Epilogue

Voldemort stopped paying attention long before the man finished speaking. Twirling his wand idly, he performed a series of mental exercises to calm his fury. Rage, he had learned, while useful in small doses, what utterly unhelpful for planning of any kind. A flicker of amusement passed over his face. Perhaps that is why so many of my schemes went awry... It mattered little. The man he was no longer truly existed. Rather, only the best part had remained: the talent, the hunger and the cruelty. Allied to his new intelligence and pragmatism, he felt complete. Whole. Perfect...

The situation was not irredeemable. Of course, Britain would pose a threat, but he had not been idle. Bulgaria would soon be his, as would Romania and Albania. With those three, he could carry his banner into the heart of the Balkans, and then sweep over Turkey like the Golden Horde, before taking the Levant, his final aim.

Who holds the Crescent holds the world... So it was written by Abd al-Hazred, a wizard of rare talent, knowledge and wisdom. His Powers of the Air and Fire was still regarded as the definitive text on the Dark Arts, but the man had written far more, on scrolls of human skin with the blood of princes. No sbject escaped this master's attention: spells, blood magic, demons, inter-dimensional travel, religion, poetry, history, mathematics, medicine... Voldemort had been fortunate enough to obtain a few from the dead wizard Wyrn before his experiment had ultimately killed him, but he still lacked the key, the main prize: Kitab al-Azif, more commonly known (among those initiated to the blackest of knowledge) as the Necronomicon. Abd al-Hazred had been utterly insane when it was finished, though whether that was because of the book, or because the man was born several twigs short of a broomstick, was still a matter for debate. Voldemort tended to the second opinion. The Necronomicon contained magic more powerful than any in existence, but more importantly, it contained the secrets of the Old Ones, such as how to control the Great Beast... With that prize, even Akatsuki would be forced to submit to his will.

Unfortunately, the only copy was in Syria, in a monastery in the mountains, guarded by a force too powerful to assault directly. Voldemort knew he would find a way. It was, after all, his destiny.

A gesture sent the man cringing. Voldemort rose from his throne and, with a snap of the fingers, summoned his servants. "Begin the plans for the Balkans. You have three months to control the region. I want to begin the invasion of Turkey by the summer."

His servants nodded and muttered their assent, and were promptly dismissed by their master. Voldemort resumed his thoughts of the Book. Soon...

Itachi laid the body down gently and carefully began wiping the blood away. He cursed himself for not arriving sooner, for being over-cautious about pursuit. As it was, he had been unable to prevent what happened.

The clearing still hung heavy with the traces of Madara's foul presence, but the Uchiha prodigy paid it no mind. His attention was focused entirely on the body of his friend. Sighing, he spoke.

"You're either mad or an idiot."

Kakashi smiled weakly. "You could call me brave. And it did surprise you."

Itachi shook his head in despair. "I told you a million times. Never, ever, EVER, use Izanagi for more than ten seconds. It's supposed to buy you time for a counter-attack, not give you immortality! As it is, you have a collapsed lung, your heart nearly stopped and you won't walk for another three months unless I can find a wizard healer who can keep his mouth shut."

Kakashi let the tirade wash over him. He had held the illusion on himself for 11 seconds. Another three, and Obito's eye would have gone blind forever. He'd had no choice. To let it go too early would have meant Madara killing him for real. Still, he was thankful. It had been far too close.

Itachi froze. "We have company."

Kakashi struggled to look up. What he saw made his heart sink like a stone. There, in the middle of the clearing, stood Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru. He turned back to Itachi. "What now?"

Itachi stood. "We need to get him to St Mungo's. I'll explain everything to you once he's safely in care."

One week later, Konoha

Godaime Hokage Tsunade sat in her office, a cup of sake on the desk. She sipped from it as she read the report. Naruto and Rock Lee were returning from their assignment in Britain, and were bringing two allies for a technical meeting with her. She was a little perplexed. Liaison with the allies was not her job. Still, she was willing to give them a few hours, given their achievements in Britain. Plans were already afoot to open up a front there, relieving pressure on Konoha and the other allied villages, and allowing the Five Nations to focus on Akatsuki, who had taken advantage of the chaos to add four more tailed-beasts to the Shukaku they had extracted.

The clock struck twelve, and Tsunade carefully placed the report and the cup out of sight on the desk. She rose, and faced the window. The port-key began to vibrate and spin, and suddenly four figures collapsed on her floor. She didn't turn around until she was certain they had composed themselves. It would be a terrible thing to humiliate people she was supposed to be rewarding.

When all seemed ready, she sat back at her desk. Naruto and Rock Lee looked a little nervous, which was very much out of character. The two allies seemed utterly timid, unwilling to look her in the eye. She decided to put them at ease. "On behalf of the Fire Daimyo, and the Village of Hidden Leaf, I welcome you here. Before we begin any meetings, I would like to ask you to take a tour of our Village, so you may become more accustomed to your new surroundings." She gave them a dazzling smile, which turned to horror as they looked up.

"I'm afraid the tour won't be necessary, Hokage-Sama. We both know this village like the back of our hand. And I think you may find it more useful to move straight to the discussion. We are here to return to the village, and assist you in the conduct of your war in any way we can. We have valable information for you, and we are not exactly unskilled. We beg for an official pardon, and re-instatement in the official rolls."

The Fifth Hokage stared at Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi, and knew only one thing:

Things would never be the same again...

A/N - The End... (for now)

Hope you enjoyed the show!