Inevitable

The winds of Konoha were heavy and damp; bringing chills and whispers of upcoming disaster. Something bad was about to happen, and everyone could feel it.

All shinobi and civilians could feel the air tensing. They stared at each messenger bird that flew by, afraid that one of those letters would seal the fate of the town. Tsunade was one of the more affected people though, being worried about her home. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she knew something was off.

It was then that she got the letter summoning her to a Kage meeting, and it was one that even had the Dorokage, the leader of Kusagakure, which was extremely rare.

"Shizune, get Kakashi and Guy as quick as you can!" she ordered. The timid woman bowed and shuffled out of the room as fast as she could, leaving Tonton behind. A long ten minutes passed before she returned with the copy ninja and the easily excited taijutsu master. Tsunade spoke before they could even ask what was happening. "Shizune and Guy, both of you are coming with me to the land of Iron right away. Kakashi, you're going to be my replacement here, so take good care of Konoha."

And with that, three of them were gone out the window (Tsunade had informed the ANBU of her intentions already so everything was set up) and they were soon out of the village and running at high speeds towards the snowy land of neutrality.

Those left behind in the city slowly returned to their homes as the day was done and there was no need to stay outside in the overwhelming atmosphere any longer.

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"Good. All those Kage are gathering; it's our time to strike," Madara plotted.

The gathered criminals looked at the masked man in shock and slight fear with the exception of Pain, Konan, Zetsu, and Orochimaru, who already knew he had a deep voice but had just thought that 'Tobi' just had split personalities or something.

"Wait, who are we fighting?" Amejisuto was in shock.

“I will be fighting at a Kage meeting in the land of iron. None of you will be going, other than Zetsu. I will attack them alone and try to make a deal," the old Uchiha replied. Itachi, Amejisuto and Deidara eyed the man like he had grown a new head.

"Are you crazy, yeah?! We all may be exceptionally strong but we're no match for all the Kage together, let alone individually!" Deidara shouted.

"I will not be fighting them the whole time. We have hostages from each of their villages; they will either hand over the jinchuriki to get back the powerful ninja from proud and noble clans, or they will choose to participate in a war and risk their deaths. We will not fight for long."

"Is that what we've been doing for the past few weeks, yeah? Why not capture the jinchuriki?"

"The remaining ones too strong to go after with all ninja on alert. With a war, we will be able to reduce the populations, capture the beats and use their power to destroy the shinobi world and make a new one!" Madara laughed maniacally, making most remaining members nervous.

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Amejisuto and Itachi were forced to join the rest in waiting as Madara and Zetsu went to the summit. Deidara was pacing out of nervousness and the Konoha duo were on the couch, their hands clenched together in fear and panic. How did things get out of hand so quickly? There was no way that a war could be won, especially with four members that were ready to fight, one being completely useless, and the other three members unwilling to participate.

Maybe now was a good time to try to escape…

Deidara glanced over as the couple looked at each other, sharing telepathic messages. The blonde could tell that they were more afraid than he was and would most likely try to get out of there.

He walked over and sat with them. "I know what you're thinking, and I think it would be best for you to escape, yeah," he mumbled so the other members didn't hear him. Pain and Konan left the room a while ago, but Kisame and Orochimaru were still in the room having their own discussion.

The two Konoha ninja looked at him in shock and disbelief. "We won't fall for your tricks," Amejisuto spoke after a bit of hesitation.

"I swear on my C4 bombs that I'm not lying," he assured them. "There will probably be a war and we should have no part in it. It's too much for us, yeah."

"What do you suggest we do," Itachi glared, still suspicious.

"I want no part in the Akatsuki, let alone this war, but I can't go back to a village. I'll cause a distraction and try to take out as many members as I can while you escape, yeah."

"Are you sure?" Ameji asked, concerned for her friend.

"Positive, yeah. Let's do it tomorrow."

"Alright, we'll trust you," Itachi said, nodding in agreement of the plan.

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"We have captured noble clan members from each of your villages. If you want them back, hand over the eight and nine-tailed jinchuriki," Madara glanced down at all the Kage and the people they brought to the summit. They were all glaring at him, wanting to attack again, though they knew from a few moments ago that he could just let all their attacks go through him, making the idea of them sending lava, dust, sand, rocks, water and any other element flying at him.

"I will not hand over Killer-Bee just to get Aika back," the Raikage growled.

"And even though we love Itachi and Amejisuto dearly, we will not risk the destruction of the world," the Hokage agreed.

"You Konoha ninja always want to seem like the nicest and most compassionate shinobi village," the Tsuchikage hissed at the blonde.

"Well we are," she narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, but look at how many Akatsuki-nin you have. There's Orochimaru, Itachi Uchiha, Amejisuto Ishi and apparently MADARA FRICKEN UCHIHA!" the short man pointed furiously at the real Akatsuki leader who had already revealed his identity.

"Itachi and Amejisuto are hostages," she opposed.

"Enough arguing like young children. We have a problem to face together," Gaara spoke ironically, silencing the oldest of the Kage.

They both turned their attention back to the evil Uchiha. "We will not hand over the jinchuriki," the pretty Mizukage announced with all other Kage agreeing.

"If you don't, your hostages will die and you will have started the fourth great ninja war," Madara glared, not happy with the decisions of the shinobi leaders.

"So be it. We will defeat you so quickly that the war will only last a few minutes," the Dorokage said, finalising their decision.

"I will be back with my own army in a month," the Akatsuki hissed before disappearing with his kamui.

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"We will be going to war in thirty days," Pain reminded everyone. "Orochimaru, we will need your knowledge of jutsu. Please come with us to see Madara." There was no point in calling him Tobi anymore. Once he got back, he shocked everyone with his announcement of what happened at the summit and who he really was.

The snake-like man left the room with the pierced man and the bluenette; the plant man was already most likely with Madara in the usual place where the higher-ups met up and discussed things.

Only four ninja remained in the main area; the hideout seemed so empty without the ancient wire man and the Jashinist. Deidara sat close to Amejisuto and Itachi, and the shark-like man was on the other side of the room, petting his sword creepily.

Kisame’s grin was terrifying, as he was obviously excited to let loose. The recent missions had generally been ‘no kill’ assignments, and he was ready to shred any opponent that got in his way. His bloodthirstiness could be felt by the other three, who were exchanging nervous glances.

“It’s now or never,” Deidara mouthed, taking a few deep breaths before standing up and passing the blue man, going down the same hall that Orochimaru, Pain and Konan had disappeared in. He looked back at the brunette and her fiancé, giving a sad smile and letting all of his emotions flood through his eyes. Fear of the future, regret of the things he’d done, and love for the woman he was doing this for.

Her mesmerising violet eyes widened at the realisation, and she started to tear up. ‘I’m sorry.’

The blond nodded sharply to the raven, giving him the signal to get out of there. The older man got up and pulled the girl with him as they left down the opposite hall, towards the back exit, though to Kisame it would look as if they were going to their room. The brunette looked back once, locking her eyes with Deidara’s, thanking him, before running with Itachi.

“Hey Kisame, let’s go eavesdrop on the leaders, yeah,” he knew the man couldn’t resist as he jumped up from the couch and followed him to the room.

‘Maybe in another life, Amejisuto,’ he took a deep breath and held his hand up to his opened cloak. Kisame didn’t notice as he opened the mouth on his chest and fed it clay, letting chakra accumulate and focus on that area.

The shark man only realised what was happening when the blonde became transparent.

“Oh fu-“

BWOOM! BOOSH! SSSHHHHBLAAMMMM!

The whole base shook as the explosions went off.

Itachi and Amejisuto watched from a safe distance on a large rock as the whole area turned white and exploded, sending strong winds to the surrounding area.

It was finished.

They could only pray that the prisoners that the Uchiha had found with his sharingan made it out of there, though it had been a half hour or so since they’d released them.

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice,” the raven mumbled. “It makes sense looking back though.”

“Notice what?”

“That Deidara was in love with you.”

“Oh…” Tears gathered once more in the Ishi's eyes at her friend's sacrifice. "Deidara…" she mumbled, upset for the loss of the blonde and even of Kisame and Konan. She had thought herself to be friends with them. Well, she had thought Tobi was her friend too, but he was obviously just fooling everybody.

"We have to go," Itachi smiled sadly, breaking her out of her thoughts. Ameji sighed and turned around, starting the long trek back home. They couldn’t run; Pain had still kept their chakra amount halved when at the base. The man gently took her hand in his, turning her in a different direction. “It’s this way.”

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