A/N: Word count is ~4.3k.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 21 - Familial Dissent

Thunk.

Tired, distant eyes gazed at the cluttered training post.

Thunk.

Obito sat on the ground a safe distance from Itachi as the younger boy cooled-down from his training with shurikenjutsu practice. He watched, his eyes glued to the post, but his mind wandering. Escaping.

It had only been a day since Team Seven returned from their C-Rank mission, and to put it plainly, Obito was tired. Earlier's team practice had been no more lax as it had been on the return trip, and it was completely disheartening to the already defeated time traveler.

Outwardly, Minato was the same. Rin and Kakashi made obvious strides to appear unfazed as well, but it was simple to notice how forced and unnatural their behaviors were. Whenever Obito moved a smidgeon too quickly, or spoke from behind the brunette, she would flinch slightly. Quite often, when the Uchiha glanced at Kakashi, he would find his gaze locking with equally dark-colored eyes before the latter looked away abruptly. Even Minato, who was relatively the same, had a rather telling habit that made it clear that everything was not okay. The blonde still refused to make eye contact with Obito, and while that could be construed as fear or cowardice to some, it was more likely that Minato was guarding his thoughts. Now that he knew the truth, knew that Obito was not the one he knew, he had to keep himself guarded so as to prevent a potential enemy from searching him for answers.

Obito sighed. He had been prepared for this, and it still hurt. Not quite as much as it had the previous day, and certainly not as much as it had on the night Minato had confronted him, but it was still an ever-present pain.

And there was still the important question: What was he going to do, when he was questioned again?

To be entirely honest, he was more than a little shocked that he hadn't been yet. Most of all, he was surprised that he was still being kept at his sensei's house, in his same room, without any restriction seals or chains to bind him. The only thing truly different was the fact that Obito took to staying away from that place as much as possible, choosing to stay out until late before coming home when both Minato and Kushina were asleep. In fact, he intended on wandering around Konoha and sitting on the Hokage Monument later, all in order to pass the time—he didn't like the idea of his presence making either of his two hosts uncomfortable.

Regarding the questioning itself, he knew it was going to happen, and he had yet to make a plan. He was hesitant to return to the life of a missing-nin, but comparing it to his team's safety… Well, his own happiness was a small price to pay. Because he had absolutely no doubt that, if they didn't do it straight out, he at least would eventually end up in the hospitality of T&I with a Yamanaka primed to probe his mind. He was certain he would be brought in to be questioned, certain he would be regarded as either clinically insane or an enemy.

Whatever happened, he was not about to let them enter his mind and probe him for information, because letting Konoha get involved in his plans to destroy Madara and the others was something he refused to allow.

Selfish, perhaps. Or maybe it was his sense of responsibility, because he felt it should be him to kill the man, that it was his responsibility to do so.

He knew it was near-sighted and foolish, akin to Sasuke's once-dream. But in his defense, he was no longer certain how much he could trust anyone with his life—how much he could trust the ones he cared for with their own lives, for that matter. Because he was not going to allow a single one of his precious people to martyr themselves, damn it.

No longer did Obito have the unbreakable and unwavering trust of his team, as he had all but physically shattered that bond, and it was unlikely to ever recover. And if he couldn't trust them to have his back, who could he? Itachi was but a child barely grasping the concepts of a single nature transformation despite his innate genius, and Shisui was much the same. Though he had earned himself a more amicable relationship with the clan head, they were, by no means, friends, and their acquaintance could really only be described as a particularly friendly business partnership. Besides, the man had his duty to his clan and village—why would a man of such a prestigious rank help a questionable child?

And still, despite the rather one-sided trust on Obito's part, he still cared for all of them. Certainly, there were some individuals in Konoha that made the village none-too-happy for him, but… It was still Konoha. And, in a way, Obito finally understood where Naruto had attained his unwavering love and loyalty for the village, so flawed and scarred, and yet…

Loyalty. Honor. These were principles that Konoha worked off of and thrived from, despite being a Shinobi village—which typically meant backstabbing and disloyalty were abound. And it was precisely because of its culture, its damn Will of Fire that so many people ended up doing the most foolish and irreversible of things, the most common being sacrificing themselves.

He didn't want anyone in Konoha finding out anything. He didn't want them to find out more than what he was capable of controlling, because should they decide to do something he didn't expect, something that turns negatively that he isn't able to fix…

… It would be guilt on his own shoulders. Their deaths, or their sacrifices that should've been prevented by him, it would be unwanted guilt and weight on his own conscience. He did not want to chance losing even more people, not again.

He also… He couldn't work with anyone, he was no longer someone that could apply teamwork. Not anymore, not to the extent where it would be more of an asset than a detriment—he, for almost twenty years, had spent his time in the shadows, manipulating, deceiving, using, and then murdering the people that were incorporated in his plans. That was not teamwork, and yet, it was what he was most familiar with.

So, no. Foolish it may be. Stubborn he may be. Untrustworthy he may be. Selfish he definitely was.

But he refused to incorporate his team or Konoha into his plans… It was all he really, truly wanted at this point. Not to be happy with his team, as that dream was clearly shot, and living a peaceful life in Konoha was equally unlikely when one took into account Obito's current, rather unfavorable circumstances. Because, at least then, if he were to fall… He would be the only one.

Not Minato, not Kakashi, not Kushina, not Rin, not Itachi's family, not the village. Just him.

Just Uchiha Obito.

As it always was.

Thunk.

Blinking, he turned his attention outwards to watch the young Uchiha heir. Obito's brow furrowed as he observed the few scattered shuriken (not many, but for Itachi, it was strange) and the odd look of consternation on Itachi's face—the boy was not concentrating on his training. He was clearly contemplating something, something particularly disconcerting if the frustration and evident worry emanating from his form were anything to go by.

'Still a little weird that I can actually read Uchiha Itachi so well,' he thought silently, shaking his head as he stood up. Obito walked over to where the younger raven-haired boy stood, his eyes riveted to the training post but his mind clearly elsewhere.

When he placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder, the boy turned to face him with an attempt at an impassive look. "Obito-niisan?"

"What's wrong, Itachi?" The time traveler asked with a frown, a hint of worry in his tone. "It's rare for you to zone out, especially when it's almost been a week since we last trained. Are you alright?"

Itachi merely shook his head as he turned back to the training post. "Yes. There is nothing to worry about."

Obito released a sigh, frowning deeper. "Does this have to do with Fugaku-sama?"

The younger Uchiha stiffened, causing Obito to narrow his eyes as he observed him keenly. Obito had hoped, what with how the man acted this time around, that Fugaku was not the foolish and blind individual he had been before. He had hoped that the clan leader would not fall prey to the clan's ideals, placing an immovably heavy burden on his eldest son's shoulders all the while. The time traveler thought he had seen reason and a methodical mind behind those eyes, but was he perhaps wrong…?

He was removed from his brief musings as Itachi's voice, strangely uncertain, broke through his concentration. "Otou-sama… He is just doing what they said."

"They?" Obito prompted, only to receive no answer. To him, 'they' likely meant the Uchiha clan elders. He wasn't certain, but it was very well likely that, if anyone, it was the esteemed clan's older generation that Fugaku was taking orders from.

Obito frowned, observing the way Itachi closed in on himself.

This warranted an investigation. It would provide a good distraction from the more depressing topics, Obito figured.

Tired, onyx-black eyes narrowed.

'… Nothing,' he thought with slight aggravation. With a frustrated sigh, Fugaku closed the useless book and placed it back on the shelf before grabbing a scroll near it.

He quickly slid it open, scanning the inked scrawl of the vertical text.

For a while, now, Uchiha Fugaku had been frequenting his clan's library more often than usual. In fact, it was never a habit incorporated into his already busy schedule until around five months ago, and since then, he had taken to spending as much of his free time—whether he was allotted mere minutes or a full hour—in the vast expanse of archived knowledge, scouring for what he sought after.

It didn't make sense. That was the thought that immediately went through his mind when he had found out that Minato's student, Uchiha Obito, had the Amaterasu.

It had been shocking enough to find out that the supposed black sheep of the clan, who was never supposed to achieve the Sharingan, had done just that—and activated it to full maturity. Even more so when Fugaku found out that the boy somehow had the Mangekyō, the level of Sharingan that even some of the oldest in the clan did not have, that even the clan head had limited information on.

When he was a mere boy and had learned of the clan's hidden secret, Fugaku had hoped that he would never activate the devastating form of his eyes, because he never wished to become blind… And he didn't even wish to think about the utter pain the death of the one closest to him would invoke.

The fact that Uchiha Obito activated the Mangekyō was what had originally spurred on the hunt for information, for answers. By no means was the Sharingan supposed to be formed from mere dreams or a Genjutsu—no matter how elaborate, the idea of the Uchiha clan's dōjutsu being fooled by the very element they were meant to control was ludicrous, and this conjecture was not one entirely of pride. The idea that something so devastating could be achieved from mere illusions made Fugaku fear for his clan's well-being, as he had no doubt that there would be individuals who would not hesitate to take advantage of this loophole—should it prove to be true.

The unfortunate circumstance that Fugaku had come to realize, however, was that the information on the Mangekyō Sharingan was pitifully sparse. Activation apparently required the death of a loved one, yes, but there were no specifics—exact attachment (was it a requirement that it be a blood relation? Would it activate if the bearer only believed their loved one had died?), degradation (exactly how long until the user went completely blind? Was there a way to reverse it?) what determined the abilities passed down (blood? Circumstance? Strength?). Nothing.

And that was when he had realized.

The Amaterasu. There was a reason why this was the only archived ability of the Mangekyō. And that was because, in the Uchiha clan's history, the main branch—the few that had achieved the Mangekyō, at least—had had the Amaterasu.

Uchiha Obito had the Amaterasu.

Fugaku hadn't told Minato, as the man already had other things to worry about. But that technique, that sacred black flame, was an ability passed down through the main line within the clan—Fugaku's line. It was a recurring pattern that he had seen in the records; there were very few who had ever achieved the Mangekyō, most of them having hailed from the main branch. Even fewer still were those from the main branch that actually had the Amaterasu. But no matter what, it was an ability held exclusively by the main branch.

With a heavy sigh, the clan head rolled up the scroll and placed it back on the shelf it belonged. No more information than the last.

It would make… Some sense, if Fugaku considered the boy's lineage. If he recalled correctly, Obito's mother was a daughter of the second son of Fugaku's great grandfather—a previous clan head. So, yes, if one considered the connection (however thinned the blood would be, at this point) then it would make some sense that Obito would be able to achieve the famed inextinguishable flames. If only because there was no other explanation.

Still… It was odd. Despite the Amaterasu being a technique that seemed to solely form in the purest of Uchiha blood, it was still excruciatingly rare for Mangekyō bearers to gain the technique, even within the main branch.

'… With this in mind,' Fugaku thought quietly, reaching out for another book. '… There are one of two possibilities. My previous assumption of the Amaterasu being determined by the purity of blood is false, and is instead determined by some other factor—one that Obito and my forefathers all share and that I have overlooked.' He snapped open the book. '… Or, there is something about Obito himself that I am missing.'

The idea of blood purity had been a solid idea, until Fugaku began considering Obito. The very activation of the clan's dōjutsu relied on the prevalence of Uchiha blood after all, and from there, the control, aptitude, and flexibility with the Sharingan all relied on the user's blood. He had thought it a reasonable assumption, but something was clearly amiss.

And that was why, five months later, Uchiha Fugaku was still in his clan's library, searching for answers.

With no results.

"Fugaku-sama."

He turned to the Uchiha Chūnin who addressed him, face stern. He hadn't noticed her approach due to his mind being so far into his thoughts, but he refused to outwardly show this fact. "Nanami. What is it?"

The younger woman kept her head bowed respectfully. "The Elders wish for your presence in the council room. It is of utmost importance that you respond to their summons immediately."

Fugaku breathed out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "… I understand. You are dismissed."

With a quiet "hai," she disappeared.

The clan head placed the book in his hands back in its designated position on the shelf, crossing his arms under his sleeves afterwards. He had a few ideas regarding what this sudden summons regarded, and he did not like the implications at all.

As soon as Itachi had turned four, the council had pushed for giving the clan's heir the field experienced required of one in his position. They wished to enter him in the Academy as soon as possible, and had presented the idea to Fugaku—enter Itachi into the Academy once he reached the age, and accelerate his learning.

It had appeased the Elders when he had told them that he already had other plans for his son; that he had planned for a tutor to better prepare him when his fourth birthday arrived. They were still not entirely convinced, but had kept their distance. That is, until Itachi's birthday had actually come about, and they found out exactly who it was that Fugaku had authorized as the boy's teacher.

None of the Elders would stand for it, they had said, and they all but demanded that Obito be evaluated fully to see his potential—"is he even fit to be a Shinobi, let alone the mentor to our clan's future?"—and had gone right back to making their wishes known that Itachi be entered into the Academy immediately.

And in this case, they more than likely wished to talk about Fugaku's son—Itachi, who is four—and repeat their demands.

He grit his teeth, inwardly preparing for a battle of thinly veiled malice, and walked out of the library.

After Obito had finished with the day's training, he said goodbye to Itachi and headed to the center of the Uchiha Compound.

He knew where the leaders of the clan met, and had decided to stake out the area—hoping that, perhaps, he'd be lucky enough to have chosen a day where they met and discussed. Hopefully, it would be the topic that had Itachi so worried.

He sat on the tiled roof, in a hidden junction between buildings to keep himself hidden from passersby and made himself comfortable. Three hours after arriving, Obito had woken with a start (he had fallen asleep, apparently) and wondered if he should leave after noting the position of the sun, but then realized that the reason(s) he had woken up were walking into the building. So, with practiced ease, he activated his Mangekyō and slid through the building's roof undetected to find a spot to spy from. Obito ended up finding himself in an adjoining room, where he could watch through a split in the sliding door and hear (enough) thanks to the acoustics.

So there Obito sat, Mangekyō activated for a quick retreat if necessary, eye pressed up to the small gap to observe the ongoing meeting of the Uchiha clan leaders.

The beginning was spoken in hushed tones that he was unable to hear very clearly. Before, he had been able to hear the clear murmurs (well, perhaps not clear, but certainly not this quiet) and the raised volume in the tones of each individual's voice. Now, however, everyone remained silent unless spoken to or directly addressed, and it was difficult for Obito to figure out the context of the conversation when he could only see the mouth of one of the people talking. He could have used his Kamui, but he had to make sure that he could retreat at a moment's notice—it wouldn't do to be caught spying on the clan, after all. So, he was stuck with relying on his less-than-perfect lip-reading abilities and average hearing.

One thing that Obito noticed with absolute ease, however, was how Fugaku's shoulders were tensed. From where Obito sat, the man was at a sort of odd angle, where he could see only a portion of his profile and the majority of his face was more or less hidden. However, it was simple enough to see how pressured the man felt, to see how stressed the man was. His anger and frustration was kept under a thin veil of reticence and calm, but it was betrayed by his shoulders and clenched fists.

"… Your decisions are rash," Obito was able to hear him say, due to his volume increasing. "He may be a genius even to our clan's standards, but Itachi is still a child, and…"

'Ah,' Obito thought quietly, blinking a few times to alleviate the dryness of his eyes. It made sense, he supposed, that the topic was on Itachi's abilities. It seemed that he had chanced upon the right meeting, after all. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the steadily growing argument.

"Boy," one Elder called out, his hands held in tight fists on his lap. Obito inwardly wondered about the demeaning name; if he was correct, Fugaku was thirty-one, close to the time traveler's mental age. What about him was a boy? "You… not raise your voice… us. Itachi is… will be… soon, and your ignorant ideals only impede the clan." The last portion was said with a bit more force, and he was able to make out the words spoken.

"I apologize, Kazuki-san, but Itachi is four. There is no logical reason to enter him into the Academy this early, as six is just as—"

"Fugaku, do not allow your emotions cloud your judgment. You do not understand the necessity of this action being carried through, the utter importance of entering our clan's heir, who represents the entirety of the Uchiha, into the Academy early."

"But is Fugaku-sama's choice so erroneous? If Itachi truly is the genius that he supposedly is, waiting a year or two should not make a difference—in fact, give him until the age of six, and he should be equipped with enough knowledge and experience to couple his precociousness and be able to graduate within a year."

"If his genius is at such a level as you say, then wouldn't it be prudent to enter him as soon as possible? It is a waste of potential to hold the boy back. Allow him to display his abilities in the Academy and we shall see then."

"It is as you say, Jirou. It is most wise to push the boy and see his potential then, for nothing will come of coddling our heir."

As the voices grew louder and more people added their own thoughts, Obito sat back with a frown. He noticed the barely concealed killing intent from Fugaku, and to put it simply… He was shocked. He couldn't tell if it was ignorance or lack of care, but most of the Elders were truly paying no mind to their leader's steadily growing ire. Dismissing it.

Obito, in all honesty, couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Fugaku was driven mad with the more disagreeable Elders' demands, the first time around. From what he'd seen of the man, Uchiha Fugaku was not nearly the judgmental, prideful, ignorant fool he had thought him to be—in fact, the man was rather like a combination of Sasuke and Itachi. He had his pride, of course, a certain stubbornness and a strong loyalty to the clan, but he also had an analytical mind that allowed him to assess situations with little or at least reasonable bias. That was proven by the fact that he had bothered to look at Obito with anything more than contempt, during their encounter at Minato's house.

He scowled. Of all people, Obito never thought that he would actually… Empathize with Fugaku. But that was to be expected, he supposed—he had misjudged Fugaku once before already, and it wasn't as if his judgement had a record of being particularly sound.

Or sane, for that matter.

"Enough," Fugaku boomed, cutting through the steadily growing debate like icy steel. Obito peered back through the small crack and could see the man's eyes narrowed to angry slits from where he sat. "As I am in disagreement with this proposal, Itachi will not be entered into the Academy yet." He lifted an arm to silence the protests that had already begun. "However, I agree to…"

As Fugaku's voice quieted to a lower tone out of Obito's hearing range, he shook his head and stood up. He had had enough; he found out what the issue was—Itachi being a genius was just as much trouble as it was before, it seemed—and it was plenty to keep him distracted from his less positive thoughts. Perhaps he could try and help the boy in the future, but for now, the most he would do was train the clan heir and offer moral support when and if needed.

"… I suppose that is acceptable," a gravelly voice stated, sounding rather bored.

Fugaku gave a quiet 'hn'. "Good. Now that we have all come to an agreement, this meeting is ad—"

"Actually, Fugaku-sama, before we move along," another voice called out, sounding very much like he was amused. Obito paused, brow furrowing at the odd tone. "Is there something you wish to inform us of?"

"… I'm afraid I do not know what you mean."

A sigh. "Well then, I suppose I should simply come out with it, then. I believe…" The flutter of parchment. Fugaku's chakra flared in minute panic. "… That an explanation is in order."

Slight curiosity gripped at Obito to find out what it was that had the Uchiha patriarch so worried, but inwardly he knew—it was obviously yet another disagreement, a clashing of ideals between Fugaku and the Elders, and the time traveler had little doubt that it was something else that somehow related to the clan's "supremacy."

Revulsion quickly replaced curiosity at the thought, and Obito spared a moment to sneer at the sliding doors that hid his presence.

Deciding that he had lingered long enough, his eyes flickered briefly and he stepped forward, slipping into the familiar world of his Kamui.

He did not hear the rest of the conversation.

A/N: So, explanation time. It's a sort of "head-canon" of mine that the Amaterasu strain exists in the "main branch" of the Uchiha clan, since there is no actual data in the series that explains why certain people get specific MS abilities while others don't. Also, both Sasuke and Itachi have Amaterasu, and it can't be confirmed if Fugaku or previous heads had it, since the former never had the MS and the series never touched on the subject of previous clan leaders, or even the workings of the clan itself. As such, I would think that the main branch would have the most archived data on the MS, what with them being the "supreme" branch of the clan(again, as far as I know the series doesn't elaborate on the infrastructure of the clan, so it's a shot in the dark) and as a result, Amaterasu would be the most well-known MS technique that Fugaku would be able to recognize. I know that Madara's specified techniques for his MS are not revealed, but for the sake of this story, one of them will be Amaterasu.