I do not own Naruto.

Old and new faces show up.

Chapter 2

It took two weeks for Itachi to arrive at one of the hamlets near Konohagakure. As he approached the open road in front of the main gates, there was some sort of disagreement between comrades. Shinobi of Konoha. One adult and three youths.

"Daiki, if you hit me, I won't hold back," said a silver headed teen with a dark spot below his mouth. The statement was threatening but the tone used was bored.

The beneficiary of these words was a dark-haired boy with the same birthmark. He had a deep scar on his left cheek and was grinning madly at the threat. He put his fists up. "I was counting on it."

Off to the side, a man and girl stood, clearly used to such displays. Both looked to be debating intervention. This was a genin squad. Daiki charged at his teammate with impressive speed. Itachi wondered why their sensei did not intervene. The boy's fist stopped an inch away from his comrade's nose. The comrade did not flinch.

"Fine, you win," Daiki said. "But if you tell Kaasan about this, I'll tell her about that girl you snuck off to see." His voice was on the precipice of manhood. Although he appeared younger than the other two, he had greater chakra than even Itachi.

"He's got you there, Satomi," the sensei spoke up, light smile in place. He was a pale man and wore a shirt that revealed his midriff. Without remark, the girl snorted and the gold ring she wore gleamed in the sunlight, completely out of place on her otherwise plain appearance.

Satomi sighed, unbothered but stepped back. He ran a hand through shoulder length hair. "Fine, fine. Sai-sensei, I hope you won't say anything."

Itachi allowed chakra to course regularly throughout his body and deactivated the sharingan.

"Hokage-sama has likely…" Sai glanced towards the new presence. "I know you're there."

Itachi stepped out from behind a tree. "I mean no harm."

Sai hummed. "I don't sense any hostility from you, no." His crinkled eyes opened, and his smile fell away, serious. "But I would like to know who you are and what your intentions are with my students."

"I have no intentions." That was quite the leap in assumption.

The boys jumped back behind their sensei and got into squad formation alpha-omega with the girl, all three taking out kunai. Recognition and skepticism flashed through Sai's features. He grabbed the hilt of a sword strapped horizontally across his low back. "Uchiha Itachi? That's not possible."

"Uchiha?" The girl's eyes widened. The moment their sensei spoke the notorious name, the students automatically lowered their gazes.

Itachi held his hands up. The genin seemed more confused than afraid. He speculated on how history was taught at present. But that was just as well. His appearance was nonthreatening. A simple, unarmed traveler with no headband. His hair was loose, and his eyes had no sharingan. He bore only a cloak with a travel bag buckled diagonally on his torso. Nothing he had was his.

"That is who I am."

Sai frowned, gripping the hilt tighter. The sensei was torn between concern for his students and deep suspicion of the stranger before them. "The man you resemble died long ago. Even if he did live, he'd be older. Is this reanimation?"

"It is not." At this the teacher nodded, having assumed for himself. The Edo Tensei had obvious physical manifestations. "What you say is true. I should be dead. I myself don't know how I came to be this way."

"Is that so." Sai's frown deepened, stalling for time. "What business brings you here?"

"I won't hurt your genin," Itachi felt the need to say. "I wish only to speak with the Hokage."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa ," Daiki started, clearly offended. "I am NOT a genin."

The girl groaned. "Daiki, I think that's beside the point."

Satomi nodded. "I am also not a genin."

"You're not helping!"

Itachi's expression remained passive. "Forgive me then." He had no intention of wounding children's prides.

Sai released the hold on his weapon and let his arm fall to the side. "Very well. I believe you."

"THAT EASY?!" The girl blanched, pointing her kunai at her sensei. "Our parents won't be very happy if this zombie guy ends up killing us." Her golden ring had a ruby shaped tree emblem. It was the Fire Daimyo's insignia.

The boys squinted at their teammate. "Tsubame-chan," Daiki said with some confusion, "you're an orphan."

"And it isn't reanimation," Satomi reminded.

"Yeah, well this guy's giving me the creeps." She crossed her arms, brown braid swinging over her shoulder, kunai loosely held in her fingers.

"You're not wrong about that," Daiki said, putting his weapon away. "But if sensei's cool with it, I guess we gotta be too."

Satomi patted the shorter boy's head. "Well said."

Daiki ducked away. "Stop that!"

After informing the jonin of all he knew up to this point, Itachi allowed Yamanaka Sai to tie his wrists and ankles with chakra suppressing rope. His steps were short and measured but did not impede on their journey through the gates. Sai's not-genin made a defensive circle around him with Daiki at the rear. It seemed nineteen years was enough time to completely transform a village into a great city with high rise buildings and architectural structures all along the overseeing mountainside.

The village remained.

Could that be Hatake Kakashi's face on the mountain? The engraved scar and mask were telling if not a little theatrical. Itachi's mind worked naturally and made connections. The likelihood of the Copycat becoming the village leader was not remarkable. It had often been speculated even before Itachi's insurrection. It seemed there was a seventh statute being worked on but was hidden by a great tarp and suspended scaffolds.

Had Uzumaki Naruto achieved his goals?

Yamanaka Sai was not a born member of that clan and likely married into it. He had pupils, namely. Itachi's mental encyclopedia from nineteen years ago of all Konoha clan members would have identified a ninja of his age. There were these not-genin as well. As an orphaned kunoichi the girl was unlikely to be connected to the Fire Daimyo, which either made her a runaway or a thief. The two young men were presumably brothers as they threatened one another with tattling and shared a genetic birthmark of identical size, shape, and location. This was peculiar as Konoha once held a longstanding policy to not place siblings on the same team.

"The village has changed," Sai said from the helm.

"Yes," Itachi easily responded, taking in his surroundings with great fascination. He had many questions but doubted the sensei would answer any. Despite the temporary armistice, Itachi was a dubious stranger bearing a dead man's countenance.

The streets were busier than Itachi remembered. The congestion could be attributed to the central location of their pilgrimage through the village. Bystanders peeked at them but said nothing, the older generations continuing, unperturbed by a handcuffed man escorted by not-genin. It was the youth and children that looked with great curiosity.

"You know this guy's kinda cute. Creepy—but cute."

"You're shameless, Tsubame-chan," but even as he said it Satomi was smirking, and she winked at him.

"Not as shameless as you, prince-sama."

Behind them Daiki snickered. Noting Sai's tense shoulders, Itachi surmised that these not-genin were a handful.

"Are you some sort of criminal?" Tsubame directed to the stranger.

Itachi answered, "Yes."

She gasped, scandalized.

When they approached the Hokage Tower, unaltered from many years ago, a platoon of Anbu appeared and took the place of Sai's team. Before they had entered through the gates the sensei had sent a painted creature ahead.

"We'll take it from here."

"Hell no."

"Daiki, it's fine," Satomi said though he too was aggravated to be pushed out of the way. "Sensei, can we at least tag along?" The boy was curious.

An operative with electric blond dreads stepped forward. "Commander, please spare us the burden of these clowns."

"Wow, Soota. I thought we were friends."

The Anbu responded with what Itachi believed to be a vulgar reply in sign language.

"Satomi, don't use his name," Sai chided. He dragged a hand through cropped hair. "How about this? I go with these guys and then tell you all about it later?"

"No, thank you," all three replied at the same time with a generous bow.

"Well, I tried." Sai shrugged, a sensei who chose his battles carefully when it came to these three. All around them the Anbu Black Ops members groaned. What was the extent of terror wrought by these three to generate such protest from elite shinobi?

Sai bent at eye level with Satomi, eyes closing in mock cheer. "Of course, we'll also be giving the Hokage a full report, including your 'walk' with the Daimyo's niece, Tsubame-chan's sticky fingers and Daiki's earlier violence."

The three not-genin politely excused themselves and ran off. Their retreat caused the Anbu to cheer with abandon and pat their commanding officer on the back.

His things were confiscated, and after a thorough strip-search, Itachi was placed in a holding cell with two guards. The interrogation building seemed tamer. Instead of wet concrete walls everything was painted ivory. There was no faraway dripping echo that had often driven men mad. The cell held not only a cot but a blanket. There was a ceramic hole in the wall for bodily relief. In the past, inmates had been given a bucket.

Itachi sat down on the cot. His wrists and ankles were still bound. An hour and then two passed. He allowed himself to doze off. Within the walls of the village and deep beneath its surface, a sense of relaxation he had not felt since childhood overcame him. Anything that befell him here would be right and true, he told himself.

He awoke sometime later at the hushed dialogue outside the cell.

"Tell me someone put a blindfold on this man!"

"Why?"

"He's an Uchiha."

"So?"

"How did you even get a job here?"

The click of a key sliding into a lock reverberated throughout the halls. It was a woman with blond hair and pupilless cerulean eyes. "Uchiha, if you try anything funny, I'll turn your brain to mush. Got it?" A true Yamanaka then.

"Understood." Itachi sat up and kept his eyes closed. A blindfold was put over his head and tightly secured. Despite the woman's words, this was a regular blindfold. If he tried 'anything funny,' he'd be able to see right through it. Either no one really believed he was who he looked to be, or Konoha's history of the Uchiha was inadequately being taught.

Suddenly the vibration of a stone shooting through a plastic pipe resounded in his mind.

Itachi tempered down the instinctual urge to violently dispel the Yamanaka's jutsu. Perhaps permitting the intrusive technique would help prove the validity of his identity.

Days later, Itachi was brought blindfolded to stand before a risen platform once used by the Sandaime and his council. He knew this by the route they had taken him through. The detours and loops he was walked through did not confuse him. The maze-like tactic was familiar and had given him a hint of their destination before having arrived to it.

He sensed an entirely different panel of individuals lined up in the direction of where the platform was supposed to be. One was the malevolent presence of the Kyuubi spirit within its host, Uzumaki Naruto. The host could have changed after so many years. He dared not believe it nor its implications.

Slowly, Itachi lowered to his knees, bowing until his forehead touched a tiled floor. Whomever he stood before would determine his fate. At the very least, he hoped the questions about his brother would be answered.

For the past week he had been monitored and observed. Daily his mind had been carefully examined by the Yamanaka woman.

"So it's true," someone said offhandedly. That voice…belonged to Morino Ibiki.

"Do you think this is Orochimaru's doing?" Another deep, unfamiliar voice spoke.

"That snake's too old for games." A woman.

"He recently dumped a kid on us," Ibiki said. "You never know. He made that comment about wanting to keep us on our toes. And then hissed at Hiashi."

"He's still pissy about that." Uzumaki Naruto's raspy voice, although deeper than last Itachi heard, was unmistakable. "It's really you, Itachi."

Itachi raised his forehead from the floor just enough to give a small nod of acknowledgement before lowering it again.

"Rokudaime-sama, how would you like to proceed?" The woman again.

"Um. Naruto?" Hatake Kakashi indeed.

"Please don't make me be the one to tell Sasuke."

Sasuke was alive then. And they spoke of him fondly. A surge of relief overcame Itachi, alleviating him of the great weight upon his heart. All was right with the world. No matter what happened from that moment on, Itachi would accept it.

He sat back seiza and rested his bound hands on his lap. Someone sighed heavily, presumably Kakashi as he spoke next. "Your inauguration is right around the corner. I have decided to dub thee in charge of this specifically."

"You lazy old man."

"It's good to practice giving bad news—err, good news? This is your job now."

"Yeah, yeah. Everyone, leave us. You've seen what you needed to see. Not a word to anyone. Sensei, you stay. You, too, Sai. Ino."

Once those who were dismissed parted, the blond woman called Ino removed the blindfold and Itachi took in his surroundings. Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto sat crossed legged on the risen tatami platform base. Their expressions were partly obscured by conical hats. The seventh face was Naruto after all. He was in sage mode. His amphibian pupils were concentrated on the detainee. Sai stoically remained in a corner as the woman joined him.

For some time, there was only silence.

He could feel the tendrils of the woman's possession. She was likely transmitting his thoughts to everyone in the room. That she remained conscious during the technique was impressive and telling of the level of control she had over the jutsu. Despite her command over the usually debilitating jutsu, Itachi limited the information she had access to.

It would do no one any good should she venture too deep into the depravity of his mind.

So that's what the bolted door with the sharingan is, she telecommunicated. It was the first time she spoke to him in this way. Being inside of an Uchiha sure is eerie. You guys have a lot of baggage. An image of a young, blindfolded Sasuke flashed through his mind's eye. Had she done this to his brother? The very notion provoked him to give her influence a vicious shove. Whoa there! I'm the one reading your mind here, Uchiha. Sasuke was a willing vessel, I promise! See? She showed Sasuke holding his arms out to be bound, submissive and willing. The bottom half of his left forearm was missing. Though he wasn't as much of a gentleman as you. He let me…see things I wish I hadn't.

It was Itachi who had made Sasuke see things he ought not have.

Ino had access to these thoughts. No use crying over spilt milk, she transmitted. Me doing this helped Sasuke get a slap on the wrist after the war. Maybe it'll help you, she teased. Itachi was thankful for the tidbit of information on his brother. You're welcome, Uchiha. Itachi glanced at her through the side of his eye.

"That's enough, Ino," Kakashi said. "You may go." They had all been listening in.

She smirked, bowing. As she made her way out, she ran a hand across Sai's chest. The man did not flinch.

Naruto leaned forward curiously, attention solely on Itachi. "How long have you been revived?" He referred to Itachi's physical appearance. The jinchuriki himself was now a man in his prime. He was taller and broader than the image Itachi previously associated him with.

"About three weeks." He was sure the information had already been provided but he answered, nonetheless.

Kakashi appeared much as he had in the past, yet his left eye was uncovered, bare of a sharingan. "You really don't know who's done this, do you?"

Itachi closed his eyes. "I do not."

"Hm," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "Your things have no trace of anything or anyone. Whoever it was sure knew what they were doing."

"Why come back to the village?" Kakashi asked, perusing a folder that lay before him. "Maybe to check on Sasuke," he casually stated as he turned a page. "It wouldn't be the first time." Right. Itachi fought the man on his last visit to the village. He had wanted to remind Danzo he was still watching over his brother despite the Sandaime's demise. It was done under the guise of capturing a jinchuriki. It had been Itachi's attempt to kill two birds with one stone: confirm Sasuke was safe and bring Jiraiya intel of Akatsuki's plans with the jinchuriki.

The visit had turned out poorly. Not only had Sasuke discovered him, but Itachi nearly killed Kakashi (an invaluable asset to the village). He once again tormented his brother, all to deter suspicion from every side.

"Is…he well?" Itachi had no right to ask. But benevolence and Sasuke's welfare had turned into a gray area long, long ago.

Naruto and Kakashi shared a look. Uzumaki Naruto then smiled grandly at the Uchiha. "He is."

Itachi's chest tightened. Good. That was good.

It was later said the four men remained in that room deep into the evening. But really it was only an hour. Beforehand, the two kages had discussed with the council what was to be done with a resurrected Uchiha Itachi.

Due to factors like the decimation of a clan of treasonous citizens—not all of which were privy to the Uchiha coup d'état—and letting himself give in to the manipulations of Shimura Danzo, Itachi was told he would have to answer for his crimes. However, because he played double agent for the Sandaime, and to everyone's new surprise Jiraiya (confirmed by a toad), and turned the tide of the Fourth War, Itachi was given minimal sentencing: ten years of house arrest with the potential for early parole dependent on 'good behavior.'

Years later, after news of his resurrection spread, some would believe this was a fair punishment while others thought it was too severe (the man had technically already been 'executed'). A silent few, an older generation who had been friends or lovers of the Uchiha, thought it too lenient. Of course, not much was said in dissent, as the sentence was put together by two cherished kages that had rigorously brokered back and forth with a trustworthy council.

At present, the fact that Uchiha Itachi was alive was known to a small circle. Konoha leadership, a few Anbu, and of course, there was Sai and his not-genin. Itachi thought his crimes were not being dealt with appropriately. He suspected it had a lot to do with Sasuke's relationship with the Rokudaime and Nanadaime.

Sasuke. What did he think of all this nepotism?

Before releasing Kabuto's Edo Tensei, the brothers fought side by side. It had been the only second chance Itachi thought needed for his brother to have a semblance of closure, and the only one he ever thought he'd be given. But no. In a world of forbidden jutsu, third and fourth chances could be obtained. Indiscriminately, even, as Itachi believed this opportunity at living again was wasted on someone like him.

Itachi was back in the holding cell, staring at the ceiling. His binds had been removed, and no one tried to blindfold him again. His cell was not locked. There were no guards. Despite these unusual details, his mind was focused on a most peculiar phenomenon revealed to him.

His brother was now a married man. He was also on a mission and would not be back for another two months. The wife, as the manager of his brother's estate during his absence, was to find a location to carry out Itachi's sentencing. The Uchiha district had been razed decades ago by an Akatsuki attack. The land was mostly woods, hills, and overgrown fields. Pointedly, the land was still owned by the Uchiha clan.

Itachi was not sure what this meant. The clan would be Sasuke and this wife of his. As a dead man, Itachi had no right to it.

"But you are not dead anymore," Hatake Kakashi pointed out with creased eyes.

His brother's wife was Sakura. She had long pink hair and a diamond shaped seal on her forehead. She had been Sasuke's teammate. Itachi met her once but it had been through a possessed corpse. She was one of the kunoichi who ended Sasori of the Red Sand. To him it was months ago, but to her, it had been decades.

She stood outside his cell with a soft smile. He greeted her politely, unsure of what to make of her. She was of a slender build, muscled but feminine in clothing and accessories. Most kunoichi were of similar frame, unavoidable due to years of training and strenuous activity. On their way out he was returned the few items he possessed. He said nothing about the missing note. He also did not question Sakura's decision to walk through the village towards the Uchiha district instead of cutting over rooftops.

It was as the Hokage said. All was gone. Where once there had been an assortment of homes and businesses, there were only trees and dirt roads. The two walked pass what used to be a park. Itachi's mind filled with ghosts and their screams. He automatically veered right on a dusty crossroad, toward where his home had once been, but Sakura called to him.

"Let's not go that way," she said, aiming her upper body to the left. With one last glance towards the south, Itachi nodded and followed her. Whatever she did not want him to see was best left unseen, he surmised. Nineteen years plus the time Itachi had gone rogue was a long time.

They walked up hilly forested area and jumped over part of the river that ran through the district. It split into seven streams. They wordlessly followed the second stream that was parallel to a bamboo wall which stretched for five acres. Memories of swimming with his friends and family stroked the edges of his mind.

"Our house is on the west-most edge of the district," Sakura offered after a long duration of silent hiking. Her voice brought Itachi out of a daze. The west-most area? They had passed it long ago.

He wondered where this woman was taking him and if she felt as safe as she seemed, walking alone with him. Unless they were being followed by Anbu. Or perhaps the Godaime's diamond seal was an indicator of her power. He felt it unnecessary to verify any of this with the sharingan. There was no need to alarm anyone just so his curiosity could be satiated.

"Why has this land not been confiscated?" Itachi voiced. The village had obviously risen in population, yet the territory was untouched.

She beamed at him, emerald-colored eyes shining because the impassive man had finally spoken. "Sasuke-kun wanted to give it to the village as a sort of…apology," she said, "but Kakashi-sensei refused. He said he'd keep it safe for him and his future children." Her heels tapped on the stones that paved a way over another rivulet. Itachi continued to follow her.

Were there children? Itachi could not ask such a thing.

Sakura stopped walking and looked at him over her shoulder with a brilliant smile. "You have a niece."

A niece.

"Should you tell me such things?" He was not sure what his brother would think of his wife being so forthcoming. Or if Sasuke would accept the lenient sentencing. Would being confined to these lands be tolerable to him? The Rokudaime and Nanadaime could be overreaching in their perception of his brother. But perhaps a wife understood better.

Itachi knew nothing of the man Sasuke had become. His understanding of his brother's character stopped the night of the massacre. All he had of Sasuke were snippets of their childhood, corroded with hatred and the desperate need for both of them to survive.

"Oh!" Sakura tapped her chin, thoughtful. "Maybe you don't have a niece? Or another on the way?" Then she laughed all to herself and kept walking. Aside from feeling disturbed there existed child relatives who could be privy to the horrors he had committed, Itachi was somewhat intrigued at the idea of a sharingan user with pink hair.

"What does the village know about the Uchiha?" If she was willing to overshare, then he would extract all he could.

"About us? Oh right." She tucked a lock of hair behind an ear. "Our family history." Our family, she said so casually.

"Yes." It was all he could think to say.

She summarized the textbook teaching. The Uchiha were one of the two founding clans of Konohagakure. During a small-scale civil war, many died and few survived. Academically, it was taught vaguely to keep Sasuke's growing family off the radar and simple-minded people out of their business. A civil war. That was certainly one way to put it. Itachi wondered if such ambiguity would one day cause more harm than good.

They arrived at an open field, overgrown with high grass and tangled bushels. On the other side of it stood an old house against a woodland backdrop. It was a rectangular kuzu-zukuri styled house.

"I had the water and light turned on this morning," she flicked one of the tall blades of grass that reached her elbow, "but this place needs a lot of work."

Itachi only stared at the house. This house was…

"Here you go." She handed him a scroll and pointed at her fingers to list some items. "There's quite a bit of money in there, bedding, and basic toiletries. A change of clothes. Anyway, there's an errand runner assigned to you. They start tomorrow morning."

"A guardsman."

Sakura pinched her lips together to hold back a snort of laughter. "I'm sure if you wanted to defect no one here could stop you. Not with those eyes."

"You know."

"I've loved your brother for a long time."

Itachi only nodded, looking towards the familiar house again. Even from this distance he could see repairs were sorely needed. Such work would give him direction and fill his time. At least until Sasuke came back.

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "I guess I'll leave you to it. Like I said, Kanna-chan will come in the mornings and will stay for as long as you need her." The runner would purchase items he otherwise would have no way of obtaining within the district's perimeter. "Don't hesitate to put her to work. It'll get cold soon so maybe the floors and roof first..."

After she filled him in on a few details, he thanked her with a bow.

She turned to go after a cordial farewell but on a whim turned to face him again. "I won't be visiting you," she said. "At least until Sasuke-kun gets back. Maybe after that Sarada and I could…come by." That was probably for the best, but…

"Her name is Sarada?"

If she noticed any vulnerability flash across his features, she made no comment. "Pretty, right?"

"Yes."

Sarada was his great aunt's name. She had died months before the massacre. Sarada-obasan had often cared for both Uchiha brothers. She had loved them. She had also been one of the few voices amongst the sheep that had risen against Fugaku's traitorous plans. But Sasuke had no way of knowing that.

Itachi inspected the house carefully.

It was an old-fashioned, one-story home with two rooms. It was barren of furniture but overrun with dust and dirt. Many of the floorboards were caved in or ready to snap under his weight. He found a fresh litter of kittens in one of the rooms. He closed the door to give them privacy after the mother hissed at him. She had probably entered through the hole in the wall or the one on the roof.

He released the contents of the scroll. Quite a bit of money indeed. The Uchiha fortune had not been squandered these past years. He sealed most of it away. With the futon provided, Itachi made a corner for himself in the other room. He was unsure what to do with the cats, so he left that alone for now.

The water and electricity were on as Sakura said but he left the lights off because they wouldn't stop flickering. Instead, he opened all the windows to air the place out and allowed sunlight to flow in. He boiled the running water over a fire before he attempted to use it for drink. And he dared not use anything in the lavatory. It was old fashioned even for Itachi's time, wooden and aged. There was a fresh brook close by. It lay between the stone mountain and the mile of woodlands behind the house. That would be useful in place of a bathroom.

At night, he activated his dōjutsu within the confines of the house. Unless they were exceptionally talented at masking chakra from even the Mangekyou Sharingan, he had a suspicion no Anbu was on the property.

He took a long, midnight stroll through the trees and the fields. For the sake of it, he rested a palm on a tree trunk to feel its coarse texture against his flesh. He walked by the edges of the forsaken district and avoided the areas of his childhood home and Sasuke's current one. He ended up at a stream, appreciating the moon's glow over the surface of the water and glistening stones. The stream's trickling current sung alongside the breeze. He closed crimson eyes, letting the scope of his powers survey the vicinity.

No one was patrolling. Truly they had given him free reign within the district. If he were to step over the boundary limit, what then, would happen if no one was watching?

Thanks for reading! For more of Sai's naughty team, please check out my one-shot "The Hatake Family." XD