Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I probably wouldn't be doing this.

AN: I know, I know. People are starting to get a bit eager for the action to pick up. Have no fear, there are only a few more chapters before you'll start seen more of what Naruto and Sasuke can do. On a side note, unless Kishi just pulls a complete mind-reading move on me, I'm pretty sure that I'm going in a much different direction with Madara/Tobi, Orochimaru, and Danzou's plots/fates than the manga is (Based on some of what's been said about their intentions recently, anyway). I'm also going to be going in a different direction with Nagato, his past, and his plans, though not as different as with the others. So that should be pretty good news for those who were getting annoyed that it felt like it was just going to be a rehash of the canon story, but with more Itachi.

On a side note, for those just tuning in, I referred to Sarutobi as "Sasuke Sarutobi" because at the time that it was written, the third databook revealing his name hadn't been released yet. So…Let's just say that his full name is "Hiruzen Sasuke Sarutobi", with his friends/associates calling him "Sasuke" while most others call him "Hiruzen" or his title, and I'll fix that little error when I go back and touch things up a bit.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Thoughts

Demon/Inner Conversation

Time Passage

When Naruto Uzumaki slept, the themes of his dream world were few in number, but often consistent in nature. They had changed somewhat as he grew older, but ultimately there was very little difference. Since becoming a teenager, these dreams mostly consisted of women, money, fame, and on the rare occasion, a massive nine-tailed fox chasing him across the countryside in an attempt to turn him in to a light but worthwhile snack. No doubt this unusual vision was courtesy of the Kyuubi.

And food. Food was most definitely among the more interesting aspects of the visions brought about by his unconscious mind during times of rest. Itachi was very familiar with what could occasionally result from such dreams. Sasuke and his mentor, however, were not.

So while it came of no surprise to Itachi, one Sasuke Uchiha was quite shocked when a pair of teeth gripped his ankle in the early hours of the morning, likely as a result of dream Naruto finally managing to catch that ever-elusive flying dream ramen. The resulting yell of surprise and frustration at such an early hour was quite probably the source of Mikoto Uchiha's own less-than-cheery aura when an annoyed Sasuke, a sheepish Naruto, a confused Shisui, and a completely unperturbed Itachi joined her for breakfast that morning.

The four younger members of the group gathered for the meal, in a somewhat rare phenomenon, managed to come to a universal agreement without speaking so much as a single word. This agreement essentially boiled down to one thing; As none of them wanted to take a dirt nap at such an early age, there would under no circumstances be a repeat performance of their meal the night before.

And so the beginning of their morning meal passed in relative peace, aside from a few glares sent Naruto's way by a certain dark-haired teenager who didn't appreciate the blonde's sleep-driven attempt to make him the first course. In an attempt to break the awkward silence, Shisui looked towards the two youngest in the group.

"So, what's training with the Captain look like today?"

"Day off."

"The pervy masked broomhead said we could do whatever we wanted today. Some kinda meeting or something. Don't know, don't care. At least we're not chasing that freak cat again."

"Ah, the demon cat of the underworld."

"I'm pretty confident that its name is Tora, Shisui."

"Itachi, it's evil. I don't care if it has a name. You remember the hell that thing put us through."

At the raised eyebrows from all three of the other Uchiha in the room, Naruto had to wonder if that sarcastic disbelieving expression was just something the family inherited naturally. It was actually a bit creepy how all of them seemed to know how to make the exact same expression at just the right moment.

"…The hell it put me through, anyway. It never gave you any trouble, with your stupid Genjutsu. And you never used it until the accursed thing finished kicking me around."

"As I recall, you always told me to 'let you handle it' when we were assigned that particular mission."

"You never seemed to have trouble smacking me over the head and telling me to think before I act on our other missions."

"Retrieving Tora shouldn't be an exceptionally life-threatening task."

"Yeah, well…tell that to Tora."

"Gotta go with Speedy on this one, Freaky-Eyes."

"It is a pretty vicious little creature when it wants to be, big brother."

"…So, you all have the day off?" Then he had a date with his new student. Besides, with Mikoto staying out of the conversation, he clearly wasn't getting any support here.

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Nothing you need to worry about."

"You know I hate it when you say that, Freaky-Eyes. Every time you say I 'don't have to worry' someone ends up tying me to a tree, trying to set me on fire, freezing me, or trying to turn me into a kitten! Heck, I wasn't able to wear my froggie pajamas for a month back in that freaky forest!"

"It wasn't that bad, Naruto."

"Have you ever been eaten by a giant toad? No!" If they didn't have the entire room's attention before, they certainly did now. "It's not a fun time, Freaky-Eyes. I smelled like frog guts for a week!"

"You got eaten by a toad?" Especially a bewildered Shisui.

"It's really nothing serious. I just have an appointment of sorts. Believe me Naruto, you won't be getting eaten again anytime soon."

"Seriously, a toad?"

"Better not be. You know there's not a lot that bugs me, but that was freaking gross."

"As in 'hip, hop, croak, ribbit' toad?"

"Yes, he was eaten by a toad."

"Because you said that it was sleeping!"

"I said it was probably sleeping, and specifically told you not to take the sword that it was guarding."

"Well that's what we were there for! What the heck was I supposed to do?"

"…Listen?"

"…"

"…"

"Cool sword though."

"Yes. Yes it was."

"So just to make sure we're all on the same page here, you were actually eaten by a toad?"

Mikoto just sighed. I'm getting too old for this.

She'd returned to the park. Sure, Sasuke's brother hadn't actually said that they had a training session today, but Sakura had plenty of free time now that they'd gotten a day off and she had no intention of disappointing her potential tutor just because she'd felt like getting a little extra sleep in. Besides, even if he didn't show up, this particular park had always been a nice place to just take a relaxing walk. She smiled as she walked by two children playing what was obviously a "ninja" game of some kind near a park bench, and began to consider her own time as a ninja of the Leaf Village.

It was…messier than expected, for one. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. In their younger years, they'd spent a lot of time on theory and studies that weren't very combat-oriented. Some of her best memories of the academy had been from her childhood days, learning about flower arrangements from Ino, taking quizzes at the academy, learning the basic jutsu…But she hadn't been prepared for her first real mission. Honestly, she wasn't sure that more than a few of her classmates had honestly considered what being a ninja would entail. Sasuke's clan probably would have made it clear, and Shino had certainly always seemed more of a realist than the rest of the class, but most of them had been like her, joining because they wanted glory, or to catch someone's attention, or a variety of other things that didn't take into consideration the very real possibility that they would be killed.

Walking along the small path, she smiled as she walked by two children playing what was obviously a "ninja" game near a park bench, turning back to the path again before…

Why am I moving so slow today? Normally I'd be there by now. Wait, didn't I just-

Sakura's thoughts were cut off as she doubled over, gasping for breath as the world around her blurred for several seconds. As it came back into focus, Itachi Uchiha appeared before her, looking down with a neutral expression. He leaned over to grip her by the shoulder and lift her to her feet, helping her remain steady until her breathing had returned to normal.

"The one absolute truth that any serious Genjutsu practitioner must understand is simple. There is no such thing as being off guard." He hadn't used an especially powerful Genjutsu on the girl, only enough so that he could strike her before she became aware of what had occurred, but he was somewhat disappointed. He supposed that it was a result of having dealt with considerably more powerful and well-trained shinobi over the years. It was probably too much to expect a Genin, especially a Genin with so little field experience, to be prepared for an attack before the very first training session had "officially" started on a day where they weren't even sure if there would be a session.

"T-that's insane! Who can be on guard twenty four hours a day?"

"It's true that you don't have to be unquestionably aware of every grain of sand or every swaying leaf at each hour of each day. The human body simply cannot stand such a heightened sense of awareness for such an extended period of time. However, on at least some level, a master of Genjutsu will always be on guard, always cautious. With enough dedication, keeping an unconscious eye on one's surroundings can eventually become a second nature, and will require minimal effort to maintain unless a particularly powerful Genjutsu technique is used."

What he failed to mention was that if one attained that level of awareness, any technique capable of so thoroughly deceiving a master would either indicate the presence of a fellow Genjutsu master or a technique so powerful that knowing of its presence would do little good either way. However, that was a lesson for another day. Noting that the girl had recovered from the blow, he continued.

"Certainly I wouldn't expect a Genin to perform such a task. Regardless of your potential, you aren't on that level." Not yet. "Still, one cannot attain and properly wield power without first understanding its principles. You are friends with my brother, but you are a shinobi now as well. I won't treat you like a child."

She frowned at that, nodding in understanding. She didn't expect him to treat her 'like a child' by any means. She simply hadn't expected an assault at their first meeting. Even Kakashi, who according to what she'd heard was one of the strictest Jonin instructors in the village, had gone through the seemingly-mandatory questions designed so that teams could get to know each other before putting them through any real training.

"From this point on, I expect you to be on the lookout for anything remotely out of the usual the very moment that you intend to come to our training sessions. Are you prepared to follow my instructions?"

That was the real question. Originally, during their academy days, her only real focus had been her schoolwork, friends, and spending time with Sasuke. School wasn't an issue when she'd made Genin, but it had left her desire to be with her crush. Yet in spite of this, she'd felt a compulsion to prove herself to both Sasuke and her new sensei as well. To prove to both of them that she deserved to be a member of their team.

"Yes." Then Naruto had joined them. Kakashi had disabled them all with ease in their first test, but she knew even from those limited training sessions that Sasuke and Naruto were both leagues ahead of her by now. They probably had been for a long time.

"Please help me." On that first real mission, injured and alone against an enemy with real intent to kill, she'd honestly believed that she was going to die. It had only been the intervention of that shinobi, Zabuza, which had saved her life. On that day, she'd finally understood that this wasn't just a game. She'd known that it was dangerous on an intellectual level, of course, but staring death in the face was far different than knowing it was possible.

"I want to be stronger." She didn't want to be a burden. She didn't want to get her friends killed because she couldn't take care of herself.

"Good. Then let us begin the first lesson." The world blurred again as her tutor's body burst into crows, and she felt a hand grip her shoulder from behind.

"Never simply assume that a Genjutsu has been broken. Know that it is, or know that it is not."

"You, you just…"

"I simulated the effects of pain so that you would believe that the Genjutsu had been released, yes. Now," he released her shoulder, stepping forward and turning to face her. "Think of the Genjutsu that I just used. Think of me, the landscape, the weather, or even your own body. Was there anything unusual? Any indications that something may have been wrong?"

"Well, I did notice something right before you hit me. Or imitated hitting me, I guess. I thought I'd already passed by that bench there," she pointed towards the bench in the distance "and I know that it felt like it was taking longer to get here than it normally does."

"And what else? Remember, you shouldn't limit your observations to only these last few minutes."

"Okay…" Might as well start at the beginning. I woke up, got ready just like I always do. Had breakfast, cleaned my clothes after yesterday. Ugh, Naruto just had to hit Sasuke with a ball of mud, didn't he? They got in a fight, and…wait… "I'm still in a Genjutsu, aren't I?"

Itachi nodded approvingly, forming a seal. "Impressive. Release!"

"Am I finally out this time? For real?"

"Are you?"

"…Yes."

"And how did you figure it out?" He was more impressed than he'd anticipated. For someone who likely had no clue what to expect, she'd figured things out more quickly than he'd predicted. Perhaps he should reevaluate her skill level, at least slightly.

"It was raining last night. Naruto and Sasuke got in this big argument because Naruto threw a ball of mud in his hair." Itachi sighed quietly to himself, sympathizing with the girl. Even in the short time since their return, the duo had shown that they were capable of causing twice as much chaos as either could cause on their own, especially when arguing. At least he'd managed to make Naruto put on something cleaner before they went to dinner. "It was too late for everything to dry out when it stopped, and the skies were even cloudy this morning, like it was going to rain again. But when I came to meet you, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and everything was dry, like there was never any rain at all."

"Very good observations. You may consider this lesson complete, for now."

"Really? That's all there is?"

"Hn. But I want you to do something. Note your surroundings. Get to know the village. You've lived here for years, but how well do you truly know this place? Sight, sound, touch, taste, smell. As a novice Genjutsu practitioner, you should work to make certain that your senses are attuned to the workings of this village. Adaptation will come with time and effort. However, before you can begin to properly assess other locales, you must first learn to know your own home."

"Right. I can do that."

"I'm sure you can. You are dismissed. Oh, and well done, Sakura."

"So the Jinchuuriki has returned, then." How…convenient. He turned to the cloaked figure wearing the porcelain ram mask, ignoring the man in the equally white dog mask leaning casually against the wall at his side. "Would they recognize you?"

"No sir. They only came into contact with agent Hyuga."

"Good, good. Keep the Jinchuuriki and the Uchiha that came with him under close observation. I want daily reports on their activities. Anything suspicious is to be reported immediately."

"As you command." And with that, Ram disappeared.

"From what I hear, the kid's pretty good. Maybe not Jonin level, but you can't expect much more out of someone his age."

"Perhaps." He leaned his head down, eye closing as Dog walked forward a few steps. Dog tilted his head to glance back at his superior, hands on his hips.

"Of course, he is a Jinchuuriki. We should probably expect him to have a few tricks up his sleeve. I doubt that Itachi has been slacking off either. He's probably improved by leaps and bounds, with all the traveling."

"Most likely."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough, eh gramps? After all, things are going to get a little…chaotic…in the next few weeks. Am I right?"

"Indeed. The preparations have been made."

Dog crossed his arms, turning to look at the dark-haired man and leaning forward slightly.

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see then, huh?"

"I trust you'll make sure things go as we intended. Sasuke won't likely stand by as 'his' village is threatened, and no doubt he's already suspicious." So they've returned at last. Clever little Itachi, joining with the Akatsuki to protect one of the very people they hunt. You've become quite the little manipulator, just as expected. You're not finished yet though. No, not by any measure. I wonder, how will you manage the coming storm?

Dog laughed, placing his hands behind his head, casual and relaxed.

"Hey, you're the boss Danzou. And when the boss wants something, the boss gets it. Don't you worry about the Third. Just leave everything to me."

AN: Well, there it is. Probably not my best, but I hope you enjoyed it.