Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I went and put my other story on hiatus just so I could finish this one. I can't wait to go back to the other one though.

His dad had warned him about this. About losing control.

Naruto snarled in frustration as Sasuke's brother swiftly tore through his army of clones. The bubbling hatred was threatening to completely overtake him, and he couldn't stop it.

Naruto grit his teeth as he prepared a Rasengan. I have to finish this fast.

The Rasengan swirled into life, a whirlwind of force and power squeezed into a small, compact ball of Chakra.

As Sasuke's brother blasted several more clones out of existence, Naruto raced under the cover of the mass of orange bodies, shoving through toward the Uchiha.

Itachi fought with concentration. He was outnumbered, but not outmatched. While he could use something large like his Susano'o to easily exterminate the swarm of orange, there was no reason to up his ante and provoke the Jinchuuriki more than necessary. Keep the battle clean, small-scale and toned down without disengaging. He couldn't risk losing sight of his target.

Still, fighting a large crowd wasn't by any means easy. He wasn't a Byakugan user, so he had a massive 235 degree blind spot behind him. In order to keep up, he had to constantly position himself behind and around specific clones to force them to fumble into each other. He also had to be constantly spinning on his feet to cover his blind spot. The Sharingan allowed him to see every movement within his limited field of vision and the rest was easy work. It helped that none of them dared look him in the eyes.

Flipping horizontally into the air away from another barrage of clones, he blew a sealless ball of fire, clearing a wide area in front of him. That spot was going to be safe for about four seconds. He landed, turning back to face the onslaught.

As he deflected a Naruto in front of him, another burst through his side with a ball of blue Chakra in his hand. Found him.

With quick clean movements, he weaved down to slam a Chakra-infused palm into the boy's stomach, jamming the seal's pathways and sealing the Nine-tails' Chakra.

Naruto gasped. His Rasengan - having missed - blasted into the ground as he fell over and his red cloak dissipated. The clones puffed out of existence, and Itachi let the boy fall forward softly into his arms. "Tobi. The signal."

From the treetops in which he'd sat sentry, Obito saluted energetically as Tobi cheered aloud. "Aye sir!"

As his partner leapt away, Itachi hefted the Jinchuuriki onto his back.

A voice suddenly cried into his ears. "Wait!"

Itachi stopped to examine the source - a frightened-looking girl. She stared back at him with pleading eyes. "Please. Let him go."

Itachi silently turned away, readying to leave when another voice carried loudly into his ears.

"Itachi!"

The older Uchiha closed his eyes. Sasuke.

Sasuke stared into his brother's back. "I've defected from the village."

Itachi froze. What?!

"I'm joining you." Sasuke continued. "I don't know why the Massacre happened, but I know there's some reason behind it."

He tensed. Sasuke was supposed to kill him and become a hero of the Leaf. This wasn't supposed to happen. "Your delusions are amusing."

"Nii-san, stop this." Sasuke snarled. "I want to know the truth. Minato-sensei told me that I shouldn't blame you. Show me why."

Minato-sensei? The Fourth wasn't supposed to reveal anything. Jiraiya was supposed to make sure of that. "There is no truth. I murdered the clan. I killed mother and father, and the only reason you're alive is so that I can test my strength once you've fully matured."

"I don't believe you." His brother's voice became pleading. "Nii-san. I can't do it. As long as I know there's something going on, I will never raise my hands against you.." -the voice paused and wavered lightly- "I still love you. Please. Nii-san. Show me."

Itachi's thoughts stumbled and he swallowed his emotions. "You defected."

The voice regained its bearings as it spoke in confirmation. "I joined the Akatsuki." -Itachi's stomach sank- "It's the only way I could get close to you. So that you can show me the truth."

He paused in thought. "And what would you have me do after?"

"I don't know. But I want to stop blindly hating you. I.. I want my brother back."

Slowly, Itachi turned, his eyes falling upon his little brother. What did he do to his hair? "Then look into my eyes, little brother. I will show you."

As Sasuke stared into his brother's glowing red eyes, his surroundings vanished and he was suddenly standing on a cliff-side, the moon shining down into the darkness. Itachi's best friend - Uchiha Shisui - stood before them. "Looks like the Uchiha coup d'etat can't be prevented.."

-Flashback-

Sasuke's mind reeled as he relived his brother's memories. The coup, the Council's decisions, Danzo's betrayal of the Third.. It was all for him and for the sake of his clan's reputation. After playing through the conversation with Uchiha Madara, he was finally brought to the scene of his parent's death.

He stared into their backs from his brother's eyes. Mother and Father were kneeling next to each other, unmoving and putting up no resistance.

"I see." Father's spoke, his voice somber and deep. "So you've aligned with the other side?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, speaking in his brother's voice. "Father, mother… I-"

"I know, Itachi." Mother - sad but understanding.

Itachi stopped, unable to speak any further.

"Itachi. Just promise me this." Father's voice. A voice from which he'd once yearned to hear approval. "Take care of Sasuke."

Father. Sasuke felt a pang in his heart at those words. And then, something happened, something that he'd never imagined would happen in a million years.

Uchiha Itachi cried.

His hands - his brother's hands - shook with hesitation as tears streamed from their face.

And then Father spoke again, reassuring even in his last moments. "Do not fear. This is the path you have chosen." -His brother's pain - his pain - clamped on every nerve in his body.- "Compared to you, our pain will be over in an instant. Even if our philosophies differ, I am proud of you."

Itachi held the blade to his father's back, but his arms refused to move further. And then Father, as if encouraging his son to follow through, softened his voice to speak his last words. "You are truly a kind child."

And he pushed the blade into the man's heart, following it quickly with a slash into the woman beside him.

They stood for several minutes, waiting. And the pain. The pain was everything. He couldn't see. He couldn't move..

And then his 8 year old self opened the door to the room and he strengthened his resolve. Sasuke. You will make me atone for my sin.

-End Flashback-

Sasuke grit his teeth as the memories faded. That fucking Danzo. I'll kill him.

Itachi watched his brother patiently. "What are you going to do, little brother? Now that you know the truth."

"I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill Danzo."

"I can't let you do that."

"Why?!"
"Going after me is safe. I was never really going to kill you. Going after Danzo will get you killed. He has a lot of Shinobi at his beck and call, and is still a protected citizen of the Leaf. You are neither capable of killing Danzo nor opposing the entire village."

Sasuke gave his brother a pleading look. "Then help me!"

Itachi shook his head. "I cannot do that. Protecting the Leaf takes priority, and killing Danzo will only cause the Leaf to suffer."

"Fuck the Leaf." Sasuke glared at his brother. "Why do you even care about this village? What about me? What about your brother?!"

Itachi's expression remained calm. "The Leaf is a construct which protects a people and future generations to come. They are just like you and me, and their lives are worth protecting."

He paused as his brother appeared to sort through his brain for a retort, anything to justify vengeance.

Itachi sighed inwardly. "Is that all, little brother?"

Shaking out of his thoughts, Sasuke spoke in response. "No. I want you to stay. Stay with me. If you won't fight the Leaf then come back and be a part of it.. together."

"The only way for that to happen is for the truth to be revealed. The reputation of the Uchiha will be forever ruined."

"I don't care."

Itachi stared into his brother's determined eyes as he sorted through his thoughts. Shisui had sacrificed his life for the village. His dying wish had been for the clan name to be upheld. The clan name mattered to their parents. It mattered to him. There was also the fact that he'd murdered half the clan. He didn't deserve to live in peace.

And then there was Sasuke. His brother was young, volatile and extremely self-destructive. If he didn't stay to guide him, Sasuke might end up taking up arms against Danzo and the Leaf anyway, getting himself killed in the process. Sasuke was everything. Sasuke was all he had left. He'd promised his parents that he'd take care of his little brother, and that's what he was going to do.

"Then I shall stay."

"Thank you." Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. "Now could you put my friend down? You didn't hurt him too badly did you?"

On a distant tree, the half-formed body of a plant-like apparatus poked out of a large branch. Black Zetsu's voice rumbled angrily. "Uchiha Itachi. He's betrayed us."

White Zetsu sighed. "Let's go tell Obito."

-Intermission-

Kakuzu turned his head up as a beacon flew up in to the sky and popped. About time. "Hidan! Objective complete. We're getting out of here."

"Alright. Finally!" the immortal cried with relief as he barely dodged his opponent's attack. "Grab my left arm on the way would you?"

-Intermission-

Kakuzu glared at Itachi's newest partner. "Tobi."

"Yes! Kakuzu-senpai!"

"Where the hell is Itachi?" The man's voice dripped with malice.

"He's right behind me, he's right over... uhm. I swear he was there a while ago."

"You useless-" A hand shot out at the orange swirl-mask in an attempt at murder. Picking up the movement with his Sharingan, Obito shot out a hand, deflecting the blow but losing his arm in the process.

Tobi instantly regrew the arm for him and began to voice a frantic apology. "Kakuzu-senpai! Tobi should've made sure that Itachi-senpai was following more closely. Tobi will do better next time. Tobi is a good boy!"
I'm surrounded by idiots. Kakuzu snarled and turned to leave.

Kakuzu's hand returned to his body with the severed arm still stuck to it, pieces of wood from the arm embedding into the Shinobi's body. The wood multiplied and Obito put his hands in a ram seal. Spikes of wood suddenly jutted out from every corner of Kakuzu's body, puncturing all his hearts. "'Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu'"

Hidan's eyes widened as his partner fell over and died. "Not that he didn't deserve that but.. what the fuck are you doing?!"

"I'm fixing my mistakes." Obito turned his Sharingan on the silver-haired immortal. "And you're next."

-A/N-

I'm staring out a window as I write this. The moon is bright and sitting above ethereal-looking wisps of cloud. The sky glows a dank midnight blue around it. It's so beautiful. :')