One second in the real world… and the Tsukuyomi was over.
Itachi Uchiha knelt on the ground, a sorry sight. He covered his left eye, his fingertips unconsciously brushing against the blood staining the socket.
Kisame Hoshigaki was the first to notice. He swung Samehada, forcing back Tobirama Senju, and leaped to Itachi's side. "Itachi, are you alright?"
"Itachi, did you defeat the Nine-Tails?" Pain asked, turning his head hurriedly.
With Kakuzu busy rescuing Hidan, Pain was fighting both Hashirama Senju and Jiraiya alone, and the pressure was immense. Even though Hashirama's power was a fraction of what it once was, his Wood Style was troublesome enough. And that wasn't even mentioning the even more difficult, white-haired old man beside him.
To Jiraiya, Pain was just a corrupted Yahiko who had stolen the Rinnegan. Every casual question from his former teacher felt like a jab, and Pain couldn't help but argue back.
"Needle Jizo!"
Taking advantage of Pain's momentary distraction, Jiraiya's long hair shot out again, wrapping around Pain's body. "Yahiko, tell me what happened!"
"Nothing happened…" Pain's repulsive force surged, shattering the hair coiled around him. His voice lost its calm edge. "Yahiko is dead. The only one here is Pain!"
Unfortunately, Jiraiya didn't believe him, and the two clashed once more.
On the other side of the battlefield, Konan easily broke away from her fight with Tsunade. Her paper wings carried her down to Itachi. "Did you succeed?" she asked.
"No… I failed again." Itachi shook his head, his face grave. He looked up at the young genin in the distance, who was forcefully pressing his hands to his temples. "The Nine-Tails jinchuriki's will is stronger than I imagined."
"So it was a stalemate again?" Kisame helped Itachi to his feet, warily watching Naruto and Tobirama, who had just appeared beside the boy.
Itachi nodded. "More or less…"
That "more or less" could mean a lot of things. Did they both suffer similar injuries? Or could neither of them continue fighting?
Tobirama crouched down to check on Naruto. "Are you okay?" he asked in a deep voice.
"It's an old problem…" the blond youth replied, shaking his head. He said it so casually that even a genius like Tobirama couldn't make sense of it.
Is the boy an idiot? How old is he, anyway?
Tobirama didn't dwell on it. He had more important things to do. A rogue ninja with a Mangekyo Sharingan was something the iron-fisted Second Hokage could not tolerate.
"Tsunade, take care of Naruto!" Tobirama gripped his sword. After casually giving the order, he vanished, reappearing right next to Kisame.
Bang!
The shark-faced man only had time to raise Samehada before Tobirama's kick sent him staggering backward. The attack was so fast that even Konan was too stunned to react.
A ninja sword cut an arc through the air.
The Second Hokage, returned from the dead, swung his blade at the still-recovering Itachi. "As expected, the Uchiha clan is full of evil… Die here, Uchiha brat!"
The moment the sword fell, dozens of crows burst forth. Itachi had dodged with a crow clone. "Is this how the Second Hokage views the Uchiha?" he asked, his voice low.
The sword swung again.
This time, a kunai appeared, blocking the blade. Itachi expressionlessly met Tobirama's attack, his right eye spinning wildly as a stream of blood trickled out. "When I was very young, I heard legends about you. Half of them came from Shisui, who spoke of 'Lord Second Hokage.' The other half came from my clansmen, who spoke of 'Senju Tobirama'."
Tobirama slowly backed away, his gaze wary. "I know exactly how the Uchiha view me. But everything I do is for the good of Konoha!"
"Spoken like the Hokage who taught Danzo… Konan, retreat!" Itachi retracted his kunai. In the next instant, black flames erupted on Tobirama's body. With Tobirama immobilized by the burning Amaterasu, Itachi grabbed Kisame and fled the battlefield.
Since he'd done what he came to do, why stick around? Seeing the speed of his escape, you'd never guess he had just failed to cast Tsukuyomi. Perhaps people really do break their limits when running for their lives.
Konan was at a loss. "..."
The rest of us stayed behind for you. Hidan just got cut in half by a Rasenshuriken. And you just… leave?
Not far away, Kakuzu was using his Earth Grudge Fear to stitch Hidan back together. Seeing Itachi and Kisame flee, he grabbed both halves of Hidan and, with a few leaps, also left the battlefield. Perhaps because they were considered minor threats, the only free ninja—Tsunade and Shizune—were busy with Naruto and didn't give chase.
They left the difficult task of covering their retreat to their leader. As expected, these rogue ninjas were completely unreliable.
"Shinra Tensei!... Konan, let's go too!" Pain glanced at the battlefield. He blasted Hashirama and Jiraiya back with a powerful repulsive force and called for Konan to retreat.
Tsunade looked at Naruto, who was still clutching his head in pain. Seeing Jiraiya about to give chase, she shouted, "Jiraiya, don't go after them!"
"Tsunade!"
"We'll deal with them later!" Tsunade shook her head, her expression sad as she looked at Naruto with concern. "First, let's see what's wrong with him!"
Nothing was more important than the future of Konoha.
And so, the Akatsuki's anticlimactic attack came to an end. Fortunately, no one from Konoha died, though Jiraiya had sustained some injuries.
He sat next to Tsunade, his expression heavy. "Tsunade, those two kids…"
"I know. I remember them. But Naruto is more important right now." Tsunade placed her hand on Naruto's forehead, her green chakra slowly seeping into him. "Does it still hurt?"
"Yeah…" the blond youth nodded softly. "It's okay, Granny Tsunade. It'll be fine soon. This is an old problem…"
"That's only because your recovery ability is so strong." Tsunade frowned, a hint of heartache in her eyes. "Your spiritual energy surged so powerfully that it literally tore at your brain. You feel pain until your body can heal the damage."
As a medical ninja, Tsunade understood things that Kakashi and Jiraiya couldn't. They never knew why Naruto would randomly lose his memory or get confused. After just one look, Tsunade understood the truth behind his headaches. She gently tidied his messy hair. "It's only because your self-healing is so powerful that you can even survive this kind of pain."
When she tried to treat the wound, she discovered an even stronger life force was already at work, healing his brain. It felt like an enhanced version of the Creation Rebirth jutsu she had researched.
Jiraiya's expression was grim. "Tsunade, is there a way to cure it? Kakashi said this started after he became a ninja."
Tsunade's hand slid down from Naruto's face. She shook her head. "Not unless we can make his physical energy strong enough to withstand his spiritual energy."
"So there is a solution," Tobirama said, standing beside them. He glanced at his brother. "Let's return to Konoha first. I need to see if the items in the forbidden jutsu room are still there."
-----
Bonus:
Konan: I bought you time. What was the result?
Itachi: It was a "tried my best" situation.
Konan: You have the nerve to say that?
Itachi: Why wouldn't I? Look at Pain, what a mess he's in.
Konan: He's trying his best!
Itachi: Yeah, well, he couldn't even beat Jiraiya.
Konan: He's doing his best! Could you beat Jiraiya?
Itachi: But he's the leader!
Konan: He's doing what he can, why are you being so demanding!
Itachi: He's the leader! Honestly. This trash organization is going to fall apart sooner or later.
Konan: ...Jiraiya is his teacher...
Itachi: Are you guys… really not just a branch of the Leaf Village?