"You don't look too good."

Minato wasn't sure how else he could tell Itachi about it. It was clear as day to Minato the tiredness in Itachi's eyes. It eerily reminded him of the way Shisui looked when he tried to commit suicide after the failed assassination attempt. Were all shinobi like this? Or was it just an Uchiha problem?

Itachi rubbed gently at the corner of his eye at Minato's remark. He was aware that he hadn't been in the best condition throughout the past few days, but he didn't think it'd be that noticeable. Looking up at Minato, he noticed the clear concern in the man's eyes. It vaguely reminded him of someone, but he didn't want to think about that anymore. "Sleep hasn't been well recently, that's all. Thank you for your concern."

"Is that so..." Minato sighed quietly. It reminded him of the days after Kushina passed away. He was using the exact same excuse. So this really was universal. Minato glanced up at Itachi, those black eyes reminding him of Shisui. He wasn't here without a reason. Even to someone like him who has only been to one council meeting, the tension between the Uchiha and the rest of the council was clear. He could tell too, from the conversation with Mikoto, that something was going on.

Shisui didn't give him much details, but if he thinks that was enough, Minato was sure it would be. If the key to this problem was Itachi, he has to at least try to talk to him. Evidently from Itachi's eye bags, the teenager needed someone to talk to as well. "Itachi. I need to know- What happened with Danzo?"

What was once tiredness in Itachi's eyes quickly faded into shock as the teenager's eyes widened slightly. Clearly, it was serious business. Something no one was supposed to know. He quickly regained his composure, a blank expression on his face. "...Sorry. I'm not sure what you mean."

"The Uchiha clan and the council. I can tell something is going on," Minato narrowed his eyes. Although that was his own assumption, it was quite obvious at least part of that was true. However, Itachi's emotionless facade didn't seem to crack, and Minato knew he needed something more convincing than mere observation. "Look, I don't know much- I'm only an outsider. But I am also Shisui's friend, despite all that's happened. His wish for me was to listen to you, even if you do not talk."

At that, Itachi's eyebrows furrowed a bit. Shisui was a victim of Danzo's cruelty, being forced into ROOT where his humanity is practically erased. It was still hard to accept that everything had been an act, but Itachi knew at least his own emotions were true. Unlike Shisui, he wasn't confined to the likes of Danzo's control. He could make a change.

Perhaps it was with the emotional turmoil that Itachi had buried the idea of family at the back of his mind. They were all shaped into enemies within Itachi's eyes. He gave no chance for that to change, so that the massacre wouldn't fail. All of them, except for Sasuke. He glanced over at the boy who was poking holes in the ground with Naruto doing the same.

What would Sasuke want? If anything, losing his whole family was the last thing the boy could ever ask for. And Itachi was Itachi, he could never bear to push away the fact that he was the dearest one to Sasuke. Had he forgotten to accept the warmth in everyone else's eyes?

"I'll do what I can, Itachi. But I need to at least know what is going on."

Itachi turned back to look at Minato's eyes. There was no desperation in Minato's eyes. He wasn't waiting for Itachi to be there for him. Unlike his parents, who kept trying to convince him to join their coup d'etat. Unlike Hiruzen and Danzo, who gave him reasons to comply with the council's decisions. Minato was there for Itachi.

Itachi sighed, eyeing the untouched dango in front of him. This might work. After all, Minato was just the Fourth Hokage from another world. Even if it hurts to try, it was guaranteed whatever other outcome would be worse. "...How much do you know about the Fourth Hokage elections and the Kyuubi attack?"

The explanation wasn't too long, but enough to include the important details. Itachi talked about how Fugaku wasn't chosen as the Fourth Hokage, making Minato the leader of the village instead. There wasn't too much of a grudge there after Mikoto smacked some sense into him, but the Kyuubi attack was the true start of it all.

People who knew enough were able to recognise the sharingan in the Kyuubi's eyes on that night. It was more than enough for the blame regarding deaths of many villagers to be pushed upon the Uchiha, who was the village's police force. They were cast aside to the bounds of the village without evidence backing those claims, and their position as the police force was lowered down, with ANBU taking half of their rights.

"They thought fighting back with force would be the right choice. To start a civil war," Itachi muttered. Minato's eyes narrowed, so his guess was correct. But what did Itachi have to do with this other than being on the Uchiha's side? "Naturally, the council needed defence. I acted as a double spy, but... My clan's plans were too much. It would cost too many lives and would risk Konoha's safety."

"So... you were on the council's side?" Minato asked, seeing Itachi's hesitance in continuing his elaboration. Itachi slowly nodded as he went on.

"...Yes. Lord Third and Danzo-sama's ideas were for the whole clan to be exterminated. And... I was to be the one to kill them." Minato's eyes widened in shock at that point. To kill a whole clan over a civil war? He understood that a civil war meant weakening a village's security and forces, but that was overdoing it. He knew there were many innocent civilians there who might not even know how to fight. Moreover, they were letting Itachi do the deed? Minato's face morphed into one of horror as he pictured a scene of the boy slaughtering his own parents in cold blood.

This world was awful. It was worse than Minato would've ever imagined. As he pictured Hiruzen's face, he was left in utter disbelief that who he knew as a kind village leader would allow such cruelty upon a young teenager like Itachi.

"...They said they'd allow Sasuke to be spared," Itachi glanced over at his brother. There was a distant look in his eyes as he watched Sasuke poke a stick into Naruto's arm, earning a loud yell.

"...He'd hate that," Minato whispered, a frown as he looked over in the same direction. So they were just going to let two children endure such hardship? To bear the weight of bloodshed and loss all on their own? Even as an adult with a teenager son, Minato knew he'd break with that pain. He glanced back at Itachi, imagining a world where that would happen. Would he blame Itachi for leaving Sasuke alone, going through the pain of loss? As Minato tried to picture a scenario where he had to kill Naruto with his own hands, he felt like he could understand Itachi's reasoning a little.

"I don't know. I really don't know how to fix this," Itachi uttered as his voice cracked, eyes locked to the table yet again. Minato felt his heart ache for Itachi. He could hear just how broken he already was through that tone. Really, how should this be fixed? Minato wasn't too sure himself.

"Is there a set time for the....massacre?" Minato asked. Itachi's eyebrows furrowed for a bit in thought before shaking his head.

"No... Because Danzo's in jail, it's unconfirmed."

There was still time. Minato's eyes lit up in determination. As he thought back about it, Hiruzen didn't seem to have made very good decisions as well. If he did, Naruto wouldn't be facing such ostracisation as a child. For that, Minato could feel some level of anger within him, and this situation with the Uchiha only fueled it more. There was no way he could talk Hiruzen out of this alone. Someone he could trust... someone he could rely on...

It clicked in his head. He couldn't find himself smiling in a situation like this, but nodded towards Itachi. "I will do something about this. I promise. I'll need some help, so would you mind if I told someone else about this?"

Itachi frowned for a bit in contemplation. This could turn out to be something big. Allowing Minato to tell others would be risky, but in a situation like this...none of the other options were any better. "...Alright. I hope it won't be on a poster all over Konoha, though."

Minato chuckled a little at the joke, and Itachi managed no more than a bitter smile. But for both of them, seeing that was just enough at a time like this.

----

I may or may not have 'accidentally' not updated this for a whole month. SORRAY school was really busy, I didn't expect I'd be bombarded with unholy amounts of homework and events aaaaa 

I won't be able to update as frequently as I used to, but I will try my best. As compensation, 2 chapters in a row :') Ik its barely close to enough but I don't want to upload all my drafts in one go just in case I wanna change something in the future

(ive been gone for too long i lowkey forgot what happened in this fanfic)