivate the reanimation jutsu whenever I wish. The tags I gave Hiruzen were separated because the one for me was special, remember?"
The clone huffed and leaned towards him, pulsing chakra into its fingers, "You sure this will work as an Edo?" It pressed on his chest.
"Only chakra is needed to anchor it." Ashina was aware of the insanity of talking to what was technically yourself, but he had no one else.
After the seal was placed on him, Ashina started carving out messages in the ground, causing the bunshin that had to be his annoying half to huff.
"Must you do this?"
"In the event that Obito doesn't listen," Ashina didn't look up, still marring the ground with different things, "Then I need this message here where he might be a little more serious."
"You drew male genitals the moment you got here." The clone pointed out.
"I've lived nearly a hundred years , bunshin," Ashina remarked, finishing the one string of sentences, "Dying doesn't change your lack of maturity."
Ashina finished up and went towards another part of the pocket dimension, noticing chunks of rock.
"Imagine if Kakashi teleported something in here while Obito was relaxing," Ashina said aloud, "A missile would have been quite funny. Or an arm," He chuckled, carving into the ground with his chakra blade, "Or a nail. So many random things."
Ashina's head then perked up.
"Or an arrow. I don't think his healing would've saved him from that."
Whistling a certain tune, Ashina finished up his work and sat down, marvelling at a sight he honestly never thought he'd see.
The killjoy clone seemed to want him to voice aloud his reason for lying to Naruto and choosing a different plan.
"Why not just kill him like Naruto wanted?" The bunshin asked, referencing Obito.
"Believe me, I want to tear his eyes from his head and leave him stranded here for what he did to Kushina," Ashina said coldly, "But the real enemy is Zetsu."
The clone winced at what he said.
"Would you mind not saying the name out loud?" The bunshin asked, looking around worriedly.
Ashina was not impressed by this clone.
"You're definitely my annoying version." Ashina rolled his eyes. "Let's celebrate. We're doing something we never thought possible."
"And it only cost us our freedom and the mask." The bunshin deadpanned.
Ashina responded by taking off the mask and gazing at the bunshin with an unimpressed look.
"Naruto can't be an idiot and try and kill himself by fooling around with this thing if it gets sucked up into this." Ashina pointed at the seal on his chest. "He is far more reckless than I ever was." He added the last part almost as an afterthought.
The two remained silent, before the bunshin broke it.
"How are you going to do this? It's best to always think things through with yourself."
"I already know what to lead with," Ashina said clearly, almost genuinely insulted, "Tell him the nature of Nohara Rin's death, specifically how Madara planned it. With Zetsu claiming to be Madara's will, Obito may have a few questions for the bastard about the convenience of his teammate, the reason he wasn't going to help Madara, getting killed. I need not say anything else. Just that Obito was played for a fool."
"That leaves out how you know this."
Ashina lifted up the mask and waved it slightly as his reasoning.
"Feed him a line about seeing into the future about what would happen. That also justifies my reasons for hunting Madara when I did."
"This is thin man, real thin."
"It's anorexic thin." Ashina finished the quote, muttering about how he was too old for this.
After what felt like hours, nothing still happened. Obito hadn't showed up.
"Should you have been honest with Naruto?" The bunshin asked, "He might have understood why you had such anger at Sasuke."
Ashina knew why the bunshin was asking these questions. He was still pondering why he didn't say anything to his grandson.
'If I didn't see the notes you had sealed under the loose board in your bedroom, I might have actually believed you about having dreams. But visions coming from Madara doesn't teach you those words.'
Ashina didn't know how he had memories from another life. A life not his own, but a life nonetheless.
He'd been 16 when it happened. Right after his father had demanded he make a seal for the Hyuga clan, he'd gone to sleep, tossing and turning. But that night, he felt like a Yamanaka had slammed into his head and he had been out of it for hours, trying to make sense of what had happened to him.
Disjointed memories of things he didn't know, shattered pieces that didn't make much sense unless he concentrated.
The parts he could understand helped him to become a truly dangerous Shinobi, but the greater context eluded him until the Senjutsu experiment. Once he had synchronized his meditation and the flow of his chakra, he'd put on the mask and the anchor activated, flooding Nature chakra into his system.
The memories that he only had parts of clicked in place and he realized how much he had missed.
'And everything I was cursed to see still came about.' He thought to himself. 'Tobirama still died, the world was still consumed by war, and it all came crashing down.'
"Whatever happened to me, seemed to have hit him worse," Ashina said to himself, "But he seems more adjusted as a thirteen year old than I was when I was older."
Ashina really wished he was capable of feeling pain like he had when he was alive. It could let him know that he felt.
"My bloodline truly is cursed," Ashina mumbled, "I knew the risk with Kushina being in Konoha, but I could have nipped it in the bud by killing Madara."
Ashina pulsed chakra into his hand and gazed at the gold dancing along his fingers.
"Nothing changed except for Naruto and Rin." He exhaled, putting his face in his hands.
His two grandchildren were proof that something good could come about from whatever the memories were that acted like a curse to him.
'Rin will be great because of that infernal chakra that clings to her, and Naruto will be great because of what happened to him.'
He did change something, in the end. This world wasn't the one he'd seen fragments of through the lense of some strange moving picture that was invented years later, it was real. The boy with Kushina's attitude and round face didn't exist to be betrayed by Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto had the hair of their clan. Rin was the one that had the chakra and hair.
Steeling himself, Uzumaki Ashina sang to himself in the words of a language that felt both foreign, yet familiar at the same, in preparation for one last thing to change.
/////////////////////
End Chapter
.
This part with Ashina was always the plan for him the moment I decided to introduce him as a character. The reason for his capabilities are now shown, and the knowledge that his grandson, the beautiful thing that exists outside of the nightmare of a future he saw, is burdened similar to how he is.
This is the reason why this 'verse has the Uzumaki clan being even more infamous among the other nations.
And no to anyone who is worried about other people having such knowledge. Ashina is the only one. He was the catalyst of the AUness of this.
Canon Shippuden is DoA with Orochimaru getting axed and Itachi being taken. This was why Itachi showed up, to change it all the more.
Anyway, comments are very much appreciated and I hope you guys enjoy. Cya.
Raging.
