Second chances

by FlameXFullmetal

The 4th war had ended, but the price had been too high. Now at the end of their rope, and with nothing to lose and everything to gain, can Sasuke and Naruto repair the damage before it can be done or are some things meant to happen without reason? Naruto/Hinata Sasuke/FemHaku rated m for language. Smart/Strong Naruto. (may seem godlike but isn't) Good Sasuke. Familial Kyubi.

32. Proactive vs Reactive

Second Chances

By: FlameXFullmetal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: I hope that everyone had a good christmas to those that celebrate it and to those that don't a happy holiday. In any event, I'm back. I'm late I know however, it seems that if I intend to keep the more recent length of the chapters then the most I will get is one update per month for each of my three stories. I apologize. I really want to do at least two a month but it doesn't seem like that this possible. In any event, you know the drill by now!

"hello" people (bijuu in human form) speaking

'hello' people (bijuu in human form) thinking/coded hand signals

"HELLO" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity yelling

"hello" bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity talking

'hello' bijuu (full demon form)/summoning/deity thinking

hello jutsu

*********Proactive vs. Reactive*********

"Jiraiya?" Shikaku suggested after mulling over the question.

"He would never accept, plus while he is getting better now, he doesn't take things seriously enough. Furthermore, like the Sandaime he prefers to be reactive. We need a proactive kage. Some one willing to move first not react to the first move. That was what we had the last time." Sasuke countered.

"Tsunade?" Hiruzen nearly squeaked.

"Again to reactive, plus all of her focus needs to be on the hospital. Besides while she was a good kage, she has a bad habit of brushing things off to the side to do later and then procrastinate about doing them." Naruto sighed getting everyone's attention.

"Tsunade was the Godaime in your time?"

"Yes. Like I said she was good but not suited for the position." Naruto hummed and then got a mischievous grin. Turning to Sasuke was methodically removing each sharingan as slowly as possible he snickered.

"Hey Sasuke, you know how you said you wished you could get back at Itachi for shouldering everything by himself?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you think he would react to be Hokage?" Sasuke faltered unintentionally slicing Danzo's arm open as he spun to look at his kage.

"You would...dobe...that's brilliant!" He said while beginning to cackle manically.

"It would also be a kick to your clan for trying to start a coup when they just had to wait a few years to get what they wanted."

"I love the way you think sometimes." Nodding Naruto looked at everyone else in the room and smirked.

"What? Itachi has had the mindset of a kage since he was a child. He knows the outcome of war and will do everything that he can to prevent it but he also knows that diplomacy isn't always the solution. He has a bad habit of shouldering the weight of the village's safety naturally as a kage does and it will teach him to think of other alternatives instead of one extreme or the other."

"What do you mean?"

"The whole clan didn't need to be massacred. Just the supporters/leaders of the coup. An assassination prior to things getting out of control to make the elders appear to have died naturally from old age or illness would have delayed the coup. Afterwards send those that refuse to drop the topic on missions where they "die" by the hands of "nuke nins" while being executed by Konoha shinobi along with said nuke nin, or even blaming Orochimaru would have sufficed."

"Eh? How would that work? Wouldn't it be obvious if Orochimaru did it?" Tsume asked.

"Nope. Think of it this way. Everyone knows of Orochimaru's obsession with learning all the jutsu and immortality right? Well, the fastest way to learn every jutsu is with the sharingan. So if a team familiar with Orochimaru's work were to say "come across" the remains of several Uchiha, and one that wouldn't survive the trip home, who destroyed their eyes at the last minute to "keep them away from the rogue sannin" then the clan wouldn't be able to argue against their deaths. Well they could, but it would make them look stupid. Besides I'm sure that we have samples of Kusanagi's poison that could be planted in a sword wound that matches the dimension of the blade to prove a point. From there, the Uchiha that want the coup have to redirect their focus to staying safe on missions while Orochimaru gets the blame. He would be angry that he was framed and make a mistake which would make it easier to find and kill him."

"Until then, random attacks that follow no pattern in different places that would be believable always pinning the blame on the snake. Once all of the conspirators are taken care of, we will either have flushed the sannin out or he went back into hiding after so many failures to reevaluate his approach." Naruto explained. "Ironically, this is actually a tactic that Danzo has employed in the past. Assassinate a target and blame someone else with enough evidence to make it believable."

"That is ironic that it could have been used against him." Shikaku mused.

"Unfortunately, Itachi didn't think of this because he was under to much stress from three different parties all the while trying to keep Sasuke shielded to ensure that he was truly innocent. This way he wouldn't have the same fate as the traitors. I honestly think that the Sandaime and the elders did that on purpose so that he couldn't think of a solution that they couldn't benefit from."

"So you think without the added stress he would be able to think more clearly." Tobirama mused.

"Yes."

"I have my reservations on this course," Tobirama confessed before wincing at the disapproving glare Hashirama sent him. "only because I haven't met the Uchiha myself and we have yet to discern whether or not the life of a nuke nin has changed his morals."

"Valid concerns. However, I can assure you if anything they have strengthened his conviction in his beliefs. Unfortunately, he has to act against them in order to keep his cover. We will also need Tsunade to cure him as he has contracted an illness that is supposedly "incurable"." After a minute everyone nodded and sighed as Sasuke finally sat back sharingan floating in a container of green liquid.

"One problem, Itachi is going blind. By the time I fought him he could barely see shapes." Sasuke added while grimacing. "I would trade eyes with him if I could, but I know for a fact that I carried my eternal mangekyo sharingan with me. I don't know how that would affect him."

"I see." Tobirama leaned back and sighed. "The EMS requires strong blood ties to work in addition to the transplant having the ms. Did any of the Uchiha he was related to have the ms?"

"Father apparently did as well as our cousin Shishui. Those are the only ones that I know about for sure." Sasuke replied.

"How close were your father and brother?" Sasuke twitched and then drooped.

"Tense on the good days and well the by the time the massacre happened Itachi had activated the ms in anger while my father's back was turned. I know they cared for each other but I think that they had almost completely severed any connection between them."

"What of your cousin?" Tobirama blinked as Sasuke began twitching and muttering incoherently. Naruto merely laughed at the sight.

"Sasuke was always jealous of how close they were."

"I see. Danzo had one of Shishui's eyes so I assume Itachi has the other?"

"Yeah. He implanted it into one of his ravens."

"We should be able to transplant Shishui's eyes into Itachi to reverse the blindness. While I think that the relationship should be closer I don't know if Itachi will reject his father's eyes and if he doesn't where they are."

"True."

"When did you encounter Itachi the last time?"

"After ero-sannin and I left to find Tsunade to bring her back and make her hokage." Naruto asked slightly confused as Tobirama nodded and began writing quickly in a scroll.

"Until you return with Itachi, nii-san and I will handle the village affairs. Hopefully clean up some of the mess that Hiruzen made." After handing the scroll to Hashirama to read and sign Tobirama handed it to Naruto. "This is an official order to Itachi to join you on your search and return to the village. It does not inform him of his new position. The last thing we need is for him to decide to go rogue for real."

"If Tsunade refuses to return willingly, inform her that she and any Konoha nin with her will be branded as traitors and that your team has orders to execute them as such. As much as I don't want to do that I feel that I have been far to lenient with my grand-daughter and we no longer have the luxury of her childish tantrums. No I don't care if you tell her that I said that." Hashirama sighed. Mito smiled at her husband before laying a hand on his arm.

"You and I both. I should never have let her become as prideful and childish at the same time. She has had more than enough time to grieve and is only harming her companions and Konoha at this point." Nodding Naruto stood and stretched glancing at the fuming elders.

"Lock Koharu and Homura up and let no one see them. I doubt that it would be an issue but just in case Danzo's ROOT decides to try and get close as visitors. As for Danzo...the seals on him will "leash" him to his cell. He won't be leaving without my consent, however, again erring on the side of caution no visitors and make sure the ANBU stationed to guard him are aware of a potential prison break. This way they are not caught by surprise and killed. However, the most dangerous of Danzo's ROOT are Yamanaka Fuu and Aburame Torune. Inoichi and Shibi should be able to give clear instructions for countering their abilities. One last thing." Naruto said glancing behind him.

"All of you need to get back in shape and up your training. There was absolutely no reason why Shikaku and Inoichi had enough time to relay a complicated plan to Shikamaru and not enough time to evacuate HQ during the fourth war resulting in their deaths. You are shinobi! The replacement and Shunshin are basic techniques for crying out loud!" Everyone blinked at the two men in question who looked rather sheepish. With that Naruto left the room to prepare for his trip. After a few minutes Ino shook her head.

"Dad..really? Besides that I'm surprised that Naruto didn't take the mantle back."

"He won't. Not for a long while maybe ever again." Sasuke whispered his eyes looking haunted.

"Why not?" Sasuke smiled grimly at the blonde.

"Who do you think was in charge when you guys died? Naruto still hasn't forgiven himself for your deaths and right now he needs to be in the field to keep everyone's eyes on him, instead of the village." Ino winced at the reminder that she had died.

"It must be hard being back here for both of you."

"More him than me...I'm just glad that he trusted me enough to bring me along..."

"Why wouldn't he? He's obviously already forgiven you for leaving."

"All I can say is that right before we came back, I failed the most important mission he had given me and it resulted in the death of someone really close to him." Sasuke replied before leaving the room. Tobirama watched Sasuke's retreat and sighed.

"I see." Hashirama tilted his head and blinked.

"I don't get it."

"Later nii-san."

Several hours later...

"So ero-sannin have you picked up your training again?"

"With you as a bratty apprentice, of course I have. If I didn't you would be running circles around me."

"I already can...my body just can't handle it yet." Naruto countered before nodding to Jiraiya slightly. Jiraiya nodded just barely in reply and they followed the same script as before with Jiraiya abandoning him for a girl and him heading to his hotel room alone. Sitting on the bed he sighed and began to focus. He had to time this right. Furthermore, he had no idea if Kisame would be a problem or not. Sighing as he heard the knock he grinned and flew to the door.

"Hello! I'm not interested in sharks, shark swords or cookies. Bye!" He said slamming the door and jumping out the window quickly cackling as he heard the crash of the door followed by more explosions and extremely loud, angry shouting. Racing from the village he stopped in a clearing and smiled as Itachi stepped in front of him twitching. Despite having avoided most of the traps he still had specks of various colors of paint dotting his robe and in his hair.

"I see I can still evoke some emotion from you, weasel."

"How did you know that?"

"Outside of the fact that weasel disappeared at the same time that the massacre happened and he wasn't listed KIA, it wasn't that hard." Naruto shrugged and then smiled as he heard a loud crash in the distance. "Now that we are alone and ero-sannin is distracting your partner, with Zetsu spying on him we can talk."

"Talk?" Itachi was tense at the mention that Zetsu had been spying and somewhat nervous that he seemed to know that they were coming. Furthermore, Naruto knew Zetsu had been there! He couldn't even do that.

"This is for you. Read it and I will answer your questions." Naruto said throwing the scroll he had been given. Catching it and quickly scanning for traps Itachi opened it and felt his eyes widening with each sentence and as he reached the signatures at the bottom the scroll slipped from his hands in shock.

"Is this...how...?" He stammered trying to get the words out.

"Yes. You have been recalled to the village Itachi. Sasuke knows the truth and everything will be explained when we are in the privacy of the village. Kisame is welcome to join if he severs his alliance with the Akatsuki. Will you come?" Naruto asked softly knowing the emotional rollercoaster that Itachi had to be on. Quietly Itachi bent down and picked up the scroll reading it once more before rolling it up and closing his eyes in contemplation. Before he could answer Kisame flew out of the tree line cursing.

"Oi, Itachi what's wrong?" Kisame grunted standing up as he weighed his options. When Itachi had said they weren't ready to face the sannin he had laughed and brushed it off. Now though, he wasn't as confident. He hadn't been able to get a hit in yet!

"Kisame, we have been partnered for years...dare I say even became friends. What would you do if I left the Akatsuki?" Kisame blinked at the odd question and sighed.

"So you've finally been called back to your village huh? We were wondering when that would happen." Itachi's eyes flew open in surprise before he drooped.

"When? How long?"

"We've known for years Itachi. Not even leader-sama bought the whole kin slayer for power act. Especially since you usually leave me to do most of the fighting of strong opponents. The truth is we expected this to happen sooner or later. Why do you think we get along so well? We're both nuke-nin basically for the same reason. I was tired of being ordered to kill my companions and you were ordered to kill your clan. Neither of us liked it but we did what we had to do to protect the village we swore to protect." Kisame reasoned as Jiraiya dropped in the clearing.

"We need to hurry, Zetsu will be here soon." Naruto said urgently.

"Will you come with me?"

"I'd be betraying someone again Itachi."

"You are already being betrayed." Naruto cut in getting everyone's attention. "You say you don't want to kill your companions and yet "Pein" is an Uzumaki. Ero-sannin here trained him himself. I am an Uzumaki and he will kill me to achieve his selfish desires that are being manipulated by someone who wants to revive the Juubi at the cost of the Akatsuki and Pein's lives if necessary. All in order to force everyone into a dream world were everything is "perfect"."

"Well fuck..."

"How do you know this?" Itachi asked in surprise.

"Kyubi and Jiraiya. From there it wasn't that hard to fill in the blanks by brainstorming."

"I suppose. However..." Kisame trailed off.

"If you are placed in the same situation you are gone."

"Hai."

"Well then let's go...destroy your rings or seal them and your cloaks away. Here, a new Konoha headband Itachi and for now take this Uzu headband." Naruto said as they bolted just before Zetsu arrived in the clearing in confusion.

Several days later...

With Naruto's knowledge of the future the group of four managed to make it to Tanzaku Gai ahead of schedule. Sighing happily Naruto sat on the roof across from the casino Tsunade was in watching for her grand escape. Glancing to his left he watched as Itachi sat down awkwardly fiddling with his headband.

"You never expected to wear it again did you?"

"No...Sasuke knows, huh?"

"Yup. He wants his big brother back before he does something reckless."

"Does the village know?"

"By the time we get back, most likely. I know that you wanted to preserve the clan's image Itachi, however, it is easier to hit rock bottom and then climb back up then it is to stop your descent by clutching a rope that may fray at anytime. At least this way the clan can truly be revived right. You and Sasuke will be able to guide the future generations of Uchiha down the right path. Neither of you can do everything alone. No one can for that matter."

"You sound like an old man."

"I feel old sometimes for reasons you will learn when we return to the village. For now we need to focus on getting the grumpy old hag to cure your illness." Itachi twitched in annoyance as Naruto once again said something he shouldn't have known. Not knowing how he was doing it was driving him nuts. All of a sudden Naruto stood and smirked.

"Showtime. Remember the plan. Follow her until she is in a less populated area then approach. Do not lose her." Naruto commanded through the headsets they were wearing as they began to follow the elder blonde. Not for the first time did Kisame wonder why they were taking orders from the kid. However, he could wonder about that later, now he needed to take care of the fleeing drunk.

It didn't take long for Tsunade to make her way out of the city and that was when the four moved to intercept her. Naturally Tsunade and Shizune jumped as the four nin appeared around them in a burst of speed that they didn't expect. It was just as surprising to see that they had surrounded them just as quickly and that there were some very well known faces among them.

"Tsunade.." Jiraiya said seriously setting the tone for the conversation.

"Jiraiya fancy meeting you here. What do you want?"

"You and Shizune have been ordered to return to the hidden leaf effective immediately.."

"Never!" Tsunade growled making Jiraiya snarl at her in return.

"..if you resist you are to be branded nuke nin and executed on sight." The glare faded into shock as Jiraiya's words rang in Tsunade's ears. Her sensei had never once gone that far before and even he knew she would never return. Why were things starting to change now? Did Jiraiya really think that he could kill her?

"You couldn't kill Orochimaru when he went rogue. Why do you think you can kill me?"

"He doesn't think he knows." Naruto cut in drawing her attention to him. "The fact of the matter is, your grandfather says that this childish tantrum has gone on long enough and you will return to the leaf willingly as a loyal nin or in a body bag as a traitor, your choice."

"My grandfather is dead! How dare you bring him into this!"

"Your grandfather was resurrected by Orochimaru during his failed invasion of the leaf. I used a seal to prevent Orochimaru from forcing Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama and Mito-sama to attack the village and they have decided to stick around to try and fix the disfunction that is Konoha. As of currently they have taken command of Konoha after declaring the Sandaime unfit for the position. Will you return alive or dead? The same order was given to Shizune. Choose."

"Let me think about this.." Tsunade growled in anger at the blonde before her only to get Jiraiya to shake his head.

"You decide now. This is not optional and we are not giving you time to change your mind and bolt Tsunade. A shinobi doesn't decide to obey an order over a period of days. They obey or they don't when given the order. Just as you are expected to obey or refuse right now."

"What's wrong, Tsunade? Afraid that you will get attached again? Or is my god-mother that much of a coward?"

"What did you call me?!"

"A coward unless you are referring to the god-mother comment. You are both right now. My god-mother who is to afraid to fight her fears head on and runs away from her problems never once caring about who else gets hurt in the process. Otherwise you would have realized that Dan and Nawaki's death didn't affect you exclusively and that there were other people that lost them as well. Or that you leaving like you did would hurt your teammate. That the life you currently live is only harming Shizune as opposed to helping her grow." Naruto fired back making her recoil in shock.

"Tell me how many times have you almost been caught by the debt collectors? How many narrow escapes have there been? How long until they catch up and you have nothing to pay them with? How long until they take what they want from Shizune to call you even? Have you ever once thought of Shizune's safety? Or has it always been your misery?"

"Shut up!"

"Or you'll what? Attack me in a fit of rage like a spoiled child? Go ahead. You won't be able to touch me. I warn you though, attacking me is considered resisting and will mark you as a nuke nin. It's time you get over yourself and realize that not everything is about you and your grief. It's time you learn that there are consequences for your actions. Something that Mito-sama and Hashirama-sama deeply regret not enforcing." Naruto continued making Tsunade see various shades of red before paling at the implications of what he was saying.

"Your lying...you have to be..."

"Show her your recall orders. I'm sure that will help." Jiraiya replied to Tsunade's denial. Nodding, Itachi pulled the scroll and threw it to Tsunade who opened it and paled recognizing the handwriting. Scanning to the bottom and seeing the signature and seal of both Hashirama and Tobirama she slid to the ground in shock not uttering a word.

"What will it be Shizune? Tsunade?" Jiraiya demanded once more.

Back in Konoha...

The day after the team of Jiraiya and Naruto left, the village had gathered at the base of the Hokage tower for a village wide announcement many chattering in confusion over the reason. After all, it isn't everyday that you have two deceased hokage return from the dead. Sasuke took a deep breath from his perch on a nearby roof and sighed. He honestly didn't care how the village reacted to the news. After all he was already used to being treated as a traitor. He was however, worried about the reception that his brother would have. He hoped that they were doing the right thing.

"Silence." Tobirama's voice rang over the crowd silencing the chattering voices instantly. "I know that you are all curious as to what this is about and we will get to the prime reason for the announcement soon. However, first and foremost Hiruzen Sarutobi has been declared unfit to lead the village any longer and will be replaced just as soon as our Godaime returns from a long absence from the village. Until that time my brother and I will be sharing the responsibilities for the position of the Hokage."

"Now for the primary reason you are here. The reason that the Sandaime has been deemed unfit is because of his handling of the aftermath of the Kyubi attack that led to the massacre of the Uchiha clan. As with my grand-niece it seems that many of you are unaware of the consequences of your actions. Hopefully this will make it clear to you. First and foremost I am partially to blame for this mess as my distrust of the Uchiha clan seemed to be picked up by the village and spread amongst the villagers and I will regret that forever. This distrust culminated when people began gossiping about the rumors of a sharingan being present in the Kyubi's eyes that night. This led many to the assumption that the attack had been designed and carried out by the Uchiha clan itself as many pointed to Madara controlling the fox once before as proof."

"The fact is that this rumor soon became accepted as fact and the Uchiha clan was pushed to the outer edges of the village, stripped of the power they had been given rightfully as a clan of Konoha and placed under surveillance for no reason either than flimsy speculation. They could have tolerated that had the village not become openly untrusting and uncooperative to them while the were doing their jobs for the police force. A force designed to keep the village as peaceful as possible. This hostility led to resentment and an unwillingness to follow proper protocol involving investigations as they had come to accept that very few would cooperate willingly with them. This led them to using force and threats to make people cooperate so that they could do their jobs."

"Was it right? No. However, they should have never felt that they needed to in the first place. This hostility translated to anger and soon old relics that couldn't let go of the past and their glory days as well as hot headed upstarts began scheming to try and reclaim what they had lost in the attack. Unfortunately, this led to discussions of a coup de tat. Fortunately, there were those that didn't agree with this line of thought in the clan and they tried to get them to leave well enough alone. However, soon it became apparent that the more hostile the village became and the more distrust directed at them the more the clan felt justified in their course of action."

"However, there were two members of the clan that saw the consequences of what would happen should this be brought to fruition and attempted to stop it. They informed the Sandaime who instructed them to act as spies on their own clan while they were ordered to spy on the village for the clan. This caused their sense of duty to the village as a whole and to their clan to conflict. Their desire to keep the peace was what won in the end. However, there were also forces that didn't want a peaceful resolution to the situation and began antagonizing both the clan and the populace to make things worse. At the height of it all it was agreed that they would use a kinjutsu unique to the sharingan to stop the coup without bloodshed. However, Shimura Danzo did not agree with this plan and acted on his own. He attacked the Uchiha who had volunteered to do the kinjutsu at the cost of his sight and most likely his career. He did not escape unharmed. Danzo stole one of his sharingan and fatally wounded and poisoned him."

"This left him to the only solution he could think of. He entrusted his last sharingan to his closest friend and left the clan's fate to him as he committed suicide by throwing himself from a cliff into the Naka river. For those that haven't figured it out, I am referring to Uchiha Shishui and Uchiha Itachi who was forced to make a very difficult decision. He had been given orders to kill the traitors among the clan however, Danzo had other plans and threatened the life of his younger brother if he didn't kill the entire clan resulting in the massacre you remember."

"He was not alone however. The same man that caused the Kyubi attack assisted him in the slaughter falsely claiming himself to be Uchiha Madara. Itachi was unaware that this man was the reason behind the attack and accepted his assistance in the task ahead. Itachi has since left the village undercover as a spy and has been reporting back to the village ever since. Sasuke was spared because he was ignorant of the plans of the clan and because Itachi couldn't bring himself to harm his brother. My brother and I have since recalled Itachi and we intend to have him serve the village once more openly."

"All of this could have been avoided by trusting your fellow villagers more, not spreading unverified information, and forming your own opinion on a topic instead of accepting the opinion of others blindly. It would also have helped had I better expressed my concerns and explained my reasoning with the village however, you can not change the past. You can only learn from it and prevent yourself from repeating the same mistakes. While information is a shinobi's greatest weapon, it can also be our fastest downfall. Keep that in mind." Tobirama declared causing an awkward silence to fill the air as his words were digested. However, that silence didn't last long.

"YOU'RE LYING! THERE'S NO WAY SASUKE-KUN'S FAMILY WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Sasuke twitched before making himself known.

"It's true. I myself only found out recently, 'In this timeline.', and the fact is that nothing and no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes and it just so happened that my clan made a lethal one. However, had you been listening you would have realized that he named multiple factors at the core of the reason why. Furthermore, Sakura you have no place to talk as you fall in almost every category he mentioned. You almost always participate in shameless gossip, you follow the most popular opinion with little effort to form your own, you accept anything that places me in a positive light even if it isn't true and what's even worse is you don't care. So long as everything is perfect in your world you reject everything else. Grow up." Sasuke snapped silencing the pinkette before shrugging.

"Like Nidaime-sama said you can't change the past. 'If only you knew.' You can only learn from it. I have learned from my clan's mistakes and have no intention of repeating them. When my brother returns home we will rebuild the Uchiha into the clan it could have been from the very beginning. With or without the village's trust." He said before turning and leaving the gathering to collect his thoughts and prevent himself from ending Sakura's life needlessly.

"Sasuke has learned from the past but have any of you?" Turning to leave Tobirama paused and glanced back at the crowd. "The Godaime's identity will be announced when they return. Until then I suggest everyone takes a long hard look at their life and ask if they are happy with the way that it has turned out and whether or not the consequences of your actions were worth the outcome. What exists now is not the Konoha my brother and built with Madara and Mito. It is but a shell of its former self." With that he left the group of embarrassed, ashamed, guilty, indifferent and angry people behind. It had been one very long day as the crowd slowly began to depart and quietly discuss what they had been told. It would be a long time before the village's morale would recover.

Sasuke in the meanwhile arrived at his clan's compound and stepped inside once more sighing in exasperation. 'Seriously, when is that girl going to get a clue and return to reality? Has she clearly learned nothing from her near death experience in Nami and even less about her new limitations. When is she going to learn? When she dies? Wait, never mind. She didn't even learn when she was sentenced and went to her death just as clueless as she always was.'

Taking a breath Sasuke opened the door to his brother's room and did something that he never thought he would ever get to do. He began cleaning it in preparation for his brother's return home. He figured even if Itachi didn't want to live in the compound it wouldn't do to have the older Uchiha die of suffocation because of dust. He just prayed that the female Senju could heal him. He didn't want to lose his brother to illness again. It was an insult for him to die of something he was incapable of fighting. Shaking his head he smiled at a picture frame that held a picture of them on Itachi's tenth birthday. He would ensure that his brother got his happy ending one way or another. He wouldn't accept anything else.

One week later...

As the gates to the village came within sight Naruto turned to look at Jiraiya who was staring at the sky in contemplation. Shaking his head he glanced behind him and smirked as he saw Shizune and Itachi engaged in a light conversation over various uses for poisons that Itachi had picked up in his travels while Tsunade was attempting to glare a hole in Jiraiya's head and Kisame smirked next to the irate woman. It had been tense however, the female sannin had decided to not try her luck at running or fighting and had agreed to come back, if only to give her grandfather a piece of her mind. Naturally, Kisame had laughed in her face when she declared that she would be lecturing the Shodaime and ever since then he had been constantly picking on the woman knowing that she couldn't fight back.

Passing through the gates was easy and everyone could tell that the mood was somber and Itachi could see guilt and shame in the eyes of some people who looked at him before they looked away. Sighing he shook his head and laughed as he caught sight of some of the ANBU struggling to do what appeared to be Gai's insane training regiment under the watchful eyes of said jonin. What he wouldn't have paid to be there when they were told they would be working with him. It wasn't much longer that they were standing in front of the doors to the Hokage's office trying not to laugh at the sounds coming from within. Eventually Tsunade got tired of waiting and flung the door open only to collapse in a fit of laughter at seeing her grandfather literally chained to his desk by his own wife and her granduncle attempting unsuccessfully to force a brush into his hands to finish signing the documents all the while the Shodaime complained about wanting a break. The sound of Tsunade's laughter however, caught their attention.

"Tsuna-hime! Help! They've kidnapped me! They're torturing me!" Hashirama wailed pitifully at the sannin who only laughed harder. Tobirama scowled and let his eyes wander to the rest of the group and finally landed on Kisame and Itachi. Standing straight he walked over to the two and looked them over before giving a small, polite bow.

"You must Uchiha Itachi."

"What gave it away, the sharingan that he always has on?"

"Kisame." Itachi said without pausing making the taller man grumble. Turning his attention back to the albino kage he bowed respectfully.

"Uchiha Itachi returning back from an S-rank mission. Your orders Hokage-sama?" He said falling back into routine making Tobirama raise an eyebrow.

"You are certainly more polite than most Uchiha I have met. Most seem to have a chip on their shoulder and an arrogance problem."

"Arrogance is the start of one's own downfall. Better to be modest and humble than arrogant and rash." Itachi countered straightening up.

"Damnit Itachi stop getting philosophical on me!" Kisame whined making everyone snicker at his misfortune.

"I see why Naruto and Sasuke spoke highly of you now. Come sit we have much to discuss and there is no reason for you to call me Hokage-sama. I am merely filling in until the Godaime can be sworn in."

"Oh hell no!" Tsunade yelled standing and pointing accusingly at Jiraiya. "You had better not have drug me back to be Hokage!"

"Lower your voice, there is no need to be shouting in doors and I know I taught you better manners than that young lady!" Mito snapped making Tsunade look away sheepishly. As the group took a seat and a some tea was served Tobirama looked over to the Uchiha and sighed.

"I trust that Naruto told you that there was much that wouldn't be explained until you returned."

"Hai." Nodding Tobirama dismissed the ANBU and activated the privacy seals.

"The fact of the matter is Itachi, that your brother and Naruto here managed to do something that even I thought impossible."

"What did they do...now?" Itachi sighed looking at Naruto who was conveniently whistling and looking away.

"Now? Nothing. In the future? Everything. You see over the course of thirteen years Naruto and Sasuke pooled all of their knowledge and everything else that they could find to design a seal that makes even the Hakke no Fuin Shiki look like an amateur made it. They designed a seal that allowed them to travel nineteen years into the past to correct the future." The reaction from the four returning shinobi would forever be ingrained in the minds of the deceased nins and Naruto. Several things happened all at once that painted a hilarious picture.

Tsunade began choking on her tea.

Shizune squeaked and spun to look at Naruto in disbelief.

Kisame spit his tea out and began to sputter incoherently while trying to find a way to refute the Nidaime's words.

Itachi, sat completely still for several seconds before sighing. A few seconds later the stoic Uchiha fainted as the implications hit him full force.

As he finally came around he saw Naruto laying on the floor laughing hysterically, Sasuke holding his head, Kisame fussing over him, Shizune running a diagnostics and Tsunade still trying to get tea out of her lungs. The worse part was Hashirama had joined Naruto on the floor, Mito was giggling and Tobirama not only had an amused smirk on his face but a camera in his hands. As he waited for the laughter to die down he felt his eye begin to twitch violently before he narrowed his eyes at the two laughing hokage before blasting them with his killing intent.

"Tell anyone and I will kill you. If you have already moved on by then I will drag you back and make you wish you could die. Show that picture to anyone and I will still kill you. Am I clear?" Naruto and Hashirama shot to their feet nodding quickly while Tobirama raised an eyebrow.

"There's the Uchiha attitude I have come to expect." Itachi merely glared wishing he still had his robes to hide the small blush he had due to his fainting spell.

"Time travel?!" Tsunade managed to squeak finally able to breath.

"Yes. We had no choice. It was the only option available for us considering the situation we were in. Konoha was literally on borrowed time, we had no allies, and even worse we were at war. It was the only thing that we could think of. Go back in time and stop it from happening. So we did. Now we are thirty-one year olds in thirteen year old bodies." Naruto said giving a pained smile. Itachi felt his eyes widen before he nodded in understanding.

"Can you tell me what happened to the Akatsuki?" Kisame asked. "I need to confirm something."

"The original Akatsuki all died minus Tobi, and Zetsu. Along with five newer members they launched the fourth shinobi war in order to get the Hachibi and the Kyubi who were the only non-captured bijuu at that point. After the war started, the original Akatsuki members were brought back using the Edo Tensei to fight in the war. Eventually, the Akatsuki lost the war at the cost of almost two-thirds of the world's shinobi as well as the destruction of Kumogakure which was acting as the base of operations. Thankfully the citizens had been evacuated in time." Kisame nodded and smiled knowing now that he made the right choice. Leaning back Naruto prepared himself for the lengthy explanation that was needed before he looked at Sasuke and nodded. Turning to the two former nuke nin and the two medic nin he quickly activated his ms and captured them in Tsukuyomi showing them rather than explaining once more. Once the genjutsu ended the four sat quietly as they tried to assimilate what they had seen. It was sobering to say the least that the village would be met with such an end and that the two in front of them were willing to risk it repeating again to try and save everyone.

"We need that medic program Tsunade, desperately. There weren't enough field medics by any standard in either war. We need all the help we can get to stop this. We can't do this alone. So will you help us?" Naruto asked tiredly. Without a word the four nodded, determination showing in their eyes. It was then that Itachi turned to look at the Nidaime in curiosity.

"If Tsunade isn't the Godaime this time who is?" Tobirama snickered lightly before smirking at the Uchiha.

"Why, Itachi, that would be you.." All across the elemental nations shinobi and civilians alike looked to the sky as the scream traveled from Konoha.

"WHY MEEEEE?!"

************T.B.C.**************

A/N: I hope that you like it. It is a continuation of the last chapter and very little fighting again. However, now I can truly begin moving forward as the most mundane part is over. I hope you liked it! Until next time! Ja ne!

Hakke no Fuin Shiki – Eight sign seal (also called Eight trigram divination seal spell formula)

Tsukuyomi – Moon Reader (literal translation)