Chapter 40

This is coming out early I know, and...wow, 40 chapters already? It feels like a few months ago I was writing chapter 1...

Thanks so much for the reviews though boos! I absolutely adore reading all your opinions and neat ideas! Seriously, some people bring up points that are just awesome! I'm sorry if this doesn't go the way you were hoping, but since people were of split opinions, and I am truly sorry to have to say this, I can't make everybody happy with my decision...

I mean, I could write two separate versions of War Dog, but then for every decision I made with differing outcomes, I'd have to write offshoot after offshoot...it's not feasible, unfortunately.

Chapter 40

"Akari-chan, there may be an alternative."

Peering at the Hokage, Akari tried to think of another way to deal with their issue. The problem was the lack of a tangible threat to blame things on. The Uchiha, as well as Konoha in general, needed a place to put their anger, their focus. They couldn't blame whoever originally caused everything because they don't know who did it. "Hokage-sama...what do you have in mind? Because I really struggle to think of another solution."

The man gestured at Fugaku's paralyzed body, a fresh, superiorly-written tag on his nape. "A sufficiently-skilled Yamanaka can delve through his memories to discover the truth. He would have to go back a long way, but I'm sure one as skilled as, say, Inoichi-san, would be able to do so." Tipping her head to the side, Akari considered it.

If a Yamanaka could provide a sketch of who it was to originally use the Genjutsu, as well as testify that it was absolutely truthful, that would solve their problems. it would also cover why Fugaku was attacked, why he was trying to initiate a coup, and inform the Uchiha that somebody is subverting them, turning their clan against the village. "I guess so. Heck, that works for me, I didn't want to have to leave Naruto or my team behind, not for however long it'd take to find whoever was the true culprit."

"Indeed, losing you would also be a great loss to Konoha." Akari rubbed her neck sheepishly as Hiruzen reached for his intercom. "Asha-san, have you returned yet?" There was a brief pause before the secretary responded. "I would like you to send one of my ANBU to go and retrieve Yamanaka Inoichi from the Torture and Interrogation department, then bring him here. he is not being detained, he is required in conjunction with the ongoing S-ranked secret, understood?"

The secretary gave a curt response and disconnected. After a few moments, Kurama saw fit to pipe up. "You could also just summon a Genjutsu master using your Mangekyo and have them dis-assemble the Genjutsu on that Uchiha, who could then answer your question himself." Blinking, Akari swore to herself repeatedly, much to Hiruzen's amusement as she rubbed her face with the hell of her hand.

"Uhh, Hokage-sama...I-...Kurama figured out another possible solution...but it involves something I really wanted to keep a secret, even...from you." The Hokage raised an eyebrow.

"I presume this secret is not something you kept secret out of malice?" Akari shook her head.

"No, I only wanted to keep this a secret because of how dangerously powerful and binding this ability is. If this became public knowledge...I would probably be spending the rest of my life running from people." The man took a puff of his pipe, concealing his expression in smoke for a brief moment.

As the smoke cleared, he'd made his decision. "We will allow Inoichi-san to attempt to retrieve the identity of who cast this Genjutsu. If he is successful, I will still like to be told of this ability, if only to know it in future. If you wish it, it could be added to the Forbidden Scroll. If he is unsuccessful, you may attempt whatever your plan is. if neither attempt is successful, we shall have to find an alternative solution."

As Akari opened her mouth, the Hokage shut her up with a glare. "You are far too valuable to Konoha to be sacrificed like a pawn. You are the Jinchuriki of Kurama, you possess the Kusanagi, the means to produce Golan-seals, with an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, exceptional Iryo-nin proficiency, and are one of the last Fuinjutsu masters living to boot. In lieu of these skills, even I would be a more viable sacrifice. Besides, you said it yourself, to many people, that you have no experience whatsoever with Genjutsu, Akari-chan."

Akari snapped her jaw shut with a click. Those were all true...maybe she was being just a tiny bit hasty in thinking she was still something which could be freely sacrificed. Recalling Bao's speech about family from...almost two years ago now, she realized she probably wouldn't have actually been able to leave, not without taking Naruto along with her.

But then, as she thought about it, her family wasn't just Naruto any more. She had her mother and brother of course, but she saw Deidara like a brother, Komachi and Anko as her sisters, even her team as little nieces and nephews. "Sorry." She mumbled, getting a nip on her ear-lobe by Kurama for being an idiot.

Hey, nobody ever said she was the smartest tool in the box, just the toughest and scariest.

"...I don't even want to begin compiling an idea of what happened here."

From her place on the sofa with her feet up, Akari grinned as Inoichi stepped into the room. Fugaku was unconscious again, this time caused by a seal, one that stopped him from moving but kept him breathing and doing all the normal living things. Itachi was also sat on the sofa, looking right as rain compared to his previously-battered face, nibbling on a plate of Dango. To set the final piece, Hiruzen was sat behind his desk diligently working through paperwork. Seriously, the man was a machine. "Hiya Inoichi!" Akari chirped with an exaggerated wave, getting a confused look in response before the man faced the Hokage.

The old Kage didn't need any prompting to explain exactly what Inoichi was needed for. "Inoichi-san, thank you for coming on such short notice. Now, I understand you are currently regarded as the best Yamanaka in your clan techniques?" The blonde gave his confident but not arrogant agreement to that statement, it was the truth after all. "Fugaku-san here has been afflicted with a Genjutsu. We need to know who was the original caster. Since he doesn't seem willing or capable to tell us who originally ensnared him, we require his memories to be observed directly."

The Yamanaka furrowed his brow. "Hokage-sama, that may be...difficult. If the Genjutsu is still afflicting Fugaku-san, then it's extremely likely that his very memories have been tampered with to hide the original Genjutsu user." Akari chose that moment to pipe up.

"What if the Genjutsu got disabled somehow? Would that make it easier to retrieve the memory?" Inoichi faced her and nodded.

"That would make retrieval far easier, since his memories would be being actively suppressed by the Genjutsu. With the Genjutsu no longer suppressing those memories, they would become far easier to track down, as they would no longer be being suppressed and hidden from my view." The Hokage cleared his throat, bringing their attention back to him easily.

"We shall have you try first Inoichi-san, and if you cannot locate the memories, Akari-chan will attempt a technique to break the Genjutsu." He neatly intervened, earning a happy smile from Akari. She did still want to keep Megami no Mon a secret from as many as she could, though if it were revealed to everyone present, Fugaku excluded of course, she wouldn't be too unhappy. She had a feeling Inoichi and Itachi could both keep a secret with the best of them, and of course Hiruzen was the Hokage, he would have to know either way now that she'd informed him that she had a second ability.

Without fanfare, the Yamanaka got to work, crouching down beside Fugaku and placing a hand on his head, his eyes shut.

"My win."

Bored, Akari yawned, wiping her mental board clear and starting another game of four-in-a-row with Kurama. Inoichi had been working away for at least an hour now, and it showed, as his face was strained, a bead of sweat occasionally running down the side of his head. To pass the time, she'd eventually give in and started playing board games with Kurama.

Since she didn't want to look silly playing a board game with what looked like herself, she and he merely played by speaking what locations they were going to play. It gave him a big opportunity to cheat seeing as his memory was far superior than her, but even if he was cheating his ass off, Akari didn't care, she just wanted time to pass faster. That was why she hadn't entered her mindscape to actually physically play with him, it would slow time down even further.

She cast another look over at Inoichi, then around the rest of the room. Itachi was slowly and methodically picking apart each stick of Dango she'd dumped onto the table, while the Hokage was working away again at paperwork. How he could write so much every single day and not be complaining about his fingers she really didn't know, wincing as she recalled exactly how sore her hands were after one of Kushina's calligraphy...'lessons'.

When Inoichi moved, she saw it instantly, watching warily, just in case the Genjutsu had a defence mechanism of some kind. She didn't know if a Genjusu even could protect itself, but she didn't want to take a risk. Fortunately enough, she couldn't see any foreign Chakra in him, so he was good to go. His face didn't exactly look like the face of a victorious man though. "I presume you couldn't find the memory Inoichi-san?"

The Hokage's voice was calm, understanding. Inoichi had, after all, warned them that finding the memory might be impossible if it were well-hidden. After all, Yamanaka's relied on certain mental triggers to find memories, otherwise they'd simply be swimming in a tide of old and new memories. If those triggers were disabled by the Genjutsu, finding one memory out of all of Fugaku's memories would take a literal lifetime. He shook his head. "Unfortunately not Hokage-sama. The Genjutsu has disabled many triggers to even mundane memories, adding false memories and triggers to cover the lost time. Even with a dozen of my clan, we would still take upwards of a year to locate the memory, at best."

Sighing, the Hokage turned to look at Akari. Without prompting, she hopped up from her chair, her eyes lazily swirling with her Mangekyo. "Right, well...I just want to warn you all...don't freak out." The old man raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, Akari mumbled two words, clearly audible to everybody in the room. "Uchiha Madara."

A smoke cloud erupted from the ground, after a moment fading away to reveal the man in all his former glory. He was wearing his armour, probably because he died in it fighting Hashirama, or at least that was how she recalled the Academy teaching her. "Akari-chan..." She ignored the Hokage briefly.

"Deny free will." She spoke, since considering the man stood before her had betrayed the village and tried to kill the Shodai Hokage, he probably wouldn't be amicable to helping them. "He won't be able to do anything without my command, I don't think he'll even be aware he's been brought back, I haven't done any real testing with this ability. Madara, please attempt to remove the Genjutsu on Uchiha Fugaku." The armoured man nodded once curtly, then stepped towards the unconscious Fugaku and raised a hand towards him, his eyes red with Sharingan.

She could feel the surprise in the room, after all it wasn't every day someone revealed they could bring back the dead, even if only for a short period. "While...Madara-san works on that Genjutsu, would you mind please explaining this ability Akari-chan?" Sighing, Akari slumped down onto a sofa.

"Well, it's called Megami no Mon. Basically, I can choose any spectre from the Pure Lands who I know by way of name and face, then bring them back. If I wanted, I could bring back Senju Hashirama. But it's not without drawbacks. It drains me of 25% of my Chakra Pool, they only last for 100 minutes, and they're only twice as strong as I am, which means they aren't their normal strength. I mean, I'd like to say I'm now strong enough that these Spectres are stronger than their original versions, but that's only in how much Chakra they have." Hiruzen puffed on a pipe, his eyes not leaving Madara's back as he worked.

"And that part about denying free will?" Itachi piped up, making Akari jump a little. He could be sneaky and unobtrusive when he wanted, the little weasel.

"I can also give them free will. So if I wanted Madara to tell me what his plans were when attacking Hashirama, I'd have to give him free-will, since without that, they can't speak for some reason, even if I order them to talk to me." She shrugged. It was annoying, yes, but not the end of the world. Besides, people like Tobirama were willing enough to talk to her about things, so it didn't matter too much to her.

As Hiruzen opened his mouth to ask something else, Madara suddenly righted himself, stepping away from Fugaku and crossing his arms. "Inoichi-san, I think he's done. Or at least done what he can." To his credit, Inoichi shook his head and became the T&I head again seamlessly, ignoring how bizarre the situation was in favor of retrieving the information that they needed.

They could have just waited for Fugaku to wake up after removing the seal then tell them himself, but the testimony of a Yamanaka as to the veracity of Fugaku's claims would be invaluable in swaying public opinion. Or she hoped it would, otherwise things were going to get...nasty. She dismissed Madara casually, not wanting to keep him around. He'd done what he could, if Fugaku's memories still couldn't be accessed, then they'd hit a road-block in that area. Maybe Hashirama could do something, as apparently the man was immune to Genjutsu somehow, but from what she'd read, as well as what Tobirama had off-handedly mentioned...he was a bit more free-spirited than Akari would like. He probably never looked into why, just accepting that it was a fact.

"...That's impossible." Blinking, Akari looked at Inoichi, who had stumbled backwards a step. "Hokage-sama, according to Fugaku-san's memories, Uchiha Madara is the one who placed this Genjutsu on him in the first place. But Madara was dead long before he could have placed this Genjutsu." The Hokage looked at her, but she just shrugged.

"If you want to ask him yourself, I'd have to give him free-will, which grants him a Chakra pool twice the size of mine, as well as the will to do as he'd please with it. If he was the one to set that Genjutsu, he was in for the long-con of taking down Konoha." Nodding once, the man gave himself a moment to think by puffing at his pipe, exhaling slowly.

He lowered the pipe to a holder, meshing his fingers together under his chin. "What did this...'Uchiha Madara' look like?" Inoichi described him with a black and orange mask, black cloak, with a tuft of black hair at the top of his head. But then he brought up an interesting point. After seeing Madara in the flesh, and comparing him to Inoichi's memories of the man, he was...far smaller and shorter than he should have been. Since he didn't seem crippled in the memory, still moving just as effectively as ever, the height disparity confused him.

"WAIT A MINUTE! An orange mask he says?!" Akari winced as Kurama furiously yelled out, to which he toned his voice down, though still clearly angered. "That night...the Uchiha who controlled me had an orange mask!" Akari relayed Kurama's words to the rest of the room. "Perhaps...you could bring back the one who helped seal me into you, as I recall, he fought the man when trying to fend me off."

Akari again relayed Kurama's words. "I can do it, Megami no Mon can be used three times in a 24-hour period." The Hokage gave his assent to her action, leaving her speaking Minato's name and picturing his face. For the second time that day smoke emerged in the Hokage's office, concealing Minato's arrival. "Grant free will." Since she knew Minato wouldn't attack her or do anything silly, she was comfortable doing so, quickly giving the surprised man a hug. "Heya Minato."

He returned her hug, though he had a confused look on his face as he peered around. "H-hiruzen-sama?!" He squawked, looking around the room again before focusing on Akari. "Akari-chan, what...what's going on?" She released her hug, stepping back with a sheepish rub at her neck.

"We, uhh...kinda need your help. Apparently Fugaku over there got a Genjutsu cast on him ages ago which made him try to start a coup. I brought Madara in and got him to release the Genjutsu, but apparently he was the one to cast it according to Fugaku's memories. Inoichi noticed though that there were disparities between the Madara I summoned and the Madara in his memories. He mentioned the fact that 'Madara' was wearing an orange mask, which Kurama realized was the same as apparently a guy you fought on the same night as when you sealed him?" Minato followed her words like a champ, eventually palming his chin.

"True, I did fight a man wearing an orange mask that night. But...I don't think it was Uchiha Madara I fought. If it was, the man must have been going senile. He fought in a simplistic manner, relying on his strange ability to avoid attacks and attempt to attack me with it. The Madara I know from what I've read and been told would have put up a far greater fight than that." He then realized something, his head twitching in one direction. "Akari-chan, you say you summoned Uchiha Madara, and that your ability only allows you to summon those who are dead?" She shrugged, but nodded all the same to both questions. "Then I know it cannot be the same Madara. I can feel my Hiraishin marker on the one who attacked me. He's still alive and moving around."

Huffing, Akari gestured with one arm at Fugaku. "It still doesn't solve exactly who the masked man is though. We need a target for the Uchiha clan to focus on, someone responsible for this all. Simply telling them it was a man with an orange mask won't placate them, they need someone to rally against." Hiruzen cleared his throat at that moment.

"You leave that to me Akari-chan, I'll find a way to make the Uchiha clan believe what I have to say. No doubt thanks to the Genjutsu no longer afflicting Fugaku-san, he will be far more amicable to trying to prevent this coup. If even he tells his clan of what has occurred, they will have no choice but to believe us." He took a puff of his pipe. "To say their Clan Head is incorrect would be...incredibly foolish."

"Now then Akari-chan, you can tell me what on earth is going on." She rolled her eyes at Minato...this was going to take a while.

After she finally finished explaining her ability to Hiruzen and why she'd given up the secret, she checked the clock and blanched.

"Uhh, Hokage-sama, can I-" He cut her off with a smile, waving his hand at the door. "Thank you!" She chirped, zipping out of the room after giving Minato a final quick hug. She was in a bit of a hurry because about twenty minutes ago was when she was supposed to meet her team, it had completely slipped her mind. She darted across Konoha in record time, arriving in the trees above her three Genin after only perhaps a single minute, deciding to take a page from Kakashi's habits of lying. "Sorry I'm late kits, I got distracted summoning Uchiha Madara and then the Yondaime Hokage."

It was outlandish, totally unbelievable, and yet, exactly what happened. "Yeah right Sensei, and I'm the owner of Yakiniku Q!" Aiko yelled up at her. She hooked her legs around the branch and flipped so she was upside down, her head at the same height as her Genin.

"Does this look like the face of a liar?" She made sure to give her biggest grin, though lost it when Aiko proclaimed that yes, it was the face of a liar. "Alright, let's get on with this. Tachiko, are you going to try those Senbon I recommended?" The girl nodded. "Good. Aiko, I'm sure I don't need to tell you what you need to work on?" He sheepishly rubbed his neck, he was doing Chakra control exercises. "And Hikaru, you wanted to show me a Jutsu right?" He shook his head. "Oh, right, that was yesterday..."

"Honestly Sensei, how can you be so forgetful sometimes, but still remember stuff like hand seals?" Tachiko jabbed her, though she ignored the verbal prod in favor of dropping to the floor, flipping casually in midair to land on her feet, though her Genin weren't as impressed as they would have been a year ago. Casually using her speed wore off it's expressiveness after being exposed to it for so long. "Hikaru wanted to show you his Fuinjutsu today, remember?"

Akari tipped her head to the side. "Isn't that still a Jutsu though? Honestly kits, why do you lie to me so?" She spoke with a faux-dramatic voice, dropping her arms when her Genin all gave her deadpan looks. "Ugh fine, whatever. You two, go do your stuff. Hikaru, what exactly do you have to show me then?" He unveiled a scroll from one of his pouches, rolling it out in front of himself. "Oh damn. That's...actually kinda impressive for only spending a year learning."

What he'd done was taken the standard explosive tag, one most Shinobi could recognize. Then, he'd doubled the explosive yield, added a fail-safe which could be remotely triggered to deactivate the tag, plus compressed it to about two-thirds of the original size. That was maybe equivalent to the skill of a level-10 Fuinjutsu Proficiency, wich suggested that he was slightly inclined towards the technique.

All of her Genin had give Fuinjutsu a shot, but Aiko was, well, Aiko, and Tachiko expressly stated that she had no interest in learning Calligraphy, even for such a powerful branch of Jutsu. Hikaru was the only one interested in Fuinjutsu, so she gave him any of the books Naruto had already devoured. Mind if I...?" She spun a Kunai around her finger for emphasis, Hikaru nodding and giving her the tag.

Akari bound it to the end of the Kunai, then picked a target, one of the training dummies about fifty feet away. Exhaling, she stepped forward, hurling the Kunai at a shallow arc, at the same time her fingers, alight with Chakra, brushed the end of the tag, activating the seal timer. As the Kunai thudded into the wood with a loud thunk, she crossed her arms and waited.

A few seconds passed before the tag fizzled out, reaching the end of the fuze and erupting in a fireball, incinerating the target entirely. "Impressive. Your storage bridge line was a little wonky, so the output wasn't quite optimal, but all in all, a good seal, well done Hikaru." The Genin avoided her gaze, though the smile on his lips told her all she needed to know.

"Thank you Akari-sensei."

So, I asked, you answered, and here we are.

Akari isn't leaving Konoha, there are just way too many reasons she shouldn't, as well as ways around a Genjutsu, even an old and strong one. She didn't absolutely have to reveal Megami no Mon, I'm sure Kurenai or some other Genjutsu master/mistress would be able to do it, but it means she can be a bit more free about revealing it, especially with how strong she now is, able to fend off enemies quite easily. She's just worried someone will kidnap Naruto to force her into using it since he can't protect himself. But if the secrets coming out anyway...it means she can finally show him what she's wanted to for years...

Thanks for reading though!

Name: Akari Uchiha

Level: 112

Age: 17

Experience: 71,732/112,000

To Next Level: 40,268

Title: Sannin-slayer - Defeating one of the three legendary sannin is no easy feat, but you managed it. Future opportunities unlocked.

Secondary Title: Jonin - +25% Experience gained working with Genin

Health Points: 25,000 - (100 Base + (Vit x End)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 4900/m - 81.6*/s - Vit x End - Halted when afflicted with bleed status.

Chakra Points: 41,000 - (100 Base + (Int x Wis)) x 5

Regeneration Rate - 8100/m - 135/s - Int x Wis - Halted when continuous chakra drain Jutsu in use.

Strength - 70

Vitality - 70

Endurance - 70

Intelligence - 90

Agility - 296

Wisdom - 90

Luck - 70