"Tactics mean doing what you can with what you have."

- Saul Alinsky

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heyyy besties I'm back :))) I wrote the majority of this over summer break and finished it now, I'm so sorry for the delay <3 here's hoping I find more time to write in the next week.
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Let it never be said that Shisui Uchiha didn't love his cousins.

Itachi had been his best friend since he was little. They had met for the first time at a family reunion, and were forced to play together as the youngest, strangest kids in the group. The impertinent Shisui had a very dark sense of humor that only the odd, quiet Itachi appreciated. The two of them had almost immediately understood each other, and from that understanding bloomed a friendship that spanned their entire lives since that moment.

Sasuke had been a bonus that had come along after two to three years of friendship with Itachi.

Admittedly, the kid had been born a pain in the ass. During his toddler years, Sasuke hated everyone. Everyone knew that the youngest Uchiha child was a moody brat, and there was only so much Mikoto and Itachi could do to contain him. Sasuke wasn't afraid of Fugaku, nor was he affected by any attempts at discipline that Fugaku dished out.

Shisui had been pulled in multiple times as a mediator when he spent time at Itachi's house. Sasuke would listen to two people- Mikoto and Itachi, but Shisui Uchiha could convince him to do anything.

Since then, Shisui admittedly had harbored a soft spot for the little shit.

Sasuke Uchiha was the biggest brat as a small child, but when he turned 5, he practically became an angel. Shisui associated the change in behavior with the strange disappearances that Itachi mentioned on occasion after a couple of drinks. He progressed into a borderline adult by the time he was 8 years old. Sasuke seemed to watch every day drag by slower than the last, as an 8 year old. After he left the Academy, Shisui was almost concerned at how mature Sasuke seemed to be.

It was clear that the Uchiha clan had another prodigy on its hands. That being said, Sasuke's playmates consisted of a clever Jinchuriki boy, and an adorable civilian girl who clearly didn't get enough sleep. And Kakashi. It was strange how much time Kakashi devoted to teaching those kids.

Before he even became their Genin instructor, the four of them were already close. Minato deemed him fit to continue instructing the children because he seemed to be the only one who knew what to do with them.

They weren't good at hiding it- that entire team was full of geniuses. No one stepped in or forced them to do anything above what they wanted to because they had a circle of protectors lead by Kakashi keeping them from being sucked into the dark life.

(Itachi threatened Fugaku with some very nasty blackmail to ensure that his little brother got the childhood he deserved.)

((Fugaku was furious, but complied, and Shisui laughed his ass off.))

Team 7 was allowed to operate mainly observed by the circle of protectors that Kakashi created, but that didn't mean that Itachi, Shisui and other members of the circle weren't curious about the extent of their abilities.

Itachi described them as pillars of power that he had sensed during the Chunin exams, just before he'd stepped in to waste Orochimaru.

All of this to say, Shisui didn't know much about his cute little cousin's endeavors.

So needless to say, Shisui was a little stunned when his eldest younger cousin appeared at his doorstep followed by two of Sasuke's little posse- Naruto and Kakashi.

Itachi stepped into Shisui's apartment the minute the older Uchiha opened the door, without offering so much as a hello. Shisui muttered to himself about how rude that was, before greeting Kakashi and Naruto.

Naruto grinned at him, waving before he absentmindedly kicked his shoes off in front of the doorway.

Shisui shrugged- that was slightly less rude.

Kakashi, ever the angel, neatly organized his and Naruto's shoes, greeting Shisui politely. "Good morning, shithead."

"Morning, jackass." Shisui said, stepping into his kitchen and pouring the lot of them coffee. "Not that I don't love having you guys here," Shisui started, handing Itachi his plain black coffee before proceeding to put scoops of sugar in a cup for Kakashi, "but why exactly are you here? And why is Itachi looking like shit?"

"Fuck off." Itachi replied, taking a long sip of what used to be Shisui's coffee.

"We're here because I owe you and Itachi an explanation, and I think that now is the time to give you that explanation." Kakashi answered, taking a sip of his own cup.

"Are we telling the truth this time?" Naruto asked, frowning. "So far no one knows about what happened. Would it be a good idea to tell anyone else?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow at Itachi. The two exchanged glances. They were both wondering what exactly they were hiding that it was so important that Naruto was reluctant to tell even the two of them, who were almost always somehow involved in Team 7's shenanigans.

"Shisui and Itachi are world famous information hoarders." Kakashi huffed to his student, crossing his arms skeptically. "I'd expect Ibiki, the head of Torture and Information to give out information before these two did."

Naruto seemed skeptical. "Ibiki is the head of T&I."

"I stand by what I said." Kakashi shrugged.

"As funny as this is," Shisui started, frowning. "Could the two of you put us out of our misery and tell us what kind of trouble you brats have gotten into this time?"

"Alright," Naruto sighed, before a serious expression that Itachi and Shisui had never seen before on the son of the Hokage crossed his face. "Listen, what we're about to tell you is information that cannot be told to anyone else."

"The only reason I've decided to tell you two is because I need your help." Kakashi informed them gracelessly. "And I know that the two of you don't just blindly follow instructions, which is great, but not exactly useful for us in this scenario."

"Lovely." Itachi remarked blankly. "Now get to it."

"No, I need you to understand this," Kakashi stressed, making the two Uchiha stop their prying and pay attention to the older man. "This is potentially world ending stuff."

"As in, if this information falls into the wrong hands, we're talking hundreds of thousands of lives dead at the hands of the Akatsuki." Naruto took over grimly. "And potentially billions dead at the hands of an insane rabbit goddess."

"What?" Shisui asked, confused and shocked.

"We'll have to start from the beginning for them to understand this." Kakashi winced, frowning at Naruto.

Naruto took a deep breath before he turned to the two of them and gave them a serious look. "Once upon a time, there was a really big ass tree with magical powers."

-

The two Akatsuki members started running again first thing in the morning, much to Sakura's annoyance. Sasuke filed in behind her without complaint as the pink haired girl grumbled about the early hour. Sasuke wished they had brought a thermos of coffee or something, but this whole event had been kind of a spontaneous decision, so they'd only had time to pack the essentials.

The forest was admittedly glorious in the morning, though. The sun streamed through the trees in a way that made the whole forest seem to shine with an ethereal glow. The reflections of the light off the nearby creek gave the water a silvery sheen. Birds were chirping and calling to one another, and small animals were scurrying across the forest floor.

Sasuke and Sakura also scurried across the forest floor, so technically they were a part of the 'small animal' category. Sakura's dark mood quickly melted away after a few moments of walking through the woods.

Sasuke found that Sakura often came to life in the forest. She always had. For someone who claimed to hate camping so much, even in their past life when they were Genin her eyes shined the brightest when Team 7 has missions in the woods.

Sasuke himself also loved the solitude that the forest provided; sometimes he wanted to melt into the shadows of the trees and never be seen again. That was his dream. He'd never felt at home in Konoha before, and he didn't now. He's only ever felt at home with his mother, brother, and team. His home was not a place, but a small group of 5 people. Those were the pillars upon which his loyalty to the village stood. If it weren't for them, Sasuke would've retreated to the forest ages ago.

But he knew his mother would worry, so that stopped him from completely vanishing. And as much as he might swear that he could never see his older brother again and be completely happy (Itachi had gone from homicidal in their past life to just downright annoying in this one), Sasuke could never feel completely at peace unless he knew for a fact that Itachi was safe and happy.

Naruto and Kakashi have been awfully quiet.

Sasuke and Sakura were getting closer and closer to the Akatsuki members, so Sakura had communicated this through their telepathic connection to be safe.

When have they ever been pictures of communication?

I'm just saying, this total radio silence is kind of nerve wracking. I feel like I took my eye off two toddlers and left them wandering around a kitchen.

Why a kitchen, specifically?

Do you know how dangerous a kitchen is for a toddler?!

No, actually. According to Mom, I didn't misbehave in the traditional sense. I wasn't the type of kid to get into stuff or lock myself in the oven, I was just a pain in the ass.

Yes, well, just because you were a freak baby doesn't mean that kitchens aren't inherently dangerous for a toddler to be in unsupervised.

Got any kitchen traumas you'd like to share with the class, Sakura?

None I'm willing to share with you, Uchiha, I know you too well. You'd never let it go. You'd call me Stovetop Sakura for 3 years.

Oooh that's a good one. Thanks.

Fuuuuuck

Sasuke let loose a small chuckle, before a twig snapped up ahead and he sobered up immediately, practically glueing his mouth shut. Sakura did the same, green eyes narrowing.

Sasuke felt ahead for their chakra signatures and found that they had disappeared. They had stopped at the foot of a small mountain, and they had vanished. The only options would've been for them to climb up the rocky wall, or head in a different direction. And yet Sasuke couldn't sense them.

He could tell Sakura was having the same issue, judging from the frustrated look on her face.

Please tell me they didn't go up.

Sasuke inwardly agreed, because scaling the rocky side of a steep mountain was not in his plans for today.

The things we do for Kakashi.

Sasuke grabbed a rock that was jutting out, and put his other hand on a sturdy looking hold. Sakura did the same right beside him, and the two nodded wearily at each other before beginning the climb.

This is dangerous without harnesses.

We're ninja, Sakura, everything we do is dangerous.

I'm afraid of heights.

No you're not. You're afraid of tight, enclosed, inescapable spaces.

Don't tell me what I am and aren't afraid of.

Don't be wrong about yourself then.

Hold on, I think I'm sensing something.

Sakura stopped moving, and Sasuke did too. They'd already climbed up so they were near the tops of the tall trees by now, and the sun was beating down on their backs since they were closer to the leafy rooftops. Any further and they'd break past the leaves and scale the whole mountain.

But Sakura had stopped moving. She was staring rather intently at a particular spot, a pensive frown on her face.

Finally, her eyes lit up, a slightly mad smile gracing her lips. She removed one gloved hand from the rocks, putting her index and middle finger up into a hand sign and muttering, "Kai."

Sasuke had forgotten that his partner was proficient at spotting genjutsu for a moment.

The genjutsu melted away, revealing an opening in the mountain a few feet away from them. It looked like a dragon's cave, but Sasuke knew better. He could sense an intense amount of seals on the walls and in the ceiling.

Sakura could also sense the traps, clearly, because she turned to Sasuke expectantly.

Your turn.

She teased, her signature mocking grin appearing for the first time in a long time.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, grabbed her around the waist, and activated his Rinnegan. "Amenotejikara."

-

"Now just wait a damn minute." Shisui groaned, rubbing his forehead. "You two are messing with us."

"No." Kakashi shook his head.

"This doesn't sound possible, Kakashi," Itachi put in, looking remarkably calm for someone who was just told that in an alternative universe he was the one who made his beloved baby brother an orphan. Then again, Itachi was always calm. Naruto envied his calm.

"Only because a lot was changed, Itachi." Kakashi replied grimly. "Things between the clan and the village had become more and more strained until you had been forced into spying on the village in the ANBU, when in reality you were spying on the clan for the village."

"We're from that timeline, originally. All four of us." Naruto shuddered. "Let me tell you. It was shit. The only reason we're not dead right now is because Hagoromo gave us a second chance."

Itachi's lips thinned. "No wonder this little group formed ages before they were assigned to you as Genin."

That was true. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were always together, and oftentimes wherever they were, Kakashi was. Itachi had thought that his senior had chosen Sasuke and his friends as his protégés, or cute little siblings he could dote on, but it didn't take much to see that their bond went much deeper than that. They were like a little family all on their own. Kakashi had always been more of a father to Sasuke than Fugaku ever was,

"This also explains your power levels." Shisui added, clearly thinking out loud. "We were wondering about how it was possible to have three Genin born in the same generation that are so powerful."

Itachi smiled fondly, imagining what it would've been like to help Sasuke with easy things. His brother has been independent and far too smart for his own good since he was a little kid, and Itachi was only now figuring out why. In another universe, Itachi could've been the one to train him, to watch him grow as a ninja. "So Sasuke wasn't really a prodigy at all," Itachi said, voice full of wonder.

"Mmm," Naruto made a skeptical face, scrunching up his nose. "I dunno about that, Itachi-nii, I'm pretty sure achieving both the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Rinnegan at age 17 makes you a prodigy. Or at least pretty damn good."

Itachi and Shisui froze, mouths dropped.

"We hadn't mentioned that already?" Naruto asked Kakashi, surprised.

"No, we hadn't." Kakashi sighed. "I think you broke them."

-

Do you sense any other genjutsu?

Sasuke asked Sakura, lighting his palm on fire to make a makeshift torch with a quick fire jutsu. He lead the way, Sakura watching with their backs with a knife out.

No, none in here. Not yet.

Tell me if you do.

Ok. Damn it smells bad in here.

I'd bet 80 ryo that it doesn't smell as bad as Naruto's apartment in the first life.

Sakura winced as they walked, ducking to dodge a bat that flew at their faces out of nowhere. It flapped off, disappearing out of the gaping hole that lead to the outside.

You'd be right about that. Luckily Lady Kushina is an obsessive cleaner.

Isn't it a little weird that Lady Kushina is the one who does all the cleaning? I'd think Lord Minato is the clean one, but it's actually Lady Kushina.

No, it's really not that weird. Lady Kushina likes things pretty, and Lord Minato has a full time job.

Sasuke held up a fist to stop them both, because he heard voices up ahead.

"... no, the Hokage wasn't there." Kisame was growling defensively as Sakura and Sasuke crept closer and closer.

The dark cave lightened a little in the direction of the voices. Sasuke and Sakura pressed themselves against the wall, carefully concealing their presence. Both were incredibly grateful that they'd chosen neutral colors like gray and black this morning. Further down the hall, it opened into a room, luckily no one could see then from that angle, but unfortunately that left them in the same situation. They couldn't see who all was in the cave, so they would have to recognize their voices if they wanted to identify any other potential members that were in the room.

"So the Fourth Hokage wasn't even home, and yet the two of you couldn't get the Jinchuriki?" Someone's voice drawled, the sarcasm achingly obvious. Sakura strained her memory for who this voice resembled, and eventually came to the conclusion that this must be Hidan.

Hidan's still a member, I guess.

Well, according to Kakashi he was crazy, so I guess it makes sense that not much has changed.

"The Fourth wasn't home, yes, but the Jinchuriki put up more of a fight than we expected." The calm, carefully blank voice couldn't have been anyone other than Kisame's more relaxed partner, Jūzo.

"What do you mean by that?" Someone's voice boomed. Sakura didn't recognize this person's voice, and from the look on Sasuke's face, neither did he.

Of course, Sakura hadn't personally fought every single Akatsuki member, but she'd at least heard over half of them speaking in their past life, and the ones that she hadn't heard, Sasuke had. If the two of them couldn't identify this person, he must be new.

"The Jinchuriki seems to be strangely in tune with his Bijū." Jūzo explained. "I fought him, and apparently the intel we had on him was wrong. The two are working in tandem."

"How could this be?" Someone asked, their voice distinctly feminine. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged confused glances. Naruto had spoken with Konan in their past life and described her voice as low and regal, like an angel. This voice did not match that description. "The Nine Tails' Jinchuriki has spent almost no time with the Eight Tails' Jinchuriki, who has the most mastery over his Bijū. Is it possible that he learned this by himself?"

"It's highly unlikely." Kisame spoke up. "Bijū are unfriendly creatures by nature, and it takes a lot of time and effort to learn to live with one, much less have control over them to the point that Uzumaki-Namikaze has."

"Especially in the effortless manner that Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze demonstrated." Jūzo added. "The Nine Tails appeared to be a natural extension of him."

"And why wasn't Kisame the one to fight the Nine Tails, since he's the stronger one on this team?"

There was a tense silence for a moment. This person was a new speaker. Their voice was low, and almost a whisper. Sasuke and Sakura has to strain to hear him.

Do you recognize this guy's voice?

There's something familiar about it, I just can't put my finger on it.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

"I was battling the Jinchuriki's guardian, my lord." Kisame said, his voice almost humble, which was extremely out of character for him. "Itachi Uchiha."

Murmurs broke out, and Sasuke couldn't help but tense out of reflex. Whenever people spoke of his brother with such contempt, his natural response was to become defensive.

"Itachi Uchiha, huh?" The man with the voice so low you could barely hear it spoke again. "I knew I should've either recruited him or killed him ages ago."

"Orochimaru-san tried the recruitment scheme ages ago," someone spoke up. "It didn't go too well for him. The only real option was to kill him." Sasuke and Sakura recognized the voice as White Zetsu. This made them both nervous, because if Zetsu was here, he could appear from anywhere and give away their positions. Sasuke hesitantly moved back a little. The last thing he'd want to do is get stuck in a cave with a bunch of angry Akatsuki. "It truly is a setback that the Uchiha still draws breath."

Sasuke tensed angrily, and Sakura gripped his wrist tightly to stop him from charging in there and beating them up for his brother. Their mission was to collect information about this new Akatsuki, not fight them at this juncture.

"Are you volunteering to kill him, then?" Kisame snarled defensively.

White Zetsu's horrendously shrill laugh pierced the air, Black Zetsu's dark chuckles joining in. "Heavens, no," White Zetsu said through laughs.

"You wouldn't?" The new leader's dark voice silenced Zetsu immediately. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged wide eyed glances as they felt the aura of bloodlust emanating from the room. "You wouldn't even try?" The leader's voice went lower, somehow. Everything about it oozed danger. Sakura felt a chill crawl down her spine. She resisted the urge to shiver. "I wasn't under the impression that I'd recruited weaklings."

The whole room silenced, the members clearly sensing that the leader had something important to say.

"I thought that I'd picked people strong enough to do anything for the cause." The leader's voice reminded them of death, somehow.

"Of course, my lord." White Zetsu replied, clearly backtracking. "Anything for the cause. I was just thinking that it wouldn't exactly be a clever strategy for myself and Black Zetsu to attack Itachi Uchiha of all people."

"We're spies." Black Zetsu's voice rumbled, which made Sakura and Sasuke tense. Both remembered the Black Zetsu's horrible mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki like the back of their hand. If Zetsu was still involved with the Akatsuki, then the group likely had the same goal as they did in the last life. However,until they heard the words from the mouth of the leader himself, they couldn't just assume that.

"You are spies at my whim." The leader's cold voice reminded them. Sakura exchanged a confused glance with Sasuke. Tobi had been a little bit more respectful towards Black Zetsu, but this leader showed no regard or respect for him. "I could snap my fingers and have you both chasing the Jinchuriki. So I suggest you stop telling me what I already know."

"Yes, my lord," White Zetsu said quietly.

"Now, would anyone like to explain how two spies infiltrated this meeting unnoticed?"

Sasuke and Sakura froze, before turning tail and fleeing.

-

"Why would you do that?" Shisui asked, looking to his cousin, trying to reason it out in his head. Every way he looked at it, he couldn't understand why the Itachi of the past considered destroying the Uchiha Clan the same as protecting it.

Itachi's lips thinned. "Even though they haven't reached coup level, there are several things wrong with our clan even in this life, Shisui. You know that as well as I do. When I made my decision, I must've been driven to the point of no other option. I can understand that."

"You're defending mass murder?" Shisui's eyebrows raised.

"Of course not." Itachi recited patiently, rolling his eyes. "I'm just saying, if I was in his situation, I'd... well, not long ago, if it had come down to it, I probably would've made that same decision."

"Besides, if it wasn't Itachi, it would've been someone else." Kakashi pointed out. "In a way, it was merciful. But no matter who did it, it was most certainly going to happen."

"Danzo was determined to get rid of the Uchiha." Naruto agreed.

"It was... rather a mad choice, but a choice I apparently made nonetheless." Itachi sounded resigned to the knowledge that in another universe he'd killed his whole family. "I can't believe I would just leave Sasuke behind without telling him anything. That is immensely selfish."

"Your plan was basically to save the village, then use Sasuke to commit suicide." Naruto provided for Itachi, which made the elder Uchiha brother freeze, suddenly feeling sick.

"How could I?" He whispered, trying to work his way though a hypothetical situation where that event happened, and figure out what would make him do that. "So this Sasuke, the one I know, went through all of that?"

"And more." Kakashi commented grimly. "But you two made up before we left the last timeline. Sasuke holds no grudges against you."

"In fact, that whole thing honestly just made him more protective of you." Naruto shrugged, recalling the time that his best friend had annihilated an entire crime syndicate for targeting Itachi when his body was five.

No one involved with the syndicate had been expecting a tiny five year old to rain hell upon the Gōza crime family.

Sasuke had shown up with two tantos that were half his size and four paper bombs that Kakashi had given him. Sakura and Naruto sat in a tall tree watching Sasuke attack the camp, eating pocky and popcorn. Kakashi was on standby preparing to call in an ANBU team to clean up the bodies and arrest whoever was left, fully preparing to take the credit so Sasuke wasn't deemed a child prodigy.

Sasuke had set the four paper bombs strategically in the four corners of the overtaken village, and set them off at the same time. While the men were running to the middle of the village to get away from an invisible attacking enemy, Sasuke cut them down. Sometimes he spared some, but the others he killed. They had committed some heinous crimes in their lifetime, if the rumors were to be believed, so Sasuke felt no guilt.

Tiny, innocent, barely thigh-high Sasuke marched right up to the main building where the three leaders were hiding- a group of siblings, Shocho Goza, Omi Goza and Desi Goza. Omi and Shocho laughed at him immediately when they saw him arriving, a small boy covered in blood and holding two small swords (that he'd borrowed from Itachi, not that his older brother had noticed).

Desi watched, though, as Sasuke challenged her and her brothers to a fight. Omi and Shocho laughed and drew their swords, and Sasuke easily beat both of them.

Desi met his eyes, finally, asking the million dollar question: "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you tried to assassinate my brother."

"You just knocked out both of mine."

"That doesn't make us even. You're lucky that my teammates don't believe in murder."

Sasuke pulled out handcuffs that he'd gotten from his father's office.

"Don't let your brothers trick you into thinking you want something that you don't." Sasuke said once he'd secured Desi, turning to leave. "I made that mistake and lost my brother in the process."

Naruto and Sakura darted away from the window, Naruto handing Sakura 8 ryo.

The Goza operation was killed that day, and the siblings had been sent to jail. Desi was let out on good behavior in six years, but her brothers had both gotten life sentences.

"This explains why he was a little jerk as a kid." Shisui realized, recalling Sasuke's strangely dismal and rebellious attitude that he'd had as a child. He'd been a moody pain in the ass who constantly worried Shisui's aunt Mikoto.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "He had been dealing with unimaginable trauma that he hadn't allowed himself to deal with in his last life."

Itachi hummed thoughtfully, before wincing. "Now I feel worse."

"None of that was you, Itachi-nii," Naruto reminded him gently. "That was just an alternate version of you that saw no other choice. That doesn't mean that you'll just snap and kill your whole clan now, and it definitely doesn't mean you should feel guilty about it, 'ttebayo."

Itachi smiled bitterly. "Thanks, Naruto."

"But for now, we've got to focus." Kakashi interrupted. "We need your help."

"With what?" Shisui asked, eyes narrowing.

-

"I hate to say it," Sakura whispered, "but I'm so glad that Jiraiya-sama isn't Hokage."

"Huh?" Sasuke asked looking at his friend in confusion. That had come out of nowhere. Both had been dead silent, even in their heads, for an hour.

They'd just barely escaped. Sakura and Sasuke were currently hiding in some particularly thick bushes, doing their best to stay hidden. Three Akatsuki members had passed them already, combing the area for the missing spies. Luckily, none of them had gotten a good look at Sasuke or Sakura, so the kids were in the clear. If anyone found out that a bunch of 13 year olds had found the Akatsuki before the Five Great Nations, there would be hell to pay.

"I'm just saying," Sakura whispered. She shrugged, before pulling her backpack off her shoulders. Sasuke slapped her gently in the arm, and the girl groaned in frustration. "Calm down, no one's over here."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they won't be drawn over here by your loud yapping." Sasuke pointed out angrily.

Sakura sighed.

Why don't you think Jiraiya would be a good Hokage?

I didn't say that.
I'm just saying, it's a good thing that Jiraiya does what he does. He's an excellent spy. I don't know if he would ever be suited for Hokage, though.

Using that logic, neither is Naruto.

It isn't going to be all fun and games for him. Naruto will figure that out pretty quick.

He still wants to be Hokage? I haven't heard him bitching about it in a while.

He's going through stuff, Sasuke. His dad was just in a coma. It would be bad taste to declare that he wants to be Hokage now.

Mmhmm. Like bad taste ever stopped him before.

You're despicable.

I know him better than you do.

I love him more than you do.

You would be right, there.

Bullshit. He's basically your brother.

I have a brother.

You have two.

I have one biological brother. His name is Itachi.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Sakura.

You love him just as much as I do, you're just too much of a guy to admit it. My name is Sasuke, boo hoo, I can't express my feelings because of misguided, archaic preachings of old men :(

Seriously, Sakura?

I know that's just how you are, you're naturally closed off. I respect that. But if you let it get the better of you, you won't say what needs to be said, and then you'll regret it later.

"Boo." Someone drawled, poking their head into the bush they were hiding in.

Sakura punched the person square in the jaw out of reflex, following them out of the leaves and literally straddling their chest, holding a knife to their neck.

Sakura found Zetsu beneath her. It was a miracle that his Venus flytrap looking attachments didn't close on them when he poked his head into their hiding spot, now that she thought about it.

"How strange that the spies happened to be mere children." The white side commented, seemingly curious.

"What in the hell are you taking about, aloe vera freak?" Sakura hissed. "You just showed up out of nowhere while me and my cousin were playing hide and seek."

"Oh yeah?" The black side laughed, the sound making chills go down their spine. The last time they'd been this close to Black Zetsu, they'd been killed by Kaguya. "In the bushes, right outside of our hide out?"

"Listen, flytrap, I won't hesitate to fry you." Sasuke threatened, Sharingan turning on.

For a moment, fear flashed in the being's eyes, but before Zetsu could melt away into nothing and report to his master, Sasuke had trapped him in a genjutsu.

Sakura snorted. That was pathetic, really.

"You don't remember us being here." Sasuke said to the plant, his Sharingan blazing red and tomoe swirling. "You don't know our faces. You've never seen us before in your life. When you wake up, we will be gone, and you won't go looking for us. Report to your master that you found no one."

Zetsu nodded, and Sasuke released him. The plant-man fell back like a felled tree, eyes rolling back into his head.

"Why didn't you ask him for information?" Sakura asked, the two of them leaping away at double speed, knowing that Akatsuki were combing the forests. "We could've found out who the master is."

"My Sharingan isn't as potent as Shisui's or Itachi's in the genjutsu and manipulation aspect, and we're kind of in a hurry. You can only glean so much information from the mind unnoticed." Sasuke told her, "and I wasn't trying to wake him up, I was trying to get us away without our cover blown."

"What did you get?" Sakura asked, knowing that Sasuke didn't come out of that completely empty handed.

"I found out what their immediate plans are." Sasuke turned to her with a wicked smirk on his face. "We are now two steps ahead."

-

Kamareon watched as the duo colored man was taken down by the small child. He wasn't very tall, so he wasn't more than thirteen years of age. He wore black cargo pants with a deep navy long sleeved shirt. The boy had short black hair that stuck up in the back, and a little bit of roundness still left in his face. His eyes were what caught her attention, though. As red as a raging fire, as threatening as a dragon's final breath. The black, connected tomoe in his eyes told her that this child had eyes beyond even that of her old master.

The little girl beside him was standing with her arms crossed over her chest, astoundingly pink hair tied up neatly in a low bun. She appeared close in age, although the way her shoulders slumped and her face was pale and drawn suggested that she had been through something traumatic recently. Her eyes were as green as shimmering emeralds, and Kamareon was taken aback for a moment at the simultaneous love and sadness she found in those eyes.

So the girl had lost everything and still had the capacity to love.

How odd.

For the girl, Kamareon turned around and returned to her master. She dropped to one knee in front of the projection. Of course the master wasn't physically in the area, neither were most of the members. In fact, the only four searching for the spies were herself, Zetsu, Kisame and Jūzo.

"Have you located the spies, dear girl?" Her master asked patiently, his cold eyes bearing down on her like cruel weights.

Kamareon was reluctant to answer. Either she could admit that she left Zetsu to the whims of two children, or she could simply state what she saw. "I noticed two children walking not far from here, but I deemed them untouchable as of right now."

The master's eyebrows raised. "Why, exactly?"

"They're Kakashi's students." Kamareon confessed. "Together, they could've overpowered me and escaped with the abilities they have. Then they would've seen me, and my position as spy would be useless."

"Which two?" The master asked, not bothering to address her excuses.

"I... I'm-"

"Which two, Kamareon?"

"One was an Uchiha. The other was a girl."

"So, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Those are our spies." The master's face took on a gleeful expression, and he sat back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "My little cousin is dabbling in affairs that are not his business."

"It would seem so." Kamareon said, trying desperately not to feel bad for telling her master. If her facial expression changed even a shade, he would know something was wrong, and she'd have no choice but to tell the truth. It is unwise to hide things from the master. He has spies everywhere. He'll know that Zetsu was corrupted, and I just stood there and watched. He'll know that my bleeding heart prompted me to lie.

"I should've killed them years ago. I should never have allowed their bodies to progress so far. I could've started with that meddlesome Kakashi, before the others were even born."

"The Uchiha boy was quite formidable even as a child," Kamareon prompted him, in defense of her master's past decisions. Like it or not, there had been a reason they decided not to kill Team 7 so many years ago. "If he was, so were the others. And if you'd killed them, that would've drawn attention to us before we were ready."

"I know ways of killing so thoroughly that no one knows what happened to the victims." The master's smile turned wicked, and he tapped the black metal claws on his fingers pensively against his chair.

Kamareon shuddered at the reminder.

"After all, it was I who killed the First Hokage."

-

Minato Namikaze was frankly more than a little confused. He'd been having a rough enough day as it was. First, Kakashi had given him cryptic instructions to leave his house early with Kushina and not come back for anything until after noon. He's been befuddled, but he trusted his student.

Second, his ANBU had discovered paperwork claiming that Danzo, the disgraced councilman (may he rest in hell) had past dealings with Hanzo of the Salamander during the beginning of the civil war in Ame, which meant that Konoha might be indirectly responsible for years upon years of death in the Village Hidden in the Rain.

This explained the felled shinobi from Orochimaru's attack that had an Ame headband tucked in his ninja pouch. Orochimaru's lackey's from Sound had mixed with avengers from Rain, which meant Konoha now had two prominent enemies to deal with. (Which was ultimately Minato's responsibility, which meant more damn paperwork.)

And thirdly, the most confusing part of his day, two Jinchuriki from Kumogakure literally knocked down the door to his office demanding to talk to Naruto.

"There is literally no way you know my son." Minato's eyebrows furrowed. "I've been to Kumo before in the last ten years, but Naruto has never been anywhere near it."

Here, Killer B and Nii Yugito looked at each other guiltily, realizing that they'd just gotten their friend in trouble, which somehow only made Minato feel more uneasy. Because when on earth had Naruto met them?

"Naruto has never been anywhere near Kumo, right?"

Minato's voice dropped several octaves. All who know the Yondaime know that when Minato gets angry, he doesn't yell. He speaks so calmly that you can't help but feel so nervous that you tell the complete truth immediately. Naruto has been victim to this technique more times than he could count.

"Erm, I don't know what you want us to say, bakayaro konoyaro, Naruto was obviously there that day." B caved under the pressure, his guilty face telling all.

I hope this man doesn't play poker. Minato stood up, grabbing his hat. "I think it's about time we had a family talk. Follow me, please." Minato looked to an ANBU hidden in the rafters. "Go get Kakashi and Naruto for me."

"Ano, Hokage-sama, if you don't mind me asking," Nii Yugito spoke as they walked past the broken door in the direction of the exit, "why are we coming with you?"

"Because I have to ground my sons, and if they lie to me, I'll need you two to get the real truth from."

Yugito and B exchanged matching nervous glances.