Itachi no unmei -イタチの運命-
(The Destiny of Itachi)
Part 1 : The pact of Itachi & Madara
A bitter cold hung over the village of Konoha. Hailstones fell from the sky, crashing to the ground and mixing with the surrounding snow. The entire village was covered in snow, so much so that not even the smallest buildings could be seen. Everything was shrouded in shadow; the village was as if... buried. Winter had arrived.
The village was like dead... And I watched it die from my perch. In the cold and snow, no one could see me. I was like... An invisible being. To be honest, I think it was better that way. I could finally observe my native village in peace, with no one to disturb me. I was like... at peace with myself. As if nothing dramatic had happened.
— Itachi Uchiha...»
Hearing my name, I spun around suddenly. I had been taken by surprise. It's the worst thing for a ninja to be caught off guard from behind... Especially for me, who has above-average sensory abilities thanks to the hereditary gift unique to my clan: the Sharingan. What's more, the man behind me who had just spelled out my name couldn't be just anyone... To be able to mask his presence like that...
— What are you doing here... Madara?»
To surprise me like this, the man behind me could only be Madara. He was the only one in my clan... whom I had never managed to surpass. The ultimate Uchiha. And more than that, he was known as the second most powerful ninja the world had ever known after... none other than the First Hokage himself, Hashirama Senju.
Today, he was wearing a red mask. It was quite surprising... I was probably too used to his usual yellow mask. This mask was even more special because the tomoe of the sharingan were drawn on it. But there weren't three, I counted nine in total. What could it be? The successive circles reminded me of a Rinnegan... the ultimate dojutsu, created by the god who created the ninja world: Hagoromo Otsutsuki. But obviously... it probably had nothing to do with that.
Madara then moved slightly toward me, tilting his head to one side. Behind that mask, there was probably a broad smile... a mocking one.
— What do you want from me?!» I asked him, annoyed.
He then opened his right eye wide, the only one uncovered, revealing a scarlet pupil. The Sharingan. There was no doubt about it, he was provoking me. And I didn't like it one bit...
— I'm impressed... Pain told me that you managed to defeat Orochimaru... Is that true? I must admit, I didn't expect such an outcome...»
— Orochimaru is full of pride. He underestimated me too much, and I caught him off guard.» I explained.
— Always that hint of contemptuous arrogance mixed with modesty... You don't know where to put yourself... You defeated one of the three legendary Sanin, and what's more, the one reputed to be the most powerful of them all. What more could you want?»
— Did you come here to lecture me?» I replied bitterly.
— Tsss... Still as calm, cold, and distant as ever...» Madara whispered «No, I came to talk to you about something else.»
Tell me something? Anything... It really didn't feel right. That man... Madara... He was the greatest deserter in the history of the ninja world. Even today, he was still up to his old tricks. He had founded the Akatsuki, a criminal organization bringing together powerful ninjas from the five great ninja countries. His goal was simple: to seize all the Bijus scattered throughout the five great nations in order to achieve unbeatable power.
I have joined the organization as a spy for Hiruzen Sarutobi, the current Hokage of Konoha. All this was done with the aim of... thwarting Madara's plans.
It suited me fine when he told me to neutralize Orochimaru, who had betrayed the organization. Orochimaru was dangerous to the village. He harbored a deep grudge against his leader, who had refused to offer him the position of Fourth Hokage after discovering the experiments he was conducting... on humans. Having such a man in Akatsuki was too dangerous.
So, if Madara gave me a mission... It might not fit in with my plans. That's what he wanted, anyway... He knew I was a spy. It all depended on what he was going to tell me...
— So? Go on. Speak.» I pressed him.
Madara then lowered his head. His expression was grim. Was he trying to impress me? Lately, he had been acting more relaxed... But that game didn't work on me. I knew who he really was... He could make jokes all he wanted, but deep down, his heart was as black as jet.
— Madara... Stop this charade, will you? I'm listening.» I sighed.
— Don't call me Madara anymore.» he suddenly snapped.
So, I stared at him. How so? I quickly understood. That desire... To hide his true identity. He was already playing the role of leader to Pain, pulling the strings behind the scenes. He wanted to be forgotten, so that when the time came, he would be able to take his revenge without anyone suspecting that... 100 years ago, he had survived his battle with Hashirama Senju.
— So? What will your new name be?» I asked him.
He raised his head slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
— Mhhh...»
— You hadn't even thought about it, had you?»
He stared at me with his one eye, annoyed.
— You know you have a real gift for confusing people, don't you?» he grumbled.
— I'm not here to laugh.» I interrupted.
— How about Tobi ?» he suggested «I think it's funny.»
— You really have no sense of seriousness...» I lectured him «Fine, if you want... Okay, now, seriously, what did you come to talk to me about ?»
He lowered his head again. He regained his serious expression. This joke was starting to wear me out... But hey, I would eventually get used to it, and I wasn't the impatient type like all the other teenagers my age.
Suddenly, the tomoe in his sharingan spun sharply. The pupil then transformed, giving way to nine tomoe. It was exactly the same symbol as on his mask, but this time, it was in his eye.
— Itachi... Do you recognize this dojutsu?» he asked, creating an atmosphere of suspense.
It did indeed resemble the Rinnegan of the hermit Rikudo, coupled with the tomoe and scarlet background of the Sharingan.
— I've never seen anything like it.» I admitted.
— It's a Rinnesharingan. It's the pupil of the Jubi.» he explained.
— The Jubi... In slang, that's Biju. It's a Biju, right? Would that be... What you want to create by fusing the nine Bijus? You mentioned such power... Dating back to the Rikudo era. This pupil is similar to Rikudo's Rinnegan, which Pain also has. But it is coupled with the Sharingan, hence the name "Rinnesharingan." You want me to believe... that bringing the Bijus together would create a creature with power somewhere between that of the Rinnegan and the Sharingan? That would also mean that our pupil... also dates back to the time of Rikudo.»
Madara stared at me for a long time before bursting out laughing.
— Incredible... I knew you were a genius from the reputation you had built up, Danzô Shimura, but not to this extent! You are brilliant!»
— So my deduction was correct... It's unbelievable...»
— So... Is your quest for knowledge satisfied? Do you understand how dangerous I am to your little plans?» Madara retorted.
— No more than before. If I stop you from monopolizing the Bijus, you won't achieve that goal. And then, of course... You may be stronger than me... But I will surpass you. That pupil you're showing off... I know it's fake. A genjutsu like that... Doesn't work on me.» I replied.
He started laughing even harder.
— You're really divisive... I know that, of course... You weren't going to fall for that... Don't you have any sense of humor?»
— No. Not since I left Konoha.» I retorted coldly.
— Well... That wasn't the case before...»
— If you say so.»
— So there's no one you've ever laughed with?»
— Yes, of course.»
— Tell me more. Who were they?»
— I killed them with my own hands. Except for my brother, there is no one left.»
— That's very sad...»
— We don't have the same motivations. I act for others, you act for yourself. You want to satisfy your greedy desire for revenge... In the end, of the two of us, I am the more mature one. And yet... 80 years separate us. »
I had ended the conversation. Madara's gaze had changed. He didn't know what to say anymore. I knew that behind his incessant laughter, there was someone who was suffering. He hid his despair behind his humor.
— Well? Don't you have any mission to give me?» I said, breaking the silence.
He stared at me. He sighed. Then he continued:
— I would like... you to capture a Biju for me.» he announced.
— Always the same things...» I sighed.
— Yes... But this time, not just any Biju. And we're not talking about a conventional capture...»
— What do you mean? Explain.»
— As you know... About ten years ago, I attacked Konoha. To do so, I took control of Kyubi, the nine-tailed fox demon, using my genjutsu. But the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, intervened. He didn't manage to defeat me... But the biju did. To do so, he used the Shinigami's fuinjutsu technique.»
— The Shinigami? That explains how he managed to defeat him... Rumors said that the Fourth was more powerful than Hashirama Senju, but I would have doubted it.» I stated.
— As you already know, he sealed the biju inside his son, Naruto. But it didn't stop there... Before he was sealed by the Shinigami, sealing his contract, he locked half of the demon inside himself.» he replied.
— In other words... Naruto Uzumaki only has half of Kurama, is that right? It's true that it throws your plans into disarray a little...»
— Don't be mistaken, I can carry out my plan just fine without that half. But it would be wiser to have the demon's full power. For now, the quest for the Bijus has not yet begun... But that seems essential to me.»
— You want me to retrieve part of the demon in Minato Namikaze?»
— Yes.»
— But you know... I'm going to refuse.»
— I know also.»
— So what?»
— I'll give you a choice... A simple one...»
It was a very bad omen. I felt... that he was ready for anything. Madara... That man...
— If you agree, I won't take part in Naruto. The kid will be spared. In other words... If you succeed, you will save him from his grim fate.» he warned me.
— In any case, we have a deal. You can't attack Konoha.» I scolded.
— Me... Yes.»
In his eyes, and his statement... I understood perfectly well. If he didn't attack the village... Someone else might... No.
— You realize that by doing this, you're turning me against you? »
— Yes. Except that if it comes to a fight, you're not sure you'll win. If, by some misfortune, you were to lose... Your death would allow me to attack Konoha and give Danzô the opportunity to go after your little brother. »
Suddenly, I saw red. Rage had taken over his reason. He had talked about the village. About Sasuke. That monster...
— You have no other choice, Itachi. If you agree, I promise that no one under my command, including myself, will attack the village. Seems like a fair deal to me, don't you think?»
He was right, of course. And that made me even angrier. Our agreement specified that he would not be allowed to attack my brother or the village... Him. But what about others? He had played on words... I couldn't believe it.
— I'll think about it.» I said.
I said that, but deep down... I knew what I was going to do. But it hurt me to admit it. It hurt a lot.
— Am I a monster, then?»
Madara had thrown this question out into the void. In his voice, I had sensed a genuine question. A question... that was not ironic.
— I think you're just someone who's had bad things happen to them. You've suffered too much... To bear any more. To be honest, so have I. But what sets us apart... Is that I'm not a beast who relies on instinct... I have the ability to think. I've made my own choices... Which have caused me bitter suffering. You... You've endured, without questioning yourself.» I resonated then.
— A true philosopher...»
— You say that because, in reality, you don't know how to respond. You're empty. You may have a wealth of knowledge, but your brain is empty. And your heart is even more so.»
I had broken off the conversation. Silence fell. I had nothing more to add... Just one last thing.
— I'll try to do what you told me. But if I fail, I'll come back and kill you.»
Then I vanished, split into several crows. I could no longer bear to see such a man.
📖To be Continued...📖