Disclaimer: I. not. own. NARUTO.
Warning: Spoilers & wild theories abound…

- CHAPTER 10 - Before Sunrise -

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'Eien no Mangekyou Sharingan?' The phrase stirred something in Naruto's memories, or was it Itachi's? Man, when this crisis was all over, he'd really have to sit down and sort out his mind.

But back in the real world, Naruto faced a more pressing problem: his consciousness was being besieged by waves upon waves of overwhelming fatigue. Using three Mangekyou Sharingan techniques in one night had been taxing, especially for a novice like him. Thankfully, his eyes were no longer hurting—but Naruto knew it was probably only because he was already too depleted in chakra to maintain the regular Sharingan, let alone the Mangekyou Sharingan.

As he slowly regained his bearing though, Naruto noticed that he was still surrounded by members of the Konoha Military Police; however, he could now see they were standing in a protective formation around him. Also, instead of Itachi's clone, an officer had taken over the role of supporting him and was currently slinging Naruto's right arm over his shoulder.

Fugaku, too, had already came up to examine him. Knowing how exhausted he must appear, Naruto wasn't too surprised when the man turned to instruct his subordinates, "Take him to the evacuation area."

"No," Naruto heard his voice rasping out hoarsely. Scanning about until he spotted 'Itachi' standing in front of Madara, he continued, "Please permit me to remain. I cannot leave Madara with only a clone."

"What use are you in your current condition?" Fugaku asked rather harshly, but Naruto thought he could almost discern the concern underlying those words.

So Naruto felt himself smiling unsuccessfully in response. "Nonetheless, I can be a more… convincing bluff if worse comes to worst."

He expected rebukes. Or rather, Itachi expected scathing remarks about his supposed 'arrogance'. Strangely, none came. Blearily peering at the Uchiha clansmen nearby, Naruto wondered what had 'his' clone told them to inspire such… fear? Was it fear he saw in those red eyes? Naruto was admittedly confused. 'Alright, Itachi, just what have you done?'

However, Fugaku's sigh quickly drew back his attention. "Very well. Just make sure you stay close to us."

Naruto was unsure what to make of that stressed word at first, but a distant glint quickly told him all he needed to know.

'So the ANBU came after all?' Naruto pondered as he identified hidden masks in various 'blind spots' across the street from the Uchiha district. The ninjas had chosen their positions well; but there must have been a newbie or two stupid enough to let moonlight expose their positions this easily… Or was it intentional? Maybe they wanted the clan to notice their presence?

Did Sandaime-jiichan send them? But that would make no sense. If 'Itachi' managed to inform him of this situation, the Old Man would know better than to send any ninja without active Sharingan as reinforcement; it would be… difficult to fight against the Mangekyou Sharingan otherwise. Besides, if the Hokage wanted first-hand information on Madara that badly, he had a safer method with that spying Toumegane no Jutsu of his…

That meant these must be Danzou's Ne.

Fugaku must have came to the same conclusion. So inclining his head stiffly, Naruto allowed himself to be carried towards a more strategic location among the district's ruins. It was one thing to observe a fight, and quite another matter to get caught in the crossfire.

But halfway in their walk, nearly everyone was frozen by a sudden blast of sinister chakra that filled the night sky.

'This chakra…' Naruto's eyes widened despite his exhaustion; he had grown up alongside this kind of chakra for too long to mistake its origin. 'How had Madara summoned Fuzz-ball? This isn't supposed to happen! Where did you screw up, Itachi?'

The officer beside him probably remembered the original Kyuubi Attack, for Naruto could feel the involuntary tremor being passing onto his own body from the man's shoulder. "Captain, it is perhaps better if we leave for the evacuation area immediately…?"

Strangely, Fugaku only turned to Naruto in silent inquiry.

Realizing his utter inability to call up even another ounce of chakra without snuffing out his own life, Naruto sighed inaudibly as he used what he had came to think of as his 'Itachi voice'. "If I may suggest… With the Ne present, someone from the clan must remain to prove our innocence from Madara's plot—it may as well be me, an ANBU. It would be… profitable if we demonstrate a willingness to defend Konoha against the traitor."

Fugaku nodded. "A valid suggestion. Squad One stays with me and Itachi; the rest of you return to our camp and ensure no harm comes to the others."

"Hai, Captain!" Those assigned to retreat did not need another incentive to activate their Shunshin no Jutsu.

The following minutes were one of the most agonizing times in Naruto's life. Completely helpless to do anything after being taken behind a barricade of fallen beams, he watched as a blond child stumbled onto the scene. Encased by a thick layer of visible chakra, the boy displayed feral whiskers and long canines. Those red eyes glowed noticeably in the dark, even if they were too far for Naruto to tell if their pupils were slitted or not. However, he could tell that the child seemed oblivious to the surroundings, and moved with a blank expression as if in sleep-walk.

It was… well, himself.

Naruto wanted to close his eyes to shut out the sight, but that would be meaningless. He could not deny what he saw. The surrealism of his situation was never as obvious to him as at that moment. But how did Madara control Uzumaki Naruto? Had the seal weakened prematurely? Had Madara reactivated his contract with Kyuubi ahead of time? What the hell was Itachi doing?

This would get so messy later on—Naruto could just see it. Danzou and the Council would have a field day with how the 'demon brat' lost control so easily, probably citing the incident as a reason for stronger measures for 'containment'…

'Not if I have anything to say about it!' Naruto's lips thinned as he forced himself to refocus on Madara and 'Itachi'.

Freed from Hachiman, Madara obviously still had enough chakra to quickly grab Naruto—um, his chibi version—after teleporting next to the child. Gah, distinguishing between his past self and himself was going to be so confusing… Naruto could feel a headache coming on, and not from his own weariness.

He must have jinxed himself with that last thought though, because Naruto felt another wave of drowsiness hit him at that moment. He had to struggle just to remain conscious; still, he could already feel his senses starting to abandon him…

In his dimming vision, Naruto thought he saw flames flaring over Itachi as a skeleton-like apparition. Madara, on the other hand, was guiding Kyuubi-'Naruto' with practiced ease—masterfully extending and twisting that tail of demonic chakra to sweep over a large area. Though he might despise the man, Naruto could not help but be amazed by how much damage Madara managed to inflict with a one-tailed transformation.

On the other hand, Itachi had 'fleshed out' that skeleton spirit—literally. A name was just on the tip of his tongue, but it would not come forth…

"Very good, Itachi. Now that you have mastered your two techniques, it is time for you to develop your third."

"A third technique can be derived from one pair of Mangekyou Sharingan? It was my understanding that we can only power one technique per eye."

"Of course. Read between the lines, Itachi. 'An eye of anguish thy spirit shall endure, an eye of torment thy flesh shall suffer, and a vision of despair thou shalt reap for thy conceited…'"

But, wasn't Itachi still in the process of completing his third technique? It was rather hard for Naruto to remember at the moment, particularly when he was so tired… so very tired.

What had Itachi planned to call his third technique though? Something Su… Well, he had named his first two techniques 'Amaterasu' and 'Tsukuyomi', so he probably would complete the set with a third member of the Three Noble Ones…

"Susanoo," Naruto whispered, half-deliriously. Why was Itachi using a Mangekyou Sharingan technique against a one-tailed transformation?

His eyelids had fallen so far, and covered so much of his vision… that everything he saw seemed to take on a blurry, dream-like quality. He thought he saw a giant red fox fighting a giant red yamabushi—but that was ridiculous, right? The fox seemed to swishing its tail about, only to be intercepted by a shield at every turn… He also thought he saw two figures embedded in those two spirits. Was it just a trick of the light, or was the figure in the yamabushi growing fainter with every clash of the tail on the shield?

"You cannot hope to win… chakra…"

"…clone… only…"

"…surrounded… If you stay… won't escape…"

"…isn't the end!"

"…will… if you insist…"

Words and broken sentences continued to drift into his ears, long after his vision failed. They rushed at him, demanding for his understanding. And yet, Naruto had trouble even making sense of the syllables. The vowels and consonants… all of them were becoming more and more disjointed with every passing second.

When those sounds finally stopped coming, Naruto found sweet oblivion…

.

Someone covered his face.

Whatever material they were using, it was soaked with very warm water. Underneath the cloth, Naruto could almost feel the palpable steam easing the tension out of him. And indeed, from facial muscles to skin pores, he was starting to feel rather relaxed. Normally, this would have soothed him. In fact, it should sooth him…

So why did he still feel something was… off?

The cloth suddenly left, and Naruto nearly hissed aloud from the coldness that rushed onto his face. He thought he heard the sound of dripping water, before the cloth returned with its warmth. This time, his face was being gently wiped—and Naruto had to make an effort to maintain his pretense of being unconscious.

He needed time to think. What happened? His last memories were a little hazy, but he recalled enough to remember Madara having somehow summoned his younger self and released a portion of Fuzz-ball's power. Argh, did the man not know that much demonic chakra was enough to seriously cripple a six-year-old?

Madara probably did, but didn't care.

Well, that wasn't anything new to Naruto—but it still angered him. And speaking of his situation, what happened to Itachi? Had… his clone dispelled? Tentatively, Naruto took a peek at his memories. He quickly dismissed those that belonged to Uzumaki Naruto, stumbled over ones assimilated from Uchiha Itachi earlier, and he…

He found twenty-one years of another man's life.

Specifically, it was twenty-one years of an S-rank criminal's life overlapping thirteen years of an ANBU captain's life. In retrospect, Naruto could tell that he initially only had access to the latter when he arrived. Itachi's past self had barely just mastered Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi; he had known nothing about the execution of Susanoo—or the modifications his future self had made to the technique. Nor had he known the full details of Itachi's final plan.

It was intentional, of course. To preserve the chakra constituent of his Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi had to minimize extraneous influences on his past self's psyche. And to ensure Naruto could develop his own Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi's past self had self-exiled to a shadow clone before Madara could start a doujutsu battle. Given the Yomi technique in Madara's arsenal, he knew Naruto would eventually assimilate the most powerful memories of a thirteen-year-old ANBU captain. It would close the gap between them without making them precisely the same.

It would effectively turn Naruto into an alternate/brother personality of Uchiha Itachi.

After exiting Tsukuyomi, Itachi had absorbed his past self and consolidated his memories of Mangekyou Sharingan activation—past and future. So when he purposefully used up the last of his chakra from the future that sustained him, Itachi transferred over the last of his claim to his own eyes. His entire plan had been based on loopholes in how the Mangekyou Sharingan was said to be made permanent; it was designed to give Naruto, his spiritual brother, his physical eyes and unique chakra pathways for activating Mangekyou Sharingan.

'Foolish, foolish Itachi… Why did you go into so much trouble? Why not just take over this body and relive your life?' Naruto could feel a familiar guilt-fuelled heat washing over his eyes—but was that not precisely part of Itachi's plan?

"The Kaleidoscope will eventually lose its light…" He had told Sasuke.

"For decades, the Uchiha killed their friends to obtain the Mangekyou Sharingan… and killed their siblings to make its power permanent…" Madara was the first to give him those misleading hints.

"Your fate has been drenched in blood since the day you were born an Uchiha!" And he had passed them onto his little brother to foster Sasuke's hatred, to discourage him from the path of a brother who had slaughtered their clan.

"That is the bond between all Uchiha brothers…" He had hoped his sacrifice would be enough to release all future Uchiha from this wretched destiny… to rebuild their clan on a newer, cleaner foundation.

It had not been enough. He had chosen to be the wrong person's spare.

If he could not be his brother's spare, then perhaps he could be his own. As long as he travelled back in time far enough to change the cause of his Mangekyou Sharingan's activation, his eyes would likely differ… But there was still the issue of whether or not re-bonding with his physical eyes and giving them up to his past self would be drastic enough of a transfer; he had no guarantees. Even if he succeeded, it would still only counter the threat posed by Madara. It would not ensure peace between his clan and Konoha.

And then Uzumaki Naruto entered his sight with that uncompromising attitude and unthinkable optimism…

Naruto shook his head violently to break himself free from an impending identity crisis. Itachi was Itachi. Naruto was Naruto. Even if they shared the same body now, that did not mean they were the same person!

'Ah, but he gave you his identity, didn't he?' His own thoughts whispered conspiratorially in Itachi's voice. 'He became your spare… He gave you his body, his memories, his powers, all that made him Uchiha Itachi…'

"Shut up!" Naruto growled in frustration.

"What did you say, Itachi?"

Naruto blinked, and realized that he had completely forgotten his cover.

He found himself in a made-shift tent, with his mother—no, Uchiha Mikoto, Itachi's mother—kneeling beside him. She had a bucket of lukewarm water on her side, and was apparently just loosening a towel that she had been wringing.

Sitting up from what appeared to be a sleeping bag, Naruto asked, "What happened to Madara?"

"Your clone drove him away." Confirming 'his' memories, Mikoto smiled as she flung a heavy cloak over him. "The night's chilly. Make sure you don't catch a cold."

Naruto was caught between wanting to thank her and worrying if that sounded too polite for a son, even one like Itachi. At length, he merely asked, "Where are father and Sasuke?"

"You father is doing a check around the camp. Sasuke's asleep in the next tent." the woman replied as she started to rummage through a pack. "Are you hungry, Itachi? I saved some rice cakes just before the evacuation."

"No, that won't be necessary." Naruto was still not entirely comfortable about having a mother to fuss over him. "I'm… sorry. Have I destroyed too much of the district?"

"What non-sense are you talking about?" Mikoto's attention was wholly on him now. "It's only those old shops in the front quarters. Besides, houses can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be reborn."

'Unless you count reincarnation…' Naruto brooded. 'I wish there is such a thing, if only that could give back what Itachi truly deserves…'

Probably interpreting his silence as something else, the Uchiha matron suddenly sat down beside him and gently smoothed out his rumpled hair. "You've already done the clan proud, Itachi. You found a way of re-bridging our clan with the village and protected us from a dangerous traitor—all in one day. There is nothing more anyone can ask of you."

Naruto caught himself before scratching his head in embarrassment—that was not something Itachi would do. "I… Were there lives lost?"

Mikoto's amiable countenance became a little strained, "Well, not really…"

Before Naruto could keep pressing though, she cut in with a firm voice, "You need rest. Sleep now and we'll discuss everything in the morning."

Naruto wanted to object, but there was something in Mikoto's expression that made him instinctively reluctant to disobey her. "Very well, but could you at least inform me of the Hokage's stance on tonight's event?"

She seemed even more unsettled by that question. "Just… take a rest, alright?"

As Naruto watched her practically fleeing his tent, he couldn't help but wonder what other turmoil lay just beyond this now peaceful night.

But whatever challenge this new future might throw at him, Uzumaki Naruto was determined to never give up. He would make sure Itachi's last sacrifice had not been in vain. Even if no one else knew, Naruto would always remember there had once been an Uchiha prodigy who devoted his entire life to ensure his village's peace and his brother's survival—even at the price of his own happiness, conscience, and honor.

A/N: Here endeth the first part of my story: 'Arc 1 - Itachi's Last Sacrifice.' To tell the truth, this was initially how much I planned to write—but my muse disagreed. So the unaddressed issues evidently would have to wait for Arc 2.

And now that you've read the whole arc, what do you think of it? Were the characters believable? Was the plot moving too fast/slow? Did I manage to keep up the suspense with those short chapters earlier? They were part of an experiment…