Forced Fate

align="left">

Opening:





The 'giant snake scare' that had occurred near a month ago,

had caused quite a ruckus in the Leaf village. The sighting

of a giant snake lead to the belief that Orochimaru was

coming to destroy Konoha, to finish what he'd begun two

years ago. A frantic search for the Hokage began, troops

were being marshaled, and preparations for securing the

villagers were underway. It was a giant disorganized mass of

organization.



Scouts were sent out to get a better idea of what they would

be dealing with. Their orders were to get numbers and

locations of enemy ninja, but ultimately it was the bringing

in of one injured girl, Haruno Sakura, that helped clarify

what in the world was going on.



As soon as the name Itachi fell from her lips, the Hokage

and ANBU were summoned. Sakura was brought to the hospital

and questioned while the staff worked to assess her

injuries.



She'd confessed that Uchiha Sasuke had saved her from the

Akatsuki member Kisame. The gate guards confirmed her story

saying that a man resembling Sasuke had indeed brought her

to the gates. Her story also indicated that Itachi might

have taken Naruto.



She knew they had confronted each other, but that was the

last she knew. Her fight with Kisame had lead her away from

her blond friend.



Scouts had scoured the forests around Konoha far, wide, and

deep. They returned with Kisame's body, but no sign of enemy

shinobi, Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi, or Naruto.



All evidence, or lack thereof, suggested that there was not

an Orochimaru attack. The giant snake was determined to have

been Sasuke's doing and he was nowhere to be found. No other

enemy had been spotted, nor was there any sign of any having

been, at least not in invasion numbers anyway. There was

definitely evidence that a huge fight had taken place around

where the snake was spotted.



The gathered troops needed only to be sent out to look for

the three missing ninja. The number one priority was to find

Naruto. If anyone came across either of the Uchihas they

were to attempt capture only if they were properly equipped,

but none had been that lucky or… unlucky.



Naruto had been found alone and unconscious. Knowing Itachi

had attacked him; Tsunade immediately scanned his mind for

injuries. Strangely it was found intact, but his body was

severely exhausted, and had begun to degrade. He'd remained

unconscious for at least three weeks, his body and mind

needing the rest.



Everyone, Tsunade and Naruto's friends, had rejoiced when

they heard he'd awoken, but that joy was short lived. An

attack the likes of which could only be described as "latent

torture", assaulted Naruto's mind almost as soon as he woke

up, and it quickly rendered him unconscious again.


/>

During Naruto's second unconscious bout, Tsunade did another

mind scan finding there was indeed trauma there. It was

strangely disturbing to find no trauma the first time, and a

lot of it the second. To the best of her knowledge, which

was extensive, she knew of no possible way this could happen

without outside influence.



Regardless of endless questions with no answers, she worked

hard to heal the damage, knowing that when Naruto awoke he

might be able to answers her many queries. Oddly enough she

had found spots already in the process of healing. Naruto

had been healing himself, or more appropriately the Kyuubi

had probably been.



Tsunade's healing had been successful, further examinations

showed no further sign of mental trauma. Now she only needed

to wait for her favorite villager to wake up, and hope he

hadn't suffered much emotional damage. Tsukuyomi could be so

damaging on one's confidence…



A few more days rest found Naruto conscious again, and in a

very sour mood. Tsunade greeted him happily as did Sakura

and Kakashi. They cared nothing for his mood, good or bad

they were ecstatic to see him alive and well. They had all

been dying to question Naruto, to know what the hell

happened.



While Naruto was unconscious, he'd actually had a

conversation with the Kyuubi. The nine tails had explained

away Naruto's memory gaps, and the latent torture, and how

Itachi got away. The Kyuubi had explained to Naruto, and

Naruto related the tale to them.



All their speculations couldn't even compare to the truth of

what happened, and as Naruto related the tale as best he

could his friends were reminded of just how 'special' Naruto

was.

---

Itachi could feel Sasori's eyes on him for the thousandth

time today. It was the first time he'd seen the other

Akatsuki members since he came back from the Kyuubi

encounter. They were all randomly shooting him looks… they

were curious.



None would ask him outright what exactly had went on that

day, but he could tell from their 'I'm not staring at you'

looks that they wanted more information. They wanted

details. He mentally shrugged. The outcome was what it was,

details wouldn't change a thing.



It had been weeks since Itachi had fought the Kyuubi's

vessel, and still he wasn't fully recovered. His plan had

been to expose the blond boy to Tsukuyomi long enough to

render him unconscious, but not kill him. It didn't matter

if the kid was harmed in the process; he only needed to be

alive, alive long enough for Akatsuki to rip the nine tails

from him, nothing more.



Itachi's plan didn't quite work out as he'd hoped, and

inconveniently Itachi had been the one to almost die.





It had seemed such a full proof plan… simple but effective.

Itachi would render the yellow haired shinobi helpless while

Kisame watched his back.



The two Akatsuki couldn't believe their good fortune. Naruto

was virtually unprotected. Konoha knew Akatsuki, a very

dangerous organization, wanted Naruto and here the boy was…

utterly defenseless. At the very least Itachi had expected

the village to send Kakashi or someone else of his stature

to accompany Naruto when they finally got the brass to send

him on a mission, but surprisingly he was with a single girl

companion. It was either a testament to Konaha's confidence

in the two shinobi, or it's ignorance and stupidity. Itachi

favored the latter.



It had seemed overkill having Kisame with him when they

found only Naruto and a pink-haired girl trodding through

the forest. Surely the kunoichi wouldn't be a problem for

Kisame, and Naruto… well Naruto shouldn't be a problem, not

with Tsukuyomi anyway.



'I thought the boy defenseless, and yet I was defeated.'

Itachi wasn't really bothered or surprised by his defeat, at

least not where conventional emotions were concerned. He

certainly hadn't expected to be defeated, but he was, and

that was that. 'It happened how it happened.' He wasn't

angry or upset, and he certainly wasn't confused. He knew

exactly how he got beat.



He wasn't surprised when the blond ninja collapsed under the

influence of Tsukuyomi; that was part of the plan. Naruto

was not equipped to fight such a technique; he wasn't a

sharingan user, and he wasn't an Uchiha.



Itachi had physically tortured Naruto, much like he had

Kakashi, but the yellow haired boy proved to be quite

resilient to that. Not because he was a mental giant that

fought the illusion, but because he could withstand a lot of

physical pain. Itachi found a challenge in that, in Naruto's

strength.



There weren't very many things Itachi loved, but he did

love a challenge. He'd always found too few things that

really tested his strengths and abilities; everything always

seemed too easy. He knew one day Sasuke would become his

ultimate challenge, or at least he hoped so, but until that

day he never thought he'd find anything that would interest

him. Now there was Naruto.



If he couldn't easily break the fox demon kid through

physical torture, then he'd torment him emotionally. It was

like a great game, 'try to find the fastest way to break

Naruto'.



It was only slightly humorous that Naruto's weakest point

was his brother, Sasuke. The boy had very strong emotions

toward his ototou, anger, jealousy, love, hate… It was all

there. There was a buffet of torture points to explore in

Naruto's mind, at least where Sasuke was concerned.


/>

Strangely Naruto thought himself better than Sasuke, or so

it looked in his mind. Though it was so masked by a need for

recognition that maybe Naruto himself didn't even know it

was there. It was as if Naruto needed everyone around him to

see it, say it, and show it, or it just didn't exist. If

Itachi had to sum it up he'd say that Naruto needed everyone

around him to acknowledge in some way that he was better

than Sasuke. Naruto thought he was, but it didn't matter

unless everyone else saw too.



This Naruto was a strange fellow. He thought very highly of

himself, and yet he wanted to pound Sasuke, a boy he called

friend, in every way to catapult his own reputation to the

top. 'How delightfully hypocritical.' If Itachi was the

smirking type he might have done so at that. 'Maybe Naruto

is really an Uchiha and just doesn't know it.' He certainly

was ambitious enough; he just lacked the brainpower. His

mind just seemed so… simple. Yes, that was the perfect

description for Naruto… simple.



The older Uchiha had selectively plucked out Naruto's

thoughts, recollections, and dreams and played with them. It

was a simple thing really. He made all of Naruto's rights

seem wrong, all of his dreams seem like selfish wants, all

of his accomplishments seem like failures… the list went on

and on. It turned out Naruto was much more fragile

emotionally than physically, and passed out way too soon for

Itachi's liking. It had been a fun but very short-lived

game.



Itachi had felt Naruto's mind collapse, felt him lose

consciousness, but he couldn't pull away from the blond

boy's mind. He couldn't end his own jutsu. The tortuous

images were still flooding out of him and into the boy, but

mentally the boy wasn't there. It was unexplainable. That

was when it had happened.



A sinister laugh had sounded in his mind. It was a deep,

menacing, growl-like sound that vibrated throughout his

thoughts, and then the torturous images were flooding out of

him so fast they felt like they were being ripped away. It

was so hard to explain, but he was being held in his own

jutsu, like something had grabbed onto it and didn't want to

let go. He couldn't help but wonder who or what would want

that, and then it hit him… it was the Kyuubi.



The Kyuubi had come out to fight for its vessel. It had

surfaced when Naruto passed out, and now it was forcing

Itachi to stay in a jutsu that used a lot of chakra. The fox

had taunted him with his powerful voice and awesome

presence, tried to physically manhandle him, torture him.

Had Itachi not known everything was happening in his mind

he'd have died, and the Kyuubi's tactics would have worked,

but Itachi was too familiar with Tsukuyomi to be affected by

it.



As it was, the Kyuubi didn't need to physically fight him,

or mentally torture him, just forcing him to indefinitely

use his jutsu was causing enough damage. It was such a

chakra and mental concentration demanding technique that to

hold it too long or use it too much was to cause death, and

the Kyuubi knew this. The demon fox was only trying to have

fun with him by trying the other tactics.



Itachi and the Kyuubi had wrestled back and forth to control

time and space in Tsukuyomi. Time was speeding up, then

slowing down, then seemingly froze… Every now and then, the

Kyuubi would show his physical self, tower over Itachi,

growl menacingly… The nine tails was a frighteningly

impressive sight. It took incredible confidence and will

power not to give in to the demons intimidations, but Itachi

had done it. His face remained impassive through the entire

ordeal though there were times he felt anything but…


/>

It hadn't taken very long, though it had felt like an

eternity, before Itachi felt himself grow dangerously tired.

He was being drained of all of his energy at an astonishing

rate and soon would be unconscious.



Itachi had awoken on the forest floor; across from him lie

the unconscious form of Naruto. So, the fight was more

difficult than he thought, but it appeared he'd still get

the prize after all.



Itachi gained his feet, and threw his senses out… He could

hear and sense several ninja converging on the area where he

and the boy lay. How long had he been out?



He hurried to Naruto and bent to pick the boy up when a huge

burst of red chakra exploded around the blond, throwing

Itachi back a few paces. He landed on the ground… hard.

Before he could gain his footing the approaching nins he'd

sensed were right on top of his location.



He barely got away before the Leaf shinobi burst through the

trees and rushed to Naruto's side.



Naruto had been lucky… very lucky, but now that Itachi knew

what to expect he wouldn't be next time, and there

would be a next time… soon. Itachi couldn't wait.

---

Jiraiya was getting slightly worried. This conversation was

beginning to sound like a sales pitch. Obviously Tsunade was

going to ask something of him, or she was going to do

something she was afraid he wouldn't approve of.

"High paying missions, mostly A and B rank, are not coming

in like usual. They're dwindling and have been since

Orochimaru attacked. We're not fully recovered yet. This

lack of income is seriously starting to hurt the

rebuilding."



"Oh yes, that is a problem." Jiraiya dutifully stated. His

long time friend wasn't looking for advice… yet. So he

commented where necessary but otherwise didn't really say

anything.



"I suspect Orochimaru has something to do with our lack of

high paying missions, and I think this is just the

beginning." She paused, studying her fellow sannin for a

moment, looking him in the eyes to ensure his attentiveness.

"This village will continue to decline if things keep as

they are. There have already been reports of suspicious

behavior from other villages, behavior that points to them

taking advantage of us." Once again she paused for effect,

pointing to a stack of papers on her desk to show the

evidence. "They can see our imminent decline. No tough

missions, leads to weak shinobi, leads to no protection,

leads to attack, and since there's no good income we won't

even be able to hire outside protection." She never took her

eyes from his.



Oh yes, Jiraiya was definitely not liking this

conversation. She was getting more saleswoman by the minute,

and that meant he really wasn't going to like what

was inevitably coming. "So what do you plan on doing about

it?" He asked, still keeping his voice calm, belying what he

felt.



"Orochimaru has gained a lot of power and influence in these

last two years. Spies report that the reputation of his

ninja is unsurpassed. He's quickly becoming the first choice

of anyone who needs a very tough mission done. Word is

spreading that his assassins are far better than the Leaf's

or Sand's."



Jiraiya sighed. "Yea, I heard the same. I was hoping I was

misinformed."



"No, you weren't. He's gained this reputation on deeds. Any

client he's had swears by his ninja. Apparently they're so

pleased they can't help spreading the good word." Her voice

dripped with sarcasm at this last bit. "I've had spies look

into it, and they're all legit. His clients are genuinely

happy."



"So what do you plan on doing?" He asked again. 'More

importantly what do you want from me?'



"We'll need to take Orochimaru down… soon. We can start with

getting rid of some of his more skilled ninja." She looked

at Jiraiya, eyes near pleading with him to understand what

she was saying.



The frog hermit saw the beseeching in her eyes. He knew what

she meant, and it was something she was dreading. She didn't

even want to say it out loud lest it make it more real.

Well, he'd say it for her. "Sasuke… You want to take out

Sasuke as well as any other Sound nins, and you're worried

about Naruto understanding."



"Sort of… Jiraiya…" She was silent for a moment. "I want to

send Naruto after Sasuke." There she said it.



Jiraiya's eyebrows shot into the air. "By go after him what

exactly do you mean?" He snapped, a bit rougher than he

meant to. He was trying to hold his anger until he heard her

out a bit more.



"Sasuke's too much of an asset for Orochimaru. He has grown

too strong to leave under our greatest enemy's control.

Taking out Sasuke would be a big blow to our ex comrade, and

gaining him back would be a big gain for us. Either way we

benefit and Orochimaru loses."



Tsunade had to acknowledge the Uchiha's newfound strength.

Sakura had been beaten pretty badly by Kisame, and Sasuke

had killed him with enough stamina and energy left over to

carry her student to the city gates and speed his way out of

the Fire territory.



Tsunade had been training Sakura for two years now, and she

knew her student was a very strong fighter, surpassing all

of her expectations. She'd never had an apprentice that

could begin to compete with the pink haired girl's strength

and skill, and she hadn't even managed to scratch the shark

Akatsuki… and Sasuke had killed him. It was disturbing.





Thankfully Sakura's worst injuries were cracked ribs and a

concussion, though the bruises and scrapes she had

practically covered her entire body. Thanks to Tsunade and

Shizune, it had only taken Sakura two weeks to recover

physically, but mentally she was upset with what she

considered her weakness. Losing so horribly against Kisame

had crushed Sakura's newfound confidence. It was her first

real fight since her training with Tsunade, and she was

utterly pounded. Her teacher hated the defeat she heard in

Sakura's voice when she talked about the encounter.


/>

Tsunade didn't like having this powerful of a ninja in

Orochimaru's hands. The Uchiha clan had been revered

everywhere, not just in the Leaf village, as one of the

strongest and most feared. The secrets of that clan were

buried deep, and not many, if any, understood their full

potential. Who knew what Sasuke might become if left

unchecked for too much longer. There was already one Uchiha

monster on the loose… they didn't need another.



Itachi was proof of what a genius Uchiha was capable of

becoming, and he was a frightening force, killing the entire

powerful Uchiha clan by himself. God only knew if it was

possible for Sasuke to surpass him, but it was a frightening

thought she was forced to consider.



Saleswoman again. Jiraiya watched her face as she fell into

dire thought. She was trying to justify her decision, mostly

to herself he figured. She cared about his feelings, but

only to a point. In the end she had to know she made the

right choice for herself. "Tsunade. What do you want Naruto

to do?" He spoke sternly, like an adult to a child, wanting

some straight answers, no more dancing around.



"I want Naruto to bring Sasuke back… or… kill him." They

both knew he'd most likely have to kill the boy. She leveled

her gaze at him, saying so much in that one look. 'Naruto

won't want to kill Sasuke, but too bad. He's a ninja, and

sometimes we have to do things we don't like for our

village.'



'I don't want to have Sasuke killed. I am supposed to

protect him. I was supposed to protect him from Orochimaru,

but this is about the survival and safety of the whole

village.' The village must come before one boy, or even two

boys for that matter.



Orochimaru was slowly killing her village, the village she

swore to protect. Tsunade couldn't help but feel that Sasuke

had a lot to do with the snake's success. Orochimaru had to

be stopped. She wasn't going let Konoha fall on her watch.

She needed to hit her ex teammate fast and hard, send him a

sign that she's on to him. Let him know he won't succeed.

Sasuke would be the first and biggest blow in a long drawn

out war.



"Why Naruto? He's barely recovered from his last Uchiha

encounter. " Jiraiya asked, pulling Tsunade from her

musings, spitting the word Uchiha like it were poison.





He didn't like Naruto's odds. Akatsuki was still after him;

Itachi would be back more prepared, and now he'd have to

deal with Orochimaru and his lackeys, one of which, Sasuke,

just killed an Akatsuki. That was a lot.



He'd prepared Naruto as best as he could, and he had great

faith in his strength, but these were more than just battle

-hardened ninja he'd be dealing with. Orochimaru's men would

be far more experienced with real life dangerous missions

than Naruto, and it went without saying that Akatsuki

members were basically mass murderers.



Naruto hadn't even killed anyone yet, and he knew his

softhearted student would not easily make that decision.

Hesitation in real battle could mean death. He wasn't ready

for this on his own. "Who will you send with him?"


/>

"I chose Naruto because of the recent Itachi incident.

Because of the Kyuubi he's proven he can survive the

sharingan's most deadly attack." The Kyuubi had protected

him and healed him. He was the best choice.



"I wouldn't say unconscious, possible psychological damage,

suffering, and just being alive really counts as resiliency.

Not to mention--"



"He won't be alone." She shot out quickly, circumventing

Jiraiya's rant. "He'll be under Kakashi's command."


/>

I'm giving you a few more months to train Naruto; I will

continue to train Sakura, and then they go back to Kakashi.

Under his command they will go after Sasuke."



I'm hoping with the Kyuubi Naruto can immobilize Sasuke

while the other two get him, or something like that."





Jiraiya was quiet. He was upset. This plan did not sound

solid enough to him.



Tsunade could see her friend was silently seething. He was

not happy, nor did he agree. She'd have to do some more

convincing. "Don't forget, Kakashi has the sharingan too.

Those three should be able to handle him.



I'm going to send along another gennin too, but I haven't

decided who yet."



Jiraiya was still silent, unswayed. Perhaps what she said

made sense, but he didn't like it… not at all. The fact that

Kakashi would be with him gave him some comfort, but not

enough. Caught between Akatsuki and Orochimaru was not where

he wanted to see his favorite student.



He knew Akatsuki was gunning for Orochimaru, and that

Orochimaru had designs on Akatsuki. Each wanted to destroy

the other. Jiraiya didn't know why they did, but at this

point it didn't really matter. Reasons would not change

facts.



Tsunade sighed, seeing Jiraiya's inner struggle. He was

trying to accept her choice, in his own way, but she could

see letting go of Naruto was hard on him. "It's our best

hope Jiraiya. I don't enjoy sending Naruto on such a mission

either, but he is the most logical choice… Remember, he was

Sasuke's friend at one point in time. He'd be our best

chance at retrieving Sasuke alive… Besides, do you want to

be the one to tell him that he can't go on this mission,

tell him you're sending someone to kill Sasuke?"



Jiraiya sighed. She made sense. As bad as the plan was, and

as much as he didn't like it, it was the best they had. And

Naruto certainly would be pissed off if he found out that he

couldn't go on this mission. He'd do everything in his power

to ensure that Sasuke was brought back alive. Not that

Jiraiya agreed with that, but Naruto was Naruto, and he'd do

what he wanted…