Designed For War...But Not Meant For It (Itachi Uchiha Story) Info.

Chapter 3

To begin with, the Akatsuki had seen it like a lot of people outside of the Hoshi valley; as a legend, and nothing more—even if the power would have been something they really would have liked to have had. They’d heard a vague story of it much farther afield from Hoshi valley; little details from people who’d been to one of the villages and overheard someone talking about it. But it wasn’t until Pein passed nearby the valley that he finally discovered there was a lot more to the story than he first thought.

Namely, that it was real.

When he had stopped to get something to eat and drink, there had been a conversation between a child and his father; and he had asked about the war that had taken place. Pein hadn’t taken much notice; he knew about the war, and that it was a bit of a taboo subject in the valley, considering how much damage had been done. Outside, and to people who didn’t originally come from the valley, however, and it wasn’t as bad a topic to talk about. So the father spoke of what he knew; of how it had all begun because Seifu wanted to rule over the whole valley, and so did the other village. Then, naturally, he had told of the power that had been fought over; how anyone and everyone wanted control of it, and whoever had had control over it had gained the upper hand in the war.

“Of course, the power was just to scare people—it wasn’t really how it seem—”

“It was real; true, no one’s alive to tell the full story…but it was real.” A sudden voice spoke up from the other side of the room, and Pein couldn’t help but listen in, abruptly interested in how this was now going. Before he hadn’t passed a thought to it, knowing it was a story, and nothing more. But the idea that it might actually be real...that the power might actually exist...he couldn’t think of anything else.

The man who had spoken up revealed his father had fought in the war, but had been pulled out a few days before it ended because of severe injuries. He had spent so long in a coma that by the time he had woken up, it had all been over. The circumstances of the war had been strange—even he himself knew that—and his father revealed that it was because of this power. Just like most people, he didn’t know what form this power took, but gathered it was some kind of scroll with the knowledge of the power inside of it; or a weapon that contained the power within.

 For Pein, it didn’t matter. He listened in on the rest of the conversation, absorbing all useful information that he could utilize later on, and then spent the rest of his time there thinking. The exact location of the power was unknown; the exact form of the power was unknown, but there were only so many forms it could take. If he could find this guy’s father; talk to him and discover any more information about the power—where it might be now, for instance—then the chance to increase the Akatsuki’s arsenal might just be in front of him. The nature of this power in the stories he’d heard had almost been stupid to him—like it wasn’t possible in the real world. A mere fantasy made to ease the wound the war had left on the valley.

He knew enough about trying to do that.

But now...now he knew better. Know he knew that the power he had thought was the creation of exaggerated and emphasised abilities heard of through rumours from the ninja villages was true. A power that would be limitless and destructive. With who they were and what their goal was, the Akatsuki could never not be without power; and with most people considering it a legend, what competition would there be to go after it? Pein couldn’t help but smirk to himself slightly at that. It was perfect. The only thing that stopped him from doing anything else was the doubt that abruptly flickered into his mind. If he had known better, it might have been too good to be true. So finishing his drink, he stood and headed over to the man who had spoken.

He needed to know everything.

A little while later and he headed back to the hideout, straight through to where he knew Konan was, and told her the plan. She herself had been unsure of it all, taking the fact it had been a legend mere minutes ago into account, but the look in Pein’s eyes said it all. It was true. And he was going after it. Whether he had to scour the battlefield with a hairnet to find what he was looking for, he’d do it.

Because the more he found out about it; the more he realised how valuable it was.

The next day and their original plan had altered; they instead looked for all the other members; contacting them to meet together as close as they could. Luckily enough, it didn’t take as long as they had all thought, though Pein was beginning to get impatient—but he knew he needed them. It was going to be hard enough finding it with all of them there, let alone if he had been doing so alone. So he forced himself to be calm, smirking triumphantly as the last of the organization assembled themselves in front of him, and taking up a stance in front of them all, he relayed the same thing he had told Konan.

Immediately they had headed to Hoshi valley, sticking to the villages to begin with. True, they could have just found out where the battlefield was and started off straight away, but if there was anything to hinder their search, Pein wanted to know it. Most villages away from the valley still thought of it as legend; a mindset that was instantly lost the moment you got into the outskirts of the area, inside the villages nearest to the valley border. All of them pointed out the power was real, but apart from giving more details about the war, no more information was given about the power.

So they continued on, passing right into the heart of the valley and into the village where Pein knew the man’s father lived. Asking around there, and immediately they hit the jackpot, as the man revealed that the power still existed; and no doubt could still be obtained now, even after all that had happened. So a succession of quick questions followed on after that; who could they go to; talk to, in order to find out whether it was a scroll or a weapon; or more importantly, where the power might just be?

After that, things didn’t go quite as smoothly.

It was only then that they were told that there was only one person who had fought in the war that day and had survived; only she knew would know where the power might be and how they would be able to get it: Kiken. That fact in itself wasn’t something many villagers liked to speak about; with all the violence that had appeared during the war, the idea that she was the last one standing didn’t help them feel any better. In fact, the man they were talking to was about the only one who didn’t share the same view—he had seen some horrible stuff back then, and he wasn’t about to treat someone who had been there all the way through like the rest of the villagers; luckily enough for the Akatsuki.

There was just one problem with this streak of luck—she didn’t live in the valley anymore. Not only that, but she travelled a lot, just like they did. Pinpointing her was going to be a little more difficult now, and for some—*ahem* Hidan—it meant more effort. Itachi didn’t really feel the same way. From what he had heard about the war, it had been a terrible and bloody one, and the idea of wanting to get away from the place after being the only one who survived the entire thing...it seemed like a perfectly feasible idea, and one he would no doubt he would have carried out as well.

So when Pein stated they were going to find her first...

Itachi had no protestations in the slightest.