Itachi of Uzushio
By Bashfulglowfly
The Uzukage looked at the woman standing patiently in front of her desk "Good afternoon, Rika-san. What do you have for me?"
The psychiatrist sighed "Itachi Uchiha is wound up tighter than a clock spring. I've seen jounins fifteen years older than him that have fewer issues."
"Is he a danger to himself or to Uzushio?"
Rika clearly gathered her thoughts. "To Uzushio, no. To himself, perhaps. But he's too well trained to be allowed to stagnate."
The Uzukage sighed "And despite the addition of the rest of the Uchiha, we still need all the shinobi we can get." Kaho Uzumaki leaned back in her chair. "So, what is your recommendation?"
"Honestly? He has a brother the same age as Naruto. Assign Itachi to be one of Naruto's guards. Have the squad leader suggest that Itachi introduce the two boys."
Kaho nodded. "Naruto remembers Mikoto. She disguised herself as ANBU and would bring him food, clothing, and other necessities. So, letting Naruto know that one of his guards is related to her will bring him some comfort."
Rika snorted "That boy was comfortable here the minute you gave him his own room and fed him. But assigning Itachi to Naruto would be a good thing."
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Itachi sighed as he jumped down from the roof where he had been watching Naruto play with several other children. He grabbed Sasuke's arm before he could land another punch to Naruto's face. He then grabbed Naruto's leg before the blond boy could kick the younger Uchiha.
"Enough!"
"He started it!" came the protest from two voices. The two boys glared at each other.
"And I'm ending it." Came the implacable reply. "You were raised better, Sasuke."
His little brother, who still couldn't be bothered to brush his hair in the morning despite being old enough, pouted. "He still started it!" came the soft mutter.
"DID NOT!"
Itachi clicked his tongue causing both boys to look up at him. His eyes flashed red, and the two younger boys froze.
"Oooh! What did you do?" asked one of the other children, a Mizuno with a head of blue hair. "Can you teach me?!"
"Teach us! Teach us!"
Itachi smiled. "I'm sorry, it's a kekki genkai unique to the Uchiha."
"Booo!" said the Mizuno girl.
Itachi gently ruffled her hair. "What I can do is teach you how to break the Sharingan or other genjutsus. What do you think you should do if a teammate is caught in a genjutsu?"
"Kill or injure the one that cast the genjutsu?" asked one child that was clearly an Uzumaki.
"That is a possibility but only if the person who cast it is still actively using against your teammate." Replied Itachi. "As you can see, I'm not actively using it right now, but Naruto and Sasuke are still trapped by it. What's something else you can do?"
The children looked at each other then another Mizuno child raised his hand. When Itachi nodded at him, he spoke up "My dad said that sometimes you have to hurt your own teammates to win. So punching them or something?"
"That's an idea." Said Itachi. "Why don't you apply your theory?"
The boy blinked at Itachi for a moment then realized that Itachi had given him permission to strike Naruto and Sasuke. He made a fist and punched the other two boys on their arm.
"Hey!" Blinking Naruto looked around. "What…"
Sasuke, who also blinked for a moment, realized what his older brother had done "Nii-san!" he complained.
Itachi reached out and poked Sasuke between his eyes, then did the same to Naruto. "Behave!" He flipped his hands at all of the children "Go play!" and vaulted back to the rooftop.
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The now fourteen-year-old Itachi bowed to the man wearing sunglasses over his eyes. "I am Itachi Uchiha."
The man, who was large enough to make three of Itachi, inclined his head. "I'm Masamichi Shinkai. You and I will be going undercover."
"I've never gone on an undercover mission before." Admitted Itachi.
Masamichi smiled. "I know. I think that will work in our favor, but I will tell you that our objective is Konoha."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "It's been three years since we Uchiha left Konoha, but I think I would still be recognized."
Masamichi laughed softly "You Uchiha certainly are a 'type,' don't you. But don't worry. I have a few tricks that I'm going to show you. You will be expending a great deal of chakra for this depending now how long you want your hair."
Itachi leaned forward to listen.
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Gai Maito pointed to the gates of Konoha that were coming ever closer. "There is Konoha, Fujiwara-san!"
"So I see." Came the grave replay of the man calling himself Shinji Fujiwara. He leaned over the back of the wagon seat and shook awake the boy sleeping in the back. "Kenji, wake up. We're here."
"Uncle?" A sandy-brown-haired head rose to peer over the seat.
The man whose hair was a shade or two darker than the boy's repeated "We're here."
The boy stood up and swayed with the movement of the wagon. "Konoha is larger than you said, Uncle."
"Well, I've never been here myself. So you should have taken my knowledge with a grain of salt." He grinned at his nephew who rolled his brown eyes. "But, because of its size, we should be successful!"
"I promise I will be one of your first customers!" beamed Gai.
"Thank you, Maito-san." said Shinji.
A guard stepped out into the road with a hand raised. The wagon driver obediently reined his mules to a stop. Gai and his team stepped to the front of the wagon as Shinji leaned down with his hand out.
A small pouch transferred from Shinji's hands to Gai. "I thank all of you for your care and getting my nephew and I here without any trouble."
Gai grinned. "Thank you, Fujiwara-san. I wish you success!" He and his teammates bowed then walked through the gates and disappeared into the depths of the village.
Shinji turned his attention to the gate guard who was waiting patiently. "Guard-san, what do you require?"
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Kenji smiled at the two girls that came hurrying into the tea house. "Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, good afternoon! How was school today?"
The pink-haired girl blushed as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear "It was good, Kenji-san. We learned a new jutsu today."
The long-haired blonde nodded "An earth one! Shikamaru was the best at it and Kiba had to be dug out of his!"
"Please, sit down." Kenji smiled softly as he guided the two girls to a table. "And how did you two do?"
Sakura sighed gustily as she sat down. "We need more practice!"
Ino grinned "Lots more practice!"
Kenji bowed slightly "I'll be back in a moment to take your orders."
The two girls giggle in response.
Kenji walked back to the kitchen where his uncle was busy preparing for the afternoon rush. "I heard the giggles of your fans."
"Kiss my ass!" muttered the younger man.
Shinji gasped theatrically "What would your mother say if she heard that?!" he asked softly.
"My mother is dead, which is why I'm with you, don't you remember?" came the equally soft reply.
'Shinji' smiled at 'Kenji' "Our family back home is pleased with the profits we are making here. They may agree for us to use the profits to expand beyond four tables instead of sending it back to the Clan."
Kenji narrowed his eyes and tried to interpret what the older man meant. "If they want us to expand, then they'll have to send more family members…"
"That's the understanding that I have."
"Huh…"
"See to your customers."
"Yes, Uncle."
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The Hokage looked around the table at his advisors. "Anything else?"
One of the civilians spoke up. "The River Tea House is looking for a larger building and Fujiwara-san is looking for property for himself and his nephew as well as an unknown number of family members who will be coming to help expand the tea house."
"I have to admit I haven't gone there." Said the Hokage.
Hiashi Hyuuga replied "They have a large variety of teas, most of which are quite excellent."
"Who runs it?"
"Shinji Fujiwara and his nephew, Kenji. They're originally from Tea Country." Spoke Ibiki Morino.
The Hokage looked at the Head of T&I who inclined his head indicating that the pair had been thoroughly investigated and had passed inspection.
Kakashi Hatake looked at the civilian "Let them know that their family will be welcome."
"Yes, sir."