Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Closer ❯ Chapter 43

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

When they arrived after their long but quick journey they missed the footsteps in the snow that led away from the inn where Reiko’s note said they were staying in.

“W-where are they?” Choji was breathing heavily next to him and Shikamaru was just as breathless. His own lungs burned from the fast trip and cold air. He needed a smoke. He looked up and down the quiet street of the small humble village before Asuma took the boys to the front of the inn. The inn keeper took one look at their headbands and grunted out a room number. When they got there they saw that it was only Yamato and he was in a panic.

“Asuma!” He breathed, skidding to a halt in front of them with an armful of blankets and pillows. “When did you guys come?”

“Just now.” Shikamaru eyed him. “Problem? Where is Naruto and Reiko?”

Yamato gave a wry apologetic smile. “Well the thing is…”

He seemed like he has the need to referee the whole fight for her. Like she was blind and unknowing and that irritated her. She didn’t like the way he was sitting behind her, like they were some kind of couple looking at fireworks or something. And they were right in view.

“If he looks up, he’s going to see me.” She muttered to Tobi behind her.

“Mmm, not likely. He so intent in his battle with Danzo, he won’t see that I have a mild genjutsu placed around him. If he does look up, he’ll only see me.”

But Karin will know Ino thought. But she doubted the redhead would tell Sasuke if it meant getting her out of the way. So what? She was just going to have to suffer in silence like this? Ino watched in quiet despair as Danzo finally unwrapped the bandages from his arm. Multiple red eyes blinked into the light and Ino grimaced in disgust. Where the hell did he get all those Sharingans? From her position, she could hear Sasuke asking the same thing and when Danzo took off after him with a high rate of speed she felt Sasuke’s chakra turn inhumanly cold and violent in an instant. She shivered unknowingly when the sensation rippled across her sensors like someone threw ice cold water on her. She never felt it like that before. The big purple being blossoming behind him had the same chakra composition as Itachi’s, that day the brothers fought. But Itachi’s being had a hot kind of chakra around it, not like Sasuke’s.

“Oh? So this is his Susano’o.” Tobi said behind her. She felt him tensing with interest. So that’s what it’s called, Ino thought. Sasuke’s Sasano’o gripped Danzo in its large glowing purple hand and began crushing him slowly. They exchanged more words and Sasuke’s Susano’o began filling out with muscle, fueled by Sasuke’s unrivaled anger and hatred. She could feel him squeezing everything out of his chakra coils, growing stronger and colder. Danzo’s body splattered in Susano’o’s grip but from her view she saw him reappear just behind Sasuke with a waiting kunai. But when that Danzo was destroyed, he reappeared on a pillar looking calmly down at Sasuke and Karin. She didn’t know which one was real because all three of them felt the same. Even the Danzo he lit on fire with his familiar black flames wasn’t the real one.

“Susano’o and even Amaterasu.” Tobi said in what could be construed as awe. “That’s too much just to test Danzo’s power. He’ll tire himself out.” He admonished. Sasuke was really going all out. How much strain was he willing to put on himself? The battle went on like that, with both Danzo and Sasuke looking like they were evenly matched. The stone bridge that they were battling on was becoming decimated with every attack. Sasuke’s summoned hawk swept low to the ground and redelivered one of Danzo’s spinning shuriken, laced with wind chakra. It sliced through the older man’s arm but with how many times Danzo escaped death so far, she suspected that the real Danzo was somewhere else.

For a second, Sasuke and Danzo just stared at one another. She could feel a ripple in Danzo’s chakra and knew he was in a genjutsu. She wondered what Sasuke was making him see. Whatever it was, it left an opening for Sasuke to attack and he flew up the pillar with his sword ready, only to get stuck. Karin was yelling up at him, asking him why he wasn’t moving. But her sensors felt the reason why and she knew that Karin would soon know too. It felt like a cursed seal. She was intimately aware of what that power felt like. Karin saw for herself that Sasuke was in a paralyses curse and she tried to help, but Danzo just kicked her back down. Ino winced at the loud smack of her body hitting the crumbling bridge.

Then she tensed and Tobi tightened his hold around her waist. “Do you feel that?” He asked her. Ino could only tremble in response. Sasuke’s chakra…it didn’t feel like him at all! There wasn’t an ounce of warmth left inside of him. “His hatred had grown and gained some power.” Tobi said. “He feels like a whole new person doesn’t he? Can you see this Ino Yamanaka? How quickly he can change? Things are going well.” Every word he was saying was making her angry! He didn’t know anything about Sasuke! “Ah, I can feel you getting angry with me. Really, you should pay attention to the battle you might learn some things.”

“Looks like we’re on the right path.” Naruto said when all three saw Lee, Kiba, Akamaru and Sai laying in the forest, in the middle of path.

“Looks like they were knocked out by some kind of sleeping concoction.” Itachi observed.

“It was probably Sakura’s doing.” Naruto muttered, looking regrettably at the sleeping ninja.

“Kakashi won’t be far behind us and from the looks of it, your teammate isn’t that far ahead. Let’s stop her first and get to Sasuke.” Itachi instructed.

She didn’t t want to do it. She didn’t want to distract Sasuke from his fight from Danzo but the more she was by Tobi, the more she was growing crazy! His chakra was overwhelming her, trying to trap her in a Sharingan genjutsus hold. She knew it and he knew she knew it.

“Quit fighting me. You know I’ll win in the end.” He said close to her ear.

“And you think I’ll just let you?” She hissed through gritted teeth. She let her control over her seal slip, letting her cursed seal glow brightly. Keeping his genjutsu in place and trying to restrain her was a task in itself. She knew that he couldn’t phase her back into his holding dimension without dropping his genjutsu. Even if he did it quickly, she knew Sasuke would feel her light chakra. She let it build quickly, desperately.

“It will only let you have your freedom for a second.” Tobi warned, feeling the cumulating power. Ino gritted her teeth. Even if it was only for a second, it would have to be enough. “If you distract Sasuke from his battle, he’ll resent you. Danzo might do something bad to him.” But Tobi wasn’t a sensor like her. Danzo’s chakra was running low and he was in another genjutsu. With a scream, she let lose her chakra. It exploded from every part of her body. Her coils clenched sharply and she felt Tobi’s arm and legs slither from her body. She withdrew a special kunai from her pouch and threw it at his feet, creating some seals. Vines sprouted from the cold stone and slipped around his feet, around his waist, holding him in place for just a moment.

“Should I count to three? That’s how much time it will take me to get you back.” Tobi sounded amused and he didn’t even attempt to wriggle free when the vines brutally encircled his neck.  Ino took a step back. “One…Two…Th—!”

“Amaterasu!” Ino spun around in surprise, only to have a chain of black flames surround her and keep her in place. He stood beside her, staring at the surprised Tobi. His black hair fluttered in sync with his snow white cape and his red eyes were glowing bright.

“Itachi?”

XOXO

Reiko dropped in front of Sasuke and crossed his fingers. “Release!”

Sasuke blinked in surprise before he grabbed the boys arm and yanked him close. “Reiko? What are you doing here?” His whole body hurt and he knew that he was pressing his limits. The battle with Danzo took more out of him than he had originally planned. His eyes burned and he knew that his face was streaked with blood. Danzo was holding his wounded chest, dark red blood seeping through his fingers. He fell to his knees and coughed, sending a thick spray of that life giving liquid onto the cold ground.

Sasuke followed Reiko’s gaze and saw, up on the square bridge archway, Tobi. He couldn’t see his face from his mask, but his whole body language told him he was wary and surprised. When he squinted his eyes, he saw why. It was Ino and she was in the middle of an Amaterasu. Itachi’s Amaterasu. He spied the tall lanky frame of his brother standing next to Ino and his heart began to pump hard in his chest. Itachi…he was really alive and he was really here!

“Tobi took her!” Reiko told him in an accusing tone, pointing at the scene. “Dad, you can’t let him get away with it!”

The ‘dad’ thing took him off guard completely. And while he appreciated the warmth and wonder from hearing that title finally leave his son’s lips, he was also aware that Danzo heard it too. The weak, battered old man looked up sharply and Sasuke pulled Reiko closer to him with a warning glint in his red eyes. Tobi took Ino? How the hell did he find out about her? How long had she been gone? What did he do to her? That very thought alone sent pulsing rage resonating throughout his whole being.

Danzo’s breathing sounded wet as he panted and stood up on shaky legs. Reiko stopped closer to Sasuke, his eyes glowing red with his Sharingan as he kept a cautioning watch on the man. Danzo’s chakra was weak and so was his body. Sasuke felt like giving into his trembling too. He was so depleted and out of chakra and now Reiko was here. If Danzo still had some willpower left in him, Sasuke didn’t know what he would do to protect himself and Reiko.

“So…the rumors were true then? The ones about you and Ino Yamanaka.” Danzo’s legs were shaking and his one good eye was staring intently at Reiko. “You look like a Yamanaka but you have the curse of the Uchiha flowing through your blood.”

Sasuke glared at him. “Don’t talk to him.” He bit out, trying to suppress his pains that were steadily throbbing with mind numbing sharpness. Like a thousand kunais were being twisted in his flesh coated with acid. His vision was dimming as well and for a horrified second, he thought he was going to faint. But Reiko…the thought of protecting the child gave him the willpower to keep cool and keep his head. He felt Reiko’s hand on his chest and looked down to see him go through some seals.

“Chakra Regeneration jutsu!” And then he felt new chakra bloom deep inside of him as soon as Reiko put both hands back onto his chest, a single finger seal present in the form of crossed fingers. Reiko was breathing a bit hard.

“That’s all I can give you for now. Use it wisely.” He warned. Danzo began to chuckle and both of them looked at him in tense bewilderment.

“It’s funny really, all of this and you still want to destroy your home?” He coughed again and looked up to where Itachi and Ino were. Tobi and Itachi were talking. “Itachi…how could he still be alive? How could you throw everything he went through away? For revenge? Personal revenge? I wonder what he thinks about that.”

Sasuke quickly summoned a Chidori and raised his hand. “I told you not to talk about him!” He yelled and skewered the old man in the chest, where his heart was beating. He didn’t have enough time to dodge it and Sasuke felt a keen sense of satisfied completion when he saw how much blood was flowing from the wound. But the old man was a fighter and picked himself up from the ground and began running. Sasuke smirked darkly, feeling very much like a hunter that was stalking the life out of his wounded pray, just waiting for it to bleed out and die. But Reiko pushed him back.

“That’s enough Dad. He’s going to die anyways.”

Sasuke looked down at him and raised a brow finding himself feeling like he was being reprimanded. By his own child! “I want to make sure he’s dead. I have to see through this battle until the end.” But he only took a few steps before he heard his brother’s voice.

“Sasuke! Stay away from Danzo!” He called out. “It’s reverse tetragram seal!” No sooner did the words register when black blood began sprouting from Danzo’s body. He grabbed Reiko and bolted from the bridge, as far away as he could go in one leap. When he landed, he let Reiko down. Below him, a black orb of power exploded over the bridge, annihilating everything its spectrum touched and leaving a deep, perfectly curved scar on the solid stone bridge in its wake. He waited for any movement, but where there was none he smirked. One down.

“Now, to deal with him.” He said looking at Tobi through slitted eyes. With the chakra Reiko gave him, he gathered everything he had and summoned his Susano’o back. It roared so loudly, the whole place shook and with one swipe of its hand, it reached out and smacked Tobi into the cliff wall. He jumped to where Itachi and Ino were under the protective shell of his glowing Susano’o.  “Stay here!” He ordered Reiko, keeping him close to the embrace of his being.

He connected gazes with Itachi. So many questions arose within him, but he knew it wasn’t the time or place to start demanding answers. The emotions coming forth from feeling Itachi’s familiar chakra was enough for now. His brother was alive, Reiko was alive and Ino was alive. It was such an overwhelming feeling, having them all together like this. Itachi’s Amaterasu died down and Sasuke critically looked over the blonde to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Reiko pulled from him and dove into her arms with a relived little ‘mom’ that was muffled in her cloak.

Tobi recovered from the blow from Susano’o and jumped to a pillar. Sasuke tracked him, aiming a barrage of arrows at the masked man every time he landed somewhere but he dodged them every time.

“Enough Sasuke. You’re just going to wear yourself out.” Itachi said. Maybe it was habit, or maybe it was just pure nostalgia, but Sasuke did as he was asked, like a little brother should.

“I get the point Sasuke.” Tobi called out to him. “I wasn’t going to hurt her. Honest.”

Hid hands balled in anger. “You should have never taken her in the first place!” He yelled back in dark possessiveness.

Tobi shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, I was surprised when I saw her again. I didn’t think much of the consequences when I saw her talking with Naruto Uzumaki.” He said in a hinting voice.

Sasuke tossed her a glare. “You contacted Naruto?”

Ino glared back. “I might have run into him, but I didn’t go looking for him.”

“I told you to stay in the village until I got back.”

“I did! They were staying in the same village.” She defended.

“They?” Sasuke didn’t like the sound of that and looked up at Itachi, raising his brows in question.

“Uh, did we miss the party?” Sasuke looked toward that chilling, cheerful voice so quickly he felt like his neck was going to twist off. There, on a separate pillar was an eyesore. An orange eyesore. Naruto had his arms crossed in front of him with a huge grin in his face. Why the hell was he so happy? Was Sasuke’s first annoyed thought. He was in the middle of killing Tobi and Naruto had to show up. The idiot still had bad timing.

“Ah, a Leaf reunion?” Tobi looked all around him. Down below, where Karin was, he saw Kakashi and Sakura. His annoyance and anger doubled. Here we go again he thought. Maybe he could kill them all? He still had enough chakra to probably take out the Kakashi cluster, but…he slid his eyes to Ino and Reiko. They would hate him forever if he did. “Is this going to be your choice then? With a brother back from the dead, I can understand if it is but…you will pay for your betrayal in the end.”

Damn, being put on the spot. “I see your word dies easily Tobi. I had thought you had enough honor to keep our deal even after my death.” Itachi said calmly. Sasuke felt a trickled of unease down his spine. Deal? What kind of deal did he make with Tobi?

Tobi shrugged. “It was too great of an opportunity to give up. This is war Itachi. War is never fair.”

“War.” Itachi almost spat. “Your plan will never work now. In declaring this war, you have mobilized the entire ninja force in the world. They are united for the first time in history. You will be at a disadvantage.”

Tobi’s carless stance didn’t give anything away. “You think so? Only time will tell now.” He turned to Naruto. “Until we meet again.” And then he swirled away. He felt Ino and Reiko breathe a little better and allowed his Susano’o fade away. His eyes burned more and his head pounded. He closed his eyes to regain his bearings and to block the sunlight from piercing his sight.

“Sasuke? Are you all right?” He felt Ino touch his arm and he shook her off.

“I’m fine. Why are they here?” He tossed a glare at Naruto and then one down at the others. “Teaming up on me to try and sway my resolve?”

He heard Itachi let out a low, long sigh before he gave a slight shake of his head and jumped down, away from him. Sasuke watched him go with a clench in his chest. He felt like he was five again and yearning for Itachi’s approval. Even now, he hated that feeling of disappointment he felt roll from Itachi. How could so much time pass, yet as soon as he was by his brother he fell back into the old days? The days when he tried to become just like him, the days when Itachi would carry him on his back if he was tired and hurt? All this time he still had the desire to prove himself to his older brother. It made his throat tighten with regret.

“They came because Ino was in danger. They were concerned about you too.” Reiko spoke, looking a little sad. “Will it hurt you just to talk with them?” And then there was Reiko and Ino.

Sasuke’s lips pressed in a thin line. Talk? He doubted that was all they wanted to do. Why were they all the way out here in Iron Country? Did they know where he would be? Ino said that she ran into them. And Itachi was here. So Naruto and the others finally know about him? Kakashi was keeping a wary eye on his brother as he went to where Danzo blew himself up but didn’t stop him or anything.

“Sasuke.” Ino said and he felt some of his anger leave him. He was just tired now. Tired and aching. And he didn’t want to hear Ino screeching at him if he didn’t comply. He didn’t want her and Reiko to turn away from him like Itachi did.

“Fine. We’ll talk.” He said a bit sarcastically. Naruto’s smile widened. “But it won’t accomplish anything.” His smile faded a little.

“So you’re humoring me then?” He asked as they all dropped down to the solid ground.

Sasuke gave him a look. I’m not doing this for you. “Yes.”

When Ino jumped down, she stalked to where Karin and the others were. Suddenly a loud smack permeated the air and everyone stopped to stare at an infuriated Ino and a shocked Sakura. Soon an angry red handprint appeared on Sakura’s pale cheek. Sasuke was surprised by it, but when no one did anything to reprimand Ino he grew curious.

“What was that about?” He murmured looking at anyone for an answer.

“Let’s just say, Sakura deserved that.” Reiko said sourly. Sasuke looked to Naruto and saw his lips turndown in a frown. But even he didn’t do anything which was stranger still. Naruto always had a massive crush on Sakura yet he allowed Ino to slap her. Just how much more has changed with them he wondered trying to hear what Ino was whispering fervently to a tearing Sakura. Kakashi was taking evasive steps away, looking like he didn’t want to be involved in whatever their problem was and Karin looked sadistically amused. After a few sharp jabs of her finger in Sakura’s face she spun on her heel and came back to his side. She ignored the blunt look of question from him, her cheeks still flushed pink with ire and her ice blue eyes glittered brightly.

Wordlessly, the group started toward the direction Itachi went. He stood at the edge of the curved crater, looking down below. When Sasuke stood beside him he saw that Danzo’s body wasn’t there.

“Tobi took him. No doubt he wanted to recover Shisui’s eye.” Itachi said in his soft, wizened voice.

“His eye?” A brief flash of memories struck him. The one where Shisui wanted Itachi to protect his remaining eye. But which eye did Danzo have?

“Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan allowed him to enter a person’s mind and manipulate them by giving them false experiences. To the one under the genjutsu it made it seem like they were doing things of their own free will. They didn’t know they were being manipulated. Kotoamatsukami. The ultimate genjutsu.”

“That’s…not good.” Reiko mumbled worriedly.

“Danzo used a reverse tetragram seal. Knowing Danzo, the eye most likely didn’t survive.” Itachi said.

“I agree. He would have done everything to make sure it didn’t fall into enemy hands.” Kakashi echoed.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes trying to ease the ache in them. Ino touched his arm and he turned to her. She covered them with her hands and told him to close his eyes. Soon, her soothing healing chakra warmly vibrated over his lids and eased the irritation. His icy fingers encircled her slender wrists. The healing chakra moved slowly down to his whole body. His cells and nerves screamed in protest at first, but whatever medical jutsu she was using made it feel like morphine. While it decreased his pains, his body still throbbed with the echo of the memory. When he opened them he was peeing into her earnest face. It was kina fuzzy and the fading daylight clashed with her blonde hair creating a kind of halo effect. For a second, he just got lost in her eyes and smile. Everything around him, everyone around him just faded into the background. But his more formal private side made it last for just a second.

Behind her, Naruto appeared and put a hand on her shoulder. Sasuke narrowed his eyes when Ino looked at his old teammate from the corner of her eye and gave a nod. She, Itachi and Reiko left him alone with Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto. Now being faced with his past, Sasuke folded his arms in defense.

“When Tobi took Ino he told me about Itachi.” Naruto began, folding his arms as well. “I didn’t know what to think at first.  Didn’t want to believe him but Reiko…Reiko told me that it was true.” He said, shifting his eyes downwards for a moment. “So what you’re doing is understandable.”

Sasuke’s jaw tightened but he stayed silent. Naruto let a soft smile play on his lips. “You know, there was a chance, Sasuke that our roles could have been reversed? Sasuke, you remember right? The entire village used to despise me because I have the Nine-tails inside me. At one time, I hated the village too. I even thought about revenge. One step in the wrong direction and I might have conjured up some terrible plan just like you.

“I used to think I didn’t have any bonds with anyone. But one day, I asked Ino if I could go with her and Shikamaru and Choji to the river and she said yes. From there things only got better for me. That’s until I met you and Iruka-sensei. I almost gave into despair but you and Iruka-sensei and the others saved me. In the beginning, though I knew that you were always alone. Watching you, I felt reassured that I wasn’t the only one.” He said with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We were both kids and looking back…I had to live with the Nine-tails and you, the fate of the Uchiha. It’s ironic that we had similar burdens. To be honest, every time I saw you I wanted to walk over and start talking. I’d get sort of giddy because I felt like you understood me. But I stopped.” He said, blue eyes flashing with a mix of seriousness and humor. “The reason is because I was jealous. You were good at everything so I made you my rival.  From then on, you’ve been my goal.” He grinned shyly. “I had nothing but I built bonds with Team 7. With you and Sakura. And you…you had us and Ino right? We weren’t so alone anymore.”

I used to hate you…you better not die…

…why do I want to cry for them?

Naruto…how could his words bring up so many suppressed memories? His eager smile and heartfelt gaze was really making him…hesitate.

“Destroying Leaf…is that really the only way?” When Sasuke didn’t answer Naruto sighed. “Sasuke, you lost everything all in one night, I can see that now. But since then, you’ve built new relationships and now…you have your own family.” Sasuke followed his gaze to see Ino and Reiko sitting on a broken stone with Itachi nearby.

“You have Itachi back too.” Naruto murmured. “But if you destroy Leaf…everything you’ve gained will be taken away again. You’ll lose them.”

Leaf is our home…if you destroy that, you’ll destroy us too…don’t make me hate you….stop this madness! This isn’t what Itachi wanted at all…!

Dad…

“If you try and destroy Leaf, I will have to fight you. Save your hatred until then. The only one who can handle that much hatred is me. Only I can fulfill that duty. Not Ino. Not Itachi. Not Reiko. Me. You know it would kill them if they had to fight against you. This is the only thing I can do for them to spare them the pain.”

…don’t make me hate you…

“Sasuke I knew from the moment we first met that it was going to take more than ordinary means to understand you.” Naruto straightened and extended his arm with his hand fisted. “Exchanging fists is how we understand each other that’s for sure and I’m not giving up just yet.” He smiled in his impudent Naruto way and shrugged, dropping his arm. “I’ll never give up on you Sasuke, so quit trying to stop me. You’re my best friend so you know how stubborn I am.”

Stubborn was an understatement, Sasuke thought in annoyance, shaking off the budding feeling he was getting when he thought about Naruto’s words. “And you’re going to try and force me back to Leaf?”

Naruto’s smile faded a little but the satisfaction of popping Naruto’s idyllic bubble didn’t give him as much pleasure as he expected it too. “I won’t force you.”

Sakura gasped behind him and Kakashi narrowed his Sharingan eye. “Naruto!” Sakura said, taking a step forward. Naruto held out his arm to stop her from coming closer to them.

“I won’t force you.” The blonde repeated. “But it doesn’t mean this is over. In the end, this is all going to be up to you Sasuke. I hope you make up your mind soon. Now, this isn’t just about you and me. Tobi has declared war and Gaara tells me that the ninja of our world has consolidated into one force. Talk to Itachi and ask him to tell you about Tobi’s Moon Eye Plan.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sasuke thought for sure that Naruto and the others would try and drag him back to Leaf without second thought. So he couldn’t help but wonder if the blonde had an ulterior motive. He wouldn’t put it past anyone on his old team at this point. “I could disappear with them and never come back. You wouldn’t even be able to find us.”

“I know.” Naruto said with a shrug. “You could do that.”

“Then why?”

Naruto grinned lightly. “Reiko convinced me to trust you. So I will. He’s a really great kid Sasuke.” Naruto put his hands on his hips with that careless smile still stuck on his face. “I think I’ve blabbed enough for now. Ahaha, listen to me lecturing you when I’ve never been a good talker.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We’re going to head back to the village. Hopefully someday, you can think of it as your home again Sasuke.”

Kakashi and Sakura stared at Naruto, looking like they didn’t know what to think or do. Kakashi sighed and pulled his headband back over his Sharingan and Sakura didn’t meet his eye. They both stayed silent throughout all of Naruto’s ramblings. If they arrived when Reiko and Itachi arrived then did they talk? Was that the reason why Kakashi wasn’t doing anything to Itachi? All of this was leaving him suspicious.

XOXO

Yamato had tracking spores on Naruto so Team Asuma followed him until they came face to face with Team Kakashi on a well-worn path. To the side, Asuma saw Sakura kneeling over an unconscious Lee. Kiba and Sai were rubbing their heads with disgruntled moans and Akamaru was laying his head in Kiba’s lap with small little whimpers here and there.

“What happened here?” Choji asked. Kiba glared at a flushing Sakura who was helping a groaning Lee to sit up.

“Ask her! We were on Sasuke’s trail and Sakura—”

“I said I was sorry!” Sakura huffed.

“Sorry isn’t going to take away my headache!” Kiba yelled back and the two got into an argument.

“Where are Ino and Reiko?” Shikamaru demanded making the two halt suddenly.

“Ino and Reiko? What are you talking about?” Kiba asked giving looks to Team Kakashi. “Did you guys get to Sasuke? What happened?”

“Calm down Kiba. We’ll tell you what’s going on.” Naruto held up his hand in defense of Kiba’s feral look. Kurenai always said he had a quick temper Asuma thought with a small pull of amusement on his lips. “The Kage Summit and everything else. Promise.”

Asuma caught onto Kakashi’s jerk of his head and went to see. “If you hurry, you might just catch them.” He said, holding out a small hand drawn map. “Reiko is expecting you.”

Asuma took the small piece of paper and lifted a brow at the hesitant look on the silver haired jonin’s face. “What?”

“Itachi is with them.”

Asuma’s whole body locked in place. So everything Shikamaru and Choji said was true? Itachi was alive because Ino used that jutsu on him. The one that saved his life. When he first heard it he grew angry. Did they think this was some kind of joke to tell such lies? But the feeling was squashed when he saw the truth shining in Shikamaru and Choji’s eyes. After, he didn’t know what to think about Itachi or Sasuke. The whole trip here was quick and he didn’t have time to dwell on the revelation much. Now they were here, so close to Ino and Reiko. Meaning that he would eventually meet Itachi and Sasuke as well. Damn, maybe he should have brought more than six packs of cigarettes with him.

“Thank you for telling me.” He heard the troubled tone in his voice. “Let’s go.” He motioned Shikamaru and Choji to follow.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” They ignored Kiba’s question and picked up their pace.

“Are you guys sure this is a good idea? Can those two really be trusted?” He asked them.

“Really Asuma-sensei, you should trust our judgment more.” Shikamaru mused. “We’re not little kids that don’t think things over.”

“Still, it’s just a lot to take in.”

“We know.” Choji said with a sympathetic smile. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it all. But Shikamaru was right. He needed to have more faith in his team. After all, he taught them well…

XOXO

AN: Two chapters left! Kabuto will make his appearance next chapter and this isn’t the last you’ll see of Tobi. Sorry I couldn’t update sooner but for some reason I felt like I was writing myself into a corner through this whole chapter. Maybe it’s because I’m having trouble pacing myself….anyways thanks for reading.