#itachi is a ball of issues

[hellcifrogs]

Out of curiosity, what do you think about an au where Sasuke’s mom actually did get to adopt Naruto and how do you think the uchiha massacre would go in that universe?

Oh boy I can think of a few ways this could go...

My favorite idea is Mikoto taking Naruto in, and he naturally becoming family. So Itachi could either spare only Sasuke and him, or run away with the two causing a whole new issue for the village that's now down a spy and a jinchuuriki, OR EVEN Naruto and Sasuke returning home to find everyone dead and Naruto loses control of the fox causing another huge disaster in the whole village.

I like this last one because the hokage and elders could use this as an excuse to hide the Uchiha massacre and say they all died because were the closest to Naruto when it happened - and also keep Naruto under even closer watch after this.

But Naruto and Sasuke would still know the "truth".

Or Naruto could become kind of an object for leverage between the clan and the village elders (aka Danzou). But imagine the Uchihas all protecting little Naruto, the nine tails boy, as their special little ball of power.

Danzou tries to pressure Fugaku into whatever and he goes "Nuh uh" because they have Naruto and Danzou probably knows the sharingan can control the bijuu. And the massacre doesn't have to happen - another disaster can still happen for trauma fuel  but the clan doesn't have to be killed by Itachi.

And also, if I were to add some touches of my own... Around the age when Sasuke starts training, Naruto too is practicing with him and Itachi, (so not too long before the massacre was to happen) then Mikoto and Fugaku realize that it would be hard for them to properly teach Naruto - they have their clan style and jutsu types that Naruto might not manage the same way Sasuke does.

So Mikoto takes into her hands to go find Jiraya! She leaves the village on official missions to investigate and search for the senin and bring him back. They could even arrive right at the last minute and stop Itachi (and Obito which coul be a whole thing to add).

Now that could stop the massacre and Danzou from the very start. It's a win-win: Naruto gets a family, Mikoto gets a big role, Jiraya arrives, takes one look at Hiruzen's current system and goes "Nope" and starts looking for a new Hokage right away (Shikaku? Fugaku? Jiraya himself while he trains Itachi to take the role in a few years? Maybe Danzou to make things messier for a bit?)

But the best thing is that Mikoto would 100% tell Naruto about his parents, and he would grow up knowing how loved he had always been and still is.

[hailuchiha]

Caretaker

DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT

!! MINORS DNI !!

!! 18 + NSFW CONTENT!!

!! ALL characters involved are ADULTS ; NO minor characters!!

Summary: Itachi was supposed to return DAYS ago! It wasn't like him to ever return late from a mission. His sister, whom he left in the care of his partner Kisame, has been a ball of anxiety, getting worse each day. Kisame is also worried now, but when things come to a head, he takes his frustration out in a different way.

prompt filled for this anon ask

size difference; sort of noncon; cnc; sexual frustration; betrayal of trust; frustration; anxiety; found family drama; partially clothed; out in the open; power imbalance; anger issues; belly bulge; choking;

1.7k words

Caretaker

It had been days.

Itachi was supposed to be back days ago.

Kisame, whose care he'd left his precious sister in, almost felt as agitated as the younger Uchiha felt. While he knew how capable Itachi was, he just couldn't account for his partner's absence being this long.

Besides, he was running out of things to say to calm the brat down. At least, he was running out of believable things to say.

Plus, brat was sort of an insult to the gorgeous young woman.

"Kisame," she whined, her doe eyes wide and tearful as she stomped up to him. "Why isn't aniki back yet? You say everyday that he'll be back any day!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know," the swordsman growled, also running thin on patience by now. "Just... go hunt a rabbit or somethin to keep yourself busy. And useful."

The young woman frowned, flipping her dark hair over her shoulder as her hands went to her hips, lower lip wobbling a little despite her frown.

"You're saying I'm not useful?" she said in a dangerous tone.

Kisame wanted to roll his eyes, trying not to stare at her heaving bosom and the pretty flush heating her cheeks.

"Don't start this again, woman!" he responded, though his bark had no bite. "Just don't pester me anymore."

"Huh. Some caretaker you are," she scoffed, even as she started to turn away. "You know, Itachi left me with you so you'd take care of me."

She had been backing off, not really even insulting him. But something about either what she said or the way she'd said it made his pent up emotions flare up.

He threw her over his shoulder, ignoring her indignant squawk as she was carried like that, and left the clearing to head into the cover of the surrounding darkness of the forest.

"Hey," she cried out as he threw her gently onto moss-covered ground.

"You're quite the ungrateful brat, aren't ya," he hissed, climbing on top of her and refusing to let her squirm about or escape him.

Something feral flared inside Kisame, and he gave into it, grinning wildly as he groped her ample breasts, his large hands squishing and squeezing the soft mounds.

She was panting from the exertion as she bucked under him, trying in vain to throw off his balance. Kisame would have been impressed at her valiant efforts if he didn't find her helplessness, her inability to even budge him, hilarious.

"You wanted me to play caretaker, huh?" Kisame huffed, bending down to kiss and lick at neck before biting down harshly. He smirked when she yelped, glaring at him with a mixture of shock and fear.

"You'd better stop!" she said, but her voice was all wobbly and breathless.

"I think not," he said, grinding down on her so she felt his cock rubbing firmly against her belly. "Since you couldn't appreciate all the hard work I did taking care of ya, providing for ya, all this time your brother's been gone, methinks you need to be taught a lesson. As your caretaker, I got the right. 'Sides, I deserve some sort of payment too for dealing with ya."

With that, he didn't wait for the Uchiha woman to respond, and simply tore off her underwear and leggings in a single yank, leaving them tangled at her ankles when they got stuck on her shoes. He pulled up her dress so it was pooled up around her tiny waist, the pale, silky smooth skin of her bare legs exposed for his hungry eyes. His cock twitched in appreciation, a wet spot appearing in his pants where he leaked precum already.

"Fuck," he mumbled, eyeing her pretty little cunt, watching almost mesmerized even as his oversized fingers idly played with her soft lips.

His eyes shot up when she whimpered, trembling, and he smirked when he saw the needy look in her eyes even as she tried to cross her legs to keep some semblance of decency.

Kisame chuckled, flicking her nose before gripping her plush thighs and spreading her legs, not allowing her to hide.

"Now, now, little one," he crooned. "Don't be all shy on me now! You were mouthy enough to pester me the whole two weeks your brother was gone."

"P-Please, Kisame," she still begged, eyes not meeting his even as her warm walls became slick with Kisame's attention, his finger making delicious wet sounds as it moved within her folds.

"Please what?" he asked with a smirk.

"L-Let's not do this... I won't bother you again," she said, not meeting her eyes, her nails digging into his still-clothed thighs.

Kisame barked out a laugh.

"Tell that to your greedy lil cunt," he countered, smacking her pussy and delighting in the strangled sound she made. "You even went through the trouble to shave it. Didja do it for me? Now be a good girl and let daddy have some fun... You've stressed me out enough the past few days," he said, pulling out his cock and smirking as he saw her eyes widen in horror.

Kisame knew he was girthy, that he was bigger than the average man... It came with the territory, what with him being around 7ft tall. He wondered if she was just playing coy, or if the little Uchiha would turn out to be a little cockslut after all.

He continued to pump his fingers in and out of her wet cunt, opening her up and relaxing her while using his other hand to tug at his cock a couple times till it glistened in his copious precum.

As he took out his fingers and replaced them with his thick head, he caught her eyes as she bit her lip, eyes trying to see where he was entering her. It took a few tries, his cock catching on her entrance every time he tried to push in. But finally, it worked. Kisame groaned at the sight of his fat cockhead slipping past her wet folds, stretching her pretty pussy painfully wide, if the grimace on her pretty face was anything to go by.

The young woman's face was flushed from the strain, and he took a moment to marvel at how pretty she looked, before slamming right in, not giving her more time to adjust.

To his delight, she threw her head back, as if in pleasure, her eyes rolled back and mouth dropped open in a soundless gasp as her pussy was stuffed with his oversized cock.

"Fuck," he groaned, wishing he'd undressed her completely when he bit into her shoulder and was met with the dissatisfying material of her dress rather than her delicious skin.

With no more patience, he started rocking into her, barely pulling out before slamming back in, groaning as the soft sound of her muffled gasps echoed around them, his eyes feasting upon the way her full breasts bounced each time he thrust in.

When her shoes became a problem, not allowing him to move as freely as he liked, he yanked them off in frustration before ripping the tangled mess of leggings and underwear off as well and tossing them aside.

Then, he pulled her onto his lap till her cunt was flush against him, his cock driving even deeper into her warm, wet folds.

With her back arched deliciously in this angle, the Uchiha's moans became louder, and she could almost swear the cock ploughing her was going all the way up to her throat. She felt a little dizzy, but she couldn't help but let her legs fall open wider in invitation, her blurry gaze fixed on the large blue form of the man she'd come to see as sort of a big brother over the years. Not anymore, she thought giddily to herself.

Kisame was pleasantly surprised when she giggled, looking completely out of it, and he responded by fucking her harder. He had his answer- she was definitely a cockslut.

"What's so funny, baby," he crooned, bracketing the endearment with sharper thrusts groaning as her nails dug into the exposed skin of his thighs in reflex.

"Jusss thinking about how y're not my brother anymo," she managed, though her speech was slurred and her breath being repeatedly punched out wasn't helping.

Kisame raised a brow, almost breaking into a cackle. This was fucked up.

"You're a dirty lil girl, yanno?" he said instead, sounding far too breathless for his liking.

She just giggled and wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling moans out of them both as the movement sheathed him in her smaller body completely.

As he continued to move into her, she thoughtlessly pulled him into an open-mouthed kiss, moaning as his hips stuttered in response.

The older man swore under his breath and hiked her hips higher, angling himself so he could rub her clit without breaking his momentum.

Her hands flew up to grip his arms, thighs twitching around him where they bracketed him, as high pitched moans fell from her reddened lips. Kisame could get used to the sight.

He chased his building high, keeping up the pace and not letting up as her body jerked and shuddered with pleasure, her cunt gripping his cock impossibly hard and throbbing around him as she came first. Kisame groaned, almost spilling then too, but he managed to wait till he'd fucked her through her orgasm before pulling out one last time and burying ballsdeep again, filling her with his load till her soft tummy bulged prettily.

Her eyes were still glassy, her chest heaving as she came down from the high, and Kisame gave in to the urge to lean down and capture her mouth in a filthy kiss.

"Good kitty," he muttered before pulling out, smirking at the sight of her pussy gaping wide open from taking him, and streaks of their mixed cum started to spill out.

"Let's getchu cleaned up," he said, pulling his gaze away from the delicious sight, only to chuckle when he saw her blissfully passed out.

Oh well. He didn't mind getting her cleaned up and dressed. Being caretaker wasn't so bad after all, the swordsman mused.

A/N: uh. this turned out to be very fun to write. i was planning to introduce itachi too but this got too long. maybe next time lol any typos will be fixed as soon as i find them

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND TWO

ITACHI UCHIHA vs MASASHI KISHIMOTO

Reasons for submission under the cut

Itachi

bootlicker

gaslighter

manipulative

sad boy martyr complex

sucked Konoha’s balls

nonsensical on a narrative level

fan base overlooks his issues because he’s hot

people ship him with Deidara

bad vibes

bad brother

Kishimoto

you know why

[nardo-headcanons]

Your wish is my command.

Thanks to @samgazm for requesting!

TW suicide, mental health issues. This post deals with very sensitive topics and if you can relate to these mentioned subjects, please view at your own risk or rather skip this one. Here’s a list of hotlines you can call if you’re currently struggling with these kinds of thoughts:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

You deserve to be helped and to be happy!

How I would fix Shisui Uchiha

There’s actually a lot that can be done with Shisui’s character, since we don’t know much about him from the canon.

Characterize him as a kind soul who’s intelligent and well intentioned, but susceptible to being manipulated. Since manipulation has “worked” for the people in his life (Danzo) before, show how he thinks manipulating the will of Fugaku by using Kotoamatsukami is the only way to achieve a false sense of peace.

What’s with his parents?

His grandfather is Kagami Uchiha, isn’t he?

We can assume his family is more on the side of Konoha than most Uchiha. Show him being in a constant conflict with the part of him that is aware of the discrimination of the Uchiha and the part of him that favors status quo of Konoha.

You can flesh out this inner conflict to a degree where it becomes understandable as to why he would end his life. The reason why someone decides to commit suicide are incredibly personal and individual, and for quite a lot of people suicide is not just dying for the sake of it, but as an escape from their current existence. I can see that being Shisui’s motive as well.

Show us how on the surface, he’s that ball of sunshine full of zest for life and then cut back right to the despair-ridden teen with broken dreams who was forced to mature way too early by a dilemma with no control to change the situation.

In his last moments, make him doubt his loyalty to Konoha and the shinobi system that it runs under.

Flesh out his relationship with Itachi, even after his death. Make Itachi resent him for leaving him alone with this incredibly hard decision. (Which isn’t even a real decision)

Even if Itachi is the gentlest, most loving person, even he’s allowed to resent and mourn his best friend.

[yowyowyaoi]

Tobi’s Daily Texts from the Akatsuki

From Sasori

What exactly do you expect me to say to that?

Donuts outside your door. Peace offering.

I’m sure it’s just as scared of you as you are of it.

No it’s three. THREE leaves are bad.

I’ll have Deidara give it to you but from now on if you idiots choose to keep going out without sunscreen I’m no longer treating the burn.

I noticed. But we all have secrets. That one is yours.

I’ve long forgotten the taste of food but if you think you can do a better job than Konan, by all means tell her. I’m sure she’ll take it well.

From Zetsu

What would he even be to you? Uncle? Grandpa? Great-grandpa? 

Patience, sunshine and a lottttttt of sugar.

He wouldn’t be very pleased that you’re letting one immature blonde ruin your focus this way …

No I HAD to eat him. His screaming would have attracted the enemy.

Your eyes look atrocious have you been using the drops??

Don’t kill it until I get there! They make great snacks 😋

I get that but sleep is important too kid.

Pls tell me you’re not the one who ate it all. Please. Please.

From Hidan

I mean maybe if you had a bigger dick but I’m not even sure the puppet has one at all so idk man 🤷‍♂️

Geez I wasn’t that drunk was I? 

You’ve got some balls on you bastard but fuck yes I’m in!! 😈 Funniest shit ever.

So get out of bed and come hang out. Just laying there all day ain’t helping shit.

It’s rated R but only for the sex shit. Don’t worry I know what a little bitch you are about scary movies 🙄

You snitch on me and tomorrow you wake up with your severed hand shoved up your ass 😇

Stop being such a stingy mf you don’t even like ribs asshole!

Not as weird as you think. He’s very flexible for a geezer 

No you’d be perfect for it. Nobody could read your face bc of that fucking mask!

Don’t let Konan see she’d kill both of us and then dig us up to fuck us up again 😓

From Kisame

Itachi insists I ask you to join us, so please come.

There isn’t one in your closet and even if there was, why would you send ME after it?!

God are you and Itachi related or something?! I can’t get either one of you to stop with the damn sweets!

PLEASE stop jumping on the bed I gotta get up in 3 hours I need SLEEP 😡

Stop asking me 1000 questions every time you watch the Discovery Channel 😑

From Nagato

I’m tired of speaking to you three about the same damn issues every single week. You are all grown men and I should not have to babysit you.

If I’m getting complaints from people OUTSIDE of this group? Then, yes, it is a problem.

Do as you see fit but remember your missions take precedence above all.

I’d advise you to keep in mind that he’s only 19 years old, and he already has that hair-trigger temper.

At least on this one point we can agree: white-haired “mentors” are the worst. 

What makes you think Sasori would make a good Pein-body for me? 

From Kakuzu 

You realize every cloak you tear up I’M the one hand sewing the replacement??

You Deidara Hidan all need to clean your rooms you’re making the house smell like a public toilet 😡

Only if YOU want to be the one to go out and catch the bounty to afford that.

I would suggest you stay focused on your missions. This is a serious organization, not a highschool.

I doubt that. I’m rarely surprised, brat.

Be a lot easier to treat it if you took that damn mask off and let me SEE it, kid.

Not complaining about the money but … how did you get it so fast 🤨

Konan says it was you, you say it was Itachi. Wonder what Itachi’s going to tell me.

No. And anyway you’re old enough to know that “love potions” aren’t real.

From Konan

Dinner’s ready!

You know that’s a completely inappropriate question to ask a woman, right?

Come see me later I’ll use the good shampoo and then give you a trim 😊

The other things I don’t mind but everyone is responsible for their own underwear.

Just go play with the one that Itachi absolutely does not have in his room.

Okay but FIVE SEPARATE PEOPLE came to me and told me they saw you playing with it right before it “mysteriously broke”. 😒

Not saying the muscles are impressive. But. 🫣

From Itachi

I’ve found that massaging the lids for half an hour and then resting with a cold cloth over them really helps.

I saw. I couldn’t believe how tall he’s gotten 😢

I’ll let you read it when I’m done. It helps with a lot of the overwhelming feelings.

I’m not scared at all. I just don’t want Kisame to be around to see it happen.

Honestly? I don’t trust that old man and I don’t think you should either, cousin.

A few bad teeth is probably the least of my health concerns, ha ha 🙃

Come walk with me. Give you a chance to breathe for a while.

Yeah but the thing about dreams is at some point, you’ve got to wake up. 

We’re both young and strong. Together with Sasuke we could do it. And be free.

Are you kidding? That movie would have BOTH of them pissing their pants. 🤣

No matter what he’s just going to find an excuse to fine you for it and take it out of your pay.

Ugh I tried but the way he eats everything super rare? And then licks the blood off the plate?? 🤢

From Deidara

Well you know he’s immortal so, never.

A big box of dangos and like half a cherry pie. You can have it but do NOT let me catch you eating everything at once.

We leave in 20 min. Don’t forget your pack this time.

No Kakuzu thinks Hidan did it and I’m not gonna correct him, and NEITHER ARE YOU.

That’s … pretty gay, ngl

Socks first, then shoes. Not sock shoe sock shoe. If there was a fire you’d be running out with one foot naked. Who tf raised you?!

Yeah I made it for you. I know you like turtles. And no it doesn’t explode.

I dare you to say that to him

Heyyyy you got $30 I can borrow 😅

No really DID you hide my clay?!

Me, Hidan and Uchiha. You’re coming too.

The way one loves a *friend*, yes

Did the salmon give you the shits too?? God my asshole feels like it’s melting 😫

[ladykissingfish]

Hidan: So ... what's it like getting fucked by a shark?

Deidara: Wow. No "Hi", no "How are you doing", you just went straight for his jugular, hm?

Hidan: Come on, we've all been thinking it. I just have the balls to ask. So, how is it?

Itachi: Not that it's any of your business, but, we don't do ... that.

Hidan: You don't fuck?

Deidara: But didn't you tell everyone last week that you guys have been dating for like 7 months? And you still haven't done it yet?

Itachi: It's not an issue of time. I'm asexual. So is Kisame.

Hidan: But how --

Itachi: It's entirely possible to want to have a relationship with another person, but not want to have sex. We hug, we kiss, we cuddle, we share things, but sex isn't something that either of us care for.

Deidara: ... and you're both fine with that?

Itachi: Yes. We love each other and that's all that truly matters.

Hidan: I respect that, red-eyes. But shit, I couldn't do that with the old bastard. If it weren't for fucking, how the hell would we settle things when we're fighting and shit?

Itachi: Have you tried open, honest communication? Sitting down with each other, talking out your problems in a calm, respectful manner?

Hidan: ...

Deidara: ...

All three: *burst out laughing*

Hidan, wiping tears from eyes: Holy Jashin, that's funny. I mean, have you even MET me??

Kakuzu, from his room: Sometimes I sure wish I hadn't.

Hidan:

[sneezemonster15]

🥴 in the fic naruto says sakura and ino were the prettiest girls in their class and somehow sasuke has the balls to ignore them following him around like puppies. he says hinata is really pretty lol. itachi is apparently the second prettiest after sasuke and he thinks it might be a tie between him and kakashi. gaara, neji, tsunade, tenten, kiba and lee are all apparently pretty to him too. there's this scene where he gets drunk and kisses ino, kiba, sai and lee, no internalised homophobia in sight. sasuke goes on and on about sakura and how he has a deep love for her, longs for her and feels affection for her, though he admits it's not in the way she wants. he even thinks she sees through him lol. but the really weird thing is how sasuke doesn't understand how he feels about naruto in the fic. he can admit he loves sakura in the start of the fic (and he can tell that it's not romantic on his end), but he has to have this big epiphany about loving naruto only at the end lol. and sakura obviously becomes so much more understanding lol. I think they're talented and i did enjoy reading the story, but they said they were writing everyone in character so this stuff bothered me 😞

What has always bothered me about fanfics is how they simply do not get how closetedness functions in a homophobic and heteronormative society. I don't know if the writer is American or from some other western country. But as long as you are claiming to be canon compliant, maybe actually research how homosexuality or coming out of the closet would look in societies where it is not acceptable. Konoha/shinobi world is not only heteronormative, but downright homophobic. I mean, Sakura thinks they are brothers because she doesn't know what else to call it, she is homophobic herself, and she knows Sasuke and Naruto are just way too close for being just friends, she could have told Sai they were very good friends, but one of the problems in this world is also a lack of terminology, resulting from a lack of familiarity and comfort with the topic of homosexuality but which is essentially required in order to assign names to certain feelings and relationships and dynamics that are seen as unconventional or different from the norm. Developing a certain terminology is important in order to understand interpersonal issues that are deeply embedded in the socio political fabric. You need a certain level of comfort with the idea of it to introduce and develop this terminology. I have a few gay friends in my circles and one of them has been in a long term partnership with a much younger man. The younger man is closeted and they live together, but he hasn't come out to his family or close friends. Although his family does stay over and they think their son lives with his Teacher. And they are fine with it. They are deeply conservative people and staunchly heteronormative, which is why he hasn't come out and I am pretty sure they have an idea about his sexuality, even if it is unsaid and full of obfuscation. But they don't wanna take action because being with the Teacher has been good for his career and he is able to send money to them to contribute to their household. There isn't just one reason of course, but invariably, whenever his friends or family come over, they never acknowledge their relationship even though it is so obvious. They call it a teacher student relationship who incidentally also cohabit. There's a lot of denial going in there, but it's understandable in their circumstances.

I get the feeling that they aren't totally comfortable with the idea but they are also under certain obligations themselves and they are grateful to the Teacher. But you see, the terminology is missing. There's also a major class difference.

Often in homophobic societies, and I live in one, there is so much taboo, prejudice, obfuscation and lack of information/comfort/familiarity around the idea of same sex relationships, that it's difficult to carry on a dialectic with the proper assignment of terms. Gay or homosexual is not a word anyone will use here. They will use a slang word, which denotes something derogatory. Or if they wanna deny it altogether, they will use some other word for it. Like brother or sister. Or best friend, or room mate, or Teacher. It's such a common phenomenon to reduce, invisibilise and trivialize homosexuality by giving it names that are incongruent with the actual nature of the relationship. It's almost criminal how much this invisibilisation is normalised.

I remember when I was very young, like 12 years old, I was in the car with my mother and her friend. And her friend was crying because her sister was not agreeing to marry. Marrying here invariably means heterosexual, heh, it's just a social reality. Because she had shacked up with her 'best friend', another girl, her college friend. They lived together and she would keep rejecting offers that the parents suggested to her. She was of the perfect age to marry and they were worried her golden age would pass her by and she would become a spinster, of course they blamed her best friend for it. Lol.

Now the thing is, there was a strange tonal quality to the term 'best friend' in her voice. She was weeping and I just couldn't understand why it would be a problem if her sister wanted to stay with her best friend. Lol. I thought it would be so much fun. Hahaha. I was very young. I remember asking my mother about it later and she shushed me telling me it was none of my business and not to talk to anyone about it. And it puzzled me even more.

Make no mistake, language is an inherently important and indispensable part of postulating and hence comprehending socio-politico-cultural issues and concepts, and as a result, navigating interpersonal dynamics and understanding. It's not a coincidence that this manga stresses so much on the importance of 'communication', and Naruto's character is point blank shown to stress on it, it's one of the most important lessons he learns in the course of the manga. You can't understand emotions without verbalising them in your head. Linguistics is an inseparable part of comprehension, whether it's about computing internal or external data, or both in conjunction. And when it comes to storytelling, it becomes one of the most important building blocks of expression and getting the story across to the readers or viewers. Naruto is shown to stress on communication in Boruto as well. And we see throughout the course of the Naruto and Shippuden manga, how Naruto comes to learn about and understand different characters' and especially anti heroes' feelings and resentments directed towards their dystopian world. In the kage arc, he says to Sasuke on the bridge - Sasuke, we will never be able to understand each other by words alone, we can only communicate properly by using our fists. Maybe if we can understand each other, I can change all that hate, like Iruka sensei did for me.

And yet, in the climax of Shippuden, at Sasuke's insistence, it was Naruto's words that finally resulted in Sasuke's resolution, which finally broke through to Sasuke. Because those words showed his understanding. His feelings. His love. For Sasuke.

Kishi is a well read, well informed author. It shows in his work, even the different sources he takes inspiration from, such as Monzaemon Chikamatsu and acclaimed seinen mangas. Stories and characters don't come out of oblivion.

Homosexuality having the status of taboo itself means that there will be a dearth of conversations around it, there will be a lack of normalisation around it. It will carry a weight of malignance around it, something unnatural, something dirty, shameful. There is a lot of shame attached to this topic, which explains the lack of terminology around it, or appropriate wordage around it. Calling them boyfriend or girlfriend is not so acceptable in conservative societies. Or lovers, same sex partners. 'Partners' is something that I have noticed to be more prevalent in current times around me. But it's also evident that it is vague. Purposely so. It's to minimise judgment.

And this is something I see consistently in this manga. There is so much going on throughout, as to what term to assign to this relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura calls them brothers but she knows they aren't. She is suspicious of Naruto when he says Sasuke is much better looking than Sai and then backpedaling about it. She fake smiles. Also, if she thought they were brotherly, she wouldn't have felt so threatened by Naruto. She tries to create distance between them, all to no avail sure, but she is obviously insecure about her own position in their equation. She doesn't stand anywhere in it, but she does think Naruto comes between her and Sasuke, and their special relationship threatens her intentions towards Sasuke. Similarly, Kakashi thinks it's because they are 'rivals' and tells the same thing to Jiraiya, who compares Naruto and Sasuke with himself and Oro, when Naruto and Sasuke's relationship is not really like theirs in essence. We also know that Kakashi is not the most reliable person when it comes to understanding emotional and interpersonal nuances. Just like Sai isn't, who thinks Naruto loves Sakura. Similarly, Minato tells Naruto that his 'best friend' is about to arrive on the battlefield. People in Konoha give so many names to their relationship and yet, Sasuke insists Naruto define it for him in chapter 698, because he wants to hear it from Naruto.

Naruto himself struggles so much in this regard. It always bothered me why Sasuke was not affected positively when Naruto wondered if Sasuke was like his brother. Sasuke had a brother and then, he almost as good as lost him in a way. He was certainly very fond of Naruto, if he thought of Naruto as brotherly, he should have been pleased, no? Narratively, even if he tried to deny feelings that might potentially weaken him, he is pensive or annoyed or even displeased when Naruto says they are friends or brothers. Never pleased, not even a smile. And he is capable of smiling when it comes to Naruto.

But he never does. He keeps asking Naruto to define the relationship, he isn't happy even when Naruto says they are friends. Which is why Sasuke is PUSHED, albeit with reticence, to ask - You have said that before but what does it exactly mean to you?

This is so nuanced and so understandable. He wants Naruto to assign a term to it. It's significant, it's important. A term that explains their feelings accurately so they both know. They live in a world that doesn't have the terminology to support same sex relationships, they have no frame of reference as to how to talk about it. They struggle with talking about their feelings in the first place. Their communication game is lacking. Their world only taught them how to exchange blows, not words. So a perceptive Sasuke demands a term that rightly defines it. Because 'brotherhood' or 'friendship' is not cutting it. Obviously. Naruto had been calling him a friend all this time.

Even here, the dissonance. The words Naruto uses feel incommensurate with the term 'friend' no? Like seriously what other friends in this manga act or talk like this for the other? Sasuke is his 'friend' and a bond like that can Never be broken. But we as readers, know from context that bonds of friendship were broken in this manga, what with Oro and Jiraiya or Sakura and Ino (for very frivolous reasons too), and later, with Kakashi and Obito. If there were no nuances to their relationship, I would have gladly ignored it. But then Naruto goes on to say what he would do to Oro (shivers, lol) to protect Sasuke. Like just the lengths he is ready to go to. And it fits with the idea that Naruto's feelings for Sasuke are way more intense than just friends, consistent with how they seem with each other in part one, especially vote one. Naruto dilly dallies between so many terms for Sasuke. A friend. A rival. A comrade. A brother. On the one hand, Sasuke consistently uses very emphatic terms for his feelings for Naruto when he says Naruto is his closest friend or his one and only friend, Naruto's terms for Sasuke are always a lot incommensurate with his actions towards Sasuke. And it invariably creates a dissonance in the reader's mind. Kishi manipulates the reader very successfully. Also, we all know that Kishi uses his kanji for these two characters very carefully, as he has said in his interviews as well. Apart from visuals, this is also written media, language and wordage is indispensable to storytelling.

But AT THE END, Sasuke gets mad, and asks him point blank, as to what exactly it means to him and right on cue, given this is a conclusive chapter and Naruto can't say the same shit he has been saying before this (which DID NOT satisfy Sasuke), that even if Sasuke were ask him to explain it, he doesn't know either.

He doesn't know. He has been going through the motions for such a long time. We have seen him getting insecure about his sexuality many times. Like Kishi made so many of his scenes layered, just to point it out to the reader. That he is a closeted homosexual, he suffers from comphet and internalised homophobia as a result. This panel, which is towards the very end, explains so much.

Kishi is not a fool. He is a very clever author. This depicts Naruto's struggle about his sexuality so much. He obviously wants to make sure that his LAST conversation with his father is meaningful and that everything his parents wanted Naruto to be and achieve, Naruto will satisfy. Naruto wants to assure Minato, and he doesn't wanna lie. But he also cannot make himself say it. This boy who always wanted family, finally met them through a stroke of luck (or fate) but his was still a special case. He goes into such detail about everything, everything Kushina asked him to do, all the ninja taboos, but he broke down at that moment, about women. That it should be a woman he must marry is pretty much implied no? More than implied, it's a heteronormative society after all. Kishi is NOT stupid, this was a very smart way of layering his internal turmoil, his struggle with his sexuality because he loves a BOY. Not a woman.

And thing is, all this is very realistic. Very. It has been a persistent element/trope in most coming of age films that I have seen about homosexuality. Except for films like Love, Simon (very surface level and simplistic) or 'Call me by your name' because Elio has very forward thinking parents and he lives in a very affluent and liberal society. He doesn't have the same kind of hangups about his sexuality. But films like Esteros (Brazil), Eternal Summer (China), Beach Rats (America), Giant little ones (Canada), Posledice (Polish), And then we danced (Georgia), The Blonde one (Argentina), Brokeback Mountain (America), Free Fall (German) and more, all of these films are about sexual coming of age drama or sexual awakening and have the same tropes. Comphet. Denial. Internalised homophobia. Emotional turmoil. Dilemma. Burden of societal expectations. Pain. Misery. Confusion. Even rage.

And these are really good films too. Very thoughtfully made.

There are so many complex facets to homosexuality and coming to terms with or even acknowledging it is such a complex and difficult process for young, naturally insecure, and dilemma ridden (moral dilemma included) individuals in a conservative society. Naruto always wanted to be acknowledged and not shunned from society, he didn't want to be ostracized, not after everything he went through, and certainly not to disappoint his parents. In fact, kage arc was very definitive for Naruto. But throughout Shippuden, he has been going through the motions. When Sai seems like he has defected to Oro, Team Kakashi, Yamato specifically, confronts him, and Naruto is like - Who cares what he has to say, Sai is a traitor.

He has strong feelings about Konoha.

But when he hears about Sasuke joining Akatsuki, he is worried. Puzzled, in a quandary. So many people, people he likes and respects, tell him to make the right decision, it being to capture or kill Sasuke. But he cannot do it. He goes through a very terrible time, he is wracked with worry and conflicting emotions and internal struggle. He takes his time to come to terms with all his emotions. And then finally, when he hears that Sakura is out to kill Sasuke (lolol, sorry couldn't help it), something snaps in place inside him and he makes his decision. No matter what, no matter what, Sasuke will not be hurt. Naruto will take care of it. The idea of Sasuke being hurt imminently makes the decision for him and it just clicks to him where his priority lies. He will not kill Sasuke. And if it comes to that, that it's between killing him and protecting Konoha, he will protect Konoha but also, die with him. He is not your typical hero in that sense. He takes the middle path. A hero would typically let go of his personal wishes for the greater good. But Naruto's personal wishes are for Sasuke to live and be happy, no matter what happens. He told Itachi that when the time comes, and if Sasuke attacks Konoha, he will make the right decision. This is his decision. The point is, he will simply not live in a world without Sasuke. He refuses. He will remain a fool and die but not live without Sasuke. He doesn't care about any fucking thing if Sasuke isn't in his life.

Kage arc made him realize that his feelings for Sasuke were bigger than being hokage and Konoha. And so he chose a path where he didn't compromise with the safety of Konoha's people and yet, didn't let Sasuke down. Sasuke must live or he will die.

So by now, Naruto certainly knows that his feelings for Sasuke are not 'normal', even if he didn't say it, but that's the feeling the reader gets. And because we know the context of shinjuu, we know it's supposed to be romantic. The idea of double suicide carries a lot of heft in South East and East Asian literature, classic and popular, whether it be Chikamatsu, the greatest Japanese dramatist who wrote almost exclusively on the subject, and South East Asian stories such as Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiba, Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Punnun, etc. And these stories are part of the popular romance lore, they are extremely popular.

So when Sasuke asks him angrily and insistently (the kanji that Kishi uses here depicts Sasuke to be emphatically triggered), Naruto knows what Sasuke is referring to and he knows he cannot lie about it. But he also cannot say it. He has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. But he also cannot lie to Sasuke. Of course, this being shounen, Kishi also had to navigate carefully. But the BIG difference is that Naruto stops lying. Lying probably is not the right term. Misstating. He owes it to Sasuke to tell him the truth. And he tells him, that he doesn't know what to call it, but he knows how it feels. So what he essentially does is that he explains the underlying sentiment to Sasuke by telling him that he hurts when Sasuke does, but that he won't name (explain it) it because he doesn't know it himself. It's such a feeling that Naruto cannot name it. Now, we as readers ALREADY know that he has already used terms like brother, rival and friend. But he deliberately moves away from all of those. Let's not forget that Naruto's most important strength was his talk no jutsu, his ability to connect and put it in words that finally affected the antagonist or anti hero archetypical characters in such a way, that would lead to their resolution. Naruto is different from others in this very sense, to be able to communicate in the right way. But Sasuke was his greatest test in this manga. And he couldn't convince him, he kept misstating the nature of their relationship, but towards the climax of the story, it was important for him to say the right words to Sasuke, especially after Sasuke asked so insistently, so passionately. Because he owes it to Sasuke to tell him the truth. He cannot deny it anymore. Not after all that has happened. So we know from context that it isn't any of those terms or feelings that he used before. But it's something else altogether. What else could it be? Sasuke obviously suspected it. Or else he wouldn't have gotten triggered like this. And with exactly these heavily heartfelt words of Naruto's, when he tells Sasuke that he hurts when he sees Sasuke carry his burden, so much that he just can't leave it alone, and that he would keep fighting for Sasuke, no matter what it takes, Sasuke is finally, finally also led to his resolution, no? He says with such a peaceful expression on his visage - I have lost.

He finally accepts Naruto's love, he finally lets the love in.

Dialogue is very intricately linked to narrative and visual language, but it's so evident, it doesn't need to be said.

We also cannot ignore the way they speak to each other. Kinda like, in codewords.

When two world class shinobis trade blows, they can read each other's thoughts. So tell me, did you see what's in my heart Sasuke? How I really feel? We are not the same kids who fought here once, you know my heart, and I yours, right Naruto? If you know, then why are you doing it? That's exactly why i am doing it. Don't make me repeat it Sasuke, you already know, don't you? Now that I think about it, you were always stupid. Those feelings, those things you once talked about, now I understand what you meant by them, Naruto.

The point is, by the end of chapter 698, Sasuke knows Naruto loves him. Naruto also knows Sasuke loves him, he had known to a large extent since vote one, but his feelings got solidified as he went along his life journey. This is the resolution of this story, this is also a story about their coming of age. It wouldn't make sense for both of them to be oblivious of each other's feelings at the end of it, it will be a failure of both their painfully developed character arcs and the narrative itself. And 698 highlights how they both come to know about their feelings for each other, after so much that they both went through. Properly this time. Explained in more words that they were ever able to use before. This isn't a topic that they can talk about so freely. They don't have a terminology for it, but they somehow managed. This is what all this narrative development led to. This is how storytelling works.

Chapter 699 gives the reader a hint of what's to come after this resolution. The nightmare. Everything that went wrong. Everything that left the resolution of their character arcs awry. Not meaningless but certainly disparate. Naruto and Sasuke talk to each other like they have talked more about what transpired with them in 698. And both have come to a position where they are going to capitulate to the circumstances.

Because at the end of the day, they are shinobis. The motto of a shinobi is to endure. Shinobi is a well established phenomenon, it's not just meant for shounen or otaku. They are real. Not like Naruto world ninjas, but Naruto obviously takes its inspiration from this phenomenon. The implications of being a shinobi is very well established in the story itself. Kishi made Naruto to deviate from its conventional meaning from the start so he was written as very unlike a ninja, loud, visible and non conformist, at least initially and for the most part, except towards the end. Shinobis/ninjas are supposed to endure. Following are screenshots from an acclaimed Japanese ninja series of films called Shinobi no mono.

Happiness and pride are not for the ninja. He doesn't live for himself. He lives for others. A collective is more important than the individual. He is born in darkness and he will die in darkness. He is literally a tool. That's what a shinobi is, from a modern ethical understanding, which is valid.

But Kishi couldn't have shown a happy ending for the boys, not with the sequel that essentially required their capitulation to this world to be able to make the new gen happen. The ending has shades of existentialist themes, which are pretty much present throughout what with the cycle of hate and revenge and infinite tsukuyomi, but that the manga ended it on the same note doesn't come as surprising does it?

Kakashi, a loyal, unawakened and complacent slave of the system climbs the rungs of power and becomes the hokage. Suck up to the right people and you will get places. Top administrative power. And he never really changed, he tells Sasuke at the end that it was because of his and Naruto's efforts that he didnt end up in jail and then proceeds to tell him to be good and careful not to regress, but still never acknowledged his mistreatment and insensitivity to Sasuke's feelings and motivations and very valid reasons. Sakura expected Sasuke to apologise and repent when it was she who was clearly in the wrong, who never understood him. She keeps pulling the same shit she always does, neither her nor Kakashi are made to pay consequences for their actions, instead, they get rewarded. Itachi is venerated, his truth is still hidden and Uchiha clan never got justice or even vindication, given they never summoned the kyuubi, its secret still being kept under the shadows.

( *Note - Nobody start with me as to how it was the right thing to do, you do NOT want to get me started there because you don't know what you are talking about. )

And how will any vindication happen when the world they live in doesn't really celebrate individuality? In fact, supresses it. It was funny to me when Bee reprimanded his brother telling him he was not his tool, that he was an individual who couldn't be suppressed but then Darui tried to convince himself that he was Raikage's left hand (or right) and that he wasn't a tool. Heh. Sarutobi is still revered as the ideal leader, when he himself admitted his complicity in Uchiha massacre, Tobirama was glad Uchihas were shown their place, and Oro, the outlier, the one who is objective because his reasons are revolutionary in his own desensitized way, a result of this heartless corrupt system that gives birth to undesirables like him, who collects other undesirables, the wretched, outliers and rejects, and makes his own village, is shown to be under surveillance, but he supported the war effort crucially, deviating from his objectives (even if only because of his interest in Sasuke and not because of the village), so he gets his redemption. So does Kabuto. Neji dies as a slave, something he was determined to fight against, and Hinata got her win, she got rewarded when she didn't work for it even a little bit. But she is rich, from a major clan, an heiress. A princess. The daimyos were shown as entirely privileged, uncaring and blasé about the war, carefree, playing cards or whatever, while the shinobis that were guarding them grumbled but then just accepted their fate, to the way of this world. Because that's what happens, doesn't it? It's very realistic.

Kishi didn't write his world as an ideal world. He essentially wrote it as a dystopian world. And his influences are pretty much based on dystopian ideas themselves, featuring major existentialist themes. Ghost in the shell, Jin-Roh, The Matrix, Berserk. Including introspective films about xenophobia and socio political inequality such as District 9 and Elysium. Same director. The part where seeing Itachi's predicament that greatly affected his own and his entire clan's, Sasuke is moved to think of fundamental questions such as - What is village, what is shinobi, what is the purpose of it all? underlines his existentialist despair. His answer to it did not come out of the blue. Like many fans think. But he was written to give up his goals entirely.

And Naruto. Well Naruto said goodbye to Sasuke. He gave Sasuke his hiatiate back. And this boy, who moved the sky and earth to bring Sasuke back, bid him goodbye with a certain meditative, contemplative stance. But not unhappy. Not his usual chirpy self. Not his usual spirited, chatty and loose tongued self. But introspective, pensive. Like they had reached a decision together. Later on, he married someone like Hinata and took a job that killed his spirit. Don't even think he isn't paying for his loyalty for Konoha, where he had to kill all his individuality and murder his zest for life and adventure, and become another cog of this unforgiving, relentlessly cruel world. Lifeless and eternally tired. A colourless husk of his older self. He couldn't even bother to attend his own hokage ceremony.

Kishi is not an ultra leftist, even though I can see he understands left ideologies, appreciates it quite well, and no wonder, Sasuke was partially inspired by Sanpei Shirato's Sasuke. He wrote Sasuke's character with such nuance and veritable shades, the claim that he is some ultra nationalist is empty. He is also not a fascist. Because if he were, the end of it all would have been shown as a reward. A prosperous haven. The best outcome of all possibilities. Your reward for loyalty. That is always the conclusion of the right wing narrative. Kishi is a realist. He appreciates existentialist themes, Japan can be credited with coming up with a whole library full of existentialist literature, as a result of the aftermath of war and the generational trauma can be seen and felt viscerally in the themes of their stories. Stories about meditation on war and the nature of war, the after effects of war, the human ethos behind them. Existentialism as a theory and way of life itself became quite a thing post war even if the theory itself was introduced before it, because it reflected what the war did to people, how it affected them, what it did to their psyches and thought processes. How certain things/ideas/thoughts/beliefs that carried social and moral value for them were rendered immaterial.

Anyway. Sasuke says - I didn't think you would come to see me off.

Naruto says nothing. This hyperactive goofball of ready words and catchphrases and nicknames just haltingly handed him back his slashed hitaiate.

The ending is - Perhaps this is what makes us ninjas.

Yes it does. Ceaselessly enduring pain and grief while giving up personal and individual wishes and desires and need for justice and their individuality does make them ninjas.

Continuing the status quo does make them ninjas. Nothing really changed, nothing really mattered. There's a certain melancholic quality to this scene. Which feels different in terms of tone and pacing, doesn't it?

Regardless, it's tragic.

Naruto is different in this scene in chapter 699. I think they have already discussed it by this point. And I think they have already come to some conclusions. What exactly did they talk about, we will never know. And I would give Kishi a lot of my money and a big part of my prized possessions, including my time, to know.

But well.

Now to come to what this ask was about, lol, I have yet to come across a fanfic that does justice to them, their story and narrative. Of course, it would be unrealistic to expect that everyone would get it, but is it unrealistic that at least someone should get it?? If I can see it and others can too, can't writers do something with this? This is such rich material, with so freaking much potential. There are so many possibilities, writers can use these themes creatively. And these are mostly my condensed thoughts, I will probably go in more detail some other day. And honestly, it takes some research, sure. But don't writers put some research in it anyway?

But they go for the easy route. It's okay, that they write what they like, but at least don't call it canon compliant. Most fans don't even understand canon. Give yourself some more credit, there's so much to discover.

At the end of the day, whenever I read some fic, unless it is supposed to be light hearted, it mostly just ends up disappointing me. Especially the ones that are based in canon universe.

This fic shows Naruto as an oblivious idiot when he is more perceptive than most fans think. He understands a lot of things, he is not a doofus, he is much more experienced at the end of the manga, he is aware of some realities and he is only going to learn more. And more. He understands his own emotions. Towards Sasuke as well. Sasuke is also shown as someone who doesn't even understand that he is attracted to Naruto when he has almost always known he was. Why else would he give up his life the way he did in land of waves? Gaara, btw, is perhaps one of the very few people who understand loneliness and being ostracized. Just him, Sasuke and Naruto, more prominently in this manga. He didn't attack Sasuke in kage arc, he could have. He is also perceptive enough to know that Naruto loves Sasuke, he also understands it better than Lee, who is a simplistic character, who thinks bad people's deeds are bad. Gaara understands that loneliness and hatred can drive people to do things they otherwise wouldn't. He resonated with Sasuke. He understood his predicament. and Naruto's. Which is why he said what he said to Naruto in kage arc. I love his character and I wish more people understood him. I swear if I could have broken the screen and picked small Gaara up when his salve got rejected by that child, I would have and I would have run....far.

Ino is portrayed as carefree and confident, sure. But I dont think she would be so fine with Sasuke being gay. She, till the end, was a Sasuke fangirl. There's absolutely no indication that she would have been fine with homosexuality. Nor would have others. Konoha presents a very bleak prospect for Sasuke and Naruto's relationship to be accepted.

I know this is a lot to take. And I know not everyone cares so much. But calling it canon compliant or 'in character' when it certainly is NOT, is taking it too far. Let's try a bit more. No?

Oh and I also didn't care about their intimate scenes. Because Naruto and Sasuke, once they get going, I think it would be like a bloody dam breaking off. It would start slowly, tentatively but then, it would burst out. And it would be unstoppable. I am talking years of repression here. Emotional and sexual. And more importantly, they trust each other all the way. I don't think tsunami would be able to stop them. It would be instinctive and natural, like everything else with them is. They might fumble and break stuff but more than anything else, it would be a desperate need to join together, to meld together, to finally be with each other as they were meant to be. They, who couldn't even touch without the pretext of a spar or a battle, if they finally allowed themselves to touch each other, it will be like a torrential force of emotions that would leave them scorched and they won't be satiated until their need to touch and reassure themselves, that it was finally happening, that they can finally touch each other, that they can HOLD each other, without feeling guilty or tabooed, that they can fuse their bodies with each other, to find not just emotional but physical reassurance, would come alive and transformed. They would run ragged. It would be passionate and tender and emotionally overwhelming, it would break barriers and boundaries, it would be a Godly experience for both. Like finally feeling at home. To be finally able to find that refuge in each other that only they could provide each other, in a world where no one else could even understand. It would be magnificent and insane and gentle and teasing and loving and sweet and painful and violent. All the damn shades. They aren't like you or me. They are different, because they are them. And no one can compare. But I can imagine.

[kyuusou]

Me after watching Boruto the movie again:

I’m still of the mindset that Boruto and Sarada should not surpass their fathers. Naruto and Sasuke are the reincarnations of Indra and Ashura, just like Hashirama and Madara were. To me personally, this single fact alone will keep them from surpassing them until 1: age is getting to them/some other health-related issue, 2: they die, and their next reincarnations will be the next superpower yada, yada. The power scaling will only get out of whack like Dragon Ball, and I hate that. I like to think that those kids will be powerful in their own right, just like Gai, Kakashi, Minato, Sakumo, Sakura, Itachi, and all of those great Shinobi before them, without the power scaling being wrecked up like a lunatic. It’s not something I’m a fan of with spin-offs. 

I know this is the case for Boruto ANYWAY because it will be like that; it doesn’t mean I’ll have to like it though. This is also the reason why I’m no fan of Boruto itself. Much the same for any other spin-off from Dragon Ball past Z. I absolutely hate DBS.

[kiigan]

canon questionnaire.

what made you pick up this character?

Itachi was actually my first ever rp muse! Allllllll the way back when, when we didn't even know the truth about the massacre and Pein was only a silhouette and believed to be Minato but actually called Uzumaki Arashi. Good ol' days. But also - I picked him because I was just so drawn to his backstory, or lack thereof. At the time we only knew he was Sasuke's older brother who apparently had gone psycho out of the blue, and I just had this hunch that there had to be more about that mess. Also because, honestly, do you realize how cool Itachi's first appearance was.

how did you get into this franchise/fandom?

I got into Naruto because my first boyfriend was a big fan and introduced me to it lmao. And then I introduced my best friend and we started writing together just for funsies, and then suddenly our whole group of friends joined in and it became a glorious mess and so much fun.

what’s the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

I mean... it's the typical shonen anime? So it provides super cool battles and action sequences, as expected. But, not to be biased, I totally am the Akatsuki are one of the coolest antagonist groups ever created. I put them on legendary levels such as the Ginyu Force from Dragon Ball.

what’s the worst thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

Probably the ungodly amount of fillers. I understand why they happen but, personally, I would much rather wait and go for a few months without content than to be presented with low-effort ideas and plots that, often, only ruin the pacing and even provoke continuity errors. And I gotta say, Kishimoto's treatment of female characters is questionable at best.

what’s the best thing about the fandom?

The fandom itself! Fandoms are what we make of them, and especially on a website such as tumblr where you are responsible for curating your own dashboard experience (...if we do not count the stupid tumblr ads and recommendations). Meeting new people with similar interests, the possibility to make friends that live literally on the other side of the world, getting to write with super talented people that develop your own muse so much, watching people get passionate about their muse(s) and creating such wonderful headcanons and metas.

what’s the worst thing about the fandom?

Again, the fandom itself. There are nice people and toxic people everywhere and that's unavoidable. In my humble opinion, what matters is to focus on the good ones.

what’s the best thing about the canon you are writing?

Itachi's whole story breaks my heart. At the same time, there is A LOT about him that was never disclosed in canon (even with the Shinden novels) and I love to explore those parts. I love to imagine stuff like what would his hobbies be, how would he react to [insert situation], how would he get along with [insert character] if they met. One of my favorite things, at the moment, is to create headcanons for my post-war verse and to create my own canon about how Itachi would adapt to things such as now being practically blind, having to properly monitor his illness, his thoughts and emotions about returning to Konoha, how to try to fix things with Sasuke, etc etc - it's been so much fun!

what’s the worst thing about the canon you are writing?

Uhhh nothing really? I mean, there are the general issues about Naruto as a whole, but regarding Itachi specifically I can't really think of any huge problems right now. Other than him being dead T-T

have you tweaked the character from canon? if so, what did you tweak?

No and yes. No, because I try my best to be as in-character as possible and to be faithful to Itachi's nature as a character. But, yes, because I write a lot of canon-divergent verses and those obviously require adapting. Even in purely canon settings, I'd say I tweak some stuff in that, for example, I love writing Itachi as a quirky child (and then teen and adult) and as a very caring and nurturing person, even when he cannot openly show it. It's totally fine if not everybody agrees with my interpretation but, to me, it makes a lot of sense and gives me a lot of joy to write.

are there some things you dislike about how the show/series/etc. portray the character you have picked up? if so, what?

I wouldn't say I dislike... but also because, all in all, Itachi doesn't have much screen time lol. So there isn't much of a chance for Kishimoto to screw him over. I would, however, have loved a chance to see Itachi ponder on the circumstances that led to the massacre - for example, does he grow to regret his choice as he gets older? He does this reflection a bit when talking to Naruto during the Edo Tensei period, but that wasn't enough for me damn it! Also, while we're here, I'm gonna be forever salty that, in that same period, we were denied a chance for Itachi to reunite with Kisame and with Shisui.

what would you say is the most unique trait about your character?

Itachi has a lot of idiosyncrasies, which is one of the reasons why I love him. Little quirky nerd weasel~ Perhaps the most unique trait, however, is his idealism. He was severely traumatized by the third war and that is the basis for his idealism but, at the same time, he truly believes in what he preaches. He truly believes that he can get strong enough to make this world a better place and this is the sort of undying motivation to do good that, for example, I only see in Shisui. Of course, a lot of other characters have their own strong motivations (Naruto himself being the easiest example), but these two Uchiha idiots are mostly the ones who commit to the there's some good in this world and it's worth fighting for mindset.

are there any other characters from the franchise you’d like to play?

On discord, I have written little bits and pieces of Kimimaro, Temari, and Rock Lee.

are there some characters from the franchise you can’t stand? 

I can't stand Danzo for all the obvious reasons, but that's also exactly why I love him as a villain. And, um... the same applies to Hiruzen, in a way. I do believe that Hiruzen is a man with good intentions, but he always falls victim to his own passiveness. The way Itachi goes to him after having literally just murdered his parents and traumatized his little brother for life and all Hiruzen can say is I'm so sorry this happened. Hiruzen is just a gutless Danzo, resting on the laurels of the whole Will of Fire spiel.

what are your thoughts on the canon ships for the character, if any?

Honestly, I'm not even sure if Itachi has a canon ship? Izumi is supposed to be his girlfriend but at the same time it can easily be taken as Izumi having an unrequited crush. Personally, I think they are very cute together but I would have loved to see more development other than to make it like "let's give Itachi a gf because he's cool and needs a girl to dangle as a trophy".

what is your personal ship bias for your canon character?

I am dying on the Kisame/Itachi hill and unapologetically so. Their bond is so special and precious to me, the way they grow from not-so-veiled death threats upon first meeting to genuinely respecting each other. The way Kisame, known as the Monster of the Bloody Mist, lets this scrawny Uchiha kid take the lead and trusts him without reserves. The way Itachi cares, even if he must keep up his detached psychopath persona, and keeps Kisame out of harm's way whenever he feels a battle won't go in his favor. THEIR MATCHING RINGS, IN BOTH THE FINGER POSITION AND THE SYMBOL MEANING. And the way Itachi is literally what Kisame thinks of as he's about to offer himself to his sharks. All of this is so *CLENCHES FIST*

are there any ships you can’t stand, why?

...Um. Sasuke/Itachi.

how long have you been writing the character?

Technically, for almost two decades. Not continuously so. If we are talking about this blog only, then it's been since January 2024.

should people get into the franchise you're writing from, yes or no?

I mean, sure? If they like the franchise and have characters they would like to write? I don't see why not.

if you could sum up your character with one sentence, what would it be?

I already did it above, so: Little Quirky Nerd Weasel

which song do you feel describes your character the most and why?

I have a few, actually! For some examples: "Gasoline", by Halsey, "Second Chance", by Shinedown, "The World of Mercy", by DIR EN GREY (this one is particularly👌👌👌for my villain verse). I think they're very Itachi-coded in both lyrics and melody. And, of course, the song in my pinned post: "Scarlet", by Yamaoka Akira. This song is peak Itachi vibes, especially when you look into his eyes. And, uh. Generally, almost all DIR EN GREY songs inspire me a lot to write his replies, because a lot of them are also the songs that I started writing him to, all those years back.

tagged by : @sagemom ♡ tagging : if you're reading this you're tagged by default~

[al-hekima-madara-blog]

I really like reading your metas and thoughts on the narutoverse so I thought I would ask you, sorry this probably a really dumb question and maybe I just missed it in canon.... but do Uchiha need to "see" to form Susanoo? Or does Obito for example need too see to suck himself into his dimension?

I've been thinking about this for some time because they need to "see"/focus on their target when they e.g. use Amaterasu to burn someone or when Kakashi sucks in objects (with Obito’s other eye)...

So I am wondering if blindness automatically means that the Sharingan will stop working completely. Obviously the regular functions like copying movements or foreseeing movements are lost but I am confused about certain Mangekyo abilities😅

Thank you @sisdiss for your kind words 😘😘

No there is no dumb questions lol, and to my understanding Sharingan's abilities is not linked to your vision.

You just need your two mangekyou sharingan eyes balls to form susanoo, reason why Obito never had his own. And apparently if you had unlocked this skill once, you'd always be able to use it even blind, Madara used Susanoo while he was not just blind but has no eyes ball at all 💀. Well I personally think it was a bit reaching but ok...

During his fight against his brother, Itachi was perfectly able to use all ranges of his MS abilities. Yes, he was almost blind but that didn't affect him. If I remember MS can also see chakra's circulation, not as detailed as the byakugan, but enough to help you target someone, let's say when you need to use amaterasu.

But to be honest I feel that the Sharingan's power scale is very vague. For instance it's never explained why Madara is not burned by Amaterasu when he was just resurrected (as a regular human not a zombie), except for the fans to see his amazing body(not complaining tho.) No explanation why Obito is using his Mangekyou 7 times a day for 15 years with no issue. Itachi slowly lost his eyesight after 7 years, while Sasuke got blind in 3 hours lol.

[nomadicrusalka]

okay lets see...

7, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 30 for ask game!

Haha that's so many!! Lmao here we go

7. Which battle was your favorite

Mannnn that's a hard question I think one that really got stuck in my mind (other than the VotE in first part naruto, classic) was the Kakashi vs Obito battle in shippuden? I just love how they intertwined the battle sequences with their childhood memories and all these little moments where they made the same moves,,, the freaking hand signs moment hhhnnnnggg so perfect that changed me

11. how would you wear your headband

I thinkkk I would wear it like Naruto and Sasuke? I'm a basic bitch but that just seems like the most practical and comfortable way to keep the hair out of my face

13. what ninjas would you want as your teammates

Hm,,, it would be good to have Sakura on my team because of the healing lol maybe Hinata as well because she's a sweetheart? Or Shino because he's just cute and wouldn't bring in the trouble like Naruto and Sasuke dfdsjsd

14. which opening is your favorite

I actually don't have any TOT mostly because I'm purely a manga reader and then I just really didn't want to bother with watching the whole anime other than listening/watching to the popular amvs on youtube that changed my music tastes forever lmao

16. how long have you been into naruto

I've always been a Naruto fan,,, I have those blurry memories of watching it on tv on I think,,, jetix channel lmao and then I properly came back to it in primary school and was reading the manga while the chapters were coming out! =D so yeah just my whole life I can't get rid of it TT_TT

18. favorite character

I want to say Naruto I really do,,, he's such a ball of sunshine and he's my biggest blorbo, but-- I'm gonna stop myself from doing that and say Sasori instead. There's something about the pathetic old men that gets to me,,, Madara is a close second for that very reason it's just that Sasori was the first one

19. least favorite character

For my whole primary school years I hated Sakura with passion (probably because she was the epitome of girly things) but I grew out of that now and while she's definitely not a favourite of mine I see her pluses and what she brought to the naruto series and really enjoy doing art of her! I don't really think I have any other character from naruto that I would actively dislike or count as "least favourite" tho in my whole naruto career haha I just feel meh/neutral for most of them tbh

20. do you own any naruto merch

I don't anymore! I once upon a time wanted to do an Itachi cosplay tho so I bought a long black wig (which I still have but can't count as merch lol) and his necklace but I lost it a long time ago ):

30. otp

,,,dang I don't know dfjs?? Like I have a lot of pairings in naruto that I enjoy but not one true otp?? I think I'm just a huge fan of most Naruto/anyone pairings haha (Naruto/Sasuke and canon Naruto/Hinata being on the lowest spectrums of that,,,) I really like Naruto/Gaara because of their deeper connections and similarities but I also enjoy Naruto/Ino (but also a huge fan of Sakura/Ino for her,,,) because their personalities create fun opportunities and issues to read about and explore both in modern AUs and canon world! =D

That was a long one haha Thank you so much for all the questions!!

The naruto ask games that the questions are from <3

[thedemon-mirajane]

Lore/Gayuma here and this is a sideblog for a lot of animanga!

Last Update: July 23, 2024

System/DID, SEAsian, and bodily 26↑. Follows from @cornplateur-fritz (main/dbz blog).

About:

This is now a blog of multiple animanga: Dungeon Meshi, Fairy Tail, Naruto/Boruto, Undead Unluck, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Hunter x Hunter, To Your Eternity, other seinen and young adult media sideblog

You can see our other blogs in the next section of this post, and a more personal introduction to us in our personal blog.

Blorbos:

#Fairy Tail:

Characters: Mirajane Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Kagura Mikazuchi, Cana Alberona, Juvia Lockser, Minerva Orland, and Irene Belserion

Ships: Multiship but heavily erzajane. Secondary: lumira and kagura x minerva

Arcs: Tartarus, Grand Magic Games, Edolas, Oracion Seis; in that order.

#Naruto:

(Not caught up with Boruto but they’ll be tagged as #Boruto if we happen to rb Boruto posts)

Characters: Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno/Uchiha Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi, Tenten and Team Guy, (Yamanaka) Sai, Yamato, Team Hebi/Taka, and Uchiha Sarada.

Ships: Narusasusaku!! Sometimes with Sai, Ino, and Hinata. Multiship

Arcs: Chuunin Exams + Konoha Crush, Five Kage Summit, Itachi Pursuit Mission + Fated Battle Between Brothers, Sasuke Recovery Mission, Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission, Pain's Assault, Land of Waves, all of Fourth Shinobi War + Katsuya Otsutsuki Strikes minus fillers, and all of Shinden and Hiden + Kakashi Anbu Arc. In that order. I haven't liked that many Naruto fillers but the ones with Team 7 and Konoha 12 just being kids are exceptions.

#Dungeon Meshi:

Characters: Chilchuck Tims, Marcille Donato, Falin Touden, Laios Touden, Toshiro Nakamoto, Kabru of Utaya, Namari, Senshi of Izganda, and Izutsumi

Ships: Multiship but theres chilshi favoritism

(Other media to follow)

If there's any issue or problem at all that you want us to address, feel free to slip an ask or DM!!

Anything else you want to know you can find in our carrd and our personal blog.

Our other blogs:

@loreofthegayuma - personal sideblog

@cornplateur-fritz - main blog / mostly dragon ball content [our follows will be from this blog]. sometimes one piece and yu yu hakusho

@isabelabeloved - pixar, dreamworks, and disney sideblog

@soccerpunching - sports animanga (mostly inazuma eleven) + mob psycho 100, dr. stone, bakugan sideblog

@soccerkicking - cornplate blog of soccerpunching

@loreoffandoms - sideblog for the rest of the fandoms we're in

We will block if...

you're any type of bigot: racist, (neo)nazi, colorist, ableist, antisemitic, queerphobic (terfs and aro/ace/gnc exclus), fatphobic, pro-life, anti-vax, etc.

you talked to us about:

your body shaming, slut-shaming, victim blaming, and "x character is useless" takes.

your child x adult ships, non-con/dubcon, incest ships, cheater HCs, and grooming ships.

you don't tag properly regarding the ones I've mentioned above.

Tags used for own posts (if we make any):

#lores of fritz - personal experiences, thoughts, and opinion

#good fillers - posts unrelated to the animanga mentioned here

Fairy Tail

#Guild Post - any Fairy Tail own posts

#Request Board - answering FT-related asks

#my demon mira - all rbs and own posts with Mirajane in them

#my bestie lucy - all rbs and own posts with Lucy in them

#my knight erza - all rbs and own posts with Erza in them

#my water goddess juvia - all rbs and own posts with Juvia in them

#Guild Mail - posting FT-related submissions

Naruto

#My nindo - any Naruto/Boruto own posts

#Hawk Messages - answering Naruto/Boruto-related asks

[narutocharacterpolls]

ROUND THREE

UCHIHA ITACHI vs KAGUYA

Reasons for submission under the cut

Itachi

intentionally traumatized Sasuke (put him in a genjutsu multiple times to watch the murder of his entire clan, family, and parents over and over again for days straight)

no remorse years after about the Uchiha genocide even as an adult

planned to mind control Sasuke

repeatedly tortured Sasuke in a variety of ways

fanbase glorifies his decisions

a 14 year old deciding a genocide and traumatizing his little sibling for practically no reason is NOT a genius moment

his fandom's "young age" excuse only goes so far, since he never changes his mind or altered his plan

bootlicker, gaslighter, manipuative, liar, unreliable

sad boy martyr complex

sucked Konoha’s balls

nonsensical on a narrative level

fan base overlooks his issues because he’s hot

people ship him with Deidara

bad brother, bad vibes

Kaguya

ruined the Naruto ending

came out of nowhere

stole Madara and Obito's position as perfectly fine final villains

just really boring

[storytellingandtea-blog]

:D :D :D “no questions, no lies” + Itachi/Shisui

Soooo this turned into a full-on oneshot. I think this might be the longest thing I’ve written that isn’t abandoned and/or a WIP lmfao. It is 3 am and I just finished this, so it’s probably got mistakes and typos and such. I’ll probably edit this up and re-post this to Ao3 at some point, if I don’t hate it in the morning. I was really tempted to just leave if off on the angst and have it as a maybe hopeful, maybe bleak ending, but I thought I’d be a bit nice, since I know you like HEA lmao. That said, I do think the ending paragraphs with the hopefulness are the weakest/most rushed-feeling bit. I was initially intending to end it just at the last text divider thing. I hope you still like it, though

AU: Time travel, aged up Itachi (he’s probably in his mid teens around the massacre). Probably OOC.

Warnings: Very heavy angst, dark themes. Mentions of suicide/suicidal thoughts, self-worth/self-image issues, general Itachi angst.

Word Count:  ~4,400

Ao3 link: Edited version is up! Read on Ao3 for best experience b/c I keep losing my formatting when I try to paste the updated version in here xAx

Mandatory link to my new ItaShi playlist: here

Fic is below the cut

Shisui took a sudden pause from their frantic dash through the trees, a determined glint in his eyes as he took the opportunity to Shunshin to his cousin’s side, hand reaching forward.

“Itachi… what..?” Shisui gripped Itachi’s shoulder and forcibly stopped him, hauling them both down to the ground as gently as he was able, fixing Sharingan red eyes on the younger man. So much had happened in the past hour that it took him much too long to process things enough to even question what the ever-loving hell had happened, though it did speak for his level of trust in his cousin, as well. Even so, he still didn’t know where to start “What is going on? I… are you hurt? What— what did you do? Why are we running? My eye — how..? Danzō? The-the foundation?”

A face much too old, too tired, too… bereaved, yet reservedly fond in the same way it had been for years gazed back at him, unable to meet his eyes. A familiar stranger.

Strained lines on his face, a voice too deep, too haggard and husky for someone so young, replied, a taint of blood and death on his breath , “…I— I cannot, Shisui, do not ask this of me. Not-not until it is safe for you in Konoha. Do not force me to lie to you. Do not force me to make you forget.” His voice trembled. Trembled. Shisui didn’t want to think too hard into what could have broken Itachi this way. There was no other way Shisui could begin to describe it. At some point, the fragile points in his dear friend had shattered, when he wasn’t looking, and no one was there to pick up the pieces, to soothe the jagged edges. Shisui, busy, perhaps willingly blind, Sasuke too young, his parents too caught up in their troubles… They had failed him, and Shisui had to make it right, regardless of what Itachi seemed to believe of his own actions. There was little that Itachi could do that would turn him away. It kind of hurt to think that the young man didn’t seem to believe so. That he could think so poorly of himself, of their bond. Of him. Shisui refused to even consider that Itachi had, in fact, done something unforgivable. He simply wasn’t that type of person.

“Itachi…” Shisui sighed, and bit his lip when he saw the expression on Itachi’s face, deciding against pushing the issue, for now. He’d just have to do his best to help, without knowing anything beyond what he could read off the familiar stranger’s face.  “… all right, ‘tachi. Just… please. Are you… are you injured? Surely we’re far enough away for me to look you over?” Shisui pressed all the concern and hurt he could into his tone, refusing to feel guilty as he resisted the urge to rub his still-throbbing eye, the one that Itachi had re-implanted not half an hour ago.

He had lost time, waking up in a cave with Itachi by his side some time after falling into the water, impact shocking his body like a block of ice. (In another world, another time, Shisui had given a final, parting gift to Itachi before falling to his death. Itachi had refused to allow it, not again.)

His right eye had been aching when he bolted into consciousness, but was most definitely there behind the careful wrapping around his head. Itachi was hovering above him, but oddly unable to meet his uncovered eye. Things had been… odd with Itachi for the past week, he was even more reclusive than normal. He’d just surmounted it to the tough situation they’d found themselves in, and that it could wait for a more opportune time, that they could talk about it later. Evidently, that had been a mistake. Itachi had an expression he’d wished to never see on his face., body language defeated and weary.

Itachi passed him a water skin after he was certain his cousin was able to sit up on his own before he spoke. Or attempted to. A violent cough echoed through the space as Itachi turned away, taking a moment before he spoke again in a deep, raspy tone ,”We have to go, as soon as you’re able. You need to finish healing, but… it’s not safe here”.

Itachi looked away, seeming hesitant, before rasping “I will manage. They only scraped me. I need rest, but no more than you do. There’s a place we can hide out for a while not too far from here, abandoned by Orochimaru long ago. It still has protections that will serve us well once I get us past them…”

“…I don’t like this, Itachi. You should know you can confide in me by now, surely. I won’t press, but you should know, I’ll always be here for you, on your side. You know that, surely, especially with what’s been going on recently. I hate to see you hurting like this… I hate that you think you have to hide from me, that you’ve been hiding for weeks, if not longer. Let me help you”, Shisui responded in a rushed breath, pained. As always, the words Let me love you remained almost reluctantly unsaid, a painful lump in his throat.

If anything, Itachi looked even more broken and… guilty by that admission, his bloodshot eyes looking even less focused than they had been the entire all-too-hectic night. “No questions, no lies, Shisui”, was all that he managed to that, his eyes moist to accompany his broken tone.

Damn you. Damn you Itachi, and damn your martyr complex. You’re killing yourself, I know it. Damn your parents, for forcing your pacifistic ass into Anbu. Damn this world for being so unfair., for not allowing someone so inherently pure and wonderful, someone with so much to give to live without tarnishing his hands and soul. Without being forced into hating himself for what he’d had to do.

Shisui fought back the words from surfacing, fingers digging into Itachi’s shoulder unkindly, before he forced a nod. Something about Itachi’s almost-amused huff, the most he’d seemed like himself in much too long, told him that the younger man had picked up on at least some of the things that went unsaid. Shisui wouldn’t have been surprised if he had. For all his lack of social grace, at times, Itachi was still a genius, and they had had at least one or two conversations of a similar nature in the past.

“Lead the way”, he finally managed, giving up on meeting Itachi’s gaze in the silence. Whatever was going on, whatever had happened, he’d help Itachi. He wouldn’t allow the man he loved resign himself to… his hatred..? He was making a tactical retreat on the issue, though he would never give up. He’d just have to combine his years of reading Itachi, his experience with his ability to subtly needle Fugaku into spilling sensitive information. Shisui was determined. He would bring back Itachi from the precipice or no return he was wavering on, regardless of whether it was partially on purpose.

Shisui had been in this abandoned lab for… a week and a half, he supposed. For all that Itachi had claimed to need rest, he had disappeared that first morning, some time before he’d woken up. Needless to say, that really put a damper on his plans to figure out what the damn hell was going on, how Itachi was holding up with his illness… That period of time had been filled with high amounts of stress, anxiety and concern. Itachi had left him supplies, and a brief note to stay put as he ‘needed to take care of some urgent business’ and ‘there was no need to worry’ and ‘he’d be back as soon as he was able’. Even so, even having no clue where Itachi could have gone, that this was the most likely place for them to intersect again. Shisui was ready to tear his hair out, and just fucking bolt in search for his wayward cousin. In fact, he was making his way out of the hideout when he spotted the limping, battered Itachi.

He inhaled sharply, dropping everything before he Shunshined to Itachi’s side, carefully manoeuvring him onto the only bed in decent repair in the lab as he looked the younger man over. Itachi was… unwell would be the understatement of the century. Shisui felt numb as he tried to figure out the best course of action, his fingers already shining with the green of healing chakra. While hardly the most skilled, Shisui had very good chakra control, as was a necessity for his mastery of Shunshin, and he was able to substitute for a field medic in a pinch.

It had been concerningly touch-and-go for far too long as Shisui worked, Itachi fading in and out of consciousness. For his poor condition, Shisui found it very concerning that he could trace little back little of the damage to any external injuries, hoping that it was simply his lack of experience that prevented him from determining the cause of the internal damage, the blood building up in both lungs, despite no apparent evidence of a puncture.

Shisui had been wiping the bloody tear-like streaks caked on Itachi’s face when he finally awoke, after hours of too-hesitant chakra manipulated healing. “Oh, thank the Sage. Itachi, you’ve worried me sick. Haven’t I told you not to vanish on me..? I’ve had over a week to think all this over… nothing to do but think, really. And I still don’t understand what you think could be so horrible that you’ve been hiding it from me. I would never turn my back on you, I swear it. I lo— You mean the world to me, you’re family. I just want you to heal, you’ve been hurt, and I don’t know why or how, but I’ll make it better.”

Itachi seemed overwhelmed, and strangely pained at the barrage of words, as if they were poised to cut and maim, rather than reassure. Disoriented from just waking up, he hesitated for several beats too long, long enough that Shisui finally had hope for the first time in over a week that things would truly be okay. They weren’t, though. Itachi clammed up, the moment he realised they’d made eye contact, and he flinched away, like a kicked puppy,. He stiffly sat up, reaching into his tattered robes, as-if to retrieve something, “Before anything else, it is safe to return to Konoha, now. However, perhaps, more importantly, I… I am so, so sorry, Shisui. No questions, n—“

“Damn you, Itachi, damn you!” Shisui snarled, tears of irrational anger burning down his face as he made to box Itachi in the ear, only to stare in stunned, pained disbelief as the man he loved dispersed into a flock of crows, leaving behind only a scroll, and a whisper of I’m sorry. Not even a vague imprint of his chakra remained in the air. It felt like a goodbye, like an ‘I’ve done what I need to, and now I’m ready to die’. It felt like a ‘don’t look for me’, it felt like a betrayal of trust. It was a visceral, incomparable pain.

An inhuman noise tore its way from Shisui’s chest as he collapsed on the bedding that would forever be marked by Itachi’s sweat and blood, unable to do or feel anything beyond the hurt, pain, concern, worry, fear, anger, desperation.

It was probably hours later that Shisui finally hauled himself into a sitting position, though it had felt like an immeasurable eternity. He was stiff and sore, face sticky and sore from crying, eyes burning from a Mangekyō he wasn’t able to de-activate. He tugged at his own hair, hoping the sharp stabbing pain would distract from the ache in his soul, and forced his attention onto the scroll, laying deceptively innocent, now on the floor.

Shisui hesitated for a few moments, biting his lower lip raw, before lifting the scroll, and rolling it open. A familiar seal greeted him, and a pang, somehow deeper and more painful than the pervasive ache, struck him. He brought a thumb up to his raw, sluggishly bleeding lip, and smudged it onto the base of the seal, speaking in a broken, stuffed up tone, wavering, “No questions, no lies”. The familiar feeling of Itachi’s chakra caressed him for a moment before vanishing, leaving him with a sheaf of papers, neatly bound, and another, smaller, yet more intricate seal that he didn’t recognise. Setting it aside, after a cursory glance, he turned his gaze to familiar, if rushed handwriting, feeling himself go strangely numb, the further he read, starting to shed tears he thought he no longer had.

Shisui. Shi-nii… Shi-chan…

I hope you find this legible, as my sight has been fading as quickly as my health, as of late.

Oh, Sage. I do not know where to start. Much as I hope my letter finds you well, that you will not despair over one as undeserving as I, I know better than to hope. And for that, I am sincerely sorry. I am so very sorry, for so many things. Alas, I am too much of a coward, too selfish, too tired, too torn, to have the strength to face you as I share the deepest trenches where my soul used to reside.

Until then, please, allow me one last bit of completely unfair, harmful selfishness. Much as someone as you is undeserving of my taint, I love you. I still love you, even though I shouldn’t, after all I’ve done. I no longer deserve to, and yet. And yet. I loved you ever since we were small children, though I suppose it was different, back then. You were ‘just’ family. ‘Just’ my big brother. You did so much for me, you not only put the effort forward to understand, but you actually did. It meant the world to me, back then, when I could not express myself to save my life. I still do, now, no matter how needlessly difficult it had made the past few weeks, hiding my darkness from you. Time passes for all of us, however, and, well, over the years, you grew to mean so very much more to me. I think I realised that night, on the roof, under the stars… I am still deeply mournful I was unable to tell you before I was no longer worthy of earning your love.

Before I delve into the brunt of this retelling, please know, none of the blame is with you. It is my choices, and the choices of people beyond our control that have led to this. None the less, I have done things that are unforgivable, and that I wish not to taint anybody else with. I know that you’d try to forgive me, spin my actions in a way they are redeemable, but I know better. I don’t wish for you to taint yourself, your morals, your soul, with forgiving such a creature as I. You were my heart once, and I do not wish to force you down such a dark path. I must be cruel once more here, my heart. Please care for Sasuke, like you once did for me. With my actions over the past month, he will be having a very tough time.

The brief of it, well. I am from the future. One where I did many unforgivable things. One where I massacred our entire clan, save Sasuke, after you fell down a cliff, eyeless, and drowned. One where I forced my brother into madness to gain enough strength to kill me. I will not try to excuse or explain myself, lest I manage to make you see myself and my actions in a brighter light than I deserve. I have sealed my most important memories of the years that should never again come to pass in that scroll. You can activate it the same way you did my storage seal.

It contains memories of our clan, of my time as a missing-nin with a rebel group, of the upcoming war. I have dealt with Madara, and inhibited Zetsu’s plans to the best of my abilities, so you have time. Once again, I am sorry to push this on your shoulders, dear heart, for I am cruel. You are the only I can trust to take action. Please, don’t make the same mistakes as I. Don’t go it alone.

Ever since I had returned, into my younger body, around a month ago (I am still uncertain as to how it happened. One moment, I was dying to Sasuke’s hands, the next, waking up in the compound), I put forward my best efforts in an attempt to even slightly redeem myself, to prevent the darkest happenings of the future in any way I can. Danzō is dead, as are my father and many of the elders. The details I have also enclosed in the scroll.

As I’m sure you’ve been picking up on, I have not been completely well for some time. At this age, I already had the early signs of my illness, though I was not aware of it, at the time. The deterioration seems to be occurring faster in this timeline, than originally. My organs are under strain, my eyes failing, both from illness and Mangekyō use. Even if I were not tainted beyond saving, beyond redemption, I would not want others to see me like this, make them suffer for me. Much as I acknowledge what I am doing to you is unforgivably cruel, I hope you can begin to understand my reasons. Please be well.

I have left to die, Shisui, do not search for me. I do not deserve your forgiveness, I do not deserve healing. Please. Move on from this, be happy. That is the best thing you could ever do for me, dear heart.

With all my sincerest apologies and remaining soul,

Itachi

It had been just a fortnight since Itachi had vanished, and plans were very well underway for the future, based on the memories Itachi had left. After all, a determined Shisui was a productive Shisui, almost scarily so. Many of the pitfalls of Itachi’s future were unlikely to come to pass with all their contingency plans, upon contingency plans. It doubtlessly helped that many of the key players were dead, or had changed allegiance.

Many, including Shisui, himself, were angry with Itachi, but not for the reason the man himself likely thought. Shisui was so very unexplainably hurt by Itachi’s choice to leave, much as he understood it, in a way. He hated the fact that the man had been so hurt, so consumed by the family madness by the time he returned, that he no longer put any stock in himself, causing to push everyone who cared about him away, feeling undeserving. Unthinking of the harm he was doing to those that found him dear. They would have much to talk through, much to heal, the both of them, but for all his hurt, he couldn’t blame Itachi. And he found it even more painful that the young man had thought his actions irredeemable and unforgivable, considering his forced hand, and less-than-sane mental state at the time of many of these choices. He just wanted to wrap up the man in a stifling hug, and never let him go. It ached. He refused to think about the possibility of Itachi already being gone, of it being too late. He hoped that Itachi felt the need to resolve more things before death caught up with him, that he hadn’t killed himself, or just laid down to die somewhere.

He’d managed to convince Tsunade to return, for all she claimed it was temporary. Hiruzen was hoping to convince her to take over the hat, but that was hardly Shisui’s main concern — she had agreed she’d tend to Itachi, if— when they found him. While she couldn’t promise anything, due to the unreliable nature of the details Shisui had told her, she was convinced she could reverse most, if not all of the damage, if it hadn’t tipped over to the point of no return.

Shisui had gathered the best tracking teams in Konoha, and they were finally ready to depart. Each person had a Hiraishin seal, and access to a messenger summon so that Shisui and Tsunade could appear on location as soon as Itachi was found, and get him stabilised, and to Konoha as soon as possible.

Hiruzen felt a great deal of guilt over the Uchiha, and Itachi’s fathe, specifically, both in the man’a original timeline, and this time around, which allowed Shisui to press a lot more than he would have been able to otherwise, considering the differences in their station. This allowed him access to the forbidden scroll of the village, allowing him to learn the technique for near-instantaneous travel created by the Nidaime Hokage.

And here they were, setting out, two weeks after he’d last seen Itachi, the moment the situation was stabilised, and he felt confident enough in his new Jutsu. Much as he had been antsy to leave in pursuit immediately, he knew it would have done little good without any ability to help Itachi, considering he had little clue of his condition. Shunshin was amazingly useful, but it could cover only so much distance, and was very rough on passengers. Not to mention that his healing would only go so far.

Shisui was determined, hopeful as he watched the teams quickly advancing through the forest. There was no way the greatest trackers in Konoha, supported by Jiraiya’s lauded spy network would be unable to find Itachi. If he was still out there, he’d be brought back, no doubt about it.

If. Oh Sage. No, no, no, he had to still be alive, right? Such a bright flame couldn’t go out without any noticeable change to the world, surely. He had to still be alive.

…right..?

Shisui startled as a gentle hand rested on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. Tsunade didn’t offer any empty platitudes, but her steady presence helped settle his spirit. He wouldn’t allow himself to wallow in despair at what if. He had to have hope, especially when Itachi didn’t.

The next time Shisui saw Itachi, he was… in surprisingly good shape, considering his state the last time he’d seen the man, though much too pale, his face worn.

According to Kakashi, he seemed in the middle of tracking someone, who he’d later found out was Black Zetsu, before he found himself restrained by Konoha-nin. While initially panicked, and intent on escaping, Kakashi ended up talking him down, after he convinced his team to leave them to chat. While not as close as Shisui and Itachi, Kakashi had played an important role in Itachi’s life after he’d entered Anbu, as he’d been the young Uchiha’s commanding officer. Being similar in many ways, as well, had helped them bond. In the time that it took for Kakashi’s ninken to deliver the go-ahead to Shisui, Kakashi explained what had been happening ever since ‘his little vanishing act’, and started to explain why Itachi was wrong for believing he was unforgivable and irredeemable for his actions.

While Itachi was visibly reluctant to agree with Kakashi’s words, he was listening, and it was oddly plain to see that he was starting to take the words to heart. Kakashi had imagined it helped that he was notoriously allergic to feelings and speaking honestly, and that he’d shared some of his own deep wounds and failings. My actions aren’t unforgivable, according to you. Your situation isn’t much different than mine. What makes you so tainted? Learn to forgive yourself, kid.

Itachi leapt to his feet the moment he felt Shisui’s chakra signature, seemingly uncertain for a moment whether he wanted to bolt away from, or to Shisui. His innate impulse, built over many years took over, however, and he Shunshined straight into his cousin, following him in his fall to the ground. He clung tightly to the feeling of warmth, safety, home, for the first time in a long time not pausing to question if he deserved it. Silent tears trailed down Itachi’s face as his half-blind eyes met Shisui’s, willingly, for the first time, ever since he’d returned from the future, “I— I’m so very sorry, Shisui. I have caused you so much —“

“Oh, shut the fuck up, you utter dingbat”, Shisui near-sobbed into Itachi’s shoulder. “I can’t believe you thought, for a moment, you didn’t deserve me, that you deserved to die in a ditch somewhere. I fucking love you, too! Did my feelings not matter in this..? If you dared die, I’d have found a way to bring you back, just to kill you myself. You… you…. I’m so happy and relieved you’re okay… I just… you… we have a lot to talk about, but please. You deserve to live, and heal. Please, at least, try for me, even if you don’t think you deserve it for yourself yet”.

Itachi shifted over the sniffling Shisui so that the man was positioned in his lap, happy to note that Kakashi and Tsunade had chosen to give them some privacy. He paused, looking at Shisui’s face, and, once he was certain of his welcome, kissed the corner of the other man’s mouth, before pressing their foreheads together. “For you, anything. I have not been in my right mind for a long time now, as you probably know by now. But, after a long conversation with Kakashi, and some searching in myself, I know I should trust in you, if nothing else. If you believe I’m worth saving, I will try my hardest. I love you, and you are my heart, have been for a very long time. I will endeavour to never hurt you again in this way that I have. I pushed you away for one of the things I love most about you, and for that, I will do my best to earn your forgiveness.”

Tsunade, Kakashi, and the rest of the tracking group found the two half an hour later, exchanging soft words and gentle kisses, reluctant to be more than an inch apart at any given moment. They were already starting to heal, as they affirmed themselves, their relationship, in one another, though it would take time for the cracks in their souls to be filled with gold, making something different, yet just as beautiful as it once was. Together.

[panharmonium]

this is legitimately one of my top five favorite kakashi scenes.

i love seeing kakashi break the rules in the name of doing the right thing, and this scene especially is particularly satisfying to me, because his moment of defiance here is, to my mind, long overdue.  

one of my eternal frustrations in early naruto is how the leaf village administration gives kakashi the job of caring for a group of super high-needs children and then continually makes that job as difficult for him as possible.  they task him with being solely responsible for the development and well-being of three twelve year-olds - a group that includes naruto (a walking disaster with a god’s power trapped inside his body) and sasuke (a genocide survivor fixated on killing his own brother), BOTH of whom are being hunted by different groups of supercriminals - and then the village keeps getting in kakashi’s way or dropping the ball or actively ordering him to prioritize other things.  

so much of what goes wrong with the kids in this period is the result of other people interfering with kakashi’s work or being negligent or endangering the kids/putting kakashi in impossible positions.  team 7’s first big mission sets the tone for everything that comes after, with someone else’s lie putting kakashi in a situation where he has to single-handedly protect not just the client who deceived him, but the three children who were supposed to be the clients’ other protectors.  and after that, the list just multiplies:

ten anbu operatives can’t manage to protect sasuke’s hospital room from orochimaru’s minions, so kakashi has to do it himself and then whisk sasuke out of the village for a month, leaving naruto in the hands of a substitute and sakura with her parents

genma orders sasuke to chase after gaara when the chunin exams blow up, saying “you’re at chunin level already,” which forces kakashi to immediately dispatch more kids to bring him back, because “ffs NO i do NOT want him out there doing that why the fuck would you tell him to do that?!” 

aoba runs his mouth off about itachi when sasuke is standing RIGHT THERE, instantly undoing all the work kakashi just did to prevent itachi and sasuke from coming anywhere near each other (and thus sending sasuke to that disastrous first encounter, the outcome of which ultimately leads to sasuke’s defection)

jiraiya decides he should let sasuke try to fight itachi himself, “out of respect for the boy’s feelings,” leading to sasuke ending up in a tsukuyomi coma

tsunade orders kakashi to drop his teaching work and leave the village on a mission even though a) he’s just gotten out of his own torture-induced coma and b) sasuke is having a crisis that kakashi is trying to manage

and then when kakashi gets back from that mission and finds out that surprise, all of this meddling has led to a disaster, tsunade tries to order him away AGAIN

but this time - he just says no.

he walks right out of her office.  he turns his back on her.  and there is NOTHING i love more than seeing kakashi embody the philosophy that he’s chosen to adopt as his guiding light: those who break the rules are scum.  but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

it’s not that he doesn’t understand where tsunade is coming from here.  but he knows she’s wrong.  she’s making her decisions based solely on concerns about the Leaf Village being in a tight spot - feeling like they can’t turn down missions because they’ll appear weak and thus become vulnerable to attack when they’re already operating at half strength.  she sends a group of twelve year-olds to bring sasuke back because supposedly the village can’t spare anyone else, “even if it means letting the sharingan fall into orochimaru’s hands” - but like.  it’s not the sharingan.  it’s a child.  sasuke isn’t just a repository for his hereditary jutsu; he’s not a pair of eyes to be passed around from one wielder to the next.  he’s a human child.  

tsunade doesn’t know sasuke.  she’s new to the situation and doesn’t know enough about it to understand how serious it is.  i don’t even think she was still in the village when the uchiha massacre occurred; the timeline makes it sound like she left long before that.  she doesn’t really understand who sasuke is or how much trouble he’s in - she makes her decision because she feels like her first priority has to be the well-being of the Leaf as a whole, not the individual people who comprise it.  kakashi, though, who a) lives his life by a very different philosophy and b) does understand sasuke’s situation, would not have dealt with the issue like this, and if the village had let him do his job from the beginning, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point in the first place.

kakashi is horrified that tsunade sent a bunch of twelve year-olds out to fight orochimaru’s ninja, and i think he’s also probably angry and/or frustrated about having been ordered out of the village in the first place.  he was dealing with the situation before tsunade sent him away.  he interrupted the fight between sasuke and naruto even though he himself had literally just gotten out of the hospital, and then he continued addressing the issue with sasuke privately (unlike jiraiya’s non-attempt to address it with naruto, when he said he was going to give naruto a talking-to but actually flaked out).  kakashi knew sasuke was struggling, and he was doing all the things a teacher is supposed to do to address it, but then he was ordered away, and even though it was just for two days, it was enough time for everything to go to hell.

if people would just let him do his job - if the administration would let him focus on the task they themselves assigned to him - things would be different.  but everybody wants him to do everything.  they want him to be everywhere.  they want him to protect the nine-tails jinchuriki (who is also kakashi’s dead teacher’s son), and train the last surviving uchiha (which is a task only kakashi and his sharingan can perform), and give equal attention to a third kid, for good measure, and they want him to do it without stepping away from any of his other burdens, all while other people around him constantly frustrate the progress he makes.

so this time, when tsunade tries to send him away, he refuses.  he disobeys her orders and walks out of the room.  he doesn’t care about the rules or what he’s “legally” obligated to do.  he knows what the RIGHT thing to do is, and so he rejects his new mission in favor of rescuing the kids.

i love these moments.  i love when we’re shown so clearly the person kakashi has chosen to be - someone who does what’s right, not just what he’s told.  he made an active choice many years ago to adopt that philosophy, and he’s been living by those new rules ever since.  he's wiser now than he was when he was a child - sometimes you have to break ranks to do the right thing.  sometimes you have to buck the system, even if it means you might face severe personal consequences.

he had one of two choices: either save the mission or his comrades.  of course, according to the law of the village, you cannot abandon a mission.  but to save the life of his comrades, he put the mission on hold.

kakashi may have spent a good chunk of his childhood trying to reject everything the subject of that story stood for, but none of his attempts to harden his heart ever stuck.  he is, in the end, his father’s son.

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Eye to Eye

Day 5 :) Whoop. Based on my favourite OBKK fanart of all time [x]

Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Obito

2470 words.

Rated T, canon typical violence

Ao3 link [x]

For @kakaobiweek Day 5: Disguise.

Kakashi is tasked to follow a man that allegedely helped Itachi murder the Uchiha clan.

Kakashi had long known that he was the best operative in the Hokage’s arsenal. That he had proven himself through countless missions and operations he always cleared without major issues. A born ANBU member, someone who did not care about himself, his name or his reputation. Who could kill without regard for human life. Deplorable as Kakashi felt about himself, he was a good little soldier for the system.

Still, he’d always felt like he somehow needed a team by his side to get his jobs done. Not only because he trusted his team with his eyes blind, Tenzo especially, but also because his skills alone just weren’t as great in comparison to their combined skills. He had very much noticed his own faults when Itachi had joined his team. A real boy genius- not just kinda lucky in life like himself. But Itachi, well, Itachi had turned out a major disappointment in a way. He had not been a good little soldier for the system.

So when Kakashi had been asked to follow someone out of Land of Fire borders, a top secret mission as this could breach an already very weak peace, he was surprised to be told he had to go alone. Danzo was involved again, the man that smelled like death and conspiracy, but it had been sanctioned off by Lord Third, so there had been no chance of rebuttal. He was sent out quietly, unofficially, to find someone who supposedly helped Itachi murder his whole family. Some had seen him, possibly, and Kakashi was to take him back - or take him out. His choice.

His wish would have been to follow Itachi wherever he had gone. He had been his team member in the first place and as such he felt like Kakashi’s responsibility. Somehow, somewhere, he thought that there must have been a mistake with him, that he must have been confused somehow. His deeds just didn’t match the person Kakashi had met. But then again still waters do run deep. Who knew anyway. 

Kakashi questioned people along the way about the fateful night. The ones who had claimed to have seen someone with Itachi. They were all frightened of what they called “The Uchiha Wrath” as if Itachi would jump down from a tree any second and off them, but in the end they often did tell Kakashi what they’d seen anyway. A mysterious sounding man. Black hair, orange mask. Kakashi thought it must just be another Uchiha. They must have done it together.

Day by day he fought himself through thick forests and trees, hiding in caves and behind waterfalls, eating nothing but meal balls day in and day out, all on the track of the masked man. He wondered if there was even a chance to find him, someone who seemed to appear here, there and everywhere at random times, as if he could vanish into thin air and turn up in some other place the next. A real sly technique that Kakashi admired his adversary for. If only he could too.

Three weeks passed in solitude, too much time for the young man alone with his thoughts and regrets. He hadn’t slept more than two hours in the last three days, trying to focus on the mission ahead and failing to keep the memories out. He wanted to give up, he was mentally exhausted, but he decided to give it another day. Just one more day. Pakkun had found a new trail leading south and Kakashi followed it. One more time, if not he’d return even if that meant he failed the task.

The dogs stopped just outside of a wide clearing, sun streaming down in beams of light through the tops of the trees. “Here, boss” Pakkun said matter of factly and Kakashi saw the figure through the trees. A man, not much taller, but a little broader than he himself, was standing and by what Kakashi could see, talking to himself. His hair was long and black and his mask, which had black flames on it, was bright orange. No doubt about it, he finally found what he had been looking for. He praised the dogs with a whisper, scratched Pakkun’s ears as a reward and then dismissed them.

Kakashi stared down into the clearing, his Hound mask steadfast on his face. How would he go about this, he wondered. This guy could possibly vanish into thin air, maybe like some sort of invisibility. He was very likely a surviving Uchiha and possessed the sharingan. Any jutsu could just be copied in seconds. He felt for his katana on his back. There was probably only head on violence left, which often led to the death of the subject. Just a little casualty. He was authorised to kill if necessary and it usually was. Kakashi was tired and this needed an end.

There was no time to decide on the when and how because the Orange mask guy turned around and aimed his gaze right at Kakashi. “Took you long enough”, he growled in a low, threatening voice. “Have been trailing me for weeks now without any luck, have we?” Of course Kakashi was surprised, he had been so careful. Erasing his presence and becoming nobody was one of his specialties. He did not let this face him, however, little complications could always happen. He brought himself to his full height, striding down the tree he had been hiding in as casually and unbothered as possible: “You did give me quite the run around.”

The orange mask only had one hole to see through, a red eye shining dangerously behind it. Kakashi had been right in his assessment. It was an Uchiha. “So”, he said, his head stretched to the left shoulder, “You helped my team mate commit mass murder.” The other shrugged his shoulders, a cold laugh leaving his mouth. “As if you’ve never done it, Copy Cat.” Ah, so he knows me, Kakashi thought, arms leisurely crossed in front of his chest. “I did not say I didn’t.” 

“People like you always feel so superior. So high and mighty about themselves. When in truth you are just as murderous as the rest of us”, the man said, spinning a branch between his fingers. Kakashi followed with his uncovered eye as the other walked around, circling around like two cats ready to pounce onto each other. With all the preparation he’d done during the weeks of tracking, he unfortunately had not discovered many abilities of his adversary outside of appearing and disappearing at will. Kakashi had to be on the lookout.

Kakashi scoffed a little, shrugging his slender shoulders lazily. “I know I’m a murderer,” he said, continuing the casual tone of voice, “I don’t act superior about it.” He shook his hair and watched the other man stumble a little. “I just wish you could tell me why my team member killed his own family. I understand his reasoning, but I would like to hear yours.“ The orange mask looked almost menacing now that the other man had started walking into the shadows of the trees. Kakashi followed him from a distance. His hand was ready to jump to his katana in defence.

“My reasoning? My opinion on things in this world has not mattered since I was a child”, the masked man spat back, laughing hollowly. “I didn’t do anything. He came to me and asked for help. I just provided it.” Kakashi took a sharp breath. He still had a hard time imagining that Itachi had come up with this massacre idea himself. That was not how he’d known him in his ANBU team. But why would this person lie? What would he have to gain for that? “Well, if you don’t want to reply to me, then I just have to take you out,” Kakashi growled and pulled the katana from his back. He slowly uncovered his red eye.

Both jumped at the same time, launching towards each while waving signs. Kakashi had his chidori tingling around his hands instantaneously, while the other man sent a fireball. A classic jutsu passed on through most of the Uchiha clan. Both dodged each other without further issues, but the other man suddenly materialised a metal chain that he wrapped around Kakashi’s throat and grabbed it tight. Kakashi coughed at the cokehold gripping with his hands at the metal to get relief.

“You think you found me here”, the man growled into Kakashi’s ear, his face only inches away, “but I allowed you to find me.” Kakashi kept grabbing at the chain and found a bit of air somewhere. “Why would you do something so reckless and stupid?”, he asked and the masked man laughed another hollow laugh. “I decided it was time to kill you” he said, his wood mask hitting the back of Kakashi’s head. “I thought at first you might be a threat, but now I realise you are nothing.” The man loosened his grip on the chain just enough for Kakashi to knock him back with his shoulder, jumping away to free himself.

He took a few deep breaths, rubbing his throat where the chain had left a mark. “I am nothing”, he said calmly, straightening up his back, “but you won’t kill me.” He jumped forward again, this time just attacking with taijutsu. “You are so weak,” the masked man said and to Kakashi’s surprise the punch he had thrown phased right through the other, as if he’d never been there. Was it a clone? He moved his head to see if there were any clouds from a popped clone, but instead got a knee kick to the face. No, this was definitely a real person.

Alright, so he could disappear and reappear, Kakashi thought, trying to get his mind back together after the direct hit. He shook himself and dodged the next knee as it was coming  and then his adversary disappeared again, half his body dodging the chidori Kakashi had brought out of thin air. “You could never defeat me”, the man laughed from somewhere Kakashi could not access. “I have surpassed you so long ago.” 

“I didn’t know we had a contest”, Kakashi replied, rapidly moving his sharingan eye around to figure out where the other man would return, thoughts spiralling in his head. So the other needed to be present in full flesh to hit him, so Kakashi would have to let him get close to ensure he couldn’t just phase himself away. That was risky, letting an enemy get close, maybe hit him directly, but it seemed like there was no choice.

“You don't know so many things”, the man said and finally was visible again, a wooden stick growing out of the palm of his hand. Wood Style, Kakashi noted quickly, but he had no chance to be surprised, because he already needed to dodge backwards again. He jumped away and threw a punch under the other man's chin at the same time and this time it hit directly. The orange mask moved slightly and Kakashi could clearly see the sharingan eye gleaming behind it.

The man fell backwards, stumbling, but catching himself again. Kakashi blinked. He’d not met anyone that had the mokuton except for Tenzo, and he’d never seen Tenzo use the ability so offensively, so deadly. The spike was still in the palm of the man’s hand, sharp and violent, and Kakashi knew that he would have to dodge it or he might actually be killed from it. “You are an Uchiha too, then?” Kakashi said out loud, imitating his usual casual voice to mask the thoughts in his head. “You killed your own family just because a distant cousin asked you?”

“None of that matters”, the man said, “This world is nothing.” The man jumped again, the chain out of air back in his hands. Kakashi dodged both the chain and the wood spike, only getting a little cut on his arm. “I’m curious who you are”, Kakashi said, landing gracefully on both his feet. “If you are going to kill me anyway, you could just tell me.” If he could gain such information and pass it on to Pakkun, the dog could give it over to the hokage, telling him which Uchiha was still alive, even if Kakashi died. The man laughed again, his hands spinning for just another fire jutsu. Kakashi copied it and defended himself without much ease. “I don’t think so,” the man said, black hair waving with every movement. “I guess I will have to find it out then”, Kakashi launched himself forward one more time.

They fought mid air, a mess of arms and legs punching and showing each other. The other man summoned and dismissed his mokuton spike freely, moving it around Kakashi’s upper body until it was full of scratches. Kakashi kept trying to reach the mask, a thin wooden structure that didn’t seem particularly strongly attached to the band behind it. A strong grip should loosen it, so he could take it completely, or at least have a chance to look at the person beneath it.

However, with the incredibly annoying ability of being able to phase in and out of things, it was difficult for Kakashi to even touch the other man, who by now had figured out what he was trying to do. There was only one way that he’d get it done: by letting his opponent come as close to him as possible, attack and possibly wound him and then quickly pick the mask off the face. This could injure him greatly and was a risk, but one he had to try.

He unlocked himself from the other and shook his head to get his concentration back, then he launched again, chidori sizzling around his fingers. The masked man phased away, exactly as Kakashi had anticipated, and phased back in behind him, the wooden spike growing quickly out of his hand. Kakashi turned his head around, let the spike hit his neck, buried itself in it, and moved his arm.

With a last stretch of his hand Kakashi reached for the mask, the wooden spike right at his neck drawing blood. He grabbed it, at the same time as the masked man grabbed his, and they both ripped it off simultaneously like a performance they had practised and perfected. Like two dancers in complete sync.

Wood clanked twice as both masks dropped to the floor, an echo along the trees of the clearing. Kakashi took a breath and another, his sharingan eye looking straight ahead in a mirrored version of it. The same eye, a different head. The next breath choked in his throat, his heart stopping for just a second. 

It was nothing more than a whispered breath.

“Obito.”