I don't own Naruto or any of the characters or situations associated with it.

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Learning

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"You alright, Naruto?" Shisui asked quietly as the quartet approached the front gate of the Academy complex. Naruto nodded, glancing at Anko's determined expression and Shisui's worried one.

"I'm fine, but the Hive is… rather quiet. What happened after I fell asleep? Or should I not ask?"

"The Uchiha clan was… purified." Shisui said slowly. "All the traitors who wished to overthrow the Hokage mysteriously died last night, Itachi was confirmed as the new clan-head this morning."

Setsuna, walking on Shisui's other side, remained quiet but looked away, trying to hide his frown.

"We lost over a third of our numbers, almost two-thirds of our active shinobi." Shisui continued. "Itachi-sama has gone to ask the Hokage for permission to recruit Hyuuga, Aburame and Inuzuka into the Konoha Military Police to make up the numbers. In addition, many of the remaining Uchiha will transfer across to active Chunin and Jonin duty, taking missions outside the village and even volunteering to lead genin teams. We are also opening up our jutsu vaults to Chunin and Jonin of other clans, trading for new jutsu or using them as mission payments. We have isolated ourselves from the rest of the village for too long."

Naruto looked round and saw several other Uchiha, all Chunin and Jonin, moving towards the academy.

"Um, nee-san?"

Shisui followed his gaze and nodded. "Itachi and the Hokage will be addressing most of the village today, the others are here to tell the students what they need to know in order to cut down on the rumours. I'm going to be telling your class."

Naruto nodded, his expression blank and Shisui squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"You saved us, Naruto-kun. The other plan was to wipe out the whole clan to protect Konoha. We're still alive because of you, and we won't forget it."

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"…and after the traitors were executed, Itachi swore oath to the Hokage and took his position as clan-head." Shisui finished, looking round at the class that was staring intently at him. "For finding the final piece of proof that we needed, Uzumaki Naruto has been named clan-friend of the Uchiha, as has his guardian, Mitarashi Anko."

Shisui used his trademark skill to body-flicker to behind Naruto. Pulling out a necklace with an engraved tag, he held it up so that everyone could see the Uchiha fan embossed on one side while the Uzumaki swirl was centered on the other. After a few seconds, he slowly placed it around Naruto's neck, then stepped back and bowed to him.

"Naruto-san, the Uchiha sector is always open to you."

Before anyone could react, Shisui flickered back to the front of the classroom.

"I think that that covers everything you needed to know. Naruto, Itachi has invited you and Anko over for tea, not formal, just as a way of saying thank you. See you then!"

Naruto grinned as Shisui vanished, then looked round to see everyone staring at him.

"What?"

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"Uzumaki-sama, Mitarashi-san, good afternoon." Shisui said formally, bowing deeply as the duo approached. "Welcome to the Uchiha Enclave."

"I… we were told that it wasn't a formal occasion." Anko hissed as they approached and Shisui smiled.

"It isn't, but we seem to have quite a few witnesses. Having an Uchiha, especially one as well-known as me, bowing to you… it'll really boost your rep."

Naruto laughed even as Anko rolled her eyes.

"So, this way, please. Itachi-sama and his family are waiting for you."

"That would be Mikoto and Sasuke, yes?" Anko asked and Shisui nodded.

"Yep. Naru-kun, are we still up for our weekly Shunshin race?"

"Day after tomorrow, three laps round Konoha and loser pays for ramen, right, Senpai?" Naruto grinned. Anko shot Shisui a questioning look.

"Just our normal forfeit." He explained with another smile. "So far, I'm seven meals ahead."

"It'll be six soon." Naruto countered and both males burst out laughing as Anko rolled her eyes again.

"I can still Shunshin longer distances, but Naruto uses his Hive to do them more rapidly, one after the other." Shisui explained. "You wouldn't believe how freaked out I was when he did his first stutter-shunshin. It looked like he was in three places at once, even with my Sharingan active, I couldn't follow him. It was something of a relief when we discovered that his Kage Bunshins cannot do his Hive-enhanced Shunshins, only normal ones."

"Your expression was priceless." Naruto chortled. "Anko, he even used his shuriken-eyes to try and keep track of me."

"His what?" Anko queried and Shisui turned his head, his eyes turning red as he activated his Sharingan. An instant later, the three tomoe in his iris seemed to move and warp, forming a four-pointed star.

"Think of them as an enhanced Sharingan." He explained, letting the red fade as he returned his eyes to normal. "Gives me some extra tricks, but too much usage and my vision starts going with no way to heal it. It's kind of a last-ditch thing. I use it too much and it means my career is finished."

Anko opened her mouth, then closed it again as Shisui halted in front of a large mansion. Opening the door, he bowed and motioned for them to enter. Anko nodded to him and led Naruto through.

"Wow, something smells good!" Naruto said, taking a deep breath and the woman waiting for them smiled.

"Thank you, Naruto. Welcome to Uchiha Manor, Itachi and Sasuke are waiting in the main dining room. This way please."

Anko and Naruto followed Mikoto down the hallway, Naruto craning his neck to look at the pictures, tapestries and occasional statue. Reaching the door at the end, Mikoto slid it open and waved them through.

"Mitarashi Anko, Uzumaki Naruto, it is good of you to have joined us." Itachi said with a slight smile. "Please, be seated."

Naruto sat down and looked across at Sasuke, who was staring at him.

"Something wrong?"

Sasuke looked away and Itachi looked down at him, then smiled.

"I think he expected you to be taller, Naruto. After all, I told him that by now, you were probably almost to Jonin-level, even though you are still an Academy student."

Sasuke looked shocked and Naruto shrugged. "I had several advantages most shinobi can only dream of, but I still have a lot of history and politics to learn."

"Advantages which include a Hive that scared even the Aburame," Anko smirked, "and which actively helps you with your jutsu."

"I still have to practice the normal way, otherwise my Kage Bunshin can't do them." Naruto protested and Sasuke stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"You… Kage… how?"

"I'm a chakra powerhouse." Naruto explained gently. "I need to use my Kage Bunshin to do chakra control exercises every day just to keep my power under control, and that's with the Hive helping me."

Itachi nodded, his eyes briefly flickering red. "You have more chakra than I do. More than any three Uchiha put together, in fact."

Sasuke opened his mouth, then went silent as Itachi gave him a stern look. "When you have activated your sharingan, little brother, you will see the truth for yourself."

Sasuke stared at Itachi for a long moment, then unwillingly nodded. Itachi smiled and turned back to look at Naruto.

"So, I hear that the Academy has slowed down a bit since I attended, although I did attend during a conflict and we needed as many ninja as possible at the time, irrespective of quality. How are your teachers doing, and what's this I heard about you training with Maito Gai?"

Sasuke winced and Naruto stared at him, then back to Itachi.

"What happened with…?"

Itachi smirked slightly. "My little brother had an unfortunate encounter with the flames of youth after Gai misinterpreted his frustration about his attempts to cast an Uchiha fire jutsu."

"Ah." Naruto deadpanned nervously, a trickle of sweat slowly coursing down his brow. "That would do it. If you're not prepared for him…"

"Indeed."

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"Nii-san," Sasuke said as they watched the duo depart. "What you were talking about… is he really Jonin level?"

"Yes and no." Itachi said. "In terms of chakra, he has almost-Kage level reserves. He can use all five elements equally, but his clones are currently more limited. His Bunshin-senpais, of which I still have no idea about how they work, can use any element that they are pre-set to while his normal Bunshin are limited to wind. If you are fighting him, you can sometimes tell which one is him by seeing who uses more than one elemental chakra type. But do not count on it, he recently fooled me by using several Bunshin-senpais and well-timed substitutions."

Sasuke stared at him in near-shock and Itachi shrugged.

"Little brother, the Sharingan is a powerful tool, but that is all that it is. A tool. It lets us copy the jutsus of others, so long as said jutsus are not shortened. It lets us copy the fighting styles of others, so long as our bodies can support the styles, which sadly is not always, or even often, the case. It lets us use powerful genjutsu, but only if we can look into our opponants eyes.

"During my Jonin exam, I was almost defeated when my opponant used a chakra flare while I had my Sharingan activated. Fortunately for me, a piece of dust had caused me to close one eye, but it took an hour for my other eye to fully recover. I made it my main goal that day to find other ways of fighting than simply relying on the Sharingan, which is one reason why I am often considered a prodigy.

"Naruto has his Hive helping him. If you find one of his Kikkai on you, it means that he can kill you without effort. If you fight him, you will find yourself fighting an army. His Hive has mastered the Kabutomushi no Kage Bunshin, so a single Kikkai can turn into a swarm if need be.

"I honestly believe that he will be a greater ninja than the Yondaime Hokage."

Sasuke gaped at him in shock, then frowned.

"Does that mean that being on a team with him… I could…"

"His abilities mean that he would be the powerhouse of any team, if not a team in his own right." Itachi said, his comments resonating with Sasuke's thoughts. "Pair him up with an Uchiha to copy and teach the jutsu of their adversaries and they would soon be unstoppable."

"That's why you commanded Setsuna to watch out for Naruto! And why you keep questioning him about Naruto's skills!" Sasuke realised. "You want Setsuna to become part of Naruto's team when they graduate!"

Itachi nodded. "Correct so far. Continue."

Sasuke frowned in thought. "You said he was going to be greater than the Yondaime, so by pairing him up with an Uchiha to give him support, you hope to move the clan into a more advantageous position within Konoha."

"Correct again." Itachi said proudly. "But there is more. What have I been doing to the clan?"

"You've been getting the Uchiha to mix more with the rest of Konoha." Sasuke mused. "You're linking the clan closer to Konoha… spreading it out a bit."

"A small target may be harder to hit, but when you do, the damage is greater."

"You're setting things up so that the Uchiha aren't going to be tempted to try another coup!" Sasuke gasped as the enormity of his brother's plan crashed home on him. "You're spreading the clan out so that we have to interact with non-Uchiha in everyday life, you're forcing us to understand others rather than look down on them. That means…"

"Friends and possibly more." Itachi confirmed. "Rather than trying to steal the skills of others, we are seeking to learn to work alongside them, to use our skills to enhance theirs for the good of Konoha."

Sasuke stared at his brother in awe.

"It is almost a shame that Naruto is in the year ahead of you," Itachi mused, "I think that you could have been a good choice as a team-mate to him."