Konoha's Weasel Prince

Summary: Itachi never got to use his Susanoo in his fight with Sasuke. As soon as the Kirin hit, he was sent back through time to the founder's era and it was up to him to ensure a safer and surer future for Konoha and the world at large. KisaIta TobiMada HashiMito others mentioned

"Itachi!" Both said young man and Madara flinched at Hashirama's bellow as he came into the clearing around the riverbanks of the Naka. At least they didn't reach for a weapon like Izuna had, startled by Hashirama's behavior and loud manner. To be expected, really. He only knew Hashirama the shinobi and not Hashirama the blubbering idiot, as Madara liked to call him. The long haired Senju was now waving at them enthusiastically from the tree line on the other side of the river, a beaming smile. "Madara! It's good to see you again!"

"By the mother of chakra, he's going to alert everyone that we are here." The eldest of the Uchiha grumbled while massaging his forehead to will away the upcoming headache and Itachi just smirked at him. "I had hoped he'd become a bit more sensible since when we were kids."

"Futile hopes, Madara-san." The youngest Uchiha said mirthfully, getting a grunt in answer and a hand suddenly burying into his hair as Madara messed with his tresses.

"I thought I told you to drop the 'san' bullcrap already." Madara said as he messed with Itachi's hair, a habit he had reserved usually only for his younger brothers and occasionally for Hikaku, but it would seem that he had completely relaxed around Itachi and one had to wonder what had happened in just three days time. Izuna snorted as he watched them interact, only to snap his attention back to the approaching Senju Clan Leader, who was not alone. The younger Uchiha brother's eyes flashed threateningly as soon as he saw Tobirama, activating his Sharingan more out of instinct and habit than conscious thought. Tobirama had also reacted with lightning speed, putting his hands together and readying to preform a jutsu but then Hashirama was running cross the river and before anyone else could react, he had taken Itachi and Madara both into a big bear hug. Madara's yelling at his childhood friend and Itachi's sigh of exasperation calmed the younger brothers and they both dropped their defenses but kept their guard up, just in case. They weren't Hashirama and Madara to trust so easily (although Izuna knew it was the case only for Hashirama where Madara was concerned) and they knew someone had to keep vigil.

''Let go of me, damn it!'' Madara screamed one last time before Hahsirama actually listened, but - unfortunately for his other victim - he didn't let go of Itachi, instead cuddling him like a teddy bear. ''And you better not choke or break him. We kind of need him for all of this peace thing to work.''

''So the meetings went well?'' Hashirama immediately grew even more excited yet he somehow managed to become serious at the same time, as well. His four companions stared at him as though he were the strangest thing they have ever seen and all four agreed that it was perfectly justified. Excitement and seriousness should not be able to mix. Especially not with the amount of hope Haahsirama was putting into the combination.

''The decision is yet to become final or officially announced to our Clan, but it would seem so.'' Izuna was surprisingly the one to reply, smiling at the youngest of the group. ''Itachi here sure helped a lot with this. I'm not sure that we would have been able to convince the Elders in twice the time that Itachi needed.''

''We were lucky he was there.'' Madara added with a nod, crossing his arms. Itachi thanked his genes that the Uchiha stoicism allowed him to keep his blush at bay. He wished he had at least remembered that Tobirama was a sensor so that he could hide his chakra's reactions in time; as it was, Tobirama just chuckled at his embarrassment that the albino could feel. The secret Uchiha promised silently to himself retribution as soon as the chance for it arrives. ''How are things on your end?''

''Pretty well, actually.'' Hashirama replied, meeting his old friend's eyes. ''More than half of the Elders of our Clan were already ready to sign a peace treaty but father's accomplices have been making a few problems. Thankfully, when it came down to a vote, the majority was for the end of these conflicts and didn't want to watch any more of our clansmen die. The Sarutobi Clan, one of our main allies, agreed to peace as well and a messenger hawk from the Uzumaki brought a message that they would also agree to peace with the Uchiha, as long as the Hagoromo Clan stopped trying to raid their caravans.''

''That can be arranged.'' Madara promised in a dark tone and the two Senju shot him a worried and a reprimanding glance. ''They weren't even supposed to be on the caravan paths. They're not allowed to be there, according to our treaty. The Fire Daimyo has specifically assigned he Uchiha Clan to protect those paths.''

''The attacks happen on the borders with the Land of Rice Fields. I doubt you have the jurisdiction to act in foreign lands.'' Tobirama explained and all three of the Uchiha grimaced.

''No wonder we didn't hear anything about that. The Fuma Clan is pathetic. They once crossed the border and didn't even realize it until they ran into us.'' Izuna snorted in disgust. In fact, they were so far from the border that they had nearly crossed into the Akamichi's lands, having somehow made it through the Hatake's territory without triggering any alarms from their trackers.''

''They were lucky not to start an inter-clan war between the Hyuuga on their way back. And that was when they had a map.'' The elder Uchiha brother looked suitably annoyed.

''Although they are famous for their shurikenjutsu, everything else is below average.'' Itachi finally said, tapping on Hashirma's arms to signal that he would like to be let go. The brunet pouted but let him go anyway, for which the ponytail wearing raven was glad. ''They're the biggest clan in their country so they might have let it get to their head. Although, I must admit that they are one of the better chakra threads technique users. Most impressive.''

''Anyway, we must get back before Hikaku panics and thinks you've decided to attack us.'' Madara said with a casual shrug, turning around. He raised a hand and waved over his shoulder once before using the Shunshin no Jutsu and flickering away. The three remaining shinobi considered it an improvement that Izuna also turned his back to them without even a suspicious glance at them before disappearing after his brother.

''Well, that went better than I expected.'' Hashirama said, placing his hands on his hips in a pleased manner. Tobirama snorted and crossed his arms.

''Don't put your foot into your mouth just yet, Anija. Once our clans come together for the treaty drafts, it's going to become hectic.''

''Don't be so pessimistic, Tobirama! Look how well everything's been going! There is finally going to be peace between our clans! Kids can finally stop going out to war and dying meaningless deaths! Madara and I are finally talking again! We can even begin building our dream village soon!'' The oldest in the group was all but dancing in joy by the time he finished speaking and the albino rolled his eyes but didn't refute anything. ''It's like a miracle. I'm just sad our family didn't get a chance to see it all happen.''

''Unfortunately, Butsuma was too set in his own ways.'' The older genius grunted, but he, too, wished his brothers were here to see the dawn of this new age, the era of peace. He knew they would have loved Itachi, too. He would have fit in just great with the four of them and Toka. ''We should go back, too. Toka and Mito are waiting.'' Before either of his companions could react, Tobirama took hold of both of their forearms and teleported them away using his Hiraishin, startling Itachi. He had felt this sensation only a few times before, when Minato had deigned to play keep away with him with Fugaku, avoiding his father for hours on end when the brunet man wanted to teach him something. Later, Itachi would go to his father on his own and ask to be taught this or that jutsu, but that was after he saw war. Before that, as a three and a half year old, he preferred to be whisked away by his young godfather and would giggle quietly whenever Minato masked their presence in a tree while his father passed down underneath them. The sensation right now wasn't the same, a bit rocky in comparison to the polished glide of Minato's Hiraishin, but he guessed that Tobirama was still working on the jutsu.

''Tobirama! I thought I told you not to do that!'' Mito, who had jumped when they suddenly appeared in the Senju Main House's living room, scolded her to-be-in-law while shaking a finger with one hand and the other hand clutched over her heart. Then she saw Itachi and she smiled at her friend. ''Itachi, welcome back. I hope your stay was uneventful.''

''It was fine, Mito-san.'' The weasel replied, gathering his senses back. It had always left him disoriented when Minato transported him anywhere with the Hiraishin, as he was not used to traveling by means closer to a summoning than any other teleportation method. One always needed a moment to stabilize themselves if they weren't used to these jumps through time and space. ''No one made any trouble for me and the kids were a delight. Young Kagami-kun was very happy to see me again and my hosts were wonderful, if loud at times.''

''I imagine Madara was, if what Hashirama told me about him is true.'' The redhead said with a smirk that Itachi quickly returned. ''Would you like to join us for lunch, Itachi? I just finished the cabbage soup and the roasted fish is almost done, too. There is enough to feed everyone, even with someone with Hashirama's appetite.''

''I take offense to that!'' Said man protested with a whine but his wife-to-be just chuckled. She gracefully lead the way to the dinning room, already knowing the men would follow her, Itachi for no other reason than because he was polite even if he wasn't hungry. Although, she was very proud of her cooking and she knew Itachi liked it. She kind of wanted to fatten him up little, as she found him too skinny. Too bad for her that the ex ANBU was aware of this and wouldn't let her baby him too much. His own mother had tried it when he had become an ANBU captain and even Konan had given it a try when he entered the Akatsuki, but his wiry built was unchanging. And the babying part is simply unacceptable for an S-ranked mass killer. Even though it was not so big, even Itachi had his pride and he would be damned if he let people stomp all over it by babying him.

''So, is it rally true that all Uchihas look alike?'' Mito asked some five minutes later, when they all sat down to eat and their food was in front of them, smelling divine. Because of Hashirama's pouting, there was even some mushrooms on the table, especially carefully roasted by Itachi. His mastery of fire and chakra had surely impressed them all as the mushrooms were not singed and were in fact perfectly prepared. ''I can't exactly ask these two, they are too biased. My dear husband has only had eyes for Madara for years - to the point that I do not know if I should be worried or not - and to my dear brother in law, they were all the same, enemies.''

The Akatsuki cocked his head to the side and frowned in confusion. ''You got married while I was away?'' The redhead and the brunet looked just as confused as he was by his question but Tobirama just sighed.

''Their marriage has been official in paper for a year already, but they have yet to have a wedding, which kind of still makes them stuck at fiancé level, even though they are already technically husband and wife.'' Tobirama shrugged and took a spoonful of his soup. ''The Clan wants to wait until times are more peaceful so we can host such a big and important wedding.''

''Ah,'' Itachi nods in understanding before smiling at Mito. ''No, they don't all look the same. While, yes, their gene structure is strong and they greatly resemble each other, there are quite a few differences between each individual. It's not nearly as hard to discern between them as one might think, despite what rumors might say. They are hardly identical twins.''

''Much like my own family, then.'' The Uzushio princess concluded with a nod. ''Our eye colors differ but our hair is forever red, only if in different shades. The day I meet an Uzumaki with hair of any other color is the day I shave my head.'' Itachi has to bit his tongue not to tell her that she might as well do it, since he knows Naruto-kun to have perfectly blond hair that he had inherited from his father. He wonders if he should make her actually swear it, so that she could do it one day in the afterlife when Naruto-kun is born or when he eventually dies and they all meet in the Great Beyond. It would surely be a funny sight.

''You know, they say incest is the cause of the pigments in one's hair turning red. I always wondered if that was the truth.'' The albino in the group mused out loud, earning three perplexed looks, although one was a bit on the affronted side. Thankfully, Hashirama changed topics so as to avoid his wife getting angry at his brother.

''How is Madara handling it being Clan Head?''

''Better than you, surprisingly enough.'' Itachi notes with amusement, watching Hashirama crumble in one of his depressions and Tobirama snorted from where he sat beside Itachi. ''The younger Uchihas have already been immensely loyal to him, seemingly knowing only his commands in the battlefield - I take it that comes from Madara-san's impressive lungs capacity - and were never really all that close to Tajima-san. Madara-san was closer and more familiar to them, so they followed him. The older fighters need a little time adjusting to taking orders only from Madara-san, but they respect his skill and strategic mind, so I don't think it will be too hard for them to get used to thinking of him as not Clan Heir, but Clan Head. I think that only the Elders need to get used to Madara-san, and that is only his yelling and his refusal to be cowed by them. They'll get adjusted in time.''

''Remind me that if we ever build this village of yours, Anija, that Madara has to be one of the main advisors.'' Tobirama said in an impressed sounding voice. ''There might come a day where reason and sound conversations won't work and we just need someone to yell at the misguided bastards.''

Itachi and Mito snicker while Hashirama looks heartbroken at the thought that someone cannot be reasoned with. The two brothers instantly start a very serious and rapid fire discussion on the matter, Hashirama's idealistic optimism crashing hard against Tobiama's realism with Mito adding a few comments here and there for both sides of the argument. Itachi just leans back and enjoys the sound of his new friend's voices while a warm, homemade soup warms his tummy. This is how his life should have been back in Konoha, Shisui goading Sasuke into childish arguments - like that one time when Sasuke almost caught them talking about the coup and Konoha's future and Shisui had goaded Sasuke into a discussion of who was stronger between the two cousins - with his father grunting here or there and reprimanding them for being so loud or accidentally making a point for either side while his mother encouraged them with her own comments. He fervently wished it had ended like that, and not in so much death and despair.

In fact, he could almost imagine it. He could almost see it behind his eyelids when he closes his eyes, Sasuke (sixteen, in this vision) leaning over the low table to point his chopsticks threateningly at Shisui (twenty four) who was wearing the silliest of grins on his face as hey discussed if Shisui's Kotoamatsukami is stronger than Itachi's Tsukuyomi, Fugaku sitting right across from himself, papers open but obvious he wasn't reading them with how he didn't leaf through the pages and how his eyes oh so discretely watched his son and nephew. His mother was by the sink, washing the dishes, her tinkling laughter filling Itachi's ears like small church bells. It was peaceful.

A crow cawed outside of the window and Itachi forced himself to open his eyes, realizing too late that he had been casting a genjutsu on himself and cursing his weakness. He forced himself to see the reality, like he has many times before. Yes, he would have preferred to see his brother, his cousin and best friend, his parents all happy and content and safe and alive, but he wouldn't allow himself to ponder on that too much. Because that was nothing more than an illusion and Itachi didn't have a habit of living in illusions. He never had and he never will, so he faced reality as mercilessly as he always did, coming back to the real world where it was two dead Hokage and a redheaded woman he had only read about bickering about whether Uchiha Madara's special form of negotiation would ever be needed. He couldn't afford to be stuck in his own illusion. He was here with a job to do and he had finally made some progress. He still had a duty to fulfill. Konoha's future rested on his shoulders.

There will be time later to mourn the loss of that illusion.

For now, he will enjoy reality and shape the future as best as he can.