Itachi no unmei -イタチの運命-
(The Destiny of Itachi)
Part 6 : The Jiraya intervention
Still in the village of Konoha, calmly observing the view. But this time... everything was different. At any moment... I knew my village... My very reason for living... Could die at any moment.
The snow had now almost entirely disappeared. The sun was illuminating the land, and the fog had become light. I could be spotted at any moment, but I didn't care. I just wanted to... Admire my village... Maybe one last time.
— You're not very careful, are you... Itachi...»
Once again, Orochimaru had appeared, right behind me.
— You've got it... That this might soon be the last time... Didn't you?»
— ...»
— In the background... You still love the place where you grew up...»
— Yes...»
— Oh? So you admit it... That's a change from the usual.»
My mind was no longer in playing the spy. But... I had to go on. Hold on. If I gave up now... I'd be dooming the village... Sasuke...
— Here we go. We've got a mission to finish.» I said.
Suddenly, my pupils were screaming. I could feel it... There was something... nearby...
— Orochimaru... Itachi...»
The man behind us had suddenly appeared, transported by the water of the lake below the palisade where we were standing.
— Kisame Hoshigaki... It's been a while.» Orochimaru murmured.
— What are you up to?» said the interested party «You two... together... It's very suspicious...»
Kisame... He was the last Akatsuki member I wanted to confront. Recently, Madara had deliberately appointed him as my partner, replacing Orochimaru. It wasn't for nothing... Kisame was one of the few people who could defeat me.
— It's been a long time, Itachi... I'm getting bored without you. What's more, Madara isn't offering me any missions these days... And now... I'm turning you over to none other than the great Orochimaru. In other words, the one you yourself humiliated and excluded from the organization.»
— You talk too much.» I cut him off.
— We're really not made for each other, you and I...» Kisame grumbled.
Yes, it was clear. I wasn't the talkative type, and he was just the opposite.
— Although I don't think we're that far apart.»
I knew him too well to say anything about it. I'd learned from experience that you can't always trust your first instinct. Mine told me he was a vile monster. But then, I too could easily be considered one.
I had to find an excuse for Kisame not to get in the way of our mission. Especially... We had to hurry. We hadn't yet penetrated Konoha's force field where the Yamanaka clan could detect us, but the locals who were sufficiently adept at detecting chakra had probably detected us only recently.
— Listen... Kisame... We have an urgent mission with Orochimaru. Madara's orders. Orochimaru is temporarily allying himself with us. We'll meet again later, okay?»
Kisame huffed, annoyed. But he didn't protest.
— I know you're lying. But hey... I don't care. You can tell me the whole truth later.» Kisame said.
It was going to be complicated...
The atmosphere was frigid. All around me, the earth was littered with corpses. Orders of Konoha ninjas had attacked us. I had done my utmost to make them flee or to subject them to my genjutsu, in order to spare them. But Orochimaru had taken great pleasure in slaughtering them all...
— Considering the massacre we've made... They shouldn't dare attack us.» laughed Orochimaru.
I was sorry to see so many dead and wounded. In all, a good twenty ninjas were down. Indeed, the village seemed to have given up on facing us... But I didn't necessarily see this as good news.
— We won't be laughing so hard if the 3rd Hokage himself shows up...» I murmured.
I mean, he shouldn't do anything to me. I was an ally of the 3rd Hokage, who had himself assigned me to the Akatsuki. He must have suspected that what I was doing was necessary... On the other hand, yes, he would be obliged to intervene in spite of everything, if only to avoid appearing suspicious and to limit the number of victims.
— Mh... I confess I wouldn't like to see my dear master again just now...» admitted Orochimaru.
— No one would want to face it.» I confirmed.
We then entered the Nakano temple, passing through the trapdoor leading to the Uchiha underground.
— Here we go again!» Orochimaru exclaimed.
I placed the corpse of a ninja Orochimaru had just eliminated on the seal. Fresh victims were needed to perform Orochimaru's "ritual".
Orochimaru began again, as he had done the last time. The Shinigami appeared after he had scratched his belly with his seppuku blade. Then a soul broke free from the Shinigami and headed for the freshly slain corpse.
— Edo Tensei!» Orochimaru shouted.
Suddenly, I felt a presence very close to where we were standing. Instantly, a ninja appeared. He must have used an accelerated movement technique.
I forked, reacting to a blow that plunged at me with my Sharingan. This guy was clever. This was no ordinary ninja. Even before I saw him, from his chakra nature, I knew who he was... But Orochimaru had beaten me to it.
— Jiraya... My dear friend.» he chuckled.
Facing us was Jiraya. One of the three legendary sanin, along with Orochimaru. He'd aged a little since the last time we'd met, but overall he hadn't changed much, still wearing his abitual hermit's garb.
— I was informed of your presence in Konoha yesterday... And of your exploits. And here you are again...»
I didn't answer, remaining calm, ready for any attack. This guy wasn't just anyone... From what I was told, he was on the same level as Orochimaru.
— I also spotted the ancient presence of Kisame Hoshigaki on the outskirts of the village. Tell me something... What are the Akatsuki up to?»
It was the right time... I had no desire to confront him. Between us, we could clearly beat him... But I didn't want Orochimaru to kill him. Without this man, the village would be in deep trouble. He was a great asset for the protection of Konoha.
Suddenly, gray smoke rose from where Orochimaru stood. He had finished.
— Look what I've brought back for you...» he chuckled in Jiraya's direction.
Jiraya then turned around in the direction Orochimaru was pointing. Seeing what stood in front of him, he opened his eyes wide in astonishment.
Orochimaru had completed the process of reincarnating souls. He was already there.
— M... Minato?!» Jiraya exclaimed.
— I then turned my gaze to Orochimaru.
I'll take care of him. Go with the 4th Hokage. See you after... At your hideout.»
— I won't let you do it...» Jiraya grumbled.
— Now!» I ordered.
Orochimaru dashed towards Jiraya, with Minato Namikaze, under his control, following him. Jiraya raced towards them to intercept them.
— Suiton! The Water Dragon!» I shouted.
Dragon-shaped water spurted from my mouth and shot towards Jiraya. The attack was so swift that he had difficulty reacting and had to step aside at the last moment, letting Orochimaru and the 4th go by.
Then Jiraya turned in their direction. But the 4th was quicker, and, teleporting with the hiraishin, his fetish teleportation technique, he appeared behind him. A blue vortex appeared in his right hand: the rasengan.
Jiraya grabbed him by the arm and swung him to the ground. Then, turning to Orochimaru who was running, he prepared to hurl a Katon at him.
I then threw a kunai in his direction, which he had to avoid. Then, kneading my chakra, I fired several balls of flame at him.
— Katon! Balsam technique!»
Jiraya had to duck to avoid, just in time, the flames shooting in his direction. That was it, Orochimaru had fled.
Minato then charged at Jiraya, rasengan in hand again. I sprang up on the other side, preparing another Katon.
We clearly had the advantage over him, but Minato was still weakened by the edo tensei, and was currently much weaker than Jiraya. So Jiraya had no trouble dodging it. Not me, though.
— Suiton! Ocean wave!»
A wave of water swept across the space of the Uchiha assembly, engulfing us completely.
Jiraya was going to be a complicated opponent for me to defeat. Like me, he was a master of Katon and Suiton. And my Futon, needless to say, would only enhance his Katon techniques, as air increases the power of fire.
If I really wanted to defeat that man... I was going to have to use my Mangekyou Sharingan. But I preferred to limit my use of my pupils. By using them so much, I'd come to realize that they were impairing my eyesight. But for an Uchiha, vision is essential.
I had no choice... Knowing that it was better to avoid killing my opponent, I had to make a concession. Alternatively, I could gamble on the use of Tsukuyomi, but in my opinion, he stood ready for any use of genjutsu. Besides, for the moment, his chakra prevented me from using basic genjutsu on him.
— Jiraya... I'd like to talk to you.» I said.
I could speak in my ocean of water. Even though I knew Jiraya wouldn't be able to answer me.
— Suiton! Water Raid!» he shouted.
A long stream of water shot towards me at breakneck speed. My pupils anticipate and I manage to dodge.
Then I cancelled my ocean technique and the whole water disappeared.
— I really want to talk to you.» I insisted.
Jiraya leapt up and found himself standing on the ground. He gave me a dark look, but also seemed interested.
— Do you want to buy time to let your teammate get away?»
— No. Orochimaru is not my ally... Well, he's a temporary ally. To serve my purposes.»
— You're both members of the same organization, the Akatsuki, aren't you?»
— I defeated Orochimaru and stripped him of his rank. Our alliance is just due to a pact... For the good of the village.»
— So, if I've understood correctly, you defeated Orochimaru and he still allied himself with you, then the two of you joined forces FOR the village? The one who slaughtered his entire clan and the other who experimented on his own kind?»
I wasn't surprised. I had hidden my game so well... Hard for him to believe me now.
— Orochimaru is... My puppet. In a way. He doesn't know he's acting for the village. He's only agreed to help me in exchange for something. I'm acting in the interests of the village.»
Jiraya gave me a puzzled look. He didn't believe me at all. But, at the same time, I could see that he detected the veracity in my gaze.
— Know that night... I acted on Danzô Shimura's orders, with the agreement of the 3rd Hokage. If you don't believe me, just ask them.»
— I'm going to take you with me. You'll be my prisoner. Then... They can always plead your case.»
It was ironic. No, he didn't believe me at all. I had no other choice...
— Very good. I just don't want anyone to know anything about it. You can ask the 3rd Hokage and the Council of Elders... And if they wish, I'll be released. However... Don't tell Danzô. These are my only conditions for accepting. Otherwise, you'll have to fight me.» I accepted.
He suspected that if I'd defeated Orochimaru, he'd have a hard time beating me. But at the same time, he must also have suspected a trap... It was too easy. Unless... I told the truth.
— Very good. Let's do it this way.»
His gaze was dark. He was aware of the danger he was in... If I had really planned this. But for once, that wasn't the case.
📖To be Continued...📖