As soon as the King and Crown Prince returned to the palace, they went straight to the King's office. Sasuke stood up from a nearby chair after Naruto announced their arrival. Shikamaru, who stood by near the curtains, politely bowed his head.
Sasuke opened his mouth, but he could not even compose his thoughts. He did not know where to begin with. Itachi, however, was surprisingly calm. He smiled at his little brother and proceeded to walk towards him. He stopped directly in front of the other prince before putting a hand on the latter's shoulder. "Welcome home, Sasuke."
Again, Sasuke was befuddled by his brother's actions. "Nii-san.." In the end, it is the only word that he could manage to say after a while. Itachi smiled once more. Their father, on the other hand, silently watched his sons. He managed to sit in the sofa clearly tired from the impromptu meeting with hard headed officials.
The King addressed Shikamaru as he sighed recalling the earlier events. "Nara, it turned out as you just predicted. I believe most of them were trying to abolish the monarchy to gain more powers to themselves. It is alarming that Danzo is the one leading them."
At the mention of the elder, Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Itachi squeezed his brother's shoulder. "Calm down, Sasuke. We predicted as much but to be honest, we never thought they would make such a move this early." But Sasuke was nowhere near calm about the situation. The crown prince sighed as he removed his hand from his brother's shoulder. He plopped down to where Sasuke was sitting a while ago.
"Nara mentioned a palace guard named Sai." Sasuke began. He directed his gaze to his father before continuing. "He is assigned to keep watch Sakura. Please reconsider this, Your Majesty."
"Sai can be used to our advantage. Dismissing him will not be wise." Itachi intercepted.
Sasuke opened his mouth to disagree, but the King silenced him. "Keeping the palace guard can be used to our advantage. This way, we can also watch his movements."
"Father, I understand that this could be a good strategy, but the princess could be in an immediate danger."
Shikamaru then asked if he could give his suggestion. When the King nodded, he proceeded. "Maybe we don't have to dismiss him completely, but reassign him, Your Majesty. I also think their main target is His Majesty and the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness. It will be best to keep him closer."
Itachi nodded in agreement. "With him close, we can choose information to divulge in his presence. But do you think reassigning him will alert Danzo?"
"Maybe so, sire. But I am sure he will be reporting everything to Danzo regardless. I do not think Danzo will be suspecting a ROOT member he raised on his own."
"Then it's best that he be reporting to me." Itachi concluded.
Sasuke did not agree, of course, but before any protest could leave the younger heir's mouth, Itachi beat him up to it. "I know what I'm doing, Sasuke. I trust Asuma Sarutobi to protect my life if it comes down with it." Knowing clearly how stubborn Itachi is, Sasuke redirected his gaze to his father. However, he also agreed. And so is Shikamaru.
"Sasuke, I know this is all new to you but your brother grew up trained to handle these kind of situations. Ever since he was born, he was exposed to the dangers lurking the shadows of Konoha. That is how it is when you are to be a King. And though, Itachi may have more experience than you. I trust you will be able to protect your mother, Izumi and Sakura." Fugaku paused studying his younger son's reaction.
"In the meantime, I will continue with what I started and make sure no other illegal activities past through our borders. It is best to have constant communication with the leaders of other Five Great Nations. We have a huge responsibility in our hands and we owe it to our people to protect them from the likes of Orochimaru and Danzo. You are to stay here with your mother to support her in my place. You will be exposed with different documents in need with the King's signature. Do not worry too much, Jiraiya will be there to guide you through the process."
Sasuke nodded although he was quite frustrated with his little participation on the matters in hand. But his father's last remark had him thinking of the gravity of the situation the royal family is now facing. It put him a little over the edge.
"If this does not end well, see to it that you will lead Konoha rightfully."
A minute of silence took over after that. Fugaku cleared his throat afterwards proceeding to inform Shikamaru about his decisions to cancel all public appearances of any of the royal family. Fugaku's thoughts went back to Kakashi Hatake who died sacrificing himself for his late second cousin, King Obito. It is possible that Orochimaru and Danzo had something to do with the assassinations before, and what's stopping them now. The King was certain that the two will not stop until the monarchy is abolished, with Orochimaru getting his revenge and with Danzo making himself as the first president of the country.
Itachi also informed them that Shisui, a prince of Konoha and Itachi and Sasuke's second cousin, will be coming back soon. Shisui was traveling around the world since he was little, but he and Itachi talked often. The Crown Prince also told his father that Shisui was aware of what is happening.
Fugaku merely inclined his head in acknowledgement and went on with their strategies to take down their enemies once and for all.
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Orochimaru chuckled lightly as the receiver of the call threatened to kill him on sight. The psychopath of a king chose not to dwell with the usual hot temper of his partner. "My, my, and here I thought I would send my regards to my greatest ally for leading a storm within Konoha's palace. But judging from your mood the questioning did not go well."
"Fuck off, Orochimaru." Danzo hissed. "Do not contact me again, you snake!"
"Why, my friend. We used to be good friends. Are you planning to get rid of me like what you did with Obito?"
"Keep your mouth shut. After the Uchihas are wiped out, I will see to it you will pay for your treachery against Konoha." Danzo warned him once again.
Orochimaru felt uncertain after hearing this. "Don't you think you're acting too rashly? This could lead in gaining the people's sympathy."
"People's opinion are nothing. I'll make sure to annihilate their bloodline. I have my eyes in the palace."
Orochimaru's usual playful mood vanished into thin air and was replaced by a cold, calculated gaze. He chose not to respond to hearing the elder's schemes. While he could not care less with the old man's ploys before, he could not help but be concerned. More than being fascinated with Fugaku's sons, the founder of Oto could only admit that they are different from the previous Uchihas.
"You are foolish to think they do not know of your arrangements. It is best to lay low for a while given what transpired in the parliament." Orochimaru merely gave a suggestion.
"Nothing is of concern when the Uchihas are all dead."
Orochimaru expected that response, of course. Before he could end the line, the old man warned him not contact him again. Not in the near future at least. Orochimaru could only wish him the best of luck as the line went dead.
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The Queen could not begin to recall how many rules she had broken as she run towards her husband and son. Izumi and Sakura was walking after her, the former asking the Queen to slow down and be careful. Soon after, they arrived at the King's office.
Naruto, who was stationed at the entrance, bowed his head in their presence. The Queen must have been able to collect herself afterwards for she did not try to enter the room right away. Naruto announced Her Majesty's arrival. At that, the four men occupying the room paused as they discussed different strategies as if they were in the middle of war.
The King asked Shikamaru to put away all the documents on the table before straightening up and allowing the Queen to enter. Naruto opened the double-door entrance. Mikoto did not waste a second to look straight into her husband, ready to bombard her with her questions. However, Fugaku beat her up to it. "I told you not to leave the West Palace." The King then eyed her two companions who bowed their heads guiltily.
"I can not stay there doing nothing. Is everything okay? What do they want?"
"Everything is fine, Mikoto. You do not need to worry about a thing. Meetings with the parliament happen all the time. There are just urgent matters on hand needed to be addressed without delay."
But the Queen was not convinced. "Please allow me to assist you in these things. I am still worried, my King. Are they pressuring you again? Is that why they summoned Itachi as well?"
At the sound of his name, Itachi spoke up. "Mother, everything is well. The parliament is the usual headache. But we are in control. We just have to continue what we started." Her eldest smiled at her. "By the way, Shisui wanted me to inform you of his upcoming return to the Palace."
With that, Mikoto's concerns dissipated into thin air. "Oh! That's good to hear! I miss him very much. Is he well? How soon can he come home?"
Izumi smiled at that while Sakura thought back to history lessons she had. Prince Shisui is the same age as the Crown Prince. His parents were first cousins with the King, who are now living overseas. He is currently studying different languages around the world. He is also featured with various magazines worldwide. He has a black eyes, dark-colored hair typical for the Uchihas that also makes him extremely popular with the ladies. He is said to be very humble, compassionate, and kind especially to the poor.
Sasuke though was not too happy. He is scowling, his eyes throwing daggers at the person past her. She looked back to see his line of vision and was confused to see Sai, one of her body guards stationed next to Naruto. Why was he in such a foul mood? And why is it directed to an innocent royal guard?
The Crown Prince may have sensed it for he clamped back Sasuke's back asking the latter to liven up. "Come on, Sasuke. Shisui will not tease you like when we were kids. He's a grown up man now." Her fiancee's scowl deepened. Itachi proceeded to whisper something in his ear, and as response, Sasuke merely clicked his tongue and averted his eyes in the opposite direction.
Mikoto, seemingly unaware of the situation, giggled at her youngest son's behavior. "Sasuke, it cannot be that bad. Shisui is so wonderful!"
The King sent some sort of signal to the Imperial Officer, Sakura observed. Shikamaru then asked for permission from the Queen to tell her duties on hand. He then proceeded to inform her of the charity events she had arranged, the amount of budget to spend and other factors to consider. He also informed her of the arrangements made so far for the Crown Prince and Princess's upcoming wedding.
Mikoto merely nodded. "Where is Shizune? Why are you the one informing me of this?"
"She asked permission from the Crown Prince to take a week-long leave, Your Majesty. She requested me to tell you the reports she made were in your office before leaving the Palace. It seems that her mother was sick. "
"Oh. Thank you, Shikamaru. I hope her mother will be well in no time." Mikoto noted.
After a while, the Queen, together with Izumi and Sakura left the King's office to change their wardrobe. Along them was Sai who followed Sakura. As soon as they were out of sight, Itachi exhaled a sigh of relief before looking at his father. "Father, will it be really alright to keep these from Mother?"
"I'm doing this to protect her, Itachi. What she does not know will not hurt her. We will be summoned again one way or the other. I cannot put her in any danger as well."
Sasuke stayed silent but he was sure his mother will be livid after she finds out everything.
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It was exactly 9:37 in the morning when his plane landed. It was cloudy that day and the wind was blowing strongly. Shisui waved at the people waiting for him in the airport. He was quite stunned to have the media and the public know the specific time and date of his arrival. He groaned inwardly. Of course, when it comes to being royal, nothing is ever a secret.
The royal guards he had not seen the past ten years raised their hands in salute. He smiled brightly asking how they were. He even tap the shoulder of one, but the guard was void of emotion, choosing to carry out his duties. Shisui seemed to not mind at all, still accustomed with this display. He was escorted into a waiting limousine. He made a final wave to the people and smiled at the cameras before getting in the car.
The ride to the Palace was uneventful saved for a few paparazzi following them. Nothing new, he thought. He observed the new buildings and establishments through the glass window. There may have been drastic changes, but it felt like home nonetheless.
As the Palace came into his view, he felt excited, thrilled even, to see his cousins after a long while. He chuckled at the prospect of seeing Sasuke all grown up and grumpy all the same. However, he recalled that his little cousin was already betrothed to the lost princess. This would be interesting.
Even so, Itachi's investigations worried him.
His best friend notified him of the ongoing sudden summons by the parliament. Just like his cousin, he also suspected as much. The Uchihas have always received unreasonable hate by other politicians. Shisui hoped they were not too late this time around.
A royal guard stationed in the entrance of the palace opened the door of his car. He thanked him and get off the car. He was a little stunned too see the Queen waiting for him. Mikoto welcomed him with a hug before he could even register what happened. "Oh, my dearest Shisui! How are you? It's been a long time."
Once the Queen let him go, he did not forget to bow his head in respect. "Your Majesty, all is well. I've been to many villages. I cannot wait to tell you all about it." Mikoto smiled even brighter. She ushered him in, telling him that the rest of the royal family was waiting for him in the throne room.
The guards opened the two-door entrance after giving him a salute. Itachi first came into his view. He wore a gentle expression. Next to him was Izumi who looked as happy as her fiancee. The King was seated in the middle, expressionless as ever. He scanned the rest of the room to find Sasuke in the corner smirking at him. Beside him was the lost princess, beautiful as she was featured in TV guestings; with her emerald eyes and soft pink hair.
He bowed his head as he regarded the King. After a few pleasantries, he then flashed a wide grin to Itachi and Izumi. Itachi offered his hand to his cousin to shake. Izumi, on the other hand, kissed his cheek. He then walked towards Sasuke. "Your hairstyle never changed, little cousin. It is still cute!"
Sasuke scowled. "Tch. You never change." He tried to smash Shisui's hand away before he could even attempt to ruffle his hair.
Shisui did not mind, used to the younger prince's attitude. He then turned his attention to his companion and offered his hand. "Hello, Milady. My name is Shisui Uchiha. I'm afraid this is the first time we meet."
Sakura put her hand on top of his. The prince kissed her hand and grinned at her making her blush. She retracted her hand in panic. "Eh?! Nice to meet you too, Prince Shisui. I am Sakura Haruno- Hatake." On the corner of his eyes, he could see Sasuke frowning at him. Changing his target, he addressed Sasuke once again. "Do not be jealous, Sasuke-chan. And please avoid making that face. Those wrinkles will soon be embedded on your handsome face."
If it was possible, the younger prince's scowl deepened.
It was then Itachi tried to interfere asking him to take it easy with teasing his little brother. Shisui laughed and winked at Sasuke before excusing himself.
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After discussing the possibility of illegal drug trade near the border of a small village, Land of Waterfall, near Amegakure to be exact, Itachi left Shisui's room. These matters will have to wait after his cousin is well rested. He will be raising this concern to his father first thing tomorrow.
In the meantime, he turned left and then right again into his brother's room. He knocked twice before barging in without waiting for a response. However, he regretted his actions right away since Sakura looked like she's been caught in some crime as she gaped at him.
The two were lying on the bed when he came. Sakura had her head pressed into his brother's chest while the latter had his right arm around her. They were talking in whispers. Both of them had most probably not expecting anyone to enter without permission. "What are you doing?!" Sasuke nearly shouted at him.
Sakura, on the other hand, was red as tomato. "Oh my God. Prince Itachi, I- I- This- This is not what it looks like!" She began to explain, panicking. She wished the ground could swallow her up at the moment. How embarrassing! She could not even count the number of times they have been caught like this. She fought the urge to face-palm.
Itachi, nonetheless, looked at them with a blank expression, clearly not too concerned with it. "Calm down, you two." He simply smiled. "It is fine." He added.
"Tch. What are you doing here, Nii-san?" Sasuke sat up straight.
"I wanted to talk to you, little brother. But it seemed like I was interrupting. I will come back later." He smiled again looking at his blushing sister-in-law.
"It's okay. I'll leave." She hastily left the bed and put on her shoes. She bowed her head in frantic and practically dashed out of the room.
Sasuke exhaled loudly at the sound of the door clicking. No matter how much she grew and changed, she was still way easily flustered. His older brother then chose to sit on the edge of his bed. He did not comment on the incident and instead, his expression turned serious that it made Sasuke slightly nervous.
Sasuke began feeling over the edge himself. Itachi regarded him wistfully. "You know, Sasuke. I've always thought of what could have been. What if we were just normal citizens? What if King Obito did not die. Things like that."
"Nii-san?"
"I've asked myself if I am ready to shoulder a King's burdens. I grew up learning how to act like a King, how to speak like one, but nothing ever prepared me for this." He paused, briefly glancing at Sasuke once again. "You know, it's easy to hate our father. He was always away attending a conference of that sort, too busy signing countless of documents, I could not even recall the last time we talked being just a father and son. Our talks always involved me being the next in line of succession."
Itachi smiled sadly before continuing. "I may not agree with all of his decisions, but he is a respectable and a prominent leader of Konoha. I can only imagine how many sacrifices and regrets he had."
Sasuke listened to him attentively. "You can even surpass our father. You will make a great king, Nii-san."
"Not without you by my side. And Izumi and Shisui. I'm going to need all your support."
"I will be right here."
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The moon shone the brightest that night, stars visible in the sky. Sai had driven the royal limousine with the Uchiha princes aboard to meet Danzo and his other allies. It was eight in the evening and the ROOT leader requested to talk to the Crown Prince. The elder insisted that he had an important lead to where Orochimaru is conducting his experiments. He even asked to reduce his royal guards and allow Sai to lead away.
Itachi knew this would be a ploy against him, but he could use this as an opportunity to obtain more evidences against the elder. He had taken specific measures and told Shisui and his father of his plan. Moreover, his personal security guards were secretly tailing them. Asuma, Naruto and others were also on stand by just in case. He also made sure that their phone's GPS were on. But still, even the genius crown prince felt uneasy.
Of course, Itachi was not in favor of Sasuke joining him since it was specifically mentioned by the elder to not disclose it to anyone. Not to mention, the danger of meeting the hideous man. And yet, Sasuke was too stubborn to let him do this alone.
As they neared the border of a remote village, ROOT members surrounded the old warehouse not far ahead. There was no sign of any one living nearby. The whistling of the wind and the trees swaying greeted the Uchihas. As soon as Sai parked the car right in front of the warehouse, Itachi looked around, but Danzo was nowhere to be found.
Not a second later, a group of armed men surrounded the car. Many of which held various types of guns. Without a second thought, they began shooting them without any care that Sai, one of their own, was still inside. Itachi and Sasuke ducked their heads to the ground automatically.
"Shit!" Sasuke could not help but exclaim.
"We have to thank whoever invented bulletproof cars, little brother." Itachi smirked in response. "Sai! Step on the gas! Now!" He shouted.
Sai was too stunned to think that his fellow ROOT members would ever betray him. He looked at them in shock until the crown prince's voice brought him back to reality. He shifted the gear stick to Drive and pressed down on the acceleration pedal as hard as he could. The princes were nearly thrown back as the car sped up. The sound of the tires squeaking could be heard as Sai expertly maneuvered past the armed men.
Three of the men came tumbling down as they were hit by the car. Other men continued to shoot as much as they can while the others run towards a nearby van in attempt to chase the limousine.
"Seatbelt! Sasuke!" Itachi reminded his brother. He also looked back to see his other royal guards came into their aid, battling the unidentified ROOT members.
They were now going back from where they came from. Itachi immediately dialed up his emergency contact as he found his smart phone from their seat. "Shisui! It is what you just predicted! We are being chased in a highway surrounded by forests!"
"The chopper is closing in to your location! Our men will be there in three minutes top." Sasuke heard Shisui from the other line.
Sai glanced at the side mirror to confirm that a white van was still trailing behind them. They were the only cars on the road and street lights were rare, he also noted. Although soon after, familiar armoured cars came into view responding to the Crown Prince's command.
Danzo carefully planned to lure the princes into his trap, intending to make Sai a sacrifice for that unjustified hatred towards the royal family, but the security detail of the Uchihas were not to be taken lightly. He turned left in an effort to lose the van stubbornly following them.
And then an unfamiliar sound of metal colliding with something heavy resounded in Sai's ears. He lost control on the steering wheel, but he made an effort to press down the brake. The car spun as it hit a barrier of some sort before nearly crashing into a tree.
Itachi barely recognized his voice shouting calling onto his brother before trying to shield him from the clash. His last thought cursing himself for letting Sasuke accompany him.
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Itachi tried to remember what happened before he passed out. He could hardly identify the shouts from outside the car. He squinted his eyes in an effort to inspect his surroundings. There was blue and red, bright lights from his peripheral vision. His arms and head suddenly hurt.
He looked around once more. He could hear someone groaning in pain. He saw Sai clutching his head full of blood. "Your- your highness…" The pale man officer whimpered.
And then Itachi turned to his right. There was blood everywhere. Sasuke was unconscious. There was a nasty wound on his forehead, a few more cuts on his arms. The suit he was wearing did little to protect him.
"Sas- Sasuke…" His throat hoarse.
Tears blurred his vision. "Otouto…wake up. Don't…don't scare your big- big brother li-like this."
But the younger prince made no indication he heard him.
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A/N: I know. Please don't hate me. Two or three chapters to go and we will reach the ending finally.