The Councillors Chamber
"I'm sorry Itachi, there's nothing we can do. The way things are going we will have a full Uchiha coup on our hands and many lives will be lost in the process..." Hiruzen Sarutobi trailed off in a worried tone. "I have tried everything in my power short of a genocide."
Itachi kneeled in front of his village elders, masking his frustration will a look of indifference.
"The whole village will be at risk if we do not act now. If peace did not solve this problem then we must eliminate this threat. Even the innocent children." Danzo Shimura said intensely.
"Don't say that in front of Itachi!" Hiruzen exclaimed, "Just give me some time, I'll come up with something."
Somewhere deep underground.
"The third hokage may be a peace loving fool, but if his village is threatened even he will take action." Danzo spoke to Itachi knowingly.
"As it stands there are two options on the table. You could stay alongside your clan and be destroyed with them, or you could save your precious little brother and kill the clan with your own hands."
Itachi stared impassively at Danzo. " And if I chose to not do either of those?"
"Then you forfeit the lives of you and your brother and be named a traitor in the eyes of the village." Danzo threatened.
'Village be damned, I refuse to let my brother be killed by these people!' Itachi thought, a small tic appearing on his forehead.
"I will protect my brother at all costs." Itachi said glaring at Danzo.
"Very good. I expect you to act swiftly. You have seven days to act. You are dismissed."
At the Uchiha Compound
Walking outside to his home, his mind racing, itachi didn't even notice the blur until it was in his face grinning.
"Hey big bro!" Sasuke yelled, ecstatic
Itachi grinned in spite of himself, "Hello Sasuke, how's school going?"
"Well classes are super easy because I'm always first in everything.." Sasuke said grinning wide
"Well keep it up and you'll be as strong as me when I was your age." Itachi challenged.
"Oh yeah? I'll show you just how strong I've become!" Sasuke yelled, drawing his fist back before jumping towards Itachi's face. Before Sasuke knew it he was flicked backwards by a smiling Itachi. "Sorry Sasuke, maybe next time." He said, before walking away chuckling.
'Just you wait big brother, I will become as strong as you. Maybe then father will pay attention to me.' Sasuke thought with a determined grin, rubbing the spot he was struck.
That evening
A certain Itachi was kneeling in front of his father Fugaku and Mikoto.
"Are you fucking serious?! They are going to wipe us out?!" Fugaku yelled, staring at Itachi with shocked eyes.
Itachi nodded, not saying a word. Already predicting the reaction from his father, leader of the uprising.
"And they wanted you to kill us all, or they would kill you and Sasuke too..?"
"Yes. Danzo specifically laid out these options to make me choose between saving the village and my brother or perish alongside the clan."
Regaining his composure, Fugaku took a deep breath and smiled at Itachi. "You have done a great service to our clan. You should feel proud to be a Uchiha."
Itachi flinched at these words, a scowl etched on his face. "What do you plan on doing with this information?"
"The only thing we can do at this point, my son. We must strike first! I will not let them get a upper hand on us. If we can catch them off guard, we can almost certainly win." Fugaku exclaimed, with a malicious smile.
"And you think this is the best option? To strike at Konoha? Is a civil war really the only option?!" Itachi spat out questioningly, shocked at the almost bloodthirsty tone his father had.
"What other alternative is there? Do you really think peace could be established between us after all they did to us"!? Fugaku yelled angrily.
Mikoto, who was silent up until now, cleared her throat. "If they had wanted peace wouldn't we have gotten some form of communication? You know, a letter or a face to face meeting?"
"But the third hokage said he had tried everything in his power, haven't you received anything?" Itachi asked questioningly.
"No, we haven't. Nor do we care anymore. If Konoha wants to wage war on us then so be it. We will strike first." Explained Mikoto harshly.
"But-"
"Silence!" Yelled Fugaku, " There will be no peace! There is nothing that can be done anymore. You will help us destroy the village who has cast us aside or die protecting them. What do you choose, my son?"
Horrified that his supposed family would make such a threat, Itachi stayed silent and weighed his options.
Noting his hesitation, Fugaku decided to hammer the final nail in the coffin. " Also, if you choose to help them, we will have little choice but to execute your brother, our own son as well."
Itachi's head shot up in pure rage, "What?! Why would you drag Sasuke into this?! He's an innocent child!"
"This isn't about Sasuke. This is about you. We cannot allow you to betray our clan. If it requires holding our own son hostage, then we have no other alternative, " Mikoto spoke without a trace of emotion.
Itachi just noticing a presence had been behind him listening, "Sasuke, go back to bed."
Fugaku and Mikoto flinched, worried looks on their faces. Seeing an opening, itachi got up and started to walk out of the room. Opening the door, itachi looked behind him, baring his mangekyo sharingan. "If you harm him, I will not hesitate to cut you and anyone else down. Clan or family.
Neither of them said anything, looking at him cold eyes.
Leaving the room and walking down the hallway, eager to finally get some rest after what he could say was the worst day of his life (so far). After making sure his brother was in his room asleep, itachi laid down to rest and decide his next move.
'It's either let the clan and the village go to war and Sasuke dies, or help one side and Sasuke will still be in jeopardy. They don't really leave me with many choices.'
Somewhere deep in the woods of konoha
"How did you know where to find me?" a masked man said inquisitively to itachi.
"I have my ways, but it's still surprising to find a clan elder alive after all this time." Itachi spoke firmly. "I am in need of some help. You want revenge on the clan that betrayed you, am I correct?"
Nodding in agreement, " my clan had made me an outcast after I had tried to fight what Konoha had done to them. They deserve no mercy from me. On one hand I wouldn't have minded going back to help them with a revolt, but holding a uchiha child hostage is unforgivable."
"I need a place to stay for me and my brother. A safe haven from the villages. A civil war is not an ideal event for a child to be exposed to. I will not stop the village or our clan from slaughtering each other, but I will not expose my brother to it." Itachi spoke with anger in his eyes.
"I see, and you wish to stay with me, a rogue uchiha? The very uchiha that threatened the village multiple times?" Madara implored.
"I don't have any other choice. It's the only way to save Sasuke from the village and our clan. I will train him personally, and would also request you train him as well. he needs to learn how to defend himself properly."
Madara gazed at itachi almost hungrily. After a few minutes of thought, " I accept you and your brother with open arms itachi. I only ask one thing in return. When i am to exact my revenge on the uchiha clan and the village of Konoha, I will need your help in doing this."
Anger burning in his eyes, Itachi spoke, "I cannot forgive what those bastards had done. I would happily take part of your plans."
"Very good. Now on to the final matter at hand, how do you plan on raising Sasuke?" Madara asked inquisitively.
Itachi shook his head, "I'll spend some time thinking about what to tell him and when. But for now, he needs the basic necessities to be able to grow up."
Madara smiled, concealing his inner greed. "I will leave that up to you then. I have just the place to settle down in."
The Night of the Revolt
A small uchiha child running down the streets of konoha, happy-go-lucky and carefree, unaware of the danger watching him from afar.
Two shadow's watched from the buildings behind sasuke, waiting to strike.
Unbeknownst to them, a solitary figure kept a close eye on Sasuke from atop the Uchiha compound.
And yet none of them noticed the three figures hiding in the trees in front of Sasuke.
The air was calm, the night quiet, the only audible noise being the pitter patter of Sasuke's feet.
Had either the Uchiha clan or the Konoha elders knew beforehand the clusterfuck that was about to happen, they would had acted much sooner.