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Chapter Text

Itachi’s condition has worsened yet again and nor Tsunade’s amazing medical skills or Jiraiya’s vast knowledge of seals has helped resolve the mysterious seal that’s been slowly killing Uchiha Itachi the past year. No treatment, no jutsu has been effective at all. And Minato is running out of options, he hates it. He hates the desperate look on his friend Fugaku, he hates the unshed tears on Mikoto’s face and the lost look on Sasuke and Sai, but most of all Minato hates the thought of Itachi dying, the boy is like a nephew to him, due to his friendship with Fugaku and Mikoto. He hates the thought of a parent losing a child, it just hits a nerve.

Definitely the worst part is to actually tell the Uchiha family that the most recent attempt to cure their heir was again a failure, that he was failing as a friend and as a Hokage.

They were gathered in his office, Tsunade and Jiraiya were behind him, and Fugaku and Mikoto were across his desk, looking broken and hopeful at the same time. Minato was at loss of what to do, of how to tell them. Luckily Tsunade was the first to speak.

“It’s not working. At all” Minato hid his face in his hands a little, because damn Tsunade, too direct. In front of him Mikoto collapsed in her seat, like someone cut the strings that were keeping her straight, and Fugaku was making the I-have-to-keep-it-together-but-I’m-about-to-lose-it face.

“How long?” he asks with a hoarse voice.

“A couple of months at best” answered Tsunade regretfully.

The Uchiha looked at their held hands sinking into the information while the Hokage looked at them powerless.

Suddenly a knock on the door was heard. Everyone looked at it confused, the ANBU and chunin working at the tower knew this was a really private meeting and they should not be interrupted, so it had to be something important. With a hand sign the Hokage allowed the unexpected visitor to enter.

Nara Shikamaru and Hyuuga Neji came in with serious expressions and important information.

"Sorry for interrupting but I might have an idea, Hokage-sama" stated Shikamaru.

-//-

Six months ago

The mission itself was troublesome enough already, but with the addition of totally unknown seals on the entrance of the temple they’re supposed to break in, the mission now escalated in rank. So, so troublesome it makes Shikamaru sigh in frustration.

“We need to move Shikamaru, there are enemies coming our way from southwest” said Neji, his partner in this goddamn circus that was this mission.

The report for this B-Rank mission was to retrieve a body of an already dead person back to their clients. The man was apparently some kind of monk and his other monk friends wanted to give a proper burial and say goodbyes and whatnot. Shikamaru called bullshit the moment he read the report, dead bodies held no real value to civilians, only for ninjas. He bet the monk had some kind of secret hidden in his body that the other monks didn't want people to find out. Not that was any of his business anyway, certainly the Hokage knew something about that too and sent them anyway, so Shikamaru was pretty sure that there was no problem at all.

He was wrong.

_______

After fighting a damned third wave of bandits and ninjas Neji and Shikamaru were frankly exhausted. To make it worse, they haven't figured out the seals at the entrance of the temple. Sealing wasn't particularly a strong suit for either of them, but they were good enough to be sent on this mission by the Yondaime Hokage, whose strong suit were seals. So it was only logical to think that even Hokage-sama didn't know either that this mission would imply advanced sealing skills.

Shikamaru sighed again for what felt like the 100th time before deciding to retort to his last and most desperate plan.

“Neji, let’s hide, if the next enemy can unseal this bitch we will attack them.” The Nara said, annoyed, Neji understood the logic of the plan immediately and went to hide.

______

Shikamaru was observing a mysterious person with a fox mask approaching the temple doors, he didn’t seem to have noticed them yet and was walking straight to the entrance, apparently oblivious of the seals that blocked the entrance. He turned to look at Neji who had his byakugan activated already.

“What do you see?”

“He’s definitely a ninja. Maybe chunin level. Nothing apparently outstanding about him though” Neji answered coolly.

Turns out Neji was abismaly wrong and everything was outstanding about this mysterious shinobi. He stood in front of the seals and with just a couple of hand signs he removed all them effortlessly and completely. As soon as Neji and Shikamaru charge to attack him, they guy was already in front of them, so fast that their brains couldn’t catch up. In a blink of an eye both of them had a sharp kunai aiming at their throats.

He moved with grace and in complete control of his body and in no time the guy handed their sorry asses to them and stated he only wanted the material things inside the temple and that he had no business with corpses, hence no interest at all in them and their mission.

Pretty much ignoring them, the masked man went inside the temple. The whole situation was too good to be true it might as well be a trap, but with no back-up plan and with the high possibility of more goddamn seals inside the temple following the masked man was almost their only option. They were going to be extra cautious obviously, but hey, Shikamaru was all in for less troublesome work in this mission if he could afford it.

Luckily for them the masked man was telling the truth and he was not at all interested in interfering with their mission, and for a masked person he was rather expressive, swearing all the time about the place. And with all reason, the damn temple was a fucking maze and only Shikamaru’s intelligence could make sense of it and as he predicted it was full of seals similar to the entrance’s. It was pretty much a teamwork effort of Shikamaru’s wits, Neji’s byakugan to avoid traps and the masked man's way with seals. In the end they all got what they came for.

When they were about to part ways the mysterious man looked intensely at them, more specifically at Neji, who tensed at the stare as he was already wary of the man's apparent hidden strength and obvious advanced Fuuinjutsu knowledge.

“You got a pretty nasty thing on your forehead” He said somewhat angry. Both Konoha nin cringed, the seal on Neji’s forehead was classified information, and only extremely accomplished Fuuinjutsu masters should be able to know it was there without looking directly at it.

Neji didn’t answer, it didn’t seem safe. The silence stretched as the masked man kept looking at him.

“Look, I think I owe you both for helping me, I guess?” He shrugged and relaxed his posture. “That place was nuts, and you two are downright geniuses. And it’s a fucking waste you have that shit on your body, should I remove it for you?”

Neji’s world shook in its axis for a moment, he had dreamt about removing it more times than he’s willing to admit. Shikamaru looked at him expectantly, he also thought that seal was savage and cruel, but it was not his place to say anything.

“I appreciate the gesture, but it will cause a lot of commotion if I get it removed.” answered Neji, trying to sound as calm as he didn’t feel. Discreetly Shikamaru sighed in relief.

The masked man looked at them in what seemed discomfort. “Ugh, as you wish, but I still think I owe you two something, and I don’t like owing anything, so here -” Shikamaru was given a scroll with what looked like a summoning seal. “If you ever need a hand with tricky seals you can summon me”

Neji looked at the scroll with an emotion Shikamaru could not place, hope maybe? But something was… odd. This stranger was being far too gentle.

“I don’t think we should accept this, you get us inside the temple, you could say we’re even” replied Shikamaru “And you know that too, why are you giving us this?”

“You are too smart for your own good Nara-san” answered the man playfully “You could say I have a soft spot for handsome and strong men” his tone was smooth and flirty, they could almost hear the smile behind the mask. “Just take the scroll, it might be handy someday, and if you never use it that’s okay too”

With nothing to add, he shunshin’ed away leaving them.

“Do you think it’s a trap?” asked Neji.

“As crazy as it may sound, no. I’m just trusting my guts here, but I think he doesn’t mean any harm?”

The Hyuuga nodded and they went back to the village, scroll secured in Shikamaru's pouch.

Both Shikamaru and Neji were loyal shinobi of Konoha, they properly reported being helped by a third party on the mission. However, the scroll and the favor were offered to Neji as a personal matter so they didn’t mention it. Shikamaru knew Neji had been thinking hard about the chance of removing the cursed mark, hard enough to even consider talking with Hinata about the remote possibility.

But then they heard about the critical situation of Sasuke’s brother… they both experienced the masked man abilities with fuuinjutsu first hand and every possible cure has been a failure, calling him for this was worth a try at least. Shikamaru planned to talk Neji through the idea, but in the end was Neji himself the one who proposed it.

Therefore, they were now at Hokage’s office with five pairs of expectant eyes on them and Shikamaru just knew in his bones that this was going to be so so troublesome.

-//-

Minato was trying hard to think of this as a Hokage, to really weigh the chances of this scroll and this mysterious masked man being a bad idea and a danger for the village. But he was also as desperate as the Uchihas, who were looking at him with concealed hope. The seal in the scroll was a marvelous piece of work and could only have been created by an accomplished seal master, this man’s skills were legit.

“What do you think, Jiraiya-sensei?”

“Hmm, what you two describe sounds like a technique taught in Uzushiogakure and by this seal you can tell he has some skills, I’m intrigued. I think it’s worth a chance, although this man might be powerful, even a S-Rank shinobi would have it difficult against two sannin and the Hokage, I think we can handle it, but we ought to be cautious indeed, '' said Jiraiya with a thoughtful expression.

“Also it would be beneficial to assess a shinobi with that level of Fuuinjutsu” Minato nodded while looking at the people in his office with resolute eyes “It’s decided then, Shikamaru-kun, Mikoto, Fugaku, we will summon this person tomorrow afternoon”

“ I want us to be present as well, Sasuke and Sai included.” pleaded Fugaku.

“All right, I will also call Kakashi, let’s make a strong statement. Fugaku, tell your sons the plan and be prepared, all of you in full gear”

The Uchihas nodded, determination flaming in their eyes. Tomorrow is going to be interesting.

-//-

Shikamaru sighed again, this committee was as interesting as troublesome. For starters due to security reasons Hokage-sama had to wear the traditional robes and hat, including a mask covering his nose and mouth, only his eyes were visible and he was evidently uncomfortable. Tsunade and Jiraiya were bickering about contingency plans and placing bets as per usual, Kakashi was pretending to read that awful porn novel while paying close attention to his surroundings. Itachi was silent while the rest of the Uchiha family seemed to be practising their best intimidating look. Beside him, Neji looked stoic for the untrained eye, but for someone as sharp as Shikamaru it was obvious he was fidgeting.

“Are you okay? I mean, with all of this?” asked the lazy ninja.

“Yes, I was only thinking of how all of this is going to turn out” answered Neji, relaxing his posture.

“I bet it is going to be the biggest drag ever, of that I'm sure.” Neji nodded sympathetically.

“Are you all ready?” Asked the Hokage attracting everyone’s attention. All the present people looked ready and with serious expressions on their faces.

The Hokage made a couple of hand signs to activate the privacy seals. Shikamaru took the summoning scroll and went to the center of the room and placed it on the floor, Lord Hokage was in front of him, behind him were Tsunade and Jiraiya, to the left side of the room were the Uchihas and to his right were Neji and Kakashi, all of them tense of what was coming.

Shikamaru bit his thumb to draw some blood and activated the seal.

“Kuchiyose no Jutsu”

For a couple of seconds nothing happened and Shikamaru feared for the worst, he looked at the Hokage with dismay, but after a brief moment that felt like an eternity the seal started glowing orange and in a cloud of smoke the familiar figure of the fox masked man appeared. He was wearing a long sleeved black kimono with orange decorations, a conical straw hat with wind bells hanging was hiding his hair.

“Ah Nara-san, as handsome as I remember I see.” greeted the man cheerfully looking at Shikamaru who was fighting a blush. But all the cheer in his demeanor disappeared when he looked at the other people in the room, shoulders tensing instantly until he spotted Neji. “Hyuuga-san, somehow I guess this is not about removing that ugly shit out of your pretty face, hm?” his tone was icy, he was obviously angry.

“We are in need of your help” answered Neji, impassive of the compliment.

“I offered my help to you, not for your Hokage nor your village”

“I know, but you also offered help with tricky seals and right now a comrade is suffering from one of those” Shikamaru tried to sound calm, but there was a plea in his tone.

The masked man took a moment to look around at each person in the room, he stopped on the imposing figure of the Hokage. There was an emotion there that no one was able to place, but it was intense and threatening, Kakashi and Tsunade started to seriously tense at the stare, but then the masked man broke his stare contest with the Hokage to look at the Uchihas. He was looking directly at Itachi - like he knew he was the one with the seal - intensely, almost boring holes in his skull, heavy and thick anger oozing from him. Really, Shikamaru doesn't understand how a masked person can be so expressive.

“What a vile thing you have in your chest, hm?” Jiraiya and Minato froze for a second. It should not be possible for him to know the person who bears the seal, least the location of it with just a glance.

The atmosphere was tense, the silence stretched, everyone's shoulders were stiff. Shikamaru was worried, Sasuke looked about to snap and activate his Sharingan, if the masked man were to feel threatened it will be pretty much the fucking end of the transaction, and that won’t do. Before Shikamaru could say or do anything, the masked man sighed heavily, relaxing his posture and looking back at him with hands in his waist.

“Tch, what’s the fucking deal with Konoha and his handsome shinobi and nasty seals?” The words were harsh, and flirty and what? “Fine, if this is how you want me to repay the favor then so be it, but I have a few conditions” he said, turning to the Hokage.

“And what conditions will be?” Asked Lord Hokage.

Minato was impressed, and he could tell that Jiraiya-sensei was also impressed. They were intrigued and confused by this mysterious ninja who in a minute assessed the situation, the potential opponent's strength and skill level. He was incredibly intense, his gaze, even covered by that fox mask was fierce and piercing and Minato knew that being different the circumstances all the shinobis on the room would have jumped and attack whoever dare to look at the Hokage that way, Kakashi and Tsunade at least looked ready to snap in any moment even if they concealed those emotions very well. But there was no choice, not when just by looking at Itachi a mere second he was able to know he was the one with a seal, even more impressing he instantly knew the location of it. The last time he met someone with that kind of ability was from an elder of the Uzumaki clan back when Uzushio was still standing. The mere idea that this person might be an Uzumaki sent chills down Minato’s spine.

He had a wife a long time ago - 18 years ago to be exact - , with fiery red hair and a bright and intense personality, she was an Uzumaki, the last one of them as far as he knew. And as any Uzumaki, she had a special and unique way around Fuuinjutsu, a passion they shared. She taught him a lot of things about seals, they even developed a new matrix together that worked wonderfully for storage. She was a genius, a hot headed loving woman, a strong shinobi and the love of his life. Minato loved her dearly, they had so many many dreams and goals to achieve, but everything was cut out short. One fateful day, during a mission in Kiri she was kidnapped by Iwa Shinobi as revenge for what happened in Kannabi Bridge during the 3rd Shinobi War. He sent at least 4 teams of his most elite ninja to look for her, they came back with nothing but rumors, not even one month later he sent another 5 teams but yet again they came back empty handed, his heart was shattered. It wasn’t until Jiraiya-sensei went by himself that his informants network caught the intel, apparently Kushina fought the ninjas that captured her and somehow made an escape jumping to a close river, but the wounds inflicted were too deep, and by the amount of blood found she was certainly dead, even though no body was ever found.

Every person that ever knew Kushina was heartbroken, Minato was beyond destroyed, his heart had a hole so deep that nothing could fill it. Those first years were the worst, with him being Hokage he had a big responsibility with his village and his people so he couldn’t duel too much in his grief. Instead he focused solely on his work hoping it would numb the pain. It took Jiraiya and Tsunade, as well as his genin team and his friends Fugaku and Mikoto to overcome his loss. His dreams of a loving family were crushed, and that was the exact reason why he couldn’t let that happen to the Uchihas, no if there was even the smallest chance to prevent it. And that chance was in front of his eyes right now, in the form of an enigmatic masked Fuuinjutsu master.

“And what conditions will they be?” he asked.

“Not much actually” the man shrugged, “Basic shinobi courtesy I think” he walked towards him while taking a scroll out of his long sleeve. Beside him Jiraiya and Tsunade tensed on wariness.

“Tell me about this courtesy you speak of”

“I’ll remove the seal from him, but I would need better privacy seals than these” he said pointing around the room.

“What’s wrong with these ones?” asked Jiraiya with concealed indignation. These privacy seals were his personal work after all.

“Nothing actually, they are very good for what they were thought of, I’m sure no information would be leaked out from here, nor anyone could enter” that appeased Jiraiya a little bit “but these are not designed to prevent outside ninjas to sense the chakra of the people inside, and that will be my first condition, I don’t want your shinobi to have a clear idea of how my chakra feels like”

It was reasonable Minato thought, classic ninja paranoia so to speak. “I understand, so these are your privacy seals I assume.” he asked while opening the scroll and Shodaime on a stick, the seal was gorgeous, refined brush strokes on complete harmony with a beautiful matrix. He was somehow glad he was wearing a mask, because his mouth was positively open in awe. Behind him Jiraiya was holding back a whistle.

“Yes, you can check it and activate it if you want” Minato and Jiraiya positively wanted to check this seal, more like reverse engineering it and pick apart every single detail. Looking a little further in the scroll there was another seal, he could tell it was the same variation of the previous privacy seal, but this one was more complex with at least 2 matrices connected by a swirl of rat and ox symbols.

“And this seal here is my second and final condition. I hope you don’t mind, but this one is for all the people in the room, this seal will prevent everyone in here from talking about my abilities, my face or my name to other people. Also the memories of the removal I’m about to perform nor my face and my name would not be able to be accessed by mind jutsus”

The Hokage was absolutely stunned, now that was a crafty seal, any ninja would kill to snatch this kind of Fuuinjutsu technique.

“Maa, isn’t that a little bit of overkill?” asked Kakashi nonchalantly.

“You summon me here with the Hokage himself, two sannins and 6 elite jounins and you’re accusing me of overkill? How very dare you?” replied the masked man with humour in his voice.

Minato chuckled despite himself, very well founded paranoia indeed.

“I don’t see any problem with your conditions. Though you speak very confidently about the removal. You haven’t even seen the seal just yet and you can confirm you can remove it?” Jiraiya intervened, and there was hope and intrigue in his voice, Minato just had to look briefly at the Uchihas to know that they were also holding their breaths at the perspective of this man successfully removing the seal on Itachi.

“I’m pretty damn good at what I do Jiraiya-san!” he shouted energetically "and even if I can remove it all by myself I can at least reverse engineer the damn thing and we could work on it together, aren't you two Fuuinjutsu masters as well after all?"

There was challenge in his cheery tone, and neither he nor Jiraiya were the type to deny a challenge. The hokage looked at the other shinobi in the room, silently asking for permission, pretty much everyone nodded discreetly.

"Very well, I'll accept your conditions and your seals , and if you don't mind I will activate them myself"

"Sure, knock yourself out" His stand was relaxed and confident. Minato had so many questions he wanted to ask it was almost itchy.

Activating the seals was easy, the form stretched in the floor and a warm orange barrier encased the room. They felt powerful and sturdy and beautiful in a way Minato hadn't seen before.

“You said these seals will prevent us from speaking about your name and face, right? Does that mean we earn a proper introduction?” asked Kakashi with a cheery tone.

“Oh yeah, absolutely” replied the masked man, the grin was evident in his voice.

What happened next shook Minato’s and everyone else’s world to his axis.

No way…

Chapter Text

Uchiha Itachi was familiar with the Hokage Namikaze Minato, no wait, scratch that, Minato is family, he has been his father best friend for more than two decades already, even when his father try to play it difficult and deny such accusations, Minato and Fugaku were the best of friends, he was also his cousin Obito’s Jounin sensei, and that’s why Itachi grew up with the Hokage around all the time, pretty much an uncle figure. He owed the man a lot, he was supportive and understanding both as a family as well as Hokage. It was him who convinced Fugaku that such high expectations, even for a genius like Itachi, were bound to break him someday. He also helped Sasuke a lot to become his own person rather than his big brother shadow. He helped Itachi to finally decide to quit ANBU without guilt or regrets, certainly he wasn’t weak, that wasn’t the reason, he was highly skilled and strong, a genius among his peers you could say, but his gentle nature and compassionate personality made it really difficult for him mentally, it took toll on him so strongly that even his father, despite how proud he was for his son being a ANBU captain at such young age also supported his decision of stepping back to tokubetsu jounin, he was far happier that way. 

Itachi also knew about Kushina, he met her often back when she was alive. And even now, thinking that of her in past tense sends a pang of pain to his stomach. He remembers fondly her blazing bright personality and odd antics, he remembers quite well how strong she was, her almost whimsical way with seals, how Fuuinjutsu came to her as easily as Fire Justus came for Uchihas. He also remembers the way Minato and Kushina used to look at each other, with so much love and trust. He didn’t like it, but he also remembered the lost and utterly broken face of the Hokage the day the council made him accept the fact that Kushina was never coming back, that she was lost beyond reach. That day his parents took Minato to their house, afraid that he would drown in grief and do something crazy or dangerous if left alone. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop but he heard Hokage confess to his parents while choking in tears that he and Kushina were trying for a baby, that they had finally deemed time for starting a family at last. It stung to hear, knowing just how much the Hokage wanted children.Those were indeed a rough couple of years

It was because Itachi knew about Minato’s shattered dream, that what was happening right now was bizarre and unbelievable, and it was not only him who thought that, every person in the room was just as lost of words as him.  

It started when Kakashi had the nerve, the fucking audacity to ask the masked man to reveal his name and his face.

“Oh yeah, absolutely," replied the masked man, amuse evident in his voice.The first thing he took off was his heavy looking kimono revealing a lean but muscular body. He was wearing a mesh undershirt with a black short sleeved crop top with a  strangely familiar red spiral crest embroidered in the back and orange skin tight pants. Despite being a man, he had subtle curves on his waist and strong tights. 

Up until now, the masked man made a really good job concealing his chakra, which was barely perceptible. That changed when, while looking at the floor and with the hat still in place, the man took his mask off. It was like a dam was unleashed. A humongous amount of orange chakra flooded the room, it was thick and massive and almost oppressive. What the hell though Itachi gasping for air, for a moment he even felt a little dizzy. 

Itachi looked at his father who had his eyes wide in amazement trying to not activate his sharingan. Another quick glance confirmed to Itachi that everyone in the room was in a similar state of amazement and dizziness. 

“Oh gosh, it’s so nice to let go, I was suffocating in there!” His voice was now more cheery and relaxed. 

The first thing Itachi noticed was blue eyes, clear sky blue eyes. They were clear and beautiful and... familiar, oddly familiar. Then the now unmasked man finally took his hat. He was, to put it in simple, words stunningly beautiful, tan and fair skin with soft features, sunshine blond hair and those blue eyes. Even in Itachi’s state of awe by the beauty, he couldn’t just not see it . 

This person looked like a younger version of Namikaze Minato, a little bit softer and rounder and with whisker-like scars on his cheeks, but the hair and the eyes were the exact same shade as Minato’s, and that face was painfully similar to Kushina’s.

“Yo! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet y'all ‘ttebayo!” he said with a big blinding smile, apparently oblivious to the state of utter shock of the people in the room. On the other side of the room the Hokage was frozen in his spot unable to even breathe. The Sannin and Kakashi were in a similar state.

“Uzumaki you say?” asked Minato, it was amazing how his voice wasn’t trembling. 

Minato’s brain certainly stopped working when he looked at this man... boy! staring at him with his same hair  and a face too similar to Kushina’s, with her smile, even the bone structure was unmistakable Uzumaki! and...those eyes were just too similar to his own. And then his heart skipped a bit when he heard ‘ttebayo. A shiver went down his spine, his heart beating loudly in his head and his mind was clogged with white noise.

Can someone please tell Minato this is a mere coincidence, because entertaining the mere idea of this person being what he thinks he is, it's just... preposterous! , can someone say something already? though the Hokage almost drowning. 

 “It’s a pleasure Uzumaki-san, I’ll be in your hands," said Itachi with any feeling perfectly concealed in his tone. He surely has to be as stunned as everyone else, but it was a priority to play it cool to not scare Uzumaki away. “I’ve heard great things about your clan, I’m looking forward to seeing your techniques in person”.

This boy was a motherfucking genius, thought Minato breathing out, it was the perfect and polite answer that could lead to subtle interrogation, because fuck, they were in dire need of answers. 

“Well, I wouldn’t know, so far I have never met another Uzumaki in my life” said Naruto with a simple shrug. 

“Then how are you using Uzumaki clan techniques? Who taught you?” asked Jiraiya with a desperate edge in his voice. Naruto only smirked devilished.

“Why the interest? Eh, Mister Sannin. Are you jealous?” answered the blond, wiggling his eyebrows playfully, despite the shiteating grin his eyes were dead serious, 'am I being interrogated? Are you in any position to demand information out of me?' was what those eyes were saying. Jiraiya was walking on thin ice there and the silence was tense once again, the toad Sannin was failing in trying to think of a comeback, but all too soon Naruto relaxed his posture again. 

"Ugh, you ninjas are awfully nosy, aren't you?" said Naruto apparently frustrated but his tone didn't have any bite in it. "It's true I have never met another Uzumaki alive, but the clan left some things behind for those who know where to look. Satisfied?” 

“You cannot blame a Fuuinjutsu master for some curiosity right?” replied Jiraiya.

“I guess not, not that you’re getting much out of me anyway” said Naruto with a shrug."Now, pretty boy come here and strip your shirt for me." Flirty Uzumaki was back. 

Itachi was a ninja, a highly skilled one, deadly and with a hold of his emotions that made other shinobi weep in pure envy, he was stoic, impassive, imperturbable and in complete control of himself, and it was just because all of that that he could hold back the imminent blush that threatened to show on his face. It was actually kind of ridiculous really, because it was a very well known fact that every Uchiha had a fanclub of their own, being naturally talented and good looking, especially Itachi, Sasuke and Sai. They were chased and harassed and wooed to different degrees on an almost daily basis, Itachi should be immune to any kind of shameless flirting at this point of his life, but here he was, heart beating like crazy and fighting a blush. Oh, how the mighty had fallen! Itachi only hoped that Sasuke and Sai hadn’t realized, they wouldn’t let him live it down  if they had.

Itachi’s prayers were only half heard as Sasuke and Sai were maybe too deep in worry about his dear brother, the seal killing him, the spark of hope of him being cured and the shocking surprise and mystery this Uzumaki guy entailed to actually notice anything, but Shikamaru was sharp beyond reason and he did realize the flustered state of the Uchiha heir, and honest to god he wanted to laugh, but the timing couldn’t be any worse for Itachi’s first crush!  Let it to the weirdest Uchiha to fall for the biggest fucking mystery they had encountered in years! This was just peachy, a whole new fucking level of troublesome. 

Well, Itachi was doing an OK job hiding his embarrassment, because aside from Shikamaru apparently no one noticed, not even when he stripped his simple shinobi shirt with trembling hands and just the tips of his ears slightly red. Shikamaru would have called it cute if not slightly weird and off-putting, but the moment Naruto’s eyes caught sight of the seal on Itachi’s chest his stand and demeanor changed, he was serious and hyper focused and that could only spell problems. With a couple of hand signs Naruto touched the seal and pulled it towards him, at least five layers of really complicated seals appeared floating out of the main seal. The blonde’s face scrunched in an ugly snarl of disgust.

"Holy shit! What did you do? What is this technique?" almost screamed Jiraiya. Beside him Minato was gaping. 

"What are these other seals? Are they part of the original?" asked the Hokage getting closer, taking note of Itachi’s face of discomfort "Also, is he okay?” 

"Usually when seals are so complicated that no common release method works, most likely they are multi-layered seals, 3 or more types of seals, overlayed and connected by a hybrid matrix. This is an Uzumaki blood limited jutsu, fairly simple but extremely useful, it allows me to merely make the layers of the seal disentangle and visible to the naked eye.” 

Minato wasn’t even able to tell what he was feeling anymore, there was just too much information to process, he watched intensely at Naruto, at his face, his features, he even closed his eyes for a second and tried to really feel his chakra. The existence of Uzumaki Naruto meant something, what exactly he didn’t know just yet, but for now he will bury those questions and focus on the task at hand. That task being the most hideous and cruel seals he has ever seen. He couldn’t make heads and tails of 3 of them but just by those angry strokes he could guess something horrible, and he knew the other two. The first one was used in the past by the root agents of anbu, it was a seal that prevented the shinobi from talking about their missions or their leader in a rather violent and painful way, the second one was an advanced storage seal, too complicated to be of any real use in a fight. All the five seals were indeed connected to a matrix he has never seen before.

“And Uchiha-san is okay, he is just resenting the tampering of the seal, the coils of these seals go until his very chakra core so it can be unpleasant” said the blonde with his eyes fixated on Itachi’s chest. “My best guess for now is that these coils are all deeply tangled on his chakra system, that must be the reason behind the severe case of constant chakra depletion”

“It’s not only depletion, for what I could gather in various examinations, it’s not like his body is not generating chakra, that chakra it’s disappearing as soon as it is generated” interjected Tsunade seriously.

Naruto’s face was once again scrunched in disgust, until his expression brightened in realization. "You are Senju Tsunade! You are like the best medic ever right?" asked the blonde with a sunshine smile, Tsunade pretended not to be flattered frowning "with you here this is going to be so much easier!" 

"What are you going to need me to do?" Asked the Senju. 

"Well, for starters I guess you and Jiraiya tried to cure Uchiha-san up until now, I need the details of what the seal has done with his health and the methods you tried so far" 

Tsunade nodded and started talking about the seal from the very first time they discovered it. Minato was looking at them with the knot in his throat still in place, he was deeply concentrating on them until Shikamaru and Kakashi approached him.

"Hokage-sama…" started Shikamaru. 

"What do you both think?" shot back Minato. "Do we look as similar as I think? Kakashi, is his face reminding you of Kushina as much as I think? Aren't his Chakra reserves just as impressive as the legends of the Uzumaki clan are? Am I finally going crazy?" he asked in muffled whispers full of grief. 

"We need more information before making any assumption" answered Kakashi, beside him Shikamaru nodded, neither of them wanted to rush into the wishful thinking that was in everyone's mind. 

"We need a way to lure him into answering some questions, but he has to cure Itachi before that, if we make the wrong decision and he leaves then Itachi’s dead" said Shikamaru with a grim face, the other two nodded in agreement. 

"What are you plotting over there?!" shouted Naruto surprising them, despite being a direct accusation his tone was playful and carefree. Kakashi was about to answer, probably something cryptic as he liked it and Shikamaru will have to fix it so he wouldn’t offend Naruto, but the blonde just laughed. 

"Oh gosh, your faces! Nara-san even when pale as a ghost your face is so handsome, so unfair ttebayo!" and he kept laughing. Shikamaru tried to suppress a tic. 

"If you are going to laugh at my expense and then have the fucking nerve to flirt you can at least call me by my name!" barked back Shikamaru. 

"Call you by your name?!?! But I hadn't bought you dinner just yet! We are going too fast Shikamaru!" answered the fox vixen with a flirty smirk to what Shikamaru wanted to retort again, but a look at Itachi made him hold back. It was like he was a kicked puppy, his eyes fixed on Naruto and then Shikamaru and then the floor. 

"If that's the case I would like to be called by my name as well." spoke Itachi softly. 

"Uchiha-san?" Naruto’s face was one of confusion. 

"It's just that there are four Uchihas here, it can get confusing at some point" 

How is that no one else was noticing this? Shikamaru had no idea, it was just so evident! 

"Itachi-san then" answered the blonde with a soft smile. 

Itachi’s heart was skipping a few beats here and there, and he was not that socially awkward to not know it was Uzumaki Naruto’s fault. Leaving aside the suspicion of anything, it was more like he was an unfairly stunning beauty, a powerful ninja and an extremely accomplished seal master, it was a combination Itachi just now realized he found really attractive. And now said blonde was smiling softly at him calling him by his name? Itachi was done for, really. Why take the seal? He was going to die of embarrassment anyway, especially because apparently Shikamaru already noticed and was looking at him with funny exasperated eyes, goddamn Nara clan and their superb observation skills. He was just praying that his family hadn't noticed anything just yet. 

"Hokage-san, as I was trying to say before, there are five seals here. Each one of them is terribly complicated and nasty in their purpose." spoke Naruto, his face going back to serious expression. The Hokage made his way towards Itachi followed by Jiraiya. "The first layer, the one closer to Itachi’s Chakra core, if I recall correctly was invented in Konoha, it’s an advanced storage seal, a really complicated one because it cannot be released until full of whatever is storing, which leads to the second layer, this one is used to absorb chakra and redirect it somewhere else-”

“So what are you saying is this seal is stealing chakra out of Itachi and storing it in the first one?” spoke Jiraiya. 

“Exactly! This is why the chakra depletion is so strong, Itachi is producing chakra in the normal way just to be taken away instantly, it's like he's fighting a really strong enemy all the time, non stop. His body is extremely confused of what’s happening” 

"That makes sense, most of the complications in Itachi's health are due to continuous and excessive chakra depletion, so is there any way to unseal the storage seal and give Itachi his chakra back?" interjected Tsunade. 

"Not quite" Naruto’s face was scrunched again in a troubled expression. One that could just spell big problems. “When an advance seal has its own release condition it is impossible to unseal unless you either meet the condition or destroy the seal completely, which in this case it would kill Itachi instantly.” 

Mikoto and Fugaku had been silent all the time, afraid to interject, too stunned to say anything, feeling kind of selfish just caring about what the Uzumaki could do for their son instead of thinking of the inner turmoil their friend has to be feeling. It has just been a short time, but Mikoto knew enough about this Naruto guy already to know that that face could mean tragedy for their family. It was because of those words that she finally gathered the courage to ask. “Which means that my son would die whether you unseal it or not? " Her voice didn't stutter even though she was scared beyond words of the answer. 

Naruto looked at her in a way completely different from the way he had looked at the rest, his posture, stand, demeanor changed, his eyes were soft and determined and he smiled a little, he walked the couple of steps towards Mikoto and beside her Sasuke, Sai and Fugaku tensed a little bit, but there was not an ounce of ill intentions in Naruto when he spoke looking directly at the Uchiha mother.

“I’m not letting him die, that I swear” he said without hesitation mysteriously conveying certainty and warmth.

All the adults felt something for a moment, a kind of reminiscence of the past, they had seen the same resolution and stubbornness before, it was so nostalgic that felt almost like a punch, because this was how they used to feel around Kushina. Minato had to hold back the wetness in his eyes while Kakashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya wanted to laugh, to cry or to scream because all of this was just too much. All the Uchihas let relief and hope fill them for a little bit at those words, but it was Sasuke sharp and skeptical as always the first one to ask.

“And how are you going to take this from Itachi then? You just say it’s impossible to unseal without killing Itachi” 

“Good question pretty boy!” cheerful, flirty Naruto was back. Really, the moods of this blonde were a fucking roller coaester. “I’ll just fill the seal with my own chakra!” 

Jiraiya and Minato flinched instantly. “That 's insane! If what Tsunade said it’s true, with no interventions Itachi should have at least a couple months left, that means a few months worth of chakra, you will kill yourself out of chakra depletion!!” Yelled Jiraiya. 

“Maa, aren’t you underestimating me a bit too much sannin-san? I have way more chakra than you realize, actually my chakra stores can make you weep in envy!” answered Naruto nonchalantly with a devilish grin at Jiraiya who in return was charging to yell another couple of questions/curses. 

“Wait, but you haven’t told us what are the remaining 3 seals, if you are going to spend a ton of chakra just filling the first one, are you going to still have any left to unseal the others?” cut Shikamaru. 

“You are so smart it’s upsetting Shikamaru-san, really. Let 's see...”  The Uzumaki walked back beside Itachi, pointing at the seals that were still visible thanks to his jutsu. “The third and fourth are connected to Itachi’s mind, from what I can see it’s blocking something from inside his mind and I don’t know exactly what just yet, the matrix over here looks like….maybe some… wait!” Naruto jolted and faced the Uchihas “has Itachi’s personality changed in the past few months?” he asked, looking intensely at them. 

“Not in the slightest” replied Fugaku. 

“Memory loss of any kind? Dizziness? Did he forget how to do something or how to perform some jutsu?” pushed Naruto, more agitated by the second. 

“No, until he was too weak to actually move much he was just as always” answered Sasuke. 

Naruto’s expression was one of disgust while he was still looking at the seals “The last seal is a transportation seal, it’s actually fairly simple but what makes it despicable are the conditions for the activation” 

Jiraiya and Minato, kind of smelling what was coming tensed immediately “Those conditions are 1.the storage seal is full, 2. Itachi is completely dead and 3. His corpse is in perfect condition, once these 3 conditions are met this seal will activate automatically and transport Itachi’s body somewhere else.” 

The horror and shock was on everyone’s faces. “You mean that this is some kind of plot to steal his body?” asked a horrified Mikoto. 

“If I have to guess then yes, I’m not overly familiar with it but I heard that the Sharingan is a very rare and powerful bloodline limit, what I don’t understand is why targeting Itachi who’s really strong, I mean these seals are beyond complicated to craft and to apply, why bother so much if you could kidnap and kill a weaker Uchiha?” Naruto was rambling, not really  filtering the words that were leaving his mouth, his ramblings came to a halt when he realized the faces of pure shock of the Uchiha family. “I-I… I’m sorry, that was really crude of me…”

“Mangekyou Sharingan….” whispered Fugaku.

“Eh?” 

“Mangekyou Sharingan, is the highest level of the Sharingan and it can only be obtained under certain and horrible conditions. I got it from a failed mission a couple of months before this seal appareaded, so far I’m the only Uchiha with it”  spoke Itachi.

“So a plot planned to steal your eyes especifically, with a main seal that was designed in Konoha, crafted after you obtained a specific skill set on a mission… I suppose that information is classified hm?” 

“It was classified as SS-Rank top secret information, only a couple of people have the clearance for that” answered the Hokage. 

The Uzumaki was just listing the facts known so far, but Shikamaru, Itachi and Minato could see where this was going.

“With this transportation seal the maximum distance it can transport the body would be just a few kilometers, so I’m just guessing it would be around the outskirts of the village, maybe… But what if…" continued the blonde. 

“Naruto stop, are you implying that the culprit is someone from the leaf?” Shikamaru asked, and honestly that was the question in everyone’s mind, although they kind of knew the answer already. 

“I’m not implying anything Shikamaru” barked Naruto, steel in his blue eyes still looking intensely at the seals. “Copy-nin-san, can you come here for a minute? Also Hyuga-san please come here” 

Kakashi and Neji walked towards Naruto with doubt in his faces. “I understand that copy-nin has sharingan as well, right?” 

“The name’s Kakashi and yes” 

“I need you to activate it and look at the third seal, but I must warn you, if I feel that Sharingan is on me even for a second the deal is off am I clear?” 

“As expected you don’t have any opening, don’t you?” replied dully Kakashi while uncovering his sharingan. 

“Wait a moment, why ask Kakashi if we are here? If it comes to sharingan any of us is better suited-” started Fugaku.

“Now, there must be some kind of thread in the middle of the matrix, can you see it?” continued Naruto without paying any attention to what Fugaku was saying. 

“It’s okay Fugaku-san, it’s better if any of you see this…”  said Kakashi with a grimm voice, and it was true, Kakashi could see thousands of threads entangling inside Itachi’s chakra coils, it could actually be seen that some of them were already dead, the state of decay of Itachi’s body was a difficult sight to digest. “I can see a lot of threads that come out of the center of the seal Naruto-san” 

“Don’t look at the seal per se, look at the matrix, that one is inside the seal, a little more faint than the seal” 

“Oh, I think I see it, I can recognize the symbols for the tiger and ox.”

“Yes, that one, try to look intensely at the center, it must be a really thin thread that instead of going inside Itachi’s body should go outside of it”

“Found it”  

“Which direction is it going?”

“Southwest” replied Kakashi pointing where he found it and where it was going. 

“This is so troublesome, goddammit! What did I get myself into!? Fuck! I’m a fucking idiot!” cursed Naruto hands in his face surprising everyone, but before anyone could say something he looked at Neji “Hyuuga-san, use your byakugan and look southwest around 9 kilometers, by no means tell me who you see, just confirm to everyone if is someone from the leaf, report the identity to the Hokage and to the Hokage only, you understand?”

“What are you talking about Uzumaki-san? Who is this person you are talking about?” asked Minato.

“The transportation seal is connected to a person, not a place and I’m absolutely sure this person is the one that put the seal on Itachi. And I’m not implying is someone from the leaf I’m confirming it”

While Naruto was speaking Neji did what he was told, the very person he could see was indeed-

"Is from Konoha" declared Neji with a pained voice. 

"The seals connected to Itachi’s mind are blocking a memory, most likely of the moment this person put it on him, it's also impossible to access that memory by mind jutsus because of the fifth seal." 

"This cannot be true" whispered Minato ghastly. A traitor? Inside the village? 

"What are you going to do?" asked Naruto, not giving anyone time to process the information. 

"What do you mean? You said you could unseal it!" barked Sasuke beside a very pale Itachi. 

"I can and I will, the real question is when " 

"You said so yourself Uzumaki-san, Itachi is dying and we need to-" Mikoto was having a mild panic attack by now, there was just too much to digest but still her prime concern was saving Itachi. 

"Mom, calm down and listen. How we proceed right now is crucial, the status quo is not the same" spoke Itachi softly but you could hear the anger in his tone. "Naruto-san if you remove the seal now the person who put it will notice?" 

"Right away" Itachi’s face was one of livid anger and despair. 

"That's incredibly problematic, if we want to apprehend this person, removing the seal would give them heads up and they might escape…" said Shikamaru "but planning an effective attack could take time and Itachi doesn't have much time left…" 

"What's worse is that logically speaking we cannot allow a traitor to go his way freely, if they are this crafty and secretive who knows what other secrets they are keeping or what information they are selling" interjected Jiraiya. 

"But certainly I don't wanna let Itachi die. I refuse that being an option" said Minato "We are going to apprehend this traitor and save Itachi" Mikoto was looking at him with wet grateful eyes, the other Uchihas were a combination of gratitude and pure anger. Except for Itachi who was silent looking at nothing specifically. 

"You know…" noted Naruto. 

"Eh?" 

"You know who put this on you or at least you have a hunch" at this all eyes were on the Uchiha heir. 

Itachi sighed and looked up. "A couple of months ago I was sent on this mission when I got the mangekyo. It was persecuting a rogue Iwa ninja with a blood limit Jutsu that allowed him to mind control other Shinobi. Breaking the grasp of this jutsu was apparently impossible unless you kill the user. My teammate was my best friend Shisui, we grew up together and are very close… I always thought of him as another brother. On this mission he was hit with this jutsu and was ordered to kill me. I chose to immobilize him and bring him back to the village as soon as possible. I didn't care about failing the mission, I just didn't want to hurt him or for him to become that man's puppet. When I was close to the village Shisui escaped from me and started attacking me. At that moment there was this councilman with his bodyguard coming back from an appointment with the Daimyo, he saw the scene and judged it himself, ordering me to kill Shisui… " Itachi stopped talking, overwhelmed by the memories. 

"What's the condition to obtain the Mangekyou?" asked Naruto. 

"You have to kill your best friend or someone you love deeply with your own hands" answered Fugaku somberly. 

"So you killed Shisui?" Asked Shikamaru. Itachi just nodded. 

“So do you suspect this councilman?! I didn’t want to know ttebayo! Now I’m even more involved!!, for kami’s sake…” lamented the blonde.

“Itachi, you are talking about Danzo, am I right?”  asked Minato and Itachi nodded firmly. “Neji was that the person you saw?” 

“Yes” answered an angry Hyuuga. 

“Itachi, do you remember what happened exactly after that?” pushed Naruto. 

“I was in shock and injured… and the mangekyo just appeared so the next thing I remember is a hospital bed” 

“Could you confirm that Shisui was really dead?” pushed again Naruto, looking intensely at Itachi, his chakra flaring in anger.

“No… I was… I didn’t confirm it myself, I was told what happened by Danzo when I woke up” Itachi’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“And the body? What happened to the body?” 

The Uzumaki was onto something, though Minato, Danzo notified him in person about Shisui’s dead but strangely he didn’t ask too much about it, he felt grief of course, after all Shisui was a dear friend of Itachi and really precious member of the Uchiha clan, then why didn’t he investigated further?

“We don’t know, Danzo disposed of the body following the regulations of Konoha about corpses with blood limit doujutsus…” answered the Hokage. “Is stipulated that a corpse like that has to be thoroughly sealed before being returned to the family...Fugaku! Did you receive the body?” shouted Minato.

“I think I did… but if I think about it hard enough my memories become fuzzy.” responded Fugaku frown deep trying to remember. 

“He has them.” spoke Itachi in cold anger. 

“Eh?”

“Danzo has Shisui’s sharingan. It has the unique ability to create a genjutsu that convinces you that certain things are real. He must have used them on all of us.” The outrage in Itachi’s voice was palpable.

“Danzo staged everything, he used the moment of intense shock to place the seal on you and then with Shisui’s sharingan he covered any trace left” concluded Shikamaru with revolted disgust. 

“Itachi I have a question for you and answer it honestly.” Naruto said softly and Itachi looked at him. “Do you think you are stronger than Shisui? Is your sharingan stronger than his? Potentially which of the two of you would have had the stronger Mangekyo?”

“Shisui’s sharingan has always been the strongest in all the Uchiha clan” declared Itachi without an ounce of doubt. Naruto narrowed his eyes for a second and then sighed dramatically. “This is so, so fucked up! My work here is just getting harder and harder!” complained Naruto. 

“What do you- what are you talking about?” Mumbled Minato, but it was smart and sharp Shikamaru who connected the dots. 

“He’s alive”

“What?” asked 

“Danzo must be keeping Shisui alive somewhere, if Itachi dies by Shisui’s hand then he will also awake the Mangekyo and Danzo will be there ready to steal it.” 

“That son of a bitch! Spineless coward! Slippery snake!” cursed Jiraiya loudly. 

The Uchiha clan was absolutely livid, how dare this man? Sasuke and Sai looked ready to break in his office and murder him in a painful way. “If Danzo can perform this level of Fuuinjutsu then it is not absurd to think he placed a similar if not a more complicated seal on Shisui” added Shikamaru. 

“But if Uzumaki-san can release this seal then he can do the same for Shisui, right?” asked Mikoto looking at the blonde. 

“I don’t know ma’am, I don’t work for free as a personal policy” replied Naruto looking kind of upset. Everyone in the room tensed a little.

“What’s your price?” inquired the Hokage. 

“You should know Hokage-sama that my fees are not cheap, especially if the job is this troublesome” answered the blonde gravely. “There’s something I always want, no matter how much I have I always want more, if you can provide this for me as much as I want while I’m here then we have a deal”

The pressure in the room skyrocketed and everyone was suddenly reminded that this person was not a leaf shinobi and no matter how cheerful or skilled he was, he was still an outsider. What could he want? Was he going to take advantage of the situation and ask for intel? secrets? Kinjutsu? Was Minato making the right choice trusting so many Konoha secrets on this man? But he had no other choice, it was not just Itachi’s life anymore, Shisui’s life and the entire Konoha safety, they cannot let Danzo go his way freely any longer.

“Pray tell Uzumaki Naruto, what’s your prize?”

“Ramen” said the blonde, turning cheerful again out of the blue. Everyone widened their eyes impossibly big. Did they misheard?

“Ah?”

“For as long as I am on this mission I will have all the Ramen I ask for. That 's my price. Do we have a deal?” 

“ AH?!?!”

Chapter Text

Shisui was as dear to him as his brothers, they grew up together and understood each other on a level that felt almost spiritual. Shisui was almost terrifyingly strong, and his sharingan made him the target of the fear and sometimes hate from people outside the Uchiha clan, even if Shisui was one of the most kind, slightly short tempered, smart and endearingly warm people in all Konoha. 

Shisui was also very dear to his family, their mothers were friends since their genin days and Fugaku took a lot of pride in the fact he taught him and Itachi all of the fire jutsus that were characteristically Uchiha. Normally that task was a special bonding moment between father and son or daughter, but Shisui’s father was killed in the line of duty when he was 4 years old, Shisui cried the day he was invited along that day. Sasuke and Sai looked up to him as another, cooler older brother. He was just as strong and genius as Itachi, but he would actually indulge in playing with them and buy them the junk food Itachi and Mikoto strongly forbade in the household.He was also an accomplice and co-conspirator to lots of harmless misdeeds. The two little Uchiha gremlins adored Shisui to bits.

Shisui was also his biggest support when shinobi life was just too much for him. When he had to kill for the first time, or every time he couldn’t save a comrade. 

And most important of all, Shisui saved him from what could have been Itachi’s worst nightmare. Just remembering this particular incident sent shivers down Itachi’s spine. It happened when he was still in Anbu about two years ago. There was this councilman Homura Mitokado who was the leader of the most unsavory part of the ANBU forces called ROOT, they were in charge to erase people from the face of earth, or start conflicts between clans or families, or seduce old men to steal all kind of secrets, that kind of things. The kind of things that you cannot be childish enough to ignore they do exist and are to some extent necessary, but they still didn’t like to be the ones to perform them. 

Neither he nor Shisui were part of ROOT,  nor did they want to do anything with them. They were sketchy as fuck and Homura was a very unpleaseant person to be around. But there was other members of the Uchiha clan whose were part of ROOT, one day Hokage-sama caught a whiff of some very suspicious activity from them, there were reports of some members of the Uchiha clan  acting erratically, not anything drastic but enough for Fugaku as the clan leader to talk about it with the Hokage. These people were apparently angry more often than not, one of them was even openly bad mouthing Minato and the clan council. It was unsettling because it was really sudden and there was no real reason for it. But what really set the alarms off was Sai… Itachi felt a pang of pain and nausea remembering this, something happened with Sai but his memories from here on are all blurry, it is so difficult to remember the details, like he has to concentrate really hard to reconstruct what happened next. He only knows for sure that Shisui did something to save Sai from doing something unspeakable, he knows he was deeply grateful with Shisui… but why? What happened? 

What was really happening? How’s that he isn’t still mourning the “death” of his best friend? How’s that he has to focus that much to even remember the details of his face? Of his hair that was teasing material being the only curly Uchiha in the clan? What is this nauseous feeling when he tries to remember the ROOT incident with Sai? 

Looking across the room to the face of this dear little brother Sai, Itachi could see the sheer panic he was trying to hide behind his expressionless face, he must be trying to remember as well, Sai is still in ANBU after all, he still should have access to some inforー 

“Sai” Itachi called him softly, not loud enough to be noticed in the hectic chaos that’s now the room. 

Apparently Naruto’s price for his services wasn’t what Hokage-sama was expecting, well he couldn’t say he was expecting that either, but Uzumaki Naruto has proven to be full of surprises and inconsistent behaviour. There was absolutely no pattern of what he was about to say or propose, even the sharpest crayon in the box, Shikamaru looked a little lost trying to figure out Uzumaki Naruto. 

“Itachi-san, what happened ? You are making faces” asked the blond gently. 

Truth is, he wasn’t making any faces, his expression was absolutely blank, not betraying the inner turmoil he was having. A skill so natural to him that was one of the main reasons he didn’t seem to connect with people most of the time. But strangely enough Naruto could see through him. Itachi was not sure. 

“There must be a way to release the effect of Shisui’s sharingan,” muttered Itachi to himself.

“Well, but of course there is a way,” the blond answered easily, looking at Itachi.

“How? How could you do something like that? The Uchiha clan genjutsu is impossible to break, even more if we’re talking about Shisui’s sharingan” asked Fugaku on edge.

“Well, there’s an Uzumaki technique for advanced genjutsu. It can be a little tricky because the person under the genjutsu has to realize about the genjutsu, and that’s the difficult part, but you all already know that something is not right so with that out of the picture all I have to do is apply the seal on your minds.” Replied Naruto while popping some seal paper out of nowhere.  

No person in the room was quite comfortable with a mind seal at this point, and the shudder of  fear and discomfort was really evident to the blonde. “It’s not that bad really, you can trust me with this!”

“It’s not a matter of trust Naruto, no one here is feeling up to it after hearing all this shit about Danzo and his damned seals” replied Shikamaru somberly.

“I believe this is the only way but fine”  the blonde spoke with a sigh. “Will it be okay if I show your Hokage and Spy-Master the seal so they would know that exactly it is?” 

“Would you really do that?” asked Jiraiya in awe, he was already dying of curiosity just thinking about how much Fuinjutsu knowledge the last Uzumaki possessed. 

“Yeah, why not? You are all still under my privacy seals, and these seal can only be performed by an Uzumaki so I think there’s no harm” 

Itachi could see across the room, the relieved faces of his friends and family, the absolute curious gaze Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-san had on Naruto, but there was one face among all of them that was as scared as before. Something was off in Sai’s face, despite how good he was at hiding his emotions. It was something there in the glint of his eyes, in the shape of his smile and only Itachi would know something was off about it.  Sai was scared, and no one around was aware, well one look at Naruto who was also discreetly looking at Sai and Itachi could tell the blonde somehow also knew. 

Naruto handed the scroll containing the seal to the Hokage, who took it with discreetly trembling hands. If there was something to be said about Minato, it is that he wasn’t easily caught off guard these days when it comes to seals, being an accomplished Seal Master himself, being the husband of the last living Uzumaki and being taught by Jiraiya the prime Konoha’s seal master for decades. For the last couple of decades Minato hasn't encountered a seal he doesn’t at least recognize by parts, but this scroll had a seal neither the Hokage nor Jiraiya have ever seen before, the matrix was a kind of hybrid and the symbols that tied the seal together were completely foreign to them and they absolutely didn’t want to admit it out loud, and the smirk on the Uzumaki’s face was all too knowing but yet silent. Fortunately Shikamaru was the one to break it. 

“Tch, would you mind walking us through it? This thing is going to be in our fucking minds!” 

Naruto shrugged laughing “This is a special kind of seal that, as far as I know, has never been shown to a non-Uzumaki before. This matrix it’s actually a blood-limited one and it’s only used for this only seal. Its purpose is to enter into the chakra coils that reside throughout the prosencephalon structure of the brain, where the genjutsu occurs, then the symbols carry a small amount of chakra to ‘explode’ inside to stop it. The basic technique to dispel a genjutsu is to stop the flow of chakra in your body, right? That’s what the matrix and first layer of symbols do and then to completely dispel the genjutsu the second layer of symbols apply a very strong flow of my chakra to stop the caster’s! So it’s a basic Genjutsu Kai, but applied directly to the brain for the strongest Genjutsu!” explained Naruto almost without stopping to breathe. 

“So you’re not actually touching anything in our memories or brain functions?” asked Jiraiya. 

“No, no! this technique it’s almost at an anatomical level. It will interrupt and reset the chakra’s flow on the brain without touching anything else-ttebayo!”

“How is it that this is a technique only used by the Uzumaki clan? Couldn’t I apply this seal myself as it is in the scroll? The matrix is already drawn…” started the Hokage.

“ Oh, it's because it’s activated with my blood, same mechanics as a summoning jutsu. If it’s not activated by Uzumaki blood it turns into a massive messy explosion, so you’re warned!” Naruto was openly laughing at the pale faces on everyone’s faces.

Maybe because Shikamaru was actually not that heavily involved in this mess or because he was just that smart, but he was the one to snap out of the shock as his brain cogs started whirling. They had all the tools they needed, they only had to execute a smooth plan. 

“So the first step is taking down this genjutsu, then I understand Naruto can gradually fill the storage seal with his own chakra, that would leave us a window wide enough to come with a plan to take down Danzo”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say  wide window, it’s better to get rid of him quickly” interjected Naruto. 

“Weren’t you braggin of your chakra reserves not just seconds ago?” asked Sasuke bitterly. 

“Mmmm? My chakra reserves can feed Itachi for 6 months and I’d still be able to kick your perky round butt to oblivion, but that’s not the problem here”  Sai snorted loudly, deserving a furious glare from Sasuke. 

Does Naruto think Sasuke’s ass is nice? Though Itachi for himself, he didn’t like the feeling of Naruto checking his little brother’s ass, but not precisely because he wanted to defend Sasuke’s honor.

“You shouldn’t preoccupy yourself with my ass dobe and focus on the damn seals!” bit back Sasuke despite his furious blush. 

“Oh don’t worry about that! After all, I'm the best Fuuinjutsu master there is and Itachi's ass is better!” 

One hit, two KO 's. Though Shikamaru looking at the faces of the Uchiha brothers. Sasuke was gaping like a fish out of water, Itachi was fighting a blush with all his might, and Sai was laughing his ass off. 

“Uzumaki-san, can we focus please? Why is time a concern?” the Hokage asked, glad his face was covered so Sasuke couldn’t see the amusement in his face.

“Oh yeah, the problem is not my chakra reserves, is more that I would be tampering the seal, and that might be undetectable for a couple of weeks at most, but if this Danzo bastard has this much of Fuuinjutsu knowledge there’s a possibility he notices the slight tampering in the seal and-”

“And that will tip him off and he might do something to Itachi or run away.” completed Shikamaru.

“Yeah, correct. I think the tampering can go absolutely undetected for about a month.” 

“That’s way less time than I was hoping for,” muttered Shikamaru. 

“Also we have to take into account that we ourselves with our behaviour must be very careful to not give anything away to him. I bet Danzo is now hypervigilant, the more time it passes the higher the probability he finds out one way or another” interjected Neji. 

“Yeah, you are right. Danzo is a very powerful man, with a strong influence and lots of informants throughout the village” spoke Jiraiya. 

“And we are the closest friends and family Itachi has, I bet he’s watching us almost  24/7, gosh, this is going to be a fucking nightmare” added Shikamaru sighing heavily.

“We get it, we ought to be extremely cautious, but there’s no other way. Where do we begin?” Sasuke asked. 

“First we have to locate where he is keeping Shisui and-” Started Minato. 

Itachi tuned out the Hokage for a second, and thought about it, about Danzo, about his hideout, it came back a little to Itachi’s mind, ROOT… and Chief Mitokado, but everything was still hazy. He grasped that memory tightly, desperate to not let go. Sai…Sai… also has to know something! But his memories are not reliable. His inner turmoil must have been somewhat evident, because suddenly he feels a warm hand in his shoulder. Looking up he sees Naruto smiling softly at him, he had to look away because his heart just skipped a beat.

“No, we must begin with getting rid of Shisui’s sharingan genjutsu. I know there’s something incredibly important blocked there.” 

“Agree!” chirped Naruto  “Let’s get down to business ttebayo!” 

Besides Fugaku, Sai was shaking. Itachi could see it. Sai knew something, or he had that knowledge blocked and was afraid of what it was.He could understand Sai’s feelings, he also had the feeling he did something horrible. But whatever it is, he knows it’s not Sai’s fault, nor his fault neither, it’s Danzo’s and his followers. There’s no doubt in him that his little brother would have never betrayed them. He wants his memories back, he knows there’s just so much to unpack that it almost makes him nauseous but it has to be done. His hands are shaking and he can feel cold sweat running down his back. 

“Okay, this is how we are going to do it. I will draw the seal on your foreheads, for safety reasons I would do it to all of you at the exact same time”

“Why exactly?” asked Minato.

“Same reason as Itachi’s seal, I don’t know how deep is Danzo’s grasp on the genjutsu so this way is safer”

“How are you going to do it for all of us at the same time?” asked a skeptical Tsunade. Naruto didn’t answer, instead he readied his hands. 

“ Mizu bunshin no jutsu!” *

Eleven perfect and solid clones appeared. “Isn’t this a huge waste of chakra? How are you going to-” Tsunade started to rant. 

“Tch! This is nothing! Y’all should really stop underestimating me!” barked back all the Naruto clones at once. Just one Naruto was loud enough and now the room was filled with him, Shikamaru was feeling the beginning of a mean headache.

“I think the clones are gorgeous,” said Itachi softly. Really Itachi? Is this your attempt at flirting? Thought Shikamaru, holding back the need to facepalm. But one look at the sligh smile on Naruto's face, Shikamaru knew the lame flirting was kinda working.

“Okay everyone, I know it might be difficult to stop the reflex, but I need y’all to stay very still and when you feel my chakra going in don’t fight it, okay?” 

Itachi didn’t need to activate his Sharingan to know that the real Naruto went to Sai. It confirmed his suspicions that Naruto also noticed Sai’s odd behaviour, he wasn’t privy as to how exactly just yet. 

“You don’t need to worry about him, everything is going to be okay, and that’s a promise ttebayo!” spoke the Naruto clone in front of him. Itachi liked to think that it wasn’t the impending crush he was developing on this blonde, but he believed him, he believed the promise, his warm smile, and the obvious strength and knowledge of the Uzumaki. 

“Thank you. I think I’m ready” 

“All right”

It was rather a curious experience, Naruto’s chakra inside of him didn’t feel violent like he was half expecting, instead it was warm, like an embrace. He could feel it spreading from his head to the rest of his body. If Itachi had to describe it in one word, it would be purifying. Like he was all muddy and dirty without realizing. As if Danzo’s genjutsu was some vile grim covering him and Naruto’s chakra was pure spring water, washing away all the evilness in him. Itachi wondered if all the others felt it the same way. But good things never truly last, because all his blocked memories came back all at once, and it was so incredibly painful to remember. 

"Sai, you have to talk to me! What's happening? What are you doing?" pleaded Shisui holding Sai against the floor in a puddle of blood. 

"I didn't want to! I swear! I'm sorry…  I'm sorry…  kill me Shisui. Kill me now! Or else he will make me do it!" 

"Do what, Sai? Who's making you do this?!" 

Itachi was almost dissociating, Sai attacked him, his dear little brother stabbed him with a kunai in the back like some kind of lowlife betrayer. They were in the forests near the village west gate. They were battered, hungry, injured and tired. They felt more than saw Sai approaching, he was moving fast through the tree branches like he was desperately running from something, which was alarming. Was someone in trouble? Did something bad happen? When he finally made it to them, he jumped out of his inked beast just right on top of Itachi and stabbed him in the back with a kunai. Thankfully Shisui acted on time and stopped Sai from stabbing Itachi a second and definite time, he also noticed Sai’s erratic state of mind.

“Do what? Sai! Answer me please!” Shisui yelled again. 

“Kill you all! I don't want to but I can’t help it! He did something to me so you have to kill me brother before I kill the people I love.” sobbed Sai openly crying. 

It was at that moment that Itachi noticed there was something in Sai’s tongue. He also noticed that he could move without that much of a problem, like the stab wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.  Upon closer inspection, or as close as the situation would let him, Itachi could see a seal in Sai’s tongue, and that has to be the reason for all this mess. He was completely sure that the seal wasn’t there before. The only logical thing was that the seal was making Sai do these things, and it wasn’t to go away until Sai completed the task he was commanded to do. 

“Shisui, use your sharingan to put Sai under a genjutsu. Convince him that he was successful in killing us” 

“What the fuck are you talking about Itachi!?”  Shisui yelled.

“Just do it! Look at his tongue, he has some kind of seal!” 

“God fucking dammit!” 

Itachi heard later on from Shisui, that he felt the dirtiest he had ever felt because of the bloodbath of genjutsu he put Sai under. He made Sai see the entire massacre of all his clan by his own hands, he made him see the spilled blood and guts flooding their home, he made him see the crying face of their mother and Sasuke’s betrayed and hateful eyes. 

At least it worked, after they put Sai under the genjutsu he was completely limp and lifeless and the seal on his tongue passed from a full seal to a simple matrix that disappeared a little later on, but they weren’t stupid enough to think that was the end of it. They took Sai to the Hokage and Jiraiya-sama. Itachi would have liked to stay and discuss the matter, actually he fought a little bit to stay, but he was still obviously stabbed and although it wasn’t a mortal wound it still could possibly kill him. So he went to the hospital to get treatment.

The next morning the Hokage came to visit him along with Sai and Shisui. Sai looked haggard and spent. He was never big on physical demonstrations of emotion, but that morning he ran and hugged him, crying whilst begging for forgiveness, he hugged him back and comforted his beloved little brother, the thought struck him at that moment that they just dodged what could have been the worst tragedy he could possibly imagine and noticed his eyes were also wet.

“I have to apologize for this” the Hokage spoke gravely.

“What for Hokage-sama?” asked Itachi, still holding Sai.

“This appears to be the doing of a rogue Iwa nin. He’s in the bingo book and he is infamous over the Kannabi bridge’s incident. It’s not crazy to think he was somehow taking revenge on me, as I’m the Hokage and very close with the Uchihas.” 

“But how did he do it?” 

“I read the brief, and every available scroll there’s on him. It’s his bloodlimit jutsu, it allows him to control people like he’s some kind of puppet master. He deserted Iwa right after Iwa lost the war to Konoha. Councilman Danzo had already done extensive research on him! Itachi, we ought to do something! Let’s hunt this bastard!” Shisui said vehemently. 

“Do we know where he is?” asked Itachi.

“Yes, fortunately Sai still had some memories of him and where he met him. We believe he is in Grass country hiding.” replied the Hokage. 

“When can we leave Hokage-sama?” 

“You still have some pending healing Itachi, but I understand the hurry for this mission. Councilman Danzo will come later and give you both some more intel so you can go tomorrow at dawn.” 

“Thank you Hokage-sama” answered Itachi and Shisui at the same time.

A little later Hokage-sama left, and Itachi and Shisui spent a couple of hours calming Sai down, reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault and that they would catch the bastard that made him attack Itachi. Sai was particularly shaken because of Shisui’s genjutsu, he admitted in tears that that genjutsu was his worst nightmare. Shisui couldn’t stop apologizing, but Sai stopped him and thanked him, after all that was the only way of getting him to stop at the moment. When Sai finally calmed down and fell asleep, Shisui and Itachi swore to hunt that man and put him under the most vile and tortuous genjutsu they could think of.

Of course neither he nor Shisui had any reason to doubt Danzo at that moment, so when he came in later and gave them intel and tools it all seemed perfectly normal. They thanked him and went on with their mission. 

Itachi was taken out of his memories by Sai’s cries. From there everything happened too quickly, Sai jumped and tried to attack Fugaku, who was totally unprepared for this and was caught off guard. But it was Naruto, who obviously knew something was going on beforehand, the one to react before anyone. He took out a kunai and subdued Sai. 

“No! Uzumaki-san please! Is it not his fault I swear!” pleaded Itachi, too weak to really move.

“I already fucking now that! So back the fuck off!” yelled Naruto. 

Everyone around was stunned, Sai attacked his own father and the head of his clan, just out of the blue and now Naruto just took his kunai and stabbed Sai’s both hands on the floor and was forcibly putting his hand down Sai’s throat. 

“Stop! Please! You are killing him!” begged Mikoto with tears in her eyes. 

But Naruto didn’t stop, if anything he got angrier and more aggressive in whatever he was doing. Itachi was on edge, why wasn’t anyone moving? In normal circumstances everyone would be quick to react and by now Naruto would be dead. But not even Sasuke was moving, even though he was killing the blonde with Sharinganless stare. Naruto must have done something to prevent them from interfering. Itachi wanted to believe for a moment that Naruto was betraying them, that the pain in Sai’s face was Naruto doing, but he remembered Naruto’s promise of his little brother's wellbeing, and he knew he wasn’t lying.

Soon enough Sai stopped fighting back and the room stilled in silence, the blonde took his hand out of Sai’s mouth and stood. Sai was there lying on the floor, limp and motionless but breathing. His little brother touched his throat with trembling hands looking for something, something that wasn’t there anymore. Uzumaki kneeled before him as Sai slowly sat up. 

“Is okay now. It’s gone” spoke Naruto softly. And then, whatever he did to make everyone unable to move was lifted and all the Uchiha family was beside Sai in a blink.

“Thank you… I just… Iー Thank you. You have my gratitude, Uzumaki-san” replied Sai with so much emotion in his face that everyone in the room was stunned.

“None of that! You fucking owe me ttebayo!” 

“What happened?” asked Fugaku. 

“Your councilman is the fucking devil and I want to end him myself” answered the blonde. 

“I think Naruto-san, that I deserve to be the one to torture and kill the bastard” Itachi said, voice filled with murderous hate. 

“Well, looking at your family I guess we will have to take turns!” 

Itachi effectively looked at his family. Even though his parents never were the type for physical affection they were embracing Sai tightly while the always cold Sasuke held his hand protectively. Yeah, they all wanted a go in dealing with that monster. And by the faces of the rest of the present people, they weren’t the only ones in line. 

Chapter Text

Shikamaru has never been the type to feel emotions intensely, it was common in his clan to be always cool and level-headed, that's how you become a proficient strategist. And all Nara are brilliant strategists, Shikamaru being the best among the best. That being said, Shikamaru was livid, how dared Danzo to systematically betray Konoha for God knows how many years? Playing with the lives of their shinobi like they were disposable. And for what?

And for what exactly?” Shikamaru thought, the question cooling his rage in an instant.

For what exactly? Danzo is an old war hawk, used to operating in the shadows. Until Itachi’s seal nothing major has apparently happened, but Shikamaru isn’t stupid enough to think Danzo has been inactive until now… Who knows how many more tragedies caused by Danzo are hidden under the rugs. 

He has to have a goal, concluded Shikamaru.Itachi’s and Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan could only be tools for something much bigger than this. But what could it be?But what could it be? Does he want to be Hokage? Doesn’t he have a lot of influence already? Is he a traitor looking for Konoha’s demise? No, he would have sold hundreds of secrets already and Konoha wouldn’t be standing. It seems that Danzo still has some resemblance of loyalty to the Leaf. But then, why?

Shikamaru sighed. The migraine he’d felt coming wasn’t from lack of sleep after all.. With a sigh he looks at Sai, the absolutely weirdest Uchiha in all the clan, even counting Obito. Unlike any other Uchiha, Sai is always smiling, even when the situation calls for a different expression. It never fails to unnerve those around him, and unknowingly for everyone else, Sai enjoys messing with people like that. He’s a terrible gossip and gives himself the advantage of gathering those with his little ink mice. That makes him the absolute best for intel gathering missions though, as he’s also unexpectedly good at being unnoticed when wanted. 

With that clear, Sai is —as well as any other Uchiha— loyal to the utmost degree. His family and clan are always in the forefront of his mind for absolutely everything he does. Even Shikamaru, who’s not an Uchiha, knows that. 

He didn’t believe for a second that Sai attacking his own father was for his own volition. But it was truly heartbreaking to see the picture of the Uchiha family right now. Sai with no smile and shedding silent tears, by his sides Mikoto and Fugaku hugging him close, shaken to the core, no doubt the memories that came back were absolutely terrifying. Sasuke, who has always been somewhat distant, is holding Sai’s hands as he was going to disappear any moment. And Itachi, was undoubtedly the one who looked most affected, naturally due to him being the fucking epicenter of all this shitshow, Shikamaru was sure whatever those memories were they will haunt the older Uchiha for the rest of his life.

Sadly the Uchiha family was right now consumed and blinded by the hate and anger towards Danzo, not that Shikamaru could blame them, but they have to snap out of it. Any plan laid on intense emotions was deemed to fail. There was a lot going on and they needed to focus and that won't happen if they keep drowning in grief and anger. 

“There’s some big-ass conspiracy, complot—whatever the fuck this is—going on here!” whispered shouted Naruto. Nara was so focused on his thoughts he failed to notice the blonde approaching him, most likely giving the Uchiha family some space. 

“You bet. I just… I don’t understand Danzo's motives to do all this. What 's his goal?”

“I don’t think it’s that difficult to comprehend Shikamaru.This Danzo character strikes me as the manipulative and power-hungry type.” answered Naruto with a shrug. 

“But it cannot be only that… there must be something else. We need to see the bigger picture, to see the underneath under the underneath and—”  

“Everyone, please what were your blocked memories? What did Danzo take out from you?” Spoke the Hokage with haunted eyes. They were about to piece this puzzle.

“For me it wasn’t that much. I have some altered memories of mission reports and some entries of the bingo book.” replied Shikamaru.

“Same for me” answered Neji sternly. The Hokage nodded deep in thought. 

“For me, I have a complete fake intel gathering mission. Danzo made me think I went to investigate a rogue shinobi from Iwa.” Kakashi said, frowning.

“That must have been the fake mission reports on my memories!”  yelled Shikamaru. “An Iwa nin, information gathering… that ninja is most likely also fake.” 

“In my memories there’s also an Iwa shinobi from the second shinobi war, I supposedly saw him on the Kannabi Bridge mission. He had a blood limit jutsu that allowed him—”

“Allowed him to manipulate people like puppets.” Itachi interrupted the Hokage. “Yes, that fake ninja supposedly attacked and manipulated Sai…”

Shikamaru, as well as everyone in the room, stood quietly while Itachi and Sai told the story of how they were vilely manipulated by Danzo. How the old war hawk twisted and fabricated the facts to his advantage. “He lured me into ANBU, I remember now that I really didn’t want to join because of how Itachi was holding, but somehow he got me in, and just before I attacked Itachi and Shisui, maybe under a genjutsu but he actually got me into the ROOT forces. The other councilman Mitokado, the one who’s always with Danzo, runs ROOT and he was always giving these speeches of Konoha being too weak and soft and how change was needed. He looked like a crazy fanatic if you ask me…” 

“That’s exactly the complaints of some of the elders in our clan! The ones I told you about.” exclaimed Fugaku to Minato, remembering some of his most trusted advisors and mentors suddenly turning against the Hokage and his administration. 

“I had a mission with some ANBU agents,” added Sasuke “at that time I’ve seen how spent and haggard Itachi looked and I was livid when they told me how soft and weak he was, that it would be no wonder Sai turned out the same, not even talking about me that I’ve been refusing ANBU from the very beginning, I think I got this memory erased as I remember they kind of blabbed saying the Uchiha clan wasn’t ready for what was coming, of course I reacted badly and couldn’t help but attack them… then Danzo came and I suppose he placed the genjutsu”.

“So Danzo is not alone in his machinations, we can be sure that he has at least the compliance of councilman Mitokado, the ROOT agents and at least a part of ANBU. We can also assume this plan has been ongoing for quite a while…” Started Shikamaru. 

Everyone in the room started sharing little tidbits of newfound memories, from fake mission reports, to some faces, even rumors were added to the pile. Shikamaru's head was spinning, overloaded with the amount of information, theories, half-cooked plans and so on, but there was still something that was not adding up…  In the end it was Naruto who gave him the final piece. 

“Wait a minute, how long has been since this fucker has Shisui’s eyes, or has he always been this good at genjutsu?” asked the blond. 

That 's it!  Though Shikamaru, he must have received some kind of aid from before! This kind of advanced genjutsu skill has always been a Uchiha specialty, maybe they could pinpoint someone. When he was about to ask Fugaku, he saw him pale as paper and eyes as wide as saucers.

“Uchiha Kagami” almost whispered Fugaku. 

“Who?”  asked Shikamaru breathlessly. 

“Uchiha Kagami was a Jonin when Senju Tobirama was Nidaime Hokage. He is Shisui's grandfather. Rumored to have one of the most powerful Sharingan at that time. He went missing after a mission with Sandaime’s team. The last person to see him alive was Danzo.” 

“It seems plausible, this level of genjutsu seems unlikely for anyone outside the Uchiha clan, but what is worrisome—”

“Danzo’s been killing Uchiha clansmen for forty years!” screamed Naruto. 

“Yeah, that means this plan is a very carefully laid plan, he must think that with Uchiha Kagami’s sharingan his genjutsu is untouchable, but he’s unaware of Naruto and that would be to our advantage” Shikamaru said.

“Oh yeah! I can be very inconspicuous when I want!” For some reason, even if Shikamaru knew Naruto was telling the truth, he finds that statement to be very questionable. “Don’t give me that face Shikamaru. I’ve been hiding my whole life, I’m an expert you know?” Naruto said with a smirk. 

“Why would you need to hide?” Tsunade asked even knowing it was a silly question. In a world as turbulent as the shinobi world, hiding oneself was an extremely important skill. 

“Well, for starters I’m a kekkei genkai user in Kiri, and I bet you know the previous Mizukage has been hunting us all until very recently, specially me being an Uzumaki and all the story of Kiri razing Uzushio to the fucking ground… Then one of my aliases got leaked in the bingo book. Well yeah, I have to be very good at hiding. And my second job helps me stay low-key and it's quite good for information gathering!” 

Minato didn’t dare to stop the flowing of information Naruto was so freely giving them. Maybe he could get some more and resolve the puzzle that was Uzumaki Naruto. 

“What’s exactly your other job, Naruto?” inquired Shikamaru. 

“Oh, I’m a kagema in a brothel in Kiri” answered the blonde lightly. 

“You are what?!”  screamed Minato and Itachi, though the uchiha was more muted and sad. 

“I was raised there, and the girls hid me from the purge of the Kekkei genkai,” replied Naruto casually. 

“That’s actually perfect. I think I have a plan” Shikamaru said. But looking at the faces of the others in the room. Maybe he was the only one thinking straight right now. Curse his always present calm composure. 

So bothersome!

-//-

The Hokage’s office was quiet — too quiet for what had just unfolded.

The usual hum of activity had been muted, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sai and Tsunade dismissed. Only three men remained: Namikaze Minato, Jiraiya, and Fugaku Uchiha.

A single lantern flickered on the desk, casting long shadows across the Hokage’s paperwork. Outside, the rain had started to fall, tapping against the wide window panes.

Minato stood by the window, his arms crossed. He wasn’t looking at his companions; his reflection stared back at him instead — the calm, he didn’t need to keep up any masks, the other two had seen him worse. 

“How did this happen?” Minato said quietly, almost to himself. “A child from Kiri infiltrating Konoha.”

Jiraiya leaned against the wall, his arms crossed too, though his face was more openly tense. “Not just any child. A foreign shinobi with a silver tongue and a suspiciously convenient talent for seals.”

Fugaku’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You think Naruto is lying?”

“I think,” Jiraiya began, “we don’t know who the hell he is. He shows up out of nowhere, says all the right things, knows all the right seals, and somehow manages to get the Uchiha heir wrapped around his finger in a week. I’ve been around long enough to recognize when someone’s playing us.”

Fugaku crossed his arms as well, his tone colder but steady. “Then you’ve been around long enough to recognize when someone is telling the truth, too. I remember the first time I felt Kushina’s chakra, massive, dangerous, ancient. Naruto’s chakra feels the same”

Minato finally turned around, his blue eyes sharp. “You felt it too.”

Fugaku nodded. “Hard not to, I’m no sensor, but when he was tampering Itachi’s seal, the air around him changed. Dense and alive, like standing before a storm. There’s no mistaking it. That boy carries the same energy Kushina once did.”

Jiraiya frowned, clearly conflicted. “Even if that’s true… how the hell did he end up in Kiri? You know what the Mist did to the Uzumaki. They burned Uzushio to the ground. You’re telling me they took Kushina’s child and just let him live?”

The room fell silent again — just the sound of rain and Minato’s slow breathing.

“…No,” Minato said finally. “They wouldn’t have let him live.”

He turned toward the desk and opened one of the sealed folders — the one Naruto had handed over. The strokes were beautiful, genius and intricate strokes. The seal was just Naruto, extravagant in his power, delicate in its details and hiding so much strength. 

Minato’s voice was quieter now. “Unless he never knew where he came from. Unless Kushina… gave everything she had to keep him alive.”

For a long moment, none of them spoke. The weight of that sentence — that possibility — filled the room.

Fugaku’s voice was the one to break the silence. “You heard what Itachi and Sai said, haven’t you? If this is true, then Danzo has been planning this coup for decades. You need him, Minato. We need that boy and his sealing jutsu.”

Jiraiya ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “Needing him doesn’t make him safe, Fugaku. You’re gambling with the village. Or you are blind with hope he will save Itachi. What if he’s a spy? What if Danzo sent him? What if—”

Minato raised a hand, stopping him. “Enough.”

The Hokage’s tone wasn’t harsh — just final. The kind of quiet authority that filled a room completely.

He stepped closer to his desk, picked up one of the reports, and said, “If Danzo truly has a plan involving the elimination of the Uchiha clan, then Konoha’s survival depends on trust — the right kind of trust. And right now, the only person Danzo isn’t watching is Naruto.”

Fugaku nodded. “Exactly.”

Minato sighed, rubbing his temples. “I know the risks. Believe me, I do. But I also can’t ignore what my instincts tell me.” He paused, and his next words came out softer, almost pained. “When I looked at him — I saw her. The way he stands, the fire in his eyes… It's Kushina. Every part of him screams Uzumaki.”

That silenced even Jiraiya. The Sannin looked away, uncomfortable. “If that’s true…”

“If that’s true,” Minato continued, “then I’ve already failed him once. I won’t do it again.”

The rain outside grew stronger, a slow rumble of thunder rolling through the village.

Fugaku broke the silence this time, his voice carrying an almost reluctant respect. “If he’s truly her son, then you’re not the only one who owes him. The Uchiha do too. We will follow your lead, Hokage-sama.”

Minato gave a faint, tired smile. “Thank you, Fugaku.”

Jiraiya exhaled loudly and stood up straight. “Fine. But if that kid so much as sneezes suspiciously, I’m tailing him myself.”

Minato chuckled softly, though his eyes were still shadowed. “I’d expect nothing less.”

He looked out the window one more time — toward the horizon where the rain blurred the village lights.

“Hold on, Naruto,” he whispered, too softly for the others to hear. “If you really are who I think you are… then this village owes you more than you’ll ever know.”

Elsewhere beneath the surface of Konoha, the storm took a darker shape.

-//-

In some dark, underground base sat Danzo and Mitokado talking, revising the fine details in their plan, all was going well. In the middle of the plotting some dark figure approaches them. 

“Report, what is he doing?”  asked Danzo.

“He’s been fighting a lot with his family, especially with his dad. Itachi has been frequently spending about 4 hours a day in a brothel in the flower district. Apparently, that’s the way he wants to spend his remaining days, after last week’s reunion with the Hokage it was deemed that any effort in saving Itachi was futile. Fugaku doesn’t seem to agree with that.”

“Did you investigate the brothel and the prostitute he’s frequenting?” 

“Of course, the brothel is as shady as any other, but no chakra signature is perceived. The harlot Itachi’s been seeing is named Maki — pretty face, long brown hair, otherwise unremarkable.”

“I can feel the seal drawing the chakra, it’s just a matter of time. In just a few days, the seal will drain him so completely he won’t even have the strength to fuck that girl properly.”Danzo smirked. “That would be all, dismissed”

Everything was going according to plan for Danzo. 

-//-

Itachi never knew that you can be living a dream and a nightmare at the same time. On one side, there was the nightmare where one of the councilman of your village has been betraying said village systematically for about 40 years, also your best friend died, only to know later that he is alive and being captive and used for nefarious purposes. And not to forget the impending doom looming over your clan and family. Truly a fucking nighmare, Itachi wouldn’t wish this fate to anyone. 

But on the other side, all this shitshow lead him to being laid down on the lap of the most gorgeous, smart, badass and incredible person he has ever met. Really, what is his life?

It had been a week since Sai’s reintegration into ROOT. During that time, Naruto had established his cover at the brothel, and Shikamaru had positioned himself as their external link and he’s been coming to this particular brothel, as planned. After Naruto dispelled Danzo’s genjutsu they discussed various plans of actions. Danzo was a difficult and slippery opponent, they could kill him and be over with it, as was the idea Sasuke, Sai, Jiraiya and Tsunade were eager to do. And it wasn’t as the others didn’t want to kill the councilman in the most gruesome way possible, but with those shady seals it was like Danzo had dozens hostages. That was actually one of Naruto’s warnings, if Danzo died mysteriously there was a high chance that the people who he put seals on would die as well.

That’s why Shikamaru thought of this plan. After the absolute shock of Naruto’s second job ー That was one of the most bizarre moments of Itachi's life ー the Nara suggested that the blonde came to work in this brothel, where Itachi would come every day so Naruto could fill his cursed seal with his chakra to keep him alive. They also staged the end of the reunion where his parents will tell the other clansmen that Itachi’s condition was not something even the Hokage could fix, and so Itachi had only a couple of weeks to live.

The key for the whole plan, and really it was a big bet, was Naruto. Maybe the only variable Danzo was not counting on

The first part of the plan was nerve wracking, as Sai would go back to ROOT and gather as much information as possible, then he would report back to the Hokage. The goal was to find Shisui's whereabouts and then Naruto will infiltrate. Jiraiya was not so convinced nor was Kakashi, and being honest Itachi didn’t want Sai risking his life like that or Naruto going to ROOT base alone. But Shikamaru was right, and Sai breaking free from Danzo’s grasp and the unknown variable that was Naruto, this plan was almost the only way. But the part of the plan where he had to come here everyday to get Naruto to give him chakra? It was messing with him in more ways than one.

Now Naruto was stroking his hair with delicate hands, and looking so intensely at him, that had he not been lying down his legs would have given out. The blonde was so pretty, his eyes so deep, and the flow of his chakra so calming. 

"Itachi-san… someone is observing." Whispered Naruto. 

"Friend or foe?"  If it was Sasuke or Sai, he would find a way to katon them so hard for interrupting this … 

"I'm not sure yet… but let's try a distraction" 

"What kind of  ー" Itachi couldn't finish his sentence as Naruto descended to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. 

The older Uchiha wasn't a Casanova nor he actively looked for partners to fuck, and up until now the prospect of a partner has only been in his mind as a future duty with his clan to produce an heir, but now with Naruto soft lips on his own…. Itachi was thinking of flowers, dates. And then when he felt a foreign tongue entering his mouth, he started thinking of a wedding ring. 

The kiss was everything, passionate and hot and soft. Some part of him logically knew that Naruto was doing that as a distraction for the observer, but he couldn’t help himself and reached the blonde’s face with his hand and started reciprocating the kiss. Naruto opened his mouth and moaned a little when Itachi’s tongue entered.The Uchiha never knew he could get rock hard in just a few seconds, but alas, the blonde must have some type of magic. 

The blonde seemed to notice the dilemma, but instead of retreating  from the kiss, he started touching Itachi’s growing erection over the fabric, making the brunette moan in the kiss. 

“This is bad, we’re getting carried away”  thought Itachi clinging to the last of his sanity. Naruto’s touch was just so good, and the dance of their tongues was too much. He was getting desperate, and it seemed he wasn’t the only one, when the blonde started trying to take out his pants Itachi officially lost it. He broke the kiss and got up to be on top of Naruto, pressing both of his clothed erections together and rubbing. Naruto moaned loudly and Itachi shut him up with another kiss. 

The blonde’s kimono was so pretty, dark blue with red and white details. It suited Naruto’s every curve so well. But it had to go, now it was only an obstacle. 

“Itachi…” whispered Naruto looking up to him through long eyelashes. The Uchiha was sure that if Naruto called his name again with that voice he would definitely cum in his pants like a sorry teenager. 

Itachi could no longer hold back, after a week of wanting and teasing they were crossing the line today… or so he thought.

“Ehem…” 

Itachi never had any reason to hate Shikamaru, he was a good shinobi, an excellent strategist, cool and down to earth if something his laziness tended to be his downfall, but it wasn’t particularly extreme these days, but now though? Drowsy with want, painfully hard and living the dream?…. The Uchiha was ready to put the strategist in the worst genjutsu he could think of, and Shikamaru was sporting a smug face even if slightly blushed. 

“That Kimono looks good on you, Naruto,” Shikamaru said. “Sorry to interrupt”

“So you were the one watching us! Did you enjoy the show you little perv?” replied Naruto still on his back looking a little bit spent and blushed, but unbothered.

“Glad you are enjoying your ‘Last days’ Itachi” 

Itachi refrained from answering, surely he will say something crass and that won’t do. And also Shikamaru’s presence was a painful reminder that this out-of-a-dream moment was also part of the plan. A plan laid carefully and with too many things that could go wrong in an instant. And he was so distracted by Naruto’s pretty face and curvy body, he definitely need to get a fucking grip. 

“How’s the plan going?” Asked the Uchiha. 

“Things are starting to sail I think, it’s been one week since Sai went back to ROOT and he’s been properly sending his ink mice to report. Apparently, Danzo’s confident in his plan — no sign of suspicion anywhere. He might be able to send the probable location of Shisui’s whereabouts. Also, he sent this to you Naruto” he said, passing a thick roll to the blonde. 

Naruto opened the roll to find the map of the Anbu ROOT underground base map, this part of the plan was the highest bet for the Leaf shinobi, they were handing highly sensitive information to an outsider party, a ninja that was from Kiri, enemies of the leaf since at least a 100 years. Even Naruto was against this at the beginning, he really didn’t want to be as compromised as he was, but it was the only option. All the other ninjas who were out of Danzo’s ninjutsu were top jounin, plenty known in the village. If they went to snoop in ROOT’s base, they were bound to be discovered, no matter how good shinobi they were. And going by Sai’s reports, their obvious loyalty to the Hokage kept them under constant surveillance. The only safe bet was Naruto, the only unknown factor to Danzo and his plans.

“Shikamaru, take this scroll with you, it contains a summoning seal like last time. Gather everyone except Sai and summon me. It’s time to move to the next step” 

“Got it,” said Shikamaru.

Naruto pointed at him, suddenly annoyed. “And one more thing — where the hell is my ramen? I told you six bowls!”