The Trouble With Itachi [On Hold]

10; More Questions than Answers

A/N- Hey guys, have you been looking forward to the next chapter? Well here it is!! 

Watch out for Chapter 11, it will be very interesting!

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Chapter 10- More Questions than Answers

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“It’s them,” Jiraiya said.

Kakashi blew out slowly, “I knew it. What are they doing here?”

“I’m still working on getting the info. But something big is coming.”

“What are they after?”

“As far as I know, they tried to capture a Jinchuuriki in the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Cloud Village. They were unsuccessful but they won’t give up.”

Kakashi’s eyes widened, “A Jinchuuriki?”

-

I sat back against the wall and suppressed a gasp. Akatsuki were trying to capture more Jinchuuriki?

Jinchuuriki were individuals possessing Bijuu (or tailed beasts) within their bodies. The beasts themselves were known by the number of tails their body possesses, and each has different characteristics. One such Jinchuuriki was Naruto, who obviously had the nine tailed Kyuubi within him.

I knew that the Akatsuki were after Naruto for this reason, but they were going after other Jinchuuriki as well?! It seemed they were gathering them up, but for what reason?

I turned to look at Sasuke beside me. He had a carefully guarded expression.

We were hiding a good distance away from Kakashi and Jiraiya behind a wall. I used a jutsu that used chakra to amplify my hearing. I was surprised that Sasuke knew the same technique as me, and it made me a little more wary of him.

-

“What could they want with the Jinchuuriki?” Kakashi asked.

Jiraiya shrugged, “The first thought that comes to mind is power. But the power to do what? We still don’t know what their aim is, or who the Leader is.”

-

“Uchiha Itachi,” I heard Sasuke say quietly, almost to himself.

“What about him?” I asked.

Sasuke regarded me for a second. I wondered whether he would talk to me or blow me off.

“There’s no doubt that my brother is involved,” he said finally, “He is part of Akatsuki.”

My eyes widened in mock surprise- the amazing actress that I am.

“I know. He’s brought such shame to the Uchiha name.”

“I know he killed off your clan,” I started. I needed to word this delicately, “But he left you alive; only you. Do you know, by any chance, why he did this?”

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head back on the wall, “All I know is that at the time when I asked him, he said it was to test his strength.”

He looked like he was going to say more then stopped. I wasn’t sure if I fully believed the reason. This was the first time hearing it firsthand from Sasuke. Itachi always did things for a reason. Even if it was to test his strength, there had to be another underlying motive.

Suddenly, Sasuke and I sat up. Our hearing alerted us that Jiraiya and Kakashi were on the move. And they were headed this way. Sasuke and I scrambled over each other and jumped into the surrounding bushes as quickly and as quietly as we could.

When we were sure it was safe we made our way back to the training grounds by the hot spring. It was nearly 6 o’clock.

Training time.

When we got there Kakashi and Jiraiya were already there, along with Naruto and Sakura.

How did they get here before us? I thought, We damn nearly went super sonic at the speed we ran here.

“Late,” Kakashi commented as we walked in.

I rolled my eyes.

He can talk, I thought. He’s usually the one that’s late!

“Right now that we’re all here we can begin. I’ve brought a good friend of mine, and the person who got us tickets to this wonderful hot spring,” Kakashi gestured to his left, “You will call him Jiraiya-sensei.”

Jiraiya waved, “Yo.” He looked at us all individually, as if memorizing our faces. His eyes rested on me for a moment longer and his eyebrow twitched. I looked at his face more closely. He did seem oddly familiar. It would be a bad thing if he remembered me from somewhere. It would be almost definitely from when I was with Akatsuki.

I unconsciously glared at him, and he moved on.

Crap. Where did I remember him from?

“I thought it would be a good idea to have a little spar today,” Kakashi said, “And Jiraiya-sensei here has agreed to spar with each of you.”

My eyes widened. This was a Legendary shinobi. He really wanted Genin to spar with him?!

Sakura and Naruto were equally shocked.

“What?!” Naruto said, “You want us to fight this old man?!”

“He’s not just anyone Naruto,” Kakashi answered, “He’s a legendary shinobi.”

“Then how come I haven’t heard of him.”

“You will. All the Hokage through the hidden ninja villages of the world have heard of Jiraiya sensei.”

“Oh yeah? What has he done?”

“He was a student of the Konoha’s Third Hokage.”

Sakura gasped, “The Legendary Sannin!”

“Ahh Sakura I see you know of them.”

Everyone looked to Sakura. She blushed and nodded, “Yes. I read up on it. Jiraiya-sensei, the missing-nin Orochimaru, and Lady Tsunade were part of the Legendary Sannin, all taught by Konoha’s Third Hokage and accomplished many things.”

My eyes widened in surprise. Now I know where I remembered him from.

A conversation with Itachi on a short mission just before I came to Konoha sprung to mind:

“The one in the middle is Gaara of the Sand. The one on the left is Jiraiya, I've told you about him before. And the one on the right is Anko; she's a Jounin from Konoha, and a former student of Orochimaru.”

I cursed under my breath. It couldn’t be helped now.

“Orochimaru? What kind of name is that? Never heard of him,” Naruto frowned.

“Baka,” Sasuke said under his breath.

“I tell you what; I’ll tell you all about them later today. But first, we spar, starting with you Naruto.”

Naruto looked up, eyes wide but it was too late. He was flung across the grounds, clear to the other side and landed roughly in some bushes.

“No fair!” I heard him shout from afar, “I wasn’t ready!”

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