Heiwa no Mirai
In a world where Itachi could not massacre the Uchiha, Danzou uses Shisui to thwart the impending threat to peace in Konohagakure.
In the darkness of Danzou's office, Itachi knelt before him.
"I cannot do what you ask of me," Itachi says.
"You realize you are choosing the destruction of your clan and of the village?" Danzou could not understand Itachi's sudden faint of heart.
"There have to be other ways. Let me talk to the Uchiha. If we could have discussions between the Hokage and the Uchiha maybe…"
Danzou closed his eye. "Very well. I do not see this succeeding, but if you wish to expend some time in trivial discussion between the Uchiha who have already made up their minds, then so be it."
In truth, Danzou had already made up the mind of the village on this matter. This discussion did not pan out with his original idea. Uchiha Itachi was quite a strange child. He valued peace above all else, but he could not even bring himself to the only decision that prevents maximum casualty. His fealty to his family must have still been too strong. That, or his values of peace were growing unfit for a shinobi that must learn to make tough calls to protect it.
"It appears Uchiha Itachi has chosen his side," Danzou blew from his pipe. "There is no saving him."
From the shadows, Shisui with half of his face bandaged knelt. "It appears that is true."
"Tonight, prepare yourself."
"Understood." Shisui flickered away.
Hours had passed since Itachi had been at the standard meeting spot. Shisui was supposed to use the Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku. Perhaps that would be enough to sway change in the Uchiha. Itachi and Shisui could both go to the Hokage and Danzou with the news of the coup d'etat avoided.
But Shisui had not shown up. Itachi wondered if the meeting had gone awry. Perhaps his father did not have as much sway with the Uchiha as Itachi had thought. Or maybe, he wanted to think optimistically, it went well and Shisui was working out details for Fugaku and the Hokage to discuss peaceful resolutions to the growing unrest.
Unlikely.
Itachi rose to his feet. The sun was setting. Sasuke would be on his way home if not already, and Itachi felt like he needed some quality time with his brother. It soothed his soul like nothing else to just be around Sasuke.
He might train him on that shuriken technique after all.
He walked down the path to the compound. At this hour there would still be chatter and the light of storefronts, but it was pitch black save for the ominous full moon.
Worry began to flood Itachi's heart. He had spent too many years training and in missions to know that pure silence meant calamity.
He tried to sense anyone's aura. Nothing nearby. He approached one of the homes and the cause for silence became apparent.
Blood splatters. A partially opened door belonging to the home of Uchiha Izumi.
Itachi hurried inside. Izumi's lifeless body draped over her mother. Her eyes partially open, tears that had not enough time to roll down her cheeks.
The sight alone almost made Itachi scream out in terror. Izumi's once kind face would forever be replaced with an anguished hollow one.
Izumi was gone.
He hid his aura and stumbled out of the house. Like watching an ant and finding more of their companions crawling about, he soon saw more blood, decapitated heads, detached arms, and bodies piled on top of each other wishing to protect their loved ones underneath.
Dead bodies lose their spirit. They grow heavier. Their will of fire is gone. Their hatred, love, joy, sorrow—gone and given to the living. Given to Itachi to grieve at the sight. It was too much to bear.
He tried to sense if anyone else was alive. In the distance, he sensed no more than three distinct auras. One that was a lot easier to sense belonged to Sasuke.
Itachi had to hurry. The distress he could sense meant Sasuke was in danger. He hadn't a moment to think.
In front of his house, there Itachi stood. On the veranda was none other than Shisui. Any other time, Itachi would be relieved, but the scene before him only brought him more unease and anger boiling in his veins.
"Good, you made it." In Shisui's arms was Sasuke, a kunai pointed at his throat.
"B-Big Brother…" Sasuke cried, tears flowed from his eyes. "I don't want to die."
"Shisui, what's the meaning of this?!" Hearing his brother's frightened pleas ached Itachi's heart. Sasuke was not like Itachi, Shisui, or those who had known war. His concept of death should not be so visceral—he was just a kid. Children should not face the fear of becoming one of the many corpses ruthlessly littered about the Uchiha compound.
Shisui steadied his Sharingan to meet Itachi's concerned glare. "Surrender Itachi. You know the Uchiha have no place in this village carrying such burdens of hate."
"Sasuke has nothing to do with this!"
"Don't deny reality, Itachi." Shisui shook his head. "He will grow up inheriting this curse of hatred."
Curse of hatred? Itachi clenched the kunai in his hands tighter. Is this what this is about? "I never thought you would do this… Not when we were looking for peaceful—"
"I was approached with the offer you refused. If you had said yes, we could have worked together. We might have been able to spare your little brother."
So that was it? That was why Shisui did not meet with him this afternoon. He hadn't ended up going to the Uchiha meeting. He was with Danzou and he already knew that Itachi couldn't bring himself to end his clan.
"This is your answer, Shisui?"
"This will bring peace." Shisui inched the kunai closer to Sasuke's throat. "I'll make you a promise. If you take that kunai in your hands and end your own life, I will let Sasuke live."
Itachi understood clearly now. Shisui was strong, but he likely did not believe himself strong enough to take Itachi out. Using his brother's life as a bargaining chip seemed obvious. With this scenario, Shisui and Itachi would have to die. They knew too much. They were but pawns. But Itachi was not about to be played by Danzou then, and he was not about to be now.
"I need what's left of your word, Shisui," Itachi said. "If I do what you say, Sasuke's life must be spared."
"You have my word, Itachi." Shisui lowered the kunai from Sasuke's neck. "Sasuke will be safe and this tragedy will finally be over."
Itachi brought his kunai to his throat. He kept his eyes on Sasuke who watched helplessly.
"B-Big brother! No!" Sasuke screamed.
Tears brimmed Itachi's eyes. "It shouldn't have been this way… Sasuke, forgive me."
I don't want you to see this. You've been through enough.
We should have spent more time together before all of this… Maybe we could have changed this fate.
Itachi offered an apologetic smile. "Maybe next time."
With the kunai drawing blood, Itachi sliced deeply into his flesh. The red fluid oozed out from the wound and from his lips. His knees buckling from the intensity of the pain, he barely caught himself from collapsing. He heaved, the air in his lungs mixing with iron. Death would approach soon.
He could hear Sasuke screaming. His baby brother kicked and writhed in Shisui's grasp.
I'm sorry Sasuke… It will be over soon.
Itachi's struggling soon ceased. He fell in place, eyes still open and glazed over with the passing of life.
Shisui was still for a moment. "I must also apologize Sasuke. This was the only way. I'm afraid you will never truly understand, but that's for the best."
Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. Death would be coming for him soon. He would become just like his mother and father. Just like Itachi.
Shisui readied for the final blow to Sasuke. "For the peace of the villa—"
"I see." Behind Shisui came Itachi's terrifying voice. "Kotoamatsukami, huh?"
Where Itachi had ended his life was a murder of crows cawing and soaring to the sky.
Shisui's single eye grew wide as he turned his body to have his kunai meet Itachi's sword. Sasuke fell from Shisui's grasp as Itachi clutched onto him. He pulled Sasuke to his chest and darted a few meters away from Shisui.
"I should have known," Shisui said. He shook his head. "You've been proving yourself a rule breaker."
"To think your prowess and techniques would be used against you."
Shisui grew enraged. "While that may be a technique I possess, I am doing what you refused. I thought we were in this together to prevent the coup d'etat!?
Itachi shook his head; his face filled with sorrow. Shisui's greatest Jutsu was used against him and he cannot even discern its effect. Kotoamatsukami was truly a frightening technique.
"I'm sorry, Shisui." It would be easy to let Shisui kill them both here—to eradicate the last two Uchiha. Itachi suspected Shisui would then be driven to suicide after the completion of his task. Presumably from Danzo's orders, he would leave a note explaining everything. Coup d'etat avoided; peace maintained, and more land for other villagers to occupy. Their existence erased over the passing of history would bring the elders who persecuted the Uchiha a great sigh of relief.
Itachi didn't want more fighting. He wanted peace. He wanted to end all war by being a strong ninja. Yet all he ever found was misfortune, murder, and tragedy. With Danzou's words, he had been branded truly unlucky.
He heard sniffling below him. Sasuke, tear-stained and grief-stricken. His innocence shattered. Itachi would have no clue what his baby brother saw tonight. His parents were likely dead, quite possibly slaughtered in front of him. Knowing his father, he would have defended their mother and Sasuke only to be taken down by Shisui's weapon. His mother would have shielded Sasuke with her body, and when it was too late for motherly love to protect her son, she would call to him to run.
He ran. He ran because he wanted to live. Because he was young, inexperienced, and because he hoped and prayed that there would be someone else out there still alive. Someone like his big brother who promised to protect and watch over him.
That's why, Itachi thought, For you to see that the world can be changed.
Shisui threw the kunai at Itachi's foot. "The Uchiha will be over tonight. No matter what it takes. This is the end."
Itachi tightened his headband around his forehead. "If that's the case, then I am your last opponent."
All Sasuke could see were flashes of kunai clashing, crows flying in menacing circles, and flames.
Itachi clutched his right arm. He had been grazed too deeply. Wincing from the pain and heaving from exhaustion, Shisui stood over him.
"No!" Sasuke ran towards them. Itachi's fearful eyes watched as the blade inched closer—Sasuke would be caught in the crossfire.
It was instantaneous. Sasuke stood motionless. Blood pooled around Itachi and Shisui's feet.
"I-Ita-chi…" Shisui choked out. Itachi's sword pierced straight through Shisui's chest. He did not have any time to use his flicker technique. He had grown careless.
The mangekyou pulsed in Itachi's eyes. He watched his friend slump down.
"I failed…" He said, so quietly that only Itachi heard him.
"We failed. The Uchiha and village's conflict were too much for us to bear."
As if the twinkle of his own free will returned, Shisui smiled. "Do you think...if it hadn't been like this, that we could have somehow..."
Itachi grabbed Shisui's hand. "Of course. You said it yourself. You, a trusted Jonin, and me, the Hokage."
A dream that would likely not be realized with the murderous underbelly of the village's root.
"An end to the fighting… that's all we wanted."
Itachi nodded. The light in Shisui's eyes faded. He gasped his last breath and Itachi felt the hand he held lose all its vitality.
Itachi turned his head to Sasuke. Grief-stricken, Itachi walked over, knelt next to him, and pulled him into the tightest embrace he could muster. All the while, he whispered assurances.
"It's over now. You're safe."
Sasuke's guttural sobs echoed throughout the empty ruins of the Uchiha compound. He cried out for mother, father, and indistinguishable cries. Itachi cried along with him. His face buried in Sasuke's hair, he could only cry. Their family, home, and way of living were all gone. All taken in an effort to provide temporal peace.
After what felt like hours, Sasuke had passed out. Itachi stood with Sasuke in his arms. He gazed up at the moon. No one would be coming to their aid until dawn. It had been arranged that way.
They had nowhere to go. Not with Itachi still alive. He was a liability to the village. Sasuke's life could not be protected in the village either. Danzou would always come after him, plot some way to end his little brother.
He stumbled inside their home. He passed by the photo of them altogether. Itachi had always looked so troubled, so distant.
He saw the hand of his mother in the doorway to the bedroom. He parted the door to see her full body. His father, too, was slain in defense of her.
He carried on, doing his best to suppress more grief. To his room, it was unscathed. It was quiet and familiar. He placed Sasuke on his bed while he went to the closet.
They could not stay. There would be no peace for them.
Hiruzen was startled awake by Uchiha Itachi. His brother resting on his back, he knelt. It was a customary respect, but Itachi felt very little. Instead, it was more of a habit than intentional. "The Uchiha will cease to exist from tonight."
Hiruzen tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"In reality, Uchiha Shisui sacrificed everything and everyone he loved to protect the village. To the village, a poor teenager snapped and ended his entire clan. There were no survivors. In his guilt, he committed suicide."
Hiruzen's eyes widened. "You are not saying that the Uchiha have been wiped out, are you?!"
"Please include Sasuke and myself in that number. We will go into hiding. The Sharingan will become a lost doujutsu over time."
"Itachi, you do not have to leave—I will protect you. This village is your home."
"From Danzou? He who wanted me to kill the clan, but instead had Shisui do it? And then to torment Sasuke… This is no place for the Uchiha. That much is clear. So then the Uchiha will cease to be." Itachi had made up his mind. He and Sasuke would live lives free from the burden of a cursed clan. Their allegiance would be to each other and to do right by others. It sounded simple, silly, but it would be the only way.
Hirzuen sighed. "If what you are saying is true, then Danzou will pay the ultimate price."
Itachi's Sharingan flared brightly. "Do not let the Uchiha's sacrifice be in vain. Protect your peace bought with the blood of my kin."
With that, Itachi vanished.
Hiruzen stared out at the moon. "Itachi… what will you do?"
I want to grow strong to end all war.
Itachi walked through the forest. He felt lighter somehow, even though he was carrying Sasuke and packed bags of essentials.
Perhaps, his dream was too much for one person to carry. To that end, it was too much for two. Shisui and him had tried to do everything they could. It would also not be fair to subject Sasuke to his dreams. Itachi knew all too well about being forced to believe in something when there was no draw to keep you grounded in that belief.
He glanced back at his brother's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful himself. That's what sleep did. It washed away the worry of the day. For a short while, Sasuke could forget what happened.
Maybe Itachi's new dream could be more reachable.
To protect Sasuke.
If he could do that, at least, maybe then he can entrust his dreams to the future. Someday the last war will be fought.
Someday there will be true peace.
