A Different Path

Unbreakable Bonds

Naruto's POV

Naruto stood there still like a statue, with a blade pressed against his throat, right under Adam's apple. The frozen air stung his face, howling in the thick forest. In the blink of an eye, Naruto kicked Itachi's right ankle and tackled him to the ground, straddling him. Groaning, Itachi had his toned chest pushed down into the cold, crunchy snow and his arms locked on his back while his knees were sunken into the ground. Naruto had him immobilized. He couldn't use his Sharingan or any type of genjutsu either. Not against the blond.

Itachi stopped squirming as soon as he realized that even him, the 'Uchiha prodigy', was no match for the Jinchuriki. But Itachi had figured that out a long time before. He let out a tired sigh while Naruto smirked, his eyes half closed.
"I may be fast, but you're still faster than me, Namikaze." Itachi rolled his eyes, smiling softly. The blond got off of him and lent out his hand which Itachi gladly accepted as he got pulled up to his feet, shaking off any snowflakes.

Itachi's shoulders stiffened just as he remembered something that had been bothering him for the last few hours.
"Tell me, why do I keep sensing my brother's chakra signature?" He trusted Naruto so he was sure that the teen would have never put Sasuke in danger, even if it meant that they both had to stay away from him. He had faith in Naruto's judgment, no matter the situation.

"He's with Nawaki and some Leaf shinobi. Tsunade put me in charge of their squad and we're supposed to take care of the Oharo." Naruto lowered his hood so the Uchiha could see his tired face. He brushed a hand through his blonde and spiky hair, sighing. Seeing Itachi's slightly worried face, Naruto smiled softly before speaking again.

"He's safe, Itachi. You know I'm guarding him with my life." He fixed his gaze on his as an assurance that he was definitely going to keep his promise.
"I know, fox." Itachi sighed before regaining his composure.
"Where did you find those Oharo you've killed?" Naruto crossed his arms on his chest.
"In the outskirts of the Hidden Snow, somewhere near the Waterfall of Light. But beware, they're quite tough." The Uchiha spoke in a low voice to which the teen nodded his head.

"How have things been going in the Akatsuki?" The blond slightly tilted his head to a side, his eyes narrowed in concern. Apart from Kurama, Itachi was the only one with whom Naruto could act naturally. Then again, the Uchiha knew him better than he did himself.

"Smoothly. So far, no one has questioned my loyalty. But it might become a problem later." Naruto clicked his tongue in understanding.
"They've recently gone through another attack targeting the Eight Tails. I believe Killer Bee has asked you to extract some more of its chakra."

"Yes. He thinks it endangers the Hidden Cloud and I agree, even though you know I'm not happy to take any more Tailed Beast chakra. A little more and he won't be an actual Jinchuriki any longer." The Uzumaki clenched his fist, anger and regret boiling deep down inside of him. "How long till we can take them down?" He huffed, exasperated and mentally exhausted.

"Be patient, Naruto. A little more time and I will be able to gather some information regarding their leader, Pain." Itachi spoke with his eyes closed. Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest.
"Fine. I'll wait. I just.. I don't like this." The raven placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"It will all be over soon. As for Orochimaru and Toneri.." Itachi wanted to know more details of what they had been plotting.

"You've read that letter I've sent you. Apart from that, Orochimaru has tried to take control of me twice. Nothing more." Naruto stared into nothingness.
"Just be careful. And make sure you don't die. Sasuke needs someone to keep watch over him and that someone is you." Itachi retracted his hand and turned around, taking a few steps.

"Yeah. You do the same. I can't afford to lose you too." Naruto's gaze clouded with sadness.
"Don't worry. As soon as I'm done with the Akatsuki, I will come back." The Uchiha smiled gently with his head tilted to a side before he disappeared into a swarm of crows.

Naruto sighed again. He felt as if he was useless. Waving that thought off, he used his Transportation Justu and ended up inside the hideout where Nawaki was supposed to take the Leaf shinobi.
He saw Sakura and Sasuke sleeping inside some sleeping bags near a small, crackling fire. He decided not to bother them since they really needed sleep. And he needed as well.

Kakashi was sleeping somewhere near Nawaki, probably just to make sure that the creepy spy wouldn't sneak up on the two chunin and lay his hands on them. He was quite an unpredictable man. Naruto threw a last glance over to the raven and the pinkhead before he went to his own bed, a few meters away from them.

He huddled into the covers in order to receive some warmth. For the first time in months, he fell asleep after a few minutes. Little did he know that Sasuke wasn't actually asleep, but waiting for him to return. With a satisfied smile, the raven pulled the blanket over himself and travelled into the land of dreams, a place that he hadn't visited in two and a half years. It seemed that he wouldn't have any nightmares and he would finally be able to sleep peacefully, just as he once did.

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Heya! I promised you guys that I would update as soon as possible! You didn't expect Itachi to be on Naruto's side, did ya? Well, anyway, I hope you like the story so far! Next time, on Naruto Shippuden: 'Ninja In Disguise'
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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