A Perception of Reality

by knightchaser

There is a belief that states for every action taken, the alternative action is played out in another dimension. In one reality Itachi succeeded in killing his clan, in another, he failed. This is the story of what happened when he failed.

66. Chapter 66 The First Move

Thanks for all the reviews and favs.

We're getting near the end of the story, although there are still a lot of chapters left. Madara is getting desperate and Itachi is, well, being Itachi. Does that make sense? Oh well. Anyway, here is the next chapter.

You know, I don't think Pein is dead. It's pouring outside. Unless… you don't think he and Konan had kids, do you? That's scary… little mini-Peins running around making it rain and mini-Konans running around giving people paper cuts. Lol, for some reason I like that idea.

Naruto is owned by Kishimoto.

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Chapter 66 The First Move

The bright blue sky was a welcome visitor to the village as families gathered together for a day of picnicking or watching one of three soccer games scheduled at the arena. The carnival-like atmosphere and good spirits were no doubt caused by two big events in the rather complicated life of Konoha. Danzou's death at the hands of Itachi and Fugaku (confirmed by a DNA test), as well as the subsequent appointment of Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage.

The news that Fugaku had stepped down was like closing the door on the worst years of the villager's lives. Many felt that the long civil war was finally over and everything would get back to normal. But Tsunade spread the word that their problems were far from over, that Ki was still out there as well as "other" enemies, but that did little to dampen anyone's spirits.

Returning home from the hospital, Itachi was pleased to learn that he would have a few days off, and planned to spend them with Sheeta. Six months had passed in her pregnancy and she was definitely showing.

She had a whole new wardrobe to accomodate her new size, purchased by practically every female member of both the Uchiha and Hyuuga clans. There were so many outfits that Sheeta doubted she would be able to wear all of them, but she accepted the gifts in good grace anyway.

The men, on the other hand, send Itachi gifts of sake (in spite of his age), toys for the baby, and coupons for restaurants so he and his wife could go out after the baby came. Fugaku confiscated the sake, saying he needed it more than his son. Although Itachi suspected some of it was being funneled to Tsunade.

The toys were placed in the nursery, which had been professionally decorated and still didn't have a crib. Sheeta said it was on special order and would be delivered in July. Mikoto reassured her son that if it was late she still had the crib she had used for him and Sasuke. In fact, it was sitting in a spare room upstairs already.

"Just in case." Mikoto smiled. After all, the baby was due in July.

"Maybe we should cancel the order for the new crib and use mother's." Itachi suggest as he and Sheeta sat on a blanket near the pond in the back yard. The bamboo fountain near them splattered water onto the tip of the blanket every time it fell with a clunk, but neither of the teens felt like moving. The warm sun, the friendly atmosphere of the town, and the wonderful lunch that Sheeta had prepared for them had left them feeling lazy and in a good mood.

"Oh, It's okay." Sheeta replied with a big smile on her face. "It's not like it won't ever be used again."

"I guess we can put it in the living room downstairs. It'll be easier on mother to babysit when you start your new job in the fall."

She's definitely going to need the assistance." Sheeta laughed.

Maybe we should hire a nanny?" Itachi watched as a large gold and white koi swam to the surface of the pond and gulped some air before lazily swimming away. Naruto had purchased the fish on a whim a few days earlier and had been fussing over it ever since.

"Already taken care of."

"Is there anything for me to do? I feel like you guys are overloading yourselves."

"So says the guy who went blind fighting Danzou, killed Orochimaru, and saved me from that poison." Sheeta kissed him shyly on the cheek, "I think I can forgive you for tricking me."

X x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

As Konoha celebrated, Madara fumed. He had called the Uchiha council to his mansion and had placed Sasuke in a chair to his left. Sora sat to his right. Everyone else was sitting on the floor of the large underground meeting room on thin cushions.

"It is a slap in the face!" Madara wasn't yelling, but his loud voice carried the tone of one who was. "For an Uchiha to gain power over the Senju and then hand it back to them on a silver platter! To Hashirama's granddaugghter at that!"

"If you ask me he did it to send us a message." A middle aged man in a long blue robe spoke up, "This requires action!"

"We should wipe those traitors off the face of the earth!" An elderly lady exclaimed in an aged voice.

"What? No way!" Sasuke spoke up without thinking.

"Why is the boy here?" The first man snapped angrily.

"Because he is my son." Madara stated plainly, much to the surprise of those in attendance.

Sora stood up, leaning heavily on his cane, "What we need to do is to assert our position over Konoha. Fugaku has removed any authority we could have gained over them by stepping down. Tactically it was a brilliant move. Instead of staying and finishing the game, he has, instead, jumped his 'king' to a different Shogi board and turned it into a bishop."

"I am surprised he would do such a thing. He is your grandson, is he not?" Another elder observed.

"Yes." Sora sighed, "But I have already decided that he will not get in the way of our plans. The 'Eye of the Moon' plan is too important. The future cannot be delayed by one man's vain folly." He sat back down, setting his cane in front of him.

Sasuke tried to understand what the elders were talking about, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. "Are... are you talking about..." His voice failed him and he looked up helplessly at Madara who was, it turned out, looking down at him with a grim expression on his face.

"Sasuke, Fugaku Uchiha has just been given a death sentence. And until it is enacted, you will stay here under twenty-four hour surveillance. As my son I have big plans for your future. Don't disappoint me. As you have probably guessed, I don't handle such things very well." Madara's stern words carried such power and finality that Sasuke could practically feel the air of death around him.

"What... what about mom and Itachi and..."

Madara interrupted him, "Mikoto and Sheeta are safe as long as they stay out of the way. What happens to Itachi is still up in the air."

"What does that mean?" Sasuke yelled, getting to his feet and turning on the elder Uchiha. "You can't hurt him! He's my brother!"

For some reason several people in the meeting smiled and looked at each other, nodding and mumbling.

Madara was silent for a couple minutes, seemingly lost in thought. "Then perhaps you would like to do something to help Itachi? As his brother, you hold his life in your hands."

The boy clenched his fists and scrunched his face up in anger, "Anything!"

"I'm glad you understand the situation, Sasuke."

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"I still can't think of a good name for him." Naruto said as he watched Fugaku approach him. He had come home an hour earlier from a day of training with his friends and had gone straight to the pond.

"No one said you had to name him. Besides, he might get eaten." Fugaku had always enjoyed watching koi swim around in ponds, but the hawks used to deliver messages were known to help themselves to snacks and therefore there were very few remaining out in the open.

"Kiba is going to ask his sister to teach him a jutsu to protect my fish. He thinks there must be one. Although he wasn't sure about that." The boy's voice turned downcast.

"Well, at least you tried."

"Trying isn't good enough if the people you want to protect die in the process." He looked up and watched as a hawk with a message roll tied to it's back fly overhead in a lazy circle before leaving. "I'm sleeping out here tonight."

Fugaku was about to object, after all it was only a stupid fish, but there seemed to be something else behind his sudden stubbornness. Instead, he turned around and went back into the house.

"He misses Sasuke, and he feels useless because he could do anything to protect Sakura and Sai." Fugaku declared as he entered the kitchen and sat down to eat his dinner.

"His time will come." Mikoto added. "Although I would be perfectly happy if he would just stay safe for the rest of his life.

"And that is what his parents would have also wanted. Unfortunately that option was taken away from him at birth. "

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The sound of several people walking across gravel brought Fugaku to the plate glass window that separated the living room from the garden. It was nearly eight 'o clock and the moon had not yet risen to illuminate the star filled sky. Peering out into the dark night he saw several of Naruto's friends, lead of course by Hinata who no doubt met them at the entrance of the compound. Unlike Itachi's friends, the kids Naruto and even Sasuke for that matter, hung out with were rather shy about entering without getting some kind of invite or escort.

"I have a jutsu to hide the pond." Kiba stretched his arms out in front o him and grinned broadly at his success. "Big sister says that hunting birds can't see it but other birds still can."

"Yeah Naruto! It's great! Kiba says you'd still get little songbirds coming to drink and bathe in the pond but the delivery hawks won't see it anymore." Hinata was kneeling by the side of the water running her hand through the cool liquid.

Kiba glanced at the window catching Fugaku's eye. "Mom said to make sure I get permission first since it isn't really your house."

Fugaku smirked at the image of the overbearing dog trainer trying to heel in a boy that was just as out of control as Naruto. In Many ways that woman continued to amuse him. He nodded to give his assent and noticed that Sakura and Sai were also there with Ino. They both seemed a little pale but the fact that they were now mixing with their friends was certainly a good sign.

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Naruto watched as Kiba executed his sister's jutsu. There seemed to be no change in the pond itself, and the large fish was swimming around Hinata's fingers as if nothing had happened.

"How do you know it worked?" Naruto asked belligerently, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's why I'm here." Ino stepped forward. "I can move my soul into a bird of prey and look down here."

"But it's nighttime! There aren't any hawks out!" Naruto whined.

Sai hit him upside the head, "I know hitting you is Sakura's job, but I couldn't help myself. You ever hear owls around here? I heard several just walking around tonight."

Naruto gave a short laugh, "Oh yeah. They eat mice though. Do they eat fish too?"

"Whether they do or not this jutsu still applies to them as well." Kiba offered.

Ino was now lying on the ground with her head on Sakura's lap to keep her hair from getting dirt and pebbles in it. Everything was silent for a few minutes until an owl flew down from the nearby woods and landed on the wooden fence.

Ino awoke with a start and sat up.

Sakura spoke quietly, "What did you see?"

"Nothing!" The girl stated cheerfully. "The owl didn't see anything down here except a blurry patch of ground and she didn't smell or here anything either."

"That's great!" Sakura and Hinata said at the same time, then laughed at their synchronization.

"Now you can come with us to the Shogi match. It still has another hour so." Hinata reminded Naruto.

"Do I have to?" Naruto was whining again. "I don't want to watch a bunch of old fogies playing shogi."

"Shikamaru, Ji and Neji aren't old. Besides, Ji is ranked number one in the region for his age group." Sakura smiled, "And the only reason Shikamaru and Neji are competing is because you need five on a team for the match and his club had two kids quit last week."

"Fine. I owe you guys anyway." Naruto cheered up, "Let's go cheer them on! Shikamaru's going to win, and them complain about it for the next two weeks."

"It's a team competition." Hinata replied softly. "Even if he wins the team could still loose."

"With Ji and Shikamaru, it would take a miracle for that team to loose." Sai said happily, "They wanted you to join too, Hinata. You should have."

"I have too much to do with the clan. I don't have time." She smiled, "Anyway, let's run!"

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With the pet fish taken care of, life went back to (semi) normal. Or what passed for normal in a ninja village. With Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage everyone had pretty much assumed Fugaku would retire and lead a quiet life as the head of the Uchiha clan.

But they were wrong. Fugaku was immediately placed as the commander of a special task force to fight Akatsuki. Or to be more precise, Madara.

He and Tsunade knew what the implications of him stepping down would be and they knew they were running out of time. Fugaku had, essentially given the proud ninja warrior a slap in the face when he handed Konoha over to Hashirama's granddaughter.
Which was one of the main reasons he had done it. He knew Madara wasn't ready to make his move yet. He still had several more tailed beasts to seal away and his followers were drifting away from him. By making the first move, Fugaku was now poised to force the unprepared Mist leader to step forward.

"We can expect him to show up any day now." Fugaku was speaking on the rooftop parade ground of the Hokage tower to the elite force he had put together. Composed of high level Shinobi, including Itachi, Kakashi, Zabuza and surprisingly, Kabuto it was backed up by two other squads. One composed of medical ninjas (including Haku) and the second made up of the top trackers in the village.

Tsunade, however, having learned from the mistakes of her teacher Sarutobi, had put a deadline on the new organization. Instead of allowing it to exist indefinitely like Root had (which continued to carry on even after Sarutobi had disbanded it) she had given it a drop dead date of one month after Madara's fall.

"His first target will be me and Itachi, believing that our deaths will lessen Konoha's power. But we all know that Konoha is not carried on the backs of just two men. We all shoulder it equally."

He looked over the three groups, a total of fifty men and women. They were nodding their heads in agreement. "Ki is also preparing for an attack, having refused Tsunade's offer to become a satellite outpost of Konoha. However, we will leave that battle to the regular forces and Anbu. Unless called upon for assistance we will maintain our mission."

This was met with stony silence. The trained shinobi understood their duty and knew that confusion during a battle could easily lead to the fall of their village.

"The tracker squads have already been given their assignments and will be leaving immediately. They will watch over the outside of the village and verify the identity of anyone who comes within a ten mile radius of Kona. We also..."

Naruto ran out onto the parade ground, followed closely by Sakura. "Lord Fugaku! He's back!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You have to tell him who is back! Lord Fugaku, Sasuke has come home and is at your house. He said he wants to talk to you and Itachi."

Fugaku saw a momentary look of panic cross Itachi's face. This was not just a visit to see his family. There was no doubt in their minds why he was here and who had sent him.

Looking over the gathered shinobi he closed his eyes in resignation, "Madara has just made the next move."

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"Sasuke, its' good to see you again, my son." Fugaku stepped forward and placed one hand firmly on top of the boy's head, before sliding his hand along Sasuke's hair and letting it fal back to his side. He watched as Sasuke's face lit up when Itachi entered the room a moment later.

"Hi Itachi." the smile he gave his older brother was real and filled with the happiness that only a reunion after a long separation could give.

"Hello little brother." He poked Sasuke just above his right eye. "Oops. Sorry, my aim was off. I can only see out of one eye now. No binocular vision, you know?"

Sasuke laughed, "You're a bad liar. You did that on purpose. Nice eye patch, by the way. Are you a pirate now?"

"Yeah, why not?" Itachi turned serious and looked up at his father, while speaking to his brother, "But I sense you aren't here to discuss my medical condition."

Sasuke's face fell. "He's really mad. Madara is. He asked me..."

"Ordered you mean?" Fugaku interjected.

Sasuke gave him a dirty look and for a moment it looked like he was going to disagree, but instead he just nodded his head, "Yeah, well, he's not really the kind of guy you say 'no' to. Anyway, he's pissed off because you aren't the lead Hokage anymore. He says he knows what you're up to and he's not going to let it get in the way of his plans for world peace."

"World domination, you mean." Fugaku said.

"No, he wants peace. He took me around Water country and showed me all the bad things war does to people. He even..." he turned his attention to Itachi, "He even took me to that place. To..."

"He wouldn't dare do something that low." Itachi practically hissed the words and it was so unlike him that both Fugaku and Sasuke looked at him in surprise.

Sasuke gulped, "There were only a few bones. And there were even some of a kid like me. The whole valley is grown over. You'd never know there was a village there. And that's why you have to support Madara instead of fighting him."

"Sasuke... do you realize what you are asking?" Itachi spoke up, "Naruto will have to die in order for this to come to pass."

"I know." Sasuke said in a weak voice. "Just like in my dream."

"And still you will support him?" Itachi whispered.

Sasuke nodded, "I said I would protect Sheeta and the baby and I meant it. But how... how can I protect anyone if the world is continuously at war? Naruto will die anyway... he'll be killed as a ninja on a mission. But in a world that doesn't need ninja... Then..." Sasuke gripped his fists tightly and looked up at his father and brother, "You have to believe me! Please, I don't want him to kill you!"

Itachi sighed and looked down at the floor. The folds of skin between his nose and eyes grew deeper as he closed his eyes tightly, giving him the countenance of an old man.

Fugaku was the first to speak, "He really worked you over, didn't he?"

Unsure of what exactly that meant the boy looked to Itachi for clarification, but it was Fugaku's voice that he heard, "When are you returning? I assume he is waiting for you in the forest."

"Ye...yeah."

"Did he ask you to bring a guest with you?" Fugaku pressed.

Once again Sasuke failed to catch on and Fugaku sighed, "You are not to go near Naruto, nor are you to lift a hand against Konoha or its citizens. Just for clarification, Sasuke, you are my son, but that won't stay my hand if the nine-tails goes missing or Konoha is attacked. It has only been through my own goodwill that you have not been branded a runaway and imprisoned. Or worse, executed. You will find that most of the Shinobi do not feel as lenient towards your recent actions as I have been, and with Tsunade in control, my opinion means shit."

"You exaggerate." Sasuke's words cut through Fugaku's bravado like an axe. "Tsunade won't pick her nose without permission. She is about as unlikely to overrule you as she would be to walk past a bottle of sake without drinking it."

That was too much for Fugaku and he raised his fist to punch his son, only to find himself blocked by Itachi, "It's pretty obvious he's been coached in what to say, father. Let's not make things worse by fighting. We'll just regret it later."

"Humph." Fugaku backed off and crossed his arms over his chest. "How dare that man turn my own son against me."

"I'm not your..."

Again Itachi intervened, "Sasuke never ever finish that sentence. The regret that will bring, will last you into your next ten reincarnations."

This time it was Sasuke's turn to back off. He struck a pose so much like Fugaku's that Itachi found himself smiling in spite of the severity of the situation. 'They may not me father and son by blood,' He thought to himself, 'But they are in any other way that matters.'

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"Why did you let Sasuke leave again!" Naruto shouted at Fugaku, "He..."

Fugaku shook his head, glancing at his wife who was equally angry but slightly more understanding than their foster son. Naruto fell silent, sensing a problem.

"What's going on?" The boy asked in a small voice.

"Sasuke.... is..." Fugaku was interrupted by a booming voice coming from the direction of the front door. Since very few people ever entered from that location - preferring the door that faced the lake and was near the kitchen - everyone paused to look towards the little-used door leading to the hallway where the entrance lay.

"Pervy sage." Naruto said quielty.

"I'll get him." Mikoto left the room, returning less than two minutes later with the white haired sannin and, surprisingly, his fellow sannin Tsunade.

"News gets around fast." Fugaku muttered. "I was going to come see you after speaking to Naruto."

"Where is Itachi?" Tsunade asked.

"Escorting Sasuke out of the village." Mikoto subconsciously wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Hmm." Jiraiya looked closely at his godson. "Am I correct in my belief that Naruto is no longer safe in this house?"

"Yes." Fugaku's words cut into Mikoto and she quickly left the room, muttering something about getting everyone some tea.

"But... I... I don't want to leave here!" The boy had tears welling up in his eyes and Fugaku found himself wishing fervently that Sasuke was more like the boy in front of him than an Uchiha.

The elder Uchiha closed his eyes and sighed, "Naruto, under no circumstances are you to associate with Sasuke. You must not speak to him, write to him, read any letter from him, or otherwise be with him. Naruto, I do not say this lightly. Sasuke is being used by Madara and will attempt to draw you out of the village. If that happens, you will be killed and the nine-tails released into the hands of the enemy."

The boys face went completely white and for a moment everyone thought he was going to pass out.

"It ... can't be true..." Naruto muttered.

Fugaku turned his attention to the Hokage, "Tsunade... would you be willing to take custody of Minato's son?"

"Of course. I should never have left him alone in the first place. The moment I heard of his death..." She shook her head "I was too caught up in my own sorrow... it was selfish of me."

"Then he'll move in with you tomorrow." Fugaku also felt sad about seeing Naruto leave but the apartment in the Hokage tower would be a safer place for the boy to live. Now, if Madara showed up to get him, Naruto would be safe.

"Why... were you a good friend of my dad's?" Naruto sniffed.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, causing the boy to blink twice, equally surprised, "What? Granny Tsunade?"

"Are you telling me you don't know who I am?" Tsunade's eyes opened wide with amazement. "Minato was my son. I thought you knew that."

"I… What?" If it was possible for a human's eyes to pop out of their head then Naruto's would have been about a foot away from his skull.

"It's not a secret, you know." Jiraiya commented.

"Everyone knows." Fugaku muttered.

"Okay, so I'm a little slow. I think I've already figured that out." Naruto pouted, "Still…"

"Please humor us, my boy." Fugaku replied in a tired voice. "Madara will come for Itachi and me. If you are here when that happens, you would be easy to spirit away in the chaos that would follow. If you are with Tsunade and Jiraiya then we won't have to worry about you while we are dealing with him."

"'My boy.'" Naruto repeated. "So am I still part of the family? I… don't want to leave…"

"I promised Minato to look after you, Naruto. I came very close to breaking that promise a few years ago. Rest assured, that mistake will never be repeated. You are always welcome here."

Mikoto re-entered the living room pushing a tea cart with porcelain cups, teapot and a plate of cookies. Her eyes were puffy and her voice was a little shaky, "Please sit down and have some tea. Naruto, I have your favorite cookies. I'm sorry it took so long, but went up to check on Sheeta to make sure she was asleep and not watching TV." The woman gave a short laugh that sounded a little fake, "She uses a sound jutsu to mask the living room upstairs so we won't hear her."

"Mikoto…" Tsunade said in a small voice, "I'm really sorry about this."

"It's fine, Lady Tsunade." Mikoto smiled, "If he has to leave, it should be to live with you or Jiraiya. But you know, he can drive you up the wall sometimes, so try not to kill him too much."

Tsunade laughed, "Now that may be asking too much of me."

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The evening was filled with the sounds of frogs as Itachi escorted his brother through the village. A few people recognized them and stopped to stared, but luckily the roads were pretty deserted. As a small town, most of the shops closed at six.

"I'm sorry, Itachi." Sasuke finally said after several minutes of silence. "I know you must hate me now. But… all that suffering…"

"Do you know anything about his plans?" Itachi interrupted.

"No. But… he's so powerful… and so sure he'll win…" His voice drifted off and the pair fell silent again.

"I don't hate you Sasuke. I could never do that." Itachi's quiet voice echoed in Sasuke's head and for a moment he wasn't sure he even heard the words.

"I want you to be safe." Sasuke muttered as they passed through the tall Konoha gates. "I promised to protect your family. I'm going to do that."

"I know you promised, but if you sell your soul to do it… Sasuke…" Itachi stopped walked and looked straight into his brother's eyes. The trees on either side of the road rose up around them, like walls closing in to crush the two brothers. "Sasuke, even though I could never hate you, if you sell your soul, I could never forgive you either."

"As long as Sheeta and the baby are safe, I will have to accept that." Sasuke replied in a voice that belied his years and Itachi found himself thinking the same thing. That if he could keep his wife and child safe, he would also sell his soul. And he knew, at that point, that there was truly nothing either of them wasn't capable of doing to protect the ones they loved.

"This…" Itachi said clearly, with a smile on his face, "must be what it means to be a family."

"We're pretty screwed up then, aren't we?" Sasuke also smiled.

"Yeah, we are." Itachi wrapped one arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed, "But who cares? We are who we are."

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Next week, more trouble with Ki and Madara.

I decided to go ahead and make Tsunade Naruto's grandma. It's a minor plot point so it's not overly important. It's just some weird theory I have in my head that won't go away, xD.

Please review!

Updates on Fridays!