Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Naruto!

If Ryo was happy during that moment, it was incomprehensible when the boy was born, healthy and unmarred. He was on Cloud Nine, especially because the newborn was strong in the Uchiha genes.

After that joyful moment, time seemed to fly by, until the kid was old enough to join the ninja academy at seven. Rin and Mikoto were already Genin, while Miru, Moru and Sakura were still training hard, although the twins were closer to passing by a year.

Little Itachi took after his father exactly, including his expert chakra control, which allowed him to learn techniques that Ryo himself hadn't learned until after his academy days. His Sharingan was keen, at its second stage already.

But that wasn't what Ryo was worried about.

"Otou-chan! Otou-chan! Look at this!"

"No, me first!"

"Otou-chan! Please!"

Once Itachi had been born, he'd fathered eight more children, all girls, and they were vying for his attention every hour of the day, which was making him exhausted.

Their mothers seemed to be the only ones who could control them. Ino had had three of the girls, Karin had three, and Temari, two. And all of them were complete chatterboxes and competitive, so they worked against each other to be better so they could impress their beloved father.

Temari came upon the chaos and put her hands upon her hips. "Girls! Quit bugging your father right this instant! He needs his quiet time, too!"

All the girls made various noises of disappointment, but they did as told, leaving to go play, train, and other such things.

Ryo sighed in relief and rubbed a hand through his bangs, walking to the inner garden that Sakura (his wife) herself had planted, and Mikoto kept up, even if she had missions and such. Temari patted his back and stated, "We always knew that the younger generation would be more competitive and immature, considering the first five were given ample attention because they were the first. But those eight were born so close together that most didn't have enough time to be pampered by you, since you were busy pampering Itachi. You're a good father, you really are, but you only have so much time on your hands and they can't seem to understand that. Sometimes it's good to leave you alone so you can talk to others of your acquaintance, your friends, your wives.

"Ryo, do you remember the day our firstborn came into the world, that you stopped talking about what the powers of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"I wished you would've forgotten that. I've considered them kinjutsu ever since I mastered them."

"Tell me."

"I have several techniques concerning space and time. Some of which take too much chakra to try more than once without suffering chakra exhaustion. But the one I'm surprised none of you have noticed yet is eternal youth."

Her eyes widened in shock at that. "You…you're not growing any older?!"

"No, I'm not."

"When did you notice this…change?"

"I'm twenty-five, and I still look eighteen, just years short of the peak of my growth. I noticed when I gave myself a once-over when I was twenty. I hadn't grown any taller, nothing was maturing still, when I should've been. When I thought about how Madara had survived that long without being a decrepit old man, I noticed that it had to be because the Eternal Mangekyo granted him immortality. So, I'm stuck at the age of adulthood."

"Has anyone else noticed?"

"No, but they just think I'm aging well. There are techniques that slow the aging process, but not stop them altogether. It's the technique that Orochimaru would've killed to get, since he didn't know what the powers of my Sharingan were, even though I was still mastering them myself."

"The power to copy any technique which isn't a Kekkei Genkai plus eternal youth…he would've never switched bodies again."

"Exactly, which was why I was lucky he kept going after Sasuke. If he had discovered my true powers, he would've never stopped until he'd had me in his clutches."

"But now you're the only pureblood Uchiha left."

"And I'll still be, unless someone kills me, which would be next to impossible. I'll have to leave once people start noticing I'm not aging at all."

"But the former Godaime is well past sixty and she looks in her thirties, at most. I don't think people will think it's weird that you don't look any older."

"No, I can't stay, because once Itachi turns eighteen, he'll be the new clan head and I will step down. If you want to come with me, I won't stop you."

"Of course I will, although it'll be very lonely once I die."

"I might become a hermit and live alone for the rest of my life. I'll live under an alias and never come in contact with human life again."

"That sounds like a very lonely life."

"Yes, it does, but what else can I do? I won't let the secret leak out that the key to immortality is the technique that was forced upon me, or else the current generation would grow ambitious and would crave power for the wrong reasons. I never wanted this, so I can't let the same thing happen over and over again. I'll destroy all records of there being a stronger technique than the three-tomoe Sharingan."

"You'd better, or else I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."

"You wouldn't have to help it, if it did happen."

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "What would happen if Itachi were to get a brother?"

"I would say it was a miracle."

"Then Ryo dear, I have the most wonderful news."

THE END!

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