The truth behind it all(Itachi x Naruto)18+

Chapter 6: The beginning of something new

“Sandaime-sama, I´m sorry to disturb your evening, but I have important news!” The ANBU with the cat mask knelt in front of the aging Kage.

“What is wrong?” Sarutobi asked with great concern. The ANBU was not the kind of shinobi that would disturb his night off without a very good reason.

“Someone has attacked the Uchiha clan, Hokage-sama… it’s a massacre. I was on a routine check as I saw the signs of a fight… there are multiple deaths.”

“… A massacre? Assemble your team and any ANBU present in the city and search for survivors, the perpetrator and try to find any traces of who did this and where they went. Ask your captain to see me right away!” The old Hokage ordered.

“I´m already here, Sarutobi-sama,” the ANBU captain stepped out of the shadows and knelt next to his subordinate.

“Good, Cat-san you know what to do!” Sarutobi said and watched as the ANBU bowed and exited the room through the window.

“Kakashi-san, what is going on here?” The Hokage sighed.

“I´m not sure, but I felt three unidentified figures near the Uchiha district about an hour ago, but the chakra levels where so low that I didn’t suspect anything… I don´t think that they had anything to do with the massacre though!”

“I know, Kakashi, but who would do anything like that?”

“You know that I never had much trust in the Uchiha family’s loyalty towards you, Hokage-sama… I-“

“Let’s not draw any hasty conclusion, my friend. I trust that you and your team will search our borders for any signs of threats and protect us while we investigate the situation.”

“Of course, Sarutobi-sama… What about the boy?” the silver-haired man asked.

“Ah you mean little Naruto-kun? I have already sent for Umino-sensei as he is the one with the closet bond to him… I share your concern that whoever did this… could be interested in the Kyuubi as well.”

“… I guess I’ll be on my way then. I will return with a report as fast as possible.” Kakashi rose to his feet, bowed and disappeared as he used a transportation jutsu just as someone knocked on the door.

“Enter!” The old man said with a sigh. This night was going to change a lot of things in the hidden village of the Leaf, of that the Sandaime was certain.

“Hokage-sama, you called for me?” The scared academy teacher bowed respectfully to his leader.

“Ah, Iruka-sensei, I have a favor to ask…”


~ # ~

“Uchiha Itachi?”

Itachi stopped his movement through the treetops and landed smoothly on the soft green forest floor.

“Who want’s to know?” He asked coldly while regaining his calm and expressionless appearance. He knew that they where the one he had sensed before. The ones with the enormous chakra. Itachi activated the sharingan and studied the three people who landed in front of him. They were truly skilled, because he had to concentrate to feel their hidden chakra and to be able to mask chakra like that; one had to be strong and in perfect control of both body and mind.

“My name is Hoshigaki Kisame, and this charming girl is Konan and that’s Pein.” The blue skinned fishy guy said with a toothy smile.

“So?” Itachi said with a bored tone. He wasn’t going to give in and let them know just how interested he was to spar with them, to learn and become stronger while using their power and knowledge for his own benefit.

No matter what had just happened back there... he was still a shinobi of Konoha and as such he would never swear loyalty to anyone else. He was on secret mission to reveal the truth behind the attack of the Kitsune no Kyuubi and to become strong enough to be among the best. Naruto would soon enough grow strong and prove his worth… and Itachi would make sure that he would be ready to welcome his little angel back.

He had to be strong enough to fend of the blonde until he would be able to unlock Naruto´s memory when the time was right… to show the blonde that all this was done to protect him from the evil intentions of the clan.

“We want to offer you a job, so to say!” replied the fishy guy.

“A job? Why?” Itachi hissed.

“You are a missing nin, Itachi-san.” The pieced man smirked at him. “The will hunt you down like a mad dog and kill you.”

“I´m too strong for them, no matter who they would send, I’d kill them!” The Uchiha crossed his arms over his chest. ´This guy is different from the other two… probably the leader. `

“Yes, you are, but who long will you be able to defend yourself when you stay on your own? You can learn a lot from us and as a group we are stronger than individuals. Together we have the power to write history. Wouldn’t you like to become stronger than you are now? To use your full potential?” Pein asked.

Itachi used the sharingan to examine the orange-haired leader, he was hiding his true form from the Uchiha, and that made him curious. He wanted to know the secret behind this man and the fact that these guys were strong; they would surely know how to get secret and sensitive information.

This was a win – win situation from Itachi´s point of view… he decided to accept and learn all he could from them and use them to get to reach his goals.

“What’s the catch?” The young killer asked.

~ # ~

Iruka knocked on the door of Naruto´s apartment for the third time without receiving a reaction with a sigh. Why would the Hokage insist upon that he had to check up on the young boy who was probably sleeping so deep that not even an earthquake would be able to wake him up! The training at the academy and the boys own training schedule was exhausting and knocked the loudmouthed blonde of his feet at night.

The brunette knew why the Hokage had chosen him for this task, as not many were on good terms with the young demon-container. The boy was not to blame for the demon that was sealed inside of him… though many hated the young blonde and blamed him for the things that was now a thing of the past.

Iruka, who had lost both his parents because of the Kyuubi had felt the same once too, but as he saw the loneliness, sadness and the confusion in the boys bright blue eyes… he just couldn’t hate the young boy who tried so hard to fit in. Iruka could somehow see a bit of himself in the boy; they way he pulled pranks and made a fool of himself to get just a bit of attention… just as Iruka used to.

With a deep sigh he unlocked the door to the apartment with the spare key that was located beneath the doormat and stepped inside.

He walked into the small apartment with the pale light of the full moon as the only source of light. The rooms were a bit messy but remarkable clean. Naruto had a lot of scrolls and papers lying around on the floor as witness that he was studying to learn for school as well as some new basic jutsus that they had been going through at the academy this week.

He was a bit stunned as he saw a new plant on the table in the kitchen. It was a ´forget me not` with a short note attached to it.
The note said:

- Naruto-chan –

Grow strong and wise and make me proud

I´m looking forward to met you again

Thank you for being you

- Your friend –

Iruka could only wonder who this friend could be, but was happy that Naruto had finally found someone who cared enough to know the boys interest in botanic.

The older nin couldn’t help to smile in relief as he entered the bedroom. There on the bed lay the snoring boy all tangled up in the sheets. Iruka walked over to the bed and sat down on it.

“Naruto?” He spoke softly as he shook the boy to make him wake up. He had promised the Hokage to make sure that Naruto was alright after all, and what was better than to ask the boy how he felt?

“Nnngh… five… more… minutes,” the boy mumbled and turned around.

“Naruto? Wake up,” Iruka called again.

“… Mmmmm, what?!” Naruto sat up slowly and blinked a few times. “Nani? Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?” the eight year old boy asked.

~ # ~

Sarutobi stared at the scroll in his hands in disbelief. He had been looking for a few of the Uchiha clans´ scrolls as this one had fallen from the shelve and hit the floor. As he picked it up to return it to its rightful place, he had felt that it was a sealed scroll that he had never seem before… and therefore he had decided to open it and read it:

´ Sandaime-sama

I, Uchiha Itachi, leave this scroll to explain my actions and my reason for leaving Konoha-gakure.

The Uchiha clan has for long planned to use the Kitsune no Kyuubi who is sealed inside of Uzumaki Naruto.

I treasure our city, its leadership and Naruto. Since you asked me to look out for the young child, I have leaned the truth about what is important in my life. Naruto-kun is no demon. He is a cheerful and warmhearted boy, even though life has always been hard on him.

I have decided to rid the world from the treat from my clan. Everyone except my brother, who has nothing to do with this, will die by my hand tonight. I have attached records of every meeting that the Uchiha clan has held for the last six month; where they plan how to use the Kyuubi to destroy the city, you and Naruto, with the sole purpose to take over the city.

I can not let them go through with it, and though I know my actions may be wrong, I´m not and innocent part of this scheme. I was a participant of these meetings and even my own father wanted me to use my connection to Naruto and release the seal that keeps the demon at bay.

I will leave this city after I have done my duty to the leaf. I will however continue to look for clues and reasons for the attack of the Kitsune no Kyuubi and I will keep an eye on Uzumaki Naruto as well to make sure that he fulfils his destiny.


- Uchiha Itachi –`

´Oh by the mercy of Kami. Itachi what have you done, ` the old man felt a sting of sorrow in his heart for the young shinobi. ´Why didn’t you come to me before taking such drastic measures? And did you kill your entire clan? `

“Hokage-sama, we have found a survivor,” the ANBU with the cat masked bowed respectfully.

“Only one? Who?” The Kage could see that the battle proved shinobi in front of him was in a light state of shock. Too find your friends and colleges tortured and murdered was never an easy task.

“Yes, sir. The only survivor of the Uchiha clan we could find was the eight year old Uchiha Sasuke… but there is more; Uchiha Itachi was not amongst the bodies we found… and Sasuke-kun told us that the one responsible for the massacre on the clan was none other than Itachi-san!”

“Where is Sasuke-kun and what is his condition?” The Hokage asked sadly. So it was true then, Itachi was the murderer of his clan. He had to talk to Sasuke-kun as soon as possible to get his version of the story before he would talk to the counsel about it.

“Sasuke-kun has only a few physical wounds but his mental state is bad. It seems that Itachi has achieved to awaken the Mangekyo sharingan and used it on young Sasuke-kun to show him everything he did to the clansmen. He is unconscious at the moment; sedated to save him from going mad,” the ANBU explained.

“I see. This is a catastrophe. How many have died tonight?”

“We don´t have the final count yet… but there are about thirty houses in the Uchiha district…and we don´t expect to find anyone else alive, Hokage-sama.”

“I understand, well done.”

“We have already begun with the cleaning… is there anything else we can do?”

“Thank you, but I have already made sure that our borders are secured, and that a search team is looking for clues… you are free to go to go home and rest.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama,” the masked man bowed before leaving the Hokage alone in the scroll room.

´So have you decided to become a double agent or a missing nin, Itachi-kun?` The aging Kage thought sadly as he walked towards the infirmary to talk to young Sasuke while wondering what Itachi had planned for his younger brother, Naruto and the future.

~ # ~

“Welcome to our secret hideout in the Konoha area, Itachi,” Pein said as he led the way into the hidden cave that served as home and meeting place of the Akatsuki.

“…” Itachi was impressed with the size of the secret hideout. It seemed that they had carved deeply into the hard mountain and build rooms and useful facilities like a training room and a kitchen.

“We work in groups of two, and we build the teams on the basis that the partners are going to complement each others abilities to form a perfectly balanced duo!” Konan explained.

“I see.” Itachi said. It seemed that these guys had everything under control. “And who would I be paired up with and why?”

“Impatient aren’t we!” Pein said with a smirk on his usually emotionless face. “Kisame will be your partner if you pass the test! Why I have decided to do that and why will be explained afterwards.”

“Test?” Itachi rose a brow at the orange-haired mans words. ´Of course there would be a test, there always was when you want to join a new” club”` He mused.

“You see, Itachi, there is a certain… artist that we want to join our midst… but he don´t want to do so voluntarily. He will join us though… if our newest member defeats him, and that would be you!” Pein explained. “We need Deidara who is known as the terrorist bomber from the hidden Rock. He uses-“

“You don´t have to tell me what kind of jutsus he uses! I´m not a weakling who needs to be instructed before a battle. You want him alive and with all limbs still attached if I´m not mistaken.” Itachi growled. He was a skilled shinobi and had the Mangekyo sharingan after all and had no need to be mothered as if he was a rookie.

“Want us to give his location to you at least or?” Konan asked.

“You said that he was from the hidden Rock, didn’t you?” The Uchiha crossed his arms above his chest and took an arrogant stance.

“Good, you know where to start. Kisame will get you equipped and will accompany you on your mission, so use the time and get to know each other. It is important that you can trust your partner because you will have to rely on each other during your future missions. You are to return with the new member at our hideout at the country of the Rice. Kisame will take you there after the job is done.” The only female of the Akatsuki explained without interest in her cold voice.

He nodded coldly at her to tell her that he accepted the terms of the test.

“So wanna check out your new gear?” The blue-skinned man grinned at Itachi.

“Lead the way.” The Uchiha told his new partner. Itachi kinda liked the older guys cheerfulness… it somehow reminded him of Naruto. Maybe this partner-thing could work out… if he could trust Kisame, of course. Time would tell if that was the case or not. Itachi also couldn’t help to wonder why his partner was looking like that? Why would he choose to take a form like… like a fish? The Uchiha decided that he would have to ask him about that once they got better aquatint.

“As a member of the Akatsuki you have to wear the right outfit!” Kisame grinned as he handed Itachi crimson ring with a kanji engraved on the top. “This is the Suzaku (the Vermilion bird)! You have to wear it on your right ring finger.” Kisame pointed to Itachi´s slender fingers.

“Don´t ever lose it, because it’s the ultimate symbol that you are one of us. There are nine other rings, just like that one which means that our little group of s-class nins is restricted to that number!” Kisame explained.” Each ring has the ability to enhance the bearer’s powers and provides us with a protective chakra shields that cuts down all blows we receive by fifty percent… pretty handy, nee?”

“Sure is!” Itachi replied as he put on the ring. He was slightly surprised as the ring came to life and adjusted its size to fit perfectly onto his finger. He also noticed that the nails on his fingers and toes changed their color to match the color of the ring.

“Oh yeah… that’s the catch though! The ring interferes with our chakra and paints our nails in matching colors… kinda makes us look like sissies eh?” The blue-skinned man laughed cheerfully.

“It’s good that we are strong enough to kick the asses of everyone who makes fun of it then!” Itachi replied with a smirk that only caused the other man to laugh harder.

“You have humor, I like that!” Kisame was happy that the stoic man wasn’t as cold as he seemed.

“There is more!” The blue-skinned man said as he regained control over his laughter. “We have to wear similar clothing to a certain point!” He handed a long, dark cloak bearing red clouds and red interior with a chin high collar.

“And on mission, we try to remain undetected as long as possible with these!” Kisame handed Itachi a large conical straw hat with small spike-like bells hanging from it to hide the face of the bearer. “You are allowed to keep your hitai-ate, but you have to scratch a line across the symbol of your village to show that you no longer give allegiance to your former home. I know it’s not easy to do so… but that’s the way Pein wants it!”

I see, and I am to follow his rules then?” Itachi hissed. He had escaped one group and their foolish rules and now he was part of another one that had a leader who had the guts to think that he could order him around.

“He is the strongest of us and undefeated after all. I don´t like it either but it has its good sides as well. I have learned more in the past year I have been a member, than in my entire life before I entered. I don´t have to worry if someone would try to kill me in my sleep and I can get my hands on sensitive information as well as the best bounties, though Hidan is more interested in that than me.” Kisame said.

“Classified information sounds good to me.” Itachi said with a smirk. He would use the Akatsuki´s resources to find the information he needed and would be able to get out of here and return to his little angel in no time… or so he thought.

TBC

# Next chapter is already in the capable hands of my dear beta, Assen-kun and will be posted very soon XD