A shocking revelation

"I ignored my destiny once before. I cannot do that again." -Thanos.

Once I saw the Hokage monument, all of my memories came flooding back to me. My mother, the woman carrying me, was Mikoto Uchiha, my father was Fugaku Uchiha, and that was indeed the harbinger of my newfound family's demise walking next to my mother. The prodigy of prodigies, Itachi Uchiha. And that left only me, adorable, newborn, and internally panicking Rokkuu Uchiha. That's hardly an exaggeration, by the way, I felt like I might actually start to cry from the stress of my realization. I was in some alternate universe, where things were laid out exactly the same as a fictional universe from a Japanese TV show. Where people dropped lightning bolts and boulders as big as sheds on top of each other in an endless bid for the most land, the most influence, and the most resources. Judging by Itachi's appearance, it seemed he was around the age he was when Fugaku would've taken him out onto the battlefield to toughen him up early. Which meant the third war was nearing its climax as we speak. Obito and Rin might be...

No. I shook the thought from my head. Even if they were alive, there was nothing I could do. Sure, saving Obito would prevent a lot of headache later. But Zetsu could find another pawn, or just convince Nagato to change Akatsuki's course all his own. However, there was always the chance they might just survive on their own merits. After all, there was nothing saying that things in this universe were going to happen exactly as they did in the original timeline. Anything could happen. All I had was knowledge of a possible chain of events. not a solidified one. Well, not solidified as far as I knew. That did beg the question, though, of how I would go about handling things if they did go the same way as in the series. Going up against Orochimaru, Gaara, Akatsuki, Madara...all of those were very daunting tasks. I was going to be educated on how to be a shinobi, I was sure, but that said nothing of my latent ability. You could only train so much, and there was only so much improvement to be made to chakra control and the size of your reserves.

I internally sighed. There I go again, getting bummed before I've even started. I had a nasty habit of doing that sort of thing. It was a bit of a hard habit to break, given then circumstances I dealt with in my old life. A clean slate offers new opportunities, however, so I would definitely have to do my best to let go of any emotional or psychological habits I had from back then. As I internally monologued, we arrived at our destination. It wasn't until now that I really took a good look at my mother's friend, and I don't know how I missed Kushina's signature blood red hair. She was as energetic as the show would have you believe, and I saw a lot of Naruto's mannerisms in her. I guess Minato really didn't give Naruto anything besides his looks. Speaking of the Yellow Flash, who else would be waiting on the porch for us besides him, dressed in a casual looking outfit of shorts and a t-shirt. He greeted my mother, bowed to Itachi, and absolutely gushed over me. He wanted to pinch my cheeks, but the glare I managed to muster up seemed to have dissuaded him.

Ushering us inside, Kushina put on some tea and she and my mother made small talk with Minato, I would assume about his latest assignment. Itachi sat on the floor with me, playing a game of patty-cake. Mentally 21 or not, it still was enjoyable for me, and I laughed along with him. Suddenly, I heard the words "Kannabi Bridge" from Minato. I instantly kept one ear tuned into the conversation, to see if I recognized any other words they said. It sounded like he was saying something about the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and when I turned to look at them, Kushina seemed slightly upset. If I had to guess, I'd say Minato had probably already been given the assignment to blow up the bridge. My heart sank slightly. I had still hoped there was a slight chance that I'd be able to talk before they went. If I could get Minato's ear, I was certain I could confide in him about my foresight, albeit twisting it a little. Maybe I'd say I was from the future, and was sent back by the Shinigami after my death. But as it stood now, it seemed that there really was no way I was going to save Obito. The only chance there was for that part of the timeline to change, was him somehow surviving on his own merit.

Eventually, my mother said her goodbyes to her friends, and rounded up me and Itachi to take our leave. On the way back home, I internally promised Kushina and Minato that they would live to see Naruto grow up. No matter what I had to do to make that happen.

Another few months passed, and my birthday was here. It wasn't a large affair, seeing as I didn't yet have any friends to invite, and only consisted of family members. They brought me toys, clothes, and my favorite gift out of everything I got: educational books! Books on language, writing, the whole nine yards. I internally cheered, and hugged the leg of the elder woman I got them from. I had been practicing my walking, now that I was slightly older and my bones were stronger. I knew how to position my feet and everything, so it really was just a matter of my legs not being strong enough to support my body weight. There was cake, my parents made small talk with the other adults, Itachi and I played with our cousins that came. It was a nice day. I even spotted Shisui among the crowd, but he was gone before I could walk over to him. Not much longer after I opened my gifts and cake was served, people started filtering out of our house, and soon the last guest had left, leaving the house in a comfortable silence.

My mother smiled at me, and asked if I had enjoyed my birthday. Honestly, I had. It had been a while since I'd enjoyed myself that much, and been the center of attention for my family. It felt good. I grabbed one of my language books and held it up to my mother, who smiled and took it from me, opening it as I sat beside her on the sofa. We spent the rest of the night going through the book, the language getting easier and easier to learn as I practiced.

It was a couple of months after that when Kushina started to look a bit more plump in her midsection. I figured Naruto was on the way, and the thought both excited and terrified me. Combined with the admittedly limited knowledge I already had in Japanese, my studying had made me capable of keeping up with most things the people around me were saying, and I could read a little bit as well. It was enough to be able to communicate on a daily basis in every way that was necessary for someone my age, asking for snacks, to go out and play, etc. I wondered, once more, if I should say something about Obito to Minato. He had recently been passed the position of Hokage by Hiruzen, which I reasoned increased the chances of anything I told him staying between us. Indecisiveness still filled me, though, and I didn't exactly have a whole lot of proof, neither to back up my claims of being from the future, or that the attack was going to happen in the first place. Obito was dead, supposedly, as he and Rin hadn't come back from the Kannabi bridge for the mission. However, if I convinced him it was going to happen, and it didn't...then I would look suspicious.

I continued to have this back and forth with myself, and it distracted me so much that I completely forgot there was another person due to be born soon, nor did I notice our mother was also starting to show. I was torn between happiness and anxiety once I did, but not for long. If anything, remembering Sasuke was on the way and due within just a few months helped me make my decision. I meditated on it once more just to be sure this was how I felt, and came up with the same answer. I was going to tell Minato about the attack. Now I just had to find a way to get a moment of his time, and decide whether I wanted to do so at the Hokage tower, or at his home. The Hokage tower would be infinitely more difficult to get into, as I had no real reason to go there, being barely a year and a half old, but it had all of those marvelous privacy seals lining the walls of his office. Unless Danzo had a way to override those seals, and happened to walk by and start listening in, there was no way anyone was going to hear what I told him unless he specifically spread the information. On the other hand, his house was much easier to get into. I could make some shitty arts and crafts gift for them, tell my mom it's to celebrate the baby, and ask her to take me to deliver it at a time when I think he'll be home.

In the end, that's basically the approach I took. I asked her to help me make sweets for them to commemorate Naruto's conception. That night, when Minato would definitely have been home from the office, we delivered the sweets. They thanked us and invited us inside for tea, having just finished dinner. Well, I made it here. Now how the hell am I going to get him alone? I really didn't think I would get this far, and forgot to plan for the second half. Think, Rokkuu! I glanced around the room, but there wasn't really anything I could use to make a distraction that only my mother and Kushina would react to. Suddenly, Minato stood and said he had some paperwork to fill out in his study, and politely excused himself. Maybe...

"Ano, Hokage-sama?"

Minato stopped and turned to look at me, smiling a gentle smile. "When we're in a private, casual setting like this, you can just call me Minato, Rokkuu-chan."

"Minato-ojiisan, could I see your study?"

Minato cocked his head to the side, giving my mother a sideways glance. She seemed just as perplexed as he was, and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she had no idea where the question came from either.

"Why the sudden interest?"

"Minato-ojiisan seems really important now, I wanna see what your office looks like!"

That answer seemed to satisfy him. A fanboy wanting to step inside the personal life of his idol, that was the angle I was going for. Just a curious child, looking up to the super cool adult. Minato smiled and waved me along, and I waddled my way down the hall after him. He was quite a bit faster than me in his normal walking pace, being that he was about 3 feet taller than me, so by the time I got to the door to his office, he was already inside with the light on. It wasn't anything special, a few filing cabinets, some pictures on the large wooden desk, and a few papers strewn about. He probably was wondering what exactly I was expecting, but he narrowed his eyes slightly as I closed the door behind me.

"Minato-ojiisan, can you keep a secret?"

His face went from confused to slightly worried as he nodded his head and sat down at his desk. With him staring directly at me, I suddenly became far more nervous and unsure. It was easy to come to this decision without the weight of the situation as it was playing out on my mind, but now that such pressure was on my mind, I lost a lot of my nerve. I fidgeted for a bit, and he assured me that I could tell him anything. Minato the carefree jonin was no longer here, I was definitely speaking to the Yondaime Hokage at this point. He was completely focused on me, as if he thought he might miss something I said if he wasn't. It felt like he was peering into my mind. A chill ran down my spine, and I began to slowly weave my tale.

"Before I say anything, I need to ask three things of you. First, please don't perceive me as a threat. Second, keep an open mind. Third, don't tell anyone else about this conversation unless their knowing about it could greatly improve village security and you have the utmost trust in them not to let any of it slip around random people."

The air in the room dropped a good 20 degrees, at least. I swallowed down the fear that welled up inside me, and continued as Minato gave a small grunt of acknowledgment. "Continue."

"I am not the Rokkuu Uchiha you think I am. That is to say, I'm a different version of Rokkuu. I am, mentally and spiritually speaking at least, 18 years old, and a veteran of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Said war is, assuming things will still progress according to my knowledge, set to kick off in roughly 17 years. I was killed in battle, and given the chance to come back and change things by the Shinigami. I can recite a few things I would not otherwise know about to prove this to you, if you like."

Minato didn't say anything, so I took that as my cue to provide my supposed evidence.

"Your students, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha, recently accompanied your other student Kakashi Hatake to Kannabi bridge to destroy it and cut off Iwagakure's supply lines and end the Third Great War. They both died, Obito by being crushed under a boulder after he pushed Kakashi out of the way of it, and Rin by being impaled with Kakashi's Chidori. Rin threw herself in front of his attack to prevent the Sanbi, which had been sealed inside of her by two Iwagakure shiobi, from breaking free from the timer seal used to imprison it and destroying Konoha. Before this, she transplanted Obito's left eye into Kakashi, replacing the left eye he lost to a sword wound. Since the end of the war, you and Kushina have conceived a child, and are thinking of naming him Naruto, after the main character of one of the novels written by your former sensei, Jiraiya, titled Tales of a Gusty Ninja. Kushina is the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Minato held up his hand to signal for me to stop. "That's enough. You certainly seem to have knowledge you shouldn't, but I'm not sure I buy your story completely. Why are you telling me about this now?"

"Because Obito isn't really dead. He was rescued by Madara Uchiha, who nursed him back to health and tried to convince Obito to help him take over the shinobi world. Obito declined, and went back to the battlefield to regroup with Rin and Kakashi. Upon witnessing Rin's death, Obito awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan, as did Kakashi in the eye Obito gave him, and slaughtered the remaining Iwa ninja after Kakashi lost consciousness. He then returned to Madara and accepted his offer. Now, Obito is collecting the tailed beasts to use their power. Obviously, this means he'll be coming here at some point, and that 'some point' is the night of Naruto's birth, when Kushina's seal will be weakened by labor."

I had to give him credit where credit was due, he didn't react at all to my statement. I thought I saw his face twitch a little, but I can't be 100% sure about that. The silence that followed was suffocating, a pin dropping would've sounded like a freight train crashing through the wall. I felt a strange, frightening energy begin to leak into the air, and I assumed Minato was trying to suppress his killing intent and having a hard time doing so. I guess it's not every day someone tells you the student you thought you failed to save is still alive and now evil. I shuffled a bit anxiously as he continued to stare into me, as if he was trying to read my very soul. Finally, in a very stiff and tense motion, he stood, walked to the door, and ushered me out, following after me.

"We will discuss this in greater detail tomorrow, at my office. For now, go home with your mother. I'll tell her that you saw a crime being committed and reported it to me just now, and that I need you to come by tomorrow for questioning."

I nodded, adrenaline carrying me through the hallway. I was terrified of the man next to me. At a moment's notice, he could shred me into ground beef with a Rasengan, and have my remains disposed of in a way no one would ever know he killed me. Still, the cat was out of the bag now. There was no going back.

Minato's story went over about as well as you'd expect. My mother was constantly fretting over me on the way home, asking if anyone had touched me inappropriately, or if I'd seen someone touching another person inappropriately. I told her no, and that Minato had asked me not to talk to anyone about it until after my meeting with him tomorrow. When we got home, she of course told my father everything. Fugaku seemed to be mildly concerned himself, likely due to the fact that Minato was opting to question me himself, instead of having my father, the Chief of Police, do it. That lent more severity to the nature of the crime I'd supposedly witnessed. He told my mother he trusted Minato's judgment, and that if Minato told me not to say anything about it until after our meeting, he would respect that wish. That seemed to calm my mother slightly, and when Itachi came up to her and gave her a hug, telling her everything would be alright, the rest of her stress seemed to melt away. We had dinner, and I went to my roomto meditate for a little bit before going to bed. When I heard a gentle knock on my divider, I accurately guessed it was Itachi.

"Come in."

The divider opened, and Itachi flashed me a smile as he stepped in. The divider closed, and he knelt down in front of me, hands in his lap. Ever the proper Uchiha, even in casual settings. "Well, you certainly managed to work up okaa-san and oto-san."

"Gomen, nii-san. Hokage-sama asked me not to say anything until after our meeting, and I want to respect that wish."

"Ma, ma. It's fine. I would assume that, if something did happen that you were to scared to tell them about, you would at least come to me though, right?"

"Of course!" I scooted up to him and gave him a hug. Itachi really was too good for this cruel world. My heart ached when I thought of what might happen if Minato isn't able to fend off Obito. The Uchiha would still be suspected in orchestrating the attack, unless he somehow managed to make up a story about how he found out it was Obito. If he was even alive after failing to prevent Kurama's release. Itachi would still have to kill everyone, would still have to leave the village. As I snuggled into his arms, I sighed internally. I would protect him, and Sasuke, and Shisui, and Naruto. Everyone in the village, whether they were friend, family, or stranger.

Itachi petted my head gently, and before I gave into the urge to fall asleep, I looked up at him and mumbled, "Itachi-nii, can you keep a secret?"

Itachi's warm smile was all the encouragement I needed.