Letting Go Of The Mask

Contrary to the belief of many, Uzumaki Naruto wasn't scared of his encounter against possibly the toughest enemy out there, one Uchiha Itachi. Sure, he earned his S-ranked status at the age of thirteen and had only improved since then, but the blond was no pushover, that much he realized after many A and S-ranked Anbu level missions completed. Right now, he was approximately an hour away from the Valley of the End as he walked peacefully through the foliage that surrounded Konohagakure.

He wasn't in any rush to confront Sasuke's older brother.

Thinking of the young Uchiha, Naruto couldn't help but wonder about the sudden change of heart. A long time ago, the boy was adamant about killing his brother and would never go back to Konoha, granted that Sasuke only returned because Naruto almost killed him and carried his battered body back. Still, after being healed, Sasuke could have very well escape once more and hunt his big brother. Instead, he accepted the Chunnin position under Yamashiro Aoba's command. Last he'd heard, Sasuke had managed to become a jounin and he was on his own, doing solo B and A-ranked missions for Tsunade.

Naruto was surprised when Sasuke said no to Yamato-taichou's offering to join the ranks.

The idea of hiding behind a mask doesn't sound appealing to me, so I'll decline…

That was the excuse Sasuke gave at the time.

Though to Naruto, it was the aspect of the mask that convinced him at the time. Uchiha Sasuke's situation was different than his that was for sure. Sure, Sasuke betrayed Konoha and joined Orochimaru, one of Konoha's most vile enemies but Naruto had the Kyuubi inside of him…well, considering the amount of damage and carnage caused by the fox, just its mention would be enough to cause tough men to stir and others to flee scared for their lives. Sasuke didn't need a mask, Naruto did.

Or so he thought. Today, every time Naruto looked at himself in the mirror, he saw the mask.

The noise of waterfall reached his ears and Naruto realized that he was only a few minutes away from the location. As he walked, the dense forest was slowly opening up to a clearing and Naruto could see the gigantic waterfall in front of him and the statues of Uchiha Madara and the Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama. Whether it was coincidence or not, every time Naruto faced an Uchiha was here at the Valley of the End.

"I was wondering if you'd even come…"

The familiar voice alerted Naruto to Itachi's presence standing close to the river margin, while staring at the waterfall in front of him. It was somewhat unnerving to see the older Uchiha without the Akatsuki black robes with red clouds. He remembered Jiraiya saying to him that Itachi went rogue on them. Now he looked more like a mercenary then either a shinobi of Konohagakure or a proud member of the powerful organization.

"My apologies for not arriving sooner, I was busy contemplating about this entire ordeal. Who would believe that Uchiha Itachi of all people would want to fight little old me."

Itachi turned and saw the appearance of his enemy. Anbu level missions tend to create confidence in shinobi, he realized. The Anbu was crossing his arms like this entire event was beneath his time. The older Uchiha saw a bit of himself once wearing the weasel Anbu mask and performing tough S-ranked missions both as a regular Anbu and as captain of a squad for Konohagakure without even blinking.

"Anyone who could defeat the strongest member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu (Seven Swordsmen of the Mist) is worthy of attention. If my desire is to test my skills, then my opponent should be at least my equal if not better than me. However, up to now, it's been hard to find such an opponent, I'm afraid."

One word that Naruto couldn't find better to describe an Uchiha was arrogance. Sasuke had it in spades, but the blond always wondered who was responsible for him having such a superiority complex.

"Are you saying you were better than Hoshigaki Kisame, then? I at least was humble enough to admit that I had help in defeating him, but apparently the Uchiha's arrogance knows no bounds0. Now, I see why Sasuke behaves like he's stronger than Kami himself. He picked it up from his big brother. Tell me something Uchiha Itachi…"

"If your desire is to ask why I committed such a vile act, considering it was my family and all, then you could stop wasting my time" Said Itachi. "As an Anbu shinobi, you have access to all of the village's classified information. Everything that both the 'regular' Anbu did in order to secure peace amongst the villagers is filed and open to any Anbu who wishes to dig up the past."

Naruto, though, snorted once more at the Uchiha's arrogance, in thinking that the blond wanted to know the real reason behind the Uchiha Massacre. Itachi was right. Naruto did have access to the report of that night. How Itachi was labeled a traitor to the village, even though he did nothing more than rid Konoha of a potential civil war threatened by the Uchiha Clan if things didn't go their way. How the Sandaime Hokage, despite wanting to push more dialogue between the parties, went along with the Uchiha slaughter.

No, Naruto didn't want to know about Itachi's reasons for killing his entire family. The blond didn't care about that at all.

"You should consider letting people talk first instead of interrupting. Indeed, I know what happened that night and I have no desire whatsoever to inquiry your reasons. Quite frankly, when the Uchiha massacre happened, I was but a kid in the academy trying very hard to listen to all the lectures of history and chakra introduction. What I want to know is quite simple, and yet it's being bugging me since I read the file of the Uchiha Massacre…"

This time, Itachi didn't interrupt Naruto as he continued talking.

"Why, despite doing probably the most dangerous missions of all time in favor of the village, did you consider joining an organization such as Akatsuki? Why even flee Konoha at all, knowing that you could create a hidden alias inside the Anbu forces. You went rogue for reasons I just can't fathom." Naruto asked, before silence reached the area. The wind suddenly peaked up and the noise of the waterfall seemed to increase.

Itachi's pose, though, revealed nothing.

He was trained this way, after all. However, inside, he was in turmoil. To this point, he was considered a traitor for his vile actions against his own family. However, no one ever considered him a traitor because he abandoned the village of Konohagakure. Indeed, fleeing from the village wasn't a good idea and he knew that much. A truly intriguing question that until this point, no one ever bothered to look at the situation from this specific point of view.

However, the answer in Itachi's mind was evident.

"It's surprising to see someone wanting to know my reasons for what I did back then, instead of just crucifying me. However, it's more surprising when you come here and make little of what happened. You want to know why, despite never betraying the village's trus, I choose to flee instead of hiding inside the village. The answer is quite simple. I was the scapegoat used by the village. They used me to deal with a bloodthirsty clan once and for all. It's easier to blame an S-ranked criminal than openly say that the Hokage itself ordered the execution. Less political damage for them, compared to other villages and they manage to kill the Uchiha clan. However, I'm not here saying I was forced into this situation. I willingly accepted. Now, saying that I should have remained inside the village walls would be the same as stating that the destiny of my family was to vanish. The Uchiha were responsible for founding the village, we were worshipped beyond necessity. If someone killed the Uchiha Clan, then it would be expected that he or she would be considered a vile criminal and chased."

Naruto nodded as he knew all of this. Despite wondering why Itachi was so open about this manner with him, he knew that the Sandaime Hokage just couldn't allow such an atrocity to be considered for the good of the village. Sarutobi Hiruzen was considered the most powerful ninja of his time, but he was equally recognized for his kindness and desire to protect everyone that stood inside the village's huge walls.

Nonetheless, Itachi was still due to respond to all of Naruto's questions.

"You still haven't answered the question, Itachi. Ok, fleeing was your choice, but joining Akatsuki, still remains a mystery to me. It eludes me why you'd even think of joining an organization whose sole intention was to collect the power of the tailed beasts." Naruto spoke, with his arms crossed as if he hoped to get a real reason out of the ex-Anbu captain. The most mysterious individual Naruto ever met.

He could see Itachi's lips curving into a smile at the question, which kind of unnerved him a bit.

"Your desire is to understand why I chose to join the most powerful criminal organization ever to roam these lands if all I did in my life was follow the Hokage's command?" Itachi's eyes were closed as he spoke, but Naruto knew to watch out when they opened. And true to his wonders, as soon as Itachi opened his eyes, Naruto could see the terrible visage of the Mangenkyou Sharingan staring at him.

It didn't take two seconds before the sky color turned to blood red and Naruto was captured in a genjutsu.

Nonetheless, Naruto didn't sense any killing intent coming from Itachi, which was weird seeing as Itachi was an illusion master.

"I came to the conclusion that instead of telling you my story, it'd best to show it to you…" Itachi's voice echoed, but Naruto couldn't pinpoint his location. Suddenly, he saw what appeared to be Konohagakure at night. He could spot a single Anbu shinobi holding a bloodied ninjato as he started to jump towards the tree nearby, towards one of the big gates that protected Konohagakure. Naruto could see how skilled Itachi was in order to avoid the jounin patrols located near the gates, before he was out of the village.

It didn't take long before Itachi stopped in front of two thick trees.

"The Uchiha Clan is no more…" Itachi said to no one at first. However, a shadow soon merged from behind the tree on the left.

"Ah so the Senju's dream came to reality. That fool Hashirama always talked of peace, but inside I always knew he would be glad to get rid of our kind" The shadow spoke, before the moon light helped dim the situation a bit, showing an orange mask with a spiraling design.

Naruto had no idea who the man was, but all indications pointed that he had something to do with the Uchiha massacre. And why would he say 'our kind'? Was he an Uchiha as well?

"I did your bidding Madara. Now, you must uphold your end of the bargain."

His laughter soon followed and Naruto wondered what the bargain was.

"You have my word that no ill will befalls that pathetic village…for now, you must uphold the rest of our bargain…meet my associate at the border of Amegakure and Fire Country. He'll give you instructions regarding your next assignment" The shadow said, before vanishing from sight. Itachi, then, took his time in going to Amegakure. He turned towards the village's direction. Remorse for what he did to his family? Itachi didn't know. He wasn't against the notion of protecting the village against his family, but having to kill his family was something no one has ever done before.

No matter now…Itachi reasoned. There was no turning back.

The Sandaime Hokage did warn him of the consequences behind going through with this S-ranked assignment. He was now considered a criminal for his actions against the Uchiha Clan and as such, people would start to fear him for it. There was no sense in going back now. Narrowing his eyes at the path ahead, Itachi closed his eyes for one minute and took deep breaths, in order to get accustomed to his new life.

The last scene that Naruto saw was Itachi running towards Amegakure, before Itachi appeared in front of him. The pair was in silence for a while, but Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He now saw why Itachi did what he did. At first, he suspected that the man that appeared in front of him was an Uchiha, but as soon as Itachi said his name, Naruto flinched. Uchiha Madara…the Uchiha Madara, co-founder of the village he swore to protect and the man who was presumed dead after the fight against the Shodaime Hokage Senju Hashirama.

"You joined Akatsuki so to save Konoha from Madara, didn't you?" Naruto said and Itachi nodded, though it was a rather obvious conclusion.

"That was only half of the bargain that we agreed upon, actually. The other half was to leave Sasuke alone, in exchange for me joining his organization Akatsuki"

Suddenly, the sky turned back to normal and the opponents were facing each other once more in front of the Valley of the End.

"You may be wondering why I showed you the truth of what happened" Itachi asked, while seeing Naruto's eyes through the mask. "You could say that I sympathize with you. In our line of work, we are constantly subjected to pain and life altering decisions. I know that given the right circumstances, if you were in my shoes, you would do the same thing, as I trust your desire to protect the village of Konohagakure and its citizens."

"You talk like you know who I am behind the mask, Itachi…but true I would do the same thing…"

What Naruto said, came as an insult to the once Anbu Captain Uchiha Itachi, but at least Naruto had the decency to divert the situation a bit.

"You might as well take off your mask now, Naruto-kun…there is no need in fighting with it, once your identity is revealed to the enemy." Itachi said, pretty much expecting that Naruto would freak out, or snarl at being discovered. But, instead the blond just laughed. For Itachi it was a strange situation indeed. There in front of him was the very kid who he considered a waste of time in the past.

Naruto immediately removed the mask from his face and looked at it for a while in contemplation. This was perhaps the first time he ever took it off in the midst of combat.

"I was hoping to ask you another question, Itachi if I may. I know for a fact that just like me, you enjoyed wearing the Anbu mask, right? You saw reason in hiding behind it. People wouldn't recognize you, therefore they wouldn't need to fear you or curse your very existence for things out of your control. Was it hard to let the mask go? Was it hard to think that you'd be showing your face to the world?"

Itachi nodded, though he stood in contemplation at Naruto's words. The problem with Anbu was that if you stuck with it too long, there was a high possibility that you could ever go back. Like Itachi and Naruto, a lot of the Anbu shinobi enjoyed using the mask in order to hide from everyone. The mask was a part of them and even after taking it off, they feel as if it's still covering their true face somehow. For the first time, in Itachi's life, he found someone worth sharing his pain with. Even Shisui, his old best friend, didn't cause him this feeling. Itachi now knew he'd made the right decision in challenging Naruto for this fight.

Uzumaki Naruto would be the one to finally end his life of misery…

"Whoever said you could just let go of the mask? Your face may be visible without it, but the mask is never truly off, isn't it?" Itachi concluded, earning a nod from Naruto.

"Very true; okay, now that the pleasantries are over, why don't we get down to business…Uchiha Itachi? Let's just see who the best shinobi is."

===At Konoha===

Tsunade was busy in her office doing the usual paperwork. However, her mind was obviously elsewhere.

This exact moment, Naruto could be in danger against Uchiha Itachi, but he was an Anbu now, one of the strongest because of the Kyuubi inside of him. She knew that the boy would manage to hold his own against Itachi. However, her conscious was tormenting her. In a motherly sense, she was worried about him. In fact, ever since the blond joined the Anbu forces, Tsunade felt this way for him.

Deciding that a break was needed, she got up from her chair and looked at the village from the window behind her desk. It was somewhat comforting to see the villagers roaming free without a care in the world, smiling and chatting with their friends and family. Suddenly, though, an image appeared from the corner of her left eye and she turned to see a beautiful woman sitting on a bench as she looked down in sadness. Tsunade's heart sank as she saw Kurenai worried about Naruto's wellbeing. It still eluded Tsunade how Naruto and Kurenai managed to be together, in spite if the age difference.

Perhaps it would be nice to take a walk and comfort her, Tsunade reasoned. It was, indeed, a better course of action than spending one more time inside this kami forsaken office taking care of the never ending pile of paperwork.

It didn't take long before Tsunade was out of the building. Slowly, she walked towards Kurenai's location while at the same time waving at the villagers with a fake smile on her face. Tsunade wasn't such a friendly person as everyone thought. However, as Hokage, she took an oath to protect them with her live. As she walked, she could see her personal Anbu team following her every move from the shadows.

"That's a sight I never believed I would see coming from you, Kurenai-san" Tsunade said, surprising the downed kunoichi as she looked at the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama….I'm sorry, I…"

"Nah, no need to be sorry. It's not every day our blond knucklehead goes to fight a S-ranked criminal…" Tsunade said as she took a seat next to the brunette jounin. "Wait…no that's not accurate. He picks a fight with one every day, it seems" The joke attempt actually was helpful as Kurenai let out a small laugh at the memory of her boyfriend's adventures against A to S-ranked shinobi. Orochimaru, Kisame, Itachi…and surprisingly, no one ever managed to defeat him.

However, this time was different. There was no one to help him. Naruto was alone, this time, against a man who could use genjutsu with greater expertise than she ever thought possible.

"Naruto isn't the best opponent against Uchiha Itachi. His genjutsu prowess surpass even the Kurama Clan and Naruto has only now acquired the title of genjutsu master"

Tsunade could see that the woman was thinking professionally, in order to avoid thinking of Naruto like her boyfriend. Tsunade smiled at that, seeing as she did the same thing back at the Ninja War Time. At the time, her boyfriend Dan was sent to a great many missions that her sensei judged almost impossible to return alive…and surprisingly enough, Dan managed to return to her alive. The one time when he didn't…she broke into tears over her indestructible boyfriend's death at the hands of a group of Iwagakure ninjas.

"I know what you're doing Kurenai…you're trying to think like Naruto is just a fellow shinobi…"

Tsunade said, surprising Kurenai as she looked at the Hokage and how the woman's eyes lost its color all of a sudden. The genjutsu mistress wasn't a stranger to the Sannin's history, mostly because Naruto happened to share it with her on one occasion. Tsunade lost both her little brother and her lover because of the war. In truth, she was really scared of thinking of Naruto like her boyfriend. That would mean that the love of her life was fighting against one of toughest criminal out there.

"You know…genjutsu isn't Naruto's best skill. When it comes to taijutsu, kenjutsu and ninjutsu, Naruto's skills have no equal. Plus, he has the fox's power at his disposal, Kurenai. You know all this, right? Itachi may possess the evolved version of the Sharingan, but that's not enough to beat Naruto. Remember that even before he joined the Anbu, he was able to beat Itachi's little brother Sasuke with the cursed seal level two. Besides, simply giving up is not his forte, believe me, I know."

Kurenai nodded, before lifting her head and smiling at the blonde Hokage.

"Thank you Tsunade-sama, I appreciate it. I should have more faith that my boyfriend will win the battle and return to m…" Kurenai said, before she started feeling dizzy out of a sudden.

Tsunade noticed immediately and grabbed the falling kunoichi. Quickly feeling her forehead, Tsunade was shocked. Kurenai was having a strong fever.

"Anbu…" The Hokage shouted, before two operative appeared in front of them. "Please take Kurenai here to the Hospital and reach Shizune. Tell her that I need her at the hospital"

Quickly and effectively, the Anbu proceeded as ordered. The Hokage was following right behind the Anbu with the howl mask who was carrying Kurenai on his back. On the way, though, she was getting worried over Kurenai's condition. Tsunade knew the file of pretty much every one of her shinobi and she knew that the woman in front of her never presented such symptoms. She wondered if the sudden increase in temperature was because of her boyfriend's fight…however Kurenai was known for keeping her cool in tougher situations before.

The Hokage couldn't know for sure without the proper testing.

Nevertheless, her instincts always proved to be correct.

A part of her smiled at the possible outcome; however another part of her feared that if worse came to happen, Naruto would possibly lose the greatest joy of his life and Kurenai would be alone.

Brat, you better return to her safe and sound or else I'll drag you back from heaven and beat the crap out of you…

===With Naruto===

After the pleasantries were exchanged, Naruto and Itachi just settled to watch each other and possibly study even the slightest change in behavior. Uchiha Itachi was at a disadvantage in this fight. Being with Akatsuki granted him tons of information regarding the Jinchuuriki's skills and weaknesses. Zetsu took great care in taking care of this part. However, the man in front of him wasn't the Uzumaki Naruto that he had intel on.

This man was different.

Naruto, however, knew Itachi's skills and quite possibly his weakness. The blond took his time in order to avoid making the fatal mistake of attacking first. He knew that with Itachi being your opponent, extreme caution was advised. The man's prowess in the illusion department was, simply to say, uncanny. He could very well trap Naruto inside a genjutsu, before the blond realized his chakra was even tampered. Alll of a sudden, Naruto felt the unusual feeling inside his body and cursed his sloppiness.

Quickly overcoming the minor genjutsu, Naruto was surprised to see Itachi just mere inches in front of him, with a kunai near his jugular. Quickly evading the attack, Naruto focused on avoiding eye contact so that Itachi couldn't read his movements. The blond Anbu quickly blocked Itachi's punch with his right arm, before aiming a powerful upper knee to Itachi's stomach. Itachi, though, blocked with both hands, but Naruto was not done and, seeing that Itachi's hands were occupied, managed to land a powerful punch to Itachi's face. The elder Uchiha was surprised at the speed while taking his distance from Naruto.

Summoning two windmill shuriken from within the tattoo on his wrists, Itachi threw them at Naruto who at first only saw one. He soon managed to see the second one from the shadow on the ground. Bending his body, he was able to pass in between the shuriken. However, Itachi was capitalizing on that and simply pulled the strings attached to the shurikens, instantly trapping Naruto, who wasn't able to escape when the shuriken returned.

His body was sliced in two.

However, Itachi had his Sharingan activated just in time to see that the blond managed to escape by replacing his body with a tree log. Sensing heavy usage of chakra to his right, Itachi turned to see the blond on the last hand seal, before the wind around the two increased.

Fuuton Kaze no Yaiba (Wind Release: Wind Sword Technique)

Even though the Uchiha had his Sharingan active, it was tough to dodge the rapidly approaching technique. Itachi managed to evade the technique, but he was surprised when a large number of shurikens flew at him, piercing every inch of his chest and arms. His look of surprise didn't faze Naruto as he already suspected Itachi's movement. Itachi was suddenly replaced with a bunch of crows and Naruto knew once more that he was trapped inside a genjutsu…only this time, it wasn't a minor illusion.

The problem with genjutsu was that in order to dispel it, you need to overcome the invading chakra with your own. Itachi was aware of Naruto's insane chakra capacity, therefore he managed to add layers to the genjutsus. Naruto managed to dispel the first layer, but he wasn't counting on the possibility of more than one layer of genjutsu, in the midst of the battlefield. Such a thing takes time and great focus to elaborate. Suddenly, Naruto was seeing his legs catching on fire. He could feel his leg burning as Itachi was tampering with his mind. Not able to dispel the technique in time, Naruto did the next best thing to do in order to escape.

Grabbing a kunai, he sliced his arm a bit enough for a shallow cut. The illusion was immediately dispelled. Seeing this, Itachi quickly started a sequence of hand seals, before gathering as much air as he could inside his lungs.

Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

The immense projectile caught the blonde by surprise as he focused some chakra to his legs, before jumping towards the river. He could feel the deadly technique approaching fast. Focusing on a single hand seal and with a simple water manipulation, the blond managed to create a small barrier in front of him, stopping Itachi's technique. Because of it, a great deal of white smoke was created between the two, allowing Naruto to use the same medicine on Itachi.

Quickly going through a sequence of hand seals, Naruto started using his own trademark genjutsu on the illusionist.

Maken Nakaru Arashi (Demonic Illusion: Hell Storm Technique)

It didn't take long for the smoke to clear, before Itachi was suddenly overwhelmed by torrential lightning that fell from the suddenly dark sky. Itachi knew a ninjutsu such as this existed since he managed to copy it with his Sharingan against a Kumogakure Jounin. However, the elder Uchiha realized too late that this technique wasn't a ninjutsu, but, much to his surprise, genjutsu. He dispelled Naruto's storm, before widening his eyes at the horizontal hurricane that hit him dead on, sending him flying towards Hashirama's statue.

Fuuton Suidou no Tatsumaki (Wind Release: Tornado Tunnel Technique)

The technique went all the way to Hashirama's feet as it carved a deep hole inside the cave. Itachi, though, managed to escape the impact by replacing himself with a small stone nearby. However, the man knew it was a close call. As he got up from his position, he looked at Naruto from a distance and took his time a bit. The simple fact that Naruto was able to perform illusions such as that one was impressive, but to think that far ahead wasn't something Itachi would expect from the blond jinchuuriki. He had mere seconds to think of a strategy as he was busy dealing with the great fireball technique. Naruto used the smoke to his advantage and managed to cast a demonic illusion, without the Sharingan's awareness.

However, something else was wrong about Naruto's chakra, Itachi reasoned. When in Akatsuki, Itachi learned how to feel the usage of demonic chakra. He learned that despite not using the beast's power, he could feel at least a small part of demonic chakra in the Jinchuuriki's attacks. He couldn't feel any trace of the fox's chakra in Naruto's attack.

The Anbu just stood, waiting for Itachi to come.

And as expected, the elder Uchiha got up from the debris, presumably unscathed, and started walking calmly on the water towards Naruto's direction. Naruto knew, though, that his attack caused significant damage on Itachi. That specific attack, besides sending the enemy flying, manages to deliver heavy cuts on the opponent's skin. However, whatever damage was inflicted on Itachi, Naruto knew it wasn't nearly enough to give him the victory in this fight. Itachi was still due to activating his Mangenkyou Sharingan and once he did, Naruto would have to find some strategy to use against his two deadly techniques.

As soon as Itachi stood within striking distance of Naruto, instead of charging at the Anbu, start doing hand signs for a ninjutsu, activate his Mangenkyou, he opted to talk…

"I see you managed to cover a lot of bases after our last encounter, Naruto-kun…I do wonder something, though. Why couldn't I sense any lingering demonic chakra in you?"

Despite the situation at hand, Naruto smiled at the fact that Itachi discovered his little secret. Also, the echoing laugher that appeared in Naruto's mind showed that the fox was amused as well at the question. However, that doesn't mean Naruto had to give him the true version of what happened. The blond wouldn't even think in letting Itachi know that his status as Jinchuuriki was long gone by now.

"Let's just say, Itachi that I practiced a lot in controlling the fox's chakra up to the point of being able to set it aside for usage if the need arises." Naruto lied, but his eyes portrayed nothing of the sort. "Not that the fox is any happy about it, let me tell you. It wanted so bad to control my urges…right now, I can hear him hitting the bars of his cage, urging me to rip you apart, using his foul chakra. It's just amusing to hear his screams…don't you think?"

Instead of waiting for a response, Naruto focused a bit of water manipulation and caused a minor jet of water to charge at Itachi, thus taking his focus away from the real attack. Itachi, managed to dodge the jet of water, but not the sudden punch on his gut. The power behind the punch took a bit of air from Itachi's lungs, but he was able to move aside from the following kick to his face, thanks to his Sharingan. Doing a few back flips, while performing hidden hand seals, Itachi finished with the tiger seal just as Naruto was charging at him, which proved to be quite a mistake.

Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Missile Projectile Technique)

Naruto was surprised with the speed behind the jutsu and he cursed his lack of judgment in charging head on. The fire dragon practically opened his mouth to engulf Naruto whole. The blond had only one choice to get out of this situation and he wasn't going to think twice about it….

Itachi saw the attack engulfing Naruto whole. Because of Naruto's wind nature, fire attacks cause much more damage on his body. He knew that such an attack wouldn't be enough, but at least it would hinder his opponent for the killing blow. After the attack was finished, Itachi could see, with some surprise that Naruto was convulsing on top of the water. His body was entirely burned. Perhaps, he underestimated the Jinchuuriki.

Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)

The sudden surge of chakra alerted Itachi, allowing him time to avoid the massive dragon technique. He jumped high enough to avoid it as he watched the dragon charge at the huge waterfall. Itachi landed on the water, before he faced Naruto once more. This would be the second time Naruto managed to deceive him. Itachi was truly impressed with the blond so far. However, the time for pleasantries was now over.

It was time to get serious…Mangenkyou Sharingan

Naruto sensed it immediately as he looked at Itachi's now changed eyes. Suddenly, his opponent crossed their distance faster than Naruto could even see, before Itachi landed a fierce kick on Naruto's stomach, sending him flying. At the same time, Itachi activated his Amaterasu technique, sending torrents of black fire in Naruto's direction. The blond, for his part, looked at the incoming attack and knew he had to do something and fast. Those black flames wouldn't stop coming until Itachi said so. However, Naruto could at least stall their advance long enough for him to get out of the flame's path.

Suiton Dai Suijinheki (Water Release: Great Water Barrier Technique)

As soon as he managed to land on the water, a huge wave appeared in front of him, stalling the black fire a bit. Naruto could see the fire actually winning the battle against Naruto's barrier, but he wasn't going to stick around waiting for the black fames to burn him and send him to hell. He quickly jumped to the Madara's head as he looked at the precipice of fire created by Uchiha Itachi. However, the Uchiha was nowhere in sight which frightened Naruto a bit.

Because of the Mangenkyou Sharingan, Itachi's speed pretty much doubled, making it almost impossible for Naruto's trained eyes to follow.

Suddenly, Itachi appeared on the Hashirama's statue, looking at Naruto with apparent boredom, which kind of infuriated the Anbu. Focusing chakra to his legs, Naruto threw smoke bombs, in order to hide his path. As soon as the smoking bombs went off just inches from Itachi's position, Naruto vanished from his position and reached the Hashirama's statue. Immediately, he went behind Itachi, but was surprised to see that he hadn't moved from his position at all. What was weirder was that he was facing the Madara's statue like he was facing his enemy.

Something was off…

As soon as Naruto tried to move, though, he felt something hold his arms and legs, binding him in place. What the hell was going on? Itachi, then, turned from his usual position, just when the sky turned from the already darker shade of blue to the blood red from the first genjutsu Itachi used in order to show Naruto his story. Looking around, the Anbu realized he was tied to a cross and instead of one Itachi, several appeared holding katanas.

"I confess you surprised me Naruto with your skills as a shinobi. However, this is where your life will end. This is my world and I control every aspect of it. That's why you'll be tortured for seventy two hours. Trust me Naruto-kun; even Kakashi sempai wasn't able to withstand this type of torture"

With that said, all the Itachis started thrusting their swords into Naruto's flesh, followed by a deafening scream of pain by the Anbu. The blond was being punctured like hell and, even though he knew it an illusion, the pain was just too great to even focus. The blond was having trouble thinking clearly as each second he was pierced by Itachi's swords relentlessly. The pain was unbelievable and the fact that he had to withstand for seventy two hours was unbelievable.

"Seventy hours, fifty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds to go…Naruto-kun"

If the blond had enough air inside his lungs, he would have screamed further in pain, but right now, all he could do was flinch as fifty or more swords kept impaling his flesh. Naruto lost count of how much time passed since the illusion started. One thing he knew was that if he didn't stop this, his mind would shatter. Itachi, for his part, was admiring Naruto as each second passed inside his illusion. Kakashi's mind perished in little over ten seconds of torture and Naruto was going for two entire minutes already and he could hold on for more. However, something was off about his technique.

He could feel someone tempering with his control, but who could it be? With the level of torture Naruto was undergoing, he couldn't possibly focus on something other than withstanding the pain.

"This is truly an admirable technique, Uchiha. But I'm afraid I can't let it continue" The strong voice filled Itachi's illusion as the Itachis stopped piercing the blond, who for his part, began panting from the excruciating pain. Nevertheless, his breath was slowly returning as he managed to speak, albeit barely.

"I never…thought I'd be so happy…to hear your voice, fur ball…"

"Kyuubi…?" Itachi asked as the sudden red eyes appeared behind Naruto as if he was his protector. This was perhaps the first time Itachi encountered the beast face to face. Its menacing eyes looked even more terrifying than Madara's Eternal Mangenkyou Sharingan Eyes. Immediately, Itachi remembered the tales of some of his Anbu coworkers about the Kyuubi event on that fateful event that pretty much changed Konoha's history. He was told of how with just its majestic roar, made the majority of the village scared shitless. Imagine what the fox's killing intent would do to a person.

Itachi now knew he was treading a dangerous course in maintaining the technique. Under Akatsuki, he was trained to defeat the jailors, not the actual demon.

(AN: I little note on this particular thought. Yeah, Deidara did capture the Sanbi using only one attack. Wasn't it odd that with a mere exploding fish, he was able to defeat the three tailed demon while he couldn't defeat the almighty Uchiha Sasuke with his strongest technique, just a thought for all the Uchiha Sasuke haters out there like me)

Preferring to be safe than sorry, Itachi proceeded to disrupt his illusion. However, something was wrong, he feared. He wasn't in control of the Tsukyomi any longer. Looking at the menacing blood red eyes in front of him, Itachi tried every bit of his usual stoic personality not to cower in front of the most powerful demon's sight. The Uchiha made a terrible mistake in underestimating the level of the bond shared between tailed beast and its jailor. He was now under the command of the fox and he was cursing every second of it. The Kyuubi, for his part, secretly grinned at his job well done in deceiving the elder Uchiha. He may not be as powerful as before, because of the seal being released. Nevertheless, being inside Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi could protect his host's mind against powerful genjutsus such as the Tsukyomi technique.

"As you probably realized by now Itachi, I'm now in control over this world. Therefore, your mind is at my whim…." The fox was having a hoot upon feeling this kind of fear for the first time in almost seventeen years. He always regarded the Uchiha as stoic individuals. However, Itachi was smart enough to realize the possible implications of what the fox made it out to be. The fox could even hear the man's heart pulsing faster and faster. It was a breath taking and Kyuubi wanted to enjoy every minute of such sweet delight. However, he couldn't allow more time to pass by and he still needed to save his pathetic host from this genjutsu.

Quickly relinquishing the technique, with a frightening warning, Itachi and Naruto now stood outside once more, both panting for breath. Itachi's eyes were burning like hell and blood was pouring out of them. The confrontation with the fox weighed heavily on his disease and he realized with a curse that he could no longer use any mangenkyou related techniques, or else he would lose his eyes for good. Holding his bleeding eyes, he found that at least he managed to maintain the evolved sharingan active, which meant he had the advantage in speed and in predicting Naruto's movements. He hoped it was enough to defeat the blond jinchuuriki. Naruto, for his part, wondered what the hell happened and how the fox had managed to trick Itachi into believing that it had any sort of control over the illusion. Still, he figured that some appreciation for the fox's help was in order.

'Not that I'll openly say it you damn fur ball…you ruined my life'

"Insignificant brat…if it weren't for the Yondaime, I'd be eating your soul right now. Just deal with this piece of meat, or else I'll spend my time torturing your soul in hell.

Inside, Naruto smiled as he kind of enjoyed pissing the fox off. It was his form of retribution for everyday he suffered while under the fox's dark influence. Getting up, he eyed his opponent with a new resolve. It was time to deal with Itachi for good, this time. However, the man's speed was still the blond's concern. Without the Mangenkyou, Naruto was toe to toe with the damn Uchiha. Now, though, Naruto was clearly outmatched. Suddenly, a memory just clicked in Naruto's brain as he looked at the sword strapped on his back, which was left by his mother. He remembered what the dragon said at the time.

'Naruto, as of right now, you're the new wielder of the Ryuu no Heki. Its powers will be revealed to you as you wield it…"

Closing his eyes in contemplation, Naruto simply grabbed the sword hilt, until his heart skipped a beat.

===At Konoha===

Tsunade was by Kurenai's side as she watched the woman resting on a hospital bed. The genjutsu mistress's sudden fainting scared the leaf hokage a bit, but when she looked at the test results, it was almost impossible not to smile at the situation. The very reason why Kurenai was ill was because the woman was pregnant with Naruto's child. Actually, the woman would be having twins, a boy and a girl. The tests didn't point the cause of all this, but Tsunade theorized it was because of worrying too much about Naruto.

It was a fear that she shared with Kurenai, even more now with the news of Naruto being a parent. She just now dispatched Naruto's team to go check on him, but it would take at least two hours for them to arrive at full speed. She just hoped that either Naruto wouldn't need their assistance and manage to dispatch Itachi or be saved at the nick of time by his team. She just wanted him back to hear the good news.

===Back at the fight===

Back at the fight, Itachi managed to get on his feet, before he narrowed his eyes at the sword on Naruto's hand. To the naked eye, it appeared that Naruto was only holding the sword. However, to the Sharingan eyes, it was quite different. Itachi could feel chakra pulsing inside Naruto's tenketsus, flowing towards his limbs. Also, the energy was coming from the sword to which, after further inspection, Itachi widened his eyes in surprise. As an Anbu captain, he was privy to a great many secrets. One of them included the legend of one Anbu operative in the past that possessed that very same sword.

Although its abilities were kept a secret by decree of the Yondaime Hokage, Itachi carved it for its possible power.

"Skilled you may be, Naruto-kun. However, as proven before, my speed in unmatched….it's time to meet your end, I'm afraid…"

Right after Itachi finished talking, he vanished using his speed to get behind Naruto. Quickly taking a kunai and getting into position, Itachi aimed the kunai at Naruto's lung. However, the Uchiha was surprised when out of the blue the blond turned and blocked the attack. Vanishing once more, Itachi wandered where the blond go, before his sharingan alerted to a surprise attack on his left blind side. It was only because of this that he managed to dodge Naruto's precise stab, otherwise he would be dead right now. Just how the hell did he increase his speed like this? Itachi thought as he saw Naruto doing hand seals faster than before.

Raiton Myakuhou (Lightning Release: Pulse Cannon Technique)

Shortly after finishing the hand seals, Naruto positioned his hand forward, slightly touching the thumb and pointing finger of both hands together. Focusing a lot of chakra, Naruto released a considerable lightning ball, which started flying towards Itachi in speed that frightened the Uchiha. However, he managed to evade in time, before the technique collided with a giant stone. The result of the clash caused a giant flash to overcome the area, blinding the Uchiha because his sharingan eyes were active at the time. Not to mention the fact that the stone was utterly disintegrated. Naruto took his opportunity and moved to the final blow, ready to kill Itachi for good. However, he had to dodge due to an act of desperation by the Uchiha, who used his family's signature technique on the direction he last saw Naruto. The little time allowed Itachi to recover his sight, before charging at Naruto once more.

This fight would be decided by the fastest opponent.

Naruto figured this out as well and the two charged at each other, before meeting half way at the center of the lake. Itachi's Sharingan was having trouble predicting Naruto's increasing speed, but he was able to see his movements quite clearly. When they stopped in front of each other, both realized that this was the final movement. Right now, one will live and other will perish. Positioning his kunai towards Naruto's heart, Itachi focused every bit of chakra on his limbs and managed to overcome the blond. However, when he was about to pierce the blond's heart, Itachi was surprised that the Naruto in front of him was nothing but a bunshin.

It was his last mistake as Naruto appeared on his back, piercing Itachi's back with his sword, going all the way to his chest.