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

Chapter 24.

At least that was one of the good things about being in a small valley like Hoshi valley.

The population was made up of mostly normal civilians; with normal, simple jobs. Even if there were those who wanted to become ninjas, they either left, or once they had become one, they used it as a second job only. Ultimately, that meant there was no one to revolt if something was going on that would take over the valley. If there was a plan to create tyranny that would engulf everything there, no one would have the skills in order to do anything about it.

As such, Seifu's son didn’t really feel the need to keep his plan from anyone.

Now they had Kiken. She was locked up in a cell back at the mansion, and no one could get to her—she was safe from other villagers trying to take her. None of them were even going to attempt to do anything, and they merely wandered around their village, casually bragging about all that was to come. Their power now overtook anyone within the valley and miles outside of it, and there wasn’t anything any of them could do about it. It would only take them a couple of months and they would be able to build up a group of ninjas, and from there they could extend their hold on the land. The Hoshi valley name would once again have glory associated with it; it would gain respect from the villages around it.

Naturally, however, the villagers weren’t exactly too pleased with this.

The war had been the source of enough problems; caused a huge amount of deaths and left the villages still recovering even after the years had passed. It had marred the history of the valley—something that could never be reversed—and they had no wish to start the whole situation up again. The valley wouldn’t be able to take it and would only end up getting destroyed; the population of the valley being the middle man in it all. Seifu hadn’t been particularly popular with the villagers back then, and his son was seen in a similar way; he was the spitting image whether physically or personality-wise.

When the war had stopped so strangely on that one day, although it had been sad to know there were no survivors, it had also been a miracle, in a way. At that point it was all over, and there would be no more worry about what might happen when either side won. But that circumstance occurring had been one in a million—a circumstance that had practically no chance of happening again. There were no ninjas to try and stop it from happening, and no one with the influence to negotiate with them all. The more the group boasted about their plans for the near future, the more the villagers began to worry about the whole thing becoming true this time; for it to fully overwhelm the valley...and the outside of it too. Who was going to stop it otherwise?

But the more Kisame heard of this boasting from Seifu's son as he passed into the village to get some stuff, the bigger his grin got. The Akatsuki hadn’t made themselves known when they had talked with the man who had fought during the war; and that meant that Seifu's son hadn’t a clue they existed. He didn’t know they wanted Kiken to join their group; they had just taken the opportunity when she must have stumbled upon them while running away. That was why her tracks had stopped dead and disappeared off when around the ruins of that building. They had been looking around there, Kiken had appeared, and they had merely grabbed her while they could.

Kisame wasted no more time and headed straight back to the hideout.

“Itachi! I know where Kiken is! Well, sort of.” Kisame greeted, his smile still evident as he burst into Itachi's room. Normally Itachi might have mentioned the fact Kisame had neglected to knock, but with this information, everything was forgotten about from Kisame's words. Taking a step towards him, he had to ask for it to be repeated, and, with other members of the Akatsuki—including Pein—appearing after hearing what was going on, Kisame explained what he’d heard.

If Itachi had been anyone else, he might have hugged Kisame in joy. Though his worry about Kiken's welfare and mental state were still there; the hope that he might be able to make things better flared back into life within him, and only increased with time as he suddenly realised something. Turning to Kisame and asking what the guy’s name had been—what he looked like—Kisame obliged and told him what he remembered, and this time, Itachi couldn’t smother the smirk that flickered on his face. Questioning as to what he seemed so happy about, Itachi responded triumphantly,

“I know where Kiken is—in the literal sense.” Blinking in surprise at how he knew as Kisame had only heard and known that she was being held by those guys somewhere, Itachi began to elaborate on his statement, staring directly ahead of him as he thought things through,

“With what you’ve told me, Kisame...that’s Seifu's son. That means he lives in the mansion—the place where Kiken used to live—and that’s where he’s keeping her. Even if the villagers knew there are cells in the house, they wouldn’t know the ‘power’ he’s mentioning is a person, so he’s fine with telling them.”

“They don’t know about us being here...they don’t know we want Kiken to join...and they won’t suspect us if we go and get her out, un.” Deidara added, a sly grin coming onto his face at the idea he’d finally be able to fight.

Itachi immediately turned to Pein at this. Deidara was right; none of the villagers were ninjas, so there would be no escape attempts; no one knew the whole situation apart from them. Seifu's son wouldn’t know what hit him if they turned up to break her out of whatever prison they’d placed Kiken in. With their numbers overwhelming them, the fact that the entirety of the Akatsuki were S-class criminals, they had the element of surprise and practically every advantage over the others, it wouldn’t take long for the battle to be over and for Kiken to be released.

But Pein had paused, and Itachi gritted his teeth at that sign.

Looking over his body language and the way he was reacting, Itachi could guess what he was thinking. He wanted them all to plan things out a little more than just heading up there and barging straight in. He wanted them to be cautious; Seifu had started the war back then, and for all they knew he had scrolls and documents about them in the house. There could be things up there they didn’t know about and would give them some kind of advantage. Not to mention they had the advantage of having Kiken herself. Pein knew how strongly Itachi felt about her, and that he might not think as clearly as before when it came down to her safety. But he needed Kiken as a member—think of how much strength; how much power they would gain if she joined...

“Come on, Leader. Kiken helped us before; even when she hated the idea of coming back here—you saw it yourself. The least we can do is repay her a little. And Kiken's been hanging out with us for that long; whereas right now she’s stuck in a cell in the house she used to live in with her—well, dictator. If Itachi talks to her; explains what’s going on with her joining us...she’ll be fine.” Kisame suddenly cut in, and snapping their gazes round to him, Pein remained silent for a moment, before Pein broke his gaze first, sighing imperceptibly and saying simply,

“Fine. I doubt I could stop you all, anyway.”

The grins now catching on to all the Akatsuki with those words, they all turned and headed outside, murmuring amongst themselves at what direction they should come at to the mansion; whether the boys had headed back there already or they’d be able to sneak in and out without being seen at all. Pein hesitated in following, but eventually shook his head and decided to, wanting to keep an eye on things and...although he wouldn’t admit it, see if Kiken was okay.

Itachi stayed silent the entire time. With what Kisame had said, thoughts were beginning to surface, and he wasn’t sure how to react to them. He was glad—really glad—that Pein had agreed to let them all go on this mission straight away without having to wait. Who knows what might have happened if they had done? But at the same time, worry began to build up in the pit of his stomach, even more so than how it had been before. More than anything right now, he wanted to get Kiken out of there. He wanted her to be happy and to join the Akatsuki—to work with him.

He just had to hope she would be willing to listen and agree with him.