Two years later

Sasuke sat across from his twin in the now familiar pond. "Why do I come here every time I fall asleep?"

The impassive look on his twin not at all helping with his frustration. "This is an embodiment of what you are, why wouldn't you come here?"

Sasuke felt his eye twitch at the non-answer. This was almost as bad as dealing with Naruto. He always felt so stupid around Indra. "So are you going to ramble about chakra again? Or about your path to enlightenment or whatever?"

Indra's impassive look gave way to a smirk. "My ramblings seemed to help you quite a bit when you needed to learn how to transform your chakra into the nature of fire."

Sasuke groaned.

His twin seemed to take much pleasure in making him look stupid.

"It seems our time is at an end. Until we meet again." with his words said the ghostly apparition turned to mist, along with everything else.

"Sasuke, wake up! You have class in an hour." The voice of his mother seemed to always be present first thing in the morning. Sasuke liked that.

"I'm up!"

Getting up, the ten-year-old went to his drawers and picked out his clothing for the day. He shivered as he touched the handle. The cold touch of the metal handle serving to further draw him from the haze of having just woken up.

He then went into the bathroom and proceeded to do his morning routine.

The smell of breakfast served to entice him to take a seat faster at the table. He realized that he was alone at the table. "Mom when is big brother coming home? He was supposed to be home last night wasn't he?"

His mother's sigh was worrying. "Itachi came home last night, but he was called on to serve another mission again, it was an emergency."

Sasuke smiled. His big brother was such a great shinobi. "Well, that just means big brother is a really strong ninja and everyone can see that! I wanna be that strong one day."

His mother laughed. "Sasuke, I have no doubt you'll get there one day. Now hurry up and eat, and don't be late for class, or your father will be angry with you." With those words of motivation Sasuke ate faster than usual, he didn't want to anger his father. Speaking of his father, he had been really angry the past week.

His cousin Shisui had died a month ago and it seemed that it compounded his father's anger. Sasuke didn't know much about Shisui other than that he was Itachi's best friend and training partner. That of course meant that he had to have been strong. Although he wondered why his father was so angry these days.

It seemed that he never even smiled anymore.

He finished his rice and placed his bowl into the sink with a clink. "Mom, I'm done eating, I'm going to leave now."

"Bye Sasuke, be sure to do your best!"

He picked up his bag that held his books and made his way to the door, where his sandals were waiting. He put them on and left.

Naruto woke up with his alarm blaring. He hated that noise. With more willpower than he thought he possessed, he got up and turned it off. He walked over to the lights and turned them on.

The burning he felt in his eyes was comparable to the time that Kiba had thrown sand in his eyes during a spar.

Letting his eyes get adjusted to the light he started to get ready for the day. His jumpsuit was cleaned from yesterday and so all he had to do was brush and shower. The rumbling in his stomach reminded him that he should eat. But what should he eat?

Ramen.

It was truly his favorite food. It tasted great, but ultimately that wasn't the reason. The Third Hokage had taken him there for his birthday, the Ichiraku family had been really kind to him, and even Iruka-sensei had taken him to eat there!

Every time he had ramen, even instant ramen it reminded him of those times. The best moments in his life had involved ramen, so it was only natural it would be his favorite.

Speaking of good times, the class was going to spar again today. He remembered the first time he that fought, with Sasuke.

That guy. Sasuke was the first of his age to acknowledge him. While everyone else hadn't wanted to associate with him, Sasuke, well hadn't either at the time. But when they fought it was everyone had disappeared. Sasuke hadn't looked down at him when they fought like his other classmates.

No, in fact, he treated him like an equal. Plus when he was around Sasuke it was like being around someone he could be comfortable around, like the old man.

He knew that Sasuke wasn't much for words, but he liked to think that Sasuke felt the same way.

The sound of water boiling awoke him from his thoughts.

The constant sound of a cane hitting the floor rang through the hall every few seconds. It was the only sound in the hall.

That sound was always a reminder to Hiruzen. It reminded him of the old times, the good and the bad. He remembered Danzo losing his left arm to Onoki in the second war. Of course, the loss of his arm didn't stop Danzo from killing the man's only remaining family at the time. On a better note, it reminded him of after the war.

When they would sit and reminisce with a hot cup of tea. Of course, Homura and Koharu would be there as well, their team had always maintained strong bonds. War, after all, had shaped them, and it was sadly the legacy that had been passed down to the next generation.

The door opened and along with it, Danzo appeared before his eyes. He smiled.

He smiled.

Danzo's face, on the other hand, remained as solemn as ever. Although The small curling of his eye gave away his true feelings. Ironic, that his one remaining eye would be his tell.

"Hello, old friend. I see you've come early, as usual. Homura and Koharu are still making their way here."

Danzo only nodded. He closed the door behind him. He took his place sitting across from Hiruzen on the floor. His cane lay at his side. He took in the sight of his old friend. It seemed that he kept the same attire as he had for the past few years. The bandages covering his face and arm appeared to be fresh, along with his clothing. Though, Hiruzen had to admit there was a certain feeling when continuing a habit, a feeling of contentment. He supposed it was much like his habit with tobacco.

"They should be here soon enough. We have important matters to discuss. They know this. Our teammates have never dallied when it came to situations like this," The one-eyed man spoke.

The doors opened again. This time, his two other teammates. They were always in each other's company after the death of their spouses. He knew the that the death of a wife or a husband was hard. Biwako's death still hurt after all these years. It was good, that his teammates had found solace in each other.

Homura chose to speak for them. "Forgive us for being late, our guard was late. We worry that it was the Uchiha again."

Hiruzen sighed. Of course. The Uchiha were quite the nuisance now. He motioned for them to take their places next to him.

Once they were seated Hiruzen took a deep breath to prepare himself for the no doubt headache inducing discussion they were going to have.

"I'll cut to the chase, the Uchiha situation has gotten to the point that action may be needed. When the nine tails attacked it was obvious to all that the Sharingan was behind it. We didn't know if it was sanctioned by the clan or a rogue element within. As you know we kept an eye on them and monitored them carefully, the culprit is still yet to be found."

Hiruzen took a breath and looked to his teammates. They were following along with grim looks.

"We've made overtures to the clan to help ease their, discontent but in some cases, our hands were tied. We did have some hope. Itachi was the prime candidate to become Hokage, but new information came to light regarding his sickness. He has at most 8 years to live. The stress on him along with the autoimmune disease does him no favors. This info has now reached the Uchiha."

Danzo met his eyes. A silent request to speak. He acquiesced

"My agents have discovered that the shinobi among the Uchiha have almost unanimously come to the conclusion that a coup will be their goal. It is to be noted, that Fugaku has agreed. Itachi is now suspected to be the cause of Shisui's death. I do not see a peaceful resolution now."

Homura sighed. "We can't let them do it. If a civil war happens, without a doubt we will win, but we look weak. A weakness that the other villages won't hesitate to exploit. We didn't lose as much as the other villages in the last war, but the nine tails attack did us no favors. It seems that they plan to die and leave the next great war at our doorstep."

Everyone was silent. They had all come to that conclusion, but to have their thoughts verbalized gave the situation a weight that it didn't have before.

Koharu slammed her first against the floor. "If we act to stop their uprising, it does us no favors when it comes to how others will perceive it. To the other villages and potential clients, it seems like we wiped out a clan of our own. The other villages will, of course, send out propaganda to support that notion. Propaganda of our own won't be effective at all. In these kinds situations, we look bad. Just look at the Mist."

The Mist. An apt analogy. Though they weren't planning on wiping out their clans, the death of an entire clan by the hands of their own village wouldn't inspire customers. The rulers of each country need assurances that the ninja and the villages they work with won't stab them in the back like they do to others. Ending the Uchiha would make the fire lord wary. It would make all of Konoha wary in fact.

Danzo rested his hand on the bandages covering his eye socket.

"I have a solution. Itachi might not be of use as a Hokage, but as an agent going rogue and murdering the majority of his clan?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened.

A child. One who had barely entered his teenage years, Could they really make a child kill his own clan? Could they make him live the life of a rogue shinobi forever hunted until death?

In his heart, he knew the answer. The tree of the leaf had always been fed with blood. They killed other shinobi, their own died in defense to keep the leaf's fire burning. Sacrifice is what let the leaf not only survive but thrive.

No, the real question would be what Itachi thought.

Itachi looked out at the training field with his new eyes. It seemed his new eyes had some benefits. Things moved even slower, his clarity unprecedented. One thing he didn't see was hope.

Although one thing he didn't see with these new eyes was hope.

Shisui had died. His death granting him these new eyes.

He was dying and his clan was going to do a coup, and they would all die in the process. The rest of the clan would be put to an end as well after all traitors can't be abided by. Why did things have to come to this? He knew his father and fellow clan shinobi weren't fools, they knew what their coup would lead to, their deaths and a new war.

It seemed that to them that was an acceptable end result. But why?

The Uchiha and the Senju came together to stop senseless killing and create peace. This was the opposite. Their plans would cause a new great war. So many lives would be lost, so many innocents. All for what?

He hated it,

This life, this stress, the pain in his body, his impending death, Shisui's death, and the clan. He hated it all. Never before had he felt so much hate within himself.

Idly he noticed chakra begin to focus in his right eye. He felt a burning sensation in his eye. It felt like his eye was being burnt, he wanted this feeling to go away. So it did.

The pain was gone, though his eye was a little blurry. That didn't matter though. Where he was looking -the field- it was burning. A fire was consuming the grassy field before him. The flames were black, a color he didn't think was possible for fire to take.

Its color wasn't the only thing that stood out, the heat from the flames was unlike anything he had seen prior.

He could feel the heat from where he stood, it made his eyes water.

His senses came back to him and he molded his chakra to the nature of water. He let the water flow from his mouth much like a fireball, although at much greater velocity. The water should've put out the fire.

The water ineffectively clashed with the fire and was evaporated in short order. Panic was starting to set in. That was the strongest water technique he knew.

He let the training he received in ANBU take effect, his emotions washing away under reason.

His eye.

Instinct told him his eye was the culprit of this fire. All techniques had a weakness he just had to find the weakness in this one. If his eye was the origin of the technique, it stood to reason that a potential answer was his eye.

He thought back to right before the fire came into being. He had felt extreme emotion, hate specifically. Chakra had proceeded to build up in his right eye and was then released into the form of this black fire?

If that was the case perhaps he just had to focus chakra into his eye yet again.

Doing so, nothing happened. Perhaps emotion was a key component?

Going against his training he let emotion bleed back into himself. Hatred yet again threatened to consume him, but it wasn't the only emotion surging within him. Regret and sadness were also prevalent. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt so strongly.

He resolved himself and let his chakra condense around his right eye. With his resolve the only thing in mind he attempted yet again.

It worked. The slowly flickered out of existence.

He fell.

It had taken much more chakra to cancel the flames then to create them.

He gasped, his lungs felt like they were burned. His chakra was depleted, he was so tired. He was like that for a few minutes before he got the strength to get up.

He felt the telltale sign of dried blood on his face, just then noticing the smell. He brought his hand up to feel his face, no cut was felt. Now he was even more worried.

Taking out a kunai from his holster he brought it up to his face. It's reflective edge giving him a glimpse of his face. What he saw made his day even worse.

The blood hadn't come from any cut, it came from his eye.

The same one he created the flames with. Tugging on his face he looked closer. There wasn't a cut inside the eye socket, or the eye itself. So there was no discernable answer. He could consult a medic, but with the current climate, it might make things worse.

With a sigh, he placed the kunai back into its holster. There was no point in staying here any longer, he made to move.

Eyesight.

His right eye was weaker now.

How was that possible?

From what he knew no Uchiha had ever had their eyes weaken, they had all had perfect eyes. At least for those that had awakened the Sharingan. So how did it come to pass that one of his eyes had grown weaker.

The blood, the flames. They all had to do with his weakened eyesight. How he didn't know. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

With thoughts of black flames, he left the training field. Never noticing the man perched on a tree, or a black ink like creature next to him.

Obito watched the little Uchiha walk away in astonishment. To awaken those eyes, how rare.

Out of all the Uchiha that had ever lived only a fraction had awakened the Sharingan. Out of that fraction, a very small few had gained those eyes. To have two in one generation was almost unheard of. Although the death of Shisui was annoying. It disturbed his plans and he couldn't even recover those eyes.

But it ultimately didn't matter. Zetsu had watched that boy fall to death, his eyes joined him in oblivion. That pawn was lost to him, though Itachi could still serve him.

The leadership of the Leaf was planning on killing off the Uchiha clan, he didn't see an easy way for them to do it. There was an answer in this scenario that would let him get Itachi to serve him. He just had to find it.

"Zetsu, keep an eye on the boy, he'll be a useful tool."

With his order given Obito focused Chakra into his eye letting the emotion of hope suck him into the realm that was so intricately connected to him.

A scant second later he was in the realm of Kamui. His gaze spread across the realm. It was empty with a light of unknown origins shining above. It was much like his life he supposed.

He had nothing really, but a hope.

The hope that he could create a perfect world with no more strife for anyone, an eternal time with loved ones. Every time he'd killed he hated it, but it would be fine.

The perfect world he would create, it would erase all the blood from his hands, all those that would suffer to bring about perfection, they would return. Eternal bliss would be their reward.

He had killed sensei and his wife, leaving their child an orphan, it had hurt.

A lot.

But it would be fine. Perfection would be attained and they would return, naruto would be happy for eternity, what would a few years of suffering be compared to an eternity.

No, he had hope that all would be well. He couldn't afford otherwise.

Zetsu watched Obito leave with amusement. That brat, to think that he was impertinent enough to think that he was in his service. Though he was a useful tool to be sure, but when Madara would be revived the pleasure he would take in killing Obito would be second to only reviving mother. Grudgingly he had to admit though, the boy had good taste in tools.

That child and his obsession with the Perfect Tsukiyomi was grating, however. Although it was hilarious that the boy thought that it would bring about his perfect world. That was far from the truth.

No, the truth was that it would bring his perfect world to fruition. Not Madara, not Obito, not Hashirama, not Indra, not Ashura.

His mother would be brought back, the plan was so close to fruition he could practically taste it. Although there were issues.

Indra and Ashura had reincarnated again. Adding to his annoyance it seemed that Ashura was now the jinchuuriki of Kurama.

He could sense their chakra even from here, like beacons in the dark. Although that was likely because his senses were above all, barring his mother of course. Speaking of chakra that Itachi boy, what amazing chakra he had. The hatred those eyes brought out was intense, he could taste it on Itachi's chakra.

He was had been watching the boy for a while even before he had awoken those eyes, though he had known the Mangekyou would awaken in that boy. He could sense it, it was all in the chakra really, and Zetsu knew.

He knew how to read chakra, to judge the potential of a being. From the beginning, he knew that those boys, Shisui and Itachi would awaken those eyes one day and he planned accordingly. Although the death of Shisui called for a change in those plans.

Itachi could serve him well. That hatred that dwelt in his heart, unlocked by the Sharingan and amplified by the Mangekyou would serve him well. Hatred he was familiar after all. It was easy to manipulate, to twist, to grow. How it festered in the hearts and minds of the Uchiha.

He just needed that Itachi boy to kill Indra. The question being how to do it without Hagoromo getting involved. His brother always kept a close eye on his two brats.

Although he couldn't interact much with this plane of existence, he still had tools. He also didn't know of his little brother's existence or plan. Alerting him would potentially bring a stop to those plans.

He'd have to be careful, the end game was approaching.

AN: hey guys here's a new chapter, I'd love it if you guys could leave a review and give some constructive criticism to help better my writing. Have a great day guys!