Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Unforgiven ❯ Betrayal ( Chapter 1 )

Unforgiven

By Kosume Shezaki

Edited by Kraven Ergeist and Gavv55

Disclaimer: I in no way have ownership over any aspect of Naruto. They are the property of Masashi Kishimoto and whoever he has made deals with for products and the like. Suing me is like kicking a puppy.

 

Prologue: Betrayal

 

Konoha had never known true peace. Like all other villages of its type, there was a constant state of cold war between all of them as each would look for a way to topple the other. For nearly three years it experienced no more than the common dangers.

But this was soon to come to an end.

A year and a half ago, the organization known as Akatsuki launched an attack on Gaara, the Kazekage of Sunagakure, one of Konoha's closest allies. Though they were able to save the Kazekage's life, it still awakened them to the threat this group posed, as one of their most valuable ninja shared a common trait with Suna's leader: dwelling inside him laid one of the nine tailed beasts.

Soon after, Konoha set out after Orochimaru, spurned by the dying words of one of the Akatsuki members, hoping it would lead them to their wayward friend, Sasuke. In their search they saw a glimpse of the true ferocity of the beast that inhabited Naruto, forcing their new leader to seal the beast's power temporarily. An apparent betrayal allowed them to come face to face with their old friend. Sadly, the boy they once knew no longer held any care for them and would have killed them had Orochimaru not interfered.

They wanted to set out again after him, but once again, Akatsuki appeared. Konoha sent out many squads to track this pair down, but the team who found them soon realized the extent of their power. Shikamaru had been the only one to return, the clash costing him his left eye.

This was the last time anyone from Konoha faced any of the Akatsuki members. They received word of their activity and sent teams to investigate but Akatsuki was always gone by the time they arrived. Orochimaru also went unseen, seemingly abandoning Otogakure. With hostilities between Konohagakure and Iwagakure rising once more, the threat of war was looming over them. Its focus shifted inward as it prepared itself for any attacks that may come. Akatsuki and Orochimaru became secondary concerns as time went on and no word of them came. Many stopped thinking of them as actual threats compared to the openly hostile Iwagakure and paid them no heed. It wasn't like they could infiltrate their village.

~~~

Orochimaru and Sasuke stayed near the tops of trees, using the foliage for cover and to get a better vantage point. For the past several days, they had been hiding within the Forest of Death, waiting for their opponent to reveal himself. He was their last real obstacle - if he was able to fall to them, then so would anyone else.

They stopped at a tree with a hollow area in its trunk to rest and hide in case anyone else was coming through the forest.

“Do you believe we'll find him today, Sasuke-kun? Our time is starting to run out and getting caught out here would not be good for either of us,” Orochimaru asked his young partner. It was a reluctant partnership on both their parts, but neither could deny that it held its advantages.

“We still have five days at the least,” he replied. “That chuunin wasn't expected to arrive in the Grass country for several more days and those jounins were heading on extended patrol. They won't think they're missing for a while.”

“That might be. But still, we are vulnerable. It's only us out here. We need to find him soon and lure him out to keep any interlopers from interfering,” Orochimaru said with a laugh. Despite his power, Orochimaru still had some fear of the Leaf as whenever he attacked anyone associated with it never really turned out well for the poor snake sannin.

“My only misgiving is that time you kept me from finishing off the rest of his team. They were right there and you still wouldn't let me kill them.”

Orochimaru sighed at Sasuke's response, though he wasn't surprised. If there was one thing you didn't do to the young Uchiha, it was preventing him from his kill. He was never in a worse mood than when that happened.

“How many times do I have to apologize for that until you finally let it go?” Orochimaru admonished. “Can you tell me you truly would have been satisfied dealing with them back then? The other three were weak, although I do have to give the effeminate young man some credit for his deception. Reminds me a little bit of myself at your age. They weren't worth your time. As for our special friend, he was kept from his power. You would have enjoyed it so much more if that experiment weren't with them. When his little fox can come out, he is so much fun, but when was weakened like that, it's disappointing. You would have certainly won, but it would have felt so empty.”

“If we find him today, I'll consider forgiving you as long as he's as good as you say he is,” Sasuke huffed. “I don't want this to be another waste of my time.”

They got to their feet and were about to head out, when they heard the sound of someone jumping through the trees. They inched themselves out of the hollowed area to see who was coming. The nin landed on a nearby branch and had apparently seen them out of the corner of his eye as he turned to look right at where they were. It really didn't matter if he had seen them or not since a second later, a kunai embedded itself in his skull with a wet thud.

The nin's body fell to the forest floor and Sasuke and Orochimaru followed. They went through his supplies looking for any orders he had on him. They found a scroll near the bottom of his supply pack and unraveled it.

“Alright, so we have three days,” Sasuke said as the scroll dropped to the ground as they headed to the edge of the forest.

~~~

Naruto was lying down in the training ground, slowly chewing on a soldier pill as he rested from his earlier training. He slowly rose to his feet as his chakra started replenishing, and stretched a bit before walking back to where he was practicing. He inspected the hole made by the Taifu Rasengan, making sure they were perfectly smooth. He had been trying to make it more chakra-efficient, but despite his efforts its required amount never lowered. After realizing that he has worked tirelessly to make sure he had perfect control over it, a flawless sphere of raging wind.

All he really could do was train; missions were few and far between as Iwa nins started attacking any Konoha nins they came across. They were kept near or in the village at all times to make sure Konoha's forces were always at the ready. It was frustrating, but there was nothing Naruto could do about it. He tried to convince Tsunade to at least allow him and Sakura to continue to search Sasuke, but his request was barely considered before she refused. As his friend, she wanted to let him go, but as the Hokage, she couldn't. Naruto was too important and too powerful to risk him being gone during an attack. As much as she didn't want to think of him like one, he was their most powerful weapon.

Naruto heard the rustling of leaves in the trees behind him, but didn't give it much thought. Despite how dangerous the forest was, animals still lived there and they ventured near the training ground every so often. However, soon Naruto began to feel as though he was being watched. He ignored it for a few minutes, but the feeling didn't abate, and he turned to look where it was coming form.

What he saw made his breath catch in his throat.

“Sasuke…”

`It's only your mind Naruto, it's not him,' he told himself. `He wouldn't be here.'

Yet despite his doubt, Naruto couldn't stop from staring back. He looked just like he had when they found him with Orochimaru.

Naruto had turned to walk away from him when Sasuke uttered one word.

“Dobe.”

Naruto turned back around to see Sasuke disappearing into the trees. Naruto gritted his teeth and took off after him.

~~~

Naruto sped through the trees, keeping his eyes open for any glimpse of Sasuke. He caught flashes of him as they headed deeper into the forest, but Sasuke was somehow managing to elude him.

`What is he doing here?' Naruto thought as he kept up his chase. `Why now? Where has he been for the past two years!? What is that bastard planning!?'

The responsible side of him said that he should have at least contacted an ANBU before rushing into the forest of death. The rational part of him feared that Orochimaru was preparing another attack while the village's attention was focused on Iwagakure. The naïve part of him hoped that maybe Sasuke was ready to return to them.

When they reached the heart of the forest they both stopped. Sasuke had his back turned to Naruto, but something seemed wrong.

He was…paler…

“I'm so happy we were able to find you today, Naruto-kun. We've been waiting for a while and I was beginning to think it was a waste of time. Thank you for joining us today.”

Naruto looked on in shock as Orochimaru's voice came out of Sasuke's mouth. Naruto wanted to speak but no words came to him. His body began to shake in anger as the truth slowly dawned on him. What Orochimaru had done…and his failure to stop it.

“You bastard…” he muttered, through grinding teeth. “You took him!”

“Not quite,” Orochimaru said with a smirk. “Despite all I've done for Sasuke-kun, he still wouldn't give me his body entirely. So we had to reach a compromise. He gives me residence and partial control while his soul remains. It was tough at first, but we've learned to share. We both seem to share a common interest, after all…”

As Naruto listened to Orchimaru speak, he wanted to tear into him. But no matter how hard he tried he still saw Sasuke and couldn't bring himself to attack.

“There's no way you'd let Sasuke stay in that body!” Naruto yelled. “He wouldn't stand for it! He's too proud for that!”

“I knew you'd be suspicious. It seems you don't know your `friend' as well as you thought you did,” Orochimaru hissed out before closing his eyes.

All the sudden, Sasuke's body slumped forward, his skin turning from its pale color into a much healthier tone. Sasuke raised his head and locked eyes with Naruto for a second before speeding forward fasting than Naruto could react, and striking him square in the gut, knocking him into the trunk of the tree.

Naruto fell to the forest floor, but righted himself before landing and saw Sasuke standing before him.

“There are only two options you can choose Naruto,” Sasuke said using his own voice as he unsheathed the Kusanagi sword. “You can either fight me or I kill you right now. That's all.”

Naruto's blue eyes remained fixed on Sasuke's black ones as each waited for the other to make their move. Sasuke kept his icy stare on his old friend, watched for any movement indicating an attack. Naruto was twitching slightly but it seemed more out of rage than preparation. Sasuke tested him by pacing forward, standing mere inches from Naruto before snapping his wrist to grab the hilt of the Kusanagi sword, and thrusting it into his stomach.

The clone disappeared in a small puff of smoke.

“I don't need my eyes to tell the difference between a clone and your real body, but I will give you credit for being able to switch with little detection,” Sasuke said, tauntingly. “I'll take this as a sign that you're going to fight?”

Naruto leapt from the nearby tree, aiming a kick at Sasuke's head. Sasuke turned to face him, the red of the sharingan blazing in his eyes, and easily blocked the attack. When Naruto landed, he launched several quick punches at Sasuke, but they were easily evaded.

Sasuke swung his sword, aiming at Naruto's face. The tip of the blade grazed Naruto's chin, the Chuunin barely able to get out of the way in time.

Quickly deciding that close combat was too dangerous, Naruto leapt into the trees, hoping the cover would allow him time to think up some sort of plan.

“KATON! GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!” came the cry from above Naruto as he saw a ball of flame speed toward him. He jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the attack, letting it shatter the trees beneath him.

“KATON! HOUSENKA NO JUTSU!” came another cry, before Sasuke spat a series of fireballs. Naruto did his best to avoid them, though they were too great in number to dodge them all, and he hissed in pain as several shots grazed him.

A second larger salvo came, this time containing some shuriken and kunai hidden in flames. Naruto molded a small amount of wind chakra and released the burst toward the mass of fire headed at him. The wind doused the flames, leaving only the random projectiles to dodge.

Naruto took off into the forest, Sasuke close behind him.

Naruto gritted his teeth. He needed a way to get around the sharingan without showing his trump card early. His mind went over what could be used to counter it, and since mass attack and the Taifu Rasengan were currently out of the question, he opted for speed. He grasped onto a nearby branch and swung around using the momentum to slingshot back at Sasuke.

Sasuke was able to keep Naruto from hitting him full on, but Naruto still managed to get a hold of him and slam him into the forest floor. He wrenched the sword out of his hand and tossed it to the side before striking Sasuke in the face. He pulled back for another hit but Sasuke grabbed hold of his arm before it hit him.

“CHIDORI NAGASHI!”

Naruto's body convulsed as the electricity surged through him, his body becoming numb.

Sasuke threw him several feet into a tree and reached out with his hand, summoning the Kusanagi sword back to him, sliding it back into its sheath.

“A sword would be too quick for you Naruto. I want to see you suffer before you die,” he growled out as electricity began to surge into his hand.

Naruto's head rose to the familiar chirping sound and saw the chakra building Sasuke's hand. Almost without thinking, Naruto began to compress chakra into the palm of his hand, bending the chakra into a swirling ball.

Sasuke smirked, drawing his right hand back as Naruto readied the Rasengan. Both dashed forward, hands stretched toward the other and were stopped as their techniques met. The Rasengan spun furiously as the Chidori crackled, each trying to overpower the other. The attacks became unstable and an explosion ripped through their battlefield.

As the dust cleared, Sasuke looked around for any sign of Naruto, or his body. A small breeze started, slowly growing stronger and faster. Sasuke suddenly whipped his head around just in time to see a windstorm appear out of nowhere, debris blowing all around him, until it suddenly converged. Desperately, his sharingan focused on finding the source of the wind, as he looked about for a way around this new attack.

“TAIFU RASENGAN!” Naruto yelled as the massive swirling ball of wind shot out. It ripped through several tree on its path towards Sasuke who barely dodged before the sphere shot by. Even though he managed to avoid it, the force of the attack was enough to leave several slashes in its wake.

Naruto peered down the path of destruction, looking for any sign of Sasuke. He chose his steps carefully, not rushing back in. He eventually found the small clearing they had been in, though Sasuke was still nowhere to be seen.

His head suddenly turned upward as a hideous crackling noise started. He dodged to the right, just in time to avoid…

CRASH!

Naruto's eyes flew open as the tree that he was just been standing next to suddenly split into two jagged slices, the business end of the Kusanagi blade buried into the earth where the tree roots had once been, Sasuke's red eyed smirk just evident from beyond the crumbling debris.

Naruto landed, readying himself for another attack, but just as soon as he'd appeared, Sasuke disappeared from sight again.

“I have to give you credit Naruto, you're the first one to make me use this technique,” Sasuke said as he raised his arm up towards the sky.

~~~

The sounds of the fight had carried out well into the village. At first, few paid much attention to the crashes as it was not uncommon for chuunin and jounin to practice in the forest given the difficulty of its terrain. However, as the intensity of the noise increased, it drew more and more attention. The smoke rising from the center of the forest and the faintest glimpse of flames had been enough for Tsunade to put aside her duties and call all available ninja to assemble in front of her building.

Tsunade stepped outside just as the last nin appeared. She cleared her throat to speak to them, but before she could get a word out, a loud crack emanated from the direction of the forest. All heads turned just in time to see a bolt of lighting came down from out of nowhere and tear through the woods.

Tsunade looked up at the clear sky, a look of panic across her face.

What the hell?

She turned to the nins. “All of you! Get to the forest, now!!”

~~~

Fires burned in the path the lighting had traveled, leading down a line of tree trunks to the prone body of Naruto. His body was singed, he felt numb, and the only thing he could hear was Sasuke's footsteps as he came closer. Naruto fixed Sasuke with a weak glare as he stopped near his head.

“I admit I had some doubt as to whether this would be enough to finish you,” Sasuke said, no small degree of gloating in his voice. “But it seems I worried for nothing. But I'm not entirely heartless; I'll at least let you die without thinking there was something you could have done to prevent this.”

With a sick grin, he unsheathed his sword.

“You never could have brought me back Naruto. I have no love for Konoha. I don't care about Kakashi, I don't care about Sakura,” he snarled out as the sword rose over his head. “And most of all Naruto…I don't care about you.”

With those words, his sword reached the apex of its climb and was ready to embed itself in the flesh of Naruto's neck. But as he started to bring the blade down, he was suddenly thrown away as chakra suddenly surged out of Naruto like a cyclone. Red chakra swirled about him as he got on all fours, a sinister look in his now red eyes. Lifting his head to the sky, Naruto let out a howl, screeching a horrid wail of anger and rage into the sky.

Sasuke was thrown back, slamming into a tree. He looked up to see the trees around them begin to break and splinter as the force of the chakra increase and Sasuke felt something he had not experience for some time.

Fear.

That howl wasn't like the humanized growls Naruto emitted at the Valley of the End. This one was animalistic in every way. Sasuke slowly got to his feet, in disbelief that his legs were shaking. He tried to force himself to walk closer to Naruto, but the rage emanating from him froze him in place. Naruto let out another howl, trees shattered under the force, sending Sasuke flying.

Sasuke's sharingan saw the outline of the beast, but its form was still hidden within the dust kicked up by the chakra explosion. The remnants of the trees that once stood fell from the sky. The dust finally settled and Sasuke saw the beast in all its glory.

Dark red chakra composed its body, standing sixty feet tall, with Naruto just visible, floating within its chest. Unlike the image Orochimaru had shown him of when he faced the fourth tail, there was nothing slightly human about his beast. The chakra had given definite shape to the fox, red patches of fur appearing throughout the body. But what Sasuke would always remember was the creature's face. Drool dripped from its teeth as it stared at him with one real eye and a white chakra circle where the other would be.

The Kyuubi lunged forward to bite him, ripping trees out by the roots with the force of its leap. It was panic that saved Sasuke, as he took to the trees and put some distance between him and the fox.

“He has six tails now?” Sasuke hissed to himself as he got a better look at the creature after he had gained some ground.

The fox looked around, searching for him, and Sasuke tensed when he saw the beasts eyes dilate as they fell on him. Sasuke channeled his chakra into his eyes, and as the beast strode forward, he locked eyes with it, delving into its mind.

The moment he entered its mind, he was greeted with the site of the Kyuubi's jaws coming down upon him. Sasuke lost his footing at the forceful ejection and fell into the forest.

`I think retreat might be the best idea, Sasuke-kun' Orochimaru said inside Sasuke's mind. As much as he did not want to admit it, Sasuke knew this to be the best decision as well. But this creature wouldn't just let him run. He needed a distraction. But how?

As though some divine being had decided to grant Sasuke this favor, a storm of kunai and shuriken slammed into the fox. Its head turned at the new aggressors as a fire ball slammed into its face. The fox shook it off like it was nothing, and let out a bestial roar at those who had arrived. Sasuke used this opportunity to take off into the forest.

~~~

ANBU had entered the forest, keeping their distance from the Kyuubi. Something seemed to have its attention and they had taken that opportunity to attack. The weapons they had thrown had simply melted in the Kyuubi's body, its chakra eating the metal away. Even the fireball had done nothing aside from angering the beast and turning its anger directly on them. It let out a monstrous roar, and leapt toward the army of nin. Those who had dared to approach it in the forest quickly dashed back to where the rest of the nins were assembled.

The beast landed a few hundred feet from the army, howling loudly as a wave of terror fell over them. Only those who had faced the Kyuubi alongside the Yondaime Hokage managed to stand their ground, while many others were simply overwhelmed by terror. Tsunade stared up at the Kyuubi, a mix of fear and anger in her eyes. The fact that this thing was using Naruto's body to channel itself enraged her, but there was nothing she could do.

“Where the hell is Yamato!?” she yelled. He was their only hope in being able to bring this creature down and was nowhere to be seen.

“He's in the hospital right now Tsunade-sama, he was injured on a mission” Shizune told her.

“Is it life threatening?” Tsunade asked and Shizune shook her head no. “Then get his ass down here now!”

Shizune and two other nins quickly headed back towards the village, leaving Tsunade to find a way to distract the Kyuubi long enough for them to return. If Jiraiya were there, he might have been able to trap the monster long enough, but he was God knows where on one of his “information gathering” trips. The Kyuubi kept striding toward the army, shrugging off any attacks thrown at it. Fire, water, earth; none affected the Kyuubi in the slightest.

All of the sudden, the beast seemed to hesitate. Tsunade looked to see what had distracted the monster, only to see a lone ninja standing before the beast.

“Who in their right mind…?” Tsunade began, trying to see who it was.

Then she saw his face.

“Iruka!?” a wave of panic overtook her as she dashed towards him. Did that chunnin have a death wish? “Iruka, get out of there! Now!”

Iruka either didn't hear her or didn't care. He just looked up as the Kyuubi lowered its head to him, teeth bared, looking at him as though wondering whether to eat him whole or in pieces.

“Naruto, please stop this. This isn't you,” Iruka said with a calm voice as the Kyuubi towered over him. He showed no fear as he stared the Kyuubi in the face, but inside he was terrified. This was a creature that had nearly destroyed Konoha, the beast that had killed his parents. But it was also Naruto, and Iruka knew they weren't one in the same. Naruto was still in there and that mean he had a chance. “You can fight it, Naruto.”

The Kyuubi stumbled, snapping its head back and forth as though something were attacking it from the inside. It growled and whined as the pain grew and trashed about. When its movement stopped the chakra started to bubble, the definition of the body seeming to fade, and Iruka smile knowing Naruto had won out. He looked back to the others with an expression of relief, but his blood ran cold as he noticed that Shizune had returned.

“Do it now!” Tsunade yelled as Yamato appeared out of nowhere, and wood shot out surrounding the fox and restraining it. The chakra suddenly pulled back into the fox's body as it struggled against the bonds, breaking some in its struggle. Then it set its eyes on Iruka, a glare that Iruka could plainly recognize as one of accusing betrayal. It broke one of its front legs free and struck Iruka, sending his body flying, landing several feet away in a crumpled heap. More wood rose to wrap around the beast, and soon the fox was unable to move, the chakra of the demon being drained away. Yamato focused all of his chakra until the fox's form had been completely drained away, fainting soon afterward.

“Shizune, you and those two check on Iruka's condition. You three come with me,” Tsunade ordered as they headed toward Naruto's body. Those who she had chosen to help her with him did not look pleased in the slightest, but whatever hatred or fear they held was dwarfed by the horror of the boy's condition. Blood coated his body, his skin horrifically burned. In some areas the skin had been burned completely off, the muscle tissue clearly visible. Tsunade carefully lifted his body up as the other medics wrapped his body in bandages to stop the bleeding, barely able to bite back the tears in her eyes. As soon as the medics had finished their bandaging, she rushed Naruto off to the hospital.

~~~

The low hum of the ventilator and the steady beep of the heart monitor were the only sounds inside of Naruto's room. Bloodied bandages filled two trashcans in the corner. Naruto's eyes slowly opened, an immense tiredness filling his body. He lifted his head to see several leather restraints placed on his arms and chest, before his eyes met those of a nurse outside his door.

“I see you're finally awake. I'll let them know to come get you,” she said coldly as she walked away. Naruto had no idea what was going on. Why was he here? Why was he locked up? Where was Sasuke? What had happened?

Before he could even think of any answers, two ANBU appeared out of nowhere and pulled him out of the bed, leading him out into the hall. He stared up at the one to his right, noticing the signature mask and white hair.

“Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto said in confusion.

“Do not speak,” he said almost mechanically. “We are here to escort you to the council.”

Hearing this tone of voice from his former teacher was frightening in a way he could not understand.

They started to walk toward the council's court, a mass of people waiting around it. The looks they cast at him were something he had not seen for over four years. Hatred, spite, the unmasked and unadultured threats their eyes conveyed caused Naruto to start shaking as they approached their place before the council.

The leader's gaze settled on Naruto as he began to speak.

“While the council normally defers to the Hokage on issues of the shinobi, I believe many will agree that this situation goes well beyond the scope of the shinobi alone. A threat to our village and all people who reside within it has arisen and must be dealt with accordingly. We have all feared this day, some even waited for it. While the situation was under control for many years, recent events have shown that action must be taken.”

The leader paused for a moment, his words causing Naruto to break out into a cold sweat. The leader cleared his throat before continuing. “The demon that resides within Uzumaki Naruto has shown that seal has weakened far too much, allowing the beast a measure of power it has not had. With that knowledge in its mind, it will no doubt seek to break loose again, possibly even releasing its full power. The seal that was used is no longer reliable and cannot be trusted. Its weakness caused the untimely death of one of our beloved teachers, Umino Iruka.”

Time stopped.

Naruto's legs gave out, and the ANBU had to catch him before he fell to the floor. He vomited up what little was in his stomach as he began to dry heave and sob.

Iruka? Dead? At his hands? How was that impossible? He would never! Not Iruka!

`This isn't happening…' he said to himself. `This isn't happening, this isn't happening…, Over and over, he repeated the mantra in his head, as he stared unblinkingly at the floor, hoping it was a nightmare. He couldn't have killed Iruka! He couldn't have!

But no amount of repetition could erase what he'd done.

And all at once, the tears spilled out of him.

The show of emotion did little to effect the council leader.

“It is for this reason that this council has ordered for the only safe solution to be used; death. The Kyuubi is bound to Naruto's life, and if he is killed, the fox dies with him. I have no doubt that Naruto understands the necessity of this sacrifice for the safety of the village. He should be a considered a hero for accepting this fate. Therefore, it is the decision of this council that Naruto be executed at noon tomorrow.”

The irony of that title was not lost on Tsunade, who was barely able to hold in her anger. People cheered at the announcement, their hatred and prejudice rising once more. She looked at Naruto in the distance, utterly broken and alone and desperately wished she could do something. But even with all her influence as Hokage, there was nothing she could do. If she tried to intervene, she risked a civil war within the village. Many had clamored for the boy's death the moment he was taken back to the village, and they would not be satisfied until he was. Tsunade turned and walked back to the Hokage tower, adding another person to the list of those close to her who died dreaming of protecting this village.

~~~

In their celebration over the execution announcement, the nin of Konoha had become quite lax in their defense. Had they been more aware they may have noticed a pair of nins enter the village, garbed in black cloaks emblazoned with red clouds. These two watched from a nearby roof, taking in every piece of information given. Itachi looked over their orders once more:

Capture the Kyuubi's vessel by any means necessary.

“Things really couldn't be better for us could they Itachi-san?” Kisame said through his toothy grin. The boy was broken; the nins were clueless and ready to accept his death by any means and those who would defend him were far too few to make a difference. The situation was ideal for his capture.

“They are very agreeable, but we should make sure not to be too confident. There is always the chance more might fight for him than we think,” Itachi replied calmly.

To most others, the look on Itachi's face would seem as stoic as ever, but Kisame saw the differences. The slight curve of his lips, the gleam in his eye, and that subtle joking tone in Itachi's voice made Kisame smile.

Tomorrow was going to be a very good day indeed.

~~~

 

 

AN: Alrighty there's a few things I need to say. First off, this fic took a long while in the making for just one chapter. It's the product of about 20-30 hours of discussion, and since as you can tell this will be dealing heavily with Akatsuki, we're going to have to flesh them out far beyond what we've seen in the manga. Updates will come when I feel I have enough story to get a quality chapter done. It might take less time as I have given great though to some future ideas and my editors like them as well.

Second is the issue of pairings. They will be of little consequence for this book(it's looking like the whole thing will be a trilogy) so please don't ask for pairings. We already have the ones we might use if we decide to go a slight romantic path.

Third is the Hidan and Kakuzu fight. I started work on this about 3 weeks ago and could not see a way out for Asuma and Izumo and Kotetsu, and still don't. Also the stuff I'm planning for Shikamaru cannot have Asuma still alive. Depending on how the manga goes I might rewrite the fight scene when the time comes. But those three deaths are set in stone in this story.