Chained to the Past

by toastandrocks

Summary:

When Sasuke and Naruto have their battle at the Valley of the End what if instead of Kakashi finding Naruto the Akatsuki get to him first?

Pretty much a fic where Naruto loses some memories, joins the Akatsuki, and finds out about his parents causing him to vow to rebuild his clan (find any scattered members he can), destroy the leaf village, and aid the Akatsuki in their goal to build a better world.

Notes:

Hi everyone! So as you may have seen in the tags this is my first fic so I sorry if it reads weird or if there are any grammar mistakes! This first chapter is really just setting up the rest of the story so it’s a bit shorter than im planning for the others. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Sasuke stood solemnly above his fallen friend. Despite his victory he felt no joy at the sight in front of him. As the light faded from Naruto’s face and the rain enveloped the pair, exhaustion hit Sasuke and he collapsed. All he could feel was pain. The pain from the transformation that left his clothes in tatters. The pain from his injuries during their intense battle. The pain from his curse mark. The pain from abandoning his best friend, and possibly the only person who always saw him as more than his family name. As Sasuke kneeled over Naruto’s face he contemplated his brother's words. That in order to become strong he would need to kill the one closest to him. Looking at Naruto’s peaceful face he decided that Itachi’s word was not law. That the loss of this bond was enough. Slowly, Sasuke stood up and left, preparing himself for the journey to Orochimaru’s hideout vowing to kill Itachi without killing Naruto.

— — —

From the shadows Itachi and Kisame watch the battle unfold. Itachi could tell that Sasuke was still not ready to do what was necessary, but that wasn’t his concern for now. At this moment all that mattered was capturing the nine tails jinchuriki and trying to keep the other members of the Akatsuki from killing Naruto immediately. Once Itachi and Kisame were sure that Sasuke was far enough away they swooped in.

“Do you think the kid will stay knocked out?” Kisame asked as they stood towering over the boy. He barely looked alive, the color was drained from his face and his head was enveloped in a pool of blood. “Do you even think he’ll survive the journey to the hideout?”

“Jinchurikies are able to heal using the power of the beast locked away inside of them. He probably just overwhelmed his chakra network and exhausted his body so the healing is a bit delayed.” He was silent for a moment thinking of the best way to keep him incapacitated in case he did wake up. “For the issue of keeping him subdued-”

Itachi was cut off as Naruto shot up shouting, “WHERE IS HE. I CAN’T LET HIM LEAVE. GOD DA-” His screams were cut short as Itachi activated his sharingan and placed Naruto into a genjutsu. Suddenly, Itachi had a plan on how to keep Naruto alive.

— — —

Itachi and Kisame arrived at the Akatsuki hideout two days after capturing Naruto. Itachi had told his partner about his plan, claiming he wanted to keep the boy alive longer to spur Sasuke to his full potential. Kisame had agreed hesitantly at first, but over these two days of traveling Kisame had been increasingly careful with their tiny captive. Taking care that his injuries were healing and that he was alright even after undergoing the side effects of Itachi’s genjutsu. Now Kisame seemed ready to fully support the plan and help convince the other members.

The pair walked into the center of the cavern that the Akatsuki called their hideout with Naruto still unconscious in Kisame’s arms. One by one the other members of the Akatsuki appeared using a remote communication technique. When they spotted the nine tails jinchuriki they immediately broke into questions about what happened.

“Quiet. All of you.” Pain ordered his voice as cold as ice. “Itachi, Kisame, you have done well. Now we can proceed with our plans. This is a great victory for the Akatsuki. Everyone, prepare to break the seal and extract the nine tails.”

“Wait, before we kill the boy I have a proposal.” Itachi interrupted. “Why don’t we use him in order to help gather the other jinchuriki. Considering he has the highest number of tails he could make gathering the other beasts much easier. He could also deceive them, as a fellow jinchuriki, he could tell them that the process would leave them alive and simply extract the beast. Knowing the scorn jinchurikies typically face they would likely jump at the chance of a typical life.”

“Well how the hell are you going to get him to cooperate? It's not like he would ever agree to help us, he is a leaf shinobi for Jashin’s sake!” This time Hidan interjected, earning him a glare from Pain.

“Itachi’s already handled that.” Kisame countered holding Naruto a bit tighter.

“About two days ago I used my sharingan on him to erase and change his memories. Now he won’t be able to remember any of his time as a leaf village shinobi or the circumstances that lead him to be here with us. The only thing he’ll be able to remember are the cruelties he suffered at the hands of the leaf village residents.”

“Okay so now he can’t remember being a ninja big deal. How are we going to convince him to abandon Konoha? It’s not like he abandoned the village when that stuff did happen. We should just kill him now we are plenty strong enough to take out those damned tailed beasts without that pipsqueak.” Hidan had started to get on Itachi’s nerves now, if only he would let him finish speaking without interrupting.

“Once Naruto wakes up we’ll explain his memory loss by telling him he was injured in a battle. We’ll tell him that after being injured his team members abandoned him, that we just happened to pass by and unable to ignore a boy so young suffering we took him to be healed. Then I’ll mention how he looks exactly like the fourth Hokage. He’ll be unable to resist and I’ll tell him the story of his parents' sacrifice only revealing the name of their child at the end of my story. When he realizes that he is that child I’ll act in disbelief that his team members could treat the hero of their village with such disrespect. Then I’ll explain to him that it is cruel actions such as these that Kisame and I to leave our respective villages. If he is still unwilling to join our cause then I will tell him how the leaf village ordered me to kill my entire clan. If he is still unwilling to cooperate then I will accept that he needs to die.”

The room was silent for a moment as everyone took in Itachi’s plan. Pain was the first to speak, “I’ll allow it.” The other members quickly agreed, although Hidan had a few snide comments he agreed eventually.

“I will get to work right away.” With that Itachi began to walk out of the room with Kisame trailing close behind him.

“Remember Itachi, this boy must die one day so that we may fulfill our goals. Do not let your emotions weaken your resolve.” With Pain’s remark ringing in his ears, Itachi left the cavern and made his way to his home near the base.

— — —

Itachi’s home was nothing impressive. In fact it may have been too generous to call it a home considering it was practically empty and devoid of anything that would actually make it a home to Itachi. The house consisted of five rooms: Itachi’s bed room, a guest room, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. Kisame took Naruto to the guest bedroom where Itachi prepared to wake the boy and begin his plan. He was sure to take off his headband so as not to startle the boy with the information that he was a rogue ninja so soon. After a deep breath he released the genjutsu that Naruto was under and steeled his nerves.

Chapter 2: The Truth Will Set You Free

Summary:

Naruto wakes up and chats with Itachi

Notes:

Hi again! I am a bit hazy on the personalities of some Akatsuki members so if anything seems horribly off in the coming chapters let me know in the comments and I’ll fix it for future chapters! I originally wasn’t going to include Naruto’s time with the Akatsuki being young because I am so unsure of writing them but the more I thought about it the more it became essential to lay down some clear connections among the characters for my future plans (plus someone commented it thx!). That's all im saying for now! After all I have to leave some mystery right! Haha enjoy!

Naruto woke up in pain. His head hurt like crazy, his limbs felt heavy, and he was absolutely exhausted. He cracked open his eyes, wincing as the sunlight from his apartment window hit his eyes. Except, this wasn’t Naruto’s apartment. He shot up trying to find the nearest door to escape to. Someone finally kidnapped him. Naruto had always been a bit paranoid that living alone at such a young age would make him vulnerable, but he was sure that in a village full of ninja he would be fine. That as long as he locked his door he would be safe! And if someone did manage to break he lived in a village full of people who would save him. So where the hell was he!

Just as he was a few steps from the door he felt a hand on the back of his collar pulling him back. He screamed, “GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU BASTARD.” He spun around to see a tired looking man in a black robe with red clouds.

“You're not in danger kid, I found you collapsed and injured and brought you to my home to help you.” The man sounded exasperated, “Do you remember what happened? How you were injured?”

“What are you talking about the last thing I remember I was in bed going to sleep, don’t try and trick me!” Naruto had no idea what this guy was talking about. “I don't know what kind of stunt you’re pulling but it ain’t working on me!”

The man sighed, “It’s just as I feared, when I found you there as a massive gash on the back of your head I was worried that your mind wouldn’t be fully intact. However, from what I can tell you were injured on a mission-”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WHAT MISSION I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’RE SAYING!” As the man kept speaking, Naruto's head began to pound. Then he looked down at his own hands, startled. They were bigger than he remembered, more calloused. He looked around the room and spotted a mirror. He escaped the man’s grasp and stumbled to look into it. He looked different. Older. His face looked slimmer than it had been just hours ago, he was wearing unfamiliar clothes, but the strangest part was the headband on his forehead indicating him as a shinobi of the leaf village.

A yelp escaped him as he fell to the floor in shock, finding his own reflection unfamiliar. “W-what’s going on here!” Naruto yelled, his confusion turning to anger.

The man sighed as he helped Naruto up, “You should lay back down. You’re not fully healed yet.” He led Naruto back to the bed and pulled over a chair for himself. When he sat down he finally said, “I’ll do my best to explain what I think happened based on how I found you. Please allow me to finish what I am about to say without interrupting.”

Naruto nodded his head desperate to hear an explanation. “Right now, we are inside of my home in the Land of Rivers. I had been traveling in the Land of Fire looking for a special scroll that I was unable to find. While I was returning here I heard the distant sounds of fighting, but the sounds stopped well before I reached the battle ground. That is where I found you unconscious in a pool of your own blood struggling to cling to life.” Naruto thought that explain why his whole body ached. “My companion and I couldn't simply ignore a child in such a state so we brought you back here to heal you. I had concerns that such a large wound on your head would have affected your memories, but there was no way to be certain until you woke up. You’ve been unconscious for eight days”

Naruto’s head was reeling, he had no idea what to think. It would be impossible for kidnappers to make him look older. The more he thought about it the more he believed this guy. He was a bit distraught hearing that he had lost his memories, but this situation had upsides. So he was finally a ninja, right? Man that was all he ever wanted! Now he could prove to all those people who looked down on him that he was going to become the strongest and be Hokage one day!

“So Mister, can you get me my memories back? I want to get back as soon as I can! I bet a ton of people are worried about me.” Naruto was sure that now he was a ninja that people would finally come to accept him. His team was probably worried sick and he wanted to have back any memories where people might have cared about him.

The man looked thoughtful for a moment, “I don’t think that it is possible. At least it’s not a skill that I have. I have heard some far-fetched tales of miracle healers, but I doubt they are true and I don’t want to give you false hope.”

Naruto was a little bummed by the news but then he realised, “That's okay! I can just make new memories with my ninja team! So when can you take me back!” He was just so excited to have friends. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t remember him, they would still accept him right? All Naruto had ever wanted was to be accepted, for people not to look at him the way they did. If he was a ninja he must have finally gotten his wish!

“Well, before I return you to your village I think there is something you should know.” The man took a deep breath and continued speaking, “While you were still unconscious I went to try and find your fellow shinobi to inform them you were alive, and well… what I overheard was not pleasant.” He paused for a moment, “I found two leaf village ninja camping near the battle site. I heard them saying that they were glad that the blonde brat was finally dead and that the village would be a better place without him. They even said that they wished he would have died sooner. I think it’s likely that those people were your teammates.”

Now every hope and dream Naruto had ever had came crashing down. He felt his vision blur as his eyes watered, he didn’t want to cry in front of some stranger, but he couldn’t help it. He learned that even in the future, even after becoming a ninja the village still despised him. He had never understood why they hated him, sure he was rowdy and loud sometimes but the villagers had been cruel for as long as he could remember. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be chased out of stores, insulted, yelled at, ignored by adults, or bullied by kids his age. Why did they hate him so much?

Suddenly they began speaking again, “You know kid, you look just like someone I used to know. Your name wouldn’t happen to be Naruto Uzumaki would it?”

— — —

Itachi had no idea what to do. Of all the possible outcomes he had never expected this kid to just burst out in tears. He decided to jump into the next phase of his plan: telling Naruto about the story of his birth.

Naruto’s tears turned into sniffles as he said, “Yeah how’d you know that?”

At least his crying had died down, “Well you look just like your father.”

With that the boy’s eyes lit up, “You mean you knew my Dad? How did you know him? What was he like? What’s his name? I want to know everything!” If Naruto didn’t have snot still streaming out of his nose he never would have been able to tell that the boy was crying.

“They never told you about your parents? I know the third Hokage wanted to wait to tell you until you were older, but to not tell you for so long is just cruel.”

Naruto looked confused now, “What do you mean the third Hokage knew my parents? If he knew them he would have told me no doubt about it!”

“Well, he didn’t want you to grow up to be spoiled, after all being the son of the fourth Hokage would make many people shallow.” Itachi tried to seem casual about mentioning the fourth, but on the inside he was incredibly nervous to see how the boy would react.

Naruto was sitting in stunned silence, his mouth wide open. After a few moments he quietly said “You mean… my dad… was THE FOURTH HOKAGE?”

“The one and only. You pretty much look like a miniature version of him.”

“Wait… if my Dad was the fourth Hokage then how did you know him?” Naruto questioned.

“Well I didn’t just know your father, I knew your mother as well. I just know they would be saddened to see you treated like this considering you are the village hero.” Itachi carefully avoided Naruto’s question and tried to redirect him, telling the boy he was a rogue ninja to soon might break the trust he is trying to build.

“What do you mean village hero? None of what you are saying makes any sense!” Naruto seemed to be about to have a tantrum so Itachi figured he should get to the point.

“Naruto, do you know the story of how the fourth Hokage died?”

“I know he died stopping the nine tailed fox… the same day I was born.” Naruto said with a sad look on his face.

“Naruto, the story of how your parents died and why you are the hero of the leaf village are one and the same. Your mother was named Kushina Uzumaki. She came to the leaf village as a child, alone after her parents had been killed in the massacre of Uzushiogakure. Uzumaki’s are renowned for their sealing techniques as well as their incredibly large life forces, and because of this they are often used as living vessels to seal and imprison demons. Before Kushina had come to the village the fox demon was sealed inside of Mito Uzumaki the wife of the second Hokage, but she neared death in her old age. So as Mito was on her death bed she transferred the seal imprisoning the beast to your mother when she was still just a child. From what I have heard, nearly all of the villagers shunned her for her origins, except for your father. I don’t know the details of their story, but eventually they fell in love.” Itachi could see Naruto’s eyes sparkle as he clung to every detail about his parents.

“Eventually they got married, and your mother became pregnant. Your parents knew that there was a chance that the seal could weaken because of the pregnancy, but as the Hokage your father was ready to devote every resource in the village that he could to protect you both. He even set up a secret facility for your mother to give birth as safely as possible. But the unthinkable happened when a mystery figure broke into the facility and released the seal causing the fox to escape and gravely injure your mother while she tried to protect you. Your father got you both to safety and went to fight the fox. Eventually your parents had no choice but to work together and reseal the fox with their last moments alive. Naruto, they sealed the fox inside of you. You are the current prison of the nine tailed fox. Without ever knowing it you have had the greatest burden and sacrifice of protecting the village at the cost of your parents.” Itachi stopped there, deciding to give Naruto some time and space to think about all the information he had just been given.

“So… I have the thing that killed both of my parents… inside of me…” Naruto was quiet for a moment. “How? Where is it?”

“We can go into the details of how the seal works later if you would like, but for now if you have any other questions I’ll try my best to answer,” Itachi replied.

“How do you know all this stuff? About my parents and about the leaf village I mean. If even the people there didn’t know about it then how could you?”

“Why do you think the people of Konoha didn’t know?”

“Well… If they knew all of that they never would have treated me that way! They never would have ignored me or hurt me because they’d know that I’m protecting the village!”

Itachi genuinely felt sympathetic for the kid; he was clearly distraught. But if he wanted Naruto to survive and join the Akatsuki then this had to be done. “They did know. The third Hokage put out an order of silence forbidding anyone speaking of the events of that night-”

“NO WAY.” Naruto screamed, seeming to reach his limit. “There’s no way. I didn’t do anything!”

“Many shinobi died because of the nine tails, and from what I can remember many of the villagers saw you as that very demon. So they took out their hate and anger on you and because they couldn’t speak about the details they just told their children to avoid you, that you were trouble.”

Naruto looked like he was going to cry again, “NO THERE IS NO WAY I BELIEVE YOU! HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW ALL THIS?”

Itachi was quiet for a moment before saying, “Because I used to be part of the village's Anbu black ops. I read the records about your parents and saw you being mistreated. I am telling you the truth.”

“Then how come I’ve never seen you around the village, huh? If you lived there I should at least recognize you!”

“Did you ever hear about the massacre of the Uchiha clan by a man named Itachi?” Naruto opened his mouth to say something but Itachi kept speaking, “Well, that was me. I was the one who killed them all under the suggestion of a man named Danzo Shimura under the condition that my little brother would be spared and protected. Of course when I say suggestion I mean a secret mission that was desired by all of the leaf’s high ranking officials to keep the peace.”

Naruto was stunned as he stuttered out, “H-how could you do that? Kill your whole clan…”

“It was either my entire clan would be killed by other Anbu agents or I could kill my whole clan and save my precious younger brother. I couldn’t let him die, but I also wasn’t strong enough to refuse my orders. After I fled the village they tried to keep giving me orders, and for a while I followed them. Until I learned that Danzo had tried to kill my brother, afraid that he would become to powerful like the rest of my clan. After that I knew I couldn’t tolerate the dark side of Konoha and I became a rogue ninja. To answer your question, that is how I know all of this information and why you do not recognize me.”

“How could they,” Naruto said, venom dripping from his voice. “DAMN THEM, DAMN THEM ALL! How could they make someone kill their whole clan? How could they treat me like that?” Itachi was surprised by Naruto’s anger on his behalf. While it was unexpected it was a good sign that he might be open to what Itachi was about to say.

— — —

Naruto was angerier than he had ever been. He felt as though his blood was boiling at the thought of everything that the leaf village had done. There was no way he could go back now that he knew all of this. Any sadness he felt before was overshadowed by his pure rage! He suffered years at the hands of adults and kids alike because of something he couldn’t control. Because of something that they should be grateful for! And despite barely knowing the man in front of him he couldn’t help the fury he felt for his situation.

As Naruto’s mind was still racing when he heard Itachi begin to speak again, “Naruto, I am part of a group of rogue ninjas who formed because they saw the injustices in their villages and could not tolerate it. Our goal is to make a better world where everyone can live in peace. We call ourselves the Akatsuki. How would you feel about becoming our newest member?”

Naruto didn’t even have to think for a moment, “Hell yeah sign me up!”

Notes:

For Naruto’s young dialogue I am really trying to capture how he was when he was younger. The language and his tendency to jump to conclusions.
Also in case anyone was wondering Naruto pretty much just forgot his time being a ninja and anyone who had been his friend. So the only thing he really remembers is the village being cruel to him.
I think this is going to be about the length of the chapters from now on!
Oh also I think I’m going to be posting about every other day for a while just because I have the free time in case anyone was wondering!
And last note I was inspired to write this because of an unfinished work called Setting Sun. The account is orphaned and it really inspired me to write my own fic bc there are not many out there about Naruto being in the Akatsuki.

Anyways hope you liked this chapter!

Notes:

If you’ve gotten this far then THANK YOU FOR READING! I really appreciate it and would love any feedback anyone has! I am trying to write each character as having like a distinct way of speaking but there are many characters that I think of as serious so im kind of struggling to write them differently haha. Also pardon any mistakes made with Jutsu terms it has been a while since I watch Shippuden so some things may be a bit off. Stay tuned for the next chapter