AN: Well, I'm back, and believe me or not, this entire time that I've not been updating has actually been spent on things relevant to this fic! I went back and turned the polish on Chapters 1 - 4 to 11, actually rewriting several large portions of it to boot, but nothing that changes plot. That'll probably be the last time an update ever takes me that long again, as a matter of fact.

Chapter 5: The Consequences of an Earnest Uchiha

Flashback

"Itachi, wait!"

Said boy tensed and reached for his tanto reflexively until he fully recognized the voice, and allowed himself to slack. Itachi reached up to remove his ANBU mask as he turned to face the worried visage of his best friend.

"Shisui. What is the matter?" asked Itachi, making Shisui frown, already being able to tell right away that his best friend was off.

He shook his head vigorously, "Itachi, listen, you can't go through with i-"

The boy froze as he felt Itachi standing behind him, kunai at his neck. "Shisui, don't make me kill you. I'll do it if I have to, for the sake of Konoha. Don't interfere and I promise you will be unharmed," murmured Itachi as he gazed glassily towards the full moon shining above.

"Look at what you're doing Itachi! You're ready to kill me and the rest of your family," Shisui shook his head sadly, "Based on the words of a manipulative old man? Why?"

Itachi hesitated before lowering his kunai and stepping back. "Forgive me, Shisui, but there is little else that can be done. It must be done," stated Itachi as he holstered his kunai back into its pouch.

Shisui began to laugh. Honest, carefree laughter rung through the village rooftops as Itachi stared at his best friend losing what remained of his sanity.

Shisui wiped a tear from his eye, "Do you REALLY believe that nothing can be done? I can think of a million ways to wreck your father's plans. Here's one; why don't you simply stick your foot into it?" said Shisui as he waved his hand, "Think about it; you're the pride and joy of the Uchiha, renowned genius, and are even unofficially considered a Hokage candidate! Fugaku would be overjoyed to bring you fully into his plots and get your mind at work!" exclaimed the messy-haired Uchiha.

Itachi just raised an eyebrow, "And what will furthering my father's plots do, other than get me labeled as a traitor by the Sandaime?"

Shisui gave his best friend a deadpan look, "You know Itachi, for a genius, sometimes you amaze me with just how one-track you are," said Shisui, making Itachi glower lightly before shaking his head at his best friend's antics.

The newly promoted ANBU shook his head, "Never mind that, but think about it; You could become an advocate for a different plan. You could vouch for a parley with the Sandaime, you could vouch for delivering an ultimatum with the threat of leaving the village, hell," said Shisui with a snicker, "You could off the old prideful geezers yourself and save us from this whole fiasco!"

"But wait," interrupted Itachi, "Doing any of this would only dissolve the Uchiha Clan into a civil war between two factions for and against Konoha." Itachi's mind raced through scenarios as possibilities, until his eyes widened in realization.

"You want to force a civil war," stated Itachi bluntly.

Shisui slowly shook his head, "Yes and no."

"If worse comes to worse, better a civil war that leaves only loyal Uchiha alive than killing off everybody. That'd just be insane! But yeah, that's not my first plan," said Shisui hesitantly.

Itachi's eyes shifted from Shisui to looking over his shoulder, "Others come. We can't have this discussion here in the open."

Shisui looked at Itachi skeptically, "How would you- Oh. Right. You should really stop keeping your Sharingan active all the time," said Shisui with a grin. "I know you're embarrassed by your small chakra reserves bu-"

"Just shut up and follow me Shisui," said Itachi with an exasperated sigh. Shisui nodded, and the two disappeared just in time for the duo of genin to miss them.

"Oi, Kotetsu, wasn't somebody just here?" asked Izumo idly as he scratched his head.

Said genin just shrugged, "Musta been my imagination. Whatever, let's go before sensei flips out about us being late for our first night mission."

Itachi appeared in a training ground that appeared to be empty, followed a second later by Shisui. The latter looked around curiously, raising an eyebrow, "The Naka River?"

The calmer of the duo nodded, "This land used to be farmland owned by the Uchiha Clan, but as you know, we donated it for the founding of Konoha. Now it is merely a training ground."

Shisui chuckled, "Never took ya for a historian."

Itachi shook his head, "Back to the matter at hand. You say you have a plan?"

Shisui grinned, "Plan, bluff, something like that."

Itachi just eyed his best friend wearily.

Present Time

"Why have you two called for a clan meeting Itachi-kun, Shisui-kun?" cut the frail voice of Uchiha Maboro through the buzz of mutterings.

What was more or less the entirety of the Uchiha Clan was gathered around the center of the Uchiha Clan compound. Men, women, and children all sat around looking expectantly at the duo standing in the center of the square and gossiped to each other, speculating about what the two prodigies of the clan could possibly have to announce. Or they were, until the eldest Uchiha's voices cut through their chatter, making them quickly quiet.

Shisui grinned widely, "Great question Maboro-ojiisama! We've got some news to share with the clan!"

Uchiha Maboro was the eldest Uchiha still alive, even older than Sarutobi, and was the former pupil of Madara himself. Frail and sickly, the man was on death's door, but he remained as the overriding spiritual patriarch of the clan for a variety of reason. For one, he was directly related to just about every Uchiha present through the marriage of his descendants. Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui all shared him as a great-grandfather. Another reason was that in his prime, he had been one of the strongest Uchiha in recorded history, second only to the past legends of the Uchiha. Even Fugaku, current head of the clan, deferred to the older man whenever he spoke.

Itachi stepped forward to address the elder, "You see Maboro-sama, we've parlayed with the Sandaime."

At his words, a wave of confusion ran through the crowd, save for Fugaku and some of the elders he had been conspiring with, whose eyes narrowed.

Fugaku stepped forward, "Go on Itachi…I wish to hear about what you had to parlay with the Hokage," said the man with a stony face.

Itachi nodded, but Fugaku could tell that his son was cowed, even if he didn't show it. Shisui stepped forward, drawing the heat off from his friend. "The Sandaime has been discussing his succession with Itachi and me. He has stated that the Godaime Hokage shall come from the Uchiha Clan!"

The gathered Uchiha exploded into whispers and excited exclamations, until Maboro raised his arm into the air in a gesture of silence.

"Shisui-kun, tell me, who has the Sandaime nominated to be his next successor?" asked Maboro, making the rest of the Uchiha watch the two teen prodigies expectantly.

Shisui's grin widened as he stepped forward, jabbing his finger at himself. "Who did ya think it would be if I'm telling ya the news? It's me!" exclaimed the boy…before he turned around and pointed dramatically at Itachi. "Or him!"

This only drew confused glances from the clan as they stared at the duo. Itachi coughed lightly, drawing all attention back on him.

"What Shisui is saying is that once we reach the age of twenty, the Sandaime will place either Shisui or I as the Godaime Hokage depending on which one of us he considers more qualified," explained Itachi to his enraptured audience.

Itachi turned to face his father, whose face was scrunched up in turmoil. "For the first time since the founding of Konohagakure, an Uchiha shall lead the village. The dreams of our ancestors shall be fulfilled. And no matter which one of us, be it I, be it Shisui, we shall lead both Konoha and the Uchiha into prosperity," said the boy, drawing loud cheers from his clan.

One of the more lively members began a chant that was soon joined by the rest of the clan.

"Itachi! Shisui! Itachi! Shisui! Itachi! Shisui! ITACHI! SHISUI! ITACHI! SHISUI!"

The roar of the deliriously happy clan came to a swift end when Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward with ice in his eyes, Sharingan gleaming and spinning and held his hand up in a gesture to silence the crowd.

"No."

Itachi, whose neutral expression had failed to hide his hopeful gaze, seemed to age at the words of his father and watched on morosely as Fugaku began his argument.

"No, I will not believe the words of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the same man installed by the Nidaime Hokage who was a lifelong opponent of the Uchiha Clan, even after the formation of Konoha," declared Fugaku loudly, drawing shock and surprise from the rest of the clan except for a few of the more diehard members who nodded.

"But he gave us control of the Konoha Police Force!" shouted a voice from the back of the crowd.

At these words, Fugaku's stony expression darkened. "Yes…yes he did. He is also the same man who lured the Uchiha Clan into the Uchiha Clan compound, away from the village, and ordained his successor shortly before he sacrificed himself to 'Beware the Uchiha'."

Shisui made to respond angrily when Itachi stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head no. Most of the clan's younger members stared in shock and surprise at Fugaku's words; most of this information was news to them and only the older generation seemed unfazed by this new knowledge.

"And yet, in spite of the Nidaime's words, the Sandaime has ordained that his successor shall be an Uchiha, tou-san."

All eyes swiveled back on the almost forgotten Itachi, his words seeming to garner the support of many of the clan who nodded in approval.

Fugaku shook his head in disapproval as he gazed aloofly at his son. "It appears, Itachi that you have disregarded our clan traditions and shared sensitive information with an outsider, even if it is the Hokage."

Itachi kept his eyes steady on his father's as he stood his ground. "As a ninja of Konoha and a member of the Sandaime's personal ANBU guard, I am obligated first and foremost to Konoha and the Hokage."

Most of the clan appeared confused as they watched the hinting at of some of the Uchiha's dirty laundry, with only some of the more astute members recognizing what was being indirectly discussed for what it was.

Fugaku seemed to stare into Itachi's near permanently red eyes in contemplation before he let loose a deep sigh that almost made Itachi's earlier hope return. Almost.

The Uchiha Clan head straightened himself and grasped at the hilt of his katana. "My son. You are the pride and joy of the Uchiha Clan. A genius, a masterful shinobi at an age when most are only first being assigned their genin team. Your talent for the shinobi arts hasn't been seen in our clan since the days of Uchiha Madara before the founding of Konoha. You are my proudest achievement." Here, Fugaku paused and stared at his son searchingly while Shisui watched on in confusion.

The grip Fugaku had on his katana tightened as he unsheathed it slowly, walking steadily towards Itachi, Sharingan spinning. Shisui stepped forward as well while reaching for his ANBU katana, but again Itachi held up his hand.

The messy haired Uchiha snarled as the black tomoe in his eye morphed into a shuriken shape, but a quick sideways glance/glare from the other boy shut him up and had his eyes back to their previous three-tomoe state.

Fugaku's pace quickened from a slow crawl to a normal pace. "You have broken the one law the Uchiha place before all. You have revealed our secrets to those outside the clan, and the punishment…is death!" shouted the Uchiha head as he dashed forward, sword in position to stab through his son's neck.

Itachi's own Sharingan began to spin wildly as he ducked cleanly under the blade and hit his father in the gut with his elbow, barely dodging Fugaku's follow-up swipe, drawing startled gasps and shouts from the Uchiha clan.

Jumping back to get some distance, Itachi tried to reason. "Tou-san, I don't want to fight you. But if you will insist on this, then I will have no choice," intoned Itachi, tone as neutral as ever while his eyes seemed to glisten slightly in the dying sunlight.

Fugaku shook his head. "You have broken traditions that date back to the Rikkudo Sennin, Itachi. I cannot allow for anybody to be exempt, not even my own son!" shouted the man as he began to make one-handed seals in a blur and drew in a deep breath.

Itachi's eyes widened as he sprinted left quickly, but not fast enough to avoid being struck by his father's massive ball of flame. Itachi hit the dirt and rolled, but quickly got up, panting heavily while grasping at his right forearm. His ANBU gear had managed to absorb the worst of the flame, but his exposed upper arm was absolutely covered in burns severe enough that the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder could barely be recognized.

His eyes narrowed as he gazed at his father, tears silently falling down his face. Unsheathing the tanto on his back with his good arm, Itachi began to sprint straight at his father, who scoffed at the action.

"Arrogance! The one thing that has doomed the Uchiha throughout our history, and the one thing I was never able to rid you of!" exclaimed Fugaku as he dashed forward to clash his katana with his son, "Do you truly believe that you can defeat me so brashly?" The two Uchiha's blades met with a harsh clash as the two struggled to overpower the other, something that was decidedly in Fugaku's favor.

Itachi grit his teeth, struggling to hold up his blade singlehandedly against Fugaku's two-armed assault. He could feel his father's blade lowering closer and closer as his strength left him; he had never been a brute force fighter like many of the other Uchiha tended to be; and so he made hand seals with his free hand.

"N-No, I do not, Tou-san. But it shall be your own downfall," said Itachi shakily as a strong burst of wind burst from his free arm and buffeted Fugaku, knocking the air from him as he sailed backwards, katana left on the ground.

Not one to let an advantage slip, Itachi charged forward with his blade poised and slashed, only for his father to disappear in a puff of smoke leaving a cradle behind, slashed in two. Itachi's heart almost stopped until he saw that there was no child inside when the broken cradle fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Turning to glare at his father who had regained his katana, Itachi began to slowly form hand seals while Fugaku leisurely walked at him, katana dragging along the ground.

"You are in no condition to fight me, Itachi. Surrender, and take your death with honor befitting our clan. I promise that you shall receive a burial befitting the excellent shinobi you have been, that much I can guarantee," said Fugaku in an effort to end the fight.

Itachi gritted his teeth as he took up a stance, tanto at a ready to block any incoming attacks. Fugaku shook his head in clear sadness before charging once more while Itachi seemingly stood there, awaiting his demise.

Gasps of dismay and protest erupted from all of the gathered Uchiha but Fugaku heard nothing as he charged and stabbed through his son, sword ripping out through his chest. His eyes narrowed before they widened in deathly shock as a poof of smoke went up around his sword. But not even the smoke could hide the boy crouched under his outstretched arm. Itachi was poised in position, tanto gleaming, ready to attack.

Fugaku's eyes would stay in that position of shock as Itachi's blade cut his head off like a knife through hot butter; as the smoke dispelled, it revealed that it was one of the pieces of the cradle that was stabbed through on Fugaku's katana.

Itachi closed his eyes, tears slowly crawling down his face as he barely held in the bile in the back of his throat; he couldn't afford to do so now, not after how much getting to this point had cost him. He drowned out the shouts and screams from everybody, even his mother's, as he tried to find his inner center while desperately ignoring the blood that completely caked him.

Shisui nodded grimly to the side as he stepped up to Fugaku's body with an ornate yet ancient-looking scroll and sealed the body into it before handing it to the outstretched arm of Maboro who gazed on silently at the proceedings. But their attention snapped to the terrified scream coming from the front gate.

"TOU-SAN!"

Itachi's eyes snapped open at the sound and he could feel himself becoming paler. His face, usually an edifice to stoic calm, stared at his screaming brother, dumbstruck and panicked for the first time since he was a child. He flinched when he saw his young brother's eyes land on him full of fear.

Shisui was beginning to sweat nervously; this hadn't been a part of the plan, Sasuke was supposed to be off in the park with the chibi brigade! He made to approach the boy but was stopped by the blurring of several squads of ANBU amongst the panicked Uchiha. He himself was forced to the ground by one and restrained as Inu appeared in the center of the compound with a scroll in hand.

"Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, you are ordered to be immediately brought before the Hokage," read Inu from the scroll before disappearing in a puff with a restrained Itachi who had offered no struggle in tow.

Sasuke froze, not hearing the shouts coming from the two at his sides as he stared in shock at his father's head. So absorbed in his mental horror was he that he never even realized that he was screaming.

His eyes turned onto Itachi, who was looking directly at him as though he had seen a ghost. Sasuke's body shivered violently, but he continued to stare, and continued to scream. Not even consciously realizing what he was doing, he began to run at his brother, run at his…father, only to be intercepted by his mother whose own face was covered in tears.

She engulfed him in a hug and fell to her knees as he grasped desperately onto her, burying his face into her bosom as he fully came to once more and began to consciously cry, and cry, and scream, and cry. The sounds of scuffling and shouting went unheard as he cried. Cried for his father, and cried in fear, fear of his brother who he had loved more than everything else in this world.

When Itachi came to, he found himself sitting on a chair, albeit with his arms and hands restrained behind him facing the stern countenance of the Sandaime Hokage whose expression betrayed nothing. Next to him on his own chair was Shisui, who looked to be in a similar predicament and was slowly coming to. Inu and Neko stood behind the two, with kunai poised at the two Uchiha's necks.

The Sandaime stared at the two Uchiha prodigies, contemplating how to approach this. He decided to go for the more direct approach. "Explain yourselves."

Itachi opened his mouth, and then closed it. What were they here for? If it was the death of Fugaku, that would fall under clan matters, just as the Hyuuga's Caged Bird Seal and the treatment of most of their clan as serfs.

Sarutobi noted the confused expression on Itachi's face. "You see Itachi(1), my ANBU have reported to me that you and Karasu(2) have proclaimed false information. That I have guaranteed the seat of Hokage to an Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes widened before they narrowed at Shisui, who was pale and clammy at the Hokage's words. "W-W-We did it in order to end the Uchiha's plots to try and stage a coup, Hokage-sama. It was a bluff!" exclaimed Shisui nervously as the Sandaime's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me," uttered the Sandaime, "Did you run this vigilante action by me? Did I grant you approval to use such as a tactic, and to falsify information to my name?" asked the Sandaime as his voice grew progressively louder until it sounded like a boom echoing through the small office. Shisui flinched as the Sandaime's tone rose with every syllable.

"Hokage-sama," said Itachi, drawing the Sandaime's focus back onto the kinslaying Uchiha. "…We will gladly accept any punishment you deem to bestow upon us. But…I wish to inform you that the Uchiha Clan's plans for a coup have been decisively crushed," said Itachi with the most calm he could muster; it wasn't very much, for ninja prodigy or not, he was still only thirteen and utterly terrified.

The Sandaime's stare remained stony. "Elaborate."

Itachi visibly gulped before continuing, "The only people who knew about the plot were a select number of clan elders and my now deceased father, who was the driving force behind the coup even if it wasn't originally his idea. With a combination of our admittedly fake announcement and the death of my father, I imagine that even the elders have abandoned the plot entirely, as their goal has been accomplished…or at least, they believe it shall be so," said Itachi nervously.

Everything was silent save for the Hokage's puffing of his pipe as he mulled in thought, until an ANBU appeared in a Shunshin crouched next to the Sandaime's desk and placed a scroll bearing the Uchiha Clan's fan emblem on it before disappearing once more.

Unrolling the scroll, the Sandaime read while Itachi and Shisui watched on in trepidation and curiosity, albeit with far more of the former than the latter. Closing the scroll and setting it down on the desk, the Sandaime turned to Itachi.

The Sandaime took out the pipe from his mouth and gestured at the scroll, "I suppose congratulations are in order Itachi. The Uchiha Clan elders have just elected you to be the new Uchiha Clan Head," said the old kage, making Itachi and Shisui's eyes widen. Shisui smiled tepidly, but Itachi remained in shock.

"D….Does it say why they elected me as the new Head of the clan, Hokage-sama?" asked Itachi, nervous that he could be crossing the line that resulted in the Sandaime executing him. Thankfully, the Sandaime didn't seem to mind the question.

"It says that by defeating your father in combat, you have proven to be the strongest Uchiha alive, and so they have bestowed upon you the title. You shall be able to take a seat as my advisor in the council, serve as the head of the Military Police Force, and marry immediately, so should you wish it," explained the Sandaime while Itachi sat numbly. Shisui's shaky smile turned into a grin as the Sandaime listed out the perks Itachi would have in his new position.

"…That is, of course, in the event in which I let you live," said the Sandaime, making both pale and stare at him in shock.

"H-Hokage-sama, you can't kill us!" protested Shisui, making Itachi shoot him a murderous glare for his outburst.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, "And why not?"

Racking his brain for ideas, Shisui struck gold. "We're basically the golden boys of the Uchiha clan, getting rid of us now would only cause the entire Uchiha Clan to revolt!"

"Shisui!" hissed Itachi angrily; what he was saying bordered on trying to extort the Hokage!

The Sandaime stared blankly at the two who returned the neutral gaze, or at least, Itachi did. Shisui's fear was etched right onto his face.

"I should kill you two," said the Sandaime matter-of-factly.

Itachi nodded stonily while Shisui was starting to get close to a panic attack.

"You're demoted. Both of you now hold the rank of chunnin, and shall be assigned border patrol duties for the next year. You will tell the Uchiha Clan that the reason for your demotion is due to your releasing of sensitive information early," stated the Hokage in a no-nonsense tone.

Both boys just nodded, Shisui more fervently than Itachi as they let out sighs of relief. The Sandaime nodded at the two ANBU making them remove their kunai from the two Uchiha's throats.

Giving the two boys a deathly serious glare, the Sandaime continued delivering retribution. "Consider your claim to the Uchiha Clan to be true effective today. I will make one of you two the Godaime, but so help me Kami if I get even one whiff of insubordination I'll have you in extended sessions with the Interrogation Department! And THEN you shall be given a swift, miserable death!" thundered the Sandaime, making the two nod numbly, both of their expressions showing matching disbelief at their good fortune.

The Sandaime's expression softened slightly and returned to a more neutral position as he addressed the two Uchiha boys. "The fact of the matter is that you two, alongside Hatake Kakashi are my current choices as potential Kage material," said the Sandaime, making Inu in the back tense.

"However, this information was never supposed to become common knowledge; it was one of the few things I could keep away from Danzo up my sleeve. Expect to have him taking a particular interest in the two of you in the future. I assure you that you would be wise to be wary of that man," asserted Hiruzen gravely, getting nods in response from the two as Shisui chuckled nervously while glancing at Itachi. Hiruzen decided not to comment on that.

Hiruzen raised his pipe to puff once more before continuing, "Now that you two have essentially let the entirety of Konoha know that you two are Hokage candidates, you will make enemies. You will become threats and objects of interests to powers both internal and external. People shall try to bribe, intimidate, and sleaze with you. I am expecting you all to rise above this; do I make myself clear?"

Getting more nods in return, Hiruzen sighed. "Good. Karasu, Itachi, you are dismissed."

One Year Later

Two teenage boys idly walked down a dirt path which led to a pair of massive doors and walls, far away in the distance. The two were dressed in the standard Konoha ninja uniforms, with the only thing differentiating them were the red eyes of the boy with straighter hair, and the position of their hitai-ate. The teen with messy hair wore his Konoha headband on his forehead in the traditional style, while the boy with straighter hair and red eyes had moved his Konoha hitai-ate from his head to his right forearm.

"So what do you think the chibi brigade has been up to while we've been gone? Think Fuzzy and Sunshine got the Leaf Exercise down?"

Itachi's response was a neutral shrug as he stared straight ahead at the distant gates; despite his calm façade, Shisui could tell that he was troubled.

The guilt of killing his father had never washed off like the blood had; Shisui knew that much. But he also had a good idea of why Itachi had clammed up ever since they had been dismissed from their year-long assignment.

"If you're worried about Sasuke, don't be," said Shisui as Itachi turned his gaze from the gates onto his best friend, a glare on his face.

Shisui raises his hands in front of him, "Hey, you know that we did all we could. I even used Kotoamatsukami (Distinguished Heavenly God [3, 4]) so that he could understand and make peace with what we did!"

The glare from Itachi softened slightly, and he nodded, somewhat appeased at the reminder. Just before the duo had left to uphold their sentence, they had paid a visit to Itachi's family. Mikoto had been civil, but had acted aloofly and neutral towards Itachi, showing none of the warmth she normally would have towards her own son. Neither Shisui nor Itachi could hold it against her either.

Sasuke on the other hand, had panicked at the sight of his older brother. He had been staring blankly at his homework when Itachi and Shisui had stepped into his room, and at the sight of his older brother, Sasuke had started screaming. He had stopped almost immediately after Itachi almost ran out of the room, leaving only Shisui and the still terrified boy.

Shisui had slowly approached Sasuke, who had backed away from him in fright. Stopping in front of him and crouching down to eye level, Shisui had begun to recount the tale of Fugaku's plan to usurp the Sandaime, Danzo's intervention, and finally, his and Itachi's plan as he explained why they did what they did.

The boy had buried his face into his pillow and begun crying about halfway through Shisui's explanation, but he had still been listening; that was all Shisui needed to work his magic.

At the end, Shisui had activated his Mangekyo Sharingan to cast his most powerful illusion; the guiding words Shisui had used had been 'Forgive Us'.

Sasuke had fallen asleep after Shisui placed a second genjutsu on him, after which Itachi entered the room to bid his slumbering little brother farewell.

Shisui and Itachi hadn't stuck around to see the results of Shisui's use of the Kotoamatsukami, not that they had much choice in the matter, for they left to carry out their sentence only hours later. Despite Shisui's insistence that everything would be alright, Itachi had continued to stress about Sasuke until midway through their border patrol duties.

The messy-haired Uchiha had actually thought that Itachi had gotten over it, but it appeared to not be so as the gates of Konoha loomed closer and closer.

"Look, Itachi," begun Shisui, "you know that Kotoamatsukamidoesn't fail, before I used you as a guinea pig, you used to hate cabbage, but it's one of your favorite foods now, remember?"

Itachi nodded as he recalled the bet he had made with Shisui. He knew for a fact that he used to loathe cabbage before, as he had written it down on paper before his best friend had tried out his technique on him. A few seconds later, Itachi could only come up blank as he tried to remember his hatred of the vegetable.

Seeing Itachi nod, Shisui continued, "Then you know that there's no way he hasn't forgiven you. So relax, will ya?"

Itachi's lips curled into a small smile, before nodding as the two continued their steady pace towards Konohagakure's walls.

"NARUTO! INO! YOU BLONDE BAKAS, GET BACK HERE!"

Shisui's ear twitched at the name of his favorite blonde and he turned away excitedly from the gate guard he was facing only to come face to face with a very amusing sight that brought a reminiscent grin onto his face, Itachi chuckling at his side.

A distinct pair of yellow blurs were dashing across Konoha's rooftops while another group of blurs followed hot on their trail, profanities spewing from the group as the two blondes leading the chase laughed. It actually surprised Shisui that he had to activate his Sharingan to make out the features of the chibi brigade.

Naruto, now 9, was carrying Ino piggyback and jumping nimbly from roof to roof while laughing his head off while being chased by an angry mob of children, namely Tenten, Kiba, Ayame, Sasuke, and Chouji, who raced after the two, clearly ticked off.

A closer look revealed that Ino had a puppy in her arms who she was feeding from the chip bag in her pocket. The little puppy was yipping happily with each morsel that the girl fed him, and Naruto looked to be holding a scroll in one of his hands.

The two newly arrived chuunin watched in amusement as the children chased each other across the rooftops, both silently impressed at the chakra they saw flowing in their feet thanks to the Sharingan; it looked like the chibis had learned a trick or two while they were gone!

Shisui apparently had enough of standing by idly and vanished in a shunshin on the building which it appeared Naruto was going to be jumping to next.

Waving jauntily with a grin at a now dumbfounded blonde on the building across from him, Shisui's eyes widened and his grin morphed into a worried grimace as Naruto failed to jump due to his shock and fell down into the streets below.

Itachi sweatdropped at his best friend's actions and let loose a silent sigh; asking for a peaceful arrival would be too much, it seemed.

The messy-haired Uchiha in question walked over to the ledge of the building and peered down, only to draw back quickly as a yellow blur scrambled up and over the ledge shouting "Shisui-oyabun!"

Naruto's eyes were alight in happiness as he took in the sight of his quasi-sensei, completely ignoring Ino's reprimands and light swipes at his head.

"-You moron, you almost got us killed! Are you even listening to me Narut….oh, hi Shisui-oyabun," said the platinum blonde girl meekly as she cut her tirade short, finally having realized what, or rather who Naruto was staring at.

Shisui took a moment to note the changes that had happened in the last year since he last saw the two blondes. Naruto was only slightly taller than before and his face slightly less round, but he still had his distinctive spiky hair, whisker marks, and big smile. He was dressed in a blue pair of pants and had open-toed sandals of the same color on as well. His bright orange shirt had the Leaf's insignia on the front in blue and the spiral mark found on Konoha's flak jackets on the back.

Ino had changed physically about as much as Naruto had, and was wearing a purple shirt with her clan symbol, the bush clover, placed over her stomach, as well as a pair of beige shorts and blue open-toed sandals. The only notable difference in her appearance was that she had ditched using hair clips and now sported a very short ponytail.

The rest of the children that had been chasing the blonde duo had caught up by now, and had landed around the dumbstruck duo in various states of surprise and happiness, even Sasuke.

Shisui grinned. "So, chibis, you've been learning while I was away, huh?" said the messy-haired Uchiha, queuing synchronized nods from the gathered group of children.

Another familiar voice from behind the group spoke, "If your running around on roofs is any indication, you have all mastered the Tree Climbing exercise."

Everybody made to turn, but Sasuke was moving before others could even take in who it was that was speaking. In a blink, the younger boy was hugging his older sibling tightly around his middle, making Itachi's eyes widen in surprise.

Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around his younger brother. "It's good to see you too, otouto. I've missed you," said the usually stoic Uchiha.

The younger boy was silent but his hug tightened, making Itachi actually smile as his earlier fears were vanished.

Drawing the boy back, Itachi took the time to take in the sight of his younger brother. His hair had remained in its previous style where bangs hung over his forehead and the sides of his head and hitched up in the back in spikes. He was wearing a blue-black shirt with a high collar with the Uchiha fan on the back, the traditional clothing choice of the clan, with a pair of white shorts and the usual open-toed sandals.

But his attention was drawn back to his brother's happy gaze, which he surprisingly found that it made him uneasy. He had been prepared to get punched, to get shouted, to get some sort of negative reaction. But the only thing Sasuke seemed to emit was joy, despite the slight wetness in his eyes.

Sasuke grasp on his brother's hand tightened as he began to pull him towards the others excitedly, "Nii-san, you're back!" said the younger Uchiha, drawing a chorus of greetings from the other children, most of them sounding like some variant of "Itachi-nii!"

Itachi smiled lightly at the group, before turning his gaze onto Shisui's happy visage. After a quick silent conversation that could only be held by the best of friends, the two nodded before lining them up in front of the two chunnin, confusion apparent on their faces.

The two Uchiha took in the sight of the other children in front of them. All of them had grown slightly taller and had different clothes than they had last seen them in, but all things considered, didn't look all that different.

Shisui shot the lined up children a soft glare, making them all jump to attention. "Is one of you going to tell me why you guys were running around on rooftops trying to kill each other, or am I going to be standing here all day?"

Naruto snapped to faux attention, "Me and Ino-chan decided to borrow some things from everybody else and they all got really angry, Shisui-oyabun!"

At the reminder, the unmentioned children all begun to glare at the two blondes, making Ino chuckle nervously and inch slowly towards Naruto.

Itachi gave the blond boy a deadpan stare, "And why are you not returning their things yet?"

Naruto nodded fervently and opened the scroll in his hand with a flourish of his arm while biting down on his other hand's thumb. Placing the opened scroll down on the ground, he ran his bloody digit along the kanji scribbled on the scroll, making a kunai pouch, a pair of wooden chùi, and a katana embroidered with an oriental dragon on the hilt appear with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke, Ayame, and Tenten all grasped for their respective weapons, all the while grumbling about blondes with sticky fingers. Ino grinned sheepishly as she handed Kiba the puppy in her arms and pulled out the bag of chips in her pocket, making Chouji's eyes narrow.

"You crushed my chips Ino!" exclaimed the boy angrily, making Ino wave her hands in front of her to placate the boy, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Shisui then decided to interrupt, "The hell?!"

All of the children turned a curious gaze onto the surprised boy, wondering what he was on about.

Itachi coughed, shifting the focus onto him once more. "What I believe Shisui is trying to say is that he's surprised at the some of the abilities you're showing."

Shisui's bluster seemed to return to him as he exclaimed, "Damn straight I am! Climbing walls with chakra I can understand, but real kunai? A katana? Solid wooden chùi? And fuinjutsu sealing, TIED TO YOUR BLOOD?! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE GONE!?" shouted the irate boy, making the children sweatdrop.

Naruto stepped forward, foxy-faced grin on his face. "Well, it's kind of a long story. The short version is, we found out you two were gone for a year, we complained to Hokage-jiji about taking away our senseis, and he decided to kind of," here, Naruto seemed to think about what he was going to say, "…eh…send a couple of clones to give us some pointers?" said Naruto sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

Itachi's eyes widened almost imperceptibly, "You're saying that Sandaime-sama has been teaching all of you, personally?"

Sasuke spoke up next, eager to have his big brother's attention back on him, "Yeah he did! Sandaime-jiji is awesome!…but he kinda hates that nickname," said Sasuke sheepishly, making Naruto's grin widen. No prize for whoever guesses who came up with that nickname.

Shisui was still dumbstruck, "All of you?" said the teen, making all of them nod. Shisui then pointed at Sasuke, "What has he been teaching you?"

Sasuke kicked the ground softly while he smiled, clearly pleased. "Well, he taught all of us to throw kunai and shuriken, wall walking, and the Bunshin (Clone Jutsu), Kawarimi (Substitution Jutsu), and Henge (Transformation Jutsu)," said the boy, making Itachi sweatdrop; he had just listed off the academy's graduation requirements, minus the test and taijutsu portion.

Sasuke continued, caught up in his explanation, "But he taught me how to use Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu) and how to fight using a folded Fuuma Shuriken!" Shisui's eyes widened in shock; sure, he had been doing crazy shit like that since he was 8, but Sasuke wasn't even a genin!

Naruto sat down on the roof crosslegged with his arm raised, drawing attention back onto him, "Jiji taught me how to turn my chakra into water, watch!"

Making a hand seal, chakra began to flow out from the seated blonde, and thanks to his active Sharingan, Itachi could make out the condensation and solidification of chakra that was going on around the blonde.

He could even see as the chakra-laced water fell to the ground and dispersed through the air. For the others who didn't have a way to see Naruto's chakra at work, the results of his channeling chakra quickly became apparent when they felt the moisture in the air and saw the ground wet in a circle around the blonde.

The other children took a step back calmly, appearing to already being used to seeing this, Sasuke muttering about Naruto being a show-off. Shisui watched on in fascination as the water climbed and spread outwards away from the boy, but soon he was laughing.

A couple of seconds later, Naruto was sitting inside a massive upside-down dome of water that was shaped like a ramen bowl. Grinning, he stood up and made a hang sign. The water all surged into a sphere above his head, no bigger than said head. Reaching up, Naruto's hand turned into a fist as he punched the ball, hard.

A muffled thump seemed to echo and reverberate through the water as it flattened and widened, turning into a disc shape before it proved too much and the water exploded outwards, flying cleanly over the heads of everybody on the roof and splattering the surrounding buildings with water.

Shisui and Itachi just stared in shock, albeit Shisui much more blatantly than Itachi. That wasn't a jutsu; that was all shape manipulation! Basic, yes, but to see someone not yet even a genin using it at all was completely unheard of!

Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet, "So yeah! Jiji taught me how to make water out of chakra and to make it do what I want…" Naruto trailed off as his face scrunched in annoyance, "But he still won't teach me any water jutsu! 'You're not ready, Naruto-kun', blegh! At least Jiji taught me some fuinjutsu out of a book I found in the library."

Naruto's eyes lit up in excitement as he shifted his eyes fully onto Shisui, "Hey, Shisui-oyabun, did you know the Uzumaki were awesome at fuinjutsu!?"

Said Uchiha just shot him a blank look as he stared at the boy in confusion, "There are other Uzumaki?"

Some of the gathered children sighed in exasperation, already used to the routine that would follow.

Naruto puffed up in pride before shouting, "Hell yeah there were! We were so awesome it took three ninja villages working together to bring us down!"

Sasuke just muttered darkly, having already gotten used to and sick of the blonde's antics whenever he brought up the Uzumaki clan, which was often. Very often. So often that he could recite everything Naruto knew about the Uzumaki as well as Naruto could.

"We get it Naruto, we get it. The Uzumaki were amazing ninja. So were the rest of our clans. Can we move on now?" asked Sasuke in a bored tone, making said Uzumaki pout childishly and stick out his tongue at the boy. Sasuke just twitched in annoyance.

Shisui decided to ignore that topic for now as he turned his attention onto the other children, "Alright, let's do this; when I point to you, say what the Sandaime taught you aside from the things Sasuke says he taught everybody."

He moved his finger to Kiba. "Sandaime-jiji convinced my mom to let me train with Akamaru early, and he taught me how to use Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu) and Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Head Hunter Jutsu[5])…I'd show it to ya but I don't think the people who live here would appreciate it," said Kiba with a snicker, making Shisui grin.

On to the next one, Ino. "You."

"Sandaime-jiji convinced my daddy to teach me some clan stuff early and he taught me how to throw senbon needles! I usually hit whenever I throw them too," offered the girl in her usual upbeat tone.

Shisui just waited, expecting more, but raised an eyebrow in surprise when Ino didn't elaborate. "That doesn't seem that impressive compared to these guys, I mean yeah, throwing senbon is tricky at first, but really? That's it?"

It was the wrong thing to say to the girl as Ino puffed up angrily, making Kiba wince as she reached for her ponytail and pulled out a senbon in the blink of an eye.

Shisui's skeptic look became deadpan as he goaded the girl into throwing the senbon in her hand, "What, you're going to throw one at me, Suisen-chan? (Daffodil)? Big deal, those things will nev-aagh! Shit, that HURTS!"

Ino just grinned maliciously, making the others take a small step back, even Itachi.

The loudmouth Uchiha made to reach for Ino and deliver some payback, but stopped his advance in shock. He couldn't move his arm!

Ino's grin turned smug, "What, you thought I was saying that I could barely hit what I aim at?"

Shisui just whimpered pathetically as he motioned at his unmoving arm.

Stepping forward, the girl yanked out the senbon with a harsh tug, making the Uchiha yelp in pain. "I always hit! I just don't always hit pressure points…" muttered the girl as she placed the senbon back into her hair.

Itachi took note that it was actually strategically placed senbon that were holding up Ino's small ponytail for the first time.

After a few more seconds of grumbling, Shisui had his relaxed grin back on his face as he pointed at Ayame.

Stepping forward, the girl hesitated for only a second. "Sandaime-sama gave me a whole bunch of strength exercises to help me lift my chùi," said the girl before she beamed happily in pride, "I can use the solid wooden pair now too! Sandaime-sama was even kind enough to help me make some attacks," praised Ayame with a light in her eyes.

'Looks like Ayame's the only one here who shows the Sandaime any respect,' thought Shisui wryly as he turned his gaze and index finger onto Chouji, who had been holding his chip bag above his head to eat up the crushed remnants of his chips.

Lowering his hand, Chouji grinned bashfully, "Ehehe, right. Sandaime-jiji talked to my dad too, and he taught me how to run fast."

Itachi rose an eyebrow curiously, "How fast are you, exactly?"

Naruto stepped forward to answer the question before Chouji could say anything, "You know how the Akimichi have a technique they call Nikudan Sensha (Human Bullet Tank)? Well, take the bullet part literally," said Naruto as he shivered slightly in recollection of past sparring matches.

Itachi's mouth closed with an audible click while Chouji just grinned sheepishly, "Well, there is a downside…"

"Yeah? What is it Tanku (tank), don't leave us hangin' here," chirped in Shisui.

"Well, I'm probably one of the fastest people here, but I can't stop, really, and I can't turn either," said Chouji sadly, making Naruto pat him on the back to get him to cheer up.

Itachi just waved his hand comfortingly, "Don't worry, we'll help you with your problem Chouji-kun," making the boy nod, mood uplifted.

Shisui then pointed to Tenten, "Let's hear the news Panda-chan, how did the Sandaime turn you into a monster of a child ninja at the ripe age of nine and a quarter?"

Tenten's hand was halfway to the kunai strapped to her leg before she found the strength of will to stop herself from hurling them at the obnoxious Uchiha, barely, as she answered with grit teeth, "Sandaime-jiji taught me Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu), and how to use it with different weapons."

Shisui just stared at her, "That's an A-rank ninjutsu."

"I know!"

"….How did you get the chak…you know what, I'm not even going to ask. Is one of you going to tell me why the Sandaime decided to turn you and the rest of the chibi brigade into an army of midget ninja or not? Heck, I'm guessing the rest of the chibis are all stupidly overpowered like the rest of you?" asked Shisui as he gazed at them dully.

The children all nodded, making Shisui let loose a sigh of exasperation before shooting Itachi a wry smile, "I thought you and me were some of the only ninja who were off killing and throwing around jutsu like confetti before the age of ten."

Itachi just shook his head, "It appears that there has been a change in policy while we've been away."

The messy-haired Uchiha shot the group of children watching their back-and-forth a curious sideways glance, "This isn't academy stuff, is it?"

Queue negative head shakes, making Shisui huff, "I thought we were the special ones!" Itachi just offered a small smile at his best friend.

Naruto gave the duo a curious stare, "So…what now?"

Itachi twitched in remembrance before shooting Shisui a quick glance, "We must report to Hokage-sama."

Nodding, the two chuunin stepped back from the kids as Shisui waved at them, "Alright chibis, we've got to go report to the Hokage, but I expect to see you all tomorrow at Panda-chan's store!"

Panda-chan growled angrily and tossed a kunai at the boy, who moved his head to the side nonchalantly, "-As I was saying, at Panda-chan's store. I wanna hear what the rest of you chibis got up your sleeves!"

Earning nods from the children, and most importantly, the loudmouthed Ino who would be sure to tell everybody, Shisui waved goodbye.

"Ja ne kiddies, see ya tomorrow!" shouted the messy-haired teen before the two disappeared in a Shunshin.

"…So aside from some isolated excursions by some of the factions in Kiri that were quickly pushed out, our border patrol mission was completed without any issues Hokage-sama," concluded Itachi as he finished his report.

The Sandaime nodded at the two, "Good. It pleases me to see that you two can still be trusted to carry out orders."

Shisui squawked in protest but didn't get much farther than that before Itachi elbowed him. Hiruzen chuckled lightly at the duo's antics before rising from his seat.

Turning his back on them to gaze out at the village from his office's window, the Sandaime began to speak, "I trust that you two still remember our agreement from exactly one year prior?"

The two Uchiha made sounds of agreement, making the old Kage bow his head in approval, "Then I see no point in holding either of you back now that you have carried out your penance. Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, you two are officially promoted to the rank of Jonin. Uchiha Itachi, you have reached the required rank so that you can take your seat in the shinobi council as the Uchiha Head. Congratulations, the two of you."

Bowing, the two thanked the Hokage, who gestured for them to rise. "There is one more thing that I require of you before you can return to the ANBU, however," said the old man, pausing to take a puff from his pipe.

Hiruzen gestured at the scroll on his desk, "You will each be assigned a team of promising students in three days."

Itachi was staring at the aged Kage with widened eyes while Shisui was gaping like a fish, "B-b-but you said I could train Naruto once he finishes the academy!"

The Sandaime chuckled, "Plans change. I thought you would be happy to be able to take on Naruto as your pupil early Shisui-kun?"

"-w can I train Naruto if I have a…Wait, what?! But I'm only 14 right now, I thought I'd be doing this once I was older! And he isn't even a genin yet!" exclaimed the boy loudly, while Itachi continued to stare at the Sandaime with surprised eyes.

More chuckling, "Did Naruto-kun and his friends, or as you call them, 'the chibi brigade' not explain to you once you arrived that I have been teaching them in anticipation of this day? I was so sure that I had seen something like that…" trailed the Sandaime with a gesture at the crystal ball on his desk, making Itachi nod, as the pieces came together.

"…So you want a pair of 14-year olds to train the chibi brigade on their own?" asked Shisui owlishly.

Hiruzen shook his head, "No, there shall be others that will take up some of them as students as well. Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, and my son Asuma will join you in taking them up as students in traditional three-man cells."

Shisui raised a hand, "Wait, will I still have-"

Hiruzen interrupted him before he could continue, "Yes Shisui-kun, you will have the students you requested…although one will take a bit of work to get into this experimental program."

The messy-haired Uchiha nodded, content with the Sandaime's words, while Itachi had simply accepted them as any other mission, but the small, pleased smile on Itachi's face indicated approval of his new assignment, but he still had the feeling that he wasn't seeing the whole picture.

"Hokage-sama," asked Itachi, "If it's possible, could you explain why you decided to create this…experiment, as you call it?"

Hiruzen nodded, and gestured for the two standing Uchiha to take a seat. "While rather straightforward, this could take a while," explained the Sandaime, getting two nods from the teens in front of him as they took their seats.

"As you know," began Hiruzen, "The Kyuubi's attack on Konoha killed off many of our ninja. Between the Third Shinobi World War and the Kyuubi's attack, the average age of our ninja has dropped drastically as our oldest talent died in defense of Konoha, such as Hatake Sakumo or the Yondaime Hokage," said the Sandaime with a puff of his pipe.

"In reality, our strongest ninja that aren't retired come from the generation that became chuunin around the time the war started, such as Maito Gai, who were specifically held back from attacking the Kyuubi. Our ANBU are likewise from this generation; for example, Inu or Neko. It's an irony that Konoha, the undisputed winner of the Third Shinobi World War, is one of the villages with the youngest population of ninja outside of Kiri."

Pacing in front of the two, Hiruzen continued, "For some time now, Danzo has been advocating more extreme measures to bolster our shinobi forces and ensure that the general lack of experience that many of Konoha's shinobi hold doesn't lead us to ruin."

Gesturing out the window in the direction of the clan compounds, he continued, "The fact of the matter is that several of the clans have shown interest in Danzo's proposals, in part because he makes a valid point. Konoha's ninja forces are reduced in size and battle experience, and so a solution or compromise must be reached. This experiment is my answer to these calls for action."

The Sandaime reached for the scroll on his desk and opened it with a soft flick of his hand, revealing the profile of each and every member of the chibi brigade with a picture to match. A closer look by Itachi's Sharingan-enhanced vision showed more sensitive information that an academy student would not normally have on their profile, such as being listed as D-rank threats, notes on their chakra capacities, battle capabilities, and psychological profiles.

"Thanks in no small part to your efforts before you left, these children have shown that they have an aptitude above and beyond their age. Their potential was clearly stagnating at the Academy, which provides solid results for most ninja, but not for special cases, as you can attribute to. As such, I decided to foster their talents myself until such a time when the two of you returned," explained the Sandaime.

Itachi raised a hand in question, making the Sandaime nod at him, gesturing for him to speak. "Why us, Sandaime-sama? Surely there are more qualified individuals to be teaching the children than two teenagers?"

It appeared the Sandaime had been anticipating this question as he answered almost immediately with a soft chuckle, "You two may be teenagers Itachi-kun, but you are shinobi. The laws which govern others do not apply to you; you have proven to be strong, talented, and to have a sensible head on your shoulders..for the most part," said Hiruzen with a blatant glance at Shisui, making him twitch slightly in annoyance.

"You are also some of my most talented shinobi, prodigies with great potential," continued the Sandaime, "there is a reason you are both candidates for the position of Godaime. Teaching these children, all of whom appear to hold the potential necessary to excel as shinobi, will not only give you experience leading others, but also make you grow as both a person and as a shinobi."

Itachi nodded, satisfied with the Kage's answer. It had all the logic and wisdom he'd have expected of his aged leader, and even Shisui had quieted as he gave the Sandaime a happy grin, uplifted to hear his leader's praises and belief in him.

The Sandaime stepped back in front of his desk and assumed his seat, giving the two a no-nonsense look. "I understand that I am placing a burden on you very few others will ever carry or ever have to carry. But I have faith in you two to ultimately forge each of those children into talented shinobi, much like yourselves. I am entrusting onto you the greatest honor of all; to forge the way of the Will of Fire with your own two hands," said the Sandaime solemnly.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," said the two Uchiha in synchrony as they once more bowed deeply. Never let it be said that the Will of Fire was an afterthought in Konohagakure. The thought of passing on your hard-earned techniques and wisdom to others was something that carried grumbling and distaste in the other Great Shinobi Villages, but in Konoha? No, it was an honor, duty, and blessing all in one.

Sarutobi nodded, pleased with his two quasi-protégés.

"I will expect you in three days to receive your assigned students. Until then, you are dismissed."

(1) Itachi also means Weasel, the same mask Itachi wears as an ANBU, so either way you cut it, he'd be referred to as Itachi

(2) Karasu means crow

(3) Kotoamatsukami is Shisui's ultimate Mangekyo Sharingan technique; it lets the user essentially imprint whatever they want into the user's mind. It's so profound and powerful that it can override Edo Tensei's (4) mind control properties.

(4) Edo Tensei is the Impure World Reincarnation technique used by Orochimaru, Kabuto, and the Nidaime Hokage to bring back the dead to fight for them.

(5) Head Hunter Jutsu is the technique Kakashi uses against Sasuke to leave him buried up to his neck in the ground.

If a jutsu is fairly self-explanatory, I don't really go into detail on it, and to clarify, right now Itachi and Shisui are both 14, soon to be 15. Naruto is 9, Ayame is 12.

And with the end of this chapter, this story can now assume a fixed perspective! If you've noticed, I've shifted between tenses and viewpoints for these last five chapters to lay out the groundwork, but the original intent with this story has always been to make it Naruto-centric. Now that the stage has been set, I can carry on with my goal and you'll see the story shift to a much more involved tone. Consider this chapter to be a turning point writing-wise AND plot-wise. How many of you saw all of these twists coming?

Put your hands down you liars.

Drop me reviews with feedback, the fact of the matter is, I STILL haven't decided who will be on what team aside from Naruto's, and that's a (fairly blatant) surprise. I'm open to well-reasoned suggestions.