Around the World: Rivers of Blood

Quest Added: Rivers of Blood.

Search for Kirigakure's Records of the Great Shinobi Wars: (0/3)

(Optional: Learn about the Mizukage's side of the civil war.)

(Optional: Learn about the Resistance's side of the Civil War.)

Finally, Bloody Mist.

The land of water was already a place I didn't like; it was a group of islands like Japan or Hawaii which, normally would be fine except that those places were surrounded by ocean. I hate the ocean. Death-dealing home of sharks, giant squids and who knows what else. The only reason I accompanied the Penguins out in the war was because there was a billion Penguins with me. I wasn't, you know, alone in the deep, dank abyss like I was in the sewer.

…I mean, the sewer was great once I got out of the water. But being in the sewage, surrounded by inky blackness with glowing bulbs of anglers telling me I was surrounded? No thanks.

The Village Hidden in the Mists reminded me somewhat of an early memory of Salinas, California. Layered over with a thick fog, green grass wafted in a cool breeze. It was very…pleasant. A good memory. Shame it's rivers usually run red.

The buildings were made of some kind of granite and seemed to be in a state of bad disrepair. Green moss grew out of the cracks of their cylindrical buildings and water dripped perpetually down the stone. Unlike the other villages, there were no civilians here which made sense. This civil war was bloody and I stopping it just climbed to the top of my to-do list.

…what, no quest for stopping the war? I guess first I'll need to pick a side.

First thing is first, create several invisible clones to get inside the Kage's office building and start searching for the archives. These guys are at war, so the security would be stepped up – the information in that building had the potential to actually get one of the other nations involved and no one in Mist wants that.

Well, not right now. When one side gets desperate enough, they will search for allies and then Mist will become a vassal state, if not the sight of the next great Shinobi War. All it would take would be for Mist to have proof that Konoha had taken actions against Kumo during peace-time and it would be enough for the already militarizing Kumo to declare all-out War on Konoha which will bring Suna in and then…yeah. World war four.

Personally, I'd like to avoid that. That's what this whole trip is about.

As for me, let's-what's a member of the Akatsuki doing, meeting with the Mizukage? And why does the Mizukage not look that much older than myself?

I…vaguely remember him. Guy with an orange swirly mask. Supposedly the organizations charity case in taking in someone too stupid to live on their own? Did he always have Sharingan? And he's casting a Genjutsu on the Mizukage…wait.

Good call, clone. Dismissing yourself to let me know. I'm going to check this out personally.

I zipped over to the Mizukage's office and there was the Mizukage. Sand-colored hair, solid purple eyes. Behind him stood the Akatsuki member, black trench coat with clouds printed on it. From my vantage point, I could see a Sharingan-eye spinning behind his orange, twirling mask. The thing that was really setting off alarm bells was the two sets of chakra coursing through his body.

Time to go to work.

First order of business, adopt Henge. Stereotypical ninja costume, all black with no discernable markings. The use of jutsu causes the Akatsuki member's head to snap in my direction, so I am one hundred percent sure that I'm not dealing with a novice. Second, zip forward and apply a seal to the Mizukage. The kid falls asleep and more importantly, foreign chakra is shoved and locked out of his system.

Then I make another clone and that clone decloaks.

"So, who might you be?" My clone asked as I circled around the Akatsuki.

"Tobi is good boy," He replied instantly, sounding way too cheerful.

I moved to plant a fist in his back and explode out his internal organs. Imagine my surprise when my fist simply phased through the guy and he fell through the floor.

…okay, he can use space release. I can do that too.

TGP.

I named my patented walk-through-walls jutsu after Mira Nova's Tangean Ghosting Powers, which I then immediately had to shorten in my head to an anagram, which is a good sign that I need to come up with another name for it. I'll do that after I'm done chasing after this thing.

Being able to see chakra thanks to chakra sense was the only reason I was able to follow Tobi. He phased through the floor, I flew after him, making sure to hop-skip and jump across the floor to avoid giving him the impression that I'm flying. Don't want to bust out that trump card until it's absolutely necessary.

No sliding, either.

He phased through the wall and led me into a blank room which I can only assume was used for interrogations or executions.

"Tobi is not a good boy," I explained, crouching down forward. "Putting the Mizukage under a Genjutsu is the opposite of good."

"But Mizukage is a bad, bad man!" Tobi said.

Either he really is an idiot, in which case he's doing this at the behest of someone else, or he's not an idiot and he's using this façade to taunt me. My gut says it's the latter. Let's act like I'm assuming the former to get his guard lowered while my clone space-proofs the room so he can't escape again. "Now who told you that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" He said. I could just hear his tongue sticking out at me in the tone of his voice. Ugh. Well, whatever. This guy's biggest skillset is the ability to run away and that's been annulled.

I'm also curious as to how it's phasing through me since that means the chakra's not getting absorbed by my CDN. Question for later.

"I would like to know," I said with a nod. "That's why I'm asking."

"That's too bad!" He said to me, still sounding utterly silly.

Alright, I'm wasting my time. I need to take him out now so I can move onto other problems. Like Itachi. Seriously, where did this guy get a Sharingan, speaking of which? Also, I need to perform an autopsy to figure out what this duo-chakra he's got going on.

I zipped forward, he dodged to the left almost instantly. He retaliated with a right hook that I immediately parried and noted that it felt like parrying a rocket. Hard, fast and might've knocked me off my feet if I hadn't glued myself to the floor.

So, I stuck to the arm and it felt weird, clinging onto him in spite of his networks every effort to get me off. It wasn't normal chakra, I don't know what it was. Jump up, plant both of my feet into his stomach at full explosive force.

I marveled that he wasn't blown to giblets. He was, however, rapidly thrown and turned the entire wall into a crater upon impact. Immediately, I drew my pistol, set it to lethal and sent a round right through his head. It splattered on the wall as his corpse slid down in a mess of red and white matter.

Quest Completed: Rivers of Blood.

Completed: Search for Kirigakure's Records of the Great Shinobi Wars: (3/3)

Completed: (Optional: Learn about the Mizukage's side of the civil war.)

Failed: (Optional: Learn about the Resistance's side of the Civil War.)

Well, the failure is kind of annoying. Nothing stopping me from just finding out on my own, I guess, but I should've adjusted my schedule so I could complete the optional objective before the main one. Usually it just happened for me, but this time it didn't. I'll remember this.

As for the information,nothing new, really. Except that these guys had no knowledge of anyone named Ohara Rin, whom was reportedly kidnapped by Kiri forces and turned into the Jinchūriki for the three tails. That very Shinobi and teammate that Kakashi accidentally killed when she threw herself on his Chidori…

…my Sensei needs a hug. Not from me, from Naruto. Naruto gives good hugs. As opposed to hugs from Ino who makes me feel…well, dirty for getting excited by a twelve-year old.

I shook my head. Getting away from that was part of why I'm even on this quest. Don't even think about it. The official reason for the wars is because clans with Kekkei Genkai were considered potential traitors, propoganda'd into looking bad, and then executed. The real reason was because this idiot here was trying to destroy Kiri from within. For what reason, I don't know.

Well, whatever, it's time to get this guy out. Clone's lowering the space-proofing around this room so time to get this guy back to the Vault so I can start the autopsy.

Wait a minute, why isn't there a hole in his head?

Then in a swirl of black energy he was gone from the sudden, stabbing pain going up my arm like I had just dipped it in molten steel, so was my hand.

Ninjutsu Partially Absorbed.

-400 hp.

FRAGGINOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWSONOFA-WHERE'S MY HAND, WHERE'S MY HAND WHERE FRACK!

Immediately, I locked onto my hand I summoned it with a space-time jutsu. It was somewhere in the Land of Rain, I'll remember that later. But for now, I need to reattach my hand.

Stupid…ah, there wasn't an impact so the damage didn't get redistributed and he managed to power through my chakra defense network by restricting contact with it to my hand – created a small surface area. Then he just played dead, waited for the defenses to go down and waited for me to grab him so he could take something with him.

Medicine Check Success: 100/95.

Okay, can I still move my fingers? I can still move my fingers, not noticing any lag, good. I brought the blood I lost in their hideout back with the hand, I don't want them using it against me somehow.

Alright then. Just need to repair the gauntlet and I'll be good to go.

Well, I underestimated my opponent and paid the price for it. Tobi is not as dumb as he seems and I'm going to need to be careful of him. Of all the Akatsuki, I have a strong feeling that he is going to be my biggest problem.

I start chugging Nutriwater while I clean up the blood on the floor. With a few hand seals, I whipped up a few glass jars and placed the scraps of white matter still stuck in the wall and on the floor inside for study later.

Once those two tasks were done, made a trio of clones with the assignment of scouring the rest of the Land of Water and find the rebel headquarters to get their story. They disappeared and I rose up to the Mizukage's office to check on the guy.

He was still unconscious and he didn't look healthy. Being under a Genjutsu for such a long period of time would cause problems just because you're living with someone else's chakra influencing and directing yours. This would be like another case of what the curse seal did to Anko, only a lot more volatile since the person casting the jutsu clearly did not care to try to make sure the victim was at the very least stable.

I don't know what kind of person the Mizukage is and honestly, he'll be found by one of his Ninja later. So…I mean, okay. Let's just take a closer look at the guy.

Kneeling beside him, I sent a pulse of chakra through him to diagnose.

Hm. He is stable right now and one of the Mizukage's shinobi is coming now. I need to get out of here.

My point of view shifted from the Mizukage's office to my vault right as the office door flew open. Kind of an interesting effect, I hadn't really noticed the shift before now. It was always just instant.

Let's get this thing to the lab, I wanna see what it is.

I have no idea what it is.

Examining its cell structure through a microscope, I could come up with some preliminary observations. Introducing it to some fruit made from wood release caused it to grow. Exponentially. But most of it's growth came from interactions with the chakra within the fruit instead of the fruit itself.

Given how it was attached to a Shinobi, I have a few observations.

Number 1, it's clearly an organism capable of attaching to a host, much like a parasite, and take over them. It did it to chakra-enhanced fruit, I see no reason why it wouldn't do that to a Shinobi in of itself.

Number 2, I think it's safe to guess that this matter is intelligent. The blood-splatter in Kirigakure was a mix of white goop and grey matter, but the blob in front of me has no trace of the original fruit matter within it at all, which means it normally consumes what it comes in contact whole and is capable of deciding between being a parasite and a symbiote.

Number 3, Tobi is not just dangerous because he has space release but because he made this thing come to heel at his command, implanting it into himself to increase its strength and it doesn't destroy him. Either because it has decided not too out of a mutually beneficial relationship which I doubt, or because it can't. It can't because Tobi knows how to destroy it should it try. Perhaps some level of obedience training?

I looked at the blob of white goo, rippling inside it's jar, suspended in a saline solution. Its white skin seemed to bubble beneath the surface like it was shifting marbles around.

These samples have to be destroyed, no question about it. Chakra pulses through the walls of my Vault like nothing else and if it breaks free, it will feed and infest my home worse than any Zerg colony could…well, it might be able to come close, Zerg hives are pretty nasty all things considered…whatever.

Focus.

Just need to chart out this thing's genetic code. That way I've got something to come back too should I want to try to tackle this thing or make my own to increase my powerset. Eh, nix the 'making my own' idea, the risk of it spiraling out of control is massive.

Intelligence Check Success: 10/10.

Perception Check Success: 10/10.

Glad my stats are pulling their weight. But now I've got a headache and I need to sit down after I'm done writing this all down…alright, perfect. So glad I've got a jutsu for writing things down, makes things so much easier.

Encase.

With a few hand signs and an application of solid release, the jars of white goo were encased in a single, black orb which surface shined in the light of the vault above me.

Atomic Incinerator.

Fission Release jutsu which flooded the inside of the orb and annihilated anything inside. After dispelling the orb, I disposed of the radioactive ashes.

The clones popped and I got the rest of the story.

Quest Completed: Rivers of Blood.

Completed: (Optional: Learn about the Resistance's side of the Civil War.)

Oh, it automatically updates if you do the optional part after the quest itself is finished. Good to know. As for their side, they figured out the Mizukage was being controlled and they were trying to take back the Land of Water from this foreign Shinobi.

Well, Tobi?

You're a powerful shinobi in control of a strange, symbiotic organism. You have space release, somehow, and you sneak into the office of a Kage to Genjutsu him into destroying his own county for reasons that are currently unknown.

Quite frankly, Tobi, you're the scariest thing I thing I've ever seen and I almost love you for it.

Because you're going to be the greatest final boss ever and I'm certain I won't feel bad about eliminating you in the name of righteous justice.

"So you haven't heard from him?" Ino asked Naruto, the two walking beside each other.

"I already told you," Naruto harrumphed, his hands held behind his head. "He's trying to find himself and he'll talk to me when he's ready. I haven't heard a thing."

"Alright," Ino sighed, looking to the side with a frown.

"You're still not over it, huh?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not about that," Ino turned to glare at him. "He just had his whole world turned upside down. He should be with us, talking with his friends to help him through the adjustment."

"He'll talk when he's ready," Naruto shrugged.

"You said that already," Ino complained with an irritated snap. "It just feels like he's running away from it is all."

"Well, he kind of is," Naruto replied as they turned a corner and walked over a bridge, built over a stream. "He's taking a step back. I mean, come on, he just came from a place where he automatically failed at society no matter what he tried. There is no way that mindset is going to be easy to break from."

"I know," Ino grumbled, folding her arms and watching her feet as they stepped through the gate to the training grounds. "It's just…I don't know…I want to help."

Naruto took a breath and let it out. "Look, I get it. I wish I could be out there, seeing what he's seeing and talking with him about it, helping him get to that epiphany he's looking for. I do. But he wanted to go out alone. So, the best we can do is welcome him back with open arms."

"I guess," Ino replied.

"You're still not over it, huh?" Naruto asked again as they came to the entrance of training ground three.

"I'll get over it," Ino grumbled in annoyance.

"Sure, you will," Naruto said, eyebrow raising even higher. "Like you got over Sasuke the first dozen times he told you to get lost."

Ino facepalmed. "What's it going to take to convince you that I'm trying to actually change?"

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Time. Lots of time."

"Great," Ino sighed in disappointment.

Training ground three was filled with everyone that had survived the trip into the sewers. The various clan heirs, all sitting around in a circle.

"Glad you two could finally make it," Sasuke said from his spot on a rock, where he always sat. At first, the rock was outside the group. Then the group moved a little further back to include him more and he didn't move his seat.

"So, what were you talking about?" Sakura asked with a curious look.

"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count," Kiba snarked from his spot, scratching behind Akamaru's ears.

"You must really miss him," Hinata said to Naruto as he sat down cross-legged next to her.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "I can't wait for him to get back and tell us everywhere he's been. He's got to be having all kinds of crazy adventures."

"I'll bet," Shikamaru stirred from the grassy gnoll that he had been laying in. "You guys think he's still in the Land of Fire?"

"Nah," Sakura shook her head. "I'm betting he's left a long time ago just because infiltrating an enemy nation is a challenge."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Naruto muttered to himself. "Anyway, let's get to training!"

"Can it wait a few minutes?" Shikamaru asked with a groan. "I'm not ready to train."

"We've got graduation in a month!" Ino barked at him hotly. "We don't have time to rest, you can do that at home!"

"No, I can't," Shikamaru corrected, sluggishly standing up. "Mom's got things for me to do when we get home."

"You can rest after graduation?" Chouji offered helpfully.

"We'll be ninja after graduation," Shikamaru replied with a frown. "You know how that goes. We'll all be dealing with S-class threats inside our own walls and rescuing whoever before our first week is out."

"Which is why we need to start training now," Sasuke said, standing up and stretching out. "So, we using clones or sparring with each other?"

"We might want to do both to cover our bases," Shino explained, an odd but familiar buzzing coming from within his coat. "Why? Because it's been a while since we've done this."

"Right!" Naruto grinned, growing more and excited. "So, I think we should go onto clones first then sparring partners after."

"Let's get to it!" Kiba said excitedly, Akamaru hopping off of his lap with an excited bark.

"Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"That was a good kick," Sasuke said, offering his hand and pulling Naruto up. "Lots of power behind it, I'd just work on your aim. A few inches to the left and I might not've been able to parry."

"Thanks," Naruto grunted out. "Since when did you start sliding everywhere?"

"Since we were sparring with Senpai," Sasuke offered with a small, smug smile. "It's taken me a while to get the hang of it, but glad all that practice is paying off."

"I'll say it is," Naruto replied. "Is footwork easier or harder with it?"

"Harder until you get used to it," Sasuke explained with a nod. "Just because at first you need to keep track of the chakra and where it's going to get the hang of it."

"Makes sense," Naruto nodded in agreement.

Off on the edges of the training ground, the parents of the rookies all showed up to collect their kids.

"Alright, I think we're done for the day," Kiba announced. "See you tomorrow, guys!"

Everyone slowly bid farewell, going home with their parents. As the groups of people continued their conversation down the road, the two orphans remained in the training ground.

"So, Sasuke, can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You just did," Sasuke replied with a straight face.

"Harhar," Naruto snarked back. "But seriously?"

"Sure," Sasuke said as the two started walking down the road themselves.

"Who, exactly, is it that you want to kill?" Naruto asked, causing Sasuke to freeze in place. "And why do you want him dead so bad?"

They stood there in the road for a minute before Naruto continued. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too, I just figured that maybe you'd like to talk-"

"My brother," Sasuke finally said, cutting off Naruto's hurried, ranting apology. "I want to kill my brother."

Naruto kept quiet, though his eyes had grown wide.

"I want to kill my brother to avenge my clan," Sasuke continued, his voice straining and his fingers clenching into fists. "Itachi. He killed my clan. Every single man, woman and child."

"Why?" The word burst out of Naruto's lips.

"He said it was to test his strength," Sasuke answered quietly. "To prove to himself that he could kill them all. That he was better than them."

"I…wow," Naruto replied with the biggest frown anyone had ever seen on him. "I'm so sorry."

"Save your condolences," Sasuke retorted back. "You're helping by helping me train and I appreciate that."

Sasuke started walking forward, back toward the village while Naruto stayed rooted to the spot.

"Sasuke," Naruto called after him. "You need to talk to someone about this."

"I've talked about it enough," Sasuke replied, turning back to face his friend. "With you."

"Look, I've seen what problems like this turn into if they're not taken care of early," Naruto explained. "Daisuke turned into a blood-starved mission hound who got taken off missions because he was a danger to his team. I don't want to see you get that bad."

"I'm not Daisuke-senpai," Sasuke replied evenly. "I'm can actually learn from my mistakes."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you won't make any in the meantime," Naruto argued back. "Look, I'm not saying your brother doesn't need to go down. He does. But-"

"But what?" Sasuke asked, fully glaring at him now. "But maybe I don't need to try so hard? But maybe there's still some good in him? Believe me, Naruto, Itachi is not Daisuke. Itachi has to die."

"Again, not arguing that," Naruto responded with a glare of his own. "But I don't want to see him use your anger to get you to make a stupid mistake."

Sasuke pointed at Naruto and attempted to formulate a reply, but words had left him.

"I don't want him to add you to his pile of bodies by pissing you off," Naruto continued. "You see what I'm saying? He needs to go down, but if you want to beat him, you need to be as prepared as possible. That means being able to keep a cool head."

Sasuke's head tilted just slightly as he weighed Naruto's word in his head. "I…I don't-fine. Fine."

"Awesome!" Naruto grinned. "You won't regret this!"

"You've got someone in mind?" Sasuke asked with a groan.

"Only the best! Follow me!"

So, Naruto lead his hesitant friend through the village. The sun was starting to set in the distance and the heat began to give way to the cool evening breeze. Shop owners and house keepers were lighting paper lanterns that hung outside the doors.

When Sasuke caught sight of their destination, he groaned. "The ramen stand? Really?"

"Yes really," Naruto's smile didn't fade. "Come on, Ayame's the best."

"The ramen chef's daughter," Sasuke stopped short. "You know, I don't really think you've thought this through."

"She's helped me, Daisuke, Ino, a bunch of people out with problems," Naruto listed out on his fingers. "Come on, she's really good at this stuff."

Sasuke didn't move from his spot.

"Come on…" Naruto said, gesturing to the stand. "Please?"

Sasuke still didn't move. Until, finally, he huffed. "Fine."

They entered the stand, moving aside the flaps that barred entry. There, behind the counter was Ayame, adjusting the burners to keep the ramen a pleasant temperature as was he main duty.

Naruto raised his hand up in greeting. "Hey, Ayame!"

"Naruto! Sasuke! What can I do for the two of you?" Ayame asked with a pleasant smile for the two of them.

"Sasuke's got a problem that he wants to talk about," Naruto replied, sitting down in the nearest chair.

"Oh?" Ayame started, raising her eyebrow. "Alright, Sasuke. Let's hear it? Is it girl trouble?"

Sasuke groaned and gave Naruto a look. Naruto gestured him to sit down. "Naruto thought it would be a good idea to talk about the…Uchiha…um…The Uchiha Massacre with you."

Ayame stopped short. Then she hummed. "Here, let me get you both a bowl of the special. On the house. I think this'll be a long talk."

Sasuke reluctantly took a seat beside Naruto.

"You're Itachi's brother, right?" Ayame asked, scooping ramen into the bowls and topping them both.

Sasuke didn't answer immediately, even as the bowl and chopsticks were placed in front of him. "Yes. I am Itachi's brother."

"Did you know him, Ayame?" Naruto asked, picking up the sticks and breaking them. "Itadakimasu."

"He was in my academy class," Ayame replied with a sigh.

Both Naruto and Sasuke stopped short, both dripping from the noodles in Naruto's mouth.

"You knew Itachi?" Sasuke asked with a critical eye.

"You were a Ninja?" Naruto asked after hurriedly swallowing the noodles.

"Yes, I knew Itachi," Ayame replied. "He was the class ace, scoring perfect at everything then graduating in a single year. I dropped out after my first year when my Mom passed to help take care of the stand. Never looked back, to answer both of your questions."

"But you didn't know him, know him," Sasuke asked, carefully picking up the sticks and splitting them.

"No, he and I weren't close," Ayame replied, turning around putting a box of ingredients in one of the cupboards mounted on the opposite wall. "He was polite, I guess. But that was it. I was as shocked as anyone to hear what he…did. But that's what you're here to talk about, right?"

"I suppose so," Sasuke replied defensively. "What do you want me to say, exactly?"

"Well, you could start by telling us your story," Ayame suggested. "What happened to you on that night?"

Sasuke drummed his fingers on the counter, looking to the left and to the right. He took a deep breath and let it out. Then he took a mouthful of noodles to eat.

Naruto made to interject, but Ayame gestured for him not to.

Sasuke continued to chew his noodles. When he swallowed, he opened his mouth. "I was coming home from a long day of training. It was late, I was hoping my mother wouldn't be upset that I was out. I entered the compound and I just saw…bodies. Bodies everywhere. They had kunai and shuriken sticking out of them. Blood was everywhere and the smell was unbearable."

He had started to shake. Then he picked up his chopsticks and started to eat again. Naruto, having finished his bowl when Sasuke had started his story, simply cupped his chin in thought.

"So," Sasuke finished his bowl and stared into it's empty abyss. "I rushed home to find my parents. I found…that man standing over their corpses. I asked him what happened. I just wanted him to tell me everything was going to be okay. Instead, he…showed me."

"That man?" Ayame mouthed to Naruto.

"Itachi," Naruto mouthed back.

Ayame nodded in comprehension. "How did he show you?"

"Can I get something to drink?" Sasuke asked neutrally.

"Sure," Ayame said, turning to pour some water.

Sasuke immediately turned in his seat and made to get up.

"Sasuke, don't leave," Naruto said automatically.

"He doesn't have to stay or share anything if he doesn't want too, Naruto," Ayame replied, bringing the glass of water and placing it besides Sasuke's bowl. "But we are just trying to help, aren't we?"

"Yeah, totally," Naruto nodded vigorously. "That's all we're trying to do."

Sasuke turned back to the counter and downed the glass of water almost instantly. "He used a…technique. Tsukuyomi. It…sucks the victim into a dream world where the user forces the victim to see…anything. Thousands of times over, again and again. One day in the Tsukuyomi is less than a second inside. He used it to show me. Show me his murder. His Massacre."

He licked and smacked his lips as if they had suddenly gone dry. Ayame got him another glass of water and took the old one, putting it into the sink behind the counter.

"I saw him kill everyone. I saw it again…and again…and again," Sasuke continued, downing the second glass and then gripping it so hard it might've started to crack. "He told me, once all was said and done, that it was all to test his abilities."

"Thank goodness he didn't kill you," Naruto said quickly.

"He said I wasn't worth killing," Sasuke hurriedly wiped his eyes. "He said in order to get the strength to beat him, to obtain the power he had, I needed to hate him. Despise him with every fiber of my being…and I do. I really, really do."

Ayame hummed. "I have a few questions."

Sasuke waved it off. "Fine."

"My first would be, well, why would he encourage you to get strong enough to kill him?" Ayame asked bluntly, tapping her chin.

Sasuke was frozen for a second. "Because he wants me to actually test his abilities?"

"Because he wants you to test his abilities," Ayame repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know," Sasuke shrugged, his dark eyes uncharacteristically wide. "That's just what he did."

"Hm. The man who killed an entire clan, men, women and children decides that his brother isn't worth killing and tells him to hate him and get stronger," Ayame reiterated, balancing a metaphorical story on one hand. "I that makes no sense to me."

"He's insane," Sasuke retorted with a frown, looking off behind him, then at his bowl. "It doesn't need to make sense."

"Hm. Fair enough, next question," Ayame began. "The massacre that he showed you. Obviously, no one can argue that it happened, but did it happen the way that he showed you?"

"How else would it have happened?" Sasuke blurted out suddenly.

"Well," Ayame started. "If I'm not mistaken, your brother showed you the massacre as him killing everyone with only token resistance at best, right?"

Sasuke paused for just a second. "Yeeeeees."

"Now, this was a clan of Ninja," Ayame continued with a thoughtful frown. "A clan of ninja with similar skills as him, though maybe not with the same level of quality. Many of whom were war veterans from the Third Shinobi War. Am I right about that?"

Sasuke turned the thought around in his head. "Yes, I think so."

"So you really think these war veterans would really go down with so little resistance?" Ayame asked with a frown.

"Itachi was faster. He was stronger," Sasuke insisted with a glare. "He is faster and stronger."

"He was an extremely capable ninja, obviously," Ayame nodded. "But do you really think he'd show you if one of them gave him a challenge since he clearly wanted to, I don't know, scare you?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

Naruto made to say something again but Ayame stopped him with just a small shake of her head.

"Why are you asking these questions?" Sasuke asked finally. "It doesn't matter if someone gave him a fight or not, he still killed everyone and he still has to die."

"That much is true," Ayame nodded with certainty. "But the point is he might have been concealing the fact that he had help."

"He-he wouldn't have needed help," Sasuke shook his head. "There's no way. Itachi was the best Ninja of his generation."

"But was he capable of fighting an army by himself?" Ayame asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Sasuke retorted defiantly.

"Alright," Ayame shrugged. "You got time for one more question?"

"Last one," Sasuke growled.

"Just a simple one," Ayame started. "You got a plan for what you'll do after you kill Itachi?"

"Rebuild my clan," Sasuke responded immediately. "Bring the Uchiha back."

"Okay, how are you going to do that?" Ayame asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you seeing anyone right now? Or, were you thinking a political marriage?"

"I can't do that right now," Sasuke shook his head. "If I try that, Itachi will just take everything from me again. He made that clear the first time he took my family away from me."

"Perhaps not right now," Ayame replied with a nod. "But you should come up with a plan now so that when you succeed in avenging your clan, you're not caught short with no idea of what you're going to do. Does that make sense?"

Sasuke's face was now in a frown that seemed like it might never go away. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Alright, well I'm glad I was able to help a little bit," Ayame said with a smile. "So anyway, we're going to start closing the stand, you boys want some for the road?"

"Yup!" Naruto answered immediately.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said, immediately walking out of the stand.

"Sasuke," Naruto made to chase after him.

"Naruto no," Ayame stopped him with a word. "Let him go."

"But…" Naruto looked at her. "We're just trying to help him."

"I think we helped him a lot," Ayame replied. "Gave him stuff to think about. At this point, it's up to him to decide what to do with it. If he takes any of it, fine, if he doesn't that's his decision. Alright?"

Naruto took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah, okay. You need help cleaning up?"

"You know, I'd like that actually," Ayame answered. "Many hands makes light the work, after all."

"Is that from a book?" Naruto asked, hopping the counter.

"Eh, I heard Daisuke say it a few months ago while he was eating here," Ayame shrugged. "I really like it. Does he have a lot of those sayings?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "He's got a lot."