#to put a 'protect Shisui Uchiha' genjutsu on her and while it's not that she wants to hurt this random clearly stressed idiot smiley genius

[ramblebramblefun]

"We were fucking around in the mud with nothing but bodies to show for it. And now you tell me that they call us heroes. But do you tell me of trade between Konoha and Ame, of alliance and backup and support, another border shored up against Iwa? No! We blasted that place to hell for nothing," She takes a long, slow sip of what he hopes is water, scowling at the wall across from her. "Hero of Yanai. Fucking hell. You'll be calling me a princess next."

He wisely does not mention that there are already those talking about how 'Uzumaki-hime' has returned, you know, the one that fought with the Sannin?

The Sannin, as Uzumaki has already sourly informed him, were on the other end of the front far away from the worst of the action for most of the operation. The Sandaime Hokage hadn't wanted to risk his precious students unless he absolutely had to. They hadn't been The Legendary Sannin, then, and they certainly weren't supposed to be anywhere near Hanzo. How the Salamander had gotten so close to their base of operations without detection was a catastrophic failure on the part of the intelligence department.

... The Uzushio squads he'd slaughtered to get there weren't even a footnote in history, which perhaps explained the venom in the Huntress's voice. Shisui hadn't known how involved Uzu had been until this unfortunate war-nin had been spat out of the air in front of him.

Raiko Uzumaki hadn't been thrilled about that either, and his long-dead whatever-aunt Fuyumi was probably very lucky that whatever she'd done had killed her. Shisui had never heard of a Mangekyou that could send people to the future, but perhaps that was why.

Though why Fuyumi Uchiha had felt the need to launch Uzumaki decades forward in the first place was still a mystery.

Uzumaki, for her part, had been doing her best cryptid impression ever since, hiding in the Senju compound that she was able to unseal because, whatever, something something the Shodaime's wife, and only prowling out when Shisui went to the boundary and made a nuisance of himself, because she vaguely valued his opinion or something for some reason.

It was driving the Council mad.

It was exhausting.

And so here they are, both waiting for the Hokage to call them in like naughty children because Uzumaki had discovered and secreted away the other Uzumaki in the village while Shisui was in fucking Kiri.

How is this his fault? He wasn't even here. How is the Anbu being unable to keep track of one jinchuuriki long enough to keep him from tracking down and revealing himself to the long-lost relative the entire village won't shut up about anywhere within Shisui's purview?

If she wants to be a hermit, let her. Just dump some groceries at the boundary every week or so, it would be fine. Shisui has other, more important things to stress about than the Huntress, who doesn't seem inclined to do anything drastic as long as everyone leaves her alone.

At least find someone else to babysit her, if everyone's that worried. Someone else to ask her apparently stupid questions and get their heads bitten off. Shisui is tired. Let him sleep.

[theanimeoftheblackbunnymask]

Yandere Uchihas As Parents!

Pairs: Yandere Itachi x Reader|| Yandere Madara x reader|| Yandere Obito/Tobi x Reader|| Yandere Sasuke x Reader||

Warnings: Domestic Abuse, Physical Abuse, Manipulation, Rape mentioned, Toxic Relationships, Child Abuse (Madara and Obito's), Bruises.

Author's note: I write for Shisui and Indra, but I didn't add them for this one.

Links: Masterlist|| Yandere Obito Headcanons

Sasuke Uchiha

Yandere Sasuke as a parent is extremely over protective, over you and you're kid.

Your kid was most likely planned (you didn't really plan it more like he did)

You and Sasuke would have a girl named Yasu, meaning peace. He's very protective of her, and may use her as leverage to make you stay.

Once she's a toddler she's going to end up being a becoming a Daddy's Girl. Always spending time with Sasuke, wanting to be with him and being heavily attached to him. And this is something you really don't want to happen, since Sasuke could be able to use her as some sort of guard whenever he's gone.

Sasuke can neglect Yasu a lot, and he ends up blaming you, claiming that keeping you in line and making sure you don't leave is too time consuming and that he doesn't have time to spend time with his own daughter.

Sasuke and you argue a lot and Yasu just silently watched from the corner of the door way. You always end up severely hurt afterwards, and Yasu would run out once Sasuke is gone. Yasu doesn't exactly understand what happened but she doesn't want you to keep getting hurt.

Whenever Sasuke has time, he'll threaten you to be a Good Little Doll and stay at home and don't leave so he can spend time with Yasu. He and Yasu would go out and buy candy, snacks, ramen, and Sasuke would train her for a bit.

The day Yasu activates the sharingan he'll be thrilled. He'd teach her the abilities of it and teach her the history of the Uchiha clan, so she can somewhat understand it better.

He's never telling her about Itachi, never. He doesn't want to even mention him, and if he ever finds out you told her he'll punish you so severely Yasu wouldn't see you for a week.

He's never letting Yasu figure out the truth between you and Sasuke's relationship. The fact that he's been abusing you for years, and that the fact that she was most likely the aftermath of a rape would completely ruin his plans, but he has ways of keeping you quiet.

You two having a kid would not change the way he'd treat you. He'd treat you a little bit better.

Overall he's an ok dad, 5/10.

Itachi Uchiha

Surprisingly, yandere Itachi is an extremely good dad to your kid, to you, Ehhh not really, but boy will your two's kid sure will be spoiled.

The kid was either planned or a mistake, no in between, but either way he's happy.

You and Itachi would a have a boy and would probably be named Akane. Itachi would never dream of using Akane against you or use him as leverage.

Akane would definitely be a Mama's Boy and always help you with anything.

Itachi is already really loving and would boop Akane's head as a way of showing his affection.

Itachi has you put up this loving parent act so Akane doesn't think anything is wrong with his family. He'll force you to do this and if you don't he'll punish you harshly.

He trains with Akane a lot so he can be strong and protect himself, while you watch in the distance.

Akane would probably be a sheltered kid and not really have any friends, due to his father's criminal record and him being a Uchiha. So Akane would spend time with you when Itachi was gone, and if he ever asked you abuse your bruises, you'll tell him that you're real so y clumsy, since Itachi always puts you into a Genjutsu if you even imply what's actually going on.

When Akane activates his sharingan, Itachi would a actually take his training a lot more seriously, since he's getting stronger and can do more.

He always buys stuff for Akane when he's on missions for the Akatsuki. Akane doesn't know what Itachi's job is, but he's met the Akatsuki before.

Itachi would treat you better once you guys have a kid. He'd be a lot more loving and gentle with you, and try not to physically hurt or abuse you, not like he did it often to begin with.

Overall he's a pretty good dad, 8/10.

Obito Uchiha

Man, I don't know on why this god forsaken world this man a father.

You guys would have two kids, both accidents. Like I said in the Yandere Obito Headcanons, he doesn't want a family since he thinks he'd be a bad dad.

The two kids would both be boys. One being the oldest by 1 year.

The boys names would be Haruto, the oldest, and Asahi, the youngest.

Obito would be heavily conflicted with the two boys, he doesn't want this! What if he messes up?

Haruto and Asahi wouldn't get to spend time with their father, since he's busy doing Madara's biding, playing/abusing you, and he doesn't want them.

Haruto and Asahi would definitely be in actual school, but no one would know who their dad is, but they knew he's still in their lives.

Whenever Obito actually is home, he tends to put on the Tobi act in front of his kids, since he sees it really makes them happy and that they actually want to spend time with him.

Tobi adores Haruto and Asahi and he's the dad they always wanted, even tho Tobi and Obito are the same person.

Tobi takes them to get Dongo and other sweets. He'd buy them a ton of snacks and then go play for a bit. You'd find it cute if it wasn't for what Obito did to you.

When Tobi isn't around, Obito tends to ignore Haruto and Asahi because he doesn't want them to be affected by his toxic behavior, even though he's still effecting them.

Obito tends to hit you a lot in the kitchen or bedroom when he has stressful days, and Asahi witnessed it once. Seeing you covered in blood traumatized him and he had nightmares so bad that he had to sleep in you and Obito's room, but he'd only cuddle you and stay far away from Obito, since he knows Obito isn't Tobi most of the time.

Obito would eventually start training the two boys because he doesn't want to actually lose his family like he lost Rin.

Obito would talk badly about Shinobi, but more specifically Kakashi, claiming that Shinobi are scums who take the ones you love the most away.

The day the two boys unlock their Sharingans is when things get serious. He'll teach them everything Madara taught him so that they won't be weak and be unable to protect themselves or you.

Obito would have Haruto and Asahi watch you and tell him if you tried any funny business. They'd be confused on why, but when they get a look from Obito they shut up.

Obito may treat you even worse due to his paranoia and stress due to the kids. Like, whenever he's back from a mission and the kids are asleep, he'll pin you down, grip your neck To choke you, and then fuck his pain, stress and paranoia away, he didn't even ask for consent either.

Obito as a dad is pretty bad. 4/10.

Tobi on the other hand is the best! 9/10.

Madara Uchiha

. Madara... Oh Madara Uchiha...

You two would a have two kids, one boy that literally looks exactly like Madara when he was a kid, the only difference is that he has your eye color, and one girl that's a mix of both you and Madara.

The boy, the oldest, would be named Daku, and this boy Inherited Madara's personality. The girl would be named Sayuri, and she's more of a quiet observer.

Daku is extremely protective over you and Sayuri, sometimes even yelling at Madara is he sees you shaking and crying in you and Madara's shared bedroom covered in bruises and cuts.

Madara is super strict, restricting food as punishment or forcing the kids to sleep in the cold. Madara will leave the kids without food for days until you're begging starts to annoy him and he ends up letting them eat again, but not without you getting punished .

Madara would train Daku, since he's the heir to the Uchiha clan and he wants him to protect Sayuri, since he couldn't protect his little brother.

Madara is already heavily abusive towards you, so it wouldn't be surprising if Daku and Sayuri witnessed it at first hand.

Sayuri is extremely shy and quiet, but she's really attached to Madara, following him around, going to clan meetings with him, begging him to train her and even acting like him to boss around people in the compound, and they have to do her bidding if they don't want to deal Madara.

The day these two unlock their Sharingans is when Madara would make sure these kids know how to fight and defend themselves.

Madara low-key has a favorite and it's Sayuri, since she isn't loud and looks up to him a lot, but Daku on the other hand looks up to you and is loud.

Madara's treating you the same he doesn't care.

Man is extremely mocking towards you, using your kids as leverage and a way to manipulate you into doing his bidding, even if you're hurt after.

He's worse then Obito. 2/10.

[liam-cadmus]

Shikamaru and Sasuke would walk outside the Hyuuga estate, careful disinterest showing in their faces, despite the absolute rage they feel on the inside.

As clan heirs, they both know, that Hyuuga has different traditions, but that doesn't mean it's right.

So whenever they're excused to go, they would slip on tight-lipped smiles, and Sasuke would pull Shikamaru outside the door, hand gripped tight to not let the Nara accidentally punch the stoic face of Hiashi.

He doesn't really know how it started, his and Neji's relationship was one that started off rocky, with their annoyance at each other teetering over the edge every time they meet.

They can somehow just rile up each other, their previous calm and collected figures thrown haphazardly out the window. They leave teasing each other with how better their own dojutsu is over the other.

His annoyance doesn't taint the fact he knows that the screams of pain he hears while getting farther away the main house is not right.

He wills himself to pull Shikamaru farther, not trusting to stop in their steps in case that he himself barges into that house to stop Neji's pain.

He remembers the meetings his mother usually takes, leaving him with Shikamaru and Hinata on a room, the Hyuuga's cousin standing by the corner.

Fugaku was genin teammates with Hiashi and Yoshino, while Mikoto was with Kushina and Shikaku.

So, Shikamaru would mostly be dozing off in the corner, while Hinata would just..read or make flower crowns, that she once placed atop of his head.

He, in his annoying 5-year old body, would bother Neji, looking to bright white eyes with his bottomless onyx ones, glaring.

And..Neji would get defensive and narrow his white eyes, which would then startle the living shit out of him, his own surprise mirroring on pupil-less eyes.

"Stay away," he would say to him, but he never seemed to understand, staying with him while they grew up.

Sasuke, despite his soul screaming at him to come back, doesn't stop dragging Shikamaru to the gates, squeezing the tan hand in his in comfort.

They know, they all know not to intervene, or else Neji would have worse, and he doesn't really want to put the male in much more pain because of him.

Shikamaru seethes with rage, his right hand clenching and unclenching in anger. Sasuke stops by the sidewalk, letting go of their intertwined hands.

He extends his arm, Shikamaru's twitchy hands clasping on his arm covering, tan fingers twisting in the white fabric.

They slowly walk away towards the Uchiha complex, Shikamaru focusing on calming himself down.

"You know that we can't stop him, Shika, as much as we want to." he mumbles, brushing a strand of hair out of his face with his unoccupied hand.

Shikamaru grumbles, "I hate that even I tell my parents, they can't stop Uncle Hiashi."

It's a very known fact after all, you can't fight a clan's traditions, it's against their law, and it's showing disrespect.

Shikamaru knows, for a fact, a lot of things. He knows, after much observation and interrupted naps, that Naruto is (he's sure of it, but he'll find the truth, soon.) the son of the Yondaime and his wife. His uncle...and aunt.

He knows for a fact, that it's illogical, for Itachi Uchiha to massacre the whole clan just to prove his strength.

He seems to be not the only one who has this conclusion, based on his shared glances with Neji when they were sitting by Sasuke's bed side.

He knows, that Itachi loves his brother so much, to death, and did not kill his kin for absolutely no reason.

He knows, that the main family and branch system of the Hyuuga clan is absolutely vile, Neji's pain making him hurt physically, while he and Sasuke wait in the sidelines, helpless in his cries of help.

He knows that once he's a jounin, he'll do everything he can do, to help his friends, survive this nightmare.

He's laying on a patch of grass, underneath a canopy of leaves, watching the clouds pass by.

Neji stumbles up the hill, weak and clutching at his forehead, shivering.

Sasuke looks over from practicing his fire jutsu at the dock, running quickly to support Neji up the hill.

Shikamaru asked him why he bothered to come, that they wouldn't have minded if he was absent, and that he should've rested instead.

All he said was, "I didn't want to be alone."

Shikamaru rapped on the door repeatedly, before stepping away a bit, bowing. "Hiashi-san, would it be alright if I invite Neji to my house, my parents are hoping that he comes to dinner."

Hiashi would frown disapprovingly at him, before relenting, Neji's half smile greeting him when the Hyuuga walked out the door.

He's grateful, that his parents try.

Sees them checking up on Naruto and Sasuke, and by extension, Neji. They try their best to be there for them, the adults being there for their deceased parents, their deceased team mates.

"They would have done the same if they were the one alive." they told him with gentle smile, and a ruffle of hair.

Shikamaru finds out early, that Sasuke and Neji's dojutsu places a strain on their eyes, and chakra pathways, so he learns.

Despite being lazy, he learns medical ninjutsu, on his spare time. He barrels through clan jutsus and training, always making sure to leave space for learning it.

He learns, even if it's so troublesome, he learns.

The grateful smile he receives while green chakra covered hands are pressed to their temples are worth it.

Shikamaru would try to excuse Neji, especially when it's not his fault, just to lessen the pain.

It would never work though, so he just provides comfort after.

Neji, is always brought to the Uchiha compound when he's tired. He would walk through the cold streets towards Sasuke's empty, eerie house.

He would plop down beside Sasuke, leaning his head on his shoulder, while the Uchiha plays shogi against Shikamaru, his right arm across Neji's shoulders, blanketing him in warmth.

His breathing matches with theirs, their quiet murmuring lulling him to sleep.

Neji looks at Shikamaru, the two of them of them sporting frowns on their faces. Yoshino and Shikaku sit by the the table, pale in the face, gripping the table tight.

Shikamaru shared another alarmed glance before pursing his lips, undoubtedly going through multiple reasons why.

Why did Itachi murder the whole clan? Wait, Sasuke-

Shikamaru and Neji's heart stopped, before the two scramble to stand, leaving the table and out of the Nara compound, running with all their might with their small legs.

They pant, looking up to the various yellow tapes surrounding the once loud and lived in compound, splotches of blood smearing across the windows and floor, coppery tang of it making them scrunch their nose.

Shikamaru almost gags when two ANBU guards carry a cold, lifeless Mikoto out of the door, her hand limp on the side.

Neji fights the urge to cry, approaching Chouza, before Shikaku shows up behind them, hugging them both to his chest.

He holds them close, before settling Neji on his hip, and Shikamaru on his shoulders, smiling sadly at Chouza before body flickering to the hospital.

A pale, so so very pale, almost grey looking boy lay against white sheets, charcoal hair falling around his face, furrowed brows and shuffling on the bed.

They breathe out in relief seeing their friend alive, before hearing "He's trapped in a genjutsu."

Sasuke opens his eyes, gasping for breath, crying. He can't breathe, feeling blood all over his body and palms, blood choking him. He sobs, his Sharingan activating for a moment before slumping towards Shikaku's chest, the man letting the boy grieve.

Sasuke hears in the darkness, "We're here, always."

Neji places himself on Sasuke's back, glaring back at the whispers and prying eyes around him. Shikamaru flanks Sasuke's front, scowling at whoever tries to accuse bloody murder on his friend.

They sleep beside him, hoping to lessen his nightmares, and staying up with him when he wakes up crying.

"Sas, you know your brother is not like that right?"

"I know, I just don't understand why."

Shikamaru frowns at him, seeing the scars on his chest and upper arms. He glowers at him before clicking his tongue, muttering "Such a drag." under his breath, mouth turned down in worry.

"I had to protect the idiot. Got the Sharingan though."

They don't bother correcting him.

Neji stares at the cursed mark on Sasuke's shoulder, his thumb absentmindedly grazing across it.

What has Sasuke done to you? Why make him suffer?

Sasuke glares at Danzo, before Kakashi body flickers, pulling at the bandages.

Neji's suspicion was true, it was full of sharingan eyes, Shisui's Mangekyou in Danzo's eyesocket.

Sasuke stiffens, opening and closing his mouth before he staggers back ward, Mangekyou Sharingan spinning in his eyes.

He growls, "How dare you."

  (Shikaku, and Yoshino are protective of the boys, along with Iruka and Kakashi. Tsume even threatened Hiashi if he intervenes with the children.

"I've already seen our friends die, I'm not letting you ruin the friendship we wanted for the kids."

Konoha 12 is very tight knit, very protective.)

[jacarandabanyan]

📚for the fanfic plot ask thing!📚

Okay so- plot of one (of many) fanfic I haven't written (because to be honest, I don't have the skill to pull this off yet) but often daydream about:

I would love to write a This-Is-How-You-Loose-The-Time-War-inspired spy-vs-spy KisaIta fic. It would feature baby ANBU Itachi trying desperately to find a solution to the tensions brewing between his family and the village (massacre was still a few years off when he first joined ANBU, I believe). This eventually leads to him hunting down all reports/intelligence related to the night of the Kyuubi Attack and finding a few small scraps of information that hint at the existence of the Masked Man.

(He is a pre-teen, so he doesn't really *get* that finding a different scapegoat/"revealing the truth of what happened that night" probably isn't going to fix issues that are rooted in three generations of Village Policy and History, because he may be a genius at killing people but his education has not emphasized critical thinking)

He eventually tracks what little (extremely scant) evidence he has to Kiri, where he comes to believe the Masked Man is operating.

He gets himself sent on endless missions to the Land of Water in pursuit of his pet project, gaining himself a reputation in the process. There are no shortage of missions- the Land of Water is rapidly devolving into three different simultaneous civil wars, and resentment over the last Great Shinobi War lingers enough that Kiri and Konoha will likely never be friends in Itachi's lifetime.

(This is gonna get really long, so here's a read more)

At the same time, recently-made-ANBU Kisame has been mostly assigned to intelligence-related missions, as in canon. However, over the course of his first few months worth of missions, he comes to suspect that there's a leak in ANBU, and he sets about trying to find it and silence it. He slowly develops a reputation for ruthlessness even among ANBU, a cut above the normal Kiri ruthlessness, as he secretly works to get his fingers into every hidden nook, cranny, and conspiracy until he finds the disloyal one.

(And maybe he's projecting his issues/self-hatred related to killing other Kiri ninha just. a little bit. on this mysterious leaker. How dare this person sell out the Village? How dare they give out the information that gets other Kiri shinobi killed? It's easier to hate the faceless traitor than it is to hate himself. And at least he still *has* values. He killed the Few to protect the Whole.)

Over time, as the two develop their reputations, their respective villages start pitting them against each other in the field. Konoha has an unofficial policy of trying to off Seven Swordsmen hopefuls before they can get powerful enough to actually get a blade, and Kirigakure knows that the unstoppable Konoha operative is a Sharingan-user, and Obito-controlling-the-Mizukage is always down to take down his estranged family members.

Danzo is less eager to have Itachi take care of the Uchiha for good, not out of any particular maneuvering on Itachi's part, but because he also remembers the last Great Shinobi War, and how brutal Kirigakure was during it. He sees their ongoing civil strife and fears that one faction will eventually WIN and turn their attention on their neighbors. Itachi has made himself the best operative at getting into and out of Kirigakure- if he wants to interfere from the shadows and keep the civil strife going, he needs to keep Itachi in the field. (Don't worry, he finds other ways to be awful/keep the pressure on).

Itachi and Kisame are a good match-up. Itachi might be a natural genius with a fancy kekkei-genkai, but Kisame has way more experience than him. Also, unlike laser-focused Itachi, Kisame is actually keyed into the intelligence world, so he always has more information than Itachi.

They clash over and over again over several years, and slowly learn more and more about each other. They mature into seasoned ANBU operatives, have epiphanies about themselves and their villages. And slowly come to like each other.

Itachi has his sexual awakening when he sees Kisame rise up out of an ocean of blood, shirtless, effortlessly hoisting a struggling Jonin one-handed over his shoulder, big tooth-filled grin on his face.

They infiltrate each others' villages and insert themselves into each others' missions in disguise. Itachi genjutsus a Kiri team to think he's one of their teammates, whom Kisame secretly has orders to eliminate. He feels a surge of relief when the teammate he'd known since his Academy days dissolves into a murder of crows moments before his sword pierces their chest- his teammate is still dead, but at least this time they were killed by an enemy, not Kisame himself.

Kisame knows his mysterious counterpart is a Sharingan-user, so he infiltrates the Uchiha compound to tease out what the situation is with the clan in Konoha right now (and maybe see if he can figure out who his counterpart is).

While he's in the village, tracking kekkei-genkai users, he discovers Root and exposes it. This is both a huge win for Kiri Intelligence and put Danzo in a tricky situation, since he supposedly disbanded it.

Eventually Kisame figures out that some of the leaked information is making its way to Danzo, so he goes to kill Danzo and try and figure out who he's getting his information from. This is right around when Danzo's started making threatening noises towards the Uchiha again, since Root was just rediscovered (by foreign intelligence, no less!) and he needs to redirect attention off himself and onto the Uchiha. He's even considering the total elimination plan again- Itachi's work in the Land of Water is valuable, but not more valuable than consolidating control over the Village.

(Or perhaps he doesn't need Itachi for this- Shisui is also a talented ANBU operative, after all. Sasuke was originally supposed to be the spare Uchiha left alive in the village, so they wouldn't loose the precious Sharingan, but it's becoming increasingly clear that while he's good, he's not as good as Itachi. Why keep the subpar tool and throw away the masterwork?)

Itachi develops a humorous problem where he's leading three different fake lives, and is covering up with by genjutsu-wammying anyone who might notice anything suspicious in the timing of his long absences. He's infiltrated Mei's rebellion as a spy who needs to disappear a lot to go do spy stuff, while at the same time pretending to be an official in the Water Daimyo's court, while also posing as a regular Kiri Jounin.

His Regular Kiri Jounin act is so solid, they give him a genin team. One of the genin is related to the civilian official he's impersonating in the Daimyo's court, and she constantly comes to see him and tell him all about her sensei. On of the other genin on the team is related to a the Mizukage, and Mei orders him to kidnap that genin away from their sensei, which is also him, so that he can be used as leverage. The third genin turns out to be a secret kekkei-genkai user, and actually wants to be kidnapped away to the rebellion so that they won't have to live in fear of being discovered, and also because they hate the current government. This genin who wants to be kidnapped is constantly fighting with the genin he's actually supposed to kidnap, and whines that "Sensei, you're not supposed to play favorites! Why do they get to get kidnapped but I don't? They don't even want to get kidnapped!"

(Itachi the Regular Kiri Jounin, who is Unquestionably Loyal and Totally Not a Radical Who Would Join the Rebellion, ends up dating Kisame, whose identity as an ANBU is technically a secret. This relationship runs on willful ignorance.)

Kisame and Itachi would end up taking each others' places at some point to take down each others' mentors- Kisame walks right into Danzo's office looking like Itachi, and no one blinks when they sense the genjutsu because Itachi is always casting genjutsus. No one even realizes anything's wrong until Danzo's dead and "Itachi" is making his getaway.

Itachi would be approached by Fuguki at some point with an offer to sell information, and immediately realizes that this is Kisame's leak. He argues to Danzo's replacement that the value of Kiri's ANBU turning on each other is greater than the value of having someone willing to sell the occasional nugget of info. He has to work not to laugh behind his ANBU mask, because Konoha nin just don't get how down Kiri nin are to turn on each other at the drop of a hat. "Turning Kiri ANBU against each other" please, as if the Seven Swordsmen don't regularly train their own murderers. As if one of the fastest ways to gain cache isn't by offing your superiors. It's like Konoha Intelligence knows nothing.

He wins his case, and reveals what he knows to Kisame, who goes and kills Fuguki like he did in canon. Obito reveals himself, same as in canon, and Kisame immediately knows how he's going to pay Itachi back. He's still disillusioned with the Shinobi world like in canon, but he had his initial Pit of Despair moment years ago, when he figured out there was a leak in ANBU and that truly there were lies everywhere. He's learned how to compartmentalize since then.

He pretends to join Obito so that he can feed Itachi information. Together they take down Obito, revealing his crimes to both Kiri and Konoha.

It should be over then- Kisame found the leak, Itachi cleared his family's name- but it's been around a decade at this point. Both of them have played so many roles as spies that they don't know how to go back to who they were before.

Itachi's almost spent more of his life in the Land of Water than in the Land of Fire at this point, and he certainly knows more people there than in the Land of Fire. He's passed his twentieth birthday by now, and he's no longer a pre-teen with no concept of the world and his place in it outside of Konoha Propaganda/Brainwashing. He doesn't know how to relate to Sasuke's fierce, uncomplicated desire to grow up to be the best Shinobi, because how can he think that's a good thing at this point?

Meanwhile, Kisame still kind of hoped that killing the liars/traitors who had sent so many Kiri-nin to their deaths would make him feel better about all the comrade-killing, but it doesn't. He can't seem to reconcile his absolute loyalty to the Village and its ideals with his disgust at everything they do.

For a brief while, he and Itachi join Mei's rebellion for realsies (Itachi still as one of his undercover roles) and help her topple the Bloody Mist government and install a new one, but it's not enough. What she's proposing is still a Ninja Village. It's better than what there was before, but that's not really a ringing endorsement.

Itachi's the first one to decide to walk away. He lets Kisame "kill" him on a random mission in a way that doesn't lend itself to a body being returned or retrieved, then settles down and builds himself a life as a secret kekkei-genkai child who grew up hidden like Mei, but never learned to be a proper shinobi. He spends his days at a quiet house outside Kiri proper gardening and making jam by the side of a lake Kisame made during one of his fights with Itachi. There's a ghost town near the lake, emptied during the Civil War years. He develops a reputation as a ghost.

Kisame walks away not long after. He can't really leave, of course- unlike Itachi, he has no desire to settle down in a foreign country, and too many people know him here- but he does step away from active duty. He "kills" Itachi The Regular Kiri Jounin-Sensei and takes his genin team for himself. The kids know something's up because their Sensei still visits them sometimes, though he half-heartedly tries to convince them he's a ghost. They help spread the story about the ghost living by the lake anyway, just in case anyone starts investigating.

Kisame quietly moves out of his shitty Kiri apartment to join Itachi by the lake. Some of the seven swordsmen do come investigating then, but when they discover that Kisame's just moving in with his squeeze who he really sexily fake-murdered, they decide not to do anything about it. Besides, they like Itachi and don't want to have to write up a report about how dangerous it is to Kiri security that he lounges around a lake all day, drawing birds and cooking elaborate meals in an attempt to blend the comfort food of his youth with the produce and spices native to Kiri that are honestly more familiar to him at this point than the ones that grow in the Land of Fire.

Itachi sometimes goes and visits Sasuke and Shisui back in Konoha, but mostly he hangs out in his new home and lives out his soft, domestic, non-violent dreams with Kisame and his cute little genin. It's a sappy ending.

[uchihashisui-kun]

❂

Shisui could barely stand.

He wasn't injured, or at least not too much. There were some minor cuts and bruises, but other than that he was in top physical form.

More or less.

The problem was the level of his chakra reserves, barely enough to keep him to his feet while he stared at the body laying at his feet.

The fight hadn't been excessively hard, but the enemy had been fast enough that even Shisui had had problems catching her. She hadn't landed any big hit neither on Shisui nor Kakashi, but she had important informations and the two ANBU couldn't simply kill her.

Shisui had never before used his Mangekyō in front of someone who wasn't Itachi, but the situation had called for it and he trusted Kakashi enough to know that he would never tell his secrets around, especially since the Uchiha were extremely protective of their Dojutsu and secrets held within it.

An instant had been all Shisui had needed to catch the enemy's eyes with his spinning Mangekyō, and the world around him had changed in a way he will never learn to be ready for.

Shuffling through memories with pinpoint accuracy was difficult, and even more to find the right points in time to put the genjutsu, little things that linked themselves together in an inescapable net of carefully built lies.

It had been so sickly easy for Shisui to change distrust in trust, to make her open up to them. From the outside it had happened all in the blink of an eye, but Shisui felt like days had passed instead.

She had talked and talked about everything she knew and then she had killed herself, that was the command Shisui's Mangekyō had put in her mind because they couldn't keep her alive, and now he was swaying on his feet for the absurd amount of chakra the technique had taken from him.

There was a reason why he couldn't use it too often.

He didn't even notice Kakashi approaching him, and the hand cupping his left cheek made him flinch just slightly.

Shisui tried to focus on Kakashi's face, but the sight on his left eye was incredibly blurry right now and it was hard to concentrate. He barely registered the thumb swiping away the blood that had poured out from that eye and that was slowly drying on his face.

Shisui blinked several times, trying for a smile while he turned his head just enough to lean in the touch. "Are there any other enemies around?" He wasn't in condition to fight, if he used any more chakra he would probably just flop on the ground and stay there, but he needed to know if their target had had any back-up with her.

Shisui let out a small huffed laugh, closing his left eye so that its blurry sight wouldn't clash with the better sight on his right eye. The difference was giving him a headache. "And how's it that your chakra's higher than mine this time?"

[muma-paduriilor-blog]

It all starts with the change of kushina’s death. To try to save her life she is escorted to the Uzumaki village, where she would give birth and there they are attacked. The village is in ruin, kushina is dead and her child is lost.

Minato had gotten there as quickly as possible and there he fought the rampaging nine tail and attacker. He is hurt, and after sealing the fox into his son, the only possible vessel for the nine tails as their chakra was too large for anybody without the genes to hide it

So Minato dies also, and old man sarutobi gets there and doesn’t know what to do

He knew from Itachi that something was going on.

And the attack exemplified there were traitors in the mids of hidden leaf and  more importantly inside the anbu and inside the kage council.

So he calls the only person possible to help him.

He calls Jiraiya, Naruto’s godfather, and tells him to hide Naruto from everybody

As far as anyone knows, all the namikaze family died and the nine tails is lost

The thing is, in this situation after seeing the state of Tsunade and everything else Orochimaru decides to act quicker gets into anbu to try to get closer to the secrets of the hidden leaf.

And he stumbles over the Danzo’s little experiments with the hashirama cells

He knows he needs to spill this

But thinking this is his one chance to power and immortality he waits until he can get his hands on those experiments first

But danzo gets wind of this and pins everything on orochimaru

Which makes ororchimaru a criminal and he needs to run and hide

At this point tsunade becomes is mia and emotionally broken so she will be out of the story for a while

Ororchimaru manages to get to jirayia

And trough some wonders jirayia listens to him and tries to get sarutobi to see danzo is corrupt

There is some animosity as jirayia had not taken the role of kage

Which led to mint becoming it, dying

And sarutobi and jiraya both believe if jiraya had stayed and helped the deaths could have been avoided

They do agreee they need to be careful

Danzo is not the only bad guy and they need to see how far the corruption runs and just where from danzo got all those bad secret super dangerous jutus

Meanwhile itchy and shinsui get into anbu

And shit hits the fan when shinsui gets hurt

So itachi hides shinsui and tries to heal him

Then danzo asks for the death of the uchiha

And then they go to see danzo and there they fight him

shinsui is badly hurt and is almost surely dyeing

At the same time, Izumi finds about the plan and goes to the kage and jirayia for help change itachi and shisui’s mind

Thinking that shisui died itachi kills danzo

Everyone thinks that itachi is a murder  

Izumi stays in the village and using some genjutsu she manages to postpone the uchiha riots

Meanwhile shisui was helped miraculously by Shizune who was traveling inside the village

Jiraya helped itachi and shisui find her after the Danzo incident

So shisui doesn’t die YET ? MAYBE ?

I mean I have to paths here: shisui dies and kisame replaces him in the relationship role/ shinsui lives/ both kisame and shisui become part of itachi’s life

For now what is important is that they use itachi’s “crime” to arrest all the people plotting the assassination of the kage

And  that ostracises the uchihas

Not only that but both sasuke and fukagu are traitors

So he  really starts to hate the village

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY

Naruto is being raised by the sanins

You see, after escaping to one of the other smaller hidden villages orochimaru tries one more thing to obtain immortality trough the sage mode

He goes to the snake cave and actually fights his way and is almost killed by the venom

Jirayia actually finds this and runs to help orochimaru’s ass

After that, jirayia actually says he will take half the poison greatly hurting him to save orochimaru’s sorry ass

After all this time emotions hit orochimaru like a bitch and gets, in his late twenties, the whole empathy and bond thing

That starts anew the relationship between the tree seeing

Orochimaru writes to tsunade about his life

And tsunade stops feeling so alone

Returns to the village to push for reforms and becomes a very hard working and proactive politician greatly loved by the people and one of the most important factors to combat the corruption inside konoha

Meanwhile orochimaru settles down

And only sometimes experiments on himself

But now he only has the goal of making the largest library of jutus ever and documenting unique forms of jutus

So all the people would still be there only not addicts

The first cases to take in for healing are Izumi itachi and shisui

And he’s like: ”the fuck, when did I become a foster house for the uchihas”

But it work cause they look after each other and so on \

And because jirayia has to leave some times

And orochimaru is the only senin that has a “home” he ends up babysitting quite a bit

And naruto ends up calling calling jiraya dada and and orochimaru “mama” cause he has pretty and soft hair

The uchihas and eventually kabuto become “brothers”

Kabuto goes and studies under tsunade, wishing to finally change the system that done him dirty

Becoming one of the best medic nin in the while- specialising in genetic

Karin is beyond herself to finally see another uzumaki

After their village was destroyed there was a massacre

Having happened during a war the uzumakis had been hunted by lesser ninjas for their secrets sealing techniques and high chakra supply

She had been born in captivity and had barely escaped

Anyways, naruto grows up very different

Highly uprooted due to most of his time spent on the road

After itachi goes to join the akatsuki to obtain inside intel, orochimaru’s lair is quite lonely and till the Toka team arrives

and he never spent as much time with tsunade as by this time she was filled with paperwork and in line for the next hokage

So she couldn’t leave the village

Anyway all this changes when he turns ten

Jirayia sends him to school in the hidden leaf

There he lives supervised by tsunade and get to know each other better

The thing is that in school he does pretty sucky

At first everyone is super excited about him

There are never many new students

And he had such a close relationship with tsunade and the hokage

But his chakra is so unstable that he cannot do jutus correctly

And he is too impatient to use taijutsu and genjutsu

Combine that with his annoying happy go lucky attitude and be quickly becomes the class buffoon

He end iruka get to become good good friends

The events of the first episode still happen

And for the next few episodes too

Only sasuke gives a much scarier aura, since he very much hates the village

Naruto recognizes sasuke as Itachi’s lil bro and seeing how the village hates the uchias and the state of sasuke kind of make him…think, feel stuff

And they just don’t get along

They hate each other

Here I want naruto to know about the attack of the nine tails and they are sealed In him

So when irk tells him about how his parents had died

He again is said

Some talk and everyone agrees they can trust iruka and he is told the truth

Iruka gets over his pain

And their relationship is stronger

Naruto also finds out about how the bijuus are treated and seen

After the attack of the first and nine tails they became outcasts

anyway

Going back to team saven

Sakura is still there and this time she plays a quite different role

She, her fallout with ino happened because shikamaru didn’t stop his communication with sasuke

Both were pretty laid out with chill personalities

And shikamaru liked that he didn’t need to put effort in that relationship

But most people hated sasuke

Sakura was very social savvy and as soon as ino started spending more time with sasuke she was quick to fight

She was also jealous

Ever since they had started their ninja training ino had began training as a part of inoshikacho

And subsequently left sakura on her own which pushed sakura to become a ninja and be better than ino

In their teamwork test there is a lot less protest than in the original

Sasuke and naruto have more of actual animosity than a rivalry

And they are pretty much ready to fail

But after sakura is cornered and put under a genjutsu

Well they help her get out and together make a plan that still fails

But they do earn their respect and finally get on to their first mission

And for the next couple chapter things go their way.

The zabuza  arc is the same

With some changes in the character interactions

Naruto and sasuke  end up paired together and learn to trust each other

They talk about how they both feel left out inside the village and bond over their lonelyness

This is the first time sakura feels a sense of overwhelming

She becomes aware of her teammates’ situation and after the mission she vows to become stronger

next arc!!!!!

The chunin exam

Here is where things divert

So sakura actually gets the highest score in the exam and takes both minato and itchi’s records

Shikamaru could have gotten it <and would have actually gotten a higher mark but due to laziness he only did enough to pass>

Also, during the zabuza arc naruto had used the fox chakra

The zetsus found him as such and this is where the akatsuki came into play

Itachi hears of this plan to get naruto and heads out for the hidden village as he cannot find jiraya

Meanwhile orochimaru is at the the second part of the chunin exam to protect team seven from the sand nin

They run into ino’s team who was attacked by the gaara’s team

Things go bad when they are attacked and after using the fox chakra, naruto passes out

But the sand team leaves them

Hinata’s team also arrives after kiba smells blood and nejii’s team watches from afar

Due to each team having both scrolls they end up in  standstill of sorts, a strange peace agreement

This is the first time all the leaf genin interact fully and get to know each other

One the fight dulls down sasuke and sakura find naruto passed out and  ororchimaru nearby

This fear has sasuke awaken the sharingan in full form but before they can get to blows naruto stops sasuke

“hey orochimaru-sensei ….”yada yada

Naruto says that he is not allowed to say anything and orochimaru leaves saying that he needs to be careful of the sand nin gaara

Orochimaru leaves and naruto tells them not to worry

The kage knows about all this

So they leave it be for now

This is where sasuke get into a bad mindset

He is used to being the best: no amount of isolation could ever diminish his accomplishments

Yet in the last situation, naruto protected them against foe again

They make it out the forest and into the other round

This is where I leave it for now

[itachislucius88]

ItaNaru Headcanon’s (Non Massacre AU)

So, this one I’m doing on my computer, here’s hoping it will be less messy. For @descendantsoffairytail  (Like I couldn’t figure out it was you.) ~Itachi 

Itachi isn’t a man of extroversion, but he isn’t an introvert either. He had always been more in leanings towards the latter however. Preferring the quiet near the riverside then the busy streets of Konoha. Of course with Naruto as one’s partner quiet isn’t the easiest thing to come by. Typically the blond will pull his boyfriend out with him to eat, train or simply meet his friends.

Both Itachi and Naruto love the outdoors and if you seek them that is where they will be found. Usually strolling through Konoha or training together. The indoors just doesn’t hold much appeal for either of them. It is often considered a sharp contrast to the village to see them together. As one of them is loud and brash, while the other is calm and sensible, many citizen and shinobi alike make bets on how long (or short as the case my be) they’re relationship will truly be. 

When they first started dating, it was extremely awkward for the both of them. Itachi was the one who asked, and for a few weeks both of them had wished he hadn’t. Simply put they danced around each other, and didn’t know how to respond to a new dynamic put forth. Until of course they realized dating didn’t really have to change anything. It was a joint realization. 

Once their relationship was made semi-public one can imagine there was much outcry and protest. The prestigious heir and prodigy of the Uchiha clan in intimate bonds with the orphan who hosted the Kyuubi? Almost the entire village despised the union, and the Uchiha clan were forced to bare the brunt. Surprisingly most of the Uchiha remained in defense of the couple, and even offered Naruto a place to stay if things got out of hand. Shisui had often been the one to quiet the unkind villagers and fighting clans, not always in a kind way.

Mikoto had a problem with Naruto throughout much of their early relationship, and by the time the sixth month had come around she had taken to dueling him in the middle of the Uchiha compound for the right to her sons hand. It had not been a pleasant exchange. Naruto had been caught in a sharingan induced Genjutsu three times with Itachi flinching on the sidelines the entire time. Sasuke had found the whole thing hilarious. 

Missions were never handled well with either of them. Naruto would be consistently by Itachi’s side when the man had to go on a mission, and wouldn’t leave until he was forced to. At which point it was ten minutes of “Don’t hurt yourself to badly. Come back to me whole or I’ll kick your ass!” And general fussing before the Uchiha was even allowed past the gates by his partner. Naruto remained mostly fine after Itachi left however. For Itachi on the other hand, it was slightly different. He was always proud when Naruto got a higher class mission, but he didn’t necessarily like it. Every evening before Naruto’s departure he would make meals for the Uzumaki to take with him on his journey, healthy meals that held much protein and antibodies. Just before Naruto leaves he gets a breath stealing snog born from pure protective instinct. After he leaves Itachi gets more and more nervous until he returns. 

If a villager gets bold, and decides to take his aggression out on Naruto, that villager better pray that Itachi doesn’t hear of it. The man is vicious when you scorn the one he loves. Not physically either, but he will verbally tare you apart and then proceed to ruin your reputation in the village. 

As a Libra and a Gemini these two are an extremely compatible love match. They both love to share with each other their individual viewpoints, think of different battle plans and generally ravel in the simple communication that comes with being a Libra and Gemini power couple. It is said that this combination compliments the other perfectly. Fights are quick to end, and even quicker resolved between these two. Everything is about communication, and both of them do it very well. 

[kuriquinn]

Penthesilea [15/?]

Cover & Disclaimer: 

Chapter Summary:  The three of them – four, including Itachi – are still weakened from the healing ritual. Danzō has the advantage of years of experience and the element of surprise.

Chapter Beta: None besides my own eyes and spellcheck software at the moment.

“But that’s…that’s impossible,” Sakura says slowly, analysing what Sasuke said.

“Nohe Sasuke replies. “It just means that Danzō hasn’t been idle.”

“Danzō?” she repeats, and then it clicks. “Shisui’s eyes were stolen. You think Danzō somehow…transplanted them, or—?”

Her speculation is cut off as another thunderous explosion echoes from up ahead. The green giant is joined by another leviathan of chakra—this one blazing the colour of a sunset. A flaming sword materialises in its right hand, shield in its left, and Sasuke’s mouth goes dry.

“That’s Itachi.”

He slides back down through the leaves to the stronger tree branches and charges in the direction of the battle. Behind him, Sakura curses and does the same. She might know nothing about the Susanoo, but even she can figure out that if Itachi has had to activate it, things are dire.

Given how much chakra one needs to maintain it, we need to get to him fast!

On a normal day, a man like Danzō would be nothing for Itachi to defeat, either in single combat or like this. But the leader of the Uchiha, like his brother, is not at his full strength yet. And if he is using a Susanoo so quickly, it means he is hoping to end the battle fast, before he is too weak to fight.

He and Sakura burst out of the forest, intending to follow the path over the cliff and into the ravine, only to find their path forward obscured.

Around the smoking, caved-in ruins of the forest shrine, an all-out battle has broken out between the gathered forces. Main clans and their vassal forces clash, using their light weaponry and shinobi arts to tear each other apart in flagrant defiance of the supposed peace.

Naruto is in the middle of it all, splintered into several dozen clones which trade blows with their opponents. The scene is unfortunately too familiar to Sasuke, but to have it happen now of all places—

Wait.

His Sharingan picks up a detail that didn’t immediately present itself: Naruto may be fighting, but he and his clones are not using lethal force. Even stranger, those people he is facing off against—are his own people.

Members of his own delegation.

A group of them—Senju, Uzumaki and their allies—surround the blond man. He vaults into the arms of a one of his clones, who swings him forward and around to kick his closest challengers in the face. The clone vanishes, but Naruto’s momentum remains; in mid-air, he draws out his sheathed sword and whips it in a wide arc to down those coming at him.

“What’s going on?” Sakura cries, stunned.

“I have no idea,” Sasuke replies, distracted. He tries to see a way around the melee and get to where his brother is, but the moment he enters the clearing, several of his own allies attack him. Three members of the Hōzuki clan, judging by the swords.

Sasuke forces them backward, expelling a blazing katon in warning, but their place is taken by the bespectacled Uzumaki woman from earlier. She lunges, naginata sweeping at him in a deadly arc while chains of chakra lash out from her body, encircling his hands and sword before he can draw it.

Sakura darts forward, hands glowing, and with a quick movement slices through the chains with chakra scalpels, but the naginata nearly finds its mark. Sasuke manoeuvres into place to nudge it from its deadly path, taking a bruising wound to his shoulder in the process. In his peripheral vision, he sees the oldest Hōzuki swordsman approaching once more.

“Brace yourself,” Sakura orders, but doesn’t give him much time before stomping her foot down hard, sending a wave of crumbling earth at their would-be assailant. The Uzumaki woman also falters, crumpling to her knees, and Sasuke uses the opportunity to draw his sword, preparing to strike—

“Don’t kill anyone!” Naruto bellows from nearby. “They can’t control themselves right now!” At the last second, Sasuke reverse his sword and simply strikes her across the face to knock her out. Sakura catches her fallen naginata in both hands. “What the took you two so long?!”

Sasuke doesn’t answer, instead countering, “What the hell happened?”

Behind Naruto, he can make out Hinata cowering beside the pale man that arrived with Sakura.

Sai, Sasuke remembers as he looks for Neji, because it’s his duty to protect the heir of his clan, not one of the Senju—

And finds him kneeling on the ground several feet away, screaming and clutching at his forehead. He’s not the only one, either—almost the entire Hyūga delegation is yelling and writhing as well. In the middle of them, Hinata’s younger sister stands expressionless, fingers arranged in an unknown sign.

“What’s she doing?” Sakura asks.

“It’s…it’s juinjutsu,” Hinata murmurs. “It’s supposed to stop the possibility of rebellion within the family, but—”

“But she’s using it to kill them!” Sakura cries. “How do we stop it?”

“I…I don’t…”

If Sasuke didn’t suspect Hinata’s place amongst her people was in jeopardy before, he does now.

Sai is already vaulting towards the younger Hyūga. He brandishes a scroll, and with a flourish of ink, a living image of a bird appears, picking him up. It flies him over the heads of several combatants and drops him before Hanabi.

She lashes out at him with Jūken, but he grabs her sleeve, careful not to touch her. Using the sleeves to neutralise her arm, he tries to bring her close enough to land a blow. However, Hanabi twists her body backward and around Sai, aiming a back-kick to his sternum.

He staggers, releasing her, and she recovers, taking a menacing step forward. Sai regains his balance and snaps a kick to her face which sends her reeling. Then he lunges at her, skidding low as his builds momentum and trying to sweep her knees out from under her. She dodges, grasping at him with glowing palms that he just barely avoids.

“Hanabi, no!” Hinata shouts suddenly, but it cuts into a cry of surprise as giant of a man, almost twice her size, hammers down at her with his fist.

“Hinata!” Naruto shouts, running toward her, but his way is blocked.

He won’t make it, Sasuke realises moments before the giant’s blow connects. Hinata is thrown through the ruins of the building, blanketing the area in a thick layer of dust.

“No!” Naruto cries in disbelief, as the dust clears to reveal the broken body within.

It flickers and pops, leaving a block of wood in its wake.

“Kawarimi!” Sakura gasps in relief, and even Sasuke released the breath he didn’t notice he was holding. Hinata appears several feet away, looking surprised that she was successful, but there isn’t much time to celebrate as a new wave of combatants engulf Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto.

“Where is Tsunade-shishou?” Sakura cries, jabbing her stolen naginata outward to defend against the sudden influx of her own people. “And Shizune, and…?”

“There is no Tsunade!” Naruto replies furiously, retreating a few feet until he and Sasuke are back to back, bracketing her on either side. “Danzō had himself disguised. It was so well-done even Hinata and that other Uchiha couldn’t tell—”

“Where’s Obito?” Sasuke demands, knocking someone in the face with the hilt of his sword. “And Yakumi, and the others?”

“Somewhere in there,” Naruto jerks his head toward the ruins of the shrine, which conveniently allows him to duck a shuriken thrown at his head. “With Shizune and whoever else got stuck in the collapse. Obito threw himself in front of Itachi when Danzō pulled his little trick. He’s stuck under the rubble, and we’re trying to get him out, but getting to him is…kind of not possible right now.”

“Wait, but how—?”

Sakura is cut off as the world shakes.

Far below, in the forest valley below, the two chakra pillars clash that belong to Danzō and Itachi continue to clash.

Danzō’s stolen Susanoo crouches forward, one palm out toward Itachi’s, and the other holding its sword high, pointed forward. Then, it lunges. Itachi’s jumps into the air to avoid it, drawing back its own sword and slicing outward in a wide arc. The green Susanoo—or rather, Danzō—turns at the last second to avoid it, and brings his blade up to breach the armour, near the ribs. Itachi’s Susanoo shudders, and Danzō uses the blade as a hook, whipping Itachi and his Susanoo across the valley.

Forests splinter and streams evaporate on contact with the chakra monster.

“I don’t understand,” Sakura grunts, shoving an Uzumaki swordsman to the ground. “If Tsunade isn’t here, where is she? And how did Danzō fool an entire delegation of people trained to detect deception? Even if he wasn’t using genjutsu or henge, there aren’t many cosmetic ways to disguise yourself so convincingly!”

“Kotoamatsukami,”  Sasuke answers grimly, using several strings of wire to trip a soldier about to stab Naruto in the back. “Shisui’s dōjutsu ability allowed him to manipulate people’s thoughts without them being aware of it.” His cousin’s Mangekyō was always rumoured to have been stronger than Itachi’s, but the two of them were so close they never put it to the test. “But Obito should have noticed something…”

Members of Madara’s bloodline are notoriously sensitive to other Sharingan.

“I think that’s why Danzō didn’t waste time,” Naruto mutters. “One minute, Itachi was asking the conclave to wait until you two returned, and then Tsunade stood up and said the conclave was a waste of time. She said that it would be better if the Uchiha and their allies simply destroyed themselves and each other, for the good of everyone else. But then it wasn’t Tsunade standing there anymore, it was Danzō. Next thing I know, everyone’s attacking everyone else. I wanted to, too, but Kurama stopped me—”

“Hinata and Sai weren’t effected?” Sakura wants to know.

“They were the closest to me when it happened,” Naruto explains. “I would have covered everyone, but…” A dark look of regret passes over his face. “I’m still not at my full strength since…you know.”

There’s an angry scream as Hanabi lashes out at Sai with Jūken,

They trade several blows, her on the attack and he trying to defend himself from her touch; the only thing that saves his life is the cumbersome nature of her fine robes. Hanabi seems to realise her impediment because she backs away and pulls something from her hair—a kanzashi which has been sharpened to the same deadly point as a kunai. She makes another move for him. The tip swipes his cheek, but Sai quickly catches her arm and pushes it back, grabbing it in two places to force it backwards. Undeterred, Hanabi flicks her wrist, tossing the blade into the air and catching it with her other hand, before taking a swipe at Sai’s unguarded back.

He releases her arm and ducks at the last moment, the blade slicing through the back of his clothes but otherwise leaving him unharmed. She thrusts at him again, entering his own range, and he pulls her close, invalidating both their attack ranges as he fights her for the blade. They push it back and forth between one another’s throats, and it seems here he at least has the advantage of strength.

Then, her pinky stretches out and rests against his hand, blocking the chakra points there. It must be painful, because he wavers, and the sharp edge brushes his throat.

“We have to do something!” Sakura growls, flipping someone over her shoulder.

“Be my guest,” Sasuke retorts as he ducks an axe.

“Hold on, Sai—” Naruto begins, but then there’s a shocked cry from Hinata.

Three men materialise behind her, too close in proximity for her to escape like before. She tries to do something—her hands and arms seem to be encompassed with blue flame for a moment—but then it flickers out.

Panic flashes across her features.

Naruto’s eyes flit from her to where Sai continues to lose ground to Hanabi, and Sasuke sees him choose.

The blond man dives through the air, taking a running leap at the closest man to Hinata, bringing his fist down and punching him in the chest. He catches the blades of the other two with his bare hands, the edges not harming him because his palms are encompassed with the red-gold chakra of the demon. He shoves the swords back up, and while his opponents recover, lashes out with his limbs. Kicking out with his heel, Naruto sends the second man reeling back, and then downs the third with a right hook. As the first man recovers, taking a swipe at him, Naruto sweeps his foot in the air in an arc, downing him for good this time.

Landing in a crouch, he exhales sharply, and then glances back at Hinata. “Are you okay?”

She stares at him in awe.

“Naruto…Naruto-kun…”

Meanwhile Sai, alarmed by his situation, bends away from Hanabi’s blade, sacrificing ground—the sharp edge bites into his shoulder—to gain a grip on her empty hand. He draws it closer and then bites savagely into the fleshy part of her wrist. Hanabi shrieks in surprise and pain, and using this distraction, Sai flips her over his back—and headfirst into one of the wooden beams of the ruined shrine.

The young girl groans and goes still.

All around them, the agonised cries of the branded Hyūga stop and they too slump forward in exhaustion.

“Well, that was bracing,” Sai remarks tonelessly.

There’s no time to time to rest, though, as thick ropes and beams of wood twist around Naruto then, growing thicker and trying to crush him within their grasp.

“Yamato-taisho!” Sakura cries. “Stop it!”

“This must be done,” Yamato replies, making a squeezing motion with his hands. “For the good of peace.”

There’s a dreamy, lethargic quality to his voice, but it does little to mask the determination there. Sai brandishes his scrolls again, drawing several more birds that charge at Yamato, but spikes of wood hurtle from the ground, blasting them into splashes of ink. A wall of wood springs up between Sakura, which she slams her fist through, only to meet another appearing directly behind it.

“Sasuke, you need to—”

But he’s having his own difficulties wading through the bodies separating him from Naruto on one side—and from getting to his brother.

“Hold on, Naruto-kun!”

Hinata’s mouth firms, and she bends into the first stance of Jūken—forward, left knee bent and arm parallel, her right pulled back by her waist.

“Hakke Sanjūni Shū!” Hinata moves toward the opponent nearest to Sakura and Sasuke, then pivots on her ankle. A moment later she slams bother hand into him, hitting the chakra cluster of the throat and solar plexus. “Hakke ni shō!” She swivels around again and slams into another opponent, fist glowing with blue chakra. “Yon shō!” The veins in her temples bulge, pale eyes glaring with focus. “Hachi shō! Jūroku sho!”

She ploughs through the remaining enemies keeping them from Yamato and his prisoner. Anyone within the range of her arms and legs is drawn in, as if with centrifugal force, and she disarms them all with movements that are difficult to track. Her adversaries fall around her in a circle, leaving her panting in their midst.

A small smile emerges on her face.

“It worked,” Hinata whispers, still surprised. It makes sense—as far as Sasuke knows, she’s never been in active combat before.

“Not just a highborn noble, are you?” Sakura remarks, sounding impressed as she finally disperses and dodges through Yamato’s wall of wood. She flits forward, appearing behind him and pressing two fingers between the back of his head and shoulder. His eyes roll back and he crumples to the ground.

Sasuke, meanwhile, expels a burst of flame, reducing the branches holding Naruto to cinders. His rival falls to his feet in a crouch, flailing his arms.

“Hey, watch it, that’s hot!”

“They’re just going to keep coming unless we kill them,” Sasuke growls.

“You can’t!” Naruto insists. “Whatever you call that ability of Shisui’s, these people don’t actually want to do this. We all came here for peace. We can’t kill them for something they have no control over!”

“There has to be a way,” Sakura agrees.

“To stop the command, we have to disable the Sharingan that gave it,” Sasuke says.

“Basically, kill him, right?” Naruto asks. “There’s no way that old bastard is giving it up without a fight…”

“Aa.”

In the distance, Itachi’s Susanoo, recovering from his last bout with Danzō, stumbles to its feet. Danzō doesn’t give him much time, he’s already lunging forward again. Their giant chakra blades meet, and Itachi is quick to use the strength of his to lever the enemy blade away; with his other hand, he lands a blow with his fist. Danzō’s Susanoo doesn’t seem much phased, lashing out with its elbow to shove the other giant. Itachi skids back to avoid this, then recoups and sprints forward—it’s deceptively fast for something so large. Danzō barely has time to bring his sword up to guard. It does him no good, as Itachi’s Susanoo sweeps low, ducking to avoid the incoming sword, and then abruptly vanishes.

A blink later, he materialises behind Danzō’s Susanoo—Sasuke didn’t even realise it was possible for a Susanoo to use Shushin—and slices his in an overhead swing. Danzō only avoids it because he stumbles backward, and as both giants try to recover, they circle one another warily.

“I have to get to Itachi,” Sasuke says.

“I’m coming with you,” Naruto and Sakura chorus, and then smirk at each other.

“Go,” Hinata orders. “I will handle this.”

“This isn’t some sparring session with your instructors,” Sasuke points out.

“I will be with her,” Sai speaks up.

“And I am not useless,” Hinata insists firmly. She glances at Naruto, and seems to straighten up even more, eyes softening at him. “Stop Danzō—perhaps today can still be salvaged if you do.”

Though Sasuke thinks that’s highly unlikely, Naruto grins and rubs his nose.

“We’ll sort this out,” he says confidently. “Believe it!”

They take off toward the valley where Danzō’s Susanoo takes a new stance.

“Hinata’s kind of amazing, isn’t she?” Naruto says conversationally.

Sakura snorts, and Sasuke mutters, “You have the worst timing.”

Danzō’s Susanoo runs and slashes at Itachi, but the flame-coloured giant performs an effortless sidestep. It bends into Danzō, swiping the hilt of its sword into the unprotected part of Danzō’s neck that the chakra armour doesn’t cover. The helmet vanishes, a roaring crack in its wake, and Danzō’s Susanoo is sent sliding back, slamming into the cliff face and causing a rockslide.

“Maybe he’ll be okay after all,” Naruto suggests.

“Not for much longer,” Sakura says. “His chakra-reserves are low. I don’t understand how he’s keeping up right now.”

Sasuke’s eyes cut to her. “Are yours…?”

“I’ll manage,” she interrupts shortly, her tone forbidding him to ask anything further. But something like unease shines in her eyes.

Sasuke isn’t comforted by this, mind running over the logistics of what is to come. The three of them—four, including Itachi—are still weakened from the healing ritual. Danzō has the advantage of years of experience and the element of surprise.

They touch down on a cliff that overlooks the valley where the two giant chakra creatures remain locked in combat. Sasuke can see that Itachi is losing—a sight he would never have even thought possible. And yet, before his eyes, he watches the brightness and solidity of his brother’s Susanoo waver.

And then his field of vision is obscured by bodies.

The ways is barred by several dozen black-clad figures, all wearing the kamon of the Shimura clan.

“I think it’s safe to say you’re Danzō’s people,” Naruto growls.

“How dare you,” Sakura steps forward, fist clenched. “You are sworn to the service of Senju Tsunade. Whatever motivates you to do another’s bidding means nothing in the face of the oaths you are betraying!”

“The Uchiha menace must be destroyed,” one of the faceless men says, his tone utterly neutral in the face of his own impending demise. Sasuke doesn’t know if that’s an effect of the Kotoamatsukami, or their natural obedience.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Naruto says.

Sasuke’s Sharingan spins, and he channels a current of electricity through his blade. Beside him, Sakura cracks her knuckles and spins her naginata with one hand, raising it over her head and bringing it down and forward in furiage.

“You will not interfere,” the man tells them, as he and the rest of Danzō’s men take attack stances.

 “Well…all I can say is that you’ve all made a huge mistake,” Naruto says, and suddenly he seems to erupt into fire. Light shines from within his very skin, and his katana appears to burn like a flaming tongue of light. Several dozen flaming copies of Naruto appear around them. “Sasuke, you go for Itachi—Sakura-chan and I can stop these guys!”

Sasuke nods and zips through the line of black, taking a run down the side of the cliff toward the battling leviathans. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a flash of pink, and Sakura is still beside him.

“Stay with Naruto!” he orders.

“You can’t stop Danzō on your own any more than Itachi can,” she counters. “He’s so focussed on getting rid of the Uchiha, he probably doesn’t care which one he takes out first, you or your brother. You divert him and I’ll take him from behind. He’ll think you’re just the distraction and come after me, and then you can put him down permanently.”

It’s a double feint, and risky as it is, he likes the idea.

“Tch. Annoying woman…”

Meanwhile, Itachi’s Susanoo leaps into the air, bringing down his sword like a scythe. Danzō meets it, pulls back and offers his own overhead strike, which is caught once more on his opponents’ blade. The blades explode with sparks and fire where they meet, and they stumble past one another when one or both of them are forced to give way. Itachi tucks and rolls, flipping back into a fighting stance and going for Danzō.

Instead of moving to avoid it, though, Danzō seems to bend into the oncoming attack. When their blade cross this time, he uses his strength to shove Itachi’s Susanoo backward into the cliff face. As Danzō’s sword comes closer and closer to his opponent’s unguarded neck, Itachi angles the hilt of his sword forward and thrusts savagely into his opponents face. He shoves him away and, using the momentary distraction, slices clean through Danzō’s blade.

Rather than pause to recover, Danzō’s empty-handed giant continues to charge forward, as if uncaring of the blade Itachi’s holds before him. Moments before they clash, it ducks down, and thousands of glowing, green projectiles explode out of him, slicing through Itachi’s Susanoo’s armour.

While he staggers back to recover, Danzō leaps up and wraps an arm around the giant’s throat, trapping it within the crook of his elbow. With the free hand, he pushes forward, clearly trying to snap the head clean off.

“Itachi!” Sasuke cries out, watching in disbelief as his brother’s Susanoo begins to slowly lose its limbs and head. Soon it fades back into nothing but a neck and ribcage, while Danzō’s Susanoo continues to apply pressure.

“Let’s do this,” Sakura says, the black ribbons of her Byakugō sliding across her skin. She gives him a nod—both a sign to start their plan and a possible farewell if it all goes wrong—and then vanishes into the surrounding trees.

Sasuke takes off as well, heading directly for Danzō. As he does, he allows electricity to charge through his katana, building up as much explosive energy there as he can manage. As he comes to the trampled space where the two Susanoo still fight, he can see Itachi within the transparent ribcage, hunched over and breathing hard. Within his on guardian, Danzō is supremely focussed.

“Danzō!” Sasuke yells, and as the man’s attention falls to him, Sasuke lobs his katana straight up at him, willing as much of his power into it as possible. The blade pierces through at the shoulder, and lightning radiates outward. Danzō’s Susanoo staggers back, releasing Itachi’s, which vanishes.

Itachi himself falls several storeys downward, barely landing in a crouch on the ground.

“You…shouldn’t be here,” he pants at Sasuke when the latter crouches beside him.

“Shut up and let me save your life,” Sasuke replies, placing himself in front his brother. He glares up at the green giant before him, and the black-clad, scarred figure in its heart. “Besides…you shouldn’t have to face something that belonged to Shisui.”

Within the safe wall of chakra, Danzō stares down at him contemptuously. “You’re a foolish boy to think you can stand against me alone where your brother could not.”

“Tch.”

Compressing as much chakra into his body as he can, Sasuke wills the temperature within him to burn as hot as he can make it. He inhales until his lungs cry out in protest, then releases his most powerful katon. It’s so strong that his knees buckle beneath him and he loses feeling in his limbs.

The rolling wall of flame charges toward Danzō, moulding and shaping itself into the head of a dragon. Its gaping maw snaps around him and his Susanoo, engulfing him completely in flame.

Trees are reduced to dust in its wake, and there is such power in the blast that it continues to charge upward and into the sky. The clouds there blacken in response, becoming thicker and lower; in the distance, thunder rolls.

But when the smoke clears, Danzō remains there, safe within the Susanoo.

 “It was a fair trick, boy…” he tells him coolly. “But ineffective against my protection. And now you’re weak and at my mercy.”

“I am not weak,” Sasuke grunts, “and I never said I was alone.”

The sun above them is suddenly eclipsed not only by clouds, but by Sakura’s familiar figure. Her healing mark fully emerged, she brings down the naginata with two hands, screaming, “SHANNARO!”

She shoves the polearm into the head of Danzō’s Susanoo with such force that the heads cracks open and shatters, reducing it to its skull. It goes staggering, and Danzō whips around to see the reason for it.

Sakura lands before him, fists clenched.

“You disgrace the clan to whom you swore fealty,” she snarls at him. “As the heir of the Senju, I will make you regret that.”

“What does a common born whore know of the Senju?” Danzō dismisses. “I, who learned at the knees of Hashirama and Tobirama, will not be shamed by Tsunade’s pet.”

Sakura cracks her knuckles. “Wrong answer.”

She darts forward while Danzō tries to crush her with his Susanoo’s giant foot, and meets the appendage with her own hands, grasping the huge boot. The force of it sends her backward, her strongly planted feet kicking up troughs in the dirt as she is pushed back. He seems caught off-guard at this at first, and then rallies, putting more weight on her. She endures, but is forced to throw off the weight a moment later, causing the giant to teeter.

Sakura gasps, the hand not holding off the giant hand clutching at her front for a moment, and then shakes her head and stands. Sasuke tries to get to his own feet, glancing skyward where the thunderclouds continue to roll in. As soon as enough power gathers there, he’ll be able to unleash his strongest attack when Danzō doesn’t expect it.

Danzō rears back, preparing to crush her with the flat of the Susanoo’s palm. Before he can do so, a wall of mud slides between them, hardening enough to stop the attack from connecting. Sakura rolls away, crawling to her feet, while the rest of the mud slides beneath Danzō’s Susanoo, forcing it to its knees. She takes a running jump and once again hammers her fist downward.

This time he is waiting for it, however, and slaps her away as if she’s only an irritating mosquito. She is sent flying toward the mountain face he had previously thrown Itachi into.

Sakura stops herself before she can make an impact against the rock, forcing her chakra to her feet and allowing her to land instead of crash. Then she is running forward again, fist raised and prepared to attack, primed to once more crush her fist through the flaming green wall of armour—

There’s an echoing boom as her fist meets the Susanoo’s, and she suddenly screams in agony, the bones in her arm piercing through skin. Her healing seal fades away, and Sasuke realises with horror that she’s finally tapped her already dwindling chakra-reserves.

As her arm hangs uselessly at her side, she clutches herself around her middle—broken ribs, he thinks as Danzō brings his broken sword back into being.

“Sa…Sakura…!” Sasuke chokes, trying to make it toward her. His last technique is not ready, not yet, but if he doesn’t do something, she will be killed right in front of him.

But he’s too slow.

Danzō thrusts the chakra sword forward while she stares down her incoming death.

The impact, when it comes, is nothing like anyone expected.

Because it isn’t Sakura that is hit.

Instead, Itachi materialises between his brother’s lover and their enemy, shoving her clear of the path of the blade. The shield of his Susanoo’s ribs curves around them.

For a moment, Sasuke thinks he was successful, because Danzō’s blade shatters on the impact.

But so does the remnants of Itachi’s Susanoo.

And then, to Sasuke’s horror, blood spills over Itachi’s lips, and he falls to his knees. 

つづく

Reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated! Also, if you are in a supportive mood, I have a ko-fi button at the top of the page, or you can find my tip jar here.

Thanks for your interest in my work!

クリ

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[kusunokihime-mobile]

Sugin Ryū

INFO

Full Name: Suigin Ryū Age: 20-22 (default, varies by verse) Date of Birth: October 15th Ethnicity: Native of Hi no Kuni Orientation: Panromantic / Demisexual Gender: Cisgender Female Residence: Konoha; Kusunokizan Occupation: Regenerative surgeon in Konoha Hospital Kekkei Genkai: White Hands of Healing, River of Vitality Chakra Natures: Yin; Yang; Yin/Yang Blood Type: A- Location associations: Hi no Kuni; Konoha; Kusunokizan Team: N/A Rank: Sage

BIOGRAPHY

Ryū was born in a village in mountainous northeast Hi no Kuni known as Kusunokizan, wherein her clan was based. The clan, with the surname Suigin, had always been focused around medical ninjutsu and defensive barriers: a peaceful clan with no shinobi training. When the village was attacked when Ryū was only four by Iwa rebels, she remained the only survivor, found later by Hi no Kuni ANBU cleaning up the bodies.

Taken to Konoha, she was deemed unfit for adoption due to her kekkei genkai (the village wanting to keep her isolated as a ‘valuable resource’). When it came time to join the Academy, she refused, insisting to be trained solely at the hospital to hone her medical ninjutsu. The council relented, giving her private lessons for the basics in her village-assigned quarters when not training under other medics.

By age twelve, she was certified as a full-fledged medic after completing the necessary exams. Joining the staff full-time, she worked diligently to continue her work and further her training as she was able.

When Tsunade returned to Konoha, the Sannin admitted to recognizing Ryū as the daughter of someone she knew briefly before the girl’s birth. Given a new interest in her roots, Ryū put in a request to revisit her home village, wanting closure about her past. When she arrived, she found the ruins of her village, but also the singular dragon sage, Suigin, that had called the mountains home for centuries, and was the source of her line’s prestige. Desperate to further her training and learn more about her past, she decided to stay in the ruins of her home to receive the training she would have had, had the village never been destroyed…including her sennin state, barriers, and powerful medical ninjutsu.

She remained in Kusunokizan for nearly three years, returning shortly before Naruto when her teacher heard from the other sage, Gamabunta, that great change was coming over the land. Feeling she would be needed, she decided to return to the village to lend aid however she could. With fully-mastered medical ninjutsu and sage arts, she is a force to be reckoned with, comparable to Tsunade with her healing prowess, and capable of mighty defense with her barriers. Though she has no combat training, she can hold off most shinobi with her defensive techniques, never resorting to violence, but able to hold her own nonetheless.

PERSONALITY

Ryū is a rather muted individual, usually presenting as shy, quiet, and polite. She always uses honorifics unless previously asked not to, or if she has a very close, personal relationship where they are not needed. Caring and maternal, she abhors violence and confrontation, playing peacekeeper in volatile situations. She can be stubborn, especially when defending her beliefs and morals. Though she is usually level-headed, certain topics or situations can get a rise out of her temper, which is steely and cold (though it can be more fiery if she is physically confronted, or during other personal circumstances). If a loved one or innocent is threatened, she will not hesitate to face a foe to do what she can to protect them.

APPEARANCE

Ryū has white, wavy hair that falls to her mid-back (she usually wears it up in a high tail with framing locks around her cheeks and a tapered fringe while working - otherwise, it’s worn down), fair skin, and grey eyes. Her body shape is hourglass, with a C-/D chest. She stands at approximately 170 cm. Blood type is A. Birthday is October 15. She usually wears clothes in greyscale colors, with separate sleeves and a coat of her own design, alongside standard dark shirts and pants. A small pack is attached to her right leg, and carries medical supplies. She wears open-toed/open-heeled dark-grey boots that reach just below her knee. After completing her sage training and returning to Konoha, she had a tattoo of her clan crest put on her left shoulder blade, in order to always take a piece of home with her wherever she goes. It's simple black ink, about the size of a deck of playing cards.

STATS

NINJUTSU      5/5

TAIJUTSU     3/5

GENJUTSU     1/5

INTELLIGENCE     3/5

STRENGTH      2/5

SPEED     2/5

STAMINA     2/5

SEALS     3/5

TOTAL     21/40

VERSES

White Hands of Healing

Main canon verse. Leaving Ryū a virtual stranger to any other characters, this verse sees her as a blank slate for interactions and forming new bonds with muses. In this verse she's in the same age group as Itachi by default, but it can be adjusted as necessary. An orphan from the third shinobi war, she's taken back to Konoha and raised there to become a medic to make use of her bloodline. She eventually becomes a top-tier healer and sage after learning under her family's teacher, and otherwise lives out her days in Konoha. She has an optional child in this verse, Reika II, for next gen interactions.

Into the Abyss

Secondary canon verse. When Ryū and Obito have a chance meeting during the timeskip, it leads to a whirlwind romance that - though shallow at first - soon grows in both affection and danger. After the war, Obito survives, and after their share of struggles, they have a family of their own: a son, Reiji. But as happy and loving as the family is, the stigma against Obito remains... Ryū is three years younger than Obito in this verse.

What Remains

Secondary canon verse. Jiraiya, returning after the Kyūbi's rampage, discovers his daughter Ryū in Konoha. Deciding to stay, he takes her in and fulfills his role as Naruto's godfather, raising the pair of them as his own. Ryū later befriends Uchiha Itachi, the pair becoming childhood sweethearts. When Itachi later becomes Hokage as a peace deal with Konoha, the pair decide to get married and have a daughter, Usagi. Ryū is Itachi's age in this verse.

Ryū no Ryokan

Secondary canon verse. Ryū returns to her home village after the fourth war, and with Konoha's help, repairs the village and turns it into a mountain retreat for both wealthy guests and long-term patients from any land. She runs it alongside her master Suigin, finding giving her home new purpose and returning at last. Ryū is 22+ in this verse, but it can be adjusted.

Wild Child

Secondary canon verse. Ryū, the last survivor of Kusunokizan, isn't rescued by Konoha, and instead is raised by the dragon sage Suigin. Practically feral, she lives more as a dragon than a human up in the mountain peaks. Age can vary.

A Life Anew

Secondary canon verse. Ryū is taken from Konoha by her uncle, Ao, wanting to protect her from the world of shinobi. But the pair are later discovered by Jiraiya. Despite their bad blood, the men decide to use their common concern for Ryū to help raise her together outside Konoha. Ryū is Itachi's age in this verse.

A Light Amongst Shadows

Secondary canon verse. In this verse Ryū is the same age as Shisui (headcanoned as eight years older than Naruto). Mostly follows canon up to 699 - Ryū is found by Uchiha Manami, Shisui's mother, and the two children grow up as friends. After his apparent suicide, and later the massacre of the clan, Ryū steps up and helps raise Sasuke. She's lightly involved in other canon matters, and when Shisui is revealed to be alive after the war, they bond again and eventually marry and have a family. But not everyone is happy more Uchiha are alive...

Best Years of Your Life

A modern AU typically revolving around high school or college years. Kept vague for plotting! Age can vary.

Catch 'Em All

Pokémon verse. Ryū, having been raised by Hiruzen (Mr. Fuji) in Lavender Town, helps him take care of orphaned pokémon. But when the threat of Team Rocket looms, he has her take all of them to Fuchsia to be released into the Safari Zone reserve out of their reach. Armed only with her bonded pokémon, a shiny Dratini, she makes the journey alone, eventually becoming part of the staff and helping manage the park and protect its pokémon. Her team eventually consists of her Dragonair, Chansey, Charizard, Kingdra, Gyrados, and Rapidash. Age can vary.

Divine Light

Fantasy verse - based on original lore but can be adapted for more general fantasy threads. Ryū is a Lux el'ven, or light elf: one of the last of her kind after the wars. Able to heal, make barriers, and create portals in time, she wants to help rebuild the world of the el'ven and reforge the Elemental Council of the twelve elements to solidify peace. Age can vary.

Healing Waters and Scorching Flames

Avatar the Last Airbender verse. Ryū is a waterbender from the South Pole, from a small, isolated clan that focuses on healing. Age can vary.

Like Magic

Harry Potter verse. Ryū, a Hufflepuff, dreams of one day being a Healer like her mother was. Age can vary.

To Rule Them All

Royalty / Medieval verse. Ryū is the princess of a matrilineal line in the kingdom of Kusunokizan. A neutral state, there's pressures mounting from neighboring kingdoms to finally choose a side. Age can vary.

Of Monsters and Men

A modern monster verse based on original lore, but can be adapted for other verses. Ryū's default in this verse is a hybrid of snowy owl harpy and succubus, but I've also written her as a siren and a mermaid! Age can vary.

When Dead Walk

Zombie verse. Kept vague for plotting!

(Other verses are available upon request - please IM for more details!)

ABILITIES

Sage Mode (Sennin Mōdo)

Sage mode taught to her by her teacher, Suigin. She has 2 years of training as of the beginning of the Shippuden seasons.

White Hands of Healing (Iyashino Shiroi Te)

Kekkei genkai. Allows for faster, more efficient healing. Chakra can be guided through user’s own keirakukei to heal injuries directly. Has a calming effect, and can be used to sedate/calm patients.

River of Vitality (Katsuryoku no Kawa)

Minor kekkei genkai. While in Sennin Mōdo, can passively gather Nature chakra, though at a slower rate than meditation.

JUTSU

Wall of Defense (Bōei no Kabe) (Sennin jutsu)

Barrier that repels anything physical; not genjutsu or sound.

Wall of Incineration (Shōkyaku no Kabe) (Sennin jutsu)

Barrier that incinerates anything physical with highly-condensed chakra.

Wall of Mirrors (Kagami no Kabe) (Sennin jutsu)

Barrier that reflects light, and renders anything beneath it unseen.

Soul Retrieval (Tamashī no Kaishū) (Sennin jutsu)

User enters the void to retrieve a single soul.

Snare (Shikake-sen) (Sennin jutsu)

Makes nature-based chakra tripwires that can alert her to physical movement. Is affected by distance - the further she is from the set lines, the weaker the signal until it disappears completely.

LINKS

[ Asks ]  [ Character Tag ] [ Inbox Calls ] [ Starter Calls ]

[ ref artist ]

[luna-orlha]

Title: Ivy is poisonous Fandom: Naruto Genre: hurt & Comfort, family Ship: Itachi & Sakura Word count: 3,070 Triggers(s):-- Rating: T Additional Tags: -- Summary: Massacre!AU. Instead of killing all the Uchiha & Haruno to prevent the coup, Itachi chooses to let Sasuke & Sakura walk free.

Author Notes: *gasp* I finally finished this. I really wanted to write an ItaSaku and then the idea on expanding on Haruno Sakura gave birth to this. Sadly, it didn’t end the way I wanted it to and the characters were rather resistant to me god-writing to just kiss already! I’m just going to pretend that they kissed and finally got together in the end and had Haruno Ivy in their house.

----

He lifts his blade, flicking it hard to remove the blood coating his ninjato before sheathing it. Itachi turns and freezes imperceptibly at the sight of Sasuke. Not just Sasuke. His otouto’s team are standing behind him. He’s heard of his younger brother’s defected from Konoha, had his informant been lying? It wouldn’t matter, Itachi supposes. Even with Kakashi as his otouto’s back up, he wouldn’t have enough strength yet.

“Itachi!” There is raw anger in his otouto’s voice and oddly sadness. Itachi turns his eyes from Sasuke, gazing across the other two - No! Sakura is here too. He quells the frisson of fear that crawls up his spine at the sight of her.

“Why?” Sasuke demands.

There are many answers to that. Danzo, the coup, the clan, Root, the impulsion placed on him by Fu, Orochimaru. All perfectly acceptable but not the decisive one.

----

She is only a young girl playing with her brother then. Still a civilian, her sensor abilities has not been noticed yet until she notices him in the tree. She shouldn’t have, not with his chakra suppressed and his presence cloaked, but she did. She slips from the adult’s watch, a feat that a four year old should have not been able to accomplish from the chuunin caretakers, and clambers up the tree where he hid to offer him a single ivy flower.

“Ivy is poisonous, you know?” he says as he plucks it from her hand.

She shrugs and smiles shyly, “but they’re ‘retty.”

She doesn’t know the meaning of them, doesn’t realise that she shouldn’t not have been able to detect him.

“How did you find me?”

“You f-feel like Sas’ka-kun,” she points at his little brother who has now realised that his playmate has disappeared. “You were watching for a long time,” she pitches in a low voice and Itachi finds the edges of his lips twitching upward. “You should just j-join us instead of sitting in the t-tree.”

Below the chuunin watching the Harunos is starting to panic. “Come, your babysitter is getting worried.” Itachi picks her up and jumps off the tree.

“Chi’ki-san is boring, he doesn’t play with us.”

----

Itachi knows the choice he made isn’t the fairest. The weight of one life versus many would never be fair. He lifts his red eyes to drink in the sight of Sakura. Her green eyes, that had once so earnestly stared back him, no longer meet his, but they’re still the same green that haunts him in his dreams.

----

He is lying on a branch in a tree, enjoying the rare moment of his off-day. His brother had been harangued by their mother into doing temple duties for a prank he had committed just yesterday. No good shinobi would have been caught doing a prank, his younger brother has much to learn. Pity Shisui isn’t around to teach him the finer points of pranking and not getting caught.

He doesn’t sense her until she’s almost behind him, briefly flaring her pint-sized chakra as a courtesy - he had taught her that after he and Shisui had almost killed her.

“Your cloaking skills are coming along well,” he says, not bothering to open his eyes as she shuffles into a comfortable spot on the branch next to him.

“Papa has been getting annoyingly vig-vig-”

“Vigilant,” he offers helpfully.

“Vigilant about catching Ino-chan and I from going out.”

“Me-” Itachi corrects. Her vocabulary for five year old is unsurprisingly good considering her intelligence though it is painfully obvious she doesn’t speak enough to practice the art of enunciating the words. Though he can’t fault her for he is guilty of that too.

“Me…?” She puzzles over it. He can hear her hands toying with flowers, judging by the fragrance, as she considers his correction. “Ino-chan and me from going out,” she repeats it with a satisfied tone.  “So we’ve been practising it extra hard. Ino-chan still gets caught.”

She plops the thing she has been fiddling with onto his head and he sighs, cracking one eye open. “Ivy is poisonous, you know?”

“But they’re pretty.”

He’ll admit to being partial to the purplish-blue flowers, not because they’re pretty but because they mean everlasting friendship and since he knows she goes to kinouchi lessons, he knows she now knows their meaning.

“Besides, these are the Haruno special. They’re not poisonous.” The Haruno clan are Konoha’s poison speciality. There’s a reason why people often say, never cross an Aburame and never backstab a Haruno, after all.

----

He has made his decision and now he’ll lie in bed with it. Itachi averts his eyes, away from the dreams of he had of her, the future that he wishes he could have.  The single lone dark grey eye of his once ANBU captain.

----

“If you had to make the decision to protect the one you love over others, would you do it?” he asks his captain one night while in-between the lull of missions.

“Yes.”

“Even if means never having that one person?”

The dog mask seemed to regard him with a certain emotion that Itachi isn’t sure he knows what it is. He’s never been terribly good at reading people’s expression. Socially awkward that’s what Shisui had called him before he passed.

“Always.”

He thinks of the eight year old pink-haired girl who spars with his otouto. He thinks of the spitfire she’ll become when she grows out of the young Yamanaka’s shadow. He thinks of all the pink-haired clan members he’ll have to kill to protect her, all the people who had treated him less like a prodigy, less like an heir but more of a person, a kid that he was never allowed to be in the Uchiha compound.

----

Itachi wonders if Kakashi had managed to link the conversation up. All the shinobi and civilians he has slaughtered to protect two children. There is an unspoken promise to look after his brother, he trusts and knows that Kakashi has looked after Sasuke in his own awkward way. And contrary to everyone’s assumptions, he did not put Kakashi under the Tsukiyomi to torture him, he would never hurt a fellow Konoha shinobi even if Itachi is supposed to be a missing-nin. It was simply unfortunate that his simple questions on how his brother was in the sharingan-weaved genjutsu had knocked Kakashi out of commission for a month, but it had been entirely unintentional.

Though Sasuke was protected, the way Itachi knew he would be, Sakura was not. Kakashi had seen it through for him. Ridiculously overprotective of her in some ways and crippling her growth in others but he had made sure she would be okay.

----

He steels himself as he stands before the compound. How many more must he kill before he can stop?

“You were always a kind boy,” his mother whispers from the pool of her own blood.

He must persist, he must protect Konoha, he must protect Sasuke, he must protect Sakura.

Sakura is awake when he slides through her window. She is the strongest sensor Itachi has ever met and for her to not notice the quickly disappearing chakra presence around her would be nigh impossible.

“Itachi-kun.” There is fear in her eyes, fear that has never been directed at him but would be after tonight. It must be the blood across his face that makes her hesitate before padding towards him. She lifts a trembling hand to touch his puffy eyes.

“Sakura… chan.”

Her eyes widen in surprise. He has always been adamant about calling her san. She’s a Haruno and Harunos have to be treated with respect. Now there are no more Harunos except her, no more poison experts.

“Are you leaving?”

He nods, preparing himself for more lies and the act of betrayal he has to perform. Her hand slips, gripping his sleeve. “Promise to come back soon?” she says to him.

“I will,” he promises. In a body scroll, he doesn’t add. He pulls her into his arms, reminding himself of why he has killed the others. There is a hot, searing heat in his eyes, heavy from the weight of unshed tears. Itachi pulls himself from her, his dark eyes gleaming into the dull red shine. “Goodbye Sakura… chan.” Then he spins her into a deep genjutsu sleep. He brushes the pink locks from her face, pressing a kiss on her forehead. “Sleep well.”

----

“Why did you kill Father and Mother?”

Sakura places a hand on Sasuke’s shaking arm. “No,” her voice crisp in the silence that follows his otouto’s words, ringing with confidence that he knows she doesn’t have. All these years, she’s become a better liar. “The question is why was he the one made to carry it out?”

Itachi feels an involuntary twitch on his lips at her words, a mix of pleasure and strangely, relief floods him. Sakura inclines her head to him, the smile that she gives him is taut and tight.

“It wasn’t really because you wanted to know if you were the best, was it?”

“Sakura… what are you talking about?” Sasuke growls, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword.

His otouto was never the sort cut out to be more than a shinobi. Father had seen it in him and had been disappointed that Sasuke would never be a good military police and Itachi would never want it. However the head of MP would always have to be someone from the main family, how Father hated shackling either of them to something they would not want.

“We talked about this, Sasuke.”

Itachi notices the lack of honorifics between them. Perhaps if he had the opportunity to turn back time, he might be the one sharing the lack of honorifics with her.

“If Itachi-kun wanted to test his abilities, he would have gone for Hokage-sama or Kakashi-sensei. Would that not have been the most obvious choices?”

Kun. She had called him kun. After all he had done, he doesn’t deserve the endearment behind his name.

“Yet he didn’t. He had gone for your clan and mine. It’s true that the Uchihas were known for the strength and power while the Harunos were known for their slyness, but no one doubted whether he could have beaten them.”

If he gives them anymore time, Sasuke might be dissuaded to fight him properly. Itachi coughs a rib shaking cough. It’s worse than any cough he has had. Now that they’ve arrived, he can finally sleep, he thinks.

He raises his tanto, flashing several discrete ANBU signs that only Kakashi would know.

Thank you. No harm. Good bye.

Itachi shunshins towards his otouto. Sasuke leaps, pushing Sakura to away as he unsheathes sword. He grabs his otouto’s right wrist, still his downward motion.

“Still not strong enough,” he taunts. Sasuke roars, twisting around to kick his chin. Itachi disperses in a murder of crows, reappearing behind his brother. Sasuke reacts the way Itachi has expected, he swings his chidori sword into Itachi without a moment of conscious thought.

He coughs. The jag of agony that Itachi has tried to prepare himself for is nowhere close to his imagination. Dying hurts more than he expects.

“Aniki…” Sasuke whispers.

Itachi twists his lips into a faint smile, blood dribbling from his lips. “Take care of Sakura. Okay?”

He can’t breathe and muscling through sheer will, he pokes his otouto’s forehead for the last time then his body gives out, collapsing onto him. He hears Sasuke cry, feels the hot liquid drop on his face.

Then he lets the black take him.

----

She is twelve. Her chin thrust defiantly at the air. He knows that look anywhere, even four years after he’s left, he still knows it. How he wishes he could be there with the crowd of proud parents, be there waiting for his otouto and Sakura. Instead, he sits in the treetops with Deidara who is awfully silent despite being a chatty person.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Deidara says, tracking the pink girl as she walks down the road with his brother. Itachi only raises an eyebrow at his question. “The reason why you killed all those people,” Deidara clarifies.

He fiddles with the bit of clay in his hands, forming tiny birds then tiny flowers that Itachi has never seen him make. “The Harunos were planning to assist the Uchiha in the coup. There were buckets of lethal poison in their safehouse. They were planning to poison the waters and let Uchiha take charge. That’s why your village ordered them to be killed. I read the files while you were stalking your brother. ” Deidara looks up, his face stark of his usual mischievous grin. “What I don’t get is… why you? And why them?”

Unwilling to explain, Itachi drops from the tree and slides into the shadow of another. He tucks his chakra deep within himself, knowing that Sakura would not be able to detect him even if he was close to her that way.

Kakashi is at the memorial stone as he always is. Though he says nothing, Itachi knows that Kakashi knows he’s there. After all, he has not hidden his scent.

“I’ll take care of them,” Kakashi says out loud as though speaking to the stone, but Itachi knows it’s to him.

Itachi steps half out of the shadow and nods at him.

Take care. Kakashi signs.

Go strong. Itachi replies with the traditional ANBU response then he finds Deidara.

“Because it was the only way to protect them,” he tells Deidara, many months later. It confuses Deidara for weeks to come before he figures out the question.

----

He hurts. His throat screams with each shallow gasp he takes. His chest is a scorching field of agony. He’s used to pain, used to so much pain that Itachi sometimes can’t tell if it’s a new hurt or an old hurt, this pain, however, is definitely something brand new.

“Come back to me... you promised me.”

He blinks and finds himself gazing into green eyes. His mouth is gulping, frozen in a rictus of suffering.

“Stupid Itachi!” Sakura hugs him as tightly as his injuries allow him. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! We’re not kids anymore! We don’t need you to protect us anymore.”

His brother stands behind her, his eyes are watery, face pale and lips thin from stemming what emotions his brother must be feeling. Sasuke always had a bad poker face. “We’re not going to kill you, nii-san. Stop trying, okay?”

\W/ \W/ \W/

When Itachi wakes again, it’s to a white room and a fluffy white blanket tucked around him. He can smell the cloying scent of Hashirama trees through the window, the taste of unshed rain in the distance and though the crowds of people are in the distant, he who had gotten used to the silence of isolated bases can hear their murmuring, not precise words but the low grade of buzz.

So he’s finally home.

“You were really close,” the blond standing at the foot of the bed tells Itachi. She saunters towards him and taps him hard on the head with the medical chart.

Itachi blinks at her, taking in the pigtails. “Hokage-sama,” he says simply. How have she let a missing-nin like him enter Konoha again? Why is he still alive? Are they not going to execute him? The questions lie at the back of his throat like ash.

“No, we’re not going to execute you.” Tsunade flips through the records and places a glowing green hand on his shoulder. “That would have made the time my apprentice and shinobi incurred in tracking you down nulled, you know.”

He feels the coolness of her chakra flowing through his lungs, fixing where his breaths used to hurt.

“They searched through the records for all your mission files and worked their way through every other corresponding one. It was quite an impressive case the two put together.”

Itachi frowns at her, unsure how to respond. Tsunade grunts. “It means you’re free. Danzo was found guilty for treason and executed while you have been acquitted as you were a scapegoat. Now, your lungs need another six more months before they are recovered and your eyes will need a year of treatment. I would say that you are prohibited from training, but that’s going to be a waste of my breath. Instead, you can train only when your primary physician is overseeing. You understand?”

He nods mutely. The idea of not dying to his disease is strange and unbelievable, let alone being not blind and free. Free!

Itachi lets out a bark of amused laughter when he is finally alone again.

Free.

He’s not dreaming is he? Itachi turns and watches the Hashirama trees sway their leaves in the wind and thinks, maybe he’s not.

\W/ \W/ \W/

There are blue ivy flowers spilling across the garden when Itachi and Kakashi finally rounds the bend to the Uchiha compound.

“Are they married?” Itachi asks Kakashi.

“Ew, no.” Sasuke makes a disgusted face as he catches Itachi question while opening the door. “Sakura is like my sister. Kakashi-sensei are eating tonight?” He leads the duo through the doors and Kakashi slips on a pair of well-worn slippers from the genkan.

“We all live together. Team Orphans,” Sasuke explains.

Itachi winces at Sasuke’s words. Sasuke and Sakura wouldn’t have been orphans had it not been for him.  Sasuke pokes him on the forehead. “That’s quite enough. I can hear the self-loathing wafting through the air. Sakura and I don’t hate you for what you did. Had their coup not been stopped, Konoha would have had a long civil war.”

Sasuke slides the shoji door to reveal the dining room. The same wooden chairs though the table has been expanded and set for seven.

Sakura drops a flower crown on Itachi’s head as he walks in and smiles. “Welcome back.”

It’s the same ivy that sprawls in the front yard, the same trademark Haruno ivy that Sakura used to play with when was younger. “Ivy is poisonous, you know?” Itachi says with a twitch of lips before he can stop the words.

“But they’re pretty.” She replies like she knows. “And they mean everlasting fidelity.”