Chapter 62 : Truths (5)

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Sasuke was able to catch his breath easier than last time, and he was less exhausted.

"You really earned your title, didn't you?" Sasuke smirked. "All of these things are amazing, and I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I don't see why you need to show them to me."

Naruto finally changed his expression. He now looked angry. "What you've seen is my promise to you. What you have seen is to prepare you for what you're about to see." Sasuke was confused. "Let me show you the truth about Itachi. Let me show you what must be done."

Naruto's hand touched Sasuke's head for the last time.

*****Flashback.*****

Naruto fell to his knees, his heart breaking when he felt Itachi's mind. "Why?" Naruto asked, his voice a soft whisper.

Itachi's small smile wasn't fooling anyone. "You know why, senpai," he responded. "Danzo –"

"Danzo…" Naruto repeated the name with venom. "…will pay for what he's made you do. We had a plan, it was going to work! That scum will fall by my blade." He had never been this angry before.

Wind blew through the trees of the forests surrounding the Naka Shrine. "Whether there was a plan or not, what's done is done. The Uchiha's plan to take over Konoha is destroyed, and we can keep the name pure."

"What about your name?!" Naruto shouted. "You'll be called a traitor, a murderer!" He closed his eyes. "You don't deserve this..." He opened his eyes and looked at Itachi. "Why would you listen to someone like Danzo? Why didn't you come to me?"

Itachi smiled again, and this time it was a genuine smile. "For Sasuke," he said. "He agreed to let my otouto live."

"And you think I would have killed him?" The blond asked.

"You would carry out any orders the Lord Hokage gave you. I couldn't risk that, not with my brother," the Uchiha replied honestly.

The Uzumaki didn't have anything to say about that because it was true. He'd destroy the world if asked by his god.

"So what now?" the blond asked. "What are you going to do after this?"

Itachi's expression morphed into a serious one. "I had help," he began. "I went to a man who claimed to be Uchiha Madara." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "If I joined his organization, he said he'd help me. I have a bad feeling about him, even if I don't think he's truly Madara."

"So you're joining to, what, act as a spy?" The blond asked.

"Yes." Itachi nodded. "I'm going to keep an eye on them from the inside." He looked at the stars that flooded the sky. "May I ask a favor of you, captain?"

Naruto sighed, but nodded. "Yes."

"I trust Danzo as much as I trust the Tsuchikage. I'm going to ask Hokage-sama to watch over Sasuke, to keep him safe…" He gave Naruto a pleading look. "The Lord Hokage won't be here forever, so I ask only one thing of you." Naruto already knew what he was going to ask.

"Sasuke will be safe as long as I take breath, Itachi. I promise." Naruto swore with certainty. Itachi smiled. He knew Sasuke would be fine now. He could leave and protect Konoha from the shadows of her enemies without worrying about the safety of his beloved little brother.

"Thank you, my friend," Itachi whispered. "I must speak to the Hokage." He put his ANBU mask back on. "Goodbye, Naruto-senpai, and thank you, for everything."

Itachi Shunshined (Body Flickered) away, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts in the forests that belong, used to belong, to the Uchiha. The first human friend he had ever made had just been torn away from him, and it was all because of Danzo. A little brother had just lost his entire family, and it was all because of Danzo. Naruto was crying, and it was all because of Danzo.

The Bringer of Hope craved a man's blood, and that man was Shimura Danzo.

The monster had the old war hawk in his sights, and there was nowhere he would be safe. It was only a matter of time now.

"Itachi…"

****End Flashback.****

Naruto's hand left Sasuke's head slowly. The young Uchiha was frozen, unable to speak. He couldn't even tell if he was breathing, but that didn't matter. Naruto had never lied to him, so there was no reason for him to start now.

Naruto had always said they would kill the person responsible for their shared pain. Not once did he say they would kill Itachi. Not once did he utter a bad word against Itachi. By the time he realized that he was in fact breathing, he was already hyperventilating.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, but the name might as well have been shouted because it got through to him. "Look at me."

"It's not true…" Sasuke whispered breathlessly. "He killed them to test his own strength… he showed me… It's not true…" His words were soft and slurred. He just couldn't believe it.

"I said look at me," Naruto said with a little more strength.

"He's a traitor… He wanted to kill me, not save me… He's a slaughterer…" Sasuke still couldn't catch his breath.

"Look. At. Me!" Naruto shouted, his voice breaking the raven-haired boy out of his shock. "Am I talking to an infant, or a proud Uchiha shinobi? Which is it, because I have neither the time nor inclination to teach babies how to breathe." Sasuke tried to calm himself down. "You are one of the last two Uchiha, a powerful clan of Konoha, of Heaven. You will not act like a newborn. You will calm your mind and listen to what I have to say."

Sasuke nodded, calming his breath enough for Naruto's liking.

"The Uchiha had grown tired of being treated like outsiders, and to be honest, their claims were not empty. However, their methods were unacceptable. They planned to overtake the village – they planned to kill our Hokage." Naruto looked to his right, able to see a portion of the Lord Third's stone face. "The Hokage made a plan. He wanted to send me in to eliminate those who wished harm upon Konoha. This would have worked, too, if it wasn't for Danzo."

Sasuke just stayed silent, trying to keep his calm so he could hear Naruto's words, so he could hear the truth.

"Danzo made a deal with Itachi." Naruto's face turned into an angry visage. "If he killed the entire Uchiha clan, his brother, you, would be spared." Naruto took a deep breath. "You want to know the truth about Itachi, Sasuke? Here it is," he looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. "He was ready to die as a criminal and a traitor. He accepted disgrace in the place of honor, and hate in the place of love. Despite all that, he did everything he had to with a smile on his face, for the peace of Konoha, and most of all, you, Uchiha Sasuke."

Disgrace in the place of honor?

"I wish to kill a certain man, a certain traitor…"

Hate in the place of love?

"Hate me, Sasuke. Hate me, and when you have eyes like mine, try to kill me."

Naruto could feel the young Uchiha's mind. He could feel all the anger, the desperation, the hopelessness just wash away.

Like Naruto when he resolved to kill the scum from Kumo all those years ago, something in Sasuke just clicked. He knew what he had to do. He could now feel and understand himself.

He knew what he was now.

Naruto smirked when he heard the first words the new Sasuke spoke, and he knew they were for Danzo.

"Death to all enemies of Heaven."

Spoken like a true monster.

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