We didn't speak as we walked. Silence spoke much louder than the two of us could have, but the little increases in speed as we had to navigate our way through the prison was enough to tell me how worried Itachi was. He never really spoke more than he needed to, and only chose to increase his sentences when to give his knowledge. If it wasn't for the fact that I could see his heart hammering in his chest through my specter was hovering around us, I don't think I would have thought he was anything but calm. Still, the teenage Uchiha was the epitome of professionalism at the moment. His resolution was something that I secretly admired. I had been flopping back and forth between whether to hold onto one of the parts that grounded me to society in my past life, and to finally understand the ruthlessness of this new one. It kind of hurt to think about it. The blood, the sounds, and the smell all wrapped in a way that tortured my thoughts. And despite the harshness of this world, I wanted to cling to something that could and will get me or my friends hurt. It was a shame that all it took for me to realize this was the near complete destruction of my best friend's home and family. I needed something to finally cement me thoughts. To let myself fully understand and break down the last of my apprehensions. That meant that when I should have been guiding us to the exit, I guided us almost straight into a group of patrolling Anbu guards. It was silly of me. An act that had nothing but ill intent behind it, but I also just couldn't leave Nuibari in the hands of someone who I didn't think could wield it. Itachi reacted instantly to the sudden four Anbu in front of us, not even sparing a second to question why we had run into them. In fact, he reacted long before the Anbu had a chance to understand what was happening. One of the Anbu collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, alarming the others as warm, liquid spray hit them and a thud signaled his passing. "It's an escap-" My sword slinked its way through another, glancing off a few ribs before finding purchase. Nausea filled my stomach as the Anbu and I fell, and it took me centering in on the Chakra that was flowing through my system to stop myself from throwing up. It had to be done, I reasoned long before this. They were under the control of a maniac, and I just was trying to rescue a friend. The less reinforcements there were the safer my friends and I would be. That trying to hold onto this vestige of my previous self was just pointless in this messed up world. And at that moment, even with my stomach threatening mutiny, I understood only a small part of this crazy world of Shinobi. That so far I had been comparing all my experiences to things in my past life, trying to find similarities as well as trying to hide behind a barrier of mercy to shunt some of my guilt off. However, I had been going about this the wrong way. There was nothing wrong with the world. I was the one who was in the wrong; it was in my selfishness that I had made decisions that only contradicted the rules of this world. Living in this world meant I needed to adapt to it. Killing would never get easier for me. It never should, but that didn't mean I had no resolution to carry it out. I couldn't hear it, but I knew that the buildings in my inner world crumbled, pieces that were once barely holding together were falling into the lake below. "You again?" My attention snapped to the Anbu who wielded Nuibari. Itachi was busy handling the other Shinobi without the bonuses of surprise tactics, but I had faith in him. Instead, I focused back onto the man. He struck me as some unnamed grunt who had gotten lucky, and had been given a weapon that didn't suit him. My actions had been born out of necessity as well as some form of revenge, but for a second, I pitied the man. Acid filled my veins the next moment, pain and strength coming the next. It would take my mind off the pity. Off the crippling nausea. All that came next was the thoughts on how I would retrieve my friend's weapon as I tried my hardest not to let my volatile anger run its course. Perhaps, the Shinobi saw it as well. A certain instinct that ingrains itself in the back of everyone's mind. This was do or die time. He certainly shut up, and began watching me, eyes judiciously searching my every move for a tell. Of course, he would find many. I was only a child still, and that disconnect from my once adult body was still a slight ghost in my movements. It was getting better. Chakra certainly helped smoothed over the transition, but all I had going for me was my knife and the fact that I had more Chakra than I knew how to deal with. So, I used it. The simplest jutsu I had been taught were ones that every Shinobi learns. They were said to be the bread and butter to every Shinobi's kit, but honestly, I felt that they were a little too boring to be anything besides a learning tool. It wasn't that they were bad. Just that each of the three taught a skill for making better jutsu. Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu), was something that specifically was labeled as a technique to teach subterfuge. However, it was so much more. It taught how to create fragile shells of Chakra, encasing the insides in a sort of invisible fog that allowed the illusion that someone was changing appearance. The more Chakra added the harder the shell would be. Up to a certain limit, of course. Though, there was also the fact that the more Chakra given to the inner fog, the larger the area you can give a semi-physical transformation to. The only problem was this method caused Chakra consumption to spike exponentially. A problem that meant nothing to me. Chakra burned through my veins. A creeping malice that seeped from my stomach to the rest of my body. I took in more and more as I crafted my hand signs; they were sloppy at best, but I felt my Chakra forming into a sort of room being mirrored onto the world around me. Whether the Anbu actually noticed or not, I couldn't see any sign behind his mask. He was already running towards me, limbs blurring into motion as he brought up the stolen Nuibari. I couldn't see it, but I knew my jutsu took place the next second. Chakra burst into the massive shell that I had just created, filling up the corners, and the illusion in my head suddenly became the room itself. It wasn't anything grandiose. Mainly because I couldn't accurately move so much Chakra yet. However, the room fell back on an illusion of itself with my own body suddenly appearing to be slightly more right than it should have been. It was already running as I carefully stepped to the Anbu's left, completely unseen by the illusion I had weaved over my position. I found it odd how easily the Anbu had been fooled. There were other plans that I had been expecting to use, but it was rather laughable that I thought too much. Still, as both the room shifted to match what I wanted him to see, I pulled out my next trick. Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Jutsu) was another thing that I found rather useful. Mainly for the properties of linking two objects together using Chakra, and for giving a slight middle finger to physics. It was hard for me to use two jutsu at once; each one needing a certain amount of mental acrobatics to picture at the same time. However, the seconds that my massive, room-sized illusion gave in distraction was enough. Just before his weapon could stab into my illusion self, the room erupted into smoke, extraneous Chakra suddenly losing whatever fine control held it. A solid tendril of Chakra was already slinking out of me. It enhanced by the oceans that backed it up. Kyūbi Chakra was already giving me a slight fever, heat blooming on my cheeks and forehead as I tried to funnel it along with me. I was used to it at this point, feeling the odd strength that came from the discomfort, and as the tendril finally found Nuibari, I almost cheered in glee. The feeling of a rubber band being pulled taunt came over me, forcing me to run to my target in the obscuring smoke. White trails curled out of my view as I rushed forwards, and I could feel some give coming back through my connection. Gravity almost had no hold over me as I glided along my path, guiding me to my destination. Then the feeling of something snap came abruptly; the rubber band had been released, and suddenly I had to duck out of the way of a needle-thin point. My feet slid on the solid stone floor, toes painfully curling into my sandals as I dug in. Nuibari flew overhead, sailing past so fast that the whistle it gave off nearly turned super sonic. The wind burned into my head, pulling at my hairs that stood in the sword's path like an angry hairdresser. My knife was in my hand the next second, swinging upwards with the boost my malicious Chakra imbued me with. It collided with something, but I was too busy twisting my body back into the cover of white to see. One of my hands reached out, desperately trying to grab the handle of the still flying Nuibari, but I only registered the brief touch of something metallic before I almost cut myself on the wire that came from its path. However, I couldn't stop now. Instead of backing out, I firmly grabbed the wire, digging the thin metal deep into my palm before yanking it with all my strength. More things sailed over my head, singing past my ears with their own metallic songs. Kunai, one part of me said as I focused on my task. The Anbu had missed me just barely, but I felt Nuibari respond to efforts. The white cover was almost wearing off, and the needle was flying back to me. I released the wire, feeling my hand slick with my own blood as I pressed them together again for a hand sign. Pain stung my palm as I manipulated my hands into their random shapes before another room-sized illusion burst into attention. I found the Anbu seconds after I caught Nuibari. The hand that had once held Nuibari was covered in blood, and I could only guess that he had wrapped his arm in Nuibari's wires before I started pulling on it. He was erratic, swiveling from side to side as he searched through the dissipating smoke. Then he found me, charging forwards with his good hand clutching onto a kunai. My hands ran through another set of hand signs right as he stabbed into my chest with a sort of vindictive glee. It was a shame that he had chosen the wrong me. Smoke burst from the room as I set a much weaker Kawarimi no Jutsu (Replacement Jutsu) to his kunai. It wasn't to steal another of his weapons. All I needed was to know where he was. My muscles tenses, being pumped to almost bursting as Chakra tore into me. Artificial strength came to me, overriding any reason my five-year old biology might have before I sent Nuibari forth. The ground beneath me trembled as I pushed into it, forcing my strength from my feet to my hips then finishing at the tip of my fingers. There was a crack as Nuibari flew. Then a thud. I waited, staying perfectly still as the smoke around me cleared. Trails of white ebbed and flowed with my breathing, curling into tiny snakes that only increased in size with the beat of my heart. Blood thundered in my ears as I desperately tried to hear even the slightest breath that was not mine. "Uzumaki-san?" A scream tore its way from my lips, shocking me to jump away. My eyes hurriedly rolled behind me as I found Itachi looked at me with what could either be amusement or worry. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking almost like he had never even fought. "Yeah, I…" the smoke cleared only a little for me to see the body of my defeated foe, a hole goring its way through his head. My stomach did a couple flips. "I'm alright…" Quickly locating Nuibari, Itachi and I began our way out of the prison. He didn't say anything about the encounter, opting to instead take the lead. I don't think he wanted to say it, but there was a certain trust that I broke. Whether he knew I needed to fight those Shinobi or not, I think holding him back from saving his village for my own reasons definitely lost a little trust. "Those weren't Anbu, were they?" I asked, finding our silence to be annoying. Itachi didn't even slow. Didn't even turn back to face me, either. "No, Danzō has already taken out all Anbu that were loyal to the Hokage, and replaced them with stand ins. We were lucky that they didn't use the poison Danzō has." "Oh… that makes sense." I said, finding that them being weaker than I imagined to finally make sense. "And, sorry for doing that… I think it helped." "Sorries do not fix everything, Uzumaki-san." Itachi said, finally sparing a glance over one shoulder. It was brief, but I suddenly felt so small. "They did not deserve this." My built up resolve faltered for a bit. "Did… you know them?" We found our way out of the prison long before Itachi chose to answer. He was clearly picking up his pace, making sure I didn't fall too far behind. I wanted to send my specter out to scout a bit, but held back in lieu of trying to keep up with the older Uchiha with the help of Chakra. When he finally answered my previous question, he did so as quietly as possible. "I recognized some from the academy… They never talked to me, but the one you killed; I knew his mother. She had a bakery not far from the Uchiha compound." I wanted to blame someone. Maybe myself or the situation, but I don't think I had the heart to accept it. Instead, I tried focusing on saving my friend. The same couldn't happen to her, I promised then and there. It still didn't stop my mouth from tasting like ash. "We should speed up." Itachi said, offering a much needed distraction. "Do you know how to reinforce your push-off point?" "The what?" "The area that you push off of with your feet. It strengthens the area into something that can handle more force, enabling you to increase your speed." Itachi explained, pointing towards his feet before shooting a good distance away from me with a single bound. My face scrunched up a little as I tried to put together how he did that, wishing that I had my specter to just see a little on the intricacies on it. Deciding on a method, I pulled Chakra from my gut, pooled the ethereal energy to my feet, and tried to accomplish a similar feat. All that ended happening was the ground around my feet cracked, nearly exploding in the process. Itachi frowned at my display, eyes flashing red with active Sharingan. "Try again." Not wanting to waste more time arguing, I complied. Moving to the next piece of unbroken ground, I channeled the energy. This time I was trying to weave the Chakra into the ground like I did with my muscles, and I found that there was a little sweet spot right before the ground exploded that I felt the earth harden beneath my feet. Dust and dirt clung in the air from my second trial, obscuring whatever face Itachi made. "You figured it out?" Though, I think he sounded impressed. Whether he saw me nod or not, the next second I was sprinting out of the dust with cracks forming with each step proved my point. Chakra flowed from my feet, entering the ground where I stood, and only cracked a little before holding much stronger than before. "A little. Might need to fix some things, though." Itachi took this as an invitation to really kick on high gear. One second he was standing across from me, the next he was already touching down on the roof of a nearby building. His head tilted for me to follow, and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Sure, let's have the five year-old who just learned a technique that could potentially collapse his foothold run along rooftops. It would be faster in a way, but I questioned the safety. Still, as much as I wanted to question the sanity of Shinobi everywhere, I held back for the moment. I really hoped I didn't have to show up to the big fight with a broken arm. The ground broke a little as I jumped up to the roof, using a good chunk of Chakra to propel myself up there. I landed with a heavy thud, ducking into a roll that caused the roof to dig painfully into my shoulders. Itachi just looked to see if I was up before rushing off in one direction. It was as we ran that I discovered how terrifying rooftop running was. Not in the sense of jumping over buildings, or feeling as if I barely had any footholds to run on sometimes, but in the fact that the roof kept cracking as I tried to strengthen it the best I could. Itachi wasn't slowing down, either. It was a choice between risking the structural integrity of the surrounding buildings, or catch up with probably the only one who could help me find my way. I decided that Hiruzen better not send me a bill after this. "Hey, do you know where we're going?" I yelled over the rush of wind blasting over my ears. It was magic that answered me. Honestly, there could have been a perfectly good reason for the coincidence to happen right as I asked, but I was really thinking magic was involved. A massive plume of smoke engulfed an entire section of forest to our right, just outside the village. My expectations were not met when an equally massive, inhuman hand reached out of the smoke as if were grasping something before swiping away its cover, sending treacherous gales every which way. I even felt something ruffling my clothes for a second, but I honestly hoped it was regular wind. With the smoke cleared, I was given the faraway view of a huge, purple frog that rose above the treeline. Black markings on its face in the shape of a 'U' brought me to notice that each of its horizontal pupils were glaring down at the surrounding forestry with an anger that could only be apocalyptic. It reached around its black clothed form to grab a massive plate of some kind in one arm, and a two pronged spear with spikes that littered each prong in its other. I stared for what seemed like minutes as the massive beast jumped. It rose up into the sky, twisting in a way that seemed too athletic for its size before rushing down faster than any meteorite, slamming its two pronged weapon into the ground with all the power of a category ten earthquake. The village shook, sending trees flying in the distance, and almost making me lose my footing despite how far away we were. Aftershocks of the attack could be felt in my trembling bones, sending my stomach on a rollercoaster I never knew I hated. Then, I watched on as a literal tidal wave of fire rose from the forest, engulfing the beast in wreaths of orange and red that rose high into the sky. The heat was insane, churning the air and baking anything flammable in a sudden forest fire. Even from here I could see the air distort from the heat that raged in the sea of flame. However, the frog beast, that I was now suspiciously looking more toadlike by the second, wasn't even hindered for a second in the gluttonous inferno. Its red hot weapon rose, trails of hissing steam gathering on the hand that grasped said weapon, before it swung down into the cleared forest below. The shock this time was much less, barely even shaking me with the impressive windshear. Earthen sheets rose from the path the weapon carved into the ground, sectioning off a part of its created clearing. What I did notice was the fact that fires closest to it were erased by the sudden swing, and only then did I see small shapes running along the body of the beast. One in particular caught almost all of my attention. Someone was swinging a massive axe that I could just barely make out from this distance, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Itsuki was laughing like a madman now. Itachi, for his part, was already well on his way in the direction of the hellish fight like it was no big deal. It was then that I wondered if I would ever become as insane as all these guys. Though, I didn't break as many roofs on the way over as I thought I would.