Tobirama brushed his fingers over his brother's name. He had walked through this door quite often during his own reign, reading through books, files, and scrolls. But this room was not why he was here today.

Reluctantly, he turned his back to his brother's door and stepped through the one labeled Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage.

It was time that he learned more about what had happened after his death, and there was no better place to look than the Hokage archive.

Naruto would be safe in the hands of his team for now.

Kakashi was ready. He had read his notebook cover to back and back to cover and felt more than ready to tackle the mission.

He had everything planned. From his introduction, over the conversation, up to his exit. Just like he planned every operation.

That was why he found himself at Team Ke's training ground, a gigantic basket filled with tomatoes in his hands, and having no idea what to say.

Team Ke watched incredulously as Hound shoved the basket into Naruto's arms, muttered "For you." and immediately vanished back into the shrubbery, only to reappear several seconds later to poke the child onto his forehead, before disappearing again.

Naruto absently rubbed the sore spot as he stared after the dog masked ANBU, not really knowing what to think of this strange behavior, but still feeling kind of touched at the gesture.

Behind him, Team Ke dissolved into laughter.

Because his team had kept snickering at the basket, Lion had decided to end their training early today and Naruto quickly said his goodbyes, intent on getting his gift home. About two streets away from his apartment he came across a familiar face. "Itachi-san!"

The teen stopped politely to return his greeting. "Naruto-san. How have you been?"

"Great, thanks!" Naruto answered cheerfully. "Your advice last time really helped."

"I am glad to hear that," Itachi replied, silently wondering if the child had really attempted to trail a bowl of ramen. "I see that you have graduated. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Naruto smiled brightly at him.

Itachi's gaze fell on the gigantic basket in the child's hand. "Why are you carrying so many tomatoes?"

"Oh, that," Naruto scratched his head. "I got them from some dog-masked ANBU. Strange guy. Poked me on the forehead and ran."

"…I see," Itachi replied slowly. His captain and the child could really have been related, he mused silently. Both seemed to have a knack for completely misinterpreting his advice and managing to apply it to food. Quite a peculiar skill.

Well, at least they were trying.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked suddenly, because the teen in front of him seemed rather tired.

Itachi blinked in surprise. There was sudden maturity in the child's tone that threw him completely off. "I am fine. Thank you."

Naruto tilted his head, not really convinced. "Do you have some time now? There is a dango stall I want to try," he added, when the teen visibly hesitated.

Hearing the word dango, Itachi was immediately convinced. "I believe I can spare some time."

Naruto grinned. "Cool! This way, Itachi-san!"

The older teen followed the energetic young boy, smiling slightly.

After buying a box of dango each and quickly dropping off the tomato basket at Naruto's apartment, they found themselves a quiet spot close to the frozen Naka river and Naruto busied himself with throwing pebbles onto the snow-covered surface. "So you have a brother?"

"Yes," Itachi agreed, opening his dango box. "His name is Sasuke. He is about your age."

Naruto nodded slowly. "How is it?" he asked. "To have a younger brother?"

The teen furrowed his brows in thought. "I am always worried about him," he finally answered, "I wonder if he had a good day, if someone hurt him, if he ate enough…"

"Sounds tough," Naruto muttered around his dango.

"It is," Itachi replied, "But I would not have it another way."

"Hm. Your brother is very lucky to have you," Naruto commented, smiling slightly. A year ago, he would have felt envious about their apparent bond, but now he had someone of his own to rely on. So, his words and the sentiment behind them was completely genuine.

The teen realized that, too, and he threw the boy next to him a thoughtful look. The child's reaction was uncommon. He had grown up without any support, completely on his own, and yet he did not seem to be bitter or envious of others with a family. He had sounded genuinely happy for Sasuke.

Itachi felt his heart softening towards the sincere and lonely child, and he brought his hand up to ruffle his hair. "Do you want to meet him?" he asked.

Naruto froze. Him? Meet another child? His heartbeat quickened in excitement, but then he remembered he was a genin. His schedule was full. He had training, he had patrol, and soon he would have missions, too.

Soldier first, child second.

That was the path he had chosen.

He shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't have time to play. I have to train," Naruto looked at his companion, blue orbs alight with determination. "I have a dream, Itachi-san," he told the older one. "I want to protect Konoha. I want to protect everyone. I want a world without hate and war. I want peace."

Something strange flittered through Itachi's eyes at the child's passionate speech, and he suddenly felt like he was looking at someone much older. The boy's words resonated deeply with him and he quickly realized that there was someone else sitting directly next to him whose dream was so similar to his.

"I understand," he answered simply, and he did. "My dream is quite similar," he admitted.

"Really?!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Yes," Itachi confirmed, and for a moment both of them fell silent, staring at the frozen river and contemplating the implications of the words they had just shared.

Their deep thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a third person wriggled between them, slinging his arms around their shoulders.

"Hey Itachi, hey kid," a very familiar voice greeted them happily. Naruto's head whipped around, and he looked directly into the face of a young man possessing the sharp features unique to the Uchiha clan.

The man grinned at him. "Wanna have a cookie?" he asked playfully.

"You…", Naruto brightened as he recognized the first sentence Owl had ever said to him and immediately threw himself at the young man who accepted his enthusiastic hug with good humor.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at this display. "I was unaware that you two knew each other, Shisui."

"Of course, we do. We are friends. Who wouldn't like such a sunny rabbit?" Shisui gave his best friend a pointed look and Itachi immediately understood, eyeing the younger child with renewed interest.

Naruto looked between his older companions. "Wasn't this a secret?"

Shisui shrugged. "Itachi's a sly weasel. He would have found out, anyway."

This time it was Itachi's turn to be exasperated and Naruto's being curious. Did that mean Itachi-san was ANBU, too?

"So," Shisui asked, looking between both of them. "What were you talking about so seriously?"

"Peace," Naruto answered plainly, offering his box to his older friend.

"Eh?" Shisui responded eloquently as he accepted the offer.

"Naruto-san was sharing his dream with me," Itachi clarified. "It is very similar to my own," he paused, before adding. "And yours."

"Oh," Shisui seemed honestly surprised. "I see."

"Hn," Itachi agreed. It had surprised him, too.

The three of them fell silent again.

"Naruto?" Shisui said finally, never taking his eyes from the frozen river.

"Yes?" the young boy asked, turning to look at him.

Shisui's voice was grim as he continued to speak. "If you ever come across an old man with a cane and a bandaged eye, don't trust him."

Itachi's eyes flickered to Shisui, but he remained quiet.

"Okay?" Naruto answered, confused by Owl's words.

"Good," Shisui ruffled his hair and grinned. "Now let's have some fun, shall we? I bet the two of us can take Mr. Prodigy down."

"Is that a challenge?" Itachi asked drily. "Or are you being megalomaniac again?"

"Megalomaniac? Me? Never! Come on, Naruto, start making snowballs. We're so taking him down!"

Less than one minute later the three of them were engaged in a fierce snowball fight, their joyful laughter ringing loudly through the empty clearing.

It was late afternoon when Naruto finally strolled down the darkened streets, exhausted from his snowball fight.

That was when he saw it. A slight flash of orange out of the corner of his eyes, moving quickly into the direction of the Uchiha district.

Curiously, Naruto trailed after it, sticking close to the shadows.

The figure moved quickly, almost too fast for his eyes, and Naruto had a hard time keeping up with it.

Suddenly the stranger jumped over a high wall at the end of a street and vanished out of sight.

Naruto was left to stare at the blank wall.

He was about to turn around when he suddenly felt cold shivers running down his spine. His neck hairs rose, and his breath quickened. Everything in him told him that he should leave now. He brought his hand up to flicker away but was stopped by a hand closing around his wrist in an iron grip.

"Well, well… what do we have here?" a dark voice whispered quietly into his ear. "A curious little fox."

Naruto slowly turned his head around and stared directly at a spiral orange mask, a single eye spinning red in a kaleidoscopic pattern.

An unexpected, irrational fear gripped Naruto's heart. He wanted to get away from this dangerous, deadly man. Something inside him quivered in both terror and silent rage.

Naruto trembled.

The man laughed lightly. "So you do remember. I wonder, is my little pet doing well?"

He tilted his head and hummed. "No answer? Seems like I have to remind you who your master is."

There was a blur of movement and Naruto impacted harshly with the unforgiving stone wall.

A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him up, pressing him against the hard stone. "Do you feel like answering now, little fox?"

Naruto stared at him, trying to come up with a way to get the man off him, but out of nowhere a figure appeared next to him. Tall, translucent, and furious, anger coming off him in almost tangible waves.

"Naruto."

The Nidaime had arrived.

The masked man looked curiously at the young child as he felt the sudden raise in hostile power.

"Naruto," Tobirama's hand landed on his shoulder and his voice echoed loudly in his ears. "Channel your chakra into me. Now!"

Naruto obeyed, and slowly Tobirama's eyes started to glow. The tension in the air thickened, and the masked man was blown away by a powerful force of concentrated chakra.

"Shunshin, now!" Tobirama ordered, and Naruto's hands moved through the signs.

The orange-masked man stared at the spot the child had just vacated, making no attempt to follow after him. "Interesting," he muttered quietly as his body dissolved. "Very interesting."

Rain was pouring down the darkened sky and a lonely figure stood watch over the city below, his black cloak billowing behind him.

He turned around as he felt the slight shift in the air, announcing the arrival of a very familiar figure.

The orange-masked man stepped out of the dimensional rift.

"Pain."

"Madara," the cloaked figure replied calmly, inclining his head in greeting. "You have arrived earlier than expected. Have you already finished what you intended to do?"

"No," Madara answered, stepped past the man, and looked at the dark, cloudy sky. "I have been interrupted. There was an… unexpected development."

"An unexpected development?" Pain repeated, furrowing his brows. "Will it impact our plans?"

Madara paused. "Perhaps. If we allow it to," he tapped his fingers against the windowsill.

"There will be a change in our plans," Madara turned to look at Pain. "The Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki cannot be allowed to grow."

"You are worried about an untrained child?" Pain inquired, disbelievingly.

"This child," Madara answered. "Managed to throw me across a street with a single chakra blast. If we allow him to improve his skills, he might become a serious threat one day."

Surprise shone in Pain's ringed eyes. "This is indeed unexpected. But what do you propose we do? We are not ready yet and we won't be for at least another six years."

"Capture him," Madara replied immediately. "Seal his chakra and make him your prisoner."

"You want me to lock him up?"

"I do not care what you do with him," Madara responded. "Just make sure that he never sees the light of the day until the day he dies."

A/N

Tobi is a BAD boy! ໒( ᓀ ‸ ᓂ )७

YAY! We've touched the main plot! *celebrates* Eh...yes. Sorry about that. Anyways. There's quite a lot happening in this chapter. Kakashi makes his first attempt at being a brother, Shisui gets to spent time with Naruto, Itachi finds someone else who wants peace, a not so mysterious masked man appears, Tobirama channels Naruto's chakra to aid in his battle - and Pain is there, too! Quite an eventful day. :D

EllemenoB, Princess Hinashi, Izzysevens Thank you! :D I am happy you like it and I hope you continue enjoying it! :)

OneAutumLief Welcome :D

Bl3b3rryT3a Yup, at least they agree in one aspect. *xD*

yatinsharma250600 Thank you; I wish you a nice day, too! And to answer your questions: I tried looking deeper into Hashirama's death, but the only definite answer I got was "He died during the war." So I tried to come up with a way that would suit his personality - and if I grasped it correctly, I'd totally see him taking a fatal blow (he could have avoided if directed at himself) to save a child just to spare its siblings and parents from grieving.

The second question: They can see the effects of his jutsu, but not the person himself. The scene with Tobi above was an example for that.

Azla Hashi You're welcome :D And we're rapidly moving towards more action now. :D

alharethabdelmonum Loyal, indeed - well, you've got both in this chapter this time *xD*

Yamajiji Yup, it's back. He'll still stay invisible to everyone else, though. Maybe we'll see him real muuuch later, but right now he's needed invisible :D

Lenny Gracias, estoy tan feliz de que te guste la historia. :D

sayaka uzumaaki Yup, it was funny :D And we'll find the others out soon. They are already planning accidents. *xD*

Mr Ragnarok Muchas gracias por la idea, pero lamentablemente es una historia desprovista de romance. :-)

xXBangtanTrashXx Thanks :D Mah, I've run it through a punctuation checker in addition to a spelling checker now, so it should be a bit better, but I won't get any betas, I got burned too many times to do that.