Baka... Getting yourself injured to this extent... Michiko's heart ached as she stared at Kakashi, lying on the bed, unconscious.
"Based on how they're acting, they haven't found Naruto yet." said Guy.
"About that... isn't something funny? They were already in the village. It's easy to find Naruto in this village. Itachi also knows Naruto's face."
"Shhh." Guy stopped Asuma as he heard footsteps.
"Kakashi..." The door opened, revealing Sasuke. He looked around the room before stopping his gaze on Kakashi. "Why's Kakashi asleep? And why are the Jounin gathered here? What happened?"
"Nothing much happened." Just as Guy finished his sentence, Aoba came running in.
"Is it true that the Itachi came back? And he's after Naruto?"
The four Jounin stared at Aoba who continued asking, before he finally realised Sasuke was here. Guy face palmed, as if they do not have enough problems to deal with at the moment. Michiko sighed. Knowing Sasuke, he is definitely going to attempt something reckless.
"Baka." Kurenai muttered.
Sasuke's eyes widened as they filled with hatred and he ran out of the room immediately.
"And why did things turn out like this?" Guy stood up.
"Guy, can you go after Sasuke? We'll take care of things here." Michiko asked.
Guy nodded and ran after Sasuke.
It will be better for Sasuke if he doesn't meet Itachi... Michiko looked down as she recalled what happened just a while ago.
- Flashback -
"What does a renegade ninja like you want in this village?" Kakashi asked with a kunai pointing at Itachi's neck. Itachi turned around to look at Kakashi, with Kakashi looking right back at him.
"This is a surprise. No wonder you could do that with my technique. I wouldn't believe that someone has the same eyes as Itachi-san if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Your name was... the Copy Ninja Kakashi."
"I'm the one who's surprised. I saw some weird guys at the teahouse, and I wondered who they could be... They turned out to be Uchiha Itachi and the monster from Kirigakure, Hoshigaki Kisame."
"My my... You know my name, too. I'm honoured."
"I see... You're one of the Seven Shinobi-gatana the Mist, and that large blade of yours must be Samehada."
Kisame laughed. "I heard that that kid Zabuza fought you."
Kakashi readied a kunai behind his back while Kisame raised Samehada, ready to fight.
"I'll enjoy shaving you to death."
"Stop, Kisame." said Itachi. Everyone turned to him with a mixture of shocked and puzzled expression.
"If you fight him head on, you will suffer unnecessary injuries. Also, if we take too much time, more shinobi will arrive."
"But..."
"Do not forget our purpose. You did not come here to get hurt."
"Then, tell us that purpose of yours." Kakashi interrupted as his clone in front of Asuma and Michiko disappeared.
"We just came to find something we're looking for." Itachi turned to face the Kakashi in front of him and said.
"Something you're looking for?" Kakashi raised his kunai. "And what exactly are you looking for?"
"I won't take as long as Kisame if I do this." Itachi had a few shurikens readied and Kakashi swiftly moved back.
"Ninpou: Suiton Suijinheki (Ninja Art: Water Style Water Wall)!" Just when Kakashi finished performing the seals, the water surrounding Kakashi began to twirl in circles and attacked him. However, the water wall he had just formed blocked the attacks. Itachi formed the seals so quickly that even Kakashi could not follow it with his eye. The shurikens were just decoys.
"Very nice, Kakashi-san... Your eye of insight is impressive..."
Another Itachi got behind Kakashi and stabbed Kakashi in the back with a kunai.
"Kage Bunshin? He uses his techniques too fast!" Kurenai exclaimed. But the Kakashi that got stabbed dissolved into water. It was a water clone.
Kakashi went under water and passed a kunai to Kurenai from below. "Nice, Kakashi." Kurenai smiled as she took the kunai from him.
"Get down, Kurenai!" Kakashi jumped out from the water and pushed Kurenai back, away from Itachi. "This one's the Kage Bunshin."
"Kakashi! Kurenai!"
"Kakashi! Kurenai-neechan!"
Both Asuma and Michiko shouted as the clone of Itachi exploded. The two of them jumped right into the wall of water caused by the explosion.
The water wall turned into droplets raining on them. Thanks to Kakashi, Kurenai was safe.
"Don't let your guard down. He's the man who became an Anbu squad leader at the age of thirteen."
"I didn't expect him to be this strong." said Asuma as all of them get into their fighting stance. Michiko glanced at Kakashi, who got hurt by the explosion earlier, with a worried look before deciding to focus on their enemies.
"No, he hasn't shown his true strength yet."
Even though Michiko did not spend as much time with Itachi as Kakashi did, she knew very well Itachi can definitely do more than this.
"I'm impressed that you can use your Sharingan so well even though you are not part of the Uchiha Clan. But your body is not an Uchiha Body, which the eye needs to work best."
Itachi was right, since Kakashi gets tired easily when he uses Sharingan. And this is why he does not use it unless the situation calls for it.
Itachi closed his eyes as he continued to speak. "I will show you why the clan of Uchiha was feared and reputed to be unmatched. The Sharingan... The Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) true power."
When Itachi opened his eyes once again, the design of his Sharingan changed.
Kakashi's eyes widened as he knew what was coming. "You three! Don't look into his eyes!"
Asuma and Kurenai shut their eyes immediately after Kakashi's words. Michiko simply looked down.
"Don't open your eyes. If you see his eyes right now, you're dead. Only a person with Sharingan can deal with his technique right now."
After listening to what Kakashi said, Michiko's worry grew.
"It's true that if you have Sharingan, you can resist this Mangekyou (Kaleidoscope) Sharingan a little. However, you cannot counter this special Sharingan doujutsu (Eye Technique) – genjutsu Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader). Only a person who has the same Kekkei Genkai as me, a Sharingan user, can defeat me."
The first person that comes to Kakashi's and Michiko's mind was Sasuke.
Kakashi began panting heavily and dropped to his knees just right after Itachi finished his words. Michiko was looking at Kakashi's feet the entire time and knew it has to do with Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan and the doujutsu.
"Kakashi!" Michiko shouted. She was about to reach for him but stopped herself from doing so. One wrong move and it could cost them their lives.
"What's wrong, Kakashi? You still want us to keep our eyes closed?" Kurenai asked.
"Not yet... Don't open them yet."
"What happened? You suddenly fell down after he stopped talking." Asuma said.
Michiko cursed herself for not being able to a single thing, and all she could do was watching Kakashi struggling to get up.
Kisame got to Itachi's side while Kakashi catches his breath.
"Oh? You didn't experience a mental breakdown after going through that?" Kisame looked at Kakashi with amusement. "But, Itachi-san..." He turned to Itachi. "It's dangerous to use those eyes too much."
"Is Sasuke what you're looking for?" Kakashi asked.
"No. We're after Yondaime Hokage's legacy."
Asuma and Kurenai were surprised when they heard what Itachi said, while Michiko and Kakashi recalled what Jiraiya told them...
～～～～～
"I haven't seen you in a while. How long has it been since you last visited the village?"
Jiraiya waited a while before speaking. "Kakashi."
Kakashi turned to look at Jiraiya.
"I'm going to take care of Naruto."
Both Michiko and Kakashi gave a confused look.
"I believed Sandaime's decision to make you watch over Naruto was wise... But you may not be able to deal with some things at the level you're at."
"What are you talking about?"
"After Orochimaru left this village, I monitored him. It was clear that he was going to come back to this village one day. Anyway, I kept an eye on him..."
"But...?"
"He joined a certain organization."
"Organization? Any details about that organization? "
"I do not know the details, but it's called Akatsuki, and consists of nine shinobi. They have not done anything big until recently. They have just been gathering information, but the problem lies with the members. Most of them are sly S-rank criminals in the bingo book, and Itachi is one of them. It's hard to believe that the nine of them are doing volunteer work. You should know where I'm going with this now." Jiraiya paused. "But Orochimaru left that organization recently. And right about that time, the organization separated into teams of two and began travelling all over the place collecting jutsu and other things."
"Do you have any hard evidence that one of the things they're looking for is the Kyuubi?"
"It's a possibility. Kyuubi is one of the mystical monsters that possess the ultimate chakra. Kakashi, Naruto will have to begin watching his back sooner or later. That's the fate he carries. You watch over Sasuke for now. You will have to teach him how to use the Sharingan as well. I will raise Naruto for a while."
～～～～～
"Are you after the Kyuubi inside Naruto? I know that you two aren't the only ones who are moving around. The name of your organization was Akatsuki, was it?"
This time, it was Itachi and Kisame who looked slightly taken aback.
"Akatsuki?" Asuma asked.
Michiko was wondering if it is a good idea to let the two know that Kakashi knew about their organization. And the bad feeling came true when Itachi speaks again.
"Kisame, we're going to take Kakashi-san. Let's have the other three disappear." The moment Itachi finished speaking, Kisame charged towards Asuma, Michiko and Kurenai with Samehada. Michiko saw him coming and was about to move, when suddenly...
"Konoha Gouriki Senpuu (Strong Whirlwind)!"
Kisame was kicked back and Guy landed right in front of Kakashi.
"Who are you?" Kisame asked.
"Konoha's Noble Blue Beast, Might Guy." Guy introduced himself and flashed his signature smile.
Michiko sweat dropped. Even without looking at Guy, she can totally imagine the look on his face and his pose. Michiko rushed to Kakashi as he slowly submerges into the water, putting his arm around her shoulder, pulling him up and supported him. She was also trying to ignore the fact that Guy was acting cool, despite him saving them.
"Look at yourself before you speak... Perhaps you meant to say a dodo." Kisame mocked.
"Do not underestimate him." Itachi warned Kisame.
"He hurt Kakashi this much..." Guy turned his head around and looked at Kakashi.
"Don't look into Itachi's eyes, Guy. You're going to fall into his jutsu." Asuma warned.
"I already know that. In the measures I developed to fight Kakashi, I took into consideration of how counter his Sharingan." Guy paused. "Michiko, I thought you knew. And the two of you can open your eyes right now!"
"Under those circumstances I don't think it's wise for me to move and fight." Michiko bit her bottom lip as she cursed herself for being weak once again.
Guy took a glance at Michiko and saw her regretful expression. He decided not to press any further. Asuma and Kurenai were still wavering as to whether or not they should open their eyes.
"When you fight a Sharingan user, you just don't have to look into their eyes. Keep your eyes on their feet, predict their movement, and counter accordingly." Guy told them.
Kurenai opened her eyes. "Now that you mention it, it seems logical..."
"But you're about the only guy who can do that." Asuma opened his eyes as well.
"Right. There's a trick you have to learn to grasp an enemy's moves from his foot movement alone... But we have no other choice in this emergency. Anyway, get used to it, now."
"What should we do?" Asuma asked.
"Michiko, you take Kakashi to a medical squad. Asuma and Kurenai, the two of you cover me."
The three of them nodded.
Michiko can only heal physical wounds, but can do nothing for the psychological ones. This only makes her feel worse, knowing that there was nothing she can do to help her Kakashi.
"Now, until the Anbu reinforcements that I arranged arrive... we will fight them." Guy was in his fighting stance.
"Interesting. You're quite daring." Kisame smirked as he picked up his Samehada.
"Kisame. We're going to stop."
"Eh?"
"We didn't come here to start a war. Unfortunately, fighting any more is nonsense. We're leaving."
Kisame glanced at Itachi. "I was just starting to get excited... Very well..."
Itachi and Kisame disappeared at that.
The four of them returned to Konoha.
- End of Flashback -
Michiko sighed for the nth time. Sasuke is nowhere near Itachi's level. Itachi is way too stong for him currently. Hopefully nothing happens...
(To be continued...)
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A/N: Finally gonna update this. School is starting soon with me completing nothing on my list of things I wanna do. Oh well, will try to update more consistently. Hope to get to Shippuden part soon~
As for my OP ff, really feel like giving up. σ(^_^;) But no, I won't. I'll see what can I do. Shall update soon. I hope.
ε=ε=ε=(~￣▽￣)~