I told you guys I wasn't dead.

Also, the video attached has nothing to do with this chapter. It's an animation that I made for my Youtube channel and I just wanted to show you guys :3

Third Person's POV

Blood seeps from Sasuke's left eye and slides down his cheek, dripping slowly onto Ashley's wrist as her fingers curl even tighter around his throat.

The Uchiha grits his teeth and glares into the Sharingan eyes of his cousin, a dangerous look on her face that Sasuke had never seen before. She'd always been angry and cold as far as he could remember, but this look......This look of pure hatred that so easily portrayed her want to kill him......

Sasuke had often held that very same expression himself, but he'd never expected to see the same cruel harshness on Ashley's face.

And that chakra surrounding her didn't feel right either. Karin had mumbled about Sasuke's own chakra feeling evil and cold before, but he hadn't understood what she'd meant until now.

Whatever power Ashley was using right now to power herself up, it certainly didn't feel like the kind of power a noble Leaf Shinobi would use. Had she attained this power while working for the Akatsuki? Or was it something that Orochimaru had bestowed upon her years ago? Perhaps a secret she'd kept hidden all this time...

Despite Ashley's dark expression and the aura surrounding her, Sasuke was hardly intimidated. After his lengthy fight with Danzo moments earlier however, the young Uchiha didn't exactly feel up to fighting someone with that look in their eyes.

"Don't make me ask you again Sasuke" Ashley growls, causing the taller boy's eyes to narrow. "Answer me!"

"Don't speak his name" Sasuke retorts angrily, reaching up and grabbing onto Ashley's wrist. "Don't you dare speak his name. You don't have the right!"

"And you didn't have the right to kill him" the Minami snaps right back, roughly slamming Sasuke's back against the damaged stone wall he'd just collided with. "So maybe now, I'll get to be the avenger, huh Sasuke? Allow me to avenge Itachi-kun!"

"You speak about him with so much love" Sasuke scoffs, smirking coldly at Ashley, "Yet you don't even know the real story about him. If you did, you'd know that I'm not the one you should be killing!""

"I don't need to hear it to know that you deserve to die for what you've done!" Ashley thunders back, furious.

The black chakra surrounding her skin immediately begins to bubble, a second tail forming behind the girl. Sasuke's smirk drops as he feels a stinging sensation around his neck, Ashley's chakra beginning to burn him.

"What is this chakra?" the Uchiha asks through gritted teeth. "And why do you look......just like him now....."

Ashley doesn't respond, too enraged by the loss of her beloved older cousin to care about what Sasuke has to say anymore.

Hakuba had seen Ashley's pain, perhaps even felt some of it, and he'd been willing to offer his power to the Minami. Despite not wanting to help Ashley down a path of revenge, Hakuba also didn't like to see her feeling the way news of Itachi's death had caused her to feel. Perhaps some obstacles in life needed to be destroyed, rather than merely stepped around...

"I guess it's just in the Uchiha blood to seek revenge" Ashley utters lowly, to which Sasuke smirks back, despite his pain.

"You're hardly an Uchiha" he responds icily, to which Ashley's eyes widen.

Growling ferociously, her sharp teeth bared, the Minami, fueled by Hakuba's power, whirls around and hefts Sasuke across the water. He rockets through the air and collides with another wall of already damaged stone, unable to keep from grunting loudly as he impacts it, shoulder first.

Stones tumble down around Sasuke as he drops back down on top of the water, just managing to focus his chakra into his hands and feet to keep from sinking. He cracks open one eye and turns his head, only to see Ashley racing across the water towards him, eyes seeming to glow red beneath the girl's cloak of black chakra.

Not giving the Uchiha a chance to move, Ashley throws her arm forwards, only for the chakra to extend out ahead of her. Sharp claws of pure chakra slash across Sasuke's chest, sending him tumbling across the river at speed.

He manages to jump to his feet however, now crouching down, with one hand on the water's surface to balance himself. He lets out a low breath of pain, blood dripping from the steaming claw marks now etched across his flesh.

"Don't deny the blood that travels through my veins Sasuke" Ashley warns darkly, stalking towards her cousin at a slow, intimidating pace, eyes fixated on his face. "Whether you like it or not, I am an Uchiha!"

"You're a mixed breed" Sasuke shoots back, stubborn despite his heavy breathing and having to hunch over in pain. "You're not a pure Uchiha!"

"Then why don't you fight back and show me what a pure Uchiha can do?" Ashley snarls, a sinister smile spreading across her face. "Because so far, you're not doing the clan any justice."

"You have no idea......." Sasuke says, narrowing his eyes at Ashley, mouth turning up at the corner. "You have no idea what you're doing right now. Do you want to know the truth? Maybe then you'll reconsider-"

"I have nothing to reconsider now" Ashley interrupts, already darting forwards. "You made my decision for me when you killed Itachi!"

Sasuke glares up at Ashley as she looms in front of him, before the girl slams her fist into his already injured chest. Sasuke shoots down under the water, exhaling sharply from the powerful hit.

Not giving him a chance to even swim to the surface, the infuriated Ashley throws both arms straight up, causing a column of water to rise into the air, like a geyser. Still held within the pillar of water, Sasuke's eyes widen slightly, much to Ashley's amusement.

He tilts his head down and tries to move his limbs, only to find that they are all pinned down, as if being held.

"I control the water Sasuke" Ashley murmurs quietly, a dark edge to her tone. "You're as good as drowned."

"Ashley!" Sakura cries out desperately, causing the girl to glance back over her shoulder, irritated by the interruption. Sakura stands with tears in her eyes, hands clasped together under her chin as she looks between the two cousins before her.

"Don't...." Sakura pleads softly, though she looks hesitant, as if unsure of what to do. Before she can say anything else however, a figure drops down between her and Ashley, his presence catching everyone by surprise.

"Ashley" Kakashi addresses, rising to his feet, "Stop it."

"Kakashi Sensei" the blonde replies, scoffing. "He deserves it for what he did."

"This isn't your fight" Kakashi insists, walking forwards. "Please Ashley, don't burden yourself with this task.......As your Sensei, you should leave this task to me."

"It's fine" Ashley growls, turning back around to glare hatefully at Sasuke. "I changed my mind. I want him dead now!"

Kakashi's visible eye widens as electricity begins to spark around Ashley's hands, supercharged by Hakuba's power. Despite having expressed her love for Sasuke all these years, it really seemed as if Ashley was going to kill him. Her love for Itachi had always been greater than her affection for Sasuke and losing him, however bad he may have been, was clearly too much for the Minami girl.

"Ashley, you're going to regret it" Kakashi presses, taking a few more steps forwards. "This isn't who you are.......And that power you're using.........I just don't want you to regret anything Ashley. Please, leave this burden to me...."

Ashley pauses at those words, the tails behind her waving slowly in thought. She scowls to herself, eyes flicking up to a half conscious Sasuke and back down.

'......I don't want you to regret anything either' Hakuba admits to Ashley, though he bares his teeth in an evil grin. 'However brat, if you want to kill him, I won't stop you.'

'.....I don't want any more regrets' Ashley replies internally. 'But I can't forgive this.....'

'He was a criminal, he killed your Father' Hakuba reminds Ashley, causing the girl's heart to thump in her chest. 'And you still love him so much, you would kill his brother? I will help if this is your wish, but I will admit, I am....confused......'

'So am I now' Ashley sighs.

"What would Naruto want?" Sakura asks tearfully, interrupting Ashley's thoughts and causing her eyes to widen. She bites her lower lip and then squeezes her eyes closed, as if she were in pain.

She was mad about Sasuke killing Itachi. Furious. In fact, Ashley couldn't remember the last time she'd been so angry at someone. The sudden desire to maim and kill Sasuke had been overwhelming.

But......Ashley also didn't want to make the wrong decision. Kakashi didn't want her to take on the task of killing Sasuke. Sakura clearly didn't want her to kill him either, and Naruto........What would he think of this situation?.......

With mixed feelings, Ashley lifts her head and glowers at Sasuke through half lidded eyes, dropping her arms back to her side. The movement causes the column of water holding Sasuke prisoner to drop back into the river below, dumping the boy onto his hands and knees.

He gasps for breath and immediately rises to his feet, returning Ashley's look with a hard expression. He watches as the black chakra surrounding his cousin's body quickly fades away, though her eyes retain their unnerving Mangekyo Sharingan colours.

"Too weak to go through with it" Sasuke mocks. "How unsurprising."

"You're alive right now because we share blood" Ashley states emotionlessly, still uncertain about her choice to let Sasuke live. "No other reason. If you try to hurt either of them though, I won't think twice about ripping your head from your body."

"You're defending them?" Sasuke asks, suddenly sounding annoyed. "They're just as guilty as everyone else. You should be standing over here and threatening them!"

"They've never betrayed me before" Ashley says flatly, brows furrowing slightly.

"You don't know anything" Sasuke laughs meanly, shaking his head.

"I hate having to repeat myself" Kakashi speaks up, nodding his head at Ashley to acknowledge her decision to back down, "But you need to stop with this obsession you have for revenge Sasuke."

Kakashi's expression hardens as the young Uchiha begins to laugh, an evil sound that vaguely reminds Ashley of Orochimaru. The thought alone causes her to scowl, although the fact that Sasuke is actually laughing disturbs her as well.

"Heh......First, bring back Itachi" Sasuke commands lowly. "Bring back my Mother, and my Father and my whole Clan! Bring all of them back, and then maybe I'll stop!"

"Bring Itachi....back?" Ashley asks, abruptly lifting her head and staring at Sasuke in confusion. "But why would you-"

"I don't want to have to kill you" Kakashi informs Sasuke, to which the boy smirks again.

"You think you can just kill me whenever you want huh?" Sasuke asks snidely. "Don't act like you're still my teacher Kakashi, that time passed long ago........I want to kill you so badly, I can practically taste it."

"Ashley made trying to kill you look pretty easy" the silver haired Jonin replies smartly, causing Sasuke to send the blonde an irritated look.

"She's not the real enemy right now" he says coldly. "She should be standing with me."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Ashley demands to know, frowning. "What's going on? Why do you want Itachi brought back if you killed him already?"

"I didn't kill him" Sasuke answers, looking to his Minami cousin with anger in his eyes. "The Leaf did."

"Huh?" Ashley asks, sending a strange look over to Kakashi, concern on her face.

"Sakura" the Jonin addresses, glancing back over his shoulder. "Take that girl with the red hair and heal her to the point of being able to talk. We need her for information."

"Kakashi Sensei......" the pinkette trails off. ".....What are you going to do?"

"I'll see this through" Kakashi says, sending his student a closed eye smile. "Don't you worry about that. Now, get going!"

Turning back around, Kakashi pushes up the tilted side of his Konoha headband, revealing his Sharingan eye.

"Lord Third always looked upon Orochimaru with affection, no matter how far he fell into the darkness" Kakashi recalls out loud, holding Sasuke's gaze. "I think I'm finally beginning to understand what he went through for all those years...."

"Then you'll have plenty to talk about when you join him" Sasuke answers, cracking his knuckles.

Still seemingly hesitant to leave her Sensei behind, Sakura reluctantly runs over to Karin and lifts her up, before disappearing off into a safer spot to begin healing the girl.

"The Sharingan is a symbol of the Uchiha" Sasuke informs his former Sensei, his anger growing. "You have no right to show it off and fight with it!"

That being said, Sasuke looks up and rushes towards Kakashi, his Mangekyo Sharingan activated. He wasn't in the mood to play around with his former allies and disposing of them would be fun.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Ashley can't help crying out, watching in horror as something forms behind Sasuke.

A huge creature, of humanoid form, rises out of seemingly nowhere in a matter of milliseconds, purple chakra flaring around its body. It releases a cold, malevolent energy that sends a shiver up Ashley's spine.

It pulls back one long arm, a spinning disc of what looks to be chakra forming in its palm. Opening its mouth, the evil looking creature throws its arm forwards, the chakra disc spinning through the air towards Kakashi at an incredible speed.

Just as the chakra is about to hit him, the Jonin's Sharingan suddenly changes, and the water in front of him immediately bursts up into the air, as if a bomb had gone off.

"So" Kakashi's voice is heard through the mist of the now falling water, "I suppose that's Susano'o?"

Ashley heaves a sigh of relief as her Sensei becomes visible once again, though she can't help wondering what had happened to Sasuke's attack. Where had it gone? How had Kakashi avoided such a fast projectile? And what was a Susano'o anyway?

"I can't believe that someone like you" Sasuke breathes heavily, looking disgusted, "Someone without Uchiha blood, was able to awaken the Mangekyou.....Your eye ability is the only thing that saved you from my Susano'o. Tell me, are you grateful to the Uchiha for giving you that power?"

'Kakashi's Sharingan saved him?' Ashley wonders, brows furrowing in confusion as she tilts her head back and slowly looks up at the creature standing behind Sasuke. 'What kind of ability could do that? And what is that thing?'

"Sasuke...." Kakashi begins softly, though his face is serious, "Your Clan and your hatred can't be the only things in your heart. Please, just look deep inside yourself one more time...."

"Still reciting the same old pleas" Sasuke mocks, smirking darkly as Kakashi hoods his eyes.

".....You know what's there" he responds in a low voice.

Kakashi and Ashley both watch as Sasuke's expression falls, his hands balling into fists down by his sides.

"They're......They're all.........laughing" he spits, the anger clear in his voice. "Everyone in the Leaf Village, they're all laughing it up, at the cost of Itachi's life! They're all laughing together in unison, with no idea of the price he paid for them!"

Kakashi's eyes widen as the creature behind Sasuke begins to morph into something even larger, clearly fueled by the Uchiha's rage. The water beneath Sasuke's feet grows rough, the face of his Susano'o contorting into that of a demon as its power increases further.

"All I hear in your laughter now is scorn and ridicule!" Sasuke thunders, dark shadows dancing across his face as the demon behind him continues to grow. "But I'll change it! I'll change everyone's laughter into screams of anguish!"

"Hakuba" Ashley addresses out loud, bending her knees and bracing herself to attack. She wasn't going to let Sasuke kill Kakashi. Not on her life.

'I am ready' the Demon Wolf obliges, completely unfazed by Sasuke's Susano'o. Compared to the Sage of Six Paths, this boy's power was nothing. He didn't worry Hakuba in the slightest.

Before anyone can react however, Sasuke suddenly doubles over and throws both hands over his face. Blood seeps between his shaking fingers, the Susano'o behind him abruptly reverting back from its new powerful form.

It continues to change and shrink in size, becoming nothing more than a mere skeleton, before vanishing completely, as if it had never been there.

"What the......" Kakashi asks under his breath, still on high alert as Sasuke slowly straightens up and uncovers his face.

Smeared blood stains the boy's cheeks, his eyes wide and unfocused. He carefully turns his head around, seeming to take in his surroundings. He immediately scowls and rubs at his eyes again, blood still seeping from them.

"His Sharingan isn't activated anymore" Ashley notes to herself, scowling, when she suddenly notices something that makes her heart stop. "Sakura, no!"

The pinkette glares down at the back of Sasuke's head, perched upside down from the crumbling bridge he and Danzo had destroyed in their earlier fight.

Releasing the chakra from the soles of her feet, Sakura drops down onto the water below and steels herself, pulling out a kunai and aiming right for Sasuke's back. If she aimed just right and used the correct amount of chakra to fuel her attack, Sakura would be able to stab the Uchiha right through his heart, even from behind.

Right as the girl is about to kill her ex teammate however, she comes to a sudden halt, the tip of the kunai just barely touching her target's back. Tears form in Sakura's eyes as she hangs her head, arms shaking.

She couldn't do it. No matter what she's said to Naruto earlier that day, Sakura just couldn't bring herself to kill the person she'd always loved. Even now, after everything he'd done.

Ashley instantly darts forwards when she sees Sakura refuse to finish Sasuke off, black chakra already forming around her skin once again. Her body was going to be in a lot of pain later and she would regret using Hakuba's power twice in such a short space of time, but that didn't matter right now. Saving her friend was all that mattered.

Taking advantage of Sakura's hesitation, Sasuke whirls around and jabs his hand into the girl's throat. He lifts the pinkette up into the air and snatches the kunai from her hands, now brandishing it at her throat.

"Sasuke, don't!" Kakashi shouts desperately, running forwards despite the fact that he still hasn't fully recovered from using his Sharingan's ability to warp objects away. "Dammit...."

Before Ashley can save Sakura, someone suddenly slides in between the pinkette and Sasuke, whisking her out of his grasp. Having seen the flash of blonde hair, Ashley focuses her attention on a surprised Sasuke, crashing into him with her shoulder.

With a loud crack as the girl collides with him, Sasuke soars backwards through the air and crashes straight into the bridge, knocking some of the bricks loose.

He glowers at the Minami, despite his now wavering vision, before jumping back down onto the water. Ashley, crouched on all fours, bares her sharp teeth and releases a warning growl, two tails waving back and forth behind her.

"I warned you" she says eerily, a third tail already beginning to form behind her. "I'm going to kill you for trying to hurt them Sasuke...."

Sasuke narrows his eyes in an effort to focus better, able to sense Ashley's chakra increasing, but not quite able to see it darkening around her skin like a suit of armour.

"You've got even better timing than me Naruto" Kakashi sighs with relief, glancing over his shoulder as the blonde boy gently sets Sakura down. "I didn't expect you to be here, but I'm glad you are. We've got a bad situation here, especially with Ashley unexpectedly turning up and loosing her cool like this...."

"Th-Thank you Naruto" Sakura finally manages to say, looking from him over to Ashley, her tears beginning to dry. "We have to stop Ashley. "We can't let her-"

"I'll take care of Ashley-chan" Naruto interrupts confidently, his expression solemn, "And Sasuke too. She doesn't need to do this.......She doesn't want to."

Suddenly releasing a thunderous roar that causes the water around her to ripple, Ashley rushes forwards on all fours, bounding towards an injured Sasuke with her jaws wide open. The blonde, barely visible now beneath her coat of black chakra, launches herself up at her cousin before he has so much as a chance to react.

Her clawed hands pushing against his shoulders, Ashley tackles Sasuke backwards, sending the both of them below the water with a loud splash. She snaps at his face wildly, with Sasuke struggling to hold the girl back.

"Are you sure about that Naruto?" Kakashi asks doubtfully, watching as Ashley bursts back above the water and lands on top of it, her glowing eyes narrowed down at the Uchiha below. "Because it certainly looks as though she wants to."

"She's just angry Kakashi Sensei" Naruto argues, walking forwards. "And she's hurt. I saw Ashley's Wolves before, and they told me she thinks Sasuke killed Itachi."

Sakura's green eyes widen as Ashley opens her mouth, a ball of chakra beginning to form in front of it, just as Sasuke finally manages to surface, gasping for a breath of air.

"Naruto!" Sakura cries, jumping to her feet. "Do something!"

"Ashley-chan!" the blonde shouts, still walking forwards. "You have to stop!"

Chakra still forming in front of her open mouth, Ashley slowly turns her head to look at Naruto, the long ears of her chakra cloak lying backwards. She snarls in protests, small bursts of dark aura flaring up around her.

"Ashley-chan" Naruto continues gently, smiling at his friend, "I know you're angry and I know that you're hurting, but I also know that you don't wanna do this. You don't hate Sasuke, you love him. He's your family. We should be trying to save him, don't you think?"

Ashley lifts her head at this, a conflicted expression on her face. Casting her glowing eyes over to Sasuke, she watches as the Uchiha climbs to his feet, his own dark eyes narrowed at her dangerously.

"Sasuke is our friend and a member of Team Seven" Naruto pushes, "Whether he likes it or not. We gotta give him another chance Ashley-chan. If you want him dead.........At least leave the burden to me. I don't want you to have to be the one."

"In case you've forgotten" Sasuke interrupts, smirking once again, "I'm an ex member."

"Ashley!" Naruto shouts urgently, just as the girl turns and growls at Sasuke once again. "Please. Let me deal with Sasuke......Please? I'll do it for you."

Watching Naruto from the corner of her eye for a few moments, Ashley releases a low sigh, the chakra forming in front of her quickly fading away. Though turning to keep an eye on Sasuke, Ashley slowly stalks over to Naruto on all fours and rises up into a hunched stance beside him, three tails still flickering agitatedly behind her.

"Thank you Ashley-chan" Naruto says appreciatively, before leaning closer to whisper in her ear. "But you gotta stop using your Demon's chakra. What if Sasuke figures it out and tells someone?"

Her mouth closed, Ashley growls again, slowly shaking her head from side to side and narrowing her red eyes at Sasuke. While she trusted Naruto to do the right thing, Ashley wasn't about to sit back and watch on.

If Naruto needed help, Ashley was going to be the one to give it.

"Can you see now Naruto?" Kakashi asks, sounding a little sad. "Sasuke isn't the same person anymore."

"......Sasuke" the blonde male addresses, ignoring his Sensei.

"What?" the Uchiha snaps back, aggravated immensely by Naruto's presence.

"I don't know if I believe him or not" Naruto admits, "But Tobi told me the truth about Itachi, and now, I understand why you did what you did!"

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke all look to Naruto with surprise, not having expected his words. Ashley stares at the blonde, her glowing eyes round and filled with confusion, as well as suspicion.

First Sasuke had said something about knowing the truth about Itachi, and now Naruto had said it too. What did they mean by the truth? And why was Naruto now sympathizing with Sasuke like this? What weren't they telling Ashley about her beloved older cousin?!

".....I've said this to you before" Sasuke says in a low, cold tone. "You never had siblings or parents. You never had anyone, so how could an outsider like you possibly understand me?!"

"All this time, Naruto has had so much faith in you Sasuke!" Sakura shouts. "No matter what anyone else said about you, Naruto has always defended you. Even now....."

"Heh, just moments ago, I finally got revenge on one of the people who betrayed Itachi" Sasuke grins evilly, completely ignoring Sakura. "One of the most important people in the Leaf, Danzo...."

"Danzo?" Kakashi repeats incredulously. How had Sasuke managed to defeat someone as shady and powerful as him?

"It was a high unlike anything I've ever felt" Sasuke chuckles, continuing, "Like I was finally cleansing the name of the Uchiha from the stigma that has plagued it for all of these years. In a sense, this is what the Leaf Village has always wanted. After rejecting my Clan for so many generations, I'm finally going to wipe it from all of your memories."

'Rejecting the Clan?' Ashley can't help wondering, suddenly beginning to feel very uneasy. What was going on? She didn't like not understanding the situation, especially if her cousins and other members of her heritage were involved.

"I'll kill every last one of you until the Leaf is crushed forever!" Sasuke laughs coldly. "Any link to the Uchiha name will be severed and we will be purified! That is how I'll revive my Clan!"

Ashley can't help growling as soon as Sasuke turns his eyes on her, a crazy look flashing behind the darkness of them.

"Do you hear me Ashley?" he asks patronizingly. "Stand with the Leaf, and I'll destroy you as well for betraying your Clan!"

Ashley snarls back at Sasuke, raising her clawed hands as a warning that she will fight him if need be. He hadn't acknowledged her as an Uchiha before, so why should she side with him now just because it was convenient for him?

He'd probably try to kill her as soon as he achieved his goal.

Just as Naruto performs a clone Jutsu, readying himself to fight Sasuke, Kakashi steps forwards and holds out one hand.

"I want all of you to leave" the Jonin orders. "This is my job."

"But Kakashi Sens-"

"Sakura, I won't want any of you to have to watch this" Kakashi interrupts the pink haired girl. "The kind of poisoned kunai you've learned to make from Shizune won't kill Sasuke. I'm sure Orochimaru would have made sure that he's immune to most poisons.....And besides, we've seen that you can't handle this."

"Are.....Are you going to kill Sasuke?" Naruto asks lowly.

"Leave" Kakashi reiterates sternly, to which Ashley bares her teeth. "I don't care that you're a Jonin Ashley, you're doing what I order you to do today. There's no room for argument."

"You've left him vulnerable!" Sasuke shouts, racing towards the Leaf Ninja with chakra powered lighting dancing up and down his arm. "I won't hesitate for one second!"

Suddenly darting forwards, Naruto shoulders past Kakashi and runs to meet Sasuke head on, a Rasengan already gleaming in his palm.

As Ashley moves to run forwards as well, not wanting Naruto to get hurt, his two clones suddenly dive on top of her, holding her down. They grit their teeth as the girl's chakra burns at their skin, but refuse to let go, despite her struggling.

In an instant, Sasuke and Naruto clash, with everything falling absolutely silent, as a bright ball of white light forms around them. Suddenly, there is a tremendous explosion, blasting water high into the air and destroying even more of the huge bridge.

Everyone is violently thrown back from the blast, with Kakashi somehow managing to leap up and catch Naruto in mid air as he is flung away from the impact as well.

Water rains down on everyone as Sakura slowly sits up and sighs with relief as she spots Kakashi with Naruto, while Ashley climbs back on top of the water. She'd been pushed under by the blast, whilst Naruto's clones had been blown backwards.

The girl places one hand to the side of her head, only two tails protruding from her chakra cloak now. That had been one impressive blast.

"Hey, why is the Akatsuki here?" Naruto demands to know, looking up. "I swear that guy is from the Akatsuki!"

"Akatsuki?" Ashley asks, able to talk again now that she is only in her second tailed form. "I've never seen him before....."

"No matter how you look at it" the strange man says to Sasuke, who is kneeling beside him, catching his breath, "We're in trouble here."

Ashley can't help frowning at the man, finding him somewhat disturbing to look at. With deathly white skin, half a face and the arm on his right side missing, the man almost looked as though he'd been chopped in half. If he had been in the Akatsuki when Ashley had been there, she'd certainly have remembered someone as odd as him.

"Naruto" Kakashi scolds, "I told you to get out of here!"

"......I'm certain of it now" the blonde replies lowly, watching Sasuke through half lidded eyes. The Uchiha stares right back, despite his faltering vision.

"Why is there a Tailed Beast here?" the white man beside Sasuke suddenly asks, causing Ashley to freeze. "Isn't that the girl that tried to join the Akatsuki? Ashley something..."

"I-I'm no Tailed Beast" Ashley responds nervously, though she tries to cover her nerves by baring her teeth.

"Well, that certainly looks like a Tailed Beast form to me" the man answers back nonchalantly. "But how could that be? We already know who the Jinchuuriki of the nine Tailed Beasts are. So what exactly are you?"

'Allow me to work at full power' Hakuba urges inside Ashley's mind, his eyes glowing with anticipation, 'And I will destroy him so he can never tell anyone of this discover-'

"Ashley's not a Jinchuuriki" Naruto speaks up confidently. "I lent her some of my Nine Tails' power earlier."

"You gave her the power of a Tailed Beast?" the strange man asks dubiously. "I didn't think that was possible."

"Well it is" Naruto lies, rising to his feet. He turns to Ashley, staring into her eyes in the hopes that she'll understand what he's trying to do. "Ashley-chan, it's time to give me back my power. I'll need it if I'm going to be fighting them."

Ashley stares back at Naruto uncertainly, eyes flicking down as he reaches out his arm and places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up into Naruto's blue eyes, only to watch as they close, his head tilting down slightly. The blonde's fingers grip Ashley's shoulder tightly as her chakra stings his skin, trying to pretend he's not feeling any pain.

'......Thank you for your help Hakuba' Ashley says in her mind, before closing her eyes as well. The black chakra surrounding her body begins to fade away as Hakuba ceases to give Ashley any more energy, understanding the situation.

He didn't like having to pretend that he was relinquishing power to the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails, but if he didn't, then this alleged Akatsuki member would realize Ashley's secret and she'd be in great danger.

"Thank you Ashley-chan" Naruto smiles after a few moments of silence, before turning away to focus on Sasuke again.

Ashley stares after the blonde however, eyes wavering slightly. Even in a situation as tense and possibly life threatening as this, Naruto could still find time to think of his friends' safety.

Why Sasuke ever thought she would side against Naruto was beyond her.....

".....So that's why you looked like him....." Sasuke murmurs, more to himself than anyone else. "When did he learn to do that?....."

Suddenly sensing something to his left, Sasuke glances up, only to see a small black hole swirling. A tall man soon appears out of the black hole, tilting his masked face downwards.

Ashley feels the hair on the back of her neck stand on end at the sight of the man, her eyes narrowing and her lips automatically pulling back into an irritated snarl.

Tobi. The most aggravating person Ashley had ever met. Why was he even here? And since when could he do that?

"I thought I told you to come back and rest" Tobi says to Sasuke, only to look up and see his audience. "Ah, the Nine Tails.......Oh. And Ashley-chan too. How nice to see you again."

"Don't you dare call me that!" Ashley snaps back, unable to control her tongue. "I had hoped to never see you agai- Wait.........Why do you sound so different now? You don't sound as.....as idiotic as before."

"Oh Ashley" Tobi chuckles tauntingly. "Anyone can play the part of a fool. But perhaps, you're the fool for believing my act?"

"I knew there was something off about you" Ashley hisses. "I never liked you...."

"I'm hurt" Tobi replies, placing one hand over his heart. "You say you never liked me, yet I love you Ashley-chan."

"What?" Ashley whispers, struggling to maintain her temper. "What'd you just say?!"

"You have no right to say things like that to her!" Sakura shouts at the masked man, as Kakashi slowly looks between Tobi and his blonde student. "You don't even know Ashley!"

It seemed so out of character for the man to say things like this, especially after the talk he'd had with Yamato, Naruto and Kakashi himself. Why was he speaking like this to Ashley?

"Oh contraire" Tobi mocks, shaking one finger. "I know her far better than any of you, however, I did not come here for a happy reuinion. For now, we are retreating. When we do fight, it will be in a much more suitable place."

"I'm not done with you yet!" Ashley shouts angrily, taking one step forwards, only to pause when Tobi holds up his hand.

"That's unfortunate Ashley-chan" he says coolly, "Because for now, I am done with you. And Zetsu, I can see that you're eager to try and fight the Nine Tails yourself, but you're not exactly a front line fighter and his power is too much. We'll leave that hunt to Sasuke, shall we? That will be much more entertaining."

"Sasuke" Naruto speaks up, watching as Tobi crouches beside Sasuke in an effort to help him get up and leave.

"Naruto....."

"I know Kakashi Sensei" the blonde says, "But first there's something I wanna say to Sasuke."

Pausing as Tobi helps him to his feet, Sasuke raises his eyes, a blank expression on his face.

".......Wait a minute" the Uchiha orders Tobi, his tone as cold as ice.

"Do you remember our fight in the Valley of the End, all those years ago?" Naruto inquires. "Do you remember what you told me about top class Ninja being able to understand each other with their fists?"

Sasuke merely blinks at this, though Naruto is sure the Uchiha knows exactly what he's talking about.

"Well" Naruto continues, walking forwards. "We're both top class Ninja now, so tell me. Did you see what was in my heart? Did you see what's going to happen?......If we fight again, we're both going to die."

Sakura lets out a gasp at this proclamation, as Ashley turns to give her blonde teammate an uneasy look. Why did he have to say that so determinedly.........And why would Naruto have to die?

"Our battle will be inevitable if you really do decide to attack the Leaf" Naruto assures his old friend. "So you can keep your hatred and let it fester, so that you can hit me with it at full force. I'm the only one who can bear the full extend of your hatred, so I will bear it and we'll die together!"

".....What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sasuke can't help shouting, feeling both infuriated and confused. "Why do you care about me so much?!"

"Because I'm your friend" Naruto replies honestly. "You and I will never be able to fully understand each other through words alone. I knew that from the moment we met. The only way we can communicate properly is with our fists! Remember, we're both top class Ninja now. I haven't given up yet!"

That said, Naruto lets out a laugh and runs a hand through his hair, jovial as usual.

"So anyway, I'm done ranting at you" the blonde grins. "Hell, I'm not the kind of person who should be lecturing anyone. Heh, if we really do take this thing right to the end and both die, we won't be Uchiha, Jinchuuriki, or anything anymore....No more burdens to bear."

"I will never change" Sasuke announces, his expression darkening, "And I don't want us to understand each other. You will be the one who dies, not me!"

"That's enough Naruto" Kakashi says gently. "I'll take care of Sasuke. You still have your dream of becoming the Hokage, so don't let Sasuke drag you down to-"

"How could I even think about calling myself the Hokage if I can't even save one friend?" Naruto counters seriously. "The only person who will be fighting Sasuke, is me."

"......Fine, have it your way" Sasuke says with a smirk. "I'll just kill you first."

"Heh, so you still haven't recognized me as an equal" Naruto responds, mouth pulled up at the side.

"Okay fine, Sasuke is all yours" Kakashi concedes, before turning his head and whispering to Sakura. "Sakura, take care of my body okay?"

"Don't even bother Kakashi" Tobi sighs. "Techniques like that aren't going to work on me. Surely you know that by now."

"Tch......" Kakashi pauses in his attack, knowing he can't do anything if Tobi is already expecting it. He'd tried to use his Mangekyou on the man before, but to no avail....

"Oh and Ashley-chan" Tobi addresses, immediately putting the girl on edge again. "Because I care for you so much, I've decided to tell you a little story before I leave."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say" Ashley shoots back hotly, to which Tobi sighs.

"But you seemed so in the dark through this whole fight" Tobi says sadly. "I just want you to know the truth about poor Itachi as well, seeing as everyone else already knows."

"Huh?" Ashley asks innocently, before vehemently shaking her head. "No! I don't want to hear any of your lies!"

"Oh, but I'm not a liar Ashley-chan" Tobi assures the girl. "Itachi, now he was a great liar."

".........What do you mean by that?" Ashley asks suspiciously.

"Why don't you just let us tell her?" Kakashi interrupts, not wanting the blonde to get angry again.

"No" Tobi replies sternly. "She doesn't need to hear your sugar coated version. She should know the whole truth, just like Sasuke."

"Ashley's not like Sasuke" Kakashi argues, though he can't help sending his student a worried look. Well, he certainly hoped she wasn't going to be like Sasuke...

"I'm not sure how well you know your Uchiha Clan history Ashley" Tobi begins ominously, clearly wanting to start trouble, "But we were hated from the very beginning. We were looked down upon the moment the Leaf Village was formed and our rivals, the Senju Clan, took over."

"We weren't hated" Ashley corrects, "Itachi once told me that Madara Uchiha caused trouble in the Leaf Village and-"

"Itachi would tell a young child such a thing" Tobi sighs, "But I wasn't trying to cause trouble okay? I was trying to help my fellow Clan members see that we weren't being treated right!"

"You weren't trying to cause trouble?" Ashley repeats, scowling. "You? You're not Madara Uchiha, that's impossible!"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Madara Uchiha was the one who originally went to the Land of Ambience to-" Ashley suddenly cuts her sentence short, not wanting to speak of the appearance of the Ten Tails to an Akatsuki member.

For all they knew, the Ten Tails was still sealed in the Moon. There was no way this man was the real Madara, he was far, far to young! And if he was somehow the real Madara then he'd know the Ten Tails had been in the Land of Ambience, and then he might suspect Ashley....

"The Land of Ambience to what?" Tobi asks, genuinely sounding curious.

"It.....It doesn't matter" Ashley mutters, hooding her eyes and avoiding eye contact. "You're not Madara Uchiha. He's far too old to be alive today."

"It's amazing what Jutsu can do" Madara chuckles darkly. "Fine, I'll let you keep your little secret for now and tell you the rest of the story. Due to my beliefs, I was banished from the Leaf Village as my own Clan decided I was only out to start a war."

"I took on the new role of an avenger and fought with the First Hokage myself, only to lose. The place of my defeat became known as the Valley of the End. Everyone believed I died there, including Hashirama Senju, and from then on, I just faded from people's minds."

"To deter anyone from following in my example, the Second Hokage assigned our Clan the role of the Military Police Force as a sign of good faith. But that was merely done to keep us out of government affairs. Our Clan was grouped together so it would be easier to keep an eye on them. Some of the Clan finally noticed what was happening and wanted to stage a rebellion, as I had in the past. But by then, it was too late....."

".....This story is pointless" Ashley speaks up, feeling irritated. "I get it, the Uchiha weren't well liked. But so what? A lot of us weren't liked. None of this has anything to do with Itachi and I'm getting sick of listening to-"

"Don't be so quick to rush to conclusions Ashley-chan" Tobi says playfully, much to the blonde's aggravation. "I'm getting there, I'm getting there. I just want you to understand how far back the suffering of the Uchiha Clan goes, before I get to the really sad part."

"Everything I'd tried to warn the Uchiha about, came true. Over the years, the Senju became more powerful and the once mighty Uchiha became nothing more than their playthings. But finally, the last straw that sealed the fate of our entire Clan happened sixteen years ago. Seeing as you're not from the Leaf Village, you may not know much about it........The attack of the Nine Tailed Fox."

"I don't know if you're aware, but only the eye techniques of the Sharingan are able to control the Nine Tails, and so the Leaf Village's elders all suspected that an Uchiha was behind the horrible attack. In actuality however, this was untrue. It was merely a natural disaster, but the seeds of doubt had already been sown and they believed that the Uchiha were trying to take over."

'A natural disaster?' Ashley wonders skeptically, glancing over at a solemn looking Naruto. 'If the Nine Tails was sealed inside of a person before it was sealed into Naruto, then how could this be a natural disaster? Someone must have freed it......'

"A few ANBU were no longer sufficient enough surveillance and so the Uchiha's land was moved to a remote corner of the Village. Basically, they had been quarantined. The Third Hokage was the only one to voice any disapproval, but the elders and Danzo overruled him. No one trusted the Uchiha and the discrimination began. As you can imagine, being treated so poorly led to a lot of bad blood and eventually, the Leaf's suspicions came true."

"The Uchiha Clan came together to form a coup d'etat, and when the Leaf got wind of it, they wanted a spy to be planted amongst the Clan...........Do you see where I'm going with this?"

".......I......Itachi was the spy?" Ashley asks slowly, realization slowly dawning on her. This whole story, was the point of it to prove that all along, Itachi had been a spy for the Leaf Village?!

"No" Madara states firmly, shaking his head. "They didn't choose Itachi.........They chose your Father."

Awwww shiieeeeeeet!