Hello guys. I tried to post this chapter last weekend but for some reasons it didn't appear. I think the archive was going through maintenance and there were some issues because I didn't receive any emails either. I apologize if you got an alert about the update. It was out of my hands... I was also an idiot and I wrote my chapter notes directly in the website, so I had to write them again, which was a pain... and I couldn't do it before the weekend. I'm terrible sorry. I hope it won't happen again this time! (Just in case, I'm saving this note in a doc LOL)

With that out of the way, please, allow me to give credit to my two amazing betas. The incredible and super-quick Ashe Dragon, who pointed out my most common mistakes and turned the chapter into something readable. Thank you for your help, my friend! And Jjpdn, who had fantastic ideas to develop the plot and made sure everything made sense and flowed easily enough in this chapter. It was so much fun reading your comments and suggestions. You are fantastic!

Second, it's been about two month and a half since I updated this story. I was living in Spain with my family by the time the goverment initiated the lock down and we weren't even allowed to leave our home to go for a walk. It was the harder thing I have ever experience, to be locked up for weeks and weeks unable to breath fresh air and do some exercise. I understand why I was necessary, but I didn't handle well at all. Unlike many other writers in this page, I couldn't write anything at all while I was locked up.

Still, the situation seems to be improving everywhere, and I continued to received beautiful comments of people who read and love this story, which made me want to go back to writing once I was able to leave my house to exercise and regained some of my senses. So especial thanks to those people, to everyone who read this fic and took the time to leave a message of appreciation. I had thought about giving up more times than I can count, but then I receive a new wonderful comment and I know I have to keep going. This story deserves an ending and you deserve to read it.

On the bright side, this is a very, very long chapter. It also has some of my favorite conversations up to this point. So I hope you all enjoy it :D

Chapter 29

Sasuke was pale and haggard. He had all but exhausted his chakra, and he sensed that Naruto's was similarly drained, but the dobe kept pushing his limits. If he couldn't beat Naruto with strength, he would have to trick him. He made a show of punching him on the face with his left fist and, when Naruto blocked it, he took the chance to throw a sweeping kick at him to take out his legs. Naruto jumped to avoid it.

They stared at each other, assessing the other's next move.

The field around them had been burnt to ashes. It was fortunate that they had chosen a very remote location this morning, or Amegakure citizens would have fled in panic at the sight of Sasuke' Susanoo and Naruto's Kurama Mode. Konan would kill Sasuke if that ever happened.

By the time Naruto realized he had fallen prey to a genjutsu, it was too late. Sasuke jumped from behind Naruto and caught both of his arms in a lock. Before Naruto could throw him off, Sasuke activated his Rinnegan and used it to absorb what was left of Naruto's chakra. The blonde fell to the ground, exhausted. Sasuke let himself fall beside him, laying his body on the burnt, dry grass. They both struggled to catch their breaths.

"Good match," Naruto said after a while.

"You too," Sasuke replied easily, turning his head to look at him. "You held the Kurama Mode for almost an hour. You're not feeling any ill effects, are you?"

Sasuke watched Naruto shake his head. "Nope."

This was good news. When they first arrived in this universe, a year and a half ago, both Sasuke and Naruto had had trouble accessing their best jutsus. They hadn't lost the ability, but their bodies were too weak and their chakra levels ridiculously low, which meant they couldn't sustain them for longer than a second or two without putting their lives at risk.

But that had been eighteen months ago. The two of them had trained every day to regain their former strength, and their training was finally paying off.

"I still can't access the Six Path Mode," Naruto complained, sounding very unhappy about it. Just five days ago, he had tried it. He held the mode for a couple of minutes, but when he returned to his base form, the pain from his muscles and joints was so unbearable that he had lost consciousness. Sasuke was left to carry him back to the manor. It didn't stop Naruto from resting it again, two days later.

"What's the hurry, anyway?" Sasuke was also impatient to regain access to the best techniques of his Rinnegan, but regularly depleting himself from chakra to the point of unconsciousness was not the smart way to do it. "It's not like anyone could hurt us." Even with restricted access to their god-like abilities, they were still two of the most skilled shinobi in the world. Plus, they had skilled friends they could count on.

Naruto didn't answer immediately. He turned his head away and gazed up at the white cotton clouds in the sky, as if debating with himself how much of his thoughts he should give away. Sasuke's curiosity was increased by Naruto's coyness, but he remained silent for the time being. Unlike Sasuke himself, who needed a more direct approach, the best way to coax Naruto to speak was to leave him along with his thoughts for a while.

Sasuke's technique soon proved to be successful.

"I've been thinking…" Naruto's voice broke the peaceful silence.

"Yeah?" Sasuke encouraged him.

"I want to use the Six Path Mode to heal Nagato," he declared, meeting Sasuke's gaze again.

This statement took Sasuke by surprise. He had suspected that Naruto's renewed obsession with training was linked to Kakashi, since it had started around the same time their old sensei joined them, about a week ago. He didn't expect this.

"Do you think it's possible?" Sasuke inquired.

"I don't see why not. I gave back his eye to Kakashi, remember? And it's not like there was an eye for me to heal. I had to make it from scratch," Naruto recalled, not without some pride. "Nagato's body and chakra path were badly damaged when he summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but they are still there. Kurama thinks we can heal him."

If Kurama thought it was possible, then Sasuke believed it too. The old fox had more years of experience on his little finger that all of Konoha's elders combined. Sasuke trusted Kurama's judgment with his life; otherwise, they would have never abandoned their former reality to travel here.

"If you heal him, he will no longer be able to use his bodies, right?" This could pose a problem. Most of the security measures around Amegakure depended on Nagato's Outer Path Technique.

Naruto took a moment to answer. He turned round onto his stomach, bent his left arm in an acute angle and rested his left cheek against it, fixing his gaze on Sasuke. "He won't," he admitted, "but he doesn't have to. He and Konan are not alone anymore!" he argued, scratching the ground with his right hand for emphasis. "They've got us and Itachi; Tsunade and Gaara as well. We all can help. He shouldn't have to remain in a wheelchair forever when he has us ."

A warm, pleasant sensation curled around Sasuke's stomach. It wasn't the fact that Naruto had referred to them as "us", as if they were a package deal, but rather, the way he had talked about the future, as if their future laid here. While it was true that they had never made plans to leave the city, neither had they discussed the possibility of making Amegakure their permanent home. They had been waiting to see how the situation with Danzo's evolved before making any decision.

However, somehow — it had happened so fast and so slow at the same time that Sasuke had missed the change altogether —, in the nine months since their arrival, Amkagure had become his home. Sasuke had never had a home before, not since he lost his parents. Sharing a flat with Naruto after the war had been the closest to it, but the wounds from the war were still too open and raw, and the people's mistrust had followed him everywhere.

Living here for the last year had shown Sasuke how good it felt to be at home, something he had previously forgotten, and despite feeling closer to Naruto than ever, Sasuke didn't know if he could follow him to Konoha a second time. It was because of this that hearing Naruto talk in such manner gave Sasuke hope that he would not be forced to make the choice.

Sasuke didn't want Naruto to get a hint of what he was thinking, so he avoided his gaze as he said, "I think it's a good idea. He deserves it, and it will mean a lot to him if you are the one to do it." It would mean a lot to Konan as well, perhaps more than Nagato himself suspected. Sasuke had lived half of his life blaming himself for his parents' fate, so he understood her instinctively. "But don't tell them yet."

"Why not?"

"We don't know how long it will be before you can access the Sixth Path Mode safely. Sometimes waiting is the hardest thing of all." Naruto didn't answer for a while. Sasuke watched him as he played and twisted the grass around his fingers. The picture left a bitter taste in his mouth. Sasuke disliked seeing Naruto so pensive and subdued, especially when only a week ago he had been a limitless source of joy and optimism. He blamed Kakashi for his boyfriend's changing mood. "How did you come up with this idea, anyway?" he asked, if only to distract him.

"I guess I was thinking of ways I could help Kakashi. Or Obito. I tried to remember what made him regain his senses during the war, but since the world is not about to end, none of my memories were very useful," he explained, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Sasuke had been right from the beginning, then. Naruto's renewed obsession with training was linked to Kakashi. The blonde felt powerless to help his sensei, so he had come up with a way to help Nagato instead. It probably made him feel like he was at least doing something.

Sasuke really didn't want to ask, but he owed Naruto for all the times he had tried to kill him. "How are things between them?"

Naruto shook his head, sighting dishearteningly. "Worse." He turned his body over once again; this time, resting his back on the ground. However he didn't seem to find the position very comfortable, because barely two seconds later, he sat up, crossing his legs. "You were there the first time Obito saw Kakashi…"

That day, Sasuke had accompanied them to Obito' cell even though he had intended to stay outside. At the time, Sasuke had a strong premonition that things were about to spiral out of control, and he had wanted to be there for Naruto, but not even he had predicted Obito's insane reaction at the sight of his former teammate.

The moment Kakashi stepped into his cell, Obito had turned white as a ghost. For just a second, he had stood there, frozen like an ice sculpture. The next second, madness ensued. He had thrown himself against Kakashi, shouting like a madman, "You! You! You killed her! You killed her!". Sasuke guessed Obito had been talking about his girlfriend.

In a fit of rage, Obito had managed to pull Kakashi to the floor, hands wrapped about his neck before any of them had time to react. Fortunately — or unfortunately, Sasuke hadn't made his mind yet about that one —, Shisui's genjutsu prevented Obito from killing him. Upon realising that he couldn't hurt or permanently maim Kakashi, Obito had gone ballistic.

He began hitting the ground with his fists, then the walls until his knuckles were bleeding. Kakashi motioned to approach at that moment, probably trying to stop him from hurting himself. It wasn't a wise move. Realizing that hurting himself hurt Kakashi, Obito began laughing like a psychopath. He began scratching his face compulsively, until it looked like rivers of blood were sliding down his cheeks.

Finally coming back to himself, Sasuke had walked up to him and swiftly delivered a blow to his neck to make him lose consciousness. Hearing Naruto speak now, Sasuke had trouble imagining how things could go even worse than that.

"He doesn't waste his time screaming now," the blonde explained, eyes cast down toward the ground like a shamed child. "The moment we step in the room, he grabs a fork or a pen or a key and stabs himself with it. Repeatedly."

"How come he hasn't died from blood loss yet?" That would solve the problem for them.

Naruto didn't chastise Sasuke for his coldness, which spoke volumes about his boyfriend's state of mind. "He stabs himself in the arms, sometimes the legs, but at least he avoids hitting vital organs or major arteries."

"That's because he knows you'll send Tsunade to heal him before anything serious happens," Sasuke guessed easily. Obito was using the only means that were still available to him to throw a big tantrum and upset everybody. The tacticc was so childish that it made Sasuke scowl. "It would be best for everyone if Kakashi stayed away. You can't force the guy to forgive him." Sasuke knew that from personal experience.

"I know." Naruto drew his knees to his chest and sighed miserably. "The day before yesterday I told Kakashi it would be better if he stayed away for the time being, so now he just sits outside of Obito's cell most of the day."

Sasuke watched Naruto wrap his arms around his knees and hide his face in them; the urge to kill Kakashi increased tenfold. Sasuke didn't know if he admired the man's stubbornness or pitied him for his obvious lack of self-esteem. But he hated him for putting Naruto in this situation. There was so little Sasuke could do to fix this mess. He couldn't send Kakashi away nor stop Naruto from caring for him. And if Naruto had failed, there was no chance in hell that Sasuke could persuade Obito to let bygones be bygones and sing the Kumbaya with Kakashi. Forgiveness wasn't a significant part of Sasuke's philosophy.

All Sasuke could do was to try his best to cheer up his best friend.

A month ago that would have been a struggle. He was not good with his words and refused to insult Naruto by faking an affection he did not feel for either men. Fortunately, since they had become a couple, improving his boyfriend's mood had become a considerably easier task.

"Come on," Sasuke stood up, brushing off the dust from his clothes and ignoring the pain on his lower back and the soreness of his muscles. It had been a poor idea to lay down on the ground for so long after a fight, especially when he had opted to forgo his stretching exercises.

Naruto's blue eyes looked up to him as Sasuke approached him, extending his hand to him. He made no move to take it. "It's still early," he pouted childishly.

It was not. In fact, if they didn't hurry Sasuke would get another speech about punctuality and responsibilities from Konan. His boyfriend's mood was not the only one which had taken a turn for the worse with their sensei's arrival. He growled. To Hell with that. Naruto needed him right now. "I stink," Sasuke complained loudly. "I want a shower." Then, he sweetened the deal. "If we are quick, I'll suck your dick afterwards."

Previous worries forgotten, Naruto had never stood up faster.

One hour later, Sasuke bid Naruto goodbye and began to make his way to Konan's office. He was in high spirits. His ploy to distract Naruto and lift his spirits had worked remarkably well.

His knucklehead boyfriend had all but teleported them to his room after Sasuke's generous offer. There, he had wasted no time to get both of their clothes off and push Sasuke into the shower, all troubles forgotten. At that point, Sasuke had vaguely wondered if all men and women were like that when it came to sex, or if Naruto was the exception, but then Naruto had done that very distracting thing with his tongue and Sasuke had lost interest on the question.

Of course, Sasuke was aware that Naruto's improved mood wouldn't last forever. Sooner rather than later, he would cross paths with Kakashi and would be reminded of his helplessness to do anything to improve his relationship with Obito. He would become depressed, sad and frustrated all over again. But for the moment, at least, Sasuke had done his bit to help him to feel better. He was proud of himself.

Sasuke knocked on Konan's office just a few moments later. It had occurred to him on the way here that it should really be referred to as Konan's and Sasuke's office at this point, but since he was eighty minutes late to work, he would not mention it to her today. Konan didn't answer, but since he could sense her chakra inside, he opened the door and stepped in anyway.

His senses hadn't been wrong. Konan was sitting at her desk with her nose buried in a scroll. She didn't look up or say anything at all when Sasuke walked in and made his way to his desk. Sasuke sank into a chair and bit off a sigh of despair. Just a week ago, Konan would have rolled her eyes at him while greeting him good morning. Nowadays, her shoulders were always tense, her muscles stiff and the coldness of her facial expression didn't hide her anxiety.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Training ran later than expected," Sasuke apologized, trying to get a positive response out of her.

"Please, I sensed you come in an hour ago," she replied disdainfully, not lifting her gaze from the scroll. "If you want to fuck your boyfriend during working hours that's your prerogative, but don't take me for a fool."

Sasuke clenched his fists against his thighs, then reminded himself that Konan was his friend, and forced them to relax. He scowled, silently cursing Kakashi's name for the second time that morning. It was his presence that put Konan in a foul mood and made her snap at everyone. "Leave Naruto out of it."

She ignored him, not saying anything else, so Sasuke decided the best thing to do was to get to work.

There were several urgent matters that he needed to take care of. Opening the first scroll, Sasuke saw it was a graphic of the global dishwasher sales figures of the third quarter of the year. The numbers had gone up drastically in the last two months, when they had begun implementing Sasuke's strategy. The profit was huge. If sales continued increasing the next two quarters, even at a slower pace, it would mean a substantial increase of Amegakure's GDP for the next year. That might become the most prosperous country in the continent.

However, since the rise in sales had been so sudden, there were several issues with production and lack of quality materials.

The week before, Sasuke had asked several scholars in the "dishwasher program" to come up with different solutions to keep up with demands without losing quality. Some ideas had merit, while others should be dismissed right away. Since Konan had made Sasuke the head of the program, it was his responsibility to select the most profitable approach.

It took Sasuke three hours to make up his mind. He read the scroll several times and took every suggestion into consideration. He analyzed the pros and cons for each course of action, and compared the scholars' predictions to his own knowledge of the future. At the end, he pre approved five strategies.

"I'll have a meeting with them tomorrow and we'll settle down on the best three," he told Konan.

"I'll let them know," she responded immediately. Of course, Sasuke could have sent his own summons to set up the time for the meeting, but Konan prefered to use her paper angels as messengers. Sasuke understood why, even if at the beginning it had confused him.

Jutsu wasn't widely used in Amegakure. In fact, it was against the law to use it at all unless one applied for a special dispensation, in which case someone would be allowed to use it, but only in limited circumstances and only if they could prove that it served as a contribution to their field of expertise. For example, a doctor during their working hours in the hospital.

After the Civil War, when the country was still struggling, some ninjas had defied this law. Unfortunately for them, Nagato had tracked them rapidly thanks to his chakra rain. The first time someone was caught, they had received a warning. The second time, they had been dealt with swiftly and with finality. There had never been a third time.

Fourteen years later, most people in Amegakure didn't even know what chakra was. Most of them had been civilians from the beginning, but even the few ninjas that were left had forgotten about it. The new generation only knew about their leaders special abilities, and wouldn't even cross their minds that those abilities could be learned.

Sasuke had found it odd; he hadn't believed Konan when she first explained it to him. He had suspected that people still practice jutsu in secret, too afraid of punishment to expose their abilities freely.

"You come from a ninja family," Konan had replied at the time. "The ninja world is all you knew since you were born. For most people, it isn't like that."

"You are a ninja too," Sasuke had argued.

"But I was not born on it. My parents were civilians and I was orphaned at a very young age. Yakihiko, Nagato and I, we had to fight to survive," she told him. "Just finding enough food to feed ourselves was a struggle. Sometimes, we went hungry for days. And every day, we would see the ninja pass by. They were the ones who brought war into our doors. They used their magic tricks to steal and to bully people like us, and most did not give a damn about anyone else."

"The ninja system is rotten," she had followed. "Children are trained to kill from a very young age. Teenagers are used as spies and assassins. The stronger don't even need a reason to bully the weaker, and nobody does anything to change it because that's the way it's supposed to be."

Sasuke hadn't known how to respond to such a direct declaration. It was not like he hadn't had similar thoughts in the past, but so far, nobody seemed to share them. Naruto and Itachi were the best persons he knew, and despite acknowledging its flaws, they both seemed to support the village system at heart.

"Not every ninja is like that," he had argued half heartedly, thinking mostly about Naruto but also about his brother and mother. His mother had always been kind, but that hadn't prevented her from sending her children to the academy. She hadn't stopped Itachi from entering ANBU either, knowing full well what would be expected of him.

"I know," Konan conceded his point. "Our sensei was a kind person. He taught us how to survive when it would have been easier for him to leave us to die. It doesn't change the fact that ninjas are, by definition, killers. A few are needed to defend Amegakure against its enemies. That's Nagato's job. But I won't have my citizens learning how to kill. They are better off not knowing, anyway."

"Shouldn't it be their choice?" Sasuke had asked, not necessarily because he thought so, but because he knew that would be Naruto's argument.

"Perhaps," Konan had answered with a knowing smile. "But most often that not, people don't know what it's good for them. It was hard at first," she admitted. "Most ninja had been on Hanzo's side, so by the time we began rebuilding the country, they had passed away. Nine six percent of the population was made of civilians. However, a few ninja tried to rebel against the new laws…"

"-and you killed them," Sasuke guessed, feeling ambivalent. Sacrifices were always necessary to build a better future.

"Yes," Konan acknowledged it openly. "But it was a long time ago. The last uprising happened more than eleven years ago. Our country has changed a lot since then. The economy has reached new highs, education and business have prospered, people live comfortably and at peace. Most of them don't even remember the way things were before. The ones that do, prefer not to."

Sasuke had not taken Konan at his word. Even though he liked what he had seen of her character and had begun to suspect they had similar philosophies, he took time to investigate the matter himself.

Since they had settled down in the city, Sasuke had enjoyed taking long walks in Amegakure under the shadow of its imposing, impossibly high buildings. He enjoyed the anonymity its crowded streets provided him. However, during the weeks that followed that conversation, he used those walks to obtain information. There were very few things that could remain hidden to his dojutsu, and he was determined to find out if Konan's tale was based on facts.

It turned out that she had spoken truthfully. Amegakure capital was far from perfect. People were still people; they were selfish and self-involved. Petty crimes still occurred and neighbours held grudges against neighbours. The police were called to deal with small matters, and when something serious transpired, Nagato himself intervened, preventing the issue from escalating.

Homicides happened very spasmodically; in fact, Amegakure had the lowest rate of homicide in the continent. And most shockingly, no matter how hard Sasuke looked, nobody was practising jutsu. He interrogated a couple of kids in the park about their leaders and they believed Konan was a real angel. Their parents obviously knew that was not true, but judging by the dark looks they threw at him, they didn't want anything to do related to ninjas.

It was so strange. In one way or another, Sasuke's perception of himself since as far as he could remember had been defined from his skills as a shinobi. That thousands of people could lead happy, fulfilling lives, and that a society could prosper while turning its back to the ninja system was shocking. It also awoke a fire on Sasuke, a passion, a secret ambition he had not felt since the last days of the war. The fire was tamer than it had been then, far less wild and dangerous than before. But it burned steadily. And even though it was far too early to put that ambition into words, since that day, it was always with him. A silent companion.

Sasuke put away the scroll after Konan sent the message to the rest of the team, scheduling a meeting for the next morning. The most urgent matter had been taken care of, and he hesitated between the next two scrolls.

"Can you proofread this for me?" Konan requested before he could decide which one was more important. "It's the final details for the launching of the Game Boy." Game Boy was the name they had come out with for their gaming gadget, after its previous name 'Game Pocket' had been declared unacceptable by Sasuke. "I've read three times already and my eyes are unable to detect if anything's wrong with it."

"Of course." Sasuke stood up and readily approached Konan's desk, taking the scroll from her hands. He was not the head of this program — the Game Boy was Konan's baby from the beginning —, but had become heavily involved in the advertising campaign, so he was already aware of the contents.

Unlike the strategy they had used with the dishwasher, since the Game Boy was mostly aimed at kids and teenagers, they had decided to launch it globally. However, due purely to economic reasons, the plan was to target the ninja villages especially: the population there were richer and since genin were sent on mission from a very young age, children had access to disposable income. Sasuke suspected that there were other, darker reasons that Konan hadn't mentioned to her team, but kept his suspicion to himself.

Sasuke read the scroll over carefully. "It's all good," he told her after a few minutes. "I have underlined a couple of expressions that could be rephrased, if you want, to make it more accessible. But all the dates and details are accurate."

"Thank you," she said, coming over to his desk to look over the changes he had suggested. She liked the second of Sasuke's recommendations. "It sounds better this way. I will send it to my team so that they can make copies and deliver them to each village."

"Except for Konoha," he reminded her unnecessarily. Amegakure never had any dealings with Konoha. Konan hated it with passion and had planned to annihilate in revenge for Yahiko's death and Nagato's suffering after being crippled by the Six Paths of Pain. She only had agreed to Naruto's plan because she mistrusted Madara — who turned to be Obito — and had feared attacking Konoha would lead Nagato to his death.

"Except for Konoha," she agreed easily. "I guess we have to wait until Danzo is dead before we erupt into the market there. Speaking of which…" she walked back to her desk, picked a letter and handed it to Sasuke. "I've got good news. Sasori and Deidara have found documents that prove Danzo's involvement in the Hyuga affair. They are on their way back."

"I know," he said, taking the letter but not bothering to look at it. "I read the letter yesterday."

Konan narrowed her eyes in his direction. "It was delivered yerterday's evening."

"I couldn't sleep," Sasuke explained, pushing his chair back from his desk so he could lean back more comfortably. Sasuke did not tell her that he had grown used to sleeping with Naruto, or at least spending some private time with him before drifting off to sleep, but yesterday night, his boyfriend had tracked Kakashi's down to Obito's cell and disappeared for hours. "I hoped doing some work would take my mind off matters."

His answer did nothing to dispel Konan's obvious displeasure. "You know this office remains locked for a reason," she reminded him with narrowed eyes.

"And I locked it again after I left."

"I did not teach you those seals so that you could use this office as your playground," she claimed, slamming her open palm down on the table.

Sasuke was not intimidated by her display of anger. "I did nothing of the kind," he argued calmy.

"If someone had followed you while I wasn't here…"

"I would have sensed him before he approached," Sasuke said as a matter of fact. Even though neither of them had mentioned any names, he knew she was referring to Kakashi. "And I wouldn't have let him in."

Konan seemed to take his words to heart, because some of her anger deflated as her shoulders sagged. "You know how many confidential documents I keep here," she stressed, almost as if she was trying to apologize for her previous anger. "You know what I am trying to do."

"I know." Of course Sasuke knew what her long time goals were, perhaps better than anybody else in the world.

The history of the Great Nation was tainted by blood. Most people blamed ninjas for it and Sasuke agreed with this sentiment. Even though greed and selfishness were ingrained in human nature, it was jutsu that allowed humans to hurt and kill others on a much greater scale. The tale of the Sixth Path Sage had done nothing but reinforced this belief in Sasuke.

As a result, many people throughout history had fought to put an end to the ninja system. These people all had had different motivations and had used different methods to achieve a similar goal; irrevocably, they had all failed. However, all of them had something in common: they had relied on their own abilities and skills to take on the most representative faces of the system. Sasuke himself had wanted to follow down a similar path once upon a time, before Naruto beat the idea out of him.

Konan's vision was different. From the beginning, she had seen what many men and women had failed to notice: the foundation of the ninja system was not skill or loyalty to one's country, but money.

The biggest source of income for each of the Great Nations originated from their Hidden Villages. Feudal Lords paid ninjas handsomely to defend their territories from foreigh ninja. On the other hand, Feudal lords also received an important cut from the profits of the missions ninjas carried out when they were hired by other countries. It was a vicious circle. The ninja villages flourished in times of conflict, and for that reason alone, peace was never allowed to last long; just long enough for the next generation to take over.

Identifying the crux of the matter, Konan had set a goal for herself. Instead of attacking the people who ran the system, she would attack its very own roots. She would build an economic power to rival that of the Hidden Villages, and in time, she hoped it would surpass them. It would take a long time, years if not decades, but it would show to the world that the ninja system was obsolete, that more money could be made somewhere else. Hopefully, when this happened, ninja would slowly fade into obscurity and become a thing of the past.

Konan had conceded to Sasuke that this path would not be free of obstacles; many would try to stop Amekagure when they discovered the danger it represented, but she was determined to see it through. After weeks of careful consideration, Sasuke had decided he would work alongside her for as long as he could to turn her vision into reality.

She sighed tiredly, moving some documents around to clear some space and sitting down on the top of his desk. Sasuke met her gaze, and they stared at each other in mutual understanding. In many ways, they had shared the same pain, they had survived a similar tragedy and they got each other at instinctive level.

"Kakashi is a good man," Sasuke said in a low voice. It pained him to admit it out loud — he had more than one unresolved issue with his former sensei —, but maybe Konan needed it to hear it from him.

Konan sneered, her golden eyes peering into him with a mix of skepticism and wary amusement. Sasuke laced his hands together in front of him, holding her gaze. "That good man doesn't give a shit that a mass murderer is currently the head of the government of his village," she pointed out, coldy.

"Yeah, well," Sasuke sighed and bit his thumb. "He's got issues. We all do." Kakashi's hypocrisy upset him, which was nothing new. In the future, the man had taken the role of Kage against his will. He had worked hard to rebuild Konoha and he had defended Sasuke against all those who were demanding for a front-row seat to his execution, which weren't few. He had also pressured Naruto to fit into the village standards, too eager to pass on his hat to him, and had turned down Naruto's pleas to clear up Itachi's name.

"You don't like him," she deduced shrewdly. "How sure are you that he will take our side against Danzo?"

Sasuke considered the question seriously for a few moments. "We are not declaring war in the village. We are following the proper channels and given the information that we have uncovered, there is a real chance that Danzo's exploits will become public. If that happens, someone will come knocking Konoha's door for revenge," Sasuke estated. Konan nodded, agreeing with him up to this point. "In that sense, one could say we are actually protecting Konoha." Konan's features hardened into a frown.

"Plus, Kakashi is able to put his morals aside for the greater good, but he has morals. He despises people who abuse those who are weaker and he hates unnecessary bloodshed. He also has a weakness for Naruto." The two of them shared a knowing smile at this point. It seemed that everybody who met Naruto was quick to develop weaknesses for him. "And Danzo sent an ANBU to eliminate us. Even if Obito weren't here, for that reason alone he would not stand against us."

Konan closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and some of the tension seemed to ease from her shoulders. "I don't like having him here," she admitted out aloud for the first time.

"I know."

"He is from that village. He helped that man become Hokage and didn't question it." An uncalculated gesture, Sasuke reached out to give her his hand for support. She accepted it and squeezed it, just for a few seconds. "I know he is just a pawn, and Nagato and I are not blameless. We played Madara's game because he offered us a chance of revenge, not caring who got hurt. By having Obito and Kakashi here, Nagato thinks it is our opportunity to attone. But Kakashi is still loyal to them…"

"I wonder about that," Sasuke admitted with a certain reluctance. "He seems unable to care for anything or anyone anymore." If he still cared, he would reflect on how his actions were affecting Naruto and Sasuke would resent him a little less. "He seemed so keen on keeping Konoha's darkest secrets buried forever… Now I think he would desert the village without looking back if only Obito asked him to."

"That doesn't help us any."

"It doesn't work against us, either. Let him question the system that led his father to his grave, killed his sensei and his classmate, and drove his other classmate mad. It will keep his nose out of our business."

They held each other's gaze and smiled as if they shared a hidden, vital knowledge. Konan crossed her legs at the ankles. "You'll stop him if he starts digging, won't you?" Her voice was soft, and her eyes revealed a rare vulnerability.

"Of course," Sasuke answered without hesitation. "I don't think he will ever suspect anything, but I'll make him leave if that happens." Even if it meant Naruto left too and Sasuke had to choose whether or not to follow him. Some things were more important.

Kakashi made his way to the kitchen, hoping to find anything that would put him to sleep, if only for one night. It was late, near midnight, so the house was dark and silent. Despite having been given his own room, Kakashi had spent the better part of the week in the basement, sitting outside Obito's cell, so the hallways and rooms of the manor were unfamiliar, but Naruto had managed to convince him to have dinner with them a couple of times, so he managed to locate the kitchen on his second try. Once there, he began roaming the cabinets in search of alcohol.

It seemed so long ago when he had gotten drunk in that merchant village near the woods, while tracking down his students. In reality, it had only less than a month. Kakashi had been going out of his mind with worry back then; he had felt defeated and had gotten drunk to bury his troubles for a while. The next morning, he reproached himself for his weakness… and swore to himself to stay away from any pubs and bars in the future.

How things had changed. The euphoria he had felt at finding his students safe and sound had given way to the darkest misery. The man who had been his friend, the teammate who had shaped Kakashi's views, goals and personality, the boy who had given his life to save his, was alive. Obito was alive and he hated Kakashi. Obito was alive and he had murdered their sensei and their sensei's wife and countless others. He was alive and apparently, if Naruto and Itachi were to be believed, he had been lied to and tricked and manipulated.

It still seemed like a dream, when Kakashi thought about it; or rather, a nightmare.

Obito was alive. He was a murder and a victim and he hated Kakashi enough that his mere sight drove him to madness. He hated Kakashi enough that he would rather hurt himself than to bear his presence. He would rather cut himself to pieces than share his company.

Kakashi almost wished he had not uncovered any of these secrets.

'Ignorance is bliss', his father used to say to him before he passed away. He used to stare at him in bewilderment, unable to understand his reasoning. He had been a curious toddler back then, fascinated by the wonder of the wide world and determined to learn all its secrets. He understood him now, many years too late.

Kakashi poked through all the kitchen cabinets and drawers, then he looked inside the refrigerator. It was not whisky, but the sake would do. The bottle was almost full. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and took both items with him to the table, sitting down heavily.

Kakashi filled his glass generously, bringing it to his lips. The sake was sweet; the fruity taste lingered in his mouth. He prefered his alcohol sour and bitter but beggars couldn't be choosers. Ignoring his distaste, he took one long swallow of sake, then another. Soon the glass was empty, so he poured himself another one.

He had just gulped down his second drink when he heard some voices in the hallway. There were at least two people: a man and a woman. By the sound of it, they were having an argument.

Kakashi held his head between his hands, putting some pressure on his temples in a pathetic attempt to make his headache disappear. Whoever they were, he hoped they would stay away from the kitchen. He had enough issues on his own to become a witness of anyone else's misery.

Unfortunately, the voices became louder and he could make out some of the words he heard without trying. "—it won't go away just because you keep ignoring it." It was the female voice.

"That was never my intention, I assure you." That was the male, and the voice has a familiar ring to it.

"To hell with your intentions!" The sound of the steps grew closer. Kakashi could discern the effort it took the woman to keep her voice under control. "I'm your friend too, Itachi." Kakashi raised his head at the name. That solved the mystery of whom the male voice belonged to. Since the blue haired girl and Itachi didn't seem particularly close from what he had observed, the female had to be Tsunade. "What do you think Sasuke is going to say when-"

She stopped abruptly after she entered the kitchen and saw Kakashi sitting there. Her straight-lipped scowl curled into a frown. Her eyes slid to the bottle of sake and the half empty glass that Kakashi was holding. The previous anger gave way to a different glazed hungry look in her golden eyes. With visible effort, she turned away from him. "This isn't over," she warned the Uchiha.

Itachi's shoulders sank visibly after she left, and he sunk into himself, like a turtle withdrawing from danger. It was a strange thing to witness the older Uchiha looking so defeated, his usually impassive features shadowed by complex emotions. Kakashi shifted his weight in his seat, uncomfortable; he was here first, so there was no reason to feel out of place. He hoped the Uchiha would leave soon and Kakashi would be able to finish his drink in peace.

"Want some?" The words had left his mouth without thought, and sure as hell without his permission.

Itachi's black eyes shifted to him, then to the drink Kakashi was offering him. He looked caught off guard by the invitation, but that was nowhere near how shocked Kakashi felt at his own actions. "I'm not sure that is a good idea," the Uchiha answered slowly.

"I'm sure that it's not," Kakashi agreed with him, digging an even deeper hole for himself, "but you look like you might need it."

The man laughed lightly as a response, but it was not a happy sound; rather, it was a low laugh, hard and sardonic. "Sure," he agreed after a moment. "I'll have a glass."

He reached for the kitchen cupboard above the sink and grabbed a small crystal glass.

Kakashi offered to pour the drink for him, lifting the bottle in the air and gesturing for Itachi to take a seat next to him, "Here," he said. "It's too damned sweet for my taste, but you always liked sugary things."

Itachi sat down and held the glass in front of him on the table, watching wishfully as Kakashi poured out the drink. Once the glass was full, he bowed his head politely in appreciation. "Thank you, Taichou."

Just like that, Kakashi's amiable humor vanished. He clenched his jaw and tightened his hands into fists so rigidly that for a moment, he feared the bottle in his grasp would shatter. "Don't call me that," he barked furiously.

The Uchiha stiffened his shoulders and immediately issued an apology. "I apologize," he said apologetically, accepting Kakashi's angry rebuke as if it was fully deserved. "It was a slip of the tongue. It won't happen again."

The young man hadn't touched his drink yet, and now it seemed that he wouldn't. Itachi seemed all but ready to leave, which was Kakashi's wish all along — he had come here searching for alcohol and solicitude, not to be confronted with more demons of his past —, but guilt twisted his insides.

"Don't," he said, stopping the other man before he could leave the table. "I don't— I don't deserve to be called that." The words burned his throat, but keeping them in wouldn't make them any less true.

The teenager's dark eyes seek out Kakashi's. His confused expression made it clear that he didn't comprehend the meaning behind that confesion. "Why do you think that?"

"You of all people ask me that." The irony was terrible. A bitter laugh escaped Kakashi's lips. He refilled his empty glass and took a long sip of his drink, having no desire to delve on that subject. But the Uchiha kept looking at him expectantly, an honest expression upon his face, and perhaps, considering all the ways in which Kakashi had let him down in the past, an answer was the least he deserved. "You haven't drunk at all yet. Have a sip, at least" he requested. Kakashi would answer, but on his terms.

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes inquisitively, but complied without a word. Kakashi's experience as a teacher would have been ten times more pleasant if only Sasuke had inherited some of his brother's manners and respect for authority. He waited until the Uchiha gulped down half of his glass before speaking.

"A Captain doesn't deserve their rank if they don't look after his subordinates properly." This was an etho that had been ingrained in Kakashi's heart from his first mission as a team leader. "I was your Captain, which means that it was my responsibility to look after you and you were supposed to trust me and come to me if something went wrong. Not only did I fail to see what was going on, afterwards, I also believed the worst about you. No questions asked."

Perhaps the last part was the biggest failure of all, because Kakashi had worked with Itachi for two years and he had witnessed first hand how much the young Uchiha loved and cherished his little brother. He knew the kid wasn't as unfeeling as most tended to believe. His usually stoic persona had often faded away in the company of his cousin. Kakashi had been able to observe their close bond on the rare occasions they performed missions together, when Shisui had been brought in to their team for an especial mission.

However, it was only when it came to Sasuke that Itachi acted his age. The boy would often spend hours choosing souvenirs and silly mementos to bring to his little brother when they were away on missions and he never looked happier or more excited than when it was time to return to the village and give them to his brother. Sometimes, the intensity of Itachi's feelings for Sasuke had puzzled Kakashi. It was a time in his life when he believed one could not be an efficient ninja and yet remained entirely human. But Kakashi had never doubted that his charge would go to any extremes for his little brother; the kid would do anything, give up anything and sacrifice anything to guarantee Sasuke's safety and happiness.

And yet, when Kakashi had been told the news of the tragedy, he had forgotten everything he had learned about the kid and immediately accepted the lies without question. He had chastised himself for failing to see what lurked behind his subordinate's poised facade, and not even once had he pondered why a boy who loved his brother so deeply would do anything to hurt him to such a degree.

That the Uchiha questioned now why Kakashi considered himself unworthy of being addressed as Captain only added salt to the old wound.

Itachi didn't answer Kakahi's statement directly, but poured himself another drink and took his time to savor it. He waited until he had dispatched the whole drink before addressing his argument.

His eyes were a sea of black. His voice was stern but not angry, "You carry no responsibility for my actions. If you didn't see it, it was because I didn't let you see," he spoke as a matter of fact and it was evident that he believed his own words.

Kakashi had noticed something, though. He had noticed the shift in Itachi's behavior and had made a vague attempt to inquire about it. But Itachi had made excuses and Kakashi hadn't pushed, because he had believed a twelve-year-old was experienced enough to deal with his own issues. Or perhaps he had been too frightened of learning to care for someone again, when his losses were still so vivid.

"You didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth."

"I trusted you to do the right thing. You were a good captain and I was proud to serve under your command, but I knew Danzo would kill you if you so much as suspect anything. At first, I thought I could handle it myself— That it was my duty to handle it myself," he corrected himself. His gaze was low, his head angled toward the table. His voice carried a hint of regret. "Later, I didn't think you'd be able to find an alternative, not when both sides seemed so determined to eradicate the other. Sishui tried and failed. If someone else had to be damned, better that it were me than anyone else."

Goosebumps rippled down the back of Kakashi's arms and the hairs on his neck stood on end. "Spoken like a true martyr."

Itachi snickered as he lifted his head to meet Kakashi's gaze. "Don't bother. Sasuke has already listed off the many faults in my way of thinking."

Kakashi had no doubt about that. If Sasuke had been difficult to deal with before, he had become a cocky little shit during his time away from the village. Not that Kakashi could blame him, with all the crap the boy had uncovered. The worst thing was that something deep inside of Kakashi resonated with Itachi's explanation. He agreed with the sentiment.

There might be something very fucked up in a village that bred children to value their lives so little.

"Has he managed to convince you yet?"

"More than I believed possible at one time." It wasn't a very informative answer, but perhaps it told Kakashi all he needed to know to understand the man sitting next to him.

Itachi seemed to appreciate the shift in their conversation. That hadn't changed. Like Kakashi, the kid had always preferred to refrain from discussing his personal affairs. Of course, nobody liked to discuss the slaughtering of their own family over drinks with a virtual stranger. Kakashi could indulge him. He changed the subject.

"You know they are fucking, right?"

It was funny to watch how those words made the other man lose his composure, causing him to almost choke with his drink. Itachi was not a prude, nobody who worked for ANBU could be, but the crudeness of Kakashi's words clashed against the good manners his clan had ingrained in him from childhood. Even the black sheep of the Uchiha clan had abstained from discussing certain topics over the kitchen table, and Obito had not been considered polite by any standards.

Itachi recovered quickly. He coughed a few times, but his voice was steady when he answered, "If you are speaking of my brother and Naruto, I am aware of their relationship."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Kakashi pressed the subject.

"On the contrary. I encouraged it."

Kakashi took another sip of his drink, scowling at the overly sweet taste. He couldn't help but disapprove. "They are too young to be fucking."

"How old were you?" the Uchiha inquired. "Your first time."

They both knew how young Itachi had been. Kakashi didn't need to ask. Eleven-year old Itachi had been flying solo for that mission to collect Intel from one of the major nobles in the Land of Lightning, but as his Team Captain, Kakashi had been in charge of interrogating him and filling out all the details for the ANBU archives upon completion.

"Thirteen," he confessed, swallowing another sip of his drink. Surprise tinted Itachi's features. Kakashi was aware that this was out of the norm.

Kakashi had entered ANBU at eleven, but no one would have dared to send him in that sort of mission while his sensei was alive. It was only after Minato's death that he was introduced to the Intel-Gathering brand of ANBU. Kushina's death and his failure to protect her had been fresh in his mind at the time, and Kakashi had welcomed the pain and the humiliation of being taken by men and women several decades his senior as a penitence for his crimes.

"It's different for them," Itachi's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "They are in love."

Kakashi couldn't help but snort at that. He would have never peg Itachi for a romantic. "They are too young to know what love is about."

"And yet, they are old enough to have killed," Itachi countered back.

There was nothing Kakashi could reply to that.

He sighed in defeat and began playing with his glass. The crystal gleamed in different colors as it reflected light beams from the two bulbs recessed in the ceiling. Itachi poured another drink in his glass and savored it. His sweet tooth hadn't changed, either. The stillness between them wasn't unpleasant. There weren't many people who could appreciate the silence. If Kakashi closed his eyes, his mind would wander to the many missions they had carried out together. They had been a damned good team. He had been saddened when the Sandaime announced Itachi would leave their squadron to become a leader of his own.

"Do you think their plan will work?"

"You mean the plan to expose Danzo to the villagers?" Itachi specified. His eyes were lax and inquisitive staring directly at him. His voice was softer than usual.

Kakashi himself felt strangely at ease. It was clear that they both were feeling the positive effects of alcohol consumption.

"Yes."

"Tsunade Senju is a revered figure in the Land of Fire. Her word carries enough weight that the Daimyō won't dismiss his accusations straightaway, and hopefully we'll have enough proof to convince him," Itachi spoke slowly, carefully measuring every one of his words. "If the Daimyo retires his support and shares this proof with the Clan Heads, Danzo will be forced to relinquish his post."

Kakashi was already aware of these details, although admittedly, he hadn't given them due consideration. Naruto had shared the plan with him after his first night in the mansion, but Kakashi had trouble focusing on anything other than his recent confrontation with Obito and how wrong everything had turned out to be.

"The real challenge will be to persuade the Clan Heads to carry out a public trial," Itachi continued. "Naruto's goal is to show every citizen of Konoha the consequences of their inaction. He hopes that if they are faced with the crimes Danzo committed in his role within the government, they will become reluctant to place their blind trust in a political figure in the future."

"That's an ambitious goal." Kakashi was exceptic about its odds of success. "What about your brother's goal?" He asked out of curiosity, only. Sasuke didn't seem the type to hold such philosophical ideas.

"My brother seeks Danzo's utter destruction," Itachi answered honestly. "Sasuke knows the man cares about his status in the village above all else, and taking that away from him, added to witnessing his public humiliation is sweeter to him than just seeking the man's death." Kakashi didn't question if that was something Itachi would enjoy as well. Kakashi had a reputation to be heartless, but even he had more tact than that. "Plus, I believe he intends to take advantage of the situation to abolish my status as an S-Class Criminal, although he had not shared such plans with me."

"I knew something was wrong with that man. I never trusted him, not since he tried to use me to murder the Sandaime," Kakashi admitted out aloud. It was that fact that had been torturing him since Itachi revealed to him Danzo's numerous criminal acts. At least, on the few occasions he managed to think about something other than Obito. "And yet, I gave him my vote. All because I was afraid someone would pick me as a candidate if the debate went on for too long."

Kakashi kept his gaze on his drink, but he could feel Itachi watching him, her eyes burrowing into him, searching his face, before he spoke, "We are ninjas, Taichou. We are raised to be killers. Which means that we are all meant to have regrets. We either learn to live with them or we give up."

Kakashi couldn't deny that. "I suppose that's one reasons the Memorial stone has so many young names on it," he commented bitterly.

Silence reigned again. For a while, only their constant breathing and purr of the fridge could be heard. Kakashi swallowed down what was left of his sake and then refilled both their glasses. Itachi accepted it without protest. He gazed at the bottle contemplatively: there were about four fingers left. Maybe enough for another couple of shots, each. He felt relaxed but not drunk, unlike that night in the pub. Perhap sharing his drink had not been a bad idea.

When Itachi spoke again, it startled him. "Do you ever hate them?" The sound of his voice was grave, and when Kakashi turned to look at him, his gaze seemed far away. "For causing your father's death?"

Itachi didn't need to specify who.

"Sometimes, I think I've never stopped. Other times... it's like he never existed in the first place," he replied with unexpected sincerity.

Itachi seemed to consider this for a few moments. Then, he asked, "When you do hate them, how do you carry on protecting Konoha?"

That was the key question, was it not? How, indeed. It was the question Kakashi asked himself every night but also the question he refused to acknowledge every day after the sun rose in the morning. He had an answer ready. "Obito and Rin died for it. My sensei died for it. Too many people I loved died to protect it. If I give up on it, what was the point of their sacrifice?"

Except that Obito never died, apparently. He was alive and he hated Kakashi just a little less than he hated Konoha. So the answer which had carried him for a decade was no longer fully valid. Kakashi wondered if what he had left of it was enough.

"Do you hate him for leaving you alone?"

Kakashi met the Uchiha's gaze once more, stunned by such a personal question. Thinking about it, Itachi was being extremely talkative tonight, which was against his very nature. Perhaps the alcohol had affected him more than Kakashi. He had built a tolerance through the years, the way most shinobi do, but maybe the kid had more guts than him and didn't use alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Kakashi considered the question carefully. He knew that by 'he' Itachi was referring to his father, and surely, the boy who had been ordered to slaughter his family as consequence of his family's own actions, was meant to have some father issues. But for Kakashi, "he" could very well mean Minato as well.

Kakashi still hated them sometimes, for leaving him alone when he needed them the most — first his father and then the teacher who had replaced him. Kakashi had hated them both very deeply for years after it happened and had hated himself even more for feeling that way. However, just thinking about admitting those thoughts out aloud caused him a tearing, slicing, stabbing agony in his throat.

He could not speak of it.

Itachi understood what his silence meant. He took a deep breath and his voice was low and heavy as he stated, "So this is all we have left," looking pointedly at his half empty glass. "Drinking to forget."

Kakashi studied the man. His head was low, his shoulders slumped and his whole bearing was that of discouragement and defeat. Kakashi's mind flashed back to what little he had heard of his discussion with Tsuande. For the first time, he suspected there could be something other to Itachi's uncharastic demeanor than the demons from his past. Another reason for the existential questions he had been asking.

The problem was that Kakashi had no strength left to deal with anything like that, whatever the reason might be. Ha hated himself a bit for it too. The kid had been his responsibility at one point and Kakashi had let him down in all possible ways, no matter how Itachi himself tried to excuse his negligence. Now it was no different.

Kakashi had come here to drink and forget, because if he spent another minute staring at the door that separated him from his teammate, the gory images that had been flashing through his mind for the last few days — images of Kakashi giving his kunai to Obito and impaling himself with it while he held it, since it seemed that his death was the only thing that Obito would appreciate coming from him — might become a reality.

Kakashi wasn't suicidal, but he was depressed and his mind worked too fast. He was also powerless to do anything at all, which was a new, distinctive feeling. This was not about an enemy that he could fight or a couple of missing students that he could track down. This was about a man who had shaped Kakashi's ideas and way of living, a man who now hated him and spat on his name. A man Kakashi couldn't even approach to try and change his mind. A man who couldn't stand his very presence.

Thus, alcohol had become Kakashi's only coping mechanism. The only thing he could do to quiet the guilt in his mind and stop thinking for a while was to have a few drinks. He didn't know why he had asked Itachi to join him, other than he had always liked the kid; minus when he had thought he was a psychotic monster, that is.

Even now, Kakashi felt drawn to him… probably because, of all the people he knew, the Uchiha was the only one who could understand how it felt to murder someone you care about. Itachi was worldwide known as The Clan-Killer. It wasn't that long ago that Kakashi had been addressed as 'Friend-Killer Kakashi' by most of Konoha.

It killed something deep inside of you to end the life of someone who is in your heart. Kakashi's infamous reputation had grown exponentially after that incident. Most people feared him for it. Some pitied him. And a few others, the ones who truly cared, like Gai, felt sorry for him. But no one ever understood. No really.

Itachi had killed his family to save thousands of lives. Kakashi had killed Rin to do the same. The difference being, of course, that Rin had been willing to die — had forced Kakashi's hand against his will — while the Uchiha clan had undoubtedly put up a fight. Nevertheless, the similarities were enough to create a sense of comradery. Or perhaps he was drunk and it was all in his mind.

Whatever the case might be, Kakashi didn't regret asking Itachi to join him. Kakashi's mind felt lighter than he had in the last week and it was only due to the alcohol he had consumed. He knew his problems would be waiting for him in the morning, but at the moment it did not feel so pressing. The heavy burden that had been weighing down his heart had liften, if only temporarily, and he supposed he had the Uchiha to thank for that.

Perhaps the old saying was true; 'misery loves company'. Kakashi's father had also favored this one. Itachi and he were both certified geniuses, bred to kill from. They both had been taught to follow orders from the cradle, been introduced to Black Ops before reaching puberty and learned to live with their regrets on their own. In a way, this made it easier for Kakashi to lower his barriers with him, to sit down, have a drink and enjoy the peaceful silence.

So maybe Kakashi owed him for that. After all, nothing would have prevented the man from turning down his invitation and left him to swallow in his own misery alone. And he felt somehow uncomfortable at hearing him sounding so defeated. Kakashi could not help him with his problems. Itachi was right; you either learned to live with your regrets or you gave up. All he could do was to offer to refill his drink and hoped it would make him feel better...

… or perhaps, perhaps...

Their eyes met. No matter how Kakashi still referred to him in his mind, the Uchiha was no longer a kid; he definitely didn't look like one. Itachi stared at him with an inquisitive look on his face, a look that slowly turned into understanding when Kakashi slightly shifted his leg so that it was touching his thigh.

Seconds ticked by.

Then, very slowly, Kakashi felt the other man's leg pushing into his in return.

If you are wondering if that happened, or if it's just your imagination getting away... I'm pleased to tell you it happened. They did it. For real. I don't have plans to turn Itachi and Kakashi into a couple, although I read a couple of fanfics that go with this ship and I absolutely loved them. However neither of them is the right state of mind at the moment to enter a relationship.

These was just two old friend reconnecting, two old comrades in arms sharing an intimate conversation and trying to find some solace in each other. Fucking is an effective way to de-stress, and to get some human connection, which is what they need at the moment.

I think Itachi and Kakashi understood each other rather well when they were both ANBU; they worked well together and seemed to share a similar philosophy. Plus, they are both child-soldiers, they witnessed the devastation of war, they carry the guilt of killing someone they love (even if to very different degrees), and they joined ANBU far earlier than they should have.

It's a pleasure to explore their relationship. I know many of you in the comments were hoping they'd become close, so I hope you are not disappointed by this turn of events :D

We also got the chance to see Sasuke as a supportive boyfriend. I think that for long time he has felt indebted to Naruto for giving up his friends so that Sasuke had a chance to save Itachi. Sasuke has also found his place in Ame, while he knows Naruto misses Konoha at times, but now that they are together romantically, it's easier for Sasuke to find ways to repay Naruto. Like taking care of him while Naruto runs himself into the ground trying to help Kakashi.

And finally, we saw a lot more of the job Konan and Sasuke are doing. Someone in the comments said that I am turning Ame into Wakanda, and they were totally right. I'm not sure if it was intentional on my part at the beginning of this fic, but it's definitely turning out this way.

I always found it strange that Ame looked like a modern city in canon, while the other villages had a much older vibe. Technology in canon is also very confusing. Countries in the Naruto's universe seem to be quite poor... a mix of modern day and feudal times. Honestly, I don't think we have seen a factory at all in the series. But then in Boruto suddenly there are TVs and computer games and stuff. In just fifteen years! So obviously they had the resources. Amekamure is just going down that road, a bit quicker than the others.

Jjpdn mentioned to me that a world where the power of chakra is closely guarded to be kept within the ruling class is likely to devolve into tyranny in a few generations.

He was 100% right. But war is always there, right? That's human nature. First, there is war. Then comes piece. Then it's war again. In the Naruto verse, they had 4 World Wars in just one century. I'm sure Sasuke and Konan, Naruto an Nagato too, will come up with some ideas so that peace lasts a bit longer... but at the end, all you can do is buy time.

Sasuke's original idea to bring peace might have work: turning himself into the villain to unite the world against him. It reminds me of Code Geass. It would have bought the world piece for a few generations... Then, war would have come again. But Naruto's conviction that he could change the system and bring peace, for good, is pure naivety.

My goal here is to make Naruto come to terms with the impossibility of that, without losing his hope and positivity, and without stop trying to make the world a better place, even if it's only for a while.

Konan is hitting the system where it hurts: the money. She is also trying to create a world where everybody is distracted and happy with material things (gaming, tv, dishwashers...) so that 1) ninja villages stop being the main source of income in their countries, so that they lose prestige and power 2) people are so happy in their lives that they will not want to become ninjas.

The plan is far from perfect, and she knows it. It has several flaws and it's hard to predict the consequences. But people had tried to end the ninja system before, by fighting it hands on, and that didn't end well. So she's found a different way, and Sasuke is persuaded. He is 100% determined to make it work.

Well, that's all for today. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the matter. Did you enjoy Kakashi and Itachi's interaction? How cute is Sasuke as an attentive boyfriend? Do you think Konan and Sasuke's plan is mad and totally going to backfire on them? Or are they leading the way for a new, revolutionary world... where the ninja way of life become a thing of the past?

Let me know! I can't wait to see what you think.

In the meanwhile, best wishes for everything,
Anzu

This scenes Naruto describes are the first scenes I imagined for this fic. And I'm actually thinking about making siblig fic, set in that Universe when I finish this one. What do you think of the idea?

We also learned a lot about Sasuke, the way he is and his inner thoughs and feelings. I think many times authors disregard Sasuke's trauma when they write him, making him fall in love with Naruto and making up with Itachi and leading a happy life. This won't be it. Because Sasuke is damaged. Kids who lived through that sort of traumas are not fine, they heal and they can lead successful lives, that is true, but that's only because they learn to live with their trauma.

In this story Sasuke will be relatively happy, but he won't ever be the way he was as kid, or they way he would've been as an adult if his family had lived. Which means that they way he reacts and feels for people won't be considered "normal". And the same goes for Naruto. He is more adjusted than Sasuke, but his childhood was traumatic and I think it's the reason he developed an unhealthy love/obsession for Sasuke in cannon. But hey! Lots of healthy relationships fail in real life. What works for some people doesn't have to for others. And Sasuke and Naruto work together, that I have not doubts about.

I hope to hear yout thoughs and opinions about this issues. I'm also thinking about other couples. I think I'd like to make KakaSaku a couple. I don't know why, but I always though they could work really well. They won't be main characters I'm afraid, but would you like to see them as a couple?

And I honestly can't see Itach with anyone, at least for a long, long time. He hates himself too much to ever let anyone else love him.

Next chapter another character will appear to make trouble for a favourite couple. Anyone want to guess their indentity? And Itachi will be introduced in two or three chapters, and he will become a main character.

Well, love you people. If you enjoyed this chapter, please, take two minutes of your time to let me know so. I really appreciate it! Reviews are what inspires me to keep writing. I'll see you all soon. Mata ne!