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Winter Release	By : Cepheus Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1260 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Note= I don�t care if the leader of
Akatsuki now has a real identity and a name. This fic started way before that,
and I will keep MY Akatsuki leader. I don�t think it�d be wise to go back and
change now. Pein is hot, but he�d have no future with my plot.

SO SAY BYEBYE TO CLOSE TO CANON
TIMELINE. FROM THERE ON, EXPECT NOTHING AND EVERYTHING.

Upped UnBETAed since I am waiting
for my BETA :3

Cepheus: my
summer was no summer at all. I wonder where my free time went. Anyway, here�s
the new chapter! Are you happy? I hope you are!

��

Next update: � in a
month.

Rating: M (or is it higher?)

Summary: Kyuubi�s secret out. Akatsuki
attacking. Fighting for strength, and falling for your ex�best friend�s older
brother. Maybe Naruto will have to deal with more than he imagined�

Warnings: yaoi,
boy x boy relationship, angsty, torture, and such.
Mental torture as well. Flames will be used to warm up food. OC warning as
well.

Disclaimer: Not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto
does.

�Talking�
�Thinking�
�Flashbacks, memories, dreams�

��

Winter Release

Chapter 23: Amend

There was no celebration the day Naruto
came back to Konoha.

When Kakashi and Naruto walked through
the gates and finally stepped into the village, no one turned around to look at
them �there was no uproar, no insults but no happy welcome back either� life
continued on like nothing happened at all.

It felt eerie silent, as even the
whispers that had always been surrounding Naruto since he could remember were
not there� and since no one knew, no one could glare at him in hatred.

To him this felt� somehow wrong, but at
the same time, fitting. He knew no one was aware of his return, as Kakashi had
advised the Hokage he didn�t really know how much it would be required for them
to get back, so no one knew �thus they were not ignoring him.

They simply didn�t know he was back.

The silver haired Jounin had deemed safer
to depart from Suna during the night, keeping a low profile and travelling as
much as Naruto�s current condition permitted them, only stopping to sleep and
rest whether Naruto felt tired �and five days later, both finally passed
through the Gates of the Wall.

The blond was quite fine with this. He
didn�t want them to stare. He didn�t want to be seen and glared at by the
villagers �the mere thought of how he was used to goat and bask in their
attention making him sick.

Just having Kakashi look at him made him
feel exposed and open to probation, his entire mind filled with the irrational
fear that they could know (your eyes
can�t lie, we know you betrayed us�) that just by looking at him, they
would unmask him. Reveal his actions �trash him away again.

All that happened, the capture, the
attempted extraction, the unbearable pain, Itachi� now felt like it had been done
in a dream, but it hadn�t. He could not hide it away and never confront his
actions because they were eating him from the inside.

Reaching Konoha by early morning of the
sixth day of travel, Naruto passed through the Walls of Konoha detected only by
the patrolling ANBU and the gate Guardians (a
couple of strangely familiar Chuunin, who had smiled at him as he walked by,
confusing him with their warm welcome).

Walking down the streets, staring at
everything and realizing everything was the same as before made him feel
melancholic and tired.

He was finally home, and yet� he felt
like he was intruding where he didn�t belong anymore, especially after the
Akatsuki. This train of thoughts made him feel even more confused as he didn�t
even want to linger on this.

Covering his uncertainties with a smile,
Naruto decided he would understand in another moment �despite the strange
feeling he had, he still had missed Konoha greatly.

It clashed so horribly with Suna now, but
he could not decide which hidden village was more beautiful to him.

Houses surrounded by trees, the scent of
flowers and wild resin lingering in the air, enveloping the scent of people
living and working in the village, the clattering noise of weapons and the
voices of the villagers chattering around�

The familiar sight of the Hokage Mountain
in standing up proudly in front of him, with five faces carved on it as they
protected Konoha from above�

Yes, this was his Konoha.

At his side, Kakashi was still walking,
looking in front of him looking almost bored, and Naruto was glad the Jounin
had not disappeared away in a cloud of smoke the moment they reached the
streets.

�Naruto?�

The blond teen turned towards his sensei
questioningly.

�Tsunade was not warned of your arrival
so you probably should go there first� the man spoke in a sort of carefree way,
and Naruto wondered why he would say that. After all, apart Tsunade and Iruka,
he had no one else to go to.

His friends would probably be warned and
come later, anyway, but first he wanted to see Iruka�sensei and Tsunade
obaa�chan.

�Ah�� he tried to speak but Kakashi beat
him to it.

�I�ll send Iruka to the Hokage office
myself�.

Naruto�s eyes lit up at that, and a
second later he was already gone, running down the street towards the Hokage
tower.

Kakashi sighed as he watched him move
away, then closed his eye and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, headed to
Iruka�s house.

As he ran through the still fairly empty
streets of Konoha, Naruto realised that his hands were mildly shaking. The fact
that he would meet with Tsunade was making him extremely anxious, mostly
because he knew that she could read him like an open book. And right now this
was the last thing he wanted.

This time, he really had something to
hide.

Not even realising he was already inside
of the tower, so deep were his worries about Tsunade�s reaction, that he didn�t
notice the shocked stares of the few ninja already at work, who turned around
when they saw him, too stunned to have a proper reaction at his presence.

�Naruto!�

Snapping out of his thoughts, Naruto
found himself being hugged tightly by Shizune, who hid her face in his hair,
trying to stop the tears. She cared for Naruto even though the two had never
really bonded like he and Tsunade did, but she still saw him like a younger
brother.

Naruto turned a bit red, uncomfortable
with the hug, but didn�t squirm as Shizune poured out her relief on him.

�Shizune nee�chan� he muttered awkwardly,
patting her on the back and waiting until she let him go.

�Ah, gomen� it�s just that� I am happy
you are still alive, that�s all� she shook her head, wiping the wetness out of
her eyes. There were indeed no other words she could say. �Everyone was� so
happy when Kakashi called to say you were still alive��

The thought that his friends had missed
him and had mourned for his presumed death should have made him sad, but
instead Naruto found himself smiling despite the situation; it was wrong to
think it this way, but� it felt good to know he had been missed.

It meant his friends cared.

Shizune left to get some coffee for
Tsunade, and Naruto hesitantly knocked on the door of Tsunade�s office, for
once unable to barge in. There was no response from the other side, so he
simply opened the door, bracing himself for whatever could come.

And was left utterly stupefied by the
sight �Tsunade was�

Sleeping.

Soundly sleeping, with her face pressed
against a stash of documents, drooling slightly.

Naruto�s left eyebrow twitched and he
forgot completely the current situation. Yes, she wasn�t expecting him to come
this soon but still! She was a Hokage, this was so� un�Hokage�like!

Taking a deep breath and nearing the
sleeping woman, Naruto smiled a bit, about to wake her up like he was used to.

Familiarity, this was what he was feeling
now �for the first time since he returned to Konoha, he felt at home.

�Oi,
Tsunade baa�chan!� he yelled, keeping himself out of reach. �Stop sleeping on your work or I�ll tell
Shizune!�

�It�s good to
be back� he thought to
himself, watching amusedly as Tsunade snapped back in a straight position, one
paper note remaining stuck on her reddened cheek as her widened eyes looked
everywhere in shock and confusion.

Her brown eyes then noticed Naruto, and a
second later, much like he had been hugged by Shizune moments before, he found
himself choking in Tsunade�s embrace, her strong arms gripped tightly around
him, not letting him go.

Naruto allowed her to hug him this time,
and hugged her back.

Yes, it finally felt good to be home
again.

��

The next few days, much like the saying
goes, disappeared in a rush.

He was back home, and that was all it
was. So many things happened all at once, so many that Naruto, who was still
trying to recover and was still unsettled, could barely follow them all, like a
spinning top whose colour he could not make out.

In this new whirlpool of events, where he
was always surrounded by at least two of his friends, with Iruka barely leaving
his side, Naruto felt protected and wanted, and didn�t question nor comment on
it, simply enjoying the feeling.

It was not just his period in Akatsuki,
but mainly the fact he had been gone from Konoha for the last three years, he
needed to re�acquaintance himself with everything. And focusing on his
surroundings was a good way to forget.

He had seen all of his friends, all of
them clearly relieved to see him alive and well, and Naruto was glad none of
them had wanted to ask about his stay between the Akatsuki hideout. Probably
the news of his state had reached there too, and they felt it would do no good
to remember how he escaped, as the state of his hands had reached his friends�
ears.

They were wrong, all in all, with their
concern about it �it was definitely not his escaping method that had Naruto
fear every time one of his friends moved to ask him something.

He would have explained about his
escaping period, but no one ever asked. Naruto was not even sure they would
really believe him. He himself was not entirely sure he had managed to escape
by himself, more so the suspicion the Leader had somehow allowed him to go.

That also brought out a new problem with
Konoha.

Naruto had been inside one of the
possible hideouts of the Akatsuki, the dreadful organization of Missing�nins
from all countries, and that was valuable information.

To the Council it also was the perfect
way to work on him a bit, even though Tsunade prevented them from ordering him
questioned for she claimed he was still recovering.

It didn�t matter to the Council that
Naruto did not remember where the apparent hideout was when he left it, and it
didn�t matter to them that Naruto would never be able to take them there �even
though probably the Akatsuki had already abandoned the place.

They wanted answers.

Tsunade had pulled it off quite a bit
before the Council forced it upon her �that, or having Naruto questioned by
ANBU, and she knew the Council would have ordered them to torture him for
information he didn�t really have.

So it was Tsunade himself who asked him
questions, begging him to understand she wasn�t doing it for herself or out of
spite for him.

Naruto never thought badly of her
questions. To him, telling her about that didn�t mean a thing. What he feared
were the questions regarding Itachi and himself, but thankfully, she never
asked anything remotely dangerous to him.

He was afraid because he was not sure he
would have been able to lie to her.

But she didn�t question him about that,
only getting what he could remember of the Akatsuki members, taking deeply into
account the Leader�s appearance and Naruto�s comment about his eyes �it could
not be a Hyuuga, but their clan was so guarded Tsunade had no way to know if he
could have been one once any way.

Hiashi, as clan leader, would never
reveal any detail about something that could put to shame the Hyuuga family, no
matter what, and differently than Uchiha Itachi, there had been no reports ever
of a nuke�nin from the second most known clan of Konohagakure.

Tsunade simply put the information away
for a later research, and kept asking Naruto about the other members, to his
relief (those eyes were still haunting
him, in a different way than Itachi�s were, too).

Despite all his doubts, no one apparently
seemed to know about him, his wrong doings, or his guilt, but the fear didn�t
go away, rooting itself deeply in his mind. Resolving in forgetting all about
Itachi, Naruto tried to move on.

He was back home after all.

About his friends, that was just another
thing he was glad for.

With his return, everybody felt the need
to show him just how much they had missed his presence there.

Hinata had pretty much hugged him, only
to back away when she realised her doings, blushing brightly and stammering but
she had looked at him in the eyes and did not turn away. In a way, she was
changed too.

No one was as clingy as Kiba though, the
dog�lover never leaving Naruto�s side most of the time, bragging and mocking
the blond from his position over Akamaru�s head �the dog had grown bigger in
the last few years� but this was his way to show his care. Trying to fill the
void, in a way.

Others were not as effusive, nor as
ostentatious.

Neji was simply there, just like
Shikamaru was, and both showed their care by gestures and glances. If Naruto
needed them, they were always around, but not enough to make him feel
uncomfortable �both had been there when he was found tired and hurt, both had
seen the extent of his pain.

Others, like Shino, had been even more
silent. Brushing by, nodding at him without a word �but then, the few moths
still fluttering outside of Naruto�s window at night were proof enough.

Sakura�

Sakura had come through the door of
Tsunade�s office only to hug him, crying a bit on his shoulder and muttering
before giving off a show of her new acquired strength by punching Naruto
through the closed door, yelling at him for making her cry.

Many things had changed since he left, with
Neji and some others that had turned to Jounin rank, Sakura that had been under
Tsunade�s training regime, but now Naruto was going to return to the place he
felt he belonged to.

Even though�

�Hey, Naruto, what about a group together
of all us great guys, huh?� Kiba slapped his back, receiving a bark of
encouragement from Akamaru as he did so. Naruto coughed out and turned to look
at the Inuzuka.

�What do you mean?� he asked, already intrigued.

�Well, we could just get together and
have a sleepover! Speak about everything and anything and I think I could get
some alcohol too!� Kiba rambled on excitedly, with Akamaru replying here and
there, and Naruto snickered at the sight, not really bothering to listen.

He had no say in this anyway, as it was
clear he would not get out of it �not that he wanted to, after all. A week
since he was back, and still he was always controlled, followed and monitored
by Iruka, Kakashi and Tsunade. Maybe an all�boy�s night would give him some
kind of� tension�relief of sorts.

And make him have fun.

Especially that. He needed normality�

��

Tsunade quickly signed a paper in front
of her, eyes moving from the pack of documents she still had to check to the
window.

She was a bit apprehensive, that was a
given, but knowing Naruto was having fun with his friends made her sort of�
nervous.

�If someone
were to know I am worrying over the brat they�d say I�m turning motherly on
him� she thought
shaking her head.

Naruto could take care of himself, he had
demonstrated it already.

But that didn�t mean she could stop
worrying.

She had other problems as well, and the
village needed her as Hokage, not as mother hen.

�Tsunade�sama, there is an urgent message
for you� Shizune entered with a sealed scroll and handed it to her, smiling at
her forlorn face as she exited the office again. Yet, she could understand
Tsunade�s worry for Naruto.

Tsunade frowned, staring at the scroll in
her hands. She had received many similar ones from her spies scattered around,
not to mention news from other Kage regarding some missing�nin popping up at
the villages bordering with the Hi no Kuni, and she didn�t know what to think.

It had started happening when Naruto was
still thought dead, even though at the time Tsunade was far from sober, and
quite depressed but it continued even when she had given up hope on Naruto, and
had lost herself in her work.

There had been so far four attacks, even
though the villagers had not been able to recognize the village the
missing�nins were from, nor if they were part of Akatsuki (even though she
presumed this had nothing to do with the organization).

It was such strange occurrence, knowing
that usually missing�nins tried to have a low�profile when moving, but at least
if felt more normal considering the last happenings.

Jiraiya would have been the perfect one
to receive help from, but the man was unreachable, since he disappeared and
left after Naruto�s supposed death.

The man didn�t even know about Naruto�s
return to Konoha, and Tsunade felt clearly the pain the white haired Sannin was
probably feeling now. He�d felt betrayed, but also guilty for he thought it was
his fault Naruto got caught. Tsunade didn�t hold it against him, seeing as he
got tricked�

She had to reach Jiraiya somehow, and he
was the only one who could help with the Akatsuki Leader and what Naruto told
her, not to mention the missing�nins attacking the Hi no Kuni�s borders.

There was something going on, and she
wanted to be informed about it.

Cutting open the seal, Tsunade frowned
when instead of another attack at the border, she found something entirely
different signed in the scroll.

The sender was one of her spies in the
territory in�between the Taki no Kuni and the Ta no Kuni (respectively hosting
Takigakure no Sato and Otogakure no Sato), neutral ground for all the villages.

Even though no one knew where Otogakure
was, due to Orochimaru�s cautious intentions, she had displaced her spies
around in hopes to find at least one of the secret hideouts the Snake Sannin
used �as Jiraiya told her he was used to move often to make it harder for ANBU
to find him.

Even if the hideout were left abandoned,
she was sure there would be at least some information about his future moves,
or at least his intentions.

The time for Sasuke�s sacrifice was
drawing near and now they had less than two months to find him, or else lose
the Uchiha to the grasp of Orochimaru forever, and Tsunade was determined to
stop the transaction before it was completed.

So she was completely rendered speechless
when she realised the seal she cracked open was secured so only her chakra
could undo it, and that inside was proof of one of Orochimaru�s hideouts.

Scanning the contents of the scroll once
more, Tsunade checked for details, feeling her heart skip a beat when she
realised that the hideout was one of the hidden storage buildings Orochimaru
used when moving from one hideout to another, and that by the clean appearance
of it, was also going to be used soon enough.

Apparently her spy caught an oto�nin who
had been sent over to prepare the place, and had tortured him for the
information that Orochimaru would move onto this new transition hideout before
disappearing again.

This was the information she had been
waiting for.

Part of her wanted to send someone else
than Naruto�s team for this mission, knowing that she was not ready yet to
allow the blond to leave her sight, but she knew it would hurt Naruto too much.

He was the only one that could bring
Sasuke back, and there was no other choice.

She would allow Naruto the night with his
friends, and the next morning she would send him, Sakura and Kakashi to the
mission. The only problem was, she still needed someone to send with them as a
team, knowing they could not afford a trip to the borders of Ta no Kuni without
having a whole team.

This proved to be a problem, and Tsunade
didn�t know who would be qualified enough to�

�Tsunade�sama?�� Shizune knocked softly on the door with a
sheepish expression. �Koharu�sama from the Council wants to speak to you�.

��

Naruto�s heart thumped wildly in his
chest as he made his way out of Kiba�s house, running down the empty streets of
Konoha without looking where he was going.

This was�

How could he have let that happen? He
knew better than just go and speak around, but the idea of the party had made
him loosen up, maybe far too much.

At start it had been very funny, with him
and Kiba, Shino, Lee, Chouji and even Neji and Shikamaru grouped together with
snacks and a stack of horror movies.

It had felt normal; a change of pace from
the last months, and then Kiba had to take out the stash of sake he had stolen
from his father�s secret cupboard. They had known better than let Lee drink,
but all the others had taken at least a cup �even Neji.

Unfortunately, for someone like Naruto
who had never drank before (not even with Jiraiya, refusing to allow the older
man to teach him how to drink and woo girls), alcohol had been too much.

He was still feeling quite air�headed as
he moved as far from Kiba�s house as he could, but he knew with absolute
certainty what he said, and he knew that they had all heard his words.

He vaguely recalled Kiba had been talking
about his relationship with Shino, bragging around, and had asked some stupid
questions even to Shikamaru, who kept muttering under his breath, then Naruto
didn�t remember what exactly Kiba had said �something about it was better when
it hurt and that virgins would never know the best of it� and the blond had
felt words coming out from his mouth without him wanting to speak.

Itachi�s name had never left his lips,
but pretty much he had told all his friends he was a virgin no more.

That was quite stupid, thinking it now,
but Kiba had been bragging and calling Shikamaru a virgin prick and then had
turned to him and said he had to be a virgin as well, and Naruto had felt his
insides boil.

Yeah, talk about stupid things.

Which was why he was now cowardly running
away, because they had turned towards him in shock, and Kiba had started
coot�calling and� flashed of his time with Itachi had resurfaced, making his
stomach clench in pain.

He had felt sick inside, because he had
made it look like he had enjoyed it and even if his friends didn�t know who he
had been with, he still felt even dirtier. Could not deny he had enjoyed it after all.

Definitely, alcohol wasn�t the best
choice ever.

Coming out of his confused thoughts,
Naruto realised with a start that he wasn�t anymore in Kiba�s house district,
and that unknowingly his legs had taken him straight to the Training Grounds,
near the Memorial Stone.

His feet forced him through the training
ground he knew so well, until he was finally in front of the stone, reaching
out to brush his fingers over its smooth surface. Almost unconsciously, he
slowly traced the names, written so small there were rows and rows, some family
name he could recognise �Akimichi, Inuzuka and more� then there were two rows
of Uchiha names all written one after the other.

Names, so many names. Naruto felt the
sudden urge to know who they were and how they ended up dead. Respect for
people he never knew, that made Konoha what it was now.

His eyes noticed the name of Sandaime
Hokage as well, the only one of the Hokage whose name he could remember, and
smiled sadly in remembrance, not reading further. He had cared a lot for the
old man.

People that had been respected and now�
their names were written there, for all the ninja to know they had been
considered heroes.

To Naruto this place, this stone, meant a
lot. It was his first encounter with what a ninja life meant. He could still
remember Kakashi�s words during their Genin test�

�You wanted your name written on there,
when I told you it showed all the heroes of Konoha��

Naruto stiffened and turned around, heart
racing in his chest once again as he spotted a dark figure behind him, but
calmed down when he realised it was Kakashi.

�Kakashi�sensei!� he pouted lightly,
frowning. �Stop coming onto me like this!�

The silver haired Jounin smiled at his
student under his mask and let his eyes roam amongst the names on the stone.
For some time, both remained in silence, neither asking what the other was
doing there.

�You know, we wrote your name here� he
stated quietly, pointing with his chin towards the lower part of the stone.

Naruto stiffened and turned around,
effectively spotting his own name. There had to be something comical that his
rushed declaration had been fulfilled. Naruto shook his head, wondering if his
name would be erased from the stone or would stay here anyway.

�Thus I had another reason to come here
everyday� Kakashi continued.

Naruto turned around again, staring in
shock at his teacher. Kakashi was used to come to the Memorial Stone every day?

�Does this
mean it�s the real reason why he always comes late to team meetings?� Naruto wondered, blinking as he
stared up at his teacher. Though, it was not his place to ask, and he didn�t
want to enrage or piss him off.

Besides, Naruto wasn�t sure what he could
say. It was obvious Kakashi had to have someone close to him whose name was on
this stone, as he was a ninja and probably one of his friends, or his family,
was there.

He recalled Jiraiya telling him that
Yondaime had been Kakashi�s teacher, so could it mean the silver haired Jounin
paid his respects for his teacher? Naruto would do the same if Iruka�sensei or
Kakashi�sensei himself were to die. He would be devastated.

Naruto bit his lower lip as another
question popped up in his mind. Kakashi had a Sharingan, so that meant someone
had given him his eye. It could also mean that Kakashi had been close with at
least one Uchiha.

�Kakashi�sensei?�

The older shinobi didn�t turn his eyes
away from the engraved stone, but let out a small �hmm� to let Naruto know he
was listening.

�I want to� I want to understand� he
admitted, hesitating before stopping entirely.

There was no way to explain to his
teacher about his sudden need to understand,
to know what and why the Uchiha family ended up like this� the way Itachi�s
eyes were empty of emotions, the way Sasuke�s hatred had been so strong that he
left Konoha.

He wanted to know everything about them,
understand more because he felt inadequate, because he knew he would never find
peace of mind without knowing.

The stone in Sasuke�s room, the Uchiha
massacre, the Mangekyou Sharingan, not to mention what happened with Itachi�

Naruto was tired to know nothing. He
wanted to understand, and that was it. He had been pulled inside the storm and
he had no way to move out of it. It was too late for that.

Because the guilt that was eating him was
more because of Sasuke than because of Konoha. Somehow he knew it, he had
betrayed Sasuke. That was why he would do anything to amend.

�Understand?� Kakashi didn�t know what
Naruto meant, but had a vague idea of what it could be. There were not many
things the blond was focused upon, after all. And he was not sure he could
answer truthfully �yet.

�Kakashi�sensei� I want to understand
them�.

He didn�t elaborate anymore, and Kakashi
had to relent to his words, knowing who he was referring to.

�You have to know� something!� Naruto
blurted out then, biting his lip afterwards and feeling awkwardly stupid,
standing there and demanding his teacher to give him answers.

But� the eye�

�Nothing you could learn by my words
would be of any importance to you, Naruto �the person whose eye is now mine was
not an Uchiha by heart�. The words were coming out on their own accord, but the
copy�nin felt like he could explain, at least a bit.

Naruto blinked unsurely, not really
getting what Kakashi was saying.

�Huh?� he replied.

�Uchiha was a severe, close and ancient
clan, Naruto. Much like the Hyuuga, even though the Hyuuga�s matters are about
dignity and pride, whilst the Uchiha, most of all, hid their power hunger
behind their false pride�.

Kakashi wasn�t looking at Naruto anymore,
focusing instead on a higher row on the stone; Naruto kneeled on the cold
basement and followed his stare, barely able to recognize a name in the now
scarce light.

Uchiha Obito.

The only Uchiha name at that particular
level of the stone.

�Uchiha was a name that brought
responsibilities, duties, boundaries that were too strong, ties that couldn�t
be severed� Kakashi�s words held no emotions as he spoke, as cold as the stone
under Naruto�s fingers. �It demanded no failure, it demanded to uphold the
honour of a family that had long since lost values other than gaining fame and
pride �growing up either hating the place, or being absorbed into its twisted
faith�.

Naruto felt the conversation was getting
a bit above his head, but tried to reason through the hidden meaning for
Kakashi�s speech using the emotionless tone as guide.

Kakashi was quite unreadable, but after
having shared time and space with Itachi, Naruto had become quite good at
reading under the surface.

Kakashi� disapproved strongly. Not just
that. He showed a strong distaste, shoulders tensed, eyes still fixed on the
name.

�Obito� well, Obito was like you� he
ended up admitting, even though at start he had no intention to say it. �Too
unpredictable, too nice, too average�looking �something that was not allowed in
the Uchiha clan�.

Naruto should have felt offended by
having been compared to someone �average looking� but felt a twisted sense of
warmth fill him instead �Kakashi apparently thought highly of that Obito. And
he had deemed the two of them similar.

In a way, it was like Kakashi had
admitted to care for Naruto too.

�Usually Uchiha develop their Sharingan
around eleven to twelve years of age, coming up to thirteen at the most, but
Obito by fourteen had yet to obtain that� Kakashi slowly pointed his thumb on
his covered eye. �And nothing made it look like he was going to get it soon �he
had barely passed to Chuunin rank, and whilst I was already passing my Jounin
exam, he didn�t look like he would pass that one soon�.

Naruto could sympathize a bit with that
Obito guy. He supposed by how Kakashi spoke, that they had been teammates, too.

�He was loud, clumsy, had constant
problems of weak eyes, and was always late� Kakashi had a small smile tugging
at his lips at the memories, without even noticing it. �Our sensei never
scolded him much for that. He was� the opposite of how a real Uchiha had to
behave, but he didn�t care. He kept acting like he wanted without caring for
what others could say�.

Naruto had to admit that he was a bit
like this too �or he would have never stood back up every time someone denied
him his dreams.

Kakashi�s next words slammed against
Naruto�s mind like a ton of bricks.

�Obito received his Sharingan protecting
me. I had protected him from an easy attack, and lost my eye in the result, and
that need to not feel weak, to protect, activated the Sharingan�.

Naruto gasped quietly, covering his mouth
not to ruin the atmosphere, and looked up at the copy�nin with wide eyes.

That had sounded� so familiar.

Way too familiar. But the implications of
the whole speech were perhaps even worse than this similarity.

�No matter his act though, he was never
respected even after his death� the silver haired Jounin shook his head. �For
he was considered below the standards the family used. The Uchiha were a clan
that was doomed to fail� and with this, the older shinobi knew he couldn�t
speak any more.

It was already painful to even say that
name aloud.

This was as much as Kakashi was willing
to tell his student, and it was more than he had first wanted to. �I think this
is enough for you to ponder over for a while� go back home, Naruto�.

Naruto had no time to reply, as Kakashi
turned around, and disappeared in a puff of smoke two steps away.

�Uchiha� Obito�� the blond didn�t feel
like leaving the Memorial Stone yet, eyes still glued on the name, mind still
leering for Kakashi�s words.

He was starting to realise that the clan
everyone claimed to appreciate and love was just appearance. Even Kakashi, who
Naruto had always thought to be favouring the Uchiha for his clan, was now
showing his real face on the matter.

Naruto had no clear idea on clans and old
bounds, ties, whatever was the word Kakashi used, but somehow it didn�t�
matter. He was already drawing a comparison, and with early memories of Sasuke,
he could place his once best friend in his family quite accordingly with his
mentality.

Just like Kakashi said, Sasuke had been
drowning. Wanting to fulfil something that would bring no satisfaction to him,
nor to the dead. What good would it seem, when the clan was already buried?

Were the Uchiha still demanding on Sasuke
to end Itachi�s life to settle down such old betrayal? Sasuke�s life had been
controlled since his childhood. First by being second to an older brother that
was a genius, then by his parents� desire for him to be perfect.

Now he was kneeling in front of raw, unnatural
power he wouldn�t have accepted beforehand, for the simple need to cease it
all.

�I won�t mind
having my body taken over, if I can fulfil my dream!�

Was this Sasuke�s dream, or was it the
desperate need not to be second anymore? Was guilt eating him away for not
being able to protect his family? He had been what, seven years old?

Naruto could not understand. Not this,
and probably he would never come as close as to even try to.

And Itachi had been barely thirteen at
the time. It seemed like no one ever thought about this. Thirteen was Naruto�s
age when he left Konoha to train with Jiraiya. Barely a teen. Barely a ninja
able to stand on his own without help� he could admit it as much.

Thirteen. And with hatred so strong it
consumed Itachi away, and caused the destruction of the whole clan. Did they
call it upon themselves? Asking maybe too much from Itachi?

Would this mean that after completing his
hatred�based revenge, Itachi had nothing more to live for, and had made sure
there would be someone left to take care of this nothingness?

It was a thought that scared Naruto, because
he could understand. Besides being Hokage he had no other dreams. What if he
were to lose that too? Wouldn�t he feel empty and robbed of his only goal?

Why such hatred, again? The question
haunted him more and more. Enough hatred to destroy a clan. Enough hatred to
consume away all of Itachi�s soul. Was this kind of hatred Itachi was trying to
have Sasuke feel?

And yet, the two were deeply different,
probably due to the different kind of pressure from the clan. So confusing, it
was.

�It makes sense, and makes no sense at
all� he spoke aloud, needing the words to hang in the air around him to cover
up the silence. �But I will find out without a doubt�.

Maybe he had ended up with more questions
than answers, but some part of him felt satisfied already. There was much to
ponder about, not to mention he�d probably need to go to the Uchiha district
once more.

�That place
was creepy� but� I have things to check now�.

The wind shifted again around him,
blowing southwards and sending chills through his spine as he quietly left the
grounds, wandering slowly back towards the apartment he currently lived in (a
temporary place as his old apartment was still burned down, and he had nowhere
to go).

Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow.

��

Droplets of water were slowly dribbling
from the rusty pipes above the figure�s head, echoing through the wide corridor
like gun�s shouts; advancing slowly, his footsteps easily sounded in the
silence, and even if he had ways to cease the sound, he didn�t bother.

It was not important.

Around him, the whole architecture of the
building was creaking, adjusting itself, almost looking like it could crumble
at the minimum offence, and still it was resistant, and it had been for the
last twenty years, if not more.

Residing in there for so long had made
him aware of every sound, every smallest detail that could show something was
wrong, and he knew how to use his surroundings well.

Slowly wobbling outside the giant
structure, leaning his weight on the stick that was tightly held in his left
hand, the figure exited on the walking pass, finally coming into the light and
revealing itself.

Dressed with a simple while haori
and black pants, the whole right side of his body was covered with a dark cloth
that curled high on his neck, only leaving out the sleeve of the haori for the
left harm, and tied around the waist by a white folded string.

He couldn�t have been older than sixty,
and even if his many battle wounds were clearly stating he had once been a
great shinobi, they also made him look even older; wrinkles adorned the part of
his face that was not covered with white bandages, whilst a cross�shaped scar
on his chin was left clear for everyone to see.

The bandages covered the man�s
right eye and ear as well, whilst his other eye was left barely open, but
despite his old overall appearance and the way he wobbled leaning on his stick,
there as still a streak of power running deep and hidden inside the man.

The man�s attention was caught by a
rustle above his head, and he didn�t turn as a second later, someone appeared a
few feet in front of him, quickly kneeling down with one hand pressed against
the wooden floor and the other folded in his lap.

The older man regarded with his barely
open eye the figure in front of him, taking in every detail.

He was younger, much younger than he
himself was, he could have been around seventeen or eighteen of age, with dark
flat hair falling around his pale face. His expression was blank, though, minus
a small tick of his left eye.

His clothing choice was a bit strange at
first sight, with a katana strapped on his back, mid�length black pants and a
shirt that only covered up the upper half of his chest, leaving naked the
stomach and belly �long sleeve on the right, short sleeve on the left.

He also had black gloves on, but the
distinctive note was a Konoha headband tied on his forehead.

�You had me called here, Danzou�sama?� he
asked, his voice lacking both curiosity and a tone of sorts.

Danzou nodded slightly.

�The time for your part has finally come�
he replied, his voice still strong and commanding, showing that he was indeed
still a strong person. His mouth was set to a small frown. �I have arranged it
with the Council so that the Hokage had no other choice but to assign you to
Team Kakashi�.

The figure didn�t move, merely listening
to his new orders. He had been trained only to follow the man�s directions, and
he had been instructed already for that mission and now �it was time to
successfully accomplish it.

�You have been chosen amongst my ranks
for this mission �not only for your age range, that is around the same as
Uzumaki Naruto�s, but for you are stronger than any other in your generation
inside the village� Danzou kept his face straight as he spoke, noticing no
reaction from the teen. �Most of all, your artistic mind makes you the perfect
candidate for this mission. You do not have distractions of sorts,
unpredictability is on your side, as well�.

He paused a second, still waiting for a
reaction, but was satisfied to still receive none.

�From now on until the end of the current
mission, you are to be called� Sai�.

Finally, the figure moved, his body
shifting so he could lift his head up a bit. Hearing the name being spoken, the
shinobi now known as Sai closed his eyes and stretched his lips upwards, his
facial features forming what should have been a smile.

Only that it was empty, void of any real
emotion, and cold �like a doll�s painted smile, Sai�s was not real.

�Sai� so that�s my name�� his tone was
still devoid of emotion.

Danzou stiffened.

�Don�t use a fake smile in front of me�
he reprimanded, his tone glacial.

Sai blinked, his face returning to its
blankness before carefully switching to a small frown, one eyebrow lowering
down.

�I am sorry� the teen lowered his face again.
�I�ve tried and practised like the manual said, as it stated how the better
first impression as to appeal, is with a smile, but�� he frowned a bit more �I
am still unable to do those� facial expressions�.

Danzou shook his head a bit. It humoured
him quite a bit, to watch the teen struggle to comprehend simple things as
human emotions. Amusing, because �Sai� had never been allowed to feel, and now
it was merely a subject of study for him.

Danzou himself was aware of this, and he
knew that Sai�s desire to understand was only dictated by the ninja instinct to
blend in to make his victim more careless.

Emotions were a weakness no strong ninja
could accept, and he had the perfect soldier to use in his plans. After all, it
was not every day his based alliance could bring him so much profit only with a
single casualty�

�You know what you have to do, and
remember you only have less than two weeks to bring the plan to completion
�time is our ally as of now, the Hokage does not suspect a thing, nor does he Council�
he slammed the stick on the floor as to make his words clear.

�I will not delay the plan further, and
no suspicion will fall on me. No one will be able to connect it with me �nor
with you, Danzou�sama�.

�Then you are dismissed, Sai. Move to
Konoha straight away and start your plan. There should be no need for me to
remind you what would be your punishment if you fail�.

Sai nodded stiffly, and disappeared in a
puff of smoke, leaving Danzou alone once again.

Slowly, a smirk made its way on his face
as he started walking again, the metallic end of the stick echoing in the open
space as he disappeared on the other end of the walking pass. This was going to
be it. Soon enough.

Yes, soon enough.

��

Cepheus: was this a transitory chapter? Yes
it was. Do you still want the action? Well, you�re going to get it very soon
indeed! Stay tuned in and drop a review! The next chapter�s already being
written.

Review! Make me happy!
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Winter Release