They sped through the woods toward the border, expecting trouble almost anytime soon. Kakashi had taken the lead, followed by Tenzo, leaving Itachi and Akane to bring up the rear. Night had fallen and because of the clouds, the moon did not light their way, slowing them down considerably.

"How will you use your shadow manipulation techniques without any light?" Itachi asked Akane.

"My arsenal is not limited to my clan's techniques, you know, Tensai," she said, using his given codename. "Don't worry about me. Focus on keeping your head on your shoulders."

He smiled behind the ANBU mask and he was certain she was, too. He had been an ANBU member for more than a year now and he liked to think he knew her well enough to assume that. Kakashi gave the signal to stop. They halted among the branches of the trees, silent and alert. They watched Kakashi's every single move, waiting for the cue to strike. Itachi's sharingan watched the movement below.

One, two, three… he counted them off in his head one by one. He signaled to Akane when his count reached an alarming number. Nineteen, maybe more in hiding. That meant one of them against five enemy shinobi. The odds were unfortunate, but the right strategy would safely see them through this mission. Finally, Kakashi turned to Akane and gave her an order Itachi's sharingan interpreted as a single word: diversion. He saw her make three hand seals in rapid succession. Rat. Boar. Tiger.

"Sanzengarasu no Jutsu!" (A.N.: Scattering Crow Swarm Jutsu)

A flock of countless crows surrounded the enemy, cloning themselves at a fast rate and obscuring the enemy's field of vision in a matter of seconds. Kakashi then signaled the attack. The initial barrage of weapons thrown into the swarm of crows keeping the enemy busy killed six of the Kiri shinobi.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" (A.N.: Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu)

Itachi's fireball hit just as Akane's crows disappeared with a loud succession of pops, catching four shinobi off-guard and killing them instantly.

"Konoha ANBU!" one of the remaining shinobi screamed. "Retreat!" was his last word before Kakashi's Raikiri went through his chest.

As his companions turned to run, they found themselves surrounded by the remaining three Konoha ANBU. Fire jutsus clashed against water jutsus, producing a thick mist that did little to help with the already existing disadvantage of fighting in the dark, for both parties. Itachi was unhindered, his sharingan helping him to easily pinpoint the enemies and eliminate them one by one. A stray shuriken brushed past his shoulder, but he barely felt a thing, pumped with adrenalin as he was.

Kakashi's Raikiri sparked a few feet away, it's light shining dimly through the haze, while a Chidori chirped to life somewhere to his right, followed by a strangled scream. Itachi stepped back, kunai in hand, until he came back to back with Akane, whose Chidori died away.

"I think that's all of them," he said, only seeing his teammates' chakra now.

They lowered their weapons as one of Kakashi's wind jutsus blew away the mist, leaving them surrounded by dead Kiri shinobi. Some of them were still trapped in Tenzo's wood prison techniques, crushed to death.

"This was too easy," Akane murmured, in a tone almost too low for Itachi to hear, but he scanned the area once more to make sure they hadn't missed anything.

"Ookami, don't move," he told Kakashi, sharingan fixed on the explosive tag stuck to the tree beside him.

"I saw it too. There are bound to be more. On the count of three, we all jump up and try to outrun the explosion. Try to stick together."

"Hai!"

"One… two… three!"

Itachi pushed chakra into his legs and jumped as the explosive tags detonated below. Trees shook and fell, branches slipping away from under his feet as he jumped, feeling the scorching air rise from the explosion against his skin. He kept at it, following the dim shapes of his comrades through the darkness of the woods, toward silence. Pain began to throb in his shoulder, but he ignored it, even as he felt the hot blood soaking into the dark fabric of his long gloves. The cut must have been deeper than he had thought. And it had all been for nothing, he thought, for they were supposed to retrieve a scroll from the Kiri shinobi and now they had blasted themselves to smithereens.

Kakashi ordered the halt and they all sat on the branches to catch their breath. Akane noticed Itachi's blood drenched shoulder and hopped onto his branch. She pulled down his glove to the elbow and placed her pale hands above the gash. Cool, healing chakra seeped into his flesh, taking away the pain and closing the wound.

"It was a trap all along," Kakashi said as Itachi was pulling his glove back up. "They meant to lure us in, hoping we'd get blasted to bits trying to get the scroll. If there even was one."

"We still failed," Itachi said.

"That, we did," Akane told him, "but the outcome of a mission can't always be success, no matter how hard we try."

"What if we go back? Maybe there is a scroll and maybe, by some miracle, it's intact."

"Wishful thinking," Kakashi said, removing his mask to wipe the sweat off his forehead, "but even if that were the case, they've probably set a secondary bunch of explosive tags, set to detonate if anything moves after the primary explosion."

"Is this your first failed mission?" Akane asked Itachi.

"No, but still…" he argued.

"Don't be so disappointed. We did everything we could."

"That crow summoning jutsu… I have a friend who can do it too."

"Shisui the Teleporter?"

"You know him?"

"No, but even so, he's a pretty famous Uchiha."

They arrived back to Konoha by noon and Itachi spent the rest of the day resting, trying to catch up on sleep because of the accumulating tiredness from sleepless nights and long missions.


Kakashi looked grim when they met the following day, in front of an unfamiliar tower-like building near the Uchiha district. They were going up the stairs when Kakashi said:

"You're part of the ANBU now and this is one mission you can't avoid."

"What kind of a mission is this?" he asked, managing to keep the hesitation from his voice.

"When the Nine Tails incident occurred, seven years ago, the higher-ups suspected the Uchiha clan was behind it. Since then, the Uchiha district has been under 24-hour surveillance."

Itachi was not surprised, somehow. His thoughts drifted back to that night, though, remembering how he had ran through the streets, among frightened civilians, carrying a crying, tiny Sasuke in his arms, trying to get to safety. Kakashi opened a door, revealing a room filled with machines and screens. Two masked ANBU members were operating what appeared to be monitoring equipment.

"Time to switch," Kakashi told them.

"Nothing to report, sir."

"This is…" Itachi began, but one the ANBU cut him off rather rudely.

"This isn't the only surveillance center around. Danzo-sama's ANBU are also watching them. Now what will you do? Notify your clan about this?"

Itachi kept his composure, aware of Kakashi's watchful gaze.

"What is my job here?" he asked.

"Just keep watching through that camera," the ANBU told him, pointing to a large piece of machinery. "Okay, Captain. We're going. Stay alert, Itachi."

The two ANBU left, shutting the door behind themselves. Kakashi was sitting in front of the screens, looking through the logs written down during the previous shift.

"This is part of our job as ANBU. It's not assassination, but it's still dirty work," Kakashi said as Itachi sat and looked through the camera.

"A mission is a mission," he said.

"You'll be spying on friends and family. It's even dirtier. I can take this shift if you want."

"No, that's not necessary. Besides…" he trailed off as he spotted Sasuke and pulled back, smiling.

"Besides?"

"The Uchiha clan is aware that they're under suspicion."

"I guess you're right," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

The following evening, as Itachi was returning home, Shisui appeared before him, only to vanish a moment later as Sasuke came up to him from behind.

"Nii-san! Are you done with your mission? If you are, come help me train!"

Itachi smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Sasuke. I have an urgent summons."

He met with Shisui at their usual spot, on the cliffs by the waterfall. It was getting dark now and the first stars were flickering in the west.

"We used to play here a lot," Shisui said, and Itachi heard the smile in his voice rather than seeing it, as his friend was facing away from him.

"Why did you want to see me?"

Shisui grew serious. "I want to hear your honest opinion. How serious do you think Fugaku-san is about a coup d'état?"

Itachi thought about it for a moment, and about all that he had witnessed during the last few months. "Dissatisfaction toward the village is growing among the Uchiha. If the village doesn't change, the Uchiha won't stand for it anymore… but if the Uchiha clan doesn't change, neither will the village. As long as the two sides distrust each other, things will only get worse."

Complaints about harsh treatment by the Police Force were already on the rise. If something wasn't done soon, things might go out of hand.

"I want to clear up that suspicion," Shisui said.

"Do you think you can?"

"I don't know, but I have to try. If the Uchiha attempt a coup d'état, it will bode badly for both sides."

"I'm against a coup d'état as well. But it will take something big to stop it."

"I know, but you shouldn't do anything."

"Why is that?"

"Some members on the Police Force are suspicious of you… and I've been ordered to spy on you."

Itachi was taken aback, but as the initial shock passed, all he felt was resentment. He trusted Shisui and knew he would say nothing to endanger him, yet he could not help feeling betrayed.

"Meet me in the clearing tomorrow, before the meeting. We'll go together," Shisui said. "I'll come up with something to stop this."


"What?!" his father shouted at him later that night. "Do you know what day tomorrow is? You don't understand your own position!"

They were sitting in a dark room, Itachi facing his silent mother and angry father. He doubted sitting in the dark would help, though, given his father's raised voice, but he did his best to defuse the bomb without making him angrier.

"I'm setting out on a mission tomorrow," he lied.

"What kind of mission?"

"I can't tell you. It's top secret."

"Itachi," his father said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You also serve as the Uchiha clan's pipeline to the village's nerve center. You know that, don't you?"

"Hai."

"Bear that in mind and come to tomorrow's assembly!"

Itachi felt Sasuke lurking outside the room, on the porch, probably roused by their father's yelling and now eavesdropping on a conversation Itachi deemed unsuitable for his young ears.

"Sasuke," he said, alarming his parents, who had not sensed their youngest, "once you finish using the toilet, go straight back to sleep."

Sasuke opened the panel door and peered inside, looking worried. "Okay," he said in a small voice. Fugaku stood up, annoyed.

"What are you doing walking around at this hour?! Hurry up and go to bed!"

Forgive me, Sasuke, Itachi thought as he watched his father lash out at him. I only meant to protect you.


Shisui was late. It had gotten dark and the meeting had already begun, but Itachi had promised to wait, so he waited. Suddenly, he heard movement above and a few leaves fell from the tree. Itachi tensed.

"Is that you, Shisui?"

"Come with me," Shisui said. Itachi felt something was wrong. He followed his friend to the cliffs by the waterfall. Shisui was waiting there, looking away.

"It's too late to stop the coup d'état, Itachi. If civil war breaks out in Konoha, other nations are sure to attack… which means a full scale war. I was going to try to stop the coup d'état with Kotoamatsukami, but… Danzo took my right eye. He doesn't trust me. He intends to protect the village his own way, no matter what it takes or how it looks. I suspect he'll come after my left eyes as well, so I want to give it to you before he has a chance."

Itachi found himself at a loss for words. He watched as his friend removed his own eye, wishing he could share his pain, if only even to stop feeling so numb inside.

"You're the only person I can count on, my friend," Shisui said, holding out his eye. "Please protect this village… and the honor of the Uchiha name."

Itachi closed his eyes and summoned a crow. It landed on Shisui's hand, took the eye and vanished.

"I accept it," Itachi said, his sharingan watching, activated by the turmoil of feelings coiling in his stomach like a rattle snake. "What will you do now?"

"If I die, several circumstances will change. I've left behind a note already," he said, slowly edging backwards. Itachi suddenly realized what Shisui was about to do and felt a surge of panic.

"Wait, Shisui!"

"Don't stop me, Itachi," he said, and with a final smile, he let himself fall over the edge, into the river below.

"Shisui!" Itachi cried and rushed to catch him, but failed.

He felt a sharp pain in his eyes and looked at the world with newfound clarity as his Mangekyou Sharingan awakened.

A.N.: "Tensai" means "prodigy". "Ookami" means "wolf".