There has been a time skip of about two years! The ages are now as follows:

Itachi: 15

Shisui: 17

Naruto & Sasuke: 10

Haku: 12

Let's start this from the beginning

Passage of Time

"And it's confirmed that Taki has entered into an alliance with Iwa?"

"I'm afraid so, yes."

The Sandaime looked deeply troubled by Jiraiya's revelation, and while Itachi would usually feel honoured that his leader trusted him enough to show such emotions in his presence, he found it impossible to do so in the wake of such news.

"We knew that they were up to something, but I didn't expect this…"

"It's hard to get intel on what Taki is up to because no one knows where it's located," Jiraiya said. "It makes it impossible to position spies there, so keeping track of their actions is a useless endeavour as long as they're careful not to be seen when they sent delegates to other nations. You couldn't have known about this any sooner, Sensei."

Hiruzen sighed. "True as that might be, it doesn't make this news any less troublesome."

The three of them had met irregularly ever since Jiraiya had been told the truth, but they usually had nothing too important to discuss. All they were doing at the moment was gather strength, create alliances, and prepare for the conflict that was sure to come in the future. It was almost time to make some actual moves, yes, but the main focus remained on making preparations for now. Consequently, these discussions tended to be on the boring, administrative side.

This time was different, however, as the recent events in the Land of Waterfalls gave cause for concern.

It had been almost two years since Kisame destroyed its capital and killed its daimyo, sparking a competition to succeed him. After all, the man had no heir, meaning the line of succession wasn't clear. As soon as the other nobles realized that, everyone was all too eager to throw their name into the pot for his position.

In the end, the people with the best claim -and greatest armies- were the daimyos of the Lands of Fire and Rivers. There had been quite a lot of bickering and threats for a while, but after countless months of arguing, the two ultimately decided that the best course of action would be to unite their families by marrying their children to each other and then letting them rule together.

In theory, that should have been the end of it.

Unfortunately, it was then that the Takigakure decided to make its move. As soon as the newlywed pair arrived at the border with their entourage, they were greeted by Taki-nins who promptly told them in no uncertain terms that they weren't welcome there and that their nation didn't need a daimyo any longer before kicking them out again.

They had fortunately not been foolish enough to actually injure anyone important, but it was still a great offence without precedent.

The reason the feudal lords were so powerful that they could even influence hidden villages was that in the eyes of the civilians, they had been granted their position by the gods themselves. Naturally, this meant that defying them would also mean defying the gods, and that wasn't something people were usually willing to do. Shinobi would have long since gotten rid of all the daimyos if such an action wouldn't result in revolts from great parts of their nation's population, so while they influenced them behind the scenes as much as they could, they were ultimately forced to keep the current system intact.

For Taki to be comfortable enough to blatantly demolish it like this could mean only one thing…

"I was aware that Takigakure didn't have a good relationship with their daimyo, but I didn't know the same was true for the rest of the population as well," Itachi said thoughtfully before turning towards Jiraiya. "Have there been any protests in the rest of the country?"

"None," he replied with a humourless snort. "Quite the opposite, in fact. People celebrate to be finally rid of him. His predecessor was apparently a cruel man who exploited many of his people for his own benefit, and while he himself wasn't like that, he was too incompetent to rule effectively and had the unsightly tendency to throw great celebrations while the rest of his population starved."

Incompetent rulers weren't too rare, but they usually had smart advisers who kept things under control. If nothing else, the nation's hidden village would make sure that their behaviour wouldn't be detrimental enough to do any harm. This one obviously didn't have anyone to reign him in, he thought. And Takigakure took advantage of it just like Iwa then took advantage of the power vacuum left behind.

While the daimyo had maintained a close relationship with Konoha, Taki despised them almost as much as Iwa did. As a consequence, all diplomatic relationships between their two nations have been capped the moment Kisame killed the man, and Iwa immediately jumped on the chance to have an ally against Konoha that coincidentally just so happened to have a direct border with the Land of Fire.

The smaller nations were meant to be a buffer between the major ones, so having one become a vassal in all but name to one of them was not a good thing.

The Sandaime took a puff from his pipe before exhaling the smoke with a sigh. "Under these circumstances, I'm afraid we have no other choice but to make a similar move ourselves."

Itachi immediately understood what he was implying. "Although the Land of Grass always worked closely with us in the past, they won't be happy by such a move. Even if it's necessary for us to have a shared border with the Land of Earth if we want to keep the balance of power between the Five Great Nations intact, we need to at least make it look like something else than an outright takeover."

"He's right," Jiraiya nodded. "The news of what Taki did should have caused enough of a commotion by now to make people all over the continent very uncomfortable, though, and surely Kusagakure also heard of Iwa's involvement. They must be pretty nervous about the possibility of Iwa trying to take control of them as well." He gave them both a sharp smile. "It shouldn't take too much persuasion to convince them that accepting Konoha's aid and protection is a good idea."

"Very good points," the Hokage agreed with a thoughtful frown. "I will organize for some minor incidents to occur at the border between the Lands of Grass and Earth that we will pin on Iwa. That should drive the point home just fine. This approach would definitively be preferable over having to force their hand."

"Iwa's Explosion Corps has recently gained a lot of attention, hasn't it?" Like every seasoned shinobi, Itachi tried to keep up with the news from all over the continent, so he had obviously heard of the recently increased number of assassinations that had been executed by unnecessarily powerful explosions. A sure sign as any that Deidara has joined them, I think. "Their work should be relatively easy to copy while leaving little evidence behind."

The other two quickly agreed with that sentiment, finishing this part of their conversation. The Hokage would handle the rest from there and work out the finer details like who to send and which regions to target at a later point by himself.

Itachi had actually thought that this would be the end of this meeting, but surprisingly, Jiraiya had more to say.

"Now that this point is taken care of, there's something else I wanted to discuss with you. Or, more specifically, something I wanted to propose." Unexpectedly, rather than looking at the Sandaime, he turned to look at him. "I think we should include Tsunade into this little group of ours."

That was certainly not something he had thought the other man would bring up. However, he wasn't exactly opposed to it. In fact, he had considered proposing something similar himself for some time now, although the person he had in mind was Kakashi. He had also thought about including Shisui or even his parents before shutting both ideas down; it was egoistic, he knew, but he would prefer to not let them know what had happened in the other timeline. While he would inform them if things progressed in a way where telling them would be essential for some reason, that was only a last resort.

"I don't necessarily mind," Itachi ultimately said. "Whether we like it or not, all of our lives are considerably at risk at all times, so having someone in the known who isn't in a similar position would indeed be a boon."

He and Jiraiya were regularly out of the village on missions that could always turn deadly. His own mission in the Land of Waterfalls was a prime example of that. They were both powerful shinobi, of course, but neither of them was invincible. The Hokage, on the other hand, was an old man. Itachi's knowledge of the future meant they could be reasonably sure he wouldn't die of old age any time soon, but nobody could predict things like sickness and accidents.

Tsunade had to deal with none of these risks. Not only did she pretty much never leave the protection of the village for missions, but she was also one of the most powerful fighters around and possessed the kind of healing abilities that made it extremely unlikely that she would be killed by sickness.

"Tsunade has a good head on her shoulders," the Sandaime added. "Her mind can be rather terrifying when she actually bothers to put some work into it, so she would certainly be a great help. And after all the hard work she had put into the medical reforms these last two years, it's also safe to say that she has truly dedicated herself to Konoha for good."

"You're both not wrong," Jiraiya said with a nod towards the both of them each. "However, the main reason I bring it up has kind of to do with Itachi's argument. As he said, the three of us are in constant danger, and if the unlikely but not impossible case occurs that all of us die within a short period of time, there will be nobody to continue our works." He shot them a cheeky grin. "And well, as we all know, Tsunade would be the logical choice to succeed you as Hokage in such a case, Sensei. That would also automatically put her into a position from which she can do the most good with this knowledge, making her the perfect candidate to transform this trio into a quartet!"

Very good points, Itachi conceded. It would indeed be best to have someone with knowledge about the future in a position of power in case the three of them died. In that aspect, Tsunade was certainly much better suited than even Kakashi.

"I agree," the Sandaime said after a few moments of silence. "Do you have any objections, Itachi?"

He appreciated that he was being asked. Being the Hokage, the Sandaime didn't need to take his opinion into account regardless of whether the knowledge in question originated from him or not. "None at all, no."

After all, he thought with a hint of amusement. Who better to join this group than the Godaime Hokage who never was?

"Ah, Itachi! Finally back from your mission, eh? And just in time for Sasuke's demonstration as well!"

He turned around at the sound of the voice without stopping in his walk, a small smile on his face. "I could hardly miss it, now could I?"

Shisui chuckled as he fell into step next to him. "You better tell that your brother. Watching him get more and more nervous was funny at first, but having him bother me every day for news about when you will be back and whether you will be here in time for his big day got old real quick."

Itachi's smile grew a bit wider. "Then he will surely be happy to see me." His eyes then fell on what peeked out from the pouch on Shisui's waist, making him raise an eyebrow in question. "I wasn't aware that there was an updated version already available."

"Well," Shisui said while patting his pouch to let the Bingo Book vanish from sight. "You have been gone for a while, y'know. It was bound that you would miss a few things." He then shot him a teasing grin. "But don't despair! I will have you brought up to date with everything that happened during your absence in no time!"

"Then why don't you start with telling me how things between you and Izumi are right now?"

Much to his amusement, Shisui's face fell as he dramatically stumbled forward.

The news that Shisui and Izumi went on a date had come as a surprise to him as nothing like that had happened before, but once he thought about it, he chided himself for not noticing it earlier. The signs that they like each other had been there all along, and once he intentionally looked for them, he could barely believe that he had missed them.

Still, even now, two years after their first date and almost as long since they officially announced that they were an item, it was still a bit strange to see them together.

However, as long as they were happy, so was he.

Anyway, as Shisui began to talk about what had happened during his week-long deployment in the Land of Tea, a part of Itachi's mind went back to the Bingo Book he had seen.

The Sandaime and he had quickly realized that they couldn't act too hastily regarding Madara and Akatsuki, and that doing something like assembling a team to kill the organisation's future members would result in much more harm than good.

The greatest problem was that Madara was -as far as they knew- immortal. It was most likely a different method than the ones Kakuzu and Hidan used, but they couldn't even say that for sure; while Itachi had tried to find out more about the other Uchiha during his time in the Akatsuki, he had never been able to piece together what kept the man alive for all this time.

This immortality was what made moving against him so hard. Madara had proven that he could be very patient, first when he waited several decades after his loss against Hashirama Senju before he tried to attack the village again and then a second time when he waited almost another twenty years before he made a move after his next attempt failed as well. It was very likely that he would simply decide that the time wasn't right to move yet if the pieces for his current plan were eliminated before he had even the chance to use them, and Itachi had no illusions that they couldn't possibly find him if he decided to go into hiding.

Especially because the likelihood that he would grow suspicious when his plans were thwarted years in advance were rather high.

No, the best way of action would be to wait for a few years until Madara was truly invested in his plan. Let him amass his followers and let his plans seemingly progress smoothly while Itachi and his allies carefully kept watch of them and prepared for what was to come while Madara remained unaware. Once his plans reached a certain point, he wouldn't easily back down again, and that was when they would need to strike.

And part of their preparation for that day was the Bingo Book.

The first step in beating one's opponent was to know them and their abilities, the exact kinds of information that were published in Bingo Books. Slowly but surely over the years, Konoha's edition of them had included one future Akatsuki member after another while also continuously updating the information on them. Never enough to arouse suspicion, of course, but enough to give their shinobi any advantage they could get should they encounter one.

All of Akatsuki had fortunately been famous in one way or another even before they joined the organisation, so there was nothing too strange about this. Especially not considering they made sure the information on non-Akatskui related shinobi were regularly updated as well to keep their cover.

At this point, the only members that weren't included in the Bingo Book were Nagato, Konan, Zetzu, and Madara himself. The former two barely ever left their village and were supposed to be dead, meaning there was no realistic way to include them, Zetzu was simply too mysterious to find a reasonable excuse to include them, and Madara should be self-explanatory.

However, a selected few shinobi were in fact informed about the existence of the first three people. Not in detail yet, but still. Their number was rather limited and so far including only the clan heads that made up the Sandaime's council as well as a few selected shinobi like Shisui, Kakashi, and technically himself.

After all, as one of the top shinobi in the village, it would have been suspicious to the other people in the known if he weren't officially informed of these things as well.

I should get the new version to see how much knowledge is publicly available now, he thought before deciding to not think about such things any longer. There were other, more important things he needed to focus on, after all.

For now, he would just enjoy the company of his friend and try to get to Sasuke's demonstration in time.

"Pacing around like this won't change anything, you know. Why don't you sit down and-"

Sasuke shot Haku dark look. "How could I possibly sit down? Itachi still isn't back and there is almost no time left!"

Haku's smile faltered a little bit, but she somehow managed to keep it intact. "And yet it will not bring him back any sooner if you keep pacing around like this."

"I know that!"

Having said that, he didn't stop what he was doing while playing with the hems of his shirt.

"You're acting like an idiot, you know that?"

Jumping around, he pointed an accusing finger at Naruto. "Whose side do you think you are on?"

"On Haku's, duh," his friend replied without any hesitation while glaring right back at him. "She's not the one making a fool of herself, after all."

"A fool?!"

"Yes, a fool!"

They glared at each other for another second or two before Sasuke huffed and turned around again, crossing his arms in front of him.

He knew that he was acting unreasonable, alright? Of course running back and forth like this wouldn't change anything! But what else was he supposed to do? It was almost time and Itachi was still not back from his mission, so wasn't it natural that he was nervous?

In the Uchiha Clan, it was a rite of passage to demonstrate the Great Fireball Technique once one turned ten. It was one of the most important days in the life of every clan member as it not only marked one as a worthy member of their family but also was the requirement to allow them to join their monthly clan meetings. Sure, he knew that nothing important would be spoken of as long as children were present, but that wasn't the point! Just being allowed to be there was already amazing!

This was probably the most important day in his life, so he wanted his friends and family there with him like it was custom.

And Itachi was the only person still missing.

Sasuke wasn't unreasonable. He understood that his brother had no choice but to accept a mission when the Hokage ordered him to. That didn't mean he had to like it, however, or that he couldn't hope for him to return in time. He should probably be happy that Itachi managed to be there for his birthday a few weeks ago, but that just wasn't enough dammit!

Maybe he was just too spoiled because Itachi somehow always managed to be there for him when it truly mattered regardless of how busy he was, but Sasuke didn't care. All he wanted was-

"I'm home."

He jerked around. "Nii-san!" There, standing in the doorway with a smile on his face, was Itachi- well, and Shisui as well, but that was obviously not very important. "You're back!"

Resisting the urge to jump at him -he wasn't a small kid anymore!- was hard, but he somehow managed it. He was definitively too old for that kind of thing, after all, and he really shouldn't-

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

While he was still in thoughts, both Naruto and Haku went over to greet Itachi, and unlike him, neither seemed to have any problem with acting like idiots.

Itachi, to his credit, only looked marginally surprised when the two others jumped at him and easily managed to catch them without stumbling to the floor. "I think they're doing what you were supposed to do, Otouto."

Were his face not already flushed from indignation, it would be read by now from embarrassment as well. So, instead of dealing with that bothersome emotion, he did what he always did in these kinds of situations: focus on something else and preferably drag Naruto into a fight.

"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed. "Get away from him!" He could understand why Haku was hugging Itachi considering he had rescued her as a child and she had been adopted by his mother in all but name, but Naruto? He really had no reason to act like this!

He gave him a miffed look. "Heh? Why should I?"

"He isn't even your brother!"

"So what? He's awesome anyway. He even taught me the Shadow Clone Technique!"

Oh, and hadn't that annoyed Sasuke when he first found out about that. Sure, he loved the shunshin Shisui had taught him, but it would have been even better if it had been his brother who showed him the technique! "What has that to do with anything?"

"Everything!"

"Nothing!"

"Hey," Shisui suddenly spoke up with a bright grin on his face. "Does nobody wants to hug me-"

"No!"

"No!"

The older boy exaggeratedly stumbled back. "Ouch, that was mean…"

Sasuke opened his mouth to show him what was actually mean but never got the chance as it was then that his father walked into the room, making him snap his mouth shut before he could embarrass himself. "Ah, Itachi. You managed it in time."

Itachi managed to free himself from the two bodies around his waist before giving their father a small bow with his head. "I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for anything in the world, Otou-san." However, while he was technically speaking to their father, he actually looked at him when he said that, making Sasuke immediately forget about all his previous anger.

"In that case, we should lose no time." His father's face softened somewhat as he turned towards him. "You're mother and the clan elders are already at the lake. Let's not keep them waiting.

Not confident that he would be able to speak, Sasuke just nodded before following their group out of the house.

Aside from the elders, his demonstration would be in front of only his closest family and friends. However, even with that small group as the only actual witnesses, the results would be common knowledge within the clan and even outside of it before the hour was over. That was simply the way gossip worked. If he succeeded, everything would be fine, but if he failed, well…

A tap to his forehead forcefully pulled him out of his thoughts before he could fall deeper into anxiety.

"Hey!"

Itachi just shot him an amused look as he fell into step next to him. "You must have been pretty out of it if you didn't even notice me coming over."

He shrugged while trying to suppress the blush on his cheeks. "I guess…"

"Nervous?"

Sasuke would have loved to deny it, but he was smart enough to realize that trying to hide it from his brother would be to no avail, so he just nodded.

"I know telling you that you have nothing to worry about won't help you," Itachi said. "So I won't, even if it's clearly the truth. However, what I will tell you is that I have watched you train for long enough to know for certain that there is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it. Just try your best, okay?"

He stayed silent for a few seconds before suddenly snorting. "Yeah, no," he said. "That didn't help much either."

Far from being insulted, Itachi merely chuckled at that. "Well, maybe it would do you some good to actually greet me now that Naruto and Haku are done. I just returned from a strenuous mission, you know, and I worked really hard to be back in time for your demonstration, and yet I didn't even get a hug."

Oh, Sasuke was tempted, but he couldn't. The other two might be willing to act like children, but he didn't want to lower himself to their level, especially not after having so outright rejected the idea earlier. Seriously, how would it look if he hugged Itachi now when he berated Naruto about it mere minutes earlier? It would be-

Before he could react, Itachi wrapped an arm around his shoulder and gently pressed him into his side. "If you don't take the first step, I will."

Well, Sasuke thought. If it's like this, I can't do anything about it, right? Not like I could fight my way out even if I wanted to.

Having come to that conclusion, he decided to simply enjoy the hug for what it was.

However, his brother wasn't done yet.

"Sasuke," he said, speaking just loud enough for him to hear it to avoid anyone listening in. "No matter what you might think, I know that you can do this. I have the utmost faith in you, so if nothing else, at least trust my judgment on this, alright?"

And somehow, that was the best thing he could have possibly said.

But then again, Itachi always knows what to say, doesn't he?

Needless to say, the demonstration was a complete success. His technique was so powerful, in fact, that he managed to burn some plants even though he aimed the flames towards the lake!

Really, Sasuke thought with a confident smirk as he looked back at the clapping crowd. I really shouldn't have worried.

After all, as long as he had his friends and family at his side, there was nothing he couldn't do.

And with this, Part 1 of this story is officially finished! And all it took me was a bit more than 2 years, 45 chapters, and ~210k words lmao

This part focused exclusively on the pre-Naruto stuff, so the next will naturally focus on the Naruto timeline. Consequently, there will be another time skip next chapter as we jump forward to episode 1 of the anime aka the graduation of Sasuke's generation.

And just to clear things up before there are any misunderstandings, Itachi will obviously remain the main character of this fic. Just because we arrived at the canon timeline doesn't mean Naruto or Sasuke will suddenly become the main focus. They will have their moments, yes, and I have some exciting plans for them, but Itachi is still the main character.