It was raining outside early in the morning. Maasaki and Madara had been plotting their plans before the sun has risen and soon departed. The others had gone out on missions. Except for Pein and Konan of course, they had been in Amegakure to check up on the village.

Although, before leaving, he had also assigned both Maasaki and Satoshi to do yet another retrieval mission. The mission was located in the final valley where they had to bring back an important artifact that was somewhere buried underground.

"Oh man, I'm so excited!" Maasaki said happily.

"Why is that..?" Satoshi asked bluntly.

"We're going treasure hunting! This is like the first mission, we ever did as partners!"

"I'm surprised you even remember that far back." Satoshi scoffed.

"That's mean.." Maasaki pouted.

"You're just easy to make fun of." Satoshi said with a slight smile.

Maasaki watched Satoshi in shock. He had seen a faint smile on him, which was, of course, rare.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Satoshi asked confused.

"Oh, nothing!" Maasaki said quickly.

"Well, whatever, we're getting close to our destination, so watch out for our surroundings." Satoshi warned.

"I will!"

However Satoshi didn't notice the evil glint in Maasaki's eyes. He was ready for blood to finally be spilled.

"What is this artifact we're getting exactly?" Satoshi asked.

Maasaki shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure, but Leader-sama said it's highly important for our plans."

"I dislike how he never tells us what it ever looks like. How are we supposed to know that it is what we're truly looking for?" Satoshi said irritated.

"Ha-ha, that's the Akatsuki for ya!" Maasaki said with his goofy smile.

"Hm.. I gue-"

"WE'RE HERE!" Maasaki screamed happily.

Maasaki began to run towards it, leaving Satoshi shaking his head.

"Slow down!" Satoshi shouted. "It's still raining! You're going to slip!"

"But Satoshi! The faster we get it, the faster we go back!" he whined.

"Maasaki..." Satoshi said sternly.

"Fine.." Maasaki pouted.

"This is going to be difficult to find... the dirt is muddy so we won't know where exactly it could have been buried." Satoshi said.

"Hm.."

Maasaki watched the white haired boy try and figure out a spot of where to dig up first. The loud pattering of the heavy rain hitting against their straw hats and getting their cloaks soaked. Satoshi walked around marking spots that could be a potential spot to dig up. Maasaki narrowed his eyes at the boy and took out a kunai.

'Your life ends here Satoshi...'

Maasaki tossed his hat to the ground running towards Satoshi and leaped into the air ready to pierce him, but it was as if Satoshi knew his moves and easily blocked the blow from the blue haired boy. The loud clink from their kunai's pressed against each other as Satoshi slowly raised his head. His eyes glint while he removed his hat with his free hand. He threw his hat to the muddy ground eyeing his partner.

"So it's finally come to this, huh?" Satoshi said.

Maasaki's glare hardened. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this day."

"Hn, so you working with Madara."

Maasaki smirked. "So you aren't as clueless as I thought."

"Are you forgetting that I'm aware of my surroundings?" Satoshi said.

"Tsk."

Maasaki jumped back, leaving space between the two. Neither of them making the first move. But out of irritation, Maasaki decided to make his move. He began to weave signs quickly and placed his fingers near his mouth.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A giant dragon began to form from the falling rain making a hearty roar before making its way towards Satoshi. He narrowed his eyes at the water dragon as he weaved his signs.

"Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A giant head of a dragon emerged from the muddy ground and opened its mouth. A beam like form was being created as the water dragon neared them. The earth dragon fired its beam towards the water dragon following their opponent seeing that it was trying to avoid the attack, but soon enough, it made a direct hit causing the water dragon to fall apart and splash to the ground. Satoshi released his jutsu while Maasaki stared at him irritated.

"Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"

The water beneath Satoshi immediately launched him into the air as Maasaki flashed above him creating a large whirlpool around his right arm. Maasaki landed a punch on Satoshi causing a large water explosion. Satoshi hit the ground but immediately recovered from the hit.

"Heh, not so powerful now, huh?" Maasaki mocked.

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent so easily." Satoshi said.

"Earth Release: Golem Technique Earth Flattener!"

A series of pillars appeared from the ground, striking Maasaki. He managed to dodge three of them until his foot was caught in the muddy ground. A pillar hit Maasaki directly in the chest, making him stumble a bit. Soon after, Satoshi created the upper body of the golem and punched Maasaki down to the ground. The golem then proceeded to slam both of its hands down to flatten Maasaki to the ground but he quickly left that area.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

The water spewed from Maasaki's lips as Satoshi tried his best to dodge the water and not slip.

'Tsk, at this rate, I won't be able to kill him like I intended to. He calculates my movements far too quickly!' Maasaki thought to himself.

"Lightning Dragon Tornado!"

The lighting surged around Satoshi as he began to spin in place to create a whirling vortex of wind and electricity. It began to take form of a head of a dragon and swiftly made its way towards Masaaki.

"Kuso..!" Maasaki muttered.

The dragon began to chomp at its moving target, but because of the wild lightning coming from the wind like vortex, the lightning spiraled wildly giving it a lucky shot that landed a hit on Maasaki's leg causing him to skid across the muddy ground.

The dragon took advantage of the situation and scooped Maasaki into its body as the screams of Maasaki filled the air. Satoshi released his jutsu while Maasaki tried his best to stand up. But the electrical current still buzzed on to his body.

"I ha-ate you, y-you know that!" Maasaki said while he got shocked a bit.

"You don't calculate your battles properly." Satoshi said.

"Shut up! I can too, calculate a battle!" Maasaki shouted.

"Hm, then show me you can while I use my eyes..."

"That's bull shi-"

"As a shinobi, you should be prepared for anything... so lets see if you prepared." Satoshi said as he activated his eyes.

Maasaki stood his ground waiting for a single movement. But of course, he didn't see him move even in the slightest and was immediately punched across the face. Maasaki stumbled back a bit but regained his balance.

'Crap! I can't even see him! Think Maasaki think! That's it! Just let the water guide you, just how trained me.'

Maasaki stood in a fighting stance as he looked with his eyes and tried to mute the rain from his hearing. In Maasaki's eyes, it was as if it were going as slow as Satoshi's eyes except he can't act quite as fast. His hearing sounded like muffled rain, but it was still audible. His eyes slowly caught Satoshi leaving his spot and had to act quick. He turned left and had actually caught Satoshi's arm.

"Impressive..." Satoshi said.

"Ha! See I can kee-"

"But wrong move."

Maasaki looked at him weirdly until he realized what he could do. He tried to release him, but Satoshi had already activated his chidori. The electrical current surrounded the blue haired male causing it to cause far more pain than how it normally did. The raining weather wasn't helping Maasaki at all.

"Just give up Maasaki." Satoshi said.

"Never!"

Maasaki kicked Satoshi back, but he had regained his balance almost immediately.

'I can't do this, with his eyes, he could just end me! I can't have that happening! I'm just going to have to resort into ripping his eyes out and kill him while he's blind.' Maasaki thought to himself.

Maasaki created water clones and ran towards Satoshi with a kunai in hand. Each clone swung at him trying to corner the white haired boy so the real Maasaki can come in for the kill. Once he found an opening, he reached out to rip out his eyes, but Satoshi had grabbed his arm and threw him away from him.

"So you're after my eyes..."

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?!" Maasaki shouted as he tried once again to gain his eyes.

Satoshi grabbed his arm once again and gripped it hard enough to make Maasaki feel the pain in his arm and dropped to his knees. Maasaki looked up at his opponent as lightning struck behind him giving him that evil look.

"You have lost this battle." Satoshi said.

Maasaki gritted his teeth and looked away.

"Do it, just end me!" Maasaki said. "I can't win with your stupid eyes against me!"

Satoshi arched his eyebrow. "You want me to end your life? How dishonorable."

"Will you just fucken, do it already! I've been humiliated enough by this fight!"

"I'm not going to kill you Maasaki." Satoshi said.

"What?" Maasaki said in disbelief.

"As you know, I am and will always be a Leaf shinobi. Which means I will always follow what the village believes." Satoshi said.

"So what, you're just going to spare me!?"

"Despite you trying to kill me and take my eyes, I do believe there is some good in you."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing right now!" Maasaki shouted. "I am your ! You don't let your enemy live!"

"I see no enemy... all I see is a comrade in need of guidance." Satoshi said.

Irritated and angry, Masaaki goes after the white haired male swinging at him sloppily to try and get rid of him once and for all.

"I HATE YOU, AND YOUR KINDNESS!" Maasaki shouted. "JUST DIE!"

"I don't believe that you truly hate me." Satoshi said dodging. "I think you're afraid to accept others into your life again. But it's alright Maasaki..."

"URUSAI!" Maasaki sneered sounding as if he were about to cry.

"We're all broken Maasaki... and that's alright." Satoshi said softly.

"Shut up!" Maasaki sobbed. "Just... shut up!"

Maasaki gave one last swing, but it was weak as he fell to his knees. Satoshi watched his broken partner and surprised Maasaki with a tender hug. Maasaki widened his eyes and froze, unable to comprehend what was happening.

"I know you want my eyes to gain that peace you wish for... but I can't allow myself to die just yet." he whispered into Maasaki's ear. "When I see my brother again, that is when you may take my eyes and do as you please.. I won't be there to stop you."

"Satoshi.." Maasaki mumbled.

"If having my eyes will make you happy, even in the slightest... then I want you to feel that happiness." he said.

Maasaki sobbed silently as he now returned the hug. He held Satoshi as if he were going to die if he let go.

After all the sweet talk, Maasaki pulls himself together as the two of them stands back up. Maasaki lost all his anger from over expressing his emotions and soon had felt a warm feeling in his heart and later felt a pang.

Even though he went through so much to plan out Satoshi's death, Satoshi has always seen him as a comrade. But of course along the way, he had noticed angry looks from him. But who wouldn't be angry? Finding out a person you thought as a friend finally betrays you.

Knowing that warm feeling won't go away, Maasaki warns his newly found friend.

"Satoshi.." Maasaki muttered. "You shouldn't return to the base. If Madara finds out you're still alive, he'll be the one who ends you."

"I thought so..." Satoshi sighed.

"We can hide in the Land of Snow together in hopes that he doesn't find us and wait for everything to play out. Then we could probably come out of hiding to help with what's going to happen in the very near future." Maasaki suggested.

"That sounds fine. We shou-"

"STOP!" a voice intervened.

Maasaki and Satoshi turned around to see none other than Team 7.

"So Lady Tsunade was right. There trouble here." A pale boy with shaggy black hair said.

"Satoshi! We finally fou-"

"Urusai." Satoshi said, cutting Naruto off. "Why must it always be guys who show up here.."

"Satoshi what are you-"

"Quiet Maasaki." Satoshi ordered.

Maasaki looked at Satoshi weirdly wondering why he isn't going to leave with them just like he's always wanted. I mean he was always talking about wanting to go home. So why not leave now?

"Satoshi, if you won't come with us, I'll bring you back by force." Kakashi said.

"Hn, bring it... older brother."

"We'll help you Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

"No... this is brother against brother. I want to settle this with him." Kakashi said determined.

Kakashi sprung into action with a chidori in hand, but like he did before, Satoshi had grabbed his fist and began to eat his chakra away. Kakashi pulled back his arm and tried to land a kick on the boy but failed.

Satoshi tried to punch Kakashi, but of course it was easily blocked. The two fought with taijutsu but they were too evenly matched with it. The others watched intensely wondering how the outcome will play out.

"Just lay in the soil already!" Satoshi shouted.

"I don't think that will be happening any time soon, your chakra had already been drained from a previous match. By then, we'll bring you home." Kakashi said.

"Tsk, you're such a nuisance!" Satoshi said giving another hit.

'Satoshi... why are you still resisting them?' Maasaki thought to himself.

Maasaki watched the fight closely as he watched his partner blow jutsus after jutsus nonstop. Both Kakashi and Satoshi were strong, but because of the battle earlier, Satoshi wasn't as strong as he would be with full chakra. However, it looked as if Satoshi was trying to conserve his chakra. The two of them looked battle scarred. Their breathing was heavy and their stance were slumped.

"Satoshi-!"

"Shut up!" Satoshi said, interrupting Kakashi. "I'll kill you... I'll kill you and destroy that village! You're ALL on my hit list!"

Naruto growled. "I'll show a hit list!"

Naruto began to take a step forward, but Sakura had kept him back so he wouldn't interfere.

The two brothers went at each other again as they kept colliding with one another. But the both of them wouldn't be able to keep this up anymore.

Satoshi's chakra was nearly depleted. There was nothing more for him to do, but dodge. Except that he couldn't. His body was aching in pain, feeling as if needles were shooting all around his body and wouldn't stop. He knows that if he used any more chakra, he was going to die. So all he did was stand there and wait for his brother to make a move.

Kakashi's eyes held anger and determination, yet he failed to see that Satoshi's eyes were slightly faltered.

'I can't do it... I can't kill my older brother...' Satoshi thought to himself.

Satoshi was now covered in both his own blood and his brothers. He watched as his brother charged up his chidori glaring at him, ignoring the pain that ached every time he would flex a muscle.

'I have to kill him... he's too far gone. It's either to kill or be killed.' Kakashi thought to himself.

Kakashi then ran towards his brother, and with the last bit of chakra Satoshi had, he used his kekkei genkai to slow down time. Satoshi stood there with sad, dull eyes, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. The windy rain blew past him, making his cloak flow slightly with the breeze.

Satoshi stood his ground watching his brother slowly make his way over to him. He wanted to see his older brother one last time before he died. Kakashi began to get closer with his chidori in hand, his eyes full of hate, yet the tears in his eyes told him otherwise as the memories of his little brother replaced the real one in front of him.

"Come onii-san! We have to go or else we'll be late!"

'What is this?' Kakashi thought to himself as the little Satoshi was now replaced with the real one.

"Don't worry onii-san! I promise nothing bad will ever happen to me!"

'There it was again!' Kakashi said. 'Why... why is he changing to his child self, then change back to the present Satoshi? Are these... my memories playing?'

As Kakashi thought of that, another memory played. It was his little brother and himself sitting on top of a roof with Satoshi leaning on his shoulder.

"Nii-san..." Satoshi mumbled.

"Yes?"

"I just want to let you know... no matter what happens, I will always love you. You're the best big brother, I could ever ask for." he said with a slight frown.

Kakashi chuckled. "And I will always love you too Satoshi. I promise no matter what, I will always protect you from harm." he said as he wrapped an arm around his neck.

"Yeah..." he said with a sad expression.

The memory ended and at that moment, Kakashi never truly understood why he was sad saying all those things until now. His little brother knew he would end up in the Akatsuki. Satoshi was actually trying to say his goodbyes before he had to leave at the chunin exams. Seeing how he had now figured it out, he tried to stop his jutsu, but it was too late.

With one quick motion, Kakashi had pierced his little brother straight in the heart. But what surprised Kakashi the most was that his little brother had engulfed him in a hug. Kakashi then felt something warm hitting against his neck. Satoshi was shedding his tears, making Kakashi's eyes water himself.

"Onii-san..." Satoshi croaked. "I never intended for my future to become like this... if only.. if only I could tell you the truth. Maybe then I would still see your loving eyes once more instead of them hating me. I hope in due time you will forgive me... I'm so sorry... I truly am..." he said beginning to tear up again and gripped his brother a bit tighter. "I'm so..rr...y."

Satoshi slowly closed his eyes as his grip on Kakashi were finally loosening up. His body then became limp as Kakashi began to cry silently hearing those words. His brother sounded like he was in pain, as if he held all his emotion in and let it all out for the very first time. His voice was shaky and it was barely above a whisper.

Kakashi fell to his knees taking his brother down with him. He finally deactivated his chidori and pulled his arm out. Kakashi held his brother close as Naruto, Sai, and Sakura watched their sensei with sad eyes. The once rainy area, then cleared up to a bright sun shining down on the two of them. It was like a message from Satoshi to tell his brother to stop his tears. But Kakashi couldn't stop at all.