Naruto's Betrayal: "You Thought Sasuke Was Bad?"

Naruto P.O.V.

It had been a few hours before I finally made it to the hideout of the Akatsuki. My hands and face were covered in Rock Lee's blood, and my head was still pounding from his powerful kick. A few minutes after I had my encounter with Lee, two members of the Akatsuki came to lead me to their base. On the left, Kisame. On the right, Itachi. Kisame turned to Itachi with a small smirk.

"He looks like hell, Itachi... Is he broken or somethin?"

Itachi ignored him, kneeling down to me and looking intent into my eyes. After a moment, he spoke. His voice was cold and clinical and I was starting to shake from fear and exhaustion.

"Naruto... I see you've finally left the Hidden Leaf... Is this your blood?"

I shook my head, our gazes unwavering.

"Not mine... A friend of mine I... I killed him."

I expected him to smile, and congratulate me for what I'd done... But he didn't. He lifted his hand and slapped me across the face. I fell to the ground with a thud, the red hand mark immediately visible on my face as the world around me spun. Itachi stood up, talking to Kisame for a moment before the tall blue man picked me up and started carrying me on his shoulder. I fell unconscious after a few moments, my cheek still stinging from Itachi's attack.

When I woke up, I was laying next to a small body of water. The sound of Itachi's voice made me wish I was still asleep. I tried to keep my eyes closed so they wouldn't notice I'd awoken, but it didn't work. Itachi looked at me, and a small smirk appeared on his face.

"You're awake. Good. We wanted to ask your opinion on something."

I sat up, becoming lightheaded for a moment before responding.

"W-what about?"

Itachi looked toward the direction we came from, closing his eyes for a moment before turning back to me.

"I sense some shinobi following us. Three. We believe they were sent by the Hokage as well... What would you like us to do about them?"

A lot of questions began to run through my head after he asked me that... But the one I couldn't stop thinking about was what Sasuke would have done in this situation. After a moment of silence, I smirked.

"Kill them. I don't care who they are or what they're after... None of those people mean anything to me anymore."

Itachi nodded, once again turning to Kisame.

"You heard him Kisame. Go. If you're not back by sundown I'll come after you personally."

Kisame looked at Itachi and nodded before once again looking back to me.

"Your hatred might just be as strong as Itachi's kid... You've definitely got potential."

And, with that, Kisame ran off in the direction we had come from.

I slowly regained my footing after a moment, following Itachi as he led me into the Akatsuki base.

A FEW HOURS LATER

I woke up in a daze, nearly forgetting the events from earlier in the day. My headache had finally passed, and my eyes slowly adjusted to my new home. The room was ominous and empty... Just candles to illuminate the barren stone walls and ceiling. Aside from me there were 8 others there at the moment, each of them staring me down with a palpable sense of bloodlust. I slowly sat up, reaching for a kunai from my pack before a familiar voice broke the silence.

"Oh... You're awake. Good."

Itachi appeared at the entrance to the hideout, his robes slightly ripped, and his voice giving a slight hint of irritation. He slowly walked toward me, kneeling down to meet my eyes.

"I ran into the shinobi who were following us. A young boy, a girl about your age... and that boy from the Hidden Sand."

My eyes widened at the mention of Gaara... And the young boy couldn't be anybody but Konohamaru... And a girl my age... Itachi's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"They killed Sakura. I found her dead..."

My heart stopped. My vision went blurry and my hands began to shake. The only reason I came to this place was for Sakura... To be able to see her again while also getting revenge on the Hidden Leaf Village... But they...

I felt my blood begin to boil, and the red chakra began to form around my hands. My breathing was quickened to an almost impossible speed, and I sprang to my feet with balled fists.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY? I'LL KILL ALL OF THEM. THOSE BASTARDS... THEY..."

A swift chop to the back of my neck sent me to the floor with a thud. My face connected with the cold stone floor, and Itachi spoke to me with his hand still raised.

"I understand your anger. Sakura was a great student of mine... However, now isn't the time to retaliate. We must cultivate your skills. Refine your chakra and help you master the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of you. Only then can you avenge yourself... And avenge Sakura."