#still. the minute yamato sees itachi. it's like this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

electrasev5nwrites · 9 months

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Ninja Daily: Vapors 101

"H-Yah! Ha! Ha! Hya!" Gai's fists were a blur as he danced around his opponent. His lips were pulled tightly across his gums, exposing both his teeth and full-hearted joy. Lee was nearly as loud, and nearly as fast. He was actually scoring more hits than his sensei, in no small part because Kisame was clearly able to see that one was more dangerous than the other and prioritized avoiding Gai's limbs when he was stuck between the two.

It was a little intimidating. Karin cringed a little, inadvertently curling close to Itachi's side. He scared her on a visceral level she couldn't explain, but at least at the moment he didn't look like he was mad with bloodlust. And he was supposed to be helping her, right? She didn't like being away from comrades. Had Kakashi separated her from her team because he was mad at her? No, he wasn't that petty. This was the best solution, she had to believe it.

'This is why I don't do field work,' she fretted, heartbeat racing. 'It's too messy.'

The rain that had been fogging her chakra sense was gone, which was a mixed relief. After so many weeks of essentially being crippled, it was disorienting to suddenly be in the midst of a new place with so many signatures moving. She could tell that the Kiri troops were intending to engage Kakuzu—and that was going to be soon, she would message them in a few minutes to let them know he was almost on top of them so he couldn't slip by. Naruto and Yamato and Sasuke were barreling towards possible hostiles. Everyone else was either fighting or slinking around inside the base—which had led to the disconcerting realization that Kakashi and Neji had found some sort of facility within the building with chakra suppressors. They'd disappeared from her view a few minutes back. So there could possibly be more people waiting in ambush.

'And I've been left with Sasuke's creepy brother.' And boy, was he ever creepy. Karin didn't have any right to complain about red eyes being unnerving on principle, but his were so distant and impassive. It was like he wasn't looking at people. He was looking at facts and figures and weighing outcomes. She shivered uncontrollably and wrapped icy cold fingers around her arms in a pitiful attempt to warm up. Once she had stopped moving, the chill had set in. Ame was awful and dreary even without the artificial and constant rain. Her long sleeves weren't much help, soaked as they were.

'There's nothing for it. I have to trust him. I have to trust Sasuke's assessment. Being suspicious of Itachi won't do me any good. I can't hope to fight him, and I need his help to make sure I can do my job. Keeping everyone aligned is too important for me to cower.'

"I-Itachi-san?" Her voice almost sounded normal. "Do you think they can beat Hoshigaki?" She immediately worried at her lower lip once the words had come out. Itachi would know, of course, he should know the Akatsuki's weaknesses better than anyone. He didn't seem like a man who would lie to reassure her. She almost didn't want to hear his assessment—if he said Lee and Gai were about to die, what would she do? Should she try to help?

"They will defeat him."

The timbre of his voice was pleasing, and the cultured enunciations he used made him sound intelligent. It was only the detached way he spoke that made it seem like something was very wrong in the older Uchiha's head.

Still, she felt a flicker of relief. "Good." Karin swallowed, allowing herself to look back at the closest fight. It was… Well, she could barely see what was happening. It was far faster than she could fight. Far faster than anything she'd seen from Sasuke or Naruto, even. She didn't want to have to interfere. It seemed more likely that she would get in the way.

"The other team will not be able to stand against Konan."

Startled, she wheeled around. "Say what? They have her surrounded five to one," Karin protested nervously. "If Gai-sensei and Lee-kun can defeat Kisame, then why…"

Itachi seemed almost pitying. "Konan is a formidable opponent." He looked away into the distance, as if he could possibly still see that fight. There was no way he could, of course. They had passed out of her field of vision six minutes prior and they were still moving, though unsteadily.

'Is Konan intentionally herding them?' She suddenly wondered, sickly with nerves. Her abilities were so stupid and useless when she didn't know the terrain!

"Kakashi-sensei… Is he going to find anything in the base?"

Itachi seemed strangely tolerant of her questions and presence—patient, even. She might as well push her luck. What was he going to do, snap and kill her? Karin suppressed hysterical laughter. She was trusting her life with a mass murderer because Sasuke said he was alright. God, if he was wrong, she was going to come back as a ghost and choke him to death with one of his pretty collared shirts.

Belatedly, she realized that she was growling. Karin stopped that.

Her companion and apparent bodyguard might have even looked a little amused at her sudden emotional shift from nervousness to vowing vengeance. "Very little. He may be interested in the holding facilities. I suspect that Suna will be interested in re-acquiring some of the individuals within."

Karin blinked, remembering Aiko's description of her time in captivity. It had sounded rather more casual than a stay in an actual holding facility. "Cells? Are those new?" she asked sardonically. Instantly, she flushed.

'Idiot! Don't try to joke with him. You don't know how he'll take it.'

The worst part was that he was so damn still that he was all but impossible to read. "No." At least he didn't seem angry, but he looked directly at her. "But they are seldom occupied. Pein-sama prefers not to keep prisoners, but he made a concession for practicality's sake. Kisame has been feeding Samehada there."

"..and Samehada is what, a dog?" she asked, feeling lost.

If that sound had come from anyone else, she might have labeled it an aborted laugh. Instead, Karin convinced herself it was a tiny cough. "His sword," Itachi stressed gravely.

'Oh, right. Kakashi said that earlier.' Feeling stressed and like her focus was slipping, Karin ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. 'Time to alert Kumo, I think.'

By now, the motions to call the twin to the serpent she had planted in Kumo's main camp were executed without so much as a thought. Gently, she caught the animal that appeared and let her twine around Karin's arms in a pitiful attempt at warmth.

"I apologize," she murmured, turning politely away from Itachi to talk to her summons. Rakki squeezed around her wrist with enough force to hurt, clearly not much appeased. "Tell Scale-sister that the digger will be with the humans from Kumo within two minutes."

"Yes," Rakki agreed unhappily, and let go. Karin let her fall, ending the connection keeping her in the human world before the serpent could hit the ground.

'They are going to be angry with me,' Karin mused guiltily for the hundredth time. It was far too cold here for her summons, and the time commitment was as long as the task was dull. She was going to have to get them so many lizards to make up for this… Mice weren't going to cut it this time.

A pained cry rent the air. Karin jumped half a foot, hand flickering with a chakra scalpel before she had decided whether her impulse was to heal or cut.

"Oh my god," she whispered, eyes wide and fixed on the smallest figure visible. Whatever had happened had clearly taken him out of commission. He wasn't even standing. "Lee!" She'd never seen him hurt like that before—he got scrapes and broken bones like anyone else, but he'd never- he was just too strong and too stubborn to be unable to fight.

It became unpleasantly clear that Gai-sensei was no longer enjoying his fight. She couldn't hear what he said, but the red chakra that coated his body couldn't possibly be a good sign.

Frantic, she surveyed the situation- Kakuzu had been engaged. The team fighting Konan was going strong. Captain Yamato's team was fine and had taken out one of their opponents. Kakashi and Neji were still hidden from her senses in some dark hole in Akatsuki's base.

She should hold her post and pay attention to the grand scheme of the theatre in case something went wrong. Instead, she tore across the mud, slipping at one point but not caring. Karin crossed the distance separating her from her downed colleague in a matter of seconds, completely forgetting that she had an intimidating shadow. Itachi didn't say anything one way or the other.

"What happened, Lee?" Karin breathed, dropping to her knees in the sod and marsh. He grinned up at her tiredly, but the cracks in his cheer showed it for the lie it was.

"I was defeated, Karin-san! But fear not. Next time, he shall not get the better of me."

Involuntarily, she cast a dubious glance over her shoulder at the carnage happening far too quickly for her to see. Suddenly, the 'Beast' nickname didn't seem like a boast at all. "I don't think Gai-sensei is going to leave anything for you to fight," she mumbled, pulling her jacket off and balling it under his head. "Hold still, Lee-kun."

Had he been any other shinobi, she probably would have pulled his shirt up before examining him. As it was, she didn't think he would thank her if she ripped his jumpsuit and left him in his tighty whities. So she gently placed just her fingertips over his gut and tried to ignore the way he winced and clenched his jaw. Karin closed her eyes, cataloguing what her senses were telling her as she moved her hands.

'Four broken ribs. One pierced the left lung and it's filling with fluid. Severe bruising, but that's almost negligible at this point…'

She summed the situation up with a blunt and professional, "Shit."

Lee gave a choked laugh. "Karin-san! Here I thought that Sasuke-san was jesting when he claimed that he was going to recommend you further study bedside manners."

"That sassy bastard? Like he's one to talk," she replied, managing to give the Chuunin a smile and totally miss the way Itachi nearly choked. Lee was incredible to be able to make jokes at a time like this. In his position, she might just be crying. How could someone be so good-natured all the time? He had to be in horrendous pain.

Speaking of which… Karin reached into the pouch at her left hip and dug out a yellow capsule. "Bite this, please," she ordered crisply, tucking it inside Lee's lips and ignoring his surprise. That would do for the pain, but pain was just a symptom. If she didn't do something about the blood in his lung, he would drown. That couldn't be first, though. She had to move the broken rib into place and at least get it patched up before she could do anything about the liquid.

The blood wouldn't be a problem for her. She'd mastered Tsunade's poison extraction technique as well as Shizune could teach her. Moving liquid was well within her capabilities.

'I wish I'd been better as an actual field medic,' Karin thought a little morosely. She was a poison specialist, not a trauma surgeon. Sasuke would be much, much better at the bone work.

But he wasn't here now, and she was.

She had no idea how long it took her to coax the rib piercing his lung back into place, but she was trembling and sweat was dripping down her forehead.

'It's quiet,' Karin noted vaguely. 'Does that mean Gai's fight is over?'

Maybe. She didn't bother to look or see what was happening elsewhere. A medic had to focus on the patient alone. Or they would end up with a dead patient.

Lee had lapsed into what she thought was unconsciousness for a second—until he blinked his eyes open to look up at her dazedly.

His breathing sounded terrible—waterlogged and raspy. A little panicked, Karin bent low over his chest to assess how much he'd bled while she'd been working. 'More than I'd like,' she grimly judged.

Still, this was the easy part.

"Keep your mouth open, and stay calm," Karin ordered, trying to sound confident and no-nonsense instead of like she was in the middle of her first surgery in the field.

It had to be incredibly unpleasant to feel a rush of hot blood being pulled up his lung and up and out of his throat, but Lee bore it stoically. Karin balanced the glob between trembling hands- and then tossed it to the side, bringing her fingers back down to the bottom of his lung to repeat the procedure again and again until there was no liquid left where it shouldn't be. Pale-faced and exhausted, she re-checked Lee's vitals—and slumped over in relief. He was doing well. Now she just needed to try to heal the other two ribs, see if she could perfect the patch over the one she had already done, and make sure he couldn't re-injure himself by-

"Karin-sensei," mumbled-

Karin blinked and looked up, downright shocked to hear the term of respect coming from Uchiha Itachi. Sensei was the traditional marker of respect for a doctor but she wasn't really deserving of that.

"Yes?" she asked faintly, and tried not to blush at the strange softness in his gaze or the way he slightly bowed his head to her.

'Maybe he just really respects medics,' Karin realized vaguely. That was unusual. Pleasant, but not the ordinary case among shinobi.

"May I suggest that you examine Maito-san?" He gestured towards a slumped figure she hadn't noticed. The movement was so subtle that she could tell it was a conscious effort for him to utilize body language at all. She instantly pegged him as even more socially awkward and repressed than Sai. Shame.

'Wait. Gai is hurt?'

But she already knew Lee was hurt-

Lee grabbed her hand. "Please examine Gai-sensei first, Karin-san!" He was all but begging.

Karin nodded slowly, detangling her hand. "Of course," she allowed, and pushed her glasses up slightly before she jogged across the slight distance. She tried very hard not to notice the blood splatters and obviously shattered bones in the over-large body that lay not far away.

"Kisame is dead," Itachi assured her, seeming to catch on to her hidden fear. She felt ashamed, but didn't allow herself to wallow in it.

Gai… was not in good shape. "What did you do," she breathed incredulously. He was slightly too unconscious to offer a reply. Every muscle she examined was torn, ligaments pushed far beyond their limits, bones cracked in odd patterns she'd never seen before… and his chakra core was depleted.

'Mito-sensei would be irritated with me,' Karin realized, even as she wiped her right forearm with a sanitary wipe from her med-kit and carefully placed it inside Gai-sensei's mouth. Sensei hadn't liked the use of her unusual abilities as anything except a literal last resort. Healing other people by gifting away her life energy took a harsh toll on Karin's body. It was unhygienic, unconventional, and her best option at the moment. Itachi moved, possibly startled or revolted, but didn't interfere when she placed her splayed fingers on the bottom of the unconscious man's jaw and used the force to 'encourage' his teeth to break the surface of her epidermis.

"I can share my vitality this way," she explained, feeling oddly ashamed of the crude methodology. Karin didn't have long to wallow in her inadequacies—Gai unconsciously sapped a horrifying portion of the chakra she hadn't spent running or fighting or healing. She gritted her teeth and pulled away, breathing heavily. It took two tries to find the proper proportions of neutral physical and spiritual energy to call up diagnostic chakra to check his condition, which she instantly recognized as proof that she was nearing her limits. That was all but instinctive at this point in her career.

And her glowing palm technique cut out before she could get a real reading. Frustrated, Karin shook her fingers out and tried again. A warm hand curled around her wrist before she could force the jutsu.

"Do not push yourself beyond what you are capable," Itachi said quietly. Almost self-consciously, he released her hand quickly and nodded at her patient. "A visual check is enough to confirm that Gai-san's state is much improved. Trust that your teammates will return, or that you may finish treating your patients once you have recuperated."

She stared for a second, light-headed and a little grumpy at being interrupted. "Are you always so… logical?" Karin scrunched up her nose in a moue of distaste. "That seems so dull."

Still, she took the advice and leaned back in a recovery position, getting as much oxygen as possible and re-gaining her bearings. "Speaking of which," Karin mumbled, barely aware that she was talking aloud. She squeezed her eyes shut. That wasn't strictly necessary, but when she was having a hard time focusing, it was helpful to separate her senses so that she could concentrate on whatever was most crucial.

Kakashi and Neji were back and making their way towards her position. So was Yamato's thankfully intact team. The other fight had moved quite a distance away—and Konan had disappeared off her vision. That meant that something had gone wrong. She was supposed to have been captured. Had she been killed or had she escaped, Karin wondered idly. It was impossible to know without further information. At least the five shinobi who'd been fighting Konan seemed fine.

Kakuzu was gone as well… As were two of the signatures she'd become familiar with from Kumo. Dead, or had they chased him out of her range?

"Karin, Itachi. Report. Any problems?" She blinked gummily, a little surprised that Kakashi had appeared so suddenly.

"Lee-kun and Gai-sensei are going to need another healing session before either one of them is moved," she offered. "Yamato's team won and is on their way back here. Ah… The fighting ended with Konan and her signature is gone, but I don't know what happened. No fatalities on our side, but I don't know about medical condition yet."

Self-consciously, she rubbed at her face and gave consideration to falling over unconscious instead of finishing her report.

Karin tabled the thought for later, because unconsciousness sounded blissful. May as well bite the kunai and fess up to dereliction of duty, because her commanding officer was going to figure it out even if Itachi didn't tattle on her. "I became preoccupied with healing, and I'm not certain if Kakuzu escaped or was killed. But two Kumo nin are either dead or out of my range as well."

Kakashi didn't seem pleased by her assessment. "Contact them, if you can," he ordered briskly before seeming to note that Neji was all but staring at his teammates. "Feel free to visit them," Kakashi advised a little more softly. "Hurry. You're going to go check on Tenten's team after that." Then he turned to Itachi last. "Any problems?"

"I suspect that Konan and Kakuzu have both escaped," he calmly put forth. "It should also be brought to your attention that Karin-sensei is not in fit condition to perform another jutsu at the moment."

A sharp eye pinned the redhead just as she made the first seal to summon a serpent. She blinked guiltily, not sure why she felt that way. "I see," the Jounin sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgive me, Karin-chan, I should have noticed. Forget what I said." Kakashi ran through his own sequence of handseals—and a moment later smoke was clearing to reveal two hounds.

Well. One of them was a proper hound. The other was a stubby little pug with big sad eyes.

"Pakkun, I need you to deliver a message to the closest units," Kakashi ordered briskly. "Tell them to contact the adjacent squad and move into Ame. We're taking temporary control of the village."

"We?" the pug asked curiously, tilting his head.

"The alliance," Kakashi clarified lazily. "Not Konoha in particular, of course. It seems that Akatsuki is definitely associated with Ame. They shouldn't pose much threat on their own, but it would be foolish to leave known enemies unsupervised when we have taken control of their base. Bisuke, stay with Pakkun, just in case something goes wrong."

The actual hound gave a pleasant yap and beat his tail against the ground one time. Karin forced down a smile. She didn't think Kakashi-sensei would appreciate being told that his ninken were adorable and cuddly looking.

The serious expression on his face leant to that impression. She was glad she hadn't moved to pet the dogs.

Some people were just so touchy. Karin gave a huge yawn that cracked her jaw. Appalled, she slapped a palm over her open mouth and tried to force her eyes to stay open.

'I should find out what Gai-sensei did that took so much of his life energy,' she decided, even as it became clear that she wasn't going to find out anytime soon. Neji bounded off in the direction Itachi indicated, clearly on course to ensure that his last remaining teammate was not also in need of medical attention.

She would have plenty of time to find out, if they were going to be stuck in Ame for the foreseeable future. Blegh. No one was going to be pleased about putting Ame under new management.

When Neji returned, it was with Tenten, Genma, and the disgruntled Suna team. Karin knew their target had gotten away before anyone so much as spoke from their downtrodden attitudes. It didn't help matters when Naruto blandly reported that they'd won their fights before turning to Temari and asking how she'd finished Konan.

'His faith is inspiring,' Karin thought dryly. 'His situational assessment is less so.'

Still, by that point she was feeling well enough to grab Sasuke and get a secondary opinion on the men in green. Karin barely noted that the large team was talking about the fight with Konan-something about her leading them to another building and making a break for the border, leading them through a delaying ambush of Ame nin. She was more preoccupied with the situation that she could alter. Injuries for the other team were less severe than even the improved condition of Karin's two patients, so she hardly felt guilty about privileging the care of people she knew. This time, she was aware enough to recognize that Itachi was watching with undisguised interest as she and Sasuke ran diagnostics and compared notes.

Gai was recuperating shockingly well, given an infusion from her regenerative chakra. The spiderweb cracks in his bones were the only problem that would be a lasting issue—but assuming he was treated gently, only minor treatments and nutritional supplements would have him on the path to recovery.

Lee was another story. A second pass of his lungs revealed a small clot she had missed on her initial diagnosis—something that seemed to have been a preexisting condition. She frowned, mildly amazed that such a thing had slipped notice, but excised it nonetheless. His broken ribs were going to be a problem, however.

"I don't think we can let them heal naturally," Karin posited unwillingly, curling her toes inside her sandals. Normally, that was optimal. A medic nin generally encouraged the body to heal better and more expediently than usual. Forcing the healing process was disruptive and often had long-term repercussions for the patient's immunity and ability to heal naturally.

But the situation they were in was too dangerous to play it safe. Lee would hardly be able to stand without risking incurring further damage, much less keep pain at manageable levels without eating drugs like they were breath mints.

Sasuke sighed, fluffing up the back of his hair. "How is your chakra level?" he asked, not sounding like he expected much.

When she admitted that she was nearly drained, he just nodded.

"I'm hardly surprised. You've been maintaining all those summons for days now. Your available pool was much smaller than usual." Sasuke flicked his black eyes into red effortlessly, in the space between thoughts. "Can you hold the topmost rib in place while I work?"

Kakashi watched the interchange impassively, realizing in the sickly light that they had fought almost through the night. He turned his gaze on each of the shinobi in his care one by one, cataloguing their states. Most needed rest and care. Naruto and Sasuke had the best summons for getting a report back to Konoha—and this situation did need to be reported—but they should rest. Silently, he ran his hands through the seals to summon two more members of his pack. Urushi and Guruko looked up at him inquisitively. He knelt to speak with them in an undertone.

"Can I get you to take a message to Konoha?"

The ninken didn't bother to respond verbally. Guruko grinned good-naturedly. Kakashi reached out to scratch behind an ear for both hounds, silently expressing his thanks. When he drew his hands back, it was to pull a bit of paper and a pen out of his hip pouch. "Just a minute, then."

Poor Tsunade didn't speak dog, after all.

Obito jerked into awareness and simply raised one hand. Zetsu obediently halted. The unconscious man on his back swayed sickly with the motion, but didn't stir.

That was normal. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, if at all before the end.

"Tobi-san?" White Zetsu asked inquisitively. The dark side of his face pulled into a sneer, but said nothing.

"Do you sense anyone familiar?" Obito asked quietly, slipping out of Tobi's skin and thoughts like they were a manky old sweater. The boy obediently slunk into silence.

Zetsu quirked his head slightly. It was Black Zetsu who answered. "The greedy old man," he muttered distastefully. "Kakuzu-san is alright," White Zetsu disagreed mildly.

Obito concentrated on the important information and ignored the byplay. "Give me the jinchuuriki," he ordered, and hurriedly hustled the man onto his back. Kakuzu thought he was Zetsu's hanger-on, and would expect him to be doing the heavy lifting and grunt work. "Find out what has happened in our absence."

It wasn't long before the familiar chakra signature veered on course to meet them, clearly recognizing their party. They met several miles out of Ame's northern border.

Kakuzu was in his pajamas, clearly dirtied, and limping slightly. It didn't bode well.

"Oh no, Kakuzu-senpai!" Tobi gasped, jerking control away from Obito and flailing in concern, nearly letting his burden slip to the ground. He flitted about the older man, apparently unaware of his growing rage, and examined him from various angles. Even Tobi wasn't stupid enough to try to hug Kakuzu to make him feel better or even touch him. No other Akatsuki had fits of mindless rage like the miser did, and there was no way to get in a fight with him without losing his cover as an idiot.

"Tobi, calm yourself," Black Zetsu spat condescendingly. His calmer half tried to soothe things over by turning the conversation over to the interloper. "What has happened, Kakuzu-san? We have returned with our target."

Kakuzu snorted, ill-tempered. The fact that he hadn't lashed out betrayed that he was weaker than he was letting on, however. "For all the good it will do," he sneered. "Leader-sama left the bimbo in charge and wandered off somewhere. The Konoha and Suna morons moved into Ame. Hidan is dead. The last I saw, Kisame and Konan were fighting against poor odds." His voice dropped into simmering rage and bitterness. "Itachi has betrayed us."

'Well, that's not surprising at all,' Obito snorted. Idiots, the lot of them, never thinking to look beyond what they had been told was truth. Itachi had made a tactically sound, at least for the short-term. The only unexpected turn there had been that Pein had dared leave Ame… Was that why he had been sent out of the country? Pein had probably hoped to return before Obito knew he was gone.

'But where did he go?" Madara whispered, curling like grey smoke to strangle other thoughts. 'What does he wish to hide from us? Is he afraid of what we would do unchecked in Ame, or wary of what we would do to stop whatever course of action he has set upon?'

"Itachi-senpai would never betray Akatsuki," Tobi said loyally.

Technically, he was correct. Akatsuki had never truly had Itachi's allegiance. It was logically impossible for him to betray the organization.

That didn't mean that the wayward boy wouldn't have to be punished for his choice, of course.

Madara's conversation was more interesting than the outside topic. What would Pein want to hide from Obito?

'Or what would Pein want to do in general,' Obito thought instead, turning the nuances away from a topic he could hardly predict without more information. Pein saw the alliance as the greatest impediment to Akatsuki's goals, quite rightly so, and what would he do about that?

The answer came easily. What else could be expected from someone who thought to impose his will upon the world by creating a monster so terrible that no one would dare disobey him? Pein was crude. He would attempt to solve the matter ham-handedly.

"That's not good," Zetsu muttered, ignoring Tobi altogether. Kakuzu did as well. "Itachi is stronger than Kisame. He's probably lost to us."

"But not Konan?" Kakuzu asked, actually sounding mildly interested. None of them had worked with Pein's partner.

"I cannot estimate," Black Zetsu balefully lied in a way that implied he wished Konan would perish. Obito rolled his eyes, content in the knowledge that no one was paying any attention to him anyways. Pitiful and petty. Zetsu should know better. He was Madara's creature through and through in a way Obito had never been. For the moment, he was a valuable ally in the Eye of the Moon plan, since Obito didn't see a way to accomplish his goals without using Pein's Rinnegan to resurrect the older man.

But Obito hardly felt limited to Madara's vision. He was going to be the one to cast the ultimate Tsukyomi, not that fossil.

'Bide your time,' the deepest voice urged, amused for a reason Obito couldn't put his finger on. 'Now is not the time to show our hand.'

"Is Ame lost to us, then?" Zetsu asked curiously.

"Probably. It's overrun with Konoha and Kumo nin. We will need to contact Pein," Kakuzu grunted, giving a dismissive glance at the form slumped over Obito's back. "It is hardly wise to haul that sack of lard around longer than necessary."

"Without Kisame and Hidan, will it even be possible to extract the bijuu?" White Zetsu asked doubtfully. Black Zetsu made a rude sound, but offered no helpful opinion.

The oldest man present pressed his lips down into a resentful frown. "We will need to augment our numbers," he admitted bitterly. "Even if Konan has survived and meets with us, we will be extracting this bijuu with less than half our original numbers."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't true that they needed more people to extract bijuu. Obito suspected that he could accomplish such a thing with only Pein or Konan for a partner, but each participant cut down the necessary time for the procedure exponentially. They were most vulnerable while performing an extraction. It would be foolish not to shorten that weakness as much as possible.

Itachi was gone. Kisame was probably lost. Hidan had joined Sasori and Deidara in death—unless, of course, he came crawling back a week later as he usually did.

Obito let Tobi proffer an innocent idea. "Why don't we make more friends?" He clapped his gloved hands, as if the concept was novel. "Wasn't there a bad thing in Mist? I bet we can find some more shinobi who can't stay in the village anymore!"

A laugh nearly bubbled up in his throat at that guilelessly innocent description of missing nin, but Obito managed to choke it down in time. Tobi really cracked him up sometimes. More lately than in past, actually.

Any surviving Mist traitors would be highly suspect, of course, but it was a start.

"Good idea," White Zetsu agreed easily. "You can take care of it," Black Zetsu grunted, amused by his own cleverness. "We will hide the jinchuuriki and contact you when we have found Pein-sama."

He pretended to be ecstatic at the suggestion and hurried off the Water Country post-haste. With his abilities, that was far faster than Kakuzu could possibly have predicted. Obito didn't mind the informal mission. He had recruited most of the Akatsuki in some capacity or another. He had a knack for it.

That knack bore fruit only two days later on one of the outlier islands where any fleeing failures would have had to pass, when he went to pull an oversized sword out of the tides and found that it was connected to what initially appeared to be a stubborn current. Obito gave one curious tug, already suspecting the truth.

The boy came sputtering and baring teeth as he solidified out of the water, rather badly attempting to intimidate the Akatsuki.

'One of the water clan,' Madara thought, idly amused. 'And not a particularly impressive specimen, either. I might throw it back and look for a better fish.'

Obito ignored that advice and the obviously battered condition of his find in favor of something more interesting.

"This is one of the swords belonging to the Mist's seven swordsmen," he mused quietly, running a gloved finger over the distinctive handle and eying the half-moon cutout on the enormous blade.

"Yes, and it's mine!" The white-haired teen barked, attempting to pull the blade out of Obito's grip. He didn't relent.

"Did you steal this, boy?"

His catch bristled. "Fuck no, dumbshit. I'm the only real swordsman left."

"You might be," Obito agreed idly. If Kisame really was dead. More relevant to current issue was that Kiri didn't give these swords out to weaklings. The boy was young, clearly possessed more bravado than brains, and was not up to Akatsuki's usual standards. However… he had to have talent; and a quick check of his vitals reinforced the suspicion that the boy would be an A-class fighter given time to recuperate. His chakra was acceptable. "Let's make a deal. Join me, and I will make sure you can retrieve the remaining swords. If you do not wish to travel with me, I will kill you now."

The boy agreed, after a … demonstration of Obito's ability to harm him.

One addition wouldn't be enough, but that was satisfactory progress. Even better, this one feared only him and not Pein. The older man's use was quickly expiring, as evidenced by his failure to use his resources to accomplish a relatively simple goal. Pein had forgone expediency for subtlety and failed in both regards. If he didn't need those damned Rinnegan and an idiot attached to them for the Eye of the Moon plan, that incompetent, idealistic buffoon would have been discarded long ago.

He picked up two more missing nin in a similar fashion before he headed back in search of Akatsuki—one more displaced Kiri nin, and one piece of scum he had found attempting to cash in on a bounty in Tea country. It was time that he started edging out behind the Ame ninja's shadow in some respects. Kisame had been his only loyal follower. If he was truly dead, Obito needed a replacement.

Of course, he also needed to store his hangers on with Zetsu and find out what idiocy Pein had managed to get elbows-deep in.

Konoha felt like a city of the dead. Comparatively speaking, they had an impressive shinobi population for a hidden village. It didn't seem that way when about half of that population was out in the field somewhere. A significant portion of the remainder was either under fourteen or assigned to protecting the cloistered civilians, and therefore unavailable for the moment.

With so many either stationed with their most vulnerable or deployed elsewhere, Konoha's Jounin and Chuunin were stretched thin maintaining tightened perimeters around the village. Even when they weren't officially on guard duty, most of them seemed to walk the streets warily. And why not? It wasn't like there was much else to do.

It had been days since Tsunade had put the village on full lockdown. Doubtless, the civilians were getting restless, but they would be fine for quite a while. The village was prepared for many eventualities, including siege. No one would be happy, but no one would starve in the protected shelters for at least a few months, either.

'It's downright creepy.' Aiko shuddered, walking past yet another store that hadn't had time to lock their doors or put away the wares on display when the alarm had gone off. That poor deli owner was going to have a terrible mess to clean up when they returned. The smell was less than scintillating.

There were a surprising amount of genin aged fifteen and older. Aiko tried not to be biased or judgmental- not everyone became a Chuunin and that was fine—but it just seemed so strange that Naruto's team could have been recommended for promotion after only a few months of duty but that so many other genin apparently hadn't tried the exams yet at that age.

Whatever the reason, she was still grateful for the oddly large numbers. Genin were serving as temporary infrastructure—running messages, and performing the day to day work that kept everyone else fed and in decent health.

The ink on her arm burnt. Aiko didn't bother to look at her ANBU tattoo, though she had the first few times that she'd been summoned to a shift that way. That had made her look like a complete rookie, sadly. It heated when she was required to report in an emergency, but it didn't change in any way. So staring at it as if the tattoo would somehow have the answers was just begging for onlookers to laugh at her expense.

When she'd gotten the tattoo, the artist had told her that the chakra-infused ink could be used to contact her in case of emergencies. But she'd never been on a squad that did anything particularly risky or time-sensitive. Running patrols and taking guard shifts was formulaic and well scheduled, so there was no need to actually contact her as an operative outside of normal channels.

Burning on her arm had become the new normal for the past few days, however.

It didn't seem to indicate an actual emergency now as much as it meant that it was the fastest way to contact an operative. The genin corps had been largely conscripted to replace the existing infrastructure and secretarial positions, but that was still laughably inefficient in comparison to the well-polished system that was normally in place. Being able to run quickly and throw kunai didn't really put genin ahead of the civilian staff when it came to actually getting lines of communication running smoothly and the village operating.

At least temporarily, the burning now meant that she was to report to the Jounin lounge instead of the out of the way ANBU facility. As was the new norm, the room was already occupied.

"Hello." Aoba nodded when she walked in.

Aiko managed a tired smile and a half-hearted wave. She sat sideways on the couch that curled around the outside of the room and stretched out her legs, glancing down at the pale expanse of her bare knees and the tan shorts that covered the top half of her thighs. She hadn't been doing much laundry lately, so she was all out of cheery colored clothing. Her top was red, which she bleakly rationalized might be useful for hiding stains if anything ever did happen. "Yo, Aoba-san. How are you?"

The man gave a rather disapproving look at her boots on the couch cushion. A little sheepishly, Aiko moved them to the floor and straightened with exaggerated care. Only then did he give her a faint smile. "I am doing well, Aiko-san. Are-"

"Uzumaki, you're joining the group on the main gate," a Chuunin read off a clipboard disinterestedly. She flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder and traced a finger down the paper, and glanced up to check the other occupants. "Yuuhi, Aoba, you're required in the Hokage's office. Kenta…"

Aiko silently got up and gave Aoba a little wave over her shoulder, not wanting to say anything over the woman who was still reading off new orders.

She paced the top of the wall in a circuit that overlapped with the ones being walked by a Chuunin she didn't know and a girl she recognized as one of Lee and Neji's classmates. Aiko couldn't help occasionally glancing down at the guard desk. For once, it wasn't manned. There was no point when the doors were closed and there were exponentially more guards around in more defensible positions.

It was hard to know if she should be more regretful that her tendency to glance down at the unoccupied desk meant that she saw nothing coming or guiltily thankful that she'd just turned around at the end of her circuit. Being hundreds of feet north of the large doors that marked the main gate saved her life. One second, she was glancing away from the treeline to see the empty streets below, and the next a beam of white hot light had blown through the gate and a section of the wall on either side.

Aiko nearly lost her balance, jerking to the side with the percussive force as cracks shot through the stone wall. Enormous chunks of gray stone crumbled and tumbled into the village proper, flattening the guard house and breaking a flowering tree in half like a toothpick.

Shock did what the force hadn't. Aiko stumbled backwards and landed on her ass, hands by her hips and knees partially bent. And she just stared.

There was no one there. In a literal sense. The girl who had been behind her was just gone. Vaporized. There wasn't even blood spatter.

"Oh my god," Aiko whispered, momentarily stunned. Her eyes stung painfully from the dust and debris. It took a moment for her mind to catch on to the change in the situation. She scrambled back to her feet and bounded through the clearing smoke to get a better look, and tried her best to ignore that her heart was pounding all the way up in her throat.

When she felt foreign chakra flicker across her senses, it was hard to believe that she had ever failed to feel it coming. A single man stood there, just for an instant, implacable and impassive on the ground just outside the tree-line with one arm extended- and detached. And then the world seemed to explode with movement.

Aiko shrieked and dropped low, rolling away from the thousands of pounds of gray scales that rocketed over the wall and into the city. She caught a glimpse of an orange stripe on its side, but it was a literal blur.

'What the fuck is that thing?' The view was poor from below, but it was enormous. She might have called it a lizard, if lizards could grow to the size of buildings.

It wasn't alone. Down in the south, the wall was being breached in multiple positions by other oversized animals. A bird of some sort flew over and fucking snatched up a man in its mouth like he was a potato chip, swallowing him down as it beat its wings and soared upwards, out of reach. Most horribly, a crab with a glistening pale underbelly scuttled along the wall with claws held high and picked off anyone unwary or slow enough.

The bulky man standing outside the gate took slow, horrible steps in, unchallenged. Aiko put a shaky hand to her thigh pouch, reaching for her orange-handled kunai, and tried not to wonder how she had been missed when those animals had cut through the rest of her co-workers like they were made of tissue paper. She felt very small and insignificant.

And that feeling was exponentially worse an instant later, when five more men in Akatsuki cloaks stepped out of the tree-line to flank the nin who had taken down the gate. Had one of them summoned those animals, or had that been the bald man as well? Aiko stared for a moment, completely lost and out of her depth.

She thought she'd known a fair bit about Akatsuki. But there were six people she didn't recognize walking into Konoha like they owned the place.

'Oh no wait, I recognize that one,' Aiko realized dazedly. On the side opposite her, flanking the tallest man, walked the man she knew as Pein. The cold-fingered freak who'd dangled her by her neck in Akatsuki's headquarters.

Bizarrely, despite their physical dissimilarities, all the men below shared a few odd traits beyond the Akatsuki wardrobe. They were all heavily pierced, though in different patterns, and despite being worn in various styles (excluding the one bald man), their visible hair was all… It was all..

Pein's gaze lifted- and for a second, she thought that he saw her. Aiko's heart jumped into her throat, and she straightened. If he was going to kill her, she wasn't going to die cowering behind rubble. Despite her suspicions that she was about to die, he didn't make a move towards her. Both of his hands lifted slightly, and his mouth moved. The five figures at his side swayed bizarrely and flopped to the ground like puppets. Which was weird. She couldn't hear what Pein said through the distance, smoke, and sound of screams and shinobi fighting those oversized freaks of nature.

She didn't have to. The world shifted far beyond what any human should be able to accomplish, and Aiko knew he'd done it. She didn't know how, but it was him. The next thing she knew was that the ground was shaking, and that she had been thrown several hundred feet, away from Konoha, away from the epicenter of whatever the fuck had just been done to her hometown.

The grand wall that had already been breached was still largely intact, miraculously. The outskirts of Konoha were covered in debris. Everything inside of that was gone. Worse than gone, it was an enormous crater where hundreds of buildings used to be. Motion-sick and disturbed on a level she couldn't articulate, Aiko shakingly leaned over and vomited, holding onto the grass with her fingers as if she thought the world was about to change directions again leaving her falling into the sky.

The force of that…something… had thrown her outside of Konoha's boundaries, behind the six men who were outside the ruined gate.

From behind, the oddity of their shared coloring was even more obvious, now that she couldn't see that they looked nothing alike as the five that had fallen over crawled to their feet. Self consciously, Aiko brought a hand up to her head, as if considering pulling a lock of hair into view to color check. Within a few shades, her hair color matched that on the set of men striding up. Did it mean something that all those men had the same coloring? If they'd all been brunet, she wouldn't have had a second thought about it.

An instant later, she dismissed it as coincidence summoned up by her irrational frame of mind. It was just hair. That little bit of logical thinking didn't mean she knew what to do.

She wanted to sink down into the ground and die. Hope that they didn't notice her. It didn't seem… there was no way that she could fight those people. Clinically, she knew that she was panicking and needed to calm down. That didn't mean she could.

'I guess… I'm a coward after all,' Aiko thought a little hysterically, shaking severely and not even trying to calm her breathing. 'I don't see how anyone can fight that kind of reckless destruction. If we hadn't evacuated, that man would have…' Her thoughts trailed off, as she realized with a dim sort of horror that many genin and Chuunin would have been held back to hold the inner city as a last line of defense if the Jounin failed.

'Oh god. They're all dead. Hundreds of people are just dead.'

From one moment to another, almost an entire generation of Konoha's rising shinobi was just gone.

Slowly, inexorably, the six men in front of her fanned out and walked through the enormous break in the gate, not sparing a look for the devastation or the animals that were still wreaking havoc in Konoha's outskirts.

What could she do? What should she do? Desperately, Aiko struggled to relate anything in her training to this situation. She was outclassed. Running at the six Akatsuki would earn her a hilariously quick and pointless death. It was still an option. But Konoha was famous for teamwork. That meant she should find reinforcements, right? And report to Tsunade to share what little information she had?

The sensor squad got Tsunade a message several minutes before the wall exploded inwards. Tsunade leapt to her feet and was already en route to meet the invaders personally, with Shizune at her right and Jiraiya at her left. She'd been half-expecting this for days, so on edge that her heart leapt into her throat every time that someone moved towards her office too quickly.

A full ANBU squad intercepted her on the way, led by the last person she expected. Tsunade felt the blood drain out of her face. Her mind raced and her eyes darted between the slightly bent figure of her childhood hero and the masked men who stood proudly at his side.

"Sensei?" she asked, heart twisting.

Hiruzen seemed to guess her thoughts. "There is no time, Tsunade-chan," he told her softly, wrinkled fingers struggling to properly fasten the buckles on the equipment pouch on his thin hips.

Her throat felt thick. 'What do I do? He can't fight. He's too old, he's not in good condition. Sensei will die if he participates. Does he even know what's going on?'

Jiraiya put a warm, oversized hand on her shoulder, and for once she didn't begrudge the invasion of her personal space. The man who had made her into the kunoichi she was today looked back with a largely steady gaze that told her he understood enough. He knew that Konoha was in danger. Sarutobi Hiruzen had sworn to protect Konoha and its people when he took office as Hokage.

She couldn't tell him to cower while the people he thought of as his children fought and died. Tsunade swallowed and nodded, blinking to force down tears.

"Be careful, sensei," she said uselessly, knowing that he wouldn't. Her teacher gave her a reassuring smile that really shouldn't have made her feel any better. Tsunade was a medic. She knew perfectly well that no matter how lucid he was at the moment, a man who was nearly eighty years old shouldn't be engaging in S-class fights.

Jiraiya didn't say anything touchy-feely as he was no doubt aching to, but he gave his teacher a slow nod. "Don't worry about a thing, Tsunade-hime. I don't see how we could lose with two Hokage and so many good shinobi here to protect the village." He pulled one of his cocky grins, and Tsunade had to marvel at his ability to feign happiness.

Instead of complimenting him, she elbowed his ribs gently in what he would recognize as wordless thanks. "Let's go. Sandaime-sama, you're taking control of ANBU, then?"

"I gathered the off-duty ANBU I could find," he said mildly. "I believe that we will be seeing support from the more experienced clan shinobi soon."

And that was that, because an oversized ray of light burst through the village and took a section of wall tumbling with it. Tsunade's heart dropped in her chest, and she ran through the smoke and rubble that hung in the air and obscured her vision. A massive influx of chakra welled out of nowhere and made her quite sure that the sensor team had been mistaken in saying that there was one intruder. It seemed like hours in the dim madness—her retinue ran into a horrifically oversized beast with gray scales and far too many legs. She didn't have to see it knocking over buildings by lashing its tail in order to know that it needed to die.

Tsunade didn't waste time, leaping at the thing herself. Another shinobi would have had to find a way to figure out the beast's weakest point, or work with peers to scrounge together enough destructive force to put a dent in its hide. She leapt up the side of one of the brick structures that still stood, and crossed the distance in the air to land on the thing's back. And then she shattered its spine with a stomp of her foot. The beast collapsed like a puppet without strings.

"At least it didn't get very far in," Shizune offered, sounding angry when Tsunade jumped back down to join the group making their way towards the breach in security.

There was no time for a response. There was only the sense of intense pressure hanging in the air, enormous sound not completely unlike an explosion, and then the realization that she was looking up at the dimmed sky. Dazed, Tsunade took a moment to climb to her feet. When she did, she almost wished she hadn't.

"It's gone," Hiruzen whispered, being helped to his feet by an ANBU in a crow mask. "It's.."

Tsunade swallowed tears—anger and loss—and steeled herself. What was gone was Konoha. The Academy, the tower, her childhood home… it was all gone. A goddamn hole in the ground replaced it.

Someone had to pay for this.

Sarutobi-sensei padded lightly just behind Tsunade when she halted to stare, trying to get her bearings in the confusion. "Orders, Hokage-sama?" her teacher asked, tone forced into calm.

"Pick a target," Tsunade mumbled, feeling a bit disoriented. This hadn't been a situation she had planned for. No one could plan for this. "Shizune, stay with Sandaime-sama and his team in case they need medical assistance." No one said anything about that. It did seem redundant to have the village's two best medics in one place. "Jiraiya and I will head for the-" She jerked and flung a hand out, nearly knocking the girl who'd just appeared back ten feet. Aiko side-stepped just in time, frightfully pale and turquoise eyes wide in her face, pupils dilated in obvious fear.

All three of the kage-level shinobi who had moved relaxed.

"Aiko-chan?" Jiraiya reached out and put a hand on the girl's head. Tsunade pressed her lips together. That wasn't particularly professional, but there would be no point in scolding him.

But the girl would probably react better to structure at the moment, judging by her nearly fearful body language. When a shinobi was on the verge of panicking, it was better to snap them back into a duty mindset than try to comfort them. Especially since there was work to be done.

"Uzumaki, report." Tsunade ignored the disappointed look her old teammate gave her for her unsympathetic tone. It worked—Aiko straightened under Jiraiya's oversized paw and blinked up at her lucidly.

"Six intruders breached the East gate," Aiko began, intense in her sudden focus and looking much more pulled together. Tsunade quietly approved of the compartmentalization. "All of the intruders but one are red-headed males. The individual who breached the wall was a large man with no hair. He used some sort of explosive pulse from a detached arm. I didn't see if the individual who summoned the animals was that man or one of the others. I only recognized one of them as Akatsuki, but they all wear the cloak. The man I recognize was the one the other Akatsuki referred to as their leader, Pein." She paused for a moment, before adding, "I think he was the one who did… this." Aiko's eyes flickered to the destruction and then away just as rapidly.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks. They didn't have to be sensors at this point to know that the intruders were separating. The oversized animals were all but rioting in the remaining streets, engaging any shinobi that sought them out, but the human intruders were staying to the very outskirts of town, attempting to encircle them.

It wasn't hard to suppose that they didn't want to allow that to happen.

"I will seek out the bald man who took down our gates," Sarutobi-sensei suggested, before bowing his head slightly. "If that is acceptable with you, Hokage-sama."

'That's so bizarre.'

Ignoring the discomfort that hearing her teacher defer to her inspired, Tsunade inclined her head in a nod. "More than acceptable. The rest of us will head to the bulk of the intruders." Three of the intruders were hanging strangely close together. They needed to be separated. Jiraiya and Tsunade as a team were nearly undefeatable—with backup from a few other high level shinobi, they should be able to overwhelm the other force.

Hiruzen and his backup splintered westward without another word. It took forty seconds for Tsunade's group to come into view of the devastation at ground zero for the attack.

Yamanaka Inoichi's ponytail whipped behind him as he swiveled to see the new arrivals. He managed a look of relief before his opponent came too close. Then he grunted in mild surprise, barely evading the whirling blows from one of the orange-haired Akatsuki.

It was positively eerie, Tsunade thought as she leapt into the fray, and would have been even if the intruders didn't maintain a strict silence. The attackers all had the same pale skin and orange hair, but they couldn't be related. Their facial features were too varied.

Their taijutsu style seemed to be all the same, however, which was downright unlikely. It was best described as powerful and fast. Tsunade bared her teeth aggressively into the face of the long-haired man who had leapt to engage her, holding the hand that would have broken her bones into dozens of pieces had she been anyone else trying to catch the blow.

Jiraiya moved in a blur, throwing off the Akatsuki who had come directly behind Tsunade in an attempt to pin her between the two. She cast up a quick thanks that her teammate had her back, grappling with her opponent and tossing him directly into the air with barely a thought.

She shouldn't have looked away from her opponent, no matter what she heard. But the sound that came ripping out of Akimichi Choza's mouth was downright inhuman.

The tableau was grim. Shikaku Naru's face was frozen in a rictus of shock even as a streak of black across the ground froze one of the red-headed Akatsuki into the same wide stance the dark-haired man was holding. Yamanaka Inoichi hit the ground face up with a soft thud, mouth open in surprise and blood trailing out his eyes and ears.

'He tried to possess one of them,' she realized numbly, barely focusing on her own fight enough to leap up to bat the man she'd flung like a cat toy horizontally across the battlefield.

There was no mistaking that, though she had no idea how it had been done. The blonde man was dead. Akimichi Choza was gaining red color and mass rapidly, clearly ready to crush the Akatsuki like a bug.

And then a flicker of orange crossed the field, and the Akatsuki was gone.

So was Aiko.

The moment she realized that one of the three men who she had found her way back to was Pein, Aiko felt physically ill. He had to die. He was the leader. She was sure he'd been the one to flatten the village. Maybe the others would give up without him to give them orders. But he was already fighting the three clan heads. Jiraiya and Tsunade were tag-teaming the Akatsuki with the longest hair. That left the other for her. She had to do her job.

Aiko sped through hand-seals in less than a heartbeat, moving towards the man who was closing on Tsunade. Running straight towards her real target in a predictable trajectory would be stupid. As soon as she'd gotten the last seal out, she forced a glob of chakra down her right wrist in the instant that she re-oriented to the last Akatsuki. Her hand lit up with the faint light refracting off the mock icicles that coated her fingers in a constantly moving mass. She brought it directly into the center of the Akatsuki's back- and then hiraishin'd away before the attack had bored more than two inches into his flesh.

The retreat had been a good move. Her opponent had whirled around with a fist that would have snapped her arm like a twig had she still been there.

With her actual, un-augmented speed, she couldn't hope to compete with this man, Aiko judged grimly. With Hiraishin… well, she'd have to kill him before he could figure out any attack patterns and predict her, because he was fast enough to still pose a significant threat. And were all the intruders like this?

'What is with Akatsuki being unnecessarily scary?' she thought, just mildly hysterical. Her opponent lunged toward her, hardly seeming inconvenienced by the gouge she'd taken out of his flesh. That was insane. She'd torn into his spine and the muscles that protected it.

'I wonder if telling him that he can't fight through that kind of injury would convince him to stand down?' Aiko forced down the laugh that bubbled up and tried to regulate her shaking breath, and fluttered out of her opponent's reach, several hundred feet away. He immediately re-oriented to her and wheeled around—and her attention was torn away to the source of a horrible shriek.

It didn't sound like something that should come out of Choza's mouth. He was… That just didn't make sense.

She cut across the field behind her opponent, getting a better view. Aiko only stayed in that position for the space of a thought, just long enough to see Yamanaka-san sprawling in the dirt.

'I was right,' Aiko realized numbly, not feeling the horror she knew she should. 'Pein is the most dangerous.'

That made him top priority. She had to get rid of him. That didn't mean she could really fight him. He would swat her down like a fly. She couldn't hope to compete with him. It was insane that she had ever thought she could compete with people like this. She'd just watched a better ninja than herself try and fail. (And oh god, Ino, who was going to tell Ino).

But she didn't have to win a fight with him. She just had to get him out of the way. He was probably the one coordinating the attack.

Aiko didn't think. She lunged forward with Hiraishin, twisted her fingers into the back of the frozen man's cloak, and pulled him as far away from Konoha as she could manage. With the large concentration of Hiraishin seals on her allies in a circle that must be the surroundings of Ame's borders, that probably meant she was standing somewhere north of Ame.

She didn't have time to feel triumphant before something collided with her back, knocking the back of her skull painfully. Her teeth ground together even as something was cracking in her ribs and shoulders. Her vision was white. There was no air. There was nothing but pain against her back and heat against her front where she'd been inadvertently pushed into Pein's back.

How did he do that? He couldn't possibly have predicted she would move them here.

The ringing in her ears made it hard to tell if anything else was happening or how long the pause in movement lasted—it felt like a hundred years, but if it had been more than a second Pein would have turned around and killed her.

'Oh god. He's going to kill me,' was quickly followed by, 'fuck no.' She lurched away with a rather pathetic Hiraishin—and hit her knees even before she'd been able to note she'd gotten away, falling over to curl on her side. Aiko nearly rolled onto her back, but the creaking feeling in her chest and biting pain wouldn't allow that. Something wet trickled around the shell of her ear.

'My keen intuition tells me that now is an excellent time to stop for a moment. Not just because I can't breathe. Air, who needs air?'

She tried her best to breathe shallowly so as not to disturb her ribs while still trying to breathe deeply to get oxygen to combat the emptiness in her lungs and white at the edges of her vision.

It took time for that struggle to fade away, though there was no way to measure that time. Aiko struggled to her feet, and turned her face in the direction that must be Konoha.

'If it wasn't almost dry here, I would say I was in Ame,' she thought, licking her lips. Strange. She was south of the tags that told her where Naruto and Kakashi and their teams were, who should have been stationed on the south edge of Ame's borders. That should mean she was in Grass country, shouldn't it?

'I'm so terrible with directions,' Aiko thought. 'I even know that doesn't make sense and I can't see how I'm wrong. I really need to get as many seals up as possible.'

She choked back a laugh, and instantly regretted the brief amusement.

"Right," she wheezed to herself at a tone that was barely audible, taking as big of a breath as possible to stabilize. "Gotta go home and help." Experimentally, she gave a couple of stretches, making sure she still had her full range of motion.

But god, what could she hope to do? Better her than Naruto, better that a hundred buildings fell than that Pein got his claws into her little brother; but the fearful part of her mind was asking how was her going back to die against Akatsuki in Konoha going to help?

It had to be in her head, but the ink on her chest felt almost warm. Aiko splayed her fingers over the tattoo, struck dumb by the thought. It was a possibility. Not a good one, no. But were there any good options?

The Akatsuki weren't going to stop until they had what they wanted. Destroying Konoha would be a major blow for them and probably tear the alliance apart. Naruto would instantly become the most vulnerable jinchuuriki. Unacceptable.

'On the bright side, maybe they'll give up without their leader,' Aiko thought optimistically in the instant before she flicked back to Konoha. Pein wasn't going to be able to run to Konoha in time to finish that battle. He wasn't terribly close to the Konoha teams around Ame, either. The distance would have to be measured in hours—he wouldn't be surprising any team with Karin on it, and they'd been prepared to fight Akatsuki anyway. This was just restoring equilibrium.

The only seals that had survived in Konoha were the ones in the forests outside the village and the one on Hoseki's collar. Her options were therefore decidedly limited. She erred on the side of landing outside of the gates instead of too close to the shelter where her ninken was waiting. Kami only knew that she didn't need to make them a target by indicating there was anything interesting there.

When she blinked in air that stank of soot instead of hanging heavy with damp, she was glad for the precaution. There was fire in Konoha. Better to have to run than materialize in the middle of an attack.

Pein stood on the strangely dry sod in the country of his birth and frowned. Almost absentmindedly, he allowed the boulder he'd summoned to his person with his repulsion abilities to drop to the ground. It thudded a half inch into the dry ground with nary a squelch.

"That was most unpleasant," he mused quietly, regaining his bearings. "I should not have allowed the girl to touch me."

Had she been as quick to think and attack as she was to move, he may have been injured. There were more pressing issues than her ultimately pointless actions, however. The Animal path could summon him back to Konoha at any moment if he desired. Right now it was more critical to find out what had happened in Ame. Specifically…

'Why has Kisame allowed the rain to stop?' Pein bled his chakra into the air, and allowed water to percolate. He took a deep breath and let it rise, rise, rise, to spread and coat his country. Then he allowed it to rain down, infused with his inquisitive chakra.

What he found shook him. Akatsuki was gone from the country. Pein barely maintained his hold on the rain, the lurch in his control a feat in and of itself, when it was remembered that he had been ensuring the land of Ame rained for years.

Konan, gone. Kisame, gone. Kakuzu, and Hidan, gone. But… Itachi had not left. Pein made an aborted step in his direction with the half-thought of seeking information before stilling uncertainly. Itachi was surrounded by other powerful chakra signatures. They were not familiar signatures, but he could guess as to whom they belonged. The cowards from Konoha, Suna, Kiri, and Kumo who had been blocking his doorstep for weeks had dared enter his home while he was away. And they had succeeded. Pein took a wavering step forward, mind twisted by grief and shock and self-recrimination. What kind of god failed to notice such a thing? What kind of god allowed his people to suffer? He had sworn to protect the people of Ame country, but they were clearly now under the control of foreign military personnel.

'Itachi… have you been captured, or have you betrayed me?'

Oddly, that sent a lump of something like sorrow into his chest. With spectacularly poor timing, the realization that one of his paths had been destroyed rocketed across his consciousness. The Asura path had been facing the old Hokage, and was now lost.

Shock warred with doubt. Where-is-Konan-Have-I-left-her-to-die-alone-I-need-to-find-Konan. No, she had to be alive. Konan was sentimental. If she had known their base was lost, she would have retrieved what she could and fled. He had to believe she was alive. He knew her like he knew his hands: she would have gone to one of their secret bunkers to wait for him to return.

For the first time in many years, Nagato didn't know what to do. For the moment at least, the Animal and Human paths were holding their own against the Sannin. The Preta path was roaming nearly unchallenged in Konoha, keeping the Naraka path safe in case its healing abilities were needed.

He thought they wouldn't be much good now. The images that the Asura path had transmitted in its final moments had indicated that the canny old man was doing some kinjutsu that called upon the shinigami himself. That aspect was gone.

"All my plans," Nagato noted dazedly, looking up to the sky and catching water on his face. The Human path was taking a beating from the Sannin. If they grew wise, they might defeat it. Did he even care anymore? What had he done, by abandoning Ame? He hated Konoha for what they had done to Yahiko and his dreams, but was their destruction worth this failure?

He had to see. He had to see what had become of the village he had protected in Yahiko's place. The villagers… there were far fewer than there should have been. Pein knew every man, woman, and child like they were a member of his own familiar, had intimately caressed their budding chakra signatures with rain for years. Fourteen civilians were missing- dead or out of the country. He had to see.

Karin gave a startled curse and dropped her water bottle, face involuntarily turning to the northeast. A moment later, she redirected her gaze to the south. Most of the people nearby weren't paying her much attention. But most of them weren't Kakashi.

Kakashi had frozen, almost painfully alert, waiting for her news. But he wasn't patient. "Karin, what's wrong?" he bit out, casting a wary glance in the direction she was still staring.

The girl was faintly green. "We have two visitors," Karin said in a very small voice. "I-I think Aiko brought the Akatsuki leader back to Ame. She was by the scary signature the moment that it appeared, but now she's down there, and he's still up there." She jerked her hand in two directions, the ones that she had been looking in. "The- neither of them is moving."

"They're… just standing there?" Kakashi repeated dubiously. That didn't make any sense. A single drop of rain hit his head, digging through his hair to slip down his scalp. He'd barely noticed the anomaly by the time that the sudden drop had turned into a downpour. Ice slipped down his spine, even though the air wasn't particularly cold by his standards.

"Yes, I-" Karin blinked, and shook her head. "The Akatsuki is coming here," she reported quietly.

"And Aiko?" Kakashi asked tiredly, expecting to hear that she was gone or to see her appear in their midst to tell them that she was sorry, but that she hadn't known they'd moved into Ame and she hadn't meant to dump an A-class criminal on them.

The redhead shook her head, looking unnerved. "She's perfectly still." Karin frowned. "In the middle of nowhere," she added dubiously. "Which makes no sense, of course. There's no reason for her to stand around in Ame. And her signature… well, it isn't optimal, but she's hardly dying." Karin shrugged helplessly. "At a guess, I would say she's taking a breather?"

Kakashi pressed his lips together tightly to keep in the colorful situational assessment that wanted to be spoken.

Either Aiko had been out and about and ran into the Akatsuki and decided to take him back to Ame, like a conscientious shopper returning a lost wallet, or Akatsuki had gone to Konoha. He knew which option he preferred and which option seemed more likely.

'Now would be an excellent time for some communication,' he thought irritably.

"Karin, get Sasuke."

She left without a word, running after the three who were currently serving as a patrol team for their new and not entirely friendly territory. He paced like a trapped lion, rousing Yamato and Genma (they had been running night shifts) and sending them out to get everyone ready for a possible altercation.

Why wasn't Aiko coming to tell them what had happened? Konoha should have had word from his ninken, or would very soon. It was possible that Konoha didn't know the borders had changed yet, of course, but unlikely.

It just didn't make sense. Having an intruder in the village would have made it difficult or impossible to conduct regular business and efficiently managed orders and communication, but almost all of the Akatsuki were accounted for, and the actual shinobi of Ame had surrendered after only skirmishing. If the most powerful Akatsuki had been returned to Ame, then there would be nothing more time-sensitive for Aiko than finding his team and telling them that the Akatsuki leader had been returned to Ame. Of course, she could have assumed that they would know via Karin…

"Sasuke, summon Katsuya and find out what's going on from Tsunade," he ordered snappishly as soon as the boy returned with Karin, Naruto and Yamato. Sasuke made a face, but obligingly moved to run through the handseals to summon his familiar. "Karin, update. Has anything changed?"

The redhead tilted her head slightly and let her eyes get a bit distant. "Um, the scar- the Akatsuki," she corrected, clearly embarrassed. "Anyway, he's still on course to intercept us. We won't be seeing him for a while, but he isn't slowing down. Aiko only spent a couple of minutes here. She's gone."

'Well, at least that means she isn't laying somewhere in the middle of the country bleeding out,' he thought facetiously.

"Kakashi, Katsuya isn't responding." Sasuke looked downright bewildered. "She's never not answered."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I guess the old lady is working with her?" he half-asked, moving to summon one of his contracted toads without being asked. The animal that showed up was disconcertingly large. Kakashi barely stepped back in time. "Yo, Gamakichi," Naruto greeted casually, clearly unfazed by the horrifying size of his summons. "Could you find the pervert and find out what's going on in Konoha?"

The toad released a put-upon sigh, but nodded. "Okay, boss," he rumbled long-sufferingly. "One message coming up." In an offensively-scented puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets to hide the tenseness and strain in his muscles while they waited. And waited. And waited.

Looking irritated, Naruto called his summons back after ten minutes of awkward silence. "What the hell?" he snapped, putting his hands on his hips.

The toad looked sheepish. "I… yah." He fidgeted. "Jiraiya told me not to talk to you." He brightened up a bit, turning around to look at the others standing around. "I can talk to the Hatake brat, though," Gamakichi added cheerily. "That's what he said! So, which one of you is the brat? You all kinda look alike."

Genma choked a little, but said nothing. Kakashi aimed a scalding glare at him anyway. "Everyone, clear out," he decided. "That means you, Naruto." The blond gave him a mutinous look, but let Sasuke tug him out of sight. He turned back to the toad once they were alone. "What's going on?"

The toad glanced guiltily in the direction his summoner had left, and then flexed his webbed toes. "Five or six Akatsuki are in Konoha," he confided solemnly. "I'm not sure on the details, it was a little confusing and busy. Dad's there. Anyway." Gamakichi shook himself. "It's bad. Really bad. They evacuated days ago, so the civilian casualties are minimalized, but the buildings are all gone."

It took a moment to be sure he had heard correctly.

"Pardon?" Kakashi asked weakly, raising one hand to his neck. "The buildings are-"

"All gone, yes," the toad confirmed irritably, digging its fingers into the ground. "It's a crater."

"Unfathomable," Kakashi muttered quietly, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

Damage to the village he could understand. The Kyuubi had done terrible harm to the village's infrastructure. But the village was a crater? Konoha had stood for generations. In terms of space, it was one of the largest hidden villages. And how had they misplaced so many Akatsuki?

Gamakichi snorted. "I don't think that word means what you think it means. You wouldn't be so pale if you couldn't fathom it."

He gave the toad a dirty look. At times like this, the amphibian inability to register the seriousness of a situation grated on his nerves. Still, the information was useful.

"I assume Jiraiya didn't want Naruto running back to Konoha and basically handing himself over to Akatsuki with a nice pink bow?" Kakashi drawled, trying to figure out what should be done. He couldn't send any support to Konoha when they were on the verge of having to engage in their own fight. But it was more important to do what they could to keep the villagers and surviving comrades safe than it was to hold a newly gained territory.

"Sounds about right," Gamakichi admitted sheepishly.

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction

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mrsbakashi · 2 years

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Ahhh you're truly so kind-hearted and lovable. My day was great, considering that I should actually study for an entrance exam that I know is going to kick my ass lol. And its already 1 am here, oh well Procrastination is my profession ✨ My Top 5 Naruto characters: (I genuinely took 15 mins because I love nearly everyone)

Kakashi ☼- the love of my life, the apple of my eye, I live and breathe for him

Obito- idk what to say haha

Itachi- This sweet baby man, I just wanna give him love

Gaara- this one is a the biggest cutie pie after you (+ he loves cacti)

Yamato- he kind of just wormed himself into my heart, idk how but...

honorable mentions (cuz otherwise I feel bad): -Shikamaru- love him sm -Genma- damn -Naruto- little devil sweetheart 💞

This was sooo hard omg, but I loved this. Why do I have mostly traumatized men up there? Btw, do you have a Top 5 list somewhere ? P.S: I read 'composure'- damn, it made me really giddy. I hope I didn't write too much 😅

how was the exam? sorry i wasn't around! (procrastination is also my profession what a coincidence!)

i love that it took you 15 minutes to chose your favorite characters because i do the same, i can never decide 🤣

ooh, btw i retook the test and i'm still an INFP, probably even more than before lol tell me your secret to turn into an ENFP because i need to be an extrovert so my life will get better

so my top 5 naruto characters (there i go to spend at least 20 minutes trying to choose 5 between all the characters that i love - that's a form of torture, just saying):

here's a cut because shit got too long

kakashi, obvs. he's my everything and i can be the therapy he so desperately needs (or i can make him worse 😉 watch me make him never leave the house again and just spend eternity in bed with me - he only goes out to see the kids who are not kids anymore and his kid's kids because they're like our kids)

my number 2 right now is obito, i just love him sm and i wish i could live squeezed in a sandwich between kakashi and obito (i could die happily, i just know that's what heaven feels like: you die and your favorite fictional characters are real and you get to live squeezed between them). i just wanna be loved by this unhinged boy 😩 tbh i think that the #1 reason obito is here is because my uterus just explodes whenever I hear his name, so...

itachi 🙄 i love him sm i wanna die, ugh. let me make you feel good, sad boi. watch me saying i don't love uchihas and then putting only uchihas on my top 5 because i am, in fact, a uchiha girl (also our top 3 is the same which explain why we're friends ❤️)

sasuke, i'm not sorry 😔. he just has been through so much, i understand his character (though i can't forgive his actions) and i just wish things could be different, you know. wish he could be happy... i also love naruto as much as i love sasuke, they're like my children. (is it cheating to put 2 characters in one position? because then i could put obito, kakashi and itachi on 1st 👀)

yamato - he had had 5 seconds of screen time when my heart decided that he needed to live there forever. purest heart in the whole world, i love him sm 😩😩😩😩😩 yamato let me love you properly

and of course honorable mentions!

zabuza and haku (i'm putting them together because even tho i love them in different ways they're a duo and can't be separated). i just love, understand and respect them a lot, wish we could've seen more of them.

deidara - i love this chaotic mess of a man 🙄

kimimaro - same as zabuza and haku, he'd amazing and i wish we could've seen more of him... wish zabuza had adopted him that night so he would be happier and would have haku to talk with. i just... wish i could hug him and tell him everything's gonna be ok. he just needed love. true, free and unconditional love, not that shit he got from orochimaru.

shikamaru and choji - yes, i love them abnormally, and i'm putting them together because i love them the same.

sakura - i know the list is already too long because i really do love all of the characters, and i also know most people hate on Sakura but i LOVE her, i think she's amazing, she grows so much!

this was really hard, like you said 🤣 i could go on forever about each and every character because i do love them all (except maybe orochimaru and danzo). anyway.

i'm so glad you liked composure! no one else but me did 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

i hope i didn't write too much, and thank you for asking and talking to me ❤️

#ur latibule blog #adorable you #💌#about me #top 5 #morggie answers #love you!!!!

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specialability · 2 years

Text

Naruto

In my Naruto reread I've basically hit the point where I stopped reading the manga in its original run. I didn't even make it to the Sasuke vs Itachi fight originally and then speed-read a bunch once it ended so I don't remember it much. Unnecessarily long thoughts follow.

The first story arc, i.e. pre-time-skip, is a bit rough sometimes but is fairly tightly written and fast-paced. It has a set of coherent themes and character arcs. Unfortunately, this is only 27 volumes, ending with Kakashi Gaiden.

There are 72 volumes total so that's only about a third of series. The second post-time-skip arc (Shippuden) starts off okay as it reintroduces all the new characters. Kakashi vs Itachi (and Gai's rescue~) is vol 29. As some variety from going to rescue Sasuke they go to rescue Gaara instead. I appreciate this arc because we get some more Sand Siblings and Team Gai. Most interestingly, Sakura gets her one and only battle victory. As far as battles go, it's a well-written one as Sakura shows off her new skills, intelligence, and determination. She gets a W on the board and we get two women fighting together! Chiyo's relationship to Gaara changing is genuinely touching.

The introduction of the chakra types in Shippuden feels like a very late retcon. Even though Kishimoto may have been using those concepts from the beginning, it really doesn't feel like it, especially when he avoids explaining more how more complex jutsu fit the system. It's impossible not to compare to Hunter x Hunter (although I'm trying) because as Gon and Killua progress through that story and learn more about the magic system of that world you definitely get the feeling that all the battles previously still make sense and a lot of things fall into place for the audience as well the characters. It's a bit like hitting a twist in a mystery. In order for it to feel satisfying you have to be able to look back and say "oh, I see it now". For examples of this not being done well see also: midichlorians

While Togashi is definitely the master of shonen battle manga when it comes to coming up with intentional magic systems, it's Oda who is probably the best at coming up with new powers and plot twists and making it seem like he was planning it all along. Fans call him GOda, but in interviews he's always like "at the last minute I had a sudden inspiration on how to finish this battle!" and then fans find some detail from volume 2 that has come back to pay off in volume 200 or whatever. I'm not sure sometimes how much of it is planned and how much is completely flying by the seat of his pants. If you write a manga for so long, there's no way you can remember every detail the way fans do.

And then back into the story... I cannot overemphasize how boring it is to rehash the same argument over and over again. Yamato and Sai are added to Team 7 in vol 32 and this starts the Pain arc which is... painful. It can't help but feel a bit cheap that after only a few years of training Naruto surpasses basically everybody else including his mentors. Pain apparently seeks to derive world peace from essentially causing equal pain to everyone. Fair enough, people in real life have made that argument. However, Naruto's response inspiring him to revive everyone and also kill himself so Naruto doesn't have to bloody his hands feels even more cheap and childish. I can't help but feel the philosophical questions of why is there war and how to solve cycles of violence is beyond Naruto as a character but also Naruto as a narrative.

This is also what strikes me about Sasuke vs Itachi and his interactions with Tobi afterwards. Naruto's response to "how do we solve war and heal emotional wounds" is generally a big shrug and "be nice to people". His unintentional method of seeking peace is befriending world leaders one at a time which isn't completely ineffectual. Sasuke's response to "how do we stop people from suffering" is "who cares, fuck you, my pain is more important than yours". Which is even more childish. An interesting theme that doesn't seem utilized is being trapped in one's childhood / not progressing as a person because you choose to hold on to your pain otherwise you feel you'll have nothing. Gaara's character arc towards accepting and giving love after alienation and suffering is way better by comparison. The manga keeps bringing up more mature big questions like the economic value of war but never actually addresses the various viewpoints and keeps skipping back to the interpersonal relationships. Which I mean sure, is important. But since there's no intentionality about it it just ends up feeling muddied.

On to the next...

#misc #ruth reads manga #:naruto

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captnjacksparrow · 3 years

Note

if you had to rank your fav naruto characters how would it go? love your blog btw!!

Hmmm... Complicated ask, anon.😂

[My personal life would be splashed here and there. Please bear with me]

Before 5 months, if you asked me about Naruto, my response would be ‘What the fuck is that?’. I absolutely had no idea such a treasure existed. For me, it started out like a blockbuster movie for the sheer variety of fights and the resulting emotions it brought within me.

However, there was a point I stopped and thought, ‘Wait a fucking second. This resembles my family dynamics. This person is speaking the exact same lines I spoke to my parents few years ago. This person’s situation resembles mine. Did this creator a time traveler?’. Naruto is the only piece of media that gave me such feel. Am not even exaggerating, believe me.

I really liked so many characters very much but am going to try my best to list just 10.

The only characters I hate in this series are Danzo, Sakura and Hinata in no particular order. Meaning, I absolutely cannot see any positives in them. They are crassy, cringey and completely detestable.

FAVOURITE NARUTO CHARACTERS

10. Killer Bee

HaHaHa :-) Just seeing this character makes me smile and light-hearted.

It’s a pity that he is the only character who don’t belong to Konoha in my Top 10 rankings who was developed well apart from Gaara.

I loved him from Frame 1 onwards and I sincerely wished Team Taka should be packed up with their ass beaten up mercilessly. And that’s what happened.

Despite being a Jinchurikki, he never bothered to mind his surroundings and filled his heart with love from his over protective Brother alone was nice to watch.

He makes a great Tag Partner with Naruto next to Sasuke. No doubt.

The way Killer Bee treated Team Taka like some annoying flies and his cool and don’t care attitude was top notch. It’s not just with Sasuke, Bee treated Naruto with the same IDGAF attitude at first.

Best Moments:

Lariat punch to Sasuke (TBH, Sasuke deserved it. LOL)

Blasted off every member of Team Taka like a doll

His entire conversation and fight sequence with Kisame (Their banters and exchanges are way too hilarious)

His dynamics with his Elder Brother (God!!!! Whenever Raikage gives him an Iron Claw.... What a hilarious duo!!!!)

9. Hatake Kakashi

Kakashi was my most favourite character when I started the series for simply being ultra-cool with the way he conducted the Bell-Test and taught a valuable lesson for those bratty kids in Team 7 called ‘Team Work’.

Best Moments:

Kakashi vs Obito Hand-to-Hand Combat (the best in the series)

Kakashi in the Gaara retrieval arc (His fight with Itachi & Deidara gave a good start to the shippuden series. His Mangekyou reveal was surprising).

Kakashi & Guy teaming up with Naruto to reveal Obito in a twisty and tragic way. (Kakashi couldn’t handle the truth at all and neither did I)

Kakashi vs Zabuza (That’s when I realized that the series was getting real serious)

8. Jiraiya

Jiraiya was my next favourite to Kakashi during my Part 1 days. His open perversion and his entire dynamics with Naruto was one of the best things during the Chunin Exams arc. Taught Naruto about Chakra Control and about the way of a shinobi by just enduring. Naruto follows this even today.

Best Moments:

Kuchiyose No Jutsu training (Man, I never expected him to push Naruto off the cliff)

Rasengan Training (One of the best arcs in part 1 and it was soo satisfying to see Naruto punching his first Rasengan on Kabuto, He also acted like a quasi parent to Naruto... heartwarming)

Jiraiya Vs Six paths of Pain ( 6 vs 1 was always doomed but still he had the guts of a shinobi and plunged ahead)

7. Uchiha Madara

Geez. What is there to not like him??

Everything he did was absolutely wrong ever since he broke up with Hashirama in a romantic way much similar to how couples break up in my country.

I am an Uchiha. You are a Senju. I wish it had been different.

This roughly translates to how 75% of lovers break up and marry someone else from their own clan in my state. (Duh!!!)

I am from XXX clan, you are from XXX clan. So we can’t love each other and my parents won’t accept this relationship. So let’s break up.

Alright, my first shipping couple in this series is HashiMada for this exact reason. (I started shipping SNS only after episode 478).

Just like Hashirama, Madara had an extensive build up right from episode 1 where Kurama compares Sasuke with Madara. And flashbacks from Itachi and Tobi spiked my curiosity and I wanted to see his face so badly ever since.

But the moment he landed gracefully like a diva in episode 321.... Woaahhhh!!!! He literally danced in the battlefield and ate up 100′s of guys with just a fucking Sharingan.

Best Moments:

Going Shirtless before 1000′s of people with Hashirama’s face, no less (Well, I literally went heart-eyed for 5 minutes. Sorry Sasuke, your ancester was way much sexier than you in the Orochimaru hideout and beats you by a million points).

Screaming Hashirama’s name like a cockatoo for 300 times even till the very end (Sorry Naruto, your obsession towards Sasuke for about 6 arcs is pale in comparison to Madara’s obsession which was established in just 6 or 7 episodes.)

I have 25 clones now. Do you want me to put Susanoo or not? You can’t answer. The answer is yes. (Man, his I don’t give a fuck attitude is just an alien level thing)

Openly admitting Only Hashirama Can Beat Me (Say what you will about Sasuke, Madara has no qualms about accepting his inferiority in terms of power. An absolute Straight Forward diva-queen)

Awakening Sharingan for breaking up with his ‘friend’ rather than for his 3 dead brothers. (Geez, Poor Soul. He is the forefather of a Romantic Uchiha. That romantic blood still flows in Sasuke)

6. Senju Hashirama

Man, I would have placed him somewhere in top 5 if only he was introduced early or had more scenes. I started watching Naruto only because of this very name. There is a local podcaster in my state who goes under the alias of Senju Hashirama and in his podcasts, he hinted about this character and how he was inspired by his ideals. I just googled and saw that this character belonged to Naruto series and I considered watching it. Here I am, making analysis on that very series.

There was this excellent build up for him right when we got introduced to Captain Yamato. He was constantly referred in flashbacks from Itachi and Tobi especially.

But the moment he was reanimated again..... Geez..... It was an hilarious ride all throughout. Out of all the flashbacks we got from this series, Founders Era flashback was my absolute favourite.

From where I come from, we are still under the stupid influence of Clan infrastructure and are not growing up in many aspects like people in western countries do. For me, I hope, one day, someone like Senju Hashirama appears in our state and change our lives for better by uniting all clans as one and treats everyone equally without the shitty favouritism for their own children, friends, parents, siblings.

That’s why this dialogue struck a thunder in my heart

“Be they a friend.... Be they a sibling.... Be it even my own child. I will not forgive anyone who threatens the village.”

Because the clan leaders in our place are absolutely selfish, trash bastards who serves their own needs with no regards for other people from other clans. For a person like me, Hashirama is not just a fictional hero, he is someone who many aspires to become. No wonder that podcaster chose this name as his alias.

He rightfully deserved the title ‘God of Shinobi’. And no one can surpass him, not even Naruto.

Best Moments:

Wood Style vs Eternal Mangekyou sharingan + Kurama powered Madara (He just beats Madara’s ass by a wide margin. This shows he was a whole fucking different level than Naruto + Sasuke combined. In terms of strength, nobody surpassed him YET. Sorry Naruto and Sasuke, you guys are no match even now with your Rinnegan and Kurama lost forever).

His entire banters with Madara (ROFLLLL. Without him, it would have been just another lifeless arc.)

5. Senju Tobirama

Hmmm, let me tell you something about him.

First off, he is not a racist or fascist as many hardcore Sasuke fanatics claims. He is one of the best hokages according to me. He is abso-fucking-lutely practical, rational, logical and holds no grudge. And Sasuke resembles Tobirama with all these characteristics as compared to soft and naive Naruto. If only he had more screen time, he would be easily in my top 3.

Just because he didn’t lick the boots of Uchiha (many people’s favorite clan or may I say the only clan that was given any shit about in this series), it doesn’t make him a racist or fascist.

No, he never persecuted the Uchihas. Danzo, the crass bastard, driven off the Uchihas only after the Kyuubi incident. It was explicitly mentioned in the databook and was clearly explained in the series.

He literally gave the highest position in the village for the entire clan. That is, a military power inside a military village. ‘Shinobi who can cause crimes can only be stopped by shinobi who are even better’. In my state, if a powerful clan decided to persecute another clan, they simply start by cutting off basic amenities like Water and Electricity. Compared to what I’ve seen, Tobirama did nothing but given the Uchihas, the highest position in their village.

Orochimaru only said giving such a power made them conceited (arrogant). Tobirama had a trusted subordinate called Kagami, an Uchiha in his team. He suggested Kabuto to help Sasuke and even teleported him on his request. He even spited Madara for killing Sasuke, an Uchiha. He openly claimed Uchiha clan exceeds Senju in terms of Love. He openly appreciated Itachi and Kagami as someone who sees beyond their clan. In what world, would a racist or fascist do all this for a clan he hates???

Yes, he was cautious of Sasuke at first because he saw him with Orochimaru and even went full-on battle mode because of Sasuke’s carefree threat to destroy the village. But once he decided to go to the battlefield to fight Madara, he simply forgot everything that happened before and started to work with him as a comrade, and even helped him twice. In which world, a racist or fascist behave this way?

Believe me, a person like me who was grown with these clan politics surely can say who is a fascist. He was not. He was just cautious of them because of their ability to attain superpowers with just emotions alone. Let me ask you all this, ‘Would you be okay with people getting crazy powers whenever they are depressed?’. Being cautious is not racism. It really disrespects people who faced real oppression under fascism.

What Madara and Danzo did was a classical example of fascism.

And No, Izuna didn’t die only because of Tobirama. He died because Madara was too arrogant to instigate war with Senju clan. And this was way before forming Konoha. If Tobirama killed Izuna after the alliance between Uchiha and Senju, I would agree that he was a racist. Izuna lost his life just like any other Uchiha and Senju soldiers in that battlefield.

Just because he shitted your beloved ‘Sasuke-Kun’ doesn’t mean he is a racist too. Tobirama saw Sasuke along with that scoundrel Orochimaru who once used this very two hokages to destroy the very village they strived hard to create and protect. What will you do, if you were in his place?? Please don’t lie and say ‘I wouldn’t be judgemental’.

And Imagine you are Tobirama, Sasuke is threatening to commit genocide against the entire village who had no idea about this coup detat instead of going against those old hags. Will you sit quiet as a Hokage??

He was the first person to suggest his brother, Itama, that Revenge against Uchihas are futile. All we need is an agreement to make truce. That gave the idea for Hashirama to pursue his dream. And Tobirama was happy to follow that dream and very supportive.

It’s because of all these reasons I placed him above Senju Hashirama.

Best Moments:

Amazing power display against Sasuke & Co with just an index finger (It was a pleasure to see everyone’s face trembling with mild sweat including Sasuke).

Acted as a decoy to save his young subordinates. (The way he sacrificed his life saying young wills of fire must be protected is just Woow!! I wish his subordinates listened to his words and passed the mantle to the younger ones rather than playing game at such an old age and screwed up many lives. Pfft!!!)

Any time he says ‘Shut Up’ to Hashirama (ROFL)

His absolute ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude to Naruto, Sasuke, Hashirama, Minato and Madara (He trolled them all mercilessly and I love it)

4. Senju Tsunade

It hurts me to say that Tsunade is the only female character in my list because every other female characters were written in a much more piss poorly way. Only Konan came close to Tsunade but her role was very short.

Despite her character’s purpose revolved around another male character (Dan) and a blatant objectification of her breasts, I liked everything about her other than those mentioned above.

She is the Second Best Hokage who took Konoha right after the destruction made by Orochimaru, excellently handled the aftermath by making friendly relations with Suna (Sand village), provided her best medical support to Konoha in the Pain Arc and successfully handled the fourth Shinobi world war.

She is such a badass who developed her own original jutsu called Byakugou no Jutsu, which can heal herself.

She is just way too amazing and it’s a pity that we got very less scenes in Shippuden.

Best Moments:

Took 25+ stabs from Madara’s Susanoo like a piece of cake (Man, I simply couldn’t describe that scene. All the other Kages were shocked and even Madara too)

Lifted her advisors like a cabbage sack (Those fucking old hags deserved it. Those shits should’ve died)

Her index finger flick assault on Naruto (Aww, Naruto was definitely bratty in his first meeting and Tsunade didn’t hold back at all)

Played Orochimaru like a basketball (In that same arc, she fought Orochimaru mercilessly like a devil left and right. Someone who claimed to have surpassed Tsunade never even dared to fight Orochimaru’s student and crying for his attention after just receiving one stab from Madara. Just saying)

3. Uzumaki Naruto

Naruto is the titular character and your emotions evolve along with him. He surely deserves a spot in Top 3. The only reason I didn’t place Naruto even more higher is because he didn’t experience something very important which many characters in this list faced. That is, Losing a loved one before his eyes. Every villain in this series became what they are because they lost someone important before their eyes like Nagato, Obito. (Nope, I don’t count Neji as his loved one). I think this tests the mettle of any character and Naruto failed to experience this. The only person he ever lost was Jiraiya and that too from off-screen. That’s why I felt his journey to his dreams seemed little easier compared to the rest of the characters.

His best block of episodes will always be the part 1 Episode 1, 2, 3. Episode 1 is the character defining episode for Naruto and what he learned there will be applied everywhere till the very end of the series. He learned 3 things

Forgiveness, Empathy and Acceptance

Talk-No-Jutsu

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu

From then on, this boy wins many friends to his side, not only from Konoha but from other villages too and even made them to acknowledge his strength only through his sheer hard work.

However, there is this person, whose acknowledgement he wants the most. That person is his most important bond along with Iruka Sensei. He is none other than Sasuke. One day, Sasuke left him alone for some unavoidable reason at the end of part 1 which left a huge scar in him and he vows to bring him back to the place where he belongs. That becomes his ultimate goal rather than becoming an Hokage.

The way he goes to any extent to protect the people he cares about is just simply entertaining to watch.

Every time he makes an heroic entry to save the day was never boring, not once.

Best Moments:

Sobbing from his heart after hearing Iruka Sensei acknowledging him (It just makes me feel heavy for no reason. The anime team did an awesome job to capture his emotions convincingly)

Awakening Kyuubi Mode for the first time after seeing Sasuke die in his arms (Man, out of all the collective hatred he got from the villagers, this moment affected him a lot speaks volumes)

Punching Neji from the underground to win the Chunin exams (God, I honestly believed Naruto lost but he just surprised us heavily from nowhere. And that failure speech was just pure bliss to watch even today)

Pain Vs Naruto (One of the best arc for Naruto. Because unlike other arcs, where Naruto fought with a team, this arc he was all alone fighting a person with Rinnegan. Be it the exuberant landing from the frogs with a dramatic kabuki music, creating multi-step attacks, coming up with novel solution in that difficult situation, finally ending the conflict without killing the enemy, becoming an hero. Superb journey. The only thing I didn’t like in that arc is some shitty selfish proposal. PUKE!!)

Bearing the burdens of his most important person and die along with him (This boy always shouts he will never die until he becomes an Hokage. But for Sasuke, he was ready to die along with him in order to not leave him alone proves how much he loves him. This shows his emotional maturity rather than shouting at Sasuke like he always did before which never reached his ears. This time it did)

Final Good Bye to Minato (Honestly, I was bawling just like Naruto in that scene no matter how many times I watch it. It started out slow but as he speaks more and more, he simply couldn’t hold back and wept a sea of tears 😭😭😭)

2. Uchiha Sasuke

One of the well written characters in this series, with all the flaws and positive stuffs which makes him more of an Anti-Hero. He always subverts my preformed opinions and never ceased to surprise me.

Despite being aloof and cold, his warmer side will always be exposed towards Naruto. This is evident by many things he had done for Naruto which he don’t have to or no reason to. Starting right from roasting Sakura, offering lunch, asking for tips, enquiring about breakfast, protecting him many times and dying for Naruto.

Why I placed him above Naruto is because of his unavoidable decision to tread in a complicated dark path primarily due to the trauma he carried and was stirred up again by collective factors such as Orochimaru’s cursed seal, Itachi’s arrival and Naruto’s growth. Compared to Sasuke, Naruto had an easier path because he never saw anyone die before his eyes and hence he don’t carry any trauma which can divert his path.

Even after watching his entire clan and family members murdered before his eyes at an age 8, he managed to pull himself and never snapped out like many other good characters does. But the moment when he found out that Itachi was good all along, he simply couldn’t tolerate the truth and gave himself to Vengeance. Because, he loved his brother more than he hated him all these years. This shows he loved his brother more than his parents. His resolve to destroy Konoha was perfectly understandable. But is it good? Nope. He can kill Danzo and those old hags but killing other people was never justifiable.

But still, his resolve to have his vengeance was diverted by Naruto and weakened by Itachi, at some point. So, he decided to know the truth and when he heard it, he understood the Hokages also sacrificed many precious things to protect this village just like his Brother Itachi. He understood the mistakes of his clan and decided to protect the village which he swore to destroy. [Many Sasuke fanatics think that he succumbed to the Government and Kishi wrote Sasuke to bootlick them. Their idea was to tackle genocide with another genocide. What a stupid idea!!!!]

And No, I don’t consider him trying to kill Sakura, Karin and Kakashi as his bad moments (though I feel bad for Karin). For the simple reason being, he became a monster by losing himself in the darkness who lost the rationality to differentiate friends from foes. Much similar to how Naruto lost himself to Kyuubi’s hatred against Orochimaru and in Pain Arc. It’s so hypocritical to ignore Naruto and accuse Sasuke here. Plus, Sakura had no business to be there otherwise Sasuke would not have tried to kill her.

But does it mean Sasuke did nothing wrong???

Nope.

He definitely shouldn’t have joined Akatsuki and hunted Killer Bee like an animal. Because, he knew that Tobi was the one who helped Itachi massacre the clan. When fighting Itachi he specifically vowed to kill Madara (Tobi). On top of that, Itachi passed on Amaterasu in his eyes specifically to stay away from Tobi. Why did he ally with him? Plus, Sasuke was one of the few characters who was exposed to the name ‘Akatsuki’ in part 1 itself. He clearly knew that this organization targets Naruto, his closest bond. Why did he join there? This is where the stupid part of Sasuke came out. I was grunting... ‘Oii Where did that clever Sasuke, who faced 1000 soldiers without killing any of them, went??’.

And his plan for Revolution???? I thought it would be reasonable. But his vision was eerily similar to Danzo’s vision. Grrr..... Danzo also wanted to create his ideal village by destroying the current Hokage. He wanted to unite the Five Village and put himself on top of everyone as evident from the Kage Summit arc.

I appreciate him that he finally adopted the Will of Fire, by wanting to protect the village at all costs just like Itachi and Hashirama did. But his methods are not very democratic. Plus, he wanted to do it alone. I was screaming at him... ‘Grrr, Sasuke, did you listen to Itachi at all???. He failed because he did everything alone. Why can’t you understand????’ This is also another instance, Sasuke’s stupidity glanced out.

I am happy Naruto knocked some sense into him by telling him not to do it alone but together.

Many fanatics also ask, ‘What did Sasuke do wrong to atone for his sins at the end?’.

I was like ‘Reallly????’

He joined Akatsuki, an organization which terrorized all the 5 villages and he hunted someone like an international criminal.

He spoiled the Kage Summit and attacked Raikage who lost his arm because of him. I know what happened over there is not Sasuke’s fault. But these are the kages who was loved by many people in their own villages. How can the world forget it and simply let him go?

It’s exactly because of all those lovely stuffs he did in Part 1 and all these mistakes he did in Part 2 but willing to correct his mistakes by sharing the burdens of his other half in the end made him more interesting, complicated and exciting and that’s why I love this character.

I also have a personal bias to love this character sooo much because of the character on top of my list.

Best Moments:

Defending Naruto before Sakura (Awww!!! Such a good boy he was. Eventhough I thought he was a typical arrogant K-Drama hero, he just subverted my opinion in that one scene. I always have a thing for people who stands up for someone even though they don’t have to. This is where I started to like Sasuke)

My body moved on its own. (Is there anything that trumps this scene in terms of emotions and love in this series?. This moment is where I understood the depth of Sasuke’s emotions towards Naruto).

What is a Clan? What is a Village? What is a Shinobi? (I was really hoping for Sasuke to question himself something similar to this. Because he was so self-absorbed in his hatred and failed to look outside him ever since he left the village. It was so gratifying that he did that)

Killing Orochimaru (I always thought Sasuke will kill him only after he tries to take over the body. Never imagined that he will strike the snake first)

Killing Danzo (Man, what an amazing battle!!!. It was so gratifying to see such a crass bastard die many times over and over).

His dramatic confession through his monologue (After the mystery of Who is this Tobi, Sasuke’s obsession towards Naruto remained a mystery for me. Why did he listen to Naruto under the bridge? Why did he protected Naruto in the War? I got the answer only after this confession. It was so heartwarming to see this mellow side of Sasuke)

1. Uchiha Itachi

I could write pages about him. The foremost reason I like Itachi and earns the top spot in my rankings is because he shockingly resembled me in many ways. As I already said, I come from a place where clan politics plays a major role and when I see Sasuke’s flashback in part 1, I was simply dumbstruck by such a detailed similarities.

Elder child of the family - ✅

Have an adorable younger sister who loves me more than my parents - ✅

Same age gap (5 years) with my sister as Itachi and Sasuke - ✅

Parents paying total attention on me while ignoring my sister completely - ✅

Parents constantly comparing my achievements with my sister - ✅

A sister who bear hugged me every time I entered the home after returning from my school - ✅

Despite my mom being a teacher, my sister always prefers me to teach her stuffs as she considers me to be way too better than my mom - ✅

Love my sister more than my parents - ✅

Clan-Obsessed parents - ✅

Used me as a tool for the benefit of the clan - ✅

Sending another person from my clan to spy on me - ✅

Strained relationship with my parents - ✅

Disgusted with my clan - ✅

Most importantly, this dialogue from part 1 episode 129,

Clan? Clan?

Obsessed with the organization, Obsessed with the clan, Obsessed with the name, that’s merely the detestable action that restrict yourself.

I have given up all hope in this worthless clan

Because, people obsess themselves to their clan, a thing so petty, they lose sight of the things that are truly important.

A real change cannot occur under restraints and controls

I confronted my parents with the exact same dialogue (almost 98% similar) in my own native language some years ago.

I didn’t even know the existence of Naruto series at that time. I was simply shell-shocked by all these similarities with this character.

And Yes, The moment I heard these dialogues, I knew Itachi, was a good guy, who had a very strong reason for his actions and I instantly knew Sasuke’s revenge will not bear him any happiness.

It is exactly because of all these striking similarities of myself with Itachi, and my lil’l sister with Sasuke, my family dynamics with the Uchiha family.... I could understand the magnitude of Sasuke’s love towards Itachi.

And precisely because of that, I could understand Sasuke’s love towards Naruto is not fucking ‘brotherly’ one but something that leans towards Attraction.

No wonder, Itachi left Sasuke in Naruto’s care.

Anyways to speak objectively,

Itachi is an extremely self-sacrificial person whose life is full of pain and miseries but never blames it on the world unlike other Uchiha members like Madara, Obito and Sasuke to an extent.

He did things considering the bigger picture which never benefitted himself in anyway and was willing to go to any extent even at the expense of his own family and his brother’s happiness. That is, Uchiha Clan Massacre and Joining Akatsuki. None of this benefitted him in anyways but he did it anyway, for the village of Konoha.

His ideals are shockingly similar to Hashirama, Which Sasuke pointed this out and Hashirama acknowledged that Itachi was a better shinobi than he was. ❤️❤️❤️

Now, does this means I support Uchiha clan massacre?

No way. Even Itachi didn’t.

This massacre happened because of the huge clusterfuck from Hiruzen’s incompetence, Danzo’s paranoid arrogance, Uchiha clan’s devious plan to over throw the government by force rather than approaching it in a peaceful way, say, a peace talk or a protest.

All these people acted on their own self-interest. Itachi and Shisui caught in their whirlpool, bear their burdens and paid for it with their life. Sasuke suffered for it.

But, it’s not the only reason I love this character. It’s because, the moment he decided to massacre everyone, he marked his own death by the hands of his beloved brother. I love people who owns up their mistakes and face the consequences rather than making excuses (even though it’s not entirely his mistake).

Itachi is also the only character in this series who realized his failures on his own without anyone’s interference or Naruto’s Talk-No-Jutsu.

And he apologized for everything he did to Sasuke.

Again, some hardcore Sasuke fanatics criticize/hate him for torturing their poor ‘Sasuke-Kun’ with his Tsukuyomi. I was like ‘Hmmm...What?’.

First off, Itachi apologized to Sasuke for not thinking out from his point of view and also for not telling him the truth earlier.

Second off, Sasuke never even blamed Itachi for anything (even he didn’t hold him for killing their parents). If Sasuke himself, forgiven Itachi... Why are his fans being so rabid?

Third off, for all of his supposed ‘crimes’, he paid for it by dying as a disgraceful Madman rather than a Hero who really saved the village. He is someone who should be celebrated like Naruto but instead died proudly as a Traitor of Konoha.

All in all, One of the wonderfully written character I have ever seen in the media.

Best Moments:

Itachi vs Sasuke (That battle was a pure brilliance and highly emotional especially after knowing the truth. When Sasuke released his Kirin, Itachi showed off his ultimate armour Susanoo like a badass. Seeing Susanoo for the first time gave me chills. No, Sasuke didn’t kill him. Itachi died on his own)

Itachi vs Orochimaru (Man, Itachi may look mellow but when it comes to Orochimaru he is a pure Sass. He screwed that snake up both the times by a wide margin. It seems Uchiha brothers like to fuck up Orochimaru, LOL)

Talk-No-Jutsu’ing Naruto (Geez, Naruto was being completely bratty and was full of saviour complex like he was going to bear everyone’s hatred by himself. I was almost annoyed. Thanks to Itachi, he realised. Probably he is the only character to shut Naruto using his own jutsu)

Izanami’ing Kabuto (Other than Naruto, he is the only character to go out of his way to empathize with a villain and put extreme effort to change him. I think this is why Sasuke loves Naruto, for seeing these similarities??? ).

Goodbye to Sasuke (The first time when he said ‘Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last’ by poking his forehead and finally closing the distance by butting with Sasuke’s head softly saying ‘I will love you always’.... It always evokes uncontrollable tears in me, no matter how many times I watch it 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭)

HONOURABLE MENTION

Uchiha Obito

God, Am such a sucker for Uchiha guys individually, though collectively as a clan they fucked up big time. I simply couldn’t find the place for him in the top 10. He is a classic example of What Naruto will be like if he becomes a villain?

However, all those horrible stuffs he did just for a girl whom he had a crush on which was never reciprocated seems childish. That’s why I couldn’t put him in Top 10.

And his understandable but weird obsession on Naruto was always enjoyable to watch.

One cute thing I liked about him was, whatever criminal stuffs he may have done, he was never a cheapskate though. He had every chance to take back Kakashi’s Sharingan to activate his own Susanoo. But he never even thought of such an idea. He was a bad guy. But a good friend, no matter what.

Pure Baby!!! But lost his way!!!

Best Moments:

Importance of Team Work (’In the ninja world, Those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum’. This very legacy he left to Kakashi came to defeat him later. And Naruto follows this motto even today)

Sacrificing his Sharingan (’I am giving you my Sharingan. No matter what the villagers say, you are a great Jonin. Please take it’. Awww!!! Obito. He left his Sharingan which helped Kakashi to complete a jutsu called ‘Chidori’, which is a go-to jutsu of Sasuke)

Thanks for the ask, anon. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this. ❤️

#ask #itachi #itachi uchiha #sasuke #sasuke uchiha #naruto #naruto uzumaki #hashirama #tobirama #hashirama senju #tobirama senju #madara uchiha #madara #killer bee #kakashi #jiraiya #tsunade #obito #obito uchiha

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itachi-uchiha-deserved-better · 3 years

Text

There were seven of them gathered in the tent that was serving as the temporary council chamber while the leaf village was being rebuilt. Kakashi sat at the head of the circular table, looking uncomfortable in the position of authority that had been thrust upon him in Tsunade’s absence. Next to Kakashi on his left was Shikaku Nara, with Shikamaru seated next to his father. On Kakashi’s right side sat Gai, Yamato, Naruto and then finally there was Sakura, sitting opposite Kakashi, wondering when in the hell she had become important enough to warrant an explicit invitation to a council meeting.

The elders, Sakura noted, were not in attendance. Kakashi had placed both of them under guard since Danzo’s treachery at the five Kage summit came to light. It didn’t really come as much of a surprise to Sakura that the Jonin of the village were hesitant to trust them with matters of importance.

Kakashi fiddled with his pen, as he seemed to search for the best way to approach whatever it was that was important enough for him to call a council meeting in the first place. He kept shooting Yamato glances, which Yamato always answered with a quirked eyebrow or a shake of the head, like there was a silent discussion going on between them. Sakura watched the exchange with fascination as she doodled on the note pad in front of her.

“Fine.” Kakashi growled, ending whatever argument he and Yamato were apparently having, “I guess we ought to just get on with it.” He took a breath, put the pen down very carefully, so that it was sitting perfectly straight in front of him. He swept his gaze around the room, locking eyes with each person who sat at the table in turn.

“You know I’m not the type to do things as officially as they should be done. Were it not for the delicate nature of this matter, I’d have left it for Tsunade to deal with when she recovers. Unfortunately, this is a matter that won’t wait until our Hokage is back on her feet.”

The air in the room seemed to grow still and heavy with tension. Everyone seemed to pick up on the carefully chosen words Kakashi used. Our Hokage. Not him. He had no desire to lead them. When Tsunade wakes up. Because none of them wanted to consider the other outcome.

“As you know, Yamato and I were present for the majority of the 5 Kage summit. I believe everyone here has read our reports regarding the proceedings of the summit and Danzo’s attempt at treason. That is not what we are here to discuss. This meeting is in regards to what happened before our arrival at the summit location. About information intentionally withheld from the official reports.”

Sakura observed the room. A large part of her medical training had focused on sharpening her observational skills. Teaching her to pick up on subtle changes around her, so that she can make decisions with the most information possible. So her keen gaze immediately picks up on the way that Shikaku straightened up in his chair as Kakashi admits to withholding information from the official documentation of their mission. She notes how Shikamaru’s gaze snaps to Naruto’s face, then to hers, trying to read the situation the same way that she was. She can almost visualize tangible waves of tension rolling off of Yamato and the worried look that Gai is giving her Sensei. It seemed that he had at least some inkling of what was going on.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure that this information should be shared with anyone. The source is questionable, but Yamato and I agree that given the potential ramifications for the village if the information we’ve been given is accurate, that at least the people in this room need to be aware of it.”

More glances shot around the table. Naruto at Sakura. Sakura at Yamato. Yamato and Gai at Kakashi. Shikaku and Shikamaru at all of them. The silence in the room swelled until Shikaku quietly prompted Kakashi, “please continue.”

“Itachi Uchiha.”

The name sent a shockwave through the room. White hot anger flared in Sakura. Itachi. Sasuke’s older brother. The shinobi who had murdered his entire clan in cold blood, who had tried to kidnap Naruto, who was directly involved with the organization that had killed Gaara, that had destroyed Konoha and caused so much pain to the person that she loved. Even if he didn’t love her back, Sakura could never forgive Itachi for the pain he inflicted on Sasuke.

Naruto was shrinking in his seat, like the name was a heavy weight descending on his shoulders. Shikaku and Shikamaru were both now sitting straight backed in their seats, giving Kakashi their undivided attention. Only Yamato and Gai remained impassive.

“What about the Uchiha?” Shikaku asked as the impact of the name started to settle.

“It seems that there is much more to Itachi’s actions than the village was initially lead to believe. Our information indicates that Itachi held no grudge against his clan. That his crimes, while heinous, were carried out under direct order from village leaders.”

Shikamaru laughed, the sound breaking through the tension like a paper bomb exploding in Sakura’s ears, “You must be joking. You can’t honestly believe that Lord Third would have allowed-“

Shikaku grabbed Shikamaru’s arm, and shooting him a sharp look to silence him.

Kakashi sighed, “I understand your skepticism. Like I said, Yamato and I don’t trust the source of our information, but given Danzo’s treachery and how long that was allowed to go on unnoticed, I don’t think we can dismiss anything outright. By the same token, none of this is to leave this tent. Until we are able to verify or disprove the claim, I want to keep this thing quiet.”

Shikamaru huffed, but Shikaku nodded thoughtfully, “Kakashi, you were his Anbu captain at one point. You probably know the most about Itachi of anyone present. Do you believe it’s possible that he was manipulated into massacring his clansmen?”

Sakura expected Kakashi to answer immediately. The entire thought of the village ordering a man to kill his entire clan was ludicrous.

Wasn’t it?

But Kakashi didn’t answer. One minute passed in silence and still Kakashi was sitting there, glaring down at his pen, unable to answer Shikaku’s question. It was Yamato who eventually spoke up.

“I served alongside Itachi on team Ro. Speaking frankly, I could never wrap my head around it. The Itachi I knew wasn’t capable of harboring that much hatred. Even with the proof right in front of our eyes, I couldn’t make sense of it.”

Sakura breathed in a sharp breath of surprise. Neither Kakashi or Yamato ever really spoke about their Anbu days, so she had been completely ignorant of the fact that they’d both been on a team with Itachi, much less been friends with him.

Did Sasuke know?

Kakashi nodded his head, “I agree with Yamato, Itachi Uchiha’s actions never made sense to me. I accepted that I must have missed the signs back then and once everything was said and done, I tried my best not to think about it. About him. He was my teammate, and I had failed him. But if this is true, then I failed him even worse than I ever could have believed.” Kakashi hung his head and Sakura could see how much this pained him. She could only imagine what he felt, having this ghost of his past being dragged back up to the surface, especially after so much recent pain and loss.

“Regardless of my and Yamato’s personal feelings about the man, there are other factors which lead us to believe that at least parts of the information we were given are true. Danzo did possess a number of Sharingan, including an eye that we can confirm belonged to Shisui Uchiha, who supposedly committed suicide by the Naka. Itachi was, at the time, suspected of murdering his cousin.”

Another pause, as Kakashi allowed the information to sink in. Shikaku was nodding his head in recognition of the name. Shikamaru was studying his father closely. Sakura could hear Naruto grinding his teeth in frustration.

“Alright,” Shikaku tapped his finger on the table, “Lets have it then. The whole story.”

Kakashi obliged, and slowly the story came out, with Yamato jumping in when it seemed that Kakashi was struggling to find the right words. About the plan for a coup d'etat that had been brewing within the Uchiha clan. The orders to spy on the Uchiha, to monitor them for signs of rebellion. Itachi’s assignment to team Ro, and his early promotion to captain under Danzo. About the death of a man named Shisui, who according to this had thrown himself off a cliff only after Danzo had stolen one of his eyes. The coup coming to a head, and Hiruzen asking Itachi to buy time to find a better solution than annihilation, and Itachi being approached later by Danzo, with a promise- that Itachi could ensure his little brother’s survival if he singlehandedly stopped the coup. The implication that if Itachi refused, Danzo would ensure the clan’s destruction, Sasuke and Itachi included.

The clan’s lives for Sasuke’s life. That was the deal that was put forth. And Itachi had accepted.

But it was the final bit of the story that chilled Sakura to her core.

“Hiruzen was aware of Itachi’s orders. While he may not have issued them himself, if our source is to be believed, he also made no effort to intervene. Its true that the Uchiha massacre solved the problem of the coup d'etat once and for all. But the only way it ended without anyone losing faith in Hiruzen was for Itachi to shoulder the blame. If he’d remained in the leaf village, Hiruzen would have been forced to punish him for the massacre. So instead, Hiruzen let Itachi leave the village, left the barrier jutsu formula intact so that Itachi could come and go as long as he remained hidden, and Itachi decided to join the Akatsuki. Not as a missing-nin, but as Konoha’s spy.”

Shikaku hummed, nodding his head, “I never was able to come up with a good reason why Hiruzen left the barrier jutsu formula alone. I assumed he believed that Itachi must not have any more reason to target the leaf, but even then when word came that Itachi had joined the Akatsuki, he ought to have changed it.”

“Right,” Kakashi was rubbing at his temple, probably fighting off a headache. He’d had a number of those since his brush with death at the hands of Pein.

“There are piece that add up. The barrier formula. The fact that the leaf village always had more intelligence on the Akatsuki and their movements than the other villages did. Danzo’s possession of the Uchiha eyes, Shisui’s eye especially. But there are also pieces I cant explain. Like why that bastard locked me in a seventy two hour genjutsu that almost killed me. And the only person who could confirm any of this, as far as I know, has been dead for three years.”

Gai said something in response to that, but Sakura had stopped listening, their voices fading to the background as something started to click in her head.

Konoha’s spy.

Had to stay hidden.

Could come and go as he pleased.

Her mind was spinning. Recalling strange orders issued by Tsunade. Treating a shinobi outside the hospital. Not allowed to use her healing chakra at all, only basic medical skills. The threat of being stripped of her rank as a shinobi if she disobeyed. A strange Anbu who never spoke. Who suppressed his chakra at all times. Who had eerily familiar eyes that always seemed to be filled with something she could never hope to understand.

“Sakura? Sakura are you alright?” Naruto’s hand was on her shoulder, shaking her gently. Tenzo and Kakashi were both watching her with concern, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

The name. Recognition like a bolt of lightning struck her and Sakura stood up so quickly that she sent her chair flying back with a crash.

She felt like she was going to explode. Every eye in the tent was on her, waiting for some kind of explanation for her sudden reaction. How on earth could she not have put it together earlier? Then again, she’d never been given any reason to suspect that Ghost, the strange anbu operative in the blank mask was Sasuke’s older brother.

Tsunade. Tsunade must have known. Her orders were to protect Ghost’s identity, because if Sakura had felt his chakra, even for an instant, she would have recognized the similarities to Sasuke’s, and there was only one other Uchiha left in the world. So many thoughts were crashing around inside Sakura’s mind. Anger. Anger at Ghost…Itachi…for lying to her, even if he had no other choice. It wasn’t like she would have ever helped him before if she knew who he was. She’d have been the first person to turn him in, no matter how much kindness he’d shown her. Anger at Tsunade, for allowing the farce to continue, despite knowing that Itachi had made the only choice he could have. Anger that Hiruzen, for failing to intervene and stop all the pain that the massacre caused. For Sasuke, and for Itachi.

Her eyes met Kakashi’s steady gaze. Her sensei, always so adept at reading what troubled her, waited patiently for her mouth to catch up to her mind.

“You knew?”

“No.” Not a lie. She hadn’t known, “But I’m pretty sure this is the truth. I…” gods above how did she even begin to explain it all? To explain about Ghost, his strange behavior, the bizarre connection they shared.

Tenzo was her saving grace. He seemed to have put some of the pieces together himself.

“The Anbu? The one you told me about?”

Sakura nodded and sank back down into her chair, hugging her arms into herself. The eyes of the group moved off of Sakura, looking to Tenzo for more information.

“Earlier this year, Sakura confided in me about a patient of hers. She wanted to know if I was aware of an Anbu agent whose mask was blank, no markings at all. She told me that Tsunade had asked her to treat him and that the arrangement came with some unusual orders which had her uncomfortable.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, “Are you referring to-“ Kakashi cut off, but Tenzo nodded, clearly understanding the question. Shikamaru grumbled.

“Care to explain for those of us who can’t read your mind?”

“Ghost,” Tenzo shot back, “It’s a…well for lack of better terms, it’s a ghost story that exists among the Anbu. A few years back a few genin claimed they were saved by an Anbu agent in a blank white mask, who slaughtered the enemy shinobi who were attacking them and then disappeared without a trace. No one believed them, but since then all kinds of stories about the faceless mask have popped up. Most of them are incredibly far fetched, but there are elements that remain consistent throughout. Black hair. Always alone. Never leaves any survivors except for leaf shinobi. Only fights with Kunai and a tanto, never jutsu. At least, none that anyone ever sees. I didn’t think anything of it, but when Sakura mentioned her patient to me, I did some digging. There is a file for an Anbu agent, codename Ghost, but there’s no serial number on the file, and everything in it was encoded.”

Kakashi sighed, “It’s not proof, but that seems pretty damning.” Apparently Kakashi didn’t have any better explanation that Sakura did.

“In that case, there are a few things to address. First and foremost, it is very likely that Sasuke has also been made aware of the fact that his brother acted under orders. I don’t think he knows about Itachi’s identity as an Anbu operative, but we need to be prepared because I’m not sure what kind of effect this information will have on him. The last I knew, Sasuke’s sole focus was on killing his brother for revenge. It’s quite possible that his desire for revenge will shift to target the village, or at least those he feels most responsible for Itachi’s actions.”

Everyone in the tent nodded their agreement.

“The second question is one of what to do about Itachi himself.”

This time no one nodded. It was a momentous question.

“Are you sure we need to do anything at all?” Shikaku asked, trying to be as gentle with the question as possible. Tenzo slammed his hand down on the table and looked like he wanted to throw himself at Shikaku.

“Of course we have to do something! He’s a leaf shinobi! He’s put his life in danger for the past nine years, alone, hated by everyone in order to protect the village. He deserves to know that he isn’t being held responsible for being forced to make an impossible choice when he was thirteen fucking years old!”

“Easy, Tenzo,” Kakashi seemed to be doing his best to keep his tone level, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him while they sorted things out, “You know that I want to see him again as much as you do, as a friend. But we need to consider what’s best for the village. At the least, I don’t think we need to come to a decision right now. Our first priority is to rebuild the village itself. When Tsunade wakes up, I’m sure she’ll have something to say on the matter.”

Sakura clenched her fist and felt her chakra start flowing into them out of instinct. You better believe that she’ll have something to say. I’ll make sure of it.

She pushed herself up from the table. She needed to hit something. Needed to break something. And if she didn’t leave now, she couldn’t be sure what exactly it was she was going to break. Better safe than sorry.

“Sakura? Going somewhere?”

“For a walk,” She hissed, daring anyone to try and stop her as she stormed out of the tent.

#Hey look guys #I found some muse #When did I start writing Sakura?#Actually I do like writing her POV #Ghost AU #Itachi #Itachi's secret is out!#Not sure if this will be divergent from my Ghost in the Leave Fic or if I'll include this as a chapter

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queer-naruto · 4 years

Video

youtube

So I’m not sure if I’m alone in this thought, but I am just about obsessed with the Naruto Shippuden openings. So I thought it could be fun to tell y’all what I love about them and which ones are my favorites! Feel free to add your own thoughts and opinions too! (this might be long but I have lots of thoughts that need to be excised from my head)

#1 First opening for the new show. It’s dramatic and the song is fun and upbeat, i love the shot of the Akatsuki because they’re always a fun time.

#2 Again great song. Bonus points for being the first opening to have my boy Sai in it. Angst is always fun between Sasuke and Naruto

#3 I know I know blue bird is overrated, but whatever its still a good song. I really like the shadows that are being cast across the characters when they’re standing in what looks like a bunch of alleyways. Love watching Asuma fight, especially when I know it isn’t during his death arc. Always get points from me when the Akatsuki is envolved.

#4 Love when all Konoha 12 are in the opening, love them all because they’re adorable and precious. The rotating scene of Hidan and Kakazu is one of my favorite things of all time tbh, points taken off though because I know they’re going to kill Asuma and that isn’t very sexy of them ngl.

#5 I quite enjoy the final valley because the statues of Madara and Hashirama are really cool and a nice touch. The drama of Tsunade looking longingly out the hokage building’s window with her hand on the glass kills me.

#6 Love this ones song, kind of moody but also gets me pumped later on. makes me a little sad because I think this opening is during Itachi’s death. Huge points and i mean huge for the toad summon, they’re possibly my all time favorite summons in the show, so much so that it made my love for toads grow and I’m getting a toad tattoo next month.

#7 Again the song is great. Pain arc always lots of fun. There’s a lot of really cool battle shots that i enjoy, love when they all kick ass and get their asses kicked. Also: Gamabunta, need I say more? He could be my favorite non human character, I actually wanted to know how many episodes he was in and that’s how I spoiled Jiraiya’s death for myself. I adore Mt. Myōboku, and my fave outfit of Naruto’s is toad sage.

#8 I like how all of the people who care for Naruto are keeping him from sinking, and then at the end it looks like Sasuke is sinking and Naruto is like “oh shit I have to save my boyfriend, everyone else hates him rn”.

#9 Great song. Love all the Kage’s except interim Hokage Danzo, fuck that guy forever.

#10 Very fun song! Love how Killer B’s dancing is like inconveniencing Yamato. The dancing is extremely funny to me, and they all look so cute. Sai, Sakura, and Naruto all do this like really cool triple hand sign together while they all hold onto each other and I can’t tell you how sad I am that it never happened outside of the opening.

#11 Another song that gets me pumped and makes me want to punch someone for some reason, in a fun way. Allied Shinobi Forces always fun. The mask Obito has on is prob my favorite of the ones he wears, love the orange but idk this one is great.

#12 This one is mostly sad gotta say, but I LOVE Kushina!!!! Fighting is cool.

#13 First opening with Madara, we love a murderous old brought back to life motherfucker, and I think hes hot. Very funny to me that Naruto just fucking headbutts Obito in the mask, seeing as though it proves quite hard to just scrape. big points for the Kurama and Naruto fist bump.

#14 I think this opening is my all time favorite, my header even comes from this one. The song is one my favorites too. My favorite part might be Obito phasing through a rock, and the red freeze framing of him, Gai, and Kakashi looking like they’ll kill you without a second thought. Please don’t ask me how I know Obito’s mask has the same expression because it just does.

#15 Good song. All the moon and sun pairings are nice, cool fighting as always. Love any reference to the tailed beasts, if you ask me they weren’t in the show nearly enough.

#16 Great references to growing up and coming of age, also its nostalgic in a way. Cool that Naruto and Sasuke are being cute together and working as team. love the song

#17 I forgot this one existed for a minute, but I do quite enjoy the sage of six paths. Also Gai fighting Madara will always be gold to me.

#18 THIS ONE!!!! SO FUCKING SAD!! I love it dearly don’t get me wrong, but this shit made me cry and I will never forgive it. Really good song too, might be my third favorite opening

#19 This song is maybe my favorite, Fourth favorite. Fighting all these clay or dirt or maybe its zetsus idk copies of all their friends is funny to me, imagine you’ve always wanted to sock Kiba or something and nows your chance lmao.

#20 Second favorite, makes me feel a lot of things. The war is over, they’re all a little older, living their lives together. This one also made me cry but for happier reasons. Veryyy good song. It’s the domesticity for me. I love the new vests way more than the old ones. Also the like future picture of Naruto wearing the Hokage cape has him with short hair? Was that character design Kishimoto’s? And they kept it for Boruto? (it’s still not too late to grow his hair out some)

#Naruto #Sorry this is so long #please forgive me

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madara-fate · 4 years

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Do you know the curse of hate is Tobirama's hypothesis and not a confirmed fact. Tobirama was clearly biased. Black Zetsu stated both clans were power hungry. And it was a last minute asspull squeezed in that was never foreshadowed in the OG naruto series. Also like, Sasuke behaves like a normal person by which I don't mean what he does is right but that people like him who take the decisions he does can exist without some mental illness bs, just like Pain and other villains were.

Please don’t start this again, the Curse of Hatred was a confirmed fact, and it was explicitly referenced by a multitude of characters throughout the story, not just Tobirama. These characters include Sasuke, Obito, Kakashi, Itachi, and Hagoromo as well. By no means was it just Tobirama who referenced the Curse; It was an ongoing theme and a core element of the plot. I honestly can’t believe that there are actually people who still claim that the notion of Sasuke being in the darkness and consumed by the Curse of Hatred is bullshit. I mean, what exactly do people think that Naruto and Sakura were trying to save him from throughout the entirety of Pt.2? Do you think that they were trying to to save Sasuke from his severely bad mood or something? When they defeated the other villains in the story, they weren’t trying to save them from anything, but they were trying to save Sasuke from the Curse. While you think about the obvious reasons as to why that is, I’ll address the other points you made.

Firstly, yeah Pain and some of the other villains committed various heinous deeds without being consumed by hatred, but why does that mean the Uchiha have to follow suit? Why can’t they have their own unique reasons for slipping into darkness? Not everyone has to have similar reasons for their moral compass pointing due south.

Secondly, the Curse was very much foreshadowed during Pt.1, most notably every time Itachi reiterated the importance of Sasuke’s hatred, because that was obviously the driving forced behind his ambitions and the Curse itself:

As was the case for every Uchiha afflicted with the Curse which again, was very much a canonical fact, so I’m afraid you’re wrong there.

Thirdly, if you want details on how and when several Uchiha members began their decent into the Curse of Hatred, I explicitly detailed examples for Madara, Obito, Sasuke and even paralleled Sarada’s near experience in this post. Therefore providing clear and further evidence of its existence.

Fourthly, if after all that you still inexplicably think that the Curse of Hatred was nothing more than an asspull born from Tobirama’s apparent bias, then I’d ask these you to go back and reread a few things.

Like when Sasuke told Obito that he wanted Konoha to “experience this hatred of [his]”, and then Obito subsequently thinking to himself that when Uchihas had been hurt, they truly learn what is was to hate:

Or when Obito told Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto about the “blood-soaked Uchiha destiny of Hate”, and how it was a Curse that had been repeating itself continuously for generations:

Or when during that very same conversation, Obito then went on to clarify that Sasuke was deeper into the Curse of Hatred than any other Uchiha in history because he was “[shouldering] the entire burden of Uchiha hatred” by himself, all on his shoulders, and how his hate was the source of his power and his greatest weapon:

Or the time when Kakashi acknowledged the fact that it was “the history of repeated, accumulating hatred that [had] created the Sasuke before [them]”, therefore not only once again confirming that Sasuke was indeed being heavily influenced by the Curse and that the person on the surface wasn’t who he truly was, but it also reiterates the fact that Sasuke was more afflicted by the Curse than any of his predecessors because he inherited the accumulated hatred of all the past generations on all him:

Or the time when Itachi confessed to Sasuke that he used the hatred that was within him, a hatred that made Sasuke go rogue and turned him into what he was currently - an international criminal:

Or the time when Tobirama explained the Curse of Hatred very explicitly, by elaborating on the fact that when an Uchiha experiences the loss of a loved one, that love is “replaced by an even stronger hatred that changes them”, much like it did to Sasuke. He then went further and revealed how nearly every Uchiha in the past who experienced this loss, was “taken by darkness and fell into evil”:

Or the time when Hagoromo linked the notion of love transforming into hatred with what Sasuke was currently experiencing, and how the loss of the love from his past was what molded Sasuke into who he was currently. Therefore once again exemplifying the fact that the Sasuke before them was only a gross distortion of his true self:

Sasuke being consumed in darkness and hatred was most definitely a thing which was reiterated time and time again. How can people not acknowledge that after seeing him as he was during the scene below?This is clearly very different from how every single non-Uchiha villain had acted during the series:

Whenever a non-Uchiha antagonist was concerned, there was never any emphasis placed on their hatred, whereas with Madara, Obito and especially Sasuke, their hatred was always emphasised heavily. Why? Because it was the Curse of Hatred that was driving them and influencing their distorted state of mind, and Kishi wanted to make that crystal clear. In the example above, it wasn’t just a matter of understandably resenting Konoha’s Council for what they put Itachi through; Sasuke’s reaction to the news was the Curse of Hatred personified. If he had a clear head and wasn’t consumed by hatred at the time, he would have realised that destroying the entire village, whom 99% of the residents had nothing to do with his clan’s massacre, and also wanting to slaughter the current 5 Kages, who again had nothing to do with the massacre, would be going about rectifying the situation in completely the wrong manner.

#Sasuke Uchiha #Itachi Uchiha #Obito Uchiha #Kakashi Hatake #Tobirama Senju #Hagoromo Otsutsuki #Uchiha Clan

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pinkbarefacedbeauty · 5 years

Text

NS fanfics

Listen. I just want a fanfic that ends the way it should be. Naruto ‘saved’ Sasuke at the valley of the end after the 4th war. Sasuke doesn’t remain this evil guy who seeks to separate or kill Naruto, Sakura and the village again (even though he had valid reasons for why he wanted to). Sasuke is not an obstacle between Naruto and Sakura because he was not interested in a first place. (I see a lot of SS/NH shippers say that NS seem like siblings, but that is just not the case. When I think of SS and NH all the feelings are one sided on Sakura and Hinata’s side respectively. Even though Sakura is canonically older of the three, Sakura reminds me of a girl who has a crush on the handsome older neighbor guy who is friends with her friend, Naruto who has a crush on her, and Sasuke in the equation treats her like a little sister. Absolutely NO INTEREST. Let me get back, I want Sasuke to have not gotten off lightly, but I also do not forsee him wanting to stay in Konoha. I want the truth about the UCHIHA MASSACRE to be revealed. Itachi is dead and gone, it is time for Sasuke to have justice and not people looking at him like he had no reason for doing what he did to Danzo. Plus it would be nice if people recognized just how much Itachi sufferred to protect the village (JUSTICE!!)

I want Naruto and Sakura and whomever else to be complacent in the fact that Sasuke isn’t going to go around doing evil things and let Sasuke travel around with Team Taka until he feels ready to come back to Konoha, and when he does feel ready he adopts Juugo and Suigetsu as Uchihas and they move into a compound in or just outside the village (I do not think Sasuke would be fine mentally to go back to the Uchiha compound so maybe he gives that as an orphanage space for kids who lost their parents, ect,), but Karin doesn’t want to be adopted because she loves him and they explore their relationship and talk out their issues/feelings. (SASUKARIN)

Also Orochimaru is NOT given a pass to roam around Konoha freely and he is not given a pass to EXPERIMENT ON HUMANS which is what he was exiled for IN THE FIRST PLACE. NARUTO and the village as a whole are NOT OKAY WITH THAT. Orochimaru is under heavy surveillance, not doubting Yamato’s prowess but maybe chakra restraints on Orochimaru, idk the dude (?) is weird.

MEANWHILE

Naruto and Sakura just as what was shown canonically hang out in Sasuke’s absence, occasionally meeting up with the other teams, squad leaders (funny Gai and Kakashi Inserts, Iruka (Iruka does not look 70, he looks as he should- younger than Kakashi). When they meet up with other teams, Naruto remembers Hinata’s confession, and feels that before he can confess to Sakura he goes to HInata to show her gratitude for putting her life on the line for him twice but tells her he cant return her feelings as his heart already belongs to one woman (just as Jiraiya did). (Also since NH like to try to spout BS about Hinata being a healer, maybe she actually healed Neji until more professional help came instead of just watching him bleed out right in front of her-a medic no matter where is supposed to heal, periodt!), Neji is ALLLIVEEE.

After one particular outing, Naruto walks her home (not being forced but because he wants to) everything is calm and Naruto finallly confesses her feelings, he even tells her EVERYTHING, about disguising as Sasuke to kiss her. He either leaves to let her collect her thoughts but tells her he wont stop wooing her. Sakura does not need to react then and there. She starts to think of everything he has ever done for her, him encouraging her and protecting her and more, remembers the times Sasuke even told her how much Naruto cared like the gaara fight. How he is her motivation to become stronger. She thinks about how she had to revive him TWICE, how his heart was and is in HER hands and knows that they complete each other. Heaven and Earth symbols galore.

She finds him the next day (training with Kakashi/Tsunade or whomever as works on studying to become hokage (he is a good fighter, but needs to learn more leadership and hardships of a leader.-> I actually didn’t mind Kakashi as Hokage I do wish he did cooler things or was more badass as Hokage but I like the Idea of Tsunade passing down the mantle to Naruto.) SHE asks him on a date.(Now you know how symbolic this is). They walk together, Naruto fumbles/doesn’t know where to put his hands in nervousness until she uncrosses her arms from behind her back and takes hold of his hand with a blush on her face. Maybe a little clip/ image of their younger selves holding hands/walking together as they did. (I love younger Sakura’s cute little green dress).

Further down the line, Naruto reminsces about meeting Sakura’s parents for the first time and how accepting they were and no cliches about Mebuki knowing or being friends with Kushina. (Becasue i’m like why weren’t they more around Naruto even though his parentage was a secret anyone could look at his face and know that he is Minato’s child and thus Kushina’s, especially if they were close friends). OR maybe Mebuki remembers when she had invited Naruto over for dinner once or twice way when they were genin and she noticed how their personalities complimented then but said nothing because she knew Sakura was so Sasuke- focused then (I don’t like adding to much noncanon things but this is not bad). --MAYBE RTN COULD BE INPUT HERE INSTEAD to satisfy the whole meeting the parents concept.

On a Hinata note, watanukisakuya has a good idea for rewriting the Last movie. This would show Hinata’s growth and ability to do something without thinking about n-n-naruto kun. I rather a badass mother and clan leader Hinata than a housewife (no offense to housewives but this is the ninja world hunny). I do not know who she would end up with but I admit to being biased to KibaHina ShinHina or maybe someone from within a clan. It would be cool if it was a lower branch member (not Neji they are cousins), and work to end the slavery (She sves her own family, especially out of gratitude for Neji, no help needed from Naruto).

The wedding

The night before I do want Naruto’s swing in frame (XD) think about his lonliness and the waterfall training with Bee when he thought about his anti self, to how much love he is receiving now and how happy he is. This would essentially be in Naruto and Sakura POV. This doesn’t need to take 40 minutes of characters finding gifts, but be focused on NARUSAKU’s journey together. Naruto thinks of all the people who have helped/supported him. I did like Iruka standing in as his father. I want Naruto to think about his parents and their sacrifice so that he could be here. Sakura remember’s Minato request of her to take care of his son and promises to do just that. Tsunade and Naruto thinks of Jiraiya.

Beocming Hokage

They do have their son Shinachiku, Hanami and Hanako, and Lastly Arashi. (Shinachiku is already born and twins are on the way, Arashi has not been concieved yet).

We finally get to see Naruto become Hokage. Yes, Shikamaru is his advisor. (Even though I hate the Boruto series, I love the idea of a bond between their children).

Naruto has to deal with the after affects of the war. Addressing smaller villages concerns about 5 nations having all of the power and wars that essentially hurt small villages the most. War relief fund set up between all the big villages to help smaller villages. (I do not know how to manage the ideas of the Daimyo’s v. leaders of villages yet.) Though Hinata would have dealt with Slavery in her clan, I would like their to be some failsafe that Narutoo put in place to make completely sure. I want Naruto to make sure that there is never another Danzo.

Sakura deals with the strains of motherhood, being a wife, and the head of the hospital, helping run the orphanage w/ Team Taka and Ino in the old Uchiha compound.

Naruto the Next GEN

It would not be titled after new character. Everyone did not pair up and have babies at the SAME TIME. Sasuke would probably have had a baby first out of everyone with Karin. I think NaruSaku would follow. Maybe Ino has a baby by the time NS are on the twins. SOME Pairings babies would be the same age, give or take a few months, but split up ages amongst the rest.

Pairings:

Naruto and Sakura

Sasuke and Karin

Shikamaru and Temari

Chouji and Ino

Kiba and Amaru (met on a mission)

Tenten and Rock Lee (I’ll admit I like RockTen or NejiTen, idc)

Neji and whomever, i’m still thinking

Hinata and ex-lower branch member (or Shino or Kiba, I like Amaru with Kiba too though)

Hanabi and Konohamaru

(Though there is peace times, I will think that there would be a few strangler bad guys, but nothing that they can not handle, and there is still the matter of the rest of the otosuki. NO NO ASTRONOMY. I hate it. No trains. No futurama look to the village, Leave it as the same aesthetically pleasing rustic village look)

(Ninjas will be ninjas so people will still train, if not only to just defend themselves and keep the tradition alive (like dojos) but yes some people do fall off on being ninjas. Not as many people want it.) There are more jobs though.)

For some reason, I have the impression that the world of Naruto as we know it is not the entirety of the globe, so there are still other villages (Yes, they might have been caught up in the infinite tsukuyomi as well without knowing whats going on)..I don’t know if the other villages are evil or not etc)

More to be added later...

#NaruSaku #pronarusaku #antinaruhina #naruto #narutoshippudden #Antinh #antinarutothelast #antinarutoending #anti boruto

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Thirty-One: On A Hill ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

It still shakes him to see this place.

Most of the destruction was lost on him in those final few minutes. He’d been a little preoccupied to take in the scenery, what with his using the last of his chakra on Kirin, not wanting to take his eyes off Itachi for a moment. Exhausted, terrified, and desperate, he’d hardly noticed the rubble until he his back had been pressed against it.

No escape.

...Sasuke’s not even sure why he’s come back. The stones are still scorched from Amaterasu’s obsidian flames, a brush of his fingers smudging soot. Almost nothing remains of the old Uchiha hideout. A piece of history lost to violence. But those are long-bygone days, now. He’s almost glad a testament to what was before is gone. While he grieves his clan, and their oppression...so too does Sasuke know they weren’t always blameless. They were ruthless during the Sengoku Jidai. They had to be, under Madara’s banner.

And even now, the scraps of them left have to be tough. But not in ways that require grand fortresses atop mountains.

Ironically enough, it’s raining. Lightly, just barely a misting...but he can’t help but find it...fitting. He doesn’t even bother with the hood of his traveling cloak as they breach the top of the hill.

“It’s still unbelievable...what you two did here.”

A dark eye glances to his right, where his companion stands. Her own kekkei genkai is active, looking over the ruins quietly. “This place must have been huge...and to end up like this…”

“...Itachi and I are both peerless shinobi. Even then, we were both forces to be reckoned with.” Of course, the purple, rippled iris he keeps hidden beneath his hitai ate now means he’s grown even more powerful since then. Destruction of this scale is hardly unheard of for him now. Just look what he and Naruto wrought a few months later upon Shūmatsu no Tani. Granted...both that battle and the one here were fought with the highest of stakes. But that doesn’t mean he’s not still as capable.

Hinata lets her eyes rest. “...does he know you were coming back here today?”

“No. No point.”

“Why...are we here…?”

In truth, he’s not sure. He just felt compelled to revisit it. “...closure, maybe. Guilt. I don’t know. Just felt right to come back.”

She doesn't offer a reply - there’s no need. Sometimes a person doesn’t need a reason. Just a feeling. Wordlessly, she makes her way forward, Sasuke following.

“...you said still. Still unbelievable. Have you seen this before, Hinata?”

“I have. Did I never tell you?” There’s a curious glance to her new husband. “I was part of the retrieval team that went looking for you just as you and Itachi-san began your fight. My team went along as trackers.I went with Naruto-kun and Yamato-san, and one of Kakashi-sensei’s ninken. Later we all met up here, but...you and Itachi’s body were already gone. Obito had taken you…” Her gaze turns somber, turning back ahead. “...Naruto-kun was so upset...he’d thought you killing Orochimaru would mean coming home. And when that failed te be true, then surely, after Itachi was dead...but then Akatsuki got ahold of you.”

“...and I learned the truth about my clan’s massacre.”

“From a rather jilted source.”

Sasuke doesn’t stop a humorless snort. “...you’re right...but it didn’t make it any less true. Just...weaponized. Manipulating. I still would have reacted the same had anyone else told me. I just happened to ally with the wrong person because of it.”

It’s then they end up at the threshold of what was once the floor. Nearly all of the walls have been blown apart. One can only tell due to the smoothing of the stone compared to the outside. “What...was this place, exactly?”

“All I know is that it was once a clan hideout. Pretty sure from before the formation of the hidden villages. It was huge...even had a throne.” Another snort. “I’d bet my life savings Madara was the only one to ever use it...clan head or not, he had the ego for it.”

Hinata’s lips give a small twitch.

“...well I’ll be damned.”

Speaking of, said throne sits - majorly chipped - at the rear of the ruins. A large portion of the back is missing, only part of the mural behind it still standing. “...guess it wasn’t directly impacted. Makes sense...it was inside.” Sasuke nods to it. “...that’s where Itachi was sitting when I walked in.”

“...he really did go all out…”

Flashes of his brother’s behavior flicker through Sasuke’s mind. “...he kept up the charade until the very end. I thought he’d just lost it right before he died, saying what he said...doing what he did. I wasn’t...exactly in the best frame of mind at that point, either.”

Hinata can’t help a sympathetic glance. “...no, I’d imagine not…”

It’s then Sasuke decides to just...elaborate about what happened that day. He points to where each stage of the battle took place, vaguely narrating from what he can recall. It’s been over five years, now...and yet being here makes it feel just like yesterday. And all the while, Hinata listens quietly, delving into a piece of her beloved’s past he’s avoided up until now. The recollection, she knows, can’t be easy. Itachi’s truth had to have made it hard enough...but having his brother returned to him must make living with those choices - not to mention all those years - more than difficult.

“...here.”

They come to a stop, having moved through the rubble as he spoke. Before them, a huge hunk of stone with an inlaid Uchiha crest lies, turned to one side. “...he pinned me here. I remember my back hitting the wall, looking up, seeing the crest...it really hit me that I was going to die. And then he just…”

Waiting for a moment, Hinata looks over as Sasuke’s silence stretches. “...he spared you.”

“...it was all a farce. To convince me I’d outlasted him. Killed him. All while letting himself finally succumb to illness...he freed me from my curse seal. Set everything up so that I could walk away with a clear conscience. My revenge. My body. And then Obito subverted all his work.”

“...would you have gone back to Konoha then? If Obito hadn’t found you?”

“...I don't know. It had been my plan to go back eventually. But I don’t know if I would have felt satisfied at that point. I might have needed time first. But...it doesn’t really matter. I’ll never know. And as...convoluted as my path ended up...I think it was for the best. It led to my brother’s revival. I don’t know if he could have been if things hadn’t gone the way they did. My life isn’t perfect...and there’s no taking away what I suffered. But...I’m on a better path. I have a better future ahead of me now. I have a few pieces of my family back, and a few new ones…” Sasuke turns to her, lips lifting in just a hint of a smile. “...including you.”

Hinata softens. “...you’re right. No more what-ifs. Just what-will-bes. And we’ll face them all together.”

“...I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As though hearing their words, a few dapples of sunlight manage to filter through the clouds.

“...should we head back?”

“We should. I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we went.”

“...will we tell them?”

“We might as well. I think I’m done letting this hang over me. Over us. Time to move forward.”

“I agree.” Taking Sasuke’s hand, Hinata gently tugs him back toward the main staircase, giving the view from on the hill one last glance before they make their way down.

Behind them, the sunrays glitter over the Uchiha crest before growing, bathing the ruins in a new light.

AHHH!!! A whole month down, omggg! I'm so psyched guys - this month has just...FLOWN by! Technically I'm posting this after midnight, so a little late (like...most entries are), BUT! I didn't miss a SINGLE DAY! Let's see if I can keep it up for the rest of the year, ahaha! ANYWAY, this prompt threw me a little bit. I almost went with something FAR angstier, but...I figured this was somber enough. Poor Sasuke...coming back here isn't easy. But I think he feels a lot better for having done so. Especially since he didn't have to go alone. But yes, on that note, I really need to call it a night here pretty soon - but as always, thank you SO much for reading! One month down...eleven to go!

#uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #sasuhina #a light amongst shadows [ canon verse ]#365daysofsasuhina

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sssrha · 5 years

Text

Complications || Naruto Fanfiction

Everyone is dead except for Team Seven, and Naruto considers time travel a viable option. So, of course, his teammates ruin it for him. [au, oocness, one-shot, crack-fic, dark humor, gen]

[You can also read it on AO3, FFN, and Wattpad]

Begin:

Today was not a good day for Sakura Haruno. Actually, most days haven’t been good for Sakura, nor for the rest of Team Seven. One couldn’t blame them, though, seeing as the whole world was kind of wiped out and they were probably the last humans left. Well, maybe some remote tribe off in the Land of Whatever was still thriving, but as for the rest of civilization—poof! Gone in an instant.

Try as she might, though, Sakura couldn’t really bring herself to care. True, she felt sad but it was kind of a detached sadness. Occasionally, she would look around the dark cave that she and her teammates had holed up in and think, Huh, I used to have a house.

As of right now, however, she was oddly fascinated by the little spider in front of her. It climbed up the wall, its legs somehow finding a grip on the slippery surface. Carefully, Sakura prodded it with a nearby stick, and the spider started to climb up the wall faster. Resilient, then. Determined. Sakura’s smile grew. He’s the perfect friend! Absolutely convinced that Sasuke would be as excited as she was, she yelled, “Ke, look who I found!”

Sasuke, who had been devouring the leg of some animal or another, looked up. He squinted, wiping some of the blood off his cheek. Maybe I should cook it next time. Nevertheless, he called back, “What is it, Ra?”

“A spider!” Sakura turned to look at him, smiling. “You know, To told you to not eat raw meat anymore,” she said offhandedly.

Sasuke scowled and took another large bite from the chunk of meat in his hands. “To’s paranoid, and I don’t care about the spider unless I can eat it.”

Sakura got a thoughtful look on her face. She took her stick up and once again prodded at the arachnid. “I mean, you could theoretically eat him. He’s not poisonous.”

Sasuke paused. He looked up and squinted at Sakura. “Really?”

“He probably wouldn’t fill you up very much…” She stared off into space, lost in her own head.

Sasuke, meanwhile, looked back down at the unfortunate creature that had wandered into the cave. It was a little larger than his abdomen; he could probably finish it in a few more minutes, and it definitely wouldn’t fill him. A spider might help. And so, Sasuke Uchiha stood up, walked right past a contemplating Sakura, grabbed the spider on the wall, and swallowed it whole.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the cave. Then, Sakura let out a horrified screech. “Ke, you ate him!”

Sasuke swallowed a second time, satisfied when the spider finally stopped trying to scurry back up his throat. Then, he gave Sakura a confused look. “You said I could eat it.”

“Theoretically!” Sakura snapped. “We had a friend, Ke, and you ate him!”

Sasuke scowled. “It was a spider and I was hungry.”

“You don’t just go around eating your friends!”

“I don’t,” Sasuke agreed. “I go around eating food!”

“Friends aren’t food!”

“My friends aren’t, I don’t know about your’s!”

“You don’t have any friends!”

“Neither do you!”

They both glared at each other, full of venom. Nearly in unison, they both pulled their arms back, hands fisted, ready to throw a punch, when a voice yelled, “Not again! I swear, you two will be the death of me!” Naruto Uzumaki stomped into the cave, his shirt missing and nearly every visible inch of skin caked in mud and blood. He stared at them, scowling. “I left for twenty minutes and you two are already ready to kill each other!”

Immediately, Sasuke and Sakura pulled back. Sakura hung her head in shame but Sasuke just looked away, not making eye contact. “I’m sorry, To,” they chorused, and Naruto sighed.

“Yeah, whatever, I guess I should have—” Naruto froze, eyes zeroing in on the bloody carcass in the middle of the cave. “Sasuke! I thought I told you not to eat raw meat! Either cook it or wait for me to cook it!”

“I could cook it,” Sakura said.

“Yeah, I don’t trust you with fire.” He turned back to Sasuke. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Sasuke scowled. “I was hungry cooking it would take too long.”

“You’re always hungry. Sasuke, you could have gotten salmonella—is that what it’s called, Sakura?”

“Yeah,” she muttered. “It can be deadly.”

“See, Sasuke? You could have died!”

“I’m not going to die.”

“Says who?”

“No one.”

“Exactly—no one because everyone is dead!”

Sasuke waved his concern away, flushing a bit when he realized that his hand was still stained red. Clearing his throat, he said, “You’re exaggerating.”

“Exagger— Oh my god, Sasuke, you’re insufferable.” Sighing, he sat down on the floor. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is this!” He pulled something out of his pack and placed it on the floor, smiling. “It changes everything.”

Sakura examined it closely. Her eyes widened. “It’s a scroll!” she said, delighted. “I can keep all my friends in there now—”

“No,” Naruto interrupted, “you cannot. This is not a storage scroll, it contains a jutsu.”

“You mean it’s storing a jutsu?” Sasuke muttered.

Naruto ignored him. “The jutsu...is a time travel jutsu!” There is a bit of silence, and Naruto took that as a cue to continue. “We can go back and save everyone! Sai and Yamato and Kakashi—”

“Kaka-sensei’s fine,” Sakura interrupted.

Sasuke nodded, though Naruto noticed him eyeing the rotting carcass again. “Yeah, he’s over there, like always.”

Against his will, Naruto turned toward the corner of the cave. There sat a skeleton, propped up against the wall. Its legs were folded, in its arms was an orange book, and a hitai-ate was slanted over one of its eye sockets. More importantly, though, a rusty kunai was jammed into its rib cage. Naruto glanced at it, then glanced back at Sasuke and Sakura. Flatly, he said, “Oops. Sorry, easy mistake.”

Sasuke snorted. He turned to Sakura and muttered, “And he calls us the insane ones.”

“Yeah,” Sakura agreed. She turned to the skeleton and called out, “Hey, Kaka-sensei, how are you?” The skeleton’s head promptly tumbled off of its body and shattered into a hundred pieces. Naruto stared, wide-eyed, but Sakura just nodded. “See, he’s fine.”

“...I’m not having this conversation with you two. Look, let’s get back to the scroll. We could...we could save Itachi! That’s great!”

Sasuke tilted his head, considering. “How would we do that?”

“We could kill Danzo!”

“But wouldn’t that create another complicated slew of problems?”

“But we can survive them!”

“No, I really don’t think we could.”

Naruto scowled. “You just said that you weren’t going to die!”

“Don’t twist my words.”

“Sa— Ugh, whatever. Look, this scroll is a good thing. Let’s do it.”

“Do what?”

“Go back in time!”

“We could,” Sakura agreed, “but what if we cause some kind of rip in the space-time continuum?”

“That won’t happen.”

“How do you know?” Sasuke asked.

“I just...what’s the point of having a time-travel jutsu if it just destroys everything?”

“Then how come we didn’t know that it existed before?” Sasuke said. “If someone has a time-travel jutsu, then they could go back in time. They could sell it and make millions.”

“They might want to keep it a secret.”

“But wouldn’t they fix everything?”

“I...maybe they fixed things for themselves.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Sakura hummed. “What if we end up in each other’s bodies by accident? What if we end up in someone else’s body?” A pause. “What if we end up in the body of a sea slug?”

Naruto stared at her. “I...whoever made this probably—”

“And what would happen if we were shoved into the body of a dinosaur right before the meteor hit Earth?” Sasuke asked. “Because that would be bad. Do you know how to control how far back we go?”

“I’m sure—”

“What if,” Sasuke continued, “we ended up in one of our parents’ bodies while they’re having se—”

“Stop it!” Naruto snapped.

Sasuke shrugged. “It could happen.”

“But—”

“It could.”

“Ke,” Sakura said, “stop it. You’re ruining it for To!”

“I’m sorry, I’m just laying out all the possibilities.” He sighed and turned to Naruto. “Sorry, To, you can do the jutsu.”

Naruto, however, was just staring down at the scroll in his hand. “I don’t think I want to go back anymore…”

Sasuke shrugged. “Fair enough.” He grabbed the scroll out of Naruto’s hand and threw it to Sakura. “Here, use it for your friends.” Sakura squealed in delight. Naruto stared blankly as she opened it, scratched out the jutsu that was written on it, and started to draw a storage seal. After a few moments, Sasuke awkwardly patted him on the back. “Don’t feel too bad, To. It was doomed to fail.”

“...yeah.”

Realizing that he hadn’t really cheered him up, Sasuke sighed and rummaged through his pack. Finally, he pulled out a deck of cards and said, “You want to play Crazy Eights?”

Sakura’s head snapped up. “I do!”

Flatly, Naruto said, “I refuse to play cards with you two.”

Sakura smiled. “You can play with Kaka-sensei. You haven’t been talking to him much lately—I think he’s starting to get worried.”

Naruto stared at her, then looked back at Kakashi’s skeleton. Well, I could get some peace and quiet for once. “Give me the damn cards.”

And that is how Naruto found himself sitting in front of the headless skeleton of his dead Sensei. A bit too late, he realized that he forgot how to play Crazy Eights. Hey, Kurama, do you remember?

There was a low growl followed by a groggy No, and Naruto’s head was once again filled with loud snores. Normally, Naruto would kick and scream and do everything in his power to get the fox to wake up—and it would never work—but he didn’t really care at the moment and, quite frankly, he was tired of being the sane one. So, he looked up to where the skeleton’s skull would have been and asked, “You got any twos?”

.fin.

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stripesquadsideblog · 6 years

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Everyone lives au: Kisame’s deal

There are so many things that could have been done to stop kisame . killer bee had samehada, a sword that can slice through an itachi uchiha fireball in one swoop. Yamato has woodstyle, strong against water and strong enough to suppress nine tails chakra. Hell, even Guy still had a few good strong kicks in him. But kisame was fast, even before they managed to pull him free from the water prison the sharks he had summoned managed to give him a few good bites; the largest of which took his right arm clean off.

Haemorrhaging, as it turns out can really put a dampener on any escape attempts . it takes a good couple of tugs and a fair bit of swearing but eventually they pull kisame from his water prison . he thrashes , oddly enough, like a fish out of water. He bites and claws like an animal as guy and yamato wrestle him to the ground and pin his remaining arm behind his back.

naruto uses his new 9-tails chakra mode to staunch the bleeding but it wont bring his arm back, hes only been doing it for like an hour at this point anyway. Aoba is in no hurry to go rooting around in the mind of someone who would willing bite off their own tongue and then commit suicide by shark. They decide to take Kisame back to Konoha; this shit is a job for the actual interrogators.

The walk back is hard; theres a war going on after all. Each of them takes it in turns to try and get kisame to spill it. It eventually takes an exasperated Motoi to explain that you idiots do realise he literally cant talk he has no tongue for them all to shut the hell up and leave poor kisame in peace.

Ibiki is waiting for them when they arrive. A face full of bloody spit from kisame wipes what the others think is a smirk from Ibikis face. They are less than gentle ushering kisame underground, but to his surprise the room they take him to is just a table 2 chairs and a pad of paper. No torture devices, no backup , not even any 2 way glass. If he wasn’t so light headed from blood loss kisame might have mustered the coherence to be insulted at this paltry display. Do they really see him a so little a threat? Hes been defanged so to speak; no sword and no way to form hand seals . he still got ACTUAL fangs though and he wont let them forget it . He bares his teeth at a medic nin who comes to treat him . a quick glance in Ibikis direction apparently reminds the poor sod who theyre more afraid of, Kisame begrudgingly allows her to give him stitiches. The taste of his own blood is not a pleasant one.

The medic finishes quickly and leaves ( read as : flees the room) and he is left alone with Ibiki.“summer 78, Wave country , the cipher division no?” Ibiki is floating around in his blindspot while kisame sucks on ice chips, mouth packed full with cotton. Surely Ibiki doesn’t expect him to respond, not in words anyway . but unfortunately for Kisame, hes the one that can’t speak, not Ibiki.

The interrogation nin breaks it down for him: you have information. We have someone you want. Kisame scoffs and scribbles down on the paper “nothing i want” because its true. They don’t have anything he wants. He gave up wanting when he killed his first kiri nin. It would be selfish, foolish to want anything out of life after that . “not something. “ Ibiki repeats “someone” kisame’s jaw clenches visibly. He twitches the pen in his hand. He wants to ask who. Who could possibly be important enough to hold over his head like a life reserver to a drowning man? He has an idea – but thats just foolishness. Itachi was dead.. There was enough blood in the ruins to kill both itachi and sasuke. And if that wasn’t enough Madara had told him so.

“itachi is dead.” Kisame scrawls throwing down the pen in anger. Its one thing to bring him here and bore him to death but dragging Itachi in to this is just low, even by Konoha standards.

“you don’t believe me?” Ibiki feigns hurt “ do you want to see him?” Kisame resists the urge to lunge at him. This is just cruel mockery. He almost wishes he would just torture him . Ibiki shrugs and moves to open the door . he stands in the frame and motions “ are you coming or what?”

They do things differently in Konoha, kisame muses. Hes made it all the way up 4 flights of stairs and no one has stabbed, flayed or whipped him yet. If this were Kiri he’d be strung up in the Mizukages garden before his ass left the chair. They’re still deep underground but the settings have changed from “depressing underground bunker” to “depressing underground hospital” there are so few rooms and people here he wonders why they bother; surely this space would be better used as a munitions dump or some sort of storage area.

Its then that kisame realises it technically is a storage area. Just for people. Every room emits the subtle but steady beat of a heart monitor. Rooms filled with comatose shinobi being kept alive by machines .

The really DO do things differently in Konoha....

Ibiki stops beside a dark room at the end of the hall. He jerks his head towards the darkness “you have 5 minutes.” Kisame doesn’t hesitate to enter. If they were going to kill him they’d have done it before now.

The pulse of the heart monitor fills the room and makes the silence soothing .at the far side a small figure lies on a simple bed, breathing softly, rhythmically. Kisame approaches with caution; he gently grasps the small hand of the man before him. Even in darkness he knows itachi; its sad but he thinks the uchiha has never looked better in all the time hes known him. Theres a paleness to his skin and his dead empty eyes are bandaged across but he’s well fed and dare he say it....almost healthy looking. His hair is a lot longer but neatly kept. They were looking after him.

He hears Ibiki enter the room and snaps his hand away.

“so even the monster of the hidden mist has a soft spot. A lesser man might have held that over you. But we have no such interest, Kisame.” the casual way Ibiki says his name makes him bitter but this is no place for a fight. “ help us and we will help him, help you.” Kisame swallows hard. A tempting offer but is one man really worth it? Kisame doesn’t trust often . he knows Ibiki by reputation, he gets what he wants one way or another. What Ibiki might do to him doesn’t scare him

But to itachi?

“all of our best medics are out at war. Hes stable, for now. But if you ever want him to wake up your best chance is to get out best people home as fast as possible. “ would itachi even want his help? He’d been slowly dying for years. Maybe he was ready, maybe keeping him alive in the village he abandoned was just adding insult to injury , literally.

“what do you say kisame?”

A world without lies was his ideal. The whole reason he had joined the akatsuki. But along the way he had found something else he wanted to fight for.

Kisame reached up and pulled the cotton from his mouth . a thin trail of blood worked its way down his mouth as he spoke, slurred but stern

“what do you want to know?”

wana read the first part? go read itachis story to find out how he got to konoha>>>

https://stripesquadsideblog.tumblr.com/post/167747213536/everyone-lives-au-itachi-survives

#kisame #itachi #kisaita #itakisa #ship them whatever way you want #i dont care as long as THEY BOTH LIVE #ibiki morino #ibiki #kisame hoshigaki #itachi uchiha #everyone lives au #headcanons #drabble #Caxy had a thought #naruto

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thefreckledone · 6 years

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Pompeii 44

Sakura bit her lip. “You aren’t worried about getting in trouble? I know that the Senju are your family.”

Tsunade snorted, looking to Shizune with a fire that simmered over. “Blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.”

“How...human of you,” Sakura said, picking her words cautiously as she rolled the proverb over in her head.

In Pompeii, she knew, family was the deepest bond; the roots that entangled and ensnared an individual’s very soul. People didn’t speak out against family, which left people like Sakura, Kin, Yamato, and Zaku falling through the cracks. Unwanted. Unneeded. No value.

Tsunade’s lips twisted and her flashed with emotion. “Humans, for all their failings, have much to offer us. Their lives are fleeting; the snap of a Polaroid before they are gone, fallen as dead leaves.” Sakura suddenly recognized the emotion for what it was: pain. “They burn brightly, brilliantly during their lifetimes. How can one like us keep from being drawn into their light like moths unto a flame?”

“Tsunade…” Sakura began, knowing there was a story in that agony, there had to be.

Tsunade merely held up a hand, shaking her head. “Unlike the rest of this town, my coven interacts with the world beyond our borders. We embrace the places without magic, learn from them, and the greatest lesson I’ve learned thus far is that there is a little magic in all places. Perhaps not the supernatural kind that my brethren are so accustomed to, but a different sort. An ordinary sort.”

Sakura nodded, listening closely as Tsunade’s cadence took on that of a teacher as Shizune watched them both with a pleased expression. It was nice to discuss something other than the doom and gloom of Pompeii’s situation.

“You’ve a magic of your own,” Tsunade said. “It isn’t loud certainly, subtle in comparison to the cacophony that is Pompeii.” Her gaze went distant and remote and, for a moment, Sakura felt like Tsunade saw right through her. Her neck prickled uncomfortably as something washed over her. “It’s a natural form of magic; steady and slow. Nothing like the violence of the forest.” She sneered. “If those fools at town hall would just listen--” She cut herself off, shaking her head. “In any case, there is no doubt in my mind that, though you are a fool, you are not cruel.”

Sakura smiled, heart lightening. “If that’s the case--if you know definitively that it isn’t me--can’t we tell the others?” Her stomach sunk as both Tsunade and Shizune shook their heads. “What? What’s wrong?”

“They won’t believe it,” Shizune said. “They’re willfully blind.”

“I’m an outsider, despite my familial ties to the Senju,” Tsunade said. “Besides, there’s quite a bit of circumstantial evidence stacked against you; the Uchiha brat has fallen ill.”

“Sasuke?” Sakura asked, heart heavy. Even though they’d parted ways with bitter words, she still cared. “How is he?”

“He’s doing poorly,” Tsunade said, blunt as always. “Worse even than the Uzumaki twins. Tobirama is quite ill as well and his brother is baying for your blood. The ones who are the worst off--Sasuke, Itachi, Menma, Tobirama--have had public disagreements or altercations with you. People who have had private disagreements with you, such as myself, have been left untouched. It’s heavy-handed and crude, but someone is setting you up.”

“You think someone is framing me?” Sakura asked, aghast. “What would they have to gain? I had little status in the town even prior to the onset of the illness.”

Shizune and Tsunade exchanged unreadable looks. “Perhaps it has to do with your position?” Shizune ventured. “The previous doctor...well, you heard of him from other residents. He was cruel and capricious, treating patients inhumanely and experimenting on them without consent.”

“Kabuto Yakushi,” Tsunade muttered. “He was the star pupil of Orochimaru a few centuries ago. Pompeii ran him off, but he wasn’t killed.”

“You think he’s responsible for the trees?” Sakura asked.

“It would make sense,” Shizune said, warming to the topic. “Tsunade wasn’t in Pompeii at all during Kabuto’s residency, but I was. He is an expert in creating toxins of all sorts. He specialized in airborne ones, but I saw him use water as a catalyst at least once…”

“He was responsible for the pollution of Lake Icarus,” Sakura said, realization striking like lightning. “He hurt so many people...but what did he have to gain from the lake?”

“A practice run,” Shizune said, eyes hard and cold.

Sakura shivered.

“Enough,” Tsunade said, clapping her hands to dispel the silence that had overtaken them. “There is naught to do with such speculation. I am a woman of action and I believe I promised you some assistance.” Sakura nodded hesitantly. “Come,” Tsunade said, stepping past her further into the clinic. Sakura exchanged a commiserating look with Shizune at the way Tsunade swept through the clinic, smiling despite herself. She followed Tsunade, obeying as she patted the examination table. “Let me take a look at that seal on your stomach.”

Sakura tensed, hands splaying to cover the dead seal in an almost protective gesture. “Why?”

“According to Shizune, it was drawn upon you by Minato,” Tsunade said with a surprising wealth of patience. “All seals are imbued with some of the sealer’s energy. Even in a dead seal, Minato can still track you.”

“Really?” Sakura asked, frowning down at her stomach. “I thought only the sealer could remove it.”

“I’m a Senju and a witch besides,” Tsunade said, pride curving her mouth into a grin. “Namikaze is no match for my skill.”

With a brief glance at Shizune who nodded her encouragement, Sakura lifted her shirt, leaning back against the table. The ruined seal stood out starkly against her skin, an unspoken symbol of her current status within Pompeii.

Tsunade brushed her knuckles over it, shaking her head as she tsked. “This has Namikaze’s signature all over it: clumsy and blunt, no elegance.” Her eyes shifted from honeyed brown to a brilliant gold as Sakura’s stomach began to tingle. “He’s certainly been keeping tabs on you, though it is faint. He can only tell if you are in or out of Pompeii. If Mito or Kushina completed the seal, they would’ve been able to truly track you.” Sakura’s skin warmed beneath Tsunade’s fingertips and she resisted the urge to squirm. “A few minutes more and there will be nothing left.”

Sakura watched silently as the black lines of the seal began to curl away at the edges, collapsing in on itself around her bellybutton before winking out of existence. “It’s gone?”

“Minato will be most displeased,” Tsunade said, a satisfied grin upon her face.

Sakura sighed, putting her weight onto her elbows. “Undoubtedly this will be considered a part of that ‘circumstantial evidence’ of theirs.”

Tsunade laughed, slapping Sakura’s knee as she hopped to her feet. “Oh, to be sure! I’ve no doubt they’ll be calling another town meeting soon enough.”

“Just another reason for them to hate me.” Sakura frowned as she straightened her clothes.

“You don’t have to stay here,” Shizune said softly, after casting her mentor a dark look. She smiled, warmth and encouragement in her eyes as Sakura looked up, startled. “There are other places to call home. More welcoming ones, certainly.”

“Moving requires money and a stable, paying job,” Sakura said, bustling around to tidy up the examination room. She kept her eyes down, embarrassed to speak about her finances. “Of which I have neither in abundance.”

“That can be changed,” Tsunade said, clearing her throat. “You don’t work as a physician for a number of centuries without making some connections. I could...put out some feelers, call some friends and see if there are any jobs on the market.”

“If not, we will make some,” Shizune said, chin jutted and stubborn.

Sakura bit her lip again, gaze wavering between the two women. Something hot prickled her throat as she nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Sakura.”

Sakura tensed, clutching her bag and journal closer before looking up at the interloper. Sasori’s cool gaze met her own, an elegant brow arching at her defensive position. She’d brought the bag up between them almost as a shield.

Sakura coughed, scooting to the side of the bench so he could join her. She wasn’t used to people coming out this way, being as it was between the town proper and the logging front. This had once been a garden, but it’d long been abandoned and overrun with a bounty of dandelions. It was nice and it was peaceful, away from the prying eyes of the town. Except, apparently, it was not.

“How’d you find me?” Sakura resisted the urge to wince at her accusatory tone.

Still, Sasori sat down with an unearthly grace, head lolling back slightly as he regarded her. “Wasn’t too hard to do,” he replied, choosing not to let her know that he’d tracked her a few times as she made her way through the forest. He was unaffected by the presence in the forest and he needed to collect wood for his art. If he happened to trace along Sakura’s path to the abandoned logging town, well, that was his business. “You’ve been avoiding town recently.”

Sakura chuffed, a bitter, crackling sound. It hurt something deep within Sasori to hear it. She was sallow, gaunt. The stress of the town’s suspicions upon her was clearly leaving its mark in the dark rings beneath her eyes. “I wonder why,” she murmured, hands clenched white around her phone case.

Sasori swallowed, though it was a gesture that was merely symbolic; a last vestige of his humanity. “I am sorry for how you’ve been treated,” he said softly.

“As am I,” Sakura said, finally turning her gaze to him. Her expression was just as flat as his. “What are you doing here, Sasori?”

Sasori stayed quiet. Why was he here? Something had been gnawing at his gut for weeks, months even. Ever since that fateful decision to stay his hand with the genesis tree…

Guilt.

It festered within him, unfamiliar and heavy within his gut. He hated it, the way it gouged him out and left him empty. Well…emptier than usual.

“What do you want, Sasori?” Sakura demanded, the bite of her voice drawing Sasori out of his reverie.

“I...I want to apologize,” he said.

“For what?” Sakura asked. “You haven’t been involved in this...upheaval.”

“The upper echelon of Pompeii is blind,” Sasori scoffed. “You aren’t connected to what’s happening in the forest. I, on the other hand, think that I might be involved.”

Sakura stiffened, getting to her feet. “You did this?”

“Not this exactly,” he said. Sasori caught her hand, not caging her precisely, but trying to keep her from running. “I do, however, think I may have catalyzed this event.”

“How?” she asked as she pulled her hand away from him. “Why?”

“It wasn’t purposeful,” Sasori snapped, tetchy at the way she shied away from him. “I think that this all may have started with the genesis tree.”

“The genesis tree?” Sakura said. “That was months ago! What the hell does it have to do with the recent events?”

“I didn’t exactly cut down the genesis tree,” Sasori revealed. “I may have used another in its place.”

Sakura blanched. “Why on earth would you do that? The genesis tree is important. You were the one who told me that!”

“I…” What could he say? The genesis tree had reminded him of her. It was a paltry excuse in the face of her exhaustion and frustration. “The significance of the genesis tree was lore; a myth told throughout Pompeii to celebrate the Senju legacy.” His lips twisted. “Who truly believes that a tree can embody the Maiden and her sacrifice?”

“Well look what’s happened since then,” Sakura said, gesturing around her to the trees. “Obviously there’s some truth in the protection offered by the genesis tree!”

“I know that now,” Sasori replied.

Sakura scowled at him, shaking her head. “Have you told anyone else about this?”

“No, not yet.”

“You should,” she said. “Tell the Senju or the Uzumaki or someone. There’s very little I can do with this information.” She moved to go, jaw clenched. “You should attend the town halls, speak up there.”

“Sakura, I’m...I’m sorry,” Sasori said.

Sakura turned back to him, eyes flinty. “Sorry isn’t enough, Sasori, not for this.”

It remained unspoken but understood between them that the decision he made those many months ago might have completely unmade Sakura’s life in Pompeii.

Sasori watched her go, something burning at his eyes. It was an unknown sensation and Sasori brought a hand up to his eyes. His face was dry but he knew that, had he his old body, tears would streak his face. As it was, Sasori stared after Sakura, long after she was gone, futilely cursing the clearness of his vision.

Now, more than ever, Sasori knew the differences between him and the others.

Was this...regret?

“What business do you have with the Sound degenerates?”

“Good to see you too, Yagura,” Sakura said drily, closing her journal. She hadn’t been getting very far on the pros and cons list in any case. She ignored the way his eyes drifted over the movement with interest. “You seem well. How may I assist you today?”

Yagura flushed a bit beneath Sakura’s steady, unwavering attention. “I’ve received information that you’ve been visiting the old logging grounds. What business do you have with the transients who reside there?”

“What business do you have asking me such questions? Or tailing me as you’ve apparently been doing,” Sakura snapped, disliking the arrogance with which he strode into her clinic. She may be nearly run out of town, but this was still her territory. “What do you want?”

Yagura scrutinized her for a moment, before sauntering forward and taking a seat in front of her. “You’ve changed.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” Sakura replied, leaning back and examining him in turn. “I’ve been under constant speculation and allegations by this town and its people for the past few weeks. What I am is tired. And angry. And perhaps even a bit fed up with people coming into my clinic and making demands and accusations of me. So yes, Yagura, perhaps I am, in fact, a bit different from the woman I was when you last saw me. It’s been months since we’ve last interacted in a meaningful way.”

Yagura bit his tongue. Sakura’s anger didn’t burn hot and bright like his own or those of his colleagues; instead it ran cool and steady, the rage of a waterfall rather than a flame. She was distant, timeless in an inexplicable way.

In this moment, Yagura felt utterly inadequate and foolish in the face of Sakura’s composure.

“I...apologize,” Yagura said, voice soft, his earlier irritation extinguished. “I have heard of the goings on in town but I did not know they’d reached this extent.”

“What has Kiri been up to recently?” Sakura asked, frowning. “I haven’t seen anyone from your side of town in quite some time.”

“We’ve had some dealings out of town,” Yagura replied, crossing his arms. “Been working with some Kappa to clean up the pollution of Lake Icarus which has been a hell of a mess. Between the magic necessary and the legal tape we’ve run into with jurisdiction issues…” He sighed, shaking his head. “It’s no matter.”

“And no one has fallen ill?” Sakura asked, curious despite herself. “No one’s fallen victim to the forest?”

“No,” Yagura said. “The only sickness we have has sprung up from interacting with the polluted water of the lake.”

“Strange,” Sakura murmured. Something niggled at her. “About the lake...I believe the pollution may have been caused by Kabuto.”

“Kabuto,” Yagura said, eyes flashing. “Thank you for the tip. I’ll look into it.” Sakura shivered. “As for the lack of sickness, we’re a hardy folk,” Yagura said, a proud tilt to his chin. “Not weak and lily-livered like the Senju and Uzumaki in town.”

Sakura nodded absently, her frown thoughtful. An entire branch of Pompeii was unaffected by the encroaching sickness of the forest. There was something important in that fact, though Sakura was not sure what it was.

“Have you told the others?” Sakura asked. “Revealed this information at the town hall meetings?”

“Why would we attend those meetings? They’re set up to stroke the egos of the Uzumaki and Senju. I refuse to pander to them.”

“Would you consider it?” Sakura asked, hating the near begging quality to her voice. “Please? I think it might help.”

Yagura frowned at her. “Is it truly so bad as that?”

“It certainly isn’t ideal,” Sakura replied, stung but resigned to his callousness. She should have known better than to expect anything different. “If things continue as they are...I don’t believe I’ll be able to call Pompeii my home. Not any longer.”

Yagura scowled, looking down at his fisted hands. He wasn’t used to the buzzing, nagging feeling within his gut, urging him to do something, anything, to keep her near. He didn’t understand it, but Yagura was disinclined to ignore his wants. “I will see what I can do,” he said finally. Sakura’s smile in return was more than payment enough. “Be careful, if you do choose to carry on with the Sound transients.”

“Why?”

“They’ve a chip on their shoulders,” Yagura replied, standing and draping his coat across his arm. “Whether or not it is deserved is a question for debate another day. You know as well as I do that the people of Pompeii hold grudges longer and deeper than the very foundations of this country. Do what you can to avoid being caught up in it.”

Sakura sighed, her breath crystallizing in the chilly air as she opened the door for Yagura. “I’m afraid there’s no avoiding it now.” She shivered and ran her hands over her arms. “They need help and I will gladly give it.”

Yagura stepped close, cupping her face in a warm hand. His eyes were sad as he said, “Do not give more of yourself than you have to offer. You’ll burn yourself out far too quickly like that.”

With that, he bundled into his car, leaving Sakura feeling cold and bereft.

She had the sinking suspicion that it was far too late to take heed of his advice. “At least I’ll burn out in a blaze,” she said to herself in a paltry attempt at comfort, before moving back into the clinic.

“Where are you going?”

Sakura turned to Yamato and Sai. They were all in the living room, watching some of Sakura’s favorite Christmas movies as they began to wind down for the evening. All were dressed in their coziest of pajamas, Sakura even donning her poker playing dog robe over hers. Currently, The Nutcracker Prince was on.

“To the kitchen?” Sakura said, her answer coming out as a question in response to Yamato’s nearly angry tone. “I was going to check on the brownies.”

“Not that,” Yamato said, body positioned like he was about to pounce. “You’ve been looking at other jobs, other cities in other states.”

“I saw the pros and cons list you’ve been making,” Sai added, jaw tight with anxiety. “You’re leaving.”

Sakura glanced between the two of them, taking in their frustration and fear. She slumped across the couch across from them. “It is something I’ve been considering,” she admitted.

“Why?” Sai asked.

“The situation here is getting more tense by the day. The clinic has been attacked and, soon I’m afraid, I believe I will be as well.”

“Let them try,” Yamato growled, a rage in his eyes that startled Sakura.

“No,” Sakura said. “I’d rather they did not. There’s little that I can do about the situation. Pompeii is a magically founded and magically run town.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve looked into it. The jurisdictions that apply to most other places don’t carry over here. What human government will stand before a supernatural population and attempt to curtail them? Many have tried, and history remembers them as some of the greatest tragedies.

“If something happens to me, the punishment, if any, will be but a slap on the wrist. And, with so many people falling ill, I fear that the extreme solution, eliminating the perceived threat, becomes more and more attractive.” She curled in on herself, tucking her hands into her flannel robe. “I don’t want to die.”

Two sets of arms were thrown around her. The movements were a bit awkward, certainly hesitant, but they were warm.

Sakura looked up into Sai and Yamato’s resolute faces.

“We won’t let you die,” Sai said.

“We’ll fight for you,” Yamato said. “We’re family.”

Sakura nodded, throat a bit too tight to respond. Instead she relaxed into their embrace, enjoying the simple sensation of being held. They huddled together in silence, basking in each other’s presence.

“If you leave, we’re going with you,” Sai said abruptly.

That caught Sakura’s attention. “What about your jobs?” Sakura scrambled to sit upright. “Pompeii has been your home for centuries. I can’t be your reason for leaving that all behind.”

“There isn’t much to leave,” Yamato said, voice warm but firm. “Nothing ties me to Pompeii aside from the two of you.”

“If you leave, we’ll follow,” Sai said in that matter of fact tone of his, tucking his cold nose against the back of Sakura’s neck. “Pompeii is just a place. You are our home.”

#my fic #our fic #weird wednesday #pompeii #yagusaku #sasosaku #saisaku #yamasaku #sakura haruno #sai #sasori #yagura #yamato

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FEATURE: Naruto versus Pain, Seven Years of Buildup

Any show as long-running as Naruto is bound to have some arcs and seasons that are better than others. The original show had the Chunin Exam and the Sasuke Retrieval arcs, but also had literally 100 episodes of filler. Shippuden had the likes of the Gaara Rescue arc, but also the Fourth Great Ninja War.

Throughout the entire 720 episode run of Naruto, I would argue that the show was at its best during the Pain arc of Shippuden. The other three examples I listed are great stories, as well, but I think the Pain arc goes above and beyond by both paying off the setup from as far back as Episode 1 of the original show and by setting up future development for the series.

As some set up for anyone who doesn’t feel like watching over 150 episodes of Shippuden before continuing, the overarching plot is that the Akatsuki (the group that Sasuke’s brother Itachi and shark-man Kisame from the original show were a part of) are trying to gather Jinchuriki — the Tailed Beasts’ hosts, such as Naruto and Gaara.

By the time we get to the Pain Arc, the majority of the Akatsuki have been killed or taken out of commission in one way or another. Additionally, Jiraiya successfully infiltrated the Village Hidden in the Rain, where the Akatsuki’s leader, Pain, is based. However, when he confronts Pain, there are six people all with the Rinnegan, a legendary eye with special powers that supposedly only previously occurred in the Sage of Six Paths, the person who first created ninjutsu, the ninja magic that almost all the major characters use.

In the ensuing fight, we see Jiraiya go all out for once, including using some kind of transformation that makes him more frog-like, but eventually, he is killed, using sheer willpower to keep himself alive long enough to carve a coded message into a toad’s back to relay some kind of information to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

This marks a substantial tonal shift for the show. In a previous season, Asuma — Shikamaru’s mentor, Konohamaru’s uncle, and the Third Hokage’s son — died fighting a member of the Akatsuki who Shikamaru eventually took down.

When Shikamaru confronts Naruto about Jiraiya, their conversation gives some insight as to why this arc is different from the previous ones. Shikamaru takes Naruto to the hospital where Kuranai is recovering after giving birth, and he talks about how Asuma tasked him with protecting both of them and eventually training Kuranai and Asuma’s child. This leads to Shikamaru outright telling Naruto they are no longer the next generation in training, they are starting to take over for their masters and become the next generation of mentors.

The episodes before Pain attacks are also markedly different than most other story arcs, even in the original show. Everyone knows that Pain is going to come to take Naruto, so Naruto goes off with the toads to learn the same Sage transformation that Jiraiya had used. At the same time, we get to see more of the inner workings of the Village as the intel division try to gain information from a Hidden Rain ninja that Jiraiya had captured and the cipher division works with Shikamaru to decipher Jiraiya’s message.

This is one of the only times we get to see the Village Hidden in the Leaves as an actual organization, with multiple departments all working toward the same goal, rather than one or two small field teams trying to accomplish a mission, potentially with some off-screen help from another division, like the ANBU Black Ops.

Unfortunately, even after decoding the message and hacking the ninja’s brain to learn about Pain’s secrets, the leader of the Akatsuki still shows up before Naruto finishes his Sage training and launches a major attack on the Village.

Previously, we’ve seen Orochimaru’s forces attack the Leaf at the end of the Chunin Exams in the original show, however, whether through building up the villains for so long, or because the team animating and making the show had matured in the intervening years, Pain’s attack on the Village is much more visceral and personal.

Instead of a giant multiheaded snake crashing through the Village walls and some nameless Chunin falling into the forest below, we see civilians fleeing from massive monsters trampling the streets. When major characters like Kakashi and Choji fight more than one of the six Pains at once, Kakashi dies in the process. The fight culminates in one of the six Pains using his Almighty Push ability to destroy the entire Village. Sakura, emerging from the rubble and seeing the destruction, yells for Naruto in a scene that has stuck in my memory despite having not seen the episode in years.

Meanwhile, in Naruto’s Sage training, we also see development with respect to the show’s fighting and magic system. Sage Mode works by Naruto staying perfectly still and sensing the Nature Chakra around him, then absorbing it and mixing it with his normal chakra to create a new energy that is limited, but extremely powerful.

Obviously, Naruto can’t just stand still in battle, so the elder toad training him offers to stay attached to Naruto so one can take in Nature Chakra while the other fights. However, due to Naruto having the Kyuubi in him, the elder toad can’t stay attached, meaning the transformation is effectively useless in battle. Then, in a truly shocking turn of events, Naruto actually has a good idea.

In a previous season, Kakashi showed that Shadow Clones are connected to their original body, which allowed Naruto to train at hyper-speed since all the experience of the clones would flow back into him. Naruto realized that clones could maintain their Sage chakra until he needed it, then he could release the Jutsu and absorb the power, giving him another burst of Sage Mode without needing to stop moving.

As much as people joke about how dumb Naruto is, I loved this scene ever since I first saw it. It shows that Naruto might be stubborn and not a particularly fast thinker, but he’s not an idiot. He can come up with legitimately good ideas that will help him in battle.

When Naruto gets back to the crater formerly known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he's almost like a completely new character. He shows up in a completely new Sage outfit — which is almost an invert color-wise of the Akatsuki’s uniform and is close to the Fourth Hokage’s cloak, and I REALLY wish that it came back after this arc — with an oversized scroll on his back, reminiscent of Jiraiya’s outfit, and his mentor elder toad standing between his feet. Additionally, Naruto is standing on Gamakichi, who is in turn standing on his father Gamabunta, the chief toad the size of a building, who is flanked by two soldier toads of the same size.

After Naruto realizes he is standing in the remains of his home, he goes to fight Pain. In the ensuing fight, he is eventually pinned to the ground due to running out of Sage chakra and Hinata rushes in to save him. Her fight with Pain is completely one-sided, but she’s not fighting to kill the enemy, she’s fighting to free the boy she’s loved for years, — which she finally admits while bleeding on the ground before Pain stabs her, presumably killing her.

In the original series, we saw that the Kyuubi’s power can manifest as a chakra cloak around Naruto. Shippuden expanded on that, showing what happens when more power leaks out and more tails manifest. We’ve seen that two tails is dangerous, but basically just the original cloak with more power. We’ve also seen that at four tails, Naruto loses all control and basically becomes a mini Tailed Beast as his skin peels off and a black and crimson half-human half-fox creature starts rampaging. Jiraiya stated previously that he had only been close to death twice in his life, and one of those times was when training with Naruto after Naruto unleashed the four-tailed Tailed Beast Cloak.

When Hinata’s defeated, Naruto instantly goes into the four tails cloak, Pain egging him on to feel such pain and understand that peace can never be achieved as Naruto’s rage continues to increase.

In the ensuing fight ... Honestly, just go watch Naruto Shippuden Episode 167. It’s hard to even describe the insanity of Tailed Beast Cloak Naruto versus Pain, so I’ll leave it at this: Pain basically becomes Wile E. Coyote for about 10 minutes of non-stop action. For anyone who wants to go the extra mile and get a behind the scenes look, here’s an interview with the animation director who worked on the Naruto versus Pain fight:

Enjoy a charming interview with Shingo Yamashita, the animator behind the Naruto vs. Pain scene in Shippuden! ???? pic.twitter.com/Zw4crrbeNc

— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) February 25, 2019

At the end of the fight, Pain decides he needs to go all out against the rapidly transforming Naruto, destroying the surrounding area to create a giant sphere of stone encasing the Jinchuriki and noting that it should be easy since the Sage of Six Paths was said to have created the Moon with the same technique.

Meanwhile, Captain Yamato — who can seal the Tailed Beast back into Naruto thanks to having the First Hokage’s cells implanted in him and Naruto having the First Hokage’s necklace that Tsunade gave him back in the original show — has been rushing back to the Village from a mission, since his hand keeps burning with the number of tails Naruto has released. He stops dead when he sees “九,” the kanji for “9.”

Inside Naruto’s mental landscape, he’s about to remove the seal and release the Kyuubi fully when the Fourth Hokage stops him.

The two talk for a while, with the Hokage confirming he is Naruto’s father (which the audience had known since the beginning of the season but Naruto was learning for the first time) and that he would only be able to help this one time.

The show does an amazing job of portraying Naruto’s simultaneous relief at being saved, elation at knowing his parents, disbelief at knowing he is the son of the Hokage he’s looked up to his entire life, anger at his parents for having left him, and innumerable other emotions.

The Kyuubi now back under control, Naruto emerges from the sphere and goes back down to Pain, asking to speak to the original body. The two continue to fight for a while, Naturo employing more tactical thinking than ever before by having his ultimate attack be a multilayered distraction to hide a Mass Shadow Clones Jutsu that had all used the Transformation Jutsu to hide as rocks where Pain was standing.

With all six Pain defeated, Naruto locates the original Pain. When the two meet, Naruto wants to kill him, but also wants to hear out his reasoning before making a final judgment on how to proceed.

This is one of the biggest changes from before and after the Pain arc. Before the Pain arc, Naruto and his team would normally be on a mission, encounter an enemy trying to interfere or who was just evil, and the good guys would need to take down the bad guys. Even in Shippuden, the Akatsuki or other antagonists were almost certainly always in the wrong and clearly needed to be taken down.

Pain is the first major antagonist the show attempts to make sympathetic. He was a war orphan trained by Jiraiya and who was trying to make the world peaceful … by arming himself and his nation with the equivalent of nuclear bombs to threaten all the other nations into peace or he’d teach them the kind of pain he’d been through. Not exactly the most nuanced villain in all of anime, but more in-depth than the average Naruto villain before.

Even Orochimaru, one of the best villains in the series, starts very one-note and only becomes more developed as time goes on. Even then, his development is more along the lines of a ninja mad scientist rather than a truly sympathetic character.

After Pain, the series changes the focus of its battles more toward “how can this be resolved peacefully?” Naruto is always looking for a way to make the world better, rather than just doing his missions and helping people where he can. This echoes as far as the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, where Obito has become the main antagonist for a time and yet still Naruto strives to befriend him and get him to stand down rather than outright kill him.

In short, the Pain arc is when the series matures from “beat up the bad guy” to “try to understand the bad guy and get them to change their ways, if possible.”

After talking to Pain for so long that Pain decided to use the last of his power to bring everyone in the Leaf back to life, Naruto returns, barely conscious from exhaustion. As Kakashi supports him in the last stretch to a crowd of people, everyone begins cheering for Naruto, including lifting him up into the air. He is no longer the shunned kid on the swing that no one spoke to, he’s not even a ninja that everyone in the village respects. He has surpassed his childhood dream and become the Hero of the Leaf — the ninja who saved the Village and protected everyone.

The arc isn’t without flaws. It’s the first time Naruto is outright a child of prophecy, destined to bring peace to the world. Sasuke lacks almost any character motivation after killing Itachi. Naruto gets stronger off-screen at least twice during his Sage training alone. And while many characters get fitting conclusions to their character arcs, others are left in the background or their payoff doesn’t actually do anything until later (like how Hinata confesses her love … and then absolutely nothing happens).

However, there are three reasons why the Pain arc works so well.

Plot

The character arc and plot thread resolutions are almost innumerable. Shikamaru has taken over for Asuma and is on his way to becoming a trusted advisor and mentor. Hinata has finally confessed her love to Naruto. Sasuke has taken his revenge on Itachi — in a surprisingly tactical fight that combines strategy, emotion, and future powers I wish I had time to detail. Kakashi got to speak to his father before Pain brought everyone back to life. Jiraiya passed on his hopes of a peaceful world to Naruto. Naruto surpassed his master and became the new Toad Sage. The Tailed Beast Cloak finally fully released but Naruto managed to fight it back. The First Hokage’s necklace broke. The Fourth Hokage and Naruto spoke. Naruto knows who his parents are. Naruto is finally acknowledged by the entire village, not only as a splendid ninja but as the Hero of the Leaf. The list goes on.

Foreshadowing

The Pain arc introduces the audience to the Rinnegan and Sage of Six Paths — both of which become increasingly important as the Fourth Great Ninja War goes on — and eventually become integral plot points to defeating Kaguya, the final boss of Shippuden.

Scale

Additionally, Pain’s Planetary Devastation and Almighty Push are the first times (outside of a filler arc or two) we’ve seen abilities of that level of destruction, which opened the door for future fights to scale even higher, eventually reaching the point of reshaping the entire landscape to create new mountains and valleys incidentally during the conflicts. While not exactly ninja, the series had long since left the realm of actual ninja techniques, so increasing spectacle is a welcome way to make the battles more exciting.

This is why I think that the Pain arc is the best in the series. It works as both a culmination of the series' past and as a gateway to the series’ future, both in terms of plot and visuals.

What is your favorite part of Naruto Shippuden? How does the Pain arc stack up to the more recent Boruto arcs? Let me know in the comments below!

Kevin Matyi is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. He's been watching anime for as long as he can remember, and his favorite shows tend to be shonen and other action series.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

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