A/N: Since this is probably is not going to happen in the manga (but hey who knows), I'm just going to lead with it and do something of a serious take...with some slight crack elements. :D Excuse the oxymoron(ic) statement, if you will.

"Hmph! You and that tone," Hiruzen noted, returning the boy's disdainful look. "You were named for my father, after all."

Something like surprise flickered across Sasuke's eyes.

"Heh. That brat Sasuke...looks like his namesake is no different..."

"Urusei!" Hiruzen glared at the Shodai-hokage.

Juugo noticed a bird had made its way into the secret room.

Nidaime stepped forward toward the Uchiha. "Learn to talk to your elders with a bit more respect," he asserted.

"Ano..." Suigetsu shifted closer to Juugo and latched a watery hand onto his arm. "Am I the only one freaking out here?"

"Suigetsu! Shut up," Sasuke commanded. He turned back to the Third Hokage. "I need you to answer some questions...about Itachi."

Hiruzen's expression did not waver. He knew this this was going to happen the moment he saw Sasuke standing next to his former student. "I assume you already know everything...Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, then widened in anger. The question was burning a hole into his mind. "Was killing my clan really the only answer?!"

He sighed. "I never wished for it to end that way."

"What the fuck?" Hashirama exchanged glances with his brother. "You killed off the Uchiha?!"

"NO!" Hiruzen barked back. "...Itachi did."

Yondaime was lost in thought. Orochimaru...Goddamn him. He obviously had some impure jutsu in place to make himself something of an immortal; he had learned the secrets of the Shiki Fujin, yet did not die in the process of the seal's release. As far as he could tell, Minato was in full control of himself, so at least he couldn't be forced to do anything involuntary. But now what? He returned to the present. "That little kid..." he murmured softly, looking up. "Is he still alive?"

"...No. He's dead," Sasuke replied quietly, voice brimming with contempt. "Thanks to this man...!" He pointed to Sandaime accusingly.

"I did everything I could to prevent the coup d'état from happening...but the threat of the danger was too great," he explained. "It would have led to the destruction of our whole village, and given the chance for the other shinobi countries to take over, leading to an inevitable war. With the decisions of Danzou and the elders, ultimately it came down to the extermination of the clan," he said solemnly. "I'm very sorry about what happened."

Sasuke could take no more of these rational explanations. They just couldn't understand. But it was his duty to make them understand, to make them feel his and Itachi's unbearable hurt. All of Konoha would eventually suffer by his hands for their ignorance.

"HE WAS MY BROTHER!" he shouted. "How could you give someone my age that kind of decision to make!? Do you have any idea what kind of hell you put him through?! Known as nothing but a criminal...a traitor to the village, when he sacrificed everything he had for it—his family, his honor, his friends, his village..." Sasuke trailed off, panting slightly.

The four hokage were silent.

Itachi's forgiveness of his little brother in his revived state had only further increased his hatred. He thought he could be calm about this...but standing in front of such powerful, yet clueless ninja, it was simply impossible. "Wasn't there any other option? Talk my dad out of it...make Itachi the Hokage? Anything?"

Orochimaru laughed out loud at the suggestion. All this was news to him, for one thing. The only reason he stayed so quiet was to hear this rather interesting story. "Itachi-kun... now it makes sense. No matter how intimidating he could be, I could never feel true hatred emanating from that man." He chuckled bad-naturedly.

Sasuke's anger flared again. "And that Danzou!" He landed a fist against the wall to his side, hard. "He had the nerve to take advantage of their deaths! My family's eyes...he couldn't just leave them alone!" He clenched the fist against the wall harder, closing his eyes tight. "...Kakashi..."

Minato listened keenly.

He reopened his eyes. "How dare he take an eye from my clan...and try to act like he's superior to me!" His rage boiled inside him. He didn't care who was listening at this point—he couldn't stop. "Teaching me about friends and telling me to forget my revenge...When he should not be talking in the first place!" he seethed. "That fucking hypocrite!" He scowled in despair, knowing full-well that this was not going to lead anywhere. But he didn't know what to do. Having Sandaime stand before him agonized his thoughts about what could have been.

Though it was not in his nature to discuss himself or his loved ones, Yondaime decided to say something. "Uchiha, Sasuke...right?" He tilted his head down, letting an intensely protective aura surround him. "Did you ever ask him about it?"

"There's nothing to ask! I know for sure he's not family—the third class shinobi can't even use it properly without falling over," he said, remembering Team 7's first mission in the Land of Waves. The memory made his shoulders sag ever so slightly. "He's no Uchiha..." Awareness suddenly freckled his face and he looked around the room for a second, feeling the venomous chakra he'd gotten so used to suddenly disappear.

"Orochimaru..." Hiruzen muttered lowly, causing the Nidaime and Shodai-hokage to look behind them. The snake had made its escape while Sasuke spoke, but by no means did he go unnoticed.

Juugo and Suigetsu were both leaning against one of the walls, hoping they would not be brought into the conversation. They turned, however, also noticing the heavy presence vanish.

"See? I told you. Orochimaru does care about this war," Suigetsu whispered to Juugo, who nodded back at him slowly. "I'm telling you, he's planning something..."

"War?" Hashirama's deep, definitive voice shot the air.

The third Hokage gave his predecessor a long look. "Aisumimasen, Tobirama-sensei. Yet again, my pupil..."

"You haven't failed, Hiruzen," Senju Tobirama assured him. He looked around at the walls of the ancient, underground Uchiha shrine. "Right now, we need to focus on what's happening out there."

"I agree. We cannot sit idly by while our own are battling with their lives, above ground," the Shodai-hokage concurred.

"Shodai hokage-sama," Yondaime began. "I think I have a pretty good idea who's behind this war." He started to exit the rather dark-lit room. "Let me explain." The other hokages followed suit.

"No need to explain."

All eyes turned to Sasuke.

"It's Madara."

The mixture of seriousness and indifference in his voice caused everyone to pause in their step.

Hashirama felt his blood thicken as disbelief shocked his body. He glowered at the seemingly sole successor of the dead, renowned clan. "Madara? Uchiha...Madara?"

A/N: Alright! To be continued...

Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, feedback is much welcomed!

Also, Ore no taisetsu na hito (Kakashi/Minato student-teacher fic) is now finished, with the exception of an epilogue, which is still in progress.

Edit: I am aware that Sasuke probably pushed it here- my mistake on his character. I too am dying to see what happens next! This story was written mostly to calm down my hyperactive feels after reading that taunting cliffhanger. Thanks for reading!