Itachi never thought he'd find himself back in Konoha, under guard and chain. They kept him in a dark cell, cramped and cold. A thick bandage lay over his eyes to prevent him from using his Sharingan. Chakra chains clung painfully to his wrists, disrupting the blood flow and creating bruises that would last for a while if he didn't remove the chains immediately.
He wouldn't, however. In the older Uchiha's mind, he deserved anything that came for him. Konoha could destroy his very essence and Itachi would take it with open arms at finally receiving some kind of punishment for his deeds.
Konoha had been through much since his departure years ago. The village had been broken down and rebuilt time and time again but in that time, it has become a meaner place. Cruel in the hearts of the villagers but weaker in the ruthlessness of its shinobi. It seemed as though the villagers and shinobi had switched personas.
In his day, the shinobi were cruel and ruthless. They were at war and couldn't afford to be weak but the villagers were their light. Their reason to keep fighting and to be at peace when they came home.
Itachi saw no light now. figuratively and literally. Many had lost the will of fire but Itachi could see it, feel it, running through his brother's veins. Sasuke could be cruel and harsh but he understood who the king was.
It was only a matter of time before the youngest Uchiha accepted the will of fire in his heart, only then could Sasuke reach his full potential along with his teammates that seemed to hold the same fire.
"Let me go! I demand to see the Hokage! Do you hear me?! I said let me go!"
Itachi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as he heard rushed footsteps and struggling along with a screeching voice.
There was another shuffling sound before a cage door closing was heard.
"Idiots" He heard the woman huff.
Itachi was rather enjoying his time to reflect but it seemed he wouldn't have that time again for some time.
"Hey, you!" He heard the woman again but assumed she was trying to get a guard's attention.
"Hmm? What, are you mute and blind?" The woman remarked.
At this point, Itachi knew she was speaking with him.
"You must be strong to speak down on other prisoners when you yourself are in here" Itachi calmly stated.
"Hm! What was that?! I'll beat you to a pulp!" She screeched at him, hurting his sensitive ears that had adjusted.
"What is your name?" Itachi ignored her question and threat with another question.
"You insult me and ask me my name? Hm!...it's Karin"
Itachi tilted his head, he hadn't heard the name before and it made him wonder all the more who she was. He had insightful knowledge on most high-tier criminals but she wasn't on that list which made him wonder why she was thrown in a high-security cell.
"Well? It's rude to ask someone's name without introducing yourself, ya know" She aggressively sighed.
Itachi could tell she was glaring at him through the bars.
He smirked "Itachi...Uchiha"
____
Naruto and Sakura weren't fairing the best they thought they could have been.
Orochimaru had played sneakily, using the arsenal of jutsu he had accumulated. Alongside, he had enlisted the backup support of Kabuto who had slammed into Sakura from behind out of nowhere.
Her entire left side had been immobilized and if it weren't for Naruto pulling her out of the way, she would have been killed by him.
As Sakura did her best to heal herself, Naruto scanned the battleground. The forest had taken major damage. It would be unlikely for life to grow again in this area.
The blonde watched as Orochimaru stood tall with a smirk while Kabuto slowly walked closer to him.
The two spoke but Naruto paid no mind to it as he tried to think up a strategy of attack.
"With two of them..." Sakura grunted.
"Save your energy, Ra. I'll think of something" Naruto ordered as he narrowed his eyes at the enemies.
"Kurama, do you have a Genjutsu strong enough to hold the both of them?" Naruto asked his friend.
"Not for long" Came the beast's response.
Naruto smirked "I only need a few seconds"
Naruto suddenly dashed forward, gaining the attention of the two and Sakura.
"Naruto!" She yelled in worry but grunted again at the pain in her side. All she could do was watch and hope for the best that the blonde knew what he was doing.
Naruto created clones of himself as he ran and started creating his new jutsu, Rasenshuriken. All the clones were.
"Now, Kurama!" Naruto ordered the chakra beast.
Suddenly, all of the clones and Naruto's eyes changed to Kurama's eyes, the clones and the blonde's chakra matched perfectly, before Kurama cast a strong Gentjutu on the two enemies.
His eyes changed back and Naruto took no time to jump behind the two as his Clones continued at the front.
A few seconds was all it took for Orochimaru to break out of his Genjutsu before pulling Kabuto out as well.
They noticed the clones at the front but couldn't tell which was the real Naruto. It wouldn't take them long however to find him.
In the meantime, the clones rushed at them, keeping their attention and once Orochimaru and Kabuto had destroyed all of them, that was when the real Naruto attacked from behind.
At first, they didn't notice but as soon as the wind shifted behind them, they turned their heads. By then it was too late.
Naruto aimed at Orochimaru and with two other clones at his side. Three Rasenshuriken struck him dead on.
The explosion was bigger than anyone had expected, especially with Orochimaru thinking quickly and countering with a defense jutsu but it wasn't enough to stop at least one of Naruto's jutsu to get through.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Kabuto watched Orochimaru struggle to get back up but his arms were teared up and his left leg had a large hole in it.
The Sannin coughed up blood which confirmed that the snake of a man had internal bleeding.
Kabuto deemed it impossible to save him now and with that. As Naruto zeroed in on the Sannin, Kabuto hastily jumped away to retreat.
Sakura noticed and appeared in front of him before he could run away.
Using all her strength and chakra she could, she landed a punch on Kabuto's abdomen.
The medical shinobi coughed up blood and bits and pieces of his inners.
Before Sakura could continue her attack, he used the simple but effective jutsu of shunshin and disappeared.
Sakura scowled at the loss but decided he wasn't worth it and instead watched as Naruto calmly walked up to the bleeding Sannin.
Naruto glared down at Orochimaru who was smirking at him.
"So confident, Narutoooo" The Sannin hissed.
Naruto was suddenly pulled into a Genjutsu but he expected it. Of course, Orochimaru would fight to the very end. That alone was all Naruto could find in him to respect. He was still a shinobi at the end of everything and shinobi never gave up.
Orochimaru smirked and sighed in relief at having caught Naruto before he felt a pain go through his heart.
With wide eyes, Orochimaru looked down at his chest to see orange chakra sticking out of him. He followed it to the source and found Naruto glaring down at him with Sage and beast mode activated at the same time.
One lone tail extended out of his back which had impaled the Sannin.
One lone tail was all it took to finally bring an end to Orochimaru's wicked ways.
Orochimaru struggled to breathe through the pain, the chakra in his chest being the only reason he wasn't dead yet.
"This is for Kakashi-sensei" Naruto muttered before his chakra tail expanded in Orochimaru's chest and disappeared, leaving a massive hole in the Sannin's chest.
With one last measure of assuredness, Naruto created a Rasengan in his hand and slammed it down onto Orochimaru.
As the smoke cleared, Sakura came to a stand next to Naruto and the two stared down at the lifeless body before them.
Naruto thought about all the pain this man had put his team through and all the pain he had created for others but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted as sniffling could be heard to his left.
The blonde glanced at Sakura who was glaring down at Orochimaru with tears running down her cheeks. He knew she wasn't crying for him but rather that the fight was finally over.
Naruto, too, felt a large amount of relief flow through him and he couldn't wait to tell his other team members.
___
Kakashi stood behind Danzo as he was seated around the circular table amongst the rest of the Hokage.
The Raikage glared heavily at everyone as if they were below him, the Tsuchikage watched the others with skeptical eyes. The Mizukage smirked and leaned on her hand and the Kazekage, Gaara, sat impassively as he waited for the meeting to start.
Danzo cleared his throat "Shall we begin?" He questioned though it blatantly came out as a demand. The Raikage stiffened before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I am Mifune, your moderator. The Five Kage Summit Conference is called into order" Mifune, the leader of the land introduced as he sat before everyone.
Gaara sat calmly with his fingers interlocked and his chin lightly leaning against them "I shall speak first. Hear me."
"There's such a difference in Kage these days. To be named Kage at your young age is quite impressive, Lord Kazekage" The Tsuchikage commented with a sly smirk "Yet despite your fathers obviously brilliant guidance, he seems to have not taught you any etiquette"
Kakashi could see Kabuto leaning forward with anxious eyes but knew Gaara well enough now that the red-haired male wouldn't act out as he did in his youth.
Gaara hardly reacted "You're probably right" He stared at the Tsuchikage with indifference "It is probably why I can be here as Kazekage."
The Tsuchikage laughed at this "You certainly are cocky!"
The Mizukage let her hair fall over her eyes at the old man's comments "Lord Tsuchikage, there's no need to make fun of him." She turned to Gaara "Continue, Lord Kazekage"
Gaara gave a minuscule nod "I am a former Jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki captured me, and they nearly killed me if it weren't for Kakashi Hatake and his team" Gaara glanced at said man seated behind Danzo. The other Kage glanced at him as well, recognizing his name and his team as someone strong in the shinobi world.
"So I consider the Akatsuki extremely dangerous." Gaara continued "I sought the cooperation of the five Kage many times but was ignored. At a time when various lands have had their Jinchuuriki stolen, the response by this group has been far too slow"
The Tsuchikage grumbled before interrupting "How can the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Nations serve as an example when they allow their Jinchuuriki to be taken? It is an embarrassment! It is common sense to resolve this in utmost secrecy" The old man glared at Gaara "Seeking the help of other lands just because of that is nonsense!"
Gaara lifted his head from his hands and looked down upon the Tsuchikage "Saving face...Prestige...Such old-fashioned beliefs"
The Mizukage stepped in "Old-fashioned beliefs aside...I will acknowledge that as the Mizukage, I have delayed action. However, having our Tailed Beast stolen is no cause for immediate fear. Controlling a Tailed Beast requires skill, knowledge, and time."
The Tsuchikage jumped in yet again "The Jinchuuriki and the Tailed Beast must mature together and adapt to each other. It is not a simple task. Isn't that so, Lord Kazekage?"
Danzo, who had sat quietly, chose this moment to speak up "The only ones able to control the tailed beasts were Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Hanaku Senju, Sasaku Uchiha, Yagura, and Killer Bee"
Before Danzo could continue, the Raikage stiffened at the name of his younger brother and lept up.
At that moment, all of the Kage's guards jumped into action and appeared before their leaders, ready to defend.