Bring the Hammer Down

16

Itachi turned slowly to look at the angelic figure behind him and his eyes widened slightly when he beheld the boy's full presence. The wings, splayed out for display, gave him a frightening appearance and yet, a calming one as well. The eyes, though, are what caused him the most trouble. He'd gone up against the three greatest doujutsu in the world, but nothing prepared him for the glowing silver eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. He shivered slightly, the only sign of his discomfort.

Naruto eyed the Uchiha warily. The man's eyes weren't transformed to the Mangekyo or the normal Sharingan, but he was still dangerous. Naruto flapped his wings in annoyance and narrowed his eyes when Itachi's eyes wavered slightly.

"Drop the genjutsu around your eyes Itachi. I thought you said no deception."

Itachi's mouth quirked slightly as he let the illusion fade.

"We're shinobi, Naruto-kun. Deception is our trade. Tell me, what has happened to you?"

Naruto remained motionless, his eyes trained anywhere but the Uchiha.

"I don't wish to talk about it."

"Was it the Kyuubi?"

"No."

"I see."

Silence reigned between them until Naruto became impatient again.

"What do you want Itachi? I don't have all night."

The Uchiha made a show of ignoring him and Naruto soon tired of the game. He turned to walk away, his wings fluttering slightly as they folded back to their prone position.

"I want to test myself...at my fullest potential...against you...at your fullest potential."

Naruto stopped walking and turned around slowly, still not facing Itachi.

"And how do you propose we do that? I constantly have you and the Akatsuki after me and you always have Sasuke on your tail. We can't just fight for the sake of fighting, we'll both be killed. And I thought you were a genius..."

"And I thought you had become smarter. I'm proposing we join forces."

Not even crickets dared to chirp as the heavy thunder of silence rolled over the monument.

"What?"

"I propose we form an alliance. I help you covertly get rid of the Akatsuki, one by one, and you help me attain what I desire from Sasuke."

"And that is?"

"His eyes."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow and scowled. He already knew the answer, but wanted to see what he could wheedle out of Itachi.

"Why?"

"That is for me to know. You just need to agree to the circumstances. Once all of our obstacles are out of the way, I desire a one on one fight, on neutral ground, to see how far our limits can go."

"That's insane."

Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly and his voice became a little harsh.

"Excuse me?"

"That's insane. You're talking about wiping out the most powerful ninjas in the world. My mission is to rid the world of Orochimaru and Uchiha Madara. I don't have time for your petty delusions of grandeur."

"...how do you know about Madara?"

Naruto cursed himself for a fool. That was a slip up that he shouldn't have made. Now Itachi would be suspicious. Instantly, the Uchiha was before him, his hand wrapped around Naruto's throat.