Shadows in the rain

When she opened her eyes, she saw a blurry figure above her. After a few seconds, her vision was restored, and Mikoto was very surprised to see Sasuke, on whose face for the first time, instead of a sullen and indifferent mina, there was a concern. Wincing from the pain, which, gradually subsiding, was still spreading throughout her body in the form of an extremely unpleasant tingling, Uchiha lifted herself up a little and sat down, leaning on the ground with her hand so as not to fall back. She hadn't fully recovered yet and felt like she was being pulled back into the darkness of unconsciousness. But the girl could not afford to switch off again. Perhaps the enemies were still somewhere nearby, and she would have to fight again, defending herself and her comrades. Although gradually disappearing, but still not leaving her tingling all over her body and a half-depleted supply of chakra could prevent her from beating at full strength. She quickly looked around, reaching with her free hand to the kunai holster on her hip.

— Calm down, it's over, — Sasuke informed her, carefully looking into Mikoto's eyes. — You were hurt by your own technique. Are you okay?

— I think so, — the girl muttered uncertainly, looking at Uchiha, whose nose was bleeding, and her face was of some strange pale shade. — And you?

The brunette contented himself with a nod. Addressing him, Mikoto made an effort to keep her voice steady.

The fear that had gripped her from the very beginning of the first deadly battle in her life had not yet passed, manifesting itself in a barely noticeable tremor in her legs. And although Uchiha managed to overcome it in order to rush straight at the enemy, she was far from the calm that should have been inherent in any Shinobi before possible death in battle.

In those moments, she realized why the Third hesitated before sending them on such a mission. The wise old man knew the dangers of such a journey to the geniuses and their teacher. And although Mikoto did not show it, hiding the doubts that had crept into her soul, she knew and was convinced a few minutes earlier that she was not ready for such trials. She was just a girl who loved flowers, animals, soft toys, communication with friends, sweets, kind and gentle, somewhat fragile. She doubted that violence and bloodshed, the things on which the cruel world of Shinobi was based, which showed its true face after our heroes left the walls of the village, were really needed. Maybe it would be even better to fail the mission and just give the nukenins the scroll...

— Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Are they safe? Mikoto asked quickly, deciding to distract herself from thoughts that would certainly seem silly to her teammates. Gathering her strength, she got to her feet, and Sasuke helpfully offered her a shoulder, helping her to stay on them. - thanks.

- yes... But you'd better not see it," he muttered in a rather strange voice. In Sasuke's eyes, Mikoto recognized something familiar, it seems that it was uncertainty and doubts that she was trying so hard to hide, trying to seem brave and strong. This seemed to the girl more than strange, because Sasuke did not look like a person who is ever insecure about something.

Very soon she realized what was the matter. As he and Sasuke slowly and carefully crossed the clearing step by step, Mikoto's gaze fell on the headless body, literally mangled by many blows. Releasing Sasuke, the girl fell to her knees, closing her eyes and overcoming the vomiting caused by this terrible sight.

— Mikoto... — Uchiha bent over her again to help her get up, but she stopped him with a hand gesture, making it clear that she still needed some time. Sasuke nodded understandingly and, glancing at Konoji's mutilated body, which he had already ceased to cause horror, turned his gaze to where something even more terrible was happening.

Kakashi, who took off his vest to treat the wound, stood over Amaya's body, watching the actions of Naruto, who quite unexpectedly offered a rather creepy way to extract the scroll. Squatting down next to the corpse of the girl, Uzumaki, all stained with the blood of his last victim, raised the blade. A cold blue gleam flashed in his eyes, after which the blonde struck, then pulled on himself, ripping open the green-haired girl's stomach.

Hatake looked away, realizing that he had made a mistake by allowing Uzumaki to carry out his plan. Naruto has already done too much out of the ordinary lately. And why is there so much cruelty in this genin, who seemed to be the most ordinary boy?

Naturally, the Copying Ninja was notified of what Naruto had experienced and committed in the past. But both in Jonin and in the Third Hokage there was hope that all these terrible things remained there. Now Hatake knew for sure: the events of the past had left an indelible mark on the boy's mind forever. And all the cruelty that was poured out on Konoji in this battle at once, has probably already taken root in the boy forever, turning him into a ruthless killer.

And now Uzumaki acted without thinking. And Kakashi had a suspicion that someone was directing his actions.

"Is it really Nine-Tailed?" — flashed through the mind of the Copying Ninja.

Sasuke grimaced, watching from afar as Naruto digs into the insides of the finished Kakashi kunoichi. Now he fully justified the nickname that the villagers had awarded him — "demon"...

"You really are not a person, since you are capable of such a thing. You've become the same as Itachi," the brunette thought. — "And will I really have to become the same in order to kill my brother?"

During this time, Mikoto, who came to her senses, got up, and Uchiha, noticing this, managed to block her view at the last moment. Realizing that it was better to turn away, the girl did so.

— Did Naruto do this? — she squeezed out, realizing what was what.

—Yes," Sasuke replied, not taking his eyes off the blond man, who extracted a small scroll from Amaya's stomach. "I don't know what came over him...

The girl sighed, not daring to turn around. She remembered what they had said about Naruto at the Academy after the incident in the park. He was called a butcher, a murderer and a monster for what he had done. But Uchiha, seeing Naruto different, wholeheartedly believed that it was an accident that he defended himself in this way. When they became one team, the events of the past seemed to be forgotten, and Naruto seemed completely different to her... an ordinary magician boy who did not part with his cards, who, on top of everything else, had a good sense of humor. She liked him. But after what happened, she didn't even know what to think. Were the villagers who hated Naruto right that he was a demon?

Sasuke paused for a moment, and then added,

"On the other hand, if he hadn't done it, you and I would have been dead."

—Done,— Naruto said. Standing up and turning to the teacher with a satisfied smile, he showed him the scroll lying on the open palm. "I think I can get him back to his original form." It seems that I managed to copy the technique of this kunoichi.

Hatake stared at Naruto's blood-spattered face for a few seconds, on which there was not a drop of disgust for what he had just done. The copying Ninja sighed, thinking that this is exactly what a shinobi should be in this cruel world. But did the First Hokage, who bequeathed them the Will of Fire, want to see his descendants like this?

—Go ahead," jonin nodded, and then Naruto pulled out the card in which he accidentally sealed Amaya's technique, after which he listened to the instructions given to him by Kurama, who had been in charge of the scroll extraction process from the very beginning, and got down to business.

He concentrated, folded the seal of concentration, and in the next moment, the compression technique deactivated, allowing the scroll to return to its original form. Handing the scroll to the teacher, Naruto looked back at the kukri lying on the ground near Amaya's body, bent down and picked up the weapon.

"I'll keep it for myself as a trophy," Uzumaki thought, thinking that it would be nice to remove the Konoji and the scabbard from the body.

Heading towards the second corpse, the boy collided with his teammates. At the sight of Mikoto, unharmed, but with her back to him, he smiled, feeling relieved.

— Are you okay? "What is it?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded. Mikoto, turning to him and looking into his blue eyes, in which cheerful sparkles danced imperturbably, replied:

— In full. Thank you, you saved us.

Uzumaki shook his head.

— It's not worth it, we all tried. I just took advantage of the moment," he bent over Konoji's corpse and unbuckled the sheath from the kukri.

Sasuke and Mikoto watched the actions of a teammate, expecting him to show at least some emotion towards the victim, but this did not happen. For Naruto, not just a defeated, but also a mutilated enemy was nothing more than a piece of meat.

- what? — he asked, getting up and noticing the eyes of the Uchih on himself.

— It had to be... Mikoto couldn't finish her question and turned away again, raising her gaze to the sky.

"Kill?" — the blonde asked, at first not understanding what was the matter, and then realizing from Sasuke's look that it was not about the fact of the murder itself, but about the method.

Naruto instantly understood the reason for the girl's strange behavior and guessed what she was thinking about him now. Everything fell into place and, looking at the fruits of his labors with different eyes, Uzumaki himself hurried to turn away. It was as if he remembered something that he had forgotten for a while while he ruthlessly dealt with the enemy and took out the scroll from Amaya's corpse.

.. Uzumaki said, not knowing how to explain himself. "I was just too scared.

"That's a good excuse, you idiot," Kurama grinned. "I got scared and chopped it into mincemeat."

Mikoto cast a doubtful look at the boy again and had to admit that she herself, frightened, rushed at the enemy, intending to finish him off. In part, she understood that Naruto was not to blame for what happened. He couldn't control himself. But the manner in which he dealt with nukenin was still terrifying. The two images of Uzumaki, which were now in the girl's head, did not fit together in any way.

Kakashi came to the rescue, finished with the treatment of the wound and put on the vest again. He hid the sharingan under the tread and, putting the scroll with traces of blood in his pocket, turned to the guys.

— We need to finish the mission. We'll arrive at the village, wash up and treat the wounds again," Hatake said. — And we'll have a snack.

However, Mikoto did not imagine that she would be able to eat anything in the near future.

Kakashi quickly folded the seals and, biting his finger, slapped the ground with his palm. A small dog appeared out of the white smoke in front of him. That's why the genins were surprised when the animal spoke.

— Kakashi, how can I help you?

Hatake smiled under the mask, looking at the astonished faces of the students.

— Meet Pakkun, my faithful assistant. Pakkun, these are Sasuke, Naruto and Mikoto, my students. We need to get back on the road leading to the village. Can you take us to her? The Copying Ninja asked.

The dog sniffed and nodded, turned around, running into the forest.

— Follow me!

Hatake was the first to rush after his assistant. The students followed sensei, each thinking about his own. Naruto reflected that now he is ready for serious fights and next time he will surely be more cool-headed. Mikoto, in order to forget about what she saw as soon as possible, dreamed of taking a bath as soon as possible. And Sasuke, periodically glancing at Naruto, did not know whether to despise him or envy him.

And the observer sitting on the branch, whose camouflage disappeared as soon as team number seven set off, followed them with a thoughtful look, after which he jumped down and turned into a lot of snakes, hissing in different directions.

***

"Amaya and Konoji never came back," Conan muttered a little worriedly, entering the gloomy circular hall, the darkness of which was dispersed only by the glowing displays of various equipment.

A man hiding in the darkness in a strange device resembling a chair opened his eyes, looking at the guest through the bangs falling over his face. For a moment, the coldness in his gaze dissipated. But, however, he returned just as quickly.

— And they won't come back. I assumed they weren't strong enough to join the Akatsuki," he replied, not surprised at all. It seems that Payne didn't care what fate befell the two Rain Jonins he sent on a mission.

The blue-haired girl looked into the eyes of a man chained to a strange apparatus and skinny as a skeleton, and was horrified to see indifference there.

"Two is a small price to pay for the village to flourish," Nagato explained. — I think the team from Konoha did not guess who actually attacked them. These two were quite adept at working undercover.

— There are no worthy candidates among our Shinobi. New members for Akatsuki should not be looked for here," she said, deciding that in this way she would protect her other subordinates from possible participation in Payne's secret operations.

The man nodded slightly, not immediately agreeing with this. In the old days, the organization consisted only of Rain people. But perhaps Conan is right, and there are no more ninja in the village who are as strong as they are loyal. Many years have passed since the coup and the overthrow of Hanzo, when many Akatsuki members sacrificed themselves for a good cause, but the organization has not been able to regain strength. Everything has changed since the mysterious masked man appeared, because of which the Akatsuki became something else and will never return to their origins, which Payne so desired, once again filling the organization with compatriots who shared its original purpose.

"Nagato, did he talk to you again?" The blue—haired kunoichi asked, noticing the anxiety in the man's eyes. — Did he give any orders?

— No, it's all right, - Payne replied coldly, not wanting to start this conversation.

The girl averted her amber eyes, and he fell on one of the translucent coffin-shaped chambers, six of which, connected via wires to the network, stretched along the wall.

—Itachi has arrived on your orders," she said. "Send him after the Nine-Tails?" He couldn't have gone far.

The next moment, the lid of one of the "coffins" opened, and a figure in a black raincoat with red clouds stepped out — a red-haired man with a piercing on his face.

- no. I'm not interested in the Nine-Tails right now. I just wanted to see what he was capable of," Payne informed her, no longer using his own mouth. — There is no need to get ahead of events.

"But if Toby finds out... She looked from Tendo's body to Nagato's.

"I'm not going to be an obedient dog of a masked man and bring him every ball I find," Payne's body interrupted her harshly, walking past her to the door. Before leaving, Tendo-Payne turned around. "Taking the initiative in catching the Tailed Ones is not in my plans, Conan. I will only do this when Madara himself gives me an order. I think you've already forgotten what we were doing before he came. And I forgot about my doubts about what has become of what you, Yahiko and I have created with such hard work.

Konan glanced at the closed door, then turned her gaze to Nagato.

— You decided to contradict Madara? As for me, it's a bad idea," she turned to him.

"I'm not contradicting you,— he replied. — Bye... Even though he's pulling the strings, it's still my organization, not his.

After that, Nagato fell silent, switching to a conversation with Itachi in the next room. Uchiha was already waiting for him, standing opposite the missing wall and thoughtfully watching the endless rain drumming on the balcony and the creepy gargoyle growing out of it.

In recent years, the dark-haired man has not changed, except that his hair, tied in a ponytail, has become a little longer. Uchiha was wearing an Akatsuki uniform cloak, and on his forehead was a bandage with a crossed-out Konoha protector. There were no red lights burning in his black eyes now, but there was some kind of longing and thoughtfulness.

When Payne appeared, Uchiha turned to him, bowing his head as a sign of respect. The latter interrupted him with a gesture of his hand.

—There's no need for that, my friend," he said rather coldly, but not in the tone he usually used to address his subordinates. "Did you do what I asked?"

Uchiha nodded and, reaching into his bosom, pulled out a scroll, handing it to the leader of the Akatsuki.

— Have you received new orders from Madara? Itachi asked, carefully looking at Payne's face, which did not express any emotions.

- yes. He wants us to get started," the man with the piercing said, glancing at the door out of the corner of his eye and making sure that it was closed and Conan could not hear anything. — He didn't name the target, but I guess the most logical thing would be to seal the One-Tail.

The dark-haired Akatsuki nodded again.

"It's not good," he said. — Did Madara inform the organization when it will open? Only you and I and Conan know about him.

Payne shook his head.

— And this is alarming. We both know how many secrets he has...

"Well, let's not keep him waiting, then Kisame and I will do it," he said. — Let's grab Shukaku and take him to the shelter.

— I wanted to entrust this mission to Sasori and Deidara. But if you agree, go.

Itachi nodded and moved to the balcony to leave the tower in the fastest way possible.

—There's something else you should know," Payne stopped him at the last moment.

Uchiha, whose raincoat was instantly soaked in the rain, looked around.

— Nine-tailed. He was in the neighborhood not long ago. And your brother was with him.

— Sasuke?! Akatsuki from Konoha was surprised.

— I sent two of my men after Kuby, ordering them not to touch anyone except jinchuriki. They disappeared and never reported their successes, apparently failed. Probably, my agents are dead, and the jinchuriki is unharmed," Payne explained, looking at the man in the raincoat, not paying any attention to the rain. — If I had turned to someone from Akatsuki, everything could have ended badly for Sasuke. There is no point in chasing the Nine-Tailed one again, since Madara did not give us specific instructions. Let him live, we'll grab him when your brother isn't around.

— Thank you, — said Uchiha, nodding gratefully. "I'll pay you back for that."

The next moment he jumped off the balcony, jumping straight into the abyss of the cramped streets below.

***

The soft footsteps of the traveler were heard along the dark corridor of the underground shelter of Orochimaru, also known as the Village of Hidden Sound. The dungeon was provided with all amenities, including water and electricity. However, the corridors were illuminated by torches, which gave them some kind of ominous mystery.

The scientist caught Kabuto at the autopsy of the corpse. The body belonged to a man who had not survived the second transformation of the Cursed Mark. It was lying on a table in the center of the hall, an almost complete copy of Orochimaru's laboratory at the Root base in Konoha. Kabuto, dressed as always in a dark purple shirt and trousers, wearing round glasses and with a protector with a sound symbol on his forehead, was spinning around the operating table, skillfully wielding instruments. When Orochimaru appeared, he was forced to break away from his business.

— You are back, Orochimaru-sama, — the faithful assistant of the snake sannin bowed his head as a sign of respect when a man with long black hair entered the laboratory. He knew where sannin had gone soon after he arrived from Konoha, but he didn't know why. It could not fail to impress how quickly the Shinobi scientist overcame such long distances.

— How has the research progressed in these two days, Kabuto? Orochimaru asked, noticing the satisfied sparkle in his subordinate's eyes.

He adjusted his glasses with a movement that had become a habit for a long time.

— Shin? He exceeded all our expectations," Yakushi grinned. "But you'd better see it for yourself." I think Danzo-sama will be pleased with the work done.

Orochimaru grimaced at the mention of Danzo, because he did not like to think about him often, and now Kabuto reminded him very inappropriately. The ongoing research was a very important work, not because the head of the Root insisted on its speedy completion. First of all, it was important for Orochimaru, because he was making a real scientific breakthrough.

— I hope the search for a new body was successful? Yakushi asked cautiously, assuming the purpose of the mentor's journey at random and hitting the bull's-eye.

— Uchiha Sasuke... He's pretty good," sannin hissed, either addressing Kabuto or talking to himself. — However, I found something more valuable. Naruto Uzumaki. A really extremely curious boy with exceptional talents. Now I understand why Danzo wants him so badly.

Orochimaru fell silent, continuing his reasoning already mentally. During these two days, he really gathered valuable information and did not regret the time spent at all. If he had sent his subordinates, many details might have remained unknown. And now sannin was sure that he had seen and knew that Naruto was able to use the technique that saved Uchiha Mikoto and returned her to a young body. However, how exactly he managed to change the jutsu that he had sealed into the card was still unclear.

— Show me the Tire, — interrupting his dialogue with himself, Orochimaru demanded.

Kabuto, not objecting that he was busy with an important matter, nodded. Taking off his gloves and washing his hands in a specially adapted sink in the corner of the room, he moved to the exit, motioning for the mentor to follow him.