Konoha's Weasel Prince
Summary: Itachi never got to use his Susanoo in his fight with Sasuke. As soon as the Kirin hit, he was sent back through time to the founder's era and it was up to him to ensure a safer and surer future for Konoha and the world at large. KisaIta TobiMada HashiMito others mentioned
Itachi was given that promised house just across the hospital the very next day, escorted there by none other than the Shodaime Hokage himself. Not that Senju Hashirama knew his dream of a peaceful village will one day come true and that he will be its first leader, but Itachi knew and that actually made all the difference.
For Itachi now remembered what had happened in his last moments of consciousness after that strange aftereffect Sasuke's attack had on his eyes. He remembered the 'space' through which he had traveled, the colorful 'tunnel' that he had, for a short moment in time, thought to be normal after death. He remembered seeing the events of generations past, long before he was born, before he had suddenly been thrust through an opening in time and been deposited here, in the middle of some random patch of forest near the Senju Hideout in the time before Konoha's foundation through the joining of former enemy clans, the Uchiha and the Senju.
However, remembering all of that didn't really help. He was still somehow stuck in the past, some hundred years or so before he was even born or even planned by his parents. Somewhere out there, on the other side of Konoha's future territory, on the opposite end of this huge forest, he was nothing but a figment in one of the currently living Uchiha's genes, the person not even suspecting that their DNA will one day result in a thirteen year old prodigy that will slaughter the clan whose survival they fought fiercely for in this war with the Senju. Itachi found it rather ironic in the worst way possible that he had ended up in the one time that the Uchiha Massacre would have hailed him a hero for and that the very man that hated his blood so much was hating him, the bane of the Uchiha, even more.
Yes, irony was merciless to humans and their fate's.
The house he received from the first Hokage was a humble little adobe that definitely did not fit a prisoner but neither did it fit a member of a foreign delegation member from other clans or from the Dsimyo's castle. It was quaint and cozy, with a small fireplace, a single bedroom and a bathroom with the living room and the kitchen connected into a single room. He had received a couch, a bookshelf, a table with the setting for two and a fairly well set up kitchen. Any technology that was present in the house was so old school Itachi believed it would have rather belonged in a museum than be up for use for humans, but this was the time ninja were just starting to accept any sort of technology from the Land of Iron, Land of Snow or the Land in the Skies with their remarkable technology and inventions. Ninja usually preferred to do things the old fashioned way but even they saw use in some of the more-civilian-populated-areas' creations. The bedroom he got was equipped with only a dresser and a bed but the bathroom was very lovely, made like a small traditional bath house with a stool on which he should sit while he washes himself and a small tub if he wants to just relax. All in all, it was a very lovely house and Itachi said as much to his host, easily noting the pleasure Hashirama derived from the praise.
It was really too easy to see that the man had just built the place himself after offering it to Itachi the previous day. Itachi decided not to call the man out on this fact, knowing he was already threading on dangerous ground just for possessing an affinity towards fire in his chakra. Most of the people here were doubtful of his possible connection to the Uchiha, as Itachi was aware his behavioral patterns were rather off-putting in comparison to the rest of his clan, what with his calm nature, near endless patience and, most of all, the lack of bitterness or arrogance in his continuance. People most often can feel negative vibes coming off of a person in one form or another and the utter lack of such vibes coming from Itachi made it hard for others to believe he might be an Uchiha. Still, there were those who still suspected him and he found it ironic - ah, this was a day for irony, it would seem - that this time it was not a genjutsu or a lie hiding his true self, but rather the truth itself. His personality is what was keeping him hidden from the rest of these people and the only ones truly convinced that he was an Uchiha still were the younger brother and father of his escort.
Hashirama had obviously wanted to make the house look well put together and not a last minute thing, even making the wood age a little so Itachi would be fooled that the house was an old one, not one built just yesterday, but Itachi had spent two years sleeping in the wooden buildings Tenzou would create for Team Ro while they were out on missions, so he could easily tell. Every floorboard was a bit too perfect and the house had not been built upon the founding pilers one would usually first need to erect if the wish to build anything. Everything was put together at once, not in stages how a normal house would have been built and the fact that everything was made out of wood was a dead give away as to the nature of the house's 'conception', so to say. Even most of the furniture seems to have been made in the same manner, the mattress and pillow on his bed being added later, as were the cushions of the couch.
Itachi found that he could not complain to such a lovely home and sincerely thanked Hashirama for gifting it to him during his stay. The older man had beamed at him and then grabbed his wrist, dragged him out of the door of his temporary home and started showing him around the large Senju lands, oblivious to the stares they were getting. Itachi, however, was not and he discretely watched from the corner of his eyes as people peeked out of their own windows or stopped doing whatever it is that they were doing, halting conversations and some of them even froze mid-step in order to get a better look at the strange man being dragged along by their strongest warrior and future leader of the clan. Itachi wasn't really bothered by the attention, as it was hardly the first time people stopped to stare at him as he walked down a street. He knew he was considered extremely good looking, by both sexes, and he knew his talents usually drew the attention of even those who wanted to hate his guts. His age usually didn't help, as it had almost been a rule of his life to be the youngest in everything. Youngest escort of the Fire Daimyo, youngest to fight and defeat ANBU, youngest ANBU, youngest ANBU captain, youngest nukenin, youngest Akatsuki member, youngest Mangekyo Sharingan user, youngest to face a biju and live.
What no one knows is that he was also the youngest to actually awaken his Sharingan, at the tender age of four after witnessing a battlefield during the Third Ninja War. His chakra, strangely refined from birth as it was, was still too young, his reserves too small, to sustain the Sharingan for longer than a handful of seconds at a time. He was only able to correctly use the Sharingan after he saw Tenma die, making more of that special chakra surge into Itachi's eyes and 'activating' his Sharingan for use.
To be stared at, it was nothing new.
He instead took the time to observe his surroundings, both through his own eyes and through the eyes of Kuro Onyx as he flew overhead his master and his master's guide. Itachi could see some of the building style in this compound was later used to build some of the oldest buildings in Konoha, which was perfectly understandable. Konoha had been built on a rather abrupt peace between the warring clans. The move would not have been possible without a village being quickly erected. Hashirama-san must have built the first buildings and everything else was slowly added later on. The place was beautiful and it was a shame that it will become abandoned, but Konoha was far more beautiful, with the mixed styles of the Uchiha and the Senju in every street, soon decorated and redecorated by every new clan that joined the village as it grew and grew. What Konoha represented was even more beautiful and no hideout was more worth than Konoha will ever be.
Itachi absently touched the hitai-ate he had insisted on being given back. A surge of pain ran through him at the thought of his beloved home village not yet existing. Everything he had ever done had just been ... wiped clean, as though it had never existed. Well, in this time it didn't but the notion was still painful. Konoha was his home and even though he had returned to the village only once in the eight years he had spent as a nukenin - Leader-sama had never wanted to risk with Itachi, as any Konoha born shinobi with a Bingo Book would have instantly recognized him and he was too valuable to unnecessarily risk - he had not missed it too much since he knew it was there and that it was safe behind its walls, hidden in its forests and protected by the secret barrier erected around the village. Now, he did not have that surety and if he somehow unknowingly changes the past with his presence, Konohagakure might never come to be and the warring era might continue on without a stop.
Itachi would rather cut his own limbs off than allow such a future to replace the relatively peaceful one that he knows.
"Are you okay?" He blinked out of his deep musings at the sound of Hashirama-san's voice, meeting concerned dark chocolate eyes. "You kind of just ... stopped with a frown on your face. Are you tired? In pain? Maybe we should head back." He trailed off when the Uchiha prodigy shook his head.
"I am fine, just thinking of back home." The raven revealed, letting a sigh escape him. Hashirama threw a glance at him from the corner of his eye even as he waved in greeting to a few of his clansmen.
"You must miss your home?" It was supposed to be a statement yet it was poised as a question, causing Itachi to purse his lips together, looking almost displeased if you didn't take a closer look to see that he was actually a little uncomfortable and pained to talk of the village he loved so much yet hated him just as much, of the home that in that moment in time didn't even exist and the lack of its existence caused a searing pain like the death of a dear person.
"Very much so. In the eight years since my family's death, I've returned home only once and it hadn't been under the best of circumstances." Itachi replied, looking away from the inquisitive dark brown eyes and instead roaming the faces of the openly staring Senju. More than a few of them, both female and male, averted their gaze with pink dusting their cheeks when his eyes settled on them, embarrassed at either catching his attention or at being caught doing something so rude and undignified as gawking. Then again, it must be quite an experience to see a very Uchiha-like person walking down the streets of their compound without them being an actual Uchiha (as far as any of them knew, anyway). Itachi stood out like a sore thumb with black hair and pale skin, dressed in his dark clothing that he usually wore underneath the Akatsuki cloak. He kind of missed it already. Not only was it warm and comfortable and hid most of his person from the world, but it was also a big part in his life. More of his ninja career had been spent in that cloak than any other uniform he had ever worn. He would have been a lot more comfortable walking down these streets in it than as he was now.
"I'm sorry to hear that." His companion told him honestly. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"My brother used to still live in our village back then, three years ago, before leaving rather suddenly with a new Shishou that I don't approve of." Itachi decided to indulge his host, carefully being vague and secretive while still giving the general story. "I had left the village five years before that, after the death of our clan. My little brother blamed me for it happening and he has been resenting me since. Our fellow villagers blamed and hated me as well and I could no longer live there, so I left." Which was all true, except that Itachi never confirmed or denied his involvement in his family's deaths. Nor did he mention Konoha, a place this very man will build with his childhood friend, or what the brass of that village will make him do. "But not before asking the leader of our village to look after my brother and keep him safe, which he did until his death, three years ago. And at the hands of the very man my brother chose as his Shishou."
Hashirama clearly sensed his displeasure when talking of Orochimaru and how he had wanted to use Sasuke to manipulate him. Of course, Itachi never went into detail of why Orochimaru wanted him or Sasuke exclusively, nor did he mention any identities. The story ended up being so impersonal and almost cold that it almost didn't sound like a person's life story, but rather a report they might be reading out loud. But the Senju didn't interrupt, didn't ask questions and just listened. Itachi could already see the man's mind filling in the blanks how he saw fit.
It was what Itachi loved about the human mind. People were more than happy to place illusions on themselves without needing Itachi to cast a single genjutsu. Give a human a half told story and they will gladly interpret it however they wanted to see it, however they wanted it to end. A good genjutsu master ought to know this, to know that they just need to place a single suggestion, sometimes the smaller the better, and let their victim make assumptions on their own, further dragging themselves into an illusion of their own choosing. It was why Itachi never said more than was absolutely needed when he told his lies to Sasuke and Konoha. Let them fill in the blanks as they saw fit. Let them put the puzzle together how they wanted. In the end, Itachi will not have spent a single ounce of chakra and yet they would have been completely under his genjutsu. It was easy to be a criminal when the world already painted you as such. It was easy to be cruel without committing a single act of cruelty when all people will see in your actions is evil.
"You sure did have a tough life, Itachi-san." Hashirama mused out loud when Itachi finished his brief, summarized version of his life story, omitting all details that would have in any way impacted the future.
The raven haired man shook his head. "Itachi is fine, if you do not mind. Any honorific that may be attached to my name only brings up painful memories." And it was the truth. Itachi-chan is what his godfather had called him, when he would come and visit, playing hide and seek with the then four year old prodigy, unknowingly helping him develop his sensory skills and his stealth for his godfather was one of the best sensors Konoha had ever produced. It also reminded him of Nekobaa and her cats, all of whom haven't been born yet. Itachi-kun brought up memories of Shinko and Izumi, two of his very close friends, one a teammate and one a girl he had been sure that he had had his first crush on. Itachi-san hurt because he was not sure he will ever see Kisame again. He would rather not be reminded of his partner until he was sure they will meet again. Itachi-dana, if anyone bothered to call him that, would bring back memories of Deidara and while the blond had hated him, Itachi had never wished for his death and felt guilt for his brother's involvement in it. Itachi-sama was a name rare few called him, but some did, and it hurt remembering them. Half of his clan had called him that. Half of his classmates, too. His peers. Even some of the first Akatsuki members when he first joined had called him that.
And Itachi ... Being called that hurt the most, because a lot of people called him by his name without attaching a honorific. Most of the people who addressed him so informally - without the intention of being rude, that is - were dead. But he could not ask for his full name to be used, nor could he ask to be addressed by his family name, although being called any honorific with Uchiha also hurt. So Itachi it was.
He should have made up some name and pretended to be someone else, but that was too big of a lie to tell without a sensor of Tobirama's legendary caliber not to catch. Besides, Itachi had always been very proud of his name. An ill omen he might be to his family for naming him as such, but Itachi always sounded right to his ears.
"Itachi, then." Hashirama readily agreed. "It makes me wonder how you have come to dislike conflict when most people in your position would seek revenge."
"I saw conflict in its ugliest form when I was very young and it has changed my perception of life ever since." Came the honest answer, delivered in a tone that Itachi was sure Hashirama could not exactly place into any category. "I lived my life in hopes of becoming a powerful enough presence in our society that just the mention of my name would make people reconsider and desist all conflict, but that, I soon realized, was a childish fantasy at most. After the death of my family, I simply aimed to survive and stop as many conflicts as I could so no one would find themselves overlooking a war zone at the age of four like myself."
"F-four!?" The dumbfounded founder of Konohagakure exclaimed, eyes wide and shocked and filled with a mixture of horror and incredulousness that such a declaration should rightfully cause. Itachi came to a stop rather suddenly and Hashirama nearly tumbled them over when he skited to a stop so as not to stumble into Itachi's back. "Four!?" He asked again, watching the back before him. When had he fallen behind?
"I feel a bit tired and overwhelmed, Hashirama-san. If you would please be so kind to excuse me, I would like to return to my temporary residence for a little rest." Itachi said instead of answering, his voice tight and Hashirama found himself agreeing even before it registered in his mind. Itachi left before the man could ask any more questions, leaving a dumbfounded 'God of Shinobi' in his wake to gap after him. He had touched one too many sensitive topics with a complete stranger for one day.
He needed to gather himself before he actually starts spilling all of his carefully kept secrets to a man - or to anyone else - who must not ever find out about how far his dreams have been twisted. Konoha must come to exist.
Itachi will make sure of that.