I. Am. SO SORRY this is so late. This month has been absolutely insane, but I hope this chapter with Naruto finding out the truth is worth the wait! Also, a HUGE THANKS to my beta (I finally have a beta!) Nap-Tyme! Go check out her story "Mona Lisa" if you love a little KakaSaku. She's a queen at characterization!

Naruto didn't move; or, rather, he couldn't move as he continued to stare at the sharingan taking the place of where his son's clear blue eyes used to be. It had to be a dream, right? Any moment he would wake up and the village would be safe and he wouldn't have just killed a zetsu impersonating his best friends' daughter and his son would still be-

"What?" His voice came out hoarse. "What do you mean you aren't Boruto? Then who the hell are you?!"

Itachi stayed pressed against the doorframe as he regarded Naruto as neutrally as he could manage. "You have every right to be upset at us," he detoured from the answer. "But please refrain from attacking me until you know all the information. I only want to help-"

"I said who the hell are you!" Naruto began to edge toward him, and Itachi could see his muscles twitching as he forced restraint on himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, Itachi watched Sasuke turn away to avoid the moment Naruto's world would inevitably fall apart. He took a shaky breath in, filling his lungs, before forcing himself to look Naruto in the face to deliver the truth. Naruto continued to stare with bulging eyes, waiting for the moment he'd receive permission to pounce and pulverize the person who overtook his son. Finally, Itachi opened his mouth to speak.

"I am Itachi Uchiha."

But Naruto didn't move. Instead he wavered on his feet, the dusty name disarming him from acting. That was the answer furthest away from what he expected and he didn't know how to react. The Hokage's eyes softened for a moment out of confusion and Itachi forced himself to watch Naruto's mind grind for the answers. Finally the older man's eyes sharpened as he wildly looked to Sasuke for confirmation, whatever gaps he had in understanding needing to be filled by his teammate.

Sasuke grit his teeth together as he also forced himself to look back at Naruto. He could only nod once before he looked away again in shame.

"I...I don't understand…" Naruto's voice trailed off at the end, not comprehending Sasuke's ashamed facial expression that seemed to affirm the child's words, as though what he was saying was somehow true. It didn't make any sense. Because there was no way that Itachi...Itachi Uchiha...could be alive...even with those eyes...

"Stop lying…"

"What?" Sasuke asked and turned back to Naruto who was staring wide-eyed at the ground now.

"That's not true…" His mind fought for any other answer. "This is a joke, right? This has to be…" His whole body was disarmed again and he had to force himself to speak. "Because if something like this was true… You would have told me."

This time the guilt from his statement gripped his gut, and Itachi couldn't make himself watch as a father's heart shattered into pieces.

Sasuke also grimaced against Naruto's words and for once had nothing to counter as he continued.

"If something was wrong with my son you would have told me. Because you are my best friend!" His hand beat against the table, begging for his friend, who was staring in the opposite direction, to acknowledge him. "SASUKE. Answer me!"

"What do you want me to say, Naruto!" Sasuke finally spun around to face him. "He really is Itachi, and he's been Itachi since the night Boruto was attacked." He stopped for a second, voice trembling, but he swallowed down all the guilt and pain the best he could in order to continue. "I didn't tell you because I was trying to protect you! If you knew Boruto was gone, how would you react? How could you do your job? I wanted to fix this before you could find out in case we could get him back-"

"So is he dead?!" Naruto now was next to Sasuke, gripping him by shirt but Sasuke didn't try to get away; he knew he deserved to be there. "What the hell do you know?!"

"We don't know anything on that front."

Naruto turned to Itachi who finally spoke. They locked eyes for a moment, and Itachi truly believed Naruto was going to attack him, to try to relieve his soul that had parasitically latched onto his child. He dropped Sasuke to the ground and bounded over to the body of his son but didn't lift him in the same manner, opting instead to lower his body until Itachi could feel his hot breath on his face.

"What the fuck did you do to my son?" he growled.

"I didn't do anything." Itachi stood straighter against the door. "The night he was attacked on that mission was when I returned. I don't know what happened to him, but I do know he was being scouted for the Akatsuki with his team before this occurred, so I have reason to believe they are partly behind this. I found information on them where we found the reanimation jutsu so I believe the jutsu and the organization are connected. But as for how I got here, who is absolutely behind it, or where he went, I have no idea."

Naruto continued to stare. He didn't need to ask why Itachi would be a prime shinobi to reanimate, but it still didn't explain why he came to be in Boruto's body or even prove it was truly him. For all he knew, it could be someone else attempting to lead them in the wrong direction. He could recognize Boruto's chakra, but there was something off, like one puzzle piece that just didn't fit with the rest of the pieces. Or, and he wouldn't consciously admit it, he hoped that if he followed the string to the end of the spool, if he collected each piece of information they intentionally hid from him, that he'd discover that Boruto was still there all along. He just had to follow it far enough.

"I need you to prove it," he blurted.

"Prove what?"

"I need you to prove you are Itachi. How do I know you're not just saying this?" His eyes pierced Itachi as he looked him up and down. "I know Boruto's chakra, but how can I verify that what you say is true?"

"Because if you truly believed he was someone else you'd have already killed him," Sasuke finally found the words to speak up.

Naruto turned around to snarl at him. "If I believed that I still wouldn't have killed him because if I did that then there'd be no way for Boruto to return if- if- somehow- Ugh." He sputtered a second, unable to stop his brain from melting down at the thought of his son potentially being gone forever. He remembered Sasuke's words minutes earlier- If you knew Boruto was gone, how would you react? How could you do your job?- and knew that he was right, that Sasuke knew him better than he knew himself at times, but he'd never admit that. Not after this betrayal.

"I just need him to verify who he is dattebayo," he hurriedly finished, thankful for the words that finally flooded his mouth again to make him appear stable enough.

"You don't just trust me?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto scoffed. "You really think I can trust you right now?" He turned back to Itachi who was biting his lip as he searched for any memory he had with Naruto.

"Your obsession," he finally settled on. "I'm thankful for that. Your love for Sasuke truly paid off. You told me you were more like a brother to him than I ever was, and I truly believe that."

Behind him he heard Sasuke take a step and he suspected he had turned away again, whereas Naruto's eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

"You maintained that you would get him back at all costs, no matter who manipulated him or what anyone did to him, and you delivered on that promise ten fold. Because of you he came home, he started a family- he achieved everything I ever hoped for and I thank you." He paused for only a second, trying to raise a smile to his lips to show his genuinity. "I also told you that only those who are acknowledged become Hokage."

Naruto's face flickered in recognition and Itachi knew they sparked a connection. He had stared into this face years before, having the upperhand back then, and possessing more experience, more intelligence, more strength. So much time had passed that it handed over the reigns of control to Naruto, yet staring into his face now made both shinobi feel like no time had passed.

"You have done well for yourself, for the village, and for the family. In these years you were able to clearly prove yourself to everyone around you. You would still have done more than I ever could in my life, even if the only thing you ever did was save my brother. And for that, I am indebted to you now to save your son if there is any way he is out there. Please. I haven't done well so far, but please accept my help."

Naruto blinked as the floor shifted beneath him.

So it really was Itachi.

"How could this happen?"

The truth overwhelmed him, swirling intoxicatingly around his head until he couldn't see straight, and he dropped to his knees as he scrambled to find anything to hold onto since his whole world had been ripped from his arms. All sense flooded from his head, leaving him in a puddle on a floor surrounded by all clear thinking and the hopes and dreams he had for his child. If he had any hope that Boruto was inside his body, any way that maybe it wasn't Itachi or another person, it had died.

"Naruto-"

"How could this happen?!" he screeched again, and Sasuke flinched at the feral sound emitting from his gut.

He had never hurt like this before. The Hokage wanted to place blame, needed to place blame. He wanted to claw someone open, whoever had done this to his child, more than he ever wanted to kill another person. Until this moment he had always been able to ground himself and stick to his convictions; he always knew that hate was never the answer. Yet the smoldering fire that used to emanate from Kurama was creeping up on him now, and he wanted to tell the fox to shut up, that it was his son, that whoever did this deserved whatever fate they had coming. He understood it now. Sasuke abandoning the village. Pein. His whole past made sense when he applied it to his son. Peace wasn't possible if his child was-

As a father he should have been able to protect his child. He had never lost so horribly like this, and the realization made him heave the contents of his lunch onto the floor in front of him, splattering Itachi's shoes. Itachi didn't move.

He was always in control, he always came out on top, he saved the entire shinobi world, yet with this he didn't. How could he be Hokage when he couldn't even save his son? How could he catch his bearings when everything he loved was just out of reach?

If only he had recognized the signs.

If only he had found proof of the Akatsuki when they first heard rumors.

If only he was a few minutes faster, he wouldn't be in that much pain.

Maybe he could have saved Boruto.

Or maybe he could have saved him if someone had told him what they knew.

It was this thought that finally gave him the strength to stand and turn around to face Sasuke again.

Sasuke knew immediately that something in Naruto had changed when he first caught the seething, smoldering stare. He was emanating something he didn't quite recognize, at least something he had never seen in the blonde who was now taking jerky steps toward him, that with each inch began to move faster and more fluid until he was in front of him again. Instantly Naruto grabbed the front of his shirt, bunching it in his fist and pulling it tight so Sasuke's breath caught in his throat.

"You. This is your fault."

Never once had Naruto blamed him for anything. Sure, as kids he'd accuse Sasuke of being the reason they couldn't find a lost pet, or the reason they were slow to their destination.

But he had excused all other behavior for the big things Sasuke did. He blamed Orochimaru, Itachi, even himself, but he never once placed any blame for Sasuke's behavior on him, even when he deserved it. So this made it hurt all the worse as his statement sliced through him and caused him to go limp in Naruto's hand. He felt he deserved it.

For once he'd absorb all of Naruto's hate and anger and blame. What would happen? Would he lose his other arm this time? he thought sardonically.

"If you had told me maybe we'd be somewhere else!" Naruto spoke through grit teeth, and Sasuke could swear he actually ground pieces off by how hard he mashed his jaw together. "Do you realize that you keeping this from me caused your child to go missing?! It's my JOB, Sasuke, to protect this village, and you deliberately kept information from me! And for what?! Why?!"

Sasuke's own jaw clamped shut. He didn't have a real answer other than he wanted to protect Naruto; he didn't want him to have to face the dilemma if his son was a zetsu. But what about after he knew Boruto was actually Itachi? Why didn't he say anything then? By then they knew the potential of it being so much more dangerous than before, knowing it was both Akatsuki and Otsutsuki with the potential of other reanimations, so he should have explained it all to Naruto. Did he not because he just wanted some alone time with his older brother whom he never got a full chance to bond with? Was his wanting to be a shinobi with his brother what compromised the village and ultimately cost him his daughter?

This thought burned his throat as bile erupted from his stomach, and he swallowed hard to avoid spewing directly into Naruto's face.

"Why?! Do you still really have nothing to say after all of this?!" Naruto drew him closer and this time Sasuke could feel his hot spit coat his face. "Because of your silence look what happened- your daughter was attacked too and now we might be overrun with zetsus again. We could be even further but we're not! We could have prevented this!"

"Naruto, please-" Itachi started.

Naruto gripped Sasuke tighter and let out a hiss as he turned toward Itachi's voice."You caused all of this again! Remember what you told me, Itachi? Remember how you said you needed people and to not do anything alone because that was the mistake you made? What the hell do you think you were doing alone for the last few weeks. If you were alive, wouldn't you think you tell somebody? Wouldn't you think something was wrong? You found information on the Akatsuki and didn't tell anyone except Sasuke!"

Sasuke made a noise in his throat and Itachi closed his eyes.

"What? What now?"

"...Kakashi, Yamato, and Orochimaru all know." Sasuke's voice cracked.

Naruto released his grip on his shirt, causing him to gasp for air he didn't realize he was lacking. But the wind immediately vacated his lungs again as Naruto punched him square in the gut. He doubled over, gripping his knees, but didn't dare make a noise.

"You bastard."

Naruto punched him again and this time Sasuke sunk to his knees before taking one of Naruto's to the face. Blood instantly poured from his nose and covered the front of his shirt and the floor, but he couldn't even move to stop it. It was his own fault his daughter-

"You all betrayed me! If Orochimaru knew, and I sent Sarada and Mitsuki there, and they never returned- that is ON YOU. We could have had information weeks ago and worked together and Sarada may be here right now-"

"Stop." Itachi couldn't watch anymore. He saw the silent agony carved deep into his brother's face, the same agony Naruto was taking out on him due to losing his own child. They both shared the same pain, but Itachi knew from two mistakes now that working separately would only further hurt them. "Fighting won't get us anywhere. We need to work together. Please. I want to help."

"You have helped enough."

"Naru- Lord Seventh-"

"No. Don't give me that Lord bullshit when you clearly don't respect the title. For being at the top of your classes the Uchiha brothers sure are dumb; you had your chances to help on your own and you ruined it. Now look at the mess we have to clean up." He threw a disparaging look to Sasuke then looked away again. "I have to go tell my wife her son is gone, and you have to tell Sakura that your daughter is gone. And then, somehow, with nothing to go off of, we have to find Sarada and stop this before it gets worse."

Sasuke looked up, his eyes gleaming as though Naruto offered him food when he was starving. "You said 'we'..." Blood dribbled from his mouth.

Naruto didn't turn back to him as he spoke. "You're a lot of things to me right now, and there's nothing I'd like more than to slit your throat, but I guess we're still a team. As much as I hate to admit it...I know that if anyone is going to find them, it's us."

Sasuke let out a grateful noise but couldn't find any more words to say.

Naruto started to take a few steps toward the door but stopped just before his hand reached the doorknob. "Clean up this mess then collect Kakashi and Yamato. You and I are going to Orochimaru." He paused for a second, thinking over his words, then continued. "You too, Itachi. In the meantime I'm going to go talk to my wife because she deserves to know the truth."

He finally turned the knob, opening the door but not stepping out. Itachi watched Naruto's shoulders heave up and down as he hesitated in the doorway like he still had more to say, but he stood back to give him space to breathe.

"You promised you'd never hurt Sakura again."

Naruto felt his words sit in the air, and then he walked out, letting Sasuke choke on them.