Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto

This Time Around

By Crimson Skies

Chapter Three – In Theory

"So, a few days before killing your clan, he killed Shisui? And after that he gained this…special sharingan thingy?" Naruto asked to check his understanding of the story. His brow was furrowed in concentration. Sasuke sighed, but didn't bother him to correct him about the name. Naruto may be bad at remembering names, but Sasuke knew he'd grasped the essential points.

"That's right," he confirmed.

"We can use that…I know we can…" Naruto muttered softly, still deep in thought. He crossed his arms and frowned, something he's done often of late. That serious expression on Naruto's six year old face…heck, on Naruto's face at all…would have made him chuckle if the situation was not so dire. That had mere days left to figure out how to prevent his clan's slaughter with no luck. They'd been over this point before and had no luck but they knew it was the key.

They'd already dismissed a list of plans a mile long. The most straightforward of the ideas were not only impossible, they were just plain foolish. Confronting Itachi was not an option. They hadn't stood a chance against him in the future and they certainly didn't now. They'd been training, true, but they weren't even at the level they'd been when they graduated from the Academy yet. Chakra was a mix of physical and spiritual energy. Frankly, their bodies didn't have enough of it. It was true they knew how to use their techniques, but knowledge that couldn't be applied was useless.

Sasuke knew that if he even attempted chidori he would likely die. When he'd tested himself, he found he could use sharingan at the same level of mastery he could before he'd landed in the past. However, he couldn't use it for more than twenty seconds before exhausting chakra supply. If he concentrated, he could use the taijutsu moves he'd copied from Rock Lee, but they lacked the needed strength and speed necessary for effective usage. Naruto could form a single rasengan if he exausted his chakra, but couldn't even crack the bark of a tree. As for his infamous kage bunshin, he could create a maximum of two. He attributed this to Naruto's naturally high stamina. Simple henge and bunshin they could perform without much difficulty, however.

These things weren't the biggest problem, however. His body simply wasn't trained to react correctly. Sure he could use the taijutsu, but only if he concentrated solely on it. In real combat he couldn't afford that. His body needed to react automatically to certain situation. He should have to actually think through the process of hitting the target with his kunai. It should be automatic. If his mind was so busy telling his body exactly when and how to react he wouldn't be able to fight properly. And it was just plain irritating to have his mind react immediately in combat only to find his body wasn't keeping up. He and Naruto would probably spend the next few years building up their strength and chakra reserves. Considering how much they'd trained as kids before reaching the level they were at as genins, well, it would probably be a few years before he and Naruto reached the level of ability they were accustomed to.

So, fighting Itachi directly was not an option. They would both die. The end.

Another possibility was finding someone to help them. That option had been dismissed as quickly as the previous one. Even on the off chance that someone believed them, they didn't want to reveal their knowledge to anyone. A future they couldn't predict was one they couldn't change. They need to ensure they were in the right place at the right times to change the outcomes of the most important events. And Sasuke and Naruto both knew that meant the Chuunin exams, the pivotal point that could ruin Orochimaru's plan. So until it was absolutely necessary they were carefully guard their secret.

Of course, certain people might suspect something, but they'd never know enough to come to the correct conclusion. Which meant they were fairly safe from discovery. Of course if it came down to a choice between the preventing his clan's massacre and preserving their knowledge of the future, they'd agreed without hesitation to save his clan. It was a last resort anyway, since the chances of someone believing them were nil.

They both came to the conclusion that Itachi's initial confrontation with Shisui was somehow the key. They just didn't know how yet.

"We can't incapacitate Itachi, nor can we change his mind. From my experience I know he was already a head case before any of us guessed it. He's not like Gaara," Sasuke observed aloud. "You won't be talking, or beating, sense into Itachi."

"But somehow we have to stop him from slaughtering your clan," Naruto said, determination in his voice. Recently, it wasn't just for Sasuke's sake he wanted to save the Uchiha clan. Without realizing quite when, Uchiha Mikoto had been added to his list of precious people. At first, she'd been cold to him, as every other villager was, but it wasn't long before she'd changed. It wasn't obvious at first, but she now seemed to regard him with an increasing amount of warmth ever since she'd made that lunch for him. He wasn't sure what had triggered the change, but it seemed genuine, and he couldn't help but like her. He wouldn't forgive himself if they couldn't save her. He was just tearing his brain apart trying to figure out how. He hadn't been this frustrated since trying to learn rasengan.

"I think maybe we're looking at this the wrong way," Naruto declared suddenly, a thought striking him. During the first stage of leaning rasengan, he'd spent all his time spinning the water in one direction. When he was told to rotate the water, he'd just assumed to do it all in the same direction and then became stuck on that one idea, without considering others.

"What do you mean?"

"I think we're too focused on 'stopping Itachi' and not focused enough on 'saving the Uchiha clan,'" Naruto explained. "You've wanted revenge for so long that even though you're trying to save your clan, the only way you can see how is to somehow defeat Itachi."

"We've been stuck on 'defeating Itachi' instead of 'preventing massacre,'" Sasuke's words echoed Naruto's as tried to shift mindsets. Something clicked into place. "You're right…" he muttered in amazement. Ideas that previously refused to reveal themselves raced through his mind.

"I still don't have any ideas though," Naruto admitted.

"I think I might," Sasuke said after a long moment. "Itachi will probably get away, but that's not the point. You hit the nail on the head. I had to stop thinking about defeating Itachi and think more about saving my family. So what if Itachi gets away, right? One of the reasons his attack was so effective was because no one expected it. They may have suspected him of murder, but they didn't believe he had the ability, ambition, or gall to go after the entire clan. But if they knew how dangerous he was beforehand? For that matter, Shisui was supposed to be extremely strong in his own right. Itachi likely took him by surprise when he killed him. But if Shisui had some forewarning, and if a few highly skilled ninja showed up at just the right time…"

"He might be driven off at least?" Naruto asked, catching on. "But how do we do that without revealing our knowledge?"

"I think I might have a plan…"


Well, here it is. The third chapter of TTA. I hope it didn't disappoint any of your expectations. Sasuke's plan will be put in motion the next chapter and all of you will begin to see how successful it will be. Things rarely ever work out exactly the way you want them to. Other than that, you'll just have to wait and see.

On another note, I've got an interesting mix of responses about pairings. By far, more people have suggested I forgo pairings entirely. I can't promise this will be the case, but I can promise that romance IS NOT the purpose of my story. Any mention of romance will simply be included to add a bit of depth. Since love is a part of life, I hesitate to just ignore it. It's just not realistic to try and create a life where it doesn't exist. And since this story is about the lives of certain characters it's difficult to bypass. However, as I said before, it's not the focus. The focus is LIFE. Romance is a part of life, but just one part. And people can live without it. The characters will not, however be dating anyone in their pre/early teens. I just can't see it happening. And there will be no 'my first love is my soulmate' stuff either. People don't usually fall in love with the first person they have a crush on. Seriously. Be realistic. Oh, and the final pairings won't be NaruHina or SasuSaku. I guarantee it.

Thanks to:

hecate-19, nice, Kurayami-no-Izou, Cilla, Peter Kim, pixy, Carscard, Atarii, person, KeeraSango, Frontier of Darkness, DSecret, stargazer92, dark-griffin, Byakuganchick, Ziz, Lost ninja #1, velevt oddessy, Bronwyn, cfox, Pie: Eater of cookies. , Audriel, lena, pixy, Morgri, thei, Krylancelo, yurok, MarysMary, mercva, pyrakitt, exrxr, blackhole, Shelly, Fic Slayr, Adhenefallen, Carrot-six, OtakuKyoki, TopQuark

Wow! That was a larger response than I ever imagined. Thank all of you for your support. I hope you'll continue to enjoy reading this. The updates may be a bit slow because I'm extremely busy lately. Also, I've started writing a book(s) of my very own. Wish me luck, k?