Outside the walls of Konoha, two figures watched the chaos unfold. In the distance, a group of shinobi battled Orochimaru.
Kisame Hoshigaki, clad in his cloud-patterned Akatsuki cloak, stood out with his shark-like features. A large sword wrapped in bandages was strapped to his back. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of jagged teeth, and looked at Itachi Uchiha.
"Itachi, looks like we picked a hell of a time to show up. This place is a mess."
Itachi Uchiha, also wearing the cloak, stared intently at the distant fighting. His eyes held a complex mix of emotions. After a long moment, he adjusted the brim of his straw hat. His voice was calm, level.
"Our mission is to find and gather information on the Nine-Tails. The chaos makes infiltration easier."
The Akatsuki had begun moving to locate the Tailed Beasts, laying the groundwork for their capture plan.
Itachi and Kisame's original assignment was to investigate other beasts, but ever since Itachi saw Root's coded message about Sasuke Uchiha, he'd accepted the Nine-Tails mission prematurely. He had to come to Konoha.
Sasuke Uchiha was his only attachment—the driving force that kept him breathing.
"Sure," Kisame Hoshigaki said, his smile not reaching his eyes. He had felt Itachi's genjutsu wrap around his mind not long ago. The mission change happened right after that. The Nine-Tails investigation was just a pretext. He had another reason for being here.
As Obito Uchiha's spy planted beside Itachi, Kisame had to know the truth.
Suddenly, a team of shinobi emerging from the village spotted them.
"Who are you?! Are you with the invaders—?"
Before they could finish, they froze. Their eyes glazed over, vacant. Kunai flashed through the air, piercing their throats. They collapsed backward, dead.
Kisame narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't expect you to be so decisive, Itachi. You're different than before. Is it because you hate this village so much?"
Itachi withdrew his Sharingan, ignoring the jab.
"Enough talking. Let's move."
Inside the sealed space, Kurama lay on the ground, eyes lifeless. Suddenly, it perked up, sitting upright with a jolt.
He grinned wildly, turning his head toward the other presence in the mindscape.
"Hey, Menma. The shadow clones linked to my chakra are moving. Konoha is in chaos, just like you said."
The fox's face twisted with schadenfreude.
"Looks like that brat Naruto is gonna be in trouble again."
Menma, sitting cross-legged, opened his eyes and looked outward, seeing through Naruto Uzumaki's eyes.
He intended to save Hiruzen Sarutobi's life this time, but also to make the old man suffer.
For instance, finding out the Sarutobi Clan's Mansion had been raided. Most of their assets and intel were gone. And then there was the Four Star Village, which Menma planned to use against Konoha soon.
With two Nine-Tails acting as "power banks," Konoha was in utter chaos.
Menma hadn't let Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki clean up the bodies. He'd left them specifically for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura. Afterward, they'd extracted images of Minato Namikaze and Kurama disguised as Madara Uchiha from the corpses' minds.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression must have been grim, his heart filled with terror.
Outside, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno were moving through the Forest of Death. They halted warily as Gaara and his group blocked their path.
"Gaara, you passed the exams. Why are you still blocking us?" Naruto demanded. "And who are these guys with you?"
Before he got an answer, an explosion rocked the Central Tower in the distance. Fierce fighting erupted from all directions.
"Be careful! Something went wrong with the exam. The enemy is attacking—just like with Orochimaru!"
Sasuke Uchiha immediately understood the situation. Gaara, blocking their path, raised his hand. Killing intent and raw jealousy radiated from him.
"Naruto Uzumaki... you're a monster, just like me," Gaara said, his voice low, trembling. "I can finally kill you with my own hands. I can finally find a reason to live again."
Sand erupted from his gourd, forming a massive curtain. Cracks spiderwebbed across Gaara's face as Shukaku's chakra swelled.
"Gaara's starting! Fall back! Don't let anyone disturb him!"
Temari and Kankuro retreated with the Sand Ninja. They summoned their weapons—Temari's giant fan and Kankuro's crow puppet—and attacked Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.
"This isn't our battlefield," Sasuke said coldly. "Go the other way."
He didn't move. A terrifying golden-red chakra surged from his body. Two massive chakra tails manifested, sending out shockwaves of energy that rustled the trees. The iron fan and crow puppet were blasted backward before they even got close.
"This is impossible," Temari gasped. "Another Jinchuriki?"
Sakura Haruno breathed a sigh of relief, moving closer to Sasuke. But then, Sasuke's expression changed. It became ferocious, terrifying, as he turned his head, staring at a spot in the distance.
Two figures wearing straw hats stood atop a tree.
"ITACHI UCHIHA!"
Reason fled Sasuke. He slammed his feet into the ground, launching himself like a missile toward the tree.
"Sasuke?!"
Naruto and Sakura were stunned by the sudden shift. As Naruto moved to follow, Gaara's blood-scented sand arrived. It transformed into giant hands in mid-air, pressing down on them.
"Sakura, I'll handle him!" Naruto shouted.
Unleashing crimson Nine-Tails chakra, he lashed out with a tail, sweeping the sand aside.
Sakura nodded and chased after Sasuke, who was vanishing into the distance. Temari and the others tried to follow, but Naruto's fox tail slammed down in front of them.
"Your opponent is me now!" he roared.
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